[MissyAmomChina]

Hi Stephanie,

I looked back at my journals and I took different entries. My husband and father-in-law traveled to China. So the first part is my listening to them meeting Lilianna for the first time over the phone

"The babies were brought into the Lottery hotel meeting room one at a time. Lilianna was the fourth baby brought in. Our daughter has great breath support. I could hear her loud and strong even before she was in the room!!! The nannies passed her to Bill and I could hear them saying "Ba-ba!” which is Chinese for dad. Lilianna cried hysterically. While Bill has had very limited experience in caring for babies, I could tell that in the midst of all that chaos his daddy instincts kicked right in. Bill did a fantastic job holding, talking, and soothing her. For Bill, it was love at first sight. For Lilianna, the feelings weren’t mutual. Apparently, she was so stressed out at being handed over to Bill that she arched her little back and kicked him in the belly. We ended our phone call as all the families were boarding the bus back to the Majestic Hotel. The roar of the ten little girls crying was deafening and I knew that the new families were in for one heck of a bus ride.


When I called Bill a mere 2 hours later, I was preparing to offer him emotional support. I was absolutely sure she would still be crying. To my amazement, I called the room and it was wonderfully calm. Lilianna was happily chattering and playing in the background. While we were ending our conversation, a touching little moment took place between father and daughter. Bill was sitting on the floor next to our daughter and offered her an animal cracker. After she happily ate it, she turned to him and hugged his leg. She didn’t let go and put her head on his lap started to drift off to sleep. Bill was moved and I could tell he had tears. It was a wonderful image to have in my mind back here in Ohio."



Then 14 days later, I got to meet my family in the airport. Here is my journal from that day.
"Our original plan was to meet at 4p.m. on the 19th. Unfortunately, due to plane delays, missed connections and an extremely uncooperative airline, the big moment wasn’t until 12:05 a.m. on the 20th. It was a stressful day for those traveling and those waiting. However, nothing could have diminished the joy of the moment. The whole family was there waiting to meet Lilianna. I can’t put into words what it was like to see my husband, father in law and daughter walking towards us. It is truly a moment that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. We are also quite amused that November 20th is officially National Adoption Day!

Lilianna is a wonderful baby. For those who know me, I’m a natural born worrier. I had been full of the “what if’s” for several week. What if Lilianna has a terrible transition, what if she rejects me, what if she is sick, what if she shuts down from all the changes etc. It’s very amazing to realize that in a matter of minutes, all those fears melted away. She is a very affection, alert, sweet and interactive baby. I approached her very cautiously and offered her some cheerios and a rattle. (I’m absolutely not above bribery.) Initially she pushed them away and clung to Bill. Of course I understood and backed off. Well, in a mater of minutes she was smiling, holding my hand and playing with my bracelet. By the time we got down to the luggage claim, she willingly went into my arms and I held her all the way to the car. What a feeling that was"


That's probably way more information than you wanted. I had fun taking a walk down memory lane.

Take care,