Gotcha Day

We woke up this morning so excited for today. Today was the day that Daniel would come home with us forever. I had some anxiety of how he was going to do leaving the transition home since it is the only home he has known for the last year. They nannies were all kissing and hugging him. It takes a special person to be a nanny there. They get so attached to these kids and then have to watch them leave. Especially the ones that are there for a long time. I thank God everyday for those ladies and the care they have given to my son. Anyway, we ate breakfast then had to sort out our donations and pack our very first diaper bag! We all met in the lobby then and went shopping. This was fun, there was so much stuff and so reasonably priced. It was quite interesting the shops were kind of like what we would call a plaza back home but not as developed. They were small and you bartered for the prices (not a fan of this). Our driver David did most of that for us and told us what was a good buy and what was not. Once we were done we were standing outside the shops waiting for other families and the kids started coming up selling gum and tissues and asking if we wanted our shoes shined. It was kind of overwhelming for me because there were a lot of them. Then all of a sudden these 2 ladies came up yelling something with a stick and all the kids ran. We found out these 2 ladies worked with the shops to keep the beggars away from the shoppers. Mark did get his shoes shined by one little boy. He did a great job, even got some of the paint off of his tennis shoes. Another little boy told Robel that he thought he had met Mark before. How funny! Once we were done shopping we were all ready to go. We came back to the guest house and ate lunch. Excellent cook here at the guest house. Then it was time to go. When we got to the transition home we took pictures first of the care packages we brought. Joanna, we love Hope. She is so sweet and fun. And yes we got her to smile and we got her laughing and pulling marks hair on video. I am trying to send you a picture but internet here is not cooperating. Once we were done with that we got Daniel forever. He only fussed for a second. No screaming or crying! We changed his clothes and his diaper (first wonderful surprise). The best part was when we all loaded up in the van and drove away with our kids. Daniel loved the car ride, he kept peeking around the seat to see what was going on, sticking his hand out of the window and playing with the window latch. When we got back to the guest house we played for awhile on the floor and then he just bent in half and fell asleep on my leg. We all three then went in and took a nap. It was so wonderful to wake up looking at my baby boy. Dinner went really well too. He ate 1/2 my rice at dinner and a bottle. We think we figured out that his belly is so bloated because he is always eating. After dinner we gave him his first bath. He was a little unsure about this. I can't wait to bring him home and give him a bath where we can control the temperature of the water a little better. Then the best part of my day putting lotion on him, putting him in his sleeper, wrapping him in his blanket and he fell asleep in my arms. There is now a baby boy sleeping in our room as I write this. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. He is the most precious gift from God. I can't wait for you all to meet him. Tomorrow Embassy appointment!