Gotcha Day (and the day after)

Sorry for the delayed post...Gotcha day was literally one of the most exhausting days we've ever experienced.

It started with a 90 minute car ride from Beijing to Lang Fang, where Aubrey was. She was actually at an excellent foster home for most of her life called "Living Tree", a Christian based program, and was extremely well cared for. They brought her back to the actual orphanage on Saturday for Gotcha Day.

When we arrived, it was just surreal. We were led into the orphanage by our guide and as we were walking past the day room, we actually spotted Aubrey for the first time. We couldn't wait to meet her, but we were all very nervous as well. After a short while, one of the Nannies tried to bring her in to see us, but she was so scared she clung to the doorway of the room and wouldn't come in.

Our first real look at Aubrey:

After a few tries, a truly amazing Nanny named Mona got Aubrey to come to see us. Actually it was Aaron who spoke to her first, giving her a new Curious George stuffed animal.

The transition was tough, with lots of tears and crying, but we eventually got through the process and got her into the car with us. Mona offered a prayer for Aubrey (she is known here as Tian Chen) that made us all fall apart. Even though it was in Chinese, we could feel how much she cared for Chen.

(Tian Chen with "Mama" at the orphanage)

Once we got on the road, we went for the old "bribe them with food" trick, and that seemed to get her to open up.... A bag of Cheerios, plus Mommy figured out she was ticklish, and things started to get better.

Becci and Aubrey in the car just minutes after leaving the orphanage.

Once we got back to Beijing, we had a few hours to kill, so we went for a walk and had Korean for lunch. We found out that Aubrey loves to be outdoors and to walk.

"Babba" and Aubrey on the train

Then it was on to the train stations...this was no lie the most insane place I've ever been. We had two families, with both our kids, all our luggage and 5 million people all cramming to get onto a train at the same time. Once we got on board, though, it was a very pleasant two hour ride to our Province..Shaizaizhoung *I'm spelling that wrong, but I'm way to tired to look it up right now.

Then to a new hotel, a quick dinner from the local KFC....they're on every corner, like Starbucks in NYC, and our first bathtime with Aubrey. We've discovered that she is unbelievabley independent. Don't even think about trying to do something for her if she can do it herself, and in most cases, she can do it herself. She bathed herself, top to bottom, then again, then again, and again until I finally drug her out of the tub fighting all the way.

After the bath, she got her new PJ's and we spent a long night getting her to sleep.

In the morning she got dressed in a new outfit....pink is definitely her color, and we went off for another long day of paperwork and traffic chaos on the streets of China.

All in all, it went great. Aubrey is stunningly beautiful, smart, strong and soooooo stubborn... a perfect fit.

We're all exhausted, so we'll sign off for now and update again probably tomorrow. (Aubrey just fell asleep on my lap as I'm typing this.)

bye for now