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10.24.2011

Gotcha!

Sorry for the late post... I know there have been some anxious people on the other side of the world!

So, obviously, we have our Johnathan!!!!  It was our strangest gotcha by far.  We got the other kids in the morning (so we only had anxious breakfasts instead of anxious all-days... this time I was emotionally spent before we ever left to get him!).  We also had to wait for Ben and Catherine to arrive but Johnathan was already there when we walked in.  After 2 years of waiting it was kind of anticlimactic... we didn't get any pics or video of the gotcha moment because our cameras were still in our backpacks.  But, it was a good moment nonetheless and he came right over to us (smiling!) when we got there.  There is only 1 other family adopting in this province this week so we signed our paperwork, took our official photograph (no tears, unlike Catherine), and we were in and out of there very quickly.  The whole time he had a big smile on his face :)




We left the civil affairs office and headed to a giant store to buy some essentials.  We found out that Johnathan's idea of essentials is EVERYTHING in the store so we got out of there as fast as we could.  We headed back to the hotel (as Johnathan snarffed all the snacks we just bought) to do our official adoption paperwork with our guide.  Johnathan got busy playing with all of his new possessions (which he is VERY possessive about... we have to carry all of it with us all the time).  He had a great time just hanging out in the room, playing with toys, getting to "know" the ipod, trying out the backpack carrier, eating anything he could find, and getting into EVERYTHING.  Seriously... that boy gets around quickly and he can find trouble in a millisecond.  Oh, and he laughs really loud when he is naughty (like when he splashed all of the water out of the tub)... great!



We went out to dinner and everything was great until he started crying and yelling at me.  Of course we had no idea what was the matter and we thought maybe he was upset about leaving some of his toys in the room.  He was really really mad at me and he kept yelling and pointing.  We only found out later that he had to go to the bathroom!  Why oh why did the other people in the restaurant, who heard him yelling, not show us to the bathroom or something?  I had no idea... BAD MOMMY!  Now I know the particular word he uses so we are good to go from now on!  That was our one and only bad time of the day... pretty good I will have to say!


When we got back from dinner we skyped with the kids at home (he was so excited to see JieJie, GeGe, and Mei Mei and he kept saying "Ni Hao" to them!) and then he laid down, said Nigh Night to all of us, and went right to sleep.  He is such a little sweetie and he is so well behaved.  He is so aware of what is going on in the world around him it is amazing that he was in the orphanage for 3 years.  He is so bossy and has no problem telling adults what to do... when he rides in the backpack carrier he directs Jay like Jay is his horse :)  Our guide said that he was saying, "Daddy go this way" and "Daddy don't stop- keep going."  He is a little prince... he is going to have a hard time being the low man on the totem pole when we get home!



It was a very strange but wonderful day.  He has to be the cutest little kid who has ever lived (or at least he is making a good case for the title!)...

Serious Cuteness Factor #1: He spontaneously breaks into song.  It is hilarious!  He will just be sitting there or playing with toys and he will just start singing to himself and dance a little bit.

Serious Cuteness Factor #2:  He cannot get enough of looking at pictures of himself or looking at himself in the mirror.  Whenever he sees his image he smiles, points to it, and says his Chinese name.  And I do mean whenever... the elevator in the hotel has mirrors on the walls and ceiling that he was thrilled that he could see multiple Jia Yu's at the same time :)

Serious Cuteness Factor #3:  Jay made him a paper airplane and he named it his butterfly :)

Serious Cuteness Factor #4: We were trying to get him to change his clothes but he did not want to (we wanted to save the orphanage clothes for him so we needed to get him out of them).  Our guide told him he had to change and he asked why.  She told him that he was stinky and needed to change.  He was so offended that she said he was stinky and he totally told her off!

14 comments:

  1. JOY JOY JOY, it seemed like forever getting to gotcha, but now it looks like he has been with you forever! The smile, dimple and his "I am in charge here", what a doll! Have lots of fun with each other, great pictures and LOVE to all of you. These are the most magical moments and memories, thanks for living them with all of us!

    Sue

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  2. Love your pics! And all of the cuteness factors too! I can just hear him..a version of "NO! I not stinky- you stinky!" :)

    Love you guys & glad all is going so well.
    -Jenny

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  3. So grateful you all are now together! And how wonderful Jack gets to experience this trip, too! I love seeing your blue backpack carrier again. I think buying those things was one of the best investments both of our families ever made! We've pulled ours out again for Katie Mae. Looking forward to meeting Jonathan someday on one of our trips back east!

    Margot

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  4. Aww, he is a sweety!! Sounds like our Xuzhou kids are little fire crackers!! Rachel will still break out in song...in madarin!! And she has been home a year, now since taking dance, she will add dance moves!!

    Safe travels Jen!!

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  5. Also, super cute how much he really does love his little airplane! I bet he will just love flying in a real one.
    -Jenny

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  6. Jen, He is ADORABLE!!! I have to say the protective mama in me came out when you didn't post yesterday and I was getting worried about you guys....so glad I thought to email Erin....she put me to ease when she said you guys were doing great but were just to tired to post. She even sent me a picture :-). I'm so glad he is doing so wonderfully! Love you guys!!!

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  7. Great post! Glad to see so many cute photos of Johnathan. He sounds like a perfect fit for your crew.

    Have a fun time in XZ...
    Erin

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  8. It looks like he loves his airplane and monkey. Your sister Annie

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  9. We had the same unusual gotcha in Nanjing in March this year - later in the day and Carter was already there when we walked in. No crying, screaming, or crowds!

    Great to see the pictures and a smiling Johnathan with his family. Enjoy the easy bedtimes while they last - Carter stopped that habit as soon as vwe left Nanjing.

    It is good to see he still has the airplane.

    Congrats!

    Lisa & Mark (& April, Bennett, & Carter).

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  10. YEAH!!!

    so cute and so happy little one! Looks like he FITS perfect
    HUGS
    Donna

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  11. Serious cuteness indeed!!! Congratulations!

    Kelly
    Mommy to Charis from XZ

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  12. Yeah! So glad that you have Jonathan and cannot wait to read more about your time together. I got a kick out of his personality and have a feeling that you guys will have your hands full (must be something about boys from XZ). In the picture on the bed, he totally reminded me of Jiake!!

    Blessings and safe travels!!

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  13. Hi Jen! Just wanted to say Congratulations on your new cutie! Jack's blog is TOO CUTE! I love it. How did he get so grown up?!? I'm so happy for you guys and I love reading about all your travels and adventures. Have a great rest of your trip and a safe journey home. Hopefully we'll see you soon. Love you guys!!! Erika (Dobrota)

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  14. Jen,
    How do you find time to post? I know it must be when Johnathain is aslepp otherwise I know you would be giving full attention to him. Thanks to you and Jay for the pictures- it helps getting a feel for what you, Jay and Jack are experiencing. Hope everyday is as good or better than the one you had today. Love to everyone.

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