We have him!

And he is the most handsome little boy in all of China.  Even when he’s screaming.  When we walked into the building we saw him.  We didn’t think any of the kids were there yet but he was there in a little play area.  We approached him very slowly and didn’t try to hold him.  Nope, we wanted nothing to do with us.  He ran back to the lady from his orphanage (she told us later she was not his nanny but his teacher, laoshi).  Anytime we came near him he would scream like crazy.  If we tried to hold him he would arch his back and try to get away.  If we put him down he would make a run for laoshi.  After the orphanage people left he was still hysterical.  Poor little guy was just terrified.  He kept trying to get away from us and run out the door to find laoshi.  Julie couldn’t even hold him.  He is so strong he could just force himself right out of her arms.  She was afraid of dropping him. 

  

The other 3 families were all getting their babies in the midst of our chaos.  There were a few muffled cries from the other kids but not much.  They were pretty much just taking it all in.  Finally, our guide told us where there was a little garden and waterfall outside and suggested we take him outside.  That helped tremendously!  He finally stopped crying and looked around.  When it was time to go back into the building Julie tried to hold him again.  It was ok until she tried to sneak a kiss.  BIG mistake.  He started screaming again.   The good news is that when he got upset he held out his arms to Greg and wanted to go to him. 

 

After we came back to the hotel we just chilled and played some games that allowed us to touch him.  He was stoic but didn’t complain.  Julie even got the first little smile from him.  He is precious!  He really doesn’t know what to think of us but he’s putting up with us for now.  He let’s us hold him if we pick him up and he is doing a little exploring around the room.

 

Greg is going to walk to Walmart now so he can get some diapers and clothes for Noah.   He still uses a diaper at night but is potty trained during the day.  He came to us in split pants.  The first potty experience was traumatic.  He was overwhelmed and may not have ever seen a Western style potty before.  We had no luck.  After things calmed down we were much more successful.

 

He must be a very rough and tumble boy.  He is completely covered in owies, scars, and bruises.  He actually has a large spot on his wrist  that looks a lot like a Mongolia spot.  I didn’t think that happened on the arms though so I’m not sure.  He seems to have some skin issues going on.  We’ll access that more when we get him bathed and get the layers and layers of dirt off of him.

 

Tomorrow we go to his city of Hebi to do some paperwork.  I think we are also going to the orphanage.  We’re not sure if that is a good idea right now because of how upset he was this morning.   We’ll see how things go.  Unfortunately, the lady from the orphanage says he gets carsick.  “Bring a bag!” she said.  Uh oh.  I think it’s about an hour long drive.

 

Julie Connon

Data Management Office

x-5452