Day 2 – Xining – Gotcha Day

Today is what is known as gotcha day in the adoption community, it is the day you meet your child.
We had to be up by 4am to get ready to leave for the airport by 5:30. So we set the alarms but Mr. Jake had other ideas as he woke up at 2am and stripped down to his underwear and started getting dressed because he was ready to go get his sister! We had to convince him that it wasn’t time and to please lay down but at that point we were all up and no one was going back to sleep so we got up and Skpyed, did email and tried not to be exhausted. This early rising made for a very long tiring day!
We got to the airport where according to our guide we got very lucky because they didn’t charge us for our luggage even thou it was way over! Then we had Burger King chicken strips for breakfast. So for anyone who was worried (and you know who you are) about Jake starving, so far so good! We got to our gate, where they put us on a bus and drove us out to our airplane. We had to board the plane old school style by climbing the stairs. I got yelled at by some ladies for not having a jacket on Jake, yes it was cold but he wouldn’t put it on and I wasn’t going to fight with him and then the flight attendant scolded me. So when we got off the plane in Xining, Jake was well bundled up. The flight was uneventful and quick only 2 ½ hrs. They did serve a full breakfast and drinks, again very old school.
When we arrived in Xining the airport is tiny! It had 4 gates and 2 baggage claims. We quickly got our luggage and met our guide Rose and our driver who took us to our hotel. Rose informed us that we would meet Madison at 2:30 at the civil affairs office; mind you it’s 11am so we have a few hours to kill before going. Never ever in my life has time moved sooooooooooooooo slowly!! After unpacking and organizing the room, keep in mind there is not really any storage in these rooms (1 dresser drawer & a cabinet), I decided to nap while John played scrabble on his computer and Jake played with his art kit (thanks mom!) and watched cartoons in Mandarin. Finally it was time to go get her. On a side note... our hotel in Beijing was icky, it was old and the bathroom was moldy, our hotel here in Xining is wonderful...it is new and modern and very very clean (much more to my hotel snobbish standards)
We were off to meet Madison and the butterflies starting swirling about my stomach but it was a quick ride so I didn’t have time to be too nervous and when we got there they were waiting for us. We walked into a small (maybe 250 sq feet) room where we were greeted by six people and Madison who was sleeping. Madame Li from the orphanage was there holding her, there was a Christian action rep, a nurse from the orphanage, and staff from the Civil Affairs office all there as well. So here I had been worried that we would walk in and Madison would be crying but, nope not our girl she was sleeping. After introductions, they presented us with gifts and items from her foster family. She came to us with a bag of food (all her favorites) a bag of clothes, a small bag of toys and the cameras and baby book we had sent. At this point there is now 10 of us crammed into a small room and everyone is talking... it was kind of crazy. Jake did exceptionally well, he was
polite and did get anymore overwhelmed than John and I was. They gave me Madison while she was sleep so; I was prepared when she woke up that she was going to freak out. Nope…she was fine, when she woke up she was super quiet and was looking around but no crying. After all the discussions had happened and paperwork was signed it was time to go get our picture taken for her Visa. Madison was fine in the car and cried a little at having to sit for her picture. John says he is sure it helped that I was feeding her M&M’s and Cheerios. Hey I am not above bribery!! After getting the Visa picture taken it was time to head to the bank and exchange our cash. Well that was quite the adventure. When we got to the bank and Madison decided she needed to go to the bathroom, of course the bank doesn’t have one so we went next store to a hotel where they let us use theirs. She was so cute! I put her on the potty and she went like a pro, so I told her good job,
she was so proud that she started repeating good job in English back to me. Back to the bank where John is still waiting to exchange the money, after about a ½ hr it’s finally his turn and after another 15 mins we find out that they don’t have enough to exchange all of our money so, Rose and I will need to go to another bank while John is finishing up. We decided to walk the 2 blocks to the bank with Madison in tow; of course Jake also had to come (& after the 1st block was complaining!) We got to the 2nd bank and after another 45 mins finally had the money exchanged. Luckily both kids where well behaved. Madison had her Cheerio container and was happy as a clam and Jake was interested in watching them count the money. At this point in the day Madison was letting me hold her but not John that would quickly change once we got back to the hotel room.
Back at the room I stripped Madison down and I am not kidding when I say that they had dressed her in 6 layers of clothing, poor thing looked like the stay puff marsh mellow kid. Once stripped down she is TINY!! She loved having less clothes on! While the guide and I counted the money and filled out paperwork so we will be ready tomorrow. John gave both the kids snacks (Madison is tiny but she out eats her brother without an issue!) John was also dancing around and playing with the kids, at this point it became very very very clear that Madison will be a daddy’s girl. John got at least 5-6 unprompted kisses and she was loving all over him. Our guide kept telling us that they told her Madison is very smart and they expect great things from her and they are right she is sooooooooooooo smart!! She is repeating what we say to her in English and is also talking to us in her dialect, this child does not miss a trick, but what surprises me is that she also
understands us. After our guide left the troops were fading fast so we decided to give Madison a quick bath which she hated and the head to dinner.
At dinner we quickly ordered our food and I ended up with both kids in my lap. Madison who was looking around and Jake who was exhausted and having a small melt down, not that I blame him he had been up for at least 18 hrs at this point and it had been a loooooong day! Dinner arrived and Jake had fallen asleep at the dinner table. Madison on the other hand was ready to eat, she ate noodles, French fries and some of my fried fish I had ordered, she sat on my lap trying to use her fork and feed herself. I also ordered her milk which came hot and she did not like it, however she was happy to share my soda with me.
Once back in the room, John and I each took a kid and got them ready for bed. Due to the tiny beds, Jake and John are sharing and Madison and I are sharing. Jake went down without an issue, however Madison had other ideas and started crying and had a mini fit which resulted with her lying on the floor. We let her carry on for a bit and then put her in bed, where she refused (yes..Refused) to lay down. We turned off all the lights and she sat there being stubborn. No matter what I did she was not laying down without a fight. So I laid next to her and let her be stubborn, after about a ½ hr she was exhausted and finally reluctantly laid down.

John and I are over the moon excited and thrilled that our 1st day went so well. We are hoping the rest will be as easy (even thou we are prepared for them not to be!) Tomorrow we are back to the civil affairs office to sign our paperwork and then off to shop for a bit, Madison needs shoes and we want to get water and milk. Weds we will get to go to the orphanage and meet the foster family (we are thrilled!!) and Thursday is our day to sight see.