Meeting our Son

I have been trying to figure out the best way to document our first trip to Ethiopia but since we will be going back in two weeks I decided there was no time to ponder and I just need to write. Yes, we are going back in 2 weeks! Our Embassy Date is August 19th so our flights are booked and we leave Columbus on August 13th and will return as a family of three on August 21st! Hopefully I can find time to blog about trip 1 before we leave for trip 2. So here we go the with biggest highlight of trip 1.

Meeting our Son.

We arrived in Ethiopia on Saturday night but our first visitation was scheduled for Monday morning. D and I both woke up around midnight on Sunday night and were up for hours. I think the combination of jet lag and anticipation really did us in. Sleep was just not going to happen. We got to the Gladney Foster Homes around 9:30am and I recognized the homes from other Gladney blogs. It was hard to believe that it was finally our turn to be there. We walked through the gate and then followed Genet up the stairs to the second floor. I remember turning the corner, walking into his room and hearing Genet say, "there he is." He was just hanging out on the carpet with some other babies in all of his cuteness. I approached him and remember wondering if it would scare him if I picked him up right away. So I just talked to him and tickled him a bit. Then Genet urged me to go ahead and pick him up. I think D did a nice job capturing the moment.

He was definitely a little unsure. I love the last picture where he is checking me out. Everyone always described him to us as super observant and that he always has an expectant look on his face and that is totally true. I realized I couldn't hold him forever and I wanted D to have some time as well so here were some of D's first moments holding his son.

He was definitely a little more interested in D but that is typical. Kids always like D more than me for some reason. Maybe it is his warm smile. I'm not sure why. We took turns passing him back and forth and for the most part he kept an eye on his special caregiver. He did start to make some nice eye contact with us towards the end of the visit. Around 11am he couldn't stay awake any longer.

It was pretty cute how he instantaneously fell asleep. I had surprised myself and didn't cry the entire first meeting but observing this tender moment between father and son pushed me over the edge. My eyes welled up and I just couldn't believe we were there and he was sleeping in D's arms. I picked him up and he barely stirred and I put him in his crib. We sat there and watched him for a bit and then left for the day.

He is pure cuteness and I think D and I were both probably beaming the entire rest of the day. We just kept talking about him and remembering little things that he did.

Monday, July 26th. The day we first met our baby Buster.