Now, the real Lily Day

We met at our hotel lobby. There are 2 couples, another women with a friend and myself in our travel group. All of our daughters are within a couple of months of each other, all from the same SWI(orphanage) in Yangjiang. All of our daughters were given the surname of Yang, followed by Jiang and then their individual name. Lily's name was Yang, Jiang Ping. There is also Jiang Ye, Jiang Shen, Jiang Ciao.

We traveled about 30 minutes through the busy streets of Ghangzhou to the Adoption Center.People zoomed everywhere on bikes, motorbikes, cars and by foot. Open air shops sold everything from clothing to pipes and plumbing supplies, food, fruits, purses...you name it.

When we arrived at the CAB, we traveled up the elevator to the room where we would meet our girls. The room was in direct contrast to the grit of the streets. It was spacious, brightly lit from the windows, beautiful photos of lovely children and families. The couches and cushions were modern in a mod red, white and black motif. It was a bit surreal.

We milled around, being nervous, taking photos and video, wondering if they were here....sequestered in a back room, waiting for us eager parents. After about 20-30 minutes, our guide, Peter, checked and informed us that they were on their way up in the elevator.

Within seconds,7 adults were aiming video cameras on the elevator corridor. We stood there waiting for the first glimpse of our babes. I wonder how it must have looked to them?

What seemed like 20 minutes later, and was probably only 3, the elevator doors opened, the caregivers walked in with 4 toddlers, walking...really waddling...in. We oohed and aahed and cooed and cried, watching them come in. I recognized Lily immediately. She was the second little one in. She was wearing the read Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt I had sent her and orange and white patton leather shoes(poor thing). They walked toward us, as though they were going to let us have them right then and there, but someone said something and off they went...as fast as a toddler in tight shoes can walk...into another room. We all moved our vantage point to see in the room as they readied the girls. One by one, they were brought out, carried by their caregiver, handed to us, while at the same time, we were handing our passport and travel approval over to the official worker.

She was quiet and calm. She didn't cry or fuss. She didn't express much on her little serious face.

I carried her to the couch and gave her a toy. She looked at it, didn't really reach for it, let her stay in her lap, looked at me, and looked around. We had a few moments together before more paperwork. I offered her some fruit puffs, she looked at them, didn't know what to do with them. I fed her one, she opened her mouth and let it in. I didn't see much chewing, but she accepted the next one, and the one following that. Her cheeks weren't puffing up like a chipmunk, so I gave her a few more. I put some in a cup for her, and she got the hang of it. She started feeding herself. I offered her a bottle of water. She willingly took that. She rested against me to drink and when I had to move to do paperwork, she wanted to come with. Peter helped by holding the bottle for her, while I signed papers. Finally, we finished this process and were able to leave. I'm glad Eli has been giving me practice in upper body strength, I needed it for this little one.

More about the rest of the day, later.