China Day 3: We get HANNAH!

Okay, Jason here.  Much to share and little time to do it.  We got our little girl, tonight!  We arrived at the airport around 5PM, then transferred to the hotel around 6PM.  We had all of our stuff unloaded into our room within an hour (in spite of three calls to housekeeping - one for a crib, one because the power went out when a bulb in the room blew, and one asking them to clear-out the mini bar -- I'm sure they were sick of hearing from us!).  Then at 7PM we waited anxiously for the next hour to roll around when our daughter was scheduled to arrive in our hotel room.  I'm not sure if the photos will show up in the right order or not, but here are some captions to go along with the order of the photos describing what happened next.

• Before 8PM, Angie and I were both so anxiously awaiting Hannah's arrival.  Angie likened it to our wedding day -- we knew the other party was ever so nearby, but we couldn't see them until the appropriate time.  That was the longest hour of my life.
• Shortly after 8PM, we get the call that they are on their way.  A minute or two later, the orphanage director, assistant director, car driver, and our translator walk Hannah up to the door to our hotel room.
• Bring out the Cheerios!  Unfortunately, she didn't seem to care for them.
  
• Next up, they Chinese ladies gave us a carton of milk to offer Hannah.  She licked that right up and drank the whole carton dry.
• Time to try something other than food... Daddy goes for the "play with tower blocks" strategy, which seemed to mostly work, though she wouldn't take the cup from my hands and later started throwing the cups.  That said, I think this was the tipping point for her, which foreshadows the fact that she was mostly a "Daddy's Girl" tonight...
• We were so grateful to learn that our photo album did arrive and that the caretakers had been reading it to her.  Apparently, she even would kiss the photo of us on the way over.  We brought out the album to help make the connection that we were the same people the caretakers had been talking to her about.
• Hannah goes back to stacking cups, this time completing the tower.  She very much prefers to play independently, in spite of my offers to help her finish the tower.
• The caretakers leave once it seems that things are going mostly well (about 15-20 minutes after they arrive).  Liu Xia (as they call her -- by her full name), is rather upset and cries fiercely (which, though very painful for us in the moment, is a good sign long-term).  To help distract her, mommy whips out the bubbles, a sure hit with kids back home and apparently no different here in China.
• Eventually Hannah starts reaching for the bubbles.
• The first smile we've seen on her face, ever!  Also probably the last one of the evening.
• Throughout the rest of the evening, Hannah would occasionally notice the door and make the connection that her caretakers have left her via that door and start crying, fiercely.  She actually came to my arms to let me hold her (talk about melting my heart!), and I was able to distract her by showing her the reflection in the window of the two of us.  I point to her and say "Xiao Xia" (the nickname they also call her by and "Ba Ba" (Daddy in Chinese) when pointing to my reflection.  Angie and I both hear her say "Ba" at one point, so we think she's making the connection, herself.
• After an hour or so of toggling between crying and being distracted, she finally falls asleep and Mommy gets her (sadly) first chance to really hold Hannah.
• Hannah arrived in a cute pink dotted dress with Hello Kitty pigtail holders (I'm sure Angie will correct me on their proper terminology--I have a lot to learn about being a daddy to a girl!).  She's a big girl!  After she had fallen asleep, we weighed her to be 27 points.
• Then, of course, we had to share Hannah with our boys via Skype, even if she was asleep!
• Mommy with her precious little girl--Angie's dream come true after so many years.

Tomorrow: the originally scheduled meeting with the CCAA (we just got her 12 hours earlier, but still need to do the paperwork in the morning).  Then more to come after that.  What a whirlwind of a day!