Isaac Gotcha Day!

Aahh, the long awaited post.   It's really the first time I have had to sit down and write about the day's events but I am also having a very difficult time with my photos so we'll see what you get in the way of photos by the time I get the post typed out.   Most importantly, we received Isaac today and he is one little cutie pie chap.   Indigo has also embraced the role of big sister, even at times where I am sure it is hard for her to see him getting so much attention.  
So, very little sleep last night.  Up this morning and enjoyed the smorgasboard of breakfast.  I think Grandma and Granddad cannot believe the extent of the offerings on the breakfast buffet.   We left with Denise at 10 am for the Jiangsu civil affairs office.   So, quite a funny story when we arrived because there was only one nanny with one child sitting there and we were led to believe the child was Isaac - did not look like the same Isaac I had last seen in October photos but you're told this is your kid so you go with it.  Anyway, dear sweet Indigo goes over the child (we're ushered to the other side to do the official paperwork part) and she is giving "him" his toy cars and his doodle board etc.   They are getting along great - we're snapping photos and Granddad is taking video.  Well, it was not Isaac, it was a girl!  That sort of broke the tension a bit.  I should have deleted more of these photos but since I am having so many photo issues they are included and you can see how much Indigo interacted with this little girl.   We saw two other couples from our hotel coming in and receiving children - apparently they were from Nanjing SWI so closer and Isaac was coming from Suzhou.  He was the last child to arrive and we got the photo through the window of his van arriving and then him coming through the door.   We had scooped back our toys for him although not before Indigo had helped herself to some of her other "friend's" fruit loops.  Isaac looked adorable.  Very bundled up.  He was very calm and Indigo started playing with him and he loved his little cars (thanks for the blue one Becky) while he played with his cars was his first glimmer of a smile.   Indigo wanted to feed him and was giving him biscuits and snacks and wanting to hug him etc.   She was incredibly sweet.   David and I had to alternate signing papers and then I spent a while with two nannies from the SWI and the guide going through my list of questions to find out things about him.   Apparently, unbeknownst to us, at 2 1/2 he still takes a bottle of formula at night - not something we were prepared for - more about that later.   He let me hold him and he let David hold him and really started to smile when David would lift him in the air.   We took our family photo for the paperwork and got some nice group photos too.    We then left for our van and he showed the first signs of being upset but I was able to hold him and he was okay.   We came to our room and it was definitely at least his lunch time and probably his nap time too - don't know what time it actually was.   We signed more papers with Denise.  At this point he was really unhappy and crying and Denise said he was saying he wanted his mama (he has been with foster family).  So very hard to see him so sad but we are also relieved that he has bonded to people.   Also, he was able to be comforted.   We took out the photo album that had been sent to him via the care package we had sent which had a bunch of photos of us in it and we started looking at them and he got really excited and started saying Mama and Baba and was excited to see Indigo.    We ordered in room service - some yummy beef noodle dish that has been a hit and he ate a cup of that - with me feeding him it with the chopsticks although I had cut the meat up.   Okay, so the kid was way overdressed!   He had on long sleeves, a turtleneck sweater and a thick fleece lined coat.  He had on long pants and over those he had on thick padded pants (and Barbie pink shoes).   Our room is hot and when we took his coat off he really lost it - sort of violent tantrum - very frustrated with us.  However, he again recovered fairly quickly and he was so tired.  we put him in the crib - his loveys appear to be the panda we sent him and the blue fleece backpack with the pig on it that we sent - he strokes them and holds them.   He also sucks his left thumb - oh well.    I rubbed his chest and tummy and he fell asleep.   Indigo was bouncing off the walls and there was no napping from her.   We were told that he loves the outdoors.   After he woke up we put him in the stroller - he seemed to not mind that at all and we went out for a walk.   We stick out like a sore thumb and had so many stares and people taking photos of us - far more than I remember in Jiangxi but Jiangxi has a lot more adoptions so perhaps the locals are a bit more used to it.    Grandma and Dad joined us for our walk and we headed over to this huge department store/mall complex - quite fancy.    We had to find the formula that apparently this child needs at night.  This was quite humerous.  None of the tins of formula had directions in English so even the one we could find where the figures showed a number of scoops, we did not know how much water to add.   We had about 5 lovely non-English speaking girls all trying to help us and believe we were ultimately successful with the aid of some pictionary.  Of course that store - although it was fabulous, had no bottles so we go up about 3 levels to a mega super posh fancy baby/kid store - awesome.   We found a bottle and adjoining the store is a super fantastic indoor playground area which Indigo wanted to do - it is fee based.  The kids have their temperature taken - no jokes - just a point at the forehead type with a temp device and their hands are squirted with sanitizer.  Indigo had a blast - she seemed more comfortable there than at any playground she has been to in the states.   If I get pictures up you'll see this one  little boy in a lot of photos - he seemed to love indigo and followed her around all over the place and was talking to her.    Isaac now would not take off his new coat and so we were just watching.   However, he then wanted to go over and seemed to really want to see his big sister and his dad BUT you had to pay to go in and even worse, take shoes off.  He was no longer wearing Barbie shoes but the little Thomas Tank sneakers I had brought for him -  a little big  but I think the other shoes were too tight.   Well, Dad paid for him to go in and he was zapped by thermometer and had his hands rubbed.  I was not going to try to remove his coat but did take off his shoes - he was not pleased at all.   We found Dad who held him awhile and he seemed happy to follow around to see what Indigo was doing.  By now, she, being the hot furnace that she is, had stripped down to short sleeve t-shirt.  I think the parents were appalled - those kids were so bundled up - half of them looked like they were in buntings and the heating was on in the building - hot, hot.   We left to come back and enjoyed the tail end of quite a spectacular water fountain display set to music, ending with the can can - it was super.   On the way back saw the local moped method of delivering flowers and avoided being run over - barely.    We came back to room and played with the kids and Isaac had a lot of fun looking out the window and playing with his car and then Grandma brought in some bath toys in a little net bag and he thought putting them in and out the net was the best.    We got these great smiles when he was laughing about David throwing Indigo up in the air - that was the best, to see that smile.   We ordered room service and he packed away some fried rice, some chicken and some green vegetable (although earlier we were told he did not like vegetables - well, he loved those ones).  We were putting off bath but Indigo needed to have one from her hard play at the playground and Isaac seemed like he could be a bit cleaner - we knew it was not going to go well.   We were afraid to take his clothes off and did not know how he would cope with the bath.  I ran the water and we got Indigo in - she loves the bath and we had the cups and the toys - he cried the minute we took him in and just cried and cried while taking off his clothes and the whole time in the bath - it was pitiful.   He would not sit - stood the whole time, calling for mama (and not this one) and had tears pouring down his face.   We washed him and went for broke and even did his hair - it's short so not too much water needed.   Afterwards, I just cuddled him in his towel and Grandma brought his net bag back over with some of the bath creatures and he calmed down again.  I rubbed him all over with lotion - his skin is very dry and combed his hair and put him in his jammies and he seemed much happier.   Gave him a bottle which he almost finished and he and Indigo went to bed at the same time - she was asleep first.  He was sucking his thumb and loving on that backpack - I am stressed about the straps strangling him and he has his panda.  He has kicked off all the bedding.  Right now, all my peeps are fast asleep.  Indigo has her head off the bed and pillow and is resting it on the bedside table - does not look wildly comfortable to me.   Few other things - Indigo may want to be Spanish - night in Shanghai she stood up in bed - when apparently asleep and shouted out - es muy grande.  This morning when I was lying there awake, she goes, uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, seis...
Also, Isaac seems to be horribly afraid of elevators.   We obviously need to use one in the hotel when we first noticed - he just burst into tears going into the elevator.   At the mall which was many levels, and we had the stroller, he cried every time we went into an elevator and then again back at the hotel although we did feel that last time was perhaps slightly more subdued crying.   it's hard to gauge this point where he is developmentally but he is certainly interested and curious in things.   We were told that he loves cars and that he loves to be outside and he did seem to enjoy the time out in the stroller.  Okay, so now I am having another shot at photos to include with this post.   Lots of official stuff tomorrow.   We are enjoying the comments we are receiving - please don't be silent stalkers.  If my long awaited photos work - have ended up purchasing Flickr account then this first lot will be way too many photos and are not edited out - just too late and too tired to deal with that but you'll get a good flavor of how things are and hopefully I have been detailed enough that you'll largely figure out what the pictures are.   If this works then I'll be more selective in future posts but the first day photos of Isaac are so special to us (not to mention dear other little girl...)http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/?saved=1