GOTCHA DAY!!! Daddy has Garrett in China!!!!

Gracie and I are so happy! Garrett is finally with his Daddy!!! We just videoconferenced with Van online, and actually saw Garrett sleeping in the bed behind Van. We also got to see the memory book the foster family so lovingly made for Garrett. Van talks about that in his email. I only have a few minutes to post, but wanted everyone to see the pictures and read about the day so far. Van is taking a quick shower and will be back online with us in about ten minutes.

Here is the email from Van about Garrett. We'll post more as we find out more from Van. This is so exciting! I just wish I was there to be with them for all of this. Gracie cannot believe that her brother is so big! She keeps saying, "He's a BIG boy, Mommy!". We are over the moon. I was thinking that we wouldn't receive anything about Gotcha day until tonight. They must have been waiting for him in the hotel when he arrived in Hohhot from the airport. LOL.

I'm here and so is Garrett! I was hoping you were online. I'm going to send you some pictures. Do what you can.

Garrett is a sweetheart. He's been crying a little bit. It wasn't as emotional for him as I thought it would be. The flight was long and I was hoping to get a good night's sleep. I'm fine though, and getting him was so precious. The hotel room is very nice. Sandra, the guide, is very good. We are probably going to meet the trifecta of Baotou SWI, China Care, and the foster parents, who dearly want to meet us and gave several things.

I'm sending you some pictures of the day. Let me know how they do. We also got a "memory book" made by Garrett's foster family. It's very special. When he saw his "Ba Ba's" photo, it really made him cry. I'm handling it and the little tike just was worn out. Some really good things about Garrett: he likes goldfish, the cars, and the ball. The rest, well, he was too upset sometimes. I didn't get a chance to put him in a sleeper, he was wearing several layers of clothing and got him down to the last ones. The pull-ups are going to come in handy. He apparently poops once a day after breakfast (loves fruit, cake, congi). He has split pants right now. He was left with a jacket and a "dragon hat". There was a note that was found with him when he was abandoned. I have the note. It is a very long note and needs to be translated. I'll take more photos, but I took the most important ones. He apparently wakes up around 5 a.m. every morning and likes to eat breakfast at 6:30 a.m. so "NO SLEEP FOR YOU!" LOL. I'm doing the paperwork in the morning for the adoption at 9:00 a.m. They are on Beijing time which is 13 hours ahead (11:08 as I'm writing this letter).

Chen Guang means Chen (morning) Guang (light) which Sandra says is a lovely name. I can tell she is going to be very helpful. She also remembers the family that stayed in Hohhot.

I'm sending the pics. I'm going to take a shower. It's about 10:15 a.m. your time. If you get this by 11 a.m., send me a note and stay online (either gmail or aol) and we'll try to talk. Enjoy the pics.

I miss both you and Gracie very much. Tell Gracie that I'm glad she is staying near my side of the bed so she can keep it warm for Daddy. Also, tell her that Daddy was showing off the silver locket to many people and really miss both of you. I miss her "magnet girl" hugs and the sweet kisses she gives.

BTW, Garrett snores! LOL, probably from the crying.

Love,

Van

PS I'll send the pictures separately in a second.

I got your message about the socks. It was very cold (12 degrees F) when I got off the plane and apparently a storm dumped so much snow on Baotou that they had to close the main road. Hohhot is fascinating! The streets are all lit up wonderfully. It is like Las Vegas, at 12 degrees (getting colder tonight).