Gotcha Day

In May of 2004 James and I started a pregnancy. No – it wasn’t the traditional type of pregnancy. It was what we, adoptive parents, refer to as our “paper pregnancy”. Though a biological pregnancy lasts nine months a paper pregnancy can last much, much longer. In our case it lasted fourteen months. It’s not an easy process. Oh – the paperwork isn’t that bad. It’s the waiting that’s hard. Unlike a biological pregnancy there is no definitive due date. We wait and we wait and we plan the best we can for the arrival of our child. And then one day – the phone call comes. Travel arrangements are made. It is time to hold our baby for the first time. This is what we refer to as “Gotcha Day”. For James and me this event took place four years and 1 week ago on July 18, 2005. In the heart of China – Chongqing to be exact – Fu, Ai Ying became Kaylin Ai Ying Gage. It was a day we will never forget. We had seen videos of other families’ “Gotcha Day” experiences where babies cried and cried as they were placed into the waiting arms of their parents. I had dreaded that possibility. The last thing I wanted was for her to be afraid. During our pregnancy we prayed often that God would give her peace and that she would actually be expecting us (even at such a young age). When we walked into the room to receive our baby girl, there were definitely babies crying – but not our little girl. When they placed her into my arms she was calm and simply studied us. She never once hesitated. She never once cried. It was if she was thinking “Ah – so you’re the ones I’ve been waiting for. Great! Let’s go!” She was perfectly at peace with us from the first moment on. We had her laughing and smiling literally within minutes. I cannot tell you how much that initial interaction meant to me. It will forever have a special place in my heart. God truly blessed us that day in many ways. We knew in an instant she was ours. But more importantly – she knew we were hers.

It’s been four years and I can’t believe how the time has passed. I thought I would share some photos from our “Gotcha Day” as well as a few others. Kaylin has changed a lot but in many ways we still see that same little 10 month old from four years ago.

The Birth of an Education

When we moved to Colorado I don't think I fully imagined the farm life adventures that Kaylin (or I) would get to witness. I grew up in the city and so did James. And well - most of the people in the U.S. live in cities. Farm adventures are witnessed by most on television, county fairs or sometimes at the zoo. So - in this respect I find our first hand experiences to be a great education for our curious four year old. In April we were having dinner with some family friends who own a dairy. As it happens quite often there, a cow was in labor. This time, however, the cow needed some "assistance". James took Kaylin outside with he and his mom to go witness the assisted birth. I wasn't sure this was something Kaylin really needed to witness but I was overruled. To my surprise she was completely untraumatized. She came back and explained to me the whole process.

A couple of weeks later her grandparents' cow "Tuesday" gave birth. The funny thing there was that none of knew she was pregnant until about a few days before she introduced her young one. The whole thing was serendipitous (making a desirable discovery by accident). This past weekend there was another addition to the family. The pictures are below. The first is of Sera (short for serendipity) and the next two pictures are of Daisy. Already in Kaylin's young life she is experiencing things I never did. I don't think there is anything quite as educating as life itself. So whether or not I think farm life is for me in the long term - I am excited Kaylin gets to experience things she otherwise probably wouldn't have. (They are kind of cute, aren't they.)

Kaylinisms IV

"Necessarily" is a big word for a four year old. So Kaylin says "I don't nescer like that."

She picked this up from her dad. She says "I'm not a big fan of..."

And this is classic: Yesterday I was organizing Kaylin's toys. I divided some of her toys into three small baskets and told her what was in each. One was for doll toys/dress up items, one was for kitchen toys and the third was for the leftover miscellaneous items. Later as we were putting the baskets back in place she said: "This is my miscellaneous basket. Did she give those (toys) to me?" I was thinking "Who?" before it dawned on me. You know - "Miss Cellaneous". Too funny!!

I Love You 61

There's nothing in the world quite like hearing your child tell you that they love you. Of course it always sounds nice when Kaylin says it back to me after I've said it to her. But the best is when she randomly says it during the day. It goes something like this: "Mommy", "Yes, honey", "You know what?", "What?", "I love you." There's something about an unprompted "I love you" that warms the heart. Sometimes our love turns into a counting game. I say "I love you." She says "I love you too." I say "I love you three", She says "I love you four." You get the picture. Somewhere after about ten or twelve she decides to make a big leap. She says proudly and with full conviction "I love you 61.". You can tell she feels confident that 61 is a huge number and that she loves me (and/or James - whomever she's playing with) in such a huge way. Someday she'll figure out there are much larger numbers than 61 but for now - I'm content knowing she loves me with the biggest number she knows. And someday she'll understand there aren't enough numbers out there to tell her how much her Daddy and Mommy love her.

Update: tonight Kaylin declared her love up to 61,000!!

Cousins are Fun!

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to Grandma and Grandpa Schoonover's in Colorado Springs. It was a great time to be with family and a lot of fun to watch Kaylin play with her cousins. Here are a few pictures. Kaylin and Fallon outside waiting for our picnic to begin. Can you guess who the poser is?

Kaylin, Maverick and Fallon.

Dress up time. Thanks Mav for playing along. You look cute!

Squeeeeezzzee!

The Three Amigos.

Homing Devices

I think Kaylin puts a homing device in every craft project, torn out coloring page and every single item she brings home from church or preschool. Frankly - she puts a homing device on everything she owns. Why do I say this? I don't think I'm alone here. I think you other parents will agree if you've ever tried to hide anything from your child (for the express purpose of throwing it away later). Kids use the homing device to locate the item and insuring that you can't throw it away for at least a week (or until they forget about it again). For example - the other day James and I found Kaylin's Valentine goodie bag under the bed. The goodies have long been removed, the bag is partially ripped and it really only now holds other items that also need to go in the trash. James says to me: "We can throw that out." I reply: "I know but I can't do that in front of you-know-who." (Because you-know-who will use the homing device, pull it from the trash can, and exclaim in a dramatic voice "WHY did you throw my bag away?") I have to hide it, wait until after she goes to bed and then bury it deep in the trash can. The problem with this scenario is that my memory isn't that long. By the time she goes to bed, I've completely forgotton to discard the bag. The next morning - the homing device has been activated, she finds the bag and treats it as a long lost favorite item. She then proceeds to pack "stuff" into it that she "needs" to take with her on our planned road trip. Sigh! If only my memory was longer...if only I was better at hiding things...if only kids didn't have those evil homing devices.

Precious Poses

A few weeks ago I was out with the camera taking some scenic shots. Kaylin came along with me picking flowers (aka weeds) as we went. I saw this big rock and decided it would make a good place to take some shots of Kaylin.

Notice her hand is strategically placed. She had a sticker on her leg that she refused to take off. A photographer must work with her subject.