One week since Gotcha Day with Samuel

I woke up at 7am this morning and sat at the end of my bed, staring at the little boy who I have now been able to hold in my arms for an entire week now. What a difference a week makes. Today was a truly remarkable day for us.

Every morning Samuel has woken up and cried for at least 30 minutes, sometimes up to 2-3 hours. This morning, he woke up, sat up in his bed and reached his little arms out for me to pick him up. I waited for the cry, and it never came. Now this was a good start to the day!! We had some fun things planned, so it was nice to start out with a happy baby.

We went downstairs to attempt hailing our first cab by ourselves and successfully communicated through a card that we wished to go to the zoo. We arrived just a few minutes later, bought our tickets and walked through the gates. We put Samuel in his carrier and we were off. He was facing forward in the carrier and as we began walking, he was just staring up at me. I began to talk to him and smile, and then something this momma has been waiting and wishing to happen, he smiled back. Then he began to coo, and smile some more. I hollered at Matt to look, and he was able to see him smiling as well. As soon as he pulled the camera out, of course Samuel decided he was done with smiling for a while. But it was such a special moment, and I was so glad we were able to share that moment with just us 3.

The Guangzhou zoo was amazing. We had a wonderful time. The animals were out and playing. We were able to see a panda, and even feed giraffes!!! Samuel stayed awake the entire time and really looked around and was observing everything. He was quite the happy camper.

There have been 2 things that have concerned us quite greatly in the week since we've gotten Samuel, he wasn't having wet diapers and he has slept constantly, most of the time only staying awake for an hour or two at a time, and crying most of that. Today, our little boy showed us that in a week, his little body has finally began to catch up. He had very wet diapers for the first time today, and didn't even take a nap!!! Like I said, it was quite a remarkable day.

After some Pizza Hut for lunch, we came back to the hotel and had a few hours of play time with lots of smiles and giggles. It was so much fun, just watching our little man enjoy himself for the first time. He is really starting to warm up to us, and we are loving every minute of it!!

We ended this one week from Gotcha Day by taking a river cruise on the Pearl River. WOW!! It was a beautiful evening!! The weather was perfect, and everything is decorated for the Chinese New Year. This city is quite beautiful, and we got many pictures to remember it by tonight.

Well, the countdown is on. Only 3 more days, and then we begin to make the long journey home. I can't wait to squeeze and hug my boys at home, and I can't wait for them to meet their little brother. I can't wait to show Samuel off to all of our family and friends. This little boy is amazing in every sense of the word, and I think God has something quite special for his future.