Gotcha Day

Note:  We aren't including any pictures of Alex in this post to comply with the non-public pictures of our child until the adoption is complete.  I'm looking at a few options for password protected photos or blog posts.  Stay tuned for more information.

Today is a big day.  We are changing lodging, meeting foster moms for Ben and Cami and then getting Alex. 

Before we left the Hilton, the kids wanted another dip in the pool.  So before breakfast, the kids and I headed to the pool while Dana packed.  Then we had breakfast and finished up our packing.  It was a bittersweet morning.  We were excited to add Alex to our family, but we knew our trip was quickly coming to an end.  Plus, we had become accustomed to the wonderful meals and great service and facilities (mainly the pool if you ask the kids) at the Hilton.  So after we finished packing, we made one last visit to the lounge for a snack.

We took a jumbo tax, which is a minivan taxi, to the SWS guest house, arriving just after noon.  We were assigned guest room 601, which has two rooms and two double beds with a common space.  In my mind, I had envisioned a different room when we made our lodging request, so this felt a bit small, especially with our mountain of luggage strewn all over.  But it worked and the location was great as it is about four buildings away from the Han Suh Hospital where we would get Alex.  So it would only be a short walk back after the hand off.

Our luggage filled up a good portion of our guest house space

Around 2:30pm, we headed over to the hospital to meet the photographer we hired to take pictures of the day so we could be part of the pictures and conversation.  We showed him the seventh floor where the handover takes place.  Previously, our social worker had told us that Nancy Fox, the director of AIAA, our international agency, would be at SWS on Monday.  Since we've never met her, we asked if we could say hi.  She popped out of a meeting where she was meeting children who needed a home and said hi.  We found out that she was flying back on the same flight as us and we joked that since AIAA technically has custody of Alex until the adoption is finalized that we'd be handing him over to her for the flight if he got fussy.

Our family with Nancy Fox, the director of AIAA, who happened to be in Korea during our visit

Next, we met with the post adoption services personnel on the 3rd floor to discuss a picture that had been taken of Ben nearly 10 years ago.  When Ben was just a little baby, maybe a few months old, his picture was taken with a Korean actress as part of a brochure SWS produces every year.  They are producing a 10th anniversary edition this year and there is a possibility his picture might appear in that publication.  In that meeting, they gave us the picture of Ben with the Korean actress.  We don't have a lot pictures of Ben when he was really little so it was a precious gift.

Next, we met with Ben's foster mother at 3;30pm.  It was like meeting an old friend with lots of hugs, kisses, and some tears.  Meetings like these are special because you realize how well cared for and loved your child was before being placed in your home.  Ben described the meeting as "overwhelming but exciting".

Our meeting with Ben's foster mother went beyond the allotted half hour, so we started our meeting with Cami's foster mother a bit late.  Cami's foster mother was excited to see her as well there were more hugs, kisses and tears and soon our time was up.

Now it was upstairs to the seventh floor for the "gotcha" part of gotcha day, or the day Alex becomes part of our family forever.  Coincidentally, Dec. 10th is also Ben's gotcha day.  So we were in Korea 9 years ago to get Ben.

When we walked into the room, Alex was already inside playing with the toys as were his foster mother and foster sister.  The social worker went over paperwork and questions with Dana and I while the the photographer snapped pictures and the kids played with Alex.  The room was full of chaos - 10 of us in a 10' x 10' room full of toys.  The foster mother and agency loaded us up with plenty of clothes, formula and snacks for Alex.  We also received a CD with a video of Alex's first birthday celebration called a dol, which is a big deal in Korea and something we were sad to have missed.  Alex was still feeling the effects of his cold and we were given a prescription with clear liquid for his cold.  He also had a little rash near his neck and we had some cream to help with that.  Nine years ago, when we got Ben, he had a cold and they gave us a red liquid for that and he promptly threw it back up so we were thankful this was at least clear.

Before long, the social worker was reminding us that it was time to leave.  After a few last pictures, we went to the elevator and headed back to the guest house.  Our photographer took a picture of our family in front of the rock that marks the guest house and then we headed upstairs.

We quickly figured out how busy Alex is.  He was in and out of every room pulling things out of suitcases, pulling things down, and playing in the toilet.  Ben, Cami and Ian were smothering him with love and I think at times he was just trying to get away.  But he was in generally good spirits.

Cami and I walked to a nearby restaurant for some Korean food - gimbap and mandu (dumplings).  The evening went quickly and soon it was time to get everyone in bed.  Alex didn't sleep very well and you could infer by his cry that he was sad, missing his foster mother and everything that was familiar to him.  Dana and Alex shared a room, while Ben was sleeping on the couch and got woken up from the crying.  Ian, Cami, and I were in the other room and while we still heard his crying, we managed to get a bit more sleep.  So that's the story of Alex's Gotcha Day