Reagan

Today was a different day from last Wednesday.

Mostly in a good way.

After a delayed flight last night, our guide met our weary group and informed us that it is his mother's birthday on Friday.  This means, he is moving everything we do up a day.  Translation:  Right after we get Reagan, we have to do all the adoption paperwork and errands that we normally wait a day to accomplish.  You know, as in, after the baby knows you a little?

I began to feel a little panicked.

We left the hotel before 8 a.m. and went to the Civil Affairs Office.  The place didn't look like much from the outside, but inside was pretty well kept.  Billy and I started the paperwork and waited for Reagan.  We discovered that we weren't the only ones getting our child today when a group from Spain showed up and began to nervously wait for their children.  I love watching other people get their kids.  The tears, the smiles, the siblings so excited, it's just a neat experience to be allowed to observe.

Reagan was brought in by someone he didn't know.  The woman had an unhappy boy in each arm and she unloaded them quickly and went on to other duties.  It happened so fast.  I think my first words were, "Oh no, you HAVE to take this one" to Billy when he looked questioningly at me before taking Reagan from her arms.  My hope was he would sort of imprint on the first person to hold him, you know, like baby birds do after
they're hatched.

It worked.

He went to Billy not full out crying, but whining, "Mum mum mum mum."  Reagan wasn't happy but he wasn't screaming either unlike his travel mate who was red-faced and howling for his (I believe) first time bewildered looking parents.  He clung to his daddy and hasn't let anyone else hold him-yet.

However, he isn't that unhappy.  He is eating and playing and even smiling and laughing.  I can sit next to him and touch his hair.  I can even feed him.  Billy has left to Walmart and he laid on the bed and played and drank his bottle.  We just can't pick him up, which is sad because he is one of those kids you want to hold just to see what he feels like in your arms.

Here's what we have learned about Reagan:

He is a little guy.  Slim but not horribly skinny and wearing a 12 month just perfectly.
He talks pretty well.  We have already heard more words out of him than we have out of Declan.
He doesn't walk well.  In fact, he is a little shaky in the gross motor skills department.
His fine motor skills are great.
He has a big ole scar from his hernia repair and I don't think it is fixed :-(
He is smart.  He was putting those baby pop beads together and didn't want help.
He likes fries and has had them before.  He pointed at them and said something like, "Ba!" when we gave him one.
He loves books.  We got a big smile over some animal pictures and he knows several by name.
He likes "Wipeout"  as in the t.v. show.  He pointed and laughed when someone fell and said, "Whoa!" The kid really got into this show!  It was funny because Declan has barely paid attention to the t.v.

Doing the rest of the adoption work turned out fine.  I was prepared to tell our guide to take us to the hotel if one of the boys began breaking down, but everything went fairly quickly.  Reagan was doing great and actually had fun in the police station.  It is nice to have everything but the waiting done.

Declan and Reagan haven't paid to much attention to each other just yet.  Declan was playing with some stacking cups and Reagan reached out and snagged one before Declan could move them all to another part of the bed.  Reagan held it behind his back.  Declan let it slide, for now.  That is the closest to interacting that they have done.

I feel less overwhelmed now than I did last night.  I got what I came for and am ready to come home.  Unfortunately, we have to let the paperwork catch up to us. There have been some tough times this trip, but God has been good.  We're making it and even having some fun in the process.