We’ll spare you the mundane details of our morning, because everything pales in comparison now that we have Dayna!!! We got to the Civil Affairs Office at 3:30 this afternoon. A couple from the Netherlands had just received their little boy, who cried and cried and cried (he was still crying when we left). While waiting in a nondescript office and showing Leila how our video camera worked, Alaina looked up and saw the most beautiful face come through the doors. Words cannot describe the next hour or so. Daddy was the first to hold her, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. She has been Daddy’s girl from the start, but seems to enjoy both of us. Dayna was happy and cheerful, matching the pitch of the little boys cries with a song of her own (she is her mother’s daughter). We received everything we had sent to the orphanage, along with special gifts from them in return. The most precious were the clothes she was wearing when they found her and a velvet bag of soil from her first home.

Back at the hotel, the photographer was running late for our official family photo. Leila told us to go back to our room until he arrived and she would call us. Once in our room, happy little Dayna finally shed some tears and some rather noisy cries. (We were beginning to wonder when things would sink in for her.) After unsuccessfully trying a bottle and diaper change, Alaina just held her. About 20 minutes into Dayna’s meltdown, Alaina started singing, “You Are My Sunshine” (the song she sang on Dayna’s CD in a care package.) Dayna immediately turned, made eye contact, and just stared at her Mommy. Then Alaina sang “Jesus Loves Me.” Dayna’s tears had completely stopped, while Daddy’s were flowing freely. Once the photographer arrived, Dayna was happy and cheerful again. Her smiles aren’t regular, and we haven’t heard her laugh, but she is completely mesmerized by everything new.

Her favorite (and only) toy is by far the keys Papa and Grandma Wood put in her Easter basket. They are the only toy, because she won’t let them go. The noisy key happened to fall off the ring and disappear into the diaper bag…we don’t think she’ll notice. She can also wave and has discovered her thumb. When she’s doing both at the same time, she’s absolutely adorable. Dayna is also demonstrating early readiness for playing the piano, and seems to have a preference for her left hand (or is Mommy just hoping?) She is not yet walking or standing, and has three teeth on top to go with the two on the bottom.

What more can we say? We’d love to type more, but we’d rather go play with our new daughter.

Daddy gotcha!
Mommy gotcha!
Mesmerized
Love my keys
Almost a smile
Bedtime smile!

5/21/2006 Gotcha Day!