We Have Him!!

Today we met Brock Ji Hao, and we are all in love with him!

He is a confident, brave, happy, perceptive, organized, independent, fun, smart, observant, adorable little guy.

Our appointment to meet him at the Civil Affairs office was at 10:30 a.m. We got there a little before he did, and so we were able to see him walking through the parking lot with the orphanage director. Max right away commented on how "confident" he looked, as he was actually walking ahead of the director. He also boldly entered the waiting room first, a can of milk in hand, and a big smile on his face. He came right to me and accepted my hugs with that same huge smile. He called me "Mama" (melting my heart, of course), then repeated "Baba" (dad), "Jie Jie" (big sister), and "Ge Ge" (big brother). He was obviously well prepared for this moment.

Last minute paperwork before meeting Brock Ji Hao...

Our first glimpse...

Walking bravely into the meeting room...

First hugs...

I gave him the small Magnadoodle we had brought for him, and he immediately drew a smiley face and showed it to me...how precious! The very next thing he drew was a picture of a house/home. He loves the Magnadoodle, and spent a long time drawing, erasing, and drawing some more. The director told us he loves to paint. He also does a great job coloring.

The orphanage director gave us back the little pack of toys we sent to Brock Ji Hao earlier this year. It looks like the photo album was shown and/or given to him, but the toys inside the bag were not opened. We were excited to also receive the disposable camera we had sent, and it looks like they did indeed take pictures. It'll be great fun to get those developed.

We were able to ask the director questions about Brock, and the director gave us a "portfolio"-type book of his school grades, art work, etc. There were also pictures of him and his classmates. The director mentioned that Quiren was his very special friend, and he had the Lego transformer that Quiren had given him before Quiren went home to America with his family! We are also so blessed to have been given a copy of the note Brock's birthmother left with him when she left him to be found. It is almost one-and-a-half pages long. I get teary-eyed just typing this, and I don't even know what it all says yet. Our guide started translating it for us in the Civil Affairs Office, and just the first half of the first sentence had us both in tears. She read it to herself in the van on the way to the hotel, and I could see her wiping tears from her eyes. She said she will write down the translation for us. What a treasure for our son to have a special note from his birthmother. He will always know how much she loved him, and that she lovingly acted out of the belief that she was doing the best thing for him. I would do anything do be able to tell her that he is loved and will be well taken care of. Max and I even talked about whether or not there was someway we could let her know before leaving China, but I'm not sure how we'd go about that (and I'm not sure we are allowed to try).

On a lighter note...Brock Ji Hao has had a terrific day! We were definitely preparing ourselves for the worst, and I have to truly say we got the best today (Praise God!). He held my hand walking out of the Civil Affairs Office, and he hasn't looked back yet! He loves to hold my hand whenever we are walking, and his little hand in mine just melts my heart! He is so funny, too -- we were walking to Pizza Hut tonight, holding hands, and whenever we'd come to a street light pole, he'd keep holding my hand, acting like we were going to hit the pole, but would dramatically let go just before we hit the pole, and then quickly re-hold my hand on the other side. I'd look over at him, and he'd be bobbing his little head from side to side, smiling, and quietly singing a little song. He just truly looked HAPPY! I, of course, want to plaster kisses all over his sweet face, but I'm trying not to scare him off. I repeatedly tell him, "Wo ai ni" (I love you), and he repeats it back with a grin. He is soooooo perfect!

There is no doubt he can hear some. The orphanage director asked him several questions, and he answered him just fine. He also hears and responds to us. It is clear that he isn't hearing everything, but from what I understand about microtia/atresia, if he can hear as well as we think he is hearing, his inner ears are likely in relative good condition, thereby increasing his potential for near-normal hearing with a bone conduction hearing aid (how's that for a run-on sentence?). He also talks more and clearer than we expected. Our jaws dropped quite a few times today just listening to him. His voice is soft and sweet, and when he rattles off in Mandarin it is just adorable! He loves the little plastic animals we brought, and he calls each of them their name in Mandarin over and over. Brittany is able to talk to him some, which has helped a lot.

After we left the Civil Affairs Office, we went back to our hotel. Brock was so excited to help me push the revolving door to enter the hotel, and he loved the elevator. This definitely seemed to be the first time he experienced either of those things. He also loves opening the hotel room doors with the key card, and proudly does so every time. He is very smart and catches on to everything very quickly. He could actually lead us back to our hotel room after just one or two times there. He has claimed one of the hotel room chairs as his own, and quickly had all of his things organized on his chair. He reminds us a lot of how organized Brant was at this age (and still is). Brant, by the way, gave Brock a very quick lesson on how to play Lego Star Wars on the Gameboy, and boy did he love playing that! He is no doubt a typical almost-8-year old boy!

It was nearly lunch time, so we headed out to walk to McDonalds. Along the way, we stopped at a shop to buy Brock a backpack for all of his things. Oh boy...does he love his backpack! He proudly wears it, and organizes all his toys within it. He even put it under his pillow tonight, until I talked him into putting it on a shelf next to his bed. So cute!

As we were approaching McDonalds, he saw the sign and began to point excitedly at it. The first thing he pointed to on the menu was an ice cream cone, and of course we couldn't refuse him one. So, he had a chicken nugget Happy Meal with an ice cream cone on the side. Welcome to the American way! He surely won't be so tiny for long. Especially since dinner included two whole pieces of Pizza Hut pan pizza and a berry smoothie (another thing he first pointed to on the menu), followed by a Mango Frappucino at Starbucks. He did point to a chocolate brownie in Starbuck's pastry case, but we thought indulging him any further might not be good for the G.I. system. This little guy likes sweets! At Pizza Hut, he was looking under his plate and saying the Chinese word for chopsticks. There were none, so Brant showed him how to use his fork and knife, and he did a great job cutting each piece of pizza into bite-size pieces.

Taxi ride to Pizza Hut/Starbucks for dinner

Tonight, I helped him with a bath and with brushing his teeth. He was so co-operative and helpful with everything! He was excited about his toothbrush and all of his new clothes. He has just been such a pleasant little guy today, from beginning to end. He is sleeping in the "boys' room", and I haven't heard anything from them in over two hours. I pray he rests peacefully and worry-free. He has stolen my heart! God is so very good.