Eli's home town

So much to say. First, I just finished putting Eli to bed. What a joy. To hold such a beautiful child in my arms until he slips into sleep is incredibly satisfying (See the picture below).This was Eli's first full day with us. Until this point, which I will fill you in on later, Eli would visit with us for a few hours at a time. We had an action packed day. At 10:30 Eli arrived with the social workers, and he was put into our charge. He was pretty cranky at that point. We made the decision to attempt a nap. Eli, however, wasn't thrilled with this idea as evidenced by plenty of crying. In the end, his parents won out. He slept beside me for three hours - we learned that he co-slept with his foster parents.

Once awake he was ready for fun. We took him to a local grocery store. He loved being put in the cart. Based on his reaction, we think it was the first time he was ever in a modern grocery store. Before I get too ahead of myself, let me back track a bit and tell you about our first meeting. As you can see by the picture below, Eli was really thrilled to meet his parents.

In all seriousness, the initial meeting went much better than we ever anticipated. After a few minutes, he was comfortable enough for us to carry him. Not happy per se, but willing to let us hold a hand or pick him up. Claire was the first make this break through. She picked him up, and carried him around the adoption facility.

Then Eli met his dad. As it turns out, Eli is a daddy's boy. When I put him down or tried to hand him to Claire, he would often cry or look to me with his big eyes that said, "pick me up". From the adoption center, we left for the hotel. During our car ride back, Eli fell asleep in my arms. Back at the hotel, we laid him down for a nap and sadly before we knew it, our time with him was done for that day. It is the adoption centers believe that the child and parent should "visit" over the period of two days before the actual transfer. I am not sure that we agree with this position. On the first day, Eli cried when I handed him to the social worker, who took him back to his foster home. It was hard to let him go, Especially when he was motioning us to get him.

Overall, our first day was a major success. He has a wonderful personality - inquisitive, generous, and gentle. He is a very sensitive little guy, often requiring close contact to let him know we are there with him. We could often see confusion in his eyes. Confusion that would be better understood once we learned about his rural home and traditional lifestyle.