After bringing Aidan back to the guest house, we were greeted by Katie, Ben and Benyam. It was so cute to see the two boys together- they both looked elated to be with their families! The staff at the guest house were great with Aidan and made everything more comfortable.
I ate a quick lunch, and then brought Aidan to our room. I thought to myself, "It's just you and me, buddy!" For the first time, I was a bit nervous. Our adoption was complete and Aidan was ours. Now it was time for me to be a Mom. Despite my nervousness, I was overjoyed. Aidan was beyond perfect and much cuter than I ever remembered. He was full of life and made me want to never stop watching him, afraid I would miss something!
We played on the bed with his new toys for awhile before I realized he was pretty tired. I made a bottle and the two of us laid on the bed, snuggled up, Aidan's head tucked in the nook of my arm. I never wanted that time to end. My son was taking a nap in my arms, in a bed, out of an orphanage.
When Aidan woke up, Katie, Benyam, Aidan, Hereg and I walked to the small drugstore around the corner to buy rice cereal and formula for Aidan. It was our first official outing and I loved being able to walk around with Aidan in my arms. I bought the rice cereal and baby formula that he had been eating at the foster home.
The afternoon continued to get better and better. I was constantly amazed with Aidan and how much he had learned since we last saw him 6 weeks ago. He could crawl now, babbled a ton, and was much stronger. He began to look more like a little boy than a baby.
That afternoon contained a lot of firsts: first time dressing Aidan alone, first time making rice cereal, first time making a bottle, and first explosion diaper change. Turns out, Aidan had awful diarrhea and made a mess. Sweet Katie was there to help me and calm Aidan down while I changed him. I'll always remember having Katie there as she gave me her "diaper tips" to help prevent leakage and keep the diapers on. I must have seem so frazzled and lost, but she was an amazing support. I will always be so thankful that Katie was with us in Ethiopia to help me through the first few days of being a Mom! Katie- you're an angel!
As the evening approached, I fed Aidan dinner and got him ready for his big night out. Ron's flight was arriving around 8PM and we were leaving for the airport around 6PM. Although the airport was only 30 minutes away, they stop allowing visitors into the airport before 7PM. In most places, anyone is allowed in the arrival area for when people arrive through customs and baggage claim. However, in Ethiopia, you are only allowed inside if you buy a ticket (an incredibly long line) and wait in yet another very long line to get in. I now realized why the Adoption Avenues staff met us outside the airport whenever we arrived- getting into the airport was no easy task!
When we arrived at the airport, the driver pushed his way to the front of the ticket line. He tried explaining to the booth staff that I had a baby, but they wouldn't give him a ticket. Literally, seconds before the booth closed about 5-minutes later, he trust 20 birr (about $0.66) into a man's hand who was first in line and he was able to purchase us two tickets in addition to his own. Without those tickets, I wouldn't be inside for when Ron arrived. It was a crazy ordeal to watch, but the driver fanagled the tickets and we were all set. This was yet another example of my respect for the Ethiopian culture and all the extra steps the people must do in order to do "normal" things.
Inside the airport, I was able to rock Aidan to sleep. A lot of locals were very curious about Aidan and I- a young white woman with an Ethiopian baby. The driver kept explaining that Aidan was adopted. One man in particular kept asking and asking questions. I finally asked the driver what he was saying and he said that the man was very concerned that Aidan would love me more than his Ethiopian birth Mom. The driver said his response was, "Well of course he will. (Pointing at me) She is his Mom." That made me feel amazing inside. I knew that people would always question our adoption, but at the end of the day, I'm Aidan's mom and he's my son. We have an amazing Ethiopian angel who is his birth mom, and she will always be loved. Hearing someone else defend my situation for me was amazing and I was grateful.
Around 7:45, Ron's flight arrived from South Africa. Aidan was fast asleep and all bundled up. I just kept waiting and waiting and waiting for Ron to come out through customs. I was standing at the rail, looking through the double doors at baggage claim when finally I saw him. He was probably 50 yards away and saw me when I waved. I knew he was smiling. I immediately lifted Aidan high in the air so that Ron could see him. Later, Ron told me his first thought of seeing Aidan in the air was "Lion King," which made me laugh.
Around 9PM, Ron began walking through the double doors. Aidan and I were at the side waiting! Ron turned to walk towards us and soon, Aidan was in his Dad's arms. I couldn't help but cry. The three of us were finally all together, forever. We all hugged and laughed. Aidan woke up and was exhausted and a bit cranky- who could blame him after such a day! We soon loaded up into the car and drove back to the guest house. On the way, I filled Ron in on the day and all that he had missed. I learned all about South Africa and what Ron had seen. Then, Ron got all quiet when he was looking at me holding Aidan. His eyes were a bit teary and I knew- Ron felt the exact same way about Aidan as I did: unbelievable, unconditional love. I knew we made the perfect choice by choosing Adoption as our Plan A for our family. Aidan was our perfect son!
Here's a version of our GOTCHA DAY video:
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=12297070c9a98c57e9ba1f1&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
Back in our room, Ron was able to rock Aidan to sleep. I cried...again. There was my husband, rocking my son to bed, for the first time. I don't think there's anything more precious than that. Ron and I fell asleep with smiles on our faces- we were parents and Aidan was our son. That night, I kept waking up almost every hour to check on Aidan. It took EVERYTHING in me not to wake him up and hold him whenever I saw him. I still couldn't believe he was ours!
The next morning, Aidan woke up around 6AM. He pulled himself up in his little wooden crib and started to giggle. That was one of the most precious moments. I think he thought, "WOW! My two people are still here and I think they love me!" Does it get any better than that? I think not!
I ate a quick lunch, and then brought Aidan to our room. I thought to myself, "It's just you and me, buddy!" For the first time, I was a bit nervous. Our adoption was complete and Aidan was ours. Now it was time for me to be a Mom. Despite my nervousness, I was overjoyed. Aidan was beyond perfect and much cuter than I ever remembered. He was full of life and made me want to never stop watching him, afraid I would miss something!
We played on the bed with his new toys for awhile before I realized he was pretty tired. I made a bottle and the two of us laid on the bed, snuggled up, Aidan's head tucked in the nook of my arm. I never wanted that time to end. My son was taking a nap in my arms, in a bed, out of an orphanage.
When Aidan woke up, Katie, Benyam, Aidan, Hereg and I walked to the small drugstore around the corner to buy rice cereal and formula for Aidan. It was our first official outing and I loved being able to walk around with Aidan in my arms. I bought the rice cereal and baby formula that he had been eating at the foster home.
The afternoon continued to get better and better. I was constantly amazed with Aidan and how much he had learned since we last saw him 6 weeks ago. He could crawl now, babbled a ton, and was much stronger. He began to look more like a little boy than a baby.
That afternoon contained a lot of firsts: first time dressing Aidan alone, first time making rice cereal, first time making a bottle, and first explosion diaper change. Turns out, Aidan had awful diarrhea and made a mess. Sweet Katie was there to help me and calm Aidan down while I changed him. I'll always remember having Katie there as she gave me her "diaper tips" to help prevent leakage and keep the diapers on. I must have seem so frazzled and lost, but she was an amazing support. I will always be so thankful that Katie was with us in Ethiopia to help me through the first few days of being a Mom! Katie- you're an angel!
As the evening approached, I fed Aidan dinner and got him ready for his big night out. Ron's flight was arriving around 8PM and we were leaving for the airport around 6PM. Although the airport was only 30 minutes away, they stop allowing visitors into the airport before 7PM. In most places, anyone is allowed in the arrival area for when people arrive through customs and baggage claim. However, in Ethiopia, you are only allowed inside if you buy a ticket (an incredibly long line) and wait in yet another very long line to get in. I now realized why the Adoption Avenues staff met us outside the airport whenever we arrived- getting into the airport was no easy task!
When we arrived at the airport, the driver pushed his way to the front of the ticket line. He tried explaining to the booth staff that I had a baby, but they wouldn't give him a ticket. Literally, seconds before the booth closed about 5-minutes later, he trust 20 birr (about $0.66) into a man's hand who was first in line and he was able to purchase us two tickets in addition to his own. Without those tickets, I wouldn't be inside for when Ron arrived. It was a crazy ordeal to watch, but the driver fanagled the tickets and we were all set. This was yet another example of my respect for the Ethiopian culture and all the extra steps the people must do in order to do "normal" things.
Inside the airport, I was able to rock Aidan to sleep. A lot of locals were very curious about Aidan and I- a young white woman with an Ethiopian baby. The driver kept explaining that Aidan was adopted. One man in particular kept asking and asking questions. I finally asked the driver what he was saying and he said that the man was very concerned that Aidan would love me more than his Ethiopian birth Mom. The driver said his response was, "Well of course he will. (Pointing at me) She is his Mom." That made me feel amazing inside. I knew that people would always question our adoption, but at the end of the day, I'm Aidan's mom and he's my son. We have an amazing Ethiopian angel who is his birth mom, and she will always be loved. Hearing someone else defend my situation for me was amazing and I was grateful.
Around 7:45, Ron's flight arrived from South Africa. Aidan was fast asleep and all bundled up. I just kept waiting and waiting and waiting for Ron to come out through customs. I was standing at the rail, looking through the double doors at baggage claim when finally I saw him. He was probably 50 yards away and saw me when I waved. I knew he was smiling. I immediately lifted Aidan high in the air so that Ron could see him. Later, Ron told me his first thought of seeing Aidan in the air was "Lion King," which made me laugh.
Around 9PM, Ron began walking through the double doors. Aidan and I were at the side waiting! Ron turned to walk towards us and soon, Aidan was in his Dad's arms. I couldn't help but cry. The three of us were finally all together, forever. We all hugged and laughed. Aidan woke up and was exhausted and a bit cranky- who could blame him after such a day! We soon loaded up into the car and drove back to the guest house. On the way, I filled Ron in on the day and all that he had missed. I learned all about South Africa and what Ron had seen. Then, Ron got all quiet when he was looking at me holding Aidan. His eyes were a bit teary and I knew- Ron felt the exact same way about Aidan as I did: unbelievable, unconditional love. I knew we made the perfect choice by choosing Adoption as our Plan A for our family. Aidan was our perfect son!
Here's a version of our GOTCHA DAY video:
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=12297070c9a98c57e9ba1f1&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
Back in our room, Ron was able to rock Aidan to sleep. I cried...again. There was my husband, rocking my son to bed, for the first time. I don't think there's anything more precious than that. Ron and I fell asleep with smiles on our faces- we were parents and Aidan was our son. That night, I kept waking up almost every hour to check on Aidan. It took EVERYTHING in me not to wake him up and hold him whenever I saw him. I still couldn't believe he was ours!
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