It’s our first Family Day! One year ago today we met our curious, shocked, trusting and adorable little daughter for the first time. Adopting Ella started us on the most amazing journey and that journey all began that hot and sticky day in Bac Giang, Viet Nam.

We were the only family adopting from her province at the time, so things were pretty calm. When we arrived, her nannies had wet her gorgeous thick head of hair down to try and calm the spikiness. When it started to dry and stick up again, we assured them that we liked it like that and one of the nannies got out a comb and started combing it straight up. We all had a good laugh, but Ella had no idea what was going on and why everyone was messing with her!

I am so grateful that we have our first moments together on video. I watched it recently and was amazed with Ella’s reaction to us. She was extremely curious and a little unsure. Her nanny held her for awhile while I just talked to her and touched her arm. Then I got to hold her and she wasn’t too upset about that. When I watch her six month old eyes studying me on that tape I get chills. She was extremely aware of her surroundings and the people moving about, and I’m sure she was in a bit of shock. But she also seemed to trust us and know that we were ok.

Fast forward to our Giving and Receiving Ceremony less than an hour later and she’s babbling and playing and overall pretty content. Later that night in our hotel room, she gave her daddy the first gummy smile of thousands that we would treasure. It was a pretty calm experience for us overall, and I was shocked by that. I think we all just knew that this was right and getting to all be together let us finally relax and settle in together.

It seems pretty unreal that a year ago we were all in Viet Nam just getting to know each other. As we go through our quite ordinary every day life now, it’s just unbelievable to think where we were…how we got to this point. Tonight we will have a little celebration. I’m making a Vietnamese dinner with an American dessert, and then she’ll have her present to open. My husband and I have a little gift for each of the next eighteen family days that we bought for her while in Viet Nam. Getting the handmade boat with little stuffed animals that ride in the boat out of the storage container a few days ago was poignant. It’s perfect for her and she’s going to love it, but we had no idea of that when we bought it. We had just met and knew little of babies and toddlers. Who knew that our eighteen month old princess would be infatuated with soft toys that can be placed in and out of a vessel of any sort? Maybe it was just parents’ intuition ;)

Photo © Rebecca Hess 2007

Related Reading:
Together Almost a Year
Home Six Months

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