Jairo!

How does one begin to describe the day they meet their first child? There really are no words to capture the richness of this experience, but it will be forever etched in our memories as one of the most touching and significant moments of our life. I'll do my best to relay the highlights...

We woke yesterday to a beautiful blue-sky day, feeling great, and surprisingly calm. We had been praying that we would be as relaxed as possible for this emotional event, so the prayers were definitely answered. Eric said it felt like the day of our wedding -- knowing a life-changing event was going to happen in the afternoon, and thus not really knowing what to do with ourselves leading up to that. So we just tried to do normal things -- lunch, talking, walking around -- but of course none of it felt normal.

We went to the orphanage (Para Sus Ninos) around 2:30, and met with their child psychologist, Susana, and their social worker, Cristina, for about an hour. They described all that they had been doing to prepare Jairo for his new life, and we were once again so impressed with how thorough, thoughtful and professional the orphanage staff is. Jairo has been in excellent hands. They told us about the calendar they had made for him, counting down the days to our arrival. And Susana also told us that recently she had said something to Jairo in English (he has only spoken Spanish up to this point), and he asked her, "Why are you teaching me English... are my parents from the United States?" We asked her if she thought he wanted Ecuadorian parents, and she said, "He just wants parents." [Cue the sound of our hearts being pierced.]

Around 4pm they took us to Jairo's house to meet him. At that point we both had some intense emotions going, but we held it together, and went in to see him. Jairo was waiting on the couch with his two good friends, Carlita and Jessica, and surrounded by his Tias (his "aunts" who care for the children). When he saw us, he hesitated for a couple seconds, then jumped off the couch and ran straight into our arms. We hugged him for a very long time, and he held on so tight. It was a very tender moment, and one that will live with us for the rest of our lives.

Eric and I had been practicing our Spanish diligently, and had spent a lot of time discussing and practicing all the things we were going to say to Jairo when we first met him. But at that moment, both of our minds were completely blank slates, and neither of us could come up with a thing to say. I think we said, "Hola, Jairo," and I'm pretty sure I said, "Como estas?" But that's about it. So much for our plans!

After our initial hug, he brought me some flowers that he had picked for me, which I will always cherish. And then he discovered Eric's Yankees watch, which he immediately took off Eric's wrist and put on his own. Eric was pleased to see that our boy knows a good team when he sees one. :) And from there, we just spent time with him in his house, slowly and delicately getting to know one another. He showed us his room, and his countdown calendar (which had a heart on the date of our meeting), and he very proudly introduced us to everyone as his "Mami y Papi." We were so impressed with his ability to open up to us so quickly -- this is a momentous change in his life, so it would have been natural for him to be scared, shy, angry or sad -- but he was none of those (or if he was, he did a great job of hiding it).

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Jairo and the other children in their yard (including jumping on the trampoline, bike riding, playing on the swings and slide, and a lot of Eric running around with Jairo on his shoulders). Then it was time for them to begin their evening routine -- bath, dinner, quiet time -- so we sat with them and watched a movie. It was a really peaceful way to end the day -- all of us cuddled up on the couch -- two kids on each of our laps.

As you might imagine, we were drained, both emotionally and physically, by that night. So we came home and just fell into bed, completely peaceful, and incredibly thankful for the wonderful gift of our son.