Off to court we go...

We had to be up early for our court appointment yesterday, so while Brent was in the shower I woke Will up. Words cannot express the horror in his eyes when he saw my face and looked around the room. I almost vomitted. As a mother, you'd die to remove any and all fears from your little ones. To be the source of fear is an especially heart-wrenching experiencing. I quickly scooped him up and handed him his beloved toys from the orphanage and he calmed down. I do know several words in Mandarin now that our guide taught us so I was able to say "don't cry" and "I love you" over and over. We dressed him for breakfast and took him to eat. The entire morning he was in that glazed over trance of fear where he was just glued to our arms.
The driver and our guide, Hannah, picked us up and drove a rather bumpy drive to the office where we'd go before the registrar and get our adoption complete. There were three or four other American couples in there. I almost kissed them all. Its been several days now since we've seen another American and it has been very isolating. The people stare constantly at us--they can't help it. So to see other Americans and to hear our language was a welcomed relief for me (the talker). I immediately went over to them and began asking them the details of their experiences thus far. And then it happened. Yep--moments before we were to be interviewed by the registrar--Will threw up an extraordinary amount of breakfast all over Brent and down himself. It just kept coming and coming. I scrambled for some wipes but that was like trying to use a water gun to put out a forest fire!!! We did the best we could, but we walked into that court appointment smelling absolutely foul. So much for remembering to pack a change of clothes for him and us. I think the bumpy van ride and just stress made him upset. You'll love the photos below of the very dark side of Brent's shirt. That would be Chinese puke.
Court went very well. Hannah is a goddess. She is very familiar with the process so she held our hands through it all and they saw us fit to have Will as a Cobb. All the documents were signed and massive amounts of money were exchanged. SIGH OF RELIEF.
We had one more stop and one more van ride which was to the notary's office to make everything official. After some water and a few cheerios, Will was feeling better so off we went. The Notary did not give us warm fuzzies, but we paid her and signed all the documents and got out of there as fast as possible. I'm sure she was thinking those Americans smell rotten!! All I could think about was getting a shower because I'd been holding Will in his vomit soaked clothes for much of our court time. It was just horrible....but funny.
We had some small victories yesterday.... we finally got his orphanage outfit off of him (HAD TO SEND IT TO LAUNDRY). After much coaxing from Hannah--we got him into the bath with me holding him. He enjoyed it but I could tell he was nervous. We did get some smiles and some chatter. Boy were we wrong about how much Mandarin he would know. He is very verbal and expressive and we have no idea what he's saying. Without Hannah--we are completely lost. I think we'll need language help when we get home! He is comfortable reaching for either Brent or I and loves being held. We love it too. He loves being touched or kissed which is wonderful. He does not like the dark and does not like having his shoes taken off--still an issue for him so we wait until he is either asleep or very distracted before we attempt it. Brent very astutely noticed that his fear mechanism is scratching. He is absolutely right. When he is nervous, he begins to pick and scratch at his skin. When he's relaxed his hands are still and calm. This is very helpful in removing him from stressful situations. We know what to look for.
At dinner and as the sun was setting, he began to cry his grieving cry. I can tell when it's happening. It sounds different from his other cries. It's very soft and sad. Hannah was with us and she asked him if he was missing someone. He replied, "yes". She was able to explain to him that mommy and daddy love him very much and understand that he needs to cry. And so when it starts, we just hold him and let him cry. He cried on and off all evening until I gave him his hot milk bottle at night and he fell asleep.
Tomorrow is another day. It's harder being here than I thought. It's ridiculously hot here with humidity double what it is back home. We sweat constantly and feel tired. It's hard hearing nothing but Mandarin around you and being amidst thousands of people. Everywhere is a chaotic crowd. Usually we fall into bed right when Will goes off to sleep. God is so good, though, he's holding our hands and reminding me that this is a moment in time. I long to be home with all of you and with our children and family most of all. I knew this wouldn't be easy, but I just had no idea how hard it would in fact be. Love is worth it all, though.