Eight years ago this afternoon we sat in a steamy waiting room in Guangzhou, China waiting to meet our Katherine. We were nervous and excited and couldn't wait to hold our baby. Steve said he felt like a kid on Christmas morning, waiting to see what Santa brought. Eventually, an official called out "Yang Guo Dan" and we stepped to the doorway. Suddenly, someone shoved a tiny, sweaty, impossibly sweet 9 month old baby into may arms. She looked up at us and smiled.
And just like that, she was ours! That was the sweetest, most amazing day of all of our lives. And it changed Halloween forever at our house!
Our family's tradition is that on Gotcha Day, the Gotcha Girl gets something from China. This year, Katherine's gift was this beautiful hair clip.
I remember that Steve picked out this clip. We had been shopping, looking for little presents we thought baby Katherine might enjoy as she grew. It was kind of hard, because we didn't know what she would be like, what she might use. And how old would she be when she wore this bracelet or opened that book? This hair clip seemed like such a grown up thing, but it was beautiful. It was impossible to imagine my baby ever wearing it. How old would she be then? Would she even have long hair? Last night I dug out the Gotcha Gift box and rummaged through the presents. I found the clip and it seemed the right time to give it. It still seems rather grown up, but then my Katherine has somehow become rather grown up. And she has long, thick, dark hair - perfect for a pretty hair clip. I know when she wears it, I will always remember the sweet baby she once was and all the hopes and possibilities she has come to fill.
October 31st means Gotcha, but it also means trick-or-treat. The weather was perfect tonight, so my owl and my Rapunzel had a grand time knocking on doors and collecting candy.
Happy Halloween!
