I'm in love with a short, chubby guy with curly black hair

When we walked into the baby room, I was afraid I wouldn't recognize him.

I shouldn't have worried.

I saw him the second I rounded the corner - peeking up over the top of his crib fussing. I bee-lined for him, stepping over two little butterballs playing on the floor.

I immediately swooped up my boy and I think I shocked the pants off of him because he stopped crying.

We studied each other's faces for a few minutes - I cried and then he cried. I handed him to Mark and there were more tears and more curiosity.

The room was very crowded - there are nine babies who call it home plus three or four caregivers who spend every day there. We squished down onto the floor with the boy and played with all of the babies. Some wanted to crawl all over us, while others wanted to look at us and cry. Our boy just sat there and stared. The photos we have been receiving in updates do not betray him. He. Is. Very. Serious.

Thanks to a stuffed panda and Mark's ability to make it fly, we did get a few laughs out of him after about 45 minutes. He gave us big open mouthed grins as the panda flew in to attack his neck and he rejected the panda when we placed it in his lap - we think he was disappointed that it wasn't flying. It's like he was saying, "Well, what good is it if it is just sitting there."

The hour went fast, but it wasn't too hard to leave him. Sad, yes, but not hard. He has good care, a good routine, he is eating well, and is surrounded by people who love him. It actually felt very comfortable to leave him there.

We'll spend another hour with him today (Tuesday) and then see him again on Friday.

In the meantime, we're drinking coffee and eating sugar cane and getting to know the seven other adoptive families who have joined us here.

It's been a wonderful two days.