Even though former East parent Nikki Pauls has worked as an adoption social worker for nearly 20 years, she was still nervous when she and her husband Brian adopted then-11-year-old Yiyi Pauls in 2014 from Guiyang, China. The two were about to become new parents to an almost teenage girl — rather than a baby. Yiyi had moved from multiple unofficial placements, to an orphanage at age 7 and then to different foster homes. At the adoption center, Nikki was immediately thrown into the new role of a mother when Yiyi’s foster mom tasked her with the job of opening roasted chestnuts from a street vendor for Yiyi. Nikki spent the rest of the wait cracking open the chestnut with her molars and handing them to Yiyi. Hours later during their first day together before signing the adoption paperwork the new parents navigated moments such as a little girls’ demands for two new barbie dolls. #storybylibbymarsh #socialmediabymaggiekissick #pagedesignbykatiemurphy