Sleep is (as anticipated) difficult. M. goes down for her nap and bed pretty well, but she's woken up crying around 1 AM the last two nights. J. then went in and slept in her bed.
I wake up worried that everything's ok. J.'s sleeping with a toddler. M. is in a bed in a foreign land. Needless to say--we need SLEEP!
J. and I both start involuntarily dozing in our chairs around 8:30, but are afraid to go to bed and wake up too early. I really wanted to watch the debate last night--I made it most of the way but snored through the last bit.
9.27.2008
A Day of Rest
Friday was a fairly relaxing day. We're trying to "reenter" slowly. Going through mail, catching up on bills, emails, etc. We've got a long way to go, but we think we'll get back in the flow soon. If we could just get this foggy-headed exhausted feeling over with we'd be in great shape. UGH!
Doc Visit
Well, on Thursday M. had her first visit with her US pediatrician. She did well--considering that she got FIVE shots. (youch!) Her height and weight look pretty decent. The doctor wants her to have a variety of tests/screenings in addition to those she'll have next week for her medical condition. We'll meet back with her pediatrician in a month. He's hopeful that more weight on her legs and better shoes will help correct some or her walking issues. She's "out-toed" pretty badly; we're guessing from a lot of time in a walker. We've seen improvement even in the last two weeks!
9.25.2008
Holding M.
Progress is being made in this area. This week I've been able to hold her when being very silly. When the silliness stops--so does the permission to hold.
Yesterday, I took M. into the family room to see our parakeets. I picked her up and put her on my lap. She was so fascinated by the birds she forgot to complain. :-) Then I just picked her up and walked around for a bit. She was quite content.....until we went into the other room and she saw mom holding G.
This morning she actually held her arms up signaling for me to hold her. I did a double-take, then picked her up and held her for a little while. WOW! We're getting there.
--R
Yesterday, I took M. into the family room to see our parakeets. I picked her up and put her on my lap. She was so fascinated by the birds she forgot to complain. :-) Then I just picked her up and walked around for a bit. She was quite content.....until we went into the other room and she saw mom holding G.
This morning she actually held her arms up signaling for me to hold her. I did a double-take, then picked her up and held her for a little while. WOW! We're getting there.
--R
So Much That's New
M. has so much courage. In the past two weeks she has experienced a mind-blowing amount of change and new experiences. Who could blame her if she was a complete mess? But she's not. She's adjusting. Slowly but surely-and happily, she's adjusting to us and each new environment in which she's placed. As far as we know, this girl had never been on a plane, seen white people, heard English, been in a house, slept in a bed (among many, many other things) before these two weeks. She's now done all of these. I'm so proud of her!
After only about ten minutes with mom in the room, she fell asleep in her own bed, in her own room. Has she EVER slept in a room without other people? We'd tend to doubt it. Again--she did GREAT! She did finish the night with us. J. woke up (for good) at about 2am and heard M. fuss a little sometime in the early morning hours. She didn't want her to freak out alone, so she brought her into bed with us--where she's slept soundly. We're actually going to have to wake her up now.
And so will begin M.'s first full day at home.
After only about ten minutes with mom in the room, she fell asleep in her own bed, in her own room. Has she EVER slept in a room without other people? We'd tend to doubt it. Again--she did GREAT! She did finish the night with us. J. woke up (for good) at about 2am and heard M. fuss a little sometime in the early morning hours. She didn't want her to freak out alone, so she brought her into bed with us--where she's slept soundly. We're actually going to have to wake her up now.
And so will begin M.'s first full day at home.
M.'s First Hours At Home
We were REALLY happy with M.'s first evening in her new home. The boys did SOOOOO well with her. They were great to watch. They were very careful not to overwhelm her and were very gentle and tender with her. We were amazed at the number of smiles and giggles she gave them each so quickly. Our son, J., is still thrilled to report that he got a KISS from his Mei-Mei. (little sister.) She actually went exploring a little with her brothers walking off into other rooms and playing a little--without mom or dad around. Did the pictures and Skyping pay off? It sure seemed to! She seemed more comfortable with them right off the bat than she's been with most strangers--including other children in China.
It will still take a lot of adjusting, patience and learning for all of us--but we're off to a great start.
The Marathon Travel Day
Well the part of this whole thing that I've (R) been dreading for months went off without much of a hitch. I was NOT looking forward to taking a toddler on a 24 hour trip half way around the world. 4.5 hours on a plane from Guangzhou to Tokyo.
11.5 hours on a plane from Tokyo to Detroit.
1.5 hours on a plane from Detroit to Hartford.
+ many hours in the various airports.
+ security checks at all three airports.
+ checking luggage in China and rechecking it for customs in Detroit.
UGH!
It actually went amazingly well. As well as anyone would have a right to hope for. The first flight was wild because the whole back of the plane was filled with adoptive families. When one child started a chain-reaction of crying babies and toddlers one mother said: "Welcome to Hell." While there was plenty of fussiness to go around--it was endurable.
M. is quite happy when she's eating. So we kept the snacks coming, and coming and coming. She really doesn't like that seat belt, but mom could usually hold her. (Mom is TIRED!) That flight felt like it went pretty fast. Tokyo was kind of a mess. We had all been put on another airline for the first leg, which created chaos for us all in Tokyo. We had to walk (FOREVER) lugging our stuff to got through security. Then we had to cram onto a bus to go to our terminal. Then we had to wait in line at a counter to get new boarding passes. It's not really a big deal, but it is a hassle shuffling baggage, kids, and passports around and keeping track of everything.
The "big trip" went amazingly well. Once again--food did the trick. We burned well over an hour with the first snack and meal served on the plane. M. was pretty squirmy for a while after that. She wanted to be held. Wanted to be in her own seat. Wanted to stand. Back and forth and back and forth. In the end, she/we made a little next for her on the floor under our feet and she slept for about a little over half the flight! Mom and dad didn't sleep nearly as well, but got a few broken hours in there.
We got to Hartford two hours earlier--taking an earlier flight. I had to go back for our luggage later in the evening--but we were glad to get a few more hours with the boys.
Traveling across multiple time zones and the international date-line really messes with your mind and body. These next couple of days are going to be pretty rough: getting our bodies back on track, catching up on mail, bills, work, school status, etc. But we're glad to be home.
11.5 hours on a plane from Tokyo to Detroit.
1.5 hours on a plane from Detroit to Hartford.
+ many hours in the various airports.
+ security checks at all three airports.
+ checking luggage in China and rechecking it for customs in Detroit.
UGH!
It actually went amazingly well. As well as anyone would have a right to hope for. The first flight was wild because the whole back of the plane was filled with adoptive families. When one child started a chain-reaction of crying babies and toddlers one mother said: "Welcome to Hell." While there was plenty of fussiness to go around--it was endurable.
M. is quite happy when she's eating. So we kept the snacks coming, and coming and coming. She really doesn't like that seat belt, but mom could usually hold her. (Mom is TIRED!) That flight felt like it went pretty fast. Tokyo was kind of a mess. We had all been put on another airline for the first leg, which created chaos for us all in Tokyo. We had to walk (FOREVER) lugging our stuff to got through security. Then we had to cram onto a bus to go to our terminal. Then we had to wait in line at a counter to get new boarding passes. It's not really a big deal, but it is a hassle shuffling baggage, kids, and passports around and keeping track of everything.
The "big trip" went amazingly well. Once again--food did the trick. We burned well over an hour with the first snack and meal served on the plane. M. was pretty squirmy for a while after that. She wanted to be held. Wanted to be in her own seat. Wanted to stand. Back and forth and back and forth. In the end, she/we made a little next for her on the floor under our feet and she slept for about a little over half the flight! Mom and dad didn't sleep nearly as well, but got a few broken hours in there.
We got to Hartford two hours earlier--taking an earlier flight. I had to go back for our luggage later in the evening--but we were glad to get a few more hours with the boys.
Traveling across multiple time zones and the international date-line really messes with your mind and body. These next couple of days are going to be pretty rough: getting our bodies back on track, catching up on mail, bills, work, school status, etc. But we're glad to be home.
Flooded But Perfectly Safe
J. was very concerned about the Typhoon that was going to hit southern China before we left. She was envisioning a typhoon induced tsunami rushing all the way up the Pearl River (on which our hotel was positioned) and wiping us out. That, plus the excitement/anxiety of travel the next day made it very hard for J. to fall asleep.
We woke up a little before 5am to get our bags into the hallway and meet our group to go to the airport. When we got into the bus, we found that the Pearl River had actually flooded. It didn't get into OUR hotel, but it the lower level parking lot and (it seemed) many of the streets on the Island were under water. Hardly a tsunami--but an added adventure, none-the-less. Some of our friends stayed one more day to shop--not sure if they were able to or not. A fellow traveler on our airplane said the water was IN her hotel and the staff had to carry her luggage over their heads, wading through water. She also saw an old Chinese woman SWIMMING down the street. Glad we we left when we did.
We woke up a little before 5am to get our bags into the hallway and meet our group to go to the airport. When we got into the bus, we found that the Pearl River had actually flooded. It didn't get into OUR hotel, but it the lower level parking lot and (it seemed) many of the streets on the Island were under water. Hardly a tsunami--but an added adventure, none-the-less. Some of our friends stayed one more day to shop--not sure if they were able to or not. A fellow traveler on our airplane said the water was IN her hotel and the staff had to carry her luggage over their heads, wading through water. She also saw an old Chinese woman SWIMMING down the street. Glad we we left when we did.
US Visa and Final Papers
We traveled from Guangzhou with this brown envelope. It contained all M.s visa paperwork. If you open it--you've got to go all the way back to China to do everything over again. YIKES! The US Immigration officer at your "port of entry" (Detroit for us) opens it and puts a special stamp in your child's Chinese passport showing that she is now a US citizen. The paper work confirming all of this will arrive in a few months. :-)
Congrats, M.!
As we landed in Detroit yesterday afternoon, M. became a US citizen. Congratulations, M. on being a citizen of the best country in the world!
9.23.2008
The Dreaded Flight
Sigh.
Well, we checked out tonight, our bags will be outside our door at 5am and we leave the hotel at 5:40am. Then the Long day begins. I have been dreading this 24 hours since we began our paperwork. 24 hours on planes and in airports with a toddler. sigh. Hopefully benedryl will do its trick. :-) We experimented with it and it seems to work well. It DEF did not cause the dreaded opposite affect. We're hoping for lots of adoptive families on our flights to diffuse the sound and the blame.
Here we go. Next time you hear from us we'll be HOME. (well, we hope.)
Thanks for your prayers, love and support. We love you and miss you!
Well, we checked out tonight, our bags will be outside our door at 5am and we leave the hotel at 5:40am. Then the Long day begins. I have been dreading this 24 hours since we began our paperwork. 24 hours on planes and in airports with a toddler. sigh. Hopefully benedryl will do its trick. :-) We experimented with it and it seems to work well. It DEF did not cause the dreaded opposite affect. We're hoping for lots of adoptive families on our flights to diffuse the sound and the blame.
Here we go. Next time you hear from us we'll be HOME. (well, we hope.)
Thanks for your prayers, love and support. We love you and miss you!
The Oath
Today was our last day in China. At 2:45 PM we got on a bus with several other families to head over to the US Consulate. After going through security, we showed copies of our passports (US for us and Chinese for M.) to the folks at the window. Finally someone from the Consulate came out to talk to our group and have us swear that all the info we've given was truthful as far as we know.
I was so happy to be an American today. When I stepped into the lobby and saw our flag, I got a little emotional. The female diplomat addressing our group read all the vocations of the group. Quite an interesting array. Lawyer, pastor (one :-)) Pediatric Oncologist, engineers, home-makers, University profs, chemists, etc etc etc. There were over thirty families there from (I think I counted right) at least 12 different states. Now that the Olympics are over, the consulate has 30-40 families come through a day for adoption. The diplomat then had families raise their hands if this was your first, second,third, fourth child. We are one of the few couples we've met over here with FOUR kids now. (are we crazy or what?) Although--one couple who was there today is adopting their SECOND set of twins from China. WHOA! [J/R and TnT--get on the stick already--you're falling behind! ]
We were then told about the brown packet with M.'s US visa materials inside. We are NOT to open it. It will be opened by the immigration officer at our first US port of entry. (Detroit) M. becomes a US citizen as soon as she hits US soil, but it's marked officially in her Chinese passport with an extra stamp by that immigration officer. Finally we took the oath. J. and I both got emotional at this part as I do now as I type.
I'm so proud to be an American. I wish more were. I was quite emotional about M. becoming a citizen of the US. How emotional will I be when she officially becomes a citizen of heaven through baptism?! whew. 10.12 can't come soon enough.
I was so happy to be an American today. When I stepped into the lobby and saw our flag, I got a little emotional. The female diplomat addressing our group read all the vocations of the group. Quite an interesting array. Lawyer, pastor (one :-)) Pediatric Oncologist, engineers, home-makers, University profs, chemists, etc etc etc. There were over thirty families there from (I think I counted right) at least 12 different states. Now that the Olympics are over, the consulate has 30-40 families come through a day for adoption. The diplomat then had families raise their hands if this was your first, second,third, fourth child. We are one of the few couples we've met over here with FOUR kids now. (are we crazy or what?) Although--one couple who was there today is adopting their SECOND set of twins from China. WHOA! [J/R and TnT--get on the stick already--you're falling behind! ]
We were then told about the brown packet with M.'s US visa materials inside. We are NOT to open it. It will be opened by the immigration officer at our first US port of entry. (Detroit) M. becomes a US citizen as soon as she hits US soil, but it's marked officially in her Chinese passport with an extra stamp by that immigration officer. Finally we took the oath. J. and I both got emotional at this part as I do now as I type.
I'm so proud to be an American. I wish more were. I was quite emotional about M. becoming a citizen of the US. How emotional will I be when she officially becomes a citizen of heaven through baptism?! whew. 10.12 can't come soon enough.
Singing Up-date:
"Band On the Run" continues to evoke sweet humming sounds. Other music? Not so much. We'll try to broaden her horizons soon. :-)
Various Other Activities
We've spent the rest of our time here on Shamian Island shopping, eating, shopping, sleeping, swimming, shopping, shopping and....shopping. Oh--and did I mention SWEATING?!
We found some nice (unique) shops and lots of copy cats selling the usual trinkets. Apparently the prices are higher and variety is much less than in recent years. We tried to find a gift for each year up to 18 for our daughter. Lots of folks try to do this either as a "Gotcha Day" gift or birthday gift---if that date is known. It's a little tricky, because you really have no clue who your daughter will be years later. Will she want TONS of stuff from her homeland? Will she want to forget that she has anything to do with China? Both extremes are common enough. One just doesn't know. We got many things that are just simple, nice and fun for a young girl and some things of nicer value. We think we'll give them on her b-day rather than Gotcha. But we'll see.
Since coming to Guangzhou, we've basically stopped eating true Chinese food. We've had a little from the deli, but mostly have gone quasi western. Last night our group had a big dinner at an Italian place (with a real Italian chef!) It was a little pricey, but a nice send off for the whole group together. I loved my gnocchi, J. didn't care for her lasagna. M. like it all well enough.
We calculated at lunch today that we've probably been in a restaurant setting for TWENTY-ONE meals with M. since Gotcha day. (The rest were take-out or room service) Normally, that's asking for trouble with a toddler, but M. has done quite well. Seriously--did any of our kids go to that many restaurants in a whole YEAR when they were two? Not on your life.
We found some nice (unique) shops and lots of copy cats selling the usual trinkets. Apparently the prices are higher and variety is much less than in recent years. We tried to find a gift for each year up to 18 for our daughter. Lots of folks try to do this either as a "Gotcha Day" gift or birthday gift---if that date is known. It's a little tricky, because you really have no clue who your daughter will be years later. Will she want TONS of stuff from her homeland? Will she want to forget that she has anything to do with China? Both extremes are common enough. One just doesn't know. We got many things that are just simple, nice and fun for a young girl and some things of nicer value. We think we'll give them on her b-day rather than Gotcha. But we'll see.
Since coming to Guangzhou, we've basically stopped eating true Chinese food. We've had a little from the deli, but mostly have gone quasi western. Last night our group had a big dinner at an Italian place (with a real Italian chef!) It was a little pricey, but a nice send off for the whole group together. I loved my gnocchi, J. didn't care for her lasagna. M. like it all well enough.
We calculated at lunch today that we've probably been in a restaurant setting for TWENTY-ONE meals with M. since Gotcha day. (The rest were take-out or room service) Normally, that's asking for trouble with a toddler, but M. has done quite well. Seriously--did any of our kids go to that many restaurants in a whole YEAR when they were two? Not on your life.
Birdcage to Dream About!
Now THAT'S a birdcage! Boys, this was IN our hotel. Mom LOVED to go watch the birds. She misses Wallace & Davis! M will love to meet them. G, did you give them millet??
The Red Couch Photo
Monday was a pretty mellow day in Guangzhou. Sweating through a few more shirts, we shopped in the early morning after breakfast. Then we hung out in the room while our guide took our documents and last big payment (whew! Okay--I think we're officially broke, now!) to the US Consulate to submit for M.'s US Visa. Everything was fine!
Then it was off to the "Red Couch." Every adoption group that comes through the White Swan finishes with the famous "Red Couch Photo." Children are usually dressed in traditional garb and pictures are taken of the individual families on the Red Couch. Then the kids from the group are all placed on the couch. Finally the whole group gets their pics taken.
We've seen bunches of these shots following other blogs. There are ALWAYS squirming and/or crying children. Cute. Of course (!) ours would be the one doing the fussing and squirming in this group shot. :-) We're not quite sure what happened between our family photo and the group shot. Toddlers.
We really like the group picture. They were such neat families. We got to know all of them a little "on-line" prior to the trip and have enjoyed spending time with them in Beijing and Guangzhou. We all got our pic taken together at the Great Wall--before Gotcha day. It will be neat to have each picture side by side--before and after. The two beautiful girls in the front row and their brother (in the black and gold) were with us in our Changsha. A really special family!
Bat-Hooks Away?
Is that Batman and Robin coming down outside our hotel window?! That would be so cool.
Oh. It's the window washers! M.'s eyes got huge and she pointed for Babba to look and then went to mom to be safe. :-)
Typhoon?
Apparently there's a typhoon coming in our general direction. Please pray that our flights are on time and safe.
9.22.2008
Singing
M.'s paperwork says she likes music. We've seen no sign of this until......
Last night I started singing "Band On the Run" (I have no idea WHY?!) and she started to sing along. Every time I sing it--she sings along. So strange-but cute. :-)
--R
Last night I started singing "Band On the Run" (I have no idea WHY?!) and she started to sing along. Every time I sing it--she sings along. So strange-but cute. :-)
--R
Chen Family Mansion
After the temple, we went to a government run store. We were disappointed, because we were picturing an outdoor market with really great prices and lots of bartering. It was indoors (which was at least cooler) very controlled and kind of pricey. Not much shopping for us.
After this we went to the Chen Family House. Well, it USED to belong to the Chen family--now the government owns the spacious buildings and grounds. The beautiful buildings now house museums for various crafts of China. There were also some gift shops with decent prices. The carvings and architecture were beautiful. If is wasn't so beastly humid, we would have enjoyed it even more!
Buddhist Temple
Sunday morning (of all times) we took a tour to the local Buddhist Temple. We understand it to be quite ancient--over a thousand years old. It is both tourist sight and functioning Buddhist monastery and worship sight. The structures, including the 17 story pagoda, were quite impressive. There were numerous statues of various buddhas including a female buddha. Worshipers could be seen lighting incense sticks and kneeling before the various statues. Offerings of fruit and....water bottles (!)could be seen in front of the various statues. (Note the pyramids of oranges and cellophane wrapped water bottles in the pictures.)
We, along with most of our group, abstained from an optional buddhist blessing of our kids in front of the three giant buddha statues of past, present and future blessing. We still watched the ritual from a distance. The monk chanted for a few minutes while beating a small drum. He then sprinkled (water?) a liquid over the family members with a small branch.
We are eager for M. to receive true blessing from the Living God soon, through baptism.
9.21.2008
Humidity Part II
UGH!
We just tried to go shopping (at 9:00am) and we are DRENCHED with sweat. ick. It's just ridiculous. So we're cooling off in our room before the "Red Couch" photo shoot at 11:30.
Still have to catch ya'll up on yesterday's trip to the Buddhist temple and museum.
We just tried to go shopping (at 9:00am) and we are DRENCHED with sweat. ick. It's just ridiculous. So we're cooling off in our room before the "Red Couch" photo shoot at 11:30.
Still have to catch ya'll up on yesterday's trip to the Buddhist temple and museum.
Humidity
The weather in Guangzhou is ridiculously uncomfortable. We sweat just THINKING of going outside. awful. awful. awful.
Look, G! I Found Ping's Boat!
Look, Happy Heart! I found Ping's boat! Do you remember the story? I know Birdie loves it too....maybe you can find it at the library at school this week!
love, Mom
Behind
We're more than a day behind on posts because of weird net problems yesterday +. Hopefully we'll get caught up this evening (while ya'll are worshiping the Lord.) Right now, J. is getting some much needed alone time--shopping on Shamian Island, M. is napping, and I was reading, napping, now blogging. She's had a good long nap, and while I'm nervous about the moment she wakes up and discovers the lack of her mother's presence--it's time to start opening the shades and letting her wake up. (Don't want to mess up bedtime--which has been STELLAR save one night with a rumbly stomach and the one night where she inexplicably woke up when the door clicked.)
sigh. Here it goes. My plan is to quickly show her her diaper then her shoes and hopefully she'll stay calm as we go looking for mom.
whew.
sigh. Here it goes. My plan is to quickly show her her diaper then her shoes and hopefully she'll stay calm as we go looking for mom.
whew.
Guangzhou
If I'm reading my internet resources right, Guangzhou (the capital of the Guangdong Province of China) has an area of 547 sq miles and supports over 12 million people. New York City has an area of 305 sq miles and has a population over 8 million. (the whole area deemed the metro-area of NYC including areas of NY, NJ and CT has over 19 million.)
There are apartments like in these pictures EVERWHERE as we drove in from the airport and as we drove around town on Sunday morning. EVERYWHERE. We can't imagine what the INSIDE of these must look like nor what the quality of life is.
The Cow and Bridge
We had dinner with our group at a Tai restaurant--"The Cow and Bridge." It's known for spicy food. It was clean and reasonably priced. I went for a "one pepper" dish, after Martin said the "two pepper" dish left his lips actually in pain for days. Jessemyn was very dissapointed--her sweet and sour was ketchup (huh. I always thought you spelled that "castup") based! I LOVED my dish of spicy squid. WOW
Waiting for the Visa Picture
Here's the scene at the little store where the kids get their pictures for their visas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
