Fun at home

Now that Anna is home, she is getting quite a bit of attention from her brothers.  As soon as Will wakes up in the morning, his first question is always, "Where's Anna?" followed by multiple other questions...  "Did you give her some milk? Should we put her in the swing?  Shall I hold her?"  It is great to have so many helpers - and Anna seems to enjoy the attention.

We also celebrated her 1st birthday on Friday.  She took a bite of what I assume was her first taste of solid food - cake!  We figured that the occasion was worth celebrating with some cake, and Anna seemed to like it.  However, green beans may not taste quite as yummy now that she has started off with cake...

Anna also really enjoys hanging out with David.  She still is not interested in toys at all, but she loves to look at faces and hands.   

One toy that does seem to interest her, however, is the Asian "American Girl" doll that was given to her (thanks Claire!)  "Bitty Baby" was quite fascinating the first time we showed it to Anna, and she stared at it for about 15 minutes.  It is funny, but Anna and Bitty Baby look a lot alike.  I sort of got creeped out the other night when I was stumbling around fixing Anna a bottle and I happened to see Bitty Baby out of the corner of my eye.  I thought maybe Anna had escaped - but it was just Bitty Baby, hanging out in the bouncy seat. 

We made it!

Whew!  So I have been a bit distracted, but I'm thankful to say that we made it home around midnight on Wednesday evening!  Anna decided she was ready to go around 3:30 AM that morning, but we didn't actually leave our hotel until 8 AM.  We were staying at a hotel connected to the airport, so we were just able to walk to the gate.

Anna decided that she enjoyed being in the carrier for about 30 minutes, and she then decided to scream for the next 2 hours while we waited for our 1st flight to Tokyo.  I was a little concerned that this did not bode well for the next 20 hours...but our flights actually went pretty well.  Thankfully we had overheard another parent talk about how they had used a bassinet on the plane, so we requested that for Anna on both the long flights (4 hours to Tokyo, 11 1/2 to Dallas).  Amazingly enough we were able to get the bassinet both times - and it worked out great!  I know that poor Anna wouldn't have done nearly as well if I had held her that entire time, so it was such a blessing to have that option!! (highly recommend if traveling overseas with a baby less than 20 pounds!)  Since Dallas was our first point of entry to the USA, Anna technically became a US citizen there (here I am holding the magic "brown envelope" as we wait in  the customs line)  I thought that was fitting, as I am a proud Texan.

 We said goodbye to Mom/Cici in Dallas and then Anna and I had our last flight of the day.  By the time our flight left for Baton Rouge at 10 PM, poor Anna was screaming again.  We were in one of those tiny planes, and she was the only baby...so I know those poor folks were ready for us to get off the plane by the time we landed.  The boys were excited to have stayed up so late - on a school night, too!  It was so sweet to see the boys reaction to Anna - they have been so sweet and loving to her.  

And thanks to the GA's for making a welcome home sign!

U.S. Consolate Day

Today was the day that we went to the U.S. Consulate to do all our official U.S. paperwork over here in China.  Anna now has her Chinese passport, and she has to have a visa to enter the U.S. - along with her "brown envelope" of important documents when we go through immigration back home.  Our appointment was at 8:30, and we had to go through security before entering the Consulate.  No photography is allowed there, so we had to give up our 5,000 cameras, cell phones, Flip cameras, etc.  There were 12 US families together in this waiting area, and the US official came out
and explained that we, as parents, would be taking an oath for our children.  The parents all stood and raised our right hand as we took the oath.  As I stood there, holding Anna, she raised her little right arm up in the air too, so I guess she felt compelled to participate as well.  We then all waited for our name to be called, and we would turn in our big packet of papers when it was our turn.  As I was waiting, there was a couple who was adopting this sweet teenage Chinese girl.  I didn't get a
chance to talk to the family, but I could hear the US official asking them questions - Where did the girl live, had she ever been in foster care, etc.  The US official mentioned that often older children will live with foster families, but the adopting family explained that the girl had lived in the orphanage her whole life.  Most of us there had younger children we were adopting, but I was so thankful to see this sweet teenage girl being adopted by older parents. All the paperwork went smoothly for us, so we walked out with another family to head back out and meet our guide.  Mom took a picture outside the area where we had passed through security, and a Chinese official ran
over and asked to see our camera.  We got a little nervous, but she just made us delete the picture that had been taken. When they say no pictures, they mean NO PICTURES - even by the plant outside the doors!!!

 
We went back to the hotel for a little while, then our guide came and picked us up and we headed over to the jewelry market.  I had exchanged some money that morning, and I decided to buy Anna a pearl necklace that she could wear when she was older.  The shopping center was huge, and they had all kinds of jewelry!  Some of the stores would only sell to businesses, not individual customers like us.  We stopped at a pearl shop, and I got Anna's necklace (note Anna's smile in the picture - she was pleased, I think). 

It was probably a good thing I didn't bring any extra money and they didn't take credit cards, because I could have easily bought a ton of stuff - ha!  Mom and I got a few other things, and then we headed outside of the jewelry market (which was like an indoor mall) to an outdoor mall area.  Tons of people were there, and there were a million different restaurants, stores, etc.  Our guide told us that it was a good thing it was Monday and not the weekend, because that's when it was really crowded.  As we walked along, some of the salespeople of the various shops
would stand outside and clap loudly - our guide explained that this was just their way of attracting attention for people to come inside and shop.  I was trying to picture that in the Galleria in Dallas - somehow I don't think it would have the same effect.

Now all we have to do is wait for our magic packet of papers; the plan is to pick up the papers on our way out of town tomorrow.  We will drive to Hong Kong tomorrow night and then fly out on Wednesday morning!

More Guangzhou Fun

Today we headed to Shamian Island, which is actually in the middle of the Pearl River in Guangzhou.  The White Swan hotel is located here, where most American families used to stay while adopting, however it is currently closed for renovations.  The style of architecture on the island is more European, and there are a lot of shops that cater to Americans adopting
(lots of Chinese "big brother/sister/mom/dad/grandparent" shirts).  We got some souvenirs and walked around quite a bit.  For lunch we went to a Thai restaurant that was nice - especially because it had air conditioning! Anna did pretty well, but she does get tired of being held. 

When we got back to the hotel she was content to lie in her crib and look at her new bracelet that one of the store owners gave her - it has some little jade beads on a red string - and it's fun to watch her stare at something new. Anna spends quite a lot of time looking at her hands (her favorite "toy"), and often she will end up crossing her fingers.  I laugh to myself whenever I see her with her fingers crossed and wonder if she's thinking, "I hope this whole new family thing works out..."

Mom and I both got to watch our church services today, which was wonderful!  Mom's church has an internet service, so she watched as Anna and I listened to that this AM.  David set me up on his computer so I could use Skype to watch the JBC 9:15 AM service tonight in China.  It was fun, even though the picture was grainy and sound kept cutting out - it was great to be around the world and still "at church" back in Baton Rouge!

Guangzhou

Thankfully we survived the flight yesterday, but poor Anna had a hard time getting settled down to sleep last night.  This morning was the health exam, so we headed out around 9 to get started.  I was so thankful that our guide had suggested we arrive early, because we were the first ones there for the adopting families.  The clinic is for 2 groups of people - Chinese who are hoping to immigrate to the US, and American families who are adopting.  The first stop was getting her picture made for the
official records - another picture!

 Poor Anna keeps having to get her picture taken for different official documents, and each time it is the same...they have a little seat for her, I explain that she can't sit without support and is very weak...and we have to prop her up and hope that they catch a picture without her leaning to the side.  Thankfully we were successful after just a few attempts.  After we sped through the medical exams (nothing too difficult there - just had to visit 3 different stations), we saw several other families coming in with their newly adopted kids.  It seemed that all the poor kids were worn out, as most of them had flown yesterday, too.

After that we stopped by a grocery store to pick up a few things.  It is interesting, because the grocery stores I have visited here in China are all several stories high with "moving sidewalk" kind of things to take you from one level to the next with your cart.  Ah, it will be so nice to get back to my favorite Super Target with all that wide open space!  We found some chicken feet at the store, but we decided to skip that today and just stick with yogurt and bananas for snacks.  After our shopping expedition,
I worked on some paperwork with our guide, who will take it and make sure that everything is in place for our big visit on Monday to the US consulate!  Getting closer...just 3 more days in Guangzhou!

Travel Day

So today was Anna's first flight - very exciting!  We started out at 9:30 AM and went to pick up Anna's passport at the police station on the way to the airport (since it wasn't ready yesterday).  We had to wait about 45 minutes for our guide, but he was able to actually watch them print Anna's
passport and we were on our way.  At the airport our guide was getting us checked in to our flight, when all of a sudden the agent behind the desk started yelling and stormed off.  Our guide pulled out some money and tried to give it to another agent, who refused and started yelling as well.  So our guide asked us to wait for him in another area, and I watched as he went back and forth to different agents, calling people on his phone, etc as he was getting our tickets.  I have no idea why anyone was shouting or what the fuss was really all about, other than that there was some issue with Anna's passport.  Anyway, we made it through security and rushed down to the gate (which was totally unnecessary as the flight was an hour late in taking off).  As we were boarding, I went through the line first with Mom following me...when they scanned her ticket the alarm went off.  I am waiting...waiting...and finally they wave Mom through.  As we are getting seated, we realize the problem - they had booked Mom and I in the same seat.  So when we get on the plane there is more fuss...the flight attendants ask for Mom's passport, they look at her Chinese Visa number...lots of discussion.  I was thinking how sad I would be to have to leave Mom behind!  But finally they gave Mom her passport and ticket back and we were on our way.  We flew to Guangzhou with the other sweet family who is adopting a 22 month old girl, so we were all seated together.  The girls did pretty well for their first flight, but we were certainly not the easiest folks to sit next to.  At one point my "mom" skills were tested as I had to change Anna's very dirty diaper in the plane's bathroom
with no changing table...but we emerged triumphant!  It took me quite a while, however, so when I brought Anna out of the bathroom there were about 15 people in line.  Serves them right for not having a changing table on their plane!

Our new guide for Guangzhou, Wensi, met us at the airport and took us toour hotel (about 45 minutes away).  On the way we asked Wensi about her hometown of Guangzhou (a small town of 13 million) and her family.  She told us an interesting story about her family.  She said that her younger brother was born after the "one child" policy was put into place in 1978. Her parents, who both worked for the government, lost their jobs and all their benefits when her brother was born.  In addition, they had to pay a huge fine for which they borrowed money and had to work very hard to pay off their debts.  So she says that in her family they always tell her younger brother how much he owes them since he was so expensive!  Wensi told us that three years ago the "one child" policy was changed...so now
if a couple gets married (and they were both only children) they can have 2 kids without penalty.  However, Wensi told us that most people think that it is crazy to have more than one child because it is too expensive. I asked her what people might think about a crazy American family who has four kids...and she said people wonder how they would pay for all those kids!  Ha!

So now we are happily checked into our hotel, and Anna is screaming and letting everyone know we are here!

Exploring Lanzhou...on our own!

Today was a free day, so we took it easy this AM and headed out this afternoon for a great shopping adventure.  We had certain things on our list to get: real diapers (not some weird brand that doesn't absorb very well), rice cereal to supplement the formula, another hat (Anna and I have decided hats are a good option for her now with her current hairstyle), some shoes to match her red, white and blue outfit for the oath-taking ceremony at the US Consulate (realizing even more how Anna's need for shoes differs entirely than that of my boys), and more Chinese formula that she is accustomed to drinking.  We were successful on all counts, even finding a cute Chinese dress too.  We did, however, have to put our lives in peril in order to make it to the various stores.  We had to cross several streets to make it to our destination, and it was quite an adventure.  Even though there are lights telling pedestrians when to cross, one can't really cross the street based on that.  If a driver is speeding toward you, they will honk (which is constant here in China - honking all the time) and not slow down - so you have to jump out of the way.  Our strategy was to wait for a group of locals to gather, then try to stay in the middle of them as much as possible while crossing the street.  It worked for the most part, except when Mom almost got taken out by a motorcycle that came quickly around a curve.  Anyway, we were able to explore several stores, and Anna seemed pretty happy hanging out in the large department store and mall.  In one area several ladies were helping us find shoes...and they were very excited to find a great pair that fit Anna's tiny little feet.  We were all worn out after the big shopping trip, especially Anna, as you can see in the picture! 

One other picture that I have attached is from our hotel in Beijing several days ago...I thought my friends and family back in Texas would appreciate the Chinese version of a Texas restaurant.  Note the happy Chinese folks in their red cowboy hats - yee haw!

More Sightseeing in Lanzhou



Mommy and Anna

Cici and Anna

Today we had a day full of more sightseeing!  We are waiting for Anna's passport to be completed, so we are hoping everything will be ready by tomorrow as scheduled.  We went to the Gansu Provincial Museum and saw everything from dinosaur bones discovered in this province (with music
from Jurassic Park playing in the background) to pottery to Buddhist statues to bronze artifacts found locally.  It was nice, but museums are tough places for kids (as we were traveling with the other sweet family adopting) and everyone was getting a little tired toward the end of the tour.  At one point we stopped in the museum's coffee shop to take a break.  I noticed someone staring at Anna and then start talking to his friend about us (I assumed).  I was starting to get a little annoyed
because he just couldn't stop staring - please!!!  But then it was such a touching moment, because he turned to us literally with tears in his eyes and said that we were "angels" in his eyes.  I didn't really want to get into the theology of who angels actually were and had he read the Bible or Billy Graham's book on angels...so I didn't interrupt...but he was so touched with the idea that sweet Anna was being adopted by us.  He asked where we were from and then told us he was from Lanzhou, and he just kept saying over and over that we were "angels" and that our baby was so lucky to have such a wonderful life ahead of her.  It was very kind of him to take the time to share with us, and he was obviously very moved.

Anyway, after that we drove over to take a look at the Yellow River, which actually looks kind of more like a brownish color...but it is impressive to see with the mountains rising up behind it.  One interesting thing we saw were the sheep skin rafts.  I had heard this name thrown out, but I was picturing some weird wooden raft covered with sheep's wool.  However, that is not what a sheep skin raft is...it is a wooden raft with a sheep's skin (no wool attached) blown up like a balloon to allow it to float...we were told that the largest raft had about 600 of those attached to it! You can tell by the picture that Anna was rather disturbed by the whole thing...

By the river there was a little store that sold some things made locally, so we bought a couple of things for Anna.  We bought a wall hanging with a pink peony (the national flower of China - who knew?) and a pair of embroidered shoes made in the city where Anna lived for the past 12 months.
One final big accomplishment of the day was that Anna rolled from back to tummy and back over all on her own - all that working out is totally paying off!

What a day!

Sightseeing and some other firsts

Sightseeing!

Today we went to some local sights around Lanzhou.  Our guide took us along with another sweet family we have met who is adopting as well. Erika is here with her father, and she is here adopting Lilly (a precious and energetic 20 month old) while her husband and 6 year old son anxiously
wait for them back home. 

Anna and I and our new friends Erika and Lilly

We went to a park with an "exercise area", a Buddhist temple, and a zoo.  They have several areas for people to exercise, although it is a bit different than one might see in the good old USA!  One lady (who was probably in her 60's) was standing in an open area and repetitively patting her hips/thighs with both hands.  When we asked our guide about this, he said that this was a type of exercise - you might see someone pulling on their ears, clicking their teeth together, etc.   Other places had people playing badminton, dancing, and singing. At one point an elderly gentleman came up to our group and starting talking very loudly.  We weren't sure at first if he was upset or just very animated...at one point his dentures fell out, too, poor thing!  Our guide told us that he was a history teacher and was just happy to see some Americans.  We finally realized that he was shouting in broken English "GEORGE WASHINGTON!  IN WASHINGTON DC IT IS NIGHT!" etc.  We just smiled and then moved on. As I have noted before, it is sort of a big deal to be an American in China (at least the places that I have been) and you tend to get lots of stares.  However, when you have a Chinese baby that is even more interesting...so lots more staring...and then when that baby has an unrepaired cleft lip/cleft palate....LOTS more people stop and look.  Most people are looking kindly, but our guide told us that in China if a baby is born with a cleft lip/cleft palate they see it as a punishment.  With
Chinese people being superstitious, according to our guide, it is very unpopular to have a baby with this problem.  Poor little Anna gets lots of looks - but I am thankful she is young enough to not realize what is going on.  In general, though, people seem to be thankful that we are adopting
this precious little baby - but I kind of feel on display when we are out!  Mom, Anna and I made a successful venture out on our own to the store and managed to get some food for dinner tonight.  Another first was that Anna happily let me put her in the baby carrier - something she did NOT like
the 1st 2 days.  Looking at pictures of her brothers is one of her favorite things to do - she loves the picture book and sat for some time in the stroller just looking at it.  She also looked happily at herself in the mirror and then fell asleep in my arms for the 1st time.  Another good day getting to know my sweet daughter.

Reading and Relaxing!



Paperwork Fun and More

Mom, Me, Anna, and the orphanage directors

Today was more paperwork - and getting to know my daughter a little more!
Yesterday was such a blur - all of a sudden all these people are in the
room, they passed off Anna to me, and I could tell she was sort of in
shock.  I know it is going to take time to get to really know Anna, but
already I feel like she is getting more used to us.  She started laughing
today when Mom tickled her belly, then she just started laughing
hysterically a few minutes ago when she accidentally brushed her hand
against her stomach.  I am also putting her to work - none of this lying
around on her back all day anymore!!!  She is so delayed in the gross
motor area...but we are going to work on that despite her protests (that
tummy time is really mean).  We've made a few observations...such as the
fact that we don't think she's really ever used/played with baby toys.  We
keep trying to give her toys, but she won't do anything but look at them.
She loves to look at pictures of her brothers, and the most alert I've
seen her was when her brothers were on Skype this morning.
A lot of the paperwork was completed this AM - in the eyes of China she is
officially ours!  I had to sign a bunch of papers and then put my
thumbprint over my signature - then Anna had to get her footprint on the
paperwork as well (which was very annoying to her).  After a stop at the
police station for another photo, we were done for today!


My thumb print!



Anna's foot stamp!

Gotcha Day!

Anna and I skyping with David

This morning we flew from Beijing to Lanzhou; when we landed we took another 1 hour long car trip to the hotel.  We were pleased to learn that the orphanage director was going to bring Anna to our hotel room instead of meeting at the government building.  Our guide had told us that he would call before they came up, so I was waiting to call David on Skype...then we heard a knock at the door!  I scrambled, trying to call David...Mom was running to get the video camera and regular camera...and I felt like it was total chaos.  But what a joy to hold that precious little baby!  Sweet little Anna just sort of took it all in - no fussing or crying - she just looked a little dazed.  She is very weak and pitiful, but I am looking forward to getting her strong and healthy!  The orphanage director mentioned that she was a little sick; after I completed some paperwork downstairs I took her back to the room and took her temperature, and she had almost 103 temp!  Thankfully we had some meds, and Mom went with our guide to get some supplies at the store.  I had asked for some ginger ale if she could find some - and Mom said that she almost accidentally bought me some beer!  Those crazy Chinese grocery stores...

Mom and Anna

Filling out paperwork with sweet Anna

Please pray that Anna gets well soon and that Mom and I don't get sick either!

Beijing

Today was packed with a ton of sightseeing - Tiananmen square, Forbidden City, Great Wall of China, crazy ride through town on a bicycle rickshaw thing, etc.  There were tons of tourists at the major sights; our guide told us that the summer is really busy with a lot of folks coming in from
different parts of China to visit Beijing.  Apparently some of them don't see Americans very often, and for some reason I kept getting asked to have my picture taken with some new Chinese friends.  Actually, let me clarify - some people just came over, grabbed my arm and turned me toward a camera - ha!  Our guide, Cissy, said that they probably weren't from Beijing - these are the country folk, I guess - but I felt kind of famous for a bit!



Me and one of my new picture buddies!

Anyway, we realized that the Chinese sense of personal space is much different than the American sense of personal space when we were almost crushed trying to look into one of the palaces in the Forbidden City.  Mom and I gave up trying to see what was inside - nothing is worth being
crushed by a huge mob!



Mom and I at the Great Wall

The Great Wall was amazing - Mom and I climbed together part of the way, then I headed on up to the top.  I even climbed up the creepy steep stairs at the top of the section of the wall we were visiting - I felt pretty proud of myself for making that massive climb until I looked over and saw a 5 year old boy happily playing around in the tower who looked totally unfazed by the whole experience.

We ended up the day with a great meal - which included duck skeleton soup - but I have to report I did not actually eat any of the bones.  What a wimp!

Tomorrow we leave at 6:45AM to fly to Lanzhou - and meet Baby Qing AKA Anna tomorrow afternoon!  Can't wait!!!

We Made It!

So we survived the flight to Beijing fairly well, thankfully!  Several kids/babies were on the plane, and every time one would cry out Mom and I would say - "that's going to be us soon" - ha!
Our sweet guide, Cissy, met us at 12:45AM at the airport with flowers.  On the ride over to the hotel, we talked about the size of Beijing (20 million registered inhabitants, but it's hard to get registered, so many more than that) and the size of cities in the USA. 

Cissy told us that she had once read that in America it was rare for people to see other people when they were out "walking on the road" - so that when they saw someone they would be very friendly and wave to the other person.  She also explained that in Beijing people are used to being crowded and they don't really greet each other like that.  Mom and I laughed and said that people are generally friendly, especially in smaller towns, but that in the bigger American cities it can be pretty busy/unfriendly too.  When I told her that I had grown up in a town of 20,000, she seemed pretty amazed.

After we got to the hotel, she told us to please be ready to go tomorrow at 8:30 for our full day of sightseeing!  Mom had just finished telling me that she hoped the guide would give us a break since we were getting in so late...but no breaks in China!  We must press on!!!


Here is mom at the Beijing Airport!















Skyping with David!

Beijing here we come

So...we have made it to Dallas and are heading off to Chicago then Beijing! We will arrive at 11:30 PM on Friday night and enjoy one day of sightseeing in Beijing. Then on Sunday we will fly to Lanzhou to meet "Baby Qing" AKA Anna. Everyone seemed to take it in stride this morning as they left for school - Alex realized that today was the day I traveled and said, "Yes! It's time for our guys' week!". Glad they can hang out and do cool stuff together.

Alex's moment of panic and Nate's to-do list

This morning Alex came out and said, "Mom, I can't believe you're leaving in 2 days!"  Then he stood there for a minute and said, "I only have 5 uniform shirts and I have more than 5 days of school left!"  Poor kid - I told him that his father would help him and do laundry while I was gone. He didn't look very convinced.

Today Nate came home with an assignment that he had completed in school.   Here's his list from today (with his spelling included)

My summer to-do list:
LegoLand
Calafornia
Arizona
Dallas football game
Baseball games
go carts
disney world
Hollywood
Texas baseball game
New york
Paris
Yankees game
D-backs game
Padres game
Astros game
Meuseum
Dallas hotel
any Friends over

It seems that Nate doesn't realize how much time will be needed to adjust to having a new sister around.  I was thankful to see that squeezed into that list was a visit to a "Meuseum" - what a cultured child!

Maybe I should go pack...

Watching the "Baby Qing" video

This video was taken a few months ago.  Will was sitting in front of the computer (wanting a snack, as always) and playing the 5 second video we had received from the orphanage of "Baby Qing"over and over again.  Nate and Alex did the same thing - they watched the video over and over again of their baby sister, trying to figure out what the nannies were saying (but of course we have no idea).

Mother's Day is coming...

I received my trip itenerary for the travel in China a few days ago, and as I was looking over the schedule I realized that I will actually get to meet my baby girl for the 1st time on Mother's Day.  What a great Mother's Day gift!  We will leave on Thursday May 10th and arrive in Beijing on Friday evening at 11:30 PM.  After one day of sightseeing in Beijing on Saturday, we will fly to Lanzhou (the capital city of the province where Anna's orphanage is) on Sunday and meet her that afternoon.  Pretty exciting...

Big brothers

My sweet boys are so excited about their baby sister's arrival.  The big brother t-shirts arrived today, although Nate was a little disappointed the shirts didn't have a ninja on them as well (Ninjago is very cool in our household these days).  Will is constantly asking if he can go to China with me, and Nate keeps insisting that he be the first to hold Anna.  When I explained to Nate that it would have to be me since I was going to China to pick her up, he asked if I could just have Anna placed in a car seat for the rest of the trip.  I told him that was very sweet, but that I would have to hold her before we arrived home.  He seemed to think that was reasonable.  And Alex was excited when I told him that I had to stop by the pharmacy to pick up some medicine for Anna - I think for a minute that he thought she was actually with us - but then realized that I was just preparing for the trip next week.  Lots of excitement around here!