Thanks for the airport welcome!

Thanks to Debbie and Joe for schlepping from the Northern Neck and taking these photos! Thanks to Mom and Linda for taking royal care of us last night. We are indebted to you. We were worthless after the trip, and did not have to lift a finger. Thanks to Louise and John for driving our car with the car seat to the airport. Lisa and Paul, thanks for schlepping our luggage home and for the cake and wine. Thanks to Elizabeth, Don, Donna, Julieta, Bryan, Selah, Zoey, Margarita, Ben, Sheri, Judy, Jaedyn, Naomie for caring enough to be there. There were lots of gifts and I hope I can sort them out and thank people appropriately. I don't know exactly who brought the balloons and flowers, but we appreciate them very much. That trip back is so grueling, but to have a welcoming party at the airport, made us feel special and gave us something to look forward to. Thanks again!

Last post until ????????

We have enjoyed sharing our journey with you and have treasured each and every comment and email. Thank you. Yes, the tiger was real! I cannot believe Don sat on it either.










A store we saw in a mall today.






















Our guides took us to a Buddhist Temple today. A buddhist monk gave our babies a private blessing, while we kneeled before three giant golden buddha statues. We were not permitted to take photos inside the shrines, but they were huge and beautiful.












This is one of the monks.















This is the famous Amy's buddha belly!























This is what Amy looks like when she is smiling. She let her guard down enough to play so much tonight, we couldn't get the little monkey to sleep. Made packing very interesting.

We are so happy to come back to the comforts of the USA and our home. We are so sad we did not get to spend any time in the city where Amy has been cared for all of this time. We will miss our travel companions like crazy, and feel as though we had the best possible people to run around China with. We plan to have reunions for the adults and our girls to enjoy. I hope Chuckey and Tommy enjoy their last night of fantasizing that they are the center of our affection, because soon they will realize that Amy is.

The Waterfall and the Red Couch: At the White Swan Hotel, the Red Couch is the famous couch where adoption groups photo their beauties.

This was Don and I in the White Swan Hotel donning Amy's first traditional Chinese apparel.









































This is the group of dumplings we traveled to China for and around China with. Click to enlarge.

Second Blessed Full Day in Guangzhou

I can't explain how cool this is being here in China AND enjoying our baby doll. She is getting more and more relaxed every day with us. I can even make her smile now! Amy and I have several things in common already. She adored our shopping outing today, relishing the traditional Chinese outfits we purchased for her in 6 or 7 sizes. She happily ate a meal off the kiddie menu today, tofu and broccoli. She scarfed 3 big broccoli heads, and about eight 2 inch by 2 inch tofu cubes. She even loved the briny broth the dish came in. She is my girl!









Here is a gift from Mattel. Click to enlarge if you like. Each family staying in the White Swan for adoption receives this special Barbie, and it cannot be purchased. It is a caucasian mommy with an asian baby. We FINALLY GOT THE BARBIE!








Mom, this is for you! Ladies playing Mah Johngg in the park. You would love China.




The princess at a cool restaurant, Lucy's. They advertise Starbucks, and did brew me some. It really broke down, however, when I tried to get it "to go".





We are in awe with this fabulous culture. People are outdoors doing all kinds of activities. In a short walk this morning, we saw at least 10 different groups of people ballroom dancing to a boom box, 2 groups of Tai Chi'ers in the park, people playing cards and Mah Johngg on card tables in the park, and another game like hacky sack but with weighted feather clusters. People being active in the park include children and elderly folks. Fantastic!

First blessed full day in Guangzhou - no buses, trains, planes or boats today!

We feel high on life today. No public transportation necessary. We had to get Amy's passport photos taken today and have her medical exam. My baby already has been on an airplane and has a passport. Here are some photos.




Amy's first airplane ride (Guilin to Guangzhou). Don and I had to change a diaper in the airplane on our laps. We're getting good.



This baby is the only thing I've ever known to slow Don down! He has the magic touch when it comes to consoling her. Not me. But we are making the necessary adjustments. He is going to start doing the diaper changes, and he'll do the next suppository.

We'll see who consoles her then...



Baby's first medical exam! She weighs 20+ pounds right now. We haven't had a "workout" since Shanghai, but we are certainly getting a workout.























































Relaxing lunch: Outside, 80 degrees, Amy sippin' on her Isomil and Mommy and Daddy sipping on a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Don is so happy to find out Amy loves one of his favorites, broccoli!

Lastly, we had a lesson in diaper sizing today. I brought 2's and 3's, not sure which was right. We've been using them interchangeably, thinking either worked. Except today on the street, while we were out with our group, Amy peed right out of her diaper and on to the street. Someone said, "Amy is peeing"! I didn't even know. So now we know the 3's are too big!!!!!!!

The whole time we were in Beijing, Nanning and Guilin, I couldn't comment on your comments. Please give us a shout if you are reading this, as it looks like we can easily communicate from Guangzhou. Thanks for all the comments we could not respond too. It was frustrating.

We are in Guangzhou! The final leg of the adoption!

Go to www.lavida.org, and click on the red letters in the upper right if you want to follow this trip. The photos are updated almost daily for our group. Thanks.



Click here to see Don on the tiger





















This is Kevin, drinking snake wine. I thought it was a gimmick but learned that it is very real. Today in the airport in Guilin, on the way to Guangzhou, I went shopping. There were bags of assorted seafoods. Turtles, snakes, sea horses, centipedes, and starfish occupied these sealed bags in a food-type store. I asked our guide what the deal was, and she said it was a home-made wine kit. Echhh.


We now have a medical exam, a passport photo appointment, some stuff at the consulate for Amy's visa, and some other things. Other than that, we have a few days to enjoy the new love of our lives and prepare for our new lives at home. China is so interesting and overstimulatiing. We appreciate Linda for updating the blog, and each and every email and comment we've received.




Thanks to Tanta Linda for towing the line on the blog while we were in Beijing, Nanning and Guilin, and couldn't access the blog. An observation about Guangzhou: Because all U.S. Chinese Adoptions are finalized here where the US Consulate of China is, there are a gazillijillion Chinese babies with Americans on this Shamian Island where the White Swan hotel is. The retail industry around the hotel caters to the adoptions. It is different.

Touring Pics

Touring Advice

Advice for anyone adopting a baby from China. If they offer a River Cruise on the Li River, think carefully before you say yes. Here we are, 9 families with new babies, after a 6 or so hour bus ride on Friday, hopping back in a bus on Sunday (today). The bus ride was 1 and 1/2 hours each way and the boat ride was 4 and 1/2 hours. Okay, Guilin and the Li River are beautiful.
But my advice? Say "NO".

Today was an excellent day for Mom and Amy. No crying until after the exhausting outing. Amy actually gave me affectionate eyes today, smiles at my goofy play gestures, and she let me kiss her a thousand times without crying.

Unfortunately I am going to miss the chance to go to the zoo and sit on a tiger. The zoo also has a/some panda(s). I never miss a shopping opportunity, but I'm opting out of tomorrow's planned zoo/park/shopping outing. Enough is enough. Amy and I are going ot hang out at the 5 star Waterfall Hotel in Guilin. Don plans to get on the bus again, but I choose to suffer with my princess in the comfort of this beautiful hotel.

Love to all reading this!!

And more pictures

Culture

How fascinating the differences in culture are. To name just a few:

I used my first squatty potty yesterday. It is a plumbed sink-like vessel in the floor that flushes. Your legs go on either side and you squat. It is the bring-your-own-TP kind. Thanks to a patient of Don's, I collected TP roll ends for months before this trip. Children are customarily clothed in split pants for ease of elimination via squat. We saw it live and in person in Beijing. Walmart had racks of split pants.

Amy didn't go for Cheerios, or the new-age cheerio, the Gerber veggie-puff. They were like ethnic foods and she wasn't familiar with them. It was only because we were trying to fiber-load her, and because I was half-joking, that I fed her a little cabbage with my chop-sticks. She scarfed it right down, and kept reaching and grabbing for more and scarfing, as though it were very familiar. She also ravenously ate this fish-cake type food that looked exactly like snausages.

Did I tell you we can't drink the water in China? You brush your teeth in bottled water. You can only drink bottled water. Boiled water is okay, and hot pots to boil water are supplied in every hotel room. Every bottle of formula we prepare is heated, bottled water and we carry a thermos. We rinse the nipples, etc. in cooled, boiled water. You can't take a swig in the shower. Adds to the challenge!

The cultural differences, the time differences and the whirlwind travel
schedule are what make this both exhausting and spectacular."

We are in Guilin

We are in Guilin, purportedly one of the most beautiful places in China. The air and water are clean here, and the scenery is fabulous. When you see the classic ink-scrolls featuring mountains and clouds, the artists have come to Guilin to create them.

Three days ago, Amy was in a crib in an orphanage. Today she visited
exquisite stalagmites and stalagtites in a cave more intense than Luray
Caverns. I think the stimulation gradient is exhausting for her. This is no
bland adoption trip. This is adoption/ travel the countryside/ hit every
sightseeing venue/ eat in every restaurant that doesn't have highchairs
adoption trip.

Don and I are going to have our feet bathed and massaged for an hour this afternoon (Amy is going along for the ride). This is believed to prevent illness as well as reverse illness. Sounds good to me. It is $12.00.

We stopped at a pearl factory and bought a strand of blue South China Sea Pearls for the princess. We had them strung for a choker and a bracelet, and we have a pair of studs for whenever we get her ears pierced. She looks like a beauty queen in them.

Final note: We have joined the club which we avoided all these years. We now tote unbelievable amounts of stuff around, have spots of gunk all over our clothes, have goo coated hands, and leave a variety of foodstuffs and toys on the floor of everywhere we go.

Update from Janet & Don via Tanta Linda

Gotcha moment: Amy cried on full volume for about 8 hours. About 4 hours into it, she quieted for Don, but screamed like bloody murder for me. Don went to go to do the requisite paperwork that night, while I stayed with the screaming baby to try to bond. The lightswitch flipped and she fell asleep in my lap and then for the whole night in her crib.

Our week's itinerary:
Monday: we visited Tianenman Square, the Forbidded City and the Great Wall (and of course Don and I hiked a whole section)
Tuesday: flew 3 hours to Nanning. Checked in hotel, unpacked and packed diaper bag in 45 minutes, formula, etc to get baby at 3p (Gotcha moment)
Wednesday: appointment in official office to finalize process (sort of). Trip to Walmart. Got Amy's first smile in Walmart of all places. This Walmart is nothing like our Walmarts, but we got a stroller and some other stuff. Pack bags again for departure in a.m.
Thursday: 6 hour bus ride to Guilin. If all this packing and unpacking and traveling doesn't give us a crash course in parenting, I don't know what will.
Friday: Today! We have a trip to a park and then shopping. Guilin is spectacular, so far.

About Amy: Like mommy, she LOVES to eat. She eats congee at every meal, egg custard and we are starting to give her fiber so hopefully she will produce something for us. So far only number one. Luckily, I have a literal apothecary of stuff with me if we need it. Early on it was just crying, then she would let us comfort her, but no eye contact. Now we get eye contact but she is a very serious baby. We had a smile in Walmart and then last night about 10 minutes of adorable smiles and play. So we are making progress every day.

Are you wondering if we like all of this traveling with our new baby? Well I can say I DON'T. This is exhausing to be packing and unpacking. The hotel we are in right now doesn't even have high chairs! Last hotel, the best rest I got was when I'd put her in the high chair and stuff her with congee.

If you are planning to adopt a baby from China, please make sure they don't combine a tour of China with the adoption! Sheeeesh...

On the other hand, the sights are fabulous and the hotels (except for one) are great. We LOVE the food we've been served. Each meal is different and we've enjoyed each and every one. I just don't eat the things I don't recognize.

Thanks mostly to Tanta Linda for offering to update the blog. Linda, Amy has already said she can't wait to meet you. And thanks for all the emails and comments from everyone. The love and support and interest is dearly appreciated by Don and I.

more pictures

Update from Tanta Linda

Janet and Don are unable to access their blog from their current location, so I'm helping out. The new Mom and Dad are doing great and have the beautiful Miss Amy with them. Although the first couple hours were trying, Dad was able to console Amy and she now is fascinated with both of her new parents. Amy is a charmer and has totally stolen the hearts of her Mom and Dad. She's a good eater and a good sleeper and in the moments when Janet isn't moved to tears by the entire experience, she can't stop gushing about how wonderful it is to have Amy in her life. Hopefully in the next day or so Janet and Don will be able to update this site themselves. In the meantime I'll try to keep you posted. But for the record my new niece is the bomb-digity!!