Slow Boat to China ..... and back home again.

Reunions and Weeki Wachee

2010-03-30T20:58:00.011-04:00

I'm posting pictures from the last couple of days. We had our long awaited reunion with one family that was part of our adoption travel group. The McDonalds, Patrick, Jennifer and little Elizabeth although I don't think I can call her little Elizabeth any longer. She has grown and is taller than Kelly but Kelly can still take her in the weight department. Elizabeth reminds me of Molly, tall and lean... I was in awe watching her, amazed at the changes from not even a year ago, that I was not focused on taking good pictures and it shows. My pictures turned out to be less than stellar.. I hope the McDonalds got better shots. Regardless I am humbled by the bond that I feel with the McDonalds and all the others in our China travel group. A group of people from all over this country that, by alot of bumps along a roller coaster ride of trying to build a family, end up together and now share an incredible experience that continues to play such an important part in our lives. Our daughters stories will be told with these folks being a big part of it.

Kelly is fussing because, well, she fusses but also she was coming down with an ear infection, fever and sore throat. And she was jealous of Elizabeth. And she was probably hungry... And.... etc.... later this night we were in urgent care getting scripts for her cold. AND this was after Molly was in urgent care that morning with the same. I love vacations....

You want to know whats crazy about this shot. Jennifer is holding Kelly. Those of us that know Kelly get it.

I loved watching Molly and Elizabeth together. I think they recognized kindred spirits in each other. The same energy.

Until we meet again......

And now some pics from....

Florida Fun

2010-03-27T16:05:00.007-04:00

Florida vacation pictures! Having Fun!

I love this picture. Kelly standing ready with fork in hand. Anything edible lands itself on the beach she'll be ready!

Will post more soon!

Christmas First's

2009-12-14T12:13:00.007-05:00

This year marks many first Christmas moments for K. Ah, the Christmas season. The season of joy, happiness and of giving. Peace on Earth, goodwill toward man...

For some of us it's old hat to be sitting on Santa's lap...

The wonder and magic in a child's face..... (Santa - stuck between naughty and nice)

The Merriment, Joy and wonder of the moment.

(Please note Santa is clutching his heart... I swear I heard him mutter, My God what was that...)

Let's not let this moment pass (without trying again with Daddy's help) so that we will remember it forever.....

Of course there are some moments that aren't so Christmas scary.

Opening the Advent Calendar stocked full of chocolate has become a nice end of night Christmas tradition.

No problem here and don't need Daddy's help.

Merry Christmas - May you have a magical unforgettable Holiday!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T07:36:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving, it's not...

2009-11-23T12:33:00.008-05:00

Warning: I'm climbing up on my soapbox. By the way, how big were soapboxes back in the day that anyone with anything to say thought this would be the handy way of getting one's point across?

I digress.

About 2 weeks ago, while driving along, I switched the radio to a favorite channel and what do you think I heard???? Christmas music! Not a Christmas song for every 5 songs in between the regular pop hits, but Christmas tunes all the time, 24 hours a day. I have a real, and let me stress real, pet peeve about the Christmas hoopla before Thanksgiving. I want to honor Thanksgiving. We have much to be truly thankful for such as bringing our daughter home from China, and, how about my sister not getting seriously injured when her car (her brand new car) was hit by someone running a red light. Or, especially in these times, the job we still have, the roof over our head, and the food on our table.

Let us not sweep Thanksgiving under a pile of Black Friday ads and the 20lbs of catalogs you pull from your mailbox with covers screaming at you that you only have so many days to order that special gift for it to ship in time for Christmas!!! Hurry!!!! Hurry!!! You don't want to miss out on this deal!

With all that being said and with the phenomenal weather we've been having lately.... guess what I did last night???? Yes, me.... go ahead and guess......

Yes, I went to see this! Our zoo has a fantastic display of Christmas lights. How could I not go, Hubby's parents called and invited us, the weather was good for a night's stroll and it was so beautiful.

Look at that blue. So blue and icy looking.

K was taking it all in. Her first big Christmas light display! She was equally enamored with the ducks in the lake.

M played with the local wildlife.

So, in closing.. I am very thankful I went last night and will leave you with this short video. If I don't post again before Thursday, Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Halloween and New Additions!

2009-11-02T12:46:00.019-05:00

We had a wonderful Halloween. M was Frankenstein for trick or treat night, an indian for the school Harvest festival, and K wore M's first Halloween costume and was a bear. When M wore the bear costume she was 4 months old. K is wearing the bear costume at 16 mths old.

Bear with candy and a pumpkin!

I need help opening my candy!!!!

Indian girl!

Frankenstein with our owl cave! Daddy, Bear and Auntie D are in the background!

M's Pumpkin!

Lit up on Trick/Treat night! M receive way too much candy and we actually had some leftover which, I think, is a first for our neighborhood. We get around 200+ kids and are usually worried that we will have enough to make it through the night. We are taking our leftover candy to a local dentist that will buy it back ($1 per lb) and then send it all overseas to our troops. If you want to unload the sugar you can look for a dentist in your area here: http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/index.html

In other news, we have added to our family. Meet Guinea Pig 1 - to be named later....

And Guinea pig 2.... to be named later also.

And then I have these guys plus 6 more of their friends.

Anyone who knows me gets that I'm crazy about crows. I read a story about a woman who took unshelled peanuts on her daily walks. As crows would fly overhead she would throw the peanuts up in the sky to them. After time they would be waiting for her and would accompany her on her morning strolls.

I thought I'd give it a try realizing that it could take some time. It took 3-4 days. The first day that I heard them cawing in our neighborhood I went out into our backyard and as they flew over I threw peanuts up at them. I saw one of them turn its head and look.

The next day my hubby told me that they showed up in our backyard trees. When I saw one later in my neighbors tree I went out and pitch a few peanuts in our backyard.

This morning all eight of them were in my tree outside the kitchen window cawing. I grabbed a handful of peanuts, went outside and as I was throwing them in the yard the crows never got spooked. They just waited until I went in and started eating. By the way I thought they would crack open the shells and eat the peanut inside but they swallow them whole. You can see this guy gobbling up his peanut, shell and all..

My mornings are now filled with not only getting breakfast for K and M but for Guinea 1 and 2 and Crows 1-8.

How fitting on Halloween weekend to have a murder of crows come for breakfast!

Hope you all had a wonderful, magical, spooky, sugar-filled fun Halloween!

Last Weekend, part 2 - Young's Dairy

2009-10-22T12:46:00.014-04:00

If you missed Last Weekend, Part 1 - Glen Helen, scroll below this post.

Young's Dairy Farm is an annual fall must do in our family. We usually get our pumpkins here and have our first tasting of pumpkin and cinnamon ice cream.

No matter how cold it is out we must have our ice cream.

Even me!

This guy was fun to look at and even let me pet him but he kept trying to eat my blanket!

M loves to feed farm animals. She could spend her whole day doing just this!

Or this..... thankfully she isn't old enough to be driving just yet!

The 20th of this month marked our 3 month anniversary of having K in our lives. So much has changed with this little girl in this short amount of time. She has become much more relaxed in her surroundings and we are learning more and more about her with each day.

For example, we didn't know she was an expert pumpkin picker outer.

I see it! Over there, that's the one!!

Follow me, I'll show you....

Perfect pumpkin!

And a perfect day!

Last Weekend, part 1 - Glen Helen

2009-10-20T13:31:00.013-04:00

Last weekend we were able to get away to one of my favorite places, Glen Helen Nature Preserve. The nature preserve is the legacy of Hugh Taylor Birch, who, in 1929, donated the wooded glen to the local college in memory of his daughter, Helen. Glen Helen has a raptor rehabilitation center we like to visit before setting off on our hike. We were so pleased that on this day the birds were out of their cages for an open house event.

What a beauty! So elegant!

Such a sweetheart face! Can you see the reflection of it's handler in it's eye?

Yikes! So glad I'm not a mouse! Giving me it's Halloween look!

On the trail to my favorite two places. K actually stayed awake this whole hike!

First favorite spot - this tree. I've been visiting this tree for over 10 years. Yes, I think I have a bit of the druid in me. This ole guy (yes, its a HE don't ask me how I know) has been in a whole host of photos marking events in my life. When I was carrying M we shot me and my nine month pregnant belly portrait here. Okay, maybe too much info.....

My second favorite spot is simply called "The Pines" named that even by the locals that hike the area. The path opens up into an area of only very tall pine trees. The forest floor is soft and deep with fallen pine needles. You bring a blanket because you must lay on the ground and gaze up at the pine tops that dance in the breeze. Also this is a good spot to unload the little one (K) from your back and allow her to stretch her legs.

I'm free!

I love this place!

It's magical......

Last Weekend, to be con't.......

Catching up!

2009-10-14T13:04:00.016-04:00

October needs twice as many days for us to do everything we'd like this time of year. I can not even begin to express how much I love the Fall season! I just hold a grudge against Summer and Winter for seeming so long, the months drag on. Fall, on the other hand is gone in a blink of an eye.

Here are some pics of what we've been up to so far....

Lots of nature walks! Love the colors this time of year!

Bundled up and enjoying the view!

Apple picking time! I see applesauce, apple butter and pie in my future!

Soup season, yea! Last year I started cooking my way, page by page, from the A Beautiful Bowl of Soup, pictured below. I don't normally eat soup when the weather warms up and stopped cooking right before the recipe Chestnut Soup. This is where I will pick it up so I was pleased to find the chestnuts (pic above) at the farm stand where we went apple picking.

I also plan to start the doing the recipes from the other book, Vegetarian Sandwiches. After all, man can not live by soup alone.....

We did a little clean up of our garden and harvested the brussel sprouts. I don't think K knew what this was. Toy? Food?

And finally..... We have a tradition of putting M in one of my old dresses every year on her birthday. We use the same dress so we have pictures of her growing into it. We planned on doing this with K also so we purchased a dress in China for the occasion. Having the same birth day makes it even more special. Their pictures will now be together in their "birthday dresses". Their birthdays are in June and you'd think once we got home with K in August we'd do this right away. I'm embarrassed to say that we just got to it.

K could not figure out what was going on and it was cold outside.

Trying to walk in an adult size dress was a little challenging.

Posing nicely and getting a good picture was a bigger challenge.

For more of what's going on check out: http://www.molly-corner.blogspot.com/

Mid Autumn Moon Festival / Willie Phoenix Band

2009-10-04T19:42:00.006-04:00

What does the Chinese Mid Autumn Moon Festival and The Willie Phoenix band have in common? Well, nothing that I know of but we did both this weekend on Saturday.

About a week ago we ran into M's international drumming teacher, Ray Winburn who plays in the Willie Phoenix band. He told us that they'd be playing at the North Market on Saturday and to come on down. We did! Check the video below with M playing the conga.

What a blast! A BIG thanks to Willie and Ray for giving M, as she puts it "The best day of my life". When you get a chance check out the web page for the band at www.williephoenix.com
find out where they're playing and and go see them in person.

Two hours later we were at the Central Ohio Families with Children from China (COFCC) Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. I don't know if K really got alot out of it, except some Cheez-its from a very kind lady sitting next to us. Daddy and M made paper fish lanterns, everyone lined up and marched around the field. Still too light out to see the lanterns glowing but had fun with everyone. Later we ate Moon pies. Traditionally you'd eat Moon Cakes but the Moon pie's were too hard to resist..

A weekend to remember!

This one is for Elizabeth

2009-09-27T09:45:00.003-04:00

My mommy is so proud of me! I actually kept this clip in my hair most of the day. I know she was very jealous of you, Elizabeth.

Today I go to get my first haircut! Mommy plans on feeding me while they are cutting my hair. Something to do with no fussing, screaming or whatever.....

Another day, another park but....

2009-09-16T18:54:00.008-04:00

today my friend A and her son T joined us. The day served as a good reminder that I must get K into a playgroup. She loves being around other kids and was smiling and happy the rest of day! Thanks A for suggesting the get together.

This is T getting the stacking cups ready for K to push over.

Do you even remember when this simple act of pushing over cups could be so fun?

After pushing cups around, playing with other toys and snacking, we decided to actually get up and walk around.

And saw sleeping ducks and what appears to be a river sharks fin coming out of the water ..... or a rock, whatever..

We saw a Kingfisher. Sorry not such a good picture.

And we saw the hawk that was trying to catch the Kingfisher.

And K looked for something good to eat.

Thanks T for playing with K and making her day a fun one!

Notes from K

2009-09-15T12:13:00.006-04:00

Hello, this is K. Mom hasn't been blogging much. Nothing new to report but this is what's going on in my world.

My sister got new gym shoes!

When she gets home from school we read together.

Mom says "oh gross, no-no" but this is where the food comes from and how I let her know I'm hungry......I'm always hungry.

Sometimes I just fall asleep.

But I always have the feeling that someone is watching. Do you feel a draft?

Hopefully when mom gets over her sniffles we will do something more exciting to post about!

Hiking and Bento's

2009-08-31T13:04:00.015-04:00

We love to go hiking! The following pictures are from two different hikes. Both at our local metro parks, one park was flat and paved for putting K in the stroller. The other park had unpaved trails, nice hills and streams.

M waiting for us to catch up. She is a runner.

Snacks were provided along the way.

K loved riding in the backpack carrier.

We'd all take turns showing K the woods. Look
acorns and flowers.

Neat trees!

Interesting plant life!

It just didn't hold little K's attention.

She'll catch it all next time we go....maybe.

And when I'm not trekking all over with the girls I'm trying to come up with new and fun foods to pack in M's Bento Box. What's a Bento?

The Bento is an ancient Japanese tradition of packing a lunch. Usually in a decorative container with small compartments that help with portion control and hitting the food groups. Its a nice way of going "green" for school lunches. No plastic bags to throw away.

M picked out this Bento for her school lunches.

I'm still learning what to pack and trying to be healthy about it.

Not too bad here. The PB&J is with Organic whole wheat bread, natural peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam. I have cut up nectarines, pretzel chips, Babybel Light Laughing Cow Cheese, and Trader Joe's vanilla meringue.... for dessert..

This Bento's came with it's own fork and spoon and BPA free water bottle. Sorry not pictured.

We purchased ours here: http://www.generationgreenstore.com/

If you have nifty Bento packing ideas... send them my way!

Thanks!

Cool Sisters....

2009-08-26T17:59:00.011-04:00

K and I have the coolest sisters. I'll start with mine...the retired art teacher.

When we came back from China, K had this over her crib.

Here is a closer look at the wise old owl that watches over our sleeping K.

Pretty cool, right?

What's even more cool is the freezer of pop in the oven ready meals waiting for us. Yum! The only hard work I had to do to get dinner ready for all of us is getting the foil and tape off the tightly wrapped prepared dinners. My sister has great skills in wrapping. Opening up Christmas gifts would go alot faster if she gave up the glue gun and used scotch tape like us regular folks. But you would miss out on those beautifully wrap little works of art. And she'd miss out on the ribbing we give her each year about her wrapping. Moving on....

This is really cool. Who else can find the perfect card for us? Yep, my sister.

Told you, major coolness! With the jetlag after we got home, the craziness of settling in, the nasty head colds we all got... I don't think I really said Thank You enough to her. I know she peaks in here, so a big THANKS to my cool sister.

And here is another.. K is lucky to have this cool sister.

Look at the pure joy on this face!

K loves her big sister. She makes her laugh by singing her silly songs about putting a banana in your ear, or, tickling her feet. She plays blocks and bangs cups with her. She pushes her in the stroller for walks around the neighborhood. And the coolest thing she does... she keeps feeding her when mommy has to go to the bathroom or go answer the phone, or whatever. But M is off to school these days and K looks like she's asking me:

When is my cool sister coming home?

Soon, little one, soon.

Looking back on the 20th

2009-08-20T20:12:00.004-04:00

The 20th of each month will always be remembered. In 2010, July 20th will mark an anniversary. As of today, August 20th marks our first month anniversary. One month ago I was handed a very unhappy, little girl. I, of course, was thrilled, humbled, sad and happy all at the same time. But our baby K was angry, terrified, screaming, crying, and generally very confused about it all. I held her, held her for about 40 minutes. 40 minutes of arched rigid back, howling, mad at the world, beautiful bewildered baby girl. I remember feeling so sad for her. She was being taken away from everything she knew, loved and was comfortable with. I also remember feeling so proud. So proud that she could scream so loud, so long and be so upset about her new situation. It told us alot about her, in those 40 minutes. I eventually passed her off to her new daddy. Should have done this alot sooner. She settled with him. I don't know if it was because he was so not female or that her protest of it all was winding down. This picture below is of her on the bus ride back to the hotel.

After all the turmoil of the morning it was time to sleep it off.

Spent

We sang songs to her the whole way back. I hope our travel companions were so involved with their new beautiful babies that they didn't take notice of our wondrous singing voices.

Today, K is happy and loves to discover new things, especially food! She sings and dances. She plays with her older sister and the one cat of ours that will let her. She signs to us when she wants "up" and "more" and she is quick to remember what not to touch by a simple "no, no". She loves being outdoors and feels a responsibility to pick up every leaf that has fallen from our trees. The Fall season should be a blast around here!

" I love what falls from the trees!"

She takes one 2 hour nap in the morning and sleeps about 12 hours at night. She only gets her night bottle now and has graduated to a sippy cup during the day. No baby food here either! She will eat whatever we are having for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Doesn't care too much for cold items unless, of course, it is ice cream! She still has moments of fear. when it is just her and I home alone she doesn't like it if I walk away from her. New noises are frightening the first time she hears them. After she sees that we don't react she is okay. Bath times can be fun unless you mess with the hair. DON'T MESS WITH THE HAIR!

Sometimes you just have to!

Can't wait to see what new changes the coming 20th's will bring.

Bed Head, James Taylor, and Scrambled Eggs

2009-08-17T10:40:00.007-04:00

We are getting into a nice morning routine.

No time to look presentable. Scrambled eggs are being served.

With a little banana or peaches on the side. Yum!

Got James Taylor playing for morning music. Sometimes gotta stop eating to sway to that Sweet Baby James song!

Yes, I love the mornings!

But not so much when the eggs stop coming....

The Long and Short of it

2009-08-12T10:10:00.012-04:00

My daughters.... so different.

No, this isn't a post about becoming a blended family.

I'm talking about.. legs. Look at them.

M's legs go on forever, K's legs from the bottom of her knee to the top of her ankle is as long as the palm of my hand..sideways.

Yes, there is a big age difference.

But I think its the height difference that is amazing.

In more ways than the obvious, I hope K will always look up to her big sister.

Of course there may be times when that will be hard to do.

But I think this little one can handle whatever comes her way. Even a goofy big leggy sister.

The long and short of it... I think they will be just great with each other.

Home, a little late.

2009-08-08T21:38:00.008-04:00

I'm a little late in posting that we are home! We walked through our front door last Saturday and our house never looked so good. We all hit our beds and everyone slept through the night!
K did so well on the long flights.

K taking advantage of the bassinets provided by Continental Airlines.

Mom taking advantage of the Newark Airport floor - waiting for our connecting flight.

And yes, I did fall completely asleep on the filthy airport floor and truthfully, it didn't bother me one bit. After all, I had already been on a plane for 15 hours with baby spit up on me and all.

We are just happy to be home (did I say that already) and settling in. K is getting more and more comfortable with her new surroundings. At first she was frightened of everything, even grass. Wouldn't walk on it. But she happily runs around the backyard now. The first couple of days she was major velcro baby with me. Would fuss and cry if she wasn't touching me at all times. This has seemed to settle with her switching back and forth between me and her daddy. I can now go to the bathroom without her hanging on to me. Oh joy! To pee in peace!

M is adjusting to her new little sister also. At first she was hurt that K didn't take to her right away but that has changed now. K has no problem including M in her hair pulling and body slamming playtimes. To give her (and me) a break, M and I had a date and went to the zoo, just the two of us.

M wanted to stay the whole day feeding this little bird.

But then remembered that there was other things to do at the zoo too.

Like fly in this bird plane.

Not me, you won't get me on another plane anytime soon.

It Figures!!!

2009-07-31T03:21:00.010-04:00

Well, wouldn't you know it. Our last day here and we can access our blog and post pictures. The hard part is what pictures to post. I have only the past two weeks of hundreds of pictures to choose from. We are in Hong Kong now. Tomorrow we fly out on our 17+hr flight with a little girl that really doesn't like to sit in one place long. Should be an interesting flight.... But looking back over the past couple of weeks these are but a few of the moments stand out..

Great Wall - I can think of a whole lot of other names to call it.....

The Food!

Of Course, FIMA day. Finally In My Arms...or really dad's arms. This was after about 40 minutes of letting us know she didn't appreciate being separated from her nannies.

The best group of babies ever!!

The best people to be sharing this journey with!

And the best guides ever! Bob and Xi Xi, if you are reading this we once again say "chicken, chicken"
for all that you have done for us! We will miss you!

tidbits

2009-07-28T18:35:00.000-04:00

We haven't been posting to the blog as much as we had hoped. Mainly, when we have time, which is after K is down for the night, we talk about the day and fall into bed tired. Also, the internet connection is slow and putting a post out requires more time than usual. But here are some tidbits of times that will stand out in our memory over the past two days...

Medical Exam - Most of the babies in our group received IV's before we received them. We were told they were sick and we are guessing they were hydrated through an IV. Really don't know but when we showed up for the medical exam K took one look at the doctor wearing a mask and had a melt down. The exam itself is fast and not invasive. We are shuttled through three rooms. One room weighs and measures, one room looks at ears, mouth and sees if she can track objects with her eyes. And the last was listening to her heart and checking her belly and body out. In all, took about 10 minutes. One doctor told me "she has two teeth". I had to correct him, she has 6 teeth. Like I said, not an in depth exam. Thankfully the doctors back home don't wear masks and I hope this will help make future exams a more pleasant experience.

Shopping - customer service at a new level. The minute you walk into a store at least two people will attach themselves to you and constantly show you stuff, tell you about stuff and in between it all ask the same questions you have heard from every other store attendant. "Oh, you have a pretty baby, where is she from?" "How old is she?" "How long are you staying here?" At one point I turned to both the ladies that were trailing me and said "I really like to shop alone" and they said "yes, yes, okay" and proceeded to still show me stuff, get in my face and play with K so much she had another melt down. Someone needs to tell the shop attendants we would buy so much more if they left us in peace but we understand why they are pushing their wares. Our guide tells us that adoption here has slowed so much and these shops are struggling because of it. Most of the shops on the island cater to us adoptive families. Baby items galore. Alot of stores have shut down due to the slowdown in adoptions. Girls stand on corners and when they see you ask if they can take you to their shop. Its very interesting but tiring after awhile.

Food - Most of our group agrees that the food in Changsha was better than the food here on the island. The food here is not spicy. The people here feel that being by the water provides enough "spice" in their lives and in order to ying/yang the food can not be spicy also. But we've had some standout dishes. Everyone that tried the pigeon said it was good, even the head. Thank that stars I'm a vegetarian - no pigeon head for me. Had a nice red bean, mango dish that I know I'll be trying to duplicate once home.

In other updates: Captains back is about the same. Still managing with drugs. He has a doctors appt lined up for the next day he is back. K is doing well but super attached to me. Makes it difficult at times but we are hanging in there. We both miss M big time and can't wait to be home.

Miss ice cubes in drinks, not worrying about water, cooler weather and our big soft bed.....

Guangzhou

2009-07-26T01:36:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone! So sorry its been awhile since we were able to last blog. We are in Guangzhou now and as I type I'm watching a thunderstorm roll in. Weather is still hot but manageable here due to the breeze from the water surrounding this little island. The pace is slower than Beijing and Changsha. Not as many bicycles or scooters. The past few days have been hard. Captains back went out from a combination of the hard Changsha bed, holding our little squirmy girl and sitting while doing paperwork. He has gone twice to the local Changsha hospital, a experience that he doesn't want to repeat. His sciatica is being managed by lots of pain meds and we hope to get home without it getting worse.

Tomorrow K gets her medical exam and then its just exploring this island a bit more. Sorry we can't post pictures yet. Still having internet troubles.

K is doing well, eats alot... really alot and has become velcro baby to me. Trying to go to the bathroom by myself is an experience. Our room here at the Victory Annex has a long curved hall within it. We hold crawling races but K cheats by standing up and walking midway. Yes, she is up and cruising as much as possible.

Ths storm now is building up so I will try to post later. Don't want to lose this post if power goes out.

eclipse

2009-07-21T18:04:00.000-04:00

We have a big day ahead of us. We are going to a local park to "see" the eclipse and walk around, then headed to the embroidery factory. Doesn't sound big but the heat is still around 100 or so and K isn't liking the baby carrier so she bounces back and forth between her daddy and me. We'll see if she likes the stroller today. Yesterday she officially, according to China, became ours. We had to promise to love her and never abandon her. Had no problem doing that. Talked with the asst Director of the orphanage. K has a reputation of being a big eater. That was something she didn't have to tell us!

Dear M,

K doesn't like her baths at all. You are going to have to show her how fun they can be. We miss you so much sweetheart and wish we were all back home now.

Can't post pictures to the blog, still getting in through a "back door" and don't have posting picture options. Also can't post peoples comments. Just know we are reading them and thank you for your words/thoughts.

K joins our family

2009-07-20T17:59:00.000-04:00

But it was really bumpy at first. When all of us 7 families reached the Civil Affairs office we could see through a door all the nannies with the babies. One nanny holding the hands of K and walking her around. I knew her right away, those cheeks and hair. She wasn't afraid of us as we knelt down to say hello. We offered her a toy, she checked it out and threw it down. She was staring at us but we were staring right back. Suddenly they start saying in Chinese and our guide says in English, "we're starting". This is when the chaos begins. One by one a family is called up and baby is handed off. It is fast and hard to get pictures. Everyone seems to be doing fine and then we are called. K is okay until she is handed to me and then the crying starts. Not soft whimpers, this little one can really throw a temper tantrum. She was constantly looking around for her nanny, broke my heart. Our guide suggested we walk outside. For about a half hour she didn't let up until we were on the bus and started singing to her. She hasn't fussed since but scans the Asian woman of the hotel and I know she is looking for someone familiar. Otherwise she is a happy baby, loves to play with stacking cups and peek-a-boo. She has slept through the night and is still sleeping.

We are in Changsha!

2009-07-19T09:26:00.000-04:00

Today was a travel day from Beijing to Changsha. We got up early which is very easy since jetlag is still happening. We went to a little airport outside of Beijing. This airport was really small, just 3 departure gates which I think served as arrival gates also. We walked very far on the tarpac to our plane which was an old United airplane still equipped with cigarette ashtrays. They served lunch which consisted of some strange mystery meat on a bun. Tim liked it. Also lunch included a bag of candy made from squid, also according to Tim good. The flight took about 2 hours. Temp in Changsha today reach 103, yesterday was a high of 105, the highest in 5 years. Lucky us. Tomorrow at 10:30 we leave to go to the civil affairs office to receive our daughter. Our hotel room is now equipped with a crib, baby bath, baby bowl and stroller. All is ready, even us! Hope K is ready for us too.

M - we will skype as soon as possible. We love you!

Mom and Dad
p.s. we are posting to the blog through a back door so post may look strange and no pictures yet. May try at some point to post pictures to Flickr. Will let you all know how to access.

One down, Six to Go

2009-07-15T09:15:00.006-04:00

Dear M,

We have arrived in Newark. Our first plane trip out of seven is over. We saw this out our window.

And this.... Do you know what it is?

We are now waiting to board our next plane to Beijing in about 2 and a half hours. Then we will be on that plane for about another 14 hours.

Hope you are having fun with your cousins!

We love you!

Mom and Dad

Shouldn't you be packing?

2009-07-14T17:22:00.004-04:00

Yes, I probably should be packing. Afterall, the clothing Captain and I plan on taking are in the dryer and everything else is packed more or less....

Of course, just like that a little thing can totally disrupt the packing plan. A little thing say, like a red crayon that got in the dryer.

Captain is, as I type this, at the store buying a number of products that, when mixed, were recommended to get this type of stain out. Otherwise, well.....I just don't know. Do we need travel clothes?

24 hours + a little

2009-07-13T20:50:00.009-04:00

In a little over 24 hours we will be headed to Beijing. Rounding up and taking care of the little odds and ends. Since we will be gone some time we decided to "tidy up" the garden. This is what we pulled out of it.

Cucumbers
Beets
Red Pepper
Short and Sweet Carrots

Had some cherry tomatoes but M ate them so they aren't in the picture.

I try not to think about it but its going to be very hard to leave this little one behind.

Yea Hoo! Updates!

2009-07-10T16:04:00.009-04:00

I am so tickled and can't stop crying!!!! We received an email full of updated photo's and information about K.

Here is what we know:

Height: 27.2"
Weight: 17.6 lbs
Teeth: 4/2 (?)
Foot: 4.3"

She is eating formula with rice, rice and mashed meat, egg and noodles.
She is sleeping from 7 to 7 with an hour nap.
Her playmates are Chen Yun Yue, Chen Wen Yue, Chen Yu Heng
She is crawling and can walk a few steps.
She is an active and restless baby.

And.... here are the photos!

Gotcha, not! FIMA, yes.

2009-07-09T12:05:00.003-04:00

Within the adoption community the term "Gotcha" refers to the day when you finally get your child. Our Gotcha day is scheduled for 7/20.

I really don't like the term "Gotcha". It is what I usually say when I swat a mosquito. This makes it hard to translate the feeling into something joyous and beautiful.

I've imagined that "Gotcha" day often over the past 3+ years. Imagined the weight of her settling in my arms, the smell of her. Will she be crying or smiling? Will she be confused about the chaos that will be surrounding her and us.

In the end, she will be Finally In My Arms - FIMA day. It's not catchy, no one in the adoption community is familiar with it, but Gotcha it isn't.

Its FIMA for me.

Seven Days

2009-07-08T20:57:00.004-04:00

In seven days we will be on our way to Beijing. I can not wait! We will be that much closer to seeing K and don't get me wrong I'm completely peeing in my pants in anticipation of us being together but also... it will be so sweet to plop my butt on a plane with absolutely nothing to do but watch the clouds go by. It has been a busy couple of weeks getting ready for this trip and I'm ready for it to be over. The gifts for officials, nannies, facilitators have been purchased. Just in case prescriptions for Captain, me and K have been ordered and filled. Clothing for 100+ temp and humidity days are being put aside. The pets will have someone here at the house looking after them and we are pulling together goodies for M to have while we are away.

Among all of this we've been able to spend some time with visiting family during the fourth of July week. Among the fun, water games, fireworks and of course, small town parade.

M and her cousins watching the floats go by..

Sidenote: On the side, go ahead look over to the right, near the top.. We wanted to have a weather bug so you can all follow along with the current weather we will be experiencing in China. Unfortunately we can not figure how to keep it on one location. Our weather bug loves NY and will default to show what you can expect if you are heading out to a Broadway show or Central Park. Until we figure this out, feel free to click on "edit" and type in Beijing, Changsha, Guangzhou or Hong Kong. Just remember you'll probably be seeing China night temps unless you are up at 1am, can't sleep and decided to check on us.

p.s. we don't live in NY.

Posting from email

2009-07-03T08:39:00.000-04:00

We just found out a few days ago that we can post from an email. Here's our first time trying it out.

The week from hell

2009-06-27T07:39:00.000-04:00

This past week sucked! We started hearing reports of travelers to China being quarantined due to swine flu. Then we read a Department of State notice that in some cases minors were being separated from parents and quarantined. Parents could not oversee what meds were being administered to their children. Before you leave the plane in Beijing your temperature will be taken. You must give the authorities notice of where you are staying. If anyone seated in the 3 rows in front or in back of you has a temperature then all those rows go into quarantine. They will track you down at your hotel. Once in quarantine you will be checked twice daily and have your throats swabbed. If any test comes back negative on someone then ONLY the negative person goes to the quarantine hospital leaving the rest still at the quarantine hotel. The American Embassy in Beijing can speak on your behalf to keep the family together but can not promise that this will be allowed. Bottom line, we decided after much thought that we couldn't chance taking M. This is heartbreaking. She has been studying China, she talks about going and what she wants to do and see and even more, she wants to be a part of welcoming her new sister to our family. She is such a sensitive little girl that I worry she will have feelings of left behind and not part of it all.....

A couple days after this news we got the word that our Adoption Agency was closing. At this point we were just awaiting word of our TA - travel approval from China needed for us to go get K. Our agency was basically a China Adoption only agency. Due to the Hague agreement and the time lengthening between submitting paperwork and receiving a referral, financially our agency couldn't stay afloat. They informed us that if we receive our TA before the end of June they would still handle our adoption trip but if it came after our files would be shipped off to another agency.

A day after this Captain (hubby) received word from his boss that his co-worker, who he has known and was friends with for years, was shot and killed. I never met Joe but Captain came home from work one day with a baby gift for K. When he had heard about our adoption he bought her a gift. I'm sorry I never met this sweet man and thanked him personally.

And finally, before Friday while running around getting last minute supplies for M's birthday party, we received our TA. We will be in China on July 15th or 16th, touring Beijing and heading to Changsha on July 19th. On the morning of July 20th we will be holding K in our arms for the first time. (K's one year birthday was on Friday also!) We stay in Changsha until July 25 when we fly to Guangzhou. Finish up paperwork there and fly back to the U.S. on July 31st.

Flu or no flu, we are coming!

While we are waiting...

2009-06-11T19:09:00.000-04:00

The big question is: When are you going to China? Answer: we are currently awaiting our TA (travel approval) and then our CA (consulate appt) and that's when we will know. Of course with WHO updating the flu to a pandemic level the real question is: Will China hold TA's until this is over? Your guess is as good as ours. But, while we are waiting.... Let's give an update on our gardening efforts. I can feel your anticipation!

We discovered Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew at our last Home and Garden Show and immediately thought Hey, this is something that even we could do! After all Mel promised it was easy and we wanted to extend ourselves beyond our every year tomato and basil bounty. Two crops guaranteed to make even the most inexperienced farmer (hey, that's us) feel proud.

So it started: Early April

3 x 3 box to hold 9 sq ft sections

Three equal parts of compost/vermiculite/peat moss

Mix Well

Dirt in Boxes and add grids

Oh, and then plant stuff, you know, the stuff that's good for you... veggies

Wow, a few weeks later...

Is it ready yet?

A Radish !!!!

We have planted 4 different kinds of lettuce, peas, broccoli, edamame, edible marigolds, cucumbers, brussel sprouts, carrots (two kinds), eggplant, spinach, beets, radishes, strawberries, green beans, peppers, and...... tomatoes.

That Mel! What a genius! So easy! If you'd like to know more about Square Foot Gardening check this out: www.squarefootgardening.com or go to YouTube and search on Mel Bartholomew!

Happy Gardening!

Anchors Away!!!

2009-05-31T16:55:00.001-04:00

Woo Hoo! This is our first blog entry to document our forthcoming travel adventures to China where we will finally meet our new daughter. To be known on this blog as K.

We started this process back in 2005 gathering and completing massive amounts of documents, homestudies, inspections, etc. Our paperwork was shipped off to China and received there (LID) on 3/14/06, and then....we waited.... and waited.....and waited....and oops, redid the paperwork over because it has expired....and waited again. Oops, that pesky paperwork had to be redone one more time and yes, we waited. We developed great powers of zenlike calm and serenity (not really). We got the nursery ready but surprisingly not done yet! We just didn't have enough time....

On May 21st we got THE call from our adoption agency. They notified us that a beautiful, cheeky, lovely, cheeky, 11 month old, did I say cheeky girl was waiting just for us. This is the information we have on her. Did I say she has kissable cheeks? Okay, her birthday is June 26th, 2008 which happens to be the same date as our other daughter, M. K is at the Chenzhou orphanage in the Hunan province. We hope to be traveling this summer.

Follow along with us on our once in a lifetime adventure to bring our daughter home!!