Our Girl

It is early morning on Wednesday,I think. It seems that the whole family needed to catch up on sleep, we slept about 11 hours and the little lioness is still just about to wake up and give a good morning growl. She sleeps on her back, spread-eagle, with her arms wide like an angel. Soon, we'll dress and go down to breakfast. There are 3 meals a day here for us; breakfast is a buffet with all kinds of interesting things, some Chinese and some american style. There is a chef with a very tall hat who will make eggs and other things, there are servers who will bring you coffee and high chairs and 'congee' for the babies. It is a sort of rice-porridge, served warm. Things can be added to it for different flavors. Jimmy and I make an effort to try different things all the time. At lunch and dinner, our group of 4 families meets in a dining room and we are served a selection of large plates on a lazy susan that everyone shares. There is usually a nice balance of poultry, beef, veggies, duck, tofu and noodles and a fried rice of some sort. For a few days, there were french fries and we mentioned to our guide Glen that there seemed to be an impression that Americans eat them at every meal. Since then, we have not had any. Yesterday we all went to Wal-Mart. We cause quite a stir wherever we go. Lots of people stare and some even come up and adjust the baby's clothes or blanket. They bundle up the little kids like they are in a blizzard. The little ones wear 'split-pants and some are trained to go to the bathroom when being held over the toilet and signaled by a whistle. Good thing our friend Hugh, who whistles all the time isn't here, things could get messy! Our guide is man named Glenn, he has only ever left China to spend time in Australia so his English is spoken with a combination of a chinese and an aussie accent, very fun to listen to. When we first received the children and got back on the bus(we went to another hotel), Glen offered to sing lullabies in Chinese, it was so nice. The main one that worked is basically "Frere Jacques", so we hum that a lot to calm her still. We are all starving so that's it for now. Hello to all our loved ones and to our kitties!

It's All About Her

We finally have a free moment and the means to communicate. Our hotel here in Nanning has computers in the room! Yippee!For 20 Yuan a day, or about $2.50, not bad to connect to the world. We just want to talk about Laina. She is awesome! Although she came to us with an ear infection, things are looking up in that aspect already. She is gorgeous, which we knew already, but really and truly amazingly so. She has a hot temper and growls when she's angry, baring her tiny 2 bottom teeth, perfectly appropriate since she is a little Leo, born in August. She doesn't have much hair still. She weighs in at 15 pounds and is the littlest in the group, as well as the loudest! Her caregiver said she was the loudest of all. Today we went to the Civil Affairs Office and were interviewed by officials and granted our Adoption Decree. It's official!They took a picture of us together and we signed lots and lots of beautiful rice paper documents with our signatures and also our thumbprints. Laina signed with a foot. They did not need Jimmy's foot, although he made sure to ask! After that, we went to a Notary office, where they asked us more questions and we signed and printed our thumbs on more papers. We promised to love and care for her as our own, promised not to neglect or abuse or abandon her, and pledged to give her everything possible. We passed and on Friday we'll get our official copies. We were able to have a talk with her main caregiver, our guide Glenn interpreted. She gave us our disposable camera back, we have to develop that, and surprised us with other gifts too. It turns out that she was with a foster family for a time, a couple with a son, and they sent a photo album for us! She also gave us Laina a beautiful book about the area where she was found, with a meaningful and poetic inscription. Today has been another amazing day in Nanning, tonight we have a birthday party with all the kids, there is a one year old today. Tomorrow we plan a trip to the zoo. More posts to come!

Gotcha Day

Hello out there! At last! Our beautiful baby is in our arms. She is a perfect little beauty. Today we experienced the most amazing moments of our lives, tears of joy that keep coming. All 4 families received the babies successfully, it was an incredible and miraculous thing to share. I will try to put a photo of the three of us here, although we have tons of photos, we may have to add them later. It is late, the baby is finally asleep after crying for hours,we are exhausted beyond belief, but also ecstatic. I am in someone else's room so I have to be quick and am anxious to sleep before another big day tomorrow, standing before the Civil office of the Guanxi Province, to "show our purpose, our promise and our pledge. Moe later!

Beijing-Day2

We are unable to get to our blog from the business center so I am depending on the kindness of other people to go in their rooms to post. Also, we cannot view the blog or your comments from here. Yesterday, we went to a beautiful park called Jingshan Park in the early a.m. People were exercising, doing Tai Chi, sword dancing, ribbon dancing, playing instruments, all kinds of things. One man was doing cartwheels down the path and a boy from our group joined him, which drew a big crowd. We are taking tons of pictures but can't send thm yet, so sorry. Later, we went to The Forbidden City and Tiannamen Square. It was absolutely amazing! So much history and such a unique culture. There are street vendors everywhere, they don't all take no(or Bu) for an answer. We broke away from the group for dinner last night. We went to place where all the servers were in traditional costume. We have tried many cool foods, this a.m. I had a pastry stuffed with dates, pork dumplings, marinated eggs, steamed vegetables and a couple sweet rolls. Everything was delicious! Last night they served crispy duck, abalone, chicken in an orange sauce, many unidentifiable and very delicious things. There was "camel paw" on the menu but we did not try it! The people are very nice, young folks like to say hello and giggle when we try and answer in Chinese. They really stare at us, and the elderly ladies will actually grab the young kids in our group and give them big kisses, one little blonde girl in particular.Today we are about to head out to visit a jade factory and the Graet Wall. It is hard to concentrate on all these trips when all we can think about is that TOMORROW we will see our babies! We fly out at 7a.m., arrive in the Province around 10, and get the babes in 'the afternoon'.We will have a guide there named Glenn who we have heard is really great, and has a nice singing voice too. Our small group is totally bonding as friends, we are so happy about it all, can't believe we are here!

TheFirst Day

Hi Everyone; We made it to Beijing, safe and sound. The Capital Hotel is very nice. In our room there are bathrobes, mini-bar, frig., safe, all kinds of luxuries. Today we are up early, going to a local park before breakfast. Later, we have a child-care class and a trip this afternoon to the Forbidden City. Tomorrow the Great Wall. We are taking tons of pictures already, but haven't figured out how to post them. I am borrowing a laptop in our friends' room. All the people in our group are fantastic! The city is under tons of construction, getting ready for the 2008 Olympics, everyone is busy, busy. More later!

THIS IS IT!

Today we are starting our trip to China! Just can't believe it is finally happening. We are so excited, it is so amazing. We will be blogging along as we go..there are computer centers in all of our hotels. We will also be checking our emails for those of you who want to do that. Tonight we will stay near the airport so we can get up for our early flight, and tomorrow we will fly from Newark directly to Beijing! Whoopee! Yay! Yippee! Sorry, no photo today, I have to go sit on my suitcase. We think we have everything..we think. We'll miss our 2 kitties terribly but they are in good hands.They know something is up, better make sure that THEY are not in the bags! Might not be able to blog until Friday, your time. We will be exactly 12 hours ahead of you. Laina, we are on our way, can't wait to have you in our arms!

Three More Days!

Sorry there hasn't been much posting on the "Blob" as one of our friends calls it, we are suddenly busy, packing and organizing, washing baby clothes, decorating her room, making list after list after list.....It is tricky to fit all the stuff we'd like to bring in our allotted bags. Our checked bags can only weigh 44 lbs., and then we have a carryon each. We have documents, cameras, medications, diapers and diaper bag, baby carrier, clothes for all of us, baby bottles and formula,and of course, we want to leave room for all the stuff we'll buy over there, so we pack and then take some stuff out and try again. Luckily, there's Wal Mart and lots of places to buy whatever we don't bring over there, as well as laundry in the hotels. We are shrinking our stuff with "packmates"; those cool bags that you roll the air out of. Today we put the car seat in the van.I just tried to take pix in Laina's room but it is very small and hard to get a decent shot, so here is a photo of a funny thing that Jimmy gave me for my birthday last year, called "The Wheel of Responsibility".Only 3 more days!!Yippee!

Itinerary

Hi everyone; Jimmy and I finally have our itinerary, here are some of the highlights... We leave the U.S. on April 5th and fly from Providence to Newark, and then Newark to Beijing. We arrive in China on Friday in the afternoon. The next day, we are going to the Great Wall with all the 27 families, definitely can't wait to go there! On the 8th, we will be going to the Forbidden City and an Acrobatic Show in the evening. On April 9th, we will fly with only 3 other families to Nanning in the Guangxi Province and in the afternoon, we will finally have Laina in our arms! You will all be asleep after eating your chocolate Easter Bunnies...We stay in that area for 7 days, getting to know our babies and doing local sightseeing, etc.,as well as getting legal documents, etc. From there, we fly to Guangzhou, where we will meet up with all the families again, this time, with all the new children. The Consulate is there, we will have the 'swearing in ceremony' and enjoy that beautiful area for 3 days and then on the 19th, fly back home.We are so excited we can't even stand it! The next 11 days are going to go by in a blur. Laina, here we come! Here is a nice photo by a man named Frank Pettit, of the Hills of Guangxi.

Other China Babies

Hi All; Just thought you might appreciate these China cuties! 16 panda cubs, including 5 sets of twins, in Sichuan, China. I just might stay in China as this guy's assistant! I love the little one looking in the box.(Thanks for the photo,Sarah.) We are busily finishing Laina's room, will post a photo when it's set up. Packing, making lists, getting ready for our meeting tomorrow; we are psyched to meet the other families that we are traveling with, 27 families in all. Wow!

Blog Visitor Tips

Jimmy and I love to read the "comments" from our posts, you can just click on the word 'comments'and type a message in the box that comes up. Also, did you notice that the Weather Girl on the right side of the blog changes her clothes? We added a Chinese Horoscope link to click on too; look up your birth year for fun. Jimmy is a Rabbit, Nancy is an Oxen, and Laina is the Year of the Dog. Looks like we'll get along just fine! China, Here We Come!