Saturday, February 27, 2010
Home
We arrived home after a tremendous trip 2 1/2 weeks ago. We were met by both sets of grandparents who enjoyed meeting Charlotte for the first time! So much has changed even since then. New tricks occur daily. She is progressing rapidly and now has a routine down pat. We are all sleeping, eating, playing and enjoying time together. Oh and Charlotte has FINALLY begun to drink liquids. She refused for about a week and I had to douse her food with water! Her favorite activities are eating, strolling, car riding, shopping cart riding and baths. We will continue to keep the blog updated!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
2/7/2010-Guangzhou
We finished up yesterday with an hour and 15 minute long session of paperwork, all for the Embassy appointment on Wednesday. We walked around the island to keep us and Charlotte occupied. Then ahhh the Italian restaurant at the end of the boulevard, it’s where we all ended up. We met one family there then one by one all the families started showing up. It was a nice reprieve from the Chinese food. Gee it’s raining here again today. Shocker! It’s put a hold on the trip to the market we were planning. We are all running out of supplies, diapers especially. I also want to be prepared for the extended flight home with some food, formula, crackers, rice whatever will work! Charlotte has taken to some baby food in a jar. Hmmm? I was not expecting that. She ate almost a whole jar of carrot/squash mash this A.M. Cool, something besides a bottle! Wow my back needs an adjustment. We are all counting the days now. We miss home and all our people. We’re thinking of all back home and want to get there as soon as possible.
We finished up yesterday with an hour and 15 minute long session of paperwork, all for the Embassy appointment on Wednesday. We walked around the island to keep us and Charlotte occupied. Then ahhh the Italian restaurant at the end of the boulevard, it’s where we all ended up. We met one family there then one by one all the families started showing up. It was a nice reprieve from the Chinese food. Gee it’s raining here again today. Shocker! It’s put a hold on the trip to the market we were planning. We are all running out of supplies, diapers especially. I also want to be prepared for the extended flight home with some food, formula, crackers, rice whatever will work! Charlotte has taken to some baby food in a jar. Hmmm? I was not expecting that. She ate almost a whole jar of carrot/squash mash this A.M. Cool, something besides a bottle! Wow my back needs an adjustment. We are all counting the days now. We miss home and all our people. We’re thinking of all back home and want to get there as soon as possible.
Friday, February 5, 2010
2/6/2010-Guanzhou
Its 10:20 A.M. and Charlotte is taking a nap. We met in the lobby at 8:15 for a couple of chores. We first stopped at a photo shop for visa pictures for Charlotte. She gave a big cheesy grin and we were on our way for the medical exam. The place was mayhem…..crying babies, anxious parents, and doctors and nurses running around. Zhou handed us a stack of papers and said “go here, and here, and here.” One room was to measure her growth. The next room was to listen to her heart and lungs and look at her skin. The last room was ENT for a gross hearing test and a look in her ears and mouth. It was not too bad for Charlotte. She came out unscathed. She and the others did not enjoy the visit so much. Most looked hot and sweaty coming out. She is officially 8.6 kilograms and 72 centimeters tall…for at least today. We were the first ones of our group finished with our medicals so we took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel for nap time. As soon as I could I headed straight for Starbucks and got Caroline an orange juice and me a medium latte…..yum! Charlotte’s catching some Zzz’s and then we’ll get some lunch and have a walk-about. The usual! We miss everyone back home. The good news is we are just that one step closer to home. Guangzhou is really the home stretch. We look forward to having Charlotte home to see where she will live and meet her Grammas, Gramps’ Aunties, Uncles, Cousins, and her new friends. It’s been a life on the move. We want to come home.
Its 10:20 A.M. and Charlotte is taking a nap. We met in the lobby at 8:15 for a couple of chores. We first stopped at a photo shop for visa pictures for Charlotte. She gave a big cheesy grin and we were on our way for the medical exam. The place was mayhem…..crying babies, anxious parents, and doctors and nurses running around. Zhou handed us a stack of papers and said “go here, and here, and here.” One room was to measure her growth. The next room was to listen to her heart and lungs and look at her skin. The last room was ENT for a gross hearing test and a look in her ears and mouth. It was not too bad for Charlotte. She came out unscathed. She and the others did not enjoy the visit so much. Most looked hot and sweaty coming out. She is officially 8.6 kilograms and 72 centimeters tall…for at least today. We were the first ones of our group finished with our medicals so we took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel for nap time. As soon as I could I headed straight for Starbucks and got Caroline an orange juice and me a medium latte…..yum! Charlotte’s catching some Zzz’s and then we’ll get some lunch and have a walk-about. The usual! We miss everyone back home. The good news is we are just that one step closer to home. Guangzhou is really the home stretch. We look forward to having Charlotte home to see where she will live and meet her Grammas, Gramps’ Aunties, Uncles, Cousins, and her new friends. It’s been a life on the move. We want to come home.
2/5/2010-Nanchang to Guangzhou
Today we traveled from Nanchang to Guangzhou. Our flight was in the afternoon and we left for the airport at 1 P.M. Charlotte seems to be getting more comfortable with us and her routine. The trip to the airport was uneventful and we arrived with enough time to change her diaper on the floor of the airport. The flight was delayed a bit so we had time to sit around and chat and Caroline bought some fruity roll-up type things while we waited. I tried to get Zach, the thirteen year old in our group, to buy a chicken in a bag for his buddies back home. We were a bit nervous about the flight, but charlotte sat on mommy’s lap and looked out the window. We thought that she would be taking her afternoon nap, but it was exciting to fly on an airplane. She was busy the whole time and seemed to enjoy the flight. A short while later we were in Guangzhou with very little crabbing!
Outside greeted us with 70 degree temperatures and high humidity. We drove to the hotel and saw the city lights on the way.
Shamian Island is totally under construction. The whole city is getting a facelift for the Asian Games that will be here in November. Whole buildings are wrapped in scaffolding for the reconstruction. We checked into the hotel, sorted our baggage, and made Charlotte a bottle right away. We ordered some room service for us too and we all wolfed down our food. Sleep felt good after a long day.
Today we traveled from Nanchang to Guangzhou. Our flight was in the afternoon and we left for the airport at 1 P.M. Charlotte seems to be getting more comfortable with us and her routine. The trip to the airport was uneventful and we arrived with enough time to change her diaper on the floor of the airport. The flight was delayed a bit so we had time to sit around and chat and Caroline bought some fruity roll-up type things while we waited. I tried to get Zach, the thirteen year old in our group, to buy a chicken in a bag for his buddies back home. We were a bit nervous about the flight, but charlotte sat on mommy’s lap and looked out the window. We thought that she would be taking her afternoon nap, but it was exciting to fly on an airplane. She was busy the whole time and seemed to enjoy the flight. A short while later we were in Guangzhou with very little crabbing!
Outside greeted us with 70 degree temperatures and high humidity. We drove to the hotel and saw the city lights on the way.
Shamian Island is totally under construction. The whole city is getting a facelift for the Asian Games that will be here in November. Whole buildings are wrapped in scaffolding for the reconstruction. We checked into the hotel, sorted our baggage, and made Charlotte a bottle right away. We ordered some room service for us too and we all wolfed down our food. Sleep felt good after a long day.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
2/4/2010-Nanchang….again….
It was another rainy day today. We had a rushed breakfast and met our group in the lobby at 9. We were excited that we were again going to go out and see some things. Our first stop was at the Nanchang zoo. It was cold and raining but we were happy to be occupying ourselves with a trip. We saw fish and dogs and wolves and bears and deer and tigers and lots of birds. We also saw a panda bear! Charlotte slept through most of the visit. We were happy to be outside but happy to be on our way to the bus as the rain really started coming down. We stopped by at some porcelain shops on the way home. We saw some really cool stuff that if we had a safe way of getting things home, we would have stocked up on more stuff.
We went back to the hotel for lunch and a nap. We are really getting tired of the buffet and menu at the hotel and there isn’t much around the hotel for dining, so we suffer through it. Charlotte is eating better and is really chowing down the cheerios and rice cereal. She is also taking to her bottles better and we discovered cheese singles! Oh, and French fries are okay by her too. It’s interesting to see how the kids that were in foster care can feed themselves, and that Charlotte has not grasped the concept. We are practicing on this and she is getting better quickly.
Charlotte had a 2 hour nap this afternoon and she really is happy when she sleeps! It is 7:15 right now and we laid her down a few minutes ago….two cries and she’s out like a light! While she was napping this afternoon, I met some folks downstairs to make a trip to the store. It was a giant target-like store with everything from TV’s to giant live fish(for eating). There were a lot of interesting/terrifying things in the market part, but the thing I found most interesting was the meat counter. It was like a US meat counter only it opened out to the patron. People just sort of rooted through the meats with their hands looking for what they wanted…just chucking pieces aside until they found the right one. The other cool thing was the chicken section. I suppose it was just like the chicken section at Safeway….packages of wings, legs, breasts, etc…all of the necessary parts, only here it was just a big bin of chickens….the whole chicken….heaps of fresh chickens just without the fancy packaging. It wasn’t too crazy and I picked up some baby food, lotion, and a teething thing. On the way out I stopped at McDonalds and got two double cheeseburgers and two large orders of fries and brought them back to the room. It was very good.
Tonight as we were sitting around playing with Charlotte, Zhou came by with some copies of notary papers and abandonment papers for us. He sat and talked with us for a while and played with Charlotte. He is very good with kids and always has a way of putting our anxieties to ease.
Tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou! This will be a welcome change. The neighborhood that we will stay in, Shamian Island, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamian_Island) is very walk-able with tree-lined streets, shops and parks. We are keeping our fingers crossed for 70 degree weather. There is a great Italian restaurant on the island and a Starbucks right around the corner from the hotel. Our flight is only an hour and a half, so we’ll get a chance to see how Charlotte will respond to flying. We’re not too sure about the up-coming extended flight to the States but are excited none-the-less. It will be another of many adventures to come….
It was another rainy day today. We had a rushed breakfast and met our group in the lobby at 9. We were excited that we were again going to go out and see some things. Our first stop was at the Nanchang zoo. It was cold and raining but we were happy to be occupying ourselves with a trip. We saw fish and dogs and wolves and bears and deer and tigers and lots of birds. We also saw a panda bear! Charlotte slept through most of the visit. We were happy to be outside but happy to be on our way to the bus as the rain really started coming down. We stopped by at some porcelain shops on the way home. We saw some really cool stuff that if we had a safe way of getting things home, we would have stocked up on more stuff.
We went back to the hotel for lunch and a nap. We are really getting tired of the buffet and menu at the hotel and there isn’t much around the hotel for dining, so we suffer through it. Charlotte is eating better and is really chowing down the cheerios and rice cereal. She is also taking to her bottles better and we discovered cheese singles! Oh, and French fries are okay by her too. It’s interesting to see how the kids that were in foster care can feed themselves, and that Charlotte has not grasped the concept. We are practicing on this and she is getting better quickly.
Charlotte had a 2 hour nap this afternoon and she really is happy when she sleeps! It is 7:15 right now and we laid her down a few minutes ago….two cries and she’s out like a light! While she was napping this afternoon, I met some folks downstairs to make a trip to the store. It was a giant target-like store with everything from TV’s to giant live fish(for eating). There were a lot of interesting/terrifying things in the market part, but the thing I found most interesting was the meat counter. It was like a US meat counter only it opened out to the patron. People just sort of rooted through the meats with their hands looking for what they wanted…just chucking pieces aside until they found the right one. The other cool thing was the chicken section. I suppose it was just like the chicken section at Safeway….packages of wings, legs, breasts, etc…all of the necessary parts, only here it was just a big bin of chickens….the whole chicken….heaps of fresh chickens just without the fancy packaging. It wasn’t too crazy and I picked up some baby food, lotion, and a teething thing. On the way out I stopped at McDonalds and got two double cheeseburgers and two large orders of fries and brought them back to the room. It was very good.
Tonight as we were sitting around playing with Charlotte, Zhou came by with some copies of notary papers and abandonment papers for us. He sat and talked with us for a while and played with Charlotte. He is very good with kids and always has a way of putting our anxieties to ease.
Tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou! This will be a welcome change. The neighborhood that we will stay in, Shamian Island, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamian_Island) is very walk-able with tree-lined streets, shops and parks. We are keeping our fingers crossed for 70 degree weather. There is a great Italian restaurant on the island and a Starbucks right around the corner from the hotel. Our flight is only an hour and a half, so we’ll get a chance to see how Charlotte will respond to flying. We’re not too sure about the up-coming extended flight to the States but are excited none-the-less. It will be another of many adventures to come….
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