Kaeli has now adapted to her new car seat and she loves it. The trip from the airport to home was the first time she had ridden in a vehicle of any kind and NOT been on Mama's lap, so she wasn't too happy about it. But now the car seat is fine, whether Mama is in the seat next to her or in the front seat.
We went grocery shopping and Kaeli rode in Ye-Ye's grocery cart, and he showed her off to all the "regulars" at the market. We stocked up on all sorts of kid-friendly foods. Then it was home for lunch and a nap for Kaeli. Kaeli spent the afternoon playing and reading and trying to help Jio-Jio Doug put together his Darth Vader Lego kit. We also opened a few more presents, including a wonderful Chinese Little Red-Riding Hood story called Lon Po Po and two beautiful framed art prints by Paul Nzalamba showing Love and At Play, from Nancy, a very good friend of my parents.
After dinner (Kaeli doesn't like "American" noodles as much as Chinese noodles, we've discovered, as the dining room floor showed quite well!), we put a video CD in the DVD player that Mama had given Ye-Ye for Christmas. Kaeli sang and danced and bobbed her head in time to the music, until it was bath time and Ye-Ye put in a DVD on Columbia River Water Fisheries, which Kaeli didn't find quite so interesting.
Bath time is always a highlight. Last night she learned to lay on her back and kick her feet (which helps Mama rinse off her shampooed hair) and also learned that it's fun to put her face down in the water, but NOT fun to drink it.
Kaeli went to sleep after only a few minutes of wailing last night, and Mama was prepared with a radio for the night's events. Each time Kaeli tossed and fussed, we turned on the radio and listened to NPR and BBC World News, which held Kaeli's interest until she fell asleep again. We learned all about tsunamis and events in Irag and about Lionel trains declaring bankruptcy and how a hiker amputated his arm at the wrist earlier this year, and learned that NPR has NO music during the night time hours. The radio enthralled Kaeli enough that Jio-Jio Doug got a good night's sleep, until she started wailing at 6am and Mama wasn't playing the radio any more. So Jio-Jio Doug came upstairs and released Kaeli from her cell/crib and took her downstairs to play.
Breakfast time now - it's a beautiful gray wet day outside - perfect Oregon!! Have a good day, everyone!
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Monday, December 27, 2004
Dec. 27th - Our first full day in Portland
Well, I've learned my brother can have infinite patience at times! He slept at the same end of the house last night as Miss Kaeli and I, which was unfortunate for him!
We had a wonderful, exhausting day yesterday as Kaeli got to know my parents and brother. She giggled and laughed and played with them, and ran to them with her arms outstretched. She learned to navigate over the immense (to her) differences in altitudes of the slate hallway floor and the living room/kitchen hardwood floors and the area rug in the living room. She put to test the child-proofing my parents had done before her arrival, and they passed with flying colors! Nai-Nai's still not sure about the glass topped coffee table in the living room...
We had a bath before bedtime (which Kaeli loves, and cries when she's taken out), and she fell asleep in my arms in the rocking chair as she drank her bottle of hot milk and rice formula. I put her to bed, and we thought the night was over. But we hadn't cleared it with Kaeli!
Kaeli was up and vocal at about midnight, and it took until almost 2pm to get her back to sleep - walking, rubbing her back, re-heating the bottle, etc. Doug met me in the kitchen while I was microwaving the bottle and pointed out that my daughter was screaming, and I thanked him for letting me know. I collapsed back into bed exhausted after she finally fell back asleep. Then she woke up again at 3:30 and started to wail, and this time I just stayed in bed and let her cry it out, which she did until 4:30am. Then we both got some sleep finally.
Nai-Nai (Gramma) woke us at 8:30am, and we went downstairs to celebrate our first Christmas as a three-generation family! Kaeli wore her sleepers and a t-shirt that said "With Love From China" and had a big red heart with the stars from the China flag on it. Kaeli got lots of wonderful presents, and REALLY enjoyed the wrapping paper they came in, of course! She loves to open her box of Lego blocks and spill them all out and then put them all back in the box, which is quite tidy of her! She also got several wonderful presents from friends of Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye and the Danowskis across the street and Tom Danowski's parents, which will all be enjoyed and put to good use!
The Danowskis (Sorry if I'm misspelling it!) from across the street came over to meet Kaeli in person, and their youngest son Paul (4 years old) wasn't quite sure about not being the youngest on the deck anymore, but we all had fun visiting. When Nai-Nai returned from volunteering at the local public library in the afternoon, two friends came back with her to met Kaeli also. Uncle Doug had taken her outside to walk in her squeaky shoes and she had been trundling up and down the block for quite awhile when Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye (Gramp) came home from the library. I think Uncle Doug had an ulterior motive to wearing her out doing laps around the block...
Ye-Ye feed her dinner on the kitchen floor in her booster chair, and then she rolled around with him for awhile before she got a bath in the kitchen sink, which also helped hose down most of the kitchen. We'll stick to the bathtub the next time around. She is asleep upstairs in the crib right now, and we hope that she'll make it through the night! Doug had also suggested that we move the crib to the other end of the house to Ye-Ye and Nai-Nai's bedroom, but they vetoed that idea.
Kaeli is having a great time here, and is just full of fun and smiles and humor. She is constantly on the go, chattering and singing to herself or to whoever she's playing with. She imitates people readily and thinks its great fun, and cackles and giggles.
I've enjoyed reading through our whole blog and seeing everyone's comments for the first time today. Thanks so much, everyone, for taking the time to keep up with us and to post comments! They mean so very very much to me and Laurie, and will to Kaeli in the future.
Mama is heading off to bed now, and hoping for a good night's sleep. She's thinking fondly of Laurie, who probably got a full deep night's sleep last night and will again tonight!
PS - the title for yesterday's blog (Dec. 26th Again!) was reference to the fact that Kaeli and I had TWO December 26ths this week. We're definitely looking forward to only ONE day each day for some time to come!!!
We had a wonderful, exhausting day yesterday as Kaeli got to know my parents and brother. She giggled and laughed and played with them, and ran to them with her arms outstretched. She learned to navigate over the immense (to her) differences in altitudes of the slate hallway floor and the living room/kitchen hardwood floors and the area rug in the living room. She put to test the child-proofing my parents had done before her arrival, and they passed with flying colors! Nai-Nai's still not sure about the glass topped coffee table in the living room...
We had a bath before bedtime (which Kaeli loves, and cries when she's taken out), and she fell asleep in my arms in the rocking chair as she drank her bottle of hot milk and rice formula. I put her to bed, and we thought the night was over. But we hadn't cleared it with Kaeli!
Kaeli was up and vocal at about midnight, and it took until almost 2pm to get her back to sleep - walking, rubbing her back, re-heating the bottle, etc. Doug met me in the kitchen while I was microwaving the bottle and pointed out that my daughter was screaming, and I thanked him for letting me know. I collapsed back into bed exhausted after she finally fell back asleep. Then she woke up again at 3:30 and started to wail, and this time I just stayed in bed and let her cry it out, which she did until 4:30am. Then we both got some sleep finally.
Nai-Nai (Gramma) woke us at 8:30am, and we went downstairs to celebrate our first Christmas as a three-generation family! Kaeli wore her sleepers and a t-shirt that said "With Love From China" and had a big red heart with the stars from the China flag on it. Kaeli got lots of wonderful presents, and REALLY enjoyed the wrapping paper they came in, of course! She loves to open her box of Lego blocks and spill them all out and then put them all back in the box, which is quite tidy of her! She also got several wonderful presents from friends of Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye and the Danowskis across the street and Tom Danowski's parents, which will all be enjoyed and put to good use!
The Danowskis (Sorry if I'm misspelling it!) from across the street came over to meet Kaeli in person, and their youngest son Paul (4 years old) wasn't quite sure about not being the youngest on the deck anymore, but we all had fun visiting. When Nai-Nai returned from volunteering at the local public library in the afternoon, two friends came back with her to met Kaeli also. Uncle Doug had taken her outside to walk in her squeaky shoes and she had been trundling up and down the block for quite awhile when Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye (Gramp) came home from the library. I think Uncle Doug had an ulterior motive to wearing her out doing laps around the block...
Ye-Ye feed her dinner on the kitchen floor in her booster chair, and then she rolled around with him for awhile before she got a bath in the kitchen sink, which also helped hose down most of the kitchen. We'll stick to the bathtub the next time around. She is asleep upstairs in the crib right now, and we hope that she'll make it through the night! Doug had also suggested that we move the crib to the other end of the house to Ye-Ye and Nai-Nai's bedroom, but they vetoed that idea.
Kaeli is having a great time here, and is just full of fun and smiles and humor. She is constantly on the go, chattering and singing to herself or to whoever she's playing with. She imitates people readily and thinks its great fun, and cackles and giggles.
I've enjoyed reading through our whole blog and seeing everyone's comments for the first time today. Thanks so much, everyone, for taking the time to keep up with us and to post comments! They mean so very very much to me and Laurie, and will to Kaeli in the future.
Mama is heading off to bed now, and hoping for a good night's sleep. She's thinking fondly of Laurie, who probably got a full deep night's sleep last night and will again tonight!
PS - the title for yesterday's blog (Dec. 26th Again!) was reference to the fact that Kaeli and I had TWO December 26ths this week. We're definitely looking forward to only ONE day each day for some time to come!!!
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Dec. 26th (again!) - From the United States!!!
We're home!!!
We were up at 4:15 AM this morning to get ready for the hotel shuttle to the airport. Since it was just three of us, they sent a limo service instead. The airport was a 30 minute ride away, and there was a surprising amount of traffic on the road. Laurie wrestled our 5 suitcases to the luggage check-in counter, and then we had a relaxing breakfast (Kaeli's last congee in China!) before boarding the plane.
Kaeli slept in my arms for the first hour of our first flight, and then we disembarked in Tokyo and transfered to our plane to the US. Kaeli slept for a short time at the beginning of that flight also, and then stayed WIDE AWAKE for most of the rest of the flight when everyone should have been sleeping. She was so tired, but she kept fighting going to sleep so she was cranky and wiggly for hours. Laurie ran her up and down the aisles and she drank two whole bottles of milk before finally zonking out for the last two hours of the flight. Needless to say Laurie and I got little or NO sleep.
Despite what a wonderful trip we had and all the fantastic things we had seen, we were very glad to be back in the US and in Oregon. It took almost two hours to get through customs and Kaeli and I had to spend time in the immigration office, but we finally loaded up and drove home to Ye-Ye and Nai-Nai's house (Gramp and Gram's). Kaeli has taken to them and to Jio-Jio (uncle) Doug immediately and has charmed them all. She is giggling and laughing and running to them to be held, and thoroughly entertaining us all. They all clear out of the room when it's diaper changing time, though....
Kaeli and I got a few hours sleep in the middle of the day, and I'm hoping to keep her up until 8 or 9pm to get her on US time. Right now it's very early morning in China, so we're having to completely flip our time schedules.
Tomorrow will be our "Christmas" and will be a great time together, I am sure. I will continue to update the blog until we return to Philly, which will be by train on January 16th (leaving Portland). Nai-Nai (Gram), Kaeli and I will arrive in Philly on the 19th. That train ride will be lots of fun for the three of us, I'm sure! Kaeli is such a great traveler (other than the past 12 hours!!!) and I know she'll love the long train trip.
Again, hello from the US!!!
We were up at 4:15 AM this morning to get ready for the hotel shuttle to the airport. Since it was just three of us, they sent a limo service instead. The airport was a 30 minute ride away, and there was a surprising amount of traffic on the road. Laurie wrestled our 5 suitcases to the luggage check-in counter, and then we had a relaxing breakfast (Kaeli's last congee in China!) before boarding the plane.
Kaeli slept in my arms for the first hour of our first flight, and then we disembarked in Tokyo and transfered to our plane to the US. Kaeli slept for a short time at the beginning of that flight also, and then stayed WIDE AWAKE for most of the rest of the flight when everyone should have been sleeping. She was so tired, but she kept fighting going to sleep so she was cranky and wiggly for hours. Laurie ran her up and down the aisles and she drank two whole bottles of milk before finally zonking out for the last two hours of the flight. Needless to say Laurie and I got little or NO sleep.
Despite what a wonderful trip we had and all the fantastic things we had seen, we were very glad to be back in the US and in Oregon. It took almost two hours to get through customs and Kaeli and I had to spend time in the immigration office, but we finally loaded up and drove home to Ye-Ye and Nai-Nai's house (Gramp and Gram's). Kaeli has taken to them and to Jio-Jio (uncle) Doug immediately and has charmed them all. She is giggling and laughing and running to them to be held, and thoroughly entertaining us all. They all clear out of the room when it's diaper changing time, though....
Kaeli and I got a few hours sleep in the middle of the day, and I'm hoping to keep her up until 8 or 9pm to get her on US time. Right now it's very early morning in China, so we're having to completely flip our time schedules.
Tomorrow will be our "Christmas" and will be a great time together, I am sure. I will continue to update the blog until we return to Philly, which will be by train on January 16th (leaving Portland). Nai-Nai (Gram), Kaeli and I will arrive in Philly on the 19th. That train ride will be lots of fun for the three of us, I'm sure! Kaeli is such a great traveler (other than the past 12 hours!!!) and I know she'll love the long train trip.
Again, hello from the US!!!
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Dec. 25th - Merry Christmas from China!!!!
Our Christmas Day in Hong Kong -
We had another good night of sleep. We've figured Kaeli out, and have found that a warm bottle of rice cereal and milk mixture just before bed, with a good book, sets the mood. Then I put her on her stomach in the crib and put a blanket over her and she lets out one wail and then settles down. I pat her on the back for a minute or two and she's out like a light. She wakes during the night less and less and just cries out once or twice and then is sound asleep again.
We were up early at Kaeli's insistence this morning (7am) and had plenty of time to get ready for our all day tour. We took a taxi down to the Star Ferry dock at 9:30 and wandered around for awhile waiting for our boat to show up, at 10:15. We had a two hour tour of the Hong Kong harbor and saw lots of impressive sights - high skyscrapers, "high density housing" that was miles of tall apartment buildings crowded together on the shore, a golf course on the banks of the harbor and many fisherman on the water. Kaeli loved being on the boat and watched intensely all of the sights going by.
After disembarking, we joined 6 others (Chinese Americans from Orange County, California) on the tour for a Chinese dim sum lunch at a nearby restaurant, where Kaeli fell asleep in my arms before her congee arrived. We were to wait in the lobby of the Salisbury YMCA (across the street) for the bus to arrive for the afternoon portion and had more than 45 minutes to kill and - guess what!!! There was a bookstore in the lobby of the YMCA!!! No need to go further...
We took the bus through the tunnel onto Hong Kong Island, then up the winding, hilly, cliff-hanging Peak Road to Victoria's Peak lookout area. When I was there back in 1987, the view was breathtaking and the lookout was on the side of a lonely wooded road. Now there is a Peak Galleria shopping mall and a Madame Tussaude's (sp) wax museum. How times change!!!
We wound our way down the other side of the hills and visited Aberdeen, where I had also been in 1987 to visit the famous floating village of fishermen. I remember the guide saying then that some of the people who lived in the village had never set foot on actual land, having lived their entire life on boats in the village. Again time changes things drastically - the village is a mere shadow of itself, and the guide today said that she didn't know what would be there, if anything, if we returned in two years. It was really saddening to see a way of life disappear the way it has here. We took a sampan through the village, which is about 1/20th the size it used to be. We also went around the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, which is a large floating restaurant (duh) that seats 2,400 people. It's quite impressive.
Then on to drive past Repulse Bay, which the guide says is now called "Excuse Me" Bay because the beaches are so crowded in the summertime. Then we visited Stanley Market. Laurie and I were there about 2 minutes, then turned around and went down to the Stanley Beach, which was much less crowded. Kaeli was mesmerized by the waves and the water (a REALLY big bathtub, one of her favorite places! She cries when I take her OUT of the tub). We got back on the bus for the windy swaying trip back up and down the mountains (while I was trying to feed a hungry Kaeli - no mean feat!). Kaeli gave about two wails and then zonked out in my arms again, and slept until we got dropped off at the hotel.
When we got back to the room, I say down on the bed to get Kaeli out of the Hip Hammock (which she loves me to carry her in) and she crawled across the bed, stood up holding the railings of the crib right next to it and lifted one leg to try to get into the crib. I obliged her, and she immediately fell back to sleep.
Laurie and I are now packing for a 4:30am wake up call and a 5:30am hotel shuttle ride to the airport for our 8:50am flight. The hotel insists we need to leave 4 hours before our flight. We'll find out how right they are tomorrow! Neither of us are looking forward to 17 hours on a plane with Kaeli - she has been an angel so far and LOVES to travel, and did so well on the plane from Kunming to Guangzhou, but that was only 2 hours or so. Tomorrow she may be singing another tune!
Wish us luck - we're shortly going to be on our way home!!!
Love to you all who have shared this adventure so far with us.... And Merry Christmas to everyone!!!
Cheryl, Kaeli & Laurie
We had another good night of sleep. We've figured Kaeli out, and have found that a warm bottle of rice cereal and milk mixture just before bed, with a good book, sets the mood. Then I put her on her stomach in the crib and put a blanket over her and she lets out one wail and then settles down. I pat her on the back for a minute or two and she's out like a light. She wakes during the night less and less and just cries out once or twice and then is sound asleep again.
We were up early at Kaeli's insistence this morning (7am) and had plenty of time to get ready for our all day tour. We took a taxi down to the Star Ferry dock at 9:30 and wandered around for awhile waiting for our boat to show up, at 10:15. We had a two hour tour of the Hong Kong harbor and saw lots of impressive sights - high skyscrapers, "high density housing" that was miles of tall apartment buildings crowded together on the shore, a golf course on the banks of the harbor and many fisherman on the water. Kaeli loved being on the boat and watched intensely all of the sights going by.
After disembarking, we joined 6 others (Chinese Americans from Orange County, California) on the tour for a Chinese dim sum lunch at a nearby restaurant, where Kaeli fell asleep in my arms before her congee arrived. We were to wait in the lobby of the Salisbury YMCA (across the street) for the bus to arrive for the afternoon portion and had more than 45 minutes to kill and - guess what!!! There was a bookstore in the lobby of the YMCA!!! No need to go further...
We took the bus through the tunnel onto Hong Kong Island, then up the winding, hilly, cliff-hanging Peak Road to Victoria's Peak lookout area. When I was there back in 1987, the view was breathtaking and the lookout was on the side of a lonely wooded road. Now there is a Peak Galleria shopping mall and a Madame Tussaude's (sp) wax museum. How times change!!!
We wound our way down the other side of the hills and visited Aberdeen, where I had also been in 1987 to visit the famous floating village of fishermen. I remember the guide saying then that some of the people who lived in the village had never set foot on actual land, having lived their entire life on boats in the village. Again time changes things drastically - the village is a mere shadow of itself, and the guide today said that she didn't know what would be there, if anything, if we returned in two years. It was really saddening to see a way of life disappear the way it has here. We took a sampan through the village, which is about 1/20th the size it used to be. We also went around the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, which is a large floating restaurant (duh) that seats 2,400 people. It's quite impressive.
Then on to drive past Repulse Bay, which the guide says is now called "Excuse Me" Bay because the beaches are so crowded in the summertime. Then we visited Stanley Market. Laurie and I were there about 2 minutes, then turned around and went down to the Stanley Beach, which was much less crowded. Kaeli was mesmerized by the waves and the water (a REALLY big bathtub, one of her favorite places! She cries when I take her OUT of the tub). We got back on the bus for the windy swaying trip back up and down the mountains (while I was trying to feed a hungry Kaeli - no mean feat!). Kaeli gave about two wails and then zonked out in my arms again, and slept until we got dropped off at the hotel.
When we got back to the room, I say down on the bed to get Kaeli out of the Hip Hammock (which she loves me to carry her in) and she crawled across the bed, stood up holding the railings of the crib right next to it and lifted one leg to try to get into the crib. I obliged her, and she immediately fell back to sleep.
Laurie and I are now packing for a 4:30am wake up call and a 5:30am hotel shuttle ride to the airport for our 8:50am flight. The hotel insists we need to leave 4 hours before our flight. We'll find out how right they are tomorrow! Neither of us are looking forward to 17 hours on a plane with Kaeli - she has been an angel so far and LOVES to travel, and did so well on the plane from Kunming to Guangzhou, but that was only 2 hours or so. Tomorrow she may be singing another tune!
Wish us luck - we're shortly going to be on our way home!!!
Love to you all who have shared this adventure so far with us.... And Merry Christmas to everyone!!!
Cheryl, Kaeli & Laurie
Friday, December 24, 2004
Dec. 24th - Christmas Eve in Hong Kong!!! (Cheryl)
We slept in this morning, having absolutely nothing planned for us by anyone!!! We made it to 7:30am when Kaeli decided it was high time to get rolling. Laurie went out foraging for food and brought back breakfast from a local shop. Then we walked around the neighborhood for an hour or so - found the gorgeous Kowloon Park a few blocks away and had fun with the fountains and birds and all the stairs.
We had our noon time naps, then heated up leftovers for lunch. Then we took a taxi down to the Star Ferry terminal and took the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island (Kaeli's first boat ride!), where we visited Kaeli's second library! We wandered around for awhile, then headed back to the mainland where we're staying. Evidently Christmas Eve is a big deal here - they have shut down several main streets (including the one our hotel is on) and there are street parties going on everywhere. Everyone wishes us a Merry Christmas, too. The streets are all lit up with Christmas lights and lots of people are wearing Christmas hats.
Tomorrow we are scheduled for an all day tour of Hong Kong (we couldn't bear not to be on a sightseeing schedule for more than one day!) and will see Victoria's Peak, the Aberdeen floating villages, and have a dim sum lunch and a morning harbor boat tour.
Kaelie has now ridden in a taxi, a bus, a train, a plane, and a ferry boat. By the time she's home in the US, she'll have also been in three countries before turning two (China, Japan (our plane change) and the US!).
More later... must go up to rescue Laurie from a little miss Kaeli who is full of energy and giggles tonight...
love to all on this Christmas Eve in Hong Kong...
Cheryl
PS - please forgive any and all typos, grammatical errors, etc. in this blog - we can not be held responsible for our poor typing and English skills at this late date in our adventures....
We had our noon time naps, then heated up leftovers for lunch. Then we took a taxi down to the Star Ferry terminal and took the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island (Kaeli's first boat ride!), where we visited Kaeli's second library! We wandered around for awhile, then headed back to the mainland where we're staying. Evidently Christmas Eve is a big deal here - they have shut down several main streets (including the one our hotel is on) and there are street parties going on everywhere. Everyone wishes us a Merry Christmas, too. The streets are all lit up with Christmas lights and lots of people are wearing Christmas hats.
Tomorrow we are scheduled for an all day tour of Hong Kong (we couldn't bear not to be on a sightseeing schedule for more than one day!) and will see Victoria's Peak, the Aberdeen floating villages, and have a dim sum lunch and a morning harbor boat tour.
Kaelie has now ridden in a taxi, a bus, a train, a plane, and a ferry boat. By the time she's home in the US, she'll have also been in three countries before turning two (China, Japan (our plane change) and the US!).
More later... must go up to rescue Laurie from a little miss Kaeli who is full of energy and giggles tonight...
love to all on this Christmas Eve in Hong Kong...
Cheryl
PS - please forgive any and all typos, grammatical errors, etc. in this blog - we can not be held responsible for our poor typing and English skills at this late date in our adventures....
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Dec. 23rd - My first train ride!!! (Kaeli)
(Mom said I had to first apologize for them not posting on the blog for several days. There was no internet access in the White Swan hotel rooms and Mama and Laurie were kept busy by the tour guides and me and couldn't get out to do posts! But we'll try to be better now!)
I had my first train ride today!!!! We checked out of the White Swan in Gunagzhou, and Grace took Mama and Laurie and me to the train station on a mini bus. Which was a good idea, because frankly Mama and Laurie have WAY too much luggage and bags!!! I'm traveling light - just a diaper bag - I don't know where they get all this stuff they're carting around!!!
Grace helped us find our way to the right train, and she checked our luggage for us. We got on this very nice modern train and had a wonderful ride to Hong Kong. Or at least Mama says it was wonderful - I took a nap for most of it. But I'll take Mama's word for it that it was wonderful.
When I woke up I entertained everyone, and the two men in the seat behind Mama held me for a little bit and played with me. The Mama and Daddy in the seat ahead of us talked with us about their baby (who wasn't nearly as cute or smart as me, of course!) who they had also adopted. Since they are Chinese, it only took them a couple of months to adopt her. But I told Mama I was worth the wait for her!!!
We saw beautiful Chinese countryside, and then huge modern tall apartment buildings and office buildings as we got nearer to Hong Kong. When we got off the train, we followed the crowd and then realized we hadn't gone to where our luggage was! Laurie had to sneak back in a "Restricted Entry" door and rescue our luggage, which was a big relief for Mama. Then we had an adventure finding a taxicab - Laurie went over a couple of bumps and the luggage went flying - it was really funny!!! Several people came to our rescue and helped us into TWO cabs, because our luggage wouldn't all fit into one!!! Mama and Laurie were quite stressed out about being separated, but I was very calm and knew it would work out all right. Only Laurie had Hong Kong money that she had gotten at the train station while Mama watched me and the luggage, so Mama's taxicab driver was a little miffed that Mama made him wait until Laurie showed up to pay him.
We're checked into the Kimberley Hotel here in Hong Kong, and we had a wonderful lunch (Boy, congee and noodles sure are good!). I'm keeping everyone laughing, which is my job. We're going to go for a walk now outside and try to find a place for milk for me for dinner.
Yei-Yei and Nai-Nai - Mama says to tell you that we need animal crackers (Mama is concerned about how low the supply is getting) and chocolate chip cookies in the car ride home from the airport. And Laurie wants a big hug from Dave. Other than that, we'll be fine!!!
I had my first train ride today!!!! We checked out of the White Swan in Gunagzhou, and Grace took Mama and Laurie and me to the train station on a mini bus. Which was a good idea, because frankly Mama and Laurie have WAY too much luggage and bags!!! I'm traveling light - just a diaper bag - I don't know where they get all this stuff they're carting around!!!
Grace helped us find our way to the right train, and she checked our luggage for us. We got on this very nice modern train and had a wonderful ride to Hong Kong. Or at least Mama says it was wonderful - I took a nap for most of it. But I'll take Mama's word for it that it was wonderful.
When I woke up I entertained everyone, and the two men in the seat behind Mama held me for a little bit and played with me. The Mama and Daddy in the seat ahead of us talked with us about their baby (who wasn't nearly as cute or smart as me, of course!) who they had also adopted. Since they are Chinese, it only took them a couple of months to adopt her. But I told Mama I was worth the wait for her!!!
We saw beautiful Chinese countryside, and then huge modern tall apartment buildings and office buildings as we got nearer to Hong Kong. When we got off the train, we followed the crowd and then realized we hadn't gone to where our luggage was! Laurie had to sneak back in a "Restricted Entry" door and rescue our luggage, which was a big relief for Mama. Then we had an adventure finding a taxicab - Laurie went over a couple of bumps and the luggage went flying - it was really funny!!! Several people came to our rescue and helped us into TWO cabs, because our luggage wouldn't all fit into one!!! Mama and Laurie were quite stressed out about being separated, but I was very calm and knew it would work out all right. Only Laurie had Hong Kong money that she had gotten at the train station while Mama watched me and the luggage, so Mama's taxicab driver was a little miffed that Mama made him wait until Laurie showed up to pay him.
We're checked into the Kimberley Hotel here in Hong Kong, and we had a wonderful lunch (Boy, congee and noodles sure are good!). I'm keeping everyone laughing, which is my job. We're going to go for a walk now outside and try to find a place for milk for me for dinner.
Yei-Yei and Nai-Nai - Mama says to tell you that we need animal crackers (Mama is concerned about how low the supply is getting) and chocolate chip cookies in the car ride home from the airport. And Laurie wants a big hug from Dave. Other than that, we'll be fine!!!
Dec. 22nd - I'm a citizen!!! (Kaeli)
I'm a US citizen!!!
Mama and Laurie and I met the others in the "chicken" (check-in) lobby at 9:30am and we walked over to the US embassy. Laurie had to sit outside and watch our strollers and knit while Mama and I and the others went through security and into the actual US embassy. There were a lot of Chinese people waiting outside hoping to get visas to go to America, but we bypassed them all and followed the signs to the adoption center. We went up several floors and waited in a small crowded room with a lot of other mamas and daddys and babies of all ages. I entertained everyone as usual, and ran around and danced and waved and smiled big at people.
Then a very tall man came out (another big nose person, like Mama and Laurie and Madison and Alex's mommies and daddies) who spoke loud and asked everyone to raise their right hands. Us babies didn't have to - some of us even started to cry in the quiet, but I just giggled and squirmed in Mama's arms. Then the tall man asked if everyone had told the truth on the papers they had submitted, and the mommies and daddies all said yes, and the tall man said "that's it, your proud parents of American citizens!" Some of the mommies and daddies (including my own Mama) got wet eyes for some reason.
Then we walked back to the hotel and did some shopping on the way, and I took a nap. Becoming a citizen is quite exhausting. Then at 3pm we met in Dr. Susan's room and Grace delivered our visas from the US embassy and we got our instructions about taking a train to Hong Kong. We said goodbye to David and Amy and Madison, who left on a train to Hong Kong right after the meeting. Then Mama and Laurie and I went back to our room.
Mama disappeared (she came back with bags, so I think she went shopping) and while she was gone Alex came to play while her parents went shopping. Laurie had her hands full and had a lot of fun with Alex and I!!! I don't see what the big deal was, but Laurie looked stressed when Mama returned! And we even waited until Mama got home for both Alex and I to do major stinkies in our diapers at the same time!
I do NOT like sharing Mama - everytime Mama played with Alex instead of me I cried and let her know that wasn't right. I didn't even like Mama changing Alex's diaper -she shouldn't be changing anybody's but mine!!!
That baby Alex's parents finally came back to get her (I was worried I was going to have to share Mama more!) and we all went out to dinner at a Thai restaurant. Mama and Laurie bought another suitcase to pack stuff into and I helped them pack the rest of the night. And I was a BIG help!!! Then we all went to sleep, and I slept ALL night and didn't wake up crying once!!! (well, I did wail once or twice but I took pity on Mama and went right back to sleep so she didn't have to get up!).
Mama and Laurie and I met the others in the "chicken" (check-in) lobby at 9:30am and we walked over to the US embassy. Laurie had to sit outside and watch our strollers and knit while Mama and I and the others went through security and into the actual US embassy. There were a lot of Chinese people waiting outside hoping to get visas to go to America, but we bypassed them all and followed the signs to the adoption center. We went up several floors and waited in a small crowded room with a lot of other mamas and daddys and babies of all ages. I entertained everyone as usual, and ran around and danced and waved and smiled big at people.
Then a very tall man came out (another big nose person, like Mama and Laurie and Madison and Alex's mommies and daddies) who spoke loud and asked everyone to raise their right hands. Us babies didn't have to - some of us even started to cry in the quiet, but I just giggled and squirmed in Mama's arms. Then the tall man asked if everyone had told the truth on the papers they had submitted, and the mommies and daddies all said yes, and the tall man said "that's it, your proud parents of American citizens!" Some of the mommies and daddies (including my own Mama) got wet eyes for some reason.
Then we walked back to the hotel and did some shopping on the way, and I took a nap. Becoming a citizen is quite exhausting. Then at 3pm we met in Dr. Susan's room and Grace delivered our visas from the US embassy and we got our instructions about taking a train to Hong Kong. We said goodbye to David and Amy and Madison, who left on a train to Hong Kong right after the meeting. Then Mama and Laurie and I went back to our room.
Mama disappeared (she came back with bags, so I think she went shopping) and while she was gone Alex came to play while her parents went shopping. Laurie had her hands full and had a lot of fun with Alex and I!!! I don't see what the big deal was, but Laurie looked stressed when Mama returned! And we even waited until Mama got home for both Alex and I to do major stinkies in our diapers at the same time!
I do NOT like sharing Mama - everytime Mama played with Alex instead of me I cried and let her know that wasn't right. I didn't even like Mama changing Alex's diaper -she shouldn't be changing anybody's but mine!!!
That baby Alex's parents finally came back to get her (I was worried I was going to have to share Mama more!) and we all went out to dinner at a Thai restaurant. Mama and Laurie bought another suitcase to pack stuff into and I helped them pack the rest of the night. And I was a BIG help!!! Then we all went to sleep, and I slept ALL night and didn't wake up crying once!!! (well, I did wail once or twice but I took pity on Mama and went right back to sleep so she didn't have to get up!).
Monday, December 20, 2004
Dec. 20th – Guangzhou – Doctor’s Visit
We miss Kunming!!! We miss the slow pace, the beautiful city, the clean air, the quiet park in front of the hotel, the emptiness of the restaurants and streets, the “celebrity status” of being the only Caucasians around and with Chinese babies to boot!
Breakfast this morning was really odd – the restaurant was PACKED with families – Chinese babies in high chairs and Caucasian parents. Saw a few families with older Asian children who were coming back for a little brother or sister. It was really weird – like culture shock – to see SO many adopting families, and so many “regular” faces and hear English spoken by so many people. The other families mentioned the disorientation they were feeling, too.
We had to wait for a high chair, and the lines around the breakfast buffet were long and slow. Laurie did her regular wonderful food foraging for Kaeli and I to get her started before Laurie fought her way back through the crowds for her own sustenance.
We met the other parents in the lobby at 9am and walked across the street for visa photos for the three girls. Then we went on down the street and through a park area to a medical clinic where the girls all had physical exams. There was a special room just for adoptions, and the girls were weighed and measured, had their eyes/nose/throat examined, and then had a quick general physical. Kaeli sailed through everything just fine until the doctor wanted to look at her ears, and then when he dared stick a tongue depressor in her mouth she clamed down hard on it with all 8 teeth and started wailing. The doctor finally gave up, laughed and threw his hands in the air and said “Healthy! Healthy!”.
During the walk to and from the medical office, we saw wonderful bronze life-size statues in the park – one little boy reading a newspaper standing next to a pile of books, another three little girls playing together, a couple of men taking photographs, a teacher playing a musical instrument with a string of little children trailing behind her. We also saw real live children from a pre-school out for their morning stroll, all tied to a long rope behind the teacher. We saw a “regiment” of soldiers going through morning inspections, and passed one of the many exercise areas we’ve seen throughout China – all sorts of different types of exercise equipment done in metal tubing and being used by quite a lot of people.
When we got back to the hotel, we went to Susan’s room and spent the next two hours filling out paperwork for the US embassy. Kaeli was getting VERY restless and tired, so Laurie took her back to our room to settle her down for a nap. When I got back, Kaeli was just about to fall asleep, but my coming in got her up and going again, and it was a while before I got her settled back down and asleep. Laurie went out food foraging and got take-out for us from a Vietnamese restaurant nearby, and Mama tried to get a quick nap with Kaeli.
At 3pm, we got on the bus and went to visit a local Buddhist temple, where Kaeli and Madison were both blessed by a monk in a traditional Chinese ceremony (Alex opted to sleep and didn’t participate). Kaeli was given an orange by one of the workers there who took a liking to her.
Next stop was the Chen clan temple, which was very different than any other temple we’ve seen so far – lots of painted porcelain figures on the rooflines and carved reliefs in granite on the wall. Kaeli was mobbed by local schoolchildren who were on a field trip – they touched her cheeks and played with her and laughed at her and were just entranced. One girl asked if we were from America and I said yes, and that Kaeli would be going back with me. Another little boy about 8 years old told me Kaeli was very beautiful. Kaeli of course loved all the attention!
We then drove to a restaurant for dinner, but walked up and down the streets around it for about half an hour before going in. The streets were crowded, as were the shops, and we saw a shop that only sold honey, one that only sold combs, and lots that sold clothing or shoes. Some shops were so narrow and small only the salesperson could stand inside.
We had dim sum for dinner in a restaurant on the second floor. There were no highchairs available, so Kaeli had dinner on my lap. She is especially eager to touch and play with everything, so feeding her and eating and keeping everything out of reach becomes almost a contact sport. The waitresses don’t help, either – they kept setting things down in front of her and we would have to whisk them away quickly. Kaeli upset a bowl of wonton soup on her and me, and kept trying to pull the tablecloth off the table until we got that folded away from her. Such fun!
Back to the hotel for Kaeli’s first full bath, and she had such a great time! She was not happy when it ended, but soon discovered how much fun it was to run around with nothing on. Then it was bottle time and she went out like a light.
Dec. 19th – Flying to Guangzhou
We had our last breakfast in Kunming this morning, and our final walk on the lake and the streets surrounding the hotel. We got some shopping done, then put Kaeli down for her nap. Then Laurie and I dragged everything out into the hallway outside the room and somehow managed to get everything packed. Todd and Diana in the next room were doing the same thing, so the hallway looked like a lawn sale gone rampant!
We left for the airport at 1:45, and got our bags checked in at the airport. We took a bus from our gate to the actual plane, and were lucky to be in a three-seat row for the 1.5 hour flight to Guangzhou. Kaeli was mesmerized by the goings-on outside the bus and airplane window, and was so good the entire flight. She sat and looked out the window and played with toys and drank when she needed to for ear popping. I don’t want to get my hopes up for the LONG flight home, but this first flight went SO well!
We were met at the airport by Amy, a one-day only guide, who helped us get our luggage and get to our bus and to the White Swan Hotel. It was about a 45 minute ride from the airport (gorgeous, modern, huge) down this newly constructed highway lined with new huge modern buildings into Guangzhou. The White Swan itself is on Shamian Island in the Pearl River, and is a 20+ floor building that is lit up and very hard to miss on the horizon. We drove in to the hotel across a bridge that had been built specially for Queen Elizabeth to visit the hotel, but now everyone can use the bridge.
We got settled into our room, and Laurie went out exploring while I fed Kaeli and ordered room service for myself. My cold seems to have come back, or it is the air pollution here in the city that has aggravated my nose and throat. Kaeli was quite hyper and not at all interested in sleeping, so we had an interesting evening. She finally conked out around 10pm, and Mama and Laurie shortly after!
Dec. 18th – Green Lake Hotel (Kaeli)
I decided to stay and help Dr. Susan do paperwork while Mama and Laurie went to the Stone Forest today. Dr. Susan and I went down and had breakfast together after Mama dropped me off (I could tell Mama was not at all sure this was a good idea….). Then we took a walk with my stroller around the park, and then back up to Dr. Susan’s room, where I figured out how to use a TV remote and took a nap in my stroller. We played some more in the afternoon after I woke up, and were doing laps in the hallway when Mama finally got off the elevator. I decided to tease her and give her a hard time, so I saw her and turned around and threw my arms around Dr. Susan’s legs. When I was sure Mama was surprised and shocked, I giggled and gave her a big smile and ran right into her arms to welcome her home. I had fun with Dr. Susan, but Mama’s the best!
Dec. 18th – Stone Forest (Cheryl)
After much hemming and hawing and angst, I decided to leave Kaeli for the day with Dr. Susan. The trip to the Stone Forest was going to be an all day affair, and strollers were not an option. I was very glad at the end of the day that we had done this, but I still was guilt-ridden and worried all day.
The bus ride to the Stone Forest was 1.5 hours long, on a newly constructed highway with little traffic. We climbed higher in the mountains and went through some very foggy areas where you could see only a foot or two out of the bus. But the fog lifted as we neared the Stone Forest, which is just beautiful. It is a huge area (350 square km) of huge “karst formations that are the highest single-body limestone formations in the world.”. We covered a lot of territory, going up and down steep steps cut into the rocks (or man-made) and along narrow passageways in the rocks, and I was VERY glad I didn’t have a stroller or a squirming Kaeli with me! There are a lot of named formations, where you can imagine seeing a cat chasing a mouse, or an elephant mother and baby. It is a gorgeous, breath-taking (in more ways than one!) area, and I am so glad I went instead of staying at the hotel with Kaeli for the day.
We had lunch at a restaurant in the Stone Forest, then headed back to Kunming along back roads so that we could visit the areas that Madison and Alexandra had been found. The ride home was very sobering – miles and miles of the real China – very few cars, people on bikes and horse-drawn carts, dirt and poverty and buildings that look abandoned but you then realize people are actually living in. We saw farmers tending their fields and trying to turn over the hard, packed red earth to plant new crops. We stopped along the road and walked up a dirt path into the village where Madison was found, just a small collection of poor houses in the middle of nowhere. The street market where Alex was found was in a busier section near Kunming, but also in breath-taking poverty. We were very quiet for most of the ride back to the city.
We stopped at a government “shopping center” on the way in, which added to the stark contrast of the different lives China leads. It was a huge complex of buildings, with a giant man-made hill and waterfall behind the buildings and a large pond. The shops were filled with things for tourists to buy, and we all fell victim! We bought postcards and books and Chinese candy and spiced yak jerky and teas. Laurie and I both almost bought rocks on rosewood pedestals to bring home, but luckily talked ourselves out of it at the last minute. Then it was back onto the bus to continue down the dry, dusty road into Kunming.
This was our last night in Kunming, and we were a very quiet group that evening, realizing how lucky Kaeli and Alex and Madison were that their mothers chose to leave them where they could be found and have a chance at a life that we’re not sure their mothers could imagine. Most of the people we’ve seen in China have told us how lucky our new daughters are to be going to America, but we think we’re the luckiest – to be parents of such wonderful, darling girls.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Dec. 16th and 17th - Orphanage Visit (Cheryl)
Here we are, once again, Laurie and I sharing quality time in the bathroom while Kaeli cries herself to sleep. We did not get a chance to blog yesterday, so this is a day and a half blog.
We had good night’s sleep the night before. We went down together for our buffet breakfast, and Kaeli ate her congee and steamed pumpkin and banana and scrambled egg concoction that she loves, while the rest of us tried to get bites in in between. We met the others in the lobby at 9:30am and boarded the bus for a short trip to a tea shop, where we had a tea demonstration and got to try a variety of Chinese teas. We did some tea shopping after the demo, of which I saw half because Ms. Kaeli was getting restless and wanted to run around, which we did.
The trip was quite disappointing. We went into one meeting room and presented our donations to an assistant director, who gave us a receipt for them. She signed Kaeli’s memory book with a phrase of good wishes, but would not sign her as name as it is against government regulations evidently. She took us on a tour of the third floor of the building, where we were able to look in the window of the locked door into a lot of sterile, organized rooms that were for the children supposedly, but had no sign of actually having ever been used by a child. We think they were the “show” rooms for visitors. We never got to see actual rooms or actual children, which was very disappointing. We also asked for the things left with our children, notes, clothes, etc., but were told we were not allowed to even see them to protect the babies’ privacy. Kaeli can come back when she is 18 years old and ask for them then, but I can’t see them now. Another disappointment. We were told that the directors, who were going to answer questions for us about our children, were in a meeting and unavailable, and we were not allowed to meet any of their caregivers, either.
As we were leaving, one woman in a blue housekeeping uniform dress called out to Kaeli with her Chinese name and came up to her and talked to her and held out her hands. There was no recognition on Kaeli’s part, which I’m somewhat glad about. I was quite concerned about her seeing a lot of familiar faces and going through separation trauma again, but it didn’t happen.
We came back to the hotel for about an hour and a half, then back on the bus again for dinner and a show. We were seated at a round table at the front of the room next to a stage where they performed ethnic dancing during our meal. It was a loud, noisy, crowded, smoky room and Kaeli didn’t do really well. I feed her, and Mrs. Chen feed her, and then the bus driver took her and walked her around a bit so that I could get a chance to eat. It was a huge bowl of steaming chicken broth to which we added all sorts of other ingredients and rice noodles, and it was delicious. When I got Kaeli back, she ate some more and then pulled a tea cup off the table and broke the lid and the tea contents went down my leg and Mrs. Chen’s. So Kaeli and I got up and went to the back of the room and chased each other around and sat next to each other on steps and entertained ourselves while the rest of the group finished dinner.
Last night was not a good sleep night. Laurie and I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes on my laptop on the bathroom floor for more than an hour waiting for Kaeli to cry herself to sleep. We climbed into bed, and hoped for a good night, but didn’t get one. Kaeli woke up every couple of hours coughing and crying, and then around one started crying hysterically. I picked her up out of the crib and took her into bed with me after about half an hour of this, and we were awake most of the rest of the night. She is really restless and whimpering and thrashing one minute, then cooing and burbling and giggling the next. She kept tossing and flopping and I was worried about her flipping off the side of the bed by accident, so I spent the rest of the night awake tending to her even when she did doze off for short periods.
We did finally get some sleep around 7:30, and were woken up around 9am by a phone call from Dr. Susan wanting adoption papers for processing. We all three got up and I gave Kaeli a bath in the bathroom sink while Laurie took a shower so that we could get some steam into Kaeli’s congested lungs. I think the restaurant was too smoky last night for her, and all the noise and excitement didn’t help either. We were supposed to meet everyone at 9:30am to go shopping for traditional clothes, but we bagged that and stayed home. We had a nice leisurely breakfast, then went for a walk with the stroller around the lake and looked at some of the shops. We visited Kaeli’s first library, too! (At least we went into the building – I think the library closed for lunch just before we got there.) We stopped at a Chinese pharmacy and got some more herbal cold medicine, and then visited Dr. Susan’s room for a dose of herbs for Kaeli’s lungs.
And that brings us up to the bathroom. Kaeli finally fell asleep after 20 minutes of crying, It is now 1pm, and we need to meet everyone for the bus at 2:30. We wouldn’t go, but today is the day we will find the street that Kaeli was abandoned on, on our way to the
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Wed Dec 15 – Green Lake Park and Temples (Laurie)
After breakfast we walked in beautiful Green Lake Park across the street from the hotel. Kaeli was a rock star! So many people were curious about her and why she was with us. A crowd of about 20 people formed around Cheryl and Kaeli. Luckily, we had our wallet card with us explaining in Chinese that we’re adopting Kaeli. After reading the card everyone smiled, wished us well, and kept admiring Kaeli.
She was not in the best of moods this morning, but she enjoyed watching the world go by. You could practically see her little brain taking everything in. She watched the birds (they caused a smile), people dancing with scarves in their hands and other kids who stopped to visit with her.
I had a very interesting time, too. We saw a man teaching a beginning tai chi lesson, and I stepped in and joined the group. There’s really a lot of things to keep track of! Hands, arms, feet, the angle of your legs. I had no clue what I was doing, but it was fun. Mrs. Chen, the mother of our advisor Susan, is going to give me another lesson in the morning. Should be fun!
A bit farther on we watched some people playing a game we’ve nicknamed basketbowling. They roll a basketball toward a pyramid of cans and try to knock over as many as possible. One of the men handed me the ball so I could play. I did ok and got several applause from the crowd. Well, it turns out that it was a betting game! I lost 5 yuan (about 50 cents) so I did pretty well and had fun. At least now I know what the game is all about!
Next it was nap time. Kaeli was so good today – it only took 8 minutes of crying before she finally gave in to sleep. I think she’s getting the hang of it!
This afternoon the group visited two places - a beautiful Buddhist temple and the Golden Temple. Both were colorful, restful places… except for all the steps we had to transport the stroller up and down. We’re all a bunch of tired adults tonight!
Here’s mom and Kaeli in a garden at the Golden Temple
And Laurie taking a rest by a pond.
She was not in the best of moods this morning, but she enjoyed watching the world go by. You could practically see her little brain taking everything in. She watched the birds (they caused a smile), people dancing with scarves in their hands and other kids who stopped to visit with her.
I had a very interesting time, too. We saw a man teaching a beginning tai chi lesson, and I stepped in and joined the group. There’s really a lot of things to keep track of! Hands, arms, feet, the angle of your legs. I had no clue what I was doing, but it was fun. Mrs. Chen, the mother of our advisor Susan, is going to give me another lesson in the morning. Should be fun!
A bit farther on we watched some people playing a game we’ve nicknamed basketbowling. They roll a basketball toward a pyramid of cans and try to knock over as many as possible. One of the men handed me the ball so I could play. I did ok and got several applause from the crowd. Well, it turns out that it was a betting game! I lost 5 yuan (about 50 cents) so I did pretty well and had fun. At least now I know what the game is all about!
Next it was nap time. Kaeli was so good today – it only took 8 minutes of crying before she finally gave in to sleep. I think she’s getting the hang of it!
This afternoon the group visited two places - a beautiful Buddhist temple and the Golden Temple. Both were colorful, restful places… except for all the steps we had to transport the stroller up and down. We’re all a bunch of tired adults tonight!
Here’s mom and Kaeli in a garden at the Golden Temple
And Laurie taking a rest by a pond.
Dec. 15th - Morning in Kunming (Cheryl)
Oh, what a better night!!! After Kaeli wailed for more than half an hour while Laurie and I entertained ourselves in the bathroom, she settled down for the long night. She got restless about every hour or so and would cry one or two wails, but then go back to sleep. There was one time that she cried for several minutes, but when I sat up to pick her up, she was still laying down, so I stayed quiet and she went back to sleep. Other times she would burble to herself or rock the crib and go back to sleep. Mom of course was awake at the slightest sound from her daughter.
We got up around 7:15am while Kaeli was still sound asleep. She woke a little later is now on my lap gurgling and chattering and pulling everything she can reach off the desk while I'm blogging one handed. Laurie is playing peekaboo behind the drapes with her. Kaeli occasionally gets down to retrieve something from the floor, but then wants right back up on Mom's lap. It will be interesting to try to take a shower shortly!
She chatters and gurgles and giggles and has this smile that takes her whole face in, and we've discovered she has two dimples. She is unsteady on her feet, rocking from one foot to the other while walking, ad she goes backward as much as forward still. She gets a real serious look on her face when she's watching something new, and you can just hear the gears turning.
I'm going to try for a shower now, if she'll let me. She knows just how to melt my heart now by lifting up her arms and giving me this really sweet smile looking up at me, wanting to be on Mom's lap!
We got up around 7:15am while Kaeli was still sound asleep. She woke a little later is now on my lap gurgling and chattering and pulling everything she can reach off the desk while I'm blogging one handed. Laurie is playing peekaboo behind the drapes with her. Kaeli occasionally gets down to retrieve something from the floor, but then wants right back up on Mom's lap. It will be interesting to try to take a shower shortly!
She chatters and gurgles and giggles and has this smile that takes her whole face in, and we've discovered she has two dimples. She is unsteady on her feet, rocking from one foot to the other while walking, ad she goes backward as much as forward still. She gets a real serious look on her face when she's watching something new, and you can just hear the gears turning.
I'm going to try for a shower now, if she'll let me. She knows just how to melt my heart now by lifting up her arms and giving me this really sweet smile looking up at me, wanting to be on Mom's lap!
Dec. 14th - Daughter Day 2 (Laurie)
Tuesday, Dec 14, 2004 - Day 2 with Kaeli
It turned out that Kaeli had more than a little trouble sleeping her first night. She wailed hysterically every time Cheryl tried to put her to bed, so much so that we were worried she’d hurt herself and/or wake up the baby in the room next door. Then they’d be wailing in stereo – yikes! Cheryl walked her around and around the hotel lobby in the stroller for most of the night – it was the only thing that would remotely console her. There were a few brief stops in bed, but the sleep didn’t last long. Both mom and baby were exhausted all day today!
Luckily, after breakfast sleep finally came for a few hours for both of them. I went for a walk around
This afternoon we all went to the Kunming Zoo. Even though she was exhausted, Kaeil watched everything intently and even smiled and giggled many times. All three of the girls were very interested in the peacocks, monkeys, and pigeons... And the other people at the zoo were interested in us. Some gave us very odd looks. You could see them trying to figure out why a bunch of big noses (as the locals refer to westerners) were walking around with three Chinese babies. Luckily, Susan, our incredibly prepared advisor, gave us a wallet sized card that explains in English and Chinese that we are adopting these girls, we love them and that we love
Monday, December 13, 2004
Dec. 13th - I have a daughter !! (Cheryl)
Well, Kaeli and I have now met and fallen in love!
We had a restless night (Laurie and I) and were up before our 6am wake up call. We got all our things together for the day and caught the bus to our meeting at the Civil Affairs Bureau. We all lost our breaths as we pulled into the building's parking lot and trooped off the bus, just to find out that the offices had moved! Sarah, our guide, found an official who jumped on the bus and took us to their new location.
We got off the bus again, and went into an office building to wait for the babies, who hadn't arrived yet. We waited nervously in a stark room with chairs and a table and a water cooler. Then we saw another bus pull up outside, and three women whisked three bundles with black hair into the room across from us as we all stopped breathing completely!
Then we were all called in one by one to the other room to be given our daughters. I was the first one to go in, and was introduced to Kaeli , my gorgeous wide-eyed daughter. I took her into my arms and she just stared at me. We spent the next hour getting to know each other, and I am amazed (knock on wood) at how quickly we clicked - it might have been the Cheerios I was feeding her! It got to the point that I could put her down on the floor at arm's length and she would hold up her arms and toddle back into mine. We asked questions and signed papers and held our daughters, who were being so well behaved! All three had their footprints made in red ink on the adoption papers, and we had our first official family picture taken. We notarized all the papers and were thanked for adopting the girls, and were led back to the bus, with Kaeli in my arms!
Buses are not something she likes, evidently. She cried for a few moments, then burrowed her head in my shoulder and curled up tight and was quiet the rest of the bus trip back to the hotel. Kaeli and I laid down on the bed to try to nap, while Laurie went down to get lunch for us. Kaeli was not interested in laying down, so we played on the bed with the stacking cups and bounced up and down, and then she threw all the cups off the edge of the bed, took one step away from me and fell over fast asleep. She slept for about an hour, then woke up. I think she was startled, and cried for just a few seconds, then settled down again.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Dec. 13th - Kunming!!!! (from Cheryl)
Well, here we are in Kunming!!! We are in the same city as our daughters!!!
We had an early morning - we had to have our bags outside our doors at 6:30am, and be on the bus by 6:45am. After another thrilling ride through Beijing traffic, we unloaded at the airport and said goodbye to our driver and to our guide, Laurence. We had a few tense moments at the baggage checkin as we all held our breaths as our bags were weighed (44 lb limit per bag) but as a group we came in under weight. We had a few more breathless moments as Amy was summoned behind the counter to open her suitcase and explain a suspicious looking umbrella. But we got through security and onto the plane for the three hour flight to Kunming.
At the airport, we were met by Sarah, our guide for this beautiful city. It is such a contrast to Beijing! Kunming is bright (and warm!!!) and colorful, with flowers everywhere. Traffic is much lighter, and the pace much frenzied than the big city of Beijing. It is nicknamed "the city of flowers" and "the city of eternal spring".
The hotel we are staying in is gorgeous - it is on the shore of Green Lake, and surrounded by wonderful streets full of small shops and restaurants and vendors. We settled in to our rooms and our suitcases exploded all over our room, as we are going to be here for a week. There is a small wooden crib in the corner of the room, next to my bed, with a little pillow and quilt!!! And a stroller was delivered to the room this afternoon while I was transforming my diaper bag from a laptop carrier to back to a diaper bag!
We had a meeting at 4:30 in Dr. Susan's room to go over the procedures for tomorrow and what papers to bring, what money, gifts, etc. Then we walked through the neighborhood shops to a restaurant where we ate our last dinner as childless people! Now we're back in our rooms, and Laurie and I are catching up on the computer.
For some reason we can't get to the blog site ourselves on a regular basis, and we haven''t seen the blog itself since entering China. We think there may be internet filtering going on. We will send our posts to a couple of friends who will load them up for us until we can get online ourselves.
Tomorrow is the day!!! We leave at 7:40am to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau, where we will meet our daughters. We are the only group doing paperwork tomorrow morning, so it should be quality time with the officials! We will spend several hours there getting to know our daughters, asking questions of the orphanage director, and processing paperwork, and then we will be back to the hotel by noon for a free afternoon on our own. Kaeli and Laurie and I will use the time to get over the culture shock and life change chaos (hopefully!), and then we met as a group of parents and their children for our first dinner together!
The schedule for the rest of the time here in Kunming is half days of sightseeing with a half day of free time. I think Laurie will spend a lot of her free time running around the lake, and I will spend it trying to convince Kaeli that I'm not some evil-looking foreign monster (the Chinese nickname Americans "big noses"). Wish me luck!!!
We had an early morning - we had to have our bags outside our doors at 6:30am, and be on the bus by 6:45am. After another thrilling ride through Beijing traffic, we unloaded at the airport and said goodbye to our driver and to our guide, Laurence. We had a few tense moments at the baggage checkin as we all held our breaths as our bags were weighed (44 lb limit per bag) but as a group we came in under weight. We had a few more breathless moments as Amy was summoned behind the counter to open her suitcase and explain a suspicious looking umbrella. But we got through security and onto the plane for the three hour flight to Kunming.
At the airport, we were met by Sarah, our guide for this beautiful city. It is such a contrast to Beijing! Kunming is bright (and warm!!!) and colorful, with flowers everywhere. Traffic is much lighter, and the pace much frenzied than the big city of Beijing. It is nicknamed "the city of flowers" and "the city of eternal spring".
The hotel we are staying in is gorgeous - it is on the shore of Green Lake, and surrounded by wonderful streets full of small shops and restaurants and vendors. We settled in to our rooms and our suitcases exploded all over our room, as we are going to be here for a week. There is a small wooden crib in the corner of the room, next to my bed, with a little pillow and quilt!!! And a stroller was delivered to the room this afternoon while I was transforming my diaper bag from a laptop carrier to back to a diaper bag!
We had a meeting at 4:30 in Dr. Susan's room to go over the procedures for tomorrow and what papers to bring, what money, gifts, etc. Then we walked through the neighborhood shops to a restaurant where we ate our last dinner as childless people! Now we're back in our rooms, and Laurie and I are catching up on the computer.
For some reason we can't get to the blog site ourselves on a regular basis, and we haven''t seen the blog itself since entering China. We think there may be internet filtering going on. We will send our posts to a couple of friends who will load them up for us until we can get online ourselves.
Tomorrow is the day!!! We leave at 7:40am to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau, where we will meet our daughters. We are the only group doing paperwork tomorrow morning, so it should be quality time with the officials! We will spend several hours there getting to know our daughters, asking questions of the orphanage director, and processing paperwork, and then we will be back to the hotel by noon for a free afternoon on our own. Kaeli and Laurie and I will use the time to get over the culture shock and life change chaos (hopefully!), and then we met as a group of parents and their children for our first dinner together!
The schedule for the rest of the time here in Kunming is half days of sightseeing with a half day of free time. I think Laurie will spend a lot of her free time running around the lake, and I will spend it trying to convince Kaeli that I'm not some evil-looking foreign monster (the Chinese nickname Americans "big noses"). Wish me luck!!!
Dec 12 Our Wonderful Parents (Laurie)
As Cheryl and I get ready to meet Kaeli tomorrow we've been thinking about our wonderful parents. They've given us love that many of the children we'll see this week could never even dream of. We're appreciating them more and more everyday. We sure do wish you were here to celebrate with us tomorrow, give us some advice and show us how to change diapers!
Thanks Mom and Dad Shuster and Mom and Dad Towne for supporting us in this trip! And a special thanks to Cheryl's dad for remembering to put a tape in the video camera because we didn't even think about it until today and have been taping for several days now. Phew!
Laurie
Thanks Mom and Dad Shuster and Mom and Dad Towne for supporting us in this trip! And a special thanks to Cheryl's dad for remembering to put a tape in the video camera because we didn't even think about it until today and have been taping for several days now. Phew!
Laurie
Friday, December 10, 2004
Dec. 10 - Beijing (Cheryl)
What a stupendous day we had! We met our guide and driver and boarded the bus again at 8:30am, and spent the morning at the Summer Palace. It is on Kunming Lake, and has the largest covered corridor (outside, along the lake shore) in the world. Every inch of the rafters and inside of the roof and beams is covered with beautiful paintings.
We then visited a pearl factory and learned about how pearls are raised, and had our first experience with haggling, a major sport in China! We drove back into Beijing and climbed into pedicabs (two of us in each cab) and toured the hutong (alley) area near the drum tower. We had lunch in a private residence in a hutong house, which are designed around a center courtyard that 3 or 4 families share. Mrs. Chen and Mr. Liu were wonderful hosts - Mrs. Chen took us all into the kitchen where she demonstrated dumpling making, and then we each rolled and filled and shaped a dumpling of our own.
Lunch was delicious - the best meal we've had so far. Their son is a chef at a 5 star hotel in Beijing, and they served rose petals that he had candied that were out of this world. Mr. Liu "chirped" a lot as he served us the food dishes, and we finally asked him what the noise was. It turns out he raises and fights crickets, and the chirping were cricket gourds with these huge (3" long) crickets in them. He carries them inside his shirt so that he can enjoy their music all day. He showed us all his cricket care implements and their cages and feeding dishes, and described how cricket fighting is carried on. It was awesome!
Then we got back into the pedicabs for more barreling down narrow alleys and darting in front of buses (at one point on our video Laurie and I are laughing hysterically and Laurie says "and this is where your mother was killed by a bus, Kaeli!"). We visited a kindergarten and the two-year-olds sang to us - we were all in tears by the time we left. Then back into the pedi-cab/death on wheels machines and we toured the Drum Tower, which was used long ago to ring out every two hours to keep time for the citizens of Beijing.
We had dinner at a local restaurant (another great meal, with spicy shrimp we had to use gloves to peel), then to a theater to watch an acrobatic show. At one point the bus driver did a u-turn from the far right lane across 8 lanes of traffic into the far left lane - this impressed Todd and David who want to try this at home. Their wives (and Laurie and I!) were NOT impressed however!
We then visited a pearl factory and learned about how pearls are raised, and had our first experience with haggling, a major sport in China! We drove back into Beijing and climbed into pedicabs (two of us in each cab) and toured the hutong (alley) area near the drum tower. We had lunch in a private residence in a hutong house, which are designed around a center courtyard that 3 or 4 families share. Mrs. Chen and Mr. Liu were wonderful hosts - Mrs. Chen took us all into the kitchen where she demonstrated dumpling making, and then we each rolled and filled and shaped a dumpling of our own.
Lunch was delicious - the best meal we've had so far. Their son is a chef at a 5 star hotel in Beijing, and they served rose petals that he had candied that were out of this world. Mr. Liu "chirped" a lot as he served us the food dishes, and we finally asked him what the noise was. It turns out he raises and fights crickets, and the chirping were cricket gourds with these huge (3" long) crickets in them. He carries them inside his shirt so that he can enjoy their music all day. He showed us all his cricket care implements and their cages and feeding dishes, and described how cricket fighting is carried on. It was awesome!
Then we got back into the pedicabs for more barreling down narrow alleys and darting in front of buses (at one point on our video Laurie and I are laughing hysterically and Laurie says "and this is where your mother was killed by a bus, Kaeli!"). We visited a kindergarten and the two-year-olds sang to us - we were all in tears by the time we left. Then back into the pedi-cab/death on wheels machines and we toured the Drum Tower, which was used long ago to ring out every two hours to keep time for the citizens of Beijing.
We had dinner at a local restaurant (another great meal, with spicy shrimp we had to use gloves to peel), then to a theater to watch an acrobatic show. At one point the bus driver did a u-turn from the far right lane across 8 lanes of traffic into the far left lane - this impressed Todd and David who want to try this at home. Their wives (and Laurie and I!) were NOT impressed however!
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Dec. 9th (China time) - Beijing - Cheryl
We're in China!!!
Arrived around 9:30pm last night. Dr. Susan (works for our adoption agency and lives here in Beijing) and our guide for Beijing, Lawrence, met us after we cleared customs. Our bus and driver took all of us to the Bamboo Garden hotel where we're staying for the next few days. The hotel is lovely - an old "mansion" that has a beautiful center courtyard and gardens, and lovely traditional Chinese architecture and decorations and furniture.
Amy and David were on the plane with us - they are in our adoption group with ASIA and live in Portland, Oregon. Diana and Todd, the third family in our group, arrived at the hotel the night before we did. Both couples are adopting baby girls who are about 10 months old right now.
After breakfast buffet (curry noodles, hot dogs, spring rolls, fried rice, congee, hard boiled eggs, broccoli, bacon), we boarded our bus for a harrowing day in Beijing traffic. We did Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden Palace (huge beyond words), and then had a delicious Beijing style lunch at a great restaurant. Then back onto the streets to see the Temple of Heaven. Dinner was a traditional hotpot dinner, then we were off to a show about the history of kung fu.
It is VERY cold here - and the wind doesn't help!!! I've learned camera batteries have quite a short lifespan in frigid weather. We've had interesting traffic experiences, and had two Chinese people try to sneak into the Forbidden City as part of our group. But the guards grabbed them and whisked them away.
LOTS of people on bikes, beautiful new things to see, VERY interesting squat toilet facilities that we are all becoming pros at (the women, that is!).
FOUR days to the babies!!!
More tomorrow - Off now to my hard but comfortable bed in our warm room...
Cheryl
Arrived around 9:30pm last night. Dr. Susan (works for our adoption agency and lives here in Beijing) and our guide for Beijing, Lawrence, met us after we cleared customs. Our bus and driver took all of us to the Bamboo Garden hotel where we're staying for the next few days. The hotel is lovely - an old "mansion" that has a beautiful center courtyard and gardens, and lovely traditional Chinese architecture and decorations and furniture.
Amy and David were on the plane with us - they are in our adoption group with ASIA and live in Portland, Oregon. Diana and Todd, the third family in our group, arrived at the hotel the night before we did. Both couples are adopting baby girls who are about 10 months old right now.
After breakfast buffet (curry noodles, hot dogs, spring rolls, fried rice, congee, hard boiled eggs, broccoli, bacon), we boarded our bus for a harrowing day in Beijing traffic. We did Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden Palace (huge beyond words), and then had a delicious Beijing style lunch at a great restaurant. Then back onto the streets to see the Temple of Heaven. Dinner was a traditional hotpot dinner, then we were off to a show about the history of kung fu.
It is VERY cold here - and the wind doesn't help!!! I've learned camera batteries have quite a short lifespan in frigid weather. We've had interesting traffic experiences, and had two Chinese people try to sneak into the Forbidden City as part of our group. But the guards grabbed them and whisked them away.
LOTS of people on bikes, beautiful new things to see, VERY interesting squat toilet facilities that we are all becoming pros at (the women, that is!).
FOUR days to the babies!!!
More tomorrow - Off now to my hard but comfortable bed in our warm room...
Cheryl
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Dec 8, 2004 - Tokyo Airport
Well, at least I think it's Dec 8. I have no idea what time or day my mind and body think it is! We flew into daylight all day today, arriving just before sunset in Tokoyo. My watch says 11:46pm 12/7/04, but it's 4:46 pm on Dec 8 here. One leg down and one more to go!
The flight from Portland to Tokoyo was MUCH MUCH better than we ever expected! The plane was only about 65% full, so I sat across the aisle from Cheryl and we both had two seats to spread out in. Each seat had its own LCD screen and we could pick from something like 8 different movies, tons of music channels and we could even play games! Way cool! But... I sure would like to see if we can upgrade for more room between the rows once Kaeli is with us.
Amy and I just took a walk in the airport and found a kids play room (lots of video games, but some play area for small kids, too.) Plus we found a huge fish tank filled with bright colored tropical fish. The girls sure will love that!
Laurie
The flight from Portland to Tokoyo was MUCH MUCH better than we ever expected! The plane was only about 65% full, so I sat across the aisle from Cheryl and we both had two seats to spread out in. Each seat had its own LCD screen and we could pick from something like 8 different movies, tons of music channels and we could even play games! Way cool! But... I sure would like to see if we can upgrade for more room between the rows once Kaeli is with us.
Amy and I just took a walk in the airport and found a kids play room (lots of video games, but some play area for small kids, too.) Plus we found a huge fish tank filled with bright colored tropical fish. The girls sure will love that!
Laurie
Dec 7, 2004 - Introducing Laurie
Hello!
I'm Laurie - Cheryl's intreped support person, traveling companion and pack mule. And not necessarily in that order!
Just a little about me... I'm originally from Philadelphia, PA. Cheryl and I met in library school at Drexel University and really cemented our friendship at a 24 hour see saw fund raising marathon during our first term at school. We thought we had some people lined up for relief shifts, but it wound up that only 4 of us showed up. You get to know people very well when you spend 24 hours on a see saw together!
After school, we switched coasts. She stayed in Philadelphia and I moved to Seattle for a fantastic job working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as we gave computers to public libraries all over the country. It was an amazing experience!
Now I live in the Olympia, WA area with my wonderful, fabulous, amazing partner Dave and our three cats - Zeke, Jaz, and Max. Lucky for me, Dave loves to garden and I get to eat homegrown produce. Together we like to hike, backpack and kayak.
And in a few days... I get to become an adopted aunt!
Laurie
I'm Laurie - Cheryl's intreped support person, traveling companion and pack mule. And not necessarily in that order!
Just a little about me... I'm originally from Philadelphia, PA. Cheryl and I met in library school at Drexel University and really cemented our friendship at a 24 hour see saw fund raising marathon during our first term at school. We thought we had some people lined up for relief shifts, but it wound up that only 4 of us showed up. You get to know people very well when you spend 24 hours on a see saw together!
After school, we switched coasts. She stayed in Philadelphia and I moved to Seattle for a fantastic job working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as we gave computers to public libraries all over the country. It was an amazing experience!
Now I live in the Olympia, WA area with my wonderful, fabulous, amazing partner Dave and our three cats - Zeke, Jaz, and Max. Lucky for me, Dave loves to garden and I get to eat homegrown produce. Together we like to hike, backpack and kayak.
And in a few days... I get to become an adopted aunt!
Laurie
Dec 7, 2004 - Leavin' on a Jet Plane
Hello from the Portland, OR airport!
Cheryl and I arrrived the standard three hours early for an international flight. My partner Dave and her mom and dad saw us off with hugs and picture taking and we were on our way. Kaeli here we come!
We're bringing lots of stuff to China for you! We both bought out the stores here in the US. Cheryl and I both have two stuffed checked bags plus some carry ons with things to entertain us on the plane. We've got books to read, puzzles to do, computer games, movies, food... all to entertain us on the 15 hours of flying. Wahhooo!
Right now we're listening to a hammer dulcimer player and entertaining ourselves with the fantastic WIFI connection here in the airport. This is so cool! 40 minutes to boarding time... here we go!
Laurie
Cheryl and I arrrived the standard three hours early for an international flight. My partner Dave and her mom and dad saw us off with hugs and picture taking and we were on our way. Kaeli here we come!
We're bringing lots of stuff to China for you! We both bought out the stores here in the US. Cheryl and I both have two stuffed checked bags plus some carry ons with things to entertain us on the plane. We've got books to read, puzzles to do, computer games, movies, food... all to entertain us on the 15 hours of flying. Wahhooo!
Right now we're listening to a hammer dulcimer player and entertaining ourselves with the fantastic WIFI connection here in the airport. This is so cool! 40 minutes to boarding time... here we go!
Laurie
Dec. 7 - Flying to China Today!!!
Up at 4am this morning - can't sleep for some reason! Laurie and Dave stopped by last night and we did computer things and got luggage tags and boarding passes squared away. They took off for the hotel near the airport after 10pm.
Dad and I got the packing done earlier - we were able to wedge everything into my two (!) suitcases, diaper bag and camera bag. I have NO idea how people do this trip to adopt going just carry-on!
We're meeting Laurie and Dave at the airport at 9am, and our flight leaves for China at 12:05pm. According to the seating chart when we were checking in online the plane is half full, so there should be plenty of room, we hope, to stretch out.
Next blog entry - from Beijing!!!
Dad and I got the packing done earlier - we were able to wedge everything into my two (!) suitcases, diaper bag and camera bag. I have NO idea how people do this trip to adopt going just carry-on!
We're meeting Laurie and Dave at the airport at 9am, and our flight leaves for China at 12:05pm. According to the seating chart when we were checking in online the plane is half full, so there should be plenty of room, we hope, to stretch out.
Next blog entry - from Beijing!!!
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Dec 5th - In Portland
Arrived safely in Portland Friday after two VERY boring flights from Philly to Detroit to Portland. NO radio or movie on either flight, and discovered that when you're using your laptop on the seat tray and the person ahead of you decides to nap and recline her seat, it basically closes your laptop.
Saturday was shopping for things on my packing list, which seems to be growing rather than shrinking. I think we're going to have to rent a UHaul trailer to put behind the plane at this point. Kaeli now has a car seat that will be used in my parents' car while we're here, then shipped to West Chester. I got to spend several hours at Powells Bookstore last night, wandering the rooms and rooms of new and used books, and finding a few to add to my collections!
Saturday was shopping for things on my packing list, which seems to be growing rather than shrinking. I think we're going to have to rent a UHaul trailer to put behind the plane at this point. Kaeli now has a car seat that will be used in my parents' car while we're here, then shipped to West Chester. I got to spend several hours at Powells Bookstore last night, wandering the rooms and rooms of new and used books, and finding a few to add to my collections!
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