Friday, August 28, 2009

My little girl


I am watching a miracle every day. To watch Lila change from a confused and scared child to a laughing, snuggling, happy child is amazing. We still have a long way to go until we are completely bonded together as a family but there is now love where before there was fear. She is giving kisses, calling me Mama and calling Gerry Baba. To hear that babbling little voice say it over and over gives all of us big smiles. Hearing my girls laugh together and play together is a gift.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Slide show

I added a slide show of when we got Lila. It was one of the most emotional afternoons of my entire life. It's almost impossible to express.

It's dated August 3 which is our Family Day!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Working on it

I now have the text for the blog all updated. I have added several journal entries about the trip, see earlier posts.

I'll be adding videos & pictures in the next few days.

Keep checking back!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Sleep baby sleep...

I am awestruck. I am content. I love my family. The most precious thing happened this evening. Lila let me rock her to sleep for the first time since August 5. The girls had their bath together, Lila looked at Grace a little perplexed like, "Why aren't you crying??" then was quiet for about a minute. I think it was the first time she had ever stopped crying during a bath. So I got her out and into jammies. Grace stayed in and splashed around then Lila joined us in Grace's room while Grace got into jammies. We went down for a snack, Lila doesn't like pear yogurt so she started screaming, I wouldn't give in so we switched to grapes, she ate one but still wasn't happy. On a whim I picked her up and took her outside. She quieted down. We went back into the kitchen, picked up her grapes, and her drink, and headed out to the porch swing. She loved it!! We ate all her grapes then sat and swang and rocked. She was out pretty quickly. I tried to take her inside but she woke up so we continued to rock in the rocking chair in her room. I tried to lay her down but she woke up so I went back to the swing. She woke up when I tried to come back in. I had to finish a couple things before going to bed so I gave her to Gerry who was asleep in our bed with Grace. They are all asleep now. I feel so blessed that she let me have this precious quiet snuggly time with her. Every day brings us closer.

I added the slide show to our first post from Beijing. Enjoy it!!

Chrissy

We're Home

Hi, I'm so sorry I didn't post. It was so difficult from China that I gave up. I journaled while we were there and will be posting those with pictures in the next few days. Keep checking back!

We had a once-in-a-lifetime journey!

Chrissy

Friday, August 14, 2009

The flight home

It's midnight in China but 11:00 am at home. I have already moved my watch ahead to home time so I know how much longer until we get there. Lila is sleeping on Gerry while he watches the in-flight movies and tv. Right now, it's Mythbusters. Lila has slept a lot on the flight, both her nap and bedtime. She had a happy, awake, playing & eating time for a couple hours. She and Gerry also walked up and down the aisles a few times.

We still have to have lunch, land in Chicago, go through immigration, customs, and then wait for our evening flight to Omaha. I wish we were on an earlier flight. I want to get home to my Gracie. I miss her so much.

It was hard to say goodbye to all our friends when we left Guangzhou. Mary promised to organize a reunion, if she doesn't I will. Hopefully we will all stay members of our travel group Yahoo group and can keep in touch and keep the kids in touch. We will especially miss the 4 families in our Chongqing group since we were together the entire time.

I hope all goes smoothly with immigration. All they really have to do is stamp her paperwork and she's home so I don't foresee any issues. I was surprised that I had to show it at check-in this morning and the airport in Hong Kong, I hadn't heard of anyone having to do that before.

Have I mentioned how much I miss Grace? I cannot wait to hold her close and give her a thousand kisses, all the kisses we didn't get to share while we were apart. I miss her smile, her laugh, and the joy that she spreads.

This flight seems eternal, I originally thought we arrived in Chicago at 12:30 then realized it's 2:30 so I have an extra 2 hours that I had forgotten about. With those 2 sleeping in the aisle seat, I'm trapped in the window seat. Creepy guy in front of me actually reached back and closed MY window. You know I immediately opened it back up and gave him one of those looks when he looked back at me. GET OUT OF MY SPACE! Somebody else smells like chewing tobacco which is totally making me want to gag. It's probably him or the chick next to him who has her purse under her seat so it's where my bag should be...can you tell I'm in one of those moods??

I need to mail my left-over yuan to Stacey and have her buy the girls a couple more qipaos or chongsams or whatever they're called I would like a few more ornaments too. I loved my little shop. I hope Stacey enjoys her time in China. They should have a great trip but I know she will desperately miss Lily. I can't wait for her to experience the joys of those first days with Ella.

Chris, Mike, and Meilyn left Hong Kong this morning through SFO to Chicago. We thought we were on the same flight but we're not. They were so much fun. The similarities were hysterical, she was a travel agent, I worked in travel, Mike was in the Navy stationed in Norfolk, so was Gerry, they are now both electronics technicians, our names are almost the same, we both have polka dotted glasses, we have beautiful little girls from China, and she is my SEASTAR! (insert hysterical laughter that nobody else will even kinda understand here) I wonder if she's on Facebook...

We'll be home soon, my family will be complete!

We're on Our Way Home

We're ready to go and waiting for our in-room breakfast to arrive. It's 8:45 now, we leave for the airport at 10:20. This room has a beautiful view of the harbor, Lila and Gerry liked to watch the ships and boats sailing by. There are a few fishing boats lazily floating by in the grey drizzly morning. The clouds hang low over the mountains in the background.

Lila is enjoying watching Disney channel with her daddy. It's nice to be back to normal children's tv too. The popular show for little ones in China is Xu Yang Yang, the main character is a goat. The orphanage told us Lila really likes the show but she showed little interest in watching it or playing with any of the toys. She really loves her soft dolly we got at Jordon's on Shamian Island and her Legos. She is very intelligent and wants to know how things work. Gerry is incredibly excited about that trait!

Just a quick note to say we're on our way home.

Chrissy
Aug 14
Gerry's 42nd birthday

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Hong Kong, Train Ride, Consulate Appointment, Shopping, and so on...


We just arrived in Hong Kong. We are checked into the hotel. Lila is supposed to be napping but she appears to be wide awake. It's about 3:30 pm and we haven't eaten since breakfast so we had a Toblerone from the mini-bar. Lila is a chocaholic in training. We all know I already am...


The train ride was an adventure. We had to drag all our luggage up 2 escalators, through chinese immigration, down an escalator, onto the train, and then into the overhead luggage racks. It was a lot of work! Other than that the ride was interesting. I expected more countryside than city between Guangzhou and HK. There was a small section that was rural but not much. The train went close to 100 mph so it was only a 2 hour ride. Hong Kong is just what I expected. It is a beautiful modern city fabulous views of the mountains and harbor surrounded by lush greenery.

Yesterday we went to the American Consulate in Guangzhou. Lila received her visa to travel to the USA. She will become a citizen as soon as her immigration paperwork is stamped in Chicago. It was a very emotional moment for me (all of us) when the consulate employee announced that this was the last step in our adoption. Our little girl is OURS. She has stolen both our hearts and has a big sister waiting to love just as much. She is amazingly happy. Just 10 days have changed her from a shy, scared, little girl to a silly, laughing, ticklish imp. I'm watching her now play with the remote and trying as hard as she can to NOT give it back to Daddy. Those huge brown eyes are sparkly with mischief and silliness! The lines of chinese citizens lined up to try to become US citizens made me realize how lucky we are to be born into it, how lucky Lila is to be adopted into it, and how hard it is for them to go through the process.

The three of us returned to Shamian Island last night to pick up the chops I ordered for the girls, buy a few more gifts, and have a final dinner together in China. We had American food but it was really a good meal. The food in Guangzhou was much more what we consider Chinese back home. The dishes were much milder than in Chongqing with sauces such as sweet-and-sour and barbecue versus the spicy szechuan and kungpao sauces. The shop we went to last night was my favorite, Craft and Artist shop. I bought most of the things I wanted from China there, tea set, dresses for the girls, a blouse for me, bracelets for gifts, assorted silk gifts, chops (the chops are a stamp with the girls english and chinese names, these are commonly used in China for stamping documents instead of signing), tea, teapots, squeaky shoes, chinese zodiac figures, cloissone Christmas ornaments, and t-shirts, basically if you wanted it, they had it and they were really nice, bargained well, and gave me lots of free stuff too! If you're going soon, you need to stop there. They will give you the price of $8.00 per pair of squeakies which was about the best anyone could find. They are across the street from Starbucks, right on the corner.

We did have to buy another suitcase to get all the souvenirs home. The suitcase is also a souvenir for Hillary since she'll need it soon for college.

Tuesday we had breakfast then had to stay in our rooms from 10:00 to 11:30. Elsie and Simon took our paperwork to the consulate, we had to be in our rooms in case they had any questions. The last group from CHI had 4 people who did not have the correct information to obtain their child's visa. We only had 1 close call but it was a consulate error that they caught so our little Jadyn was able to leave with the rest of us. We went to the island with Jenny and Anna on the subway. It was fun, it had been a while since any of us had been on a subway so we had fun swapping stories about our previous rides. It was very clean and very safe. We shopped a little and then returned to the hotel in time for Jenny and Anna to go on the river cruise. We decided not to go. Those that did go, wished they hadn't. The food was horrible but the views of Guangzhou were beautiful. We ordered Papa John's which Lila LOVED! She also made skipping the cruise very worthwhile. She was laughing and laughing while we tickled her. It was the most beautiful sound I had heard in a long time. I can't wait to get home and hear both my little ones' silly, happy, laughter.

Grace had a birthday party Monday. She, Emma, and Steph had a blast being princesses for a day to celebrate Emma turning 5! The only problem was that Emma had just come down with foot and mouth disease but her mom didn't know. She now has it so has to miss the first 2 days of Kindergarten. I'm not too upset about it since I can now take her for her first day on Monday. It's far more important for her to be healthy and not risk it spreading to the other kids than to be there for that first day. So my Boo-Boo is sick and I'm not there to take care of her. I really really want to go home.

I don't remember when I journaled last. I think I'm caught up. I truly at this point don't remember what we did Monday without looking at the schedule. The past few days have been a whirlwind!
The map shows our train route from Guangzhou to Kowloon.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Monday in Guangzhou

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Today is Monday. Sunday was a slow day. We walked to a nearby park in the morning, it was unbelievably hot but a beautiful park.

We had a group dinner last night for the families that wanted to go. We walked to a Cantonese restaurant near the hotel. The food was wonderful, the Chinese beer was refreshing, and Lila was really funny. She decided to feed herself so she & Daddy were covered with noddles and fried rice. She was trying to feed him and that smile was melting the whole table. This is a wonderful group of families all with beautiful babies.

This morning we slept until about 8 and took our time getting ready. Lila and I went to breakfast about 9:15. Gerry came down about 1/2 an hour later. We have been doing this the past few days to give him a break and so she & I can spend some calm time together. She cries when we leave and all the way down in the elevator (we're on the 15th floor) but once we get off, she's quiet and we have a nice breakfast. I have switched her from congee made with white rice to Raisin Bran hoping that the whole grains will help with the constipation caused by her megacolon. I really really am anxious to get her to Dr Prestridge, our pediatric gastroenterologist. She has her appointment in September.

After breakfast we went with Jenny and Mary to the nearby grocery store. We needed some water, juice, and pop. Lila is crazy about pop. Grace won't touch it so we're not used to keeping it out of reach of little hands. She's good at grabbing things. This afternoon we go back to the clinic to have her TB test checked then to the pearl & jade markets. I already told Gerry I plan to spend a lot of money. I love the cool, smooth, feeling of jade and want to get something fabulous for me, my girls,and for some gifts.

We were able to rent a stroller from the hotel for 20 yuan (about 3 dollars) per day from the front desk. Lila enjoyed her ride with no fussing at all. We were both scared it would bring on a tantrum. She is really warming up each day. I even got a big laugh and smile from tickles this morning instead of her cringing when I tickled. I am getting smiles and eye contact more and more unless she's tired then it's all about her Daddy. I am so relieved to be seeing the happy side of her personality bloom.

TTYS
Chrissy

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Saturday August 8

We are now in Guangzhou. We're happy to be one step closer to getting our little one home. I will miss China. It is still a little unreal to actually be here.

We went to Shamian Island this morning to have the Visa photos taken and have the kids' medical exams. There were 10 families in the group this morning. After the exams we were free to shop for a couple hours. We went in groups and kept running into others, switching groups. trying out different shops, and really enjoying the island. I bought a pair of silk pajamas for Lila, matching squeaky shoes, and a beautiful chongsam for Grace. We browsed some more and then got 2 green marble pigs, 1 for Lila, 1 for Jessica and a tshirt for Gerry. Jessica has always collected pigs and Lila was born in the year of the pig. Lila is now asleep with Gerry clutching her little green pig in her hand.

She is doing better today. I am slowly getting some eye contact and a few smiles. I have been taking her to breakfast without Gerry to give him some time without her clinging to him and to give she & I some time together. She is very calm and lets me feed her breakfast. We actually enjoy our time together but as soon as she sees Daddy she's DONE with Mama. I'm cherishing the little moments when she does connect with me and continuing to be there for her needs. She will soon learn how much I love her and that I will never leave her.

I'm including the email I sent to Becky to show how we were doing a few days ago which was not good...

> She still wants nothing to do with me. Yesterday sucked. She screams whenever Gerry is out of sight. I know it's a waiting game but it still hurts. I am getting more smiles and more eye contact today. >

I also emailed Stacey. She is an amazing friend and sent me some excellent advice given to her when she was going through the same thing with Lily. Christina, our SW from CHI, traveled with her and told her, "She told me I should be the only one to full fill her needs, Eating, bathing, diapers. Sometimes it was ugly. Eating out was the worst. Really embarrassing sometimes. Have Gerry encourage her to look to you for those needs. If it causes more problems him being there have him leave. Marvin would get Lily to sleep in/by my bed (we always had twin beds?) and then we would switch so Lily would wake up to me. Lila is older than Lily was so she can be a bit stronger. There was someone else in our group with a 2 year old and the mom pretty much gave up and stayed away. That is NO good. I told her to talk to Christina. Not sure what Christina told her. I'm sure the same as me. Within 2 days - HUGE change.

Take Grace down to the lobby for some one on one time. Gerry is probably spent and needs a break. At least my husband did. It's really hard on a person when you can't go to the bathroom without a screaming baby. Lily did better with me alone if were out of the room than alone in the room. I remember spending the 2 or the 3? night in the lobby for with a crying baby. Did you get a stoller? Start taking her for a walk around the hotel to give Gerry a break and for you and Lila time. Lily like that better I think because she didn't have to look at me the whole time."

At first it seemed really cruel to have Lily so upset with me full filling her needs but I was at my wits end and took the advice from Christina. You do what you have to do and what seems to work for you. Lila WILL be coming around soon. Tomorrow (it's 10:00pm there now) could even be the day it clicks for her.

So it is a trying time but she is so worth it. Each little smile and each little peek into what her personality really is, is precious.


The flight from CQ to GZ was short and it is nice to be here. Chongqing is Lila's birthplace and will always hold a special place in our hearts. Guangzhou is more enjoyable because it's a much more western and much cleaner city. Also the rest of the group is here and it has been so much fun to see everyone from Beijing with their new little ones.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Wednesday August 5



Sorry for the delay in posting, it's a pain to blog from here. You have to find a site that will allow you access to Blogger then find one that will allow you to post what you write to your blog. I decided to type it in word first then I at least have a copy when doing the rest of the steps. It's even more impossible to post pictures and videos.

We had a kind of rough day. Lila decided she wants to be with Gerry and that I need to stay away. This is very normal and very expected but it's so hard to love this little one so much and she doesn't realize the depth of a mother's love. I know I need to be patient and continue to be there for her every need but it's hard when she's just not cooperating. It will improve as she learns that I'm here, no matter what, and NEVER GOING ANYWHERE...She's already lost her birth mother and her nanny from the orphange, it's hard to trust another woman when you're only 2 and they seem to keep leaving you. It also got worse after seeing the adoption coordinator from her orphanage at the adoption center yesterday.

Whlie at the adoption center we took our oath to become Lila's parents. We signed all the papers and then the 4 families went into a different room where we each went through a short ceremony in turn. Mary took pictures and video for us then Gerry did the same for them, we were all snapping pictures for eachother! We didn't realize it would be such a formal event but it is something I will never forget, a laughing, teary, moment.

We had a great time sightseeing. Today was supposed to be the zoo. If anyone has been following Chongqing weather on-line, it has rained almost non-stop since we got here. Since the pandas don't like the rain and the old town area is flooded we went to some Chongqing historic sites, the Great Hall of the People and a home from the Qing dynasty. The Qinq dynasty was the final Chinese dynasty, ending in 1911. Much more beautiful chinese architecure and intricate decor. The state run gift shop at the Qing museum is the only place where you can purchase banyan leaf paintings. These are a local art form from Chongqing. The Banyan tree is the city tree. There are only 2 artists in China, a father and son, that can do this type of painting at any given time. I bought 1 painting for each of my daughters and 4 others (can anyone guess who those are for??) So tomorrow morning we will go to the zoo to see the pandas, yeah. For some reason several of our guides put yeah and at the end of all their sentences, yeah. I got interrupted posting this. It's now Aug 17 and we are home. I'll post what I have along with some of the Chongqing pictures and the panda video. It was so exciting to see the pandas, in China, eating bamboo, I have never seen ours in the US so the first time was amazing!

Monday, August 3, 2009

The day we became a family

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Today's the Day!!!!!!!!!!!


It's 7:00 am. We will meet Lila this afternoon at 3:00. I cannot believe she will be in my arms. The past few days have been a whirlwind of unforgettable events. Saturday was a full day of sightseeing at Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall. The square is immense with the smiling face of Chairman Mao always watching you from the front of the Forbidden City. As soon as you enter the gates to the Forbidden City you can see the grandeur of China's imperial era. The size of the forbidden city was a surprise to me. You go through one set of gates to a huge courtyard, then another, another, another, another, another, keep in mind there are 9,999 rooms in the palace. We at last saw the "Way Out" signs in the gardens. We were all getting a little grumpy, hot, hungry, thirsty, and whiny. Ok, I was...but you guys that were with me know what I mean. It was beautiful and I shouldn't complain. It was like the Temple of Heaven in that it showed the intricacy and grandeur of the era.

We had Peking Duck for lunch, I took a video of the chef carving. I can barely hack up a turkey at Thanksgiving so I was impressed by his skill. Each piece is carved to include meat and skin and be uniform in shape and size. I hope to find a recipe to try it at home.

The final stop of the day was the Great Wall. Gerry climbed from where we started to 3 high towers. I stopped at the first low tower. I did it, but I'm scared of heights. Jenny and I looked around the lower areas and had a great time while Gerry and Joe and Anna climbed to the higher towers. He took some amazing pictures of the scenery however it was a dreary day so the view was not spectacular. It POURED down rain as we were on the way back to the bus, we were soaked. Truly as amazing an experience as the pyramids in Mexico. We also drove by the Bird's Nest and Water Cube and took pictures






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We were up EARLY yesterday morning and all 33 people headed to the airport. 2 families got to sleep in as they had afternoon flights. We arrived in Chongqing about 10. Jessi called the local guide and he picked us up out front. Andy told us the history and trivia of Chongqing. We all got checked in, had a break, and met back at Jessi's room to do our first round of paperwork in preparation for today. We had another short break then headed to Walmart to get necessities, a great toy for Lila, and we were running low on chocolate. When we returned we were exhausted and ready to relax. We decided on room service. I had my first taste of spicy Chongqing food. Fabulous fried noodles, lots of chili paste, and a little friend. One of the prawns on my plate still had his eyes attached. We took a picture together. He was kinda cute and tasted great! We woke up early this morning and are taking it easy until we leave to get our new little one.

Mama's here my little one, mama's here.