Farewell China- Parting is Bittersweet

We are finally getting ready to leave!  We have to set our bags out at 6am and leave the hotel at 7:20.  We leave Guangzhou at 10am and arrive at Beijing at 1pm, then leave Beijing at 4pm for our 11hr50min. flight to San Francisco.  Ty will become an citizen of the USA when we pass through immigration in SF.
 
On one hand I am super happy to come home, but I know we will most likely never return to adopt.  I have been trying to soak it all in the last couple of days so that I can always remember the country that made me a parent.  Maybe someday we can come back with the kids for a heritage trip. 
 
Ty had a rough night last night.  He is teething, so I gave him tylenol, but he cried on and off pretty much all night.  We were not able to calm him down until about 5am, then he woke up at 6:30 with fever and diarrhea.  At nap time I gave him more tylenol.  He slept about 15 min. and woke up screaming again.  He was not just sad, but angry.  After about an hour and a half of screaming we decided to take him to the dr.  The dr. gave us some strange and smelly herbal concoctions that seem to have made him feel better.  His mood was good, anyway.  He has been asleep about thirty minutes now, so we will see.  I am very nervous about the 18 hours in the air tomorrow.  I hope he feels much better.
 
We ate at the Thai restaurant with several other families to say our goodbyes.  I have included a picture of Quinn and the other sisters.  The girl in the wheelchair has spinal bifida and was just adopted on this trip.  She is such a beautiful and kind girl and her parents are amazing.  They met her best friend at the orphanage and called our agency to start paperwork to bring her home as soon as possible.  They hope to travel back in the Spring.  Every family in our group adopted a special needs child.  I am humbled by the giving hearts of the parents in our group.  One family is here for their fourth and another for their fifth adoption. We made plans to keep in contact with everyone so we can see the changes in these little guys lives over the years.
 
The last picture is of Quinn and Amy.  Amy owns a shop near the hotel.  She and Quinn have become friends.  She has fixed Quinn's hair in pigtails for her three times and she has a dog with puppies in her shop which makes her even more exciting.  In fact, several of the shop owners know Quinn when she walks by.  I love my funny girl!  This is my last post from China, but I will add more pictures in a few days after we have recovered from the jet lag. 

Red Couch Photos

Red Couch Photos

It is a tradition in the Chinese adoptive community to take a picture of the babies on the red couches in the lobby of the White Swan Hotel.  Today, all 15 families in our group brought our children to the lobby in traditional clothing for our photos.  After our morning photo session, the families took a bus about 45 minutes to the U.S. Consulate in downtown Guangzhou to finalize the immigration paperwork for our children.  We are clear to bring Ty home, but cannot pick up his passport with visa until tomorrow.  Tomorrow morning Quinn and I and her friend Shari and Shari's mom will walk a few blocks over to a pet and medicine street market.  I have been trying for an hour to get my pictures to attach, but it will not work tonight.  I will try again in the morning, your evening.

Rained in

It rained most of the day today.  Quinn and I made a 7-11 trip and that was the highlight of the day.  We played in the playroom a couple of times and ordered in pizza again.  Our guides took our paperwork to the consulate for preview and we will go to the consulate ourselves in the morning to swear our oath.  We should have Ty's visa Friday afternoon and fly out early Saturday morning.  That is Friday night to you guys. 
 
Ty kinda said "up" and "move"(to Quinn) today.  He is becoming more affectionate.  His head butts are delivered with love.  He is even leaning in to ask for kisses.  Ty's appetite is good, but he is getting very picky with his choices.  I hope he doesn't expect a buffet to choose from when we get home!  He picks out what he wants and throws the rest on the floor.  He went through an egg phase, then yogurt, this morning it was only ham that he wanted.  He will not even put congee(breakfast porridge) in his mouth anymore.  He still wakes up several times in the night, but goes back to sleep with a little comfort.  He takes a bottle around 1-2am.  Well, the family is asleep again so I will join them!

Zoo trip

Andrew was feeling better today so we went together to the Guangzhou Zoo.  It was great!  We were there about 2 1/2 hours and were not able to even see half of it.  We paid 10 yuan, which is about a dollar and a half, for her to feed the giraffes.  She had a great time and I even got a couple of giraffe nibbles while helping her.  After returning we went swimming in the pool and ate an early dinner at Lucy's, the hamburger place next to the hotel.  We walked the shops and bought Ty a pair of squeaky shoes. 

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My Cutie

Quinn spent most of the afternoon playing with her friends, so I had lots of time to fall more in love with my guy's cute little face.  We played and played together.  He has so many expressions, even a pretty good little stink eye look that he makes when aggravated.  He started giving kisses today and told the other mom's in the playroom that this is my ma ma.  Andrew's stomach is sick again.  Everyone else is fine.  We ordered in Papa John's tonight and it was so good, almost the same as pizza at home.  Quinn and I visited a mall today.  It was huge, five stories and not at all the same as home.  Tomorrow we go with the big group to the zoo.  If Andrew isn't feeling better it will be just Q and I again. 

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more pictures

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Easy Day

Today we did exactly what we wanted to do.  Ty slept better last night, waking at the same times but accepting comfort instead of bottles to fall back asleep.  After our wonderful breakfast downstairs, we explored the island that we are staying on and bought diapers and snacks.  We went swimming at the hotel pool and Ty LOVED it.  He splashed and even ducked his head under a couple of times.  After playing for about 30 minutes he was so tired that he was falling asleep in the water.  I took him back to the room for a nap.  Quinn played with three of her sister friends that are travelling with our group.  They are all six.  We let them run up and down the hall to each other's rooms with the doors open.  This evening we ate a Thai restaurant with all 15 families that we were with in Beijing at the beginning of our trip.  It was incredible to see the changes in the children since the first day.  Some of the families had left for different provinces and we had not met their little ones yet.  Ty is blowing kisses today and still continues his love/hate relationship with his sister.  She is being super sweet and understanding.  I included a picture of his typical reaction when she is near.  He sat on top of me earlier and yelled at her, "My MaMa!"  It is not nine yet and my entire family sleeps.  I can't wait to join them!

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Goodbye Zhengzhou, Hello Guangzhou

Yesterday I took Quinn and a sister friend to the park near our hotel.  There were some carnival rides and lots of trails.  Quinn and Katrina rode the merry go round and were allowed to stay on for about 15 minutes.  Actually, they wanted off much earlier but were expected to jump off when ready so they started getting panicky before I realized that they weren't having fun any more.  I was busy being oogled by the locals.  We left at three to go through two hours of processing at the airport.  We got to the gate only a few minutes before boarding and our plane was delayed on the ground at Zhengzhou.  We knew it was a bad sign when they began serving the in-flight meal on the ground thirty minutes after we were supposed to take off.  The flight full of anxious babies must have caused our pilot to fly extra fast because he made it past two thunderstorms and got us to Guangzhou only an hour late.  By the time we made it back to the hotel it was near 11 and our luggage was delayed another hour in traffic.  Needless to say, everyone was super tired and on edge.  Quinn cried more than Tyler.

We woke up much happier and went to breakfast at our very Westerner friendly hotel restaurant downstairs.  We saw no tentacles or animals with heads.  They even welcomed us with pizza and baked beans.  What Americans don't eat these for breakfast?  There is a waterfall with a huge coy pond in the lobby beside the restaurant and the tables are a sea of couples with babies.  This city is the home of the US Consulate and all adoptive families must pass through here for five business days to be processed by our government before leaving the country.  Today we had Ty's medical exam in the morning and I filled out more paperwork in the afternoon.  The medical exam is a ten minute walk from the hotel.  The office was crowded and very warm, but Ty was a trooper and got a clean bill of health to travel.  This evening we ate at the American restaurant next to our hotel, the White Swan.  We ate burgers and fries, and even ordered a coors light.  It was heaven to eat something familiar. 

Ty is such a joy in the daytime hours.  He is showing more affection, although he still loves a good head butt and hair tug now and then, especially to Quinn.  He pulled a little girl's hair in the play room this evening and looked a little sorry when he realized it wasn't his sister.  He is starting to get jealous of her and any other kid that comes near us.  At the playroom, I noticed that he was studying the learning table and the little musical toy like Quinn used to study her toys.  I had the camera ready, thinking that he was about to do something intellectually profound, when he raised the music machine over his head and smashed it into the top of the table, laughing loudly at the noise and attention he got from it.  He is such a boy. He is very ticklish laughs out loud when tickled and when Andrew, me, or Quinn walk in the room after being out for a minute.  He is super cute and we love him, so we forgive the 11pm, 2am, and 4am wake ups every night.  He is cutting three jaw teeth and a canine tooth, so I am not sure if this is part of his sleep issue or if it is the point that he allows himself to grieve his lost life.  We try to comfort him, but it seems only a bottle will do the trick.  We had the crib removed from this room since he will only sleep with Andrew.  Laugh if you will dear friends, but we have decided to wait to work these things out when we get home and Ty is more secure with us.  It not only makes life easier for us, but also spares the poor guys in the neighboring rooms in our hotel. 

Tomorrow we have a down day.  We plan to eat breakfast, check out the area around the hotel and maybe go to the pool.  Tomorrow evening we will eat with the other families in our group at a nearby Thai restaurant.  We miss our family and friends VERY much and cannot wait to get back to our soft bed.  More tomorrow!

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Last Zhengzhou Pictures

This is the park, and sidewalk traffic to get to the park.  Quinn and her friend are probably trying to figure out how to get off of the thing.

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Last Zhengzhou Pictures

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Shaolin Temple

We visited the Shaolin Temple today.  It is the birthplace of Kung Fu.  It is a two hour drive each way and traffic is indescribable here.  There are lanes, but no one seems to care.  There are mopeds, trucks, and little car like vehicles that I don't know the name of all mixed together.  People lay on the horn when they pass to prevent the cars next to them from swinging over and sometimes it works.  Our bus driver was very skilled, but I still preferred to look out of the side window.  While looking out of the side window I saw that as we made our way into some mountains that people actually live in caves.  They build doors onto them and hang lanterns as porch lights.  I couldn't get a picture because we were moving so fast.  I added several pictures from the temple. 
My stomach is not sick anymore, it just hurts sometimes.  Ty's rash is gone, we ate a good meal for lunch at the Temple, and life is good again.  Oh, and Ty called me MaMa several times clear as day, although he stills prefers to be held by Andrew.  It is nine and the kids have been asleep for an hour.  Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou at around 6pm, so I will probably skip a day of blogging.  We miss everybody and are ready to come home.  Eight more days, ugh.  I posted more pictures in a separate entry beneath this one.

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Just Pictures

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Ty Day #3

Today I stayed in the hotel all day.  Quinn and I woke up at 4:30am with a bad stomach ache.  We managed breakfast as a family.  Quinn felt much better and I felt a little better so we went to the playroom in the hotel.  Ty and I came back to the room to nap and Andrew and Quinn went to a nearby park.  Ty has developed an itchy allergic rash to something, probably lotion or new clothing.  We gave him benadryl and watched him walk around drunk for a few hours.  Quinn and I want to visit the Shaolin Temple tomorrow if my stomach is better. 
 
Ty is waving hi and bye and running, although a bit unsteadily.  He is a super happy guy doing developmentally appropriate milestones for a 14 month old.  He high fives, waves, and pitches a little tantrum when redirected.  He is also very quick to smile and laugh.  He makes his own games and gets us to play along.  Thank you to the Hope Foundation and Show Hope for caring for him so beautifully.  He still woke up a couple of times last night with his sad cry, but was able to be soothed back to sleep with a bottle.  He will not have anything to do with the baby crib and is a very light sleeper so he is sleeping in one bed with Andrew and I sleep with Quinn.  She is only a little jealous of Ty's attention and is a fantastic sister.#

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It's Official

Today began with paperwork at the registration office.  We stood outside for about 30 minutes,where Ty got his first tan.  After getting our adoption certificate we took another bus ride to the notary office where we took an oath to care for, protect, and never abandon our baby.  We came back, took a short nap and visited a local department store to get baby supplies and snacks.  This city is not as accomodating to Westerners as Beijing. The breakfast buffet is okay if you like dumplings with mystery meat, animals with tentacles, and slimy green vegetables.  We stuck to the eggs, yogurt, and watermelon. 
 
The department store was a strange experience.  We brought a lot of attention on ourselves.  A woman approached Quinn and asked her a question in Mandarine.  Quinn quickly answered, "six" and held up her fingers.  Quinn told me, "she asked me how old I am" and looked as astonished as I felt.  The woman seemed satisfied with her answer and moved on.  Another woman with three daughters pretended to give me her youngest while the older two had a good laugh. 
 
We ordered pizza from the hotel restaurant for dinner and it was pretty good.  Tommorow we finally have a free day and we will probably walk to a nearby park.  We didn't take many pictures, but we will do better tomorrow. 
 
Last night was rough.  Ty slept for about an hour and a half and woke up grieving.  He cried for about fifteen minutes and fell asleep in my arms.  I put him back in the crib and he immediately began crying again.  I held him to sleep about four more times, but he threw a fit each time I put him down.  After about three hours, Andrew was finally annoyed enough to have a go at it.  Ty fell asleep in his arms and Andrew just rolled him over beside him on the bed.  He finally slept until 6:30.  He was happy on and off today.  He really likes Quinn and lets Andrew and I care for him equally.  I have added what we have learned about Ty so far.
 
Favorite Passtimes:  being held, eating, throwing things, and head butting(in that order)
Favorite Food:  watermelon
Favorite Toy:  anything to throw and plastic water bottles
Words:  he says "Ma" when he wants more and I want to believe he said "MaMa" earlier this evening, but its a stretch. 
Games:  he high fives and claps his hands when he is happy.  I saw him rolling the dough like patty cake or dancing like John Travolta on Saturday Night Fever, which he must have learned somewhere else because we haven't taught him either.....yet.
Dislikes:  shoes, socks, and the word no. 

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Ty Day!

It rained heavily all night long, so the babies were late to arrive. Everyone was anticipating meeting their little ones and our baby arrived first. It was great! Ty cried for about a minute. I soothed him by whispering, "It's okay David" in his ear. We have been calling him Ty David. He held on to only me for the first thirty minutes, but gave Andrew his smiles. In the pictures you can see that he is facinated Andrew's facial hair like Quinn was. He loves Quinn and she has been a big help. She is a good big sister. He had a twinkie when he was handed over and hung onto it for about 45 minutes before relaxing enough to eat. He knows how to push the food with his finger so he can swallow around his cleft palate. After a few hours we came back to the hotel. He can drink from the soft top sippy cup, but either he doesn't likethe bottles I brought, or I have his formula recipe or temperature wrong. Regardless, he was happy eating rice cereal and gerber snacks. It sounds like he says "mo" when he wants more. He also points and says "Da" when he wants something, just like Quinn did. His favorite game is to throw anything he can get his hands on. He laughs hysterically. He and Quinn played catch with a beach ball and had a great time. They were head butting the ball back and forth. When he was ready to nap he snuggled up in my arms and shut his eyes. He a sweetie.  I posted twice today so I could include more pictures.#

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more pics from today

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one more picture

Blogger is blocked in China, so I must email my entries with the pictures attached.  I am only allowed three or four.  My blog for today is below this one(I think..) but I couldn't resist adding this one more picture.  I also cannot see my blog or read any comments so please forgive any formatting or spelling errors.  Facebook is outlawed, too :  (

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Zhengzhou

We are here and we hit the ground running!  We left our hotel this morning around eight and arrived in Zhengzhou around one.  We did not make it back to the hotel until two.  Andrew went to the bank and Quinn and I explored the hotel.  Our hotel is the Crowne Plaza.  It is fantastic!  We found a pool and a little playroom that Quinn and a few of the other brothers and sisters enjoyed until the guys got back to the hotel.  We ate dinner and had to go to Walmart(yes it is here, too) to buy baby supplies.  Quinn fell asleep in the cart and we had to carry her for about a mile to get back to the hotel. Thankfully, after today our schedule will slow down.  By the way, this city is VERY interesting.  I have seen some crazy things in the hours we have been here.  I will devote a whole post to it soon.
 
We received an update from the orphanage with details about Ty's diet and "habits".  He is fed with a spoon and eats noodles and porridge as his main diet.  He has bread and cookies for snacks and drinks plain water from bottles(doesn't say what type).  He goes to bed at 8pm and wakes at 5:30am.  He also wakes for a bottle at 2am.  He needs to be held to fall asleep.  He takes a bath each day and likes it.  He gets along well with others and is a lively and active boy.  He can walk now.
 
When he is fussy or cries, they hold him, play with him, or give him some toys.  Ok, I don't really understand this next part but I will let you know how it works out.  "He is afraid of nobody holding him or leaving him alone."  Does this mean he is afraid of not being held and being alone, or he doesn't mind it?  Hmmm. 
 
I attached a picture of Quinn and our guide for Beijing, Sarah.  Sarah reminded me so much of our tour guide, Helen, in Hefei city when we adopted Quinn in 2005.  One the second day, Sarah mentioned that she was from Anhui.  I asked if she had used the name Helen and sure enough, it was her!  She remembered taking us to the orphanage in Bengbu.  She and Quinn forged a special bond.  She even sang Quinn songs that are specifically from their province over the speaker on the bus.  Quinn was in awe of her.  Today Sarah brought Quinn a friendship bracelet and told her that fate brought them together and she hopes to meet her again one day.  I swear this cute little woman has made me cry about six times!  I truly believe that pregnancy hormones are not biological.
 
We meet downstairs around nine or ten to meet our children.  After we meet our Ty, Andrew will come back to the room and I will complete some paperwork.  I will try to post as soon as I can, although it will be the middle of the night for our Texas friends.  When you wake up on your Monday morning there should be pictures waiting.#

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Day 2 in Beijing

What a day!  We are so tired.  Today was a lot of fun.  Quinn was rested and able to enjoy learning about her culture.  We went to a jade factory this morning and learned about the process of cutting and polishing jade.  We then went to the Great Wall.  There was a huge traffic jam and we had to walk about thirty minutes uphill to get to the gate.  Quinn and I were tired by the time we got to the first tower of the wall so we went back down and visited an old village with a temple at the base of the wall.  Andrew and another couple had a two hour hike of the entire pass of the wall that we visited while we spent time in the air conditioned souvenir shop and ate a popsicle.  After the wall, we walked another 30 minutes to the bus, and then went to the Friendship Store for lunch.  When we pulled in, Andrew and I realized that we had visited this same place when we travelled for Quinn.  The food was great and it was good to sit in a cool building and rest.   Afterwards, we went to a Chinese Acrobat Show.  It was amazing!  We were not allowed to take photographs during the show, but I have included other pictures from our day.  On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the Olympic Village.  It was almost eight when we arrived back and we are too tired to even venture out to eat.  Tomorrow we meet in the lobby early to fly out to Zhengzhou in Henan Province where we will meet Ty on Monday.  More tomorrow!#

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