It's Official

Today we went back to the Civil Affairs Office to register the adoption. It involves signing lots of papers and placing a thumbprint on each signature- then D added her footprint as her signature. The Chinese official asked us a bunch of questions while Kaige (our guide) translated. I assume that if we had said the wrong thing she would have translated it into the right answer- but the questions were easy- things like what's your job, what do you know about the baby, what are our plans to raise her and educate her. Once the documents were signed and sealed and the questions were answered we were off the another room to have the documents all notarized. This involved more questions but less paperwork. So, as I understand it, at this point we are her legal parents in the eyes of the Chinese government.

After that we came back to the hotel to get everyone else and we went shopping for supplies. I am sure we were quite a sight, 6 clueless Westerners, one Chinese baby and one Chinese quide attempting to help us figure out what formula to buy since the store didn't have the brand D was used to at the orphanage. Of course the boys are throwing things in the cart without having ANY clue what is in the packages (we have tried some interesting foods because of it- some yummy, some not, and of course we still don't know what it all is) The supermarket was like a SuperWalMart on speed. Everyone going everywhere, bright lights, music. I wonder if that is how our store seems to people who don't speak/read English. One big difference is that everyone who worked there bent over backward to help us- that doesn't happen in the US

Later that afternoon D, B. and I went with Kaige to the Police Station to get D's passport photo taken, Our driver made a wrong turn so the journey there took about an hour- although we did get to see alot of Xi'an. The whole process took about 10 minutes and then a quick 10 minute trip back to the hotel.

For dinner, Kaige found us a hot pot restaurant- Yummy, although 3 kids, pots of boiling water and glassware kept me pretty busy throughout the meal. At one point, D was off with some of the wait staff, and the boys were posing for pictures(again) so it was calm for a few minutes. X. is beginning to show signs of being ready to home but so far the kids are all doing pretty good.

That night D got her first bath (as far we know) in a big bath tub. She sat down long enough to wipe her off with a washcloth before she wanted back out. But it works...

D Day!!!!!!

First let me apologize for the bad typing in the last few posts (both spelling and punctuation) Due the computer difficulties we are having to write the text in one program then import it to the computer in the US that is connecting to Blogger and in all that cutting and pasting, the formatting is altered. However, here in Xi'an- we have access to Blogger so that should get better but now we can't access photobucket to post the pictures. I am trying another photo sharing program but if I can't get it to work I will post at least a few of the pics directly to this entry
Now to the news everyone has been waiting for... Today at 4:05 into the Civil Affairs Office of the Shaanxi Province walked 2 caregivers with our daughter. D wasn't as excited to see us as we were to see her but she let me hold her for a while while we went over her daily schedule and other information about her. She went back to her primary caregiver whenever she needed comforting but then would willingly play with B. or I (or Grandpa who was taking pictures) Finally, as we were finishing up the first round of paperwork, I think she had enough and she began to cry in earnest. She cried off and on in the van to get her passport photo taken but then she cried throughout her "photo session" But she had calmed by the time we got back to the hotel.
Her brothers were so excited to meet her they could barely control themselves. They wanted to show her everything- her toys, her car seat, her bed. They were a little overwhelming to her if they got too close. At one point she began to cry and X. ran to her crib to get her "nigh nigh" (his name for his lovey blanket) and they both tried to make her feel better by offering her their loveys. A. also had a great idea to use this little toy he got in his Happy Meal yesterday to make her feel better. It is this little radio thing that plays a 30 sec sample of a song, in Chinese. D liked it and often did stop crying when he played it. What she wanted was some space but even as she cried when they got near, she watched everything they did- even if it involved twisting into strange positions to still be able to see them. Around dinner time, we gave her her first bottle, wiped her up and put her into pajamas. By the end of the evening- she was eating the fries off my room service plate and laughing and "talking" with her brothers.

And we got a fairly complete medical history and better yet PHOTOS!!!!!!! including ones of her as a newborn during her intake process. There are not words to describe what a priceless treasure those photos are and we are blessed to have been able to receive them

Holt Orientation, Temple of Heaven, Tin An Men Square, Acrobats

this is actually the second post for today. i want to try to post each night since i a hoping that one of these days i wont be up at 4 am.

we started out our day at the Holt offices for our orientation. it was a great overview to how the rest of the trip has gone. not much we didn't know already but still good to have a review. of course the best part was that we received a beautiful red cloth book that a few more photos and updated information. apparently she doesn't eat fish or sea food- so shes a mamas girl already and we haven't even met yet.

after the meeting we rejoined the rest of the family for lunch and a tour of the temple of heaven. it was absolutely beautiful and the pictures do not do is justice. today was our first cloudy day so the photos are rather gray- but the colors on the temple are vivid blues and greens and reds. the kids really enjoyed the open area around the temple and watching the locals gather to play the Chinese version of hacky sack, cards or perform dance and musical numbers. so much commotion, but a strong sense of community.

next we visited Tianan men square -which we mostly know of from the uprising in the 80s. there were people everywhere but it did not feel crowded, probably due to its enormous size. it is able to hold 500,000 people. (so think 5 very full football stadiums). One of the street vendors let A try to fly his kite which he liked. We might have bought the kite but we are already going to have trouble fitting everything in our luggage to go Xian tomorrow and a kite would have been way too much.

A. and B. went with grandma and grandpa to see the Chinese acrobats and they said the show was amazing. A. told me that there were 12 people riding on one bike and they didn't have helmets on

The Great Wall...

What an amazing day. on the way to the great wall, our guide took us to a jade factory and we were able to learn all about jade. we had been warned to be careful where we buy jade as it is very difficult to tell the difference between real and fake. even after being at the factory we still probably couldnt tell the difference but we are confident in our guide and the fact that our driver brought a jade bracelet for his sister while we were there made us feel better about it as well.

Of course the highlight of the day was the great wall. the weather was almost perfect for climbing. When you get onto the wall you can go either to the left or right. Ming, our guide, had told us the right is easier but more crowded- the left is harder but less people. We went left. The wall is steeper than it appears in photos although there are lots of steps to help you climb the steepest spots. X. kept trying to climb alone but just wasnt able to get himself up the grade in places so he had an easy climb on B.'s shoulders most of the trip. A. was a trooper, although the height and steepness made him very nervous. He made it up to the top tower with us and by the end was running down the wall. I was amazing to see the wall for real. I think someday when we come back we will try to get a little further away from the tourist area and really explore- it wouldn't take going that far. I think even if we had just walked another 2 towers we would have gotten away from almost everyone, but the kids were pretty well spent, since they had been awake almost 10 hours at that point, and we still had to get back to where we starte.

we had lunch above a friendship store (government run store with no haggling) our meal was served family style, with big bowls of each food placed on a lazy susan in the middle of the table. you just turn the wheel to get what you want. The kids thought that was big fun- so you had to be careful they didnt turn it while you were serving yourself. The meals have been good but X.'s eyes lit up when he recognized a plate of french fries on the lazy susan. He also made our guide laugh by pointing out every McDonalds that we drove past There was a cloisoinne workshop at the same location so we were able to buy some beautiful things after lunch. (of course- i am no longer sure how we are going to get everything we bought into our already very full luggage to get it to Xian tomorrow).

We ended the day on a rickshaw tour of an Hutong lane. This is a residential area in old beijing. We were able to actually stop in one of the houses and talk to the owners about the area. It was so quiet and peaceful. Although the homes had moden amenities it was like stepping back in time. Everyone was talking with their neighbors, there was a real sense of community and despite being in the middle of the city, there were no traffic sounds. It was totally quiet. our guide said he would love to live in this neighborhood, rather than a high rise apartment, but that it was very expensive to get property in the area.

We dragged (almost literally) the kids to the mall near the hotel for dinner. we were trying hard to keep them awake (as they are still not on china time) and they had been up almost 19 hours at that point. The mall is huge and when it is finished it will be the largest mall in Asia. No matter where you go though, malls all look about the same. We ended up having a quick dinner at pizza hut, and even that was a little more than the kids could handle. I am sure we were quite a spectacle- 2 little american kids each sitting in the mall crying. But we did survive and the kids stayed up until almost 8 so hopefully- one more night and they will be totally adjusted.

Today is our agency orientation so the adoption part of our trip is finally beginning.

Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and surprise photo opportunities

Today started off early as the kids were up before 5 am thanks to some residual jetlag. We went to the Forbidden City to start the day. Much of it is being rennovated for the 2008 Olympics so some of the more well known views were covered by scaffolding but it was still an amazing place to visit. A. and X. were very popular with the Chinese people who were visting the Forbidden City as well. Anytime we stopped walking someone would come up to pose their kids with my kids and take a picture. Most of the time, none of the kids really wanted to pose (It reminded me of taking American kids to sit on Santa's lap when they don't really want to) but that did not stop the parents. We went to lunch at a local restuarant where we were able to sample many more traditional Chinese meals. (I am still not feeling 100% but everyone else said the food was wonderful) After lunch, we stopped at a pearl market and saw the how fresh water pearl grow in the oysters and we were able to purchase some pearls. And our day ended at the Summer Palace. Unfortuately, X. fell asleep in the car on the way back from the Summer Palace and he was pretty much out for the night (at 5:00) We tried to keep the boys up, but no matter what we did they couldnt stay awake past 7:00- even McDonalds and cookies didn't really get them awake. OF course that meant that X. was up at 2am and A. up at 4am. It is now 6 am and I have been up for almost 5 hours already- I thnk that after all our tours today- we will be visiting the pool to keep the boys up to a decent hour (now if I could just stay up...)

We are getting emails of the comments that people are leaving so please keep leaving them. Hopefully in XI'an we will have easier access to email and I will be able to get all the comments posted to the site.

We made it!

Well it took us until 3:30 before we could get to bed the night before we had to leave for the airport at 5:45 (which made for a fun start to the trip for B. and I) but we did make it. The kids did fairly well on flight flight considering that A. announed he was bored within the first 90 minutes of a 14 hour flight. The descent and landing into Beijing was the worst that B. and I have ever been on (ond we have both travel internationally more than once) Poor X. announced that his belly felt bad and he was going to throw up- he was not wrong so as we had to deal with that while trying not do the same thing. My advice for those of you waiting to travel, especially if you are taking younger kids- bring additional clothes in your carry-on and if you can swing it upgrade at least to premium economy- it would have been worth the extra money for the extra room. It is still a holiday in China so traffic and crowds in Beijing are smaller than usual. We spent the first day hanging around the hotel as no one felt up to leaving the room. (bring snack type foods at least for the first day so you don't have to go out if you don't want to) B. and A. walked to a local grocery store to stock up on bottled water and A. was excited to find skittles candy. He informed me that they have the same candy in China as we have at home (a fact that will delight his first grade class I am sure
Today we are touring the Summer Palace and Forbidden City. Goggle (and blogger) are blocked at least where we are so we are having difficulties posting to the blog but B., resident computer whiz, has found a solution- we will be trying to add photos tonight. So bear with us while we work through some technical difficulties

after 19 months how can we be not ready

I had planned to post the finished pictures from the construction for this last post before we leave but... as always things didn't work out quite as planned. We were almost packed and starting to finish everything up when the dog cut his tail on something and B. has spent the last 3 hours at the emergency vet. So now it is 12:30 am and we have at least an hour of work to do to get ready to leave in 5.5 hours!!!!!! I would just say that we could sleep on the plane but of course the kids are in bed so they will be rested for tomorrow's flight. Looks like it might be quality time with Grandma and Grandpa at 30,000 feet.

Our next post should be from CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!