Surgery date- finally

It has finally all come together and D will be having ear tubes put in and her palate surgery on August 24. While the surgeon's office was less helpful than we would have liked the people at Really Good Children's Hospital have really helped to get this all worked out. We don't know what time or any of the specific details yet. We expect she will be in the hospital at least until Aug 25 but likely till the 26th, depending how well she eats and drinks post surgery. She meets with the surgeon on Aug 15th so we should get some answers about the specifics of what they will be doing at that point.

We have been busy this summer swimming and just enjoying the weather. We have also spent much of the summer chauffering A. between all his camps and activities. At least it gives D a chance to really get used to her car seat. I will try to post new photos later this week.

It's About Time

that I updated the blog

I can't believe that is has been a month since we got home with Miss . We have had lots of fun tests at Really Good Children's Hopsital in the last few weeks. D had her first appointment with the International Adoption Clinic. We have learned (after a somewhat bad blood draw) that she is fairly afraid of doctors. Everything checked out as well as can be expected. She needs to have most of her vaccines repeated. There was also an abnormality in her blood work which required more blood work but after the additional testing everything looks fine- so YEAH!!!!!

She was also seen at the cleft palate clinic- the docs there thought her lip repair looks great (although they will like do a little revision, mostly of the inside, before she starts kindergarten) She failed her hearing test so at this point she has a moderate hearing loss in either one or both ears. She was fairly uncooperative for the test (see above- fear of doctors and now anyone who remotely looks like they might be a doctor or in any way affliated with the medical profession) They will be placing tubes in her ears in August and as of now her palate surgery is scheduled for mid September. I am trying to get that changed to sooner since I think that it is carzy to wait 3 months for a surgery that the surgeon recommended happen within 6 weeks (of course, he doesn't realize his schedule is full) Hopefully the care coordinator for the clinic will be able to get something worked out.

She seems to be adjusting well and except for sleeping we aren't haven't too many problems. She is sleeping (mostly) through the night but will not nap (except in the car) Even if I am able to get her to fall asleep for a nap she is up within 20 minutes. It is making getting things done (like say updating the blog) very difficult. The boys are doing well with her, although they are often too rough with her- trying to carry her around and hug her and kiss her. She loves to ride in the grocery cart and has realized that they will give you cheese samples at the deli so we always have to stop by- the girl likes her food! She is trying to stand alone and take a few steps but so far all that has happened is alot of "falling with style" Maybe soon...

Some other fun things from the last month

We are HOME!!

After a couple of brief flight delays (including one that added an extra 90 minutes to a 14.5 hour flight) we made it home at 9:30 Wednesday night.

D is adjusting well. She will stay with B. at times without crying and has been crawling around exploring the house and her toys. She was absolutely terrified of the dogs at first, but is beginning to adjust to them. They are beginning to realize that the high chair tray is a good supply of yummy treats. D no longer screams when she sees them, but does still get worried if they get too close. It is great to finally see some of her personality emerging.

Our big problem is trying to adjust back to local time. Sleep is a real issue for D. We have decided to get a second crib so that she can sleep in our room at night in her crib right next to our bed (but still have the other crib in her room so she can-hopefully- use it for naps so when the time comes to get her in her own room, the transition will be a little easier) The other kids slept in today until 6:30 (D was up at 5) so things are gradually getting better.

We have her first doctors appointment on Friday at our children's hospital (they have an international adoption clinic) and then on Tuesday next week she will see the specialists on the cleft palate team there. So we will be busy for a while yet I think.

I would write more, but a small pair of fingers is trying to "help" me and I think a diaper change is in order as well.

See you all soon

I can't believe it's almost over

This is going to be our last post from China. We are almost finished packing the luggage (and all our "treasures"- we had to buy another suitcase to get them all home) and are about to close the computer and cram it into our already full carry ons.

Today was a busy day. We started the day at the 6 Banyan Tree Buddist Temple. It was a peaceful oasis in the middle of the busy city. They did a Buddist blessing of the babies which was pretty cool, although we have no idea what was said during the blessing. Afterwards we came back for more shopping and lunch.

The big event was issuing the visa and taking the oath at the US consulate. There were about 50 families with us (from many different agencies). One at a time each family had to go up to the window and they looked at copies of our passports and D's passport and determined we were the people on the passports. Then we waited while they checked everyone else. After everyone's identity was verified, we all stood and took the oath that everything we said on our paperwork was true. Then they issued the visa and immigration packet to us. It was a surprisingly emotional moment. So we now have yet another packet of paperwork that we can't lose (or even open) before we get to the US. It is in a sealed envelope and is to be opened only by the immigration officer. i wish we could have taken pictures during the event- but camera (and every other electrnic device) are banned by the government (the US government just to be clear)

The kids ended our trip with more food from Danny's Bagels. D really loves mac and cheese!!! That's my girl.

Our flight is scheduled to arrive home at 9pm- Hopefully we will see some of you there or in the near future.

Well, this has been a most amazing journey and while I am ready to come home, I am sad to see it end. China is a truly amazing place. Our next post will be from HOME!!!!! We hope you enjoyed following our journey and check back as we will continue to update as we work with the cleft team at the hospital and throughout D's surgery process.

Red Couch and Squeaky shoes

We really aren't doing much here, which is actually kind of relaxing. Our day started out with B. going to the "Paperwork meeting" to ensure that all the USCIS paperwork is filled out and filled out correctly.

Yesterday we went to the Pearl and Jade Market here in Guangzhou. For those of you who are waiting to travel and are interested in jade pieces- prices are better at the jade market, but they have very few things beyond jewelery. At the Beijing jade factory they had statues and incense burners and bowls etc as well as jewelery. I would get those in Beijing, but wait to get jewelery until GZ. This is where we got our first real taste of haggling. The shopkeeper would put a price in the calculator, I would clear it and put in another price, they would clear it and offer another price and so on until you agree or you walk away. I thought I was going to hate it- but it actually was alot of fun. I was able to get several pieces for good prices.

For dinner, we ordered Danny's Bagels, which is an Italian restaurant in GZ. The food is pretty good, western and they deliver to the hotel. The kids were so excited they want to order every night we are here. D had her first mac and cheese and ate like a piggy. She seemed fine so we are thinking her "tummy problem" the first night after the ice cream wasn't really a tummy problem but a stress reaction from all the changes.

Today was finalizing our arrangements to leave for home and then we had the famous red couch photo. There is a red couch at the hotel the every travel group uses to pose a picture of the babies. You can only imagine how easy it is to get a bunch of babies ever looking at the camera at the same time, let alone smiling. But it wasn't as bad as I had feared thanks to a bag of Cheerios that our guide Phoebe brought with her for baby distraction. After that it was time for SHOPPING SHOPPING SHOPPING!!!! We have been buying all kinds of stuff- I may have to buy a suitcase to haul it all home in. X. got his first pair of squeaky shoes which he loved. We finally had to take them away so he would go to bed

we made it to Guangzhou (at midnight)

We left Xi'an on Friday. So let me set the scene. It is 5 pm and we leave for the airport- the kids haven't really napped because we had a late lunch with the other family. We get to the airport, check in and find our gate. To get on the plane we have to get on a bus, drive out the the airplane on the tarmac, and walk up the steps into the plane. We have 3 kids, 7 carryons (one with our paperwork that we can't put in our luggage just in case), 2 strollers and a car seat- all that has to get on the bus and up into the plane in a crowd of people. We don't know exactly when we are going to be getting on the bus so I can't start to feed D (cause once she has the bottle there is NOTHING that can get it away from her), there is no place to eat for the boys AND then the flight was an hour late. OF course, speaking no Mandarin made it hard to find out what was going on so we just had to wait in the gate until the plane boarded. I realize that the agency scheduled our flight out late in the day to ensure that D's passport was finished- they weren't sure if it would be finished before the end of business on Friday. But who schedules a flight for 3 kids under 7 at dinner time???? We didn't get to Guangzhou until 11 and didn't get to the hotel until 12:15- ugh!!!!

Guangzhou (or at least Shamain Island where the hotel is) is so totally different that anywehere else we have been - There are few cars and the island has a European restort feel to it. I like the slower pace, but am glad we got to see other parts of China as well. Plus there are American families with Chinese kids everywhere- it is kind of an amazing sight. All these little ones and their new families. On Saturday, D had her visa photo taken and her immigration medical exam. Both were fairly quick and easy- although D didn't like the medical exam. It is nice to be in a group with other families also. We had a group dinner at a Chinese restaurant and it was some of the best food we had. the kids were excited to get rice again. In Xi'an they don't eat rice as it is too dry in the area to grow it. Dumplings are a mainstay there and the kids aren't big fans of dumplings. They were very excited to see fried rice on the table.

Nothing too exciting

Our last few days in Xi'an have been spent mostly hanging around the pool and hotel. We have seen most of the famous sights and quite frankly, the kids need a break. McDonald's continues to be a favorite spot for food for them. B. and I went to the grocery store without our guide yesterday and managed with no problems. Afterwards, we took advantage of the fact that the boys were with Grandma and Grandpa to run a get a couple more "treasures" (as the boys call them) to bring home. I had seen a tea pot in a store in the Muslim quarter the night before and inquired about the price. The shopkeeper said something in Chinese and a guide that was in the store said "800". I decided not to get it, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted it so B. and I went back to get it during the day. There was a different shopkeeper there and she quoted the price as 600 so I was able to get the that one and another set for 700 (what I was planning to pay for the first one.) Now I am not sure why the price changed but I am begining to think that the guides get a cut of whatever we buy and the additional 200 would have gone to the guide who happened to be in the store. Often after we make a purchase Kaige has to go back to the store for some reason.... I am not sure I care that they get a cut- it is just rather interesting. My bigger frustration is with the act of haggling- I don't particularly enjoy it and am one of those people that either I want it or I don't and in many of the exchanges we have done we are talking about haggling over 100-200 yuan which is like 20 dollars- so it is not a big amount of money anyway. I guess if I was buying something more expensive I would be more motivated. It is part of the culture though and when in Rome...

We took D to the pool for the first time and little Miss I hate the bathtub LOVED the pool. We are hoping to get back today before we leave. The pool here is a heated indoor pool that is in a solarium type room. Yesterday the outside temp was in the mid 90s so the sun beating through the windows in the roof made the pool area easily 120 degrees (the tiles on the floor were too hot to walk on barefoot) and the pool was hot tub warm which is probably why the kids loved it. It is supposed to be cloudy today so hopefully that will keep the heat down alittle

Our agency had another family arrive yesterday. They are fabulous people. I had talked to the mom a couple of times via phone or email. Their daughter and D were roommates at the orphanage and we have lots of photos of them together from their lives there. The girls seem to recognize each other, but weren't overly excited to see each other (but what did we expect- they are babies) The other family lives outside of Chicago so we hopefully we be able to get together occasionally to keep the girls in contact with each other. I kind of wish we weren't leaving today cause the trip would have been much more fun with another family

We got all of D's finalized paperwork yesterday including her passport so later today we are on our way to Guangzhou- our last stop before finally being able to come home. We are ready to get home. D seems to be getting sick, she coughs and cries all night long but seems fine during the day (other than being over tired) and there is nothing that seems to really help her. I gave her half a dose of cough medicine last night and she coughed less, but cried more so the net gain in terms of sleep was zero (although she seemed more comfortable)

Our next post will be from Guangzhou