Farewell to China

This will be our final posting from China. Today we check out at 2:30pm and go to our swearing in ceremony promising to take good care of Mia and then we are off to the airport. Yesterday we spent more time walking around the island trying to soak the last bit of China in. We were both reflecting on our trip and before we left, we just wanted to get Mia and come right home. Now, though, we are so glad we were able to spend this time in her country and so much time with just the three of us in close quarters with nothing else to worry about but our new family. We believe this has been invaluable bonding time. A few things we have learned about Mia are; she has to look at everyone and everything around her and has big smiles for anyone who will look at her : ), she is a good eater and will eat pretty much anything (so far), she fights sleep furiously (I think it's because she's afraid she will miss something), her favorite greeting is "eh" (sometimes she uses it to check in and make sure she has your attention). Of course as new parents we find every one of these things the cutest we have ever seen, but truly we are the most blessed parents in the world to be Mia's mommy and daddy. We have also met so many wonderful people here, both adopting parents and locals. We have met quite a few families on their second adoption from China and they all have great insight. We will miss China but hope to be able to bring Mia back here some day to show her where she came from. So farewell from China we will see you soon!!

We go home tomorrow!!

Well, tomorrow is the big day. We are coming home!! No posting yesterday because the humidity is killing us and we did lots of walking around, so we just relaxed last night. The White Swan Hotel is on Shamian Island. I will make an album of the hotel and island. We walked around a lot and were able to see lots of families playing yesterday (Sunday). We also found the Catholic Church which you will see in the pictures. People on the island are so kind and everytime we tell them Mia is from the Jiangxi province, they say, "Oh Spicy Girl!" The baby doll above is from Jordan's. Jordan is in the above picture and she was so sweet to Mia! We bought her this doll then figured out since she is teething, she was trying to eat the hair so we had to take it away from her til she is done teething : ( Today we went to get her medical exam which was quick and not very invasive and she did great! It is raining today with lots of lightning and Judy is at our Consulate Appointment. Tomorrow we will have her swearing in ceremony and then come home. Judy ended up having to go back to China Southern yesterday because she had zero luck with the guy from the other day. She said we will have the bulkhead seat which will give us more space. We have run into a lot more adopting families here which is nice because we know what we have all had to go through. I guess there are a lot less families here right now, though, because of the trade fair. Today we took laundry to a place outside the hotel. The hotel charges a lot and we were not able to stretch the clothes out one more day because we have spit-up, drool and so much humidity, we really cannot fathom re-wearing anything. Then we will have the real task of re-packing with a few more things than when we left. Now, we wait for Judy's phone call to let us know the Consulate appointment went ok then it's all downhill.

In case I do not get a chance to post again, we both want to thank everyone so much for their love, prayers and support through our whole journey to meet our baby girl Mia who we already love so much! She is so lucky to have all of you sending her good thoughts and I know when she is old enough to understand, she will truly know how blessed she is to have all of you!!

Off to Guangzhou!!

Well, today Mia had her first plane ride and did GREAT!! Now let's hold our breath for the long flight home. We woke up early and went to the airport where we had to say goodbye to Echo. As soon as we hit security, I think my mommy hormones kicked in and tears just started pouring down my face. I couldn't really even consciously tell you why I was crying, but I was just sad. I felt like I was mourning for my little girl's past and her leaving and I couldn't help but think of her birth mom. I was a mess! Cried and cried and cried. I am so so blessed to have our perfect daughter and yet I think this made it so clear that we are taking it from her "home". The only home she has ever known. Mia on the other hand did fabulous! As soon as we took off, she fell asleep and when she woke up we were still in the air and she was happy. The biggest difference between Nanchang and Guangzhou?? The HUMIDITY!! Guangzhou is so humid, you could feel the air around you. Ick! In addition to that, our allergies have kicked into high gear so we are really out of sorts. Thank God Mia has been an angel today as mommy and daddy were very irritable : ). We met the infamous Judy who is our guide here and she got all of our paperwork in order. We went to 7-11 right next to the hotel (yes, the same 7-11) and bought a stroller at a shop since the hotel does not have any available. It was less than $20 and is really cute! Then we had to go to China Southern Airlines to see if we can secure the bulkhead seat with the bassinet for the way home. 1 1/2 hours later, we were still there because Judy was trying to deal with a man who had no idea what he was doing and the other co-workers would not help him. She felt bad and sent us in a cab with a guy who spoke NO English and she would stay to finish. About half way back to the hotel, it dawned on me that we could end up anywhere and we would be helpless. That was a bad feeling since we had Mia with us. But not to worry, we made it back safe and sound and poor Judy is probably stil l at the airlines. I will post pics of the hotel tomorrow. It is very nice and has a waterfall in it. Off to bed since Mia is sleeping.

Be Careful What You Wish For : )

OK for all you who are not mom's this is your warning! Poop talk coming up!! Last night was pretty rough as actually most of the afternoon and evening yesterday as well. Our little Mia was so miserable and inconsolable. She had not pooped in 2+ days so we knew that may be one problem, and she is teething not to mention being put into a brand new environment with new people. Our instinct was to call the doctor, but of course...we are in China. We gave her small doses of baby Tylenol and decided the rice cereal/formula concoction was probably not helping her poop situation any. We consulted with the internet and Daddy was trying hard not to panic as I think at this point he would do anything not to see his baby in pain. We were a couple of wrecks and finally got her to sleep longer than 15 minutes by putting her in the Babyhawk carrier (not the one in the pic). I think it makes her feel secure and sure enough after only a few minutes crying, she gave in to sleep. I'm sure in the pictures taken today that you can see the boogers and drool : ) As for the poop situation, I tried to give her water and she did not want it. I called room service to see if they had prune juice and could not get them to understand what I was asking for, then gave her some apple/apricot jar food and said lots of prayers. "Please poop soon!" So today, this morning, she was grunting and grunting, pushing and pushing and my prayers were answered! I felt so bad for her, though because it was so hard!! Today was a resting day which worked out so well since Mia was not feeling good. Then she ate a great breakfast of steamed egg, watermelon and I watered down some apple juice which she liked. Then she was pushing, pushing, grunting, grunting and voila! Another poop!! Mommy, Daddy and Mia could not be happier!! I switched to just formula and no rice cereal since she was also eating so well. Mia had also taken 3 really good naps making up for lost time! After nap number three, we heard a loud noise and she had pooped AGAIN! So I guess case solved! Since then, our old happy, laughing Mia has returned even though she is teething. Yea!!! Well, tonight we are packing and off to Guangzhou tomorrow. Oh yeah, thank God for Echo!! She called because our flight tomorrow has been cancelled and she had booked us on another flight phew!! Overall, we have loved our time in Nanchang and hope to one day bring Mia back to visit. The hotel staff is phenomenal and Echo has truly been a blessing for us!

People's Park Outing

Today we went on a leisurely outing to People's Park. This park was beautiful and the weather was perfect! It was sunny with a slight cool breeze....ahhh! The park is literally an oasis in the middle of the city. There were a few things that struck me while we were there. There were lots of older people walking, doing tai chi, playing chess, exercising on equipment and using the paddle boats. The people here are so active, they are an inspiration for us lazy people : ) Also, the people who trim the trees, landscape, etc. put all the brush onto big wheelwarrow carts and pull them through the park to where they dump it. We told Echo that in California, the park workers drive around on little carts to get trash. She was amazed! We put a picture of Echo above. She has been the BEST guide we could have hoped for! She is patient, understanding, speaks english very well and best of all, loves our little girl! She has made our stay here so easy and fun! Without Echo, we don't know what we would have done. I will post another album of our day. Before the park, we went to a porcelean shop. Nanchang is known for its eggshell porcelean and we were able to pick up some treasures for Mia when she gets older. After the park, we did a little more shopping then came back to the hotel. Our poor baby is teething BIG TIME!!! Poor thing! Her little nose is running non-stop and she is fighting sleep even when delirious. Last night was not a good sleep night and she has not napped for longer than 15 minutes today. Not a lot of pictures of Mia today because she is not feeling well and we thought we would spare you the booger pics. Tomorrow is a rest day, so we hope she will feel better before we have to get on the plane to go to Guangzhou on Saturday.

Sightseeing Day

Isn't she so cute?? She is such a good girl we are so blessed! Last night she did cry some, but as soon as I held her tight, she really calmed down and kind of sobbed. We believe these are her mourning periods which are normal and so heartbreaking. She has been sleeping well, though waking up at midnight the past couple of nights for an hour or so. We bought her some formula and rice cereal from Wal Mart yesterday and she LOVES it! We give her the rice cereal mixed into her formula. She also like fruit, congee (watery rice) and this morning she had some of mommy's steamed egg. Mia still has no teeth and we believe she is teething. Today we went to the Tengwang Pavilion which was beautiful! There were lots of newly adopted babies there. This was the first major contact we have had with the local people and they were all so kind and curious. In the shopping area nearby, a woman stopped us because she saw Kevin and I but thought Mia was my biological child because she looks just like me : ) Next thing we know, there was a whole crowd around us looking at the similarities. Kevin had people staring at him all day which took some getting used to. They all think I am Chinese so I get none of the "glory". We purchased 2 traditional Chinese dresses for Mia and a scroll with her Chinese name, birthday, place she came from and 'good luck' characters. I will create another album so you can see all the pictures. We are staying at the Galactic Peace Hotel which is new and very nice. I will show a few pics of this too.

Civil Affairs

This is the happy family with the orphanage directors

Day 2 and all is well!

This was Mia first thing this morning! Then the inevitable happened. She ripped the bow right out of her hair! Oh well, it was cute while it lasted. Last night was not bad at all : ) Mia fell asleep about 8pm then woke at about midnight and wanted to play! She finally fell asleep again at about 1:30 and slept right til 6:30. She woke up smiling and talking! After breakfast at the hotel, we had a paperwork day. We went back to the civil affairs office where we received Mia and finalized her adoption certificate. We were able to see the 2 men who brought our little one to us yesterday. They were directors from the orphanage. We also took a picture with them which I will post. They were very nice. I will also try to fill in some blanks from yesterday. Yesterday, we got Mia as well as the things from her care package that we had sent. We sent a disposable camera that we received back as well. Can't wait to get that developed! They also gave us a gift from the orphanage. OK, so this morning we had a classic rookie parent moment. We met our guide Echo in the lobby after breakfast to go to the Civil Affairs Office. (it is almost across the street) Oh that is another story!! Well, Echo said "you need to cover her more it is windy" so I wrapped a blanket around her since I already had a jacket on her and we proceded outside. It was WINDY and cold and I should have been better prepared as it started to rain hard right before we had to go outside again...argh!! Bad Mom!! So back to the streets....I had heard about how crazy the drivers were here, but I had NO idea!! The traffic is the most chaotic yet almost orchestrated I have ever seen. There are cars, scooters, bicycles and pedestrians (even saw carts people pull) everywhere!! They all share the same road and if you don't know exactly how big your car is, you will lose parts!! I am fascinated and feel like Frogger crossing the road. So today we received Mia's adoption certificate and applied for her Passport as well as had stuff notarized. Then we went to Wal Mart!! Interesting and different, yet still has everything you could need and more! The only thing I bought for Mia was a few pairs of soft shoes. The rest was snacks, formula, rice cereal etc... Now we are resting and Mia is napping (still waiting for the tough part) She is very active and happy. She fights sleep, but eventually gives in : ) Daddy is also napping and has been so awesome!! He got up with her last night and is totally in love with his new baby girl!! Sorry not many pics, but it was the best I could do with the weather! Oh, and the hotel we are staying in is beautiful!! Will post again soon!

And now without further ado....Mia!!

Here are just a few pics. The bottom two are from right after we got her. To see more pics, click on the image to the right of us in front of the Tom Bradley Terminal at LAX. This will be a short posting since I am EXHAUSTED and little Mia is sleeping. This has been the longest best day ever! We got to LAX at 7:30pm on the 14th (thanks Lynn, Keith and boys!!) and arrived in Guangzhou at 6:30am on the 16th. Anyone ever have to take the bus to the gate?? From the time we arrived at LAX, we felt like we were in the Twilight Zone because we were clueless!! After we arrived in Guangzhou, we had a 5 hour layover and I experienced my first squatty potty(will save that one for a later post). Then we got on another plane to Nanchang. Oh and almost left our luggage in Guangzhou because we didn't realize we had to re-check it! BUT once we saw Mia, everything was ok. She has been smiling and laughing and we are just holding our breaths knowing there will be a rough patch. She got a bath tonight and liked it! OK it's 8:45 pm and I better get some rest before she wakes up. Just wanted to let everyone see her and know we made it here ok!

We leave Saturday night!

We have tickets in hand and are beginning to pack...what a whirlwind!! I wanted to give everyone an idea of our itinerary:
4/14/07- Leave LA at 11:50pm
4/16/07- (yes, we miss a whole day!) arrive in Guangzhou at 6:50am
12:20pm get on another plane to Nanchang
1:45pm arrive in Nanchang
Sometime this same afternoon we receive Mia!!! (Gotcha Day)
4/17/07- Provincial Adoption Registrar (Adoption Certificate)
Provincial Notary Office (Adoption Cert, Birth Cert, Abandonment Cert)
Apply for Mia's passport
4/18/07- City Tour
4/19/07- Relax
4/20/07- Pick up Mia's passport and all adoption documents
4/21/07- 2:30pm Fly from Nanchang to Guangzhou
Arrive In Guangzhou at 3:45pm
Check in to famous White Swan Hotel, walk around Shamian Island
Photo/ Medical Exam/ Review Paperwork
4/22/07- Rest
4/23/07- 9:30am Consulate Appointment (we don't need to be there : ) )
4/24/07- 12:00pm checkout
3:00pm Go to the new US Consulate for Swearing-In Ceremony
Pick up Visa
6:00pm Arrive at Guangzhou Airport
9:00pm fly home!!!
6:50pm arrive at LAX (Yes, the same day...before we took off!!)
The time difference from US to China is 15 hours ahead! Mia will be a US Citizen as soon as we land in LA: )!

We received our Consulate Appointment!!

We received the call today that our China Facilitator has confirmation for our Consulate Appointment!! What this means is that we will leave next week for sure! Our Consulate Appointment (CA) is for April 23rd which means that we will hold Mia for the first time on April 16th. Can you believe it? I'm still in half a state of shock and half panic! But 110% bliss and gratefulness for so many people including so many we have never met face to face, but who have shared the same heartache, waiting, frustration elation and the biggest lesson in patience we may ever face. Today I have also been reflecting on Mia's birth mother who has given us the greatest gift we are truly so blessed to receive. Her bravery and love for Mia has not been lost on us and we promise to teach Mia how much her birth mom loved her so that she could be with us forever. God has answered our prayers for a child to be a part of our family and like everyone says, all the waiting and sorrow just drop away the closer you get to your baby!

Getting Closer!!

Well, today we received our TA (travel approval) Yea!!! Our China facilitator has asked for a consulate appointment for April 23, 24 or 25th. As long as we get one of those dates, we will leave on April 13th. We will not know for sure for 2-3 days but we are running around anticipating leaving in less than 2 weeks! Every milestone we reach makes bringing Mia home a little more real. This is all becoming very 'real' very quickly! Just think, if we do get to travel on the 13th, then 2 weeks from now, we will have Mia in our arms!! Oh we can't wait! Just wanted to spread the good news, now off to do more preparation!!