Alex's picture
Qing FuHai (taken in late June)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
We're Home
We made it! Alex did great on the flight home. He slept about 5 hours out of the 14.5. Doug & I on the other hand are going on 24 hours with no sleep! We're exhausted, and are hoping that Alex sleeps some tonight so we can try and recover a little. Sam met us at the airport with Doug's parents. We were SO happy to see him. He had 2 little Welcome Home balloons for us and ran to us with big hugs! So far, he has been great with "baby Alex" also. He's given numerous hugs and kisses! Thanks to everyone for their prayers. Our flight went better than we ever expected! I will post pictures of the brothers together tomorrow. I'm too tired to look for the camera right now! :-)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Days in Guangzhou
Monday afternoon we had our oath taking at the US Consulate office. It was nothing like I expected it to be. It was very informal. In fact, we took our oath along with about 40 other adoptive families. The paper chase in the US to get your dossier done in order to adopt is intense, time-consuming, and frustrating at times. However, once you get over here, it is all very easy and very informal. The oath taking ceremony itself took about 5 minutes. The US Consulate office isn't very impressive either. It's on the 5th floor of a regular office building and the only thing to signify that it's the Consulate office is a little sign in the lobby with an American flag on it. For dinner Monday night, we walked to a restaurant called the Banana Leaf. It was a Thai restaurant and the food was great. They even had some entertainment at one point with waiters/waitresses singing and dancing. THat kept the kids entertained.
Yesterday morning we walked to a nearby park (it's been around 50 degrees here). The park was very pretty. There was a little lake that you could rent motorized boats on. They also had the typical park playground for kids. In addition to that, they had little roller coasters, a bouncy house, and a small merry go round. Doug took Alex for his first ride. He seemed to enjoy it. THe park was filled with Chinese people playing games, excercising/meditating, a playing badmitton. Later that afternoon we went to a Folk Museum. I wasn't that excited about going there, but it turned out to be very neat. It displayed different craftmanships done by the Chinese people, such as bone carvings, embroidery art, clay sculptures, and porcelin hand paintings. It was amazing to see their finished products. They are very talented.
Today we leave the hotel at 2:20 for our 4 hour bus trip to Hong Kong. We spend the night there at the hotel airport and our flight leaves tomorrow at 11:25AM for Chicago. Please pray for travel mercies for this very, very long flight with Alex.
Sunday in Guangzhou
Yesterday we left the hotel at 10AM and went to Shamian Island to do some shopping. This is in the same location that Alex had his doctor appt a few days ago. It's full of hotels that many adoptive families stay at...so the area has alot of stores full of China souvenier type stuff. We shopped until 1PM and then headed back to our room. After Alex's nap we ventured out again. We finally gave in and bought a stroller this morning...so now when we are out and about it is alot easier on us. Alex was great in his backpack carrier that we brought with us, but after a week of carrying him around, both of our backs were getting sore. We are on the go so much that having this stroller is so nice. After our outdoor walk we had dinner with the other 2 families that we are on our trip with on the top floor of our hotel in the revolving restaurant. We eat breakfast there every morning, but seeing the view of the city at night was incredible.
Alex is doing great. His cold has improved significantly since he has been on antibiotics. He is also taking cold medicine twice a day and that has helped greatly with his coughing at night/naps. He is also getting stronger everyday. When we got him, his legs felt like jello and were so rubbery. Last night we had him standing up holding onto the bed all by himself. He wouldn't move either direction, but just to see him standing up was great. He continues to eat great and seems to eat more and more at each meal. We've figured out his nap schedule, although when we get home I am sure that will change again. Although, it is helpful now to know when he starts getting fussy what the cause of it is. He is sleeping about 30 minutes around 10AM, then sleeps 90 minutes at 1PM and takes a quick 20 minute cat nap every night around 6PM. He has done this same schedule the last several days in a row now. The orphange staff told us that he just slept 3 hours at noon - but I've come to realize that that is more than likey when they put him down in his crib with the rest of the other babies, not neccsarily when he napped. When I was here in June, it was very common to see babies fall asleep in their walkers..so I am guessing that is what happened in the morning and late afternoon.
This afternoon we have to go to the US Consulate appt. We have our oath taking ceremony at 2:30 PM. We are also waiting for Alex's visa to be issued, which will allow him to enter the United States.
Doug got up this morning early to check him phone and found out the Bears lost. Bummer. Alex wore his Bears gear all day yesterday, regardless.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Welcome Guangzhou
We made it to the last city on our adoption journey (well, technically Hong Kong is the last city but since we are there less than 24 hours and just sleeping at the hotel at the airport…I’m not counting it). Yesterday was a long day. We left the hotel at 1PM and took an hour ride to the airport. Alex fell asleep in the van on the way there. This little boy will sleep anywhere. We got to the airport at 2:30 and had a 4:30 flight. For some reason, we had a slight layover at Xian. So, we flew for about 45 minutes, had to get off the plane, wait 25 minutes and then get back on the plane. The rest of the flight took about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Alex did pretty well. There were periods of crying…but I expected there would be. We were worried about his ears because of his bad cold and cough…but he did great. No problems there. We landed at 9PM and then took an hour ride to our hotel….so it was a late night. Alex did great…..he is just as happy as he can be as long as mommy or daddy is holding him. Guangzhou is a welcome change from Lanzhou. It’s warmer, cleaner, friendlier, and a lot more Amerincanized. We have a KFC and Pizza Hut right next door to our hotel. And our hotel is amazing. It feels like we are staying at the Ritz compared to where we just came from. Our room is really nice and very clean. This morning we were actually able to put Alex on the floor in the hotel room to see how mobile he really is (in Lanzhou we just kept him on the bed as the floor in our hotel room was pretty nasty). He can move around…but it is more of an army crawl. He gets up on all four, but doesn’t actually move forward that way. He pivots in all directions very quickly and can roll back and forth very easily. We think developmentally he is about like a 6-8 month old. Good thing he has a very active big brother at home he can quickly learn from!
After a good night’s rest we left our hotel this morning at 8:50AM to go to Alex’s medical appointment. The facility was strictly a place where they check out adopted children. It was hectic and a little chaotic (which is basically ever public place in this country). We found out he weighs 22 pounds…which is pretty good. They checked his hearing and vision and both were great. He wasn’t real happy when the doctor came in to check on his hypospadias. They said everything they had reported on his medical referral was true…..so we will take care of that with his surgeries when we get back home. We also had a doctor there check out his cold as he coughed most of the night last night. They prescribed him an antibiotic and cough medicine…so we got the first dose in him around noon today. We hope that helps as his cough seemed to be getting worse each day.
After his doctor appt we went to a supermarket and bought some basics to get us through the week (water, diapers, formula, etc..). We were loading up after the supermarket and someone spotted a Papa John’s…so we asked our guide if we could eat there for lunch. It was fantastic!
This afternoon and tonight we have free time. Alex is napping right now and after the nap we are going to go out exploring a little. We weren’t really able to do that much in Lanzhou. Partially because it was so cold there and partially because there wasn’t anything next to our hotel to do! We are looking forward to seeing what this hotel has to offer also. I know they have an indoor pool, so we will have to see how Alex likes that. He absolutely hated his bath the first two times we gave him one, so this morning we tried a shower with daddy and he liked that a lot better. We know this hotel has a revolving restaurant on the top floor that overlooks the city. We went up there for breakfast this morning, but we were running late and didn’t get a chance to eat there and instead just grabbed something quick for the bus. I forgot how long it takes to get ready with a baby in the morning (having to pack formula and bottles and everything). It should be interesting when I get back home and have to pack for 2 boys!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Last Day in Lanzhou
I would like to report that we are going to miss Lanzhou....but truthfully, we are ready for the last and final city in our adoption trip (Guanghzou). Lanzhou is just dreary. It is so polluted that even when the sun shines, you can't see it through the thick haze above you. We know we are surrounded by mountains, but you hardly ever get to see them either. This morning, though, we spent the morning at a Chinese museum, which was actually very interesting and nice. We were told it was in the "top 10" of Chinese museums in the country. It consisted of 3 floors, the first was all about Chinese history in regards to the Silk Road. The Gansu province is famous for this as it passes through the majority of the province. The second floor was all about their porcelain and pottery, but due to time constraints we skipped that floor. The last floor was all about dinosaurs. After the museum we went to lunch at a restaurant that is known for making "stretchy" noodles. We were back at the room around 2PM for some naps. After naps, we decided to have a birthday party for Alex and Cora (the daughter of the other family that we are traveling with). We both missed their first birthdays...and thought that celebrating it here, in China, would be fun and someday we could tell them all about it. So, we ventured out to a bakery that we found. We found a sweet bread shaped like a turtle and used that as their cake. I had brought a few toys from home for Alex...and by mistake there was a number one from a different toy set that somehow made the trip....which was perfect because we used that as their candle. We sang Happy Birthday to them and Alex loved the "cake."
This morning Doug and I were talking about all the ways God has answered prayers for us on this trip. He got us here safely, he has kept us healthy and he has kept Sam safe and healthy with his grandparents. He provided a smooth transition for us with Alex on Gotcha Day, Alex has bonded so quickly with us (and us with him). Our paperwork all went smoothly, he has provided us with a great family to travel with that we have become very good friends with, he has provided great guides who accommodate all our requests and make us feel safe and comfortable in this chaotic country. He has given us peace about Sam being at home. Thanks for all the prayers on this as we both have commented in the last 24 hours that we are now feeling more at peace about this and are enjoying our trip and time with Alex instead of the guilt/sadness we were experiencing the first several days of the journey. Thinking through all these praises reminds us of God's faithfulness. It helps us to let go of our thoughts/worries of the future unknowns (the very long flight home and Alex's surgeries when we get there). We are reminded that God is in control and is always faithful!
Alex is continuing to make us glow with joy. He giggles and gives us so many smiles now. He is starting to become a little pickier with his foods. He is no longer interested in the steamed eggs and rice that he has probably eaten every day of his life for the past year (who can blame him)....but now prefers anything we are eating (especially tangelos...or any fruit). He did great at the museum today and took his first ride in a stroller. Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 1:30 and head to the airport. We have a 4:30 flight to Guanghzou (about a 4 hour flight). This will be good practice for the 14 hours flight home. Alex has a cold and a bad cough (he had that when we got him on Monday) so we are a little worried about the flight and his ears. Pray that it all goes well.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Free Day
Alex slept great again last night. He fell asleep around 9:15 and woke just before 7AM. Doug and I are so happy we got another great sleeper! We had most of the day free today. We laid around the hotel room all morning. Alex fell asleep just before 2, but we had to wake him after an hour because we needed to meet Steed (our guide) at 3. This afternoon we went to see the Zhongshan Bridge. This was the very first bridge built over 100 years ago to cross the Yellow River in Langzou. Then we went to see some old wooden water wheels on the Yellow River at a park. They aren't used anymore, but were pretty cool to see. There was a souvenier shop there that had unique, handmade gifts that were made in the city/area that Alex is from (city is Qingyang..pronounced Ching Young). We then saw some Muslim mosques. There are alot of Muslim people in this city. We had dinner at Pizza Mira. Our guide said it was traditional Chinese pizza....and it was really good. It tasted alot like American pizza but had a garlic base instead of tomato sauce.
Alex is doing great. He has become quite attached to his mommy already....and just loves to be held. We've just smothered him in kisses and hugs the past 2 days. He is such a good boy and just goes with the flow. Last night I got him to say "da da." I kept saying it over and over again and he watched my mouth so intently...then he started saying it. It was SO cute!
Off to give the little guy a bottle and get ready for bed. Thanks for all the prayers!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
He is officially ours!
We just got back from our civil affairs appointment. It's noon here and we are back in our room relaxing for a few hours. Alex actually fell asleep 5 minutes before we left the appointment and is taking a nap in his crib in our room. Sam was never a child that "transferred" easily after he fell asleep and needed to be moved to his crib or something, but all went smoothly with Alex. He was such a great boy this morning too. We spent 3 hours meeting with the orphange staff, having interviews, applying for his passport, and sitting for hours filling out paperwork. He was great and never cried at all. The orphanage gave us a book of pictures they had taken of him over the past few months....what an awesome gift. We also got back the pj's, blanket, and stuffed animal we sent him for his birthday in October. We're happy he has something familiar to hold on to.
This boy sure does like to eat! The orphanage director jokes about how much they had to feed him. Right now he is taking 4 bottles a day and they said he also eats 3 snacks/meals a day too. I'm still trying to figure out how to fit that all in one day! Now that we've spent almost a day with him...we're really starting to see his personality. He is a very laid back boy. We were so excited that we were able to get him giggling this morning. Alex was knocking a water bottle off the bed and then daddy would throw it back up in front of him and he thought that was quite funny. He's already starting to get pretty attached to us. He loves being held. When we put him down even for a few minutes..he starts whining.
We have some free time the rest of the day. After naps (for all of us) we are heading back to the supermarket. We haven't been able to post many pictures because we forgot our USB cable for the camera. The only pictures we can post right now are coming from Doug's phone. So, hopefully we can post more soon if we can find that cord we are missing.
We would appreicate the prayers for our continued safety and good health. Also for Sam. Doug and I are pretty homesick and missing our boy terribly. It's so bittersweet being here right now. We're trying to enjoy this trip and the alone time we have with Alex..but are hearts are wishing Sam was here too. We are looking forward to coming home and starting our new life as a family of 4!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Gotcha Day
The day we had been waiting 3 1/2 years for is here! We left our hotel in Beijing at 5:30AM. We arrived in Lanzhou at 10:30AM. We took a 90 minute bus ride to our hotel and arrived around 12:30. We were told we would meet Alex at 2PM. So, we went to our room and anxiously waited. Just before two, our guide called and told us that the babies and orphanage director hadn't left until this morning for the 8 hour ride from Alex's orphanage in Qingyang to our hotel in Lanzhou. Therefore, they weren't here yet and the time had been moved back to 4:30. Augh! We decided to get something to eat in the hotel and then our guide took us to a store that is equivalent to a Walmart in the states. We bought Alex some formula, and a few other things we needed. We got back to the hotel at 4:30....only to find out they still weren't there! We finally got the call at 5:24PM. We met them in a private room in the restaurant. When we walked in there...there were only 2 babies,. Ours and another couple that we have been traveling with since Beijing. They are adopting a little 18 month old with unrepaired cleft lip/palate - so I was able to pick out Alex right away. He was sitting on the assistant orphanage director's lap checking out the place., The first thing Doug & I noticed was his big cheeks! We found out soon enough that the little boy likes to eat! He should fit in quite well with our family! Amazingly, when the orphanage director handed him off to me...he never cried. In fact, he didn't cry at all the whole time we were in there (which was just over 2 hours filing out all the paperwork). I think it was partially due to the fact that his nanny didn't come..so I'm sure he wasn't as attached to the directors as he is the actual nanny. Anyway.... we were thrilled and it was definitely answered prayer. We didn't get back to our room until around 7:30. We ate pb&j sandwiches in our room with our traveling buddies and were in awe at how fast Alex drank his bottle! In fact, he was getting a little agitated that he couldn't drink it fast enough! The orphanage makes the hole in the top of the bottle nipples a little bigger so they can feed all the babies faster...so when he got our bottle..he was a little impatient! He can sit up by himself and also crawls, but does not yet walk. We're sure big brother Sam will change that in no time. It is 6:23AM here..and Alex is still sleeping. He slept great last night too. He woke up several times throughout the night coughing (he has a cold) but was able to fall right back asleep again. So, we never had to get up with him in the middle of the night (another answered prayer as we were both exhausted last night)! We have a big day today as we have our appt with the notary at the civil affairs building this morning. This is the day Alex's adoption is final! Here are a few pictures...we'll post more later.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Our First Day Sightseeing
Yesterday was a very fun, but exhausting day. We started the morning with breakfast in our hotel. It was a welcome surprise that we found fried eggs, toast and cereal...so we took advantage of that. We left the hotel at 9AM and headed to the Emporor's Summer Palace. The place was beautiful. The only problem was, it isn't summer here...and it was absolutely freezing. We knew it would be cold here, and we did pack accordingly, but cold doesn't really describe it. We're guessing the actual temperature was around 10 degrees with 30 mph winds. The palace itself was beautiful. It's the largest imperial garden in the world. It's construction started in 1750 and took 15 years to complete. We spent about 2 hours there. We then stopped at the Cloisonne Factory. Cloisonne is a enamelware that is unique to China. We received a demonstration on how it is made and then ate lunch at the restaurant on the top floor. After lunch, we headed to the Great Wall. We went to a different part of the Wall than when I was here in June. It was absolutely freezing....but Doug & I managed to make the climb all the way to the top. It was quite the hike! This part of the wall was extremely steep with alternating paths of steps and steep slopes to climb. The trek was worth it though when we reached the top and was told that was the highest point of the Wall. The 2 hour ride back to our hotel from the Wall was welcomed as we tried to warm ourselves up (and Doug caught a short nap). Dinner was a traditional Chinese dinner at a restaurant close to our hotel. All meals in China are served on a lazy susan, and there are about 8-10 dishes to choose from. There were a few brave souls that tried the fish (served with the head and tail on.....bones and all). Doug is "jonesing" for a double cheeseburger and is still waiting for his fortune cookie (and American adventure).
Today we attend a foreigner's church service. To attend, you must prove that you are a foreigner by showing your passport at the door. We take for granted how fortunate we are to live in America. After church, we head to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.
Tomorrow we meet our son for the first time. We leave the hotel around 5AM to catch a 7:30 flight to the Gansu province. We found out that Alex will be brought to us at the hotel sometime in the afternoon, We then have interviews with the orphange director along with a notary of the province (he would be like a Supreme Court judge would be in the US). Please pray that all goes well. Doug and I laid in bed this morning talking about Alex. Wondering what his personality would be like. Wondering how our life will change starting tomorrow. Wondering if he will be crawling or walking yet. Realizing at this moment he has no idea how his life is about to change so dramatically.
Friday, January 14, 2011
We Made It!
We're in Beijing. What a long, long flight! We're grateful that we're here and our flight went smoothly. We landed on time in Beijing at 4:30PM (China time). We managed to stay awake until about 7:30PM and then crashed. Neither one of us got more than 2 hours sleep on the flight over...so we were wiped out. We met several other couples on our flight over that were also adopting. None of them were with our same agency...but it is cool to hear other people's stories. We woke up this morning at 4AM. The time change will take some getting use to. Today is a day of sightseeing. We are going to the Emporor's Palace this morning. Then lunch out somewhere with our group followed by a trip to the Great Wall and dinner. It sounds like we are going to a different part of the Great Wall than what I saw when I was here in June. We're feeling well rested and ready to explore a little of Beijing.
We appreciate all the prayers!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
44
44....that is the number of pounds we can each have for our bags to travel. So far, I packed all of Alex's "stuff" and one of the two suitcases is already full! So, don't be surprised if you see Doug & I in the same outfits in all the pictures we post!
Today is our last day at home with Sam. We're busy trying to pack and finalize some last minute details..but find ourselves stopping and just playing with Sam instead. He's getting smothered with hugs and kisses today.
We're so exited about the trip...."baby Alex" will be with us forever in just 5 days. We wonder what he will be like. Will he have the same infatuation with doors and lights as Sam?! ;-) Time will tell!
Today is our last day at home with Sam. We're busy trying to pack and finalize some last minute details..but find ourselves stopping and just playing with Sam instead. He's getting smothered with hugs and kisses today.
We're so exited about the trip...."baby Alex" will be with us forever in just 5 days. We wonder what he will be like. Will he have the same infatuation with doors and lights as Sam?! ;-) Time will tell!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Travel Plans
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