Last Days in China

Feb. 25 - Monday was a 'free' day for the families. Our agency planned a tour for those wanting to go. We took a bus to a Buddhist Temple and a Chinese Folk Art Museum. At the Buddhist Temple we participating in a 'blessing of the baby' ceremony. A Buddhist monk chanted a prayer while hitting a wooden block with a mallet. He then came to us and sprinkled water on all of our heads. Adelyn wasn't thrilled with this part of the ritual and immediately began screaming & crying. Still, we are glad we participated. Although we plan to raise her in the Catholic religion, we felt it was necessary to acknowledge her birth country religion & heritage.

After touring the Temple, we went to a folk art museum to view many different forms of ancient Chinese artifacts and architecture.

We wouldn't change the schedule of tours and sightseeing for anything, but we're looking forward to normal days at home without having to remember to pack enough 'baby things' for the day's events.

Feb. 26 - This morning we met up with the group to take the famous 'red couch' photo. Adoptive parents that stay at the White Swan Hotel have traditionally taken a group photo of the travel group babies on one of the many red couches that are located throughout the hotel lounge areas. As you can see from the photo, Adelyn was thrilled to be on the couch without Ma Ma holding her. After several minutes of wailing while several cameras flashed, we decided to end the torture. Immediately upon removing Adelyn from the red couch, she began smiling and running around in her traditional Chinese silk dress and matching shoes. She is very independent. While many of the other babies want to stay close to Ma Ma and Ba Ba, Adelyn is very comfortable roaming around and babbling to herself. After a few minutes, we all gathered to take one group photo of all the babies and families.

In the afternoon we traveled to the U.S. Consulate office where we took a group oath with approximately 55 families from other adoption agencies. We received Adelyn's travel Visa and Chinese passport. This documentation will be presented to Immigration officials in Detroit where we will return to the U.S. After we pass through Immigration, Adelyn will be officially a United States Citizen!!!

On the ride back to the hotel, we became a little sad realizing our trip was nearing its end. We've met so many wonderful people over the last 2 weeks and hope to keep in touch with them as our children grow. It's amazing to see how all of the little girls have grown over the last 2 weeks with their new families. We've always wondered how China matches each child with their new parents and have never quite understood any explanation we've received. Yet, as we look now at each family, it's amazing to see how each little girl seems to fit perfectly into the family that was chosen for her.

After spending a short time doing some last minute shopping, we decided to spend our last night on Shamian Island the same as our first night on the island . . . dining at Lucy's. The big difference being that we ordered an extra plate of rice and needed a high chair.

We leave the hotel at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning for the long trip back home. While we're not looking forward to putting Adelyn through the 24+ hours of travel, we can't wait to bring her to her "forever home"!

Squeaky shoes!

Almost every family travelling to China for adoption is familiar with squeaky shoes. We put them on Adelyn and she wants to wear them all the time. She even likes to wear them after we put her in pj's. We have been doing alot of shopping/walking the past couple of days, so she is becoming so much more independent. She is starting to walk on her own without holding my hand and she goes to "Ba Ba" (Chinese word for Daddy) a little more freely now, especially if he has food. She loves to walk by herself in the park areas. She picks up leaves, points, waves at everyone, loves to be outside!

On the 22nd, we visited Adelyn's orphanage. The conditions were sad and of course, we wanted to bring all of the babies with us. The caregivers were nice but Adelyn was afraid. She would only go to one of them, her primary nanny, but quickly came back to us. We are glad we have pictures of where she lived for her first 19 mos but we were more glad to take her from there forever. After we returned from the orphanage, we ventured out to a local shopping area within the city. Wow, there's soooo many people everywhere and it's very unsafe to walk next to the road because of the traffic. Taxis will just about run over you! It was interesting to mingle amongst the locals. I guess we would compare this experience to being in New York on New Years Eve, except everyone was sober (maybe).

Feb. 23rd was passport photo, medical exam and paperwork day. Adelyn's passport photo looks like all passport photos, just a mugshot. The med exam was very fast and not too traumatizing to the babes. Adelyn weighs 21 lbs now, but is still one of the smallest babies in our group. We had to shop for clothes for her because 18mos is too big. 12mos fits perfectly right now. We have been layering her so her clothes won't fall off. It's been difficult to find 12mos old clothes on the island. Checkup was "normal." We finished the day by joining Catherine in the conference room to complete more paperwork.

Feb 24th. We went to the Pearl Market and The Jade and Porcelain Market. We had a great time buying keepsakes for Adelyn and souvenirs. Adelyn decided that the Jade Market was boring and began to throw a big fit. I jokingly asked our guide Catherine if Adelyn was the loudest baby she has ever had in a travel group. She shyly smiled and said "Yes, I believe she is, for her age." Well, where's the shy, timid child! Seriously, fits and all, she is perfect!

Today, we actually were able to eat breakfast. Don and I were finally able to organize the morning quicker and get out the door earlier. Everything takes longer too, because people want to stop and ask about Adelyn. That's ok, but we didn't realize that we needed to get up at 6:00 in order to eat breakfast by 10:00!HaHa. Each day has gotten better.

Thanks everyone for your comments. We can't wait to get back to the states!

Peace,

Andrea, Don and Adelyn

The Journey Continues

We have been really busy for the past 2 days. Yesterday, 2-20, we travelled by bus to the Public Security Bureau to apply for Adelyn's passport. The process was quick and easy thanks to our wonderful China guide, Catherine. She has been so helpful with all the babies. There have been many times where it has been difficult to communicate with the babes and Catherine has interpreted what they were trying to babble in Chinese or spoke to them in Chinese to calm them. She even sang a chinese lullaby on the bus one day.

Today, 2-21, we went to the Guangzhou Zoo. There were many of the same animals as in the states. Of course, we saw a panda bear and many other different animals. All the babies enjoyed the tour. We are having a difficult time teaching Adelyn to ride in a stroller. She has just refused because she wants to be held by Momma. She walked so much that she finally wanted to ride in the stroller.

The weather was awesome. It was 71 degrees and sunny. Everyone dressed really warm here. Most locals still wore coats even today. Don and I were wishing we had brought shorts until I was getting some odd stares wearing a sleeveless sweater. Several chinese women asked me if I was cold. Adelyn is used to being bundled up at the orphanage too. We usually dress her in at least 3 layers and a hat (even today).

The last picture above is Adelyn's first experience with chopsticks. We ate at a Thai restaurant called "The Cow and Bridge." She made quite a scene eating noodles, congee, and broccoli with chopsticks. Don and I were talking to another family in our group not paying very good attention to Adelyn as she was grabbing handfuls of noodles and tossing them to the floor. We are such rookies at this parenting thing but getting better every day. We are trying to teach her sign language to hopefully help her transition easier. She can sign "more" and "hat" so far. Daddy taught her those signs.

Tomorrow, we are travelling to Adelyn's orphanage and hopefully her "finding place." We understand that it may be confusing for her to return, but we want to be able to share her first months of life with her when she is old enough to understand.

More Family Day

Thanks, everyone for your comments. We finally were able to sit down together while Adelyn was napping. She is so amazing. Don and I are dumbfounded that her report said that she was a very shy and timid girl. That's the last thing she is!! She is just a little ham...and lets you know when she is hungry and a bit of a whiner at that. For breakfast today, she ate steamed eggs, congee, and tiny bits of toast. Then for lunch she ate 1 jar of Heinz "mixed vegetable paste" and 1 jar of chicken paste" then ate 1/2 cup Cheerios then 1 jar of Heinz "apple carrot juice." For dinner, we will try to incorporate more solid foods. She has lots of teeth. She eats really fast and leans toward us for each bite. It's a little sad to watch her eat. It's as though she fears the food will disappear before she is full. When she is finished, she knows to wipe her face and hands, then hands us the napkin. It's soooo cute.

We went to the Civil Affairs Bureau and Notary today for Adelyn's "Agreement of Adoption." We were interviewed and asked questions about why we chose to adopt from China. They also asked if we were happy with the child we received. This appt. finalized the past 24hrs with Adelyn. They call this "The Agreement of Entrusting Guardianship in The Harmonious Period."

After finishing, we travelled with all the babes to "Carrefour" or aka chinese walmart. This provided all the families an opportunity to stock up on things like baby food, diapers, juice, shoes, luggage etc... We were quite the minority but taken very well. We were given many nods and smiles from the locals. Now, here we are, a little exhausted... but so blessed!

And now we're 3

There is absolutely no way to describe the day we have had. Our little Adelyn is finally with us. We traveled about 5 miles to the Civil Affairs Bureau where we received our daughters. There were other families there getting babies when we arrived and it was a bit overwhelming to say the least. The room was filled with the sounds of crying babies. Then the announcement came . . . "Hui Cheng Mei - Donald & Andrea Osborne". We stepped forward and one of her orphanage workers walked her out to us. Adelyn was very afraid of us at first, and cried when we held her, but it's amazing what a few 'goldfish crackers' will do. Before we left Civil Affairs to head back to the hotel, Adelyn was pretty comfortable with Andrea. About the only way I can get any attention from her is if I have some food for her. That's pretty much what I expected, so I'm not too concerned. Hopefully she'll warm up to me a little more before we travel back home. If not, maybe she'll be okay with me by the time she gets married.

Anyway, after we returned to the hotel room, we spent about 3 hours eating, playing and just getting to know each other. We gave her a light sponge bath (which she didn't like very well) and put her in some PJ's. She was still wanting to just walk around and explore the room. She is an extremely curious little girl. Hopefully she'll begin to tire soon and we can all get some rest.

The short clip below shows some of her emotions and growth during the first few hours with us. Tomorrow morning we are due back at Civil Affairs for more paperwork processing. We'll then have the rest of the day to spend as a family. It will be interesting to see how much she changes each day as she bonds more with us and we earn her trust. If for some reason the video doesn't work below, you can also check it out on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG0MTNmIL3g

Arrival in Guangzhou

The weather man lied!!!! When we arrived at The White Swan in Guangzhou it was cloudy and about 50 degrees. But, I think we were too excited to care. We checked in and received our room keys. We walked in the room and the first thing we saw was the 'crib'. Andrea immediately began snapping pictures before we 'moved in'.

The hotel room is a little smaller than the one in Beijing but it is very clean and much brighter. It's the first hotel I've stayed in with 'Floor Attendants'. Just off the elevator there is a small desk with an Attendant that is there to answer any questions or to simply greet you. There is an additional attendant that pushes the elevator door for you. One of the other couples said there were 4 attendants on their floor.

After staring at the crib for about an hour, we met the rest of the group and Catherine for a quick tour of the area. We are staying in an area called Shamian Island. Catherine walked a couple of blocks with us pointing out directions to various shops, restaurants, and grocery stores. We passed one restaurant that had tanks with live fish, lobsters, snakes, eels, & pigeons (???) that you would select for them to prepare for your dinner. Andrea felt bad for a really cute black snake, so she bought it to bring home with us (ha, ha). Anyway, we didn't feel too adventurous for dinner, so we decided to eat at one of the few restaurants that served Western food. (Then proceeded to order Asian fried noodles w/ chicken (Andrea) and Chicken Quesadillas (Don) - go figure!).

Monday - - Feb. 18, 2008 (9:50 a.m.)

After a pretty much sleepless night, we went downstairs for the breakfast buffet. The buffet was even better than Beijing. Now we have to figure out how we're going to spend our last 6 hours as a family of 2. We're going to go out and shop for a little while and become more familiar w/ Shamian Island. We will then meet up with the rest of the group at 3pm for the bus ride over to the U.S. Consulate where we will receive our daughters!

Beijing Day 3 & 4

Today we went to The Great Wall. Wow, what a work-out!! We were amazed by the size and length of the wall. There were many Chinese climbing with us. We didn't feel so bad about being out of breath during most of the climb because the Chinese were out of breath too. We then toured the Summer Palace, ate lunch at the Cloisionne factory, then drove by the construction site of the Beijing Olympic Stadium. While at the Summer Palace, I (Andrea) smiled at a nice Chinese family then noticed that the mother was pushing her 8ish year old daughter toward us. As we stopped to see what she wanted, the little girl said, "Hello, what is your name?" (She was apparently practicing her English) I told her, then she said "Nice to meet you Andrea. Do you like our country?" She made several statements then "said bye bye" while her mother smiled with such pride. That little girl was so adorable. It all happened so quickly that we couldn't get the camera out fast enough. The memory will last forever, though. While we were traveling from one destination to the next, our guide, Catherine, gave us pronunciation tips and common phrases to remember. The language is very difficult to remember because different inflections in pronunciations cause the meaning of the word to change. For example, "mother-in-law" is spelled the same as "horse", just pronounced differently. Andrea didn't tolerate the bus ride well and had to be moved to the front of the bus (how embarrasing). Nothing that a little dramamine couldn't take care of though....thank goodness. I didn't feel so bad after Catherine became a little sick too.

We arrived back at Zhaolong Hotel around 5:30pm. I was ready to go bed for the night but Don managed to keep me awake until 10:00pm. We took a walk along the streets of Beijing, stopped at a small mall and just enjoyed "taking in" the culture.

Beijing Day 4-

Don and I actually slept for 9 hours last night?? We just had breakfast and are getting ready for the 3 hour flight to Guangzhou. Next post will be in a much warmer climate. Guangzhou's forecast is sunny and low 70's.

Beijing - Day 2

We received our wake up call at 7:30 Friday morning. We went to the hotel breakfast buffet, which is Western style (omelets, bacon, sausage, french toast, ceral, fruit, etc., etc..) We then traveled by bus to Tiananmen Square & the Forbidden City. The weather wasn't too bad as long as we stayed in the sun. It was hard to focus on the tour at first because we kept watching the locals (especially the little kids!). We were getting quite a few stares also. I think Andrea received a few more stares because of her blonde hair. . .

When we returned we had a few hours before our next event. We went to Beijing Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant, supposedly the most famous restaurant for Peking Duck. Andrea had a spicy peanut & chicken entree w/ fried rice. I had the roast duck (half duck) which was meticulously carved into small pieces for me. Prices were reasonable and we had plenty to eat.

After a stop at the local supermarket, we met the group to leave for a Chinese Acrobatic Show. I think we were both extremely suprised at how much we enjoyed the show. It really was awesome. The video doesn't do it justice!

After we returned to the hotel we received a little more information about Adelyn. We received a copy of a questionnaire that was sent to the orphanage with their responses. Adelyn is off formula and may have been alergic to it.

We got back to the room about 7:30pm and Andrea was ready for bed, but I was hungry again! I drug her out of bed and we walked down the street a few blocks (trying our best to dodge 8 lanes of Chinese traffic -- -Look OUT!!!), and went to a local pizza buffet. We were the only 2 Westerners in the restaurant which was very busy with the Friday night crowd. The pizza was actually very good and not that different from our pizza at home. But I do have to say it's the first pizza buffet I've ever been to that served cheese pizza AND boiled quail eggs!!! YUUUMMY!

Beijing Arrival

Finally, we have arrived in Beijing to finalize our adoption. The morning of the 13th didn't start very well. After only about an hour of sleep, we awoke around 4:15 a.m. to get ready to leave for Standiford Field in Louisville. Don decided to check the flight status on the web. . . eh, WHAT???? The 8:00 a.m. flight to Detroit was delayed for 4+ hours becuase of required rest needed for the crew. Our connecting flight in Detroit going to Tokyo was to depart around 12:30p.m. It appeared as though we would miss this flight and never make it to Beijing with the rest of our travel group. Frantically, Don checked the web for other alternates to get to Detroit on time to make the connection. Only one flight, leaving Lexington at 9:30 would do the trick, but the web only showed 2 seats remaining. (Driving to Detroit was also considered, but also seemed unlikely to be successful because of the weather and potential driving conditions.) He called Northwest, and after about 40 minutes on hold, we were able to book the Lexington flight and made all of our connections on time.

The only other 'hitch' actually ended with good news also. While boarding our last flight from Tokyo to Beijing, we were stopped by Northwest Gate Agents saying that our seats were no longer valid. (We worked EXTREMELY hard to get bulkhead row seating for these (coach) flights and now Northwest double booked the seats???) We were pulled aside by very friendly Tokyo staff as they frantically typed away on their computers. After a few minutes, the gate agent said they were moving us to Business Class!!!

The day (25 1/2 hours total) seemed to be filled with bad news/good news events. We can't believe we're finally here and we'll have Adelyn in a few days. The next couple of days will include a few tours and sightseeing to allow our body clocks to adjust to China time.

*Picture at top is Don at Bluegrass Field in Lexington, waiting to start the day's travels.

*Picture to the right is Ree, chilling out in World Business Class seats from Tokyo to Beijing.