Home Sweet Home!

It's hard to believe at this time exactly one week ago today we were boarding a flight to Tokyo to start our journey home.  Our girl traveled like a real pro.  Several of the individuals seated near us on the plane commented on how well she behaved.  I will admit, once, about 7 hours into the flight from Tokyo to Detroit she did have a "moment" and felt the need to let everyone in our section of the plane know that she was tired and was more than ready to put her feet on the ground.  Luckily after an hour of crying she completely wore herself out fell asleep for the rest of the flight.

When we arrived home we were met at the airport by 24 of our friends and family members.  We were completely exhausted but thrilled to see everyone with their signs and balloons. We feel so fortunate to have so many wonderful people in our lives who, of course, all loved the girl.

This week I have enjoyed taking a break from travel and blogging.  It's been so nice to stay at home and just enjoy our time as a little family. The three of us are still slowly adjusting to the time change and Leah is gradually whipping Dave and I into shape.  It has been such a fun time.  Over the next few weeks I'll try to post periodically and give you a little glimpse into our crazy world, but for now you will simply have to settle for a few "Welome Home" photos.  Take care everyone!

Farewell China

My little blogger is in my lap this evening helping me write my "farewell to China" post.  I have so many thoughts running through my head right now.  I'm excited to be leaving for home in a few hours, however I'm sad that our girl will be leaving her homeland along with all that she knows and loves.  I know that there are people here in China who loved our girl enough to give her a chance for a better life, and a special caretaker that cried when she talked about her little WanYi.  I hope that Dave and I can live up to their expectations.  Several folks have told us how lucky our girl is to be going to America, I happen to think that we are the ones who are lucky and have been truly blessed with our own little angel from China. 

I want to thank everyone for their kind comments to our posts and especially for remembering us in prayer -  not only over the past three weeks, but over the past five years as we have patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) waited on God to prepare the perfect little person for us.  We know that He definitely has a plan for our girl and we are humbled and honored for being selected as Leah's parents. 

We seriously debated on going to the Disney Resort today, but in the end decided Leah was probably too young to enjoy the experience.  Instead we spent the afternoon in Kowloon Park and browsed through a few of the shops downtown.  A leisurely way to end a magical trip.

Dave purchased this stroller over a week ago.  Today is the first day Leah has spent any real time riding along.

The girl loves to play peek-a-boo.  In this photo you can see the two bottom teeth that can have come in this week.

Our last day in China

As our girl takes her mid-morning nap Dave and I are trying to decide what to do with our last afternoon in China.  Yesterday our group flew from Guangzhou back to Hong Kong to start the final trek home.  In order to fly free using Dave's frequent flier miles we stayed over an extra day.  It was either pay $50 for a hotel room or pay a couple thousand to fly home on Sunday.  Hmmm... as much as I would love to be on my way home right now, we decided to save the money and stay the extra day.  By the way, our prayers were answered and Leah did awesome on the flight yesterday.  She travelled like a real pro.  We gave her a bottle at take off and she slept until the plane touched down in Hong Kong. We couldn't ask for a better trip.  We are praying for the same experience again tomorrow on the big flight home.

This evening Dave and I will make our final blog posts for the trip and add a few pictures of the Hong Kong locations we decide to visit today. 

Our last day in Guangzhou

Tonight,  I have a little girl in my lap helping me type.  At 7:00 pm she was out cold, now (shortly after 9:00 pm) she is wide awake.  I'm hoping that a little blogging will put her to sleep. 

Our last day in Guangzhou was one of rest and relaxation.  We slept in this morning, ate a late breakfast, wondered around the hotel and napped.  This afternoon we visited the park across the street then at 4:30 pm we met the group to collect our new US Visas for the girls.

Tomorrow we fly back to Hong Kong.  We are hoping the girl fares much better on this leg of the trip.

We didn't take many photos today.  Dave loved the fact the Lamborghini store and the Toto Toilet Store where in the same building across the street from our hotel.

Leah loves to touch everything including several statues in the park.

Herding Cats

Today our group made our last official visit to a government agency to complete our adoption paperwork.  We all got a little teary at the US Consulate as we took our oath and submitted paperwork which will allow us to bring our babies back into the United States as legal immigrants.  It's hard to believe that we are so close to finally coming home. 

In adoption world the red couch at the White Swan Hotel on Shamian Island in Guangzhou is famous.  Unfortunate for us the hotel is partially closed for renovations so we are staying at the Marriott a few miles away. In keeping with tradition our group decided to make our way this evening to the White Swan to take our group photos.  In my opinion, the whole picture experience was equivalent to herding cats.  The red couch was not accessible due to a private party on the second floor so we had to settle for a brown couch on the third.  Our girls looked great in their traditional Chinese outfits, if only we could have got them to pose.

Our last visit to a government building

Our family photo taken in front of the fountains at the White Swan Hotel.

Our whole adoption family.  I can honestly say that there are twelve little girls going to eleven wonderful homes.  I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting and traveling with each and every person in our group.

We started with 5....

Then attempted to add the rest.  That's when things got a little crazy. 
Even still, don't you think this is a beautiful group of girls?

A new day in Guangzhou

Yesterday our group flew from Nanchang to Guangzhou, China.  All was well on our flight until the pilot announced "we are now starting our decent into Guangzhou".  Shortly thereafter our girl started crying uncontrollaby and didn't stop until Dave got off the plane with her.  We tried everything we knew to do and finally just laugh about the situation.  She was miserable and so was most of the people setting near us.  It was definitely one of those moments when I used to think, "why don't those parents do something with that child...."  Now I can empathize with anyone traveling with an upset child.  It's no fun.

With that said, today was a new day in Guangzhou, all seemed to be right in Leah's world again. Today we had passport photos made, visited the clinic for a physical examination, filled out paperwork, and enjoyed dinner with the group.

Leah getting her passport photo made at a small store on Shamian Island.

I don't know if I have mentioned this or not, but we have a terrific group of big brothers and sisters traveling with us.  I liked this photo of them killing time while the babies got their photos made.

The group waiting for the medical examinations to begin.

As you can probably tell the girl was not happy during parts of the exam. 

I just love this photo of the girl, and thought I would end the blog with a snapshot of her from dinner this evening.

Mid trip packing.

Most writers write because they feel a need to write, I write tonight to avoid helping Cary pack for our trip tomorrow.  Actually my packing methods do not suit Cary and standing to the side seems easier.  But when it comes to changing diapers I'm front and center.  We havn't mastered the solo change for baby bombs yet, so I hold and position Leah for the right angle for Cary to wipe up the green goo that somehow comes from white milk.  I find the whole diaper changing thing as one of my fatherly strengths, no smell can sway my focus on ensuring Leah's little booty is clean as sunshine.   It says alot about me if this is a strength.

We leave tomorrow for our last paper processing at the US consulate.  Leah has to take an oath to be a good US citizen and not drive her parents into early dimentia.  I'm recording it as proof for later when her sweet 16 coinsides with my semi-sweet 60.  Cary and I both feel so blessed and thankful she is ours and look forward our family finding our way.

Cary is very sad about leaving tomorrow since it means our return to normal life is close at hand.  My sadness is eased by thoughts of laying on my TemperPedic bed back home, boy these beds are hard over here.  The Chinese people are tough and I hope we never go to war with them, anybody who could sleep in these beds and fight the next day is not to be messed with.  Everyone in China has been so nice to us and we plan to come back when Leah is older.

Cary is close to finishing so I better stop and help a little, got to save some face even though she knows my shallow intent.  

Farewell Nanchang

I have to admit, I'm a little sad about this being our last day in Nanchang.  It's hard to believe that exactly one week ago today we met our little girl for the very first time.  This has definitely been a week that I will never forget.  Time does fly when you are having fun.  We may have endured a few tears this week, but we have had a wonderful time and wouldn't change one minute.  Five years of waiting are all but a distant memory. 

Today we walked along the board walk of the "new" city, went to the zoo, and went out to eat this afternoon with friends.  Yep, you know what I'm going to say - another perfect day :)  Tomorrow all 12 babies and their families will be flying to Guangzhou to visit the US Consulant.  I feel a little bit sorry for anyone who had the misfortune of booking that flight with us.

The twins in our group on the boardwalk!

Dave and Leah check out the white lions. 

I'll be honest, Dave and I enjoyed the zoo more than the girl did.  She was more interested in the railing than the elephants.  Maybe when she is older we will go back.

Leah being silly at lunch.

This evening a professional calligrapher came to the hotel to make signs for our girls.  On the sign is Leah's chinese name, her place of birth, her birthday and our wish for her as she grows older.

Our guides.  Two absolutely wonderful ladies.

Each night our group meets in the hallway to visit and let the girls play.

A day in the park

Today was another perfect day in Nanchang.  Tonight the Opening Ceremonies for the National Games (aka China's Olympics) will be take place at a stadium not far from here. Dignitaries and athletes have been going in and out of the hotel all day.  It's quite the spectacle around here. We started our day at the People's Park which was an absolutely lovely place to visit.  After a walk through the park we went to the porcelain stores then back to the hotel.  The girl and I both took a nice long afternoon nap while Dave walked around town.  Tomorrow we are off to the zoo. 


I just loved this photo of a little girl smelling the flowers at the gate of the park.

The girl and I watching one of the mom's blow bubbles.

A Perfect Day in Nanchang

Today the weather was absolutely perfect which made it a great day for our group to visit a local tourist attraction. Our morning started with a visit to the Teng Wang Pavilion. On the 3rd floor we stayed to watch a traditional music show complete with singers, dancers, and several instrumentalists. Some of the babies didn't quite like the noise but our girl hung in there like a champ and thoroughly enjoyed the show. She was completely mesmerized by the performance and clapped right along with one of the big sisters in our group. After a visit to the pavilion we had a wonderful group lunch and made our way back to the hotel. The mama's in the group left the guys and babies to nap this afternoon while we visited a local baby shop - so many cute things. Our day ended with a walk along the river in front of the hotel.

PS.  My claim to fame-  today I actually fed my baby sticky rice with chopsticks at lunch.  It was only a few bites, but it was a start!



The Teng Wang Pavilion. 

The craziest thing... everywhere we go people want to have photos made with members of our travel group. This group in the photo with Dave was a hoot.

Our girl, right before she fell asleep in the carrier.



The view from the river.  You should be thankful that we cut out the naked swimmers standing on the bank when we took this photo! 

Daddy Daycare

I've never blogged before in my life until this trip and probably will revert back to my low tech ways after I get home. But Cary insists I contribute to her daily diary and like most good husbands I nod and say yes dear. I do feel a man's perspective is needed and thus allows me to keep face with most of my couch potato pals who probably have never blogged either.

Cary opted to take a little field trip yesterday with some of the other moms and left Leah with ole dad for the day. Of course I had to pass the diaper changing 101 test before she felt comfortable in handing me the keys to our 0-60 China Doll. I plan to spend considerable time with Leah during my rotations at home and there's no time like the present to try this plan out. All in all the day went great, Leah blessed me with only one true baby bomb and two one hour plus naps. The baby bomb probably could have been lessened by not feeding her prunes and apples the day before, but that's how we roll as newbie parents and trying to get regular. Cary said it would be all right and I believed her. The two naps were wonderful, but we had to play hard to make them happen. Leah's laughs and smiles kept me going the entire day though. I admit I was more excited to hear the door open than Leah was. Cary came in and played the rest of the evening trying to make up time, but it was too late. She's daddy's girl and mom just works hard to bring home the bacon so Leah and I can fry it up in the pan. All joking aside it's amazing how well Leah has accepted both of us equally, she is the blessing we both prayed for and no one can dispute we're all getting along great.

All the dads are missing their football and Midnight Madness, but wouldn't trade the fun we've had the last week or so for anything. One of the dad's lives in Atlanta and cheers for the Bulldogs and another graduated from South Carolina, the SEC is supported well in this travel party. Every evening we all meet in the hallway and let the babies play with each other, dads on one side and moms on the other. Definitely a great way to end each day before the last bottle and diaper change.

Our rooms here are very nice, but the Chinese people cater more to the women's point of view. The hotel furnishes each room with new robes and slippers every day if they've been used, what a girly thing to do? Fortunately my laid back underwear policy has kept my robe intact, I call it my little way of going Green by not wasting water and adding harsh detergents to the environment. Our bed is so hard it rivals the marble floor in the bath room, but it looks killer when when the feather down comforter is laid over it. That's feather down with no sheet. The comforter goes hand in hand with Cary's last command every night, "Do you think it's too cold in here for the baby, go turn the heat up".

I want to think everyone again for their prayers and thoughts for us the last couple weeks. Dave

A day of shopping

Today we ventured out as a group to Walmart.  I think we were all experiencing a little cabin fever after being at the hotel for the entire day on Wednesday.  Except for all the packages being labeled in Chinese and the store being in a two story building everything was pretty much what you would expect.  After Walmart the entire group went out to lunch then on to the local flee market.  The flee market was interesting.  We were definitely the attraction today.  Ladies kept coming over and pinching Leah's legs and given us the thumbs up sign. 

Tomorrow Dave is playing Mr. Mom while I take a little excursion with part of the group.   Unfortunately we didn't take many photos today.  I'm sure tomorrow I'll have more to share.

Our girl's new ride!

After a full day of shopping and then skyping tonight.  Our little one was out cold in about 15 minutes.  Dave and I can't complain about sleep deprivation.  Our girl puts in more snooze time than we do.  I'm very thankful for a good sleeper.

This photo was from Wednesday night after I posted for the day.  After dinner at the hotel with friends we snapped this photo of three very proud baby dads.

Hotel Day

We spent today at the hotel basically playing with the baby.  This morning the doctor came to give all the babies their physicals and this afternoon Leah napped and played.  It's amazing how one pint-size human can completely wrap two grown adults around her little finger.  I know that somewhere in this room is a hidden camera and our follies as first time parents is being broadcast on some reality TV show somewhere.  As you will read in Dave's post, I have never met a baby like this one who hates to take a bath, change clothes or have her diaper changed.  If you were standing outside our door you would swear we were trying out some sort of new chinese torture device.  Of course online, we are only going to post the happy pictures.  Leah definitely has a smile that lights up this hotel room.

Leah has a real thing for hair including her own.  When she gets fussy, Dave leans over and she just laughs. Even if he's bald when we get home, it will all be worth it!

According to the doctor, Leah is a healthy happy baby.

I posted this picture because it's amazing to me that after pitching a fit over two blowouts in ten minutes along with two diaper and clothing changes, the girl is just sitting there happy as can be.  Obviously she was feeling much better and Dave and I were exhausted!

She loves it when Dave pretends to be "Neckzilla".  Maybe tomorrow I'll post a photo of what is happening on the other side of the camera.

The view of Nanchang from our hotel room on the 30th floor. We spent a lot of time today looking out this window.

Waiting on Walmart.

Cary and I just put Leah down for a nap and are both surfing the net instead of taking one ourselves.  Leah is truely a blessing and keeps us laughing through all our learning firsts.  The diaper, bathing, and changing should be a one man job, but Cary and I both believe in the team concept for now.  Who would have ever thought a baby would rather wear a dirty diaper than a fresh new one, but our's seems to fit that catagory.  The rooms are nice and extreamly modern, plush beyond anything most of have ever stayed in before.  Any bathroom with a sliding shower door that also serves as a privacy door for the toilet is high class, totally above my raising.  Whoever negotiated the entire 30th floor for 13 babies is surely not on the management track program though, I hope he's a member of the party.  They say the hotel is one month old, but we've really broken our's in.  No new smelling rooms on this floor.

I hate shopping, but I'm so looking forward to our trip to Walmart tomorrow.  We thought we were going yesterday and they pulled the rug out from under us late in the day.  I always enjoy seeing local color wherever Cary and I go and I'm sure Walmart won't disapoint us. 

Everyone is doing great and God has blessed all the families as I see it.  Leah doesn't appear to be the screamer nor do I really believe there's actually one in the travel group.  Leah does have her moments and Cary points this out as another sign she not only looks like me, but has my temperment as well.  I call her 0-60 because she can turn it on in a breath and be eating honey the next.  If this holds true I pitty the man who has to please her later in life, thankfully she has me and that's all she needs.  

She is officially ours!

We spent most of today traveling by bus between government buildings and completing paperwork.  We were interviewed twice and Leah had her photo taken multiple times.  Considering the long day, the babies hung in there until the bitter end.  At the end of the day we recieve a lovely form that let us know she is now officially ours.

PS. I think we may have a smart little girl on our hands.  Leah was playing with her numbered stacking cups.  Dave asked her to "hold up the cup that was divisible by 2".  She got it right, she held up the #4 cup.  We are so proud.

The orphanage director from Leah's home town.  A super nice lady who seemed to truly love the babies and was genuinely concerned about their placement.

Dave and Leah waiting on the bus.

Our group waiting on their appointments to have a photo made at the Social Security Office

Family Day!

For years I have imagined what our family day would be like.  True to form, nothing for Dave and I ever goes as planned.  We were told that the babies would be distributed in alphabetical order.  Well long story short, Leah was sound asleep, brought in first and given to another family.  Corrections were made in short order.  Once we got back to the room Leah was a little out of sorts for about 30 minutes.  When we finally found the right formula-rice cereal- temperature combination our girl was good to go.  At 2:00 pm Sleeping Beauty was out cold.  Not sure what the evening will be like, so I thought I would post while I had a few minutes.  God has truly blessed us with a beautiful little girl.  Needless to say we are in love and feel so fortunate for being selected as her parents.

Finally, a smile!