Our Mishpacha

Out on the Lake

2011-05-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

Bennett lounging on the boat.

Carter ready to drive the boat.

April driving the boat (okay, so the boat was anchored and the keys were nowhere near the ignition, but she was happy).

Carter toasts the dragon boats as they row by to the starting line.

I took a long walk with Carter in the stroller and Murphy insisted on joining us. He looks like he is ready for more in this picture. The only problem is this is not our house, the sun came out and it got really hot, we were about 2 miles from our house, and Murphy decided he was done walking.

Happy Birthday April!

2011-05-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

April started the day by getting her new bike. [Okay, that present went downhill as soon as we got outside, but she was very happy when she got it. You mean I need to pedal to keep upright, just like on my old bike? WAAAAHHHH!]

April had a special girl's day with Mommy for her birthday. The nail salon was closed so getting her fingernails & toes manicured will need to wait.

Doing artwork while waiting for lunch.

Yes, April LOVES sushi.

April right after getting her ear's pierced.

The pretty girl modeling her new look.

Celebrating with yogurt and various toppings.

Carter eating one of his favorite food groups - CAKE.

Carter in Grandma's arms, who does not believe our outrageous stories about how her newest cute and cuddly grandson likes to pinch, pull, tear, and scratch various body parts on the head.

Hmmm, I still say this thing comes off if you pull hard enough. Maybe if I just try to pull one side of it off and try harder?

Aren't I cute?

5/16/11 - Last day at the beach

2011-05-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Surfer dude in training posing at the base of the lifeguard stand, waiting for the photographer to move further away.

Safety patrol captain spots crazy man climbing the lifeguard stand and runs to the rescue.

You will never catch me! I'm free! I can climb to the top!

Safety patrol captain reaches the lifeguard stand and tries to pull little man back down.

Why can I sleep anywhere during the day but will not go to sleep at night? Because I can!

One last look at the beach from our condo.

Then .... the dreaded drive home ...

We planned to leave the beach in time to be home for dinner. We, ahem, got a late start after we finally cleaned the condo and packed the car.

Yes, the kids all went to the bathroom before we left the condo. Then, before we could get into the car, Bennett decides he needs to poop. Fifteen minutes later, a happier and chatty Bennett decides he is done and we go back to the car.

The rush hour traffic is quickly slowing us down, but at the wrong end of the trip.

A quick stop for gas. Keep in mind before reading further that the kids have not had anything to drink for a while now.

1 hour later, April decides she needs to pee. We pull over to the side of the road for a quick pit stop.

2 hours later, April announces she needs to pee again, NOW. We have delayed dinner long enough for the kids and stop at the first likely fast food place we can stomach. April sprints for the bathroom with Lisa in pursuit. Daddy makes the bad decision to attempt feeding the kids food in the car (not the usual non messy prescreened snacks normally allowed). We later determine that Carter took one bite of each chicken nugget and french fry before sticking them behind his car seat and clamoring for more. April and Bennett did a much better job of putting all of their food into their mouths.

We finally hit our metro area and are on the home stretch. We start to relax. Too soon! April announces she needs to poop, NOW. After managing to sit longer then Bennett's extended stay in the potty, she finally emerges from the Chik-Fil-A bathroom with mommy. As they walk by the order counter, April proudly states to mommy in her usual inside voice (i.e. VERY LOUD) "Mommy, we are not eating dinner here, we already ate at Wendy's!".

Carter falls asleep in the car less then 10 miles from home, but wakes up when we arrive, and then manages to stay awake despite our best efforts for 2 hours after we do get home. April and Bennett attempted to follow his lead in the car, but were read the riot act about how they would WALK from the car to their bedrooms and were NOT going to be carried to their rooms if they fell asleep now.

Ahh, home sweet home.

Catchup - April 2011

2011-05-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

Vicious guard dog and attack cat sleeping yet again on the job.

Carter getting ready to run. Daddy has been trying to convince Carter to push him in the jogging stroller for a change ... no luck so far. But he does like Lisa's running shoes!

2011-05-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

We are spending a long weekend at Carolina Beach courtesy of a friend who had a last minute cancellation at his beach condo. The kids are having a blast after we endured endless "Are we there yet?'s". Thankfully this is a quicker drive then our usual beach vacation to the NC Outer Banks.

Carter took to the beach quickly and is having a great time. We discovered our 2nd Xuzhou kid also loves eating crab legs and other seafood. Bennett is still passing on crab legs but managed to not run screaming from the table when they were served (thank you again sis for repeatedly telling him to watch out for the crabs when you joined us on his first beach trip!).

Hmmm, needs a little salt or maybe tabasco sauce?

Yoga at the beach.

Shouldn't have had that whole half gallon of milk. I need to cut back on my drinking.

5/14/11

2011-05-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

After lunch and running around on the beach, even crazy man needs a rest.

5/14/11

2011-05-14T06:44:00.000-07:00

Carter is now liking this!

5/14/11

2011-05-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

Not sure about the sand.

5/14/11

2011-05-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

4/!24/11

2011-04-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

First time on the boat.

4/21/11 Grocery Shopping with "Helpers"

2011-04-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

Murphy - a different picture of Conehead

2011-04-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

Murphy aka Conehead

2011-04-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

After eating a bunch of child motrin and chewing on diapers, plastic, and pearls!, Murphy will now be residing in his crate full time when we are not home. He goes back to the vet for a full day of IV fluids tomorrow. The cone is to keep him from gnawing off the bandage on the catheter.

After a hard day

2011-04-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

... of shopping, Carter catches some shut eye waiting for the school bus to come.

4/7/11: Various Blurbs

2011-04-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a kid's birthday party across the street. April, Bennett, and Carter had a good time. Carter managed to get up the stairs to the slide on the playset while holding his sippy cup and a huge exercise ball. Unfortunately, Carter has not mastered the art of steering clear of swings and managed to walk behind one when his caretakers were not in position. Bennett took Carter out and Carter hit the deck (Bennett was not going too fast and Carter is pretty solid, so no one was hurt). Bennett, being the sensitive soul he is, was atually more upset about it then Carter, who would soon get down from Lisa's arms to run around some more. Sensing opportunity, April came running over and asked Lisa if she could use Bennett's swing since he was not using it any more. Unfortunately, April's timing was bad and she did not wait until Lisa had checked out Carter. Result - "Umm, NO!".

Meanwhile, Carter did manage to eat pizza. Carter also made it quite clear to his assistant at dinner that both slices of pizza on the plate were his - he was not buying the 1 slice for Carter, 1 slice for Daddy argument.

Carter quickly determined that Bennett's noodles looked much more interesting. Bennett was more interested in playing and let Carter eat half of them.

Carter then hit the JACKPOT. CAKE? Did I hear Cake? I LIKE cake! After I finally convinced Carter to leave his bib on and come inside to eat some birthday cake, Carter realized what was going on and got a big grin on his face. After the first bite he decided this cake was GOOD! In between bites he would grin madly and clap his hands.

Carter took his usual 1.5 + hours to calm down and go to sleep after we put April & Bennett to bed. We have tried napping and skipping naps, more exercise, baths, showers, lotion, classical music, and begging. So far, no dice. He is not angry or crying - he just does not want to go to sleep. He wants to play. So far it looks like making him pout after you take away the sippy cup (for hitting you) or scold him (for biting you) seems to be the best way to get him to calm down and fall asleep. He is obviously overtired.

Carter usually wakes up very happy. Today he kept running back and forth between Mommy and Daddy to get picked up and hugged. Breakfast is early on school days and Carter is able to deal with this. Carter is quick to grab his bib and climb into his booster seat when we have April & Bennett sit down for breakfast and other meals.

He went to a new park with mommy where his favorite toy was the bouncy platform with seats on it. Last night at the school playground he astounded us by climbing up the metal bars (picture the outside of a sphere with widely spaced bars). Granted, we quickly spotted him and were ready when he slipped occasionally, but this kid is fast.

He has learned to be careful on the stairs in our house and holds the banister legs when he comes down the steps.

Even though he is still in a diaper, Carter knows what a toilet is for. Not sure if he picked this up before he met us or from watching us and the other kids, but he will pee on demand if lift him over the toilet after removing his old diaper (when you are changing him).

Carter loves to throw things away and will take anything you hand him to the trash can. He understands when you tell him to pick up his toys and will help you clean up. [We know this was not a trait he picked up from his mommy!]

4/3/11 Happy Camper Eating

2011-04-04T05:44:00.001-07:00

4/2/11: Carter's First Time Driving

2011-04-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

Self powered car - no gasoline or electric engine for this kid ... yet.

Carter found it a bit hard to steer holding his constant companions (sippy cup & treat bowl) until he located the trunk. If you look closely you can see them in the trunk.

Carter continues to show he is all boy and a true 2 year old. He headed right for the street and returns there when you turn your back.

April has been out of sorts all day. Bennett is loving the big brother role but April is a bit put out by all the attention and focus on Carter. Our friend Jay pegged April with this observation before we left for China - "Hi. But enough about you, let's talk about me." Despite not being the center of attention, our princess has been managing to get by and still have a good time.

4/1/11 - Murphy, Salad, & Swings

2011-04-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Murphy celebrated everyone being home by taking a nap during the day.

Despite LOVING cucumbers and tomatoes, Carter did find the first food item we provided that was not awesome. Evidently iceberg lettuce is just "okay".

Taking a break from bonking us on the head with his sippy cup when it needed refilling, bonking us on the head with his treat bowl when it ran out of Cheerios, and handing us his bib to indicate it was feeding time again, Carter joined us for his first trip to our local park around the corner. Note Carter did bring his sippy cup (pacifier) and treat bowl to the park and held on to them for the whole trip.

Rewind - 3/22/11 Pictures: Lunch w/Ann

2011-04-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

In the middle of our shopping expedition on 3/22/11 with Ann, she asked if we would mind taking a break for lunch. We eagerly accepted and soon enjoyed a great lunch of Dim Sum in a place we would never have attempted (or found) without Ann.

Rewind - 3/25/11 Pictures: Hotel Picnic

2011-04-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

The kids had a blast playing in the hotel playground after we got back from our tour of HKG. We passed on a formal dinner and just let them play along with an impromptu picnic of muffins, chips, and the rest of our room snacks.

In order to make sure the kids had enough to eat, Mommy and Daddy had some beverages instead of eating. Everyone had a nice relaxing time on their last day before the long flight home. Mommy and Daddy would have made a different meal choice if they only knew that (1) they would not get a chance to eat breakfast at the airport in the morning and (2) how bad the food on the long flight the next day would be. Yes, we would all manage to get upset stomachs on the last day of our trip after staying healthy until then.

Skipping dinner seemed like a good idea at the time since the kids were cooked and it would have been a disaster in the making to attempt a restaurant.

Lisa enjoyed the beer since it reminded her of what Mark did on our last trip to China. I went to the corner store from the hotel to buy some beer, water, and snacks for the room one night. I returned and said I could not find the SNOW brand beer we liked and had bought some other brand I had never heard of instead. Yes, I did tell Lisa I bought MONS beer. Picture the can turned upside down. :-)

Rewind - 3/25/11 Pictures: HKG Harbor Tour

2011-04-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Carter on the way back to the hotel on the Airport Train.

Rewind - 3/23/11 Pictures: Grandparents & Eating

2011-04-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

3/31/11: Observing

2011-03-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

Forgot to include 1 note in the earlier post on Food.

When they finish a meal, April and Bennett bring their dishes to the sink and put their sippy cups in the fridge themselves.

This morning after finishing second breakfast, Carter was very insistent about something (i.e. lots of excited babbling). He handed Lisa his bib, signaling he was done with the meal, and pointed to the kitchen. After he was removed from his booster seat, Carter took his milk and walked to the fridge and pointed. Lisa opened the fridge and Carter tried to put his milk bottle inside. When Lisa put the bottle in on the shelf next to April & Bennett's, he was very excited and clapped his hands.

Side notes:
o When Carter decides it is time to eat, he grabs his bib off the chair and brings it to you.
o Since Carter will not sleep under a sheet or blankets, we tried PJ's with feet on them. Carter tried to take the feet off and was not happy, so we changed him back to regular PJs. Bennett was disappointed in the morning and wanted to know if he could have them.

Yes, we are very proud of our boy.

3/31/11: Food

2011-03-31T05:49:00.000-07:00

List of things Carter will not eat:

List of things Carter will eat:
Anything not stapled down.

This morning when the kids came downstairs for breakfast, Carter jumped up and followed them to the table. I could eat! Never one to miss a meal, Carter joined them in Cheerios and his new favorite drink - milk. After taking the kids to the bus, Carter had 2nd breakfast (he is a bit of a Hobbit in meal frequency). Carter tried oatmeal for the first time and enjoyed it.

Last night Carter wandered into the kitchen while Lisa was making dinner and tried cucumbers and tomatoes. It was like we were feeding him candy. He could not get enough.

This morning Carter was woken up by a big slurp from Murphy, our 80 pound dog. Carter woke up, but was not upset. So far Carter seems basically unperturbed by the dog or the cat, which is a huge improvement over the initial screaming April & Bennett did on meeting the four legged ones.

Off to change a stinky diaper.

3/30/11 Murphy Recovering

2011-03-30T09:55:00.001-07:00

3/30/11 Lunch

2011-03-30T09:54:00.001-07:00

3/28/11: Venture outside on Monday

2011-03-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I are now very sleep deprived. The last 2 days are becoming more of a blur.

We did not have dinner ourselves and just fed the kids Friday night. We were not able to grab breakfast at the airport Saturday morning (even though we got to the airport about 7:45 for a 10:25 am flight - there was a long check in line, followed by security and departure lines, then we had to take a train to a different terminal, followed by hiking to a gate toward the end). After we took the kids to the bathroom and changed Carter it was time to board the flight. No time for breakfast, change our remaining HKG dollars back to USD, or to check out the duty free shops. On the plus side they did allow us to board first with the kids, unlike the the 2009 flight from HKG.

We got to bed around midnight our time on Saturday, which was about noon the next day on our body clocks which were still on China time. Except for a short nap Lisa had on the plane, we had both been up for 30 hours straight by then.

We got less sleep the last 2 nights we have been home then we were getting in China. Carter was an intermittent sleeper Saturday night. Sunday night Carter barely slept, April woke up sobbing loudly a few times, and Bennett came into our room the few times I actually fell asleep to wake me up and tell me he could not sleep or was having nightmares. April kept claiming she was not tired and could not sleep (we were not buying this). We both felt more awake Sunday then we did today!

I resisted letting April and Bennett crawl into our bed and eventually got them back to their own beds. Lisa gave up trying to get Carter to sleep in his crib, our bed, or on her in the rocker and headed downstairs with Carter. Lisa brought Carter downstairs to rock him so his crying would not wake everybody up, but Carter figured they were heading downstairs to go to the playroom and happily started banging toys together. I think he finally slept a bit on the couch with her.

The cat was happily purring away under our covers on the bed only to start making the choking noise that means you have 10-20 seconds before he starts puking. Somehow in my stupor I reacted in time to get Sebastian into the bathroom before he threw up.

On to today. Lisa crawled off the couch to start feeding little man Cheerios so he had a good start to the day. April stumbled downstairs to start whining for the day (Princesses are not used to lack of sleep), and we woke up Bennett at 10am which he was not happy about.

We picked up Murphy from his babysitter today. Kim took great care of him and she claims he had very good behavior until a thunderstorm last week. We doubt he was that good, but are happy she still likes him. Murphy spent the afternoon shivering in the car (no, it was not that cold) while we did our BJ's Club and Walmart shopping, and is now sleeping it off on the couch. Hopefully the rest of us will sleep half as well as our cat and dog will tonight.

Our plan was for the kids to do more homework today before heading back to school tomorrow when they were well rested. We will attempt to get them to school tomorrow, but the last set of homework and the well rested parts may not happen.

3/26/11: Home

2011-03-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Both of our International flights were on time and we made it home Saturday night. Grandpa had booked a shuttle service for the ride home from the airport and that came in handy after I did not sleep at all on the flights home.

The trifecta of puke by the kids actually occured as we were landing at Newark. It was very turbulent and the food had been so-so at best. Carter started the parade and did a minor burp/liquid splooge followed 5 minutes later by more globs of food and liquid. While we were scrambling to clean his up without unbuckling our seatbelts, Aril started crying. April had been complaining her stomach hurt for 2 hours. We turned to see April had woken up and thrown up large quantities. Her left hand (attempted landing spot) was covered, as were large parts of her sweatshirt, pants, and seat. For future reference, check seats 42B and 42D on CO 98 have new seat covers.

Bennett informs us he is not feeling too well after witnessing this in sensaround. I hand him a barf bag and review the rules on where he can throw up if he gets sick. That bag is soon used.

We scrape off the worst of the debris and fluids while completing landing and taxiing. As soon as the plane is at the gate we grab the spare clothes out of the backpacks and change April & Carter, barely finishing in time to deplane when it is our turn. A very nice man a few rows back takes the bags of urp & soiled napkins/wipes from me and puts them in the trash in the rear of the plane. (I cannot get back there since everyone is standing waiting to get off the plane).

Things start looking up when the kids actually make it past a bathroom (if I remember correctly) and we make it to the immigration line (unlike the two long poops by the kids after deplaning in 2009 while 3 more planeloads got in line in front of us).

We can go into the foreign passport or U.S. citizen line when we have an immigrant with an IR3 visa with us. The lines looked about equal and the agent put us in the U.S. citizen line when we asked. The line moved fast and about 10 minutes later we were by the agent who tells you which window to go to. I show the agent the famous brown envelope (the culmination of months of paperwork - you get this from the U.S. consulate with your child's visa) and the agent sends us to the Diplomat / VIP line (which has 5-10 people in it and we could have gone to without the 10 minute wait in the commoner's line). No big problem.

The agent at the window says we need to go to the room downstairs (not a good sign - last time the agent at the window handled it in 5 minutes at the window). No one comes when he calls, so he takes us down in the elevator himself and hands us off to another agent. The new agent takes our paperwork & Carter's passport and tells us to sit down. Lisa heads to the bathroom with the kids. Before Lisa even gets back the agent returns, congratulates me, and hands me Carter's passport with the U.S. entry stamp. Carter is now a U.S. citizen!

The agent opens the automatic door to baggage claim manually (very entertaining) and we join Grandma & Grandpa in time to get our luggage and queue up in 2 very short lines for customs. The nice custom agents only ask once why we have 5 passports and 3 people while Grandma & Grandpa (in another line next to us) have 2 passports and 4 people and let us through without delay. All in all a pretty quick and painless experience on landing. Review with the guilty parties why the passports need to match the lines next time.

We recheck our bags for the next flight and take the airport tram to our terminal. The security line at our terminal is very short and we are through quickly. Unfortunately there is no USAir Club in our terminal and we wait at the gate. After some crappy and pricey muffins we wait for our flight while Carter proceeds to run & climb everything in sight despite our best efforts. Our prediction is Carter will break an arm (or leg) a lot sooner then the 3 years after getting home that it took Bennett. Lisa buckles him in his stroller so we can eat, he nibbles on a muffin, and promptly falls asleep again (at least I think he did).

The gate agent lets us board first and we are soon off after a slight delay due to weather at our destination. There is some confusion and anger in the baggage claim area when we arrive and the conveyor belt is stopped, but our bags are already on the conveyor belt. We grab them and exit, connect with our shuttle bus, and head home!

Aunt Linda and Uncle Mike are back in town from FL but leaving Sunday morning, so Aunt Linda meets us at home for a quick hello. Mommy and Daddy get to sleep about midnight Saturday.

It is now almost noon Sunday. Lisa, April, Carter, Bennett, and the cat are still sound asleep in our bed. It is very good to be home!

Carter was not with the program to go right to sleep last night but was happy enough for most of the time. Bennett went right to bed after kissing his bed and pillow and bedroom floor. April was crying loudly when faced with the reality of sleeping alone (Carter's crib is in Bennett's room and she evidenly expected to sleep with us in our bed like we did when she came home in 2009). We have another bedroom for Carter but it is next to the stairs, so we decided to bunk him with Bennett.

After taking a shower, I crawl into bed and pass out while Lisa is chasing Carter around (hey, she slept a little bit on the plane). I wake up shortly and Carter is now crying when being held in our bed. Lisa moves Carter to his crib and he stays there this time instead of doing the "Up Please" routine. Blurry recall of Carter crying at different times and April waking up crying from nightmares (which we translate to "drama" from being told to sleep alone in her bed). Somewhere around 4 or 5 a.m. we just put April in our bed (not at all our normal parenting approach to bad behavior, but this fell into the treat this as adoption related category and let slide). After this easy to rationalize decision to quiet April down so we can sleep, Carter starts crying again but this time moves happily from his crib to sleep on top of Lisa. Lisa, April, Carter and I crash quietly (finally!) in our bed. The cat curls up on top and all is good.

Bennett's radar alert goes off and he comes into our room. Fine, get a blanket and lay on the floor, just be quiet. We definitely need a larger bed (do I hear King size?). Murphy (our dog) will be very put out when we get him today and he finds out there is no room left for him to try hopping on the bed wth us in the morning tomorrow (his usual routine).

Almost home!

2011-03-26T12:58:00.001-07:00

At the Newark airport. Hoping we do not have a repeat of the puking trio that we had on our flight from Hong Kong! Everyone feels much better now!
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FINALLY Asleep

2011-03-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

Little Man, aka Sir Stinky Pants, aka Naughty Boy, is finally asleep 2 + hours after Bennett and April.

He was next to the bed hitting a sleeping April's arm. Mean mommy said "Boo!" (Chinese for No), wagged my finger No, and tapped his hand gently. He lay on the floor by the bed to sulk and promptly fell asleep.

Debating whether to risk transferring him to the crib and waking him up.

Day Something Part 2

2011-03-25T03:05:00.000-07:00

... Decided to eat lunch first due to clouds and haze blocking any views from higher up. Headed to Stanley St. Found it but disagreement over earlier commitment led to search for alternate lunch spot.

Finally find likely spots. Find very long lines in front of the 3 selected restaurants after locating them from mall directory. Give up and try 2 expensive places. Also booked.

Eat pricey sandwiches at Subway by ferry terminal. 5 minutes later locate bakery with cheap and better sandwiches and another place. Say "Oh well!"

Make 1st good tour choice of the National Lampoon tour of HKG and take awesome Harbor Tour.

Head to train and back to the hotel. Stop at kiddie playground. Kids could have stayed here all day. Kids would have liked to be here all day.

Medicate daddy and mommy with beers while kids eat picnic (from bakery) in between running around. Grandma and Grandpa headed to room to finish their Scotch and then check out very attractive dinner spread at the hotel restaurant buffet.

Realize grandma and grandpa were wise to our plan to get them a room with 2 queen beds and do not plan to invite April and Bennett to spend the night. Watch kids play, drink more beer, and realize once again Carter is transitioning way beyond our hopes but will be a HUGE handful when home!

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HKG

2011-03-25T02:45:00.001-07:00

Day "Something":

The plan was to eat at renovated food stalls on Stanley St in downtown HKG (per magazine article and buyin by all adults). Then go to Lantau Island and take gondola to top. Hahaha.

Took airport express train downtown. Uncovered issue 1 - agreed upon gondola and selected gondola were different. Later - Numerous "discussions" about directions and which way to walk. Found bus stop to Victoria Peak gondola. Decided

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2011-03-24T08:17:00.003-07:00

3/24/11: Took car service from Guangzhou to Shenzen (Border). Switched to 2 cars for the trip to the Regal Airport Hotel at HKG airport. The trip took roughly 3.5 hours.

Ate dinner in the hotel (same good food as 2009 but poor service this time).

We will try to take the gondola to Victoria's Peak tomorrow.

2011-03-24T08:17:00.001-07:00

3/24/11: Took car service from Guangzhou to Shenzen (Border). Switched to 2 cars for the trip to the Regal Airport Hotel at HKG airport. The trip took roughly 3.5 hours.

Ate dinner in the hotel (same good food as 2009 but poor service this time).

We will try to take the gondola to Victoria's Peak tomorrow.

3/24/11 Driving to HKG

2011-03-23T20:07:00.001-07:00

3/23/11 - Day 14: Liu Hua Lake Park

2011-03-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

After a challenging morning and a trifecta by the kids of "I need to go poop", we finally made it out to the van. Today we went to Liu Hua Lake Park, the main park in our district in Guangzhou. The kids found a well equipped kids playground aka "Best Amusement Park" and had a great time. We then retired to the hotel for Ramen Noodles & muffins for the kids.

3/22/11 - Day 13: Consulate Apointment and Shopping

2011-03-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

We had Carter's visa appointment at the U.S. Consulate at 8:30 am. We dropped ... er ... left April & Bennett with Grandma & Grandpa, had a quick breakfast (good with Mommy & Daddy but not Carter), and headed off to the Consulate at 7:30 am.

We got to see Elvin at the consulate. He was our guide in 2009. It turns out he is the guide this week for a group of adoptive families from another agency (CWA?) that we met at our hotel in Beijing. We had a fun time talking with Elvin and catching up with the other adoptive families until our medical exam results were delivered to the lobby of the building where the consulate is. After our guides/facilitators received the exam results for their groups, the adoptive families headed upstairs to queue up for security.

The new procedure that just started about 1 month ago is for the guides to wait in the lobby and the parents to have a personal interview. You get the child's visa and your other immigration paperwork the next day. Previously, the process took 3 days instead of 2 days and the guide handled the paperwork directly with the Consulate.

The lady in charge of adoptions for the consulate came out and gave a short speech to the 12 - 15 adoptive families who had 8:30 appointments.

We paid our visa fee and were soon called to the window for our interview. Very straightforward and no surprises (knock on wood). Once again, completely different process and experience then what happened in 2009.

One update for those who follow the paperwork. Today is the last day the consulate will fix a missing or an incorrect (e.g. missdated) vaccination affadavit waiver. They went downstairs and told the guides/facilitators that were waiting that going forward, you will need to make an online appointment to resubmit, 4 days minimum in the future.

After the appointment we chatted with the head of adoption for the consulate before making our way downstairs and heading back to the hotel.

At 10:30 we met Ann of Red Threads. In additon to her gift package business, Ann also provides a personal shopper service in Guangzhou. We used her in 2009 when we adopted April. Basically, for a modest hourly fee she will take you to stores to buy jade bracelets/beads/pendants, pearls, traditional silk chinese outfits, or whatever you want. She will handle identifying the quality and arrange the best price.

We were planning to only buy a few things (some outfits for Carter, a purse for Lisa, a few more pearls, and a Northface 3 in 1 jacket for Carter).

Given the season and the climate in Guangzhou, most stores no longer carry winter jackets. This matches what we found on the island earlier this week.

We bought a few more pearls but this time but we (i.e. Lisa) also selected some black and purple ones and then had some necklaces & bracelets & earrings made. We purchased jade bead necklaces & bracelets this time instead of jade bracelets. We had them restrung & replaced the clasps with sterling silver clasps at the pearl market. We also had some earrings made from extra pearls left over from the strands we purchased and extra jade beads provided along with the jade we purchased. Lisa worked with the store to have some different styles prepared and was very happy with the suggestions and results. We also bought some jade pendants and earrings.

After the jade and pearls stores, Lisa bought 2 purses and then we were off to a place called the Toy Factory? that contains rows of small stalls where we purchased traditional Chinese outfits for Carter and some gifts. I'm probably the only husband that keeps pushing his wife to buy more in Guangzhou. Usually we are not big shoppers and rarely buy anything. But the prices and quality are very good here on certain items. And the opportunity cost to get here is high in time & $!

In the middle of this Ann asked if we would mind taking a break for lunch. Given this was our first day not gorging ourselves at a breakfast buffet (solely due to limited time this morning to be honest), we were all for it. She took us to a Dim Sum restaurant that was excellent. We would never have been able to eat there ourselves.

Instead of taking a taxi back to our hotel, Ann was glad to take the subway when we insisted (more due to speed then cost given the traffic here). So we also got to experience the Guangzhou subway and we were impressed.

On the way back to the hotel Grandpa texted and asked where we were! They were a huge help today and the kids had their usual great time with them, but we were not planning on leaving the kids with them so long. All we can say is thank you. Grandma claims Grandpa took a nap in the hotel room at one point. In my opinion, Grandpa is welcome to his nap given he is the one who handles any issue from sunset to sunrise when the kids stay at their house. Sorry mom!

We talked with the other family in our group who has their CA tomorrow and is also planning to go shopping with Ann after their CA. This will help them work with Ann to plan where to go and gave them some ideas on what to consider. Lisa had a fun time showing them some of the things we purchased and describing our day to them.

3/21/11 - Day 12: Six Banyan Temple and TB Skin Test Read

2011-03-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

We started off the day by visiting the Six Banyan Temple. Dating from around 1,400 years ago, the Buddhist Temple is beatiful and moving. Our visit this year was special since it was not a holiday and very few people were there in the morning when we went.

We did the blessing of our new child (rough translation). We figure we can use all the help we can get. This time we were the only ones and got a private and quieter service. Bennett sat very still for the whole blessing, Carter restrained himself with Lisa's help from throwing Sippy Cup, and April stayed in approximately the same spot with a lot of help from Mark. We did enjoy the comic relief of the guide waiting to request our blessing from the monk until the monk finished texting or reading email on his cell phone.

After the blessing, there was a melodic chanting service of some sort going on in one of the buildings that I found very interesting. It reminded me of some of the devout Russian Orthodox services we saw in Russia in 2007. The secondhand explanation I heard was that there is a daily morning reading of the Book of Confucious.

After the temple we went to the Guangdong Arts & Crafts store. Not a cheap place, but there are some very pretty arts and crafts that appear to be high quality in this government store. We browsed but did not purchase anything. We were also able to leave without any of our kids breaking anything except maybe damaging a few ear drums.

Yesterday at the Safari Park Bennett started walking hand in hand with our guide Grace and then sat with her apart from us at the Tiger Show. He is quite the charmer with the women. One of the store owners on the island on Saturday raved for 5 minutes about how cute his eyes were.

Danielle and Kelly are the other family in our travel group in Guangzhou from our agency (actually 1 lady adopting with her sister-in-law along to help). Today Bennett and April decided they evidently missed the children they left at home and talked their ears off in the bus. Kelly's 6 year old never stops talking (just like our princess when she is not afraid or upset), so they provided a nice public service.

Next stop was the TB skin test results at the Medical Clinic on the Island. Carter passed with flying colors. Yeah!

We grabbed a quick lunch at the White Swan deli and took some updated pictures on the Red Couch (classic adoption photo spot) in the White Swan Hotel. The kids remembered the deli and the White Swan and had a blast. Carter enjoyed the change in food from pre lunch snacks to lunch to post lunch snacks, and also had a good time.

We were surpised at how empty the tourist shops were on the island. The shops are mostly aimed at adoptive families. I guess the move to other hotels beyond the White Swan and the victory along with the continuing drop in foreign adoptions from China are impacting their business. One shop stated our sale at about 1 pm was their first of the day. The atmosphere in the stores is the same - very friendly and fun. We bought a few things for Chinese culture and heritage and a few things due to the great buys on certain items. Okay, a lot of things! We knew which items we wanted to get at which stores from our previous trip.

The store owners were amazed that Carter is only two and after watching him snacking his way through our shpping expedition told us that we would have to work a lot to pay for all he will be eating.

Tomorrow we have our visa appointment and then go shopping with Ann from Red Threads (who provides a great private shoppingservice we were very happy with on our last trip). Grandma and Grandpa will be spending a large part of the day with April and Bennett from the 7 am dropoff while we are away - hopefully everyone will have a good time. If the weather is good, there is a large park nearby our hotel they hope to explore.

Carter will love the alone time with Mommy and Daddy but will NOT be happy with our planned drive by of the breakfast buffet on the way to our 7:30 departure for the consulate. Wish us luck (with the brief repast and with the consulate).

3/20/11 - Day 11: Our cozy abode at The Garden Hotel (post upgrade)

2011-03-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

Now this is a great hotel room. I was disappointed to find out we don't qualify for the normal executive suite perks (laundry, cocktail hour, complimentary limo to the airport, etc.) due to our complimentary upgrade, but we will grin and bear it.

3/20/11 - Day 11: Safari Park

2011-03-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

Before we left for the Safari Park, we had some behavioral challanges from our kids. Carter was fine. The others were not. A great time was not had by all. Grandma and Grandpa have got to be loving being on a different floor instead of next door.

We finally made it to breakfast. This time Carter's sherpa procured a bread roll when passing the bread station before attempting to sit at a table. The meal started with everyone in a better mood. And the meal ended without major problems.

Then we headed off to the Safari Park. I realized our guide did not plan to join us inside the park. I asked her if she wanted to go and said that if her company was not paying for her ticket we would like to. She said thank you but it was too expensive. After getting past this I said we would be glad to buy the ticket if she wanted to join us. Her big smile and hand clap said it all. Bonus - we later determined it was her birthday so we had great timing! Grace also said she had been to the safari park before but had not seen the different animal shows, which she really liked. Hey, I can do some things right occasionally.

The Safari Park was excellent. Everyone had a very good time. We took a tram ride through the safari part first, and then hit the walking part. Carter has decided to sit happily in his stoller and we all took turns pushing him (April & Bennett love helping and we allow this depending on crowds and if Carter is not napping). There were more of each animal in most sections then we had seen before in different zoos or animal parks (we have been to many zoos and animal parks in the U.S., Russia, and China at this point).

The animal habitats were well laid out, the kids loved it, and the shows we saw were great. The elephant show was basically a long circus act. The tiger show was almost as good. We missed the panda show due to arriving late in a crowd but saw the panda exhibit later when it was almost empty. We saw baby tigers up close. We had read great reviews and now know why everyone raves about the Safari Park.

For dinner we headed off to a place we had learned about close to the hotel. This time our directions were spot on and we found the Irish pub without wandering around. Since it serves Western food the pub was our most expensive meal to date, but it is all relative. And I am sure HKG will make this one look cheap in turn. Back to the meal - ahh, BEER. Did I say we had a few pitchers? Bliss. And the food was surprisingly good also. The kids had Spaghetti Bolognese kid meals per a recommendation (our selected bangers & Mash was sold out), I had chicken cordon blue, Grandpa had a Reuben sandwich, Lisa had a chicken & mushroom pie (or some type of pie), and Grandma had Irish Stew. Plus we had English chips for an appetizer. Carter had a little of everything and was in a severe food coma by the end of dinner. Carter could not stop smiling. The dishes were all made differently then we are used to and the changes made them special and tasty.

Unfortunately, after dinner Carter was not tired (hmm, long nap in the stroller at the Safari park and almost no walking at the park or anywhere all day?). Mommy was wiped out so Daddy carried Carter back to the hotel on his shoulders for the first time, which Carter really liked. April & Bennett were snoring in 5 minutes without argument but Sir Stinky Pants fought it (sometimes loudly) for 2 hours.

Tomorrow we go to the Six Banyan Temple (very neat place plus we will get Carter blessed by the monks - we'll take any good vibes we can get), hit the Guangdong Government Arts & Crafts store, get the TB skin test read at the medical clinic, and plan to stay on Shaiman Island after the medical clinic (to pick up our laundry, try to get some requests for friends, and do some shopping at the souvenir/adoption focused stores on the island). We will try to pick up some NorthFace rain jacket/shells for Carter & Bennett given the weather forecast.

My editor has crapped out before me again so any errors or bad posts are my sole responsibility.

3/20/11 - Day 11: Corrections

2011-03-20T06:54:00.000-07:00

Update on Lisa's adventure getting back to our old room on Friday:
When Lisa tried to call my parent's room, the hotel would not let her speak until the call was accepted. They tried my parent's room first. The operator told my dad "his wife" was on the phone. My dad said his wife was sleeping next to him, did not accept the call and hung up. He thought this was another full service massage service visit or just a wrong number.

When Lisa tried to call our old room where I was waiting (and waiting, and waiting, and ...) for her, there was no answer. Possibly because the phone never rang! Arrghh. And the bellhop was the one who found her in the elevator and brought her to our room. The front desk never solved the problem.

Update on the new room:
I bought extra adapter plugs for HKG and China plugs since we have a bunch of electronic devices with us. I have not used any of the adapter plugs and we are in our 3rd hotel. All the rooms have 3 or more U.S. plugs.

Our current room (the executive business suite), also has a charging box for electronics devices, with a variety of adpater plugs. We brought our charging cables for the various devices, but that would be nice to have in all rooms.

The VPN keeps dropping at this hotel. I made the mistake of trying the wireless access first, which my pc keeps defaulting to. Until I catch it, the VPN lasts 5 minutes before it hangs. And there is no error message, it just hangs. ExpressVPN and GoTrusted VPN. It lasts longer with a direct connection, but still drops pretty soon. Wasting a lot of time with this new feature.

3/19/11 - Day 10: Medical Exam and Room Confusion

2011-03-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

It was very entertaining when April and Bennett woke up this morning in the new room.

Mommy, what happened to our beds? A - Mommy put them together last night.

Mommy, where is the bathroom? Why did it move?

We eventually made it downstairs to the buffet. The younger members of the family took turns or formed groups to meltdown and whine for most of the meal. We fouled up on entering the restaurant when we failed to trace the source of Carter's screaming to bypassing the bread roll selection without taking one on the way to the table. It went downhill from there.

After breakfast we headed off to the Medical Exam. Once again, it was very different from our experience in 2009 with April. Much fewer families, less noise, and less confusion. We were in and out of there in 30 minutes. Prior to the medical, Carter pulled his usual lack of head shot cooperation for the visa photo, but this photographer bested the one in Nanjing by at least 10 minutes in getting a usable shot.

The doctors did not test his vision so we did not have a repeat of April's smile and wave experience, "isn't she cute", and having the assistants move her hand to point the right way so she could passs the exam.

One doctor did comment on how strong he was when he tried to open Carter's fist. He gave up and appeared to skip looking at the other hand.

We got an excellent lunch of noodles, rice, eggplant and ribs from a Chinese restaurant down the street from our hotel to go with the help of our guide and had a picnic in our room.

Lisa completed the paperwork with our guide and the other family. We used our expansive suite for the paperwork process. It really is huge and the rooms are awesome. According to the room listing on one site it is only 1/3 larger then our first room, but it appears to be twice as large and has a stellar MBA, a second BA, a large office, and a dressing room / closet area. The MBA has a large walk in shower and a huge soaking tub. Lisa could not find the entrance to the shower at first.

After the paperwork we headed off to find the Trustmark, a local grocery store. 100 yards away as the crow flies but 1 mile by the circuitous route required to get under the multi lane road that has pedestrian barriers in the middle to cut down on the frogger fatalities. Then we took a long time to find our way through the maze of the store only to end up in a long line for a single register, where the scanner failed on 90% of the items and the bar code had to be typed in by hand for most items.

Lisa told Mark there was no way we could carry that much beer/soda/water/food back to the hotel so he did the logical thing. He booted Carter from the stroller and managed to hang bags off every handle.

Tomorrow we head to the Safari Park.

3/18/11 - Day 9: Pack and Fly to Guangzhou

2011-03-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Friday was supposed to be a relaxing day. Get our final Chinese paperwork (Carter's passport and some more documents), pack, and fly to Guangzhou.

We thought we would be able to stick with 4 suitcases but quickly realized we would need to use the suitcase allotment for the new 5th member of our family. On the plus side Grandma and Grandma no longer had to lug diapers and snacks for us.

The large breakfast buffet throws a wrench into our lunch plans every day. The kids are ready to eat lunch and we are good to wait until dinner. We knew Friday would be difficult given our 2 pm departure from the airport to the hotel and the time of our arrival in Guangzhou (probably past bedtime and well past dinner time). [Our kids go to sleep EARLY ... well, at least the two oldest ones do].

Given this we tried to indulge the kids and get a quick lunch in the mall attached to the hotel. Lisa advocated for McDonalds given the time frame, but daddy refused on principle. This led to an aborted visit to our favorite noodle place when Bennett declared he did not want to eat there (usually would be ignored, but as I said earlier this was focused on the kids and a learning experience of not eating at the restaurant would not accomplish our initial purpose). We finally ended up back at the room with ramen noodles (not a bad choice overall given the kids favorite meal on our 2009 trip to China was the "picnic" in our Guangzhou hotel room sitting on a towel eating ramen noodles [their favorite, not ours!]).

Our plane was delayed on the previous leg, just like on our flight from Beijing to Nanjing. This led to our sitting on the tarmac for a LONG time after boarding. On the plus side they served dinner and it was pretty decent. On the glass half empty side most of the plane would have gladly ejected us without parachutes for parts of the flight between April & Carter yelling. Carter just turned two and is supposed to sit in his own seat on takeoff and landing. We had the pleasure of buying the seat for him that he WANTED NO PART OFF. Plus daddy was not happy when the princess declared she had to go Super Bad and started sobbing as the plane finally started taxiing (sp?) just 5 minutes after she had gone potty.

Mommy passed the wiggly one to daddy who managed to manhandle the extremely strong 2 year old in his lap for the takeoff and calm him down. Until takeoff and after a short time I settled for holding him standing up between my legs. Luckily the flight attendant remembered what works for ear pressure at that age and passed up a drink (bad parents - completely forgot what we used to do for Bennett in the past). The lollipop failed but the juice worked fine, except for almost spilling it before safely pouring it into the wonderful sippy cup. April had bad dreams from yesterday's events, did not sleep well, and was a tad cranky.

We finally arrived in Guangzhou, only to start having "opportunities" at the front desk of our hotel. Our guide had to leave quickly to rush back to the airport for the other family joining us from our agency for the last city, but worked with us at the front desk. Simple things such as requesting the mini bar fridge be emptied so we could put yogurt and drinks in for the kids without Carter playing toss with the bottles left on the counter top were ... just not that simple. Eventually they agreed to do this instead of using their solution - locking the mini bar.

The breakfast buffet here is only for 2 adults per room and kids are extra. I was given enough coupons for 2 kids. When I counted them and asked where the other ones where, I was told our travel agency had only arranged for 2 more and I would have to pay for the 3rd kid. Um ... let me think about this ... NO. 10 minutes later they decided Carter would be classified as a baby and would not be charged. Eventually we get to our room.

VERY LATE now.

Lisa puts the kids right in bed while I start arranging the suitcases. My dad and I rush out to get some water, beer, and soda (the necessary provisions as usual) at the 7/11 down the street. When I get back the kids are fast asleep, Carter has had a bath, and Lisa is trying to get Carter to go to sleep. My dad points out the ashtrays in our room and says he thought we had requested non-smoking rooms when I comment our room smells like smoke. It was now about 11 pm or so.

Given our experience last time in Guangzhou I had checked again and again with our travel agency that our rooms would be non smoking. Daddy not happy here. Or at himself for not double checking at check in (But hey, they might have just LIED like the White Swan Hotel did to us and our guide before at check in. But I digress).

Plus we both had missed the ashtrys in the rush to get the kids to bed and find their PJs. The rooms were very nice - separate BR and LR, fancy facilities, etc. Flat screen TVs in the BR and LR. Sliding door to close between the rooms. Except for the now very obvious smell of smoke. Great to have with kids, our love of the smell, and looking forward to our clothes and laundry soaking it up.

Back daddy goes downstairs. They offer to change both our rooms to a non smoking floor, but only K size beds are available. I arrange to do this the next day given the kids are out cold. The 2 twin beds are tiny, so the K bed for us with the crib for Carter might work out better.

After I go back to our room, Lisa and I reluctantly decide to switch rooms this night. My parents decide to stay put as they are ready for bed.

Back daddy goes downstairs. Sound familiar?

While waiting in the now long line, I recognize our Guangzhou guide (Grace) at the front desk with the other family. I join them, knowing I need Grace given the English skills at this hotel are not that good (not saying this is wrong, only that my Chinese is pretty non existent). The other family (a lady traveling with her sister-in-law and a 2 year adopted kid) finish up and head off to their room. After I say I will take them up on their offer and move now, they tell me there are no longer any non smoking rooms available. Picture a red flag waving in front of me.

I kept my cool, but was very clear this was not acceptable. But sir, the hotel is full, we can move you tomorrow, blah, blah, blah. The clerk(s) kept shuttling off to other people to discuss this situation. My standard line was this was not acceptable, they could go get the manager and he could handle it, but they were going to find a non smoking room for me NOW, as in tonight, no matter what type of room it was. They had to have one non smoking room. Period. Would not accept no. Sent them back to the manager again and again.

Oh sir, so you are willing to pay for an upgrade. We will see what we can find.

Um ... NO ... I am not paying a dime. But my LAME travel agency or the hotel is welcome to pay whatever it takes. I do not care. I just want my non smoking room that was confirmed. The rest is your problem.

More clerks, pauses, consults, etc. Eventually, I am told we have a room for you. I thank them and head off to check out the room.

Um ... I could deal with the new room ... I guess.

I do find 1 ashtray though. I go back to our room and ask Lisa to go up and check it out since she is more sensitive to smoke to make sure it smells okay to her. The bellhop comes for our luggage and I ask him to come back in 10 minutes when Lisa will be back. The maid comes to move the crib; I repeat my pantomine and plea. Over 1 hour later and numerous visits by a very patient bellhop, Lisa finally shows up with the bellhop. (Yes, we both brought our cell phones but since hers was sitting on the desk in the room that would not have worked too well.)

Picture it was sometime after midnight when Lisa went to check the new room out first, Carter has been loudly proclaiming he wants to play or eat or just yell, anything but go to sleep for hours now, we are both running on little sleep after a long day on Thursday with the orphanage visit, Carter got up early Friday morning, the kids drove us nuts on the plane and they were our kids, April has refused to walk and been very clingy most of the day, etc.

Lisa checked the new room out, loved it, and then tried to return to our old room which was ... where? She forgot our room #. Since she did not have a room key and was not with me at check in, this was understandable. After waking somebody up trying the wrong room by mistake, she gave up and headed downstairs. The front desk refused to give her our room number (did not get the full story but she had no ID), and would only connect her on the house phone. Of course they connect her to my parents room, who did not answer. Supposedly they connected her to our room, but the phone never rang. Finally, the front desk either caved or the bellhop stepped in (knowing "mama" was MIA), and the bellhop shows up at our old room with Lisa. Needless to say, I gave the bellhop a good tip.

We started the move way too late and after the battling at the front desk and Lisa's adventures it was well into the next day now. Plus I managed to get Carter to calm down and go to sleep but was unable to do much repacking (while awaiting mama's return) given I cannot put him down and the kids are sound asleep in the other room.

We pile everying on the luggage rack, Lisa takes Carter, I carry April, and Lisa convinces a delirious Bennett to stumble after us to the new room. April and Bennett get right back in bed and quickly out cold (I don't think April ever woke up). Carter decides it's time to play now and is fine until we go near the crib.

Lisa finally gets to sleep at 3 am and Mark chugs a beer and gets a few more things ready and follows at 3:45 am. We have learned that if we do not lay the kids clothes out the night before and have a backpack ready with the snacks, clothes, diapers and paperwork required for that day, that the day will quickly go downhill given the stresses of travel on the kids, not to mention Carter trying to make his own adjustments. And that is before you throw in a "Mommy, I need to go poop" or meltdown hiatus.

Carter decides he is all done sleeping sometime after 5am, but is happy to snore on daddy's chest in our bed as long as he is having his back rubbed. Eventually April and Bennett join the "all done sleeping" movement and we start the day. To be continued on Day 10 ...

Anyway, we ended up moving from a "Deluxe Room" with 64m (Eilteroom is 32m) to an Executive Suite on the Executive floor with 96m of space. "The gracious Executive Suite is designed to meet the demands of comfort and convenience for the distinguished executives. Equipped with modern mini-bar, business area and gym facility, this suite is also functional for convenient business activities, meetings and other requirements." Pretty cool. Much more livable for our expanded family for the next week.

3/17/11 - Day 8: Xuzhou Orphanage Visit

2011-03-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Today we visited April & Carter's orphanage. We had a fabulous multi course Chinese lunch at a local restaurant with some of the orphanage officials, visited the park where Carter was found, got a driving tour of Xuzhou, enjoyed the great Chinese high speed trains, were able to visit with some of the other waiting children at the orphanage, and toured different areas of the orphanage.

We learned Carter was the favorite of a nanny who worked there as a temporary second job. She is no longer there but still visited him. When she left she told the other nannies to give him extra attention. We also learned that our son can be naughty and that he threw this nanny's shoes in the trash, which led to her having to go home in slippers.

We asked about how much he ate at the orphanage. The nannies said they cut him off when they thought he had eaten enough and that he tried to take food from other kids.

The officials and nannies at the orphanage were very excited to see April. It was an emotional day for her but she managed to rally and spend time talking to and hugging the different people. She recognized some kids and was happy to see them again. We are very proud of her.

Carter continues to amaze us by how comfortable he is with us and the behaviors he exhibits that we did not expect to see for weeks or months. He will be a handful when we get home, but we are so happy to have him as part of our family. He is sleeping well at night (so far), which is great!

I heard a knock at the door about 10 pm while Lisa was sending some emails and pictures we took to parents who are in the process of adopting other children from Xuzhou. Thinking it was one of the kids (possibly Bennett coming back from Grandma & Grandpa's room after April pushed him out of the bed while they were sleeping again), I opened it. This pretty well dressed girl was there. I expected her to say "sorry, wrong room", only to have her gently push by me and start walking in the room. Stunned, I stopped her with "excuse me?". She replied she was there for the massage service! I told her she had the wrong room and she left. We are pretty sure this was a "full service" massage service. Just for the record, my personal masseuse (er ... wife) is already asleep now but Lisa insisted we needed to include this visit in the blog.

The pictures for today start off with Carter's two fisted food delivery service at breakfast this morning.

Tomorrow we get Carter's Chinese passport and fly to Guangzhou to start the U.S. paperwork. After breakfast and packing, we plan to wander around the Confucius Temple market again before it is time to leave.

The next two pictures are of a photo in a framed set on the wall as you walk into the orphanage. The first photo is from when we visited the orphanage in October 2009 afer adopting April. We visited the orphanage with 2 other families (Ken & Erica and Sheri & Ben) who had adopted their children from Xuzhou the same week as us. The second picture shows the framed set our picture is in.

3/16/11 - Day 7: Sightseeing & Shopping

2011-03-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

Carter started getting restless about 10p last night. Lisa was out cold so I attempted a diaper change myself. Carter is very cooperative so all went well. I figured if I needed any assistance she would be woken up quickly by the vocal sounds from Carter.

Carter started moving around about 5:15 a.m. We moved him to our bed and cuddled while he gradually woke up.

Today food boy, anka [also now known as] "Sir Stinky Pants", decided to finally poop. 30 minutes later he was crouching outside the bathroom while Lisa took a shower. "Lisa, he is waiting for you." "No, he is pooping." "No, he misses you." ... 15 minutes later of holding him in my lap ... "Okay, you may have a point." ... hence the new name. We just handled the 5th time today. On the glass half full POV, we don't need to test out the laxatives we brought along.

April needed some mommy time (i.e. was not behaving) this morning so Daddy took Carter and Bennett to breakfast by himself. Carter tried to leap out of my arms as we walked past the buffet spread to our table. He calmed down a bit as I filled a bowl with honey nut cheerios and put him in a chair with a spoon. Lisa showed up in time to have a fried egg ready for him when the bowl was empty. He excitedly dug in to the 2nd course. Grandma came back to breakfast to help us so Lisa and I could eat, given the delays caused by unplanned kid constitutionals & meltdowns.

We toured the brocade museum this morning. Watching the people work on the looms and hearing how the looms work and how little they produce in 8 hours (4-5 cm if I remember) was very interesting for the adults but not so much for the kids. The items for sale in the government store were beautiful but ridiculously expensive so we passed. Our driver took us back to the hotel while our guide Michael took Grandma & Grandpa to the Nanjing Massacre museum (not a good place for kids to see), which they found to be somber but very well done.

We went back to the hotel, played, had lunch in the room (ramen noodles for the kids) and walked to the Confucious Temple shopping area to browse. Bennett promptly decided he now had to go potty and we visited our first McDonalds in China. Of course April then had to go "super bad" and joined mommy as she took Bennett inside. Daddy stayed outside with Carter asleep in the stroller (1st successful stroller placement), and proceeded to be stared at by friendly passers by for 20 minutes while waiting (long bathroom line).

Browsing the stalls and small stores made for a fun and interesting afternoon. We finally found a small stall that sold kids sweaters so we could buy Carter a clean sweater for our visit to Xuzhou tomorrow (he has totally trashed the one we brought that fits and the other one is too tight). He came with a pretty but dirty Chinese fabric winter jacket that is not as warm as the jacket we sent him, but the kids in the orphanage need it more then him, so no worries.

The enthusiastic two fisted eating approach quickly trashes anything we put on him, even with a bib (thankfully we did bring one). As soon as he starts eating he is a VERY happy camper. Unfortunately, he is hungry a lot and quickly starts crying loudly if he does not receive food NOW.

It was a lot funnier joking about the emperor syndrome before our adorable 2 year old showed he will scream when hungry and will start screaming again if cut off before he thinks he is done, or a refill is a tad slow. It is hard to get good servants ... er, help ... er, parents these days, but we would like to get a bite or a sip ourselves in between keeping the trough filled. All is good though. Even though it is rough to deal with, he quickly calms down and we would be more worried if he was not crying or screaming some during the next few weeks. We keep repeating this mantra as the napkin is thrown at the lame servants or if any morsel is slow to be provided or a dish is slow to arrive. It's not like he had unlimited food at the baby home. The kids in his play group must be loving meals now - "Wow, we get a lot more to eat now dudes, where did all of our food go before?"

The napkin was thrown constantly at us before dinner tonight whenever our pre-appetizer snacks ran out on his napkin. Before his meal arrived, he devoured part of Grandma's spring roll appetizer and some of April & Bennett's dumplings.

It is a big change for us to let Carter sit on his own and feed himself. We always put Bennett and April in our laps at first and hand fed them. They loved it and it is great for attachment and bonding. Carter wants to sit on his own and feed himself with supplemental feeding by us.

Carter did pull April's old trick of "I want to sit Daddy's lap" tonight (when she really just wanted to eat what was on your plate after she was done with her dinner). When he finished his bowl he started getting out of his high chair on his own. Luckily Grandpa spotted this and I grabbed him as he was attempting to stand on the back of his chair. Oh, how sweet, he wants to sit in my lap ... no, he just wants to eat what is left on my plate ... as pointed out by looking at me and tapping my plate with his fingers.

Carter is once again finding it hard to go to sleep. Stomach seems to be upset again. This could be due to the massive amounts of food he shoveled in for dinner. Part of it was he also did not have "Sippy", his sippy cup, aka "pacifier". He is starting to drop it so we may look into a tether like they have for regular pacifiers. We may also need to reconsider letting him eat until he reaches his food coma stage, even though he is not eating to the point of throwing up. It appears his stomach is upset shortly after his dinner repast again.

April is again sleeping with Grandma & Grandpa (you rock guys!). Bennett had some listening challenges and management opted to deny him this treat. Somehow he has managed to stay asleep throughout the screaming.

I would have Lisa edit this posting but she is now passed out on the bed with Carter sprawled on top of her. You can see her right eye starting to open as I took the picture. Also notice the magic sippy "pacifier" cup cuddled in his arms.

10 minutes after the picture, Carter snapped awake crying. Mommy went potty and Daddy determined that the sippy cup being banged on his shoulder meant "please fill my cup with more water". Once this "request" was handled, and after more guzzling, he went right into the crib without complaint and started snoring away.

3/15/11 - Day 6: Adoption Day

2011-03-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

Today we went to CCAA office to finalize our adoption in the eyes of the Chinese government. We will not be able to fly home with Carter until we complete the U.S. part of the process, which we will do in Guangzhou next week after we receive Carter's Chinese passport and other papers from today later this week.

Carter is really coming out of his shell and interacting with us. He slept until 6 a.m. which surprised us. We'll see if he has a repeat performance.

We started the day with a bath. Carter was fine with this until mama tried to wash his hair. He then gave the universal "All Done" sign by screaming and trying to climb out of the tub. Once dried off, all was forgiven and many "I LOVE!!!!! YOU GUYS!!!!" were heard as he blissfully chowed through the breakfast buffet. He got more excited with each plate that was put in front of him, but made it clear that slow service or ANY waiting was NOT ACCEPTABLE. Aside from this minor glitch, he could not have been happier.

On the way to breakfast Bennett & April wanted to hold his hand, sit next to him, choose his breakfast items, etc. They are really being good big brothers and sisters. Carter has apparently decided Bennett is okay but he is not sure about April. We'll work on that. April is suffering from not enough mommy time and that is not helping matters.

Carter has decided that unlimited drinks are a great change. This has led to his sippy cup replacing a stuffed animal as his companion of choice throughout the day and while sleeping.

We had an aborted nap attempt after lunch. He was great until he realized what was coming next. He quickly calmed down after being removed from his crib, but never really fell asleep for more then 10 minutes.

When daddy was doing errands and some paperwork, mommy got to play with Carter and observe his personality and behavior. Mommy enjoyed this uninterrupted alone time. Bennett and April enjoyed their Dairy Queen time with Grandma and Grandpa, who helped out again.

Even though Carter does not talk, he has been communicating his needs to us. For example, while Mark was carrying him, he raised his head and started pushing his finger in and out of his mouth and pointing to what he wants to eat. This blew us away. Mommy thinks he has said mama but there is no documented proof and the rest of us just smile at each claim.

Carter is smiling a lot now and playing with his trucks. He interacts with April and Bennett, exhibits a lot of curiosity, and pays attention to what is going on around him. He was not happy on the way to dinner, but his smile lit up the restaurant when we sat down at the table and he realized we were going to be eating again.

Daddy gets the Survivor Award today for assisting the extended poop by Bennett on the squatty potty during dinner. Enough said.

Bennett and April are having a sleep over with Grandma and Grandpa again. This is great for us and a huge help. Plus Bennett, who has finally learned to love sleeping, would NOT have liked the 1st hour of sleep to the strident sounds of Carter crying.

3/14/11 - Day 5: We are now a family of 5!

2011-03-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Whew - what a day!

We were scheduled to meet our guide, Michael, in the hotel lobby at 2pm to go to the civil affairs office to meet Carter. When we adopted April in 2009, our appointment was first thing in the morning. Not this time - hours and hours of stomach butterflies and watch checking.

We woke up @ 6:30 today, got Bennett and April showered and dressed, and headed down to the breakfast buffet. Be warned - traveling to China is not for those on a diet. This morning we dined on eggs, waffles, dumplings, noodles, spring rolls, beans (Bennett was in heaven!), sushi, donuts, croissants, steam buns, fruit, bacon, potatoes, and I'm sure I'm missing something!

To kill time, we decided to take a walk around outside. Our hotel is very close to the Confucious Temple area. It is a very large pedestrian shopping area. Vendors are mixed in with "regular" stores, though I'm wondering if you can bargain in those stores too?

The weather was a bit brisk and windy so we headed back towards our hotel. There is a very large shopping mall attached to our hotel and we walked through it. You could tell that the kids were starting to get a bit nervous. April all of a sudden began speaking in her super quiet voice (never heard at home ... okay, to be honest, we had not heard this quiet voice since the first few weeks she joined us) and Bennett just stopped listening to us and burst out into tears when corrected, when you looked at him, and at other random times.

Time to head back to the room to calm down before the big appointment. After a lunch of ramen noodles and some time with Grandma and Grandpa - we were ready to head out.

As we pulled up to the Civil Affairs office, both Mark and I wondered if we would get to see Carter arrive like we did with April.

This time was different though. We walked into the building and the meeting room where you receive your child was very empty. Only a handful of parents and children. As we walked through the room, we realized that Ms. Tang was already there. Carter was standing with a nanny (Ms. Wei), eating a cracker.

He was very content and allowed us to pick him up and hold him. That is, as soon as he realized we were not trying to take his cookies away. Bennett and April both came over to see him. Bennett wanted to hold him and was a bit disappointed that we told him "not right now".

Lisa is extremely happy that Carter is (so far) very happy with his new mama and does not exhibit a strong preference for his baba (yet).

Carter was holding two packages of cookies. One was open and he was eating them, the other still closed, but clutched in his hand. We took out a bag of puffs and he decided he liked those as well. Fistfuls of puffs went into his mouth and we had to convince him to chew!

We then made our way upstairs to have Carter's official adoption picture. I made the mistake of trying to take the bag of puffs away from him and that didn't go over very well. He is strong and would not let go of that bag!

It was almost impossible to take the picture because the photographer needed a full facial view of all 3 of us. Carter was too busy munching away to be bothered with looking at the camera. Finally another guide came over and between the photographer and with two guides making noises, calling his name and waving things, we were able to get a good picture.

Back downstairs, we were able to ask the director of adoptions from Carter's orphanage several questions. We found out that he always listens and behaves when the nannies are around, but can be a bit naughty when they turn their backs. We also found out that he likes to eat (shocking after what we had already observed!). Another kid born to be in our family.

During the Q&A, Carter stared to show his silly side. He would hold a puff in his fingers, I would lean in and open my mouth, he would pretend to put the puff in my mouth, but then quickly change and pop it into his. After he did that, he would smile and giggle.

At best we were expecting a sobbing and apprehensive toddler who would let us hold him without trying to arch his back and pull away from us. We are waiting for the other shoe to drop, or what happens when we attempt to change him, or least put a clean diaper on him.

Mark and I had to sign some official paperwork and that was it ... we were done for the day and Carter left with us.

Our driver took us over to Carrefour (France's version of WalMart) to do some shopping. Grandpa wanted some headphones for the plane and something a little stronger than beer for a nightcap for Grandma.

Last time we were in this store, we bought out the children's shoe department to bring to the orphanage. April is still recovering from the disappointment of realizing only 1 pair of the shoes was for her.

This time, we only bought 3 pairs - one for each child. Carter started getting a bit upset when we tried to take his shoe off to measure his foot and wanted nothing to do with the trying on a new pair of shoes. (We'll let Bennett teach him the excitement over shoes).

Carter started to get fussy and sleepy in the store and kept putting his head on my shoulder, then crying a bit and fussing until he found a different position and started nodding off again. He fell asleep on the ride back to the hotel and is currently sleeping in his crib behind me. Everyone else went out to grab some dinner and I'm hoping they bring something back because I am starving!

[Edit by Mark - Thank you Angela, NiFun Ramen was a good recommendation for dinner and Lisa is very happy with the takeout we brought.]

Before everyone else left to go to dinner, I went to Grandma and Grandpa's room to get something. Bennett proclaimed to mommy that he loved Carter. April interrupted to say she wanted mommy to look at the picture she had just drawn. That about sums up how they are handling this so far. April is very happy about Carter but is scared and frightened of Ms. Tang and the other lady from her baby home - she thinks they expect her to still speak Chinese. They were looking forward to seeing her and tried to talk to her, but she was not cooperative. We will attempt tommorow to get around this by asking April to use our translator to walk them through a photo album (gift for the orphanage) of April and of the reunion last summer of kids who are adopted from the Xuzhou SWI.

Carter is still in his shoes, most of his clothes and more importantly - the diaper he came in. I am hesitant to wake him up to change him and I'm a bit out of practice in the whole diaper routine. Bennett was mostly potty trained when we got him at age 2 1/2 and went straight to pullups on our watch, so any diaper advice is greatly appreciated.

And now, without further ado - introducing Carter ZhiYi:

Update:
We were able to successfully change the diaper after Carter woke up. Clothing count - 1 padded silk jacket, 1 thermal long sleeve, 1 pajama top, 1 pair of quilted silk pants, 1 pair of thermal split pants, 1 slightly damp pajama bottom, and 1 wet diaper.

3/13/11 - Day 4: Travel to Nanjing

2011-03-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

We are here in Nanjing after a flight delay leaving Beijing. It's never a good sign when your boarding time comes and there is no plane at the gate. We now understand why people do not recommend flying Hainan Airlines internationally, no matter how attractive the ticket price.

Tomorrow is D-Day, aka "Gotcha Day". We leave to meet Carter and welcome him to our family at 2 pm. Hopefully he will not hate us and try making a run for it.

3/12/11 - Day 3: Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City

2011-03-12T05:25:00.000-08:00

Today was our last full day in Beijing. I can't believe we are packing up and weighing suitcases again, but tommorow we leave for Nanjing!

Even though both Mark and I have been to Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City, they are still awesome and breathtaking. The history is so interesting and so important for to know and try to understand. Unfortunately, our guide Mi Nan "quizzed" us on some of this history and was disapointed that we had forgotten some of the things that she told us a year and a half ago.

The kids did great (considering that to them, it probably sounded like "blah, blah, blah, smile for the picture, blah, blah, blah ...").

There is an important meeting going on now next to Tianamen Square and there was a lot of security, soldiers, and police. Bennett and April were fascinated by the soldiers.

Posing in Tianamen Square

April riding in style through the Forbidden City

4 Star Public Toilet (and it was!)

After the Forbidden City, we headed out for a wonderful lunch. I believe that the restaurant serves Taiwanese food ("Tai Wan" on the side window), though there are also the letters FLK on the sign above the Chinese letters.

We ended up in a private room and enjoyed an eggplant dish, beef satay, sesame chicken, sweet and sour pork (nothing like what we order from our local Chinese restaurant), and tofu in a spicy sauce. Apparenty the medium spicy was lost in translation and the tofu dish came with some firey red peppers.

After over-indulging, a walk was definitely in order. We took a stroll along the Wang Fujing pedestrian mall (every high end shop you could ever imagine) and then turned the corner to the bazaar street (stall after stall of verndors selling food, souvenirs and very scary things on sticks).

Obligatory "bugs on a stick" picture (this is a picture of the prepared stick before it is placed in the deep fryer and yes, the bugs are still moving).

Photo op on the Wang Fujing Shopping street

We spent some time in the hotel room this afternoon so that Bennett and April could work on their homework. Bennett's teacher will be emailing me each week while we are in China with the topics that will be covered in Kindergarten that week as well as what homework will be assigned.

April jumped right in and started plugging away. Bennett on the other hand tried to come up with some good reasons why homework was not a good idea or could not be done. For example:
- we don't have our homework notebooks (they both have brand new notebooks to complete their assignments when they are away)
- This is boring (have to agree with him on some of the stuff)
and my favorite:
- There is no homework in China ... (haha, if he only knew)

Mark, Renee and Al (Grandma & Grandpa) headed out to grab some dinner. Bennett asked to go to sleep @ 7pm (after his dinner of convenience store muffin and drinkable yogurt). April wasn't too far behind after her dinner of ramen noodles ... can't beat Ramen in a pinch!

The countdown to Carter has begun. Only 2 more sleeps until we meet him! That is assuming our Princess is more cooperative and lets us sleep tonight. April is very excited but is getting more and more nervous as we get closer to Nanjing. She is looking forward to seeing her old baby home and Ms. Tang, but is very concerned they will expect her to speak Chinese and she does not remember any Chinese beyond a few words.

3/11/11 - Day 2: Zoo and Acrobat Show

2011-03-11T04:57:00.000-08:00

We appear to be past the jet lag (well most of us, except Grandpa keeps getting woken up at 1 a.m. by Grandma who insists on crashing early). Grandpa deals with this by stocking beer for his late nite dinner.

We have met a couple of families at the hotel who are adopting from Beijing. It appears Gotcha Day in Beijing is on Thursday, unlike the standard Monday we are used to. However, most of these folks have the same CA (consulate appointment) day as us, so the paperwork in Beijing must take longer? The new kids we have met seem to be doing well, and are happily chowing down at the breakfast buffet.

Today we went to the zoo and brought the stroller. Bennett and April took turns riding in the chariot. Trena was on to something when she suggested the double stroller. Carter may have to push his big sister around in his intended stroller.

The zoo was not as impressive as our visit in 2009. Several of the exhibits were empty, there was a lot of construction, and there were a lot less pandas out this time. It was still a nice day - great weather and Bennett did not run screaming from the panda house about how the giant munching sloths were about to attack and eat him through the 4" plate glass window.

For those of you following the Food Channel (including our cat we're sure), we had lunch at the zoo. There was a small restaurant that our guide helped us navigate. We were expecting mediocre food at tourist prices but were pleasantly surprised by great food at reasonable prices. We had tofu in brown sauce, chicken with cashew nuts, snow peas & mushrooms, and fried rice. The beer and sodas were also very cheap instead of the usual fleecing of the captive audience. We are realizing how much the kids love tofu, so we will have to dust off our Moosewood cookbooks.

After the zoo, we headed to the Peking Acrobat show. We barely made it through Beijing traffic but were in time for the show. The acrobats were amazing and Bennett was on the edge of his seat the whole show. The lights, switching from light to dark & back, and the distance to the stage all made April pretty unhappy. Baba (daddy) took April to the lobby and souvenir shop for most of the show and was then relieved by Mama. April fell asleep on Baba's shoulder in the lobby and charmed the souvenir shop clerks, who were asking a lot of questions about adoption and were very supportive and nice.

April returned to slumber in the van only to complain loudly to the management when asked to change into her PJs and visit the potty before getting in bed.

Bennett enjoyed a fine repast of drinkable yogurt and almond muffin before joining April in slumber (luckily without the theatrics).

Tomorrow we visit Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City.

3/10/11 - Day 1: Part 2

2011-03-10T03:27:00.000-08:00

What a great day!

Today we went to the Great Wall. Mark was determined to make it to the top of the section we were climbing (and he did!). Renee and Al (Grandma & Grandpa) climbed a short bit but decided to hang out and enjoy the view. They had a fabulous time taking pictures for people, having their picture taken (Westerners are evidently a novelty and in demand for photographs - preferably with the camera owner in the picture) and chatting with people on their way up and down. Bennett was dreading this aspect of the trip from being the center of attention last time, and was very happy to climb away with our guide Mi Nan while Grandma & Grandpa took photo stand in duty. April and Bennett both did a great job and climbed a LOT higher than anyone would have expected.

They were both super tired afterward and almost fell asleep on the way to the lunch restaurant. After a surprisingly great lunch of dumplings, scallion pancakes, noodles and spicy tofu at the Golden Palace restaurant we were off the Summer Palace. Last time we ate at this restaurant it was awful and expensive. This time, we let our guide suggest some dishes and that was definitely the right way to go!

Before we even entered the grounds of the Summer Palace, it was pretty clear that one of us would be carrying April sooner or later ... turned out to be sooner ... and poor Mark had to carry a sleeping, 42lb, almost 7 year old. We took lots of pictures so when she is older and doesn't remember Beijing, we have proof! Mark was happy to carry April down the steep sections of the Great Wall but was not planning on also carrying her for the whole Summer Palace tour.

We talked about possibly bringing our stroller to the zoo, even though we do not have Carter (our intended passenger) with us yet. April overheard us talking about the stroller when she was jostled awake by her mediocre sherpa, and requested we bring it tomorrow so she could ride in it.

It is 7pm here and the kids are fast asleep. Mark and I are trying to force ourselves to stay up until 10pm and try and kick the jet lag..

Tommorow we are off to the zoo to see the (scary) pandas and then to the acrobat show.

3/10/11 - Day 1: Mark and April on the Great Wall

2011-03-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

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Day 1 is about to start

2011-03-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

We arrived safely in Beijing - no flight delays and only moderate child complaints on the 2 flights. Wednesday we ventured out to eat dumplings for dinner and then went to sleep. The Wang Fu Jing Grand hotel is good but has the usual rock hard China beds and as usual in China, the A/C has been turned off. No pictures yet, but we will get plenty today.

It is now Thusday morning. We just ate breakfast. We discovered April LOVES Red Bean Dim Sum, which somehow placed higher on the scale then the drinkable yogurts.

We are about to head out to the Badaling (sp?) section of the Great Wall. Then we will tour the Summer Palace - both favorites of ours from our trip in 2009. It will be at least in the 50s today and we packed for much colder weather. A good problem to have except for the extra clothes we carried.

Packed up!

2011-03-07T17:24:00.001-08:00

4 suitcases, 4 backpacks and one umbrella stroller. Ready or not- here we come!
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You're doing what?

2011-02-16T16:31:00.000-08:00

Introducing Carter Zhiyi!

Yes, we are adopting again. Carter just turned 2. We leave for China on March 8 and we get to meet him on March 14. We will go to Beijing first, then to Nanjing to meet Carter and visit his orphanage, and then head to Guangzhou for the U.S. consulate.

April and Bennett will be joining us, along with Grandma and Grandpa. We plan to blog about our trip while traveling.

April was at the same orphanage and is looking forward to the visit back. This will be her first time in Beijing.

Here are some pictures of our little linebacker (just turned 2 and supposedly over 30 lbs.).

Happy Birthday Bennett!

2010-11-21T15:48:00.001-08:00

Bennett turned 6 and we celebrated with a birthday party in the park.

Grandma and Grandpa with the Birthday Cowboy (and Cowgirl Sister)

Happy Halloween

2010-11-21T15:41:00.000-08:00

10/13/2010 - 1 year ago and today

2010-10-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

One year ago we met our wonderful (most of the time) daughter April Xueyuan. What a difference a year makes.

Then:

And Now:

9/2010 Various

2010-09-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

April and Bennett dressed up for Rosh Hashanah services.

Rare picture of the 4 of us together.

Bennett's first broken bone - an overturned (Little Tikes Coupe) car.

April's 1st horse ride.

8/2010 Off to Kindergarten

2010-09-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Can you believe April & Bennett started Kindergarten this year? They are having a great time and they love school, especially riding the bus.

7/2010 Xuzhou Reunion

2010-09-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

Blog updates are like fine wine, best aged before posting ... Less is more ... Okay, so we have been slackers.

Today our goal is to post some brief updates and pictures.

In July, we had the 1st Annual Xuzhou Reunion (aka Families With Children Adopted From Xuzhou, China SWI Reunion) in Atlanta, GA! We had a wonderful time.

Here is April on the train at Stone Mountain with her best friend from the Xuzhou SWI.

Here is Bennett with his favorite Xuzhou girl.

5/2010 Beach - NC Outer Banks

2010-09-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

4/2010 Family Picture

2010-09-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

12/30/09 Wilbur (the pig) gets a bath

2009-12-30T19:34:00.001-08:00

For Hannukah, Grandma and Grandpa gave April and Bennett books with matching stuffed animals. Bennett's book is "If you give a Moose a Muffin" and the stuffed animal is a moose he named Rudolph (that is a story for another time). April's book is "If you give a Pig a Party" and of course the stuffed animal is a pig. She went through a list of inappropriate names (no, you cannot name your pig Bennett) until we landed on Wilbur.

She loves Wilbur and he has been elevated to "most favored animal" status. He accompanied us to Duke and he sleeps with April at night.

This afternoon, April came into the bathroom while I was taking a shower. She announced that Wilbur needed a bath. When I rinsed the soap out of my eyes and took a look, there she was in the tub with soap, shampoo, washcloth and bucket. I said, rather quickly, "don't turn the water on!" and she responded, "I just pretend". And sure enough, Wilbur got a very thorough pretend bath complete with a toweling off and then was put down for a nap because he was very tired.

December 2009 - Hannukah, Snow, & other pictures

2009-12-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

Carolina Panther's Jerseys. Hmmm, and shortly after Bennett and April selected these outfits the Panthers finally started to win, and win big! Coincidence?

Hannukah Lights

Hannukah Party

"We love each other!"

My 1st watch!

The first snow in NC (for April). 'Hood kids.

November 2009 - Pictures

2009-12-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

April and Mommy out to lunch.

April sleeping on the bed with her new best friend. Murphy - "I love this kid!"

Bennett's Birthday

Bennett painting at Cole's birthday party.

More Pictures from October 2009

2009-12-30T18:47:00.000-08:00

10/24/09 - Our 2nd flight home was delayed in Newark, after the flight from Hong Kong to Newark. Zzzzzzzz ...

10/24/09 Midnight? Time Zone? - 2 Smiley Faces spotted as we drove home from the airport. Then 2 more. Then a LOT more as we drove into our driveway. Here is a picture from the next day.

10/31/09 Happy campers in their PJ's waving Chinese Flags and wearing their Panda backpacks.

10/31/09 Halloween - The Princess! [April took to aggressive bonding and attachment techniques almost too well - she was quite happy with the hand feeding, being carried everywhere, getting her needs met instantly, getting whatever she wanted, etc. Thus, the nickname Princess applies to her looks, this outfit, and growing accustomed to a high service level!].

Video - Goodbye Guangzhou Part 2

2009-12-30T18:19:00.000-08:00

Video - Goodbye Guangzhou Part 1

2009-12-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

Random catch-up stuff and prepping for upcoming surgery

2009-12-29T10:03:00.000-08:00

Where do the days go?? I can't believe it is December 29th! I will be returning to work on January 4th. I love my job and the work that I do, but I have really enjoyed being a stay at home mom these past 2 months! I will miss my little girl, but I know that she will be in good hands with Mark.

We have a ton of pictures to sort through and post, but since we haven't posted since Halloween, I thought I would provide some updates for anyone who still may be following along :)

April's English has just exploded. She is speaking in complete sentences and understands everything we say!

She got glasses in the beginning of December and I'm sure that really opened up her world. First thing every morning she says "April glasses peas". She also tells us that she can see out of her left eye, but not her right. We have been going to a pediatric ophthalmologist who has done several exams including one under anesthesia. It appears that April had surgery as an infant (unknown to us and not in any of her records) to remove cataracts. As a result of the surgery, scarring formed over both pupils which is causing her vision issues. This surgery and result is quite common and in the US, a followup visit would have detected the scarring and additional surgery to remove the scarring would be performed.

We were referred to a specialist at Duke. We spent the day at Duke yesterday for a consult with the specialist (who concurred with our doctor) and we will be back on Jan. 8th for surgery. Since she has vision in her left eye, the doctor will be removing the scarring on the right eye only at this time.

We were thankful that we were able to get in to see this dr. so quickly and that the surgery is scheduled soon.

The one downside is that April will not start pre-school as planned on 1/4. She was really looking forward to it and asks each day "April school today?". We took her last week to meet her teachers and show her the classroom. She was there for 2 1/2 hours and LOVED IT! It is all she has talked about.

Bennett is still adjusting to sharing Mommy and Daddy. He continues to do great with April. The two of them can play for hours and hours! They love each other and it really shows. Bennett will take April's hand and walk her around if she is unfamiliar with a location or the people around. It is really sweet! They are also very competitive and they both yell "me first" no matter what the activity; washing hands, brushing teeth, getting buckled in the car, you name it!

The buzzer on the dryer just went off and my little helper came in to ask to help me fold.. So I'm off! Check back soon for pictures!

Back amongst the living

2009-10-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

We have been home almost a week (today is Friday) and are finally getting back into a routine. My headcold on the plane turned out to be the flu (the "regular" kind) so I was out of commission for a couple of days.
Jet-lag on the way back is a killer! We were all so out of wack. Even Bennett (who we have a rule that he must wait until there is a seven on the clock to leave his room) has been sleeping until 10 or 11! Only Ms. April seems to be up and ready to go at 7am..

Due to my flu, I have been sleeping in April's bed and she and Mark have been sleeping in our bed. We know this will be a hard habit to break. Bedtime is really the only time where she is having some issues. She cries as soon as she realizes it is time for bed. We have gotten to the point where she will willingly get in the bed, but she is a restless sleeper and cries several times in the night. We want to be there to reassure her and help her through the tough times. Right now Bennett is sleeping with April and Mark. When I go up to bed (trying to beat the jetlag by staying up late), I'll move him back to his room and fight for my share of the bed. For a little girl, she sure takes up a lot of bed space!

April seems to understand most of what we tell her to the point where we almost forget that she doesn't speak English. We were at Target today and told her to "hold on" to the shopping cart as we went down a dip. Both Mark and I realized that she had no clue what we were telling her to do and were like "d'uh - how would she know?". She has been picking up words and phrases and uses them appropriately. She knows "daddy", "mommy", "Bennet", "kitty cat", "Murphy" (along with "Murphy sit" and "Murphy lie down", "grandma", 'grandpa" and how to say "please", "up please" (as in - pick me up), "Thank you", "more please" and "no thank you". The use of "no thank you" cracks us up. For example - the other day I took out some clothes for April. She took one look and said "no thank you" and walked over to her closet to take a look at what else was in there for herself.
She still uses a manderin phrase when she needs to go to the bathroom, but she has picked up the word "potty" for urgent situations. This evening I was taking her out of the bath and she seemed a bit distressed and said "potty, potty, potty" and pointed to the toilet. Yup - she had to go bad.

We have been out and about in our 'hood. Bennett beams when he introduces his new sister and explains that she speaks Chinese. April is fitting in and today joined some of the kids in running around like a bunch of crazies! A couple of the neighbors had on their Halloween costumes and Bennett changed into his. April started to get a bit whiney and we thought she might be getting tired. Bennett was walking around with another child's stuffed animal and I thought maybe she wanted it? I offered her a couple of her own stuffed animals and it was VERY obvious that was NOT what she wanted and she started to cry. She finally said "Bennett" and pointed to his costume.. AHHHH she wanted a costume too! I pulled out the princess dressup dress (thanks Lisa M!!!) and that did the trick. We put that right on her and she pranced around outside with the other kids. We may attempt a bit of Halloween after all! We have a bunch of pictures that are still on the camera. Once we download those - we will post them.

Thanks everyone for following along on our journey to bring April home. We will try to continue to post to this blog (though not every day like we did in China).

Flight recap

2009-10-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

I posted these messages from my blackberry - but they did not make it to the blog:

We survived the flight from Hong Kong. It was long and painful. April and Bennett slept for a couple of hours, but since Mark had to be standing up for April to sleep, and Bennett fell asleep on my lap, neither Mark nor I actually slept much! We cleared customs and immigration in less than 30 minutes. They really have their act together in Newark. We spent almost 2 hours getting thru immigration in Charlotte when we adopted Bennett. We have a 3 hour layover, so we leisurely made our way down to our gate and grabbed a bite to eat. They just announced that our flight will be delayed 35 minutes. We just want to be home. Mark is trying to run the kids around to tire them out. I came down with a headcold some time during the flight and feel like crap. We are wondering how April's first night at home will go. Please send us happy sleep thoughts as Mark and I have been up for over 24 hours already and the kids are getting cranky and overtired.

It is 7:30pm and we are still in Newark. Delayed from 6:05, to 6:40, then 6:50, then 7:15 boarding, then 7:35 boarding and now due to maintenance delay, our new boarding time is 8:15. It is pouring rain and we are begining to wonder if we are going to get home tonight.

We finally boarded the plane and left the gate at 9:30pm. Bennett was asleep before the plane doors closed and was really mad when he woke up because he didn't believe we were in Charlotte. He thought we were still waiting to take off in Newark! We arrived to a very deserted Charlotte airport @ 11:15. Mark's parents and sister and brother in law were waiting for us at the baggage claim. Boy was it great to see them!! Bennett was so happy to see grandma, grandpa, Aunt Linda and Uncle Mike. We gathered our luggage and headed to the car. Thank goodness we had the family meet us at the airport. There was no way either Mark or I could have driven home.
April did great in the carseat - she seemed to like the view from high up in the seat. Bennett was happy to be "buckled up for safety" as he was quite concerned about the lack of seatbelts in China.
We pulled into our neighborhood and noticed 2 smiley face signs. We didn't think too much about them until we saw 2 more on the corner of our street and then saw our yard. More smileys than we could count and a big "Welcome Home April" sign. We were brought to tears - after such a long journey and to know how welcomed April would be. We love our 'hood!!!

On our way home

2009-10-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

We are on the plane ready to leave Hong Kong and begin the long flight to Newark. We stayed at the Regal Airport Hotel last night and it was very nice! Best food we have had in a while and very comfy bed!

We are hoping that the kids fare well on the flight as it is long and we are in 2 rows. Aisle and middle seats on a full flight.

Mark and I are hoping to get some sleep but that is doubtful. Bennett is already asking when we will get there and the plane is still at the gate.

We will check back in at Newark if we have a chance.

Day 15 - Guangzhou - Photos

2009-10-22T07:28:00.001-07:00

2346 - kids in the park

Day 15 - Guangzhou - shopping, swimming and a good visa surprise

2009-10-22T06:46:00.001-07:00

Today we did not have any organized activities planned. The kids slept in until there was an 8 on the clock! We showered, dressed and headed down to a late breakfast. We met another family from Charlotte who will be traveling home on the same flight. We are getting used to the big buffett breakfast and hope that all the walking we are doing is offsetting the eating! We hope April will not be disapointed when we get home and finds that her breakfast choices are quite limited and do not include , on a daily basis; cereal, fruit, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, chicken nuggets, spring rolls, dim sum, noodles, potatoes, omelets, pizza, oatmeal, yogurt, dumplings, baked beans, sausage, bacon, ham, french toast, steamed veggies, cold cuts, pastries, bread, 4 kinds of juice, 2 kinds of milk and I'm sure there are dishes that I am leaving out..btw.. the coffee in the hotel is awful and I am making a daily journey to Starbucks for my caffeine fix. Mark has
been able to satisfy his caffiene need by buying cokes at the 7-11. That is, once he figured out which bottle with chinese writing was plain coke. He did buy a tasty vanilla coke one day that was not to his liking so he has learned to avoid the yellow cap.

There were a couple of shops that we still wanted to visit so we headed out for a walk. Shaiman island (where we are staying) must be a hot spot for wedding photos. Bennett is fascinated by all of the brides and keeps hoping that we will get to witness the actual nuptual ceremony.

After visiting a couple of stores, negotiating prices and buying more stuff (shoes, wall hanging, chinese dolls, kid chinese music cd) and getting some free stuff (chinese flags, string bracelets and a magnet of the Jiangsu province) we headed back to the hotel for a picnic lunch of noodles and animal crackers. We had a message from our guide that he was able to get our visa a day early and would try to arrange an earlier flight for us! This means that we can get to Hong Kong at a more reasonable time on Friday and let us get the kids some dinner, and a bath before trying to get them to bed.

After the picnic we put on bathing suits (thank you Miriam for lending me a suit for April!) and hit the pool. April loved it and Bennett had fun swimming in the "big" pool.

We were able to meet up with another family who adopted from the same orphanage for dinner tonight at the Italian restaurant. We had six - they thought we said 16 - and were seated in a private banquet room. Once they realized their mistake, we think they took one look at the kids and decided that we should stay in that room - with the door closed! Good thing as April and Olivia tooks turns exercising their lungs. Bennett was on his best behavior and was trying to console both girls when they were upset.

April is still awake while I am typing this (9:35pm). The good news is that she is not sobbing or screaming. The bad news is that she is not showing any signs of being tired or going to sleep. She fell asleep at dinner - so we figured that she might not sleep well tonight. Hopefully she will fall asleep before we do!

Tommorow morning will be interesting. Packing time!! We bought way more than we planned on and I'm not sure how we are going to fit it all in. Mark is the super packer - so I have full confidence in his ability to get everything in, packed safely to keep from breaking and still stay under the weight limit.

This will probably be our last post for while as I'm not sure if we will have a connection in Hong Kong and we expect the jet lag to take over for a while once we get home.

Day 14 - Guangzhou - Red Couch pictures

2009-10-21T07:11:00.001-07:00

2299 - Bennett and April
2305 - Kids group photo
2326 - Family photo

Day 14 - Guangzhou - COnsulate appointment and red couch

2009-10-21T07:07:00.001-07:00

Today was our consulate appointment. Our guide took all our paperwork to the consulate and we were to wait in the room for an hour until we received the "all clear". About 30 minutes into the wait, the phone rang. Oh no! Elvin (our guide) was on the line. Everything was fine (thank goodness!!) but instead of going to the consulate on Thurs. for our swearing in ceremony, we were to join the other families in the afternoon.

We were released from lock-up and decided to walk around the island a bit and do some shopping. We headed to Helen's Place as we had heard she had some cute things. Lisa had seen a Burberry jacket for April earlier in the week and wanted to check it out. The shop is the size of a large closet and we had fun trying things on. We decided to keep looking and not buy anything - but she still gave us two kids bracelets. (she knew we'd be back!).

We continued to walk over to Jordon's place. His shop is off the beaten path and we were the only customers. He quickly wrote April's name in caligraphy while we browsed. We found a family ball that we really liked along with some toys for the kids. Mark did some hard bargaining and Jordon told us how business was down and how his rent had gone up. We settled on a fair price and the kids (after visiting the bathroom) were happy with the purchase.

We stopped for a quick snack at 7-11 and went to another shop where Mark had seen North Face jackets. After braving the rain on the river boat cruise and seeing the forecast for the rest of the week, we decided that April needed a rain jacket. We found a kid's size jacket - but April was not cooperating and would not try it on. We bargained back and forth and got the jacket for a steal. It is a light blue color - so even it she won't wear it, Bennett can.

Back to Helen's Place. She had boys Burberry shirts and Bennett really liked them. He tried on a few and found one that fit. He was beaming when everyone told him how handsome he looked. April scored with the windbreaker, a dress and a winter coat. She was quite happy to try on all those clothes. Mark and I are in trouble! Our daughter has expensive taste!

We all headed back to the room as it was getting close to picture time. We changed the kids into the traditional Chinese outfits that we bought and met the other families in our group by the famous "red couch" for a photo session. The kids all looked so cute! We had to bribe Bennett to take off his outfit after picture taking as we needed to get in the van and go the consulate for the swearing in ceremony. At the consulate, we saw the family we first met in Newark the day we left the states, as well as many families we have met over the past 2 weeks. What a journey this has been. Most of those families will be receiving their child's visa on Thurs., however, we will not receive ours until Friday, which is what we expected. (unless our guide has some news for us in the morning!)

April is having a hard time with bedtime and will sob and cry. Mark has been walking the halls with her for about an hour until she falls asleep and then we can put her to bed. I tried to take over tonight - but she would not have anything to do with it! She would nod off for a bit and then wake up, look and me and start to cry again. I can only imagine what is going on in her head - this must be so hard for her!

We really enjoyed our time in China but are ready to come home.

Day 12 & 13 Guangzhou - pictures

2009-10-21T06:41:00.000-07:00

2277 - at the zoo
2281 - more at the zoo
2290 - picnic in the room

Day 12 & 13 - Guangzhou - Shopping, the zoo and river cruise

2009-10-20T06:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we met up with the famous Ann from Red Thread for some shopping! It was really great to meet her in person after emailing with her over the past couple months. Ann is pretty well known in the China adoption community. She has a website business where you can order care packages for your child and she ensures they are delivered to the orphanage.
We had approx 3 hours and the agenda was: pearl market, jade market and children's traditional clothes. 1st stop - the pearl market. Ann quickly walked us into a shop and started asking to see different quality and types of pearls for us to look at. You choose the strand and then it is strung into a necklace, bracelet, etc. The prices were amazing. Mark kept saying - buy more! I have different types of pearls for me, pearls for April now, pearls for April when she is 16, pearls for when she gets married, for Bennett to give to his wife when he gets married, etc. After we finished selecting what we wanted - Ann wisked us away to a jade seller. I wanted to get a couple of pendants - again - Ann was able to negotiate great prices and we bought a lot more than we planned on. After that - she asked me if wanted a high quality or medium quality jade bracelet. I said "high", so off we went to another vendor. I looked at many bracelets - but didnt' find
one I liked. I like the ones that have more green, apparently the higher quality don't have those "blemishes". Off to another vendor to look for some small jade lions and a family ball. Found the lions, but came up short on the family ball. Picked up a couple of "medium quality" jade bracelets and then Ann took us to another jade vendor. After a couple of minutes - she turned to us and said "this stuff is not good" so back to the first jade vendor and finally I was able to find a bracelet that I liked.

By this point - we had run out of time so Ann flagged down a cab and we were on our way back to the hotel. We arranged to meet up with her again on Tues. to shop for traditional clothes. The kids were pooped from all the running around and shopping. Mark took April back to the medical clinic for her TB test reading. Negative!!! so no xray needed. While they were gone, I took Bennett to the pool for a swim. There were a lot of other adopting families there are well so it was nice for him to play with the other kids.

Today we headed out early to the Guangzhou zoo. It was raining so we had the zoo pretty much to ourselves. With all the trees and umbrella's, it wasn't bad at all. We had heard some pretty negative things about the zoo and one of the families had suggested the safari instead. The zoo was included in the cost, the safari was extra - so zoo it was. We were all pleasantly surprised by the zoo. It was not as nice as the zoo in Beijing - but the animals all seemed healthy and the zoo was very clean and well laid out. The monkeys were the highlight again. There was only one panda - and he didn't move around much.

We had an aborted attempt at a nap (kids were not cooperating) and then an aborted attempt to go out for lunch (rain and whiny, tired kids) so we turned around and went back to the room for a picnic lunch of dinner leftovers and raman noodles on the floor. It was good fun for everyone and snapped the kids out of their cranky moods. We finished up in time to meet up with Ann again for another shopping outing. Ann is amazing. She knows just which shops to go to that have good quality and she is able to get great prices! We bought way more than was on our list and are really happy with everything we bought! (this is begining to become a theme!)

Tonight we did a dinner cruise on the Pearl River. It was raining - but we all enjoyed it. April cried a bit when we went up on the top deck (outside) and she got rained on. Mark put a rain jacket on her and she started smiling and laughing. We are guessing that she was probably never allowed to play in the rain. Our guide let Bennett borrow his little umbrella and Bennett was on top of the world.

We are all pretty tired and ready to come home. Our consulate appointment is tommorow morning. Our guide will take our paperwork to the consulate while we stay back here at the hotel. It is supposed to rain again tommorow so we will be holed up in the hotel. Not looking forward to that as the kids get pretty stir crazy in the room and the hotel has been frowning upon loud children in the more public areas.

We have 3 more days here in Guangzhou. Friday evening we fly to Hong Kong. We stay overnight in Hong Kong and will then (finally) fly home on Sat.

Day 11 - Guangzhou - Six Banyan Temple & Liuhua Park

2009-10-18T08:24:00.001-07:00

Okay, we think we missed a day there somewhere. Starting with the first full day in Beijing, we have now been here 11 days, so we are skipping one day ahead today to Day 11.

Lisa and Bennett got up early to go for a walk and get some coffee. Unfortunately Starbucks does not open until 7:30 on the weekends, which left Lisa at the mercy of the lame hotel coffee and a disappointed Bennett.

After another extravagant hotel breakfast buffet (we are going to gain weight on this trip), we headed out to the Six Banyan Temple. It is a Buddhist temple. Our guide arranged for the monk to give our children a special blessing. It was kind of intimidating to be at the feet of the three massive Buddha statues during the blessing. The blessing was something high on our must do list for the time in Guangzhou. We'll take all the blessings we can get.

While Mark and April checked out another building in the complex, Bennett decided to use up his blessings with Mommy and go poop in a squatty potty again. 20 minutes later, we were wondering what happened to them. Meanwhile in the stall, Bennett asked Mommy why China does not have regular toilets between his screaming of "Don't drop me in the hole!". Lisa eventually staggered out for fresh air and told Daddy he owed her big time. Bennett felt much better even though Mommy would not sing or read a story to him during his leisurely sit. If Lisa hears "Mommy, I'm not done yet" one more time in a squatty potty she is going to cry.

We stopped at a government run crafts center on the way back to the hotel and bought a Chinese chicken (long story) and a nice tea set.

Bennett and April both had mostly great behavior today. They got along great and are really bonding as brother and sister. They are holding hands and wanting to sit next to each other on the bus. Daddy is going to need a new back after carrying April most of the time and Bennett leaping onto his shoulders as soon as April gets down.

Daddy hit the roof when he went to the front desk of the hotel to complain about someone smoking down the hall with their door open. Many clerks later, he determined that our floor was a smoking floor and the desk clerks had lied to him & our guide when they explicitly stated our room and floor was non smoking when we checked in. We had to switch our room which was a pain in the keister since we had already unpacked and the kids were half asleep. We did get comped for free internet for our troubles but were not successful in lobbying for a suite.

After the room swap we were tight on time so hit the deli next to the hotel. We finally determined we could buy french type stuffed rolls for 1/6 the price of the similar sandwiches. Courtesy of the sausage roll and the fact that soda was cheaper then the water, April has now discovered hot dogs and Sprite. Bennett went to the bathroom with Lisa (again) and left his 2nd hot dog unattended, which did not last long for our newest food fan (this was her 2nd one). He was quite bummed on his return until Mark bought him a 2nd one.

In the afternoon we went to the Liuhua Park. It was very hot and not as nice as the parks we toured in Nanjing. We did have a nice tea tasting ceremony afterwards.

April is starting to repeat English phrases we are working on with her - such as "all done", "more please" and "thank you". She is also singing the alphabet song.

Tommorow we are going shopping with Ann from Red Thread and plan to stimulate the Chinese economy (even further).

Day 9 - Guangzhou - Medical & Prepare U.S. Consulate Paperwork

2009-10-17T07:13:00.001-07:00

No pictures today.

Our hotel, The White Swan, is a nice one. Our room is on the 13th floor with a beautiful view of the Pearl River. The breakfast buffet looked great, but due to lack of time and the need to feed Bennett and April first, we did not get to eat much ourselves. The place is a maze and I had to refer to the map to find my way back to an ATM I saw last night. The hotel even has different lobbies (on 2 different floors) for individuals and tours to check in. The Swan does have the standard hard beds we have seen. It is like you are sleeping on 2 box springs or a board.

Today we met the rest of our travel group in Guangzhou - 4 families from the U.S.. 1 is an ethnic Chinese family doing a regular adoption (NSN for those familiar with the acronyms) and the other 3 are adopting waiting children. April is the oldest by about 2 years. It is great to talk and share experiences with other families at the same stage in the process. 3 of the familes are adopting under grandfather i-600 and one is under the new i-800 (i.e. 1 family is adopting under the new rules/processes under the Hague Adoption rules).

After getting pictures of the kids for their U.S. visas (or their Chinese medicals or both?) we were off to do the medicals for the U.S. embassy. April, as usual, charmed the pants off the different medical staff she saw. Everything went well. We get the report on Monday in a sealed envelope for the U.S. consulate, when we visit to get the skin TB test read.

This afternoon Lisa took Bennett to the pool while Daddy unsuccessfully tried to get a very tired April to nap. After the pool Daddy was left with 2 kids not on their behavior while Mommy was off to do the remaining U.S. forms with our guide and the other families. Mommy returned 2+ hours later to find everyone sound asleep.

For dinner we ventured out to the famous Thai restaurant on the island - Cow on the Bridge or something like that. It was good, but not that great. Plus, it is disappointing to be back in the land of higher priced restaurants. It will be a lot easier to eat while we are here, but more expensive and likely not as rewarding as Beijing and Nanjing could be at times.

Nothing special to highlight about today. The medical clinic was loud and busy. Bennett enjoyed the newly married couples getting photographed as we walked around today.

Bennett is getting smarter about how to get Mommy to stay in bed. When he goes to sleep in the hotel or takes a nap with her, she is not allowed to lie on top of the sheets and she has to change into her PJs. This pretty much guarantees he will not wake up by himself.

It was nice to run into some adoptive families we know from Nanjing and an adoptive family we met on the plane from Newark to Beijing.

Also, we are working to arrange to get a copy of the video the TV cameras took when we visited the Xuzhou orphanage.

Day 8 - Nanjing/Guangzhou - Pictures

2009-10-16T22:47:00.001-07:00

2173 - April & Bennett in the Nanjing Grand Hotel playroom at breakfast (yes, the play area is in a corner of the restaurant).
2175 - Bennett introducing April to DVDs (Sing Along With Dora) and Skittles. The latter were her favorite.

Day 8 - Nanjing/Guangzhou

2009-10-16T09:11:00.001-07:00

April woke up for the first time without quiet crying. This was helped by Daddy sleeping in her bed holding her all night until she woke up. She is not quick to wake up and takes after her Mommy in that regard, but hopefully will not also be a zombie until she has coffee.

After the breakfast buffet in the hotel we went back to the room to pack. Our guide brought our laundry (it is much cheaper to send it out and he recommends a place near where he lives). Very nice of him - it was a heavy bag. Due to a lack of cooperation, we were unable to finish packing in the planned timeframe and cancelled out trip to the department store for writing pads for the kids.

April continues to amaze us with her resilience. At one point while we were packing she was playing with 2 bunny dolls we brought, tucking them into beds and talking to them. She still prefers Daddy and will cry or resist if handed to Mommy, but is fine once Daddy is out of sight.

On the plus side, we tried a different restaurant (branching out from the great Chinese restaurant around the corner). Carl's Cafe was a big surprise. Looks more like a clean hole in the wall next to the larger restaurants, but excellent food. Bennett and April both chowed down. We had beef short ribs on rice and dumplings. The owner spoke good English and insisted on providing complimentary hot tea (the best tea we have had yet) and also brought out complimentary deserts for the kids after talking to us for a bit (red bean and rice pudding or something like that - Lisa keeps telling me I am listing the wrong bean so I probably remembered it wrong again). April cleaned the bowl after I thought she was full. What a great meal and experience.

Back to the hotel. Our guide came to the room and showed the scrolls and chops he had ordered on our behalf after suggesting them. We could not be happier with them. Each scroll, one for April and one for Bennett, are done in calligraphy with old Chinese characters on handmade paper, listing their DOB, name, and birthplace. The chops have their name & Chinese animal for the year they were born.

After driving to the airport, we got the usual escorted service through the check in, luggage check, etc. all the way to the end of the security line. One could get used to this. And yes, you also get met as you exit baggage claim by your guide with your name on a piece of cardboard, and are then led to your waiting bus or van. Not a bad way to travel.

Most of the families we had met at our hotel or at the meeting/gotcha day were on our flight. We enjoyed talking while waiting at the gate.

April was great on the plane and had a blast. She also captivated the flight attendants and got an unsolicited kids book & playing cards. I could have used less "Niah, Niah" or something like that which is Chinese for "I need to go potty now". But the guy on the aisle seat was accomodating.

We are now in the White Swan ready to head out for the medical exam and start the U.S. consulate paperwork tomorrow. We could not get a consulate appt until Wed so will be here for a week (it is Friday now, I think). The A/C works!!!! YEAH!!! Even more important here since it is very hot & humid outside; much more so then Nanjing.

We are not traveling alone for a change. Our group in Guangzhou has 4 families - 1 got in before us, 1 family arrived shortly after us, and another will get here later tonight. Our consulate appt. dates vary from Mon - Wed which will be a challenge for our guide to handle sightseeing and the different official tasks for each family required on different days.

We are on the downtown island in Guangzhou. Eating out will be less of an adventure/challenge, but we will eat well - highly recommended restaurants close by include a Thai, Cantonese, and Italian restaurant. Not sure I'll get Lisa to try the pigeon the cantonese place is known for, but I'll try.

Day 7 - Nanjing - Pictures Part 2

2009-10-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

2158 - With guide at Confucius Temple area
2167 - Reading

Day 7 - Nanjing - Pictures Part 1

2009-10-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

2147 - City Wall Steps
2154 - Zhan's Garden

Day 7 - Nanjing - City Wall, Zhan's Garden, and Confucius Temple

2009-10-15T07:25:00.001-07:00

We got to see the Nanjing city wall. Bennett got to run on the wall without fear of being mowed down by the numerous bicycles or mopeds. It was a beautiful view of the city and we learned some interesting history. The steps were MUCH easier to climb then the Great Wall.

Next stop was Zhan's Garden. It is a beautiful setting with waterfalls, ponds, rock gardens, and some historic artifacts. The kids were actually good in the museum and we actually got to listen without interruption to our guide Micheal and read the captions on the exhibits. After we exited the museum Lisa asked Bennett if he wanted a cracker. Bennett replied "Yes, after I go POOP". Mommy - "Do you have to go poop now?" [pleading]. Reply - "YES, SUPER BAD!!!". So commenced our rush to find a bathroom, which of course was at the other end of a maze of rock gardens and pagodas. Lisa and Bennett rushed into the bathroom, only to discover there were no Western toilets or toilet paper (not even outside the stalls as usual here). Wipes in hand, Lisa ventured into the forbidden land. Lisa had to hold Bennett over the hole and Bennett was scared he was going to fall in (crying "don't drop me"). Mommy assured him that she would never drop him
in the hole. But after the longest poop ever in history (and burning quads), he declared he was done. Then he did not want to wait for Mommy to pee - Hey, I'm done. Lisa was finally getting the hang of the squatty potty, but it is difficult when you are trying to convince your son not to open the door while you are squatting.

We had the afternoon to ourselves. After a family nap (preceeded by the usual April crashing quickly and Bennett declaring he was NOT tired ... zonk!, we took out some books and did some reading. April was really interested in all the books and kept asking for more. We played beach ball toss & kick again with the preschool set and their parents on the green at Nanjing Normal University. Then we were off to our new favorite restaurant for dinner. We hit the jackpot with our bus boy (we thought he was the waiter). The food was excellent as usual, but he took over and really took care of us (and refused a tip when I tried to press one on him). He corrected the waitresses errors on our order so we got the right pancakes this time, provided forks for the kids, brought special kids seats, and even served the noodles (wish we had him the 1st time before we entertained the restaurant and splooged the table and ourselves when we did it wrong from
the soup bucket). Bennett ignored Daddy's advice and was scared when the special beer hostess kept coming to our table to smile & flirt with him.

Tonight is our last night in Nanjing. We head to Guangzhou tomorrow and will stay there for the remainder of the trip (for the U.S. consulate paperwork & immigrant visa) after we get her Chinese passport.

Day 6 - Nanjing - Trip to Xuzhou Orphanage - Pictures Part 3

2009-10-15T07:01:00.001-07:00

2049 - Adoption Director with Bennett and April
2140 - Dad & April crashed on return

Day 6 - Nanjing - Trip to Xuzhou Orphanage - Pictures Part 2

2009-10-15T06:57:00.001-07:00

1922 - Lunch
1941 - Daddy holding both kids ["heavvvvvy"]
1965 - Orphange Director, Adoption Director, and the Family under the entrance banner (yes, I kid you not)

Day 6 - Nanjing - Trip to Xuzhou Orphanage - Pictures Part 1

2009-10-15T06:51:00.001-07:00

1892 - Arrival at Xuzhou Orphanage
1907 - The 3 familes on arrival at Xuzhou Orphanage
1903 - Paparazzi

Day 6 - Nanjing - Trip to Xuzhou Orphanage

2009-10-15T06:46:00.001-07:00

We took the express train from Nanjing to Xuzhou. Very nice, fast, and clean. The kids enjoyed it.

Let me skip ahead one minute and get to the crux - April exceeded our wildest hopes. We thought she would be distraught and overcome by the visit. The only time she started to cry was when she said goodbye to her best friend Anna (her family lives in Seattle and we hope to visit them after they bring her home and keep the kids in touch in the future). Aside from that, April was phenomenal. She always came back to us, wanted to do so on her own, and was very alert and attentive to us and the many staff and nannies who obviously cared for her deeply. We were able to let them pick her up, hug her, and hold her without incident.

We arrived at the train station to be greeted like celebrities by the local paparazzi. Evidently the orphanage had arranged quite a welcome and wanted to document the 3 families who had just adopted at the same time (a rare occurence) and were visiting their child's orphanage. We think the 2 TV cameras were from different stations, but are not sure. We spent a lot of the visit posing and being interviewed at different sites (train station, arrival at orphanage, after lunch, and multiple times during the orphanage tour.

Aside - we are now used to being the center of attention. People touch Bennett's cheek or pat his head or at least stare (in a friendly way), given he is cute Western child. As our guide said, you think Chinese children are so cute, we think foreign children are so cute! Add in April to our family and we stick out like a sore thumb.

Back to the visit. The place is large, well staffed, has a beautiful setting, and is spotless. The staff is professional and very welcoming. As we arrived we were interviewed again by the TV crews and did endless poses for the TV crews and staff (who all had cameras). Our guide Michael in Nanjing went above and beyond (as usual) and took many photos of us for our own use while lugging the bags of shoes we had brought most of the visit.

We were treated to an amazing lunch with many courses and multiple dishes in each course. The only negative was Captain Fearless was terrified (shocker!) by the crabs on one plate and spent lunch in terror that they would get him. The dishes included different kinds of chicken, vegetables, fish, crabs, fruit, soup, egg, pancakes, beer, soda, beef, and dumplings, to name a few. After waddling out and visiting the facilities, we started the tour.

We saw the room and the bed she slept in, visited with her friends and other kids, and got a chance to meet, give messages from waiting families who will be traveling soon, and take pictures and videos to share later. We toured other rooms including viewing from the outside the baby rooms. It was really hard to walk by all the kids in the cribs, but they looked well cared for, albeit not with parents right now. And no, you are not allowed to bring home more. We would have in a heartbeat.

We even got to visit and take pictures of the place where April was found.

Xuzhou was much larger (1M people plus) and prettier then we expected.

- Lisa & Mark

Day 5 - Nanjing - Miscellaneous

2009-10-13T07:12:00.001-07:00

Some of you have commented on my beard. I had not shaved for 2 days before we left and had decided it would be simpler to try growing a beard for the trip. I thought it was scruffy, but Lisa sealed the deal by saying she thought it was sexy. God knows what her real reason was, but I was sold. This lasted until the 1st day in Nanjing (going from low humidity in Beijing to hot & humid in Nanjing, along with no A/C in the hotels in the fall). 1 day of an itchy face later, it was history.

Also, a funny story on Bennett. He may not like Daddy snoring, but the solution was far worse for him. He woke up one day and suddenly was VERY upset. It took us a long time to figure out that Captain Fearless was terrified of the Breath-Rite strip on Daddy's nose. He would not even come near me after I had taken it off and was still holding it in my hand. I guess you do not need a cast or a sling to incite Captain Fearless.

Day 5 - Nanjing - Presidential Palace part 2

2009-10-13T06:41:00.000-07:00

Day 5 - Nanjing - Presidential Palace part 1

2009-10-13T06:38:00.000-07:00

Day 5 - Nanjing - At the park

2009-10-13T06:35:00.001-07:00

Day 5 - Nanjing - Official Adoption Paperwork

2009-10-13T06:27:00.001-07:00

Day 6 - Nanjing - April officially becomes a Slonim & Happy Birthday to Mark!

2009-10-13T06:25:00.001-07:00

Today marks two auspicious occassions. First, we finalized April's adoption this morning and second, it is Mark's 48th birthday.

The kids slept for 12 hours last night. Amazing! We were expecting April to wake up during the night, but she slept right through. We woke up Bennett (as we usually do) right before we went to sleep to take him to the bathroom. He looked over, saw April next to him and broke out in a very cheesy grin. We did have to separate them in the middle of the night because April had Bennett pinned up against the wall and we were afraid he would fall between the bed and the wall. He woke up as we were putting him in the roll-away bed. He was not happy about the change in sleeping arrangements. They are in bed together again tonight and we will see how it goes. [Just before we posted this Bennett was pulled from that bed because he was playing with his stuffed bunny].

April is really picking up on the regular routine of things. This morning we had her watch as we brushed Bennett's teeth and then she let us brush her teeth with no issues and even managed the "rinse and spit".

This morning was a bit tough on April. We had to go back to the CCAA registration office and finalize the adoption. She was great at breakfast and in the van ride over. As soon as we walked in the building, she started crying (quiet sobs and teary, but not loud sobbing like yesterday) and didn't stop until we left again. The process itself was pretty interesting. When it was our turn, we met with the head clerk, signed some papers, made a red thumbprint over our signatures, and then put April's thumbprint on the documents as well. We then moved over to the notary where we signed another form and handed over the orphanage fee. She put the money throught a counter and issued us a receipt. April was still crying through this, though the money counter caught her attention.

We had the opportunity to ask Ms. Tang a couple of additional questions and then we were through. Its official - she is our daugher!

We actually had some sightseeing planned this morning. We thought sightseeing in Beijing with Bennett was a different experience, with both of them it was almost humorous. We toured the Presidential Palace which was extremely beautiful and full of history. I had carried April for our walk over from the CCAA office and needed to take a break (she is 35lbs of child!). Mark took over and of course Bennett (40lbs of child) wanted me to carry him too. He was very unhappy with walking holding my hand. We did probably the quickest tour in history and headed over to Carrefour (like Walmart) to buy some new shoes for April. When we asked what we could bring on our visit, Ms. Tang said the orphanage needed shoes for the kids. It seems that April had never been given choices. We tried to get her to pick between 2 pairs and she didn't seem to know how to choose.. So we bought her both :)
We also about bought out the kids sneaker selection to bring with us to the orphanage. The cashier had some difficulty checking us out and had to call in reinforcements to open boxes, check sizes/price and then had to call a supervisor over as she was not authorized to process such a large credit card amount. Instead of escalators, the store had inclined moving sidewalks and the shopping carts have parking brakes that engage on the incline! Pretty neat! We're not sure April understood only 2 pairs of the shoes were for her - she may have been thinking she hit the jackpot.

By then, we were all tired and headed back to the hotel for a makeshift lunch of drinkable yogurt and peanut butter crackers and family nap. Daddy napped with April and of course Bennett then wanted to nap with Daddy too (the standard cycle today - picking April up, holding April's hand, etc.). Bennett loudly declared he did not need to nap before passing out for 2 1/2 hours on top of Mommy.

After the nap, we headed over to the Nanjing Normal University with a beach ball to play on the open grassy area. When we got there - it looked like the preschool had just discharged and there were a ton of kids with their parents or grandparents running around. Bennett and April had fun running around, chasing the ball and playing with the other kids. Kids seem to have a universal language of play. Many kids and their parents joined us playing with the beach ball - but everyone was extremely friendly.

By this point, April had decided that Daddy was her favorite and only wanted him to carry her or hold her hand. She is still letting me care for her, soothe her, bath her, etc.. but Dad is definitely the favorite.

Bennett is starting to show some signs of jealousy, but is directing them towards Mark and I. For example, if Mark is holding Aprils' hand or carrying her, Bennett wants to hold his hand or be carried, too. [Daddy's edit - okay, a lot of jealousy, but he is being very good with April].

We are going to visit the orphange tommorow and anticipate another tough day for April. It is really important for us to make this trip and see where April has spent her life up to now as well as allow her to say goodbye to her nannies and friends.

Day 5 - Nanjing - Gotcha Day - Bedtime

2009-10-12T05:43:00.001-07:00

Day 5 - Nanjing - Gotcha Day - Opening up

2009-10-12T05:41:00.000-07:00

Day 5 - Nanjing: Gotcha Day: First meeting

2009-10-12T05:38:00.001-07:00

Day 5 - Nanjing Gotcha: Xuzhou ladies

2009-10-12T05:36:00.001-07:00

Xuzhou ladies