Daddy's little girl

While Andy and Natalie are in the playroom I'll take advantage of my time in the room. Aina is at the consulate and wants one of us available just in case there is a question/problem with our paperwork.

I thought you might want to see more of Natalie and I snapped this at the hotel today. Natalie is wearing her new Gymboree sweater! I think we overpaid, but still, it was only about $8 USD.




Stopping to say 'Hello' to Linden (and Todd), the only one to brave the cool weather and swim in the pool.

The less Westernized Guangzhou

Andy, Natalie and I took a short walk today across the river. The atmosphere changes very quickly. We are staying in a very Westernized hotel and are very sheltered from the reality of Guangzhou I think. Other than the small shops outside of our hotel, everything feels a lot like home. Small hotel rooms with AC and a great view of the river (a different river). However, you walk for about 10 minutes and you notice a difference immediately. I've posted some photos below from our walk this morning.

On our way we found this bronze statue of a boy, girl and dog. Notice how relaxed Natalie is in the carrier. She oftens hums as we walk along! So cute!

Our first glance down a market filled street

Notice the heavy load on the bicycle behind Andy - these Chinese men may be lanky, but they are strong!

Live scorpions anyone? There were also live turtles for sale.

Someone's pet kitten beside their wares. There are a lot of cats roaming through the food laid out. Sometimes they are tasting what is for sale...

Some sort of dried root for sale



Every shop seemed to have a bin of sea horses for sale - dried - not sure how they are used. Sea Horse soup perhaps? mmm-mm-good...

It was an interesting morning and I'm glad to have had the experience of walking the shop-lined streets. I couldn't help but feel like an intruder with my camera and Andy toting his camcorder. As I asked the man with the scorpions and turtles if it was ok to snap a shot, he nodded yes and quickly spoke to his wife. We were brief and I'm sure there were many eyes on us. Natalie still gets a lot of looks and I wonder what is being said as we pass by. No worries though. As Andy and I were saying this a.m. Natalie has been 'ours' since the day she was born. We all just had to wait a little while to be united.

Thanks for all the comments and emails! We enjoy hearing from all of you and miss you! Alicia

What a difference a week makes...

When I think of how far Natalie has come in one week...watching this video taken last night brings tears to my eyes...Alicia

She passed!

This morning Natalie had her Visa Medical Exam. We headed to the medical office around 8:15 a.m. It's a short walk from the hotel. It was good to go early in the morning as it can get very busy throughout the day. We were forewarned that babies will cry, the rooms will be hot, and the doctors will poke and prod. Maybe we had an 'off day', but none of that happened. After submitting her vaccination records we went to the 'ENT' room - Ears Nose and Throat'. As you can see in the picture below Natalie behaved very well, even after being gagged by the tongue depressor! The doctor examined her nose, the exterior of her ears, then squeaked a toy on either side of her head for a reaction. She seemed to do ok and this room so it was off to the next.

A visit with the ENT doctor

In the next room she was weighed and measured, and had her temperature taken. Thankfully her fever has been gone for several days now! She was 16 lbs. She is a long and lean peanut! This was a really quick check-in. She obediently layed on the scale, but squirmed, as she does so well, for measuring her length. We didn't get a glimse of that measurement before being ushered to the final exam where I had to sign some documents and they took Natalie's socks off to examine her feet, then her pants, and a quick look-see at her torso and arms.

Squirming while waiting to be weighed and measured

After we were done in the three rooms they had us wait a few minutes before coming out with a 'thumbs up' sign telling us she passed the exam! Yay! No problem traveling HOME on Friday. We were so happy to have this over and done with. See Natalie below celebrating her success back at the room (in her latest fashion from China)!

Yippee! I made it! I'm going home to see my sisters on Friday!

Later this morning we took another sight-seeing tour at a museum. I felt so exhausted I'm afraid I wasn't much of a note taker. It was a memorial museum for the founder of The Republic of China - Sun Yat-Sen. Apparently there was democracy in China back in the early 1920's. I"ll have to do some homework to get the details straight. Beth assured me there is a 'China for Dummies' out there. We did take some picture of the beautiful grounds with a statue of him in the background. Interestingly enough this memorial is across the street from the Communist Party Headquarters...go figure.

Andy, Natalie and Alicia at the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial

Nap time is over, that's all for now...Alicia

Barbie in China?

Andy and I were getting ready to leave our room this morning when there was a knock on the door. When Andy answered, a hotel staff person handed him a gift for Natalie. It is a 'Going Home' Barbie. She's holding an Asian baby in her arms. On the back of the box there is a message: 'This souvenir is presented by Mattel (HK) Ltd. to adoption parents of Chinese orphan children staying at the White Swan Hotel, Guangzhou, China'. A note came with the gift as well mentioning that the childrens play room, the Swan Room, was designed by Mattel Inc. We've only peeked in the room but noticed that many families enjoy the space with their small children. This hotel is filled with adoptive families, all with stories to tell. Some who have adopted before and have returned to adopt again with their older children traveling with them. Many who have adopted special needs children; children who may never have received the medical attention necessary if not for being adopted. I met a woman from Indiana at the elevators this morning who waited 2 years for her referral. Her daughter is 2 years old and will most likely need a prosthetic leg made in the U.S. for her. This woman is just beaming with joy and is such an example of God's love.

I keep thinking back to the babies at the orphanage and wonder what life will be like for them. Aina said one baby there was only 20 days old. Natalie was one day old when she was placed in the orphanage. One of the pieces of paperwork we received was the newspaper clipping of Natalie being found. It's a pictured of her tiny face and a small caption noting where and when she was found. It's China's last attempt at finding the birth parents. I'm sure we'll continue to process all of what has happened here in the next few weeks, months, and years. In our joy I tend to forget the sad reality of how Natalie came to be with us. She is such a blessing to us all. Alicia

Guangzhou at last

We're in Guangzhou at the White Swan Hotel. All families who adopt a child from China must come through Guangzhou. The consulate is here and this is where the visa medical exam is done for the babies. They must pass the exam before they are allowed to leave the country.

We got in around 6pm last night and were not connected to the internet until this morning. We all were asleep again by 8:30pm. I don't think Natalie moved once in her new crib! She was exhausted!

The traveling went well yesterday. We took a small bus to the airport - about a 30 minute ride - and then checked in at the counter. Our luggage met the low weight requirements again - yay! We boarded the plane and John, Beth, Andy, and I were the only Americans that I could see, and Natalie and Lily were the only babies...nervous much? The girls were great though. Natalie promptly drank a bottle before we even took off, and then literally chugged another about an hour later. The flight was only one hour - I'd better pack an entire package of formula for the 15 hour flight to O'Hare on Friday!

The ride to the hotel was a bit stressful. Although the mini van had AC, the driver didn't seem to want to keep it on. We were sweltering! Then the thunder storm came! Loud bursts of thunder, pouring rain, and flashes of lightning. None of that really worried me, it was the 6x8 space in the windshield that the driver continued to wipe with a towel because the defroster was not working! YIKES! Finally the AC kicked in and the windshield was clear. All of this mind you while Lily and Natalie are NOT in car seats, but sitting on our laps.

When we got to the hotel the van disappeared with our bags - all of our paperwork, and computers. No mention was made as to when we would see those bags again. A twinge of nerves kicked in, but mostly we were just ready to settle in. At last we got to our room and our bags were safely waiting for us.

We went to the 'deli' with Aina to get some food for dinner - never again. It was OK, but my curried chicken with rice was a bit different than what I'm accustomed to. Andy made a trip to the 7-Eleven for bottled water, Coca-Cola Light and some more snacks. During that time I bathed Natalie. She's still not very happy about baths. I got her another bottle and then put her to bed. She was asleep within 5 minutes - no calisthenics last night.

Then I was yet again one of the Griswolds on vacation. I attempted to take a hot shower. Well, the shower is a hand-held sprayer that has a hook of sorts to hang the sprayer during your shower. I hung up the device, turned on the water, and it was like a sprinkler in the bathroom! I managed to grab it before flooding the room and just could not stop laughing. I finally realized that you just need to turn down the water pressure a bit and you're all set. It was a welcomed comedy release for the day.

This morning Andy and I woke up at 6:30a.m. - late for us here! We all went down to the brunch for breakfast and the food was wonderful. Natalie tried some scrambled eggs, pear, and a bit of banana bread. She has only had bottles so sometimes the food just stays in her mouth for quite a long time. She seems to enjoy it. Andy mentioned it felt like Disney World. After breakfast we walked around the hotel a bit - very beautiful. There is a waterfall, and a cage with cockatiels in it. Natalie really was in awe of the birds. I wish I had the camcorder at the time.

Natalie and Mom at The White Swan waterfall

Next we took a brief stroll to get a handle on our surroundings. We found 'Jessica's' where we will get our laundry done, and 'Jordon's' where the Morse's have recommended we shop for baby clothes. Along the boardwalk there were older people playing cards, younger people doing some exercises, and overall a calm atmosphere. It's very different from Changsha here. It feels much safer - perhaps it's the Western influence, I can't be sure.

Just before morning naptime in our room

Another big grin - she is having so much fun!

Mom, seriously, did you get my good side?

Today we are going out with our driver. I'm not sure what he will show us. We have learned much flexibility and patience - good skills for raising a child. :) Alicia

Natalie's emerging personality

Such a beautiful sight!