Katie and Chloe - Day 1

We're All Back Home

After leaving Guangzhou on Wednesday, we took the train to Hong Kong. We arrived late, but from what we could see, the city looked really nice. We were only spending one night there though until we came home. We checked into the hotel and quickly went to bed. Katie decided that she would like to get up that morning at 3:30. She stayed up until 6 when our alarm was set for 6:30. Needless to say, we started our very long day early!

Our flight from China to San Francisco went pretty well. Katie cried a few times, but she stopped very quickly. It was such a long flight though. It was even longer when we had over an hour of turbulence. With very little sleep on top of the turbulence, we weren't feeling the greatest by the end of the flight.

In San Francisco, Katie officially became a U.S. citizen after going through the immigration line.  We quickly got onto our next plane to come home. By this time, we were all tired - especially Katie. She had a tough time on that flight, but did much better when I walked with her up and down the aisle of the plane.

Once we got home, we had some nice surprises. First, Katie didn't mind her first trip of her life in the car seat. She just quietly fell asleep. Second, when we returned home, Jennifer's friend, Michele, had nicely decorated the outside of the house to welcome us home and had made dinners for us to last us at least a week. (Can't thank you enough, Michele!)  Third, my cousin had finished decorating the nursery for me. Thank you Garyldine!  Fourth, I had a gift box waiting for Katie from my older sister, Debby! Thank you for your generosity, Debby! Finally, Katie got to meet the pets. We were so happy to see that she immediately loved Bingle and Chloe.  In fact, she was so happy with them that we wondered if she had possibly been around pets before. I can't imagine it though. We thought that Chloe's barking would scare her, but the barking makes her laugh every time she hears it - even if she's in the middle of crying!

Now, we're all working to re-adjust to the time change. Jet lag isn't a whole lot of fun, but at least when we're wide awake from about 9:00 p.m to 1:00 a.m., we all have company to talk to!  Hopefully, our internal clocks will adjust soon.

We're all very grateful for the experience! First of all, we were glad to finally meet Katie. On top of that, we met so many nice people in our adoption group, and so many wonderful people in China. Finally, we were so grateful for those of you who followed our story and offered your comments. It was nice to get a piece of home through your messages while we were so far away!

Last Full Day in Guangzhou

Year of the Tiger Carving

Today was our last full day in Guangzhou. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be taking a train to Hong Kong.

Yesterday afternoon, we went to a park in Guangzhou. We expected that it would be like the park in Nanchang, but it was more like a flower garden. It was beautiful and relaxing there. We were so glad that we went.

This morning, I had my appointment with the American Consulate to finalize the adoption papers for Katie. All the babies dressed up in nice dresses for the appointment. Katie got a lot of compliments in her dress. She was in a cute ladybug dress that my cousin is responsible for. Thanks, Garyldine! We were not allowed to take pictures in the Consulate, but we said a pledge that we were honest inall of our paperwork and then it was just a matter of signing the final form. We are also waiting for the Consulate to get Katie's Visa. It will be ready tomorrow. We tried to get a cute picture of Katie in her dress. She was very distracted by the ladybug appliqués on the dress however, so a lot of the pictures have Katie pulling her dress up to get a closer view of the bugs!

This afternoon, we went on a walking tour through a traditional Chinese medical and food market. I wanted to bring dried seahorses and live scorpions home for everyone, but I didn't think I had enough room in my suitcase! Our tour ended at the Pearl Market, where I bought Katie a string of pearls for when she was older.

Tastes like chicken

After the tour, we had the choice to wait 15 minutes to take a bus back to our hotel or to walk back. We decided to walk back. Unfortunately, we missed one turn and ended up walking a couple of extra miles. Oh well...more of China for us to see.

Mattel Playroom

Chen Family Temple and Red Couch Photo

THE BARBIE ARRIVED!

Today we went to visit the Chen Family Temple. It's not a religious temple but a place for the Chen family to practice arts and education. We saw a lot of beautiful carvings from all materials, including jade, porcelain, bone, and wood. The day started out with a pouring rain storm and when we reached the temple the humidity was overwhelming. Even a member of our group from Florida thought it was oppressing. Even if we were just standing, we were sweating. While we were there, Katie met a new Chinese friend who made her happy by fanning her and singing her lullabies. When we returned, we had to get ready for the red couch photo. That's a tradition for families adopting from China. The parents put the babies on the red couch to have a picture taken together. Poor Katie was squished in the corner so we're not sure if I'll be able to see her face. She was doing fine until she got an elbow to the nose. The tears started then, but she had lots of crying company. She's now recovering with a much-needed nap. Nobody puts Katie in the corner... After a hard day

Guangzhou

We made the flight to Guangzhou without any problems. Katie slept through the whole flight from take off to landing. I am finding that she sleeps whenever she's in motion, whether it's the bus, stroller, or plane.

Yesterday, Katie passed her medical exam. The final step is the American Consulate then the paperwork is over and we can focus on coming home.

Guangzhou is very different from Nanchang, especially with cars that obey the traffic rules. We tried Lucy's last night. The menu is similar to an American restaurant but isn't quite the same taste.

The White Swan doesn't have wi-fi so we are currently out in the pool area where there was a network available so updates may be a little less frequent if I don't feel like typing in the rain.

Marci with Michael, our guide

Nanchang Park

Today's sightseeing adventure was to go to a public park in Nanchang. We really wanted to find the large group of people doing Tai-Chi in the park, but we must have turned the wrong direction. We did see a couple of Chinese women dancing in the park and an older man exercising. They looked so graceful! I wish I could be that way, but I'm still bumping into things as I cross the room! The park was really pretty, but it's 92 degrees and very humid today. We were sweating with each step! It sounds like weather here is a lot different than the weather at home right now!

After the park, we went to another famous Chinese restaurant here. I was adventurous and moved beyond the fried rice. This time I tried an eggplant dish, a lotus flower dish, some Chinese noodles, and some green beans. They were all really good. I'm not as adventurous as some, but I'm getting a little braver!

Unlike the first few days with her, Katie is really learning to entertain herself. She has discovered that she has two hands that work together, and she giggles every time she clasps her hands. A lot of the orphans also have really weak upper body strength. When we first met Katie, she couldn't sit up by herself, and she has gotten pretty proficient with her sitting. She only falls over every 2 minutes or so instead of every 2 seconds. She has a book that she loves too. If anyone is looking for an engaging book, Katie highly recommends Peek-a-Boo Forest!

Katie is getting her first tooth. That explains the excessive drool!

Paperwork tomorrow followed by a late trip to Guangzhou.

Sightseeing

Today we went to the Teng Wang Ge pagoda in Nanchang. It is one of China's four pagodas, and it dates back to 1363. We took an elevator to the top of the pagoda, which was six stories high, and then we were able to walk down the stairs and see the rest of it. It's amazing to think about how the people in that day and age were able to build something like it. It was beautiful. We especially liked seeing all of the bonsai trees out side.

As we were walking on the outside grounds, I got a lot of Chinese visitors. Americans, in general, get a lot of looks from the Chinese people. Michael told us that a lot of places we go to are tourist spots, and a lot of the people there are from rural China. They always are curious about the people visiting. In addition to the common curiosity, I have to wear a paper around my neck. The paper has the Chinese story of what I am doing here. When the Chinese people see the note, many of them come up to me to read it and to visit Katie. They are all so friendly and wish both Katie and me the best in their broken English or with the thumbs up signal.

Katie continues to change each day. We are seeing her develop the skills that we didn't originally see only a few days ago. We see more smiles, and we hear more talking and giggling each day!