On our way to Guangzhou

We got our papers for the children last night, including her Chinese Passport, a copy of the finding ad, and a copy of the piece of paper that was found with her that simply states her date of birth. We have copies of the Registration and a bunch of other papers including receipts, and the original document inviting us to travel to China to adopt Huang Fu Dong.

We have had 2 dinners at the Shang Palace here at the Shangri-la and they were both excellent, and reasonably priced even though more expensive than some of the local restaurants, the service and ambience were excellent - much better than at the other local restaurants. We are eating very well. And lunch is followed by a nap - if we can get her to sleep!

Wenguo and I found a good local laundromat and we got some clothes washed cheap. Socks are free, children's clothes are discounted, and Wenguo got a group discount because we brought a couple of families with their clothes with us.

Everything seems to be going well - she screamed last night for an hour and a half after dinner when we were trying to put her to bed. I could not console her - Wenguo finally told her in Chinese to stop crying and she did! Just a few minutes after that she fell asleep. We think she might have some pain from teething so Wenguo gave her some teething tablets. She woke up a couple of times in the night but Wenguo was able to get her to go back to sleep. We've decided to keep her anyway! I wish I could talk to her in Chinese.

She screamed through her bath this morning but seems to be much better about it. I think she'll get used to it soon.

She was a little cranky at breakfast but she's sitting beside me in her stroller (she just loves her stroller!) and being very good and patient while I write.

I have more pictures of her and some with smiles! I'll try to get some up now but we need to pack and get ready to get our flight to Guangzhou.

Down time...

We are just relaxing today and everything is going well. This morning on our way to breakfast I had an urge to see if she could walk and so I put her down on the nice thick cushioned rug in the hallway and took her hand and started walking. She walked along beside me to the elevator and stood in the elevator with me all the way down to the first floor - she tried to get off everytime the elevator door opened - then she walked almost all the way to the breakfast room! Wenguo was just about in tears when she saw her walking!

Last night we put her in the crib after dinner (we went to bed early this time!) and I rubbed her back for awhile until she went to sleep. I didn't have to hold her and try to put her down! Then we slept until about 6AM and go to breakfast around 7:30. The only thing she really doesn't like is taking a bath! She screamed the whole time again! She has pooped a couple of times now so we know she is acclimating to her new family. But she still pushes me away when I try to kiss her! When she is tired of walking, however, she puts her arms up to me so that I'll pick her up - that's all I need for now!

It's raining now so we changed our plans and will hang out at the hotel until 11 and then we will take a bus to our group lunch. After lunch we will all go to a museum and the kids will probably sleep in their strollers while the adults get a taste of culture.

I am going to post some more pictures now and we'll try to check in again later today.

Best to everyone!

Dan and Wenguo

-posted by Dan

Everything's going well...

Last night we went out with Kim and Todd after dinner and on the way back Wenguo had Shuya laughing out loud! She was so beautiful and we were both so happy to know that we could make her laugh.

Last night I held Shuya for a long time until she finally fell sound asleep and then I gently placed her in the crib. She woke up at midnight and I had to get up and hold her for a while. I fell asleep sitting on the couch with her leaning against me and Wenguo woke me up to let me know that she had fallen back asleep and that I could put her in the crib. We slept until about 5 AM when Wenguo got up. I stayed in bed until about 6 and we got Shuya up shortly after that. Wenguo and I were both a little cranky today, but Shuya was fine!

Today we went to the Yellow Crane Tower. A famous landmark with a history of over 1700 years. It was a nice day, warm and hazy with a nice breeze on Snake Hill where the tower stands. We will go to the riverside district tomorrow morning and then to a group lunch. It should be very relaxing. We will have the afternoon to ourselves and will have to decide what to do. I think we will walk around and Wenguo will do some shopping in the local shops. We all took naps this afternoon!

We took a walk to the laundromat down the street, after our naps, with 2 of the other families and dropped off a ton of clothes which they will clean in 24 hours very cheaply. While Wenguo was in the shop I took Shuya for a short walk in her new stroller. I was about 30 feet from the front of the laundromat when a couple of ladies came out from a storefront and started admiring Shuya and asking me questions in Chinese. I was soon surrounded by about 20 people all admiring her and asking me questions, and fixing Shuya's clothes, and pointing to the bruises on her forehead. It was very nice. I think she must be very beautiful to everyone as she certainly has attracted a lot of attention every where we have gone. On the way back from the laundromat we walked around a bit and Wenguo bought some trinkets. Along the way a lot of people took a look at Shuya. She has such beautiful eyes.

The bruises on her forehead are darker now, but the swelling seems to have gone down. The orphange director said that she was walking and fell, but she hasn't tried to walk since she's been with us. She can stand but she doesn't seem to want to - she always hangs on to us when whe is standing. The scratches on her check have almost healed. They healed quickly. Wenguo is giving her amoxicillin that the orphanage gave us. Our friends Kim and Todd gave us something for the congestion, but Wenguo is afraid to give her much of that. She gave her one dose. Shuya has a lot of phlegm - you can hear it sometimes when she breathes and when she coughs. All in all she seems to be healthy and I just worry about her cold and hope she recovers quickly.

She lets me kiss her but she pushes me away alot. I tell her she doesn't know how much that hurts me! I'm sure she'll warm up to me someday! She always lets me pick her up and comfort her though. She loves to ride in the stroller.

We will try to post some more pictures soon.

It's Official!

She was great at breakfast and great on the bus. She sat on Wenguo's lap and looked out the window and Wenguo got her to smile when a young girl on a bus that was right next to us waved and Wenguo showed Shuya how to wave and say "Ni Hao!".
This made Wenguo very happy!

At Registration the first thing they wanted us to do was take a family photo. Shuya did not want to be held the way they wanted us to hold her for the photo and screamed and screamed. The Director of Shuya's orphange held her and she took a nap while all of the families Registered. Then we put her in the Snugli harness and she was fine, so we finally got a good family photo for the Registration process.

We are back for a nap - (Baba needs a nap!) Shuya napped all the way back on the bus in Baba's arms. ;-)

We will go shopping with the group at a department store at 3:30 and then we will all go out for dinner. I am sure we'll have more pictures soon!

-posted by Baba...

Our first night...

She slept through the night in her crib! We got up early and have to get ready to go to the Registration office. Breakfast at the Shangri-La is pretty good. She eats everything we've given her so far! (Takes after daddy!) We'll see how she does at breakfast.

-posted by Dan

Gotcha Day!

We got her!

Wenguo held her first - she started to cry - it was wonderful!

She has 2 bumps and bruises on her forehead and scratches on her cheek - I thought "What have they done to my daughter!?" I was angry! They said she just started walking and fell. She also has a cold and is taking cold medicine and antibiotics. but She's beautiful!

Our friends Yongmei and Able came along and took pictures. That was so nice of them. We are lucky they were able to come with us. Our guide, Joanna, let them come with us.

She cried a lot even before the nanny gave her to Wenguo. In Wenguo's arms she screamed for a while and would not be consoled with toys or anything. The room was loud and chaotic with lots of kids crying so Wenguo took her out into the quiet hallway and she got her to calm down. We had her out there for a while and got a bunch of pictures and video. Of course, just as I predicted, everytime I tried to get near her, touch her, or try to pick her up she wouldn't have any of it.

Then we had to go after just a short time - less than an hour I think. Of course nobody was paying much attention to time. I told Wenguo she should use the facilities before we got on the long bus ride back. We had seen the traffic backed up at the bridge going the other way so I was afraid it might take hours to get back. I told her to let me hold Shuya and, although she thought that was a crazy idea, she relented and let me hold her. She screamed for a couple of minutes and then just relaxed in my arms! I thought it was a miracle. I was so happy - you should have seen my smile!

Then we got on the bus and Wenguo held her for a while and eventually I asked for a turn, and she sat on my lap for most of the bus ride home - as content as could be while a couple of the other kids cried (all the way home). Wenguo and I fed Shuya cheerios and goldfish and let her drink yogurt from through a straw - she wouldn't drink from a sippy cup. She looked out the window a lot, just taking in the scenery as we drove through Wuhan, watching some of the cities' 8 million people.

She's in the crib - we thought she might nap but she won't. She just got up by herself in the crib!

She's sitting up playing with a toy.

I'm going to try to get pictures up as soon as possible.

Click here to view today's pictures.

Wuhan

We made it to Wuhan.

We are in the Shangri-La hotel which is very nice but our friends Yongmei and Able are staying nearby in a very nice hotel with free high-speed internet access for much less. Oh well. Next time. ;-)

I wanted to tell you about the spa and dinner but I was just too tired last night after dinner. So I'll tell you now. The spa was really cool. First I sat in the steamer for a while, then I had a nice bath, and then I had a massage that lasted more than an hour. Travel is tough on my back and I have a couple of aches, but the massage didn't really help. It felt good though!

Immediately after the spa we went to a really nice restaurant for dinner. We got a private room and had our personal server. We had a really nice Shaoxing rice wine that was lighter than most that I've had before. Jiefu explained that it was a newer refined version of the standard rice wine. The food was excellent. We had Aloe Vera, shrimp, a small fish from the sea. We had roast port butt that was fantastic. Wenguo tried to keep me from eating it but I had seconds it was soooo good. We had a small roast chicken that seemed to have been dried before it was roasted. It was delicious. We also had big fish head soup with tofu - the broth was so good I couldn't believe it. Jiefu gave me the cheek from the fish and told me this was the best part. It was good.
Water chestnut cake. Crispy fresh bamboo shoots. Once again a remarkable meal.

Wenguo's nephew Huang Huang came from his university in Huangzhou to join us for dinner. Wenguo made him translate everything for me and corrected him when he was incorrect.

The flight to Wuhan was great. Both airports were excellent. They served us a meal and good coffee on the airplane.

We will be a mother and a father in just a few hours... We are supposed to meet her tomorrow morning.

Weather Forecast for Wuhan

Wuhan Weather Report:

Tues:
Cloudy
High: 73°Low: 58°

Wed　
Partly Cloudy
High: 80°Low: 64°

Thu　
Showers
High: 71°Low: 58°

Fri　
Cloudy
High: 72°Low: 58°

Sat　
AM Clouds
PM Sun
High: 69°Low: 60°

Lunch

I just had a remarkable lunch. This morning I walked to a nearby park and took some pictures while Wenguo went to a beauty salon to get her hair cut and straightened. I will post some pictures of the park as soon as I figure out how to make the images smaller in the Chinese version of the image editing program on Mama's computer.

But back to lunch - First of all Mama poured a pretty large glass of brown rice wine. I really like this sweet rice wine served with meals. Lunch included stomach in vegetables stir-fried with lots of oil, tendon also served in vegetables, part of a small duck, delicious egg rolls, soup made with tofu, tomatoe and seaweed, cold chicken which is dipped in a soy sauce and oil mix, and lamb also using the same sauce. Of course there was also a small bowl of rice, mama put the stir-fried vegetables on top of the rice. Baba offered more wine, so I added another half glass. I really enjoyed lunch and ate too much.

Now I'm ready for a nap! However, I wouldn't dare because I want to reset my clock to the local time and try to minimize the effects of jet lag. So far I'm doing fine but I expect it to be more difficult this afternoon.

I feel so lucky to be able to experience Chinese culture like this. Immersed in the culture, living with mama and baba, eating and drinking what they eat and drink. Walking the streets saying Ni Hao to everyone that engages me with a look of interest or a smile. In the park I met many young people, apparently on a field trip with their art class as they were drawing pictures of the old buildings. Many of them said "Hello", "Hi", "Welcome to China" and "How are you?". I was impressed that so many of them could speak any English while all I could say in Chinese was "Ni Hao" and "Si jiang" (goodbye). And I traveled to their country. I'm embarrassed.

Everyone was so nice to me! I am humbled by this exprience. I have never experienced such grace and kindness and generosity. One young lady I met while I was walking back quickly offered her umbrella as there is a very light rain. I explained that I didn't need it and that I had a hood to cover my head if the rain got heavier. She walked a very long block with me and we had a very nice conversation. She spoke English very well and explained that her job in Shaoxing required her to prepare people to speak English for business. She was very kind and before we finished the block she inquired if I needed an umbrella. I think she thought that I would not share with her because I was married, so she would have offered to buy an umbrella for me at one of the street vendors stalls. It really wasn't raining very hard and I was almost back to mama and baba's house, so I politely declined.

When I got back, Wenguo was still at the hair salon so I went to the indoor/outdoor market down the street. I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want to make anybody uncomfortable but I wanted to because it is so incredible in that it is different than anything I have ever seen elsewhere. I was really impressed by the live poultry in cages and with feet tied together. I was really impressed with the incredible assortment of fish, eel, sea snakes, crabs, snails, clams and other seafood. It was so cool. The live eel in the tubs were really wild. There was octopus and squid on ice. And there were tons of really, really good looking fruit and vegetables. I saw bitter melon which I swear is terrible. I have only had it once and I couldn't eat it. Wenguo says we will have to try it again in Guangzhou where they have a great recipe for it and she swears I'll like it. I can't wait. :-(

I'll try to get some pictures of the park on Flicker now, and I hope to post again after dinner - to describe dinner. Every meal is remarkable.

-posted by Dan

Shaoxing

We made it!

After a 2 our flight to San Francisco, a 2 hour layover there, a 13 hour flight to Shanghai, and a 3 hour ride in a van, we arrived at Mama and Baba's house in Shaoxing at about 9:30 PM.

Jiejie and Jeifu picked us up at the airport and drove us to Shaoxing. I didn't sleep much on the plane - maybe 1 hour during the James Bond movie (I had already seen it). I slept about 1 hour in the van ride. Wenguo and her sister and brother-in-law spoke Chinese in the van so I just passed out. When I did wake up about a half hour before we arrived in Shaoxing, the ride in the van was intense. I don't understand the rules of the road here and would not be able to drive.

Mama had some food ready and we ate a late dinner and I drank some brown rice wine (sleeping pill) at dinner with Jiefu before we crashed for the evening. We got up around 7AM feeling refreshed and ready to go.

I took a couple of pictures of the scrolls Baba made and uploaded them to the Flicker account.

We are going to do some shopping. I need warmer clothes because it is much colder here than we expected. I packed a lot of short sleeve shirts and shorts because I saw it was 23C in Wuhan but it is only in the 50s (F) here in Shaoxing.

We are all going to go to the spa later today and I'll get a foot massage!

-posted by Dan

Questions for Shuya's Nannies

We combined a list of questions we would like to ask our daughter's nanny on the gotcha day. ( I got most of the questions from Yahoo AP group. ) We want to find out as much information as possible about her life in the orphanage. We feel bad that we missed 17 months of her life. We also wrote a thank you letter to the orphanage director and nannies. We promise them we will send them Shuya's pictures after we come back. We hope we can bring her back to visit them in couple of years.

Questions for the nannies:

• Who found her? Why hasn’t she been adopted before and why so long?
• Did any of her families, relatives ever asking about her? Do you know if she is from this area? Do you know why she was abandoned?
• Was there a note found with her, or any other memento? If there was a note/memento, could we have a copy of it?
• Do you have her finding ad? Could we have a copy of her finding ad?
• Is she close to a particular caregiver? What is that caregivers’s name? What (if anything) does she call her caregiver?
• Does she have a nickname? Do you call her Dongdong?
• Did she ever go anywhere outside of orphange? or outside of Huangshi?
  
• How is her sleeping habit? Does she have a special friend or cribmate in the orphanage? What is that child’s name? Has that child been adopted?
• Is she potty trained? Does she get up during the night? How many times? Does she poop in a potty? How can you tell she needs to go?
• What makes her happy?
• What makes her angry or upset?
• What are the best ways to soothe her?
• What are her favorite activities?
• Has she had health problems or allergies? What kinds of medical treatments has she had?
• What kind of food is she eating now? Does she have any particular likes or dislikes? What is her favorite food?
• Does the orphanage or caregivers need anything in particular? Is there a telephone number or email address so we can contact you about the orphanages’ future needs?
  

-posted by wenguo

Packing...

We are packing the last few things we think we need - and taking out a couple of things here and there. A shirt or two - a pair of shorts - we need to lighten the load. I'm not sure why we are bringing almost a suitcase full of stuff for the baby - we'll be able to buy stuff there pretty cheap. Oh well. I guess we need to be prepared. I'm sure we'll still fill a suitcase with new stuff for her! (That lap ticket will pay for itself - we can bring another 50lb bag!)

Just about 30 hours before take off - and less than a week before we meet her!

We'll be in Wuhan on the 25th. We are already planning to meet some of the folks in our group. We've made contact with all of the couples and I think we're going to be traveling with a nice small group. They all have kids so they will be able to help us - you don't know how much calmer that makes me feel! Kim has been especially nice. We've had a lot of contact with her and she is very thoughtful. We can't wait to meet her!

Lots of people I work with said kind things this week, and especially today. I've promised to bring Shuya to work to show her off when we get back. I can't wait!

I am sure there will be difficult moments, but I am so looking forward to this trip. I've been saving my vacation for a long time, so that I don't have to take any unpaid leave, and I hope to get a little relaxation on this journey. I think we're staying at some very nice hotels so I think I'll be able to find some time to relax, and I'm not going to try to do a lot of sight-seeing. I just want to spend some quality time with Shuya and try to bond with her.

- posted by Dan

I hope she likes me...

I keep worrying that she might not like me. My big nose will scare her or something.

We leave in just 2 days - we are counting down the hours and double checking everything.

Almost There...

They had the wrong address for the lap ticket and are resending it. We should get it tomorrow. I set up the watering system to water the plants and the grass, even though everything is green now, I want to make sure it's still green when we get back!

We are still getting some things ready but are in pretty good shape - I think. We'll see when we get there!

- posted by Dan

Dim Sum

We met our friends at the Empress for brunch. The Dim Sum was very good (except that they didn't know that ham was pork!) and I got to play with Claire and Ava. My favorite part was taking them by the hand and walking them over to the fish tank so they could see the fish swimming in the tank. They liked that but they also liked getting into and out of a basket that I suggested might be a boat. Claire got out and "swam" around the boat and got back in. I got some pictures of them with my camera phone... They are so sweet!

Everybody was very supportive at lunch and we talked about our trip, and about the long wait that 3 couples will have before they are matched. It just seems to get longer and longer, as if it wasn't long enough. I wish we could just all go and pick up our daughters right now because I am sure we would have a great time traveling together with this group of friends.

It seems like our departure date is coming up quickly and I'm trying hard to get caught up at work so that I don't leave too much to other people to clean up, and we are still packing more everyday. I think we have everything that we need ready so that we can go, except that the lap ticket for our daughter did not arrive. For some unknown reason the Post Office sent it back to the travel agency. It looks like we will have to pay $30 to have it re-issued and $10 to have it sent again by express mail. I hope they deliver it this time.

We have all the papers that our agency told us we need all in one clear plastic binder with about a dozen pockets, along with the paper I need to submit to add our daughter to my insurance. I plan to fax it back from China to HR as soon as we can along with a copy of the adoption papers (English translation version of course). I want to get her name in the system as soon as possible so that we don't run into any billing issues when we get back. We want to bring her in to a pediatrician and for evaluation at the International Adoption clinic as soon as we can.

-posted by Dan

Just 1 week to go before we fly to China

We have just one week to go before we leave. We have 2 suitcases full already and have made arrangements for a dogsitter. I spent a couple hours on the phone today trying to get the best seats possible for us and for Mama and Baba. They will fly back to the states with us from Shanghai.

Tomorrow we will go to a Chinese restaurant for Dim Sum with our support group - a small group of friends who have, and are in the process of adopting children from China. We are looking forward to meeting with them once again as we do each month.

I'm ready to go now and can hardly wait almost 2 more weeks to be with this beautiful child!

Gotcha Day

We have been informed that April 26th will be our "Gotcha" Day!

Travel Plans!

We will fly to Shanghai on April 22nd. We will spend some time with family in Shaoxing for a couple of days and then we will fly from Huangzhou to Wuhan on the 25th. We think we will meet Shuya on the 27th. We can't wait! While we are there we will stay in the Shangri-la Hotel http://www.shangri-la.com/wuhan/shangri-la/en/. It looks first rate, and it's not expensive.

We will go to Guangzhou a couple of days later, after we have finished all of the paperwork in Wuhan. We will stay in the White Swan Hotel http://www.whiteswanhotel.com/eng/public/index.asp. It's very expensive. Our US Consulate appointment is on May 7th and 8th.

We will go back to visit with family in Shaoxing and Huangzhou before going to Shanghai where we will spend a couple of nights before flying back on May 15th.

It's a very exciting time!