Disappointing News...Flight Canceled

Their flight was canceled and they are stuck in Chicago for the night.  Penny was unsure about the flight time tomorrow but knows that it is around noon. Please pray for safe travels tomorrow too and no cancelations.

In Transit

This is Sara.  I just wanted to let everyone know they made it to Hong Kong a few hours ago.  Their flight should leave around 11:00 a.m. and that will be 10:00 p.m. our time.  Please pray for a safe and easy flight.  They should land in Memphis around 6:00 p.m. tomorrow.  Emily requested that all well-wishers wait until another day to visit as they will be exhausted and it will be late when they get home. Thanks for all your lovely comments and prayers...only a few more hours to go.  :)

Randomness

We really enjoyed the safari on Monday.  The rented stroller was a success as long as it was moving.  This safari is the largest zoo in China and has 10 pandas and even more koalas.  They also had several tiger species, not to mention a tiger nursery!  We spent 4 hours in the zoo plus an hour each way getting there.  It was nice to spend a day walking outdoors. 

When we got back we decided to attempt the McDonalds next door.  Did you know that cutting line is the norm in China?  Can you anticipate how well I took that when holding a hungry baby?  Then the bagger could not get our order right, and I will admit I got loud up in there.  The poor manager apologized when we finally got our order; I told Doug she was probably terrified of the American Amazon woman ;)

AnnHelen, who has already proven her love of hamburgers, was very excited to be given her very first chicken nugget and did what we now call her "ya ya dance".  Later when we Skyped, she was kind enough to demonstrate it for her audience.  She also showed off her wave, her no head shake, her patty cake, and at the very end of the call learned to blow kisses.  When we first logged on and said "there's your brother!" she shook her head no which got big laughs.  When we signed off I started checking my email, and she insisted to get back into my lap where she started waving at the computer.  So we used the opportunity to Skype with Sara also.  Skype is the bestest.

We had a free day today (Tuesday), so we went back to the pool.  Tonight we have a cruise on the Pearl River.  We really only signed up because there is nothing else to do.  We make multiple trips a day to the 7-11 that is right outside our hotel and to the Fresh Mart store in it.  When my appetite finally returned it did so with a desire for expensive Hagan Daas ice cream bars ;)  I also have drank a tremendous amount of Watson's ginger ale, which is way more ginger-y than our brands.

We watch a lot of lame HBO and, now that we are in Guangzhou, Discovery channel.  And my Kindle is the best thing ever invented.

AnnHelen is usually content to play on the bed with her toys, but she has started expanding her territory to the floor.  Today she fell and smacked her head on the floor, but she didn't cry.  She saves crying for manipulation and food.

Our hotel, China Hotel, is a Marriott hotel, and is one of the biggest I've ever stayed in.  There are lots of expensive shops in it, yet no souvenier shop (boo). 

Our room service lunch is about to be delivered.  Maybe I'll have something more interesting to post tomorrow.

Catching Up

It is driving me nuts not to be able to blog myself, but I am so very thankful for Sara's assistance.  However, not being able to go back and add pictures or see where I left off is just maddening.  I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm a bit of a control freak ;)

To recap, here is the schedule we've thus checked off:

·         Thursday, June 28 -- Arrived in Beijing

·         Friday, June 29 -- Great Wall, jade factory

·         Saturday, June 30 -- Tianamen Square, Forbidden City, silk factory, acrobatic show

·         Sunday, July 1 -- flew from Beijing to Xi'an, Shaanxi; met AnnHelen!

·         Monday, July 2 -- returned to Civil Affaris office to sign papers...we all laughed yesterday about signing papers that we really have no idea what we were signing

·         Tuesday, July 3 -- trip to Wal-Mart (ha) for supplies

·         Wednesday, July 4 -- city wall, city art museum, Wild Goose Pagoda (Buddhist temple), dumpling banquet and show

·         Thursday, July 5 -- Terra Cotta Warriors

·         Friday, July 6 -- packing day; left Xi'an for Guangzhou about 7 pm (flight delayed a bit); arrived to hotel after 11 pm

So, AnnHelen, much like her brother, chose to fully initiate me into motherhood via poop.  She waited until we were boarding the plane to Guangzhou to make a mess, and I had to change her in the airplane bathroom during the flight.  That was super fun.  She really did well on the plane, though, until the end.  And her sense of entitlement is mostly what happened.  At the very end of the flight the attendants passed out mints, and since she didn't get one she threw down.  Then, when we landed, all the people jumped up into the aisles, and we could not get up.  Much like if someone gets off the elevator and she doesn't, another fit.  It's like she knows she's a second child, ha.  Poor Elliott has no idea what's coming.

It is so nice to be met by guides everywhere we go, even when your plane is delayed.  The guide met us and Leia and then told us we had to drive around to another terminal to pick up one other family.  I kid you not that I yelled out "DAVE AND LAURIE!" when I saw them.  We are all so glad to be back together after being in different provinces.  We were really lucky to have Leia and Debbie; Dave and Laurie were the only ones in their province, and they were very ready to see friendly faces.

Unfortunately we all had to be in the lobby at 9:30 am the next morning to take the busses to the visa medical check.  There are 19 Holt families plus families with other agencies.   You can imagine what it sounds like for that many small children to be weighed and have a general medical overview done.  Two hours later, we were on our way back to the hotel.  AnnHelen snacked the entire time we were in the clinic.

One parent then had to report to a paperwork meeting in the hotel at 3 pm.  I wanted to smack anyone who asked what I thought was a stupid question.  It took 1.5 hours to do what should have taken 30 minutes.  Sigh.

Meals here are interesting in that you have to decide convenience vs cost.  If you eat in the hotel, it's much more expensive.  But to save money you have to go out and be adventurous, finding your own restaurant and ordering via a picture menu.  Sometimes with a baby the opportunity cost is just worth it to stay in.  Last night we had Papa John's pizza delivered.  I know, spoiled Americans.  But, we have been more adventurous than a lot of families, and you know what it got us?  Sick...from the airplane food (Xi'an to Guangzhou flight).  Not bad, but still, who wants to be sick in a foreign country with a baby?

Today was a free day, so we shared a cab with Dave, Laurie and Lainey to Shamian Island to shop.  It was not quite what we expected, and neither family ended up buying much.  I suspect Laurie and I may need a ladies only trip without the babies in order to accomplish any real shopping.  Lainey just turned 3 and is a true toddler, running and going and talking up a storm.  And AnnHelen thinks I should carry her everywhere.  Today we bought squeaker shoes, even though Michelle warned me not to, and at least it motivated her to let me put her down for awhile!  She cannot walk unassisted, but she walks if I hold her fingers.  Now that we have reunited with the other families, I can tell you she is the smallest baby, though far from the youngest.  With her small stature comes short person syndrome; have no fear, she will not be taken advantage of.  A little boy LOOKED at her highchair at breakfast, and she hollared at him.  Then Lainey touched her highchair at lunch, and she also hollared at Lainey. 

Tomorrow we are probably going to go to the "Safari", which is the zoo.  I think we may try renting a stroller as we sweat to death with the wrap (though it has been great). 

Visa appointments start on Tuesday, but we do not have our appointment until Wednesday.  On Thursday we pick up her visa then take a train to Hong Kong.  We stay Thursday night in Hong Kong, THEN FLY HOME ON FRIDAY!  We are tired of being away from home, tired of hotel living, and mostly, tired of being away from our boy.  We are so thankful to Aunt Penny for frequent email updates, which make me laugh and cry.  We are going to Skype again tomorrow.  It has been best to keep communication minimal with Elliott. 

In other thank you news...

·         Sara, my communicator

·         Katie V, the luggage has been awesome.  Also, I kept seeing "KTV" on signs in Xi'an, but never when I had the camera out!  It kept you clearly in my mind!

·         Tamra, for loan of the laptop

·         Hannah, for the Chinese $ to start out with

·         [This list is certainly not exhaustive, these are just the ones that popped into my mind right now]

·         EVERYONE FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!

More to come

Terra Cotta Warriors

I had no idea until we arrived in Beijing how cool our province, Shaanxi, is.  The capital city, Xi'an, which is where we are, was the capital of 27(?) of the ancient dynasties.  As we saw yesterday it's one of the few cities to retain it's city wall, which is over 600 years old.  And the biggest draw is the Terra Cotta Warriors, which were discovered in 1974.  Today I wished for Uncle Jack as to my mind this is an archeologist's dream.

It took over an hour by bus to reach the site, first stopping to see a kiln where they make replicas.  The same workshop also produces laquer furniture. 

The biggest pit at the site is bigger than 6 football fields.  I really wish I had pictures to attach.  Maybe I can get Debbie's tomorrow. 

Touring with kiddos is of course difficult, so we did the fast tour through most of the exhibits.  It was still very cool; this post does not do it justice.

City Tour

On Wednesday we went for a rainy 1/2 day tour.  We first went to the city wall, which stretches for 9 miles and is 12 meters wide.  I would have loved to walk or bike it, but of course I had a baby and it was raining.

 

 

Then we went to the art museum, which was small but very cool.  I wished Mrs. Shaw could have been there.  At the end of the tour we got to practice our (crappy) calligraphy skills.

 

 

The rain caused quite a problem for the drainage system here:

 

 

Our next stop was to the Wild Goose Pagoda.  So apparently I'm uncultured because I thought we were going to see a nature exhibit...not a Buddhist temple.  Live and learn.  It was very beautiful, and I couldn't help thinking of LC.

 

 

Unfortunately the above is the very last picture to be taken from our camera as Doug dropped it outside the temple. RIP, camera Erica gave me in 2008. We will now rely on Debbie's pics and pics on the phone. However, I cannot transfer the phone pics until we get back to the USA and I can turn data back on.

 

After a nap break, we went to an 18-course dumpling dinner and show that night.  Thankfully, I regained some appetite to enjoy it, but no one -- not even Doug -- could hang for the entire 18 courses.  Tiny Tiger Terror wanted to eat EVERYTHING, and we had a stand off.  Luckily, we got her calmed down before the show, which included music, dancing, costumes and sets.  I so wished for Kitty and Corgan!

Logistics of Hotel Living

What do you get when you mix an outdoorsman, a neurotic lady, and a baby who's trying to figure out what the heck is going on?  Answer: a very small hotel room. 

 

I researched the packing list for this trip very well, and I do consider myself a magician for packing for 3 people for 2.5 weeks in 2 checked bags.  Upon first meeting our new NE friends they were in awe of my skills (as they were pushing a luggage cart loaded down).  However, that packing was based on the agency's and other people's assurance that laundry service in the hotels was reliable.  All those sources failed to mention how expensive it is.  We prepared a bag of laundry in Beijing, and after I filled out the form the total came to $50 for just a few pieces of clothes!  We reconsidered and lugged the dirty stuff here to Xi'an, where I noticed a clothesline in our bathroom.  The first night I washed with the hotel-provided liquid bath soap.  Ick, smells like old man.  David took us the next day to purchase (Chinese) laundry detergent, which smells way better.  So, our nice soaking tub in the room has served as a washing machine, and my wringing skills - or lack thereof - have come under attack from Doug for 2 days now ;)  We are pretty sure AnnHelen's baby blanket will still be wet on Friday the 13th.

 

My new best friend is the electric kettle, which keeps us in instant coffee and bottles and serves as our bottle washer.  I am so over not being able to use tap water. 

 

Today David took us to buy more supplies...to Wal-Mart.  Boy is Chinese Wal-Mart different and HOT.  I'm also over the absence of air conditioning in public places. 

 

Beijing really spoiled us.  Though this hotel is just as nice as the one there, there are far fewer staff who speak English, which resulted in a very interesting room service meal last night and attempted conversation with a housekeeper today.  More importantly is the complete absence of Diet Coke anywhere in Xi'an!  David found me Coke Zero, but it's just not the same ;)

 

 

The other family here, who adopted a 7 year old boy, is feeling the strain of hotel living much more.  Boy is he funny (when a translator is available).  He calls Leah "American Mama".  After we left the Civil Affairs office the other day, he said, "American Mama, I still want to play your handwriting computer [iPad]."  One morning after we'd all been chattering away in English he asked the guide, "What are you guys talking about?" which just cracked me up.  He is full of mischief, and Doug and I have to make a conscious effort not to laugh at his antics. 

 

Having been called out of bed, that's all my mind can manage tonight.  Tomorrow we are doing a city tour, so I hope to have nice pictures to post.

Baby Steps

 

This tiny girl is big on personality, just as I assumed from the looks I could see in update photos.  She does not talk, only makes noises, but she uses non-verbal communication very well.  We were able to Skype with Mom, Elliott, Penny, Kitty, Corgan and Mrs. Shaw last night (how wonderful it was!), and she showed off her "No" hand wave.  It's very dismissive (and funny for now).

 

We are having feeding issues in that she has an unstopable appetite, and I'm trying to ensure she isn't overindulging as a result of orphanage living.  She is literally eating more than me at meals, though my nerves are the best appetite suppressant on this earth.  She has showed me her temper a few times already, but she's also given us some laughs.  There are other times she gets mad for a reason we don't understand, and she starts slamming her toys down.  Again, funny for now. 

 

Leah, the other adoptive mom here, lent me a computer charger, so I hope to be back blogging with regular frequency tomorrow.  Right now I've gotten out of bed by a call from our local guide to review paperwork, so I guess I better get to it.

Here She Is

I need to first warn you all about how very tiny she is.  I thought I was prepared; I was not.  But here she is!

 

 

When we went in the room, she did not want to go to me of course, but after we started pulling out toys she was slightly interested.  You may noticed a piece of red and black candy in her hand; it was hours before she would turn it loose.  When we had to call the nanny back in to ask questions, and then the nanny had to leave, she did cry (which I know is a good sign that she has had good relationships).  She didn't cry very long but sulked.  And bless her heart, her little chest was visibly breathing she was so scared.

 

When we got back to the room we played for a few minutes and then I broke out the puffs, which she really liked.  I then made her a bowl of rice cereal, and she was very serious about that.  Then we went to the hotel restaurant for Doug to eat, and she ate rice down there.  Her appetite is very good.  She quickly let us know she didn't like her bottle of water with just a little juice in it, waving that right hand any time she doesn't want something.

 

As indicated in her report, she does NOT like a bath.  I couldn't get her teeny, tiny body into that inflatable tub.  We ended up with an awkward sponge bath.

 

We have to return to the Civil Affairs Office this morning to officially sign the papers.  I'm very nervous about taking her back there since it will be a bad memory.  Luckily her nanny won't be there, and that was the main cause of her upset yesterday.

 

She is waking up now (slept well but moved 360 like the hand of the clock all night), but I know this waking up is very hard for her.  More to come.