I spoke too soon!

Here are a few more pictures!

Latest Pics are here!

Brigit has sent some pics and hopefully more to follow tonight.
They have been very busy over the last few days.
Here's a quick update.

Things are going well. Here are some pictures from the last few days. We had a big couple of days.

We visited a Buddhist temple where they blessed the babies, we went on a dinner cruise on the Pearl River. We has our "red couch" picture. That was Sunday.

Today we had our Clinic visit. It's a visit to make sure they are well enough to travel. I got some stats from the visit.

96.4 F was her temp.
41.5 cm head circumference (16.5 inches)
14.8 pounds
69 cm in length (27 inches)
eyes and hearing fine

She's a peanut!

That was it.

We also went swimming, and out to dinner. Tomorrow is our big shopping day. Don't worry, i won't spend too much.

Katy and her new friend on the red couch.

China Group 138.

Check back soon.....I have been all over Brigit to send more pictures.

It's 10 p.m. China Time and Katy is still awake!

Here's an email that Brigit sent a little after 10 p.m. China time.
China is 12 hours ahead of us. Maybe Katy is gearing up for the time difference??
Lord I hope so!
I was busy having the car seats put in today and moving furniture out of Nana Shea's (Katy's Great Grandmother) condo today, resulting in the late post.
Brigit had sent a couple of real good pictures of her and Katy but Mom is holding documents that have our address on them and I don't want to post them for obvious reasons. Hopefully I will have some more tomorrow.


We are finally in Guangzhou. We landed at 11:30 am, came to the White Swan hotel and got our room. We had room service as we were all to tired to go out. Then Katy and I took a nap.
We walked around the hotel today. It is beautiful. It is right on the Pearl River. They light the whole river up at night with Neon lights. I am going to try to get it on video.

Tomorrow, we are going to a Temple where the babies will be blessed by the Monks. They will bless them so they will have a beautiful life, happiness and wealth. (Let's hope that part works)

Then we go to a Jade factory. After that we are going to have the "red couch" photo. That is where they have all the babies line up on the couch in the lobby and take a picture. That should be a lot of fun.

Katy has a cold, and I think she is getting me back for all the cold medicine we gave her today. She is wide awake and ready to go. I had to bring her down here with me. I keep looking at her and she keeps giving me a toothy grin. (little rascal).

Thanks everyone for checking out our blog.

Only 5 more days till Mom and Katy are home!

I want to thank all my friends for all the wonderful meals while Brigit has been gone.

I've only called Jimmy's Pizza twice! Amazing.

I am incredibly lucky to have such good people in my life.

Also a VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Uncle Dave, Aunt Cori, and cousins Katelyn and Lilly for the Sit and Step. It is built and ready for Katy to enjoy.

And once again to Aunt Marianne....THANK YOU! You are THE BEST!

A trip to the Zoo

Here's the latest for Mom and Katy!

We went to the zoo today. It was very small, but fun. They had alot of birds, a leopard, a tigar, and a jaguar. They also just got a Panda. I didn't like the condition of how the animals are kept. They are all in cages, not like at home where they have a nice habitat.

We also went to a porcelin store. Nanchang is known for their porcelin. I have to admit, Aunt Marianne and I are shopping way too much. But it is all very cheap. Stuff we are buying we would be paying triple in the US.

We got the silk clothes we ordered. Love them. I bought Katy two dresses. One is for her birthday, and maybe Christmas. The other is for Chinese New Year, and maybe her Christening. Wait until you see them. They are pure silk, and are traditional Chinese dresses.

We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow. I am kind of sad. This is Katy's birthplace, and this may be the last time she is here. I hope we can come back again. At least I can tell her that she came from a beautiful place, with wonderful people.

Tomorrow starts a new chapter in her life. Her first plane ride, a new city, and one step closer to home.

I am trying to save as much as I can for souveniers. Brochures, bags from Walmart, anything. I want to keep a time capsule that she will be able to open someday and see where she came from.

She is doing very well, except she is getting a cold. She has been sneezing, and coughing all day. I gave her some cold medicine, so we will see how that goes.

She is also still not taking anything but formula. We even tried to sneak some rice cereal into her formula, but she caught and would not drink it until we made her a new one. About the only thing she eats that is solid, is the biscuits she can knaw on. She is peeing and pooping up a storm (SOUNDS LIKE HER DAD!), so we are not too concerned. She also won't take any water or apple juice. I am going to try warm water tomorrow. She likes her formula warm, so i am going to try it with her water.

Finally some new Katy pics!

Brigit sent these earlier today with an update on what's been going on.

We had a good day today. We went to the countryside and walked through a typical village of some Chinese families. I got a lot of it on the video camera.

We also had some Pizza Hut pizza for lunch.

Katy had a bath today. (her second.) this one wasn't so good. She cried the whole time.

Tomorrow we go to the zoo, and then hang around the rest of the afternoon. Then Saturday morning we fly to Guangzhou. It is only a 1 hour flight,and we should be at the hotel at 1:00 pm. The flight takes off at 10:15 am.

This should be interesting to see how the flight goes with all the babies. I guess it is a practice run for the big one.

Monday morning we finalize all the paperwork, and on Tuesday we have her appointment at the consulate. Then on Wednesday we go to the doctor clinic, and the swearing in.

It's about 9:00 pm now, and Katy is asleep. We went out to see the fountain show, but they didn't have it tonite. We are going to see if they have it tomorrow nite.
Whenever we go out, we feel like celebrities. People just crowd around and stare at us.

Hope you like them.

Katy and Aunt Marianne

Very unhappy baby!

I hope to have some more soon.

Thanks for checking them out.

Brigit has been emailing me daily so I'm going to post her messages.
Here are a few more pictures of Katy!

We were quite busy today. We went to Walmart, had KFC chicken, dropped our laundry off, and got fitted for authentic Chinese dresses.

Katy is sleeping now and she is a very heavy sleeper. She also goes right to bed. She starts getting tired at 7:00 pm, and then is asleep by 7:30 pm. Let's hope she keeps that up when we are home.

It has been raining for the past two days, but also has been very humid. We leave for Ghauzhou on Saturday, I think. I have to check my itinerary. Tomorrow we are going to the countryside. We will be visiting a village similar to the ones the babies might have come from. Should be interesting. I am trying to take video. I will take some tomorrow.

These pictures are of Katy sitting up by herself, waiting for me to get her ready for bed. I clean her up, change her diaper and put her PJ's on right before dinner at 6:00. That way she is all ready when she falls asleep.

She is too cute for words. She had us cracking up today with some of her noises. I also got some laughs when i was doing raspberry's on her tummy. She loved it.

More tomorrow.

Cori and Katelyn are coming

Hey Brigit,
If you see this post before I speak to you I wanted to let you know that Aunt Cori and Cousin Katelyn are coming on August 8.
Hope you had a good night.
Talk to you soon.

Mom and Katy's first full day together

Here's an email Brigit sent me this morning.

Everything has done a complete 180. Katy is happy, talking (baby talk), smiling, and has a much better demeanor. We had the pediatrician look at her and he said she was in perfect health. He gave her some vitamins though, because her hair is a little thin.

We gave her a bath, took her for a swim in the pool. Fed her 2 bottles of formula, and she has been very happy. She also loves the stroller. She let me walk all around the inside of the hotel today. (raining outside)

Tomorrow is our big trip to Walmart. We are going to stock up on some stuff. I am going to bye a cooler to put ice in to keep water and soda cold. They have lousy refrigeration and we can't have ice cubes in our drinks because of bacteria. You know how i like my ice. Needless to say i have been unhappy with room temperature water.

Anyway, here are some great pictures of Katy. As you can see she looks much happier. I love her little teeth.

Katy and her most favorite Aunt!

A walk around the hotel!

Katy looks rather bewildered to me.

So long for now!

We are finally parents!

Brigit is having some trouble posting so here is my first!

I'm hoping Brigit can resume as she does a heck of a lot better job than me.

Anyway, Katy, Brigit, and Marianne (THANKS Marianne....you are the BEST and we are forever grateful) are doing great. They are all a little tired...o.k. VERY tired but they are hangin' in there. Here are some pictures of Mom and Katy meeting, the bus ride back to the hotel, and beautiful little Katy sleeping. They will be back in 9 days! I can't wait!

Brigit and Katy finally meet!

This is one happy and proud Mom!

Katy's first bus ride? back to the hotel.

A little tear....

turns into screams! I hope this doesn't last too long!

First night - tired little baby.

Katy slept for 11 hours. Brigit actually had to wake her up!

I hope this does last!!!

Night 2 - her normal sleeping position!
How cute is this!

I'll keep the pictures coming as Brigit sends them to me.

Days 1 & 2 -

Wow, what a weekend. I don't think i have ever walked so much in my life. We have been having a wonderful time in Beijing. Our group is the best. We have all gotten along so well and are having a lot of fun with each other.

Day 1, Saturday - We climbed the Great Wall of China. (ok, almost climbed) It is steep. Beautiful country side though. We walked all around the area. I took lots of pictures, but so far have not been able to upload yet. Bought a few souviniers at the stands.

Next we had lunch at a very nice Chinese restaurant. They pretty much sit everyone down, and then start loading up the table . THey have a big lazy susan in the middle. Our drink of choice have been Coke, Sprite or Beer. That is all they offer.

Next we went to the Summer Palace. What a beautiful place. It is this huge man made lake, surrounded by mountains. This have been since about 1400 BC. This lake is huge, about the size of Squam, I think. I will have to read some more about it. We walked all through the grounds, and then ended up on a boat that took us back to the docks on the other side.

The crazy thing here are the vendors. These are people that make their living following you around trying to sell things. If you look at them, beware, they will follow you all day. We have been told to ignore them, and if they won't go away we have to say Buo You (not sure on the spelling, but phonetically it is BOO YOW (rhymes with wow)) We have to be very firm and cannot smile, or they will not take you seriously. I just put my sunglasses on and keep walking. I am pretty good at ignoring people.

Next we went the the Pearl Factory. THey showed us how the pearls are taken from oysters. Then we were allowed to purchase them. They have four colors, white, black, lavender and pink. I was very good. Only bought a few.

THen we had dinner and went back to the room. THis was our day from 9:00 am until 8:00 pm. I pretty much put my pajamas on and went to bed.

Day 2, Sunday - Our itinerary was Temple of Heaven and Forbidden City. If there was time they were going to arrange a Rickshaw ride, tour of the Hutang alleys and to meet a man in his courtyard house.

We did it all. The temples were beautiful, the crowds were crazy, the vendors were non stop. I took picture after picture of everything. My battery just about died.

The highlight of the day was the Rickshaw ride, and the visit to a very nice man's house. They rickshaw ride was hilarious. THey will weave in and out of the tiny streets, or alleys. THey are no bigger than my hallway. We did have a hit with a standing bicycle. The owners came out and there was a big yelling match right in front of us. The driver tried to offer them money, but they kept yelling. There was one lady blocking our way, and when our driver asked her to please move, she started yelling at him. He started yelling back. I have no idea what they were saying, but could get the general idea from there actions.

This man opened his house to us and let us visit. He told us his story, through translation. He had worked all his life as a mechanic. He was voted one of the top 100 mechanics in Beijing. THat is pretty huge considering there is 13 million people in this city. His family has lived in the courtyard house for 4 generations. Beijing is in the process of trying to tear down these courtyard style home and replace with highrises. He was offered 36 million RMB, about 500,000 USD, but would not sell. His family home is too important.

It is now 7:15 PM, and we are getting picked up at 7:30 am tomorrow to go to the airport. We then fly to Nanchang, go to the hotel, and then meet the babies at 3:30 or 4:00. Can you believe I will be holding Katy in less than 24 hours.

They went through everything tonite on what to expect tomorrow. I am so nervous, excited, scared, happy, and calm. All at the same time.

If I wasn't so tired, i probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonite.

I promise I will post pictures of Katy tomorrow. If I can't post, I will at least send emails to Dave and he can forward.

I am now signing off tonite, for I have to get ready to be a mommy to my sweet girl tomorrow.

Good Night,
Brigit

Ni Hao from China.

We arrived in Beijing at about 1:30 pm, China time on July 6th. I think that is 1:30 am EST. The flight was long and long. I had the middle of the middle and was pretty cramped most of the time. My Aunt did switch seats with me a couple of times. We ate, watched movies, tv, read, walked around.

The hotel is beautiful. It is the Capitol Hotel in Beijing. Our room is great, but the AC doesn't work very well.

It is hot and sticky, but great to be here.

Our dinner last night was wonderful. They just kept bringing us plates of food. Chicken, rice, potatoes, beef stir fry. I tried mostly everything. Some things were OK. Some i loved.

We were in bed very early, 8:30 pm i think. I don't even remember falling asleep.

Now, here we are at 7:00 am in the business center. I can't post pictures yet, but will keep trying.

We are visiting the Great Wall of China, and Summer Palace today. Should be some great sight seeing.

Less than 48 hours until I meet Katy.

Talk to you all soon.
--B

Next Stop..... Beijing, China

OK , we do stop in Newark first, but then off to China.








The wait is over, the Nursery is finished, the packing is done, the paperwork is completed, the tickets and passport are ready.

Katy - Here we come!!!!

Ready, Set, Go .....

OK, it's 9:35 pm right now. I am getting picked up at 5:00 am and I still have not finished packing.

I was checking out some of my other friend's blogs and they had nice pictures of everything lined up and ready to go. So I thought I would share where I am in the process.



This is my Aunt Marianne's stuff above. She just got here about 8:00 pm.

Below is Katy's bag. All ready to go. I have been packing that for about two weeks.

And of course here is my stuff, still not ready to go. I think I should be done soon, hopefully before the shuttle comes to pick me up.

Three More Days......

The Countdown has begun. I will be leaving in less than 3 days. I am almost packed. Actually, I have packed, unpacked, packed again. I think i may have to do this one more time. Everytime I do that, I take out more stuff.

I have everything I need for Katy. Now the question is how do I bring my stuff. Thank God for the Space Saver bags. I have used two of them and you can fit alot into them. Then just suck the air out.

I still have a very long To Do list, but I am going to finish it tomorrow. Then I can enjoy the 4th of July and relax.

I also received Katy's finding ad. Whenever they find a child, the SWI will take out an ad in the newspaper to see if anyone will claim them. There is a soomeone in China that searches the archives and will send pictures of the ad to you. It actually looks really good. There is a picture of Katy at about 2 weeks old. This is another thing I am going to put away for her. She will be able to look at this when she is alot older.

OK, I have to go. I have to pack again.

Guess Who Is Leaving in 7 Days

That would be me!!!!

I am getting closer. Two more days of work, and then it's all about the trip. I have started packing, finished the crib, and have shopped until i have dropped.

I will be posting some pictures again, as soon as i can find my cord to bring them to my computer. Probably should find that soon as I am going to need it for China.

Hold on Sweetie, 12 more days until I am holding you. I will be there soon.

I Have Met Such Wonderful People on this Journey

I have met such wonderful people on this journey to bring our baby home. When we had our travel meeting today, we got to see our friends, Colleen, Shirley, Kathryn and Sam. They were so kind to give Katy the most wonderful gifts.

I snapped a few pictures:

Thank you Kathryn for the cutest picture and frame. This is going into my car on my dashboard so i can see her as i drive to work. (Actually, that might be a bad idea as i will be looking at her the whole time and not paying attention to the road. Maybe it will go on the fridge)

Thank you so much Sam, for the wonderful beach towel. I love the pink and green. It is going to match wonderfully with her bathing suit.

Shirley, this blanket is awesome. I love the color, ladybug, and it is so great to have something with her name and birthday on it. It is so soft and I can't wait to bundle Katy up in it. Thank you so much.

Colleen, I love the little onesie. The saying is absolutely true. She is worth the wait. I am going to snap one of her first pictures of her in this. Thank you so much.

We have been overwhelmed by your thoughtfullness. We are so looking forward to sharing this experience with all of you. So far it has been great, and it is only going to get better. Thanks again.

Brigit & Dave

Introducing China 138 !!!!

Here we are - China 138.

Today we had our travel meeting with the whole group we will be traveling with. It was such a great meeting, and we talked about alot. I did know alot of what they were talking about, but it was nice to hear it from Wide Horizons.

It is starting to become real. We were talking about the moment when we will be meeting our children and what to expect, and i started to feel like I was going to burst into tears. Happy Tears, but still had to hold them back.

I can just imagine what that day is going to be like.

We met for about 3 hours and then headed off to lunch with some of the group. It was alot of fun to excitedly talk about what we were going to bring, about the long trip, how we picked China to adopt our babies, the heat in China, the food, and we went on and on.

It was nice to see my old friends, as well as meet new friends.

Thanks Colleen for taking the picture and sharing with everyone. I am sure this is the first of many pictures of the group. I can't wait to see the picture with us all holding our girls.

15 DAYS TO GO !!!!!!

We Have Our Travel Dates !!!!

Our itinerary just came through. I will be leaving for China on July 5th. That is only 2 and a half weeks away !!!!!!!!!

I will be holding my beautiful baby exactly three weeks from now.

July 5th - Leave for China!

July 6th - Arrive Beijing

July 7th - Great Wall, and the Summer Palace.

July 8th - Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven.

July 9th - leave for Nanchang. Meet Katy that afternoon !!!

July 10-13 sightseeing in the Province, legal paperwork....etc)

July 14th - leave for Guangzhou

July 15 - local sightseeing.

July 16th - photos for babies and physicals.

July 17th - Visa Appointment.

July 18th - Swearing in Ceremony at the Consulate, fly back to Beijing. Stay over in Beijing.

July 19th - leave Beijing....arrive home to start our new life as a family of 3

I am so excited. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with everything i have to do, but i just need to take a deep breath and relax. Everything will come together.

Hold on sweetie, I will be with you soon.