Another Hot Day

We have learned that Hattie LOVES the pool. She kicks her legs and smiles from ear to ear, laughs and could stay in all day. We were in the pool for quite while this afternoon. Before, the pool she took a good nap so I went out alone to do some shopping, which was a treat. It is an odd feeling to be comfortable here in China and walking around alone! I tried to end my shopping time with a trip to Starbucks but the power was out in many areas on the Island, so no coffee for me.

Thanks to a tip from friends back home (thanks, Phelps family!!) my favorite shopping place was found not far from the hotel. All the proceeds go towards helping orphans in China and they had really special things. I bought a lot in there, including a dress and little purse for Hattie for Easter:)

They even had Bitty Baby and American Girl Doll clothing in Chinese style, quite cute.

We went out for a long walk (too long in this heat, I thought I was going to keel over!) to an old fashioned Chinese market. Narrow roads crammed with bins of dried orange peel, spices and lots of other items I couldn't even recognize. The way food is dealt with here is really a shock. On our walk today, there were men haggling over meat that was just in a bag laying in the road. It looked like ribs of some sort.
Then later, a man had his bare foot in a bin of peanuts. Yuck! When we walked over a bridge, women were trying to sell us some kind of animal claw on a necklace. That really freaked me out, it looked like dog or horse legs, for real!

Due to the heat, we just went to Lucy's again for dinner. Hattie refused her chicken congee, shut her mouth tight and shook her head no! I ate it instead and she drank her water and went crazy eating french fries. Once we get home and real life (rules and boundaries) begin, she may not be very happy with us!

Random comment, one man in our travel group made us all laugh as he said the next time they adopt they will go to Canada! The heat is really that awful.

Kory is out now shopping. Hattie and I were with him but left him with a pile of Chinese dresses for Hattie and headed back to the air conditioned room. We bought her size 2, 4, 6, and 8. In different colors and styles, but we have been told it is best to buy them here and that the girls love to wear them at random times as they grow up. That is the fun in talking with the other families here at the White Swan. Some have done this before and know the drill, others have heard tips from friends and all are willing to share with each other.

I think one of the best parts of this trip is meeting others and hearing their stories. Everyone is so happy to see the babies and kids and it is really amazing to look around at breakfast and realize ALL the families just gained a very special new family member and are enjoying their time bonding. It seems as if these kids are meant for the families they are in and we are in awe that we are a part of this process.

Well, I should wrap it up. Hattie is roaming the room with a pencil and paper and knows how to write. She looks like she is taking orders for dinner!

Tomorrow, we are going out with another family and our guide to do more pearl shopping. I really don't feel like we need anymore, but I would like to see the shop. we have heard the shops has BINS of pearls lining the walls and the ladies wills string the pearls as you wait. I figured we should at least see the place.

Then in the afternoon, we have our Oath at the Consulate. This process of paperwork is really winding down, which is bittersweet. Of course, we are relived but it also signifies the end of a very long dream and wait. We now have Hattie and other than the oath, picking up her Visa on Friday, and the flight home, the next BIG things is her little feet touching the ground in Chicago. That is when she officially is a US Citizen. We will be taking a picture for sure!

Talk to you later!

Pool and Thai Dinner

Hello!

A very quick post for this morning.

Yesterday, after we did the zoo, we were so hot. Hattie had slept in the taxi and was ready to keep on moving. We want to make sure we experience everything here, so we took her to the pool. There are three pools here and the one we went to was gorgeous with a waterfall. Hattie loved the pool and didn't seem nervous at all. We played in the water for about an hour and she kicked her legs and really enjoyed herself. She really couldn't figure out how daddy could swim underwater and then suddenly appear right in front of her. She looked mystified by this trick!

After the pool, we had about five minutes to get ready for dinner. Many families from our group decided to try a Thai place for dinner. It was excellent. I had to order a Thai Iced Coffee and Kory ordered a Thai Pineapple Drink. That inspired others to order drinks as they came out with flowers and such-see the pictures. We had thai spring rolls and chicken with cashews.

I was really tired from the long day and the heat and my stomach was feeling kind of off, which made me nervous. I was happy to walk back to the hotel and go to bed at 8pm.

Today, we need to be in our room by noon to make sure our paperwork with the consulate has no problems. Other than that, we are planning to have a late breakfast, hit the pool again, do some shopping around here and maybe go to Starbucks later to relax.

Tomorrow, we have the Red Couch Photos. We can't wait to see Hattie in her Chinese Silk Dress! Then it will be a costume change for our trip to the US Consulate and our oath taking; she will be wearing Red, White and Blue for that appointment!

Our time here in China feels like it is winding down. We know will be sad to leave China. This has been an incredible trip and very special. We have enjoyed our one on one time with Hattie and are grateful for the many things we have been able to do with her while here In China. We miss the kids though and will be happy to get home and back to a new kind or normal. When we left it was summer and now it will be the school routine when we return home.

Pandas and Tigers at the Zoo

Hello!

Another HOT day here in China. These past few days have been the hottest yet. We literally sweat buckets.

We are starting to feel a bit restless for home. We have enjoyed our time but it is starting to feel like we have been here forever. Don't laugh, but I can't wait to got to Target when I get home! (Heather, is it a date??)

Mostly though, we miss the kids and are ready to start a real routine at home. We know we will miss China and we will miss being catered to every minute, but home sounds good to us.

Last night, we enjoyed the cruise along the Pearl River. The night lights were beautiful. And when there was a breeze it was awesome!

This morning we had breakfast. (surprise!-dragon fruit, watermelon, french toast.....etc!) which by the way we get down there every morning around 7 so we are seated by the windows overlooking the Pearl River. Hattie enjoys watching the boats go by and she sure has an addiction to banana bread. Today, when I tried to leave the table she would do her famous bird call. It is hysterical.

I left Hattie and Kory to finish breakfast and headed for a quick shower. I now just let my hair air dry and by the end of the day it is curly and weird, but it sure beats fighting with the blowdryer.

We decided to take a Taxi from the hotel to a zoo. The zoo was about 40 minutes away. We got there at 9:30 and had the zoo almost to ourselves. It was a fun outing. Hattie and I put on a glove to hold a parrot, we watched black swans and pelicans, we fed a giraffe- I thought he was going to lift us both right up and into his pen. We saw Panda's, which was my favorite part along with feeding a tiger his bottle. Kory enjoyed the Safari Ride through the zoo and as usual is the photographer as Hattie still is all about me. She will hang out with him, but feels most comfortable with me.

The heat/humidity was high and we were getting tired by 1pm. What a feat to get a taxi back to the hotel. No one speaks much English and we sure don't speak Chinese. One man tried to get us in his car and I was not for that a bit. I think Kory would have done it, but I refused. As we walked out of the zoo towards the street another guy approached us and said he was a taxi. I know I am cautious, but I said "what is your taxi number?" He just looked at us and said 100, Kory said no we came here by taxi for 50 and we walked off. By now, Hattie was as good as gold still but I was feeling like we needed to get her cooled down, fed and down for a nap. I had visions of being unable to even get a taxi. Anyway, we walked for a bit on the main road and thankfully were able to grab a taxi. I was never so relieved! This heat combined with a long morning out and being way away from our hotel was all just too much. My adventurous spirit was done for the day!

Enjoy the pictures. Hayden, have a great first day at school. We will talk with you tonight. Culley, be a good boy! We can't wait to see you guys and give you loads of hugs and kisses.

A note from Hattie;

Dear New Family and Friends,

I am looking forward to coming home to Michigan. My brothers look pretty fun and I like to play so I am excited. Please understand though, that I may feel a bit overwhelmed. I will also have jet leg and will be dealing with lots of new changes. I am a fun loving little girl but I may not want to be passed around right away or held by anyone but my mommy and daddy. Please don't think I don't like you.
I will just need some time to adjust.

Before too long, I will be wanting to hang out with Grandma Morgan and Grandma June. I think I will like to go out for lunch with Debra and go to Miss Heathers house, too....but please be patient with me.

Lots of love and bird noises,

Baby Hattie Bo Siqiong!

Tea in China

Hello from the White Swan.

We can now post a proper blog post. It is daylight and we can see what we are typing and doing! This morning we had a nice breakfast and then went out with our group to a park and to another place with beautiful architecture and plants. Hattie had a nice time taking in the sights from the Ergo carrier and then we let her log in some miles with her squeaky shoes. As Kory shared, she likes to stamp her feet just to hear the squeak.

It was so very hot today, babies and kids and adults, we were all just drenched in sweat. (Yes, a lovely picture for you!)

We came back to the hotel and I went right to bed for a nap. Kory took Hattie to the Swan Room and they had a nice time playing ball and with the toys. They then stopped by our guides room to pay for our evening outing in advance. We are all ordering pizza and going on a night time cruise along the Pearl River. We all decided we would forgo the fancy dinner cruise and go for casual.

After a short cat nap for me, we walked down to the Deli Shop for a light lunch. We had to get Hagen-Daz ice-cream bars for dessert and they were delicious. Hattie is loving all the new foods she has been trying and we think she and Culley will eat us out of house and home:)

She reminds us of Culley with food and Hayden with how she studies ad plays with toys. She will sit for a long time and do stacking cups or her other makeshift favorite has been using a plastic spoon and putting it inside a little cardboard box. Doesn't take much to entertain her.

The boys had a good time seeing Hattie on Skype. They seemed amazed that we really did come to China to get a real baby! They were so cute, kissing the camera on the computer. All we saw were lips up close:)

Anyway, after our ice cream we walked around and stumbled into a little shop. As we came around the corner, the shop owners invited us to sit down for tea. His family has a farm (not near here, we are in a big city) and they grow tea. He has learned how to hand tie the tea into balls. When you steep the tea it unfurls into a flower shape and is so beautiful. They had a low little tea table and tiny little cups. They served us many cups of tea and taught us all about when they drink the various ones. They use the old tea leaves, after it dries, to fill pillows. They believe this is good for your brain. By this time we were sweating, and Hattie had fallen asleep in her carrier. We wanted to buy some tea and maybe a tea set, but told them we will come back tomorrow. It was a very special time and another favorite memory.

Well, I am off to take another short nap. A few people in our group are sick and I want to stay on top of things. I think for many, the jet leg has finally faded but the stress (good stress, but still stress!) has taken a toll. Kory thinks I have not slept enough on this trip and he is probably right. I will make up for lost time now and hope to stock up before we get home when the real fun will start!

We have seriously loved every minute of this trip. We are grateful that we were able to stay in three places in China. Nanning is where we feel we really got a peek into life in China. Beijing and Guangzhou are nice, but are big cities and at times have a more tourist flavor.

I will say Guangzhou is like a tropical haven though, a very nice place!

Monday AM in China

Hello, Again. Kory had an interesting time trying to type out his blog post in the dark hotel room last night, so please excuse any of our blog (the whole trip!) for typos or whatever. We are usually tired and trying to hurry as we do the blog. I was so tired yesterday, I was ready for bed at 7:30.

Yesterday, was an hour of paperwork. It was so funny to be in a room with, I think, 8 other families all of whom have had the same piles of paperwork as us. I think we all are quite sick of papers! We also had a hard time yesterday as we need to have Chinese Paperwork from our Province yet it all looks the same! Anyway, we managed and unless I am forgetting something, I think even all our money is now paid. We had to pay 535 Yuan for our medicals and also 404.00 "crispy" US dollars for Hattie's Visa.

Today, I feel more rested and am ready for a day of touring. I am also thinking of looking into getting a message at the hotel later today. Now, I need to go get ready for the day. Not my favorite part as it takes FOREVER to dry my hair here. The blowdryers have a button that you have to hold down the entire time to keep it on-we have heard that husbands keep asking their wives why they are turning on and off the blow dryer.....:)

Stay tuned, we will write a much better blog post later....We love Hattie and already feel a great connection with her. She is smart, funny, loves to play, loves to snuggles. curious and she has a demanding streak, too!!

I, Kory, am again writing today's blog and giving Meghan a break. She kind of hit the wall today and is quite tired. After breakfast Sunday morning we went back to the Swam Room to give Hattie a little play time to help wear off some energy. At 11am many of the families planned to meet and attend a church service at a Christian church only a block away from the hotel. The 11am service was conducted in both Chinese and English which explains our choice. It was a nice little church and was completely packed, I would guess about 200 people. The first thing I noticed was that the pews were so close together that I could not sit with my knees strait in front of me. I guess it was built for shorter people, not to be stereotypical. I told Meghan that this was worse than the airplane. Anyway, there was a gentleman and lady in front, the gentleman spoke chinese and the lady interpreted in english. After an opening prayer, it was worship time and there were four worship choruses that were song alternatively in chinese and english. It was really an uplifting experience to be among fellow believers from anther country. Even more than the english choruses (which I was surprised they could all sing in english), I was really moved by listening to the the Chinese people singing in their native language. I could not help but think I was in a Communist county which officially believes in atheism and has had a history of oppression of public expression of religion. The government now allows certain churches to exist in their country and people can freely attend as far as I know. It was a very enjoyable experience. The preacher then gave a message which was interpreted, but was still hard to hear and follow. Hattie soon fell asleep after the service had started, which we were glad the Swan Room had worked.

After Hattie finished her nap in the hotel room, we went back out and did a little shopping. Meghan bought Hattie three pairs of shoes in sizes 3, 4, and 5 to cover her for the next several months. The shoes are called "squeaky shoes" because they squeak when you walk. For some reason they are famous here and everyone buys them. Hattie loved wearing them and would stand by the bed and just stomped repeatedly to make noise. She also at one point took them off and tried to put them on her mommy! We also bought Hattie a traditional Chinese dress of deep pink with gold butterflies, for the group picture, the famous "red couch picture" at the end of the trip when all the adopted babies/ children are sitting on this certain couch in the hotel in chinese attire and have their picture taken.

The only official business of the day was at 3pm when families had to meet to go over the remaining paperwork and what would transpire over the next few day prior to leaving the country. Only one person from each couple had to attend, so Meghan went to the meeting, while I stayed with Hattie and had some bonding time. Hattie continues to make great progress opening up to us. She now seems to be a very happy and playful little girl who is smiling and laughing more and more. It is amazing to witness the transformation in only a few days from when she was so sullen and scared.

Sunday night we had to go back to Lucy's for dinner, just our family, and we both ordered hamburgers this time. They kinda of tasted more like salisbury steak than a burger from Sledar's. I told Meghan I hope this is hamburger we are eating?

Finally American Food

Saturday evening the whole group met and went out to dinner at Lucy's, the first American style restaurant (other than fast food) we'd seen since arriving in China! We were soooooo looking forward to it. In fact, I had just said to Meghan a couple days prior "what I'd wouldn't do or pay for a big hamburger right now". Apparently, everyone else must have felt the same way. It actually seemed a little strange to look around the table and see hamburgers, french fries, steak, fried chicken, salmon, etc. I ended up ordering what they called fried chicken (actually boneless deep-fried chicken strips) that came with french fries and a couple onion rings. Meghan ordered Orange chicken with white rice, it was like "American" Chinese food rather than the authentic (weird-my opinion) Chinese food that we had been eating. Hattie stuck with chicken congee.

After dinner we wandered around the hotel gift shops and eventually came upon the Swan Room that we had heard and read about. The Swan Room is a large room full of toys that the hotel maintains for all the adopted children that circulate through there. The toys are provided by Matel. Hattie really enjoyed our visit and particularly enjoyed a keyboard type toy. A couple other families also came in while we were there and Hattie like to watch the other kids play as well.