'Twas the Night Before Christmas

...and all 'round Guangzhou, many new families were out on the go.
OK - I can't keep up the rhyming much longer, so I'll get down to business.
First, new photos of Keira having fun. She's been such a joy and is taking more interest in other babies now. She wakes up happy to see us and loves to go for rides on the bus.
Here's a photo especially for Grandpa N -- she is walking with daddy's help:

Love that sunlight pouring into our room? Did I mention it is in the 70s here? Supposed to be about 80 tomorrow, I think. If you have to be away from home for Christmas, this is the way to go! And by the way, the service here at the White Swan has been great so far. My favorite part has been the evening turn-down service. They bring a newspaper, turn down your bed if you want, and give you CHOCOLATE! Yum!! A close second is the great breakfast buffet. I've read rave reviews, and am now happy to say I concur. Can't wait for more French toast tomorrow, and fresh fruit, and pastries, and bacon and eggs, and...and...and!

Anyway, back to K. Here she is, living on Easy Street:

What a life! And by the way, have I mentioned that she loves noodles??

Here she is, playing with daddy in the morning. Note that lovely ONU outfit she has on. This little genius is hoping there are more women and minorities on the ONU Board of Directors by the time she's choosing universities....or maybe it's been her mom saying that....

Now a few pix of the Chen Family Temple, otherwise known as the Guangdong Provincial Folk Art Museum. We visited there this morning. Cindy says that Chen is the Chinese equivalent of the name Smith or Jones in the US. The Temple is very, very beautiful - the photos don't do it justice, but I tried.
This is the main gate:

Here I tried to capture some of the ornate carvings on the roofline. Cindy said that the carvings have to be repainted every couple of years or so because the pollution is so bad here. The carving all tell a story of some sort, some part of their history. The whole Temple is like this. Very impressive.

A peek through a doorway:

After touring the Temple, we did some shopping for jade and porcelin. We got some nice keepsakes for Keira. Apparently, diamonds weren't available in China until about 100 years ago, so jade was their precious stone. It is not quite as hard as a diamond, but still a hard gemstone and the Chinese used to use it in tools. And then they discovered that, hey, this stuff is pretty and we could use it for jewelry too.

We also learned today that Guangdong province is the wealthiest in China. For a long, long time, Guangzhou (capital of Guangdong province) was the only port of entry open to foreigners, and as a result, the economy here has done quite well. And now, foreign families here to adopt babies do their part to keep it that way.

Cindy also shared this with us, regarding eating. She says that we tend to think that Chinese people will eat everything. Actually, it is the Cantonese who eat everything (Guangzhou used to be called Canton; the people in this province are therefore called Cantonese), she says. Other Chinese have a saying that Cantonese people will eat anything that flies, except an airplane; anything with legs, except the table and chairs; and anything that swims, except a submarine. And from what we've seen on our trip, I think this is true! Oh where, oh where is that Christmas ham?!

Happy Holidays to you all!

Almost Home

We've arrived safe and sound in Guangzhou. Keira did fabulously on her first airplane flight. We lucked out and were directed to the back of the plane where there were extra seats, so we had plenty of room for the 3 of us. Hope the 16 hours of flying later this week goes as well. One can dream, anyway. And by the way - K did fly sedative-free. No such promises can be made come Thursday.

It feels a bit closer to home here because....

...there are adoptive families everywhere, (all US families must pass through Guangzhou before going home), so we aren't quite as much of a spectacle as we were in Nanning.

....Lucy's down the street has great cheeseburgers and fries.

....Diet Coke is a bit more readily available.

....we can say we are going home "in a few days".

Still not quite home because....

...ESPN on the TV is actually some British guys giving soccer ("fuut-ball") reports. It should be called ESPN-light or E(as in England)SPN.

....someone makes the bed for me.

....there is a waterfall in the entryway (and no dustbunnies).

It really is loverly here on Shamian Island in Guangzhou. Although the local shopkeepers giving you the hard sell if you even remotely cast a glance at their goods gets a bit old.
The weather here is so fabulous that I still really can't grasp the fact that tomorrow is Christmas Eve! (And Happy B-day today, bro!) Our guide is taking us to a Thai restaurant tomorrow to "celebrate", since she knows that Christmas Eve is a big family day in the US. Christmas Day itself will include a medical exam for the girls....I guess that would be the adoptive equivalent of coal in their stockings. But somehow, I'm pretty sure the parents will manage to make up for it.
Sweet baby Keira is still doing great. She is getting a couple of teeth on the bottom, but that's not slowing her down much. She's laughing and smiling more than ever and seems to have a pretty nice disposition, unless you try to take away food before she's done. I think "noodle" is the first English word she recognizes!

Here she is, wondering.....well, what do you think she's contemplating?

"Boy, that Nanning traffic sure is something!"???"Does the Colts defense have what it takes this year?"????"Who are these people?"???

And yet, another of the faces of Keira (probably after further contemplation of the Colts D or after realizing that she's stuck with us, or maybe.....??)

Unfortunately, our camera is dying a slow death here, so you may have to entertain yourself by coming up with captions for the above photos in the meantime. Hopefully we will have new pix tomorrow, but I'm not pulling a Joe Namath and making any guarantees.
Mingtian jian! See you tomorrow!

Zai Jian, Nanning

Ni hao, for the last time, from Nanning. At 6am tomorrow morning we leave for the airport to catch our flight to Guangzhou. So, since packing is still to be completed, this will be a short one...or as short as I can be (there is so much to tell!!)

First, and most importantly of course, pictures of Miss K.

When I grow up I want to be.....
...a circus act?
...a championship eater?

....a pharmacist?
(and don't write in about this, please....the bottle was empty!)

Here she is, pleased with herself for something:

Earlier today, we went to the Minorities Museum here in Nanning. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Guangxi has a larger minority population that most other provinces in China. Even then, I think that the Han people make up something like 90% of the Chinese population as a whole; so the overall minority population is small. But here in Guangxi, minorities make up like 40% of the population or something. So, some of us have wondered if our daughters might be minorities. Cindy, our guide, says that there is no way to tell by just looking at them, but she doubts that they are, because the minorities value girls and women more than the Han traditionally do. So, she thinks that if they were minority girls, they would not have been abandoned.
Here is a photo behind the Museum. This shows a replica of a Wind and Rain Bridge that is typically built by the Dong minority.

Also behind the museum, we got to see a performance by some minority musical groups - including some Zhuang dancers doing a traditional harvest celebration dance, some Zhuang girls doing another dance, and some singers from the Dong minority. It was all very beautiful.

Later in the afternoon, we filled out the last of our paperwork, including paperwork to request a visa for the babies. We now have their Chinese passports, and so off we go to Guangzhou to get their visas. Part of the paperwork also included having to fill out the circumstances around how they became orphans. I've read Keira's story several times now, but me having to write it out myself was a little emotional, particularly since this is the one year anniversary of her being foung in Guigang City. I'm not sure what circumstances surrounded her birthmother on that day, but one year later, we feel sad for her loss, sad for the losses Keira has had so far, and yet so happy that we found our way to each other.

Oh - one last thing: it just keeps getting better and better. Today, real giggles!! We had been trying to tickle her for a couple of days. Nothing. She had no reaction. But today - oh my! What fun. She is crawling and pulling up more and more, as well. And she nearly dove head first into a bowl of noodles at dinner. A little hungry I guess (maybe b/c someone's daddy forgot the post-nap bottle while mom was out doing the paperwork???!). And to cap it off, I got to put her to bed tonight. No wailing for daddy and turning away from me because I'm not "ahma". Nope. It was all me tonight. And it felt great.

All's Quiet on the Eastern Front

Quiet, because she's snoozing now! (It wasn't quiet just a bit ago - although we had a great day today, she still grieves a lot at night and still calls out for her earlier caretakers.) But for the most part, we've had a great day today and continue to make progress. Keira seems to trust us more and more. We had so many firsts today - first day waking up without crying, first diaper change with no crying, first real crawling (K-style), and first pulling up to standing and then walking while holding hands! She's also been babbling and smiling more and more. She likes to say guh-guh, guh-guh...which is the Mandarin way to say "big brother". She must remember from when we look at Q's pix. Well, at least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
We had a fun time at breakfast this morning, where she ate her favorite: congee. I'm going to have to figure out how to make this stuff when we get home, although I'm giving serious consideration to substituting Quaker instant oatmeal to see if she notices. Ha!
Here she is, happy to be dining:
And later, playing in the room. She loves the Elmo phone, things that make noise, and the ever-so sophisticated empty water bottle.

Warning: pictures from another park to follow. A different park this time. But read on at your own risk!

This morning, we went on a little jaunt to Qingxiushan (Qingxiu Mountain Resort). It was lovely there, although we didn't get to see all there is to see. We did get to hike up to this pagoda, and then climb the 9 flights to the top, where we had a great view of Nanning and the surrounding area. I'm glad we had K in the Baby Bjorn carrier, instead of in a stroller. It made navigating the hike much easier!

A view from the top - you can see the mountains and some of Nanning in the background.

Here's another view from the top. This time a look at the Yongjiang (Yong River). Nanning was named Yong city wayyyyy back when, before it was given its current name. (Nan means south, ning for peace; as in peaceful, southern city...so sayeth our guide.)

You may notice the, um, haze in the photos. Not camera trouble this time. Just how the city looks from high up. Pollution, I think, although Guangxi province, in general, isn't as industrial as other provinces, but still...It was, however, much worse in Beijing.

Another Guangxi tidbit: it is one of the top 10 sugar-producing areas in the world (the top in China). No wonder we've got such sweetie! Other than sugar cane, other important crops in Guangxi are bananas and other fruit, spices, and rice.

Tomorrow we will visit the Minorities Museum here in Nanning. This province is actually not technically a province but an Autonomous Region - the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, so named because it has a high percentage of minorities living here. Not over 50%, but very high compared to most other areas.

Tomorrow afternoon, the babies' passports should be ready, so we can leave Guangxi and head to Guangdong province, to the city of Guangzhou. We will fly out on Saturday morning. K's first plane ride in about 36 hours. So, I'll be signing off now to look up the dosing of Benadryl....which I may or may not be joking about.

Let Her Eat Cake!

As promised in my post earlier today, here are some more photos.

First, Keira's birthday cake! Although we've had this cake for a few days now, K hasn't been in much of party mood. But today, we thought we'd go for it. Plus, Chris was having a real issue with will-power. So, here she is, making a move on the cake.....

.....and success!

Napping after a long morning walk with daddy:


Enjoying a cereal and fruit bar, just like her big brother! (She also dislikes watermelon and scrambled eggs, like her brother.)

Another photo from the park (yes, I know, enough already of the park....but it is so beautiful! and fun to watch the older residents play mah jong...and they pipe in serene music near the lake - it's great!)

OK - I couldn't resist....one more:

And lastly, for those of you wondering if my Mandarin classes came in handy (OK, for the one or two of you wondering...), here are a few examples of how it has helped so far: 1. I've been able to ask "how much?" at several stores, and understand the answer. 2. I've been able to say "just looking" to get sales people to leave me alone. Sort of. 3. I repeated the total of our laundry bill in Chinese (the delivery man said it in English), which made him smile (and he said very good! woo hoo!). 4. I asked a clerk if she spoke English (she said no); she said something else, and I said that I didn't understand....that much I probably could've established w/o the classes, but it was a fun mini-converation. And finally, successfully ordered value meal #6 (liu) at McDonald's - hey, even I can only take so much rice - and made sure Chris got the bottle of Sprite he wanted instead of Coke. I don't know how to say Sprite in Chinese, but I can point and say "bu yao..lu" (don't want that, want the green one).

And on that note, zai jian from Nanning!

Two's Company, Three Draws a Crowd

Believe what you read about a Caucasion couple with an Asian baby drawing attention in Nanning. We get stares everywhere we go. Yesterday in the nearby park, the three of us stopped to talk to another couple in our travel group who was also enjoying that park. A couple stopped to watch us, and the other mom showed him the card our guide made for each of us. It explains, in Chinese, that we are Americans who are adopting the baby (includes baby's Chinese name), and that we will bring her home to live with us and we will love her. After reading the card, the man smiles and tells us in broken English that we have big hearts. Americans love girls he says; most Chinese prefer to have a boy. We just smile and says thank you, but we know that we are the real lucky ones to get to bring these bundles of love home with us.

Then today, the really big scene! I wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't in the middle of it all. Our group was swarmed by about 30 Chinese, all looking at the babies, smiling and patting the babies' cheeks. Some parents were getting "scolded" for not having the jacket zipped up far enough. It was all friendly and curious, but really very interesting. (Keira missed out on this group of fans - she and daddy stayed back while I made the group venture to WalMart. She slept late and therefore hadn't had breakfast by the time the group was leaving. We choose sleep over bring ready in time for shopping. We wanted this girl as well-rested as possible!)

Anyway, enough talk. Here are more photos.

Yesterday at the People's Park, near our hotel:

....OK - only one pic for now. Blogger is being irritating, so I will try again with more photos later.

A few quick notes on Keira, if you are interested: She is getting more and more comfortable with us each hour. Yesterday, she was basically irritated with us unless she was eating, sleeping, or moving (a la walking in park as above). Today, she actually seems to be more content. She reaching for me more (yea!) and not just Chris (although tonight at bedtime, it was daddy only!). She is showing us more smiles. She loved her bath - we thought she'd cry taking one; she cried when it was over! She had her first french fry today - at MickeyD's no less - and loved it. Who wouldn't? And she had her first taxi ride today too. It's great fun getting to know her. Who knows what she thinks of us, so it is good she speaks no English yet! ;-)

It's Official!

It's official! As of about 10am this morning, she is ours and we are hers! Yesterday, after we received her, we were just technically guardians, for what they term "the Harmonious Period"....about 4 hours of it were none too harmonious, but we made it through.
Before more chatter, here are some pix.
After the adoption ceremonies today, we came back to the room and fed the hungry child. She loves noodles, as you can see!


Here she is sleeping before one of the biggest moments of our lives (again, sorry for the whole sideways thing....it's rightside up in our photo program):

Playing in bed before breakfast (this was a harmonious period...we even got smiles! And look Quinn - she's playing with the camera you picked out for her. She loves it!):

First thing this morning (bed-head!) and first bottle from us (she would not eat last night; and of course, she was a hungry girl this morning!):

Right now, she is napping with her dad. She favored him for a while yesterday, and again today after seeing her old nanny and orphanage director again. That seems to upset her and she's been calling for them (we think...mama or ahma or something like that); and when that happens, she's not too interested in another woman. So, daddy it is, for now.

Earlier today, we went to meet with the Civil Affairs officer for a brief interview. They asked a few questions (even some about you, Quinn...we said you were definitely ready to be a big brother!) and we signed and sealed some papers. Later, we got our "red book", declaring us her parents and declaring her Kiera Loree YiJiao Bright. We also received a gift from the orphanage director - a red Chinese decoration and, best of all, a photo album with some earlier photos of Keira. We were so happy about that. The orphanage director came to talk to Jiaojiao (as they call her, and we do some too) several times, and, mustering up my best Mandarin, I told her that we love her (Keira, I meant, not the director!) ;-) and that she (Keira) is beautiful. She seemed to understand and be pleased with that, and she didn't laugh at my Mandarin. Not right then, anyway.

After that, we had to go to a Notary for another quick interview. And now back on our own for the rest of the day. She seriously chowed down on some noodles (as evidenced above) for lunch a while ago and is now resting. That bit in our referral packet about her being a light sleeper is true, true, true. The littlest bit seems to startle her and wake her, but hopefully we'll get something resembling a nap.

Note to Q: earlier today, she was looking at the photo album we made for her. She kept turning to the page that had your picture on it! I think she can't wait to meet you soon!

Note to rest: It was a photo of Q in a Colts pullover and Colts hat, so she is obviously a Colts fan and an adoring little sister. And speaking of the team, I did manage to check the score, and woo-hoo! Go Colts. Sorry Bengals fans....nah, not really! Brice - Operation Tiger Stripe is now dead. Go Colts!

Well, off to take a walk in the People's Park later on. Tomorrow our group ventures to the Nanning WalMart. I know you'll all be disappointed to know that they do not allow photos to be taken in WalMart, so you'll have to just wait for a description. ;-)

Thanks to all for your thoughts, prayers, and good wishes. We appreciate it!

The Birthday Girl!

Right after we met:

Later, playing in the hotel room:

She was the quitest baby when we got her, at 4pm local time. She was grieving a bit ago and seemed none to interested in her bottle. Daddy got her to sleep and she is napping now. Daddy also managed to get her first almost-smile, thanks to his Donald Duck impersonation....it works every time!

We will write more later, but first a pizza party in the hallway with our travel group. Our guide is wise enough to know that no one wants to venture out to eat this first night. Also, our guide Cindy remembered that Keira's b-day is today and she brought us a cake! She has been taking such good care of all of us.

Don't worry - more photos to come later tonight.

Sheng ri kuai le, Jiaojiao! Happy Birthday, Keira!

And Happy Family Day too!

Countdown to Keira

Ni hao, y'all (we are in southern China, afterall!)! We are now in Nanning, and boy - is the weather so much nicer down here! Sunny and 60-something. Nanning is a "small" Chinese city - only about 6 million people in the metro area, 1 million in the downtown area. Tomorrow afternoon we meet Keira. Yippee! Our travel group has been great so far, and I think everyone is getting excited about the big day. When we checked into our hotel this afternoon we found cribs in our rooms. I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but the quilt in the crib for Baby K says Happy Birthday on it. Can you believe that? As if they knew that her day is tomorrow!

Upon further inspection in the room, I also found this in the fridge:

For some reason, blogger turned the photo sideways, but you get the idea: a Diet Coke! Yippee!! I haven't seen one of these since I left Indy. It is actually a bit different from the DC in the US, more like a Coke Zero, but I'll take it. Yummm.

After some of this tasty stuff, I was ready to hit the road! Our guide took us to a nearby grocery store and we did a little shopping - mostly for water and snacks. We will baby shop more on Tuesday. We got some yummy Chinese snacks - like seaweed flavored crackers and BBQ chips. We passed on buying the chicken feet at the end of aisle 1.

We also stepped into a Chinese pharmacy. For my pharmacy and LLY friends, thought you might like to know that we spotted some cephalexin and cefaclor on the shelves (apparently some atb are OTC?), along side a whole slew of flouroquinolones. I also learned that our guide has a friend that works for "some American pharmaceutical company"....as she tried to say the name, I knew what she was talking about: the Colonel's! Small world, eh? I was happy to hear her report that LLY is doing well apparently in China, thanks to the increasing recognition that depression and other mental illnesses are real diseases.

OK - enough shop talk. Here are a few photos of Nanning. They were taken from our hotel window. One is a general skyline shot, the other a picture of the People's Park, which we can see from our room. We hope to take Baby K there for walks soon!

Hope all is well back home. We miss you and will write more soon!

If It's Saturday, It Must be Beijing

Hello again! Today was our Beijing-in-a-day tour. Or rather, Beijing in one really, really, cold and windy day. It was about 30 degrees here, but the wind was ridiculous. We did a quick walking tour of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City; then on to lunch at a Chinese restuarant (are there any other kind here?!). We did a bit of shopping. And then - the Great Wall. The photo to the side shows one of the countdown-to-the-Olympics displays. Beijing is very excited to host the Olympics in 2008 and a lot of construction is on-going.

Now, the best part of the day was the ride home (tour bus with our fabulous guide, Cindy, and 10 other families): we got updates on our daughters! We learned, among other things, that Keira is active, restless, energetic and extroverted. She has a sweet smile (we can't wait to see that ourselves!) and gets along well with other kids. The following tidbit assured us she indeed belongs with us: she likes to...."and watch TV commercials"! Ah yes - a kid who likes TV! She will fit in well with her parents and older brother. We also learned that Keira has been in Foster Care since late August. We did not know this information when we got her referral, but I think it is a good thing. There was also a current height and weight. We guesstimated pretty closely, so the clothes we bought for her should fit OK.

Now, other fun facts from the trip: a new KFC opened across the street from our hotel this morning - there was a dancing dragon (like in Chinese NY parades) to celebrate! While surfing Chinese TV this afternoon, I saw a bit of what was apparently the Chinese equivalent of The Price is Right. "Bob" was dressed more like Austin Powers, and the "Barker's Beauties" had more clothes on than their US counterparts. There was, however, "the big wheel" that they spin to get into the showcase.

That's all for now. Tomorrow at 7am we hop a plane to Nanning and get settled in to meet Keira on the 18th. After today's weather here, I am so thankful to be headed to south China! Yippee!

Ni Hao!

Hello! We made it to the other side of the world. And pretty smoothly, I might add - Thank God! Even our suitcase followed us from Indy to Beijing. Our flights were nice; even the food was decent. OK - some was actually good! And, as our luck would have it, this nice college student sitting next to us on the flight from Chicago to HK (the loooong flight), got invited to sit up with the rest of her friends, in what seemed to be one of the few open seats on the plane. So, we ended up with the empty seat next to us. Yippee! Being able to stretch out a bit saved our sanity I think. Other than that, which even isn't that interesting, nothing else much happened. That's how smoothly it has gone so far. Tomorrow, while it is 31 degrees and windy in Beijing, we will be touring. I have no photos to post today, as it is 1am in the morning and we just got in a few hours ago. But, I will tell you that I have seen a couple of Santas, a hotel worker dressed like an elf, and many, many lights.
I leave you with the one word that is the same in any language: iPod!

Til tomorrow....

From 0 to 9000 in 26 hours

Our United Frequent Flyer Mileage bank will go from zero to over 9000 in the matter of a day. Since some of you asked, here are some stats about the trip:
From Indy to Beijing, by way of Chicago and Hong Kong, it is about 9200 miles.
We will be in the air a little over 20 hours total.
And if you include airport time, total travel time will be a bit over 26 hours.
And that's assuming it all goes on schedule. I will not post any snide remarks here about the airline industry, on-time ratings, or lost luggage statistics, lest I anger the gods of flight. I will say, however, that other than meeting Keira on Monday, my happiest moment may indeed be the moment I realize that our checked suitcase did actually follow us from Indiana all the way to China.

Thanks to all who have called or e-mailed to wish us well. We really appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

No thanks to those of you who threaten to make Q a Bengals fan by the time we return. Remember that Santa is watching and I'd hate for a lump of coal to come your way!

Next time, the writings will be from the east. Zai jian!

I'm Dreaming of a White (Swan) Christmas

The departure ticker is counting down: less than a week until we head to China! I made some modifications to our travel intinerary below (nothing major -just a few more details, if you're interested).

We recently received our travel group intinerary - we are 1 of 11 families from our agency that are headed to Nanning for their children. We also have our hotel accomodations. We will be staying here in Beijing -->

I don't have a photo of the Nanning hotel. But below is a photo of beautiful Nanning. We can't wait to visit!

And for the last leg of our trip, we will be in Guangzhou at the White Swan Hotel. Most adoptive families seem to end up here. The White Swan is the home of the famed "red couch" (actually, there' s more than one, I'm told), upon which nearly every child who has passed through is photographed. (Consider yourself warned...Red Couch photos coming to a blog near you SOON!) Additionally, the White Swan provides, courtesy of Mattel, "Coming Home Barbies" for the girls. This is a lovely little Barbie mommy holding an Asian baby. I wasn't planning on K having a Barbie for her first birthday, but I can live with it I suppose...especially since the Barbie mommy looks so much like her own (I say this for the benefit or those of you who have never seen me...I want you to have an accurate picture in your head....bwah-ha-ha!).

Well, off to pack a little more while I can. Q has collapsed on the couch after a full afternoon of adoption-related errand running. At least the bank teller offered him a lollipop, so the day wasn't a total loss for him.

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together!

We've had a busy day today! Our consulate appointment was confirmed for December 26, and so we were able to go ahead and get our airline tickets. We also now have a general itinerary for our whole trip. It goes something like this:

December 14: Fly from Indy to Chicago to Hong Kong to Beijing
Dec 15: Finally arrive in Beijing
Dec 16: Tour Beijing - Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City. Try to get turned around on the 13-hour time difference so we can be somewhat coherent when entrusted with a small child!
Dec 17: Leave in the morning to head to Nanning (in Guangxi Autonomous Region)
Dec 18: Meet Keira! On her first birthday! She will be with us from this day on. We are currently scheduled to meet her about 2pm local time. That translates to 1am EST, for those of you keeping track in the states.
Dec 19: Adoption registry at the Civil Affairs Office.
Dec 20, 21: Tour Nanning, Guangxi.
Dec 22: Get passport for K.
Dec 23: Fly to Guangzhou.
Dec 24: Sightseeing - Chen Family Temple.
Dec 25: Enjoy Christmas in Guangzhou! Keira's first Christmas will consist of getting her visa picture taken and getting a medical exam.
Dec 26: Appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou
Dec 27: Go to consulate for interview and to pick up K's visa.
Dec 28: Fly home! Finish enjoying the Holidays as a family of 4!

While I am so excited about getting ready for the trip, I know that we'll be missing Q terribly this whole time. He will be spending time with his Buckeye Family, and I'm sure they will keep him plenty busy with holiday festivities and all. He'll likely be learning to sing the OSU fight song and Hang On Sloopy while we are gone, in preparation for the Big Game in January...which is OK, as long as he's still a fan of the big blue horseshoe when we get back.

TA-dah!

"TA", as in T.A. That's Travel Authorization to those of you who don't speak adoptionese. It is the piece of paper we've been waiting for that tells us that yes indeed, we may travel to meet, love, and bring home the lovely Little Miss K. Woo-hoo! The proverbial slow boat to China is speeding up!
The next step: our agency makes the US Consulate appointments (last step in process, to get visas for the kiddos) and then they can finalize the entire trip and all of our travel plans. We could be leaving as soon as December 14. Two weeks from now.
At last! (Would somebody please cue up Etta James?!!)

Are We There Yet?

No, unfortunately, we are not in China yet. We do not even have our TA (travel authorization) yet. Other agencies have received their TAs this week, but not our agency. We are hopeful that our TA will arrive later this week or sometime next week. Keira's b-day is December 18 and we would love to be with her then. But we'll see.
Although we are not yet in China, our pictures are....or should be, at least. We sent Keira a care package on or about November 17. According to the US Postal Service, courtesy of their Global Priority Mail service, the package arrived in the PRC on November 21. Delivery to her orphanage was guaranteed to happen by the 27th (yesterday). So, hopefully, as we sit looking at her photo, she can now be looking at us too.
And snuggling with the blanket we sent her.
And playing with the toy her brother chose for her.
Soon, we can do this all face-to-face. And our world will be one baby Brighter!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I found this nice quote on another's blog and liked it enough to post here, along with photos of what we are most thankful for.

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."

--Desmond Tutu

OK - sorry for the quick trip to Sappy-ville. I usually try not to go there (in "public", anyway), but hey - that's what this holiday is all about.
That, and eating. A lot.
Besides, I was tired of scrolling down so far to see pix of my babes - weren't you? :-)

Gobble, gobble!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Today when I picked Q up from preschool, a friend and fellow adoptive mom loaned us 4 books that she used with her kids to prepare them for the adoption of siblings and for becoming a big brother in general. So far, we've read 3 of the 4 books; 2 of them we've read more than once. Q has been very interested interested in these stories. After some of the reading, we talked about how Keira was going to come home to us, after mommy and daddy go to get her, on an airplane - just like in one of the books.
"Do you think babies like to ride on airplanes?" I ask.
"No," he says, "I think home is best."
I think home is best.
Well-said, young one. Sometimes, I do think they get it.
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And in case you are wondering, here are the books we've been reading:
Things Little Kids Need to Know, by Susan Uhlig
I'm a Big Brother, by Joanna Cole
Seeds of Love: For Brothers and Sisters of International Adoption, by Mary E. Petertyl
Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale, by Karen Katz
And here is another one that we haven't yet read, but will soon. It was recommended by another parent who is in a similar family situation to ours:
A Sister for Matthew: A Story About Adoption, by Pamela Kennedy

Thanks, J and K, for sharing with us!

From Here to There, Part 2

We are sending a care package to Keira and her orphanage later this week. It will be headed from Here, to There (see above).

The package includes a photo album of us!

Her Family! 家庭

We are hoping she'll have a bit of time to get used to seeing our strange faces before we arrive in person. And so she can see who will be waiting for her here at home - her big brother and a couple of 4-legged friends.

Hubby and I were just talking the other day about the fact that we've been thinking of her for over a year now. She, on the other hand, has no idea of what's to come. We'll need to keep this in mind when we first meet. It will be a lot of change for her and we are doing our best to educate ourselves in advance, so that we can be prepared as possible.

In the spirit of next Thursday's holiday: We are thankful for the internet, so that we can virtually meet many others who have gone before us and who have shared their stories. And we are thankful for the books and articles on attachment, written by adoption professionals and experienced parents. And we are thankful for our family and friends, because we are sure to need your support in the coming months.

From There to Here, From Here to There....

....funny things are everywhere! (Yes - once you are a parent, you stop quoting movie lines, except for Disney flicks, and start quoting Seuss!) Anyway, the following is your there-to-here fun fact of the day.
There = Guangxi province, PRC, current home of the Lovely Miss Keira, where it is expected to be 85 degrees today. And sunny.
Here = the Midwest. Indiana, to be exact. Forecast? High of 51. And cloudy.
But never fear, little one, it is always sunny in the Brighthouse! (Or partly sunny, anyway...hey - we all have those days!) And we can't wait for you to join us. Here.

Sing...Sing a Song...

Q and I have learned this song, courtesy of womende pengyou (our friends) at Chinesepod.com, so we can sing a Chinese children's song to Keira.
And Keira's dad? Well, he's trying too.

	菜鸟115 Baby Talk - Friends Song
	Visit ChinesePod.com

Oh Happy Day!

Things that made me happy today:
1. Keira's referral package came. Our official documents and some actual color photos of her (not the scanned copies). The FedEx man quietly left the package on our front porch this morning. We didn't even get a warning bark from the dog.
2. Looking at Keira's pictures. Including the "mugshot" with 3 chins.
3. Signing and sending back more paperwork to our agency. Each thing seems like one step closer to her.
4. Looking at pictures of Q and me playing in the leaves over the weekend.
5. Hearing Q sing his own made up song about his sister. It included a line that said, "Soon you'll be part of our family...."
6. Hearing Q say I'm his best mommy! Ever! Even if I'm pretending to be the bad girl when he's being Spiderman!
7. Still thinking about the Colts win last night. Eight and oh. Marvin's fabulous catch. So far, so good.

The Lovely Miss Keira

Zhe shi womende nu'er. This is our daughter.
She was born on December 18, 2005 and is reportedly a light sleeper (which, according to her daddy, is going to have to change!) and loves to play games (so she's with the right family!).
She is waiting for us in Guangxi province, in southern China.
I will post more soon, when I am in less of a fog!
Thank heaven for little girls!

Any Minute Now...

....we should be getting THE CALL! The Info! The E-mail! The Photo!
Hubby is at work, so we will be sharing this time over the phone. Young son has finally realized that mommy has a computer obsession today, so - like every good kid and blood-smelling shark - he has decided to take advantage and ask for more and more TV. And today - he gets it. A lucky day all around.
To the side is the official notice from the CCAA's website. The cutoff date was Aug 25. Our LID was Aug 24, 2005...so we made it by one day. We were worried that we would miss by one day. At risk of being Mr. Obvious, this way is so much better.

Oh! My! Gosh!

Aha! The good news we've been waiting for: earlier today our agency issued their "Stork Alert"!! Referrals are on the way, and we are included! Our little munchkin's info is making its way from Beijing to Austin, TX right now. We will find out all the details tomorrow, via phone/e-mail. And then on Monday, the FedEx person will arrive with the official documents and photos. We will get one photo via e-mail tomorrow.
I cried when I read that e-mail - excitement, joy, and relief! The guessing is over. This is really going to happen. Yippee! I can't imagine what tomorrow will be like...and then every day from here on out.
Upon finding out that we should get to see mei-mei's (little sister's) picture tomorrow, Q says: "Oh. Cool." Perhaps he will be a bit more excited tomorrow? But I'll give him a break for today: he was all ready to leave for our Children's Museum outing this morning, and here his mom and dad were --- hugging over some e-mail. Enough already, he's probably thinking. He doesn't even know the half of it....
He did show his true, sweet self later on today, though. I've been telling hubby that, if we get our referral this month, I was going to buy this totally adorable Hanna Andersson dress that I've loved for so long. And so here we are, referral about to arrive, and shopping to begin! :-) When Q noses in to see what I'm talking about, he says, "Oh, mei-mei will look beautiful in that dress....and I can be her prince." Yes - I'm in love with the boy.
And soon, more to love. We can't wait!
Stay tuned for more info tomorrow. If I can settle down enough to type!
Zai jian!

Here We Go Again....

Well, maybe 8/24 will be included afterall! Or so the current rumor goes....
We are supposed to be finding out "later this week". I'm hoping sooner rather than later, of course. :-) If we are in, woo-hoo! If not, I'll begin an immediate countdown for the next 4-5 weeks. If we are in, we should be able to travel (I'm hoping) before Christmas! That would be wonderful. Also, our anniversary is in early December, and traveling to China would be a fabulous way to celebrate. But whether or not we make the cut-off this time, I will just be grateful to know.
And just today, I listened to a Chinespod lesson on introducing your children. So bring it on - I am ready to say "Zhe shi wode nu'er!" (This is my daughter!). Women ai ni, bao bei!

Good Fer What Ails Ya'!

The Adoption Rumor Mill today is not loaded with good cheer, if you happen to be a prospective AP (adoptive parent) with an 8/24/05 LID. There is still some glimmer of hope for us, but there are signs that the cutoff will be 8/23. So, that - coupled with the depressing state of our basement - led me to grab my son and flee. We headed to a park across town (hey - any getaway is better than nothing!), played for while, and then hit Handel's for a little taste of the good stuff. We shared a scoop of pumpkin swirl (yummm) and a scoop of chocolate, then headed home with happy bellies.

Then, to perk me up some more, I found a package on our front porch. From ModernTots. My

order had been backordered for so long, I almost forgot about it. So this was a nice surprise. Q was thrilled with his set of chopstick helpers and suggested we get pork fried rice for dinner. I like how this kid thinks. And we can't wait for his mei-mei to get here so she can

practice with hers. And in reality, I should have ordered some for myself, as I am none too nimble with kuaizi [chopsticks], but I try. I hope munchkin won't be put out if she discovers upon her arrival that hers have been a little, um, used.

Anticipation

We are getting closer to knowing something. I'm just afraid it's something I don't want to know! There are all sorts of rumors abounding about possible changes in LID dates and about the cut-off for this round of referrals being Aug 23. We are LID Aug 24. Looking on the Bright Side, I suppose at least we'd know we are NEXT, if indeed the cut-off is Aug 23. But, it goes without saying that I want our referral NOW. Sigh. The only rumor out there that I like is the one that says that referrals should be mailed later this week. That's a good one. I was fearing a wait til late Oct/early Nov before we'd know if we were in or out. I'd love to be able to say to Danny Ocean that "We are IN!"
As always, time will tell.
Until then, the recent flooding in our basement is keeping my mind off referrals. For a little bit, anyway. Indeed, when it rains, it pours.

Let's Go Colts! Let's Go Referrals!

It's Sunday afternoon, the Colts have a bye week, so a little time to blog. We still don't know when we'll get our referral, and despite my self-imposed shopping ban (no new clothes for munchkin until we know her size) I couldn't resist picking up the cute little number you see below. And even though I'm not much of the cheerleader-type (whatever that is), it just seemed too good of a deal to pass up.

So, if we travel in January when the Colts are playing the Super Bowl :-) our little miss will be appropriately attired.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...No, It's a Rumor!

I can't believe that our LID group is finally included in a Rumor Queen rumor! Yea! I'll try not to get my hopes up (too much, anyway), but it is sure nice to believe, even for a minute, that we will see munchkin's face soon! Q is pretending and talking about his mei-mei more and more each day. Even he has had enough of the wait. Bring on the referrals!


And if they don't come soon, I'm sending Superman to get them!