Day 10 -- Guangzhou, Guangdong - Shopping Day

After grabbing a Subway sandwich last night (not exactly like back in the states!) and getting the kids to bed late last night (they both passed out in Mom and Dad's room as we all ate), it was slow moving this morning!  We had to meet Mr. Zhou down in the lobby at 10:00 AM to get an abbreviated tour of the area and some insight on where to have your laundry done, buy squeaky shoes, and where to get the best deal on freshwater pearls among other things. We all headed off the island (our hotel is on an "island" which is surrounded by a river and canal) through some neighborhoods where there were tons of street vendors selling everything from spices, dried sea horses, fresh fish for eating as well as for pets, puppies, turtles, (some mutant ones with two heads and random feet sticking out the top of it's shell - must mean good luck or longevity if you purchase these! :)) luggage, toys, dried bats, to pearls and various trinkets.  

Walking through the neighborhoods filled with vendors - it's amazing how many people sell the exact same thing - we all keep wondering how they stay in business?! 

Zachary acting silly while checking out the pearls!

Zachary, Caitlin and I in the main walking commercial area.  Notice Fred in the background - apparently he thought it was quite balmy here today!!  Either that or he just wanted to show some leg!!! :)

Dad, Mom and Chloette in the commercial area as well.  Caitlin and I in the background with some other members of our group - notice that she is on the hip - not in the handy stroller!  Zachary is still adjusting (very well I might add) to the idea that there are two children in our family.  Seems like most of the time I pick Caitlin p to carry her, he wants me to pick him up as well, or if I hand her off to Noah, he is immediately asking to be piked up and carried.

For lunch we checked out Papa John's Pizza with two other families.  I was actually pretty good, surprisingly enough!

After lunch we headed back to the hotel and put Caitlin down for a nap - it's incredible how easily she lays down when it's time to sleep, now!  (knock on wood it's that easy in the states!)  I am just so excited as to how things have changed these last two days!  Thank you for your continued prayers!  She is a terrific little girl with a smile that is contagious!!  I just can't imagine life without her!  The interaction between Zachary and Caitlin is precious - you can just see how much they adore each other!  

While she was sleeping, Zach and Noah went down stairs to check out the children's playroom.  Since there was no one in there, they were able to get a fun game of contact basketball in before they had to be back to the room so I could go take care of adoption paper work with Mr. Zhou and the other families. (One of the American Embassies is located in Guangzhou and therefore many families who are adopting stay here and use the playroom. It's nothing fancy, but it's such a great feature!!)  All 11 couples are adopting special needs children which makes this extra special for all of us.  The paperwork session took about 1 1/2 hours during which tons of forms were being filled out to be sent to the Embassy for our children's visas.  Since our I-171H paperwork had expired last year and we were forced to resubmit under the new Hague Treaty regulations (I-800) which requires most of the paperwork to be completed stateside, I sat and watched everyone filling out form after form for at least 75% of the time.  It was definitely a hassle getting it all done before we could leave the US, but it was nice not to have to worry about it!

When I got back up stairs to our floor, I saw Zachary and Caitlin running up and down the hall, and when they saw me they both came running towards me with big smiles - what a great feeling!  I'm a mommy to TWO very special kids!!  I couldn't be any luckier!

We decided to try out an American restaurant called Lucy's for dinner.  It was okay, but I don't need to eat there again this week!  Caitlin was getting antsy so I decided to start walking back to the hotel and Mom joined me.  At one point on our walk, Caitlin was squirming and I thought we'd see if she would go to Nana and she did!!!  

Okay so I didn't have the camera out quick enough to get the shot but it's exciting that she is getting more comfortable with the grandparents!!  (She has started to let the grandparents get near her and touch/hold her briefly which is great! They are enjoying just watching her grow and change before their eyes as well!)

Here's Zachary showing Caitlin how to go down the slide backwards!

After dinner we stopped by the play room to show Caitlin the digs!  It was definitely a hit!! Zachary and Caitlin were the only two in there so it was perfect for them to run around and burn off that last bit of energy before going to bed!

Caitlin riding on the horsey!

Caitlin playing around!

Finally it was off to bed!!  Caitlin liked watching Zachary brush his teeth so we gave her a toothbrush of her own to use, only she used it to brush everything from her belly to her legs to her hair and she thought this was quite funny, as did we all!  So darn cute!  We put her in the crib and she was out within a matter of minutes!  After Caitlin went to bed we spent some quality time with Zachary reading his Magic Tree House book.

Tomorrow we head as a group to the zoo!  Yeah!

Day 9 - Traveling to Guangzhou - Our last stop before heading home!!!

Well, it's our last day in Nanning and we will be heading to Guangzhou for our final stop on this trip.  Today we took our time packing and playing because we didn't have have to leave until 3:30pm.   Caitlin has really turned a corner today, smiling and giggling so much more now- I just can't get enough of her beautiful smile!!  She even has a dimple like her Mommy!!! :) Speaking of similarities... Mom and Noah think it's quite funny that Mom's little "wish" for me to have a daughter just like myself is coming true.  They seem to think she is stubborn like me (I'm not stubborn!) and runs around like a bull in a china shop (okay so they used to call me Gracie Traci). 

Love that big beautiful smile!!!

After we were picked up at 3:30pm we had to stop by the passport office to see if Caitlin's passport was ready to pick up.  Our instructions from Belinda were:  I am going to find out if the passport is ready, you stay in the van for 45 minutes with the driver (who speaks no English), if it is ready at that time, I will call the driver and he will pick me back up and we will go to the airport; if not, I'll wait for it and the driver will take you to the airport to catch your flight.  Okay, so the driver pulls down this side street and parks the van.  Caitlin, who does not like small spaces, was not content sitting there waiting, so we got out and wandered around. There were a few vendors on the street selling veggies, eggs, candy and oh yeah freshly plucked whole chickens.  (When we first drove by we could see the vendor actually wringing the chicken's neck and pulling it in boiling water to remove the feathers easier!  Talk about fresh to the table!!)  The driver gets a call and we get back in the van, and were ready to go.  We ask if Belinda got the passport and we would be picking her up? He just turns around gives us a huge smile and says "Okay."  I crack up and begin laughing hysterically as I think about the situation we are in... in a van with a man who speaks no English, we have no idea if we will be meeting our guide again and we need to be to the airport in about 1 hour and we are trusting this man with our lives!  Granted he's been our driver all week (and laundry man!) and he is really sweet, but the timing just struck me as hilarious!  We drive down the street a couple blocks and there she is - passport in hand!! Yeah!

Caitlin's first trip on a plane!!!  Zachary loved sitting next to his little sister!  She did pretty well until we hit some turbulence and her ears were popping!  Can't wait for the L--O--N--G trip home!  Ugh!  Hopefully by then she will has warmed up to the grandparents and we can take turns entertaining/walking with her.  I seriously think the airline companies should consider a playroom area for children on long flights - for every one's sanity!

When we arrived in Guangzhou,, Caitlin had a blast helping Zachary wheel his suitcase all around as we waited for our luggage to arrive.

While waiting, another little Chinese girl about 3 1/2 came up to take a picture of Zachary instead they each took pictures of each other taking photos of each other.  So cute!

Mr. Zhou met us at the airport and we headed to the Victory Hotel in Guangzhou.  It's good to be back with with our group and see other familiar faces and knowing they are going through the same stuff we are!

When we go up to check out our rooms - we find them quite spacious but the actual layout of our room is perplexing!!  I definitely will have to chat with Danielle to see how on earth one would furnish this space!!  Basically we have a curved bedroom within a  larger room - I know you're thinking  - duh - it's called a suite, but I question the hall to nowhere behind the room! I can't even do it justice by describing it!  I wonder if at one time this funky space was an open wrap around veranda.  (Noah calls it the in-law's suite!) I don't think they use energy efficient windows in this building - as we could see our blinds swinging in the breeze!  We play around with the thermostats - setting them up to 30 degrees Celsius - but no luck!  So after we bundle the kids up and put them to bed, I head head down to the front desk to get someone to fix the heater, instead I find an employee in our hallway and he brings us a space heater! Apparently this is not a new problem for this room! 

Day 8 - Family Day (Photos as promised)

Zachary is loving his special time with Nana and Grandma!!!

The gang at our usual dining place - Shen Zhou Food Street!  Who could ask for more - it's on the 1st floor of the hotel, food's pretty good, sweet english speaking waitress, and dinner for 7 averaging under $20!!!

This is our local guide Belinda and her 5 month old daughter Mu En (pronounced Moon).

Belinda, her husband and daughter all joined us for dinner on our last night in local.

I thought I would have more to post, but looking back, our day was more about bonding as a family than taking photos.  I know that sounds crazy that I wasn't clicking away to capture every moment, but it's true and I wouldn't change a thing!

Day 8 - Family Day

We decided that after yesterday, we just needed some down time as a family to do our own thing.  So the grandparents went to the market and a museum with Belinda today while we stayed back at the hotel.  It was nice not to have any schedule to follow!  We took our time eating breakfast - once again she was chowing down the food!  She loved her watermelon,banana, green beans and toast with fried eggs on it!!

Getting ready for our family day!!

After breakfast we did some more laps around the lower level and main lobbies.  So much fun, but we needed a change in scenery!!

 

Ge Ge and Mei Mei

So we decided to press our luck with putting her in the stroller and going for a walk in the Nanhu (South Lake) Park next to our hotel.  We had been advised not to use a stroller the first few days, instead use a Snuggly or simply carry her facing us to help in forming a bond/connection with her.  We bundled her up and headed out - SUCCESS!  She loved going in the stroller!!  (She will definitely be training for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk with me!!!) She actually passed out on the ride and continued napping for over an hour once we returned to our room. 

After her nap we struggled and tried everything to calm her down, but to no avail!  Finally we tried racing with Zachary up and down the hallway - we actually got smiles and squeals!!! She loved it!  She loves watching and chasing him!!  What an amazing bond they are forming, it's wonderful to watch!

Belinda stopped by in the afternoon for us to verify all of the final documents from the Notary for her visa.  As well, the photographer for the registrar's office who took our family photo for the documents stopped by to deliver our photos from the disposable cameras we sent in Caitlin's care package.  We were able to see where she lived and with whom.  Such a different way of living - but she was smiling and seemed to be happy in the photos!  We also found out that she favored the "ba ba" (father) in her foster family as well.  

At some point during the afternoon, she finally started to look for me and reach out for my hand to play.  Yeah!

We invited Belinda and her husband and 5 month old daughter Mu En to have dinner with us at our usual restaurant on the lower level.  They came by motorcycle (scooter) - Belinda rides on the back holding on to Mu En.  Oh yeah I forgot to mention that there are no car seats over here!    

Belinda made some suggestions for new dishes to try.  Once again Caitlin chowed down everything from fried rice to spicy bbq pork and noodles!!  After dinner was through Caitlin actually reached her arms out for me to pick her up and said "mama".  :)   

I took hallway walking duty tonight and she passed out really easily... too easily!  But as I placed her in bed - she woke up screaming!!  For the next 45 minutes there was no consoling her.  We finally placed her in her crib, got in our beds and turned out the lights.  Low and behold... she laid down and went to sleep!!! 

I have a few more photos from today that I will have to post tomorrow because I am writing in the dark hoping she won't wake up!  

Day 7 - Green Hill Park

Caitlin only woke up once last night for a bottle and went right back to sleep - next to Daddy :) For the 4th day in a row, it's been foggy and misty.  The temperatures aren't quite what we had hoped for.  Last week it was in the 80's, but this week a cold front has blown in!!  Lucky us!  That hasn't stopped us from seeing a few sites. Today Belinda took us to Green Hill Park which is the largest in Nanning.  It is so lush an beautiful here, I'm sure with a little sun peeking through it is gorgeous here year round!  Our first stop in the park was on the top of the mountain at a Buddhist Temple.  We were only allowed to take photos outside the buildings, so we only have a few.  There was a Buddhist ceremony in honor of one of the gods' birthdays while we were there.  Their chanting was beautiful to listen to as it could be heard throughout the complex.  This chanting seemed to be familiar to Caitlin as she was mesmerized by the sound.

Belinda (back of her) Dad and Fred checking out an incense  burner outside the main gate.  People purchase the incense sticks and light them, sending their prayers to the Buddhist gods.  There were all different size sticks, the bigger the stick the more the gods will hear your prayers and watch down on you. 

View inside the incense cauldron.

Maze of flowers in Green Hill Park.

Belinda explained to us that " The flowers represent the beautiful woman and yellow represents the bull s&*# man". Okay?!

Caitlin was starting to get fussy, so we left the park early to get her back to the hotel for some lunch and her nap.  After her nap we had some family play time in our room and she really started to open up and enjoy playing with Zachary and Noah.

Our cutie!

Still not giving smiles away easily.

I think she might be a Star Wars fan in the making!  Zachary and Uncle Nathan will be excited for her to join their club!

Playing in the room in the afternoon.  She loves her little purse!

Quite the little snacker - a girl after my own heart!

Playing with gege.

Caitlin is not eating her congee (contrary to what her paperwork says!!) or anything from a spoon for that matter.  (We even tried oatmeal and rice cereal - but to no avail!)  She has however taken a liking to Cheerios, puffs, freezed dried strawberries and bananas, yogurt puffs, crackers and gold fish.  Thank goodness she's eating something.  I decided that we weren't up to eating dinner at the Shen Zhou restaurant on the lower level, but I would get some stuff and bring it back to the room.  So Dad and I wandered down to the restaurant while Zachary got some more QT with Nana and Grandma.  While we were waiting for our food, out of nowhere Caitlin wanted to get down and raced all around the room holding my hand!  What a relief for my back!!!!  She was having a great time with her new found freedom!  Even after the food was ready we continued making laps around the lower lobby and then moved our way up the stairs to the main lobby for a few laps.  At one point, Dad reach over and grabbed her little hand and she accepted it!!  So sweet!  There were a few times she lost her grip but would look up and reach out for his hand again.  She is like her cousin Ivy, favoring the men!  GO girl!  :)

We finally made it back up to Nana and Granpa's room (after the scary ride in the elevator - she hates being in small confined spaces!) for some dinner.  She CHOWED!!!!  She had fried rice with peas, fried dumplings and watermelon.  She couldn't get the food in her mouth fast enough!!  The heck with the congee - give me some real food!  

Later that night we all went back down to the lobby to watch her walk around (and around and around).  Zachary grabbed her hand at one point and then that was it; she loved walking with her gege and only wanted to walk with him!!!   She was smiling and laughing! What a beautiful moment!  They were having a great time until she saw someone that reminded her of her mama, then the crying started again.  

My heart feels her pain and I want so much to take it away, but I know only time can heal her pain.  I know too that we need to be strong and push through the rough times (and I have faith we will make it through - but please pray for our family - especially Caitlin), but we can't help be mad at what they have put her through by not removing her from her foster home earlier to ease the transition in to her new family - why would anyone think this would be good for her?!  Why?!  As well, there really is no support from the different adoption entities to help us navigate through this emotionally unchartered water.  It is frustrating to watch three other families here in our hotel with their children, whose children seem to be adjusting well. Unfortunately, not one family is from the US or speaks english so we feel isolated.  At least when we get to Guangzhou, we will be with 10 other families from our agency that we can compare stories and draw upon their experience.  

I have counted and there are 175 steps up and down our hallway (multiply that by 35-40 time and we've got some serious miles clocked!) - we know it all too well!! There really needs to be another way to get her to sleep at night!!!  (We weighed her today and she is 9.8 kg or but if you ask my back - she weighs a ton!  She's one solid and tough little girl!)  After she finally fell asleep, we put her in the crib for the first time - success!  She didn't wake up during the transfer.  Meanwhile we read bedtime stories to Zachary sitting on the floor in the foyer of our room so we would not wake her up.  

Baby steps...I know!  

 

Day 6 -- It's Official - she's finally our daughter legally!!!

Caitlin slept through until about 7:00 am which was great!  Noah, Caitlin and I went with Belinda to the notary's office and registrar's office to finalize the local adoption portion of this process. Unfortunately the registrar's office was in the same building as yesterday, when we had our "Gotcha Day".  So needless to say this made Caitlin very upset - and her search for mama continued.

Waiting for our turn to be called in to fill out the paperwork.

We each took turns signing and thumb printing (in red ink) our signatures on all the paperwork.  The orphanage gave us a small gift which included a silver child's bracelet with the name of the orphanage on the outside and her Chinese name on the inside.  As well they were kind enough to to give us a cd with pictures of Caitlin on it.  (Can't wait to see them!)

It's official!  Here we are with the director of the orphanage after our paperwork has been completed.

Daddy's little girl!!  :)

The garden at the Chinese Welfare Lottery building.

Passed out from a combination of all the crying and fresh air.

Once we got back to the hotel, we picked up the rest of the crew and headed to Wal-Mart (Mom's been waiting for this!) for some supplies. Unfortunately I do not have a photo our camera so I will have to get it from Mom's to download it to the site!  We picked up two pizzas from Pizza Hut and took them back to the hotel for lunch.  While we were waiting for the pizzas, Grandpa W., Zachary, Caitlin an I went for a walk around the mall.  Grandpa bought a remote control car for Zachary, which both he and Caitlin enjoyed watching/playing with in the mall.

Caitlin fell asleep in my arms while walking the halls (it's been rainy and overcast all week) only to wake up as I tried to lay her down.  So, back to the hall we went and she fell back asleep.  This time I sat in the chair and let her sleep on my chest.  Noah was exhausted from last night so he napped too.  After she woke up I got her something to eat and we went with Nana and Granpa for a walk around the park at the South Lake (which is where our hotel is). She fell back asleep on our walk which was nice because she needed it, but I found out the hard way that Baby Bjorn's are not meant for bigger kids and she's not exactly a peanut!!  But it was recommended that we use this for bonding purposes.  

When we got back, I got her something to eat and then Zachary and Caitlin stayed in the room with Noah while the rest of us went down to Zhen Food Street Restaurant on the lower level of our hotel to grab some dinner.  When I returned, there were cheerios and puffs all over the floor (such fun throwing them and stepping on them!) and everyone was having a great time!  Zachary and Caitlin were playing together and she was smiling!!!  Zachary would drive his new car in the room and Caitlin would go pick it up and bring it back to him to so he could do it again!  (She's better at fetch than Otis!)  Zachary is so happy that she finally wants to play with him!  I almost cried when I saw her bend over and give him a kiss!  It warms my heart to see such brotherly and sisterly love growing before my eyes!!!

All tuckered out!  We can't wait to play some more tomorrow! 

Day 5 -- Gotcha Day!!

First of all, I'm sorry it took so long to post, but these past two days have been crazy and heart wrenching as I'm sure you can imagine.  So our local guide, Belinda and the van driver picked us up at 2:30 pm and we headed to the China Welfare Lottery building to meet Caitlin!  By this point the butterflies in my stomach were going crazy!  Now our agency had warned us that this moment would not be like that of a fairy tale where our daughter would come running to us with open arms calling "Mommy", "Daddy"!  After all, we have been waiting and anticipating this moment for over 2-1/2 years now, but she doesn't have a clue as to what's about to happen!

The gang in the China Welfare Lottery building on our way to meet Caitlin!!  (She's only 4 floors up!!)

We are taken up to Reception Room 1 on the fourth floor to wait for Caitlin to be brought to us. We have given each person their assignments - Fred's on video, Mom and Chloette are on cameras and Dad is in charge of helping out with Zachary.  We're ready, now bring her to us already!!  As we wait, we watch as the different orphanage nannies and directors bring child after child in to be adopted.  We must have seen at least 15-20 children (ages 9 months to 4 or 5) herded down the hallway, and I could not help but tear up.  These children are going to have the world they know turned upside down within a matter of minutes.  I know they will all have loving and caring families but that doesn't make it easier as I watch them go by.

Caitlin is the first child to be brought into our room!  As we are watching out the door, I see Belinda walk in followed by two nannies from the orphanage.  One has to match our travel approval letter with her records and the other has Caitlin in her arms!!  She is dressed in a blue and white snow suit of sorts - she reminds us of Ralphie's brother on the Christmas Story with her arms sticking out to the side - unable to move them.  The nanny places Caitlin in my arms and my heart melts - our family is now complete!  She begins to cry immediately, trying to push herself out of my arms.  Who are these strangers?  After a few minutes, Noah holds her but still she continues to cry.

Caitlin in Daddy's arms for the first time.

As you can see from this photo, Zachary is so excited to finally meet his mei mei (little sister) and tries to make her smile.  He's going to be an amazing big brother!

After a few minutes, we are moved across the hall into the Ceremonial Room to bond with our children.  It is here that Belinda speaks with the nanny from Caitlin's orphanage and told to us that Caitlin was removed from her foster family THIS MORNING and brought here on a 2 1/2 hour train ride to meet us.  I can't believe they did that to her!!!  It's horrible!!  We were told that they normally remove the child from the foster family 1-2 weeks prior to the adoptive parent's arrival, easing the transition period.  Caitlin had lived with this foster family since March 3, 2008 - a whole year, so obviously that's all she knew and there was a strong bond between them.  Belinda also tells us that Shi Lan (pronounced Shu Lan- her given Chinese name) likes to be outside and suggests that we take her out to the garden to try and soothe her.

Caitlin and Daddy heading out to the garden to walk around.  The panda that she is holding was in the care package we sent to her for her birthday.   The photo album we sent to her so she could start recognizing members of our family was returned with and additional two photos.  They were of Caitlin by herself smiling and one of her with her foster family.

Our family walking through the garden trying to calm Caitlin down.  Unfortunately nothing is comforting to her, she continues to call out for her "mama".

After many laps up and down the hallway, Caitlin finally crashes and Zachary takes this opportunity to give Caitlin a hug from her ge ge (big brother).  Zachary has tried so many times today to give her a big hug but she just screams and pushes him away.  He just wants to show her that he loves her!

Our adoption agency also prepared us for the fact that it is normal for a child to bond more quickly with one parent than the other.  In time she will open up and bond with the second parent.  Honestly, I thought I would be crushed if that initial bond was not with me, after all, I am her mommy.  But after seeing how upset she was those feelings went out the window. Noah is an amazing father, and Caitlin responded to his gentle soothing ways and I was truly happy they were beginning to bond.  She is definitely Daddy's Little Girl!  :)

Whenever she sees/hears a Chinese man or woman she screams out "Mama" as if she is trying to find her.  This cry breaks my heart, to think we have caused her any pain.  I know in my heart that we will give her the best life we possibly can and that her foster family was never going to adopt her, but just seeing the pain and hearing her desperate cries makes me sad.  She does not like being inside our room because she can not search for her mama in here, so we are constantly walking the halls trying to calm her down and show her that her mama isn't out there but "wu shi mama" (I'm your mama) or "Je shi mama" (she's your mama).  Hearing this only sets her off screaming again.  

Zachary is having an especially hard time with everything.  He has come to me feeling sad or I have found him crying on the bed several times today.  He keeps wondering "Why doesn't Caitlin's mommy want her?" and asking "Why can't she just see her mama once more?  She keeps calling out to her."  I hold him tight and try to hold back the tears as I try to be as honest and explain the best I can.  He had seen a photo of her foster family in the photo album and wonders why they don't keep her.  Such a difficult concept to grasp, even for me.

It's bedtime and Noah is out in the hall doing laps, when she makes it clear that she wants to see what's inside that door.  (Nana  & Granpa's room).  So Noah and Caitlin wander in and check out what's out side etc. while the rest of us all gather in the hall to watch through the doorway.  Nana smiles and waves to Caitlin and out of nowhere she shows us a huge smile!!  It's the most beautiful site I've seen here in China!!!  So everyone begins to wave and smile and she continues to flash those pearly whites at us!  But soon the moment passes and she is crying again.  Noah is able to calm her back down, give her a bottle and get her to fall asleep on Nana's bed.  Noah stays with her all night while I stay with Zachary and comfort him. 

I have faith that things will continue to get better each day.  We love you Caitlin!!