A re-do of the red couch photo. Chloe is on the upper level center in pink kitty T-shirt. 

Still Fighting Jet Lag

Chloe, and consequently Mom, have not been getting much night-time sleep. This is quite an adjustment for her and we are having some long miserable nights. There was little to no sleep Monday and Tuesday evening. After Tuesday's visit to the Pediatrician, he advised me to give her more Benadryl at bedtime, just for a few nights, to help Chloe get to sleep.

Wednesday night (after a full evening of play with the Nelson's grand-daughter Nicole) Chloe went to sleep at the appropriate bedtime. She cried for only a minute and then nodded off. I learned that if I leave the room, she will stop crying much sooner. If I stay there to comfort her, she will cry all night (like the previous nights). She awoke a couple of hours later and then again after another hour. Each time, she cried and if I stayed in the room, she would continue to cry. If I left, she would stop and go back to sleep within 2 minutes. It looked like we were going to have a decent night until our home alarm system decided to go off at 2 AM. It went off twice and sent Chloe into a hysterical cry. She was wide awake and it took us several minutes to figure out how to disconnect the alarm system. Somehow, the Panic alarms were being triggered as the alarm had not been engaged otherwise. We also came home to find some electrical problems. Several of our lights don't work. The ones that were on, we cannot turn off, and some of the ones that are off, we cannot turn on. Time for an electrician.

We finally got her back to sleep after over an hour of crying. We will try to post some pictures soon.

April 17& 18-Home at last!

After sleeping on and off Sunday, Chloe and Mom were awake on Monday morning as Pete went off to work. While Chloe napped, I was up most of the night unpacking and doing laundry and trying to get the house somewhat in order. I had a burst of energy and was very eager to head toward a life of routine.

Since we were both awake, bathed and dressed on Monday morning, I decided to take Chloe in the car to see the city of Shafter. I was eager to see the construction progress on my park project that I had just started shortly before leaving for China. It would now have to be finished by someone else as I am taking another 9 weeks off for bonding with Chloe. I was so excited to see the restroom building taking shape and was jealous that I could not be there to finish it.

I decided to stop by City Hall and Chloe had a chance to meet most of my co-workers. It was a fun time and Chloe seemed to enjoy herself. Tomorrow we will go to the pediatrician.

April 16-the second time around

Shortly after 11 PM, we boarded our flight from Hong Kong to LAX. We were traveling on this flight with 5 other families from our original group. We booked a seat for Chloe, so we had three seats for us to "stretch out" in.

Like all the other families, we kept Chloe awake until the flight departed and gave her some children's Benadryl before boarding the plane. She quickly drifted off to a restless sleep, but Pete and I had to stay awake to keep her from falling out of the seat. She tossed and turned for 8 hours straight and wasn't too happy, even though she was mostly asleep.

After 8 hours, she awoke. We did our best to keep her entertained and let her move around as much as is possible in a fixed seat. Chloe kept us so busy that we didn't watch any of the movies (there appeared to be some good ones this flight) and by the final hour, Chloe was becoming very unhappy. She would scream, throw her head back and arch her back. It was nearly impossible to hang onto her. We walked her around a little bit, but she had had enough. As landing approached, I had to strap her in the special child seat belt they provide. This made her very unhappy and she screamed through the remainder of the flight. By this time, most people were no longer trying to sleep and the other babies on the flight were acting up as well. I was so grateful that this flight was only 12 hours as compared to our nearly 15 hour flight to go to China.

We arrived in America two and a half hours before we left Hong Kong. Yes it was still April 16th and it had been a very long day. For us, even though we were tired, it was morning time in China and we were wide awake, including Chloe. We spent about an hour waiting in immigration to get our daughters approved. Then it was a quick walk through customs and our ride was waiting for us at 11:30 PM just outside the departure area.

It would have been nap time for Chloe in China, so I decided that I would try to put her to sleep in the car seat. This would be her first experience in one, and given her aversion to being restrained, I was afraid we would have a long two-hour drive home. Pete made us a bottle and I could tell Chloe was hungry and sleepy. As I put her in the seat, I immediately gave her the bottle and she settled in for a meal and immediate nap that lasted the whole drive home.

We arrived home around 1:30 AM on Sunday morning, April 17th. We were still awake, so we just sort of unloaded everything and introduced Chloe to the house and Sammy and Marty. Sammy is the Shetland Sheepdog and Marty is our cat. She wasn't very interested in either one.

It was about 5 AM before we finally drifted off to sleep. Chloe didn't last in the crib for more than an hour, so I brought her into the guest bed and we napped together for about 4 or 5 hours.
The rest of Sunday was a blur.

Sorry, still no pictures. We are too tired.

April 16-Final Wait to go Home-Chloe learns to walk!

Today was another day full of waiting. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 11:45 PM so we had another entire day to wait at our hotel and the Hong Kong airport. We were allowed to stay in our rooms and delay check out until 3:00PM. After that, our agency booked two additional rooms that all of the remaining families could use together to wait out the remainder of the day.

It was a tiring, slow and long day, but we managed to get more acquainted with one of the families in our group that we hadn't spent much time with before. With a long day in the room, Chloe spent most of her time exploring and playing with the other two babies in our room and this was her first day of walking independently. After several attempts, she managed to take about 12 steps by herself and cross 2/3 of the room on her own. At least we had something great come out of this long and boring day!

Sorry, still no photos today....all the gear is packed!

April 15-Travel Day

Today was our last day in Guangzhou. Even though our flight to Hong Kong would last only 30 minutes, we spent much of the day waiting in the hotel lobby and at the airport in Guangzhou. We didn't arrive in Hong Kong until around 8 PM and then we spent the night at a very nice hotel inside the airport.

We are so glad to be heading home now. It has been a long and tiring adventure. Our bus ride to the airport in Guangzhou was 40 minutes. If we had kept driving for another 2.5 hours, we could have been in Hong Kong much sooner. The airport is brand new (opened August 2004) and I had my first encounter with a squat toilet. It was amazing to see a brand new restroom complete with automatic faucets and flushing mechanisms, with granite tile floors and then behind the partition door is a porcelain hole in the ground. I wasn't sure where to put my feet or even which way I was supposed to face. At least this one had toilet paper. I am glad that this was the only squat toilet I had to use the entire trip.

Sorry we have no photos to post for today.

Hmmmm....decisions, decisions. Red scorpions or white? 

Farmers Market in Guangzhou 

Chloe and Mom taking a shopping break on Shamian Island 

School children playing on Shamian Island 

Tree trunk on Shamian Island 

April 14th

Today we are required to wait in our hotel rooms from 9:30-11:30 AM in our rooms while our guides deliver all our paperwork to the US embassy. In the past, the families had to travel there and wait. Now our guide submits the multitude of required documents and if there are any questions, they will call us in our hotel rooms.

Chloe has a rash or hives. We took her to the medical clinic after 11:30 AM. The doctor there indicated that she is having an alergic reaction to the antibiotics that she took a few days ago to get over the Bronchitis. He prescribed us something that looks like Pepto Bismo and wants us to apply this all over her skin before bed. I am skeptical about this, but we will give it a try.

We spent the afternoon shopping and strolling around the island. Chloe still gets hysterical if I try to put her in the stroller or if I do not hold her closely. I think she is very afraid that I may disappear or leave her.

Tonight is our last night in Guangzhou. We are supposed to go out to dinner as a group to a Chinese restaurant after another attempt to get everyone together for the red couch photo. Several from our group missed it yesterday. Given Chloe's record, I doubt that she will behave any differently tonight.

Chloe with Dad and Mom on the red couch 

Chloe escaping the red couch. She is in green. 

April 13th-our free day

Today it was nice not to have any required appointments, exams or obligations. We wanted to do some shopping, so we headed out right after breakfast. Chloe still refuses to sit in a stroller. She insists on being held in Mom's arms. Thank goodness for the Hip Hammock. It is our carrier that straps around the waist and shoulder to help support all of Chloe's 18.5 pounds. According to the medical exam, she weighs one pound less than she was supposed to have weighed on February 3rd. She really is a small girl. We bought one outfit that was 3-6 months and it fit her loosely. I think it must have been mislabled.

We wanted to purchase a few silk Chinese outfits for Chloe in several different sizes so that she could grow into them. All of the shops sell these outfits; however, each shop seems to have different size labeling. We also purchased the infamous "squeeky shoes" that everyone talks about. These shoes squeek whenever you take a step, so they encourage walking. However, some of the parents lose their sanity after a little too much "squeeking". Fortunately, the squeekers are easily removeable and the shoes work just fine. You can get leather shoes here for about $6 per pair.

Later in the afternoon, we met at the White Swan hotel for the famous Red Couch photo. Chloe is usually very difficult at this time of day and today was no exception. She went hysterical on the couch and wouldn't sit with the other babies. She continued her tirade on through dinner and into the evening. It was a rough night for the three of us, but Mom and Dad kept their cool and just tried to comfort her as much as possible.

April 12th-paperwork day

In the morning, our group met in the lobby to take our babies over to the clinic for their medical exam. This is required by the US government before they will issue a visa for travel. In the clinic we saw lots of other families with their adoptive children, some with special needs. There was a handsome young albino boy with striking blue eyes and white hair. Chloe cried less than most of the babies. It was a very cursory exam, just taking measurements and looking for obvious problems.

This afternoon only one parent was allowed to meet with the others in a hotel room to fill out all of the paperwork to apply for a visa through the US consulate. It took over two hours and required twelve different documents to be completed and placed in order. Since Chloe is so dependent upon Mom, we decided to let her spend some quality time with Dad and Mom went to do the paperwork.

Afterward, we all took a nap and then began exploring Shamian Island on our own. All of the shopkeepers are very anxious and competitive for your business. They come and meet you out in the street and ask you a bunch of questions about your baby and then try to coax you into their store. They are quite successful at it. We have not yet met anyone who hasn't commented on Chloe's big eyes. I guess they must be a bit unusual, especially to other Chinese.

I have met friends from the internet here in person. It really is an amazing sight to see all these babies. This place is almost surreal.

Chloe at Thai restaurant 

First birthday cake for babies 

April 11 Off to Guangzhou

We packed most of the morning for our trip from Nanning to Guangzhou. The flight was only an hour and Chloe slept through most of it. After arriving in Guangzhou, we went straight to our hotel, settled in our rooms and then went for a quick walking tour of Shamian Island. Shamian Island is a very small portion of Guangzhou. It is where our hotel, the US Conslate, and lots of little baby shops are located. This entire island is geared toward American adoptive families and the architecture is more European than Chinese. It is very pretty, although our first day was hot and muggy.

Later that night we went out to dinner at a Thai restaurant and had a one year birthday celebration for all of us who missed our daughter's first birthday. Chloe is still very clingy to Mom and will not go easily to Dad. If Dad puts her in a baby carrier and takes her outside for a walk, she settles down after awhile, but if Mom is in sight, she has a fit and wants to be held constantly.

April 10- group photo of babies with dads 

Chloe on the bus to Qinzhou-April 9 

A Trip to the orphanage and Chloe's finding location

Of the six families who had babies from Qinzhou, only three opted to take the trip into the city to visit the orphanage and take a photo of their baby's place of abandonment. After a one and a half hour drive through the countryside, we began our way into a small and very poor village called Dasi. The roads were dirt and pitted, almost too narrow for our small bus to navigate.

The scenes of poverty were some of the worst that we could have ever imagined. All the people are out in the street cooking and living. It is really very foul and no one looks happy. One lady on the bus burst out into tears when she saw them cooking a dog. This really must be where the poorest of the poor cling to life and fight for survival. We traveled further down the bumpy road to another small group of buildings. They told us this was the hospital and that Chloe was found at the entrance gate. It is hard to imagine her having to grow up and live in a place like that.

After that, we went to the other two locations. One baby was found in the center of a landscaped round-a-bout in the middle of a busy intersection. It seemed a very odd location, but the flowers and plants were beautiful and there was a perimeter fence to protect the island from traffic. The other was from another small village that looked much more typical of what I had envisioned how poor people in China live. Lots of little food stands and people in the streets. It didn't have the ominous feeling of doom and misery that we felt in the village of Dasi.

We then went to lunch at a restaurant in Qinzhou. They took us upstairs to a private room and we all looked a little unsettled. The dishes were dirty and our guide apologized for the conditions and said that there weren't any nice restaurants in Qinzhou. He ordered sweet and sour pork and they brought out a plate piled high with big chunks of fat..... yes pure fat, no meat. Each piece measured about 2" x 3" x 1" thick. There were a few pieces of pineapple mixed in. Even our Chinese guide thought this was a very disgusting dish as he turned his face up and apologized again. The rest of us were just laughing or in shock. We mostly ate rice that meal.

After a long day of driving all around Qinzhou, we returned to our hotels to rest for the remainder of the evening. This was the first day that Chloe acted like a healthy happy baby. She was great on the bus and socialized and played with the other babies. She even laughed and smiled at everyone.

April 8, Another rough day

Today Chloe was still feeling very ill, so we opted to skip out on the trip to the museum of minority groups of the Guangxi Province. Instead, we decided to take our first taxi ride into the city and to the department store to shop. The baby department was on the fourth floor and there wasn't much selection. We ended up purchasing a couple of outfits and some socks and then headed over to Pizza Hut again for lunch.

Afterward, we went to the basement where there is a supermarket, kind of like a superstore market with cell phones and watches and other items besides just groceries. Each aisle had about 4 employees dressed in uniforms. Usually one was organizing or stocking shelves while the other 3 just stood around. There were more employees than customers. It was very interesting and it was obvious that labor must be very inexpensive.

The rules of driving here are very different than in the US. Everyone just merges out into the traffic....... cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians. No one waits for it to be clear, they just all move into the flow. Amazingly, there doesn't appear to be very many accidents. And taking a taxi is very simple.

We then went back to the hotel and took a nap. After we all awoke, we decided to try some time in the park. Chloe was very unhappy and we thought this might perk her up. No such luck. We soon learned that the folks who went to the museum had just returned and had a very hot sweaty unpleasant time. They said we didn't miss much. I don't think Chloe or I would have survived it. After two very sick sad days with Chloe, we are hopeful that tomorrow will bring something better.

unhappy Chloe in park

Our hotel in Nanning, 5 star outside and in the lobby, 2-3 star in the rooms 

A sick Chloe after being blessed by a Buddhist monk 

Rough Day

Chloe's bronchitis worsened today. The medicine that the Chinese doctor prescribed is so nasty that she is becoming less attached to us because we have to hold her down to administer it. We decided to skip this morning's dose and try again after today's outing.

We had a very full day of touring. Had I realized how long it would have been, we would have skipped out and remained at the hotel. First we went to a large and very beautiful park with lots of fancy paved stones, large monument gateways, sculptured shrubs and trees and very warm sunny weather (hot). After time in the park, we traveled to a Buddahist Temple and then had a monk bless Chloe. This is the part where I thought we were going home. Instead, we traveled to a nine-story ancient pagoda on top of a mountain. There was beautiful scenery, a lake and a nice place where I could sit and let Chloe sleep while the others walked around. Some even climbed to the top of the Pagoda.

Then the group all went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant. Chloe has not been herself all morning and I dreaded this part; however, she did just fine and even ate some congee (rice porridge) and fried rice after taking a bottle. After lunch we finally returned to the hotel, where Chloe had finally had it and she cried for a long time. I think it was mostly her illness, but she refuses to let Pete comfort her and won't let me put her down for a second. She still cries in my arms, but she wails under any other circumstance. Around 8 PM I was able to give her the last bottle and get her to sleep. I hope that she doesn't wake up more than once tonight. We have now resorted to adding in some American medicines and have quit using the Hickory Smoke-flavored cough syrup....much less fighting and terror. Chloe has also developed a rash around her ears and neck. We think it is heat rash and are treating it with Hydro-cortisone cream to reduce the itch.

I hope tomorrow is a better day. Unfortunately, we plan on skipping the trip to a minority museum. It sounds like a wonderful tour with a chance to pick up some one-of-a-kind souveniers, but Chloe and Mama just may not be up to it.

Day 3--April 6th

This morning Mom woke up with an unbearable headache and nausia. Not feeling well enough for the days planned activities, she opted to stay in the hotel room with Chloe and let Dad go shopping at a mall with the group and then eat afterward at Pizza Hut again.

After a good nap, Chloe and Mom had a fun time playing in the room and trying to walk. Pete came back from shopping and proclaimed that we were the lucky ones as all the other babies were crying all afternoon, and their lungs were much stronger than Chloe's. He said the mall had a very fancy store just like Macy's, but that there was a swarm in the baby department as there were other groups of adoptive families all rushing for the same items. Pete came back with a couple of pairs of cute baby shoes, including one pair of squeeky shoes. Most importantly, he came back with the much coveted Coke Light. Maybe Mom's headache will finally get better.

Official Adoption Day - April 5th

Today was another very important day. We had to go to the Civil Affairs office where each family was interviewed privately. They asked us if we were adopting voluntarily and then they asked us if we promise never to abandon, abuse or neglect Chloe. They also asked us the purpose of our adoption. After responding overwhelmingly positively, we then left to the next location where a formal ceremony was conducted to finalize the adoptions. At the end of the ceremony, each family exchanged gifts with the orphanage director and we were allowed to ask more questions about our individual daughters. Chloe's orphanage representative came over to us and began addressing Chloe in very endearing terms. We could tell that she was fond of her.

Later in the day we took Chloe to a very old Chinese doctor...what an experience! He diagnosed her as having Bronchitis and prescribed three medicines, including antibiotics. These medicines are the most foul-smelling concoctions imaginable. I think the one intended to be cough suppressant smelled like Hickory Smoke, and that was the good one. I have scrubbed my hands several times and I still cannot get that odor off my hands. Just imagine how fun it is trying to bond with an adorable baby and then trying to force three doses of this stuff down her throat twice a day. I think she blames Pete (he helped hold her down) and now she is scared of him. It is going to take a little while for her to warm up to him. They warned us that our daughter would attach to one of us first and reject the other. In our case, Chloe is attaching to Mom first.

Chloe with Mom on 2nd day 

Chloe on Gotcha Day! 

Finally, Gotcha Day!

Nanning is very different from Hong Kong. China is so full of contrasts. There are new buildings going up everywhere and some people are very stylish and cosmopolitan; however, most of the people here still appear to be living a life of the past. We went shopping at a Walmart here and it is quite different from home, lots of strange smells. The store is two stories of a multi-story building so there is a special escalator for the shopping carts...they go down a sloping ramp and the carts have brakes on them. I don't think this would be considered safe in America, but it works!

April 4th, GOTCHA DAY!

After a morning of shopping at Walmart for last-minute bottles & diapers, we had lunch at Pizza Hut, just like home only with a much fancier atmosphere, and then returned to the hotel to drop off our bags and rush back to the bus. We were transported to another hotel in Nanning for the final moment. An official came out and gave us a speech about caring for the babies and then in walked the nannies with all 15 babies. I recognized another lady's baby, but could not pick mine out of the crowd. But when they called our name, I knew it was her. Chloe is a wonderful baby. She has the most beautiful dark complexion and the biggest eyes of all. Some of the babies cried during handover, but not Chloe. We could tell she was scared, but she was also very curious, looking around and showing an interest in everything. Some of the other babies cried, shut down, or slept. But Chloe just acted like a curious baby. All of the babies from Chloe's orphanage were dressed in adorable bright yellow outfits. They are definately a keepsake to be treasured.

Immediately after receiving the babies, we were rushed out of the room, as there was another group from Wisconsin and Illinois waiting to collect their babies. We were whisked back to the hotel where we had time to get to know our babies and rest up for the next day when our adoption would become finalized.

Chloe did quite well the first night. We could tell she was sick with congestion in her chest and a cough. She was wheezing and had a fever. They told us there would be a doctor available the next day, so we decided to wait before administering any medication. She cried for about 20 minutes later on in the day, but we can see that she is a very strong tough baby who does not want to cry if she can hold out.

Leaving Hong Kong

After two full days, we are leaving Hong Kong to travel to Nanning China. Hong Kong was nice, but it feels strange touring when we know we are here for another purpose. Our group traveled to Victoria Peak, visited a fishing village where the people lived on their boats, toured a jewelry factory, and went shopping at an outdoor marketplace. It was exhausting, but we also learned a lot about how the residents feel about themselves, their government and China. Afterward, we had dinner at the hotel and the bill was over $600 ($80 US). We didn't even eat very much.

We departed for Nanning this afternoon at 1:55 PM and arrived around 3:25 PM, not a bad flight. We have 36 people in our group of 15 families and there was another adoption group from Illinois on the plane that had 10 more families. Arriving at the airport was a major awakening. Things are VERY different here. The plane had to make a U-turn on the runway immediately after landing just to get back to the terminal. There was only one runway (it is an international airport). The officials here all wear uniforms and are very ominous looking. The buildings are a mix of crumbling ruins and modern medium-rise apartment buildings. Nanning's population is just under 3 million and it is considered the "Gateway to Vietnam". Chinese citizens can visit only three countries without a visa--Vietnam, North Korea and Cuba. They even told us that we were not allowed to bring a Hong Kong newspaper into mainland China.

The bus ride to the hotel was a 40 minute drive where we could see amazing sights; however, our guide was also giving us vital information about our babies at the same time, so it was hard to look out the window and pay attention to him. CCAI, our agency, is extremely organized. Unlike other agencies, we will be able to fill out the paperwork and shop at Walmart BEFORE we get our babies tomorrow.

They gave us some more information about Chloe. Her personality is described as "active, cheerful and social". She does not wear a diaper, but is held over the toilet and responds to verbal commands...."mmmmm" for poop and "shhhhhh" for pee. She also sleeps with the foster mother and is fussy when going to bed. I can see this will be an interesting transition for all of us.

Well, that's about it for now. Our next post will be after we have received Chloe.

Hong Kong harbor viewed just outside our hotel 

We Made It to Hong Kong

Hello everyone,

Pete and I arrived in Hong Kong yesterday morning at 7:50 AM. It was a very long 15 hour flight, but we survived just fine and had a very long nap when we arrived at our hotel room. The Shangri-la in Kowloon is a very nice hotel, but food and drinks here are very expensive. I was just down in the lobby resting and a hostess asked me if I wanted something to drink. I ordered a diet Coke and when the bill came it was $42.60. Fortunately, that was Hong Kong dollars, but in American dollars, that still adds up to over $6 US.

The weather here is cool and overcast. It is also humid. We met up with Taylor and Jeff from Alaska. They are also adopting and are using the same agency as us. The rest of our group is scheduled to arrive today. We enjoyed a nice dinner with Taylor and Jeff and then took the Star Ferry Harbour tour for one hour around the Hong Kong harbour. It was nice and there was a light show on the skyscrapers at night set to music.

I haven't figured out how to upload photos here yet, so hopefully, I will figure it out soon before we get Chloe.