Quinn's Little Sis

6 Month Anniversary!

2010-03-20T20:20:00.001-07:00

On this day, 6 months ago, we met our little girl. It is hard to believe this much time has past, yet there have been so many significant changes in this amount of time. Lilah has grown in so many ways, especially in the past few months. If you compare the China photo to more recent ones, you can see that she has developed quite the cheeks! Her palate has definitely expanded (which includes a variety of fruit which she shunned initially) and she has recently been weaned from the bottle. The only part of her that hasn’t grown much are her tiny feet!

In the past few months, Lilah’s attachment to Brad and Quinn has hugely improved. She now sees her dad and brother as a couple of goofballs who love to make her giggle. There is no better sound in the world than when Lilah belly laughs. It is contagious!

On the social front, Lilah and I joined a toddler co-op group about a month ago and she has already made a few friends. She loves all of the activity and keeps herself very busy when we are there.

Lilah’s language has definitely progressed. Half the time we don’t quite understand what she is saying, but she will “talk” to just about anyone: the checker at the grocery store, anyone behind us in line, other moms and dads at the Co-op, etc. She seems very proud of herself.

Life is good these days. Sometimes I have those moments when I think to myself, How could anyone be forced to abandon a child, especially this bright, loving, beautiful, funny little girl? Quinn said to me on Chinese New Year’s Day, with tears in his eyes, “ Mom, last year on Chinese New Year we didn’t have Lilah and now we do. I like being a big brother.” Of course, now the tears were flowing on my part.

The past 6 months have not gone by without struggle. We have definitely had some rough times, have survived on little sleep, and have had our patience tested. With all of that said, we have grown in so many ways as a family. Let us only hope that the next 6 months brings us many more adventures!

Some Newer Pictures

2010-01-05T22:19:00.001-08:00

Here’s a few, more recent, pictures…

I LOVE kitties!

Mmmmm…Whipped cream is the best!

Trying to be cool, like my cousin, Ben. Too bad I can’t REALLY drink soda,yet.

Hangin’ with Uncle Sean.

Thanks for the cell phone, Andrew!

Making X-Mas cookies with Mommy

I LOVE BOOKS!!!

Lilah’s first try at iceskating. She did awesome!

Thanks, Nanna! I love my new rocking chair.

Me & Daddy

Aren’t cousins fun?

I like Christmas!

Trying out my new stroller.

Safety first!

Quinn, the Lego master teaching the novice.

GO DUCKS!!!

Life cannot get any better!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T23:20:00.001-08:00

What can I say…This year (or, I guess last year) was a whirlwind! Well, at least half the year. To review, we received Lilah’s referral in July; spent two months preparing to travel to China; travelled to China in mid-Sept.- early Oct.; the holidays followed and here we are two days into the new year.

So much has changed in the last few months. Lilah’s true personality has definitely emerged. She can be summed up as a “take no prisoners” kind of gal. She is a smart, funny, fiesty thing who is in the throws of toddlerdom. She has her occasional meltdowns, but luckily they have decreased in both frequency and intensity. Lilah seems so engaged with the world around her. She is fascinated with how things work and loves to put them together and take them apart. Another engineer, perhaps? She has absorbed her new language like a sponge and I am always amazed at how much she really comprehends. She has produced a few words: milk, look, wow, no and can now make a kitty sound. She is babbling like crazy.

In early November, Brad and I received messages on Facebook from a woman in Spain whose family sponsored Lilah when she was in the orphanage and in foster care. They also sent her birthday and Christmas presents. They were able to e-mail us photos of Lilah in the early months after she was placed that we didn’t already have. Apparently, the family has adopted one daughter from China and are awaiting their second. Such incredible kindness. We have communicated via e-mail and we just sent them some updated photos of Lilah and our family. We really hope to stay connected with them.

I started back at work in mid-November and am working only 2 days right now. Brad works at home these days, so we are able to avoid day care for awhile. Lilah has adjusted to this change, although initially we had some sleepless nights following Monday evenings when I worked. We can only assume that it was somehow related. The holidays went well. We hosted Thanksgiving and had my family over: Nanna, aunt and uncle and cousins. She loved my nephews and really enjoyed all the craziness. Christmas was alot of fun! Lilah LOVED all of the decorations, especially the snowmen and Advent calendar. She would walk up to it every day (even after Christmas had passed), look up and use the only sign that she knows, which is for, “more”. We went to my sister’s house for X-Mas Eve and then came back that night to wake up in our own house on X-Mas D ay. Lilah was a little confused with all the hoopla, but had fun. Her favorite present seems to be her new doll stroller and Baby Stella doll. She loves to feed her every day and push her around the house. So cute!

A huge change we have seen in Lilah over the past 3 months is her ability to give and receive affection. She now gives us “real hugs” where her whole body melts into ours. It warms my heart every time. She also loves to give her stuffed animals hugs and kisses and always looks to us for affirmation.

Brad and I decided last week to do a trial run in the day care at the YMCA for a few minutes. Up to this point, we had never, together left her in someone else’s care. I couldn’t believe how emotional that was for me. She was just fine, but I was a basketcase! We decided to be even more adventurous on New Year’s Eve and actually went on a date sans kids!

My mom came over, we put Lilah to bed and then went to a movie. All went well and she slept the whole time! And, speaking of sleep, we are still having difficulty in this department. She has proven that she CAN sleep through the night( her record to date is a week). We have become optimistic, and have then been faced with 3 or 4 nights with multiple wake-ups. It seems to be a different dynamic now. In the early weeks and months, Lilah appeared genuinely frightened, sad and desperate in the middle of the night, but now that time has passed and she is showing deeper signs of attachment, I think it may be more an issue of testing boundaries and difficulty with self-soothing. This has, by far been the most challenging thing we have been faced with since Lilah’s arrival. I’m not sure if we will ever know if it is adoption related, personality/temperament,

developmental, or a combination of all three. We can take each day as it comes.

On the Quinn front, he is doing quite well and has become a fantastic big brother. Of course, he has his moments, like any brother or sister, where he gets worked up over her “touching his stuff”. Of course, this doesn’t go both ways, when he is playing with her new musical tea set! To sum up, he said to me in the car today, “Mom, I’m really glad that I’m not the only one anymore.” For all the struggles, it is all worth it in the end.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

One Month Home

2009-11-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, we celebrated one month home with Lilah. So much has changed in just one month! Little, by little she begins to trust us a bit more each day. She still has her clingy moments with me when she is tired or sometimes when she knows I will be leaving, but all in all these have become fewer and fewer. My mom has visited twice in the last 2 weeks and noticed just in that period of time how much more engaged and relaxed she was on the 2nd visit. I think the gain in trust has at least partly helped her sleep more soundly and for longer durations. Hurray for all of us! We had been feeding her an extra protein smoothie about 30 minutes before bedtime followed by her nightly bottle (which contains whole milk, formula, and rice cereal), but the last 2 nights she went without and still slept through the night. I think she has gained at least 3 pounds, maybe more since we have been home. Her hair is much thicker and softer, and she is developing quite the "Buddha " belly!

Another huge improvement has been the decrease in Lilah's wild mood swings. The first time I witnessed a full-blown temper tantrum, I thought she was having a seizure. She flailed on the ground, made no sound, turned blue, and literally stopped breathing for at least 4-5 seconds. Yes, I do have another child, and no, I have never quite experienced such drama before. Yes, temper tantrums; no, holding your breath until you are blue. Luckily, these, too have lessened. Most of the time, she is a happy, energetic, very funny toddler. Her dance moves could put anyone to shame, and often involve lots of arm waving as if she is conducting a symphony orchestra. She has developed a LOVE, love of books. If anyone is sitting on the floor, she will bring a book over and begin backing up until she reaches their lap. She hasn't produced any English words that we can recognize, but her comprehension already is astounding. Our pediatrician was very pleased with her development and thinks she may be on-track for language at 2. The only cause for concern is a slightly elevated lead level in her blood, which is probably due to lead paint on one or both of the cribs in the orphanage and/or foster home. I think this is pretty common in Chinese adoptees, although it bares watching

On a postive note, Quinn and Lilah are really starting to bond. At first it was a little touch and go, with a few jealousy issues on both their parts. I think Quinn was a little sad that she showed him little affection at first, but now she sits in his lap (of course, mostly on her terms) and allows him to carry her around.The beaming smile on his face makes my day. He loves to go into her room with me in the morning to wake her up. Yes, she actually wakes up after the rest of us! He is a great big brother.

Brad & Lilah have also started to bond. She now identifies him as "the smoothie or bottle guy" and gets really excited when she hears either the blender or microwave going. Her newest thing is to charge him from across the room with arms spread wide and a huge grin on her face. She loves her daddy.

I am returning to work part-time in two weeks, and I can honestly say that I am not ready. I am really enjoying this special time with Lilah and am amazed at how much she has changed in such a short period of time. She is truly a survivor. She has brought so much joy to our lives.

Home at Last!

2009-10-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

It has been exactly a week since we returned from China and 18 days since we met our little Lilah.

To review the past week: Our return flights were LONG, but rather uneventful. Lilah slept off and on for about half the major one from Beijing to San Francisco and was wild and crazy during the connecting flight to Seattle. We were greeted at the airport by my mom and friend Deb and at that point were beyond tired.

We returned home to a very large banner reading, "Welcome Lilah" and a wonderfully decorated house, thanks to Mom, Deb, and Carrie. Also , our fridge was stocked with all sorts of homemade dishes. What a great welcome home..Thank you so much. We settled in a bit, ate "dinner" around 4:30 PM( 7:30A.M. Beijing time) and Lilah fell asleep in my lap. We put her to bed in her brand new room, she proceeded to wake up at 9:30P.M and Quinn, Lilah and I played until we all went to bed around 2AM.

Our week has pretty much repeated this cycle with middle of the night awakenings and no desire on Lilah's part to return to sleep. Luckily, the past two nights have seen slight improvements over the last 5. Hopefully, we are back on track. It is so great to be home! Our trip to China was an experience of a lifetime and we feel so fortunate to have been matched with such a special little girl. Although we have only known Lilah for less than three weeks, I feel like we have known her for much longer. I have not felt this sleep-deprived in a long, long time, yet I have not felt this fulfilled. Every passing day unfolds another layer of her personality: she LOVES music of any kind and will get her groove on while riding in her car seat with the radio on. This has amused Quinn tremendously over the past few days during the to and from school trips; she loves broth of any kind and will go cross-eyed if being fed with an asian spoon; loves activity: walks, stroller rides, car rides, swinging on the baby swing at the playground, is very entertained by are dog, Chaz and is especially enthralled by his food bowls. On the Quinn front, he is re-adjusting to school life, soccer, etc and especially to his new role as a big brother. I have been asked, on more than a few occasions this week, "Mom, who do you like better, me or Lilah?" Such a loaded question! I am still working on the correct response to that. Any feedback would be appreciated.

I feel such joy to finally be a family of four, but at the same time, feel such sorrow for Lilah's biological parents to be faced with such a heart-wrenching decision. I can only hope that they know in their hearts that she is now in a family who will love and cherish her forever. We are oh so very fortunate.

Wednesday Night in Beijing

2009-09-30T06:43:00.001-07:00

We flew from Guangzhou to Beijing this afternoon. Other than being delayed at the gate for nearly an hour, the flight was uneventful. Lilah slept almost the entire flight!
We're staying the night at a hotel near the Beijing airport. Our flight out tomorrow is delayed an hour due all flight operations being suspended for 3 hours tomorrow morning for the 60th Chinese National Day celebration. Hopefully we won't see much more of a delay. If all goes well, we should be in San Francisco tomorrow morning Pacific time and home in Seattle later in the afternoon.
We are all definitely happy to be heading home at last, but at the same time we're sad to have our daughter leave her home country; though we know that she'll have a good life with a family who really loves her. She needs some stability in her surroundings which is something she has not had enough of in her short life. She is just beginning to trust us, but we know we have a long road ahead. She is one special little girl and we feel truly blessed to have two wonderful children.
We met many great people during our trip... From the other families who shared parts of our journey, to our guide Cindy in Beijing, Mary in Nanchang, and David in Guangzhou, and especially to our guide Elsie who was with us every step of the way; we will always remember each and every one of you from our trip to find Quinn's Little Sis.

Tuesday in Guangzhou

2009-09-29T06:30:00.001-07:00

Its finally here...our last night in Guangzhou! We received Lilah's immigration visa and paperwork earlier this evening and we fly to back to Beijing tomorrow.
Our stay in Guangzhou has been really great except for the lack of sleep due to Lilah's crying/wailing at night. She is sleeping soundly as I am typing this; hopefully she sleeps through the night.
Yesterday we went to the US Consulate to take Lilah's oath. We now have everything we need and she will become a full U.S. citizen after we pass through customs in San Francisco on Thursday.
Last night we went on a dinner cruise on a riverboat on the Pearl River which runs through Guangzhou. It was really cool with all of the buildings along the river lit up in amazing colors and billboards that keep changing. Even all of the river boats were lit with neon!
Today was pretty laid back. We went shopping at the Pearl Market and the Jade Market. Guangzhou has the largest jade market in China and I was told that there were something like 10,000 jade dealers in the market. After seeing it, I don't doubt it at all. Later we went back to Shamian Island for even more shopping. My wallet is now quite a bit lighter.
We leave for the airport tomorrow morning at 10:00 and have a 3 hour flight to Beijing. We have to stay one night at a hotel near the airport before we catch our return flight to San Francisco on Thursday.
We have really enjoyed our trip, but everyone is ready to be home. Quinn was tearing up a little and said that he really misses Chaz a lot.

Monday Morning Update

2009-09-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

I'm making this post at the same time as the previous one. I wrote the previous post last night but was not able to get it posted since Lilah was having another hard night. It took nearly three hours to get her down to sleep and even then she woke up multiple times in the night. The worst was around 3:00 am when she woke screaming again. We are all getting exhausted. Quinn has been covering his head with a couple of big pillows so he can get some sleep.
On the good news front, we were just informed that our paperwork was approved by the American Consulate and we will be taking our (Lilah's citizenship?) oath this afternoon; a day earlier than originally planned. That is the final step in the whole process.
I'll try to make another update this evening. In the meantime, here are a couple more photos.

Sunday in Guangzhou

2009-09-27T20:10:00.001-07:00

Last night was a hard night. We had a really hard time putting Lilah down for the night. She was crying and screaming uncontrollably and there seemed to be nothing we could do to calm her down. After a couple hours of this she was really exhausted. Finally she fell asleep, but not for long. She woke up screaming again at around 1:45 in the morning. she wouldn't let me hold her at all. Erin ended up having to walk the halls in the hotel holding her. Only when she was moving would she stop crying. After over an hour of this we made another bottle and gave it to her in her crib. She finally took it and fell asleep for the rest of the night. We all slept late this morning and barely made it to breakfast.
After breakfast we walked to one of the two parks near our hotel. There is a small amusement park there as well and Quinn and his friends were able to go on some rides. They had a really good time. The weather was getting blazingly hot so we headed back to the hotel and went swimming in the afternoon.
Later on we had a session where we had to complete all the remaining paperwork to bring to the American Consulate appointment on Monday. This took over 2 hours and was a big pain in the arse. The Chinese paperwork for the adoption was miniscule compared the US immigration paperwork.
Anyway, after that was done we went out for a group dinner at a local Cantonese restaurant. The restaurant also operated as a street market for live poultry and seafood of all kinds. There were many different kinds of fish, crabs, mussels, shrimps, scallops, eels, frogs, snakes, and even small-ish crocodiles for sale. All live. The kids were loving looking at everything. And the food ended up being great.
That's it for today. Hopefully tonight will be better than last night.

Saturday in Guangzhou

2009-09-26T05:58:00.001-07:00

Today was pretty easy though the weather in Guangzhou is pretty fierce. It was only 96 with seemingly 96% humidity. It feels like walking into a sauna whenever you go outside.
We had a great breakfast at the hotel and Quinn met up back up with the friends he had made in Beijing after they had gone to their respective provinces for their families' babies. They were all glad to see each other...Quinn, Jared, Trent and Sophie.
After breakfast, we had a few official things to do for the US immigration visa; namely a medical exam and a visa photo. The photo was easy though Lilah looks pretty upset in the picture. She doesn't like to sit still for much, not even a quick snapshot. Next up was a visit to a medical clinic for an exam. The exam was done assembly line style with different doctor stations each doing different parts of the exam. It all went by very quickly and Lilah's results were very normal. She is fairly tall at 32 inches but pretty light at just over 19 pounds. She pretty much hated the whole process though.
Once we were done with the exam we walked around the historic Shamian Island in the Pearl River which runs through Guangzhou. Shamian Island has a unique european flavor since it was the seat of the British and French colonial stations back when Guangzhou ws known as Canton.
Later in the afternoon we went back to the hotel and went for a swim in the pool. The hotel has a very nice pool and the water felt great. Quinn's friends Jared and Trent were there as well and they had a great time. Lilah went in the pool as well and she absolutely loves the water. She kept trying to dunk her head under the water. We didn't have the camera with so we'll have to ensure we bring it tomorrow.

Friday in Guangzhou

2009-09-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty hectic day. Our flight was only 1 hour and 10 minutes, but traveling with 7 other families all with babies in a foreign country can't be properly described, only experienced. Once we were on the airplane, Lilah was very good. She hardly fussed at all even though she had to sit relatively still for the entire flight. She is a very active toddler and sitting still is not something she normally likes to do.
Guangzhou is a much more modern and international city and is significantly larger than Nanchang; the population here is around 13 million.
The hotel we are in is very nice. Erin spotted the bathtub right away and is planning on taking a long hot bath after the kids are asleep. After checking in, getting our bags, and a quick dinner we were able to relax for a bit. Quinn and Erin got ice cream cones after dinner and Lilah was loving it! She had ice cream all over her face while walking down the street.
After we got back from dinner, we gave the kids a bath. Quinn and Lilah shared the tub. Since she's lived most of her life in an orphanage that is almost exclusively girls, she's probably never seen a penis before, so over course she had to grab Quinn's.
That's all for today...Tomorrow is her medical exam and US immigrant visa photo.

Friday Quick Update

2009-09-24T19:58:00.001-07:00

Its Friday morning in Nanchang. We're packing up and getting ready to head to the airport for our flight to Guangzhou. Our local guide is picking up the babies passports.
I don't have much interesting to report since we only left the hotel yesterday to go to dinner. We enjoyed a good night's sleep last night and everyone is feeling MUCH better. We still don't know what caused us to get sick, but we're just glad its over.
We'll try to get another update in later today in Guangzhou.

Sick in China

2009-09-24T02:55:00.000-07:00

So, since our last post we have experienced a little more drama than we were anticipating...It all started with Quinn waking up from a nap and proceeding to vomit EVERYWHERE! Because everyone is on high alert with the Swine Flu, we had to rinse out the bedding before we called housekeeping, and tried to disguise it as a"spill". No sooner than 2 hours later it happened again. Next it was me lying on the bathroom floor wishing I were home on my own bathroom floor. Finally, Brad was hit. Luckily, there is a fellow adoptive parent who is a physician who gave us anti-nausea pills last night. So far, Lilah seems to be okay.
We are all feeling much better today. About our little Lilah...We have a full-blown toddler on our hands! Let's just say she is very independent, active, and is a girl who knows what she wants, when she wants it. She has been very clingy with me today and is absolutely hilarious when Quinn sits on my lap. She tries to push him off me, and makes a loud grunting noise. Quinn thinks it is hysterical. By her motor development/coordination and her size, we are guessing she is older than 17 months.The other babies in our group are tiny! There are only a few thing that I brought that actually fit her in length. Tomorrow we will be leaving for Guangzhou tomorrow for the U.S. consulate appointment and medical exam. Quinn will be re-united with a few friends he met in Beijing. On a sad note, one of the families we met in Beijing was scheduled to adopt a 2 year-old special needs girl, but it turns out her needs were far too complex for the family to handle. They
are trying to match them with another child, but not sure if it will be possible during this trip. Absolutely heartbreaking. We feel so blessed to have so many great families in our travel group. We are all a little home-sick, but this seems to have helped quite a bit.
Miss you all!

Tuesday in Nanchang

2009-09-23T04:27:00.001-07:00

I am writing this post a little late since our network connection was down earlier. I'll try to recall as best I can...
Today was a pretty relaxing day, though last night was rough.
Lilah was definitely grieving losing her foster family and was very distraught and crying. The only thing we could do to console her was to walk in the hallway of the hotel, which she loves to do. Back and forth from one end of the hallway to the other. The windows at the ends of the hall are floor to ceiling and she loves to look out at all the lights in the city. There is a huge lighted Ferris wheel across the river near a bridge with lights that continuously change color. After a long while walking back and forth, she was finally exhausted enough to fall asleep in Erin's arms while sitting in the hall.
After waking up later than usual, we had a good buffet breakfast at the hotel. Lilah loves to eat, and after she polished off a bottle she ate some bacon, fried rice, duck, and a bit of fish (all part of Chinese breakfast apparently).
Later on we went to the Revolutionary Museum located nearby in the city. Nanchang was the site of the first uprising by the Communist Party to overthrow the Japanese who ruled via a puppet emperor. Hopefully I'm getting the history right here...I'll have to watch "The Last Emperor" again sometime for a refresher.
Anyway, after the museum, we went shopping on a long, wide street that is closed to traffic. The lack of traffic is nice, because you can actually relax while walking without having to be constantly on guard. Except for the occasional electric scooter that seemingly ignored the signs, barricades, and armed policemen, there were only pedestrians to be concerned about. As usual, Quinn drew a lot of attention with many people especially teenage girls stopping to look, point and smile at him. Lilah also got a lot of looks while she rode in Erin's front pack. Our guide explained that Nanchang does not get many western visitors, so we were definitely an unusual sight.
There were many, many shops some of which were familiar like Nike (expensive here as well) but most unfamiliar. There are a lot of KFC restaurants in China, and I am told that it is the most popular western restaurant chain. We also learned that they fry the chicken in fish oil and likely would not taste very familiar. That's OK by us since the local food we have been eating is excellent and very inexpensive. When we ate a family style dinner with 3 other families at a very nice restaurant, our total bill was 250 Yuan, which is roughly $37; this was for 8 or 9 dishes, soda, beer and even the tip!

Monday in Nanchang

2009-09-21T16:28:00.001-07:00

Today was much more laid back than yesterday. We had some business to take care of in the, but in the afternoon we were able to relax and enjoy the day.
Our first stop was the Chinese Civil Affairs Office to finalize the adoption. There, we had a short interview with an official, a family photo for the adoption certificate and a small amount of paperwork. Lilah is now officially ours.
The next stop was to apply for a Chinese passport for Lilah and to have that notarized. Once that was done we went into a Walmart that was just a block down from the notary office to buy a few things.
The Walmart was nothing like the big box stores back home. This was in downtown Nanchang which is a city of 4 million. The Walmart was on the second and third floors of a shopping/apartment tower. They seemed to have just about everything for sale, though the prices tended to be about equal to what you would pay in the states. They also had a lot of unusual food items like whole ducks, live seafood of all kind a huge assortment of dried meats and fish. The store was very busy, but what amazed me was the number of employees. There must have been 3 or 4 employees in every aisle actively helping people find things. When we were looking at baby formula, there were no less than 6 employees in the aisle and as soon as they saw us, one of the employees ran off to get another who could speak a little English. Amazing!
After Walmart, we went back to the hotel, had some lunch and took a nap. Everybody was very tired and needed to catch up on sleep.
Tomorrow is an "off" day as we need to wait a couple of days for Lilah's passport. We plan on taking it easy and just go walking around the downtown area and maybe go swimming.

Update from Erin

2009-09-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have the time and energy to post!
I cannot believe how emotionally and physically drained I have been so far during our trip. It is difficult to express in words how powerful this entire experience has been for us all. We have finally met our little Lilah, and I can honestly say I feel incredibly blessed to have been matched with such a beautiful, funny, smart, and cuddly baby. She is already beginning to bond with Brad and me and thinks her new big brother is the coolest thing on earth!
Quinn has been such a trooper throughout this trip and has gained many admirers among the Chinese, with his light features. He has been asked to have his picture taken more than a few times and many women have told him, "You are beautiful". He is a tad-bit uncomfortable with all of this, but is getting used to it. Enough for now, we have 2 napping children who will soon awake.
We hope everyone at home is doing well...Hugs & Kisses to All.

Walking in China

2009-09-21T00:03:00.001-07:00

Walking around in the cities in China is a real adventure. There are people everywhere; in cars, on buses, riding bicycles or scooters, walking on the sidewalks as well as in the street. There are very few crosswalks so you really need to be aware of your surroundings when crossing a street. Cars seem to have the right of way and pedestrians and scooters need to work to keep from getting squashed.
All of the people have been very friendly though. Quinn definitely has been getting a lot of attention. People will come over and touch his hair or ask to have their picture taken with him. He seems to be taking it in stride and has been great all around.

Getting Lilah

2009-09-20T06:15:00.001-07:00

Today was a very hectic and busy day; but in the end very worthwhile. We had to get up at 4:15 in order catch a flight to Nanchang in the Jiangxi province, south of Beijing. The flight was delayed on the tarmac a bit due to air traffic at Beijing. Once in the air, we only had just over two hours flying time to Nanchang. The weather in Nanchang is warmer and more humid than it was in Beijing, but the air quality is much better than Beijing's smog.
We took a bus from the Nanchang airport to the hotel in the downtown area. During the ride, our adoption coordinator gave us an agenda for the next two days and gave an overview of the adoption process. We learned that the babies were traveling to the hotel in Nanchang by bus from the orphanage in Shangrao. Their ride would be about three hours using the expressway and they should arrive at the hotel around 4:00 in the afternoon. Prior to their arrival, we would have a short time to go to the market to pick up anything we might need as well as time to prepare the documentation we needed.
We arrived at the conference room in the hotel about 3:30 to go over final paperwork and wait for the babies. It turned out they were delayed a bit as one of the baby's passport photos was missing. They had to go take a new photo prior to arriving at the hotel. This delay allowed for a bit of tense waiting on everyone's part with some of the expectant mom's crying. Every time the coordinator's phone rang, someone would shout out "They must be here!". This happened three or four times and then, unexpectedly, without any phone warning we saw the first of the orphanage nannies walking in with a baby wearing a green dress. Erin spotted her right away and said "Oh my God! That's Lilah walking in!" And it was her. She was very recognizeable from the pictures we had and she was walking, just holding the nannie's hand. Right behind her came the other 8 babies for the group. Lilah is the oldest at 17 months and was the only one walking and wearing shoes.
The coordinator had told me earlier that we would be the first family to get their baby. When the time came for the nannie to bring her to us, Lilah had a very confused look on her face and did not want to let go of the nanny. After a few seconds though, she let Erin take her and hold her. Lilah had been holding a rice cookie still in the wrapper, so I unwrapped it for her and let her have it back. At this point it was time for another family to get their baby and so on for the rest. Many of tyhe babies were crying.
It was bedlam for a while with so many people; parents, nannies, adoption officials, coordinator, and babies in various states of distress. Lilah only cried for a very short time, less than a minute and then became very interested in us and especially Quinn. He had brought an O-Ball from the room that we had recieved as a baby gift from our neighbors Chuck and Carrie. Quinn let her hold the ball and she threw it. He picked it up and gave it back and she threw it again, this time with a little smile on her face. They kept playing this way, and after a few minutes she was laughing and smiling and having a great time. She didn't seem to be concerned with the other crying babies. She started to eat her rice cookie and was even feeding some to me. She really has a lot of personality.
We still had more paperwork to do at this point, though since all the documents were in Chinese I may have signed up for a time-share in Outer Mongolia for all I know. We also had to put thumbprints on all of the signatures which was interesting.
When all this was done, we were able to take Lilah back to our room. We ordered room service, had an early dinner and put Lilah down for the night. Just as we were doing that, we saw and heard some fireworks going off just a few blocks away. Since we're on the 16th floor, we had a great view and Lilah loved watching them. It was a great end to a busy day.
We have Lilah now, though tomorrow the adoption becomes officially official after some more paperwork in the morning.
Erin, Quinn and Lilah are in bed at the moment, so I am posting this from the hotel lobby drinking a Scotch on the rocks without the ice ;-)
More tomorrow...

Saturday in Beijing

2009-09-19T05:42:00.001-07:00

We spent Saturday doing some more sightseeing in Beijing. Before we headed out, we met a few more families that had arrived more recently. One of the new families is here from New York City was here to adopt their second little girl. Their current adopted daughter, Sophie (she is standing behind Quinn in one of the pictures) is a complete charmer. She and Quinn hit it off in a big way and they were talking Nintendo and Mario from the moment they met. Sophie, who turns 7 in a couple weeks hung around with Quinn around all day.
Our first sightseeing stop was Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City, which forms the north border of the square. Tienanmen was very impressive with a lot of activity as the locals are preparing for their 60th National Day on October first.
The Forbidden City was incredible. There are over 8000 rooms of which there are 27 different bedrooms for just the Emperor to use with any of his 72 concubines!
After these we had lunch at a great traditional Beijing restaurant famous for their Peking Duck. We had many other dishes as well, served family style on a lazy Susan. The food was great.
After lunch we drove to the section of the Great Wall that runs on the outskirts of Beijing. On the way, we made a short stop at the Olympic sports complex and got to see the Bird,s Nest Stadium. Unfortunately, we only had a short time there and couldn't get very close.
The Great Wall was amazing. We climbed the incredibly steep and irregular stairs to the third guard tower up from the parking lot. Erin and I were drenched in sweat while Quinn cruised ahead and wanted to keep going.
After buying a few souvenirs (I got a cool Chairman Mao t-shirt) we headed back to the hotel.
Since we have a very early flight to Nanchang tomorrow, we decided to just have dinner at a Pizza Hut around the corner. That has to be one of the nicest and busiest Pizza Huts in the world. The decor was very chic and modern and the pizza was the best I have ever had at a Pizza Hut.
We will be getting Lilah tomorrow at 4:00 pm. This is a day earlier than we expected since they rarely do this on Sundays.
Anyway...its getting late. Erin and Quinn are in bed snoring away and I need to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day!

The Forbidden City

2009-09-18T19:31:00.001-07:00

We're visiting the Forbidden City at the moment. I have a chance to do a quick blog post from my phone while we wait for the group to use the bathroom. More later today.

Sightseeing in Beijing

2009-09-18T05:23:00.000-07:00

We woke up pretty early local time and were still trying to adjust to the 15 hour time difference. After a refreshing shower and an excellent breakfast buffet at the hotel, we met with the other families adopting children with CHI. The group was very friendly and Quinn quickly became friends with one of the other family's two sons; Jared 9 and Trent 11. They kept each other entertained the rest of the day.
Speaking of which, we spent the majority of Friday sightseeing in Beijing with the rest of the travel group. We had a local CHI guide, Cindy, who did a great job giving us the history of Beijing and the surrounding area.
We started out by going to the Temple of Heaven, a 600 year old Taoist temple complex built and used by Chinese emperors to pray for a good harvest. It is a very large parklike area with amazing architecture and sycamore trees.
Next, we had lunch at a local ethnic (one of many Chinese ethnicities, but I cannot recall which) restaurant that also featured live entertainment. The food was varied and all very good. After lunch we visited the old part of Beijing with narrow alleys called hutouns and traditional quadrangle houses. We had a very fun rickshaw ride through the alleys where pedestrians, bicyclists, scooters and cars are all sharing the same small road space.
To finish out the day, we saw the Beijing Chaotang Theater Acrobats perform. The show was amazing and words would not do it justice. The closest description would be like a Cirque du Soleil with live parrots flying around inside the theater.
We went back to the hotel after the acrobatic show very tired and worn out from a great day. Too tired to go out for dinner, we ordered room service and Quinn passes out on the bed five minutes after eating.
More sightseeing tomorrow...

WE HAVE ARRIVED!

2009-09-17T03:10:00.001-07:00

We touched down around 2:30PM Beijing time (that is 11:30 PM Seattle time the previous day), went through security, customs, baggage and FINALLY made it to the hotel. We hit the pool and are now off to dinner and then bed....A very long, rather uneventful day, aside from our 1 1/2 hour delay at Seatac that almost lead to a very eventful day by barely catching our San Francisco connection to Beijing. Looking forward to tomorrow...

Bags Are Packed

2009-09-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Our bags are all packed and we're leaving for the airport at 5:00 am.

Beijing here we come...

Erin's Been Nesting

2009-09-04T14:07:00.001-07:00

Erin has been hard at work getting Lilah's room decorated...

Final Itinerary

2009-08-28T22:52:00.000-07:00

We have finalized our itinerary...

Sept. 16: Fly to Beijing from Seattle via San Francisco
Sept. 17: Arrive in Beijing (coincidentally, this is our 9th wedding anniversary)
Sept. 18: Hang out and and try to recover from jet lag
Sept. 19: Meet up with travel group and do some sightseeing
Sept. 20: Fly to Nanchang, Jiangxi Province
Sept. 21: Meet Lilah! She'll be ours from now on!
Sept. 22: Registration and apply for Lilah's passport
Sept 23 & 24: Free days/sightseeing
Sept. 25: Get passport and paperwork. Fly to Guangzhou, Guongdong Province
Sept. 26: Medical exam
Sept. 27: Free day/sightseeing
Sept. 28: Appointment at American Consulate for travel visa
Sept. 29: Take oath & receive visa
Sept. 30: Fly to Beijing
Oct. 1: Fly to Seattle via San Francisco

Our Flights Are Booked!

2009-08-27T10:31:00.001-07:00

We just booked our flights yesterday! We leave on the 16th of Sept. for Beijing and return on the 1st of October. I will post our whole itinerary when we receive it...Only 3 weeks away!

TA's ARE HERE!

2009-08-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

We just received our TA ( that is international adoption-speak for "travel approval") yesterday and hope to hear specific travel dates sometime next week. It looks like we may be leaving either on the 17th(our wedding anniversary) or the 18th of Sept.! That is just a month away until we will see our baby's face for the first time! I feel like I am in my 9th month of pregnancy with all of the nesting and sleep deprivation that has been going on in our house. Although, technically I have experienced 4 1/2 pregnancies instead of one during this incredible wait!

Care Package

2009-08-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

We ordered a care package for Lilah and her Foster family from http://www.redthreadchina.com/. They were nice enough to send a picture of the care package back to us before it was delivered. You can see the soft photo album (we supplied the photos via e-mail), a disposable camera, some candy, good tea for the family, and a letter that they translated for us.

They also were the source of the two updated photos we posted earlier. Their service is excellent and highly recommended.

NEW PICTURES!

2009-07-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

We just received a couple of new photos and updated measurements for Lilah from her Foster family. She has gained 5 pounds and now has eight teeth! We are falling more in love with her every day!

Taken in June

Taken a few weeks ago

Introducing our Little Lilah!

2009-07-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

First Pictures!!

2009-07-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

These are the first pictures we have received. They arrived via FedEx earlier today.

WE GOT THE CALL!

2009-07-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

Today is the day we found out who our little girl is! Quinn and I were walking out of Quizno's around 12:30 when the phone rang. With sandwiches in hand, I scrambled to locate it in my purse.
I noticed the "314" area code and immediately started hyperventilating! Here are the vital stats:

Name: Ling Wan Lan
D.O.B: 4/14/08 (15 months)
Weight: 7kg( about 15 lbs.) at 1 year check in April
Orphanage: Shangrao Children's Welfare Center
Jiangxi Province
Our package is being Fed-Exed, so we won't have pictures until tomorrow. Our agency director told me that she is very pretty and has very funny expressions in 2 out of three of the photos!
So happy beyond words!

Maybe tomorrow?

2009-07-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it is getting down to the wire. Referrals are supposed to arrive tomorrow at our agency, so we may get "the call" tomorrow or Wed. One of my massage patients predicted last week that everything would happen on the 21st (as in tomorrow), because good things always happen to her on the 21st day of the month. Let us all hope and pray that good things also happen to us on the 21st! It feels very surreal right now to be typing the words, "the call" after waiting oh, so very long for this day.

Matching Has Begun?...

2009-07-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

So, the past 2 weeks have felt like the longest weeks of my life! I can imagine what the wait for travel approval will be like once we actually receive our referral. The current information(as of last evening) is that the CCAA has "Begun Matches". What this means, if we are in this group, we should hear something within a week. There will be no sleep in the Becker household until then!

Our Long Wait...

2009-07-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

Our adoption journey began in July, 2005 after attending our first adoption information meeting at Children's Hope International. I think I knew subconsciously long ago that I would someday adopt. After working in social work for a number of years, the seed had already been planted, unbeknownst to me. I must admit, Brad was a little cool to the idea at first. On Labor Day, 2005 he gave me a card that had on the cover the symbol of a man + woman=baby carriage. Of course, I cried! And so, our real journey began on that day. We started our paperwork in early October, 2005 and eventually sent our dossier to China and were officially
"logged in" on March 22nd, 2006. At that point, the wait time from start to finish (beginning of paperwork to child) was 10-12 months. 3 years and 9 months later, we are FINALLY next! We are all excited beyond words to meet our new daughter and Quinn's little sister.