Avery's emerging personality

This is our third night of having Avery, and I cannot believe what a difference already!  The first day she arrived, I think she was in survival mode and just shut down. She did not say anything and did not move very much at all.  The first night, she slept by my side, and she was completely still all night.  When she woke in the morning, I think she looked around and saw that I was still there and thought, "maybe this lady is alright.  I better stick to her in this scary time when everything is new."  From that moment, she screamed every time I put her down or when Ginny or Anya held her when I needed to do something.  When I would pick her back up, she instantly stopped crying. This is a huge first step in attachment, as she has identified me as her safe, number 1 person.  And I was sure to hold her all day and be the one to take care of all of her needs to reinforce that connection.  As she slowly began to relax, she started pulling out all of her tricks.  The first day, I laid her on her tummy, and she fell flat down as if she had no muscles.  The second day-she was crawling all over the place.  The first day, I tried putting her in a standing position, and her legs became instant jelly.  The second day, she was cruising around the couch. The first day, she would not drink anything.  The second day, she sucked down her bottle and yelled for me.  The first day, she would not speak, the second day she was imitating Anya and babbling and laughing up a storm.  The first night, she did not move in bed.  The second night-she was crawling all over me and trying to use me as support for walking around the bed.  She was up playing for three hours in the night!   I found it so interesting that the trauma she was experiencing by coming here was so intense that everything shut down, even while she was sleeping.  Then once she decided I was okay, her little spirit was free to emerge.  And what a lively little girl she is!  She was in an orphanage sponsored by a United States charity called Half the Sky.  Today we got a translated "baby book" for her which documented all of her milestones and included little stories about her.  The journal described her as a "robber of other babies' toys," and when she was being fed by her nannies, she would chase all the other babies away who came near her.  This is a child who made her needs known early on and fought to get attention.  These are skills she will continue to hone once she meets Ginny and Hailey at home!  All joking aside, though, as I read that journal and realized she hit each of her milestones right on target (crawling at 7 months, pulling herself up to standing at 8 months, cruising at 9 months, etc.) I was overwhelmed with appreciation for Half the Sky and their interventions for these children in the orphanage.  Avery's experience is extremely atypical, and we feel so fortunate.

Here she is delighted to walk around the furniture

Day 3 in Nanchang

Day 3 in Nanchang made one question exactly why we had to spend so many days here?  The temperature had dropped; it was dismal and overcast; there was little on the agenda.  The consensus in the group was...how many more days here?  The main event of the day officially was to have the babies examined by a physician.  Since the physician came to the hotel, this did not take very long.  Most were content to hang out and let the babies adjust to their new moms.  Kristie needed to grade; Avery needed a quiet place for a nap.  This was not enough action for Anya and Ginny.  The hotel pool is broken (?) at the moment; there was nothing to do but to go out for an "adventure."  Anya was not about it, finding the traffic and the unknown full of too many scary possibilities for one blessed with a vivid imagination.  However, the adventure was "on."  Ginny suggested we hike to the WalMart to check out the doll section of the toy department.  Anya thought we should take a taxi.  Ginny spotted the rickshaw in this photo; Anya's face noted her opinion of the suggestion.

We took a taxi, but no one had ever used the seat belts before, so they were nowhere to be found. This was a bit scary in traffic where all rules and signals are ignored and everyone just drives; another concern.  We did arrive unscathed but disappointed in the destination.  WalMart had a very puny toy department with few dolls - only Barbie knockoffs.  Anya astutely noted there were more boy toys than girl toys because of the imbalance of male children to females.  We ventured outside and made the observation that  we have yet to see any grass anywhere in the city.  We did find a department store - such a contrast to the WalMart just across the street.  Sales girls everywhere; fancy goods; high prices; but not much evidence of many transactions.

We did return for some playing with Avery and the other babies.

All the babies posed for some photos after playing together.

Gotcha Day!

Gotcha day finally arrived!! What a day!  What a day!  It began with a very long wait for the babies to arrive. They were all coming from different orphanages and arrived one at a time. Our baby was the last to come because she was stuck in a traffic jam.  Here I am anxiously waiting for her!

Then suddenly our guide got a call from the orphanage director who said she was on her way, but she was VERY hungry and to make sure that we prepared food for her immediately.  I was just finishing up making some rice cereal when all of the sudden she arrived in a fit of screaming with a bunch of people following her.  It was extremely chaotic, and I don't remember much of it, except that someone put her in my arms, and then I was getting my first real look at my new daughter.
I fed her some rice cereal, and she began to calm down.

Then, despite her fear and anxiety overall of this, curiosity got the best of her, and she began to look around and get interested in everything.  She did not say anything or smile, but she was very curious.

She was very interested in Anya right away.

After she was settled in, we went to the adoption registration office where she had to get her picture taken, and I had to be interviewed, promising never to abandon her and to provide her a good education. At this point, she officially became our daughter!

Everything then had to be notarized to become official.  Here we are signing the documents.

We celebrated with a trip to Walmart. Yes, you read that right.  Walmart.  I absolutely hate Walmart in the states and avoid going there at all costs.  Walmart in Nanchang, however, is 1000 times more overstimulating and awful than in the states.  Picture Walmart on the morning of Black Friday. Now add decorations for Chinese New Year everywhere.  Then throw in a bunch of screaming babies and signs only in Chinese.  Overwhelming does not come close to describing the experience.

After that four hour excursion with no food or diaper changes all of the babies were exhausted and just wanted to come home.  Avery fell asleep instantly still in her snow suit.

When she woke up, she was starving and slurped up three bowls of noodles.  The girl can eat!  We gave her a bath.  She was pretty clean, but she does have scabies, so we gave her a treatment for that. We are hoping no one else gets it, too.  I love this little child so much already.

Nanchang

Ni hao from Nanchang!
Today we left Hong Kong early in the morning for Nanchang which is the capital city of Jiangxi Province.   Avery's SWI (Social Welfare Institute (orphanage) is in Fuzhou, Jiangxi, but the adoption needs to officially take place in the capital city which is why we are here in Nanchang. We will stay in Nanchang until Valentine's day waiting for paperwork to be processed.  
We sprang for a suite (or a suit, and our guide kept saying) in Nanchang, so we would have ample room for Anya, Avery, Ginny, and I to spend the next week.  The room is posh, as you can see.

There is even a television over the jacuzzi tub.

The hotel prepared a bed for Avery.   It is plywood with a towel over it.  As you can see by the slats in the crib, it does not meet our American standards for safety.  Needless to say, she will be sleeping with me instead of in the crib.

We met our new guide in Nanchang who gave us our itinerary for tomorrow.  The babies are scheduled to arrive at 10:00 a.m.!  They will call our room when they arrive, and they will bring her to us.  We have a full day ahead tomorrow, so I am trying to get my work done this evening, so I have nothing to think about but Avery tomorrow. In the meantime, Anya and Ginny are passing the time playing cards.

Oh, I am so excited for tomorrow.  I can hardly wait.  How will I sleep tonight?

Tour of Hong Kong

This morning began with a great relief for Anya.  There was a buffet breakfast here in the hotel and it had international options…..translate that into recognizable food choices that met with her approval.  No mystery foods for her!  This really helped with the transition to a completely opposite time zone schedule for all of us.  Perhaps we may be more embracing of new food choices by tomorrow.  We also met the others in our group of adopting families.  As you might imagine, these others who have waited five long years for their adoptions are similarly dedicated to the purpose of this trip.  They are wonderful and will be very enjoyable companions for the remainder of this trip.

These are all the expectant mothers with the tour guide

The adoption agency had arranged for a tour for our group of the island of Hong Kong.  The guide is a native of Hong Kong and proved to be delightful.  She gave us the native’s view of the culture of the Chinese, the place Hong Kong has in the history of China, the British influence of the past, and the wonderful future of an exciting city.  We saw many things, learned a lot, and enjoyed the company of our group.

We got some tips on how to carry out the trash.

Anya almost immediately purchased a Chinese doll, complete with daughter.

We were able to see jewelry made by hand.

We saw a building with a hole in the middle designed following feng shui principles.

We were atop Victoria’s Peak as well as in the harbor to see the famous restaurant of James Bond and Bruce Lee films and the native fishing boats amid the yachts of some of the wealthiest people in the world.  

Tonight we will have dinner and then go see a laser light show down on the harbor.  We leave early morning for Nanchang.  The tour guide said that Hong Kong and Nanchang are completely opposite. Hong Kong was a great transition from home to China, but Nanchang will be "real" China.  And then the next day. . .Avery!!

Kung Hei Fat Choy! Happy New Year!

Kung Hei Fat Choy!  Happy New Year!

We made it!  After 30 hours of traveling we finally arrived in Hong Kong about 1:00 p.m. local time (12 a.m. EST).   For those reading who are still waiting to travel, I highly recommend Asiana Airlines.  Our 14 hour flight went as smoothly as can be with excellent service.  It was fun to have a long layover in Seoul and to explore the Korean gift stores.  After only flying on airlines in the states, Anya was totally impressed with this airline.  I was quite nauseous on the initial flight, but I thought, it wouldn’t be me to be expecting a child and not be nauseous, so it seemed only fitting.

We are in Hong Kong now.  Our CCAI guide picked us up from the airport and took care of everything for us.  To have someone else arrange the taxi, pay, and check us into our hotel was the best gift after missing two nights of sleep.  In many ways this city reminds me of Istanbul where the east and west meet and ancient and modern overlap seamlessly.   Micky Mouse next to the Buddah on the dashboard of the taxi. Temples on the top of the mountain for praying to ancestors; ads for iphone apps.  The contrasts of changing culture are always intriguing to me. 

The Chinese New Year holiday is still in full swing here, so it is relatively empty (all the people have gone home to their families), but the city is all decked out in New Year’s decorations. I will post some of them below.    Anya, Ginny, and I took a nap and then went walking down by the harbor.  It was about 65 degrees and sunny (although hazy from the smog). It was beautiful to walk by the water and see all of the New Year’s decorations and the ferries in the background.  The area by the harbor is called the “Avenue of the Stars” which is the Chinese version of Hollywood Blvd. with all the film stars and their stars on the ground with their handprints.   I did not know any of them (but this should not come as a surprise, as I don’t know any American stars either, for that matter!)  I did not even recognize the huge statue of Bruce Lee (Sorry, Doug, I know you would be disappointed in me!) After our walk, we decided to eat at an authentic Chinese restaurant. However, immediately after sitting down to read the menu, we looked over, and Anya was sound asleep at the table. So, we left and just had crackers and peanut butter for dinner.  This was just fine as there will be plenty of other opportunities for authentic Chinese food.

This could be Orlando instead of Hong Kong with the Starbucks and palm trees

Hollywood Blvd Hong Kong style

View from the harbor in Hong Kong

Anya and Ginny in our hotel lobby.  Chinese New Year decorations include trees with red envelopes for good luck and good fortune

More New Year's decorations in hotel lobby.   This is a great hotel-no smoke and very elegant.

These lighted pictures were on many of the buildings in celebration of the New Year

Tomorrow we have a full day of touring ahead, arranged by CCAI. I am hoping for a good night’s sleep for dear Anya as well as Ginny and I.  

Leaving for China in two days!!

We have been fortunate (from our perspective-the rest of the United States doesn't see it this way, I'm sure) to have experienced a huge winter storm that has closed down all of the city for the last two days. This was great timing for me, as it allowed me two extra days to pack, finish up loose ends at work, and spend extra time with my family.  The reason these two days were so critical is that our travel departure date was moved up by three weeks.  We were told that our departure date would be Feb. 24, but then our agency called us last Wednesday and said there was a possibility that we could get an earlier CA (Consulate Appointment for those not familiar with the Chinese adoption lingo) and could we be ready to depart Feb. 4th instead if the appointment could be changed?  Of course we said yes even though this meant completely rearranging the lives of my whole family, my travel companion, and my parents who will be taking care of our two year old twins while we are gone.  On Thursday afternoon we learned we were able to get the earlier appointment, and thus began the 90 mile an hour preparation tour through work, Walgreens, Target, home to pack, etc.
Packing is a trick. I am notorious for packing light.  Three years ago I traveled to England for 8 days, including three days of a professional conference, in just a backpack.   Even I was struggling with this task, though, as the challenge was to pack for 15 days, two different climates, a baby for whom I am not 100% sure of her size, a giant pharmacy of medications for possible issues little Avery may have and for issues Anya and I may get, comfort food for picky eaters as well as clothes for Anya and I.  Challenge accepted! I was able to fit it all into 3, carry-on suitcases. We will also take a backpack with us that is currently nearly empty to fill with our purchases when we are there.  Whether or not my packing is successful remains to be seen-stay tuned.
Here is our itinerary for interested parties:
2/4-2/6:  Fly to Chicago, then Seoul, then Hong Kong.
2/7: Free day to explore Hong Kong
2/8 Fly to Nanchang
2/9 Receive Avery!!!
2/10 - 2/13 Stay in Nanchang filling out paperwork, touring, and best of all getting to know our new little daughter
2/14 Fly to Guangzhou
2/15-2/18  Stay in Guangzhou for physical, visa processing, Consulate appointment, and touring
2/19:  Fly from Guangzhou to Seoul, to Chicago, and then back home!

Hopefully the next post will be from Hong Kong!  I can't wait. . .