China Trip Coming Home

I was hoping we sleep on the plane ride from Hong Kong to Detroit, but no such luck. Paul had the window seat and probably slept more than the rest. Logan hardly slept at all, but did stay pretty distracted with the in-seat video screen. We had several meals and snacks on the flight, with all us eating quite a bit (probably just from boredom). Logan's tummy had been bothering him before the flight, but managed to right itself during the flight. They had sat most of the adopted families and kids in the rear of the plane together. I did notice one lone guy who was younger and probably single right in the middle of us. If he was bothered with his seat, he never acted that way...just put in his earbuds and his sunglasses. Once I realized that Logan and I were going to be a little while in the bathroom, I had to poke my head out and try to get Paul's attention. Thankfully, this guy was standing there and got Paul for me. I was so tired by the time we got to Detroit. We had to wait in line at the customs area. This is where we handed over of VISA paperwork and Logan becomes a US citizen. We didn't have much time between flights because of this, which was actually kind of nice. The plane from Detroit to Dallas was small, just 2 seats on each side. Logan and Paul sat together and I shared the row with a nice older lady. Logan fell asleep almost immediately, with Paul not far behind. He'll try to say he didn't sleep, but he was snoring loud enough for the my seatmate to notice and comment. We had to wake Logan up just before we landed. He hates to be woken up like that but we didn't really have a choice. We went ahead and changed into our Star Wars shirts and freshened up a bit. Once we got off the plane, we had to walk a ways to get to the baggage claim. I could see my niece and nephew looking through the window as we came through.

As soon as I saw Sophie, I burst into tears.

I finally realized that everyone was wearing a shirt with Logan's picture on it. Mom had gotten them made for the whole family.

My friend Jill came to the airport to take pictures and she did a great job. Here's Logan and Sophie meeting each other.

Logan meets Grandpa Mike and sees himself on the shirt.

I wish I could remember more about what all was said but it was such a whirlwind. We were all tired and I was so glad to be HOME!

China Trip Gongzhou

I was exhausted by the time we landed and just wanted to get to the hotel and sleep. Our guide here, Jack, is great. He got us settled at the hotel (which is just amazing). The hotel takes special care of their families who are adopting. This is the crib and goodies they had waiting for us in the room.


We are across the hall from one of the other families, along with 2 more who will be with us this week. Paul gave Logan a bath and then we all got some sleep.

Saturday morning after the breakfast buffet, we met the other 3 families and then took a van to the Medical Center for the exams. There are 3 boys in the group and 1 girl. All have cleft pallets and repaired cleft lips. The girl is Logan's age but is very shy and completely attached to the mom. The other 2 boys are both 2 years old but look like they are at least a year difference. One is small and looks to be about a year and the other is quite tall (almost as tall as Logan).

The clinic was crazy and packed with lots of families. Apparently it is where all adoption exams occur plus the public clinic for the locals. There were 3 steps and then a TB test. The first step they looked at his eyes, ears, and mouth. Then we got his height and weight (93 cm and just under 30 pounds). They also took his temperature with an ear thermometer and said he had a slight fever. We had to go to a different desk for a re-check. The re-check was with an old-fashioned mercury thermometer under his arm. He didn't show a fever with the re-check, of course, he was wiggling so I'm sure it wasn't accurate. The last step was in a curtained-off exam room where they listened to his heart and lungs and did cursory check of his skin...all his skin. Poor guy gets his pants yanked done, quick feel of his privates, and done! We were able to ask about medicine for the pin worms I observed just before we got on out flight. Jack took Paul to drug store after we got done at the clinic. After the exams, all the children have to get a TB test. He did fine with that, no tears. All in all, Logan did great. He did have one tantrum because we wouldn't let him run around in the curtained exam rooms. Not bad for a 4 year old!

After the clinic, we had a couple of hours to eat lunch and do some shopping. The clinic is on this island so there were several shops that would cater to the American families coming to adopt. We found some t-shirts for us that had the Chinese name for mother, father, brother and sister on them, I got some bracelets for the girls in the family, and swords the the boys. We ate at Lucy's for lunch and I was able to have some American food (grilled cheese and baked potato). There was a playground nearby that Paul took him too while we waited for the van to take us back to the hotel.

We were on our own for the rest of the day. Logan took a nap and we ate at an Irish pub one of the families recommended. Paul had a burger, Logan got pizza, and I had spaghetti and meatballs. Logan didn't eat the pizza but loved my meatballs.

The weather here has been great, not cold like it was up north. We found Paul a jacket at one of the shops on our way back to the hotel. Back in the room we had a bath and played before going to bed. Logan decided on his own when he was ready for bed. He went to the crib and pointed to get in. I took a sleeping pill hoping to sleep longer than 3am. It worked but my mom texted at about 6am wanting to skype. She was with Paul's parents so we got up and were able to see George and Noi.

After breakfast, we met everyone for a trip to the zoo. It was great. I wish we could have stayed longer but we got to see monkeys, bears, tigers, elephants, and of course...PANDAS!Logan loved it. I had decided for this outing we would borrow a stroller from the hotel. Paul thought Logan would be too big/old for a stroller, but I figured at the very least we could use to carry all our stuff (purse, water bottles, snacks, coats). Logan loved being able to ride and he did great staying in it and waiting until we stopped to jump out and look at the animals. The zoo definitely wasn't built for strollers, lots of steps and uneven ground.

After the zoo, Jack met with each family individually to go over some VISA paperwork. Then we went across the street to have lunch at McDonalds. They had chicken wings so we tried those for Logan. He loved them. He went down for a nap (after playing in the crib for a bit). After nap, we met up with the other families to go to a park Jack told us about. We found it but it wasn't what we expected. We were hoping for a playground where the boys could run and play, but it was more of a mini- amusement park with rides.The grounds were very nice (reminding me of the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens) so we just walked around. We stopped and listened to some musicians that were playing and watched some paddleboats go by in the river.

For dinner we went with one of the other families to a Chinese place they had been to. I had pineapple fried rice and Paul and Logan shared ginger chicken. Everything was really good, including the mango coconut milk drink I had. The rest of the evening went as normal. Logan did wake up during the night and cried when we tried to put him back in the crib so we let him sleep with us.

On Monday, we went back to the medical center to get our TB results, then we spent a few hours on the island shopping, playing on the playground and eating at Lucy's. Logan loved the slides. He just kept going up the ladder and sliding down. We found the "big boys" the bad mitton/hackey sack things that everyone was playing. We also got Sophie and Logan these custom made name prints and some shirts for Logan (he's running out of clothes). We watched the artist create the name prints, using the Chinese animal for their birth year in each one. We had met one of the shop owners the first day we were here and he was so nice that we just had to find something from his store. We got an adoption Barbie for Sophie. He also did a name translation for Logan. After lunch, we all took a nap, then had dinner at the chinese restaurant again. We found Logan another pair of jeans for trip home.

Paul woke up Tuesday feeling pretty bad. He helped me with breakfast then I let him go back to the room and sleep while Logan and I went for a walk. Our first stop was the hotel's pond of koi fish. For our walk, we basically just did the block around the hotel. We did have to backtrack since I didn't want to carry the stroller up a flight of stairs to go around the front of the hotel. There is a starbucks across the street from the hotel and I went there to get a frappucino. We have our consulate appointment in the afternoon so I put Logan down for an early nap. We met Jack at 2pm to go to the consulate. After getting through security, we had some waiting to do. Paul and Logan found some toys and kept busy until they started the proceedings. The woman in charge started out explaining some statistics and recognizing some of the children and families, including Logan who was the only child out of the 35 present with a December birthday. Then we all stood and took an oath of citizenship on behalf of our child. After that each family was called to a window to sign some papers. It was Chinese employees doing the paperwork and it was so hard to understand what some of them were saying. I was afraid we wouldn't even recognize our name when it was called. As the woman explained, we are now officially parents of a Chinese citizen (at least until we get to the US).

We all met for dinner at a fancy Chinese restaurant that had singing and dancing waiters. One of our moms, reluctantly joined them for one of the dances. After dinner, I was able to skype with Kelly before we went to bed. After breakfast on Wednesday, Jack took us to a Buddhist temple. Jack was very knowledgeable about the temple and the monks. He even arranged for our sons to have a special blessings from the monks. We were sprinkled with water during the blessing which Logan thought was funny. Although there are only about 7% of Chinese people who are Buddhist, I imagine that it is possible that Logan's biological family might have brought him to a temple for this same blessing.

After the temple, we went to the pearl market. Jack knows a little about pearls and helped Paul pick out something for me and Sophie. It's a wholesale jewelry market and Mom would have gone nuts. I got her some strands of turquoise she can use to make her own jewelry. After lunch, we came back to hotel to nap and read. We met up with the other families for our last dinner together. Paul and Logan fell asleep fast, but I was too excited about going home. I did some packing before I finally crashed.

On Thursday, I tried to skype with Sophie but skype's website was down. I was so bummed. I've gotten to see her everyday and even though we will see her in just over a day, it was still really hard. We mostly just stayed in the room except to go eat. We had dinner with the singing waiters again but had to leave in order for one of the families to catch their flight. Jack brought us our paperwork from the consulate. It is the last step in this process. I was finally able to get on skype and see Sophie just a few hours before we left for Hong Kong. Because Hong Kong is a separate entity from the rest of China, there was a checkpoint to get there, plus the security check in the airport. Because there was several adoption families on the flight, they let us board early.

Texas, here we come!

China Trip Ji Nan Part 2

After the Civil Affairs office, we decided to go to Daming Lake. It was really cold. I'm sure in April when there are leaves on the trees and flowers, it's beautiful.


We had lunch in the room then took naps. We decided to try McDonald's for dinner (mainly for the play area so he could run around). He didn't like the burger or chicken nuggets and only ate a few fries. But he loved the slide with Paul.



After dinner and playing, Paul took over doing the same thing he normally does at home...bathtime. After a bath and brushing teeth we played for a bit before putting Logan to bed. I got him up again during the night to potty (but I think he could probably hold it all night).

On Wednesday, we had a long day. We left at 8:30am for a 2.5 hour car ride to Weifang City where his orphanage is located. They required the notarization be done there (and not in Ji Nan City). It was extremely cold again, but no snow, sleet or rain. Signing the papers didn't take long but unfortunately we got there just before lunch so we had a 3 hour wait before they would be notarized and we could pick them up. Our driver suggested a restaurant next door for lunch and to wait. I knew it was going to be crazy food when I saw the pig NOSES!!! I ate fried rice and some beef stuff. They had also ordered a chicken and Paul and I had a good laugh over the fact that it included chicken FEET! ( I also pointed out the chicken's head to Paul.) Logan mostly ate the beef and some noodles. Luckily, we've all been eating a big breakfast at the hotel buffet (and I had snacks since I knew we had a long drive).

I did have a rough time because Logan didn't really potty all day. We didn't know how to help him use the Chinese toilets (the only kind they had) and he wouldn't go standing up either. After we picked up our copies, we headed back to the hotel. Logan fell asleep pretty fast but unfortunately the traffic was a lot worse and it took longer to return to Ji Nan. With about 45 minutes left of the trip, Logan woke up and got really distressed. I figured he needed to potty, and Ruby confirmed that because he actually looked like he was in a lot of pain. It really just broke my heart to see him so upset. We ended up having to stop on the side of the road. Paul was able to get him to go standing up and then he was all smiles for the rest of the trip. I didn't take any pictures because there really wasn't much to see. We were driving too fast to get anything on the road and the building we went to was just that...a plain gray building. I really wanted to take some pictures in the restaurant, but there was this half-naked little boy running around and I was afraid of how it might look. And it was COLD! They even had the heat shut off in the restaurant after lunch to save energy/money. I think I had my gloves on most of the trip.


On Thursday, we went to see the Shandong Provincial Museum since we didn't have anything adoption-related. It is in a brand-new building, only been open about a month. If we hadn't had a 4-year-old in tow, we probably would have enjoyed it more. There was several military personnel there and it made me vary nervous to have Logan running around. They did have a children's area where we played with some puzzles. Of course, Logan would have been just as content to ride the escalator up and down the whole time.

After the museum, Ruby took us to a popular restaurant near the hotel. We ordered way too much food but did find a fried rice Logan would eat (almost no veggies and a brown sauce).

After lunch, we went to a book store. We got a DVD set of a popular Chinese show, Mulan in Chinese and English, plus a PC program for Chinese language. Then I went nuts in the kids section. The words don't even have to be in English for me to love BOOKS! Paul took Logan back to the hotel for a nap while I went to get a few things at the market. We stayed in the rest of the night. I took Logan to the Christmas tree in the hotel to take some pictures. We got some ice cream, which Logan really liked.

I'm still waking up way too early, but I did get some work done before breakfast. After breakfast, we got packed up and then headed to the airport. We got to the airport early and then had another hour delay. So tough trying to entertain a preschooler in a foreign airport when all you want is to be home. We assumed he'd go right to sleep once we got on the plane but we were WRONG! He hated the seatbelt (but only during take-off and landing). He actually did pretty well once he stopped crying about the seatbelt. He never went to sleep, but we stayed occupied coloring and playing with cars. As we were landing, he really wanted to look out the window so we will probably do that on the next flight and see if he does better.

China Trip Ji Nan Part 1

Dawn and Sylvia got us in the plane with no problem. They did inspect one of our suitcases, not sure if it was a random check or because of all the liquids it held (shampoos, medicines, etc.). The flight to Jinan was short and we lucked out with an empty seat next to us. Got through immigration and baggage claim and found Ruby easily enough. We did have a change in our itinerary...not meeting Logan today but tomorrow instead. It's actually a good thing because the orphanage has taken care of his passport for us so we won't have to do that. Obviously, it's disappointing but Ruby was great!

She showed us around our hotel and to the market just next door where we will be able to buy essentials for Logan. We ate lunch at KFC. Chicken was fine (but no way to request just white meat), BUT the mashed potatoes were AWFUL! I didn't think fake potatoes could be any worse. Ruby then took us the square to walk around. We watched some martial arts demonstration and kite flying. She wanted us to see this because it is close enough to walk from the hotel and at night they have a lighted fountain display set to music. Our plan was to eat dinner after she left then come back to the square. Of course, Paul once again decided sleep was more important than food or the fountain. I'm not arguing...we can still bring Logan tomorrow night. We slept most of the night, but still woke up too early for breakfast.

This hotel is nicer than the last. The room isn't quite as big because it doesn't have the separate sitting area, but the hallways are wider and the lobby is huge with places to relax and wait. Also, the breakfast buffet is on a separate floor in one of the restaurants. There is a larger variety of foods (although the bacon isn't as good). I tried watermelon juice this morning, and it tastes just like you'd think it would. I had green tea yogurt along with my standard bacon and pastries and fruit. The preschool kids will like that they had dragon fruit. (Ms. Marsha had brought some in for the kids to try just before we left.)

After breakfast we went back to the room and watched a movie, just killing time before meeting Ruby. The weather had started getting yucky during the night and now as we wait, there are snow flurries...first snow of the season. After a bit, we decided to go walk around the department store next to the hotel, then had lunch at Pizza Hut. Luckily we got there just as they opened since they are usually very busy. Ruby came to get us at 1:30pm to go exchange our US dollars. We had to drive to one of the bigger banks and it was definitely a process involving several copies of our passports, multiple signatures, 3 different tellers, and one red bag with about 4 "bricks" of money.

The orphanage director called as we got back to the hotel to say they had arrived at the train station and would be there shortly. We rushed to get everything ready. We thought we'd meet him in some sort of meeting room at the hotel but since we were the only family they just come to your hotel room. Ruby had suggested having some juice for him to drink and Paul was smart enough to grab some cookies too. I had a toy in his stocking for him and then we also had the Star Wars bear and his Family book. I had put all the other toys in a drawer in the nightstand (his toy box for the next few days). We turned on Skype so mom could watch, then Ruby called to say she was bringing them up.

I opened the door and there he was with Ruby and 2 other ladies. At first, he wouldn't come in with the caregiver. Ruby was making introductions, then he needed to potty, so I watched while the caregiver helped him. The other lady was an orphanage administrator, and we were able to get some of the paperwork done today. so while one of us signed documents the other was showing Logan the toys and stuff. After about 20 minutes the other ladies left. Logan cried at first for about 15 minutes, until Paul remembered the cookies. The boy loved them! And after the first one, I held out my hand and asked for one and he broke his and gave me a piece.

Ruby then took us to get a family picture done (required for some documentation tomorrow) and then to Wal-mart for supplies. We got some pants (we have a few but they will probably be too big and not warm enough for the snow that is still falling). Also got some sweaters and socks. Then we hit the grocery floor and stocked up on milk drink, juice, yogurt, crackers, sausages, apples, and bananas (which he pointed out to us). I also got some bath toys (I knew I'd forgotten to pack something...Thanks, Kelly for the suggestion). There was a few other impulse toy purchases by Daddy and the final item was a Santa hat.

Ruby brought us back and I started getting everything put away while Paul played cars with him. Honestly, I think I was freaking out...what the heck were we thinking, adopting from China, adopting a 4-year0old? I used that time putting things away to get myself calm. We were planning to go out for dinner but the weather was worse , so we just stayed in the room. After dinner, he got a bath and played in there. He didn't like sitting in the tub at first, but he knew exactly what to do to wash himself. He didn't like getting the shampoo rinsed and in his face.

After bath, he and Paul played some more. We were trying to keep him up so Mom, Sophie, and Kelly could skype. they had to wake up early but they got to see him. After that we put him to bed. The hotel had already brought us a baby cot (aka pack-n-play) so we put him in there, turned out the lights and he was asleep within minutes. The orphanage caregivers had left us notes and said to wake him after about 4 hours to go potty so I set the alarm to do that. Poor thing didn't look happy about getting woken up but he pottied. He went to bed about 8:45pm and should sleep until about 6:30am (same as Sophie). He only cried those first few minutes, seems to be potty trained (even went into the bathroom on his own once). We've been pointing out Mama, Papa, and Mei Mei (little sister)and he will say those. He also gives Paul kisses.



On Tuesday, we went to the Civil Affairs office after we picked up his passport. The orphanage had taken care of the passports, which is why we got him a day later. It is the Civil Affairs office where we officially become his parents (as far as China is concerned). We had little gifts for the various officials. We brought some Dallas Cowboys cups, stickers, and coasters for them.

Checking out the stocking after breakfast.


Playing with some of the toys we brought.

Watching a video on the computer.

China Trip Shanghei

(Taken directly from my journal.)

So I'm sitting in the hotel room at about 6am Saturday, December 11th (that's 4pm December 10th for Sophie) and decided I'd better get the flight here down in ink before I forgot it all. Honestly, a day of airplane travel wasn't too bad. We got on a plane about 7am and off the final one 24 hours later. Of course we had about 3 hours in Detroit so the actual flight time was about 18 hours.

I slept through most of the flight to Detroit (thanks to my friend Valium) and made sure we had a good lunch before we boarded for China. I was able to take another pill on the China flight and slept a little, but we were on the last row...you know the seats that don't recline. They fed us a couple of meals and a couple of snacks. Each seat had a screen where you could play online games, listen to music (including Holiday Hits), and watch movies or television shows. I watched a couple of movies but then the earbuds started getting annoying. Paul and I both did lots of puzzles from the books I brought and lots of "trying to sleep". Not sleeping was probably a good thing because now we've had a normal "night's" sleep on local time.

I thought it was interesting that when we de-boarded in China there were officials checking ID and asking about your occupation, but they skipped right over us. Were we that obvious? The process at the airport wasn't as smooth as I would have expected. Our travel notes said our guide would meet us at the exit. Of course, it didn't specify which exit. First, we went through a checkpoint where they check you passport and fill out a form stating where you will be while visiting. Then you go to baggage claim (this is where we thought we'd see the guide, but no). Finally, we went through something like customs, I guess, although I have no idea what was happening. We tried to ask an employee but she just pointed for us to our suitcases through x-ray, but not our carry-ons. Most people seemed to know what was going on and just walked on through. Once we got through this area, we saw the exit signs and our guide, Sylvia, holding a sign with our names.

She led us down to the parking garage where the driver was. I did notice our van was a small VW-type and that you didn't see many large SUV-types (if any). Paul kept asking for the camera. Even being the scrapbooker that I am who cares about an airport that looks like most others or the highway in a big city with lots of buildings and green street signs. The only difference I could tell was the Chinese on the signs (in addition to English) and lots of 2-wheeled vehicles (i.e. mopeds, bicycles, motorcycles).

Our hotel is very nice, we have a suite with a sitting room separate from the bedroom. We ordered room service since Paul's always hungry. What's the deal with putting fried eggs on sandwiches? Whatever noodle-y thing Paul order must have been good because his plate is empty. Paul is so excited to be in China, and I, of course, couldn't care less. I just want to meet my son! I'd like to be able to relax a little more and enjoy it, but let's face it that isn't going to happen. We got to skype with Sophie before she went to preschool and we went to bed. Paul slept fine (as indicated by the snoring). I was a couple of times, but did get in 8 hours of sleep.

The hotel had a continental breakfast so I made sure I filled up before we went sightseeing. Sylvia returned with Dawn who took us to the Shanghai Gardens. Dawn was the official guide for the day. We had lunch by the river at a "fancy" dim sum place. Paul was in heaven and I ate french fries and fried rice (both seem to be staples of these type of places). I also had some sort of bean sprout salad that basically tasted like the dressing.

A cat in the gardens...

and her kittens!

After lunch we went to the Shanghai Museum. It is a multi-level building housing ethnic costumes, furniture, jade, paintings, calligraphy and much more. I got tired after about 2 floors so we decided to just come back to the hotel. Dawn helped us figure out where to walk for dinner and some shopping and sightseeing. Not that it matter! We laid down for a nap at 3pm and woke up after 6pm. I asked Paul if he wanted to go get dinner or just keep sleeping. For once sleep trumped food! I woke up several times. One of those times I was able to get Paul's dad on skype so I woke Paul to talk to him. The jet-lag has set in, I am wide awake with 4 hours before breakfast is served.

After breakfast we went to the airport to catch our flight to Ji Nan city, where we finally meet Logan!