Life's A Beach!

I know it's late December, but since I really don't have a concept of time yet, Mommy & Daddy thought it would be the perfect time to take me to the beach for the very first time. As usual, they were right!



For late December the weather was actually pretty good (70's with a slight breeze). But when Mommy put my toes in the sand for the very first time, I wasn't really sure what to make of it and pulled my foot back up out of the sand. ("Hey! Put my shoe back on!")










But I gradually got used to the texture of the sand on my piggies. ("This isn't so bad after all!")











In fact, it wasn't long until I was barefoot in the sand all by myself. Okay, so Mommy may have been holding my hand, but I loved my time on the beach. I can't wait to go back again.











After our walk on the beach, we had lunch at the restaurant on the pier (turns out I love flounder...who knew?), and then went for yet another walk downtown by the river. The picture to the left is pretty typical of my mood for the entire day. Look out Mommy & Daddy...I think you might be raising a beach girl!

Merry Christmas

Pictures from Bella's first Christmas - featuring all-stars Grandma, Grandpa & Nana!

Nana arrived very late last night so we had a slow start to our day but it was a great day. Bella was awake when Grandma & Grandpa came so we could see them before our nap. We took a quick nap and were back up to sit at the grown ups table and have Christmas dinner with the family. Then came the hours of gift opening...wow, we got a lot of family and friends who spoiled us rotten. Grandpa suggested adding a wing on to the house for all of our new things. Poor Bella had gifts coming from every direction. A big thank you to Auntie Jill, Uncle Josh & Cousin Colton for all of the great gifts. We have already listened to the CD twice and we are sleeping in our new jams. Thank you to Uncle Adam & Auntie Trish for the super cute clothes. We can't wait to wear them. We also love the nursery rhymes CD. Check out the picture below - I was so excited and I held it up for the camera (with Nana's help). Super thanks to Great Aunt Pat, Great Uncle Dennis and Great Grandma Rita for the doll. She is really cute, too.

We can't forget the grandparents that were here to celebrate the day with us. We had a fabulous time and look forward to next year. We had a great dinner together and our toybox is now overflowing. Grandpa had a hard time rocking us to sleep after all of the excitement. Poor Bella didn't know which way to turn between Leapfrog Lily, cuddly stuffed toys, a pink airplane and who can forget the play phone with a key that says "let's call Grandpa"...

We also got some great Christmas ornaments to mark Bella's first Christmas. Good thing since crazy Mommy didn't have a chance to pick some up. Chalk that up with the paper towels for napkins for Christmas appetizers, a paper plate as a butter dish and pants with spit up on them. The days of Mommy being on top of things are few and far between...

A special thanks to Nana for making my red Christmas jumper. It is perfect and I think we can sneak a few more wears in it before we grow out of it.


Grandma - do you like the picture ornament I got for you? I wrapped it myself.


Grandpa - repeat your phone number again...I need to call you when I need a break from these two knuckleheads.

Nana - let me show you how to open a present.....I'm an old pro after tonight.

Check out one of my new CDs....I'll teach Daddy Mommy's version of Patty Cake yet.

It's A Tough Life...

...but someone's gotta live it.

Nothing much going on here. We are getting ready for Nana to come tomorrow and getting the last of the Christmas presents wrapped. We have mastered "bye bye" with a double backwards wave. We are getting "ah oh" down when we purposely drop things. "Dada" is a favorite word and she is starting to associate it to the right person. She can say "Mama", but it's just another word at this point. She is starting to help with getting dressed. She used to hate putting her arms in her sleeves. Who doesn't?

Tonight she purposely let the dogs lick her hands after she was done eating. It must tickle because she laughed pretty hard each time they did it. She patted Jordan on the head and then gave the fur on her head a good tug. We knew she would eventually terrorize them, we didn't know it would be so soon. Sweet Jordan just sat and took it. The pooches have been excellent with her, just as we thought. They are both protective of their little sister and they are great helpers after meal time making sure no crumbs are left on the floor or highchair.

Peasant Girl

Bella is officially on our time and we are thankful to have everyone in the house sleeping well and through the night. She's also getting more and more interested in formula and has tried some new table foods this week. She picks up things so quickly we are going to start curbing our bad habits.

Quick Pic

Like our walking outfit? We were passed out before we even got 1/2 mile down the path...

Ped Appt & Office Visit

Bella had her first doctor's appointment this week. She is and I quote the doctor "a perfect little girl". Like we didn't know that already. We got the green light to introduce more solid foods. We offered her turkey slices last night and she gobbled them down.

We have been sleeping through the night for the past two nights with only a couple of interruptions. After something to drink, a little rocking and a restart on the Beattles lullaby CD and she is back to sleep.

We also took her to my office to visit some of my co-workers. She did really well and by the end she was showing her colorful personality.

Today we are wrapping Christmas presents and we hope to get some fresh air with a walk for the whole family.

We have run out of time on getting Christmas cards together for this year. We certainly tried but seeing it's the 20th of December, we need to call uncle. We apologize but feel like we have a good excuse with just getting home last week and getting adjusted. We promise great things for next year!

You Can't Be Serious...

I have to wear this hat out in public?

We are having a tough couple of days trying to get Little Guo's internal clock turned around. We thought maybe some fresh air and sunlight along with a shortage of daytime naps may help so we bundled her up and took her outside. She's not to sure about the hat Mommy lovingly knitted her. If only she knew how adorable she looked!

Update from Headquarters

Baby jet lag is tough. Bella had a few days where she didn't get as much rest as she needed and so we decided to let her sleep longer during her naps so she could get enough rest. Well, that bought us 2 four naps a day plus going to bed at her regular bedtime. The problem is that by 11pm, she was up and ready to play for the night. She is definitely caught up on her sleep and we are considering setting a schedule in the next couple of days for her and trying to get her adjusted to that. It will be tough but hopefully, getting a routine down will make life easier for her.

She had her first (first with us) fever last night. We put her in lighter pjs, gave her some tylenol and gave her some juice. Her temp came down pretty quickly and she was all giggles and smiles practicing her waving and raspberries. Of course, it was 1am. We will get there. Luckily, Daddy is off with us until after the holidays so we can tag team her.

We did manage to get a Christmas tree and get it decorated. Now if we can finish Christmas shopping today, we can get some gifts in the mail and under the tree. That is today's mission. The days of getting a zillion things done are a faint memory.

No pictures today. It's hard to take pictures of someone who is asleep all day. :)

Grandma & Grandpa Come to Town

Today I got to meet my Grandma & Grandpa C. I showed them how I feed myself, how I jump in my jumperoo and all of my new toys. My Grandma made me a beautiful quilt with ladybugs and dragonflys. They brought me a Pooh doll that lights up and sings lullabies for me. I love staring at his face as he plays music. I also got a book, some washcloths and a car seat. Mommy and Daddy say they are already spoiling me. THANK YOU SO MUCH GRANDMA & GRANDPA!
My favorite part of the day was when they played and snuggled with me.


Check out Grandma and I with our matching pink sweaters! I had a great time crawling all over her and showing her how I can push up with my strong arms.








Grandpa practiced my walking with me and wore me out...he even laid me in my crib without me making a fuss.










I can't wait to see them again for Christmas when my Nana comes to visit.

Home Sweet Home

We finally got home last night around 8pm. It feels so good to be home. Bella spoiled us while in China by sleeping 10 hours+ a night straight through. With the time difference and all of the traveling yesterday, she didn't sleep straight through for us last night. It was more like three naps. Daddy got caught up on SportsCenter while rocking us back to sleep so it all worked out for the best!

She is doing well this morning and is loving her toy box. She spent some time in the Jumparoo and LOVED that (Thanks, Logan for the loan)! Daddy went to a meeting at school this morning and wanted to see his students before Christmas break.

We have a feeling the first couple of days she is going to be a little fussy between the change in time, food, smells, okay everything. Depending on how she naps, we may try a trip to the grocery store this afternoon. We hope to see all of you really soon.

2.5 years of waiting
8 flights
50 hours of traveling
18,000 miles

Watching our daughter sit in her highchair dropping cheerios on our kitchen floor: worth every second

Zai Jian China

We took our oath today and Bella will officially become a citizen of the United States once we touch US soil tomorrow. It will be sad to leave Bella's country but we are excited to get home and start our new life as a family. We spent the evening having italian with all of our new friends. Tears were shed and more to come tomorrow once we leave. We have two other families with us back to the states which will be great.

Thank you for all of the great emails and blog posts. We feel the excitement and love for our little girl everywhere. It is an honor to be chosen to be her parents. It has been an amazing and humbling journey and worth every second of the wait and more. (no I told you so comments here)

One last picture from far across the pond...we dressed up for our consulate appointment, complete with drool. Daddy put a shirt on, too.




Stay tuned for pictures of the latest and greatest American citizen! If I was more technology saavy, I would be able to attach a song to tonight's post that has put us in the mood. A few hints...it was released the year Daddy was born by a real heel thinking of home.

Zai Jian (goodbye) China, for now. Maybe you'll have a little sister for us someday.

Guangzhou Taxi Tips

Before you hop into that taxi, keep these things in mind:

1. The blue cabs are newer and more roomy than the green cabs.
2. Buckle up!
3. Apparently you don't need to drive fast to be considered an "aggressive driver."
4. Odds are, your cabbie is not afraid to "trade a little paint."
5. Keep you hands inside the vehicle at all times (see previous tip if you don't know why).
6. Expect lots of honking (it's actually done as a courtesy...not because the cabbie is experiencing road rage).
7. Expect lots of sudden lane changes.
8. While the cars are equipped with turn signals, don't expect to see them used.
9. Expect numerous "near misses" during your ride.
10. Your appreciation for NASCAR drivers will grow exponentially after your cab ride.

Add'l Red Couch Photos

Another Mom in the group had this red couch photo. A good close up of our meltdown, but it's all Chrissy's fault - Bella was jealous of her dress. Just kidding, Tammy & Clark!! :)

Six of the eleven girls were from the same orphanage. All of the parents shopped separately for the traditional Chinese dress. Concidentally, all of the Yi girls were in red.

Two Days to Go...

Today was basically a free day for us. Our coordinator took everyone's paperwork to the US Consulate's office to submit documents on Bella's behalf to legally come to the US and become a citizen. We had to stay in our room this morning just in case they had any questions. No calls so we are free and clear there. Tomorrow we have to go to an oath ceremony in the afternoon and then we will receive Bella's visa to leave the country. At that point, we are free (and legal) to leave as a family. We head to the states on Thursday morning.


We hung out in the room for most of the day and our friends came down to visit before they headed back to the jade & pearl market. They invited us but one of us is too nervous of a passenger to take a cab in this country. When they came back they told us all about it. One was ready to vomit and the other had to peel his right hand off the roof handle when they finally stopped. I'm glad I didn't go, I would have been hysterical.

We wandered around the garden area of the hotel and then went to the carosel restaurant at the top of the hotel. Its a rotating round buffet restaurant on the 30th floor. It had a good selection of food and more importantly yummy desserts. We also got some adult beverages which was a nice change from the overly sugared sodas and juices we have endured.


It is hard to believe that we have already been gone 12 days and in less than 48 hours, we will leave this amazing country and head back to reality. It will be nice to be home and be able to do simple things like use the dishwasher and washing machine. We are both looking forward to wearing other clothes. We only brought 5 outfits and that gets old pretty fast especially when someone is drooling on you or sliming a sticky hand on you.


Here are some pictures from our trip to the garden within the hotel...





























You don't see many pictures with the photographer father......and you can see why...he's light years better than Mom in this department.


Here is our best buddy, Evie. She lives near Auntie Jill & Uncle Josh and her grandparents live near us, so we will see each other again in the states.

Sitting on the grass was a new experience for us and this was easily the best picture of us. We weren't crazy about the feel of it.

Any guesses at who in the group of girls won least amount of hair? I believe Evie has won the smallest, but she is a spit fire and has the sweetest smile.

Busy Monday

Today was a busy day for us in Guangzhou. We went to get our medical exam done on Shamian Island. Nothing significant, just a once over and a quick kick of the tires. We currently weigh 20lbs and we are a little over 28" tall. We did really well with the various doctors and nurses and we only fussed when being measured. Can you blame a girl?

We then went shopping on the island and got all kinds of things to bring home to remember China. We also bought a dress for the famous red couch picture at the White Swan Hotel. Mommy changed me in the bathroom and we went to wait to have our group picture taken. Here are some shots of me while we waited for the group photographer:

The White Swan Hotel is the hotel that most adoptive families stay at while in Guangzhou. All of the appointments we have are right there on Shamian Island and there are tons of shops and restaurants within walking distance to the hotel. We did not stay there this time because they are renovating and short on available rooms right now. Anyway, there are red velvet couches in the lobby and it is a tradition with China adoptions to have all of the children in your group have their picture taken on the red couch. Red is a symbol of good luck in China and this is a "send off" of sorts for the babies about to leave for their new life.

I swear to God and this is not just new proud Mama talkin' but Bella was happy as can be sitting will all of her new friends until one clubbed her in the head and another started screaming and then it was all over.

From left to right starting with the back row: Chrissy, Bella, Katilyn, Emmanuelle, Lexi, Adelyne, Evie; front row left to right: Madison (Shelby's big sister adopted four years ago), Shelby, Chloe, Lily and Coee

The entire Jiangxi group less my photographer husband...people were busy getting out their cameras, so we aren't all saying cheese at this moment. Our agency took a professional picture that I'm sure we will get a copy of.

The joys of being 10 months old...

Sunday

This morning we went to get the babys' visa pictures taken. We then went shopping at the wholesale market for jade and pearls. We also had a few minutes to duck into a mall there. We came back to the hotel to have lunch and give the babies a nap. I don't know how the other babies are doing, but ours lays down and plays with her feet and says da da da da or uses her Donald Duck voice to make funny noises. She is not the least bit interested in a nap. We have plans to go to a shop across the street when one of our friend's baby wakes up, so we may just have to nap in the carrier. She dozes off pretty well in that.

While waiting in line to the get the visa pictures taken, a small group of children came up to us with their teacher. Their teacher asked if they could practice their english with us and of course we said that they could. They also wanted to get our autographs and we were happy to do so. Tom got a few pictures of the group -

Bella did manage to review some paperwork and return a few phone calls today....

Bella's First Flight

Nihao -

Bella had her first flight today from Nanchang to Guangzhou. It was about an hour long and she loved it. She was easily entertained by the boarding pass jacket and some Cheerios. She fell asleep the minute the wheels hit the ground. We were so happy to land in a warmer climate and an airport with western toilets, toilet paper, hand soap and paper towel.

Guangzhou is a beautiful city and our hotel is gorgeous. We have a two room suite and it is so nice to have the extra space. The rooms are very modern and have gorgeous Asian furniture. There are two huge flat screens with many channels in English. We also have wireless net, so we are in heaven.

Tonight, we meet to fill our our paperwork for the states. Tomorrow, we go to Shamian Island to get Bella's visa picture taken. We will then go shopping and the Mommies in the group can't wait.
Where can someone get some food around here?

Pictures of Me!

Cute piggies, eh?

Let me see....what did I do that was new today....

I have this Donald Duck voice that I can make and I babble on and on in it.

I ate long noodles and watermelon at a Chinese restaurant. I really liked the watermelon. I also had a couple bites of birthday cake and that was good too.

I sat in a highchair for the first time in a restaurant and was okay with it. I was pretty fascinated by the belt that held me in. It was literally a frayed rope and I liked playing with the strings.

Mommy and I ended the night with a debate on the various proofs of the Pythagorean Therom.

Okay, maybe I didn't really eat noodles, but I still had a great day! I laughed quite a bit and I did really well on the bus ride to the countryside. I showed Daddy how I splash in the tub and I went down for the night in less than 20 minutes....so that's something, right?

We leave the hotel at 8am tomorrow for the airport. Our flight is just one hour long and so that shouldn't be too bad for my first flight. I also got my Chinese passport today and my picture looks pretty good. Daddy took some pictures of me on the bus from the seat behind me. He also took some pictures of me after we got back from dinner. I love to laugh.

Last Day in Nanchang

Today was our last day in Nanchang. We got Bella's passport today along with more final paperwork. One document had a small picture of her in it that was different from ones we already have, so that was nice.

One of the other mothers had a birthday today so our group went out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant and then we had birthday cake for her. The cake had this great candle on it and all the families loved it. Our guide stopped at a bakery on the way back and bought one for each of us to take home. We hope to use it for Bella's first birthday.

Baby Chloe is at home here at the hotel tonight and she is doing better. Her poor Mother is just numb from worry. They had to do some bargaining at the hospital to be able to leave tomorrow with the group. She will have to go to the hospital each day while we are in Guangzhou for IV antibiotics and then a specialist will meet them when they arrive home in Texas. We are so happy that they get to come with us. We wish Chloe a speedy recovery.

We went to the countryside today just outside Nanchang. It was quite an interesting bus trip down a one lane path passing other buses and dump trucks. It felt like a good game of chicken many times. We stopped at a village and got out to walk around. You would never guess that people live in the way they do. Afterwards, we went porcelain shopping and were able to get a few things.

We were invited to look into someone's house. Here is the kitchen:

They had their dinner hanging on a neuse outside the door.

They do not have running water, just a water pump outside. You would not want to see the creek where their water comes from.

A few more pictures from the village...

Two young children playing alone on a street. There is no electricity either. The really ironic part is that our guide got a cell phone call while we were there, so they have cell service in that area.