More first day photos

Photos are loading very slowly, but here are a few more. While Ariel napped, Jeff hit the hotel gym and I did yoga in the room (thanks to the Yoga Paws from Barb and Rich.) So between poses, I loaded these photos.

Jeff & Ariel - love at first sight!

Jeff, Ariel, and her sweet nanny

We asked her several questions with the help of our guide, Amy. But I forgot to ask the nanny's name. Amy is trying to find out for us. I think Ariel and her nanny look a lot alike and share facial expressions.

Sitting in the quiet room, giving kisses.

She took them surprisingly well!

Yesterday, we had the official interviews at back at the civil affairs office. They were short and sweet. We signed all the papers, and the adoption was official. Last night we walked around the nearby Dong Fang hotel with the other families. It has a beautiful garden. Then we walked the streets & alleys of Guangzhou near the hotel. Found some good-looking Lebanese restaurants, bakeries, and produce shops. Ariel went in the Ergo Carrier, which she loved. Last night she also slept soundly through the whole night.

This afternoon, we'll go as a group to the passport office (for her Chinese passport) and to Pizza Hut!

Meeting Ariel

April 19th, Guangzhou Civil Affairs Office, around 3 PM

That's her in the middle, in the pink outfit, carried by her nanny.

Ariel joins the family!

She seemed happy about the whole situation.
Her nice nanny stayed around to let her know it was okay.


She fell asleep on Jeff.

Receiving kisses.

Beijing

The laptop is back up! (For now.) Photos are loading slowly, so we'll keep it short.

dumpling dinner

Me & Jeff at the Great Wall
It was steep!
A great way to expend our energy the day before meeting Ariel.
We slept very well that night, and had a fun day with the other families in our group.

Gotcha Day!

We met her yesterday! It all happened so fast. Her nice nanny carried her out and handed her to me. Thankfully, she seemed pretty happy to be with Jeff & me. She especially likes looking at Jeff, and thinks he's super-neat.

The room was slightly chaotic, because most of the other families in our group adopted older children (2-6 years old.) But it was a happy day for all the families. We had some quiet time in a small room with her.

She has a moderate case of scabies (we are pretty sure) so had to bathe her and cover her with Elimite cream. She enjoyed the bath with me, but didn't enjoy the scabies cream. She had a small bottle and slept through the night in a playpen beside Jeff. Only Mom had overstimulation issues last night! So she is a real angel (like her cat brothers) and we couldn't be happier to finally meet her. Pictures to follow (when we get our act together).

Acrobats

We just finished another long, but fun day. We went to the Great Wall at Badaling to walk up a very steep part of it. All the food has been great. At lunch we had 56% alcohol rice wine, but we could only stand a few sips.

Our guides took us to an amazing acrobatics show tonight. And we're grateful for ever-smiling Lu, our bus driver. He squeezed past other buses within a few inches.

14 hours until we meet Miss Gang Hao Liang in Guangzhou!

Beijing

This is a short update from my itouch. Our laptop screen isn't working, so our ability to post photos easily and Skype is hindered.

We had a fun day of Beijing sightseeing with our group (20 people + 2 guides). Four families in our group will go with us to Guangzhou Monday. The others will go to different provinces, then meet us in Guangzhou next week.

Tomorrow, the Great Wall!

We are safely in Beijing. The flight was 4 hours on China Air. So far we've met one other family with AWAA. Jeff rested while I went next door to Carrefour for water, yogurt drinks, and snacks.

I think the cats were tired of our busy prep time, so were glad to rest and see petsitter Sam (who will live with them for 3 weeks.)

Hard to believe only 2 more days until we meet her!

Last post before lift-off

We are touched and overwhelmed by the support from our friends & neighbors here and our family & friends back home. Thank you all so much!

Don't be alarmed if we cannot update the blog right away - it probably means we're busy (in a good way!) or have technical issues.

Red & yellow: our route

Blue: Ariel's (Gang Hao Liang's) route from Maoming

• Friday, April 16 - arrive Beijing
  
• Saturday - Tiananmen Suare, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, optional acrobat show
  
• Sunday - church service, Great Wall, duck dinner
  
• Monday - Gotcha Day! AM - fly to Guangzhou, PM - meet Gang Hao Liang
  
• Tues - Wed, April 28 - many appointments, free time & sightseeing in Guangzhou
  
• Thursday - fly to Hawaii
  
• Friday - USCIS appointment to apply for Certificate of Citizenship (CoC)
  
• Sat-Sun - enjoy Hawaii!
  
• Mon-Fri - finish CoC business, apply for ss# and passport, play in Hawaii
  
• Sat - enjoy!
  
• Sun - Mon - fly home!

Anpanman clothes

Our friend & neighbor, Yoko, brought over some Anpanman clothes for Ariel. Anpanman is loved by children in Japan and other parts of Asia. He is the "bald guy" with rosy cheeks. But really, his head is a bun filled with sweet red bean jam. When he fights evil, he often uses part of his head. Then his dad, baker Jam Ojisan bakes him a new head.

There are many other characters in the Anpanman books and cartoons, which we rent sometimes from Dorama DVD rental out the gate. We love Anpanman, too!

Note the initials on this coat!

Arigato, Yoko and Family!

(These are well-loved clothes from her cute kids.)

Doraemon's spring day

sweet, sweet Doraemon

Because he can climb the fence in a flash,
we supervise him closely or put him in the pen.
Ralph doesn't climb the fence so he enjoys the whole backyard.
But he still joins his brother in the pen sometimes.

Communication from China

Some sites are blocked in China (Blogspot, Facebook.) And internet may be slow. Last time I found Yahoo mail worked well, so you can always email us at parkshr@yahoo.com

Family: stay logged in to Skype a lot! Skype works well, so we'll be calling you.

We'll do our best to post some updates on the blog (we have some workarounds, including having a friend post for us.)

Sakura

It's Hanami (blossom-viewing season.)

Sakura are cherry blossom trees.

It's a magical time celebrated all over Japan.

street behind our house

(ours is on the right, over the fence)

The blossoms turn more fragrant as the week goes on.

When they fall, the petals are soft, silky, and light pink.

You can pick up giant piles of them in your arms.

Sakura tree near our house

And now they start to fall like snow.

Busy times at the kichi

(Kichi = base)
Lots of details to accomplish and keep track of! I'm sure you'll understand if I don't respond to emails for a long time. We just really have to focus right now - on preparing for the trip and enjoying our last quiet week at home together.

Feeling organized! Good thing we'll pack light, because baby stuff takes up lots of room.

We can buy supplies there, but would rather be well-prepared for the first couple days.

Ralph (and Doraemon) go to work getting their scent on her clothes.

The ladybug shirt (from the Japanese baby store near us) says "I Am an Energetic" (ladybug.)

The Japanese have a clever way with English.

Gifts for nannies & officials:

cosmetics, pens, pretty handkerchiefs from Japan (but not overtly Japanese)



toys, books, feeding supplies

blankets, bibs, bows......

snackage!

meds

(the clinic here gave us even more, including 2 tubes of scabies cream)

Just a fraction of our paperwork and to-do list.

We're working out concrete travel plans with our super travel agent Sue Sorrels in Texas. She specializes in adoption travel. She's a cat-lover, so we have great rapport!

Babies!

Referrals just came out for families through April 17, 2006
See Rumor Queen's "Babies!" post.
Congratulations to all those families!

Got our TA!

Our agency called this morning at 3 AM to announce our TA (travel approval from China) arrived! What a relief!

They have to confirm our US Consulate appointment, but said they're thinking April 15th departure. That means April 16th for us (we're a day ahead.) Yippee!

Gee, hadn't thought of that

For all of you who like to razz us about how much "harder" life will be with a child, I say this:
well, DUH!

Do you understand how long we've waited, and how deliberately we've planned?

Okay, next post will be all rainbows and ponies and sugarcoated things!

Hanami

Hanami is blossom-viewing season. Right now, it's Sakura time, when the sakura (cherry blossom trees) bloom.

Last Tuesday, my friend Cameron, her daughters (above), her English class, and I went to Inokashira Park for a Hanami party.

We had a picnic!
We also enjoyed the zoo at this park.
Cameron's husband is deployed for one year, but she and her daughters all speak some Japanese, so they get out and have fun. Their family has also grown by adoption.


Shidarezakura (weeping cherry blossom)



Cameron, her daughters, and me boating around.
The trees were about 20% bloomed last Tuesday.
I think now they are peaking, but the weather is chilly and cloudy.

View from our backyard
These blossoms look like light pink snow.
We're looking forward to more sunshine next week!

kyodai

(brothers)

This is their new sleeping spot: blankets atop a storage bin in the nursery.

more photos: Maogang SWI

I got these photos from Maoming Maogang Yahoo group.
SWI = social welfare institute (orphanage and/or nursing home)
Maogang SWI is in Maogang district of Maoming city.

Busy marketplace near Maogong SWI

baby room

cribs

cribs

orphanage exterior

another view (new part of the orphanage, as of 2005)

These photos are from 2005. I'm not sure if adoptive families got to visit then, or what. I've also learned from this Maogang Yahoo group that scabies is a past and current problem. Jeff & I will both see our doctors next week for scabies cream!

FAQs part deux

The new FAQs are here. (I also put a link to them on the right.)