Red Couch Pictures

These are the 3 Nanchang babies. Mei, Gracie, and Josie. Mei and Josie were in cribs next to each other.

These are all 6 of our group's babies. Mei is still on far left.

Today is our last day in China. At 2:45, we take Mei to the US Consulate where we say an oath on her behalf to become an American. As soon as we land in Detroit, it is official. I was surprised to learn that she does not retain her Chinese citizenship, and will only be a US citizen.

We land in Indy at 4:53 pm on Wed. We are flying in from Detroit on Northwest. See you at home!!! Wish us luck on the long plane ride!

Just pictures

This is inside the White Swan hotel, where we are staying now.

Our princess loves noodles - and mommy usually gets them all over her!

Guangzhou is great!

Bath time! It took all of us to actually get her in the tub, but then she decided she liked it.

It is very warm here - very much like a Florida vacation. But we are tired, and Mei is sick. She has a runny nose, and sneezes alot. She is also tugging on her ears. We actually went out today for a couple of hours and I left her at the hotel with mom so she could rest. It practically killed me to leave her, but she needs to learn that we will come back.

And Kathy - I have actually let mom and Rick hold her, but not that much! She loves her daddy though - she likes his whiskers and he tosses her around and plays with her. When it is time to eat or sleep or she wants to be held, she has learned to look for me. Yesterday, she and I were laying on the bed, and she was feeling my face, just looking at me, talking, and she put her mouth on my nose and sucked on it! Then she blew a raspberry! She is so funny - I can't wait for everyone to meet her and see how funny she is.

Leaving for Guangzhou today

Today at 5 pm, Mei Li will take her first airplane ride. We have to go to Guangzhou to get Mei Li a visa to enter the US. We will be there until Wednesday morning. I have heard very good things about Guangzhou, and we have enjoyed our time here in Nanchang.

Yesterday we went to the park. It was beautiful, and full of grandmothers with their babies. In China, it is customary for the grandparents to watch the children while the parents work. So the grandmothers really are close to the children. They were all very interested in our babies. I just finished giving Mei a bottle, and one lady just came up and sanpped it out of my hands and was talking in Chinese. Our guide, Mary, (who has been WONDERFUL to us) explained that she had never seen a bottle like what I was using. The Chinese have very succinct guidelines on parenting, and they do not hesitate to tell you when you do not measure up!

I will post tomorrow from Guangzhou.

The picture says it all....

Pictures

She has developed a habit of smiling after the picture is taken! She loves being in the carrier, and we have been spending our mornings that way.

Today we went out in Nanchang, saw some sites, shopped, and had lunch. The shopping here is different - stores are very, very small, and the baby clothes are very cheap. We have not paid over $4 US dollars for anything. Most of the 9 month stuff does not fit her - she is too long. So she is already in 12 months, but is very skinny. She is like Carlie and can not hold her pants up!

Lunch was great - when they say spicy, they are not joking. It takes your breath away - but is very, very good.

The people on the streets just stare at us. One lady asked why I wanted this baby. Some people like the fact that we are Americans adopting here, but others do not. Mostly pregnant women seem very offended and give disgusted looks our way. It is very uncomfortable when they are saying things you can not understand.

Tomorrow we are going to the orphanage. I have mixed emotions about it, afraid the Mei will think she is going back there. But I will carry her in the carrier pack, so no one can try to hold her. I only have one chance to see where she lived the first 10 month of her life, so I will go.

The birth note that was left with her was a huge disappointment. It only has her birth date and time - nothing else.

We have definitely enjoyed our time here, but we are ready to come home. Everything here is so different than the US. I saw a man today carrying a duck by its feet and the duck was looking around, still alive, but I am sure it is dinner tonight.

We miss Nathan and Morgan, and we are anxious to get Mei Li settled in at home. It will be interesting to see how she does on the plane ride to Guangzhou Friday night. She is pulling at her ears and I am afraid she might have an ear infection. There are US medical clinics in Guangzhou, so I will be able to get her an antibiotic there if I need to.

I will post tomorrow about the orphanage visit. It has alot of special needs babies, severe issues, so I am interested to see if we will see any of those kids.

Adoption is FINAL!

Mei Li Elizabeth Clark is now officially ours! Everything went very smoothly, and we were done with the process by noon today. She is really opening up to us, and learning how to do stuff already. She chatters alot, and laughs out loud when we play with her. She is very affectionate, and she seems to be very happy. The video explains everything.

We have our baby!

This man is the orphange director.

The picture right above this was when they first gave her to me. She was an angel. She did not cry at all, and within 5 minutes, she smiled. She is so sweet, and she has the cutest little bitty voice. She watches us very intently, and wants to be held at all times. I got her to sleep about 15 minutes ago (7 pm) and just watching her sleep is so mesmerizing. In the morning, we go to the civil affairs office to finalize the adoption. I just can't believe how perfect she is. I can't wait for everyone to meet her.

Beijing

This was lunch today - fish with it's face still attached. Other than that, it was very good. By far better than the China Buffet! Haha - Nathan and Morgan!

Looking down the Great Wall, that I need to clarify, only Rick made it up. Mom and I stopped after a few steps. Each step was as tall as my knee!

It was COLD today!! By the end of the day, I swear I could not fell my toes. Those of you that know me, it would not be much of a loss!

Nathan and Morgan - check your email. We miss you both VERY MUCH, and can't wait to get back home to you.

Tomorrow is Sunday in Beijing, and we leave for Nanchang in the morning. Once we arrive, we will check into the hotel and shortly after that, go to the Civil Affairs Office to meet Mei Li. We are taking it easy tonight - still not on China time completely and all of us are very tired.

I will post more tomorrow - after we have Mei Li. Wish us luck!!

oops - I was not finished!

Ok - so those pictures are not so great! We were very tired and, I guess we hallucinated the beauty!

Here are some in China:

This was the Chinese acrobat show we saw last night - it was really good! We also ate Peking Duck, and it was just like one of those travel shows where everyone eats at the really good restaurants!

Today, we are going to the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, and the Olympic stadiums. It will be a long day, but I will have some good pictures to post tonight.

Tomorrow, is Mei Li day!!! Funny, we found out yesterday that her nanny's name is Mei!

Will Post tonight!

In China at last

We finally made it! After some engine trouble on our plane in Detroit, and waiting 3 hours for the airline to fix it, we finally left about 3 pm. That put us behind and we missed our connection in Tokyo. So, we got to spend the night in Japan, and it was really nice! They are very friendly to Americans, and Japan is beautiful.

Ready to go!!

We are all packed, as you can see. We leave at 10 am tomorrow morning, and it can not get here soon enough! My next post will be from Beijing!

Shower Cake

Just wanted to show everyone the beautiful cake that my coworkers got for the baby shower at work. The shower was wonderful, and everyone was so nice, and Mei Li got the cutest stuff! I can't wait to see her in those cute outfits.

Thank you Patti!

The attached picure is a beautiful card that my friend Patti made for Mei Li's baby shower. I was so touched and I absolutely love this card! I wanted to keep it, so I framed it and it is hanging above Mei Li's changing table.

Also - we received our Travel Approval from China today. Our agency is requesting our Consulate appointment with the US Consulate in Guangzhou. This is the appointment that allows Mei Li to receive her visa to enter the US, and happens at the end of our China trip. Once this appointment is set, we work on all the other meetings, and book our flights. we are hoping to get a Consulate appointment on December 15. If confirmed, we will leave China on December 17. I will post more later this week.

Updated pictures

We are very happy to have received more pictures of Mei Li this week. She is now 9 months old and looks to be standing very well! I am very glad that she seems to be happy and developing normally.

No travel dates yet, but we should have those anyday. I will post our itinerary as soon as we have it.

It's a Girl!

Rick and I are thrilled to announce our beautiful new daughter, Mei Li Elizabeth. She was born January 19, 2008. She currently lives in the Zhang Social Welfare Institute in Jiangxi Province. We are hoping to travel to China in about 8 weeks, and bring her home by Christmas. Please join us in welcoming her to our family!

Stork Alert!

The stork is rumoured to leave China on Sunday! We expect arrival by Tuesday! Keep checking back, as I should have information to share on Tuesday or Wednesday. I can't believe it is finally happening!

Matching has started!!

We found out today that the CCAA has started matching babies to families for this next batch of referrals. This means that someone is reviewing our file and matching us to a baby. Our file has been sitting in China, waiting for matching for about 950 days! We should get "THE CALL" on Monday Sept 29, or Tuesday Sept 30, at the latest!

Maybe a slight change in plans

I emailed FTIA, our adoption agency, this week. They said that we probably will not travel to China until December. I have been thinking we would travel at the end of November. When we get our referral, which is in just 3 more weeks, FTIA will give us an estimated travel date. I suppose it does not matter - we have waited this long. But it was disappointing.

Not much longer...

Today, we found out that we should receive our referral in approximately 4 weeks. This means that after waiting over 3 years, we will finally see a picture of our daughter around the first of October. I now know for sure that she is there, somewhere, waiting for us. But now suddenly, we have so much to do before we can travel to China and meet her. I know there is enough time, but, those of you who know me, know that waiting for something is definitely not my best trait. I have started dreaming of her, every night. She has no idea that she will soon be placed in my arms. She also has no idea that I will probably never put her down!

Just a few more weeks....I just have to hold on a little longer.