Monday & Tuesday: US Consulate

June Bug's blood work came back negative so he's all good for his appointment at the US Consulate to get his visa and head home!

The other really good news is that the backpack I got from another family here works great! Jay agrees to ride in it and I can travel around with him on my back instead of him running wild everywhere. My parents flew in last night - I never could've done this without them here - It's been hard on everyone so it's been really nice for Audrey and Sam to get to go with Grandma and Grandpa and have a little break. We all walked around the super humid city and then spent some time in the pool. He absolutely loves swimming. He stands on the side and counts "Ee, Er, Sun, one, two, three!" and then jumps in! I'll try to upload a video...

There are three other families in Guangzhou right now from our agency, and we took a group picture today with our guide, Elvin (sitting next to Sam). Everyone is so put together and seems to have this thing under control. Then, I show up late, pulling multiple kids, obviously not having showered recently, Ha! I'm just proud that I've gotten this far in China. Really can't do much more than survive at this point!

Yesterday evening, we went on a cruise down the Pearl River. Jay loved the boat. I just wonder what he's thinking - everything we do is a whole new experience. One of his favorite parts of the cruise was arm wrestling with our guide, Elvin!

Then today, Tuesday, we woke up early for our appointment at the US Consulate. This is the appointment where I swear that everything in the process was accurate and take a oath and then we apply for the visa to bring Jay to the US. We get the actual visa tomorrow and that is the last thing we need and we fly home! As soon as Jay lands in the US, he becomes a citizen! Here we are in front of the Consulate making Jay a soon-to-be American citizen!

The Consulate appointment was much easier than I remember in past years, but there is a wine vending machine in the building right next store... Just in case...

We tried an authentic noodle shop for lunch which was delicious! It was family style food and we ordered three huge plates of different noodles, two big baskets of onion breads, lots of drinks (it's 95 degrees and with humidity feels like 118!!). It was so so good! And cost a whopping $8.00.

We got a message from Rebekah from Hope Station. She was visiting Jay's orphanage today and one of his nannies was asking how he was doing and really missing him. Rebekah showed her pictures and videos of him with his family. Rebekah said that she watched the videos and pictures and sobbed. She misses him so much. She video taped a message to Jay and in it she asked that he call her and said he knows her number. I showed him the video and he listened to her intently and then said - Ah! And went to the phone and dialed a number about 5 times. It was the same number each time, but the number said it was disconnected. Seeing a video of a nanny sobbing who had taken care of Jay for years and obviously really loved him was heart wrenching. This whole experience is so wonderful and so horrible at the exact same time. But for now, I'll focus on the wonderful as these two brothers snuggle up before bed...

Sunday: Free Day in Guangzhou

Today was a free day as we wait to get Jay's blood work results and wait for our Consulate appointment. At breakfast, we talked with a family who I'd met briefly at breakfast yesterday. It's a mom traveling with three of her children and a new 4 year old son. Her husband stayed at home with their other children. I immediately was drawn to her a few days ago because she seemed to be having similar struggles as me -- communicating with an older boy who knows what he wants. We chatted at breakfast and she talked about having a backpack to carry her son in, but that he refused to get in it. She offered me to try it out and see if it would help contain Jay when we're out. It was really nice to talk with someone who was travelling as an only adult and who had other kids with her. It made me see that my difficulties in this trip are totally normal!

Jay's been very into mixing together foods. For breakfast, he wanted hot milk and then he soaked about 6 pieces of bacon in it. Then pulled out the bacon and drank the milk (bacon-infused milk). I'm thinking he may be onto something.

After breakfast, we went with the three other families from our agency to do some sightseeing and shopping. I spent this time in the most humid place imaginable, drenched in sweat, and chasing June Bug trying to prevent him from breaking glass tea sets. I really should've tried that backpack before our day out today! Audrey who has not complained yet agreed that she was the most miserable she's ever been in her life. Sam actually did the best out of everyone on this hot day. He kept a good hold on Jay and talked to him as we walked the streets.

We got back to the hotel and everyone was ready to jump in the pool - and it thundered - and the pool closed. So we decided to totally veg out this afternoon. We watched movies in our room and read. June Bug is such a character. We were walking around the hotel and he started acting like a robot and even strangers stopped to videotape him. He's so funny!

Then this afternoon, the hotel delivered a beautiful cake to me for MY BIRTHDAY! The best birthday present I could ever ask for happened as soon as the cake arrived - Haijun started singing to the tune of Happy Birthday but in Chinese and then as soon as he finished, all three kids started singing Happy Birthday in English. It was so sweet. I tried to get them to reenact it. Here's the best I got...

We decided to go down to the Executive Lounge again for "evening snacks" (AKA dinner) again tonight. We met the same family from breakfast at the lounge. We hung out with them all evening just sharing stories about our families and adoptions. Our sons have really similar stories, similar special needs, same age, etc. It was really great to connect with them. Then they brought out birthday treats that they had picked up for me - so sweet! We ran back to our room and grabbed our cake and had a birthday celebration in the lounge. Haijun fell asleep in the lounge, and I got much needed adult interaction. All in all a great birthday.

Saturday: Medical exam

Today was our first full day in Guangzhou with our new guide Elvin. We've also connected with three other families from our agency who had been in other provinces last week. We had an amazing breakfast buffet - full of Chinese noodles, dumplings, meats and then also American favorites like scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, pancakes, fruit, and cheese. The buffet went on for rooms and rooms.

Then we went to the clinic for Haijun to get his check up to get clearance to go to the USA. The clinic was a super hot humid room with different stations - vital signs station, ENT station, general exam station (AKA get naked room, as Sam called it), and the blood drawing station (for a TB test). Haijun did great and had everyone laughing until the blood draw room. That was the one room that parents are not allowed to go in with him. He came walking out looking tough but when he saw me, he started crying and pointing at his bandaid. We get the results of the TB blood test on Monday - fingers crossed it's negative. He doesn't have any symptoms of TB but lots of kids in orphanage have had TB or have been exposed to it which would cause the test to be positive and we'd need to go back to the clinic. The doctor in the general exam room was great. He told me how happy and smart Haijun was. Then he confirmed my scabies concern - he kept saying WOW looking at all the bites everywhere. I told him that I'd already treated him twice and he said to continue treating once a week until there are no marks on him. All the bites are healing but now that I know that's what it was, I've treated all the rest of us just in case - so no one has to be concerned, we are all bathed in scabies medicine and will be completely un-bugged by the time we get home - Yuck! Once I get past my grossed out reaction, I just feel so badly that little June Bug lived with all those bites!

Then we went with our guide to a grocery store to stock up our room. Especially with Haijun being so active, it's hard to go out places. It's really nice to have food to just heat up in our hotel room where he's contained. As we went up and down the aisles, Jay had our guide cracking up. He was grabbing everything throwing it in the basket. He had no interest in breads, chips, snacks but was screaming for pickled chicken feet and sunflower seeds. Elvin said Haijun is a true Chinese boy - and eats like one. Haijun was talking a mile a minute telling me things and Elvin was interpreting and then Haijun turned to Elvin and said - "I'm talking to my mom, not you!" And, Elvin laughed and told him he was helping his mom understand and Haijun said - "Oh she understands me!" Glad he at least thinks I know what he's talking about! Ha! Elvin pulled me aside and said that Haijun is a very "cool" name to have. He said it means Navy and only very "cool" kids are named Haijun. He also said he can tell that Haijun is very confident, very handsome, and is "happy like sunshine." Elvin said he can tell he'll have a wonderful life - I'm not sure if he says this to everyone or just saw me struggling to contain this wild man, but it was sweet. 

We then spend the afternoon swimming. It's Jay's favorite thing and it's the one thing I've found that wears him out! At the grocery store, we got water guns so the swimming pool was even more fun than usual. 

Then Elvin asked to meet the families in a hotel conference room to complete all the paperwork needed at the US Consulate. I knew paperwork wouldn't go well with Jay, so Audrey agreed to babysit the boys in the hotel room when I did the paperwork. Jay did great with her! She's such a great big sister!

Jay has started saying "I love you" and then doing kisses... So sweet...

Traveling

Today we had a leisurely morning at the hotel playing and packing up - It's amazing how much stuff I have! Ugh! But we got all our suitcases packed, kept within the 44 pound limit, and headed off to the airport to fly to Guangzhou. All families who adopt from China end up in Guangzhou the last week of their trip. The US Consulate is in Guangzhou, so this is the city where Jay will get his visa to fly *home* to the US! Chengdu had amazing food and a great feel, but we are definitely ready to fly to Guangzhou where adoptive families won't get the stares and where we are one step closer to coming home! We said goodbye to Carrie, our amazing guide in Chengdu. As Sam told her, we would've been totally lost without her!

The airport was probably the most frustrating part of the trip so far. Haijun was so so excited to fly on an airplane and he was running all over the airport, running into people, getting behind the counter at the terminal pushing computer buttons,... I mean imagine the most out of control child and that was it. But once he was wrangled onto the plane. He was super excited and did great on the flight.

It seems like we have a really good day and then a really hard day. Today was hard. My parents flew to Xian to do some sightseeing and will meet up with us in Guangzhou in a few days. That will help a lot. I feel like today I didn't do especially good by any of my kids - I was asking Audrey to sit by herself on the plane, carry bags, and basically take care of herself because I had one out of control kid and then Sam who suddenly had many needs - basically fighting for my attention. I had a million carry on bags, and kids running crying and peeing everywhere. Yes, peeing. Thank goodness for Pringles containers, that's all I'm saying about that. Hopefully the pattern is right and tomorrow will be a good day!

Last day in Chengdu

About a year ago, a group of nurses from the Second Women's and Children's Hospital in Chengdu came to visit and learn at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital. I spent time with them at the hospital and made some great friendships. We connected on Facebook after they left, they kept inviting me to visit their city, and little did I know my son was there!! When I found out where Jay lived, I immediately contacted them. On Wednesday night the nurses who visited along with their director of nursing hosted me, Audrey, Sam, and my parents to an authentic Chengdu show and meal. They are so hospitable. They rode a taxi over to our hotel to pick us up, we walked Jinli Street which is an old stone street with shops and tea houses and ended up at a beautiful restaurant. We had a beautiful private room and before eating we watched a performance with dancers, aerobatics, and the Chengdu famous mask changing performance. Then we tried many different Chengdu specialities. It was an amazing night to experience the culture and foods of Chengdu.

Every day is getting a little easier. I think we are leaning more Chinese from Jay than him learning English from us. Just so I don't forget them all - Here are the phrases we've learned...sorry for any true Chinese speaker, these may be way off, but it's what it sounds like to me :)

Shia-shia: Thank you
Tszoma: Let's go!
Te meow meow: I want to eat noodles
Neow Neow: Go potty
Hollah: That's enough/All done
Woo-la: I'll do it by myself!

We've been able to mimic to each other and figure out most things. Last night though Haijun (pronounced Hi June... therefore June Bug) had a major meltdown. It was the first real crying fit because I didn't understand him. I called my friend Rebekah from Hope Station and she video chatted him and said she thinks he's asking for a drink of water. I tried giving him a bottle of water and he threw it at me. We went down to the lobby to ask the front desk to help interpret. The woman there said - Oh I know! And, she handed him a bottle of water which he threw at her. She kept talking with him and pretty soon there was a crowd of about 3 women around him trying to figure it out. Then one excitedly realized what he was saying - He wanted to GO IN WATER! Not drink water. He'd probably never swam until a few days ago and had no idea what the word for swimming was!

Today, we met Rebekah and Erin from Hope Station by their apartment so they could play with Jay one last time before we head to Guangzhou tomorrow. They are amazing women from America who moved to Chengdu to provide orphan care in the orphanages. They've been working weekly with Jay for the past couple of years. So, they're very happy for him, but will miss him! I promised to keep in touch so that he always knows them.

Rebekah and Erin are the ones helping with the donation you all contributed to. We haven't been able to purchase anything yet. It's actually more complicated then it seems like it would be. They were explaining to me that in China there is a culture where one person gives something to someone and then the other person gives something back. So, providing the orphanage a large purchase wouldn't happily be accepted because they'd be wary about what we wanted in return. Rebekah and Erin are working to provide this donation in a way that will benefit the children and will be accepted by the orphanage. I'll be sure to let you know when this happens.

We spent the morning at a park by their apartment. As Sam was swinging, Jay started to walk in front of him and almost got hit, so Rebekah grabbed him and Jay said (in Chinese): Geez! You just scared me to death! I think he's hilarious now, I can't wait until I understand what he's saying. We had a wonderful Chengdu meal near the park and then took pictures and he gave lots of hugs and kisses and we headed back to the hotel. We learned a funny Chinese word - the way that we say "Cheese" when someone takes a picture. In China, they say "Eggplant!"

Then we had to finish up paperwork at the Civil Affairs Office and Notary Office. Audrey and Sam stayed with Grandma and Grandpa at the pool and went to get ice cream to give them a little break from all these appointments. It was nice to get some one on one time with Jay. He's really bonded and always wants to be snuggled or held. But in the van ride, he started asking for his Jia Jia (big sister) and Gu Gu (big brother). We stopped at an old Chinese shopping alley and he picked out toys to give to them when we returned. But, he's still a 5 year old boy... He picked out small toys for them and then a big toy and a Starbucks drink for himself!

We pushed ourselves to stay up until 9:30 tonight so that Sam could call into his class at Morning Meeting time. We were able to Skype and they could see each other. They could hear us but we couldn't hear them. So Sam's teacher Mrs Feldkamp got a white board and wrote questions to him from his classmates. He also got to find out who his 2nd grade teacher will be - Mrs Schulte - Audrey's 2nd grade teacher who we loved! And, Mrs Feldkamp and Schulte were both wearing the Jay's Friends fundraiser shirts! Then Audrey's teacher and class came in the room to say HI to her from across the world. The kids showed Jay sleeping to their classmates and loved seeing everyone - We have such an amazing school!

That's all for now - Time to go to sleep and tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou. Please send prayers/positive thoughts/good juju to us to get through this first flight with this fiesty man!

Rainy Pandas

Last night was a tough night... Not for Audrey, Sam, or Jay, but for me! I think it was just exhaustion and emotional stress. Everything in China is so hard. Being somewhere where you can't speak the language, can't read the signs, don't understand the culture  - and being there with 3 kids, one who you can't communicate with, is draining. Jay is doing way better than I ever expected - he showed attachment to his caregivers, he is so sweet with Audrey and Sam, he runs to me if he gets hurt, he's happy, he does not seem to be malnourished and doesn't eat insanely everything like my others did at the beginning. But he is frustrated with me not understanding him and he is covered (and I mean head to toe covered) in bug bites. They don't seem to bother him - I just can't imagine where he lived that he'd be used to that many bites. I've scabies treated him from head to toe twice, and keep applying lotion to help him feel better. Even if he's not complaining, they have got to be itchy! There is one other family staying at the same hotel who are adopting a little girl. They were saying how she has scrapes and cuts all over her and they were told there was a lot of fighting at her orphanage. It's heart breaking to think what these little souls have lived through. But even with whatever living situation Jay had, I can tell he was really loved.  Even though I've done this twice before, I forget how emotional this is. After some much needed facebook messages from a friend back home and texts with a friend who is in China adopting right now (but unfortunately in a different area), and then Jay going straight to bed at 8pm and sleeping until 6am, I feel much better today. Adoption is such an amazing experience, but it is hard. I keep reminding myself that this is the "labor" of my pregnancy and I just have to get through this and things will get easier.

Today, we had a free day in Chengdu as we wait for the official adoption documents from the court. We spent the day at the Panda Research Center. Sam loved telling our guide everything he knew about pandas (he did his end of the year 1st grade project on pandas). It was a rainy day but actually was nice to be there when it was cool and not humid and mosquito-y! Jay was very excited to see pandas but after awhile he said he was - All done! Let's go home!

We just got back to our hotel and got changed out of our wet clothes and are having some down time before our big night tonight. Jay is watching cartoons and Audrey and Sam are writing in their journals. Tonight, some nurses I met when they were visiting Cincinnati Children's Hospital are taking us out to an authentic Chinese meal and to a performance. It will be so great to see them - and to have a bunch of pediatric nurses to help with Jay for an evening! :)

One last important update. Audrey has come up with the best nickname ever. Jay's Chinese name (which will be his middle name) is Haijun.  This is the name he is used to so it's what we've been calling him. Then Audrey started calling him June Bug. Ha! He cracks up and says - June Bug! June Bug!

My wifi has been blocking me from posting images, so I've been sending them to a friend to upload later from the US. So, if you see a post without pictures, just check back and they'll be added later.

Everything is harder in China!

The first night went amazing. I told Jay, through google translate, that it was time for bed and he said - ah ok! Then he marched into the bedroom, stripped down to his boxer briefs, climbed into bed and pulled up the covers and fell fast asleep. Easiest first night ever! He slept until about 2:30am and started crying and mumbling. Audrey, Sam and I all laid in bed with him and I rubbed his head and just let him cry. Audrey and Sam were so worried about him and I was explaining that nighttime is probably hard because he woke up in a strange place and is probably missing his nannies. He kept falling asleep and then waking up crying for about 45 minutes. Finally he woke up all the way, pushed my hand off his head, marched into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water, and then marched back into the bedroom and stuck the bottle of water in my face and yelled the same phrase he'd been mumbling -- I guess he wasn't missing anyone, he was just thirsty and didn't understand why I wouldn't get him a drink :)

Tuesday we went to the Civil Affairs Office and officially adopted Jay! He had everyone in the office cracking up. His orphanage director came for the adoption and Jay ran to her and gave her a big hug but then came right back and sat near me. The orphanage director called his nanny on her phone for Jay to talk to. The room of people were cracking up as they were talking. I asked our guide what he was saying. She said the nanny said to him - Are you ready to come back to the orphanage today? And Jay answered - No! I'm staying with my new family! When the orphanage director left the office, Jay waved and yelled "BYE BYE!" A huge difference from the meltdown yesterday when she left.

The notary at the Civil Affairs Office had a folder that looked like mine, as he was leaving the office. Jay ran up to him with his hands on his hips and was yelling at him. My guide said he was yelling - "I see you! Those are my mommy's papers! Give those back!" He wouldn't let the man leave until he saw my folder in my purse and realized that the man wasn't stealing my papers. Already looking out for mama!

We spent the afternoon playing in the hotel play room. Sam and Jay had some hard core ninja sword fights. We tried to venture out, but everything's hard in China! I haven't figured out the traffic and we almost got hit by cars and motorcycles as we ventured around. So, now we are playing it safe and staying in the hotel! Tomorrow is a free day so we're hoping to go to the Panda Research Center... More to come!

Jay!

We all survived the flight - I don't think I've ever been that tired in my life! We were so happy to arrive at a beautiful huge hotel suite - our suite includes two bedrooms, a living room, two kitchens, two offices, and two bathrooms! We got to our hotel room around midnight and all crashed. Today we woke up early, had breakfast, and got our paperwork ready to meet Jay at the Civil Affairs Office.

When our driver pulled out in front of the Civil Affairs Office, Jay was walking in with his orphanage director and nanny. He'd just arrived from his 1 1/2 hour drive from the orphanage. As we pulled over, he screamed "Mami!" and came running over to us!

We went up to the office and spent some time playing and completing paperwork. Jay was happy and silly and didn't seem scared at all.



He had a small meltdown when his nanny left - which made Sam and Audrey very sad. It was heartbreaking to have him scream and cry for his nanny as I had to carry him out of the office and get him in our van. He cried and screamed the whole drive back to the hotel. But then, everything was better when he got out of the van and saw there were elevator buttons to be pushed. And, he's been great ever since!

We spent the afternoon playing on iPads, checking out the hotel play area, playing with balloons, and swimming. He LOVED the swimming pool and wanted to jump in all by himself. Just had to let him do that once, to see he needed to wait for someone to catch him. After swimming, he thought it was hilarious to walk around with his towel around him like a monk.











He's a little character and has already figured out that we don't understand what he's saying so he screams into my iPhone (google translate). His last message was: "I want Pizza Hut!"

Audrey and Sam love him and are doing great playing with him and helping me to figure out what he wants. We'll see how nighttime goes - that was always the hardest time for Audrey and Sam.

Ready, Set, Go!

After a great few days visiting Cousins, Aunts and Uncles, and Great Grandma, we are ready for this LONG flight! Sam has made friends with everyone at the gate and we are all ready to board the China Southern airplane. China, here we come!!

Updated pictures!

I realized it's been 7 months since I've seen a picture on Jay. We just received a few new pictures and he's growing up!! He's starting to look less like a chubby toddler and more like a little boy! Just 17 days until we meet him in person!