We are doing great! After dinner last night, we came back to the room and played a bit. Madi is already working on "physical therapy" with Charlie! She had him lifting a 16 oz. water bottle up and down. He did it probably 15 times. That has to be great for his arm and shoulder muscles, which need development. When he crawls, he favors crawling on his elbows. Madi also would put toys on the small coffee table and encourage him to stand up using the table. He did it several times and we cheered for him. He realizes that he's doing something good and wants to keep trying! He's been working on it this morning too.
We all went down last night at 8:00. He went down very easily and slept until 5:30. We realized that we gave him double-sized formula bottles yesterday. Poor baby was stuffed like a tick and his tummy was tight as a drum. Jimmy finally figured out what we did. These Chinese labels are tricky! Daddy paid for it this morning. Charlie woke with a very full diaper, which Daddy bravely took care of while Madi and I were in the shower. I was very proud of him--he didn't even gag:) At the breakfast buffet this morning, we fed him scrambled eggs, crushed up baked beans, yogurt and some congee, which is a rice porridge.
The orphanage gave us a beautiful bound book full of baby pictures and a DVD about his orphanage, along with an outfit and a chop engraved with Charlie's Chinese name. They also gave us back the little album we sent to him and the letter we mailed to him. They will make great keepsakes for him to reflect on someday. In the paperwork, they gave the meaning of his name. Zheng is the orphanage name. Chuan, his first name, was given to all of the babies who entered the orphanage in the month of December and it means "to deliver". Qian means money or wealth. The name was chosen in hopes that he will be rich when he grows up and deliver his money to the people who need it badly. He'll be a charitable little soul:)
Madi adores Charlie. She is making our parenting job really easy. Just like with Daniel, she is constantly saying, "Gradulations my Little Brother!" for his every milestone.
We are leaving in a few minutes to go make this addition official. It will be a long morning of paperwork, and we look forward to every minute!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Qian Qian
He is precious. His nickname is Qian Qian (pronounced Chien Chien), so that is what we will call him until he's comfortable adjusting to Charlie. His original nickname, given to him by Daddy months ago, is Peanut--and boy, he's living up to his name. He is definitely a peanut. At 18 months, he can't yet stand by himself because they kept them in a walker most of the time. We have a lot of work in the muscle building and fattening up department, and we look forward to watching him blossom. He is very alert and his fine motor skills seem to be great. He has a bit of a rattle in his chest but no fever, so we are going to wait before administering any medicine.
We arrived at the Ministry of Civil Affairs at around 9:00 a.m. and Charlie was a little late due to rainy weather and traffic. He didn't cry at all when they passed him to us He is mellow and much like Madi as a baby, he observes everything. He watches everything Madi does. In fact, there was another couple receiving their child at the same time. They also had a little girl from China and were there adopting a son. Both of the children were crying, and our two were just staring at them, like, "What's up with that??" All the people at Civil Affairs were notably impressed with how well Madi was taking care of her new brother. They just kept commenting on it, over and over and it made us quite proud:)
We got back to the hotel about noon, and it was time for his bottle. He woofed it down and was ready for a nap right away. He was layered in clothing, but not much by Chinese standards. The oddest thing was that his shoes were tied to his ankles very tightly. He will never experience that again in this lifetime. We put him down in the crib at 12:30 and he barely made a peep since he's used to sleeping in a crib. That's new for us! He woke up at 3:30. Jimmy is wasting no time walking him around the room. He might just be walking by the time we get home! I just tried to give him a Juice Plus gummy and he gave me the raspberries! Too cute:)
So far, so very very good. Thank you Lord.
We arrived at the Ministry of Civil Affairs at around 9:00 a.m. and Charlie was a little late due to rainy weather and traffic. He didn't cry at all when they passed him to us He is mellow and much like Madi as a baby, he observes everything. He watches everything Madi does. In fact, there was another couple receiving their child at the same time. They also had a little girl from China and were there adopting a son. Both of the children were crying, and our two were just staring at them, like, "What's up with that??" All the people at Civil Affairs were notably impressed with how well Madi was taking care of her new brother. They just kept commenting on it, over and over and it made us quite proud:)
We got back to the hotel about noon, and it was time for his bottle. He woofed it down and was ready for a nap right away. He was layered in clothing, but not much by Chinese standards. The oddest thing was that his shoes were tied to his ankles very tightly. He will never experience that again in this lifetime. We put him down in the crib at 12:30 and he barely made a peep since he's used to sleeping in a crib. That's new for us! He woke up at 3:30. Jimmy is wasting no time walking him around the room. He might just be walking by the time we get home! I just tried to give him a Juice Plus gummy and he gave me the raspberries! Too cute:)
So far, so very very good. Thank you Lord.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Rough night
It is 6:15 a.m. and Jimmy and I are just getting up. Last night was a rough one. Madi crawled into bed and totally crashed at 5 p.m. We tried to get her up for dinner but she wouldn't budge. So we let her sleep. She woke up hungry at 11 p.m. and was pretty wired. We gave her some "melatoney" as she calls it and it worked for a few hours. She woke again at 2 a.m. and really had trouble. We finally broke down and let her lay down on the loveseat and watch her Barbie movie on the itouch. It ran out of battery after about an hour. At least Jimmy and I managed to sneak in some sleep during that hour. At around 4:30, after the itouch failed her, I insisted that she get back into bed with us. We were all frustrated, but we managed to laugh at the situation. As Jimmy said, "these are the things that memories are made of."
Madi finally fell asleep again, and we are trying to let her sleep in as long as she can. She is so excited to get Charlie today that she would ask Jimmy what time it was every five minutes that she was awake during the night. I think we might have to have a family nap this afternoon.
We are meeting our guide, Tracy, at 8:30 in the lobby this morning and will be on our way. We promise to keep you posted as best we can.
Madi finally fell asleep again, and we are trying to let her sleep in as long as she can. She is so excited to get Charlie today that she would ask Jimmy what time it was every five minutes that she was awake during the night. I think we might have to have a family nap this afternoon.
We are meeting our guide, Tracy, at 8:30 in the lobby this morning and will be on our way. We promise to keep you posted as best we can.
Sunday
We slept great last night. Madi's belly is still on EST, so she woke up very hungry around 1:30 a.m. We didn't have much to eat in the room, so we broke into the super-size bag of Cheerios we brought for Charlie. After about twenty minutes and a dose of melatonin, she went back down. We all slept in until 6:00 again. We are feeling more normal everyday.
After breakfast (Shanghai noodles again--pictured), we walked on the pedestrian street despite wet weather again. We saw some cool things. There was one area on the road where one man set up shop to sharpen people's knives. Another man was repairing umbrellas. Another man was giving haircuts right there in the street. There was hair flying everywhere and people crowded around observing the action.
At 10:00 a.m., we ventured across town in a taxi to St. Peter's Catholic Church. Madi, our safety patrol leader, was not very pleased that seat belts aren't mandatory here and rarely seem to be working in the taxis. We were given an inaccurate mass schedule by the hotel and showed up halfway through mass that was taking place in French. It didn't matter what language though, mass is always so beautiful. We were intrigued that we climbed three flights of stairs to get to the sanctuary. Madi was also fascinated that a group of small children holding candles led the procession of gifts to the altar. You could see that she was just drooling to help them.
Friends of ours from our travel group with Daniel, who came to Shanghai to adopt their daughter last year, recommended a nearby noodle restaurant (thanks Dee and Daryn:) We went there for lunch today. We love Madi's sense of adventure when it comes to the food here. She's not been afraid to try anything. She's been eating some spicy things too and took a liking to vinegar on her noodles today. It really is fun for all of us to try these new things together. Today Madi finally said, "I love China!" It was good to hear. She seems much more like herself today--a little more outgoing and talking to more people. Sleep does wonders.
Our room dilemma worked out beautifully. We had kindly inquired at the front desk about the rooms, and the sweet gal, Spring, behind the desk volunteered that there were larger rooms on the floor without additional cost. Problem solved. We just moved into the larger room and it's great:) There still is zero drawer space, but the luggage fits up on the windowsill so it's all off the floor. There is more of a living room situation with a loveseat and coffee table so the kids will have more space to play together in the room. It is a much more comfortable scenario for the rest of the week. We have unpacked pretty much everything possible and we are feeling much more settled now. Madi helped me prepare all of the gifts for the orphanage nannies, civil affairs personnel, etc.
Our guide arrived this afternoon from Beijing. She has asked that we meet her in the lobby tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. to go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for Charlie. I am disappointed that we won't get to see the orphanage, but she checked with them and was told that there is a flu going around and they do not want visitors. She said that some families are required to go to the orphanage for Gotcha Day and some are not. We might try to see if we can still arrange a visit later in the week. We are not sure if it will happen though, and we are not sure that it would be good for Charlie. We'll see.
We have everything in place now...we just need Charlie. Hard to fathom that this time tomorrow, we will finally have him in our family. We can't wait to share that moment with you.
After breakfast (Shanghai noodles again--pictured), we walked on the pedestrian street despite wet weather again. We saw some cool things. There was one area on the road where one man set up shop to sharpen people's knives. Another man was repairing umbrellas. Another man was giving haircuts right there in the street. There was hair flying everywhere and people crowded around observing the action.
At 10:00 a.m., we ventured across town in a taxi to St. Peter's Catholic Church. Madi, our safety patrol leader, was not very pleased that seat belts aren't mandatory here and rarely seem to be working in the taxis. We were given an inaccurate mass schedule by the hotel and showed up halfway through mass that was taking place in French. It didn't matter what language though, mass is always so beautiful. We were intrigued that we climbed three flights of stairs to get to the sanctuary. Madi was also fascinated that a group of small children holding candles led the procession of gifts to the altar. You could see that she was just drooling to help them.
Friends of ours from our travel group with Daniel, who came to Shanghai to adopt their daughter last year, recommended a nearby noodle restaurant (thanks Dee and Daryn:) We went there for lunch today. We love Madi's sense of adventure when it comes to the food here. She's not been afraid to try anything. She's been eating some spicy things too and took a liking to vinegar on her noodles today. It really is fun for all of us to try these new things together. Today Madi finally said, "I love China!" It was good to hear. She seems much more like herself today--a little more outgoing and talking to more people. Sleep does wonders.
Our room dilemma worked out beautifully. We had kindly inquired at the front desk about the rooms, and the sweet gal, Spring, behind the desk volunteered that there were larger rooms on the floor without additional cost. Problem solved. We just moved into the larger room and it's great:) There still is zero drawer space, but the luggage fits up on the windowsill so it's all off the floor. There is more of a living room situation with a loveseat and coffee table so the kids will have more space to play together in the room. It is a much more comfortable scenario for the rest of the week. We have unpacked pretty much everything possible and we are feeling much more settled now. Madi helped me prepare all of the gifts for the orphanage nannies, civil affairs personnel, etc.
Our guide arrived this afternoon from Beijing. She has asked that we meet her in the lobby tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. to go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for Charlie. I am disappointed that we won't get to see the orphanage, but she checked with them and was told that there is a flu going around and they do not want visitors. She said that some families are required to go to the orphanage for Gotcha Day and some are not. We might try to see if we can still arrange a visit later in the week. We are not sure if it will happen though, and we are not sure that it would be good for Charlie. We'll see.
We have everything in place now...we just need Charlie. Hard to fathom that this time tomorrow, we will finally have him in our family. We can't wait to share that moment with you.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Saturday
We are feeling a bit more human today though the time difference is catching up to us as I write. It is crazy how sleep deprivation can affect a person. Let's just say we ran a little low in the 'patience department' yesterday. We did a lot of apologizing to Madi for being so grumpy. Neither Jimmy nor I are big sleeping pill people, but seriously--they are a 'must-have' for us to adjust in China. We brought along a melatonin supplement for Madi that was recommended by a pharmacist. I believe that helped her wind down last night, and she managed to sleep in until 6:00 this morning despite the flip-flopped time schedule.
Madi had her first taste of Shanghai noodles for breakfast, which she loved and insisted on eating with chopsticks. After breakfast, Madi desperately wanted to check out the indoor swimming pool. We neglected to see the shallow "disinfection pond" before the staircase to the pool entry, and Madi plodded right into the water! She loved it, of course. Thank goodness Daddy was so adamant that we each needed to bring two pair of shoes in case of rain.
Our hotel is located on Nanjing Road, which is a popular pedestrian street with tons of shopping. We walked around and explored a bit near the hotel today. That was about the extent of our adventure seeking. Madi and Daddy went to the indoor pool to blow off some steam. He suggested that I treat myself to a pedicure at the spa when I told him the price was a mere 40RMB (a little over $6). I was surprised (and disappointed) to find out they only offer pedicures to men!
The Majesty Plaza, where we are staying, is quite nice. I have not such great memories of Ramada properties from our childhood travels, but this is definitely not the same chain I remember. My only complaint is that there is zero drawer space--and I mean zero, nada, nothing. Our suitcases lie all over the floor with clothes strewn everywhere. This makes it tricky to be organized, but we plan to have this rectified before Charlie comes on Monday. Not sure how, but we will. If that's the worst thing we face on this trip, then I think we'll be okay! This afternoon, we ran into a small plumbing snafu. We were informed by housekeeping that we are not supposed to be flushing toilet paper down the toilet. Yes, you heard me correctly. Thank goodness they have trash can liners. I just feel bad that we didn't realize this the last two times we traveled to China. Oops, we've been breaking the rules all this time!
Madi has been extremely clingy so far. Go figure--there's a million people rushing here and there, and they'll run you over if you're not careful!. We're always pleased that she's such a cautious kid. She hasn't been using her Chinese language skills as we thought (yet) and seems to be shy around most everyone. It's obvious she still feels out of her element.
We were told by our airport transfer guide yesterday that Holt is sending a representative from Beijing for us. We are hoping to hear from her this weekend for some tips on where to go and what to see; although, we also have the concierge to lean on. Our guide will be arranging our Gotcha Day on Monday. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we get a chance to visit Charlie's orphanage. This is something we've never done before, and it would be a good opportunity for all of us to see where Charlie is coming from.
Our eyes were drawn to every Chinese baby we passed by today. The time is drawing near, and the three of us are getting excited for our new reality!
It's 6:00 p.m. now, and Madi's out cold. We're not far behind her...
Madi had her first taste of Shanghai noodles for breakfast, which she loved and insisted on eating with chopsticks. After breakfast, Madi desperately wanted to check out the indoor swimming pool. We neglected to see the shallow "disinfection pond" before the staircase to the pool entry, and Madi plodded right into the water! She loved it, of course. Thank goodness Daddy was so adamant that we each needed to bring two pair of shoes in case of rain.
Our hotel is located on Nanjing Road, which is a popular pedestrian street with tons of shopping. We walked around and explored a bit near the hotel today. That was about the extent of our adventure seeking. Madi and Daddy went to the indoor pool to blow off some steam. He suggested that I treat myself to a pedicure at the spa when I told him the price was a mere 40RMB (a little over $6). I was surprised (and disappointed) to find out they only offer pedicures to men!
The Majesty Plaza, where we are staying, is quite nice. I have not such great memories of Ramada properties from our childhood travels, but this is definitely not the same chain I remember. My only complaint is that there is zero drawer space--and I mean zero, nada, nothing. Our suitcases lie all over the floor with clothes strewn everywhere. This makes it tricky to be organized, but we plan to have this rectified before Charlie comes on Monday. Not sure how, but we will. If that's the worst thing we face on this trip, then I think we'll be okay! This afternoon, we ran into a small plumbing snafu. We were informed by housekeeping that we are not supposed to be flushing toilet paper down the toilet. Yes, you heard me correctly. Thank goodness they have trash can liners. I just feel bad that we didn't realize this the last two times we traveled to China. Oops, we've been breaking the rules all this time!
Madi has been extremely clingy so far. Go figure--there's a million people rushing here and there, and they'll run you over if you're not careful!. We're always pleased that she's such a cautious kid. She hasn't been using her Chinese language skills as we thought (yet) and seems to be shy around most everyone. It's obvious she still feels out of her element.
We were told by our airport transfer guide yesterday that Holt is sending a representative from Beijing for us. We are hoping to hear from her this weekend for some tips on where to go and what to see; although, we also have the concierge to lean on. Our guide will be arranging our Gotcha Day on Monday. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we get a chance to visit Charlie's orphanage. This is something we've never done before, and it would be a good opportunity for all of us to see where Charlie is coming from.
Our eyes were drawn to every Chinese baby we passed by today. The time is drawing near, and the three of us are getting excited for our new reality!
It's 6:00 p.m. now, and Madi's out cold. We're not far behind her...
Friday, March 18, 2011
We are in Shanghai!
Just wanted to let everyone know we made it safely. We were so wiped out when we arrived that I couldn't have formed a blog post if I tried!! Anyway, now that my sleeping pill's worn off, I am up and realized that I still had enough power left in my computer to try to communicate (before we hit the bed at 7pm, I made the realization that I don't have the right adapter for my power cord).
Love you all--Madi's doing GREAT. She's an awesome traveler. We were pretty blown away by how she did on that 15 hour flight and 24 hour day!! She managed to sleep about six hours on the flight. Jimmy and I didn't fare so well. She's pretty mesmerized with China, but reading her face says she loves the comfort of Delray Beach.
Back to bed. Will see what I can do in the morning...
Love you all--Madi's doing GREAT. She's an awesome traveler. We were pretty blown away by how she did on that 15 hour flight and 24 hour day!! She managed to sleep about six hours on the flight. Jimmy and I didn't fare so well. She's pretty mesmerized with China, but reading her face says she loves the comfort of Delray Beach.
Back to bed. Will see what I can do in the morning...
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Gate C-125
As we descended into Newark, the pilot announced, "We are arriving at Gate: Charlie - 125"
"HE SAID CHARLIE!" Madi's head spun in amazement.
We made it safely and now wait for our plane to Shanghai. Madi was great on the flight here. She had us in stitches a few times. She's such a stipulator sometimes and was very busy allocating time limits on the armrests. She heard the flight attendant announce a "snack service" and we knew we weren't getting out of that one. Pringles at 7:30 a.m. never hurt anyone, not that I know of anyway.
I also wanted to mention that we arrive in Shanghai at 1:55 p.m. Hopefully, you will all be sleeping!
God bless:)
"HE SAID CHARLIE!" Madi's head spun in amazement.
We made it safely and now wait for our plane to Shanghai. Madi was great on the flight here. She had us in stitches a few times. She's such a stipulator sometimes and was very busy allocating time limits on the armrests. She heard the flight attendant announce a "snack service" and we knew we weren't getting out of that one. Pringles at 7:30 a.m. never hurt anyone, not that I know of anyway.
I also wanted to mention that we arrive in Shanghai at 1:55 p.m. Hopefully, you will all be sleeping!
God bless:)
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