Ian's Big Adventures

Ian & The Office:

This week has flown by. I can't quite remember what we did Monday and Tuesday, but yesterday was a big day for Ian. It was his first day of work!

We made a trip to my office to introduce Ian to my coworkers. He was a real charmer and was walking (with help) and crawling everywhere. He went with open arms to several of my coworkers (no stranger danger yet), and had a big cheesy smile for everyone.

We tried putting him to work, but Child Labor Laws got in the way, so to appease HR, which is always right around the corner, we allowed him to volunteer his skills at the hand truck and loading a sample rack. We tried to get him to reformat a hard drive or take a look at some code in my department, but he was really only interested in the things that had wheels.

It was a great two hours and we missed a lot of people, but he had a great time. Having missed his nap, he was snoring before we were out of the parking lot, but I live minutes away from the office, so his nap was pretty short.

Ian & The Haircut:

Today was another big day... Ian's first haircut! I'm not sure if they were trying to grow his hair over his little ear in the orphanage, but it was almost a mullet. Most locals in China assumed he was a girl because his hair was so long in the back. Well, we're not trying to cover his ear, so off to the salon he went....I use the word salon loosely since it was just the neighborhood Great Clips.

He did awesome. I was so, so, so proud. He sat great in the salon chair and I only had to hold his head still once while she used the clippers. It wasn't a major cut; just a little off the sides and back, but it looks so much better already. I wasn't thrilled with the price, however. It was $18 with tip for a 3 minute baby cut, but I guess it is what it is.

Ian & The Toothbrush:

Today was also Ian's first attempt at using a toothbrush. At count this morning, I saw 10 teeth and at least 3 more coming in. Including the new ones, that makes 6 new teeth since meeting him in Hangzhou just 3 weeks ago. Pool little guy. That can't feel good. I worry about the amount of sugar in his formula and juice with no brushing yet, so we decided it's a good time to get him used to the brush. Like just about everything else, he took it in stride and within only a few minutes, Shawn had him giggling and wanting more. We're so glad he's comfortable letting us touch his teeth. It might not last forever, but for now it's a good thing.





Coming up Saturday we have yet another big day. Ian will meet two of our dear family friends. They are one of the couples that wrote a letter of reference to our agency for us and it means a great deal to us that Ian get to know them. To us they are Mr. & Mrs. Wonderful, but to the rest of the world, they're just Dave & Kathy.

Finally, next week begins with Ian's first pediatrician appointment with Dr. Davies at UW Adoption Medicine, and quite possibly heading out for a trip to Arizona to meet my parents next week also, which will be one of the biggest days of all.

So many firsts for Ian! He's such a brave little guy, enduring so much in the past 3 weeks. A month ago, he had never been outside his orphanage walls, never ridden on a train, never laid eyes on us, never flown in a plane, never been licked by a dog, never tasted mac & cheese... to name only a few. He just takes everything in stride and keeps smiling. He's a great example of how to take things one day at a time. I should start taking notes from this wise little man!

Toys

Ian had his first trip to Toys R Us on Saturday! We weren't that impressed with the selection in the store compared to other sites online. I thought it was a real shame that I couldn't just walk into a store and see a toy. We're kind of left to guess and hope he likes something based on a website.

He loves to throw his toys, so we had to be sure not to buy anything that comes in 100 pieces (like blocks). He also doesn't care for books or puzzles yet, and is at the birth to 12 month age range for other toys. We ended up walking out with only a few things and spent less than $40 (which I didn't think was possible), but he's having fun with what we did get.

He is enjoying a walker, which is essentially toys attached to wheels with a handle. He is doing great at pulling himself up and motoring across the room. When he gets tired, he flips it over and plays with the wheels. He loves to check out the wheels on anything.

He also got a remote control fire engine, which Shawn has also been enjoying.

Finally, a hammer that makes silly noises when you hit something with it. Ian likes it when we bonk him on the head or belly. It's especially fun when he's in tantrum mode. I never thought I'd say that when my son cries, I hit him over the head with a hammer.

Above and beyond the toys we've purchased, he also discovered the dryer and other random household items.

Chasing the remote control fire truck

walking like a pro

checking out the tires

whoa! what's this cool thing?

The best toys are free

The Best Moments in Life Happen in Your PJ's

Shawn and Ian decided the bathroom sink would be the best place for a party this morning.

So Much to Give Thanks For

I'm hoping each and every one of you had a great Thanksgiving, full of reflection on so much in life to be thankful for, good turkey, family and/or friends, and a little something to take the edge off (whether that be a bottle of Trader Joe's $5 finest or a straight shot from the whipped cream can). This year, we have a very obvious reason to be thankful. We are celebrating just over two weeks as new parents to one very special boy. I can't think of a better time for Ian to come home than the holidays. Unfortunately, my parents have recently realized their dream of kissing the Washington weather goodbye and are now living their retirement dream in sunny Arizona. This means missing out on one of my mom's greatest talents: Entertaining during the holidays. Hopefully we can have a belated turkey sandwich by the pool in a few weeks when Ian and I fly down for a visit.

Today, we started out the day be celebrating Ian's second night of sleeping all the way through. He woke up happy and playful after 10 hours of restful sleep with no 1am panic attacks. Polli also slept in her crate through the night without barking, which has also been a bit of a challenge after coming home. We felt like the proudest and most well rested parents on the block. I think it's safe to say the jet lag is almost behind us, as is the majority of our cold issues.

Today was also a very important day because it was Ian's big day to meet Shawn's parents, Grandpa Tom and Grandma Trish for the first time. He started out a bit shy, having just woken from a nap, but was soon giggling and playful. He ate his first Thanksgiving dinner of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and finely chopped turkey. He ate a ton and probably would have gladly had more if we had kept going.

He was a real charmer and could have cared less about being held today. He was on the floor, crawling everywhere, and even laying with Polli. They were playing together like they had been best buddies forever. Shawn's parents were smitten with him, of course, and it was an all around great day.

Within minutes after they left, he reverted back to his "hold me now" and "oh no, the scary dog" routine, but he was also exhausted by then, too...so there's still hope that this was not just a "showing off for the grandparents" thing.

Below are some great pictures of the day:

Ian's first hug from Grandma Trish

Playing with Grandpa Tom

Bundling up for our after dinner walk

Thank goodness someone else was here to hold him for a while!

The Boy and his Bulldog... Becoming buddies despite their arguments

Ian and Polli playing with a bowl and a ball... This kept them both entertained for quite a while

Saying goodbye to Grandma Trish...She finally stopped crying shortly after this picture

Update On Our Progress...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I wanted to give a quick hello and update on our progress in transitioning Ian to his new world.

I took some heat the other day for my sattire on how different things are now than before we went to China, but truly, it's just my sarcastic side coming across. My apologies to those who took offense to my outlook on the overwhelming week so far.

Each day has been a little better. Ian still doesn't want to be put down, and I haven't decided whether or not to invest in another expensive carrier, not knowing if it will work out or if the day it arrives will be the magical day Ian wants his independence.

Shawn and I are holding him almost all the time, but in the real world there are times when it isn't possible (I need to put my coat on, take something out of the oven, etc.). We bought a highchair so he can be up off the floor and still see me while I'm in the kitchen, but he doesn't like it much unless a spoon is coming at him. We're tweaking things bit by bit, so I'm not sure how that will transpire.

In big big big news, Ian slept through the night last night with no terrors, and looks to be on track for another stellar night tonight. We also had almost ZERO tears today, and he even played on the floor today WITH the dog. He only gets cranky when she goes for his ears (the ear wax must smell good to her), which would upset anyone. It was just a great day and it shows with everyone in our household. We're all almost over the jet lag, Ian is back on a normal sleeping/eating schedule, and things are looking up. Again, one day at a time.

He even climbed off my lap at one point and crawled over to a toy, which is a big deal. At almost 20 months, he doesn't do much crawling, and doesn't walk, so any use of his legs is a happy moment for us.

Tomorrow is Ian's big day to meet his Grandpa Tom and Grandma Trish (Shawn's parents). They will be the first to meet him since coming home and is probably good timing. Any earlier might have confused some of the other issues we've had, but we're so excited to have them over. Hopefully in a few weeks we'll be at a reasonable place so I can take him to Arizona to meet my parents.

Below are a few pics from the last few days:

Yesterday: Almost ready to be friends.

One Minute Later. This is the look that preceeds disaster. Polli's not quite sure what she did.

First trip out and about since coming home. He really likes being in the carseat.

Today. He climbed off my lap and toward Polli and a toy. I about died...Luckily my camera was nearby.

Polli is our dirty diaper detector.

Packing

So we overpacked.

Granted, we had no way of knowing that. I got all of my advice from a variety of online sources. I'll say now that a good majority of the information I gathered didn't apply to our situation while in China, so I guess the packing lists didn't either. Basically, I think packing lists are one of those "grain of salt" kind of things. Everyone has their own specific way of planning for a trip and I'm no different.

Shawn and I have done our share of travelling, so if I know anything, it's that overpacking is much worse than underpacking in most instances. When we spent 3 weeks in Italy two years ago, we bought two of the biggest suitcases we could find and filled them full. Big mistake. Try getting 80 pound plus bags (which were 20 pounds empty) up/down steep train platforms and over ancient cobblestone. This didn't count our carryons that weighed almost as much as our checked bags. Ugghh. My back hurts just thinking back on that trip. We proptly donated those suitcases as soon as we arrived home from that trip.

For this trip to China, we decided that we would not, under any circumstances, overpack. We knew we would only have 40ish pounds while in China, and I had heard that airlines were pretty strict about it. We purchased two rolling duffels from REI, each cost $99 (on sale now for $69) and weighed just over 8 pounds empty. I'll list exactly what we packed below. We also bought a duffel that folded up to the size of a hard cover book (for bringing home gifts) and two compact vanity cases, also about the size of a hardcover, for each of our bathroom/pharmaceutical items. I got small labeled travel bottles from my pharmacy for my prescriptions in duplicate so I could pack small quanitities of my very necessary medications in two different bags in case something happened to them.

Shawn packed his Merrell backpack that has no external zippers and can only be opened from the panel facing his back. In it, he packed his plethera of D-SLR camera gear, cables, chargers, critical adoption documents, laptop, and his odds & ends personal items (mostly his MP3 player, headphones, and a book).

I packed a very large zippered tote that I had planned to second as a diaper bag while in China. In it, I packed my laptop, small point & shoot digital camera, hard cover book (yeah, I know...what was I thinking), Sudoku puzzles, MP3 player, headphones, half of my prescriptions, and snacks.

We both also wore money belts. Shawn carried our new 100's for donation/fees in a zip lock bag and half of our spending money already converted to Yuan. I carried the other half of the spending money. We hated the money belts and realized that no one knew we were carrying so much money. It would have been better off in one of Shawn's security zipper pockets in his travel pants and we both would have been more comfortable.

In our rolling duffels, Shawn packed his own items and some of Ian's and I packed mine, misc. items, and the remainder of Ian's. We used Eagle Creek Cubes and Pack It system folders (pictured below). They were a Godsend. They larger size holds approx. 12-15 items and the small holds approx. 8-12 items. We each had 1 large for pants/shorts and 2 small: 1 for short sleeved shirts and one for long sleeved shirts. Ian had 2 small. One for blankets and PJ's and one for pants and tops. We used 2 cubes each for undergarments, socks, etc., and Ian had a cube for socks, shoes, bibs, etc., and one for 6 of 3 different sized diapers, wipes, and medications. The folders made packing a cinch. Just grab the folder, take out what we need, put it back. Nothing was ever out of order in our duffels.

Here's our master list:

General:

Zip Lock Bags
Small garbage bags
Extra wipes
Hand Sanitizer
Pocket Kleenex
Advil
Allergy Medicine
Alka Seltzer
Tums
Bandaids
Q-Tips
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Dental Floss
Donations
Gifts
Sunscreen
Camera equipment
Laptop
Chargers (phone, camera)
Power Converters
Gum
Mints
DVD's
MP3's & Cables
Snacks
Oatmeal packets
Cocoa

Shawn:


Pants (4)
Shorts (4)
Short sleeve shirts (4)
Long sleeve shirts (4)
Jacket or pullover
Shoes/Keens
Socks (4)
Underwear
Belt
Razor
Shaving Cream
Contacts
Eye Drops

Steph:

4 Pants
3 Shorts
1 Casual/Yoga Pant
5 short sleeve shirts
5 long sleeve shirts
1 windbreaker/light waterproof jacket
1 vest
1 light jacket for evenings (fleece or similar)
Undergaments
Socks
1 hat
Chaco & Keen Sandals
Medications
Makeup bag
Shampoo/Conditioner
Other hair product
Hair comb/brush
Makeup remover
Cotton Balls
Lotion
Face Moisturizer
Razor

Ian:

4 Outfits in each size: 18 month, 24/2T
4 PJ's
2 Jackets
6 Diapers in 3 sizes
Swim Diapers
Robeez
Toys
Bubbles, Beach Ball
Polli substitute
Books
Blanket
Shampoo/Wash
Lotion
Prescriptions
Children's Tylonol
Diaper Rash Cream
Wipes
Sippy Cups
Bottles
Disposable silverware and bowls
Bibs
Disposable Wash cloths
Cheerios & Snacks



So how did we overpack? Well, we did great in the clothing department. We each had 3 pair of REI/Columbia convertible travel pants that go from pants to shorts. I also had 2 pair of full length pants. Shawn could have done the trip with 2 pair and I could have done it with 3 (a girl has to have variety, you know). There was no need for anything else in the way of pants. They were great: resisted stains, breathable, warm in Beijing and cool in Guangzhou. It was also necessary to have the legs in Hangzhou where, although warm, we would have been inappropriate to go out in shorts or short sleeves this time of year. I actually packed 2 vests, one light and one quilted, which I needed in chilly Beijing. I was able to wear the same outfit two days in a row with the vest added one day and it was completely different.

A little TMI, but Shawn took enough of his "older" underwear to last the entire trip and threw them away as he wore them. By the time we came home, he was wearing his only clean pair, and had nothing to pack home.

Well, almost everything we brought for Ian was given to our guide to pass on to the group of families coming in the next week or to the orphanage directors. We quickly realized that he was on a soft spoonfed/bottle diet only and didn't know what to do with a cheerio. None of the snacks we brought stayed longer than our first few days in Hangzhou. The only snacks I truly needed was trail mix, fruit leather, and oatmeal packets. We didn't eat any snacks on the plane, as NWA has $5 snack boxes that are really big, 2 meals on the long leg, and another on the short leg.

Ian was bigger than we had expected, so I handed down all but one pair of his pants, which were all too small, 2 tops, 2 jackets, and a pair of shoes. I was left with 2 short sleeve shirts, 1 long sleeve, no shoes, no jacket, and 1 pair of jeans. Luckily, we were able to shop there...However, our guide took us to an expensive shop and not the Carrefour (Chinese Walmart) where it would have been a lot cheaper. We also handed down 2 sizes of diapers and all of his snacks. We were able to get absolutely everything for him there, including Pampers, wipes, food, juice, etc. There was no real need to pack any of it.

We tossed all the toys we brought except for 2 toy trucks he liked, linking blocks, and stacking cups. He lived on the bed with stacking cups, a water bottle, and a plastic spoon, the entire trip and was very content. Otherwise, we were his jungle gyms (I call him Mr. Bowflex...he's a great workout). He hated the bubbles, and the toy cell phone was thrown across the room and never given a second glance. He wasn't interested in the beach ball either.

What else we didn't need:

We could have lived with one laptop, but we're both really territorial about where pictures are saved and who is using who's programs. We also have two different music libraries and didn't want to mess up each other's MP3 players. Still, we could have done with one.

I didn't need to pack 2 hard cover books. I'm such a dingaling. I only read part of one and wound up leaving it in Guangzhou as a sacrifice for souvenier room. If I were to do it again, I would have downloaded the books and listened to them, and maybe brought one paperback just in case.

We didn't need to pack toothbrushes or toothpaste. They was a new one every day in the room and we never used those we brought. They went in the garbage.

I didn't need any of the disposible bibs or changing pads. They were gabage and a waste of space. They went straight in the garbage on Ian's first day.

We didn't need so much hand sanitizer. Get over it. It's China, not another planet. Wash your hands hot with soap and use a little sanitizer. There really was no need to sanitize every 5 minutes, as I was let to believe from others online.

I way overpacked over the counter medications EXCEPT cold medicine, which I brought none of and desperately needed. The only thing we wound up really using of all the OTC's I packed was Tums. This stuff took up a ton of room and wasn't all that necessary. I say, take a universal cold medicine, dare I even say Nyquil, some Tums, and Immodium AD.

Don't take an army load of pocket tissue. One for each week in your day pack and otherwise use what's in the hotel.

Snacks. Take a couple of instant items for your room, but in most province capitals, you should find whatever snacks you need in the grocery stores there...even chocolate, contrary to what I was told. Snacks weigh a lot and are a real waste of space.

Videos. They were a waste of space. All Ian wanted to do was play with the laptop if we played one and we didn't want that. He wound up not watching anything on the Video-On-Demand on the plane either, so they were a waste.

Kid's Books. He wasn't interested in the least. They also took up too much room.

Swim Diapers. We didn't bring our swimsuits, so these were worthless. Even if we had, I don't know that we would have taken him in the pool at The Victory.

What we couldn't have lived without:

Plastic wastebasket liners. I used these for sealing off toxic diapers. They came in handy on the way home, too. One for each day after you have your child should be enough (unless you are dealing big issues).

Basic lotion w/SPF. It was our everything lotion and we only needed two very small tubes that we left behind when we left Guangzhou.

Chapstick. Get the plain kind and line your nose before getting on the plane. We each had our own (see the line your nose line), and used it constantly.

Gum. Good for getting rid of mystery fish breath.

REI convertible pants. I commented on these previously. They are truly the most versitile pants and should go in everyone's suitcase for a trip like this. I won't travel without them again.

Yoga pants. Shawn could care less, but these were my jammies, breakfast pants, plane pants, etc. Really versatile and comfortable.

Nike Dri-Fit pullovers. Shawn wore one in a different color every day. They're all he wore until we got to Guangzhou.

Trader Joe's Vitamin fizz powder. I took one every day until I ran out in Hangzhou...and promptly got Ian's cold the next day.

Lightweight waffle weave baby blanket. It was light to pack, but Ian attached to it right away and it is now his "go everywhere" blanket. He sniffs it when he's tired (like his sleeve) and it's the fast track to sleepytown. Come to think of it, I'd better buy a backup.

Stacking cups. Truly, they were almost all he played with. They were cups in the bathtub, Shawn and he would balance them on eachother's heads all day if I let them, and drums with anything that he could hit them with.


What we forgot:

Cold Medicine. I have never had an appreciation for it like I did when I didn't have it. This is one thing I wouldn't buy there because I wouldn't be able to read the labels, which I think is pretty important. Nyquil might also double as a sleeping aid if you need it when travelling.

Throat Spray. There is truly nothing in the world harder than trying to stifle a horrific cough when a baby is sleeping a few feet away. I seriously thought about looking up how soldiers in enemy territory do it.

Laundry detergent. We would have liked to wash a few things in the room. We never did send out laundry, mostly because I didn't want my stuff washed on hot. A double ziploc'd bag of detergent would have been helpful.

More socks. We both found that we had a 2 day wear on our socks and that was about it. We needed them in Beijing and Hangzhou, but not in Guangzhou, so a few extra would have been fine. They don't take up much room, so it would have been doable enough.

More clothes for Ian. I didn't know his size, so I really did have to guess, but I was cornered into needed to spend more money than I would have liked on outfits I'll never dress him in again, just to fend off the clothing police.


Overall, we probably did fine. I think I went into overkill mode on toys for Ian since we didn't know what he would respond to, but in the end it really was the simple stuff that won him over. Given another chance, I also would forget snacks and wait to shop for that stuff when we arrive. There are plenty of common snacks and foods. There just isn't a reason to drag around that much food. Diapers, wipes, shampoo, razors, toothpaste... it is all there, so there's no reason to lug that stuff around. Same with bottles, formula, etc.

I would download my books vs. carrying around big novels. I didn't have much time to read once Ian arrived anyway.

I also wouldn't have been so optimistic that we wouldn't get sick. It's better to be prepared in that area than suffer without.

More than anything, my advice to those preparing to travel is to be organized in your suitcase. In our instance, we used the folders and cubes and it worked great. Some people use space bags. Whatever. I just think by the end of such a long trip, you still want to see what you have without digging.

Make a master list and ask yourself "what if" for every item. If the answer is "if I need it and don't have it, I won't find it there", then take it, but if not, don't take it. You won't miss it.

Good luck to all those preparing to travel! Enjoy your trip and don't forget to leave lots of room for things from your child's province. Those are the things you'll want room for.

Give My Regards To...

To my dog. Like Ian, you can't tell me how this is affecting you or why you feel it necessary to push his door open and jump up at his crib to wake him when it would have been just as easy to let him sleep while we peacefully made breakfast and took care of a little business before resorting to such measures. If you could now try not jumping on him while we're practicing walking on the patio, I would appreciate it.

To those with the ability to shower and dress at leisure. Less than 2 weeks ago, I also unknowingly indulged in such things. Today, I walked in proximity of a mirror and called it a big accomplishment.

To the one armed people in the world. I never knew of your obstacles until now. I am right handed, yet due to an old injury need to carry Ian with my right arm....pretty much all the time. He has not yet found comfort in our deluxe weight berber carpet and padding, rather it is panic inducing. It could partially be the 35 pound beast lumbering toward him for some of the leftovers on his face. Today, I did things with one arm that I never thought possible. Many were not particularly safe. I'll leave it at that.

To the makers of Recaro car seats. Yes, the "how to adjust chest straps" section in a small buried section in the back of the manual, but once I figured it out, Ian liked it and slept most of his stay in it. Could I drive around all day? Gas prices say "no". My sanity says "For the love of all that is holy, yes!"

To the engineers of Bellevue Square Mall. You must be childless, because you managed to place the one and only elevator to service the entire parking garage in a far corner and a mile away from my usual parking spots... If I had only realized this BEFORE parking, unfolding the stroller, getting Ian out of his comfy car seat an into said stroller, figuring out two of the straps and deciding to ignore another that made no sense at all, getting across to the entrance... before a flight of stairs came into view. Fabulous. Thank you childless structural engineer. Thanks a lot.

To the same engineers mentioned above. Again your sense of humor or cluelessness superseeds you. I would also like to thank you for thoughtfully planning for no fewer than a dozen conveniently placed escalators in the million-plus square foot mall...and again, one elevator. How hard could it be to make escalator steps 3 feet wide rather than 1 and placing ramps where you decided only steps would do?

To the cute mom in front of me with perfectly styled hair. I'm so glad that you had the time this morning to shower (and probably leisurely shave your legs), style your hair perfectly, then pick out a coordinated outfit including your $200 jeans and Coach handbag. I'm not even sure my socks match and I think need deodorant. I don't really care at this point.

To the makers of the 2001 Peg Pegero stroller. Would it have killed you to install a cup holder? I know for a fact that lattes existed way back then. Just because I bought it used on Craigslist doesn't mean I can't afford a much needed coffee during my child's content moments in his stroller.

To the kid who asked "Would you like help out with your groceries?". Two weeks ago, "no thank you" would have been more of a involuntary reflex, but today you are a God to me.

And finally...

To my husband. You have been a bigger help than you know. Eventhough my dad said "Tell him he'd better step up and help or his name's mud", you've been amazing. Without a second thought, setting down your keys and taking Ian mid tantrum...and letting me relax; which in this case means unloading the groceries that had been in my car for 3 hours, starting laundry, unloading the dishwasher, making dinner, sorting 3 weeks worth of junk mail, and returning a couple of emails, and finally taking a shower. No massage or facial could have felt better.

I fished out my camera, but now need to find the docking cable. I have a few pics, but not much. My China retrospect and packing lists will have to wait a few more days.

For those wondering, Ian slept almost all the way through the night last night with only one 20 minute incident. He then slept until 8am, when as you know the dog decided she wanted to say good morning. It was a rough day of tantrums, but better than the day before thanks to some outings, which Ian seems to really like. I'm hoping I'll be feeling a little better by tomorrow and Ian will be that much closer to getting over his jet lag. Now if he could just let me set him down for even a second, I would feel a lot better.

One day at a time.

Home At Last

We arrived home safe and sound yesterday at 6am sharp...and promptly stood in an almost 2 hour line to get through immigration. Gladly, Seattle was our final destination, but there were several families who wouldn't reach home until late in the day. I couldn't imagine. Worse yet, a man died of complications of diabetes while in Guangzhou finalizing their daughter's adoption. I couldn't even fathom what that family is going through. I don't know what will happen to their process or if she will even get to bring her daughter home, but adjusting to a new child is one thing, grieving over the loss of a spouse at the same time is another story. My heart goes out to them.

I had been pretty sick the last week of the trip and just at the sinus part of whatever I have. This meant for a pretty miserable day in the air for me.

Ian did great on the flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo, helped by the fact that a Doctors Without Borders pediatrician was in front of us and really hit it off great with Ian. He was really surprised that his ear is considered a special need and said that without any tests of course, it appeared to him the Ian might have at least partial hearing from the right side. I'm excited now to finally have some conduction hearing tests done. Anyway, Ian did great with his own seat, but didn't understand the seat belt and why he had to sit on him bottom, so I strapped him in with me until we got to elevation. He ate well, but didn't fall asleep until a few minutes before we landed, of course.

The flight from Tokyo to Seattle was not so easy. First, the flight attendant offered the advice that "you know, if you're going to spend all that money on a seat for a baby, you should bring a car seat on for him". I answered "Do you want to drag a car seat around China for 3 weeks?" I could tell she didn't like that he was taking up an entire seat and was a little whiny from not sleeping on the previous flight. She also gave me a disapproving look when I asked for green tea..."Are you sure that's a good idea?". "Yes, a very good idea". She was making an assumption that I would leave it unattended and it would end up on Ian. I didn't have any makeup on and my nose and eyes were red from my cold, so I'm sure she was wondering how they would let someone so young adopt from China. I had been told a few times while there that I looked to young to meet the regulations. Lucky for me, I guess!

Again, Ian fell asleep right on time... literally 10 seconds before they turned the lights on and announced landing preparations to Sea Tac. I was pretty sure I would be able to get him to nap on time and he would be on his normal China schedule. Boy was I wrong!

Getting him through immigration at Sea Tac took forever. After Ian was unceremoniously welcomed as the newest US Citizen, we were finally off to pick up our bags...which had to go through 2 more security checks, thanks to a big issue with airport security that happened somewhere in the world while we were in China. It was a piece of cake to maneuver airports until we headed back home. Now it's a nightmare in China, Tokyo, and Sea Tac. We were so happy to see my car waiting when the parking shuttle dropped us off!

Besides a new clunking sound in my car that wasn't there when we dropped it off and not able to figure out how to adjust the chest straps on our never used car seat, we were happy as can be.

Shawn went right away to pick up our dog and I had a few hours to acquaint Ian with his room and the rest of his new home. When Shawn arrived home with Polli, things went downhill. He giggled when she ran up and licked his face, but it soon turned to a whiny pant that he does right before he starts crying. It became clear that it would take some time for them to become buddies. He's fine with her as long as she is at arm's reach and not in his face. The problem is that Polli has always had run of the house and now we're telling her don't go here, don't touch that toy....etc. I also have trouble setting Ian down on the floor without Polli seeing her opportunity to say hello. She's getting better, but Ian just doesn't like her much yet. I know given time, they'll be best friends. One day we'll tell him how he was afraid of her, but he'll never believe it to be possible.

He was out of his bath and sniffing his sleeve (his "I'm tired" cue) by 6pm, so we tried putting him down in his crib. It would possibly be the only time in his life he has been in a room alone. I had purchased a Fisher Price Rainforest gizmo that plays soft music and has a cute little rainforest theme of monkeys and fish. It worked great; music really is the trick for him. He cried when I first put him down, but I rubbed his chest and he stared up at the lights/music and within 5 minutes, his eyes were shut for good. He was pretty easy to put down in China, too. Usually 5 to 10 minutes and he would stop crying and zonk.

He has a habit of waking in the night and crying one or two cries and falls back asleep. Last night was no different. He was up for good though, by 1am. I got up with him and we played with quiet toys (not as easy as it sounds) until almost 6am, when he fell asleep on the couch watching Go Diego Go (mental note: the pause between Diego's question and his answer are sleep inducing). I put him back down and he slept until noon, when I woke him intentionally. It was obvious that he will take some time to get over the jet lag.

I had planned to do some errands with him, but I'm so fatigued from lack of sleep and this sinus thing (up to this point one ear had yet to pop), getting myself and Ian ready to go was a real chore. Shawn was out running his own errands, so I was solo. I got Ian through the rain and to the car, but the straps on the car seat still seemed too tight. I got it workable after several minutes and a meltdown from him (I was on the verge of one, too), but when I started my car, the battery was dead. "Someone" left my lights on when we got home from the airport yesterday. Uggh! I was really close to that meltdown. I had mustered the energy to get to the car and I had no more. I really felt like it just has to get easier than this. People do this with kids at home, single, or kids at home and single...and Special Needs...and they still do it.

We're so happy that we adopted. Ian is awesome. I just don't think I could have read more or talked to more people and be 100% prepared for how hard it is in those first days after coming home. I did find myself looking at my dog's sad face when Ian was screaming at the sight of her, and thinking "was life really so bad before?". It sounds horrible, and I know it will get better, but it has been a tough homecoming. For those reading who are still waiting to travel for your kids, don't let this scare you. Ian has a lot of adjusting to do, as will your child. I know this, despite my frustration. I guess I knew the full time happy boy we picked up less than 2 weeks ago would eventually need to let it all out.

As with my last few posts, my story is glazed by the fact that I've been sick, so I know my perspective is a bit skewed. I'm sorry if this comes across as negative or horrible. I promise I'll try to perk up a bit.

On a happier note, I was finally able to get to my comments from while we were in China. Thank you to everyone for your support and well wishes. I wish I could have done a better job with pictures and updates. After we received Ian, our focus changed a bit, as I'm sure you can imagine. Ian had several people recognize him from his blog while we were in Guangzhou. That was pretty cool. I wasn't in much of a mood to socialize with other families, but it was neat to see that he had a fan base, even there. What a rock star!

Once I catch my bearings, I plan to post some more neutral reflection on the trip, what I didn't pack that I wish I had, what we over packed, and some of the " if/when we do it again" stuff. I think there are a lot of things that were either myth on the message boards, glossed over, or given too much weight when other things were never covered at all.

Thanks again and best wishes to everyone preparing to travel. Despite my ramblings, it really is the best trip you'll ever take and a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a part of the world that most never will.

Note: Once I unpack my camera, I'll get some pics of Ian in his room or on his first shopping adventure. This post started at 2am and is publishing at 9:15pm, so I'll sure you can see that we don't have much time for unpacking just yet!

Ready to Take Flight

Today is our last day before leaving for good ol' US of A. You really don't appreciate home until you're away from it for a while. We really have enjoyed China and look forward to a return trip, but we are so VERY ready to go home. It feels like we've been gone for a long time.

Yesterday we had Ian's swearing in. It doesn't make him a US Citizen, but we did raise our right hands and promise that he will be a good boy forever, say no to drugs, and will pay taxes on time. It was an even more chaotic room than the medical exam with about 100 families all being sworn in at the same time. We also received his important brown envelope, which must remain sealed until we pass through customs in the US. Once we do, he will automatically become a US Citizen, which is pretty cool.

He really didn't like this part of the day. I noticed that when we're in a big room of noisy people, he holds his "good" ear and gets whiny. I think it's a lot of noise coming at him and he can't really sort out where it's all coming from. Once we were back on the shuttle and on our way back to the hotel, he was fine.

Despite my last rantings about the annoying shop owners, etc., for which I'm sure I received a bunch of flaming comments (I don't know since I can't read comments on my blog while in China), we did find a couple of shops that we were able to find a good selection with only moderate sales pressure. We bought more souvenirs and borrowed a stroller, which Ian really likes.

Yesterday, we were up and out before 9am and found that it's the best time to experience the local flavor of Shamian Island. We were the only Westerners out, and it's when the school kids are out marching and the military trainees are doing their drills. It is also when the older Chinese men and women come out to the parks and exercise. They do a combination of Tai Chi, dance, stretches, and circuit training on machines that look like they came from a 1980's Gold's Gym, painted in juvinile colors and placed outside in the park. There are also big groups of people of all ages that meet in the parks and alleys to play a version of hackey sack using a flight similar to a badmitton birdie. They go on for hours and then sit and chat, dance some more, smoke, play cards, maj jong or dice, dance some more...and then go about their day of shopping, laundry, cooking, etc. It was like this in the AM in each city in China that we've been to, and it's nice to see that their seniors are active.

We did the same thing this morning and then walked around trying to kill time until lunch, which was really difficult. I stand behind my statement that this place is really pretty boring and anyone staying here for their entire stay in China has my sympathies. We ate lunch at Lucy's, the Western diner type restaurant on the island, and where Ian has embraced mashed potatoes.

Afterward, we crossed a pedestrian bridge off the island and walked around a market that appears to be dedicated to bulk foods of all kinds from dried sea horses to roots, to mushrooms, to turtles. It didn't make much for a shopping experience, but was great for human interest photos.

We are no finalizing our packing and have a couple of things to pick up from shops here before we head out for dinner and call it a night. We are literally counting down the hours until we fly out and we leave the hotel here tomorrow at 6am, for a 8-something flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo...then on to Seattle for a 7ish arrival.

Thanks again for the support of our friends, family, coworkers, and those we've met along the way. Although we havn't been able to answer everyone's emails or read the comments posted, we know your spirits have been with us.

We can't wait to update on how Ian does at home and hope that our experiences help others to realize their dreams of adoption, and especially adopting a child with a special need. It was scary at first, but now we can't imagine not making this decision.

I do give a few last words of advice for anyone still preparing to travel: Research how POW's stiffle coughs. It's not easy to be sick when a baby is sleeping a few feet away...and even harder trying to get through the coughing phase of a cold. Also, get a prescription for Azithomycin for your baby. It was a godsend in helping Ian get over his cold, which he kindly passed on to me. Sadly, a baby dose of antibiotics does not work on adults, trust me I know. Lastly, don't forget to pack adult cold medicine. Anything you will be lucky enough to find here won't have English directions...and might be expired....you'll never know!

Love and best wishes to you all! Stay tuned for future updates on The Boy and The Bulldog...and the story of their first meeting...That alone should be worth following along!

A few pics from the past couple of days:

Guangzhou...So this is it?

As many know, Guangzhou is the last stop for all American adopting from China. It is a tropical area of China and is much warmer than our other destinations. I haven't posted as of yet because frankly there's not much exciting to say about Guangzhou other than that. It's warmer.

There was this big build up to Shamian Island, which is where most adoptive families stay. It's not really an island, just a neighborhood between a canal and a river that is a European/Colonial themed area. It is very small and is tailored almost exclusively to Westerners, since it was once the home of the US Consulate, but now only has a few of their offices. I frankly just don't get it. It's pretty boring here and not representative of China at all. I'm so glad that we got to see and experience Beijing and Hangzhou before this. Some families stay here their entire trip if they are adopting from this province...I'm so glad that wasn't our situation. I would have gone crazy.

There are two main hotels that house adoptive families, The White Swan and The Victory. After reading a lot of information online, I came away with the impression that The White Swan was over rated and that The Victory had nicer rooms and the same distance to everything on the island. Well, I'll say it here because it's my blog and I can say what I want... Those who said that The Victory is better are idiots. I may be ranting again and will take the risk of sounding extra picky, but I can't find a redeeming quality about this hotel. The buffet, service, room...everything sucks. We walked over to The White Swan's lobby and I immediately knew that I had made a bad decision. It's so much nicer with waterfalls, a koi pond, shops, better buffet set up...Oh well, we're only here for a few more days and then we can go home.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay in China, especially Hangzhou, but we are really getting homesick. We are anxious to see our puppy and to introduce Ian to the rest of his family. More than anything, I'm just ready to get Ian on a more realistic schedule. At this point, I'm pretty sure he thinks his home is a hotel and that we walk around for part of the day, play on a king sized bed, and then eat some rice in a restaurant somewhere.

Speaking of Ian, there's a bit to tell about him from the past few days. He took his first plane ride from Hangzhou to Guangzhou, which was 2 hours, and didn't have a single problem. He was awake the whole time and didn't need any toys to entertain himself. He had no pressurization issues with his ear and was an overall great kid. This was a good trial run for the big haul back over the Pacific. He has his own seat for those flights, so hopefully it will give us some extra room to stretch out if nothing else.

He wasn't so happy once we got to the hotel here in Guangzhou, though. I think he was expecting to come back to the same hotel in Hangzhou that he had gotten to know, and when we put him down for his nap in a new crib, new room, etc., it was serious meltdown time. Shawn wanted him to stay in his crib and ride out the tantrum and I wanted to pick him up. A big argument ensued over napping strategy. In the end, Ian and I went for a walk and Shawn had a bit of a nap himself...I think he's really the one who needed it!

This is when my letdown started. The shops around the island are all tailored for the adoptive families and the shop owners all sit outside and strike up conversations with the families as they walk by. They are all very friendly, but they also all have the very best artists on the island and all have "a discount just for you". By the time we made it a block, I was hit by 4 such shop owners, all with the same schtick, and all with shops full of stuff for girls or things I don't want to waste my money on. It was a little disheartening. I'm not sure what I expected, but everyone online talked endlessly about how much they loved the shops on the island, etc., and I frankly found it all just a little annoying and over the top. The biggest annoyance of all is the shoes everyone buys their girls with squeakers in them. It sounds like a bunch of dog toys coming down the street and took about one squeak to go from cute to annoying. One word of advice for parents travelling to their kids: If you buy them squeaky shoes, please don't let them run up and down the hotel halls in them at 9pm or 6am! Your kid may not be sleeping, but someone's is!

OK. I got that out of my system.

If you can't tell, I'm a little cranky. Partially because I'm homesick, but also because Ian came to us with a raging cold that he is just now getting over...and gave to me. He's taking antibiotics, and I'm getting ready to dip into his stash in hopes that I can get the worst out of my system before we board another plane. It has made for a tough couple of days for me.

Yesterday was also a very rough day for Ian. He had his medical examination along with about 50 other families and their babies. It is a very basic exam, but is done in several parts in a very small building with absolutely no order whatsoever. It really was a cattle car and anyone with claustrophobia would be screwed. He cried up to and during getting his Visa photos, so he has dark circles under his eyes and looks like he had been beating him up all morning, and then we drug him into the medical exam chaos. It actually went pretty fast, but he was not, I repeat NOT, interested in being poked and prodded. He did do pretty well during the hearing test, which isn't very state of the art...just a squeaky toy...but he responded in both directions and the doctor had a surprised look on her face. He also got a more reliable weighing, and came in at a staggering 27 pounds. As you can imagine, my back has been killing me even with a hip carrier.

The day also ended poorly when Ian didn't want to come out of his bath and kicked and screamed bloody murder as I struggled to get a diaper on him. I learned my other rookie mom move...don't try to diaper a baby with lotion on your hands. I threw out 3 of these cheap Chinese Pampers because I got lotion on the sticky tabs. Where's the duct tape when you need it? I also found out that when you throw a diaper across the room, it goes really far. Even when dry.

Today was a much better day. Ian slept until after 7am, making for a 11 hour sleep and we had to stay in our room by the phone while our guide went to our Consulate Appointment. There was one problem that we have to correct this evening...our agency gave us an outdated form that they wouldn't accept...but other than that, we had the day to ourselves. We went to one of the shops and borrowed a stroller, which Ian really liked. He loved looking around and it was a huge relief on my back and shoulder.

We went to Starbucks, which is the one redeeming quality of this island, and ordered sandwiches and coffee for lunch. Ian sat contently in his stroller playing with the toy attached. Shortly after we had set out again, he fell asleep and stayed that way for the next 45 minutes. We walked for a while more, but found that we had already seen everything within walking distance. We were back at our hotel by noon and here we sit playing on the bed waiting for our 5pm appointment with our guide. Another exciting day in Guangzhou. Ian is back to his happy self today, so we're not worried yet that the honeymoon is over. Yesterday was just one of those days that could test anyone. I also forgot to mention that he has had 2 molars break the surface while here, so I'm sure that didn't help matters yesterday.

Tomorrow, we have our swearing in ceremony at the US Consulate, where we raise our right hands and swear that Ian won't become a terrorist and that we'll try to keep him in one piece to save some taxpayer money...and then we are officially done until we leave on Friday. We could technically leave Thursday, but had to stay longer in order for our FF Miles to apply to our plane tickets.

Backtracking a bit, we did do a little sightseeing in Guangzhou yesterday. We went to the Six Banyan Temple, which is a Buddhist temple in the city, and Ian was blessed by a monk. Shawn also climbed the Temple. In the picture below, you can see him if you look very closely. They built it to appear to be 9 stories from the outside, but it is really 17 stories on the inside. He made it up and down in under 30 minutes and was barely out of breath.

We also went to the Chen Family Temple, which is a palatial sprawling area built and dedicated for all member of the Chen family in all of Guangdong province. In China, those with the surname of Chen number more than 2 million. It was quite beautiful, but Ian was killing my shoulder and back at this point...not to mention that I was running a fever and was very congested. I don't know that I enjoyed it as much as I would have on another day.

Afterward, Simon took us to a large mall and at first we though he was going to tour us through the mall... well, we've seen plenty of them and a mall is a mall, not much different no matter where you are in the world. However, this mall was jewelry on every floor. 5 floors to be exact. It was pretty overwhelming and we were really to get out of there. He then took us to an outdoor jade market. Every stall was jade, jade, and more jade. There was no real way to tell what's real and what's not, even after being shown how in Beijing. Shawn bought another ring for himself, but I was really feeling sick at that point and couldn't handle haggling over something I only sort of wanted. I only wish I had looked at the jade in Beijing more closely. I know I want some, but I'm just out of energy for shopping at this point. Yep, I said it. I'm out of energy for shopping. Mark it on your calendars, people.

I'll post again before we leave for home, but there isn't much else to write about from Guangzhou. Below are a few pics from the past few days. Ian's first plane ride and a few pictures of our sightseeing yesterday.

Last Full Day in Hangzhou

Today is our last full day before we head to Guangzhou to finish what we started a year and a half ago. This time next week, we will happily be back on US soil and Ian will be a US Citizen.

We asked our guide not to take us to the zoo today. I had heard from a few sources that the animals are not as well kept as we are used to in the states and I didn't want to see the dog exhibit. We told her that we wanted his grandparents to be the first to take him to a zoo back home.

I haven't really talked much about how unhappy we have been with our hotel and guide here in Hangzhou, because we have wanted the attention to be on Ian, but as we wind down our last full day here, we are starting to reflect on what has made this leg of the trip special to us. It is pretty obvious what will bring us back here someday, and gladly, the West Lake area is very beautiful. However, the hotel that we are in has few qualities that will garner positive feedback, and it was a hard place to be cooped up for a week with a baby.

Our guide had only us, and she did take us to some neat places in the area, but we learned that after dropping us back at the hotel, she went back to her room and slept or watched TV. On the first day, she took us to a grocery down the street for a few small items, but on the day we received Ian, she took us to a department store to buy clothes, which was expensive and difficult to navigate.

Today, we were coming back from a park and she pointed out the Carrefour, which is much like Wal-Mart here, and it was only a few minutes from the hotel. This really bothered me, because I knew that this was where we should have done our shopping. Since we needed to buy a cheap carry on to fit some of our purchases, we headed out on our own later to find it. In less than a 20 minute walk, we were there, and I saw the same looking clothes that I had purchased for 1000 Yuan the other day, there for a fraction of the price.

On the way back, we passed an area just a few minutes walk from our hotel that had tons of East and West restaurants, tea houses, coffee shops, etc. We stopped in the Starbucks there and bought a Hangzhou mug and our first Starbucks drink in almost 2 weeks. Never before has a frappacino tasted so good. We also passed a really nice looking Hyatt that, again, is on the same street across from the lake from our hotel, but a couple of blocks down. We knew they have to have some staff who speaks English.

Although we know that being in another country means dealing with a language barrier, our hotel here is really extreme. We just can't communicate what we need to anyone here and that's frustrating when asking for a spoon or bowl so we can feed Ian lunch…or asking how long the room service will take to arrive. Extra towels please?…don't even think about it! So, we drooled over the Hyatt, wondering why our agency didn't offer us options or better prepare us for what to expect from our guide or hotel… and sipped our coffee and said "oh well, we'll know better for next time". Our guide is a really nice girl, but didn't do much to really take care of us here. She really just took us to the bare minimum sites and then had us back to the hotel each day within a couple of hours. We'll definitely want a different guide if we come back to Hangzhou again…and we'll be staying at the Hyatt!

So. For all the families getting ready to travel, I'm not sure how your agency communicates with you about what to expect and what will be expected of you while in Province, but my word of advice is to ask your guide to take you lots of places and be nosy. Don't assume she/he is showing you the best restaurants or stores. Is it the cheapest? How much further to the discount shops? Are there open markets nearby?...And of your agency rep, ask if you have option for hotels, even if it cost a little more. I hate to act like a spoiled American, but I really felt like without going out and learning Chinese, we had few resources besides our guide, who wasn't around much, to help us communicate here.

Although this post was a bit of a rant, I do want to reiterate that we really have loved the West Lake area and Hangzhou in general. It is mildly tropical without being too humid this time of year, and the sites we did see are not to be missed. We are very glad that we have this destination as a starting/stopping point for Ian to learn about his home in future years.

We did offer to take Celine to dinner last night for fear that another night of room service might make us crazy, and she quickly accepted. She took us to a restaurant around the corner from the hotel, and although Ian was a bit cranky during dinner, it was a wonderful meal consisting of braised ribs in sweet & sour sauce, a noodle soup of some kind, a beef dish with vegetables, rice, and of course lots of green tea. It was a ton of food and only cost 45 Yuan, which is about $7…or almost the cost of 1 Coca-Cola in the hotel.

Ian took another bath last night and then Shawn went for his 4^th…yes I said 4^th… 2-hour massage last night. I would wonder what kind of massage he's getting except for the fact that his feet are really soft when he comes back. Ha. Ian went down to sleep late, at about 8:30pm and slept until almost 7am.

I also spoke a bit too soon yesterday stating that he is a breeze to change and dress. He did throw a fit after his bath; maybe because he wanted to be naked…however, it only lasted a few seconds. Pictures below show the before and after, only a few seconds apart.

I also included a cute shot of his chubby diaper butt. One of his favorite things to do is stand on the bed pillows and hang onto the headboard, and play with toys up there. The headboard is nailed to the wall, and it's only a small fall to the pillows, so I'm not too worried about it. He is getting really good at pulling himself up and standing that way, which is a huge accomplishment since his legs were jelly when we received him. We've seen people around town carrying their kids well longer than they should. Some kids look to be 5, 6, or even 7 years old and still being carried.

We fly out tomorrow fairly early and will arrive in Guangzhou at about noon. We may not post tomorrow, if so it will be just to let everyone know we made it to Guangzhou safely. We are happy to be headed somewhere with a play room and other adoptive families!

Things to Know About Ian

We're at that point of our stay in Hangzhou that it is getting boring…our guide tries to get us back to the hotel in time for Ian's nap (although he sleeps great in the carrier), so we are in our room for lunch and typically dinner, too. This means room service and hours of playing on the bed. Yippee. It also means that we don't get to see as much of the city as we would like. I know there is a lot to take in here, but our guide goes back to her room and watches TV or goes to lunch/dinner by herself and leaves us to our own devices. Not exactly an easy task, so we've been taking the path of least resistance since Tuesday and are staying fairly close to the hotel around mealtime. Kind of a bummer, but we'll know next time to ask more of our guide and/or agency in this area.

We did the silk factory tour this morning and it was a ridiculous waste of time. After about a 10 minute explanation of how the silk is spun, we were ushered into the sales area where they tried to pressure us into buying comforters, telling us they are good for the baby. Yeah right.

We did wind up buying something (I won't say or it will spoil someone's surprise), but almost everything there can be purchased in a Pier One or Cost Plus market in the Seattle area. We weren't impressed one bit.

I thought I would take this time to share a few fun facts that we've learned about Ian in the past few days:

When he is tired or needs comfort, he sniffs his sleeve. First he touches his lips to his sleeve and then rests his nose on it. It must be a self soothing thing he taught himself in the orphanage.

Also when he is upset or tired, he says mama through his whine. It really cute. Shawn can't seem to get a dada or baba out of him yet.

He makes a funny sucking noise, almost like a reverse raspberry…at random times. A few times even in his sleep.

He smacks himself in the forehead, sometimes with toys in his hand. Maybe another sensory thing, but we would like to see that habit stop as soon as possible.

He rubs his head when he's tired. He has a few patches where his hair is very thin, which might have been caused by this.

He likes to walk while holding our hands. He's slow and still unsteady, but he is getting better. I'm pretty sure they never did this in the orphanage, explaining why he has not started walking yet…at 19 months. It's quite a workout for us too, to lean over slightly and walk backward. We switch off, but if we stop, he gets upset. I'm sure one day we'll be saying "gosh, remember when he couldn't walk without our help? Remind me again why were we in such a rush to get him up and into everything?"

He likes to throw things. I guess this is a characteristic of a toddler.

He likes anything that he can bang or hit to make noise (cause and effect). If it doesn't make a noise when he hits it, he's not interested. He has adopted both coffee spoons in the hotel room and lost one…and they won't replace it for us. I think we'll probably be charged for it when we leave. This hotel is ridiculous like that. We even received a call last night asking us when we would be done with our room service dinner so they could come get the plates.

He loves baths…and I mean LOVES them. He took a bath again last night and Shawn would move him back and forth to make waves and would let go, making Ian slide to the other side of the tub. They did that over and over again. It also helped clear out his crusty nose…but made a huge mess in the bathroom. We'll have to figure out a plan for keeping the tsunami contained when we get home. They played until Ian was wrinkly and Shawn was soaked. It wasn't long after that he was out like a light with only a few tears when he went in his crib.

He's a weird size. In pants, he is about 12 months in length, but 18 or 24 months in the waist. He is about 18 months on top (for the benefit of grandmas). It means everything gets rolled up. Since we feel compelled to layer so much here although it is really humid and not cold, he's pretty much worn PJ's under his clothes 24/7. Thank goodness for the $6 thermal PJ's from Target! I'm stocking up like crazy when we get home.

He doesn't want anything solid. Nothing, nada, zilch. He likes peas, carrots, or edamame, if they are small enough and in congee, but a fruit puff or a cheerio seems ridiculous to him…also, feed himself? That's a foreign concept to this kid.

He is super ticklish. His grandpa and paga will have a field day.

He loves to have his back rubbed. Already enjoying massages like his daddy! When he needs comfort, he backs up to me and leans forward, which is my cue to lift his shirt and rub his back. He oohs and ahhs. It's really cute.

He lays very still for diaper changes. He holds his legs up in the air and just stays there until I'm done. I thought it would be much harder wrestling with a toddler, but he's easy in this area.

Overall, he is just a content, happy baby. Without any true experience, I think he is about 6 to 9 months behind developmentally and much more of a baby than we were expecting, but we are both having a great time with him. Shawn, who has never been a "baby baby" fan, is really loving his time with Ian and often tells me what to do, when, and how…as if he has any experience whatsoever. It's great to see them bonding so well already and we look forward to getting him home and into a good routine there.

I do also want to mention to China adoption community families that might be reading: Many people comment that they want their child AYAP (as young as possible), and might have indicated a young age range or passed over 19 months thinking he/she is a half grown toddler. I just want to put it out there that at his age, he is very much a baby and has quite a ways to go until he really fits that "older child" criteria. Really think hard about why you want AYAP and if you're thinking along the lines of Special Needs, please don't pass over files simply by age. We were quite taken by surprise that, although he may weigh a lot, he is pretty behind, but we know that he will catch up. In the meantime, we have a lot of excuses to bond. Diapers, walking, hand feeding, etc. We're happy to have him, and as far as we can tell, he's pretty happy with us, too.

Thanks again to everyone for your comments and support. It means more to us than you'll ever know. Hopefully in Guangzhou, we'll have a better internet connection and I can fix my Photobucket links. In the meantime, Shawn is sending out our Hangzhou album to close family and friends tonight. Below are a few pics from throughout the week that I don't believe made it into earlier posts.

The little guy is waking from his nap. Love to all, Steph.

p.s. Tom & Trish, thank you for the Polli updates. We miss her so much, but we are very glad that she is doing well and getting the "lap time" she loves. Thank you for taking such good care of her!

Sightseeing with the Little Guy

Seeing the sites is a much different experience with a baby in tow, that's for sure. Yesterday after our 2^nd Civil Affairs appointment, we headed out to see some of the city on our own. Now that our hip carrier is working, Ian is a breeze to carry.

Many people talk about the crazy traffic/drivers in China, but they're not much different than what Shawn has experienced in the Philippines or what we saw in Italy, so navigating the streets is not too terribly difficult. We wanted to find a part of the city that we had passed earlier in the day with several tea shops. We couldn't quite remember where it was, so we found a landmark and then set off in the general direction we needed to go. Soon we were out of the touristy area and in the more traditional neighborhoods, which our guide hasn't really taken us to yet here in Hangzhou. It was our first real experience with having locals come up to us and want to see Ian. We'd had LOTS of stares, but no one had approached us up to that point.

I will say this. The people we have encountered in China are by far the most polite of anywhere we've been before. Even though not everyone strikes up a conversation, we have never once had negative experience with people on the street or otherwise. The hotel staff here in Hangzhou is a slightly different story, but I'll go into that another time. Anyway, yesterday we had stopped at one point so Shawn could take a picture of something and 5 girls came pouring out of a restaurant to ooh and ahh over Ian. He's a lady killer already! Older people also just love the kids. We've had no issues whatsoever with "the clothing police", but we're also layering him pretty well, too. I've already changed his diaper twice thinking he was wet when really he was just sweaty. I'm new at this. How was I supposed to know?

After about an hour of walking around without finding the street we were looking for, we abandoned hope and headed back. Ian was perfectly content in the carrier the entire time, taking in things he has never seen before. Since the kids in his orphanage don't really have any place to go outside, the babies don't get out, so this was all very new.

After being a total angel all day, he was a bit more of a handful at dinner. It was apparent that he was worn out from a very full day. We wanted to keep him awake for a little while longer, but he won the battle and was asleep in his highchair half way through dinner. I didn't have my camera, but it was pretty cute. He was awake by the time we were back to the room, so we drew a bath and HE LOVED IT. He splashed and giggled and played until the water was cold.

Shawn then headed out for a foot massage (70 minutes for about $20…can't beat that) and Ian and I played "Where's mama" and "Where's Ian", where I would hide behind a towel and he would pull the towel off and laugh his head off, and then would do the same with the towel waiting for me to pull it off. We went back and forth for about an hour and he after that, he now has mama down well (that he uses mostly when he's tired) and now responds to Ian.

Next, I held onto one hand and we walked back and forth from the door to the bed. If I stopped, he would start to cry, so we did that for another hour. He is getting much better balance after only a couple of days, which tells me he could have been walking long ago if given the means and opportunity. People just love to carry their kids everywhere here, so I think it must be normal for them to walk really late, orphanage or not.

We had a minor meltdown at bedtime last night, but it only lasted about 10 minutes. If that's what we have to deal with, we can handle it. Polli has much more staying power when it comes to crying at night. She can whine for hours or until we let her out of her kennel, whichever comes first. Ian simply tired himself out in a few minutes and slept from 9pm to 7am without a problem and was his usual happy loving self in the morning.

Today, we went to a park at another part of West Lake. As soon as we got out of the taxi and headed toward the park entrance, we noticed a woman dressed in her fancy skirt and high heeled boots kneeling down staring at a flat tire on her car. Plenty of people were standing around watching, but no one was offering to help her, so Shawn handed me his camera and bag and had Celine translate to her that he would help her. He changed her tire and put away the flat in her trunk like a true gentleman. People were snapping away his picture and a man from the park security who had taken some shots came over and asked for his name and email address and said that his picture might be put in the paper to display his act of generosity. He also purchased us bottles of minute maid orange juice as a thank you on behalf of the park. It was pretty funny…and an example of how nice people are here. It's just that none of them know how to change a tire!

While in the park, we were approached my many people asking to take our picture and to touch Ian. People became so excited when they found out that he is a boy and especially when they saw his ear. A man shook Shawn's hand and told us he was very grateful for giving him a loving home. A few minutes later, we were approached by 3 older ladies, a mother with her two grown daughters. They gave us a bag of some kind of candied seeds, maybe watermelon, and candied fruits that are a delicacy in their home province. One woman explained that she is a doctor in Yunnan and has seen Microtia before and is aware that Ian will have the chance at surgery. It was great to know that not everyone in China sees special needs as a spectacle unworthy of living, as I think the adoption community sometimes leads itself to believe.

We came back to the hotel for lunch and naps, and then headed out to an open market that Celine found for us with the hopes that we could find some interesting tea sets. It wasn't terribly far and in an interesting part of town. It went on forever and we truly could have spent the whole day there. There were several medicine shops that sold ginseng and dried insects meant for traditional Chinese medicine. There were many tea houses, restaurants, silk shops, and others. We had a great time and picked up more souvenirs than we have room for. We'll see how we get them from here to Guangzhou and home… I guess everyone probably has this problem!

So we're back at the hotel and going the path of least resistance and ordering room service. It seems to be the easiest way to eat lunch and dinner now that Ian is here. Our favorite is the fried rice, dumplings, and sweet/sour pork with vegetables. Definitely not anything like what we get at home and very good. So much for my "no pork" mantra. Its better here than in the states! I hope it's really pork. LOL.

Tomorrow, we go to the Silk Market, and against my better judgment, we are going to the zoo on Saturday. My fear is that the animal living conditions will make me depressed, but it might be OK. We'll see.

Below are some pics from last night and today:

Dream Baby

Our first day with Ian was an absolute dream! We had prepared ourselves for anything from nightmare tantrums to a happy giggly baby. He is definitely the latter. He has only fussed a couple of times, only when he is really tired. He cried for about 5 minutes when we put him down in his crib last night, but quickly knocked off and slept all night. We could hear him moving around and tooting in his sleep, but not so much as a peep for 10 full hours.

Yesterday afternoon, we had our guide take us to the store for some formula and diapers and found quickly that his bulky 25 pound body is much too heavy to carry for more than a few minutes at a time. Since he is not walking, we had to come up with a plan. We didn't want to buy a stroller since we can borrow one in Guangzhou, so we had to find a way to make the hip carrier I had packed work.

I would like to say this now: Everyone online who said kid's clothes are cheap in China have never been to Hangzhou. We dropped 1000 Yuan (over $150) for two outfits and a pair of shoes. I wasn't thrilled since the clothes here are not the style I would buy for him at home. Everything has cartoon characters on it and is typically pastels for boys or girls. The shopping process is also really archaic. You don't scan the racks at leisure with the occasional "May I help you?" At least here, you must ask a clerk to assist you, decide on a style from the options they show you and tell them what size (which in our case we just held clothes up to him). Once done in that part of the store, they fill out a 3 part slip for each item and hold your things while you go pay at the cashier. You then get one copy back and must return with the copies and the receipt to the clerk who hands over the items you purchased. We had to do this for each department. It is by far the most backward way to shop that I have ever seen…and not much fun while carrying a 25 pound baby around. We have been very lucky that he is not squirmy. He likes to be carried and calmly looks around.

After this mall nightmare, we headed back to the hotel. We've realized that having him kind of handcuffs us to our room a little and we ironically have more downtime than before. We've been lucky that when we're in our room, he is perfectly content to play on the bed with the stacking cups and cars. Last night, I put on some Chinese Children's Choir music and he was having a ball dancing and laughing. It was so cute. He also enjoys walking along the bed back and forth, which I am happy to have him do as much as he wants to get some strength in his legs. I get the impression that in the orphanage, when he wasn't eating or sleeping, he was in the arms of a caretaker. I was pretty surprised to see that at 19 months, he is not walking yet.

I am trying not to make milestone judgments just yet since this time here is better served to just get to know each other. However, he is very obviously many months behind. He has no language skills to speak of yet, but he did say mama today!

We are counting our blessings that he easily comes to either of us, which proved this morning to make our lives easier when getting ready. We could seamlessly switch off in the bathroom and he didn't fuss at all. We were prepared for him to come to, or have reservations about, one of us but that hasn't happened yet. He does seem to want me more when he's tired, but I think that is evolutionary. Everything and everyone wants its mother when it needs comfort.

Shawn and I are developing our roles, albeit in a 150 square foot environment. He goes behind us and picks up, and is the clown (as was expected). He is always happy to make a funny face or sound, which Ian really likes. I am the changer, snot wiper, and cuddler, although Shawn has been doing a lot of loving too, which Polli taught him to do very well. We are both sharing the role of feeding, dressing, etc.

We realized quickly that we think they were feeding him too much in the orphanage. They had down 3 bottles of formula and 3 meals of rice, congee, meat, and vegetables. He didn't finish his bottle last night, but seems to do well with a big congee breakfast, bottle before nap and some rice, rice & meat/veggies at dinner, and bottle before bed. We'll see how this works out while here.

Although we really love this West Lake area, we are already ready to get him home and into a routine there. It is hard to figure out how to parent for the first time with so much to get taken care of plus only one small room to establish a routine.

Today, Ian was up at 6:30am and needed a good changing, but did not leak at all which I was happy for. Word up to Pampers Cruisers! We headed to breakfast and he did awesome in his highchair. There was a couple near us from Montreal who have had their son for 2 days and to look at his demeanor, you would think he had been with them his whole life. Ian played the whole time with 2 stacking cups and the spoon from the table. We were able to eat and drink our coffee with no interruptions. Could this kid be for real?

After breakfast, we figured out how to get the hip carrier working and (whew!) he is feather light in it and I can let go of him and he stays right on my hip with his weight dispersed across my back and shoulders. Thank goodness. He loves to sit in it and stare at my face. He can also look around, and fell asleep in it with no problem while we were out today.

We went back to the Civil Affairs Office to finalize the China portion of his adoption. In the eyes of China, he is now our son. Next week in Guangzhou, we will essentially do the same thing to make everything official with the U.S.

It's a beautiful day in Hangzhou today so we are going to head out on our own this afternoon and explore some of the city. We are in search of teapots and have yet to find anything really extraordinary that is worth braving the plane ride home.

Tomorrow, we see more of the lake and do a little more souvenir shopping around town.

Note to Lana & family: We've been paying close attention to Ian's reactions to sound and so far, he appears to react to even quiet sound from his Microtia side. Either he is compensating well or he has some hearing despite the lack of ear canal. I'm excited to see how his hearing tests go once he's home.

Below are a few pictures from last night and this morning. I won't be doing anything with Photobucket until we get to Guangzhou when I can hopefully get a better internet connection.

At Long Last! Welcome Ian!

Today was the day we've been waiting for! At 9:15am, we left for the Civil Affairs building in Hangzhou and Ian with two orphanage caretakers were already there waiting. Ian was sacked out after a long train ride through the night from Wenzhou.

His nickname sounds like "Ah-Moon" because he is so round and chubby, like the moon. He has a cold, but will hopefully work it out of his system in the next few days.

He is a big boy. Although he is not at the top of the weight or height charts, he is heavy to carry. I have yet to try out the hip carrier I brought and I'm praying it will work out.

He woke while we were doing paperwork and was calm and happy right away. He is very observant and looked at both of us with questions in his eyes. He easily went to both of us and didn't make a single peep. Other than some basic baby cooing and raspberry blowing, he does not appear to have any language skills yet.

He was happy and content the entire time and immediately enjoyed the toy car we brought for him. He loves to look to see why the wheels are rolling, turning it over and trying to get between the car and the tire. We might just have an engineer on our hands (or a mechanic).

We returned to the hotel and ordered lunch as it was past his lunchtime. He ate two bowls of congee mixed with fried rice, and we enjoyed dumplings and chicken with hot peppers. He drank an entire sippy box of juice quickly. He still drinks formula, so we'll be off to the store to pick up formula, diapers, a bottle, and some clothes. He is a bit big for most of what I brought, and he seems to be most comfortable in several layers of stretchy pants, which we have none of. We also have to make sure we have enough long sleeved shirts or pieces to layer over the short sleeves we brought.

He has pretty big feet, too... Too big for the Preschoolians and Robeez shoes I brought. We'll have to pick up a couple pairs of shoes today as well.

He is sleeping now, after only crying from about 2 minutes... Yes, I'll admit it. It was because this rookie mom turned away for a few seconds and he rolled off the bed. Good thing for these low hotel beds! He is sacked out now, but is starting to stir, so I'd better go try to figure out how to do this mom thing.

What an exciting day. If I have more time later, I'll post more. If not, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop on Ian's adventures.

I hear that my Photobucket album is not working, so I apologize. If I come across some free time, I'll troubleshoot. Until then, some of our first pics with Ian are below.

Note to Lana & Family: I will try to get some more pictures of his ear for you. He turns to sound from both directions, but we won't know much more until we get home. No issues so far, though.

A few from today:

Hangzhou Day 3

Today is officially day three of our long stay in Hangzhou. Although we know tomorrow is THE big day of the trip and what we ultimately made this journey for, today was our favorite day in China so far.

We headed out with Celine today to see Lingyin Temple, one of the largest public Buddhist temple complexes in China, and the Mei Family Tea Plantation, which harvests Dragon Well Tea, considered one of the highest quality green teas in China and grown only in the Zhejiang province.

We rode in heavy traffic around West Lake, which sprawls for miles. It became very clear that we could visit a different part of the lake every day during our trip and never see everything the lake has to offer. On our first day here, Celine explained that the apartments on the lake are very expensive, most in the range of $500k to $750k, which is probably the equivalent to a million dollar plus apartment in the US.

We quickly arrived at the Lingyin Temple, which is set in beautiful vegetation along a hillside. Although we were only 20 minutes outside the city, it felt very remote. Even for a Monday, it was very busy with Chinese tourists, but still had a serene feel. Anyone wishing to meditate would have had a perfect backdrop with which to do it. Lu, if you are reading this, I thought of you the entire time we were there.

Once inside the Lingyin temple gates, we walked through a vast area that can't be easily described. The entire mountainside surrounding the temples is covered with huge 3 dimensional carvings of different Buddha's, monks, and other symbols of Buddhism. The beauty and detail couldn't be captured by our cameras.

Buddhism is no longer commonly practiced as a modern religion in China, but there were many people there bowing to the statues and burning incense to give thanks. We could have easily been there all day and still would have needed more time just to take in the carvings…and we still had the rest of the temple grounds to explore. Our favorite carving was of Laughing Buddha. He is, of course, what Westerners think is the Buddha, but he is actually rarely seen in any of the temples. There are literally hundreds of Buddha's, each with a different meaning and place in time.

It is forbidden to take pictures inside the halls, and we wanted to respect those wishes, but Shawn mischievously snuck a few pictures inside one of the halls that houses 500 stone Buddha's. We could have gotten lost in that room, and again would have liked several hours to look at each and every statue.

Staircases stretched further and further up the mountainside as we entered more Buddha halls. Each hall housed a different primary Buddha, some with disciples and each with its own significance to Buddhism and Chinese, Tibetan, or Indian culture. Many practicing monks roamed the grounds, most as tourists, and mostly Llama's. There are 4 sects to Buddhism, but the Llama's are the most common.

I could go on all day about this place. It really is worth coming back to China for…and who would have known it was tucked away in this place we had, not so long ago never heard of, Hangzhou? I'm so glad we can bring Ian back here some day to appreciate it, yet be so close to his home town.

After Lingyin Temple, we continued just a few minutes and found ourselves in a beautiful valley between two hillsides, which is where the Mei Family tea village is located. Tea plants cover the ground for as far as the eye can see in all directions. I was surprised that the tea plants are not contained in anyway and grow right to the road's edge. We were able to walk right up to them and touch the leaves. Celine described the harvesting schedule and how they harvest the tender baby leaves first in March and April, which are the best quality and most expensive. The 2^nd and 3^rd harvests follow, and the quality of the tea degrades with the passing months. The leaves are handpicked and machines are never used. Each tea plant takes 4 to 5 years to reach harvesting age, and then can be harvested yearly for approx. 25 years. They are then cut down and will grow back in the same cycle two more times, meaning each plant has a 75 year life span.
We went to a tea ceremony, similar to the one in Beijing, but this time the focus was purely on Dragon Well tea, the grades of tea, and the benefits. As with the other ceremony, it ended with the "you only buy here" sales pitch, but this is one of the main things we wanted to buy in Ian's province, so we splurged. Ironically, we bought quite a bit of the highest grade, which they packaged in front of us from a newly opened bundle, and we spent less than we did when we were in Beijing.

It was here that I had my first experience with a squatty potty. I'll leave it at that, but let's just say that some of my dear friends would have fainted to see the conditions of that bathroom. I'm proud to say I walked away with clean shoes!

Once back at the hotel, Shawn and I were ashamed to admit that we were craving some American cuisine, and snuck down the street to the Pizza Hut. We said we wouldn't do it, but we did. We're weak westerners! The place was packed with trendy Chinese teenagers and the pizza was actually quite good.

We are back at the hotel and will watch the clock slowly tick away the last 18 hours until we leave to meet Ian. Yes, the moment so many are waiting for…You won't have to wait much longer. They came and set up the porta-crib for us today, and it took two ladies from housekeeping (whom I think might have been swearing in Chinese), Shawn and myself a half hour to get it together. Ian will probably figure out how to collapse it in half that time.

Thanks again to everyone for following along. Things will be a bit more interesting in the coming days. In the meantime, I have rearranged the picture links so all Beijing pics are in one folder and Hangzhou will be divided until we arrive in Guangzhou. Please see Hangzhou Days 1 thru 3 for the boring stuff leading up to Ian's arrival.

Also sending out a big thank you to Tom & Trish for picking up our Polli from her kennel. We hope she is behaving with her cousin Spirit and not giving you too much grief at night. We miss her so much and can't wait for Ian to meet her. We know he will love her as much as we do.

Signing off. Take care all.

Love, Shawn & Steph

A few from today:

Sunday; The Day of Rest

Click here for today's pictures.

Today was very low key. We were up before 5am again and it was a good time for Shawn to attempt to upload his pics, which he has been unsuccessful in doing so far. Word of advice to anyone travelling to China soon: Don't use Kodakgallery.com as your upload site if you can help it. Shawn has been trying for 2 days to get his pictures to upload and the connection here is so slow, it bombs every time. I am using Photobucket and have not had a single problem yet (knock on wood).

Breakfast is on the hotel's 7^th floor, which has a panoramic view of the lake. Unfortunately, the air quality is so bad here, it is impossible to see across the street to the lake, let alone the lake itself. It is really too bad because it is a gorgeous body of water surrounded by parks and mountains…but you wouldn't know it.

After breakfast, Celine took us across to the lake and we walked for about 2 hours, barely scratching a dent in what there is to see of the lake. We are the object of a lot of stares since we are the few westerners in Hangzhou, but more so because I was wearing a short sleeved shirt, which is not done here. We saw several people motion to their arms and point at us, so I think I'll be packing away my short sleeved shirts for Guangzhou. Also a good word of note for those preparing to travel! Not one single person in Hangzhou is without at least one layer, if not several. Today wasn't warm, but even so, Celine was wearing a heavy turtleneck sweater and a thick leather jacket. Beijing was this way too, but since the tourist population is so much higher, we probably wouldn't have had a single issue. However, I saw a woman on TV with a short sleeved shirt, so maybe it's just a regional thing or they think I'm crazy for wearing s/s in this weather. I may never know.

One thing about Hangzhou, which is in direct contradiction to my comments about Beijing is that there are a lot of little girls, maybe even more than boys. We also saw many, many families with multiple children and several sets of twins. Celine said that many families in Hangzhou can afford the fines or are not fined at all. She also said that views are changing about the place a woman plays in the family, meaning they can keep their daughters without the associated social implications. She didn't say much more. I don't think she can since she is associated with the agency, but it made me wonder how much of the one child policy is still enforced and if it applies to everyone, everywhere. I also saw a boy with a limb difference and a girl with a hearing aid, so it lends hope that not all special needs children are abandoned.

By the lake, we stopped at a food vendor and I tried sticky rice stuffed with pork and wrapped in a leaf of some kind and then steamed. It is a popular food during the Dragon Boat Festival in May, and families make them with many kinds of fillings for the celebration. It was only 5 Yuan, which is less than a dollar and was very filling and delicious. I hope to find them again tomorrow as it made an excellent mid-morning snack.

We also went into an art museum that houses sketches, paintings, and calligraphy from local artists. We thoroughly enjoyed it, and what's better is that it was free to enter. On the way to the second floor, we purchased several books highlighting pieces of artwork, but I soon realized that I bought one too few and went back to buy another that I had admired. I reached to pick it up, but realized that someone else was paying for it. I started an international incident as the pushy American who was touching someone else's possessions and Celine had to quickly come over and diffuse the situation. I felt horrible, but it was a learning experience: wait to touch until given the OK by the shop owner.

We headed back and stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few items. I'm not exactly sure why we went today rather than after receiving Ian, but we came out with some crackers popular with the babies that look like round crackers, probably similar in consistency to arrowroot cookies, some animal cracker type things in the shape of Winnie the Pooh & Friends, and some apple juice. We also couldn't pass up some Cucumber flavored Lay's chips. We later discovered that they aren't very good, at least to our palates, but we couldn't resist.

On the way back to the hotel, an elderly woman stopped Celine and told her to tell us that we appear to be very healthy and thanked us for coming so far to see Hangzhou. We did not explain why we are here, since we figure we'll be doing a lot of that soon. She wished us great longevity and crossed the street. It was so nice and she didn't even have an agenda, which I was waiting for.

We parted ways with Celine for the day at about 2pm and were glad to have the rest of the day to relax. We headed down to one of the hotel's many restaurants and chose 3 dishes from their menu, a Cantonese chicken/pepper dish, steamed garlic broccoli, and vegetable filled dumplings. It was a lot of food and set us back a whopping 15 bucks.

We are back at the room now doing some journal writing and fighting the internet speed again. I went through Ian's bag and set aside everything with short sleeves. I now know that it would be an instant invitation for the local older women to tisk tisk how he is dressed…and it may not be warm enough anyway. We expected it to be about 10-15 degrees warmer here than it is. We'll definitely have some shopping to do once he's with us. At this point, we don't even know if what we purchased will fit anyway.

Tomorrow, we head out to Lingyin Si Buddhist Temple and a Longjing Tea Plantation. It will be the last childless day of our lives! Heaven help us!

Thank you to everyone who is impatiently awaiting the arrival of Ian. I know the last several days has all been filler leading up to that important day. Good things come to those who wait!

Welcome to Hangzhou

We left Beijing today bound for Hangzhou (Hong-Joe), the capital of Ian’s province Zhejiang (Chur-jee-ong). Our flight was 2 hours, but was pretty bumpy and weird cabin pressure that left my soda bottle almost bursting, as well as my stomach. We seemed to climb in altitude until just before we started our decent, which wasn’t much fun. The silver lining to that cloud is that Hangzhou is much warmer than Beijing. It was 70 degrees when we landed…a full 20 degrees or more warmer than Beijing.

Once in Hangzhou, our guide Celine met us and we headed to our hotel on Hangzhou’s famous West Lake. She explained that she is from Xi’An and here for the entire month of November to assist WACAP families with their adoptions. She strictly does adoption guiding, so she knows just what to do and when, which is great peace of mind for us. Right after we leave on the 11th, 3 other WACAP families will be coming in to receive their children, also from Ian’s orphanage. We are her only family this week, so we have quite a bit of flexibility with her.

She is engaged to be married in Xi’An and is excited to be here because the hotel backs to a huge shopping district with stores and stalls lining the alleys. Coming up the street to our hotel, it was plain that this is a hip, young town. No less ten thousand young adults, probably 18 to 25, filled the streets. The population of Hangzhou is “only” 6 million, compared to Beijing’s 14 million, but it is much smaller, so it seems just as populated, if not more dense.

Celine explained to us that farming and textiles are the main economy of Hangzhou, and many of the farmers here are very wealthy. The government uses Hangzhou farmers as their suppliers for city landscape vegetation, so they have a large and steady income. She also explained that Wenzhou, Ian’s home town is also a big city. She said that Wenzhou is known for its wealthy families, which took me by surprise. She said it is a huge clothing manufacturing town, which makes me wonder if my company has facilities there. What a small world that would be!

Celine was quick to point out the Pizza Hut to us, but we explained to her that we want to enjoy the local culture and cuisine, and can have Pizza Hut anytime back home. I think this was a relief to her, and she took us down the back alley and into a local “hole in the wall”. We were ushered into a section of the restaurant partitioned into rooms and she ordered for us since there was no American menu. She ordered two local Hangzhou specialties, West Lake fish and Dragon Well shrimp. Tea arrived and the two dishes, fresh and sizzling, came along with fried rice in less than 10 minutes. We were relieved to hear that here, tea IS green tea unlike Beijing which only serves jasmine. It was a nice change of pace.

Dinner was phenomenal. The fish came whole, and Nemo & Dora were poised to stare at me throughout the entire meal. It was delicious light and flaky white fish in a soy/brown sugar type glaze. The shrimp were small, almost like sautéed popcorn shrimp, and were also very good. I was so sad that I had left my camera at the hotel. My coworker Jason would have thoroughly enjoyed the pictures of our meal. We hope to have Celine take us back again at least once more this week. On the way out, we saw their seafood case had squid, crawfish (by another name I can’t pronounce), and many other items that we really want to try. We left the restaurant stuffed and only $12 poorer. It was a meal that would have been at least $50 at home.

Tomorrow, we had originally planned to take a train into Shanghai, but now that we are here, it seems like it will be a day better spent resting and staying close to the hotel. We will have so much going on soon that we decided that after our crazy few days in Beijing, we will skip it. We wanted to say we’ve been to Shanghai, but there is always next time.

Shawn is battling the internet connection right now, which appears to be much slower than Beijing. For a country with more than a fourth of the world’s population, there is certainly no rush to become a leader in the information age. People don’t have internet in their homes and the connection and access are next to nothing. I now realize that after complaining about the shortcomings of our US government, it could be much, much worse.

We hope all is well back home. We’ll keep you posted as to the happenings of Hangzhou as we lead up to the big day! I am still unable to read the comments or view my blog, so I would like to say in advance a huge THANK YOU to everyone for reading and supporting us. We hope the information sprinkled among the gibberish has been helpful, if not mildly entertaining.

Beijing Day 3

Click here to view today's pictures

First off today, we would like to thank those who have left us comments. Although we can't read them here in China (at least in Beijing), we appreciate your thoughts. We also want to let our family and friends know we are thinking of you all the time and hope everything is going well back home. More than anything though, we miss our little Polli pup and hope she is having tons of fun at camp.

Today we embarked on our 3^rd full day of sightseeing here in Beijing. I've read posts from people who were not thrilled with Beijing, but we have both enjoyed it a great deal. First off, as the capital city of China, it holds so much history that serves as the foundation for so much in China. As Americans, it is still hard to imagine a city or country with so many thousands of years of history still in one spot. The oldest civilization in the world is here and that isn't such a small thing to ponder. We are also taken with how much organization it must take to keep such great order in a city of so many people. Beijing is huge. Not just big, but enormous in land mass. We have been driven around for 3 days nonstop and have yet to see the same section of the city twice. Anna explained that they are constructing a 6^th traffic ring in Beijing which will have a circumference of over 400km.

Today, Shawn and I were both up before 4am. He fiddled with pictures while I read. I realize that my coveted reading habit will become something of a luxury a few days from now! After breakfast, we headed out for our first stop of the day, The Summer Palace. This is a palace built by and for emperors and empresses as an escape from the summer heat. It was destroyed and rebuilt twice, the last being in the early 20^th Century. It is an enormous park built around a land made lake and it truly is breathtaking. Thousands of other tourists joined us here today, so it was quite impossible to appreciate the serenity of the area, but the vistas were breathtaking. Skirting the lake front is a covered walkway which holds a place in the World Record Books as the longest continuous covered walkway in the world. Every surface within the walkway is covered with hand painted or sketched artwork commissioned by Emperors and Empresses throughout several dynasties. Anna was sprinting through the crowds, so I didn't have a chance to enjoy each and every art piece, but it was truly amazing. Also part of Summer Palace is the living quarters for the emperors, empresses, and concubines. There is a long and detailed story about the reign of the empress who commissioned Summer Palace to be built, and her relationship with her sons that was quite interesting. The pinnacle of the park was a huge boat that she ordered to be carved completely from marble. It is absolutely amazing the amount of detail that was derived from rock…especially in an age where carving and sculpting tools couldn't have been very sophisticated.

After leaving Summer Palace, we went to a tea house for a tea ceremony, where they educate on the local teas and, of course, end with a sales pitch. We fell for it, even though our next stop in Zhejiang is known especially for its tea. We walked out 1000 Yuan later (about $120) with a bunch of tea. We later argued about who was to blame for falling for the sales pitch. I think I lost.

Next was lunch, at another pre-arranged location. We decided that these places are like our Applebee's or Red Robin. The food was not nearly as good as yesterday, which was a fancier location, but it wasn't bad either. I would like to redeem my review of the duck from the other night when I said "duck is yuck"… We had something today that appeared similar to duck a l'orange and it was quite good and not nearly as greasy or heavy as the other night. I'm convinced that they must have given us the worst cuts of meat then.

After lunch, we headed out for the Llama Temple. We would have been happy to head straight to the Hutong tour, but we obliged our adorable little pixie of a guide and headed off in yet another direction. Upon arriving, it was obvious that the Llama temple was unlike any of the other temples so far in appearance and meaning. These temples hold Tibetan and Buddhist artifacts now and are an active prayer and study location for monks in Beijing, although Anna confirmed that no modern young people in Beijing study Buddhism today.

There was incense burning in large drums in front of each Buddha chamber as an offering to Buddha. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the chambers, but those Buddhas were very cool. Those who think Buddha is just the bald fat guy are wrong. We never even saw a "laughing Buddha" while there, but a room of artifacts contained thousands of Buddhas, each with a completely different meaning and time period. One hall contained the largest wooden Buddha in the world. I don't have the size stats handy, but huge would not even begin to cover how big it is. It is three stories tall and painted with gold. Truly amazing. I wish I were able to take pictures of it.

Next, we continued on to our final sightseeing destination, the Hutong Tour. A Hutong is an old style neighborhood in China. Many hutong are several hundred years old and still house several generations of families. Essentially, four rooms are built around a courtyard and then closed in within an alley system. Fang Shui is taken into account and each room is inhabited by one family member of a different ranking. We took a rickshaw through a maze of alley streets and continued on foot to a family's hutong, where we were seated in the family courtyard and given tea in Dixie cups. Anna translated for the husband as he explained the history of the hutong and his family. They had a cute pet bird that didn't seem to have any interest in flying away, and he brought out the family grasshopper to explain that centuries ago, they didn't have money to have hobbies outside the home and subsequently raised birds, plants, and grasshoppers to keep busy. Next, we walked further into the hutong alleys and were shown several cultural aspects to the decorations at the doors and how they represent a family's wealth or job. Even here, there was much construction and manual labor going on…and lots of cars all trying to get to the same place. Our favorite part of the hutong was the long lines of restaurants, bars, and shops that line the manmade river that runs through the hutong village and eventually snakes 1000km south into other port areas of China. Although rarely used for that purpose now, it was pretty to see a river running through such a rundown area, like an oasis for those that still live here.

Probably the funniest part of the day was when we decided to help Anna practice her English. We told her to go home and tell her friends that we taught her a popular phrase that Americans her age say: "That's off the hook, dog!". She said it over and over again all day with her Chinese accent. I wonder what her friends will think. She thought it was so funny.

Also a big hit, which you'll see in our pictures, was at the tea house where they showed us how they test to tell if the water is hot enough for brewing tea. They pour the water through a small clay boy and the water sprays out the front if the water is ready. He is called a pee pee boy. We loved him, but they didn't sell them. We begged and she gave us two (probably because she had already been suckers for her tea sales pitch).

We are back at the hotel now and heading for dinner. We are going the path of least resistance and eating at the hotel, but their dinner buffet looks good, so it's not really a cop out, just a protest against walking anymore.

So, tomorrow, we head out for the airport at 8:30am and continue on to Hangzhou. It's a 2 hour flight and I believe we arrive at about noon. Since we don't actually need our guide until Tuesday, we're not sure if she will be at our disposal the first 2 days. Being with Anna made us realize that this is not a country easily navigated by those with no Chinese speaking ability. Charades doesn't work as well here as some other parts of the world. If we were to do it over again, we would have taken a Rosetta Stone crash course or something just to be functional.

Again, sorry if the picture links are not working. If so, Click Here or on the right margin under Beijing Day Three for all of today's pictures. In the meantime, enjoy a few from today:

Beijing Day 1 & 3/4 and Day 2

Click Here to view today's pictures: Beijing Day 2

Yesterday was not quite over when I closed out my last post. As tired as we were, we still had a few hours to go.

Anna picked us up at 5pm (2am for you PST folks) to head out for dinner and the acrobatics show. We went to what is said to be the oldest and most popular Peking Duck restaurant in Beijing. As with lunch earlier in the day, Anna had preordered for us (as many of the guides appear to do for their guests). However, when she asked what we would like to drink, we both decided tea would be nice since we had yet to get the chill out of our bones. This perplexed them both. First of all, they don't appear to call green tea "green tea" here. After some hurried whispering between Anna and the server, she came back and said they only have jasmine tea. That's what we were expecting, so great. Bring on the jasmine. They were further confused by the fact that we didn't want anything else to drink. No Coca Cola and no beer. Their expressions made it obvious that it is not customary to drink only tea with dinner (or at all). Oops. Cultural faux paus, I guess.

Dinner was OK, but not great. I've decided that Duck is Yuck. Well, not really but I so wanted to make that rhyme. It is extremely rich and fatty. The way it was served was with wrappers and vegetables, so the idea is to make little duck crepes. Interesting concept, but I quickly saw that this was another one of their tourist scams so they could serve us as little duck as possible and fill us up on the rest. The soup, which looked like miso with cucumber, tasted like soap. Shawn thought for a minute that it was to clean our fingertips after eating the duck. I'm still not completely sure!

After dinner, we went to the Chayoyang Theater, where we had 3rd row seats for the Acrobatics show. By this time, we were exhausted, so luckily it was only 90 minutes long. Circ Du Soliel has really spoiled us, but this was still amazing, especially that close up. The human body can do amazing things if trained properly. Although these young men and women were in amazing physical shape, they probably train day and night...and retire by 20. Nevertheless, still very impressive.

We headed back to the hotel at this point and fell straight into bed. We had been forcibly acclimated to China time by sheer exhaustion. In less than 24 hours here, we saw more than half of the popular Beijing sights... with 2 more full days of sightseeing to do.

Day 2: The Great Wall, Jade Factory, Ming Tombs/Sacred Way

It was about an hour's drive to The Great Wall, so after a big breakfast we headed out. Along the way, we stopped at the Jade Factory, which was the only touristy jewelry stop we wanted to make. It really is just a trap for Cruise Ship buses and unassuming Westerners. They jade is beautiful, but it is overpriced and the shopping system is overwhelming. As much as I would have loved to buy jade for myself and all of my family members, it is extremely expensive for even small pieces. I ended up buying a few small costume pieces (still real, but probably made from scraps) and Shawn bought a nice men's ring, similar in shape and size to a precious stone ring he purchased in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

After this stop, we headed to TGW at Badaling, which is the most popular and best preserved location near Beijing. On the way, the abandoned beginnings of Disney World China can be seen just to the side of the freeway. It looks like the facade to a tacky Vegas shopping center now. They didn't get far, but it is still obvious that it was intended to be Disney related. Kind of sad, really.

Once at TGW, if was evident that this would be a very cold and windy day. We are used to wind in our neighborhood at home. For those not near us, we live close to the mountains in a planned community on a ridge of sorts... we sometimes brave 20-50mph gusts in the fall and winter...and today blew that away (pardon the pun). It was just above the freezing point outside and the wind was coming in non-stop gusts of about 30-60mph. Of course, we chose to climb the steeper of the 2 available wall segments here (why would we want to go the easy route?) which meant that we would be walking uphill at sometimes 45 to 90 degree grades INTO the wind.

Just as with any high traffic world wonder, stuff vendors are everywhere, all the way up the wall. Even in the wind and cold, they are relentless. The nice thing about the vendors here that I can't say about any other part of the world I've seen so far is that you say Bu (no) once and they stop and walk away.

We climbed (I say climbed because the grade was VERY steep; pictures don't do it any justice) for about an hour before turning around. No tourists were left on our route by that time. Only locals...and a large group of teenagers who had the bright idea to pack a picnic up in that wind. The trip back down was actually the hardest because we were walking down that very same extreme grade and the wind was at our backs, literally pushing us at times. The vendors blocked much of the hand rail space, so it was pretty harrowing. A quick shout out here for my Keen sandals. Combined with wicking socks, they have been great this entire trip. My feet have not been sore even once and were never cold. Go buy a pair before coming on this trip; they're worth the money!

After a quick walk through another tourist trap, we headed back down the mountain for lunch. This was actually one of our day's highlights. We had a great GREAT lunch at a restaurant near Ming's Tomb. I have no idea the name of the place, but there are several pics of the lobby in today's album. The decor was really fancy and lunch was fabulous. As with the previous meals, Anna prearranged our meal (I made the mistake of asking for Pepsi...deer in the headlight stares. This is a Coca Cola country!). We were brought tea, soda in a tiny juice sized glass (their standard size...not the 64 ounces you'll find back home), and then the food... our best meal so far. We had a dish similar to General Tso's chicken, beef with green beans, broccoli in garlic sauce, and rice. DELISH! We almost couldn't stop eating. Like magic, as we finished, Anna reappeared and we headed to Ming Tombs.

Ming Tombs and Sacred Way were beautiful. The walk up The Sacred Way was very serene and was a nice way to stretch our legs after TGW hike. Flanking the path are gorgeous stone animals, real and mythical, that each had special meaning related to Emperors and/or God. I would love to come back some day to take a closer look at each statue in more detail.

We continued to Ming Tombs, which is actually many tombs, but only a few are open to the public. The courtyard leading up to the tomb was again very quiet and serene. It was warmer here and almost no wind. We had a lot of time to chat with Anna on the walk in, and learned more about her and where she grew up. I haven't looked on the map, but it sounds like she is from a province just south of Russia.

After Ming Tombs, we gladly headed back to the hotel. It was a little over an hour's drive with traffic, and we were happy to have some down time after another full day.

We are currently in the lobby bar drinking coffee and journaling our day. This was how we ended every day in Italy, so I'm hoping we can continue to do so on this trip (at least up until the 6th when at least I will need to do this during Ian's naps!).

I've posted a link to today's pics in the right margin. I hope it's working since I can't view my blog layout to see how it appears. Click Here and you should get there OK.

Tomorrow's Schedule:

Summer Palace

Hutong Tour

Here are a few pics from today: