On Our Way Home

At the U.S. consult today, in a room with 40 Chinese children and their new American families, we raised our right hands and solemnly swore that all the information that we had provided, both verbally and in writing, related to our adoption was correct to the best of our knowledge. And with the promise, the room erupted in cheers and tears, and our children earned the right to become American citizens. We hugged and congratulated each other, and conversations turned to reunions down the road and early morning wake-up calls. We are on our way home.

Phoebe, by the way, gave Mark a high-5 when he raised his right hand, and politely clapped her hands along with the crowd at just the right time. She's learned a lot in the last week.

See you home very soon.

Off the Island

Yesterday we branched out and left Shamian Island, home of the White Swan Hotel. We found a map and took the metro into the heart of the city, getting off at a beautiful public park. It was "Children's Day" in China, so Phoebe got us in for free. The park was enormous, with hills of gardens, dense tropical vegetation, shaded foot paths, red lanterns, and historical sculptures. We stopped at the Guangzho Museum and climbed to the top for a view of the city.

It was very hot, and we've been using the Ergo carrier instead of a stroller to facilitate bonding, which only makes you sweat more. Little Phoebe felt very warm, and wasn't taking much of the water and juice I was trying to give her. We got her back to the hotel and took her to the pool to cool off. She loved it! Mark tossed her up in the air and let her splashed down in the water, and she squealed in delight. She played hard for an hour or so until the pool was closing, and then I noticed that she was still hot. 102.3, to be exact. Poor little one. I think we overdid it a bit, and misread that she probably had a fever all day long while we were lugging her about. At least I know enough medicine to know that a kid who has that much fun in a pool isn't too sick, but we still felt quite badly about it. A little Tylenol did her the world of good, and she slept a good night. This morning her fever is only low-grade and she's a little bit crabby, but all in all, she's doing ok.

Last post in China is coming later tonight. We miss Miranda so much. As much as she loves singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider with her parents on the webcam, it makes me very sad that she only gets to see her parents via Skype dates. Are we on the 48 hour countdown yet? Almost.

24 Pounds

Today was the physical exam for the U.S. consulate, contracted out to a local Chinese clinic. Phoebe weighed in at an official 24 pounds! That is one pound shy of her big sister Miranda's weight. While I'm pretty darn efficient at buzzing around the house with Miranda on one hip while I do random tasks with my free hand, I am not nearly so effective with Phoebe. She doesn't help at all with her legs. I'm not sure why that is-- was she always in a sling? Rarely carried? I don't know, but she doesn't hold on with her thighs at all, which leaves my arms absolutely aching. I hope she learns to walk quickly, because without the Ergo I can't make it more than two minutes with Phoebe in my arms.

I spent two hours doing paperwork for the U.S. government today, trying carefully to following instructions like "first name last" and "Last name first," and "Chinese name here" verses "American name here." My mother had a question last week that I didn't know the answer to: When does Phoebe become a U.S. citizen? I have the answer today: When she touches down on U.S. soil, in Chicago, on our lay-over home. For now, she has a Chinese passport and we are waiting for her visa to enter the U.S. In fact, we were told to stay in our rooms and by the phones tomorrow from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., just in case there are questions from the U.S. consultate.

Mark went to the playroom today while I did the paperwork. There were two Chinese mothers there who were fussing affectionately over Phoebe. When they tried to reach out and hold her, Phoebe was quite deliberate in her refusal, turning and clinging to Mark. We like that a lot!

Arrived in Guangzhou

First, to catch you up on yesterday, since I feel asleep as soon as Phoebe went down. . .We spent the day playing tourist, which was much more interesting than the smokey playroom in the hotel. First we visited Ayi, a 1200 year old Chinese village in the rice fields that has opened itself up to tourists while still pretty much maintaining their traditional way of life. I'm not sure how exactly they have pulled this off, but there are no vendors hawking their wares, no one shouting "Hal-lo, where you go?", no children clambering for free candy and pictures. People sit on their stoops and smile kindly as the tourists amble by with Chinese babies on their hips and cameras around there necks. There were tiny walkways (all paved, thanks to the income of tourists), women cooking just inside the windows, motor bikes parked in the path, clothes lined out to dry, red banners lining the doorways. A nice little glimpse into lives that are children were likely born into.

Then we visited a huge Tengwang Pavilion, a beautiful pagoda that towers six stories above the city of Nanchang, built as a place for artists and poets to gather and work. On the top floor was a music and dance performance, with bells, drums, stringed instruments, and woodwinds, all performed in elaborate and colorful Chinese costume. The place was full of art-- copper sculpture (including the happiest Buddha I have ever seen), paintings, and calligraphy. We wandered through the Chinese garden, too, on the way home.

As beautiful as that was, we were all quite ready to end the time in the province and get on to Guangzhou. We have Phoebe's Chinese passport now, and that was the last step. We packed up our bags and introduced Phoebe to flying. It was late and she was sound asleep when we arrived in Guangzhou to the White Swan Hotel. There is a waterfall in the lobby and banyan trees outside, with a beautiful view of the river from the window. We'll start exploring in the morning.

Phoebe, in the meantime, has turned into quite a happy baby! She loves to flop her head backwards from her perch in the Ergo carrier on my chest to beg for kisses from her daddy-- then does it another ten times in a row. She laughs easily and sometimes cracks herself up all by herself playing with a book. She's a good stander now, but always breaks the stand by collapsing in my arms for a hug. We know that everyone says that real bonding happens once you get home, but we think we are off to a pretty good start.

Touring in Jiangxi

Pictures now, words coming in an hour or two. . .

In the Playroom

We spent 2 1/2 hours in the playroom today, and for every minute of that time Phoebe was walking around the room with our fingers in her hands. I learned from her foster care documents that she was a champ in the wheeled walker, and you can tell. She stands with perfect balance, and then thrusts her body forward to walk with complete lack of control and disregard for balance. She also jumps up and down in place, sometimes on her tip-toes, and stomps her feet one at a time in rapid succession. Amazingly, in our time in the playroom she really progressed, right there in front of our eyes. She learned to stand! As long as she is distracted by something engaging, and therefore not wanting to collapse in her mama's arms for a hug, she can stand for a good 15 or 20 seconds. She even took two steps into my arms! Our backs are aching from leaning down with our fingers to walk with her, but it is worth it, so worth it.

Not everyone is having as easy of a time of things. Most people are facing the usual adjustments: a baby who goes only to one parent and screams if the other approaches, hunger strikes, emotional detachment, fevers, ear infections, lower extremity muscle wasting, severe motor delays. For those families, it is so encouraging that there are several families traveling with us whose older children were adopted from China as well. One family has the most charming and bright five year old, who has really captured my heart. Their story of her first two weeks with them in China is one of the most concerning I've heard. It's a nice reminder that happy endings are the most common outcome for these kids who come to their "forever families" with so many strikes against them.

Phoebe still cries "jie-jie" when she gets sleepy or sad-- and woke up shrieking just now, an hour after I put her to bed. Those moments are reminders to us that she had a life before we came into it. In spite of her apparent ease at joining us, she is still undergoing a tremendous transition. She's been through so many transitions: from her birth mother, to the orphanage, to foster care, and now to us. When she wakes of shrieking, I tell her, "Phoebe, we are here. We are with you forever. We will never leave you, Phoebe. You are safe."

Jet lagged in Beijing

You can't imagine the itinerary yesterday! There we were, two buses full of jet lagged American families following their guides instructions to the T, as in "You have 10 minutes here, then meet me back here," and "It is time to use the bathroom."

We started in Tian'an men Square, a huge expanse of concrete that holds 500,000 people, where people line up for hours for the chance to file quickly by the embalmed body of Chairman Mao. Then on to the forbidden city, with enormous gates and plazas, full of thousands and thousands of people, finally getting to a lovely courtyard where the concubines' bedroom was the most elegant and tasteful place of all. We walked three miles on that tour in 90+ degree heat and sun. Then a stop for lunch before getting to the Great Wall, where we climbed up up up remarkably steep steps. How is it that the astronauts can see it from space when it is just six feet wide at places? Back on the bus, with a stop for a photo shoot from the distance of Bird's Nest Olympic stadium. Then a one hour break to grab dinner and shower before heading to a Chinese acrobat show, where the ten-women-on-a-bike routine and the tap-dancing juggler where particularly impressive. You can imagine the silence on the bus, 9:00 p.m., upon return. That was one tired crowd.

The schedule says that today the group splits up and heads to all the different provinces where the babies are. Surprise news yesterday: The babies are coming TODAY! By tonight, Phoebe will be in our care. I wonder where she is this morning, and if she has any sense for the change she is about to go through.

Time to pack the diaper bag!

Day two

[ this is Mark, but I'm actually sure you'll be able to tell ]

Beijing sightseeing today and not much else. We walked through the upscale shopping district (uh, fabulous). The Summer Palace and its 200-acre lake. Also, quite an impressive bell we saw. We'll spare you the obligatory picture of us in a rickshaw. More sightseeing tomorrow, then down to Jiangxi Province to meet Phoebe. All well.