I Knew That!

Advice from experienced moms who have BTDT is always valuable! I appreciate the suggestions to "get out into the fresh air and sunlight." Once I read the first comment about getting outside, I did a "V-8" and said "Iknew that"! So, this AM once everyone re-woke up, we went to Kohls and Walmart. It was a little rainy, but it felt good to do something. When we came home we brought in the little slide that S and L use to climb onto the trampoline. Ally loved it! She was a little unsure of what to do, but laughed and laughed once she got it! She held onto fingers each time she slid. She also likes to spin in the chair.

Another thing that I finally figured out, is that most likely her fever was due to teething. It's been a long time since I've thought of that as a side-effect of teething. She does grind her teeth and had her fingers in her mouth apparently rubbing her gums. Duh! I'll blame it on sleep deprivation.

We are missing daddy, but look forward to him coming home tomorrow night. I know he must be so tired, but he took the advice of my wise friends and spent lots of time outside (he didn't really have a choice, but oh well!).

Ally and I took good naps today, so hopefully, we'll improve a little tonight. (Which it did. I wrote this yesterday, Saturday, and she slept from 8 PM to 4:30 AM - not all the way through, but no 4 hour play dates at midnight!).

Pics from Last Day in China!

Here are a few from the hotel and the airport/planes. Notice in the pic of the monitor, that our plane was near the North Pole (just click on the pic to make it bigger)!

After Midnight

Yep, we're all 4 up! And it's 1:20 AM. This is just so hard. Ally slept from 9 - 11:30 PM. She woke up crying inconsolably and that woke up S and L. We tried a stroller ride up and down our front sidewalk and driveway, but that didn't seem to do the trick. She is now passing her board books back and forth to her sisters.

I'm not quite sure who this little girl is. Ally is still very shy around "new" people (hiding her eyes with her arm), but is getting comfortable with us. This occasionally comes in the form of hitting us and laughing. It's so hard to know how to handle this. She particularly does it to Sara. We are now just trying to say "no" while looking at her. Then we try to show her how to touch nicely and softly. She just laughs at us. She has begun banging things on the coffee table and looking at me. Also, she is throwing things like toys and books. I think she knows that she shouldn't be doing it, but she does it with anything she can find. I know, I know, 2 year olds are universal. But in a way, they aren't. Typical 2 year olds have had the same rules and boundaries from day one. It would be very different if she had grown up here for the last 2 years, but we really have no idea of what she has done in her first 2 years. Was she disciplined? Was it a "survivors world"? I would imagine so.

(She just walked over to me and yelled right at me, "Ma Ma" and walked away. Not sure if that is what she meant, but that's what came out.)

She was probably the smallest child in her group, so maybe she had to be tough. Maybe she had to stand up for herself and defend herself. I have no idea how much the past two weeks (almost) have rattled her. She did have a slight fever last night and yesterday, so I know she was a little grumpy because of that.

It is so hard during the "wait" to keep things in perspective. It's easy to get caught up in the clothes, toys, room decor; and it's easy to forget the trauma you will have to help her deal with after coming home. Not that she is doing badly, it's just so hard when everyone is so tired.

She does continue to smile and giggle with us, more and more. That is just the cutest thing. She really will chuckle!

We need to get outside and do something tomorrow (well, technically, later this morning!). I wish Kohl's was having a round the clock sale! I seriously thought about going to Walmart - 24 hours! I've got to get her a dresser for her clothes. I also need to sort out the things we got that are for next summer.

She is terrified of the cats. Snoopie was innocently sitting in a chair on the back deck and when Ally saw him thru the back door she just screamed and ran. The cats haven't done anything to hurt her, although, Sadie did jump onto the sofa and that scared her. I doubt she had seen or touched any animals.

There was one thing that she did today that made me think she is communicating with us. She stood in the kitchen looking at me and saying the same thing (I'm guessing in baby Chinese) over and over. A few minutes later, I checked her diaper and she needed changing. SO, my conclusion is that she was either telling me that she needed to "go" or that she had already "gone." I'll try to pay attention to her babbling a little more!

We Made It HOME!

After 30 hours of travelling, we made it back to home! Our flight left Guangzhou at approximately 9 AM and flew to Beijing. We had a layover there and left for Newark around 4:00. That was the LONG flight, but thanks to some fortunate seats (bulk head) we had lots of floor space and they bolted a basinette to the wall in front of us and Ally slept about 9 of the 12 hours! She was great. I didn't sleep too much because I was worried she would fall out, because she barely fit in there! Sara slept about 5 hours (good for her) and Lauren slept about 7. Daddy slept on and off for maybe 7. So we are trying to get back to our new "normal"! We aren't sure what that means yet.

When we arrived in Atl (after a little bit of a fussy trip from Newark), we were greeted by my mom, sister, neice, friends (Hills and Troys)! It was so nice to see everyone - we made quite a scene in the baggage claim area, but it sure was fun!

I'll post more on our new family at home in the next day or so! Pretty tired and need to sleep when they sleep! Daddy left for band camp this afternoon, so he was pretty bummed to leave!

Red Couch Disaster!!

The Shaanxi Girls - Mia, Ally, Phoebe

Zi trying to sneak a kiss to reluctant Ally.

Our group from Hope for Children.

Our "happy" family!

Hope mommies of Trent, Greer, Zi, Ally.

Ally "patty caking" with Sara. Happy before she was plopped on that red couch!

Red Couch Disaster – It is a tradition for all of the families in a group to have a photo taken on the “red couch” (there are about 6 couches) toward the end of their stay here at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou. So, this morning we met with the 3 other families from Hope for Children for our photo. As you can see, this is no easy feat! Ally was not happy at all. She was incredibly cute in her traditional hot pink Chinese dress (especially with all of those boys)! We tried just the kids, then moms and kids, dads and kids, then siblings with kids, etc. In the kids only pic are: Trent, Greer, Zee, Ally.

We also did a few pics of the girls that were from the Shaanxi province that we met in Xi’an. That was a little better, but not much (at least for Ally). She was either crying or hiding behind her hand (“Rhett, I feel faint”!). I would have loved for her to sit there with her precious little smile, but oh well – it’s a memory! In the kids only pic are: Mia, Ally, Phoebe.

Ally and I spent a little time in the playroom (while letting big sisters have some “time” apart – if you know what I mean) here at the hotel. She sat quietly and put some of the big chunky Legos together. She looked and smiled at the other children, but wasn’t interested in playing with them. At least she didn’t stand in the corner! When it was time to come back to the room, she walked the whole way without holding my hand. She was a little unsure of the elevator, but did OK. She needed to play and walk since she was either in her stroller or being held most of yesterday.

Our US Consulate appointment is today. All 4 families from Hope will go together. Doug is going to take a taxi to McD’s and bring back lunch for us and the Burkes. Ally is currently taking a nap in her crib in our dark hotel room as I “blog”! No real big plans for tonight. I hope to take all of the girls to the pool after the appointment and then one last dinner. We have already started to pack up. Our luggage has to be ready at 5’ish AM tomorrow. So, as those of you at home are sitting down to dinner (on GA Tuesday night), please say a prayer for our safe travels and for our family to be “happy travelers” as we fly!).

Last post – We made it successfully through our Consulate appt! We stood and swore with a lot of other families that our info was accurate and we would always love and protect our child. It was a very important step. Ally got her US immigrant Visa and permission to leave China as our DAUGHTER!!!! We leave our hotel at 6:10 AM, so we are signing off from China (unless we can get free internet at the Beijing airport and have time!). Thanks for all the support and love and prayers! We appreciate all of you that have “joined” our incredible journey.

One More DAY!!

Ally the Ostrich – She had a “sad” day yesterday (Monday). We saw only a few smiles, but still got lots of kisses. She would at times, get very quiet and then just start crying and pushing away or want to stand alone in a corner with her back to us. She also was quite a little “collector” yesterday. She held 4 granola/fruit bars (in wrappers) and tried to stand in a corner behind a table lamp. She had a hard time holding all of them and would occasionally drop one, but it was hard to pick it up! Ally will most always look at Sara and Lauren, but will still shy away from making eye contact with us. She will put her hand and arm over her eyes (palm out and thumb down) as if she is “feeling faint”. The cute thing is that she will peek through her fingers to see if we are still looking at her, then she will close her eyes. That’s why we called her Ally the Ostrich – if I can’t see you, you can’t see me.

We had quite an adventure for dinner last night with the Burke family. We have enjoyed out time here with them, as we have a lot in common with them. Their 2 daughters (Hannah – 14, and Abby – 11) have played with our big girls a lot. We have shopped and gone to the pool. The best part is that they live in Lawrenceville, too. So, we ventured out with them for some Chinese together last night (after a day of shopping in the pearl and jade markets) to a restaurant a little off the main drag from our hotel. Let the party begin! We got the menu and ordered (or at least we think we did). We tried to ask them to give us 2 checks, but gave up on that idea and decided just to split the check. Anyway, we managed to order, despite the fact that they told us “no” on several of our first selections. Most of the Burke’s food came, but none of ours. We had decided to share everything anyway (family style), so we all ate some of everything. The funny thing was that they would bring one entrée and it would be another 5 minutes or so until another entrée would arrive. But once we had with them. Their 2 daughters (Hannah – 14, and Abby – 11) have played with our big girls a lot. We have shopped and gone to the pool. The best part is that they live in Lawrenceville, too. So, we ventured out with them for some Chinese together last night (after a day of shopping in the pearl and jade markets) to a restaurant a little off the main drag from our hotel. Let the party begin! We got the menu and ordered (or at least we think we did). We tried to ask them to give us 2 checks, but gave up on that idea and decided just to split the check. Anyway, we managed to order, despite the fact that they told us “no” on several of our first selections. Most of the Burke’s food came, but none of ours. We had decided to share everything anyway (family style), so we all ate some of everything. The funny thing was that they would bring one entrée and it would be another 5 minutes or so until another entrée would arrive. But once we had 3 or 4 of their entrees, the food stopped coming. We finally (after several attempts) got most everything we ordered. In the mean time, Lauren and Abby were playing chop-stick glass clash and their son, Zee, got a little crazy. Lauren dropped her plate on the tile floor and it shattered. Just as we got that picked up, Ally dropped her ceramic soup spoon on the floor and it shattered. I know – don’t give a 2 year old a ceramic soup spoon – point taken! Something we will laugh about! Anyway, since Ally and Zee are very close on their birthdays (Aug 7 and Aug 8) we decided to meet them for dinner to celebrate – at LaCazuela! We’ve had enough Chinese, and are ready for some chips and salsa!

So, we were zapped yesterday, but that couldn’t stop Amanda (mom Burke), the 4 big girls and I from getting a little more shopping in! The daddies put the little ones to bed and called it a night around 9 PM. I’m about shopped out, but may grab up a few extra sun dresses for next summer for Ally. They are cute and cheap (about $3 - $5 each). I’m sure they are “knock-off” brand names, but who cares?

She also did better in the pool yesterday. She and I got in and she splashed and kicked. Since she only napped in her stroller, she was tired/sad/fussy on and off all day.

Sara and Lauren have been having a little difficulty with each other. They both want to hold Ally all the time and get into this “you held her last, it’s my turn” stuff. Then they get mad and “it’s not fair”. I know they are tired too, as are we! We are ready to come home and make this little girl a US citizen!

How Do You Like this Smile?

Our sight-seeing began at a Buddist temple/pagoda and then to an academy(?). We saw a monk ceremony involving several containers of different types of fish – I have no idea what that was all about. Lots of chanting and incense. It is incredibly hot here in southern China.

Shopping! We did a good bit today here near the White Swan Hotel – it’s all within walking distance, which is nice. We tried the pool again and got a little closer to Ally actually getting in the water! She sat in my lap most of the time on the edge with her feet in the water. She loved splashing the water at Sara and Lauren – that made her laugh and smile. Daddy tried holding her in the pool, but she preferred sitting in my lap and kicking her feet.

Let’s see, Doug made a “friend” named Belinda at a store that sold golf equipment. Let’s just say, that I know why she calls him “handsome man with 1 beautiful queen and 3 beautiful princesses”! Everytime we walk by her store, she shouts out, “Hello, Doug”! He took her an ice cream tonight – really funny!

Ally continues to do well. She is beginning to “test” us a tiny bit and try to get her way. She is a happy little girl, and so beautiful. I can’t remember if I mentioned this earlier, but all of the children are “special needs” for some reason or another. I think there are only about 30 or 40 families here right now, which is much fewer than usual. It’s amazing to see the families – some large, some first children.

We learned (from Sally) how to say “nose” in Chinese, so S and L have taught Ally to “show us your beedza” and she will either touch or stick her finger in her nose and smile! We’ll have to work on that one. She is just as cute as can be.

The neatest thing to me has been how Doug enjoys her so much. Some of you who know us well, know that he was a little slow to warm-up to the whole adoption idea. Just yesterday, he looked at me and thanked me for not giving up on him. This little girl just melts his heart and I’m just so glad he is thrilled to have her and to be a daddy again. It’s just so special. I sure do wish that my daddy had lived to see our three girls – he would have just been crazy about them! I also wish that Doug’s dad had lived to meet Ally – he adored Sara and Lauren and were so happy to hear that we were adopting. I’m sure they are smiling down on us!

Our lunch today was our least favorite – Hunan family style. The girls and I hardly ate anything and I’m kinda glad, because there are a few in our group that aren’t feeling very well today. Not sure if it’s the food. We ate at Lucy’s again tonight for dinner then went shopping again. We got Ally her “red couch outfit” and will do a few pictures on the red couch either tomorrow or Tues.

It’s just hard to believe our time is coming to an end. In a way it seems as if we have been away forever, but in many ways it has gone so quickly. We have the best gift to bring home and can’t wait to show her off to everyone! We are so thankful for this little girl and so glad that Sara and Lauren shared this incredible experience with us.

Ally knows to lift her arms when I say "arms up" and she knows to give us a kiss when we say "cheen". It's so cute!

Welcome to Guangzhou!

We are in Guangzhou at the White Swan. We arrived at midnight (last night) after a flight delay out of Xi’an. Our day yesterday was fairly uneventful, except for all of the smiling our little girl did! She really smiles for Sara and Lauren, a few for daddy and one for mommy. The girls will smell her feet and say “ooh, Ally has stinky feet” and they will make a funny face. She will giggle and smile. It’s just the cutest thing. When we left the hotel, Sally took us to lunch and then to the Xi’an History Museum. It was simply fascinating to see history from over 3000 years ago. Most who know me, know that history is not my favorite, but I had never seen anything like it in the states (obviously)! Our uneventful afternoon and ride to the airport was a memory that I will always cherish. We had to wait around for a long time at the civil affairs office (for her passport). When the officer didn’t come, we had to go to the police station and wait some more. Once we got the passport, we were off to the airport. All this time, as we waited, Sally asked the girls what they wanted to learn to say in Chinese. In Lauren’s usual style, she came up with the most unusual requests! She asked for the Chinese word for gopher (I have no idea where that came from)! Sally didn’t know what that was, so S and L acted it out! She started laughing. The funniest thing was when Lauren asked her how to say “toot” (yes, you know what she means)! Sally, again didn’t know the English word toot, so Lauren had to act it out, by making a sound with her mouth and then acting like it smelled bad! At that point, Sally lost it! She was laughing so hard she couldn’t even talk. She tried several times to say it, but continued to laugh so hard! We hated to say good bye to Sally and to Xi’an, knowing that we were leaving Ally’s birthplace. I had a few tears in my eyes as I told her good bye. Our flight was delayed and they changed the gate. Again, it was eye-opening to have to function without the benefit of understanding the language. Luckily, we made it (we were on the same flight as another family with their new daughter). The flight was fine; Ally was great and it didn’t seem to phase her. Since it was late, she did fall asleep for about an hour on the flight. She laid across S and L’s lap for a while, and when she got a little wiggly, I picked her up. She slept on my shoulder for a little while, but couldn’t get comfy, as she wanted to stretch out. Our flight arrived in Guangzhou at 11 PM and we were all tired. Our new guide, Jophy, was there to pick us up and we were off to the White Swan Hotel. We pretty much went right to bed. Our rooms are next to each other, but not connected. It’s a bit of an inconvenience because the girls both want to sleep in the room with Ally. This morning (Saturday), we enjoyed another big b’fast buffet here at the hotel. The hotel is nice, but the rooms are nothing compared to the Shangri-La in Xi’an (their beds were like the “heavenly beds” at the Westin); these are like boxes and the rooms are small. I think the big attraction to the White Swan is the location (walking distance to shopping), the famous red couch (which was just a red velvet sofa in a small welcome room), the “coming home Barbie” that is given to each family. It is cute, a blonde mom with a Chinese baby (made by Matel). It is nice to see so many families with their new little ones. It appears that all of the adoptive children that are here now are special needs children, and we have seen more boys than we expected. In fact, of the four children in our Hope group, Ally is the only girl! I had to do about an hour or so of paperwork this morning while Daddy and his girls went to the play room (here in the hotel). We then took her to a medical exam where we were once again told that her heart sounded fine, by 3 pediatricians. Every time I hear that, I’m so thankful that our many prayers were answered! Ally really is starting to open up and smile a lot. Sara and Lauren got her to run and play with a ball in there. She just laughed and smiled, giggles even. It was just too cute. So sweet to see her smile and hear her laugh. She still has moments of withdrawing from us, but not like earlier in the week. We joined another Hope family (also from Lawrenceville) for lunch at Lucy’s Diner (American style!). Ally was asleep in her stroller at first, but woke up to help me finish my quesadilla (not quite like home, but good enough!). Again, we had to monitor her intake a little! We did a little shopping and are back in the hotel now, eating a little dinner, and about to get ready for bed. We got a couple of little bi-lingual picture books for Ally. We are trying to get her to share and she is learning. She would hold all 4 books and really think about giving one to Sara and Lauren, but when she saw that they would give it back. She just smiled and handed me a ketchup packet and said something the sounded like “thank you” – of course, that’s what we heard!!! It has just been amazing to see her progress. She is very concerned about keeping all of her “stuff” nearby – whether it’s food or her cup or a toy. Ally started giving each of us KISSES today! What else needs be said about that? Guangzhou looks like a min-Vegas at night. Our view of the river and city is pretty amazing. Maybe I mis-spoke before about the hotel. Other than the rooms, it’s very nice!

Pics from Friday

On the plane from Xi'an to Guangzhou!


Some girls practicing their English on S and L at the airport.



Our family with Sally!

Ally resting in her great big bed - Shangri-La style!

Pizza Hut never tasted so yummy!

Working hard.

Last Morning in Xi'an

We are getting ready to pack up (the laptop too) and go get Ally's passport. Then it's to lunch (who knows what pleasantries await us) and to the airport. We fly out to Guongzhou at 7:30 and land about 2 hours later. I am guessing she will sleep on the plane. We are so glad that she is fine in her stroller!

We tried the pool but didn't make it past the toes before the tears came. She did like to sit on Daddy's lap in the warm pool (I can't call it a hot tub as it wasn't over about 95 degrees). There was a group of children having a lesson in the pool when we arrived, and when they saw us, they all said, "Hello!" They watched the girls swim some laps. When we left, they all said "bye bye" and "it was nice to see you"! They were so cute practicing their English!

The girls are all playing "Ring around the Rosie" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" with her. She has smiled a few times (mostly due to tickling and over-stimulation)! It's sweet to see.

Couple of words of advice for those to come to China soon. Put a washcloth over the faucet as a reminder not to use the tap water for teeth brushing or drinking. Each hotel we have stayed in has provided a bottled water for each guest daily.

We will be late posting (I may write it on the plane and just pop it into blogger once we get into the hotel!) Happy day!

Last Morning in Xi

Next Stop - Packin at Pizza Hut

Before Sally left us for the day, we had her write (in Chinese), "please take us to Pizza Hut" on a card, so that we could give it to the taxi driver. So, after a little stroller lesson from her two favorite teachers, Sara and Lauren, we ventured out into the rainy night. The ride over there was a little nerve-racking, but we made it. The taxi driver let us out on the opposite side of the street, so we had to cross a very busy intersection. No Lights - just whoever gets the biggest bus or smallest taxi in first goes! We decided it was best to blend in with a group of folks who looked like they knew what they were doing. By the time we made it across 4 or 6 (depending on if you count the painted lines on the road or the lines of actual cars), we were laughed at and then congratulated! Tourists - Americans that can't even walk across the street. Sara said she had never been so close to a moving bus!

On to Pizza Hut! We ordered the American Special (pepperoni pan lovers) and it sure did taste good! The restaurant is located in a very upscale mall and looked like a Buckhead restaurant (if you are familiar with Atlanta, you'll know what I mean!). All of the waitors were dressed like pirates. Pirates and pizza, why not? So our pizza came and we ate it all - we even ordered another small American Special. We did a lot of pointing and hoping that we had not ordered 4 pizzas! We weren't sure what we'd get until the food came! Ally had several pieces of the crust that I had cut up for her - she was feeding herself just fine and drinking form a new cup as well.

Three very funny things. First was the salad bar, which we figure, by the size of people's bowls of food, it must have been a "one visit limit". Everyone we saw had heaped on tons of fruit, lettuce and dressing into their bowls. So much food that many people were squishing their bowl down to make more room! They all were "strowing" food everywhere (my sisters will smile!).

The second funny thing was a little boy (younger, but much bigger than Ally) was sitting across from us with a direct line of sight to Doug. Well, as he is sometimes known to do, made a goofy (often interpreted as scary face to little children) face to this little boy. The boy immediately started screaming as loud as possible with total fear in his eyes! His entire family laughed and laughed as Doug attempted to appologize. Finally his mom had to get up and leave to calm him down!

Ally was the source for our last good laugh at Pizza Hut. It took a while for the check to come, so as we sat there, she seemed to be finished eating her dinner. She was pushing around 4 pieces of cut up crust around on her plate. It looked like she was counting them, but we aren't sure. We had ordered ice cream, but the waitress came and managed to tell us that they were out of ice cream (at least that is what we think she said). So, we were waiting for them to fix our bill as Ally moved these 4 pieces of crust around. When we all stood up and I reached for her to lift her out of her high chair, she reached for her plate (cup in other hand) and picked up one of the 4 pieces of crust and put it in her mouth. Before I could move her much farther, pieces 2, 3 and 4 were popped right into her mouth! Packin pizza! We just smiled and hugged her. This behavior and go on for quite a while from what I read, and we are not supposed to discourage it. She will outgrow it in time. I'm just glad that she is with us and no longer had to compete for food or be concerned that she will get enough next time.

So, here we are now back for our last night in the Shangri-La in Xi'an. We don't know if Ally will ever be in "her town" again, but we would like to think that someday we can all visit again. Tomorrow will be another day of Ally's "firsts" with us. We are going to try the pool in the AM. Sally will pick us up at 11:30 to go to lunch and to the Civil Affairs office again to get Ally's Chinese passport. From there we will go to the airport for her first plane ride - going to Guongzhou in southeastern China for her US consulate appointment. It is with very mixed feelngs that we leave Xi'an. It will always hold a special place in my heart, as it is where we finally saw our little girl's beautiful face and her precious smile. I can only look at her in wonder! She is just such a little beauty and we already love her so much. We can't wait for each new day of getting to know her and seeing who she really is. What a precious gift her birth mom gave us. I only wish she could have gotten a glimpse of her baby girl today with her new family. I would hope that she too would have peace in her heart, finally. As we drove in and out of her town today, I couldn't help but wonder as I saw each young woman out in the city, if she might be the one. I'll never know.

By the way, hop-a-long daddy is much better. Still limping and a slightly swolen, but better than expected! Thanks for the kind thoughts. Ally is now riding in her stroller. Sara and Lauren took on that job and treated her like one of our cats - giving her puffs (cereal pieces) as they strolled her down the hall outside of our room. That will be a huge help as we head to the airport tomorrow!

Sorry I have been making everyone cry! I'm crying a few tears myself too. The girls just laugh at me, and I tell them "one day you'll understand 'happy tears'!" Good night for now!

They have warned us of another 4 hour power outage during the night, so we'll see if we are eating b'fast by candle light. Apparently, this is a common occurence!

Afternoon and More Progress

Ally got a good nap (have I mentioned that we just lay her down awake and she goes to sleep?) this afternoon while her big sisters went to the pool. They thought it would be good to see how Ally would look in a swim cap, so here she is!

Ally was a good sport as her sisters got a good laugh out of this one!

Lunch and the Cutest Smile in China!

Here she is! Sara caught the smile at just the right moment! It was a quick smile and the only one quite that big that was given for us! Daddy was doing his famous cheer "Wind Me Up" which he used to do with Sara and Lauren, as well as some of their little friends!

We left the orphanage and drove back to Xi'an. Ally seemed tired and somewhat dazed again. I'm sure she had a lot to process; I know I sure did. Sally asked us if we would like to try her favorite kind of Chinese food, "hot pot." She assured us we would like it, so we took her word for it! It was interesting, and Ally loved it! She had a little bowl of broth that we kept adding rice to and she ate it with her big girl spoon by herself. She just kept scooping up small bites and eating them. Only about 20% of the rice and soup ended up either on her bib, in her chair, or on the floor! She did not seem to be "packing" her lunch as she was feeding herself.

The table had a large pot of boiling broth that the waitress added food to and let it cook. We didn't eat a bunch, but enjoyed and tried to eat a bite of everything. Nothing was too scary! Sara and Lauren have both been such good sports about trying new things and not freaking out (which, if you know Lauren, you'll understand why this is a big deal). Neither of them ate as much as Ally, but they did try, and they used their chopsticks! So far, no tummy aches (about 8 hours ago!).

After finishing her meal (she ate the most she had all week at this meal), we de-riced Ally and she walked a little with the girls. Then she sat in Daddy's lap for a little "wind me up" time! That is when Sara got the best picture taken so far on this trip! Need I say more? We have seen tiny glimpses of a smile a couple of times, which are encouraging, today. It just melted our hearts and we are so glad we can look at that little smile any time now!

Hope Haven was a HAPPY Visit!

Yes - We got a smile! More on that later tonight. Here is what led up to that smile...

(I promise to post more pictures - blogger is acting a little funky and I don't want to loose what I have written!)

It was a rainy morning in much of China. We saw on the news that many parts of Beijing had flooded and many homes had been destroyed. This was heartbreaking in a way that would have never phased me before. Having been there, seen the people, seen their homes and how they live makes hearing of destruction so much more real. It's no longer something that happened so far away.

At breakfast, Ally sat in Daddy's lap and he fed her. We realized that she was "packing"! This is something that children in institutions will do to store food. I guess it's just a survival thing. We knew to expect it, but just still couldn't believe that she was doing it. It's sort of a private joke with our good friends, the Millers, so we laugh about that a lot! He was feeding her a lot, and suddenly we noticed that her mouth was leaking watermelon juice. That's when we realized that she wasn't swallowing! She had a delicious assortment of watermelon, congee, oranges, and bread. What a sight! Her little cheeks were full and so was the inside of her lower lip. After several attempts she finally swallowed a little at a time! I would massage her cheeks, and a little more juice would leak out and she would chew a little more. Yes, this is normal and expected, but humorous none the less!

Sally and the driver picked us up at 9 AM. I had written a short letter to the nannies and I asked Sally to translate it into Chinese; I made a copy so that I could keep one and give one to them. The drive was about an hour to her "suburb", XianYang City. It looked much poorer than the city of Xi'an (although there is poverty here too) and had a distinct odor from a close-by chemical plant. She was whimpering a little as we passed that; I have no idea if she was reminded of something or not. The road was paved, but it was very bumpy and had holes in the road, that our driver made little attempt to avoid! Hold on tight!

We pulled in and the lady officer (that came with her nanny on Sunday to meet us) was there to greet us and direct us to the Hope Haven floor of her orphanage. Sara noticed the sign on the door that said "No Snoking"! We have seen quite a few misspelled English translations! This one was funny! Anyway, as we entered, she said we could visit the nannies and children, as they were in the playroom, but we could not take pictures in the playroom. She said she would bring the 3 other children out to us to see and photograph in the lobby. We agreed.

So, we went thru a little half door swinging gate and put hospital shoe covers (because of the rain, I think). Daddy's ripped a few times - big feet (yes, he is walking better - just a little limp). We went to the right and saw a wall of cubbies with little shoes in each one. Word was spreading quickly to the nannies that Rui Yun had returned with her new family. Nannies started pouring out of everywhere, smiling and eager to see her (and to check us out, I'm sure). Daddy was holding her at this point. We looked into her "sleeping room" and saw her crib that still had her name on it. It was right by the door and there were about 15 cribs in a small room, but no children at the time. As we turned to go out of this room, a nanny tried to get Ally to come to her, and she turned and put her head on Daddy's shoulder, with a little cry. OK -- I can do this...

On down the hall, on the right, we were led into a room labeled "playroom" and there they were - about 18 children in the room with about 4 or 5 nannies. I'm not sure exactly how many nannies took care of this group, because by this time there were about 8 or 9 in the room - all smiling. At first, Ally just looked around the room. Many nannies gathered around her, touching her and smiling. At this point we were behind another half wall that only the nannies could access. We saw the 3 children that we were hoping to see - all right in the room where Ally would have played. Frannie is the little girl in the picture above with Ally. Her family will be travelling soon to get her. They only live about 20 miles from us in Georgia, so these girls will be buddies in the USA! We gave Frannie a picture of her parents and she held it the whole time. We also gave her a laminated pic of Ally for her to remember her by!

All of the children were a little unsure of what was happening. All of the nannies were so excited and we were the new strangers. We had purchased some little toys at the supermarket to give to them and set them on the counter. We had Sally tell them about the toys and they thanked us and put the toys on a shelf. A couple of little boys saw the box of toys on the shelf and decided to try to get them down by reaching for it (the nannies were distracted). They got the corner of the box, and rocked and rocked the box, until it fell on their heads! They didn't cry at all, but it was so cute to see them excited about the new toys. They were watching a DVD of "Stuart Little" in Chinese. One little girl (again, with the nannies distracted), was holding onto a little shelf with her feet on the wall (a little gymnast, I suppose). That was cute!

Ally did go to one of the nannies and put her head on her shoulder, but went right back to Doug. They then asked us if we wanted to come into the play area. They put Ally right down in the middle of the room. We just laughed as several of the children gathered around her. It was like she was a celebrity and they all wanted to touch her. As we often do, we make up what babies and our cats are thinking, so we did this a little... "Hey, Rui Yun, look at you. You got new shoes and a new dress, and look at your pretty new bow. Where have you been?"

Anyway, Ally looked a little unsure of all the attention. She walked over to a corner and sat down near another little girl. They said she liked to do that. We just let her walk around and "visit" while we took several pictures of the other children. Some of them were nervous with us strangers and the camera flashes. We even made a few of them cry. I tried to touch a few of them and they mainly walked away and went to their nannies. One of the ladies went and picked up Ally and got her to smile and even laugh. I just about lost it at that point. Partly, because I saw how happy she could be and how pretty she was when she smiled. Her eyes just lit up. Part of me was a little jealous because she had not seemed that happy since we had gotten her. I totally understand that she was back in her comfort zone. This made me more worried about the inevitible -- time to leave.

One little girl came right up to Ally and gave her a hug; Ally gave her a kiss (at least it looked like it). That was adorable. Another little girl came over to her and pointed to / touched Ally's hairbow; Ally didn't seem to get mad at her, but she smacked her hand. A little spunk afterall - a sign of things to come!

The nannies told us that she can totally feed herself very well. That little manipulator! We have been feeding her all along... Oh well.

When the time did come to leave (we were in there about 20 minutes), she did come to us just fine without a tear. They gave her the little monkey beanie baby as we left. We tried to return it, but they insisted that she keep it. We did not video any of our visit, as they were reluctant to let us take pictures. We tried to be very observant about the whole experience. Writing it down will hopefully help us remember this day. Our little girl was so brave once again. We are so happy that we went. The facility wasn't the nicest place by US standards - kind of run down and old. But that isn't matters. The ladies loved the children and they were happy. Their clothes and toys were old and somewhat battered. This too was hard to see. I just wanted to grab them and say, "I'm sure we could find them all a home!" I want to send them DVD's, small toys, beanie babys and clothes. If any of you want to "contribute", I'll mail them in a package! I'm so serious.

Today was life changing in so many ways! More to come on our lunch and that adorable little smile!

What if We Had Missed This?

This is something that I distinctly remember Steven Curtis Chapman saying in a video interview he did on adoption. I think his words were, "and to think, I almost missed this." He was referring to his first (of 3) adopted daughters from China. As Ally sat on the bed tonight, more interested (for the first time) in her toys than the video we have watched together each night, I had that same thought. What if we had not done this? Where would she be now? How much would we have missed out on? What an incredible blessing we would have missed. I know another family would have "swept her up" quickly, so we would have been the ones to miss out. I remember about 2 years ago, when I finally let myself seriously consider doing this (after years of reasoning out of it), and, even then, how many times I talked myself out of it, because it wasn't "practical" for our family. So many reasons not to adopt, but now that we have her, I can't seem to make sense of any of those reasons!

So what if it was expensive?

So what if it took what seemed like forever?

So what if it meant another college tuition and wedding?

So what if we are too old to "start over"?

So what if we had gotten rid of all of our baby stuff?

So what if we might get sick in China?

So what if...etc?

Yes, she is beautiful. I am so encouraged just tonight with her progress. It is slight, but any progress seems monumental. For the last few days, she has just been sort of "here", not really doing anything much - in a daze, I guess. I'm sure that is part of her coping mechanism kicking in, and that she is scared and in shock and grieving her loss. Yes, it's hard to watch her "get sad" for no apparent reason and turn her head from us. It's very hard; but I can't imagine how hard it is for this tiny,tiny person. She has been through so much in her little life, and especially in the last 3 days. Today we bought some toys at the supermarket, and at first I thought they were too babyish - rattles and plastic toys to hold and shake. Just before bed, she was sitting on our bed with us (S and L are in their room) and she was shaking them and examining them. One of the toys is a cylinder with a ball inside that she can see and touch, but the ball won't come out. This has not outwardly frustrated her, but she has "worked" on getting that ball out all evening. Also, in the van today, she touched and played with my bracelet for several minutes - turning it and pinching each little bead. May not sound like much to most folks, but it was great to see just that little bit of interest and interaction. She shook the little Advil container and tried to use it to get the ball out of the cylinder. I wanted to put her in her GT shirt that we brought her for that picture, especially when she tried to use the camera cord to get the ball out! A little future engineer. One other little tiny thing that we noticed as she sat in my lap at the desk while I typed my last entry, is that she was using her toes to clank the drawer pull - also, I heard a few little noises from her then. That is the first noise (other than crying) she has made while I (of any of us) was holding her. It was quite and not much, but I'll take it. Am I grasping at straws? Maybe. We are trying to be very observant, that's all!

We tried to put her Minnie Mouse sunglasses on her that Miss Randi, Brittani and Shelbi brought her from Disney, but her nose is too tiny to hold up the glasses!!!! It was quite funny - does it sound like we are playing dress up? I think it does.

She is such a sweet little girl. She will put her arms around your neck and put her head on your shoulder. Maybe she doesn't want to look at you, but it is sweet none the less! She doesn't totally avoid looking at us, only on occasion.

I'm a bit worried about tomorrow, for Ally's sake, as well as for S and L. And D, for that matter! You see? I'm a worrier (from what I hear, Doug made that clear in his previous post)!!! S and L do not want us to take her, they fear she will be too sad and cry when we have to leave. Anyway, I don't know how it will be to actually see/visit her orphanage - to imagine the August night (probably) when her birth mommy left her at the door; to see the nannies who loved her and cared for her for almost 2 years, and to see her friends who are waiting for their families to come soon or someday. I'll probably be the one who cracks and they will all be fine -- that will be OK with me! I don't want a set back in the progress she has made. It's a hard call, but I am pretty sure we will all go.

So, it's time again for us to call it a night. Our day was less eventful than the last two and we spent most of the afternoon and all evening in the hotel (hurt daddy and rain kept us close by). Very happy to have power and AC! Sally just laughs at us, and she will say "it has air conditioning inside" - as a real perk! She has been so wonderful. Very flexible and accommodating. It helps that our family is her entire group this week. All we have tomorrow is the orphanage visit, and maybe a trip to the crutches store (he is actually telling me he is better, so we'll see).

I am so excited to see the comments and we all enjoy reading them. Doug asked me to read them out loud, since he is an invalid (I reminded him that can be pronounced 2 ways!). I can barely make it through without crying a litte when I read the sweet things that you people say. Some laughing as well, which is good! I'm so glad to have this connection to home. It has made everything much more fun. We look forward to seeing the comments every day. I have been a blog addict for a little over a year. I have more adoption blogs in my favorites than anything else! I'm usually a blog stalker and only comment on people I know personally. Believe me, I have cried my share of tears reading the accounts of families who travel to China to get their daughters! Many of them people I don't even know, and only a few of people I do know! My friend Debbie encouraged me to start this blog and I'm so glad I have this documentation of our journey to Ally. (I am in a blog withdrawl - not only can I not see my own posts, I cannot read any of my favs!)

A man we met along the adoption way said, "everybody has their own adoption story" and we are so glad you are allowing us to share our story with you! I can't even imagine "if we had missed this." Yes, it has been hard in many ways, but in the end, none of those details matter!

Pics from the Day