July 26th, 2011: Picture Day

Today, we meandered through the shops, had one last get together with our travel group at Lucy's, surrounded by all that is stereotypical America - James Dean and Marylin Monroe, Elvis, and...Alf? Posters and framed pictures dress the walls attempting to create an at home feeling for the westerners who stop through for a few days. A menu that covers a myriad of choices from french fries and burgers to pasta to a more Asian fare meets everyone's fancy. It is good to be together as a group again. We have shared a great deal of incredible moments over the last week and now it feels like we have known one another so much longer than that. Each of the little girls is changing so much. Morgan sits at the table with a huge grin while playfully wearing Chris's hat. Stella is eating...everything in sight and giving orders around the table. And little Jenna is a mama's girl through and through....it is so sweet to see how in love she is with her mama. Emma is sleeping....She is still sleeping most of the time with little spurts of time awake.

We end our days' outing bargaining for 7 dresses that match for our little babies and their big sisters. Today is the red couch day and how cute will these Jie Jies and Mei Mei's be? Pretty cute.

We enjoy our afternoon of wandering about from shop to shop and visiting some of the charity organizations' places along the park. But I am distracted. A good kind of distraction. Emma wraps me into her little world and I am happy to just be with her, doing nothing in particular.


Already, she has changed. She watches and her eyes focus on faces more now. Her aspirating is improving slowly and she smiles so much, especially when she looks into her sister's face. She is so, so joyful. She may struggle with following movement with her eyes or focus on objects, but when she looks into my face...she looks so deeply as if there is nothing or no one else in all the world. I love that. I am drawn right into those beautiful dark eyes and everything is right with the world.

The Consulate ~ Congratulations, Emma!

The big day all our months and years of I171H renewals have finally brought us to. The visa and subsequent citizenship of our little Emma. With our paperwork in hand and Emma and backpack readied, we head out to the US consulate for our appointment to approve our adoption, visa for Emma and approval for her citizenship to be granted upon landing in the US.

Nina, Ellie and Gracie stay with Rose and Audrey while we take our little ones for their visit to the consulate.

We gather in the room where an American flag hangs in front and a row of windows with officers of the consulate sitting on the other side peruse families' paperwork. We wait and finally are called to stand and take the oath that we will care for, love and never abandon our new little ones. And then, we are congratulated and there are claps and cheers. This is our final step. After each family is interviewed, we slowly leave the room. We are nearly the last to leave and we leave with a sigh of relief. We are finished. It is official. Now, we await our visas that will be processed and delivered to us in a day or so.

All that is left is to enjoy Guangzhou, relax and soak in more of life with Emma. We head back to the White Swan to find the girls have had a lovely morning out at the pool with Auntie Rose and Audrey. How grateful we are for them. They have been an enormous help and support to us and the other families with us.

And now, we relax and just soak in the rest of our time here.



Pictures from our day:

Touring Gunagzhou

Guangzhou has grown. It is quite a city...much bigger than NYC in both size and population. Today, we head out with Jason and Maggie for a bit of exploring of the city. A tour of an art and craft museum and a visit to a local temple are on our agenda.


Our first stop takes us to the temple where prayers are being given up throughout.

A monk offers up a prayer on behalf of the children. Emma, like every day, sleeps most of the time with little bits awake for a bottle or a bit of reassurance.


The heat is sweltering and Emma doesn't respond well to it. The baby ergo is set aside and the stroller we purchased earlier in one of the many baby friendly shops on Shamian Island is a welcomed help.

We move from exhibit to exhibit taking in the intricate craftsmanship from carvings to paintings to silk embroidery and then we stop and rest by the giant fans and again under trees that bring a welcomed shade.


The heat exhausts us all and I am ready to get Emma back to the hotel for a quiet rest this afternoon while the girls swim with Audrey and Rose. As I have been everyday, I am grateful for my sweet sister and cousin.

Health Clinic

The morning began early with Emma awaking and quietly moving and gurgling in her crib beside me. Like each morning since Emma entered our world, the ordinary and extraordinary intersect. A quiet morning, sun rising, baby awaking, a hot bottle all ordinary everyday routine...this incredible gift, this little sweet one in our lives now- her life and ours so changed. This is the extraordinary. Life with Emma has been just under a week and her progress astounds me. I go about fixing her bottle with only sounds Emma's moving patiently about in her crib and the tinkering and soft whistling of the water boiling for her bottle.

We snuggle up in the chair beside the window for her morning bottle. Like every morning since the day she entered our lives, she stares deeply into my eyes while I feed her with one hand on my arm patting it while she drinks. That she looks into my face so deeply is another of the extraordinary things. Her eyesight so weak and her inability to focus or move her eyes to people and objects hint to her sight challenges. But when you are holding her and she sees your face...your eyes, hers focus with all their energy and without distraction on your face...and make you feel like nothing or no one else exists to her in that moment. This morning, we share another of those moments as she finishes her bottle. I hold her up and soothe her to help the aspirating and watch as the sun slowly turns a dark sky into morning grey that casts a soft early light across the river where the morning boats head out to sea.

Today, we head to the health clinic where it is wall to wall adoptive families with their little ones awaiting their turn to have go through the various checks by doctors. We see three different doctors completing a series of test and exams. After a long morning, we head out for a walking along the gardens and a stop at the Starbucks for scones. We sit out in the courtyard, watching families walking back from the visits to the clinic and we munch on Guangzhou's version of a scone while catching up on our email and blogging. Still a bit of a difficulty here. There is a sense of relief that the health exam is behind us and we have only one more big appointment to go...the consulate. For now, we relax and move slowly as the heat is sweltering.



Nina and Gracie hang out at their own table sipping smoothies and chatting. How wonderful they are able to share this experience together. And how surreal to see them here in this place, experiencing it from a different perspective.

We are off for a nap and a rest until our much anticipated dinner this evening.

Guangzhou

Oh, Guangzhou. We have missed you. We arrive to Guanzhou late in the evening after an interesting flight from Changsha. Our tickets for the flight had our families and children scattered throughout the plane. The dads played a game of rummy with the tickets attempting to get some tickets somewhat near each other.

First flight with new babies completed, we meet Maggie, our Guangzhou coordinator and guide. She assisted us with our first journey 7 years ago and after a long day of travel it was a relief to finally see her and her signature smiling face. Maggie and Jason are the wonder team here with their daily newsletters that include the weather, schedule and upcoming tours or sage advice in all things Guangzhou.

We arrive at the White Swan on the Shamian Island, a adoption friendly little island where adoptive families stay, complete their paperwork and doctor's visit and eat at the best Thai restaurant anywhere outside of Thailand (and Mee Thai in Brooklyn) and Lucy's, a place for all things considered stereotypically American. And of course, shop - shop at about 20 different shops stuffed with squeeky shoes, faux hangbags, baby clothes, artwork, and trinkets for baby and mama.

Beautiful gardens of flowers, ornamental bushes, fountains, and statues of children grace the islands center thoroughfare where couples pose for pictures and children play among the statues and fountains. It is a beautiful place to enjoy for a few days with our little ones.

The White Swan looks exactly like it did 7 years ago with ornate jade carvings and statues decorating the lobbies that surround a waterfall oasis in its center. The Matel baby playroom designed for adoptive families is filled with a few less little ones as adoption isn't as frequently filling the hotel. It is beautiful here. I am reminded of that as we guide our sleepy little group of travelers to our new rooms. Our travel group is spread about on two different floors and the days of hanging out with our room doors open and our girls in their own room is over. We fall into bed with Jason and Maggie's newsletter reporting all the appointments for the following day. Pictures for their visas and a visit to the health clinic promise to make for a long morning.

But for tonight, we rest in our new home for 4 days. I am happy to be here. And sad. I already miss the time in my daughters' province. But I am looking forward to strolling my way to that delicious Thai cuisine down the avenue.

Emma sleeps softly in her new crib. Another change in environment and surroundings. But the important part remains the same...her family. And tomorrow morning, we will return to our routine of a hot bottle and a quiet cuddle with a new view of a new place.

Goodnight from Guanzhou.