Adjusting

This may not be a sunshine and rainbows adoption post.  So if that's what you're looking for, you may want to stop reading.  This will definitely be a reality check post!

We had 1 week of our routine before the Christmas craziness hit.  Kenzi had a great first appointment with our pediatrician.  She goes back to see him next week to get the results of some lab work he ran.  Her appointment with the cleft clinic is January 17th.  We will have a better idea at that point of what surgeries we're looking at to repair her lip and palate.

Christmas was great!!!!!!  The kids all got a TON of stuff.  The day after Christmas, we cleaned up and organized all the toys so that we could fit all the new stuff.  We put together boxes to donate and some toys to just put away for a while.

This week, we've all been stuck at home for various reasons ......... the weather was bad at the beginning of the week, Jacinda has had a cold, Luke and Kenzi have been coughing, and I have had pinkeye .... in both eyes.  Oh, and Kenzi screams her head off any time she's in the car anyway.  So we're all going a bit stir crazy this week.  School starts back up next Tuesday and we're all ready to get back to a routine.

Adjusting ........ I won't lie, it hasn't been easy for any of us.  Luke has been great, though!  He has settled nicely into having another little sister.  He's been such a big help and Kenzi ADORES him!

Jacinda - She has had a very hard time sharing her mama. Plus, she's had a cold, so that isn't helping any.  Her birthday is in a few weeks, so I'm hoping that we can focus on her then and maybe that will help.

Kenzi - She still wants me to hold her most of the day.  She is getting down and playing with Luke and Jacinda a little more every day.  She snuggled with her Daddy for a few minutes today ..... she initiated it, so I'm hoping it's the beginning of her deciding he's one of the good guys!

I've forgotten what it was like having an 18 month old in the house.  Our house is not baby proofed any more and Kenzi is exploring by putting things in her mouth.  Luke and Jacinda never really did that.  Also, I had gotten used to being able to have a few minutes to myself during the day to take a shower or read a book or whatever.  Not any more!  If I want to take a shower, I need to get up earlier than Kenzi.  Or, I have a water sling I can use to have her in the shower with me.

We've had a few friends bring us meals and that has been so wonderful!  This adoption stuff is not easy.  I thought I was prepared for it, but I don't think you can really be prepared.  But we're trucking through and know that everything will be fine.

I do believe that this is all an attack from Satan .... all the craziness that has happened since we've been home - leaking water in the dining room ceiling (which is now fixed), sickness, crack in the windshield of the van, on and on and on.  He doesn't really care for families being created and good things happening out of bad things (the good thing being Kenzi having a family, the bad thing being her birth family not being able to keep her.

I take comfort in Ephesians 2:10, which says:  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  I know that God has prepared us for this and that everything will work out exactly as it is supposed to.


And now, I leave you with a few pictures!


Kenzi's first trip to our favorite frozen yogurt place!

Christmas morning.  Happy girl!!!

My mom opening her Christmas present.  A better pic of the gift is below.

Luke with his new robot.

Jacinda with her "new"dollhouse.  It was her Grammy's dollhouse!!!

China Travel Tips

Here are some of our tips for your adoption trip to China:

• Pack everything in plastic baggies and bring extras in all sizes.  We used them for everything.  Also, bring a Sharpie so you can label them.  I labeled some like this:  Toiletries - Suitcase, Liquids - Carryon.  That way, you don't have to remember what goes where.
• Speaking of liquids, there are NO liquids allowed in carryons on in-China flights.
• There is a strict weight limit on checked bags for the in-China flights.  If your bag is overweight, your guide can explain to the airline employees why and you might not have to pay.  But the fee is pretty small.
• Sizes of clothes for baby - don't bring too many of one size.  The weights we had received for Kenzi were all over the place, so I assumed she would be the size of Jacinda when we brought her home.  Jacinda was 21 months and wore 12 month sizes, so since Kenzi was 18 months, I assumed 12 months would be a good size to bring.  Everything I brought in 12 month sizes was way too small!  You will be able to buy clothes in China.  They may not be the colors or patterns you'd prefer.  Also,  bring things like leggings and long shirts or dresses.  Sizes are a bit more forgiving for those.  Bring things you can mix and match.
• If you need to buy an extra suitcase in China, wait until you get to Guanzghou and buy it on Shamian Island.  We bought a huge suitcase there for around $20, and we didn't bargain much .... we could have gotten it a little cheaper than that.
• If your kiddo has an unprepared cleft lip/palate, bring more bibs and burp cloths than you think you'll need!!  I brought about 10 bibs and wished I had 10 more.  We went through 4 bibs a day!!!!
• Constipation - This is a common issue in newly adopted kids.  Between the stress and the new foods they are eating, we've experienced it with both kids.  Kenzi wanted nothing to do with the baby food prunes we brought.  In China, you can get Baby Enemas.  Or bring something with you, like glycerin suppositories.
• Packing clothes - pack an extra change of clothes for everyone in your carryon.  Also, divide up your clothes between your suitcases.  That way, if 1 suitcase gets lost, everyone has at least something to wear!
• Space bags!!!!!  Get the ones you can roll the air out of, not the vacuum ones.  But be careful .... they get you more space, but it's easy to get your luggage overweight!

Any questions about travel, just ask!!!

Home Sweet Home!

On Thursday afternoon, we picked up Kenzi's visa, and then boarded a train for Hong Kong.  We spent the night at the airport hotel in Hong Kong.  Friday morning, we started the long flight home.  We flew 14 hours to Detroit.  Kenzi was a champ on the flight.  The last few hours, she got a little fussy, but we all were by then!!!

There was a family from our travel group in the row in front of us, and that was fun to have people to talk to.  Their son also did great on the flight, which may or may not have had something to do with Benadryl :)

While we were standing in line at U.S. Immigration, Kenzi threw up all over me and her.  Our friends quickly gave us some wipes and we cleaned ourselves as quickly as we could.  We made it through Immigration and Customs.  Then we had to go back through Security to get back to the gate area.  Finally, we made it through and once again, Kenzi and I changed clothes in an airport bathroom!

We had a 5 hour layover in Detroit and all we wanted was to just get home!  We finally made it!!!!!  Aaron and I aren't jet lagged at all, thanks to something called No Jet Lag.  I highly recommend it!  Unfortunately, Kenzi IS jet lagged, which means she isn't sleeping at night, which means her mama is not sleeping at night.

On Saturday, Kenzi was napping in her own bed (for the first time), so I decided to take a shower.  Aaron came running upstairs and told me that water was leaking into the dining room downstairs!  So we'll be calling a plumber first thing this week!

Tomorrow is Monday, which means we are back to reality.  Aaron is going back to work in the morning, but he's working half days for a while.  Once I get Luke off to school, I have a ton of phone calls to make for Kenzi ... pediatrician, cleft team, and Early Intervention.

Dining and Shopping

Beijing
Pizza Hut and KFC in mall - across the street from the Novotel Peace hotel and about 2 blocks down
Le Cabernet - right outside hotel. Pricey, but good.
Dumpling place - mixed reviews. Not sure where it is, though.

Shamian Island in GZ
Cow and Bridge - thai
Lucy's - Western food
Orient Express - french
Fish tank place - across from Lucy's. not sure of the name, but it's local Cantonese food.
Starbucks
Subway

Near China Hotel
Starbucks inside hotel
24 hour McDonald's next door
Tekila - take taxi. Near garden hotel.  GREAT Mexican food!!!!!  We went here the last night and if we had remembered before, we would have gone several times.
Order Papa John's from Concierge
Agency took us to a local place and it was awesome. It's either in or near the Sino hotel.  about a 10 min. walk.
See my China Hotel post for more hotel food info.

Shopping
Save most for province and GZ
Agency took us to a silk store. It was not Silk Road.

Province
Get only local stuff - each province is famous for something, so get that stuff!

Shamian Island
A Gift From China  http://www.agiftfromchina.com/  MUST go here!!!!!  All handmade stuff and profits go to charity.
Local shops. Can bargain there
Jordon's shop. He will do your child's Name in calligraphy for free. Lots of good stuff. We bought our extra suitcase here. He's kinda pushy outside, but leaves you alone once you get inside. He'll also answer questions you have.  Bargain with him, especially if you get a lot of stuff.

Near China Hotel
Mall next door
Children's shops. Use underground walkway near Dong Fang hotel (not the Metro tunnel). Follow hospital exit.

Thoughts on the China Hotel in Guangzhou

For our last adoption, we stayed at the White Swan Hotel on Shamian Island.  That hotel was nice, and the island is quaint.  But we got tired of the shop owners asking us to come in and shop all.the.time.  A few of them even chased us down.  The White Swan is now being remodeled, so our agency is now using the China Hotel by Marriott, which is not on the island.

I know a lot of people will disagree with us .... even people in our travel group.  But we LOVE this hotel and we were SO glad not to be on the island.  Here are some things about it:

• We booked the Executive Suite and it is fabulous.  It has 1 1/2 bathrooms and 2 separate rooms separated with a door.  Our travel agency prices were not that much more for the suite, so we decided to go for it.  We are SO glad we did!!!!!  There is another suite called the Executive 55 suite and I think that one is larger than a regular room, but doesn't have the totally separate 2nd room.
• The Concierge has strollers you can rent.  It is a 200RMB deposit and then 20RMB per day.  The strollers are not that great, but it's getting the job done.
• The Concierge has a Papa John's menu in English and they will order it for you.  Go down to the desk and you can point to what you want, they'll call and order, and then tell you when to be back in the lobby for the delivery!
• The bed is perfect.  After the beds in Beijing and Fuzhou, our backs are thanking us!
• The Concierge staff speaks pretty good English.  If you want to go somewhere by taxi, they will write it in Chinese for you to give it to the taxi driver.  And the China Hotel info is on the little paper, so that can help you get back!
• McDonald's is next door to the hotel.  We are not McDonald's eaters back home, but we did eat there a couple of times.  It was cheap and the ice cream was great! They do have picture menus with some English on them.
• Hotel restaurants - Food Street is good, Cafe Veranda is where the breakfast buffet is and their lunch/dinner menu is good, but expensive.
• 7-11 is pretty close.  We found drinks and bottled water to be cheapest there.
• As usual, ask the Housekeeping staff to empty your minibar so you can use the fridge for your own drinks!
• Small convenience store is in the Shopping Arcade.  They have basics, including baby stuff.
• Exchanging Money - Technically, the hotel only allows you to change $200 per room per day.  However, the Concierge staff is wonderful and I bet they would let you change more.
• Shamian Island - By taxi, it's about 15 minutes, and 20RMB one-way.  We did go a couple of times to do some souvenir shopping.
• Marriott Rewards members get free internet.  If you aren't a member, join for free when you check in.
• Underground tunnels - there are a few we found.  One is for the Metro, but you can use the tunnels instead of crossing the street!  Yue Xiu Park is great!!!!!!
• The hotel has an outdoor play area on the 4th floor.

A few pics of our suite.  Please pardon the mess!!!!!

Front door and minibar/counter area.

Living room.  Just to the right of the couch is the door to the bedroom.

Safari Park Pictures

On the way back, we saw this truck carrying boxes labeled Hitachi!

Everywhere you look, you can see apartments buildings like these.  Just everywhere.

Tuesday - Safari Park

Quick post because i'm trapped under a sleeping baby! Tuesday, we went with the other families in our group to a Safari Park. We were there for about 5 hours and didn't get to see all the animals! Kenzi seemed to like the animals, which is good because we go to the zoo a lot.

Dinner was Papa John's pizza in the room.

Tomorrow is our US Consulate Appointment and the rest of our shopping. We leave here on Thursday to head to Hong Kong. We'll apend 1 night there and then fly out the next morning.

Fuzhou Lakeside Hotel

Trying to catch up here.  Here are some details about this hotel for future families:

• There is a staircase down to the path around the lake.  You'll need your room key.
• You can rent strollers from the hotel.  I think it's around 10 RMB per day.
• Not all of the hotel staff spoke English.  However, they were great about going to get someone that did if they didn't understand you.
• The hotel does have a doctor, but she doesn't speak English.  Just ask the Assistant Manager of the hotel and he will go with you and translate.
• The food at the hotel was great.  They did have some Western food in the restaurants.  The pepperoni is not the pepperoni we're used to, it was salami.
• There is a great grocery store about a 20 minute walk away.  If you're standing in front of the hotel, looking at the lake, walk to the left around the lake.  And just keep going!
• The hotel staff will empty your minibar so you can use the fridge for drinks or whatever!  This is true at all the hotels we've stayed at in China. 

Pictures!!!!!

Here you go!  Just click the link below.  I think they're in reverse order.

Pictures

Catching Up .....

It’s been a while since we have been able to post.  Kenzi is still attached to her mama and won’t let Aaron carry her.  We have seen a little improvement with daddy and she will at least give him high fives and smiles when she wants to.

We have all been sick with a stomach bug.  Sherry got it last Thursday, Kenzi got it on the plane from Fuzhou to Guangzhou and then Aaron got it last night.  Hopefully this will put it past all of us and we can all start feeling better.

Here is a recap of our trip so far.  We will try to get some pictures up soon.  Dates may be off as we are 13 hours ahead of Eastern Time

12/2 – Arrive in Beijing

12/3 – Orientation, meet other families in our travel group, sightseeing at Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City

12/4 – Leave Beijing, Arrive in Fuzhou, Get Kenzi!!!!

12/5 – Finalize Kenzi’s adoption paperwork.  She is officially ours!!!!

12/6 – Visit Buddhist Temple in Fuzhou

Wednesday, 12/7 – Panda World (panda rehabilitation center).  This was pretty small, but Kenzi LOVED all the red pandas!  Walked to Grocery store and back and then just kept walking to keep the kiddo happy.  I think we ended up walking about 5 miles.  We almost got lost in the middle of Fuzhou!  Thankfully, our hotel is REALLY tall, so we just made sure we could see it and kept walking.

Thursday, 12/8 – In the morning, we went to a wholesale market.  They had lots of jewelry, jade, and pearl.  We got a piece of Shoushan stone for Kenzi, which her province is famous for.

Friday, 12/9 – Today, we spent the entire morning packing our stuff to head to Guangzhou.  Our guide, Tracy, had a friend that is a radio DJ in Fuzhou.  She called him and had Sherry say some English sentences and the Chinese translations for a commercial he is making.  He said that Sherry's Chinese pronunciation was excellent!  So Sherry is now a radio star in Fuzhou!  We picked up Kenzi’s passport and then flew to Guangzhou.  Kenzi got sick on the plane, so Sherry and Kenzi changed clothes in the airport bathroom as soon as we landed.  Kenzi continued to be sick the entire van ride to the hotel … about an hour.

We walked into our suite at the China Hotel by Marriott and we just about cried from relief.  The hotel is beautiful and the suite is AMAZING.  It was just what we needed after such a rough week.  We were so happy we had decided to pay the little extra for the suite.  And the bed. The bed is SOFT.  Again, I almost cried from relief.

Saturday, 12/10 – Today, we had Kenzi’s photo taken for her U.S. Visa – she is crying in the picture, of course.  She also had her medical check that the U.S. requires.  Aaron went to a meeting in the afternoon to work on the paperwork for this part of the trip.

After the meeting, our entire travel group (around 13 families) went out to dinner together at a local restaurant.  The food was WONDERFUL!

  

Sunday, 12/11 – Aaron had been sick the night before, so we slept in this morning and had a lazy morning.  In the afternoon, we took a taxi to Shamian Island.  That’s where we stayed on our last adoption trip.  There are some cute shops there and we needed to pick up our laundry.

Friday - Last Day in Fuzhou

We seem to have turned a corner!  At this very moment, Kenzi is sitting on the floor, 4 feet away from me and she is PLAYING with the toys we brought!  Thank you, Jesus!!!!!!!

This adoption stuff is hard.  Not only has Kenzi had a hard time adjusting, I managed to get the dreaded Montezuma's Revenge last night.  I'll save you the gory details, but let me just tell you how hard it is to be that sick with an 18 month old who only wants you to hold her!!!!!

We are packing up today and heading to Guangzhou.  Thankfully our flight is only about an hour.  Not sure my stomach could handle much more.  Guangzhou is where we do the American side of the paperwork.

I'd better not push my luck too much .... any second, I'm sure little Miss Kenzi-bug is going to realize that I am not sitting on the floor with her.

Short update

Sorry no blOgging. Kenzi is having a hard time. She only wants me to carry her and walk all day long. I have carriers, but i can't physically walk all day with an extra 20 pounds strapped to me. We leave tomorrow for the next place. Hoping things will be better there.

We are so thankful god has given us this previous little one. We knew it could be hard and we're hanging in there. Keep the prayers coming!

Day 4 - 12/6 - Part 1

typing one-handed. been holding kenzi for days. she will not let me put her down. i'm only sitting down at the moment because she fell asleep. i'm getting my exercise with all the walking and carrying an extra 20 pounds! she is grieving hard and it's so sad. will write more about that later.

Day 3 - 12/5/2011 - Fuzhou

Last night, we were so tired, that we all went to bed around 9 pm.  Of course, that meant we woke up at 5 this morning.  It could definitely have been worse, though.  At breakfast, we met the other family that is here adopting a little girl.  They are from the USA, but live in Italy.  They have a 19 month old son adopted from Ethiopia and their new daughter just turned 1!

After breakfast, we went to the Civil Affairs office to finalize Kenzi's adoption.  She's now stuck with us forever!!!!!  Then we went to a supermarket to get a few things .... snacks, toothbrushes because I managed to forget them, and drinks.

Then the rest of the day, we just hung out in our hotel room mostly.  Kenzi is doing great.  She has moments of sadness, which is totally normal.  She will not let me put her down.  Thank goodness for the baby carriers I brought!!!!!!  She wants to sit in my lap the rest of the time.  She loves it when I walk when I'm carrying her.  So hopefully I'm getting lots of exercise and losing some weight!

Last night, after we got her, she didn't eat much and she didn't drink anything.  We weren't worried yet, but today's priority was getting her to at least drink something.  Well, this girl can eat AND drink.  We just had to give her time and find what she liked.  She'll fit in well with Jacinda.  Both of these girls can drink an entire gallon of milk every day!!!!   For now, we're letting her drink as much milk as she wants. But that will need to change when we get home.  We'll start slowly and transitioning her to drinking more water.

Typing one-handed now, so I'll sign off for now.

Pictures!

I know you've all been waiting for pictures!!!!!!!!

The view outside our Beijing hotel room.
















Corn (we think) on top of a roof outside our Beijing hotel room.

Us and Socks the Monkey at The Forbidden City.  Socks is a world-travelling monkey.  He goes everywhere with us and the kids love to put him in creative places and see where he goes!

A few shots of the view outside our hotel room in Fuzhou:

Kenzi!!!!!
















The man on the left is the orphanage pediatrician and the woman on the right is one of the caregivers.

Day 2 - 12/4/2011 - Kenzi Day!

This morning, we got up early to head to the airport in Beijing.  We flew to Fuzhou, which is the capital of Kenzi's province.  We had about 15 minutes in our hotel room and then it was time to head down to get Kenzi.  She had come with the orphanage's pediatrician and her nanny.

I was holding Kenzi while Aaron did the first round of paperwork.  I'm sure it was hard for him to think straight while Kenzi was screaming her head off!  She continued to scream for quite a while.  We got her to eat a few noodles for dinner, but she won't drink anything yet.  We'll try again tomorrow with some milk or juice at breakfast.

She was clearly well taken care of.  She had on brand new clothes - several layers of them, which is typical of China.  The orphanage staff also brought us a large bag with lots of new clothes, a coat, new shoes, a photo album they made for us of all her pictures (including some we hadn't seen yet from when she was around 11 months old), the baby clothes she was found in, and some gifts for her that symbolize peace.  We are so blessed to receive all of that.  They love her and took great care of her!

Pictures will have to wait until tomorrow.  Sorry ..... we are exhausted at this point.  Kenzi is sleeping, and I hope she stays that way for a while!!!

Day 1 - Sightseeing in Beijing - 12/3/2011

**** My dates may be a day off from when you are reading this!  We are 13 hours ahead of Eastern time.

We made it through our first day in China!  We started out with an Orientation with our adoption agency.  We got to meet all the families in our group and hear details about the rest of our trip.  After that meeting, we had a wonderful lunch with everyone.  Then we headed out for some sightseeing.

First, we went to Tiananmen Square and walked around for a little while.  The weather was beautiful today ... the temperature was probably around 40 degrees, but it was very sunny, so it felt warmer.  Then we went across the street to The Forbidden City.  It's in the background of this picture.
















When we finished seeing The Forbidden City, we had been walking for well over 2 hours!  Then we went to a silk factory where we learned about how silkworms spin silk and then how it is made into fabric.  It was really interesting.

Jet lag - We're doing pretty well with it so far.  It may hit us more in the next couple of days, though.

Tomorrow - Kenzi Day!  We leave for the Beijing airport at 8:30 am and then fly to Fuzhou.  We are scheduled to get Kenzi late in the afternoon.

We are in Beijing!

Well, we made it to Beijing!  We are tired, but ready to get this show on the road.  We just got to our hotel at midnight, so we're going to try to sleep.  We have a busy day tomorrow .... Our agency has Orientation for us, and then we'll do some sightseeing with the other families in our group.

And We're Off!

Today is such a mix of emotions .... excitement to go get Kenzi, sadness at leaving the other 2 behind, panic at wondering if we've forgotten something!  Plus, I am not a good flier, so there is some anxiety there.  I keep telling myself I'm looking forward to the 14 hour flight to Beijing because I can catch up on my reading and movies!  We've both loaded up our iPods with books to read and some new music to listen to.  Our plane has individual movie screens in each seat, so I will be able to watch what I want!!!

We are planning on having Aaron's mom and the kids drop us off at the airport curbside.  I'm hoping that a quick good-bye will help all of us to keep it together.

Here's our itinerary:

Thursday, Dec. 1 - Leave for Beijing
Friday, Dec. 2 - Arrive in Beijing late that night
 Saturday, Dec. 3 - Adoption Agency's Orientation and sightseeing amid a jetlag-induced stupor!
Sunday, Dec. 4 - Fly to Kenzi's province and get Kenzi!!!!!
Monday, Dec. 5 -  Sign the paperwork to adopt her officially
Tuesday, Dec. 6 -  Sightsee in her province
Wednesday, Dec. 7 - Sightsee in her province
Thursday, Dec. 8 - Sightsee in her province
 Friday, Dec. 9 - Get Kenzi's passport and Fly to Guangzhou (the city where the U.S. paperwork gets done)
Saturday, Dec. 10 - Kenzi's Medical Exam
Sunday - Tuesday - Sightseeing and lots of paperwork
Wednesday, Dec. 14 - U.S. Consulate Appointment
Thursday, Dec. 15 - Get Kenzi's visa to enter the U.S.
Friday, Dec. 16 - travel to Hong Kong and fly home!

We will be blogging while we're gone, so stay tuned!  Thank you to everyone for your support in many forms ..... financial, prayers, supportive comments, excitement for us .... it means so much to all of us.