Monday, December 5, 2011
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
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!!!
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!!!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
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 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.
Friday, December 2, 2011
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.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
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.
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.
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