More pictures!!

Hannah loves bathtime and french fries (just not at the same time)

(these were taken in China)

Life with a baby....again!

Ok, I know the real reason everyone checks this blog is for the pictures, and I will try and post some very soon. I haven't taken any new pictures lately because I lost my camera, but I found it yesterday so now I have no excuses. Now I just have to get Hannah to cooperate, which is not always easy for an active 15 month old baby!

Life with a baby is so very different for me, but I am enjoying every second (all right, maybe not EVERY second, but you get the idea). Hannah is an absolute sweetheart. She is showing more and more of her personality every day. Everyone here is simply amazed at what a different baby she is from even one week ago. She is officially walking now, which means she is constantly on the go. She is into everything and loves exploring her new world. She is smiling all the time, laughing and beginning to display her strong will and determination to have it her way! She is like a sponge absorbing all that is going on around her. She loves to imitate people and even has her own way of teasing each one of us. She is the center of attention and seems to be loving every minute of it. She certainly has us all head over heels in love with her.

I can't even begin to explain the range of emotions we feel in finally having our daughter. I have moments of sheer happiness and moments of extreme grief and sadness for thinking of all that she has lost. Sometimes I look at her in complete and utter amazement that we were chosen to be her parents. I continually thank God that we have been so blessed to have a healthy, smart, beautiful, happy little girl. And not just Hannah...we are also blessed with two equally healthy, smart, beautiful and happy biological children. We have had a child by cesarean section, naturally and by adoption. We wouldn't have it any other way. All three of them arrived in our family by God's plan. All three of our children our equally ours by His grace. All three of them are equally loved by us and by Him. Sometimes it takes something small to make us realize how big our God really is. For us, it came in a little 20 lb. body with black hair, black eyes and a million dollar smile.

We are in Oklahoma!

After 32 hours of traveling, we finally made it to Oklahoma. It was an extremely long, tiring day, but we made it.

We didn't have internet service our last 2 days in Guangzhou, so I wasn't able to post on my blog. Our last day in Guangzhou was for our appointment at the American Consulate to get Hannah's visa. We drove for 30 minutes to get to the consulate, went through the security and then raised our right hand to swear that all the information we provided in our adoption paperwork was true and accurate. A few minutes later they handed us her (Chinese) passport with the visa, and we were officially done with all the paperwork. It was time to go home.

The next morning we had a mix up with our luggage that caused us to miss our flight to Beijing. The problem was resolved by our guide and we got on the next flight to Beijing. We met my niece Emily in Beijing and we all flew to Chicago. Emily was so happy to be the first family member to see Hannah. She had fun holding and playing with her on the plane (we all got to sit next to each other). Hannah did great on the 14 hour flight...she slept for about 5 straight hours, which was nice. We arrived in Chicago on time and went through immigration with Hannah. This process just required us to give the immigration officials all the paperwork we got from the American Consulate in China. It took about 5 minutes and the guy said, "Congratulations, your daughter is now an American citizen." An exciting moment for us, but Hannah didn't seem to notice the difference...imagine that :)

After an 8 hour delay in Chicago due to storms in the area, we finally arrived in Tulsa at 2:00 a.m. A big thank you to my mom for driving an hour and a half to come get us in the middle of the night. I don't think Tara could have waited another minute. She was thrilled to finally have us home and to meet Hannah. We got to my mom's house at 4:00 a.m. and woke up Alex so he could see Hannah. We all stayed awake until 5:30 a.m. At that point I could have slept standing up.

It's been a hard 2 days trying to work out sleep schedules for us all. Hannah is doing well considering she is sleeping at all the wrong times. We are trying to get her adjusted, but it's hard when she is so sleepy. Alex and Tara are having fun playing with her and she has already shared her smiles, kisses and giggles with them.

Our biggest hurdle right now is getting Hannah use to a car seat. She absolutely screams hysterically when we put her in the seat. She cries so hard she makes herself throw up. She wails, kicks, screams...it's really the only time I have seen her have such a huge screaming fit. I know it will just take time for her to get use to being strapped into a seat rather than having someone hold her. We drive to Henryetta tomorrow to see Matt's parents. Could be a REALLY long 2 hours.

Will try and post some pictures in the next few days. Right now I'm just trying to get caught up on sleep, laundry, unpacking and repacking, and figuring out Hannah's eating/sleeping/playing patterns. But overall things are going very well and we are so very happy to be home from China with our baby!!!

Pictures

These are some random pictures I have taken. One of them is the famous red couch picture. The red couch picture is a tradition for adoptive families who stay at the White Swan Hotel. This picture was destined to be a disaster from the beginning...first, it was scheduled for 3:00 p.m....nap time for all the babies. Then we had 13 babies to attempt to get to cooperate. You can tell from the picture it didn't go well (but I have to admit it was funny to see it). Hannah is the baby next to the baby that fell over. As soon as this baby fell over and started crying, Hannah started crying. I captured the whole event on video, so it will be good for many laughs in the future.

The picture of Hannah with the headphones is her talking to Tara on the telephone. We put the headphones on her and she listens to Alex and Tara talk to her. As you can see from the picture they can make her smile just by talking to her. I know she is going to love her big brother and big sister.

The picture of the little boy is our friends' son...Ben. They live in Naples and we got to come to China at the exact same time to get our babies. Their son is from a different province, so we didn't see them the first week, but we met them once we got to Guangzhou. Ben is a cute little boy and he is full of energy! He is almost 3 years old. He also has a big sister, Mary, who is adopted from China. We are looking forward to seeing them again in Naples.

The last picture is Hannah chilling in the high chair. Sitting back, kicking up her feet after a big meal.

What a difference a week makes

We have had Hannah for exactly one week and it is amazing the differences we see in her already. She has made excellent progress in every developmental area and has already bonded with both of us. Proof of what constant love and attention can do for a baby.

One thing that continually amazes me when we are out and about is the mass amount of people...EVERYWHERE! It is evident wherever we go that China is the most populated country on the planet. And even in a city of over 12 million people we still stand out as foreigners, and foreigners with a Chinese baby are guaranteed to draw attention. Intense staring is obviously not a cultural taboo in China...there have been times that people have literally stopped their bicycle on the side of the road to sit and stare at us while we wait to cross the street. It really doesn't bother me...I just stare back. I don't take it as rude, it's just normal here.

The past 2 days have been rather uneventful. Yesterday we visited the Chen family Temple in Guangzhou. It was yet another amazing sight. But the heat and humidity made it almost impossible to enjoy. Hannah wasn't a happy camper. I snapped a few photos of her yesterday but she is quickly losing interest in standing still long enough for a photo opportunity. She loves to be down and walking now. She is a baby on the move. She is taking a few steps on her own but mostly needs a hand to hold onto. She has finally figured out to grasp our fingers and off she goes.

Today I went shopping with a Chinese lady that has created a business taking adoptive families shopping. I went with 3 other ladies and she took us to the local markets (but not anyplace we could have ever managed on our own). She does all the bargaining for us and we got some incredible deals. I couldn't believe how much cheaper things were with her than they are here on the island (where our hotel is located). I now know where everything that says "MADE IN CHINA" is stored - here! I could not believe the massive amounts of STUFF. I forgot my camera so I didn't get to take any pictures. But I don't think pictures could have captured the reality of all that was offered for sale. It was a unique experience.

In the afternoon our group went to a local temple to have their babies blessed by a monk. We opted out of this ritual...something about having our baby blessed by a Buddhist monk didn't settle right with us. After that we went to a supermarket. This in itself is an adventure (it has a lot to do with the mass amount of people I mentioned earlier).

Hannah is not feeling well tonight. She has a bit of a fever and I think a cold. She fell asleep early and then I realized that I did not take one single picture of her today! Tomorrow is the first time in 2 weeks that we don't have to be somewhere early in the morning. We are hoping to sleep in a little, but who knows what time Hannah will wake up.

Our last stop

We have arrived in Guangzhou...our last stop on our adoption journey in China. All of the paperwork is complete for the Chinese part of our adoption...as far as China is concerned she is officially ours!! Now we have to get her visa so that she can travel to the United States. We get the visa at the American Consulate here in Guangzhou.

Today we had the required, routine medical exam...it was a quick in-and-out process. We didn't ask questions and the doctor didn't offer any opinions on Hannah's health. Let's just say they won't win any customer service awards at the adoption clinic. We didn't really expect to gain any information...we will have a thorough medical exam done when we return to Italy. This exam was just all part of the process.

The hotel here is fabulous and we are so happy to have a change of scenery. Six nights in Nanning was more than enough! Tonight we had dinner with our friends from Naples (Jay, Portia, Mary and Ben) and now we are getting ready to call it a night. It was a long day...we started with an early morning flight and have been on the go all day. Tomorrow it is more sightseeing and SHOPPING!!

I know many of you have sent me emails and I have not replied. The internet connection at our last hotel was terrible and half the time I could read the email, but I would lose the connection before I could reply. So if I haven't replied I will try again in the next few days. I appreciate all the emails, prayers, comments, support, and kind words. Hard to believe this journey is coming to an end...well, the China portion anyway. This is only the beginning of our life as Hannah's parents. Now we are looking forward to getting her home with Alex and Tara so that we can all be together. We miss Alex and Tara so much and can't wait to see them. They are going to love their little sister and I know she will adore and love them.

Happy 4th of July!!

No fireworks in China...but we do have a cute little firecracker!!

For our friends in Naples

The other families that we are traveling with have made multiple comments about the traffic here in China. They think it is the craziest driving they have ever experienced and gasps of astonishment can be heard while we are out and about on the bus. Matt and I just sit back and smile....no one would believe us if we tried to tell them that the traffic in Naples, Italy is far worse than the traffic in China....but we know that anyone that has driven in Naples knows exactly what we are talking about. Believe me, it is worse in Naples!!! There is probably more traffic on the roads here in Nanning (they have 6 million people vs. Naples 4 million) and there are definitely more people on bicycles in China, but as far as I can tell they follow the rules of the road. They stay in their appropriate lane, and I have not seen one instance of a 2 lane road being made into a 5 lane road. Granted vehicles absolutely have the right of way here in China and crossing the street on foot must be done with swiftness and great caution, but it is no different in Naples! They don't honk nearly as much here and appear to drive at a normal rate of speed. Here in China we have also seen the entire family on one motor scooter and seat belts and car seats seem to not exist (just like Naples). All in all the traffic is very similar, but we both agree that "nothing beats Naples!"

Another great day with Hannah. We see small improvements every day. She is still very serious and not smiling much, but overall she is doing very well. She has the most beautiful eyes and we cannot wait until we see the sparkle in her eyes. She absolutely loves to be held and we are happy to offer her our services. That's the great thing about having to be here so long, we don't have much else to do but hold her! We did go out this morning to a park, but it is so very hot and humid that it's hard to enjoy being outside. The air is so heavy and thick it's hard to breath.

Sleeping Peacefully

We have had another great day with Hannah. She is still very serious and quiet and actually rather timid. She perks up right after she eats and will play for a few minutes, otherwise she is content just being held. She is so curious about all that is going on around her and she really loves to just sit back and watch. She is fascinated with the older girls that are in our group and we are certain that she will enjoy playing with Alex and Tara. One of the questions we asked her nanny is what scares her and she said that when people yell it scares her...so you know what that means Alex and Tara...NO FIGHTING!!

She is eating solid food well, but we can't get her to take a bottle at all. This wouldn't concern me too much except that she also won't drink from a sippy cup. Tonight Matt got her to drink water from a straw that he had filled with water. Yesterday we gave her cheerios and she had no idea what to do with them. She could pick them up with her two fingers but then she would just hold them there. I started feeding her some cheerios and she soon figured out that she could feed herself (I'm assuming she had never done this before). Now she shovels the cheerios in as fast as she can. It's really cute to watch her and see the difference that just one day makes.

She is not walking yet and is still very unsteady standing up. She does sort of crawl on all fours, but for the most part when we put her down she just stays put. She plays with the toys that are all around her and especially seems to like turning the pages of books.

Today we went to Wal-Mart....after all isn't everything in Wal-Mart made in China? It was pretty much the same as every Wal-Mart only in Chinese. We got LOTS of stares and curious looks. Matt walked into one store by himself while I stood outside eating my ice cream and he said the sales lady came up to him and took Hannah out of his arms and started showing her off. She was oohing and aahing and going on and on. We were told that it is very normal for Chinese people to just come up and hold her, but we have already become very protective of her and it's hard to let strangers just take her (but when in China....)

We spent the afternoon relaxing in the hotel room (it rained all afternoon) and then ate dinner in the hotel...we needed some western food. We both had hamburgers and they were really good. Last night we ate at a buffet, but it was very Chinese and not all that great. You know something isn't quite right when the beef taste like fish.

We have enjoyed getting to know the families that we are here with and it's fun to watch all the babies and their different personalities. We are anxious to see Hannah's personality in full swing. She is such a sweet baby and we are loving all the cuddle time that she also seems to cherish. God has certainly prepared her heart for a mommy and daddy. We had prepared ourselves for the worst behavior, but so far she has been an absolute angel.

All is well....

Yesterday afternoon 13 families paraded into a hot conference room with cameras in hand and emotions running high. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't crying. I was incredibly anxious, especially when we saw the nannies walk by in the hallway carrying all the babies. Finally a Chinese official came in and gave a short speech about her appreciation...I really can't remember a word she said...then she announced that they would bring the babies in according to the orphanage name. When they brought Hannah in we immediately recognized her. She was not crying, but she had that now famous frown planted on her face. They called her Chinese name and we walked forward...can't remember the details, but I know they handed her to me and my heart melted. We had her in our arms...finally.

We remained in this hot, crowded room without chairs for nearly 2 hours. Hannah never once cried. Many of the other babies were not just crying, but all out wailing and screaming. Some were absolutely hysterical. The tension was heavy as parents struggled with screaming babies. Hannah just sat wide eyed and took it all in. She went easily from both me and Matt and didn't seem to mind at all that we were holding her. We were allowed to ask the nanny some questions through our guide, and we asked if we could take a picture of her with Hannah. When Hannah saw her she reached out for her, but still didn't cry. After the picture her nanny bent over and whispered something to Hannah for about one minute and then gave her a hug and kiss and walked off. Hannah still did not cry.

We returned to the hotel room and admittedly I got a little worried because of Hannah's lack of "emotion." I really wanted her to cry...to show me that she was aware of what was happening, that she was scared, that she was grieving in some way. After about 15 minutes of her sitting on the bed looking around and holding a few toys she looked up and her lip started to quiver, her eyes began to water...and she CRIED. Big buckets of tears. She clung to us throughout her crying, but it was obvious she was terrified. After a long stretch of crying (I have no idea how long all of this lasted) she fell asleep in my arms.

After a short nap she woke up crying, but she was easily comforted when one of us picked her up. We tried giving her a bottle, but she would have nothing to do with it. We tried giving her a bath, but she did not like it at all. She was content as long as we held her, but cried if we put her down. Finally, she fell asleep for the night, and slept through the night.

She appears very healthy and developmentally on track. The only thing we noticed that was of concern on her body was her thumb. It looked really puffy and appeared to have some sort of bite and a bump on her knuckle. It didn't look serious, but it looked like it might hurt. Shortly after she fell asleep for the night we looked at her and she was sucking her thumb...really, really hard and loud! She sucked on that thumb all night long. We now realize that the puffiness and the bump is from her sucking her thumb. She only does it when she is sleeping or getting sleepy.

She has been a dream today. She has eaten and played. She is very serious all the time and we have to really work to get a little glimmer of a smile, but she is warming up to us already. She cries, but she is immediately comforted when one of us picks her up. She loves to be held. She loves watching people. And she loves watermelon. We absolutely love her.

Thank you all so much for praying for us and for Hannah. God has certainly answered our prayers and blessed us more than we ever dreamed possible.