Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
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!!!
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!!!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
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.
Monday, July 7, 2008
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.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
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.
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.
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