My final week: a day in the life...

...of my stay-at-home-mom period.  So I don't forget.

Almost every one of my days in the last 2 months has started between 7:30 and 8:00am when Emerson starts cooing, crying, waving her hands wildly at the monitor camera (I swear she knows we can see her), or pulling on the octopus legs to make it burble or sing.  I had almost daily intentions of waking up at 6am in order to get a few things done first, most importantly walk my attention-starved dogs, but that rarely actually happened.

So I make my way to Emerson's room where I find her in various positions in her crib but always watching the door and usually with a big smile on her face.  We kill a little time rocking and saying good morning until the fish clock strikes 8, at which point we head to the kitchen to make a bottle.  Measure the formula, boil the water (I think it tastes better boiled in the tea kettle rather than run hot from the faucet), inject the iron and head back to her room where she sucks it down.  Next we play in her room for a bit where there are plenty of toys to choose from - she has some wooden puzzles that keep her very busy - and one or several of our furry friends usually stop in for a visit.  She has been working on crawling, usually motivated to get over to a cat or dog to pull on their fur or to hijack my phone (often with my mom's voice on the other end).

Breakfast is around 9:30 and she must have a banana each day. Yesterday I showed up at the table without a banana and although she was enjoying her oatmeal, she stared pointedly at the bananas on the other side of the kitchen until I righted the breakfast wrong.  And for the record, we watch Regis and Kelly during breakfast every day. There, I admitted it.

We work very hard to fit a nap in between breakfast and the noon bottle.  She really does not like naps but her daddy can usually coax her to sleep (by napping himself).  Mid day goes by rather fast: bottle at noon, playtime, lunch around 1:30, errands, bottle at four, more playtime.  We have dinner at 6 and all eat at the same time. And, yes, we still have a pretty significant eating-out habit that, unfortunately, Emerson has not hindered in the least.  She loves checking out all the people around her in restaurants and charms waiters with her big toothless grins.

At 7:30 we have a bath. We meaning me and Emerson.  In China it was a necessity and I can't give it up.  Daddy takes her from the bath, gets her ready for bed, gives her a bottle and she is usually fast asleep by 8:30.  And, although it's hard to tell, these days are sweet but exhausting!  Brian and I hit the sack shortly after that, and usually get to snooze through the night. If she wakes before 2am, Brian's on duty and my shift starts at 2am. 

So, all this is going to change next week.  Wish me luck.


Here is a shot of morning playtime in her room:

My final week: Tuesday and emerging personality

Emerson has two dominant personality traits that have been obvious for a long time: she is happy, oh so very happy and incredibly observant.  It doesn't take much to make her smile - a smile, a hug, a shake, or a shimmy. And counting to three makes her laugh since she knows something funny will happen on "3".  New people are checked out from head to toe, new rooms examined inch by inch, and surfaces constantly explored with her fingertips.

She is not as easy going as in the early days - she is fiesty (to quote her Dr). When she is unhappy, it's unmistakable - she kicks, screams, and streams giant crocodile tears down her cheeks. Luckily, she is also very easily cheered so the temper doesn't last long.

She is not an affectionate baby. She often turns away from kisses and pushes away from hugs.  So, I treasure her moments of cuddling when they come and hope this is just a phase.  Her 6 year old cousin told me it was and that she'll learn to cuddle - she's probably right!

She is still pretty independent. Not sure if that's from necessity or personality.  Here's a glimpse of her independence:

My final week: Monday & a whiney girl

With one week left before I return to work, this will be a week of Emerson updates.

Our happy, quiet, peaceful baby has turned sleepless and whiney in the last few days.  I can speculate a million reasons why.  Over-stimulation from 4 days of Christmas activity is a favorite, but right now, my money is on giardia.  This is a common issue and especially with babies from her Yangxi orphanage.  She was diagnosed and treated in November but we never tested to make sure the treatment  worked.  Some slight symptoms have reappeared but her general unhappiness has me convinced today.  We are now armed with a "specimen container" and will carry a little "specimen" to the lab tomorrow for another test. 

As for the symptoms... the whiney I can handle.  I don't mind holding her all day long if it makes her happy and it generally does.  Sleepless is a problem.  She has been a great night sleeper since we got her: 10-12 hours a night with rare interruptions (daytime naps not so much).  Last night, she woke up every 2 hours and had to be rocked back to sleep.  At 2am (the beginning of my shift) she decided that she was done with her crib and only wanted to sleep on me.  We went to the guest room and slept there together.  Neither of us slept well and I do worry about starting habits that will be hard to break but ... oh, so sweet.

We probably looked a little like this, taken on Christmas day when she fell asleep for a poorly timed nap : just before we left for our 2-hour drive to East Texas:

An update as the end of the year looms

First, a picture for the season:

We went to NorthPark so Emerson could meet the famous Santa. As you can see, she was very happy about that.  This was a few days before the clingies set in - more on that later. We are experiencing and celebrating the season in a brand new way. We have a tree. For the first time. It's covered in prayer beads and pine cones. Perfect. We are discussing whether Santa will visit our house this year. Who knows?  At 10 months, she won't know the difference but we will.  All shopping is done and I plan to wrap gifts today. Today!  It's only December 19th! (quick fact: for about the last 15 years, I've done all shopping on the 23rd and wrapped gifts on the 24th).  This has everything to do with the fact that we did most of our shopping in China this year and my leave from work, but I'm still going to take credit and celebrate this accomplishment.  And, there are other signs around the house that the humbugs have lifted.  Let's just say the gift of Emerson is overdue yet perfectly timed. Merry Christmas!

The clingies.  Emerson has shown signs of attachment to both of us for a long time - in fact, we think it happened pretty quickly.  But now, she wants to be held all the time and gets very fussy when we aren't providing full attention. Especially Mommy.  I'm perfectly fine with this but her timing couldn't be worse since I'm now counting down mere days before I have to go back to work.

Development.  Maybe a little slow. She's "crawling" backwards but still working on the forward movement. Not a single sign of a tooth and not really ready to move off the baby food. She did figure out a consonant - "da da" to be specific, but it's only a noise at his point. She's also just started to hand me things and can put her blocks into and take them out of a box or bag.  I was feeling a little anxious about her progress but have come to peace with the fact that she didn't get much attention for the first 8 months of her life. Probably very little since she is so content. When I asked one of the nannies about her personality, she said she was "easy and happy".  Which is wonderful but I also think it probably translated to - we didn't have to worry too much about her. She just needs a little more "baby love" before she moves on.

giving thanks

Emerson loved her first Thanksgiving, day 1.  We spent the day with Brian's family in East Texas: she fell in love with Brian's brother at first sight, so cute.  It was a crowd and she was a pleaser - happy and relaxed all day long.  She had lots of mashed potatoes. We had lots of everything.  Gearing up for day 2 with my family tomorrow!

Emerson is 9 months

So, we celeberated at the zoo with her Aunt Jill and cousin Katie:

If you're happy and you know it...

Here are a few pictures from Emerson taken just yesterday - enjoying her saucer.  She has changed so much in the last week, it's crazy.  She's doing a lot of "talking", grabbing everything, sitting on her own for more than a second at a time.  Happy happy girl!

Remembering Jason and Kathy - CCAI Hosts

While in China, I kept meaning to write a short ode to Jason and Kathy, our CCAI hosts in Guangzhou.  So, this is a little late, but no less heartfelt. 

Kathy and Jason provide 24 hour a day support to the CCAI familes while in Guangzhou. Since we spent our entire trip in Guangzhou, they were with us for 12 days. They were constantly with us: helping us fill out necessary forms (line by line), gathering signatures, setting up appointments, taking us everywhere we needed to go, showing us the city, taking us shopping, arranging group dinners, checking on our babies, helping us up bus steps, and translating what we couldn't understand (uh, everything). When they weren't with us, they were working on our behalf, shuttling our paperwork around the city. From the moment we met these two special people, Brian and I knew we were in good hands. Our trip was so incredibly smooth and we know that we have CCAI (our wonderful agency) and especially Jason and Kathy to thank for that. They will never be forgotten.


Here is Emerson and I with Auntie Kathy at the zoo:

Finally in Texas...

time zone, that is!  We have been home now a full week with only one challenge but it's a big one. 

She's eating great - no trouble at all changing from the sugary sweet Chinese formula to our organic choice and we can even add vitamins to her bottle each morning. She loves all the food we've tried, although sweet potatoes are clearly the best.  Visitors are welcome and she's even getting used to her 100-mile-an-hour cousin who can't keep her hands off this baby.  Errands, no sweat. Inside, outside, restaurants, cars. You name it, she can handle it. 

But back to the challenge.  I like my sleep and so does Brian. I need a good solid 8 each night and Brian can handle even  more than that.  Yes, we are big sleepers.  And so is Emerson, only she's been sleeping with the Chinese.  At the beginning of the week, she was wide awake smiling and playing until about 5am. Then she crashed until noon. Now, I enjoyed those mornings - time to walk the dogs, have some breakfast, catch up on  my stuff but it was all done while sleep walking which wasn't going to last much longer.  Sleep arrived on Wednesday and Thursday around 1am and then 11pm on Friday.  Woohoo.  And then came Saturday night and we all slept soundly from 9:30 until 7am.  Big Woohoo! I think we have finally arrived Big Tex!

Homecoming

Ah, home sweet home! The trip home was long but just fine.  Emerson screamed for quite a while at the beginning of our flight from Hong Kong to SFO - the length of time she screamed is under debate but somewhere between 2 and 3 hours.  After 10 minutes, who can tell anymore? She was a dream from SFO to DFW and I even got a few minutes of sleep on that flight.

My sister and brother-in-law picked us up at the airport... she was so happy to meet her Aunt & Uncle so we just eased right into Dallas. No tears from Emerson - just a few from me and her A-ee.  My parents, Brian's dad, and my sister's daughters were all anxiously waiting at our house and did a great job staying calm as they saw Emerson for the first time.  She handled it all really well: everyone held her and she smiled a lot.  She scrutinized her new family and surroundings and is already very comfortable in her crib. 

And, for the big homecoming finale: Jimi and Murray (our combined 180 pounds of dog) and the 2 cats are of great interest to her and caused no fear at all. She immediately reached out for Abigail (the sociable loving cat) and Jimi (the old grandpa dog).  Murray is still a little much (as he is for most people - he's a big, in-your-face sort of guy) but she doesn't even twitch when he licks her head and feet.  Now, they are all still wondering when she's gonna leave but I think everyone will be fine.

The night was a little rough - she's on China time so from 2-4 she was wide awake and ready to play. Luckily she went back to sleep although it turns out that I'm on China time too.  We'll all do some adjusting in the next few days.

How does it feel to be home?  Pretty amazing.  We are glad we spent 11 days getting to know each other in China and she's definitely attached. So many people held their breath and waited with us for these 5 years and I'm overjoyed to say that it's time to breathe.  It was an incredibly difficult wait and there were many days that I didn't think it would ever end.  Well, here we are and Emerson could not be more perfect.  I know there are many challenges ahead and can not wait to take them on and enjoy every moment!

we could be in for a long night, before a long day.

We made it to Hong Kong and have no weather to speak of. (despite typhoon Megi).  And, we are in an airport hotel facing the South China sea where she is looming so it feels a little precarious.  As in, we can see the sea out the window of our room.  Looks like she's passing us by though and headed straight for the China Province we just left. We are optimistic about our flight tomorrow morning.

As for Emerson, she's a bit cranky and looking at her new surroundings intently.  Glad we only have to move her one more time.

Hopefully my next post will be from home!!

Red couch picture

It's a tradition in the White Swan to take a group baby photo on one of the famous red couches. The experience was pretty hilarious. Here is Emerson in one of her special dresses, after the crazy group photo:

"not another minute"

This is what I said when Emerson woke us up with her usual noises at 4am - "I can't sleep another minute in this bed".  The White Swan is lovely with everything you expect from a 5-star hotel, except a comfy bed.  So, here I sit in the lobby enjoying the quiet and ready to hit the road today.  We changed our travel plans slightly due to the typhoon headed straight for the southern coast of China and will take a bus to Hong Kong with three other families (chartered, not public).  We'll spent the night and hopefully get on our flight as scheduled on Saturday around noon.

Getting the Rangers – live!

We are enjoying the Ranger v Yankees Championship Series in our room early each morning.  Go Rangers!

Our visit to Yangxi

We all made the trip and while it was challenging in many ways, it was well worth it so that one day we can answer the many questions Emerson is likely to have.




We arrived in the city of Yangxi after a 4 hour bus ride from Guangzhou. The roads were scenic but hard to watch since we were all hanging on for dear life. The first 2 hours out of Guangzhou were definitely the bumpiest before stopping to stretch our legs at a rest stop with a KFC (yes, Kentucky Fried). The 2nd half of the trip was a bit less bumpy but hotter since the temperature outside was rising and the air inside the bus was limited.



We went directly to the orphanage (The Yangxi County Welfare Institute) and were received in a nice room with plates of bananas, tangerines, and bottles of water. The front wall was all windows looking out to the somewhat shabby garden and playground the back wall had some windows that faced directly onto another brick building. Another wall held pictures of what appeared to be the lineage of Orphanage Directors and the fourth wall was full of pictures of babies with their adopted families – called the wall of happiness and smiles (or something very close to that). We were joined by Mr. Wu, the Director, the Vice Director, and two of the nannies who we had met on Gotcha Day. When we stepped out of the bus, Emerson (riding in her carrier facing out) immediately saw the Nanny we had talked to on Gotcha Day and started smiling.



As we enjoyed the fruit and water, Mr. Wu answered all of our questions, very openly. There are about 70 babies/children currently living in the orphanage and they are the only orphanage in the county which about 500,000 people call home. There are usually 3-4 babies found each month but could be up to 10 in a busy month. Abandonments are going down in the area. There are about 40 nannies working there, most working day shifts with only a few there at night and they share care of all the babies. We captured the entire conversation on video.



Then we walked up 2 flights of stairs to the non-special needs baby room. There were about 15 cribs and most had babies, trying to nap as we were there during that time. They showed us which crib each of our babies had occupied and let us take pictures of the cribs. The cribs are quite small with metal bars and wood bottoms. No blankets or sheets because it’s summertime and too hot. There were some sad things about this visit, but I’ll keep them in my heart and slowly let them go. We walked back down the stairs to the bus all holding our babies a little tighter.



Overall, my belief is that this particular orphanage is doing the best they can with limited resources. The nannies all knew our babies by name and seemed happy to see them; the babies responded positively to them. They gave them a place to sleep, food, and all the love they could.



We took the two Nannies and the Vice Director to lunch at a local Chinese restaurant that they chose. They had ordered for the group in advance and were very worried that we would not like it. Everything was delicious and they made sure we all got plenty of servings: skewered barbequed oysters (which we watched get shelled on the corner outside), tomato and egg soup, fried noodles, lotus root, various meats that I didn’t eat, and my favorite, the local fried fish dish.



After lunch we visited each of the spots where our babies were found. It was a somber drive around Yangxi with each family stepping out to photograph and absorb the surroundings. Emerson was found in front of the city Credit Union on a very busy street. Our Agency has given us the newspaper “finding ad’ that ran on her behalf:



“Song Xiaohong, female, was found abandoned at the left side of the gate of the Rural Credit Cooperatives, Xihu Road, Yangxi County on February 5, 2010. about one day old.”



We were told that as we stood in front of the building, a man and his family in front of the shop next door watched us intently. Maybe they were the finders.



The ride back was even more fun than the journey there since Emerson had a few short fits. Overall though, she was easy and the day was an important part of this journey.

Emerson is small but she sure can scream!

This was discovered on Monday night – by us and everyone around us.  She woke up at 3 am and screamed at the top of her lungs for the better part of 2 hours.  We walked her around the room, rocked her, fed her, held her, sang to her, walked her through the hallways and nothing worked. Inconsolable. She finally slept for about an hour and then was up again at 6am and ready for the day. I’ve got plenty of theories about what was going on, but who really knows. 

A day without a nap and a pending decision (Monday, Oct 18)

Aside from 2 30-minute cat naps (one pictured below as we were leaving the zoo), Emerson has not had a good sleep since 6:30 this morning. She’s in her crib now, and I’m trying to ignore her but every time I turn around she’s peering through the bars just smiling at me. Everything else is fine today – she’s healthy, eating great, and perfectly happy; just not the least bit sleepy.



Tomorrow may be a very long day, 7am to 7pm. It’s the day we get to visit the orphanage and it’s a 3 hour bus ride each way. This is a unique opportunity and I am certain that all three of us should go. We’ll have the chance to see where she lived for her first 8 months and hopefully see the spot where she was found (we have the street corner and building name). Brian doesn’t think we should subject her to the long day and feels strongly that one of us should stay back with her. We are both right. Not sure how this will be resolved… stay tuned.

A day without a nap and a pending decision (Monday, Oct 18)

Aside from 2 30-minute cat naps (one pictured below as we were leaving the zoo), Emerson has not had a good sleep since 6:30 this morning. She’s in her crib now, and I’m trying to ignore her but every time I turn around she’s peering through the bars just smiling at me. Everything else is fine today – she’s healthy, eating great, and perfectly happy; just not the least bit sleepy.




Tomorrow may be a very long day, 7am to 7pm. It’s the day we get to visit the orphanage and it’s a 3 hour bus ride each way. This is a unique opportunity and I am certain that all three of us should go. We’ll have the chance to see where she lived for her first 8 months and hopefully see the spot where she was found (we have the street corner and building name). Brian doesn’t think we should subject her to the long day and feels strongly that one of us should stay back with her. We are both right. Not sure how this will be resolved… stay tuned.

A trip to the Guangzhou Zoo (Monday, Oct 18)

We spent this morning at the City Zoo – and it was quite nice. There were some sad things, like small cement cages for the lions, a limping cougar, skinny tigers, and a wolf with a sore on his side but also some great habitats and 2 Brown Bears who took a swim. Oh, and 2 Panda Bears! Emerson had a great time. She rode in her carrier facing out for the first time and watched everything. We think it’s good that she liked the animals – hopefully that bodes well for Jimi and Murray (our big boys waiting at home).

Hanging in the lobby (Sunday, Oct 17)

Not to bore everyone with a technical update, but I’ve been quite challenged since we left Hong Kong. The connection in the room doesn’t work for us so I have to sit in the lobby where wireless can be accessed. I only have 1 battery in my laptop and it’s not very strong, so we get about 45 minutes a pop. Between my e-mail and Brian’s fantasy football and baseball scores, that’s not much time. Usually I can’t access the blog (or Facebook) and e-mail has been spotty. When I get e-mail, I send blog entries to my sister who has been posting them. Yesterday, I somehow got into everything but not so lucky today.
Anyway, we enjoy our time here despite the technical frustrations. We sit by big windows overlooking the Pearl River on the famous red couches, listening to the birds and the waterfall. We pass Emerson back and forth and chat with the people who want to know all about our baby. (Well, I chat with them and Brian worries that they are trying to take advantage of us in some way… paranoid daddy.) Today I talked to Gloria who was enjoying an afternoon on the Island with her 5 year old daughter; she told me about how much she wanted to adopt a baby, but the culture in China wasn’t supportive. As I type now, a woman and her baby boy are sitting next to me and he is absolutely fascinated with my laptop and wants to type really badly. Soon we’ll go outside and join the crowds on Sunday afternoon.

Anna and other friends (Saturday, Oct 16)

So there are many gift shops on the island – filled with baby clothes, art, jewelry, trinkets, etc. They also do laundry. The people who work for the shop hand out cards and coupons as you walk around, enticing you to their shop. The other day, we were given a card for Jenny’s. We talked for a few minutes with the woman who gave it to us and it turned out she was Jenny. Today, as we passed Jenny’s, she was there handing out the cards – when we told her that we already had one, she said “Oh yes, I remember you – Wendy!” Pretty impressive.
Late this afternoon as we were taking our 2nd walk for the day, a young woman from Susan’s Place stopped us to talk (and to give us a card). She and I hit it off. We talked in the street and then walked together a bit. Then she asked if we’d like to go to the park. Sure! We walked with her to the park and found a bench where she and I chatted for a while. She was born in Thailand but moved to China when she was very young, is 18 with two older sisters, works and lives in Guangzhou, and she’s a freshman in college studying Business English. She had many questions about Texas and other countries where we’ve travelled. That was Anna. We exchanged e-mail addresses and I hope to keep in touch with this charming young woman.
During our time in the park with Anna, Emerson was photographed by several people. She really doesn’t smile much for the camera but she’s just darn cute.
All of the people who talk with us tell us how lucky Emerson is. They tell us that life here is very hard and they know she’ll have many opportunities that most people here do not. We just think we are lucky but know it goes both ways.

A lovely Saturday (Saturday, Oct 16)

The weather cooled here today and it was a much needed break from the heat and humidity. Not that I’m complaining, it’s just been a little on the warm side and I’m done with heat after the Dallas summer. After a little bit of a rough night (coughing every few hours – motrin did the trick this morning and she’s fine now), we decided to skip the group outing to the Pearl market and take it easy in the hotel. And the Ranger game was on, live 8am start time, and we thought it would be nice to enjoy the 1st ever Ranger League Championship game. Not. Damn Yankees.
Anyway, after the game, we decided to take a stroll around the island. We spent 2 hours walking around since Emerson fell asleep as soon as she got into the carrier and was in need of a nap. There was a nice breeze, people were enjoying their Saturday afternoon, and we took lots of video and pictures of the sights.

Health Check A-OK (Thursday, Oct 14)

All the babies when to the clinic today for a required health check. She passed – all good. She weighs 14 pounds which is only .5 more than the August report.  I am a little worried but our hosts tell me not to be – everyone loses weight during this time of year due to the humidity.  OK, I’m hoping to shed a few myself.

The reality of life in China (Thursday, Oct 14)

We dropped off our laundry at a little store next to the hotel today. While there a young girl was very friendly and happy to talk with Emerson.  She told us all about her 12 month old son. Eventually I asked enough questions to discover that her son lives with her in-laws in another Province.  She and her husband both travel to other cities to work and return to see their son (and presumably each other) about once a month, for 3 days.  She cried and got very embarrassed.  I can’t imagine a life where you travel for hours to work in a gift shop. With each passing moment, I feel more and more grateful for the life we have and the opportunities we are able to give Emerson.

Our surroundings (Thursday, Oct 14)

We are living on the tiny island of Shamian in Guangzhou, a city of 13 million. The smog is so thick you can taste it. I had a glimpse of the sun on the morning of Gotcha Day but haven’t seen it since. The big city of Guangzhou is hazy from every angle. The White Swan is very nice and a great home base: the lobby has a 3-story waterfall, lovely jade statutes, and a huge cage full of birds (green – love birds, I think). Our room is quite comfortable although we are all getting a little tired of it. Nearby the hotel we can wander through shops and talk with people who are very interested in Emerson – lots of questions and a simple thumbs-up from those who don’t speak English. The little streets are lined with trees and there are lots of butterflies. The architecture reminds us a little of New Orleans and there are many parks where we find people playing badminton. I hear they full of thai chi groups in the morning, but we haven’t been out early yet. A local Trade Convention (Trade Days) has started so the area is getting crowded.
The island is made by the Pearl River and another river (will get the name right later) and is easily walkable. The hotel is right on the water so we can watch boats pass by – some industrial and some flowery tourist boats (literally – decorated like flowers). Sometimes people swim by and every now and then we see a bather. It’s also very beautiful at night with lights that line the rivers and one bridge that changes colors, but we haven’t been out very late either.
The humidity is pretty rough. When we walk around, both Brian and Emerson sweat buckets.

Last night we had a group dinner at the Cow & Bridge (or Bridge and Cow), a delicious Thai restaurant. We’ve had many meals at Lucy’s because it’s close and familiar: lots of American choices.

a new picture - posting quick

Gotcha Day! Photo

A good night

We are feeling very lucky. After 1 full day and 1 full night, she’s got a great appetite (welcome to the family!), she sleeps well (welcome to the family!) and she seems very healthy with the exception of a few sneezes and a little runny nose. Knock on wood.

She had her first bath last night and she enjoyed it. Oh my, she is tiny. We haven’t weighed her yet but I’m guessing about 15 pounds. She can herself turn over and raise her front half up but hasn’t shown any signs of moving forward (or backward) yet. She’s really working on grabbing things and is fascinated with her fingers. She’s not very good at sitting on her own. She seems equally infatuated with me and with Brian and we are hoping that equals healthy attachment. Lots of development milestones ahead so we’ll just keep working on nourishing this tiny baby girl, with food and love.

A few things about Emerson

We are getting to know our daughter very quickly. She is very independent – I suspect she’s done a lot of self caring in the last 8 months. She wipes her nose and her mouth on her own and wraps herself up in her blanket. She kicks her right leg when she’s excited or unhappy and scratches her head when she is concerned. People are telling us she looks a little like Brian and I agree. Big brown eyes. She has the worried look that we saw in one of the first pictures – just like Uncle Marcus.

Yesterday she had a lot of red bumps on her head, mostly on her forehead and a little scab on the back of her head but those are almost 100% cleared up today. She’s got a bald stripe and a funny bump on the back of her head and her back is covered by Mongolian spots (which is very common). Oh, and she doesn’t like to have her head or her feet touched much, but she does like to be kissed on the mouth. That gets a smile every time.

It’s official!

We returned to the Civil Affairs Office today for some interviews with the Adoption Officials. They asked us how we felt about our daughter (LOVE LOVE LOVE) and whether we promised to be good to her. We signed on the dotted line and SHE IS OURS.

After the business, we headed to a store for supply shopping – formula, diapers, snacks, etc. It was a bit overwhelming for me; can’t imagine how it felt to Emerson and her Yangxi sisters. She rode in her snuggly and slept through most of it.

Our first night as parents (not including our 4-legged babies)

A little tough! We were busy (although today we can’t remember doing what – probably just staring at Emerson) until about 9 and so we started bedtime a bit late. She screamed from 10-11 (which really, was the first time she cried all day so not too bad) until finally falling asleep. Not in the crib – sleeping only came when one of us was walking with her and stuck only if we lay down on the bed very quietly and held her for a while. She screamed for a few minutes again at 1 but slept pretty well until 7. Neither Brian nor I got much sleep but that was just first night jitters we think. Tonight we are definitely using the crib – and she’s napping in it right now so it must not be too bad.

Gotcha Day!

The experience was a whirlwind. We rode a bus through the crazy crowded streets of Guangzhou and then walked about a block to the Provincial Civil Affairs Office. I think it’s a common sight – 20-30 Americans on their way to pick up a baby - but it felt pretty odd. Once inside, we went to the 8th floor and into a big room with couches around the outer walls and a big open floor in the middle. There was a playroom on one side and the babies were already there, shielded by a thin curtain. The other agency groups were already there and some were getting to know their babies already. When it was our group’s turn, we quickly planned to trade cameras and then chaos began. One baby was brought out at a time and the parents names were called out, alphabetical I think but we weren’t paying much attention to anything except each baby as they were carried into the room. One at a time, our new friends were handed their daughter and each moment was incredibly special to watch. We watched one little girl who is 6 and here with her parents cry when she saw her baby sister.

When Emerson was brought out, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. In fact, I didn’t move forward for a few seconds – Brian was the first to hold her and she smiled big smiles when he took her into his arms. He handed her to me pretty quickly and I got a smile too.

She looks very much like the pictures we got from August, of course totally adorable and perfect.

She was awake and very calm for about 30 minutes and then she and almost all the other babies crashed. They rode a bus for 3 hours that day from Yangxi to Guangzhou and were understandably a bit tired. She slept in my arms for another hour in the adoption center while we took care of some important business (namely, providing a donation to the orphanage) and then all the way back to the hotel on the bus.

We had about 10 minutes to talk to one of the Nannies from the Orphanage. We had some questions prepared but probably didn’t ask near enough. We know which of her Yangxi sisters she had been sleeping next to – Ava – and also confirmed that she has never seen a dog or a cat (uh oh, she’s in for a big surprise).

I can safely say that “gotcha moment” in the government building in Guangzhou China will be among the most memorable and best of my life.

A quick message from Jill

I am truly excited to share that Emerson Utley was handed to her parents at 2:30 pm 10/11/10.  When we spoke to them this morning, all sounded happy.  I hope they are all sleeping soundly right now.  Emerson was smiling when she saw her new parents. 

We love you, Wendy.Brian.Emerson!

Wendy will post more soon. 

Gotcha Day Morning

I woke up at 4am this morning and got busy staying calm. Finished a book – Mma Ramatswe, the #1 Lady Detective in Botswana is always very calming for me – took a bath, did some yoga, did some fire breathing, meditated (for about 2 minutes), and read our itinerary a few times. My morning connection has been a lot better so I’ve written a few e-mails too. My mind is racing, my tummy is turning, and my limbs are weak. We are hours away from Emerson; she may even be on the bus from Yangxi to Guangzhou right now.

In China!

Today was straightforward: we met our group at 11am, boarded a bus, passed through customs and immigration into China, and arrived in Guangzhou around 3pm. We met our hosts Jason and Kathy – two people who will be our best friends for the next 12 days. We checked into the White Swan hotel, took a short rest, toured the neighborhood (which is lovely) and then had dinner at Lucy’s around the corner. We are getting to know our group and loving every minute of this experience.

Since then it’s been nothing but trouble. I’ve spent a few hours trying to get connected –wire, wireless, blackberry, nada! I finally found a wireless connection, paid for temporary access and then struggled for several hours. From here on out, Jill (my sis) will be posting blog entries since the blog site is blocked in China (Google) and I’ll work on getting her pictures too.

We have an early morning with a trip to the bank and family meeting with our host. We go to meet the babies at 2pm. WE WILL HAVE OUR DAUGHTER IN OUR ARMS SHORTLY AFTER THAT! Stay tuned and I’ll do my best to stay connected.

Made it to China

Only one more day until they have her!  Wendy and Brian made it to China!  They have joined the other families, in which all have already adopted girls from China seven years ago.  I'm sure this puts Wendy/Brian at ease.  From Wendy's text "Everything exept connections in China is perfect!". 
More to come...
Message brought to you by Emerson's Aunt Jill

Hong Kong, Day 3 (redux)

Today we repeated our tour from Thursday except today we were joined by the other families in our travel group. Hooray! It makes this all feel so real and so close and it’s nice to be with other people who have shared this long painful wait. On Monday, we’ll share amazing moments as we meet our daughters for the first time.

We were guided by our CCAI host in Hong Kong (Matthew) who is wonderful. Today he shared many facts about Hong Kong with us; tomorrow he will chaperone us all the way to Guangzhou.

In the afternoon we visited the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas which is a Buddhist Monastery that houses at least 10,000 Buddhas. It is a beautiful place on the side of a mountain with glorious views of the city and well, at least 10,000 Buddhas. My favorite was at the very top over a waterfall. We climbed a lot of steps. I think someone told us 286 but Brian thinks someone told us 400, probably somewhere in between and it felt like 10,000.

On the way down, we passed a Monk. He stopped and bowed. We stopped and bowed back. He smiled and laughed and then put prayer beads on my wrist, blessed them and bowed. Then he took prayer beads off of his wrist, put them on Brian’s wrist, blessed them and shared a bow with Brian (their heads almost bumped). Then he asked for $100 donation (about $15 US – which is not bad for a set of blessed beads from a mountain top Monastery). We did not have enough cash so Brian gave him everything he had and I put my beads back in his hands. At the bottom of the stairs I remembered that I had some cash too but I’m letting that go and remembering the special blessing.

one picture (explanation)

I am having trouble loading pictures to this blog - looks like I can get 1 to load if I do it quickly!  Don't ask cause I don't understand.

So that is the giant Buddha that we visited at the Po Lin monastery yesterday - seen through a field of incense where 3 sticks are lit and burning for Emerson. Hard to see but if you have great eyes, they are the ones that are brown with red writing, not yellow like the others. 

one picture

Dreams

Until we arrived in Hong Kong 3 days ago, I had dreamed of Emerson one time during our five years of waiting. Once. Since we arrived in Hong Kong, I have dreamed of her every night. The first night was a very detailed “gotcha day” experience. I could see each baby as they were carried into the room and recognized Emerson immediately, even though she was very tiny and as soon as she was in my arms, looked like a hamster. For those of you who know me well, this won’t seem too strange: I dream of animals almost every night. My sister had a dream this week that I handed her Emerson in a lunchbox. Well, if she was the size I dreamed, she would fit into that lunchbox!


Last night I dreamed that we were already home and she could talk, although still only 8 months. We were working out how much and what to feed her. This is a direct reflection of my waking worries. There is a very good chance that she will be undernourished so we are anxious to get her into our arms and start her new diet. What and how much is still a question so I woke up very early and read some web sites. I’m really sure we’ll be ok and figure it out but that won’t stop me from thinking about it for the next 2 days (TWO DAYS!!!).

Hong Kong, Day 2

After a busy day in the city yesterday, today was a quiet visit to an undeveloped island: Lantau. We took the ferry and started on the longest beach in Hong Kong, Cheung Sha (which means long sands).  No one swims there on account of the sharks. From there we went to Tai O village a very old traditional fishing village with stilt houses, that we rode through on a boat, and a dried fish market. Then off to the Po Lin Monastery, overlooked by the largest outdoor sitting bronze Buddha. We then took the Ngong Ping skyrail (cable car) back to the other side of the island.  We had dinner tonight in the hotel buffet - SCORE: sushi!

Hong Kong, Day 1

Despite my case of jetlag, we had a great day.  We ended up booking a tour for today and tomorrow which is very unlike us.  We typically travel through new cities on the cheap - figuring out city transportation and wandering a lot.  We want zero stress during this trip and decided that tours would be a good way to see the city without any wrong turns. 

Sadly, we were the only people on the tour today so we were chauffered around in a bus.  I worried about our carbon footprint all day. On the upside, we had very personal time with the tour guide and got to ask all the questions we could think of. 

We toured Hong Kong Island which included visits to the Aberdeen fishing village with a ride on a sampan through the harbour, a jewelry factory, Stanley Market, and Victoria Peak, passing many different areas of the city on the way.  I would post some pictures but I'm too exhausted to do any downloading right now. Brian has been crashed since we walked in the hotel room around 7:30 and it's past time for me to follow.

Travel Travails and Big Talker Betty Crocker

We landed in Hong Kong around 6:30pm last night, just a little late, and got to our hotel around 9pm. Here is what happened on the way: almost took the shuttle to the wrong hotel (there are 5 Regal Hotels in the city), jumped on a city bus, missed our stop, had a very nice lady help us get to a taxi stand, and then in a moment of jetlag, we upgraded our room (just sounded good - still not sure it was worth it).


And that brings me to Betty Crocker. I have made a very loud and proud point to many people that I don't get jetlag. I've been on two international trips this year (Finland and India) and did not get jetlag on either leg of those trips. Today I spent the day feeling like I had the flu. Of course I totally expected Brian to suffer and he's fine.

happy in San Francisco

Five hours into our journey and Brian is already tired of my travel advice (drink water, walk, blah blah blah). But for the most part, we are having a great time - laughing a lot and feeling very happy.  Our layover here in San Francisco is 5 hours.  I've already blown my appetite on a bag of Oriental Mix crackers ("a treat in itself" the bag proclaims - I keep saying it in my best Don Draper imitation), deleted work related e-mail from my blackberry (ahhh, that was fun), and walked past all the shops.  Gonna have to find some other stuff to do.

For the real leg of this journey, I've got my i-pod full of my favorite podcasts and the latest The #1 Ladies Detective Agency book which sounds like a lovely time.  Too bad I'll probably sleep through most of it.

8 hours to departure

The next time I post will be from China, assuming all the technology works. Bon voyage!

New information about Emerson (when did this arrive?)

At work, I'm super organized.  At home, not so much. The basket where I stash mail to be dealt with later can get pretty full.  Yesterday it was a treasure chest. When the large unopened envelope from our agency appeared, I admit my first feeling was terror.  What did we miss?

Emerson's translated development report!  This was part of the paperwork sent from China as of June so it reflects information about her first 4 months. She arrived at the orphanage on the same day she was born - Feb 5, 2010 and is developing normally.  Here are my favorite highlights:

"she pulls on the blankets of neighboring kids"
"Currently, Xiao Hong is very lively."
"While doing outside activities, she seems especially invigorated."
"She is very interested in learning every new movement."
"Xiao Hong's personality is lively, amicable, and gregarious."
"When she sees people, she smiles."
"She likes for adults to hold her."
"When playing with her, she is extremely happy."

I also found an important letter from the USCIS.  Whoops.

So, for those of you who are panicked that we may have missed something else, do not worry. I am very thorough and will spend today double and triple and quadruple checking that we've got everything BEFORE WE LEAVE TOMORROW MORNING!!!!!

7 days to departure

We leave for China 1 week from today - 7am on Tuesday morning, October 5th.  I feel a little bit lighter with each passing day.  I can't say we are 100% ready but pretty darn close.  The goal is to be completely ready before Monday so we can enjoy our day off before leaving.  I'm pretty sure we'll be running around like we usually do the day before a trip but it's good to have a goal. 

I'm frantically trying to wrap things up and hand em off at work.  Still looking at 10 boxes of clothes in the guest room but they are all 12+ months so they will probably just head up to the attic until we really need them.  I need to make an appointment with our chosen pediatrician (thanks Jenn!) and notify our insurance company about Emerson.  A few odds and ends to buy for the trip.  That's it.  Pretty darn close. 

the lucky bamboo

Back around summer of 2006, just after our paperwork was recognized by China, Brian came home with a little lucky bamboo plant, shaped into a heart.  It was a reflection of our journey to China and something we could take care of while we waited.  We gave our families lucky bamboos for Christmas that year so they could do the same. 

Ours has been through much: our Great Dane/Lab knocked it over with his tail breaking the vase and scattering the bamboo and rocks all over the living room, cats batting, pulling, clawing, chewing the leaves, and constant moves around the house in hopes of finding a safe spot.  About a year ago, it settled on the kitchen counter next to the sink where it has simply endured the cat abuse and doubles as a cat water bowl.  Somehow this little plant has thrived through all of this - I think I know why!  May Emerson be as strong and resiliant as her symbolic sibling:

13 boxes of clothes

I was feeling very organized - everything in Emerson's room in place.  Then my sister turned over 13 boxes of clothes!  All things we need and I'm so happy to have them.  Just trying to find time to sort through 13 boxes.

Why China?

Why China?  This is a common question so it feels like blog material. 

First a bit of irony.  When we decided that we wanted to have a family, Brian suggested that we adopt.  It was something he felt compelled to do - to provide a loving stable home to a child who otherwise would not have it.  My exact quote: I hate paperwork.  That was over 10 years ago and the path has not been easy but there is no doubt that it has been our path, the right one for us. 

Ok, back to China.

When we made the decision to adopt, we did a lot of research - domestic, open, closed, international, special needs, etc.  We attended information sessions and considered many different options.  We settled on a plan to adopt a minority baby, domestically.  For some reason, Brian continued to do research and one night showed me some information on China.  As we read about the process and the stories of the orphanages crowded with baby girls, we both knew this was for us.  We didn't really discuss the reasons - we literally just knew and that was that.  Since then, I've compiled a list of reasons that make it easy to answer the question and they make perfect sense:
-we wanted a girl
-the process was predictable
-the wait was only 10 months (ha!)
-we both have a deep respect for Asian philosophy/religions

But, the truth is that we both felt this in our gut. Our baby would be born in China.

We've had many opportunities to revisit this decision.  Specifically, every time a delay was announced, when our paperwork had to be updated, and annually around my birthday.  We even had some serious conversations about a year ago with a domestic agency.  Every single time, we concluded that this was our path.  Our guts told us to stay the course. 

This year, our baby was born in China and we are on our way!

travel plans - set!

And, we are leaving early.  We mistakenly thought we needed to leave on October 5th and when we found out we don't need to leave until October 7th, we were pretty set on the 5th and just stuck with it.  So, we'll have 2 free days in Hong Kong for sightseeing, adjusting, feeling closer to Emerson.

We will join our group on the 10th and take a bus from Hong Kong to Guangzhou. WE WILL GET EMERSON ON OCTOBER 11TH!  From the 12th through the 22nd we will be meeting with Government Officials (Chinese and US), doing paperwork, and getting to know our daughter. 

We will leave China and get home on October 23rd.  My niece was hoping we would come home on a week day so she could miss a day of school. It's Saturday. 

checking things off the list

Several weeks ago I wrote about "the big five" - the important things we had to get done before we leave.  So, we are just about done.  Travel Visas-check.  Emerson's room-check. Travel shots-check.  Still need to make an appointment with a pediatrician for our first week back (we have several great recommendations) and get one more document notarized.  And, our travel arrangements are just about done.  Now the biggest challenge is packing.  Luckily, we are both light packers so the hard part is making sure that we take everything we need for Emerson.

the update

The pictures we received yesterday (see next entry) were taken on August 19. Updated information was also included:
Height = 24.5 inches
weight = 13.45 lbs
head = 16.5 inches
chest = 16 inches
foot = 3.7 inches
She is sitting with support; no standing, walking, or speaking yet.  All seems normal. Oh, and she is sleeping in a crib by herself. 

From the pictures, we can tell that she is growing. Hair is a little longer and her toes are adorable!

surprise pictures!

What a wonderful surprise!  These came by e-mail today...

Emerson's cute room

The room is pretty much done - it was a family project this week-end.  My Mom & Dad were here on Saturday for some furniture assembly and planning.  We also did some shopping with my 4 yr old niece who is very helpful and excited about having a new cousin. Today (Labor Day), my parents came back with the completed artwork (awesome fish painting by my Mom - see below) and my sister and her husband brought over the remaining furniture.  Oh, and their kids, who were distracting, helpful, energetic, exhausting! It was a great day and it feels awesome to hang out in the completed room, just waiting for my little baby girl to come home.

That's my Dad inside the crib - he had to crawl under it to get out.

My mom painted the big fish picture - so cute! 

Obviously - fish theme.  Blues and greens for the water signs that we are (Aquarius Emerson and Pisces Wendy). Hopefully soothing and fun too. Grateful for the awesome furniture, toys, and clothes from my sister and bro-in-law, artwork from my mom, and much assembly help from my dad.

7 months

Emerson arrived at the Yangxi Social Welfare Institute 7 months ago today. It also appears that she was born on that day.  I hope to learn something more about her story during our trip, but know it's unlikely.  I can't imagine what that day was like for her birth mommy.  I do believe that it was a decision and act carried out under extreme pressure and sadness and with hopes that her baby would have a chance at a better life than she could give.  I am grateful for the opportunity to give her that better life and hope that her birth mommy has found peace with the decision she had to make.

As for Emerson Xiao Hong, I just hope someone she loves holds her today.  I have to believe that despite the conditions, there is someone there with a special attachment to her, giving her as much care and love that they can.  They say she has a ready smile and is quick to laugh.  I hope she has a happy day today.

on the bright side

Just so I don't sink into complete sadness that we are leaving for China around Oct 6 instead of Sept 13, here are some good things about having 3 more weeks:
-time to wrap some things up at work before taking off 12 weeks
-will be able to attend my niece's family birthday celebration (and the last time I missed this, about 3 years ago, she was mad at me for 6 months)

These things really don't matter but I want to list more than 2 things:
-possibly cheaper airline tickets with more advance notice
-more time for our preventive shots to take effect

That's all the stretching I can do on this subject.

Travel Date Set!

Well, it's later rather than sooner.  Our appointment with the US Consulate is set for October 20th which means we will leave Dallas around October 6th.  Not sure yet when we actually pick up Emerson;  sometime in between those dates, so hopefully that will be earlier rather than later in the trip.

I had convinced myself that we would be leaving around Sept 13th so this is a huge let down. 

Back to procrastinating. (not really)

kicking into gear

I am a procrastinator. I wholeheartedly believe that I work most efficiently and creatively under pressure.  It works for me.  Most of the time.  Brian is better about this and I got some kind reminders (lectures) from both my Mom and Dad last night so we are kicking into gear.  I guess technically we are under pressure now since it is possible that we will leave in under 2 weeks!  We expect to have our travel date tomorrow...

So, here is the list, the big 5 as I like to call it: get our China travel visas, get our shots (something I would prefer to skip), have final paperwork for trip notarized, finish Emerson's room, and find pediatrician so that we have an appointment for her as soon as we return.  We have made progress on each one and have a plan so it will all come together I know.  Working on Visa applications tonight.

TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION!

We got word today that we have received approval from China to travel.  We have been expecting to travel around October 5th but we could go as early as SEPTEMBER 13.  Oh my, freaking out!

Our agency will provide the US Consulate with several date options for our appointment and that will determine when we actually go.  Hopefully we will know that within a few days. Stay tuned!

care package ready to go!

We've been a bit delayed with Emerson's care package because we wanted to fill the little baby picture book with pictures of us - we couldn't find pictures so yesterday we visited my Mom and she pulled it all together. Thanks Mom.

New books

Got a few new books last night:
Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adopted Parents Knew
Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child
Baby We Were Meant for Each Other (by NPR's Scott Simon)

I started with the light reading and Brian started with the heavy one. My choice is impossible to read in my own voice at my own pace - Scott Simon is filling my head (I listen to him every Saturday morning and heard him reading passages from this book last week so I've got it down perfectly). There is some controversy about his book, mainly about the title I think, but I'm gonna give it a read before I decide. It's about his personal experience adopting 2 baby girls from China as well as other adoption stories from people he met along the way.

A few non-Emerson comments: the book store was having some sort of Star Wars gathering so we were surrounded by storm troopers, jedi knights, bounty hunters, and DARTH VADER. I walked behind Darth Vader and felt a little ping of terror, for real. Then I worked up my courage and took a picture with him. Just a little scary. And, to be honest, the trip to the book store was my ruse to get near Yogurt Land, which we visited afterwards (yum!). Luckily we came away with some great books.

mailed travel docs (days ago)

I have been out of town this week, not far, but still out of town. It was hard to be away from home when I have so much to think about: when are we going to China, when are we going to China, when are we going to China, when are we going to China??????

As you can tell, we don't know when we are going to China yet. Waiting for travel authorization (TA) from China and for an appointment with the US embassy in Guangzhou. We expect to have all this in about a week which means we can book our flights. We did take care of all the required travel paperwork for our agency - had to squeeze in a trip to the bank for notarizing on Monday morning and it all went into the mail that day.

Emerson's space in my heart is growing each day.

new pictures posted!

Top errand of the day is complete... our other two pictures are scanned and shared!

imagining where she is right now

I am supposed to be somewhere at 9:30 but not sure I'm gonna make it...


Reading about her Province and City and I came across a few pictures taken at her orphanage, the Yangxi County Welfare Institute, so one of these cribs could be where she is sleeping right this second. This came from another blog, so I sure hope I didn't break any rules by doing this. Had to share.

first visit to Babies R Us

We went to Babies R Us last night to buy the things we want to put into her care package. I thought it would be completely overwhelming but it wasn't at all. We walked every inch of the store and thought about all the things we were going to need. No decisions, no big purchases, just taking it all in.

We did buy a few things for her care package which we will mail to her next week, following the very specific guidelines that exist for care packages. Have to make sure it fits into a shoe size box:
-baby photo book which we'll fill with pictures of ourselves and our 4-legged babies. It's soft and crinkly with handle perfect for teething so hopefully she'll like playing with it and get time to look at us too :)
-two little stuffed guys that make noises. According to her records, she likes toys that make noise (and so do I) so I picked the ones that had the noise I most enjoyed.
-a little blanket stuffed animal. I don't know what these things are called but my nieces had one that they were completely attached to. This one has a monkey head, soft top, satin underneath.
-a blanket - light green like her rooom with a few fish pictures like we plan for her room. Not sure this will fit in the box, we'll see.


We still want to get a stuffed animal so that's another errand for the day.

starting her room

Emerson's room has been waiting for her for 5 years, since we moved into this house. About 3 years ago, we painted the walls light lime green in an attempt to speed up the wait (ha!). That is where we stopped. We did not want to set up a room that we might have to take back apart if something were to interfere with our adoption.

What we have today is a brightly painted room stuffed full of the things my sister has dropped off as her daughters grew out of the baby stuff - crib in pieces, high chair, bags of clothes, mobile, toys, and even a potty training chair (which the nieces like to sit on when they visit).

I will take a few "before" pictures when we start getting it ready this afternoon. And, I can't wait to start, now that I know something about the little person who will live in this room. Yeah!

waiting for travel info

We expect to go to China in 7 weeks so we are counting on Oct 5th. It's a little complicated:

Our US authorization to immigrate an orphan (I-171H) expires on Oct 23. That means that we have to meet with the US Consulate in Guangzhou before Oct 20 to process her paperwork, which we'll do at the end of our 2 week trip. Our agency has told us over and over that we shouldn't need to extend that paperwork (it's a big head-ache) so we are trusting that all will work out. Rumor Queen posted yesterday that the US Consulate is backed up with appointments.

Of course I'm worried sick and ready to walk into our Congressman's office today to ask for help (RQ suggests writing) but I'll sit tight for a few days.

As our agency works on making our US Consulate appointment, we also wait for authorization to travel from China. As soon as both of those are set, we'll get visa's.

We do have a stack of documents from our Agency that we have to review & sign this week-end. Out of paper in the house so second errand today will be for printer paper. First errand is to go get her 2 additional pictures scanned since I am unable to get ours to work!

she is living in Yangxi

So, she is living in the Yangxi County Social Welfare Institution in Guangdong Province. Guangzhou, where the US Consulate is located, is also in this province and it's very close to Hong Kong. The map is probably impossible to read here but the Province is along the coast smack in the middle of this particular view.

her Chinese name

I was very lucky to speak with several of my colleagues from China today. I learned a lot about her name and now understand that both parts of her given name, Xiao Hong, are important. The translation is a little up in the air since what we got from the agency does not make sense to my Chinese-speaking friends but it can be:
little red
little rainbow
moon at dawn

We'll resolve this eventually but the funny part was when I mentioned that we would use Xiao as her middle name, following our American name for her, Emerson. I got a very puzzled look and then learned that Xiao is a common "space filler" in names - and that makes sense since so many of the babies we see have Xiao in their name. So we have decided that her name will be Emerson Xiao Hong Utley. A little long, but the best way to preserve her heritage in her name. And, I think it's a beautiful mouthful. Guess "Ruth" is definitely out now.

new pictures

The package arrived today on schedule and we have 2 more pictures of our precious baby! Unfortunately, I can't get the scanner to work so I am unable to post them here just yet. Will get that resolved soon!

In the meantime, here is what else we know. In June, at 4 months:
she weighed 11.66 lbs
measured 23 inches
she was eating every 4 hours and had a normal appetite
appeared to sleep from 8:30pm to 6 am and is a deep sleeper (like her mom)
she enjoys playing with people and likes toys that make noise (like her mom)
and she smiles a lot!

Perfect.

We signed and mailed our "acceptance" tonight, which goes to China (via our agency) so our travel can be authorized. It's been a while (44 months to be exact) since the paper chase and all the FedEx activity so we were rusty. Told the guy at Kinkos: "We are mailing the most important thing we will ever mail in our lives." He took care of it and we checked item 1 off the list. Now on to the rest of that list!

the day after match day

Today the official package will arrive, with 2 more pictures and more information about Emerson Xiao. I am going to float through the day. Brian's parents will be in town so they will celebrate over lunch.

Besides being absolutely adorable, it's amazing that we've found a few similarities:
-her eyes look a bit like Brian's
-her mouth looks just like mine did when I was a baby
-she has the same wrinkled brow that runs on my side of the family, we call it the worried look (hi Uncle Marcus)

It may just be this picture so time will tell, but a few people noticed these things right off the bat. They say that during the matching process they try and match physical characteristics with the parents. We always thought that was funny and have made more than one joke about it during the last 5 years.

Off to the grindstone where my goal is to get some work done although I have a feeling lots of my day will be consumed with sharing this amazing news.

Match Day

We didn't make it through the day as planned - had a conference call with our Agency around 1:30pm and have been swooning ever since. We just have this one picture so far - more on the way with the full package tomorrow.

My parents came over as soon as they could (with my perfect nieces in tow) for a big picture reveal. We met my sister and celebrated over Chinese food.

It's hard to describe how we are feeling tonight. Like a huge weight has been lifted and life just got a little bit clearer and brighter.

call confirmed for today

Our agency confirmed that they have referrals and are making calls to all their families today.

def: the call
Our agency will call us and share all the details that they have about our daughter including name, age, region, size, medical exam, habits, etc. During the call, they will e-mail her picture to us. After the call they will Fedex the package with all the translated information.

We have agreed to take the call together and since Brian works today and has a job that he can not leave, that means tonight. Our plan is to ask them to call us at 7pm tonight (CST). Sounds like a reasonable and rational plan. We'll see if we can stick to it.

I didn't sleep well last night and actually had a dream about a stork. (technically I think it was a pelican, but same thing)

Days away

Guess I wasn't ready to actually start a blog last December. Now the time has come - we are DAYS AWAY from receiving our referral. Expecting 3 pictures of our baby girl to arrive on Wednesday. We have no informaion from our agency, still relying on Rumor Queen, but there is no doubt that we are in this batch. This is the hardest part of the wait so far.