Home Sweet Home

It's sooooo good to be home...and sleep in my bed...and have Emily here! Emily loves her little sister. She kisses her and tells her she loves her all the time. I get dead tired at 4pm, like I've been at an all night party (too old for that, I guess!). Cassidy's been waking up a couple times a night, the worst being at 4:30am with the intention of staying up so she's been coming to bed with me then and will then sleep until 8:30.

Cassidy fusses in her sleep for about an hour before she wakes up. I heard Emily say, "Cassidy, would you be more quiet, please?" in the middle of the night lol She was personalizing her crying but has learned not to. She also sets up her sleeping bag in the living room in case Cassy is fussing too much and is keeping her awake.

I have no idea how we're going to get Emily to school on time! Maybe I'll get up at 4:30 lol All of our friends are very excited for us and have been thrilled to finally meet Cassidy. Today I broke down and took a nap--naps are underrated.

We got the VIP treatment all the way home--before we left China, they found an error with our Japan to Detroit flight and tried to fix that for about 45 minutes (when I originally booked the flights, NWA had Cassidy on the flight to Japan; they caught it before we left but then forgot to add Cassidy back on the flight home) "We'll try to get it fixed so you can make this flight." Oh no! I wasn't missing that flight because then I'd miss two connecting flights!! So a supervisor put our carryons on a cart and whizzed us through a VIP line and pushed the cart all the way onto the plane. Then when we landed in Detroit and had to go through Immigration, we had probably several hundred people in front of us, this short woman came up to us, "This line isn't good for baby. Come with me" and she made a line just for us! Lastly, getting our heavy luggage, I asked a young guy if he'd mind getting it off the conveyor. I should play this baby card more often lol

I'm not able to upload photos at this time. Check back later. All in all, because I wasn't alone, I was able to enjoy this trip, and Cassidy, much more than I did my first trip with Emily. Check back for pix.

Just Call me "Grace"

So, we're off the bus, walking to the Consulate appt, middle of the concrete stairs and I catch my foot and fall flat on my face. Cassidy was in the carrier and thankfully I kept both my hands on her. It scared her, but she wasn't injured. I, on the other hand, look like I've been in a brawl. I was going to tell everyone that I "had it out" with the grandma police lol

It's surprised me how many pets I've seen this trip--many dogs and a couple cats of the store owner. One kitty was just a little bit, probably less than two months old. I needed a kitty fix...speaking of fixes, I'm glad there's a Starbucks here and so is every other American I've seen there!

It's very warm and humid today but cloudy. Did some last minute shopping and finally started *packing.* We meet downstairs @ 6:30am tomorrow. We will be flying, I believe, for 23 hours, but cannot wait to be home. I'm hoping to be able to bring some rice congee on the flight for Cassidy. She is doing great. One guy asked me if I shaved her head lol He was quite surprised when I told him how much her hair has grown in a week!

For anyone who's heard me mention my friend Jesse adopting from Guatemala, she left Sunday for Guatemala after church and should have Willow by now. I cannot imagine how heart wrenching that will be, given that Willow is 20 months and has been in foster care that entire time. She returns Friday.

The shop keepers are pushier than they were five years ago. The decrease in adoptions has had a domino effect on the economy around here. If you even blink in the direction of something, they take it off the shelves, then show you different colors and sizes. They even initiate the discounts.

With that, I'm signing off very excited to land in Mpls!! I cannot wait to see Emily and sleep in my own bed.

The Sun Finally Shines in China

Finally, sunshine! Yesterday was beautiful outside! Short sleeves and no coats! It was a fun day of shopping and walking in the parks. There's a store called "Jordan." We met the owner while walking. He speaks wonderful English and will write the kids names in Chinese with what the symbols represent for free. He wanted to hold Cassidy then he asked if I had a camera. "Take picture and tell her this is her Uncle Jordan." Very nice man.

Today is our Consulate appt. The place has moved and now is a half hour drive. WE'll be leaving early Thursday...I'm counting the hours. Pat is on a tour so Cassidy is here and starting to fuss. Gotta run!

%%Cassidy Sunshine%%

Parent do silly things when their baby is crying and I'm no exception. I have made up so many songs, I really should consider a career move! Here's one sung to the tune of "Here Comes Santa Claus"...

Cassidy Sunshine

Cassidy Sunshine

Smiling all day long.

Big brown eyes

and a toothless grin

Smiling all day long....

You get the idea. I wanted to find her a stocking cap, because her hood keeps coming off. Of course, it was yellow like sunshine, the same color she was wearing in every layer when I got her.

Yesterday we toured the folk art museum and had the babies blessed at a Buddhist Temple. When getting out my "offering" I dropped all my money and swore...in a Temple!!! Bad Mommy! Tomorrow is our Consulate appt in the afternoon so plenty of time to shop.

I forgot to mention that Cassidy is a whopping 16 pounds! More than I expected. She has mongolian spots all the way down her back and on her bottom. She might have them on her wrists, too, but the lighting is so poor in the room I can't tell for sure. She's adjusting very well and has made a lot of progress. She's begun to cry when I leave the room (or she cannot see me) which always warms my heart. All of the babies are doing well...and we're all getting anxious to get home!

The hospitality business in China exceeds all expectations. Very professional, very clean, many staff everywhere ready and willing to help.

One last thing. You know how you center a diaper under a babies butt? When I adopted Emily, she would wiggle her butt and laugh, I assume, knowing how tough it made my job...Cassidy does the same thing! Funny kids.

We love and miss you, Emily. You're my best girl in the whole wide world. I've been using my kissing hand every day and every night. Just a few more days, sweetie, and we'll be home.

There's Starbucks in Guangzhou!

woooooohooooooo Starbucks! Can you say "Large, decaf iced mocha with skim milk and no whip, please?" :o)

Our flight was delayed over an hour late night, filled with loud drunk Chinese men, getting out of the plane in pouring rain on the tarmac, finally got to bed at 1:30 then up early for the Medical Exam. Cassidy was so pooped she slept all night until 8am. The weather is much warmer here--it feels good to wear a t shirt. It was rainin g hard this morning.

The White Swan Hotel is on an island. The immediate area is quite nice and peaceful--crazy drivers still here, just fewer. Many shops and am looking forward to haggling the best prices I can. Tomorrow we tour the Folk Art Museum and a Buddhist Temple and will have the babies blessed. Many adoptive families stay here, albeit, much less than when I was here five years ago. Much less. We have a nice sized suite with two bathrooms and Cassidy has a very cool Asian looking crib. I'll get a picture.

Cassidy is the center of attention wherever we go. This kid will smile at anyone who will smile at her. She loves the 1-1 attention, but lets you know very clearly when she's getting bored, hungry, whatever.

In a week we'll be home, and I can't wait!!!!!!!!! It's not the same not having Emily around. She makes me smile even when she's thousands of miles away.

Last Day in Changsha

Hopefully by the time I'm finished typing I'll be able to include some pictures--it's not working right now. The poverty in China is indescribable. The homes people live in, the living conditions, etc Pat reminded me that this southern area of China has the highest ??amount?? of acid rain anywhere in the world. No wonder why the buildings look so awful. The tours/China really isn't very "family friendly," few places are heated (tours, restaurants, etc) no places to change diapers, etc We leave late tonight for Guangzhou, where hopefully it's sunny and warmer. I haven't been able to do much shopping and have money burning a hole in my pocket!

Cassidy is doing good. Last night she was up at 2-4-6, tho! She sings after a bath! She and Emily are going to have so much fun making each other laugh. Her motor skills are pretty delayed. She can't sit up on her own and isn't very interested in holding things. Hopefully she'll catch up quickly like Emily did. I think she's teething...and guess who forgot Oragel?? I found out Cassidy's Chinese name "WenBo" is pronounced "Wen Bwah."

We check out at 5 and head for the airport at 6. I guess this will be our first run with a baby through the airport...only an hour flight, thankfully.

Emily, I'm glad to hear you're having fun and being a good girl. Thank you. We can't wait to see you--in less than a week, we'll be home!! Hugs and kisses, Mommy

One More Week

I'm ready to come home. It's still cloudy and I can hear car horns honk 31 floors up! Today we toured an embroidery museum (beautiful stuff) then a university ("open air"). Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou (late, 8:40pm) and the final countdown begins. I wasn't able to download pictures again but should have time tomorrow. Both yesterday and today we had "family style" lunches as part of our tours, sampling many different dishes. Andrew Z on the Travel Channel highly recommended donkey ("tender and flavorful") so I asked our guide. Sure enough, today we had donkey. Not as good as I imagined. Kinda the texture of bacon with a smoky flavor. Oh well, at least I tried something new

Cassidy has had a couple "blow outs" I think from changing formula and teething. She's been waking up every four hours for a bottle making the bags under my eyes more pronounced! She's very funny (and knows it) and loves to imitate. Hopefully, I'll get more pictures of her posted. She still has a "cold" (rattle in her throat she can't cough up), but it's not getting any worse.

It sounds like Emily is doing well, I called her this morning (my time) and she sounded well. It's awful going so long without her but think the trip would be tough with her here, too--she'd hate the long tours in the unheated buildings!

I'm a pretty boring tourist, I know; I'm here for Cassidy--the sightseeing is optional for me. I love you, Emily and can't wait to see you!

Gotcha

Sorry it's taken so long to post again; I've been unable to log on then it took forever to download pix. Cassidy is perfect!! She's just a little peanut, about the size of a six month old (and I expected a chubby baby!) She coos and sings, kicks her feet a lot and loves music. Emily better start practicing. No teeth and close to no hair (just a little stubble). She has the funniest toothless smile and "gnaws" on her gums like a toothless old person.

She wiggles all the time making baths very difficult. She woke up only once during the night, and I think she just got scared not knowing where she was. When her tummy is full, she'll sing and coo for an hour then suck on her fingers and drift off to sleep.

What a great orphanage--I got the clothes she was wearing the day she was found in addition to a "memory book" which includes a picture of her on the day she was found, wearing those clothes. There was one other family from another agency and our three. The babies were presented very formally, but first they had to see our passport to ensure I was the mommy.

Today we have the day off. Tomorrow we're touring a mueseum and not sure where we go Thursday. We leave for Guangzhou late Friday @ 8:30 pm and will be there until 3/12. There was a thunderstorm this morning, and it's still raining. Pat's knee is bothering her and I'm happy staying in and playing with Cassidy.

Emily, I can't wait to hear you sing to Cassidy. She loves all songs, even made up ones!! I love you sooooooooooooo much and send lotsa kisses.

I'll post in a day or so or whenever I can get on again!