With Lisa out front.
Throwing snowballs...
Running to the corner...
And warming up with Ryan inside.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Two little boys in the snow
Our first days at home brought lots of snow and excited little boys.
With Lisa out front.
Throwing snowballs...
Running to the corner...
And warming up with Ryan inside.
With Lisa out front.
Throwing snowballs...
Running to the corner...
And warming up with Ryan inside.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
An Airport Welcome
At last! We're home! We had a wonderful surprise when we flew into Chicago. We were going through customs when we heard - through the glass doors - a huge loud cheer, and saw our family and friends waiting. We were overwhelmed and touched.
They had all huddled into O'Hare's international terminal. Here's Ryan, Aidan, Danny and Nicole before we came out.
Tommy was as surprised as we were.
While he was at the orphanage we had sent Tommy a little photo album of our family so we could talk about who we were going to see when we got home. He took out the album when he saw everyone, matching his brothers and sisters to their pictures.
This is taken just when Tommy and Aidan first met. Tommy reached out and took Aidan's hand, and then touched his face gently, as if making sure he was finally there.
Nicole and Tommy with one of the signs welcoming him home.
Nicole, Tommy, Ryan, Danny, Tom, Lisa and Aidan. All together!!
Tommy's cousin Nate brought pom-poms to cheer him on. Tommy ran all around the terminal with them, but when Aidan got down to play, he gave him one, took his hand, and they took off together.
Aidan, on the right, checking out Tommy, sitting with Carrie.
Tommy and Aidan, hugging Mommy.
They had all huddled into O'Hare's international terminal. Here's Ryan, Aidan, Danny and Nicole before we came out.
Tommy was as surprised as we were.
While he was at the orphanage we had sent Tommy a little photo album of our family so we could talk about who we were going to see when we got home. He took out the album when he saw everyone, matching his brothers and sisters to their pictures.
This is taken just when Tommy and Aidan first met. Tommy reached out and took Aidan's hand, and then touched his face gently, as if making sure he was finally there.
Nicole and Tommy with one of the signs welcoming him home.
Nicole, Tommy, Ryan, Danny, Tom, Lisa and Aidan. All together!!
Tommy's cousin Nate brought pom-poms to cheer him on. Tommy ran all around the terminal with them, but when Aidan got down to play, he gave him one, took his hand, and they took off together.
Aidan, on the right, checking out Tommy, sitting with Carrie.
Tommy and Aidan, hugging Mommy.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
It's official!
Thursday was a big day for us. We found out in the morning that Tommy got his visa without any more problems! At 3pm in the afternoon we went to the US Consulate where we had a "swearing in" ceremony and Tommy, finally, is officially ours.
There were about 50 other families there with us -- a huge crowd -- and quite a few were adopting for the second or third time. I expected a little pomp and circumstance but it was very simple and a bit crazy. After showing all the official papers needed, all the adoptive parents stood up and we raised our right hands, swore that all the information we gave was true to the best of our knowledge .... and then we were officially Tommy's adoptive parents! The picture above is in front of the Consulate immediately afterward.
Earlier in the day, after we had cleared up the Visa business but before our appointment, we decided to go shopping/sightseeing off the island (where most of the locals shop) to celebrate. It was really fascinating - the streets are the size of alleyways and full of people and things for sale. The first thing we saw were bags and bags - large bags, 2 to 3 feet tall, full of herbs and spices for soups and medicine.
Some of these large bags had snake skins, deer bone legs, even black ants.
The strangest thing we saw were three big washtubs of live (deadly) scorpions. They were crawling all over the tub, but Bill assured us that they weren't able to climb out. This made me feel only slightly better.
The next block over was the "pet alley" and they sold all kinds of pets - turtles, gerbils, rabbits, kittens, puppies...
...even baby chicks.
Next was "Jade alley," where all of the vendors sell different types of Jade. Usually the street is filled with vendors but most of the shops were closed because everyone is going home for the Chinese New Year.
We ended our walk (thank goodness we borrowed the stroller from the hotel) at a beautiful Buddhist temple that was hundreds of years old. People were there buying incense and praying for health and happiness in the coming year for themselves or a loved one.
The long corridor of gold Buddhas represent the 500 disciples.
We fly to Tokyo Friday morning and arrive in Chicago Saturday!
There were about 50 other families there with us -- a huge crowd -- and quite a few were adopting for the second or third time. I expected a little pomp and circumstance but it was very simple and a bit crazy. After showing all the official papers needed, all the adoptive parents stood up and we raised our right hands, swore that all the information we gave was true to the best of our knowledge .... and then we were officially Tommy's adoptive parents! The picture above is in front of the Consulate immediately afterward.
Earlier in the day, after we had cleared up the Visa business but before our appointment, we decided to go shopping/sightseeing off the island (where most of the locals shop) to celebrate. It was really fascinating - the streets are the size of alleyways and full of people and things for sale. The first thing we saw were bags and bags - large bags, 2 to 3 feet tall, full of herbs and spices for soups and medicine.
Some of these large bags had snake skins, deer bone legs, even black ants.
The strangest thing we saw were three big washtubs of live (deadly) scorpions. They were crawling all over the tub, but Bill assured us that they weren't able to climb out. This made me feel only slightly better.
The next block over was the "pet alley" and they sold all kinds of pets - turtles, gerbils, rabbits, kittens, puppies...
...even baby chicks.
Next was "Jade alley," where all of the vendors sell different types of Jade. Usually the street is filled with vendors but most of the shops were closed because everyone is going home for the Chinese New Year.
We ended our walk (thank goodness we borrowed the stroller from the hotel) at a beautiful Buddhist temple that was hundreds of years old. People were there buying incense and praying for health and happiness in the coming year for themselves or a loved one.
The long corridor of gold Buddhas represent the 500 disciples.
We fly to Tokyo Friday morning and arrive in Chicago Saturday!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Getting Home
We ran into a little bit of a snag yesterday. After his visit to the US consulate, Bill (our guide)found out that the medical clinic classified Tommy as special needs because of minor physical complication.
It is not something we consider special needs but it does mean that our home study now needs to be re-written. We've contacted our adoption agency in Chicago, and they're scrambling to file paperwork that says we're aware of the issue. This must be done to get Tommy's visa. I know this all sounds crazy - we don't know why the clinic did not tell Bill that they were classifying him this way in the paperwork. We're very frustrated, but will know more today.
In the meantime, we're focusing on the positive, sending some pictures from this week. Tuesday we visited the Guangzhou Botanical Garden.
In front of the Dutch Windmill? Perhaps!
Feeding the fish. He loved it! He really loved running back and forth to the vendor to buy little bags of fish food. He did it like four times and a had a fit when when we left to continue on.
Hungry fish, i think he fed them all!
Rose Gaden. Tommy with Bill.
Picture bench...
2009 is the year of the Ox.
Fried whole pigeon for dinner. Yes, the head and all. Tommy loved the pigeon.
Steamed fish, whole fish, head and all. Both were actually pretty good.
Meals are are very stressful for Tommy - and us - he wants to grab everything on the table within reach, and likes to break things up by insisting on going to the bathroom several times. Lisa's at the ready.
He wants to try everything, then work everything into a mush that he then doesn't want to eat. He loves fruit though, which is a nice fall back.
We'll keep you updated on the clinic business - we can't wait to bring him home!
It is not something we consider special needs but it does mean that our home study now needs to be re-written. We've contacted our adoption agency in Chicago, and they're scrambling to file paperwork that says we're aware of the issue. This must be done to get Tommy's visa. I know this all sounds crazy - we don't know why the clinic did not tell Bill that they were classifying him this way in the paperwork. We're very frustrated, but will know more today.
In the meantime, we're focusing on the positive, sending some pictures from this week. Tuesday we visited the Guangzhou Botanical Garden.
In front of the Dutch Windmill? Perhaps!
Feeding the fish. He loved it! He really loved running back and forth to the vendor to buy little bags of fish food. He did it like four times and a had a fit when when we left to continue on.
Hungry fish, i think he fed them all!
Rose Gaden. Tommy with Bill.
Picture bench...
2009 is the year of the Ox.
Fried whole pigeon for dinner. Yes, the head and all. Tommy loved the pigeon.
Steamed fish, whole fish, head and all. Both were actually pretty good.
Meals are are very stressful for Tommy - and us - he wants to grab everything on the table within reach, and likes to break things up by insisting on going to the bathroom several times. Lisa's at the ready.
He wants to try everything, then work everything into a mush that he then doesn't want to eat. He loves fruit though, which is a nice fall back.
We'll keep you updated on the clinic business - we can't wait to bring him home!
Learning new words
Tommy is learning English so quickly! He repeats everything we say, as if he's teaching himself and already switches back between a word he knows in English to words he only knows in Chinese. (When we saw an airplane go by the other day he said, "Airplane," followed by, "all done," in Chinese.) We're learning too, and communication is getting easier.
He's hilarious to watch - he's interested in everything around him, loves playing with the water in the shower and watching the boats on the river. If you look closely, you can see this man waving to us.
This picture didn't turn out too well because its so dark, but the river at night is beautiful.
We spent most of Sunday and Monday on the island, enjoying the weather, eating, and getting used to having another toddler with us all the time. We see lots of families who brought their entire family over to China with them. Many of them are adopting for a second time and are bringing their older child back to China to see the country again. Still others are adopting after having a few of their own (some are teenagers, some are younger) and seeing these families makes us miss our own family immensely. However, we also think this is an important time for us to devote all our energy to Tommy and to his successful transition to our family.
He's hilarious to watch - he's interested in everything around him, loves playing with the water in the shower and watching the boats on the river. If you look closely, you can see this man waving to us.
This picture didn't turn out too well because its so dark, but the river at night is beautiful.
We spent most of Sunday and Monday on the island, enjoying the weather, eating, and getting used to having another toddler with us all the time. We see lots of families who brought their entire family over to China with them. Many of them are adopting for a second time and are bringing their older child back to China to see the country again. Still others are adopting after having a few of their own (some are teenagers, some are younger) and seeing these families makes us miss our own family immensely. However, we also think this is an important time for us to devote all our energy to Tommy and to his successful transition to our family.
Guangzhou
U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou's adoptions unit issues all immigrant visas to adopted orphans from mainland China - which explains why, as we've mentioned before, there are a lot of other people adopting staying around us. Its still rare to have a little boy. We have some clothes for Tommy, but he's so active he's absolutely filthy by the end of the day, we needed more. We went into some of the shops, and they have the most adorable clothes, but they're all for little girls or babies.
There is a Starbucks right around the corner from the hotel and by Sunday we gave in. I can't drink the coffee here but Starbucks tastes just like home. Tommy loved his chocolate milk.
I keep forgetting to send a picture of the squatting toilets! They're everywhere in China. If you want a western toilet you better use the one in your hotel room or you are out of luck. Basically its just a toilet in the floor that you squat over. I found out the hard way that many of them don't have toilet paper either. Now I always make sure to have some in my purse but that's also a problem because people miss the toilet and the floor is always wet so you don't want to put your purse down. (And rarely do you find a purse hook.)
There is a Starbucks right around the corner from the hotel and by Sunday we gave in. I can't drink the coffee here but Starbucks tastes just like home. Tommy loved his chocolate milk.
I keep forgetting to send a picture of the squatting toilets! They're everywhere in China. If you want a western toilet you better use the one in your hotel room or you are out of luck. Basically its just a toilet in the floor that you squat over. I found out the hard way that many of them don't have toilet paper either. Now I always make sure to have some in my purse but that's also a problem because people miss the toilet and the floor is always wet so you don't want to put your purse down. (And rarely do you find a purse hook.)
Monday, January 19, 2009
Day 9 and 10: To Guangzhou!
We've left Harbin (northeast ) and have arrived in Guangzhou (south). This shot is our last meal Thursday night in Harbin. It was at the restaurant in the hotel where we ate most of our meals. We spent a lot of time with the staff and they spoiled Tommy!
And we're off! Friday morning, leaving the hotel for the airport. Tommy (just like Danny and Aidan) loved pulling his own suitcase.
On the plane. We had just sat down and the "fun" was about to start.
The flight was a nightmare. Tommy had never been on a plane before and was terrified of the seatbelt. When I tried to put his seatbelt on at take off he started SCREAMING (no one in China uses car seats or seatbelts in the cars). He screamed for about 10 minutes and even though everyone at the back of the plane was trying to help us, he wouldn't stop. The plane hadn't even taken off yet! The stewardess eventually came over with a glass of apple juice for him, talked to him in Chinese for a little bit and told us we could hold him instead of using the seatbelt. That helped until our 30 minute layover that required us to get off and on the same plane. This ride was better until Tommy got tired and needed his nap. (At the orphanage he napped every day from 12:00 'til 2:00. We can always tell when its noon because he gets really tired, sucks his thumb and gets VERY crabby.) On the plane he was absolutely exhausted but the poor little guy just didn't know how to fall asleep in his seat. He was incredibly frustrated and kicked the seat in front of him and screamed some more. I am not looking forward to getting on another plane. As Tom says, one week to recover!
Look at our little guy! Off the plane and happy again. He looks like he's on a little mission: out of this airport and done with these planes.
The weather in Guangzhou is beautiful, with temperatures in the 60s. This is a park and playground around the corner from where we're staying. It's nice to walk around and eat someplace other than our hotel.
We're here to finalize the adoption, finish paperwork and have Tommy cleared by a clinic. Saturday morning, first thing, we made our way there.
Everyone who adopts has to come through here, so there are a lot of other families. Even for us its kind of strange to see so many white parents with all these tiny Chinese children. Many of them have special needs. It is taking so long to adopt a healthy child that many parents are choosing special needs babies. Severely disabled children are still not available, but most of them have a cleft palate or club foot, etc. We are still in the minority with a boy. We met one older couple with a little girl who had a cleft palate. She is their 7th child from China - they have 10 total (!) There were several others waiting with us at the clinic.
Seeing the doctor.
On the walk through the park back home.
Playing at the playground before dinner.
Who will I play with?
Me and Baba.
Me and Mama.
This is inside the White Swan Hotel. It's very nice and much more expensive to stay in but only a block away from us, with an easy walk over.
Tommy looks so much like Aidan here, snacking on an apple.
The river is behind the White Swan Hotel.
Walking by the river.
We went to a Thai restaurant after the playground this afternoon. It was one of our first meals without Bill to translate and it went well! We have more clinic visits and paperwork ahead...
And we're off! Friday morning, leaving the hotel for the airport. Tommy (just like Danny and Aidan) loved pulling his own suitcase.
On the plane. We had just sat down and the "fun" was about to start.
The flight was a nightmare. Tommy had never been on a plane before and was terrified of the seatbelt. When I tried to put his seatbelt on at take off he started SCREAMING (no one in China uses car seats or seatbelts in the cars). He screamed for about 10 minutes and even though everyone at the back of the plane was trying to help us, he wouldn't stop. The plane hadn't even taken off yet! The stewardess eventually came over with a glass of apple juice for him, talked to him in Chinese for a little bit and told us we could hold him instead of using the seatbelt. That helped until our 30 minute layover that required us to get off and on the same plane. This ride was better until Tommy got tired and needed his nap. (At the orphanage he napped every day from 12:00 'til 2:00. We can always tell when its noon because he gets really tired, sucks his thumb and gets VERY crabby.) On the plane he was absolutely exhausted but the poor little guy just didn't know how to fall asleep in his seat. He was incredibly frustrated and kicked the seat in front of him and screamed some more. I am not looking forward to getting on another plane. As Tom says, one week to recover!
Look at our little guy! Off the plane and happy again. He looks like he's on a little mission: out of this airport and done with these planes.
The weather in Guangzhou is beautiful, with temperatures in the 60s. This is a park and playground around the corner from where we're staying. It's nice to walk around and eat someplace other than our hotel.
We're here to finalize the adoption, finish paperwork and have Tommy cleared by a clinic. Saturday morning, first thing, we made our way there.
Everyone who adopts has to come through here, so there are a lot of other families. Even for us its kind of strange to see so many white parents with all these tiny Chinese children. Many of them have special needs. It is taking so long to adopt a healthy child that many parents are choosing special needs babies. Severely disabled children are still not available, but most of them have a cleft palate or club foot, etc. We are still in the minority with a boy. We met one older couple with a little girl who had a cleft palate. She is their 7th child from China - they have 10 total (!) There were several others waiting with us at the clinic.
Seeing the doctor.
On the walk through the park back home.
Playing at the playground before dinner.
Who will I play with?
Me and Baba.
Me and Mama.
This is inside the White Swan Hotel. It's very nice and much more expensive to stay in but only a block away from us, with an easy walk over.
Tommy looks so much like Aidan here, snacking on an apple.
The river is behind the White Swan Hotel.
Walking by the river.
We went to a Thai restaurant after the playground this afternoon. It was one of our first meals without Bill to translate and it went well! We have more clinic visits and paperwork ahead...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)