Home Again

Hi all,

Just wanted to send a short post to let everyone know after a few dashes to the gangway we made it home safely yesterday afternoon.  We're generally on a reasonable sleep schedule already (says the person posting at 12:30 am -- but that's just because I'm waiting for a load of laundry to finish in the washer).  Maya had a pretty good day today all in all, playing a lot (she's basically just been living in her room so far).  We took a long walk around the block with her in her stroller, played at the park, visited with our wonderful cross-the-street neighbor Alice and met our next-door neighbor Jean-Luc.  Ann even had time to visit the glass studio while Phil got some one-on-one bonding time with Maya.

More pictures soon, we promise.

Night all!

The return journey

Not sure how we rated it but after the looooooong van ride (ok, technically two van ride since we had to switch from the mainland China van to the Hong Kong van in Shenzen), but when we finally arrived at the Sky City Marriott by the airport, we found our room on the Executive Floor! A sweet way to cap 10 days in a tiny room maybe twice the size of our King bed (and that includes the hall, bathroom, and the bed).

I think the Chinese have it right with our post-meeting Maya stay at 10 days...that gave us all enough time to get comfortable with each other in an environment that was generally familiar to Maya. Without us all from going crazy staying in said tiny room.

Speaking of crazy, Ann dragged...sorry took us shopping this morning one more time. I shouldn't complain, I'm the one whose stuff was most expensive even though Maya got more. And Ann actually didn't buy anything, but she really enjoyed showing me the medicine and pet markets I missed on Monday.

Just finishing up repacking for tomorrow and then I'll join Ann and Maya sleeping up for the big trip home tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

You can lead a toddler to the couch...

...but you can't make her put on her traditional outfit or sit upright for her picture (see below).  Although the rooms at the White Swan Hotel are being renovated, the lobby is open and there is supposedly a red couch (or couches as we found) where adopted children have their picture taken in traditional outfits.  Maya decided to go all toddler on us and pitch a fit when Ann tried to change her into her outfit so, since I'm one for still wanting to capture the moment, you have the reclining toddler in the messy outfit (not to worry, Kathy and Dan's daughter had the same traditional outfit, so once we get home I'm going to ring up my good buddy John to work his photoshop magic and we'll have a nice picture of Maya in front of a really cool jade ship).

More importantly for all of us, earlier in the day, we all went to the consulate to apply for Maya's immigrant visa, which we'll receive tomorrow (a bit early since it is the day before Thanksgiving after all).  Hurray!  Then it's off on a 3.5 hour 2-van ride to Hong Kong where we'll spend one more night in a hotel before flying home on Thanksgiving Day.

And as the nice lady at the consulate said, once Maya sets her feet down on American soil, she is an American citizen (now I'm wondering if the floor in the terminal at Dulles counts or the concrete in the parking lot or if I actually have to find a patch of bare earth to plop her on?)

While Ann got to do some more shopping with Molly, Maya and I spent some quality daddy-daughter time with her lunch and then putting her down for her nap (to let recovering daddy get some rest to...not just good timing, good planning).  Maya likes to be fed, but she also likes to assert her independence by feeding herself, sometimes with the spoon and sometimes by pressing the jar of baby food against her face.  I lost count of the number of wipes I had to use to get the food off the bridge of her nose and out of her nostrils.

Later, Maya and I spent an hour or so in the play room while Ann got to rest and start repacking.  It's a great feeling to watch your kid find two circular blocks and put them on a round peg and come running to you for a hug for the first time (okay, Ann said she did it a couple times the last few days for her, but it was new for me today).

We'll try to post from the hotel in Hong Kong tomorrow night.

See you all soon!

Love,

Phil & Ann & Maya

The Gift that Keeps Giving

Ann here again.  Sorry for the delay in postings over the past day.   The shared cold has been a gift that keeps on giving.  Maya and I are getting better...Phil was not.   On Sunday we went to the Buddhist Temple (which has been on the site for almost 1,000 years), and a flower garden.  I think it was a bit too taxing for Phil and he started to feel quite ill.  Later in the day we ended up having to make an emergency trip to the United Family Health Clinic, which is a Western style health clinic (read: they speak English, you are quickly seen, they actually bill your insurance, and were kind enough to call us a cab back to the hotel).  The trip over to the Clinic in the cab was quite interesting, as the cab driver was apparently a bit confused by address, but wouldn't admit to it. He dropped us off at the Male Hospital where I learned about the benefits of giving sad dog eyed looks and gesturing...and we eventually got to the clinic, which was one building over.   Phil was seen by Dr. Fuji, who prescribed an antibiotic, cough suppressant, and "golden throat lozenges" (I tried one for the hell of it...not bad.)

 

So basically, for the last day or two I've been taking care of Maya AND Phil....and I am a bit tired, and also still have a cold.  However, our facilitator, Molly, has been of great help during the last shopping trip....oh wait, during these struggles.   Phil's happy that he's lost 3 Kg's in the past few days.  I appreciate that there is a Starbucks (though I have seen a few Teabucks!) and that in the mornings we can admire the elderly friends playing bridge, the other elderly people doing tai chi or fan dancing along the way.

 

Maya has been really quite good. She understands her name now (I think). She's putting on weight.  I suppose being limited to chicken congee for so long, she eats like a kid twice her size.  We've had a couple of power struggles about taking more food before finishing the food she has (two fisted quesadilla eating was getting out of hand), as was demands for my iPhone.  She's beginning to understand no and wait.  We're cooperating about nap and bedtime, though we take a while to actually go to sleep.  She's feeling much more secure, so we've actually set puppy purse down for a few minutes and also let go of my hand to explore a few times.

 

China is an amazing place.  It's such a rapidly changing country.  Guangzhou, in terms of the physical infrastructure, its residents, trade and industry, reminds me of what New York used to be in the early part of the 20^th century.  I have no doubt that Asia is new center of growth....and Maya will be learning Mandarin as a second language.   I appreciate that we stayed on Shemian Island, a beautiful place on the Pearl River, that is a little isolated and just odd enough that I it does feel a bit like "The Island" and I would not be entirely surprised if I saw Rover).  

Everyday is a New Day

For instance, the other day I could get to BBC.com, but not CNN.com from the hotel, but now I can only get CNN.com.  Also, we learn that Maya supports mommy in all things over daddy, one example being the Great Phone Debate:  Mommy's iPhone vs. Daddy's Droid.  Let's ask Maya what she thinks:

"I tested both of them, sometimes at the same time, and I definitely prefer mommy's cool iPhone over daddy's sucky Droid."

Ann bought her a little sheep phone to try to distract her (after all, mommy refers to the iPhone as "Precious" and we know where that dark path leads).  Mommy learned an important lesson:  give a toddler a toy that makes a sound and you get to hear that ridiculously insipid sound over and over and over and over and over and over again.  Then mommy made her second mistake:  she removed the battery.  No sound.  Sheep Phone went flying, hysterics followed.  So, we taped over the speaker.  No difference.  So we played the swap out game last night while playing with Maya and the phone.  Daddy hid the phone under the bed for a while and after Maya went to sleep, stuck it where she can't find it.  So today, every time mommy pulled out her iPhone to take a picture, it ended up in little sticky hands.  On the other hand, she's figured out how to get the iPod on it to play.  I'm waiting for Angry Birds.

Maya had a bit of a rough night last night, getting over her cold, so we let her sleep in a bit, but she seems better today.  Daddy and mommy not as much (daddy especially), but we're managing.

We did well at breakfast, letting daddy feed us (or rather sit with us while we feed ourselves, while mommy was able to get up a few times and get her own food).  Eventually daddy got to eat, too.  Our favorite foods so far seem to be ham, cheese, and bread (pretty good for kid who grew up on rice porridge and chicken).  We're not much into vegetables, but fortunately mommy and daddy brought some Gerber Graduates, which we loved, and now we're getting some baby food to suplement our meat-and-cheese-and-bread diet (oh, and cheerios of course like nearly every other kid on the planet).

After breakfast, we went out to mommy's favorite store (yes, the one with the green mermaid logo that rhymes with Our Bucks).  We actually walked most of the way holding mommy's hand.

Otherwise, today we did a bit of shopping (got name stamps aka chops for Ann & Phil -- we got Maya's the other day), went on a couple of walks around the island, played in the play room a couple of times, and spent some time with the other family with our adoption agency who just arrived late late last night from another province with their new son and their daughter.  Dan & Kathy and their kids are really nice and easy going and we all had a great time at dinner and in the playroom (and earlier in the afternoon Kathy and I got all our paperwork ready for the consulate appointments on Tuesday).

Maya and I are bonding even more, though there are limits.  She has decided that only mommy may push her in the stroller, which we're usually not fighting unless Ann is really tired--after all this is not only a toddler asserting her power, but also a child who has had no control over anything in her life, especially in the last week.

Not only did we all play really well with lots of smiles in the play room, but also when we came up to get our bath and get ready for bed, we let daddy hold us while mommy gave us the towel bath.  And the big hysterics Ann and I were expecting when we washed her hair (I hold her on her back over the sink while Ann washes her hair using water from a cup -- last time was a Total Baby Meltdown) never came.  Perhaps humming the pink panther tune on a sore throat while bouncing her helped, but maybe we're all just getting more used to each other.

And I actually got two kisses before bed (then I got a hand in the cheek, but that part is par for the course -- I'm just glad that chomping on baby fingers brings out smiles most of the time).

Until next time, keep those cards and letters coming.

Ups and downs of toddlerhood

Trying to end well an up and down day with Maya.  We slept okay, except for waking up at 1:30 am last night because of our cough.  Mommy held us for a while and then we went back to sleep until morning.  Other than that, Ann and Phil actually got the b est (aka longest) night sleep of the entire trip.

Daddy took us out of the crib (and that was pretty okay, but he had to put us right down -- we're progressing slowly...very slowly at times).  We're getting the process down (mommy puts us to bed, daddy takes us out of bed).  Had a little struggle with not wanting to be in the high chair this morning, so we stood at first until mommy coaxed us into the chair.  Then we were fine.

We went out shopping with Molly and got lots of stuff for Maya & mommy.  Not too bad, except we didn't always like daddy in control of the stroller.  The big problem was that we didn't get our nap until very late and it was a short nap at that.  Still, we had fun playing in the playroom with mommy (see the pix).

Then we went to dinner where we decided mommy's chicken tasted much much better than stir-fried noodles with veggies (so far, the only veggies we like come in squeeze tubes...at least we eat bananas and raisins).  Then we all hurried back to the hotel the rain.

After a good teeth brushing contest with daddy, it was bath time. We really really really did not like getting our hair washed (daddy holding us on our back in the air over the sink while mommy washed out hair...perfect formula for a major meltdown).  But after we calmed down in bed, we had some great bonding time with mommy and daddy reading mommy's mystery novel (much better than the baby book) and drawing on the hotel paper and tea bag.  But we didn't want drawing time to end, so that created another meltdown when mommy put us into the crib, though mommy learned rubbing the side of the face was an instance off switch for tears (at least for tonight).  Tears came back, though, once mommy got up and daddy slid into mommy's spot, but we had some crying and playing time with mommy, purse puppy, and bear in the crib and now we're on our back being calm in the crib with our eyes slowly closing.

Only three days so far and it's not always easy for any of us, but there are a lot of moments where we're all seeing the positive future, so it's about repeating the mantra "it's a process."

The Life of Maya

Hello again, Ann here, writing another blog post.  Yesterday morning we sat in a booster seat with only a little complaint and ate banana, cheerios, a little ham, and apple juice.  She told me she was ready to eat  her banana by holding it up to her mouth and pretending to eat it.  She's a smart little kid and was quite  funny.

 

Our scheduled appointments were not until 2pm yesterday afternoon so we took a long walk down the Pearl River.  It was quite fascinating as the park was filled on a business day with elderly people taking care of their grandkids.   There was also quite a bit of tai chi and singing....and a busy informal market of peddlers selling trinkets out of their bikes and carts.    Maya took some interest in a plant, and she took a leaf as a souvenir, which lasted until we got back to the hotel.

 

The walk winded me....not for the exertion, but from walking around in the fog of pollution.  I would call it a code red squared day.  I was told it was much worse up north in Beijing.  So far I've stuck with just taking allergy medicine.

 

When we got back to the hotel, we took a nap (I am pretty sure the foster mother was letting her sleep in bed with her....draped over her.  Reminded me of Obie when he comes over to our house), and then we went down to the play room.  We tried to encourage her to move as much as possible, which takes some coaxing. She's not too steady walking unassisted, but she's making strides. 

 

At 2PM Molly came and picked us up to take us to the Visa Office.  It was FILLED with families from all over the US and Europe adopting children.  It was a pretty quick trip.

 

We did a little experiment to see if she would accept Phil if I left the room....which didn't go well.  There was much screaming and crying until Phil carried Maya out of the room and around the hotel and outside to "look for mommy." (not sure if it was for him or Maya)  I had a lovely stroll around Shemian Island by myself for an hour however.  Oddly enough, Maya is ok with some of Phil's interactions, sometimes engaging in his games and giving him the odd Cheerio.  I had no doubt, he will win her over in time.  

 

Today we head out to the mall for clothes, jade and pearls!

Good morning sunshine!

Just a short note this morning.  We slept all night long in our crib and miracles of miracles actually let daddy pick us up out of the crib (of course now post breakfast we're cuddling with mommy on the bed under a blankie as mommy reads us a book).

We survived the high chair (pushed up to the table) this morning with only a little on-and-off crying.  Really like Chinese Cheerios and bananas.  Ham and cheese are okay.  Bread with butter, yum.  A little fruit is okay. 

A few random notes:  we're really good at helping getting dressed, we love carrying the pocket book and purse puppy on our arm (slept all night with the purse on her arm -- definitely gets that from Ann), we wipe our nose with a tissue, indicated we wanted mommy to open the banana, fed daddy and mommy some cheerios, 50/50 on getting our teeth brushed (didn't want daddy to hold us today while mommy was brushing), and really good at taking our squirty mouth medicine (Jasmine take note).

The biggest news of the morning is the answer to the multiple choice question we've been meaning to post to all the parents of toddlers out there:

Your child has not pooped in a day and a half despite lots of food, milk, a prune, and two bananas.  Do you:

A) Be happy you have not had to change a poopy diaper yet

B) Think, my underweight skinny kid is absorbing all the nutrients

C) Panic and call the doctor

D) Wait (it's just like rescued Westies...as long as they're drinking and active, they're fine)

As of about 15 minutes ago, we have an answer:  It's D!

I guess that's our real "Welcome to Parenthood" moment.

We are her's, officially

At the end of a pretty good day, though it was capped by a 90 minute bedtime this evening.  Last night, Maya slept in our bed and actually slept through the night.  Tonight, after an hour playing with the stacking cups (thanks, Kris!) mostly with daddy (with a look at mommy resting behind us every minute or so), it was 8 pm bedtime. Started out okay until daddy took our stacking cups away, which prompted a teary 30 minutes on our back.  We were on and off for the next 15 minutes before mommy and daddy decided to take the advice we got from our facilitator and other parents here and just put her in the crib (or face her wanting to sleep in our bed for the next 10 years).  Thus, we had another 30 minutes or so of on-and-off tears, but now we're finally asleep in our crib with purse puppy lying on our cheek and no stacking cups in sight.

But before all of this...

This morning, after waking up, we had a sponge bath (since Ann and I did not want to push it last night) and then had bits of cereal ham and a whole banana for breakfast (not much of an egg eater so far and we've decided that living on congee for 2 years is enough).  Then it was off to the adoption center again to formalize everything.  We had our official family portrait taken and a bunch more pictures, plus Ann and Phil had to sign a bunch of documents and promise to love and cherish Maya MiRou Piesen Margolies in her forever home (and Maya promised to share with us the cold she has -- not just a perpetually snotty nose apparently).

After we officially became her parents, then of course we had to get her first medical exam and her visa photo.  Then, while mommy got Maya lunch, daddy went to get Maya's prescription filled.  Then after our first real "family time" hanging out and playing with each other, we all joined in a nice nap time before getting up to take our first stroller walk (again with the advice and philosophy of "she's gonna cry, so let her cry...do you really want to carry her until she's 12?),

After the walk, we hung out in our room for a bit until dinner time (where Maya decided that yes indeed, mommy's grilled cheese is definitely better than congee).  And we sat in our stroller to eat (still not up for a high chair, though Ann and I have decided that Thursday, she's going in the high chair at breakfast -- let her cry, she's not sitting on mommy's lap until her Bat Mitzvah).

After dinner, we had play time with mommy and daddy.  Our new favorite game with our stacking cups is hats and pig noses.  We even started putting a hat on daddy's head when he said to.

So now, she's out and we're getting ready to turn in our selves (yes, for you it's wake up time, but we're 12 hours ahead of you...remember to bet on Lucky Strike to win in the third race).

Nightie, night!

Meet Maya!

We did at about 2:30 pm today.  It was surreal. We tried not to have expectations, but it was nothing like we expected.  Many, many families were there to adopt children.  We filled out a little bit of paperwork, then they brought her to us.  We were both like "Wow, here she is in person."  She was a bit shy at first, but we quickly found she is food motivated...which worked to our advantage.  Ann sat with Maya for a while as Phil was dragged off for more paperwork.

After I got back, our wonderful facilitator Molly helped us with some of our pages and pages (literally) of questions for Maya's primary caregiver.  Then, we zoomed off to the supermarket to get food and other supplies.  I got to carry Maya around the place (she was very loud and clear that she did not want to ride in the cart).  For the most part, she is a very calm and intelligent little girl.  We've had a few minor meltdowns, but nothing major so far (of course, we're certain those will come in due time).

Once we got back to the hotel, Molly helped us bring stuff in and then went over the paperwork for tomorrow (having a child the old fashion way is all about doctor appointments...having a child by adoption is all about paperwork).  Then the three of us chilled for a while before Ann, Maya, and I ventured downstairs for dinner.  Let's just say, mommy's lap is much preferred to a high chair.  But, we've gotten a ton of support from the other adoptive families around (we've talked with three so far, all of whom have had their children for at least a week).

Then it was back to our room to play and get ready for bed.  So far her favorite toy is "Purse Puppy" (thanks Susan, Paula, Felipe & Andre!).  We sat on the bed with Purse Puppy on our arm for at least 30 minutes, very vocal when pointing at the puppy.

Here are the pix that everyone has been asking for.  In the picture of us on the couch, the lady next to me is Maya's primary caregiver.

Thanks for all your wonderful support.  It means the world to us.

Tomorrow is the Big Day

I keep forgetting it's Sunday morning where you are (really early Sunday morning for those of you in places that rhyme with Handy Paygo).  Seriously, it's 8:30 on Sunday night here, so imagine my surprise when I went to check the final score for the Redskins - Miami game only to remember that it has not been played yet!  And I guess that goes for my soccer team as well.  I was going to ask my sister, Beth, how we did, but instead, all I can do at this point is give a shout out to my team mates following our blog -- Go Silver!

Here we are in Guangzhou, excited and anxious about meeting Maya tomorrow afternoon.  We had a nice chat with our facilitator, Molly, earlier today.  We'll get to meet her in person tomorrow about 1 pm (our time, of course, y'all still be in bed -- except for those staying up to watch Sunday Night Football...this time difference is soooo confusing).

Anyway, we're getting ready to sack out for the night a bit early.  I'll leave you with a few pictures from our train ride up, our stroll around Shamian Island, where our hotel is, and our, um, interesting meal at the hotel's Chinese restaurant (for those in need of background info -- Kung Pao Chicken and Chicken with Cashew...those are American Chinese dishes).

Yours,

Phil (and sleeping Ann)

PS. The two gentlemen in the one photo are the tailors in Hong Kong, Joseph (left) and David (right), who are old friends of Ann's cousin Scott.  Look closely in the mirror and you might spot two more people you know.

"First Class" Train ride, Crazy cab driver, room SNAFU

But we made it to Guangzhou!  Getting organized in our room (especially Maya's stuff for tomorrow).  Our wonderful facilitator Molly gave us a call just moments after we got to our real room to answer questions and start getting us ready for tomorrow.

Now, we're going to rest up and wander around Shamian Island, where the hotel is, to the lay of the land.

Hopefully, we'll be up for the Pearl River Night Cruise this evening, but we'll see.

Ann's tummy is feeling better after the Aussie Adventure yesterday (hey, my fried chicken sandwich with Piri sauce wasn't too bad).

And in answer to Ethan Mouse's question, no I did not eat the feet.`

A trip to the beach and feet on a skewer

Morning folks! Phil is making me write this post today...

Yesterday we took Josephine's recommendation and took the bus to Stanley, which is a small tourist beach with shops. The ride out on the double decker bus didn't disappoint, with winding roads along the side of the mountains that offered amazing views of the landscape, water and the architecture! I admit I made Phil sit closest to the window...as I really didn't want to be reminded that the guardrail ( where there was one) wasn't going to offer much resistance if there was a "wrong" turn.

Once we got to Stanley, we walked through the shops (yes I shopped) and walked along the boulders on the waterside. It was just amazing. Phil started feeling a bit tired (probably from being forced to shop), so we decided to get lunch at this Australian themed restaurant. I think that is where the mistake was made.... We refused the tap water and then had the nice lime sodas.....with ice. Bad Ann, regrets were felt later.

When we returned, Phil got his suits and shirts and I got my dress from the tailor, which looked lovely. Then I unpacked and repacked all the suitcases in an effort to make it all fit!

Phil went to the hotel buffet for dinner, where he said the selection was pretty amazing, but got a little hesitant when he though something he got on a skewer had little feet poking out....

Today we leave for Guangzhou!