Hi there.
You probably found this blog via a search on China adoption travel. Welcome! I am glad you stopped by. I have a lot of great information for you in this blog and numerous details about our experience.
This blog was written in June/July of 2007 when we traveled to meet our 8 month old daughter.
Our wait time was exactly two years.
During that time we went on maternity hold for six months.
After going off hold, our referral came one week later.
We traveled to Hong Kong, Nanchang, and then finally to Guangzhou, China.
Our experience in China was incredible. We fell in love with our daughter and her birth country.
The blog ends with me talking about our experiences once we came home and becoming a family of two babies two months apart and a three year old.
Due to people's interest in our story, I stopped blogging here because I want this to JUST be a travel blog, and moved my daily rambling to a new site.
If you like this blog and want to follow our story, please visit my blog. Link.
I also do a video show for moms and I have a vlog. AND THREE KIDS. Yes, I am tired. Links to everything I do online are on my blog page.
Make sure you leave a comment and let me know if this blog helped you or inspired you in any way!
Thanks for coming by and good luck in your own adoption travel adventures!!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Mama
Juna said Mama.
I sat her down on the floor and she wasn't happy about that. She looked up at me and said, "MA!" (pause) "Ma."
And it's been non stop Mama ever since.
My heart has officially melted.
I also placed ads looking for a Mother's Helper. I can't go this alone, folks. I need to drag an 11 year old down along with me.
Still deciding how to work out the blogs. I'll let you know what I am going to do or where I am going to go. In case you want to come along?
I sat her down on the floor and she wasn't happy about that. She looked up at me and said, "MA!" (pause) "Ma."
And it's been non stop Mama ever since.
My heart has officially melted.
I also placed ads looking for a Mother's Helper. I can't go this alone, folks. I need to drag an 11 year old down along with me.
Still deciding how to work out the blogs. I'll let you know what I am going to do or where I am going to go. In case you want to come along?
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Babysitting
I knew our family would attract attention. I was all prepared for the comments. We in the international adoption community (oooh how I loved writing that) have heard them or have been briefed on what we will hear. Bottom line- people who haven't BTDT, don't know the lingo. They don't know how to delicately phrase a question so as not to come off as an insensitive arse. Or maybe they are insensitive arses and therefore, all is lost on them anyway.
Example- (as they point to the children) "Which ones are yours?"
(Or, as they point to the baby from China) "How much did she cost?"
I wasn't prepared for this one:
"Are you babysitting?"
I took the girls out for a walk in the stroller on Friday and heard the above question twice in ten minutes. And one person knew we were adopting from China. When I reminded her, she smacked her forehead and said, "DOH!" The DOH made up for any annoyance I felt at her forgetting our situation.
We took All My Children out to lunch today. Juna hates the car seat. The entire trip to and fro any destination has the soundtrack of a baby wailing in anger. Sounds familiar. Miss Boo did that her entire first year of life. She stopped when we could finally turn her around to face forward. I predict similar results with June Bug.
Lunch was a success! Av lounged in her car seat, J Bug sat in a high chair and ate piles of food, Boo was a good girl, and Mom and Dad ate too much, too.
Seriously, do all China babes eat THAT much food? She can eat adult sized portions of food. Our Ped said to let her. She's underweight and needs to gain. But seriously- WOW that girl can eat.
Speaking of... I've not been dieting. Eating now is simply for survival purposes. I don't care if it's high fat/low fat/loaded with high fructose corn syrup/10 days past the expiration date. Can I throw it into my mouth while rushing off to calm a screaming baby? Can it be cooked/eaten/cleaned up in five mins or less? I'm eatin it!
Have I gained or lost weight? I don't know and I don't want to know. Seriously, don't tell me. Yesterday I ate half a container of blue crab dip from Costco. There's 32 servings in that little container. Must not think of all the calories and fat I consumed. LA LA LA LA LA happy thoughts, happy thoughts.
My generous friends kept us in food for two weeks. Now we must cook for ourselves again. I predict many frozen meals in our future. Hopefully cooked before eaten.
Speaking of generous friends- my invitation for Juna's shower arrived yesterday. My friend hand made all the invites. She has a three month old baby, people. I don't know how she does it. When Boo was three months old, I was still in my sweats and Tshirts, no makeup, hair everywhere, and curled up fetal style while sobbing, "When will I ever sleep again!"
No one has ever thrown a shower for me. I've been married twice. I've had three children. Not one single shower thrown in my honor. Wow, I must be a raging bitch or something. Tee hee. So you can tell how honored/awkward I feel about this. Especially when I heard that people actually wanted to attend. I'm really touched by this. But also a bit freaked out. What if they have a bad time? What if I say something completely out of place and they go, "WHY did I even bother showing up for you?" Then I'll always be known as, "now I understand why no one ever threw a party for her before" girl.
And now we see why no one throws parties for me. I'm socially awkward. Gee, what gave it away?
I love the weekends. Parenting is so much easier when Daddy's around. How come Saturday and Sunday always fly by?
Example- (as they point to the children) "Which ones are yours?"
(Or, as they point to the baby from China) "How much did she cost?"
I wasn't prepared for this one:
"Are you babysitting?"
I took the girls out for a walk in the stroller on Friday and heard the above question twice in ten minutes. And one person knew we were adopting from China. When I reminded her, she smacked her forehead and said, "DOH!" The DOH made up for any annoyance I felt at her forgetting our situation.
We took All My Children out to lunch today. Juna hates the car seat. The entire trip to and fro any destination has the soundtrack of a baby wailing in anger. Sounds familiar. Miss Boo did that her entire first year of life. She stopped when we could finally turn her around to face forward. I predict similar results with June Bug.
Lunch was a success! Av lounged in her car seat, J Bug sat in a high chair and ate piles of food, Boo was a good girl, and Mom and Dad ate too much, too.
Seriously, do all China babes eat THAT much food? She can eat adult sized portions of food. Our Ped said to let her. She's underweight and needs to gain. But seriously- WOW that girl can eat.
Speaking of... I've not been dieting. Eating now is simply for survival purposes. I don't care if it's high fat/low fat/loaded with high fructose corn syrup/10 days past the expiration date. Can I throw it into my mouth while rushing off to calm a screaming baby? Can it be cooked/eaten/cleaned up in five mins or less? I'm eatin it!
Have I gained or lost weight? I don't know and I don't want to know. Seriously, don't tell me. Yesterday I ate half a container of blue crab dip from Costco. There's 32 servings in that little container. Must not think of all the calories and fat I consumed. LA LA LA LA LA happy thoughts, happy thoughts.
My generous friends kept us in food for two weeks. Now we must cook for ourselves again. I predict many frozen meals in our future. Hopefully cooked before eaten.
Speaking of generous friends- my invitation for Juna's shower arrived yesterday. My friend hand made all the invites. She has a three month old baby, people. I don't know how she does it. When Boo was three months old, I was still in my sweats and Tshirts, no makeup, hair everywhere, and curled up fetal style while sobbing, "When will I ever sleep again!"
No one has ever thrown a shower for me. I've been married twice. I've had three children. Not one single shower thrown in my honor. Wow, I must be a raging bitch or something. Tee hee. So you can tell how honored/awkward I feel about this. Especially when I heard that people actually wanted to attend. I'm really touched by this. But also a bit freaked out. What if they have a bad time? What if I say something completely out of place and they go, "WHY did I even bother showing up for you?" Then I'll always be known as, "now I understand why no one ever threw a party for her before" girl.
And now we see why no one throws parties for me. I'm socially awkward. Gee, what gave it away?
I love the weekends. Parenting is so much easier when Daddy's around. How come Saturday and Sunday always fly by?
Friday, July 20, 2007
Upward and onward
Juna said her first word.
Up.
It sums her UP completely.
Juna is a very determined child. She does not sit back and wait for something to happen. She makes it happen. She will not stand for being second in line. She must be first, front and center. It's her way or the highway. Already the leader at 9 months old. Already the leader after only 2 weeks home. And she's smart, this kid. Show her something once, no need to show again. She's got it.
Oh we're SO in trouble.
In China, I pulled her up to a standing position while saying, "Up up up." She mimicked me by saying, "Puh puh puh." We play that game every day, numerous times per day. Now she has reversed the puh to up. "Up. Up. UP!" And I don't have to pull her up anymore. She will climb anything that gets in her way. Including the other baby.
Up is whispered, so does that really count as saying her first word?
It's so cute. It has to count.
She can stand while holding onto something with one hand. She will let go, balance a few moments, then fall on her behind. Then get right back up again. "Up up up up up."
Daddy will take her hands and walk her across the room. She giggles the whole time. She giggles because she knows that she's going to skip crawling and go straight to walking. So funny, Mom and Dad. Get ready!
At the same time this happened, Av learned to sit and crawl backwards. Today, Av got up on her hands and her feet and tried so desperately to stand up.
It's time to find a looooong baby gate for the living room.
I'll post an appropriate pic tonight or over the weekend.
Up.
It sums her UP completely.
Juna is a very determined child. She does not sit back and wait for something to happen. She makes it happen. She will not stand for being second in line. She must be first, front and center. It's her way or the highway. Already the leader at 9 months old. Already the leader after only 2 weeks home. And she's smart, this kid. Show her something once, no need to show again. She's got it.
Oh we're SO in trouble.
In China, I pulled her up to a standing position while saying, "Up up up." She mimicked me by saying, "Puh puh puh." We play that game every day, numerous times per day. Now she has reversed the puh to up. "Up. Up. UP!" And I don't have to pull her up anymore. She will climb anything that gets in her way. Including the other baby.
Up is whispered, so does that really count as saying her first word?
It's so cute. It has to count.
She can stand while holding onto something with one hand. She will let go, balance a few moments, then fall on her behind. Then get right back up again. "Up up up up up."
Daddy will take her hands and walk her across the room. She giggles the whole time. She giggles because she knows that she's going to skip crawling and go straight to walking. So funny, Mom and Dad. Get ready!
At the same time this happened, Av learned to sit and crawl backwards. Today, Av got up on her hands and her feet and tried so desperately to stand up.
It's time to find a looooong baby gate for the living room.
I'll post an appropriate pic tonight or over the weekend.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Going Home Barbie- another comment
Katie made a comment in the last post about how she was laughing over the Going Home Barbie. To refresh your memory, it's a Barbie given to adoption families who stay at White Swan. Maybe other hotels, not sure. I had written a snarky post about this particular Barbie. Me? Write a snarky post? Are you SURE?
Check out a link with picture to see what the current version looks like.
While thankful Mattel does something so nice for adoption families (and gets a little publicity at the same time) I think Barbie and her supposedly Asian (Guatemalan) baby need a slight re-design. Ok, ok, I think she needs a complete overhaul. It's in the archives, if you're interested.
Anyway, I forgot to mention what my Chinese friend said when he saw the Barbie. I showed him 20 year old Barbie (too young to adopt from China- or perhaps she's been had some Botox) and her Asian (Guatemalan) baby in her hoochie baby outfit and my Chinese friend said, "Why is she holding a Hawaiian baby?"
I said, "Just to clarify, for the record. You're Chinese. If you saw this in the stores, would you assume Barbie was holding a Chinese baby?"
He replied, "No, I would think Barbie has been to Hawaii."
And there you have it.
All I can think of is that Barbie is the hot nanny you stupidly hired to take care of your... Chinese.... baby. And you wonder why your husband is now coming home early from work to eagerly offer her a ride home?
A reminder to me to hide the Going Home Barbie before Miss Boo finds her, strips her and the origins unknown baby down, and wraps them in toilet paper. Because that is just what Miss Boo does to Barbie Dolls. Of unknown and known origins. Well, Barbie is CLEARLY the girlfriend-on-the-side of a studio chief in Hollywood. But that baby... the debate rages on.
Check out a link with picture to see what the current version looks like.
While thankful Mattel does something so nice for adoption families (and gets a little publicity at the same time) I think Barbie and her supposedly Asian (Guatemalan) baby need a slight re-design. Ok, ok, I think she needs a complete overhaul. It's in the archives, if you're interested.
Anyway, I forgot to mention what my Chinese friend said when he saw the Barbie. I showed him 20 year old Barbie (too young to adopt from China- or perhaps she's been had some Botox) and her Asian (Guatemalan) baby in her hoochie baby outfit and my Chinese friend said, "Why is she holding a Hawaiian baby?"
I said, "Just to clarify, for the record. You're Chinese. If you saw this in the stores, would you assume Barbie was holding a Chinese baby?"
He replied, "No, I would think Barbie has been to Hawaii."
And there you have it.
All I can think of is that Barbie is the hot nanny you stupidly hired to take care of your... Chinese.... baby. And you wonder why your husband is now coming home early from work to eagerly offer her a ride home?
A reminder to me to hide the Going Home Barbie before Miss Boo finds her, strips her and the origins unknown baby down, and wraps them in toilet paper. Because that is just what Miss Boo does to Barbie Dolls. Of unknown and known origins. Well, Barbie is CLEARLY the girlfriend-on-the-side of a studio chief in Hollywood. But that baby... the debate rages on.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Babies babies babies
Here's J Bug, modeling a Y2k band aid. It didn't show up well in the pic, but it says "Year 2000! Y2K!" You'd think with as many times as I slice my finger while cooking, I'd have more current band aids in the house.
Marge In Charge is truly enjoying these babies. Aw, look at the Way Cool Red Couch. It's seen better days. Here's what you shouldn't do. You shouldn't run out and furnish your entire home in brand new, lovely furnishings and THEN have kids. We were thinking with the same brain that bought this stupid house in the first place. Then again, it's kind of cool. I have baby drool and who knows what else all over the Way Cool Couch. Does that make it even cooler?
I can't wait until the first Nosy Nelly at the grocery store makes a stupid comment about these two being sisters. Unless of course, it's Nelly the rap star. I will ask him to autograph Juna's rather large forehead. I'm kidding! Humor, har har. Look, Avie has a large forehead, too. It's supposed to be a sign of intelligence. Or perhaps it just means my kids will need bangs once they have hair.
Yes, they are wearing matching dresses. I've read up on artificial twinning (all the experts are dead set against it) and they say please do not dress your artificial twins alike. This is why they are wearing matching dresses. It's my way of saying thanks, experts. Come up with something better than the term artificial twin, will you? Just look at that smile on Avie!
Don't want to forget ...
When Matt comes home from work. All three girls are playing in the same room. I hear him come in, yell, "Daddy's home!" He comes into the room and all three girls light up in smiles. The babies reach up their arms for him. Boo hugs him tightly. The babies smile and smile and giggle and are so happy to see Daddy. Boo dances around him while singing, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, my daddy!" Mommy is also happy because that means two people for three children, hah.
Matt must feel like such a rock star when he comes home from work. Perhaps less Mick Jagger and more a member of The Wiggles.
Must also remember....
When I stand Juna up and then say, "Boom!" She will fall forward against my chest. Anytime I am holding her and say, "boom," she will fall onto me and laugh.
Matt must feel like such a rock star when he comes home from work. Perhaps less Mick Jagger and more a member of The Wiggles.
Must also remember....
When I stand Juna up and then say, "Boom!" She will fall forward against my chest. Anytime I am holding her and say, "boom," she will fall onto me and laugh.
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