She eats now.

Today was interesting. Too tired to write. I'll write more tomorrow.

First Family Photos

It's Official...

She's ours. We officially completed the adoption paperwork today. Now we are just being held hostage here for 16 more days to receive her passport and exit visa. We went back down to the civil affairs office that we were at yesterday. We had 2 short interviews where they asked us questions like " Do you like/want this baby?" and "do you promise never to abuse or abandon this child?" Two easy questions! The official actually asked us why we wanted this baby if we already had 2 biological children, a boy and a girl... We were both stuttering to give him a quick answer as it was too complicated to explain and there was a definite language barrier. He basically accepted our answer and told us the adoption was final. They took our picture and we were done.
Once again, today was a big reminder of what this culture has done/is doing to females. There were swarms of people from all over the world crammed in these rooms getting interviewed by Chinese Officials so that they can take home a baby girl. The process has become so mundane to the people that work there. You can tell that they are just detached from the "issue". They see dozens of baby girls come in and out of there every day of the week.
We had a surprise visit from the two women that took care of Bliss in the orphanage. We did not know that they traveled to Guangzhou with the babies as we did not get to meet them yesterday. They came in to talk to us and Bliss. They did not speak any English at all. Although we could not communicate with them , it was clear that Bliss was loved and well taken care of. They were hugging and kissing her and speaking to her in Chinese. She was responding to them and smiling and reaching for them. It was heartbreaking for me to see. I had a huge lump in my throat. I told Pete I need to go in the bathroom and cry now. It was like we were taking her away from her family. Both women were teary-eyed and they hugged us. A translator came and told us they were concerned about her because she had a fever a few days ago.
A few minutes later the director of the orphanage came in. I had given him a letter yesterday from a family that I have been corresponding with via yahoo groups. They adopted their daughter from this orphanage about a year ago. They had a few questions to ask him. I gave him the letter and the guide asked him to respond. He left with the letter and I assumed that he did not understand the request. I didn't think that we were going to see him again. He brought me a 2 page response, handwritten in Chinese. He did not speak any English but I could tell how warm and kind he was. He told us that we could write him any time and ask him anything we wanted about Bliss. He also said he is working on getting his papers so that he can come to the USA next year. He said he would like to visit some of us. Yesterday he told us (through the Guide)that Bliss was extremely active, crawls everywhere, and is very naughty! He also said she cries a lot. Haven't seen that yet, but she is wild and fits right in with our other 2. We are glad she was well taken care of and loved. She was very clean and in great condition when we got her. All the other babies in our group except the one from our orphanage had scabies. She is quite plump too. She is much bigger than I expected. We finally got her to eat tonight and she had some formula too. That was a relief. I'll attach some pictures of that.

The kids woke up at 3:00am. We're getting there. They all went to bed around 10:00. Bliss went right to sleep and didn't move an inch all night. She slept until almost 7AM. I got up 3 times to check on her. She never moved. Bliss hasn't eaten anything yet. She will not drink either. I hope she eats something when she awakens. We tried to give her cheerios and other finger foods last night. She obviously has never been offered anything solid. She spit out everything.
Yesterday was amazing. There really are no words to describe the events leading up to getting her. Very surreal, but that's what everyone says. We loaded onto a bus with 5 other couples and we were off to share one of our most intimate, life changing moments with 10 complete strangers. The room they took us to what extremely hot, no AC. It was small and loud. They were other families from other agencies wrapping up the tail end of getting their babies. There were many babies screaming and a lot of very uncomfortable looking first-time parents. Bliss was the third baby they brought out from our group. She came right to me and was making raspberry sounds with her tongue. She kept grabbing my face and was very cuddly and affectionate. After a few minutes, I gave her to Pete and within 5 minutes she was sleeping in his arms. She must have been exhausted. When she woke up she still didn't seem scared. She loves to be kissed and hugged. So far she is very easy going. We love her so much already, it didn't take long. We're so grateful to have this opportunity to bring this child into our lives. She will bring us so much joy and will teach us so much. Our kids will learn that love has no boundaries and families are made up in many different ways. Madeline is so in love with her. She keeps saying "oh , she's so cute" over and over. Thomas is warming up to her but would still rather play with his trucks. At lunch, he asked if we could "go home to Country Place now". Oh boy........

Here are a few more pictures. I'll write more about yesterday when everyone is sleeping. Bliss slept all night, never moved!

Hi, from Pete

Hello everyone, Peter here. Michelle has been doing such a great job with the postings, so I only need to add some of my own perspective. This is from yesterday.
As I snuggled Thomas and Bugga for the last time before Bliss comes, I thought about how unaware they really are to the extent their little world will change. Actually, niether am I. I don't mean being in touch with the obvious stuff, feet planted firmly in the ground and all. I mean the long term impact. Bliss will add such an element of surprise. Earlier today, I was reflecting during my run. It was quite surreal.(pardon the cliche)I was just being flooded with new images and making connections to new stuff. I was sleep deprived, the heat was oppressive, and the smog so thick I could feel it tickle the back of my throat. I need to buy a respirator mask or just run on the treadmill. Anyway, I jogged around the square mile or so around the hotel area, up and down the river and zigzaged through the sidestreets. As always, once I got past the touristy shops and traps I got emersed in this ancient culture. A sensational feast. Even the old people seem really old.
It was noon on Tuesday and there were many people out just enjoying life. Folks of all ages playing badmitton(without the net), a higher form of Hackysak,(some of you over 60 may have to look that one up) and in fact a group of them (also over 60) motioned for me to join them. Or course, Lots and lots of bicycles, but without helmets, Ipods, and fancy shoes. Many are loaded down with creative attachments for hauling large payloads, some as big as minivans. The most impacting scene was a group of 30 or 40 middle aged people practicing songs with a conductor and all. I sat as inconspicuously as possible for a 6'4'' American on a bench directly in front, facing the river with my back toward them. As I listened to the harmonies, I thought of how Bliss would have grown up around all of this and it hit me how she was about to enter into this culture and we were ripping her out of it to be immersed into our own. I decide then, We will come back here to visit, in nine years when shes ten, and I will try my best to keep her connected to her past so when she is older she will feel as unique and special as I know she will be. I

Her Smile.....

Bugga has a Sister

Gotcha!

There are no words for this..... She's perfect. Everything went great. She never cried! Thomas and Madeline love her. Enjoy the pictures. We'll post more later, when we can think.

First Bath at the White Swan

Does this look fun?

The View from our room

4.5 hours to go.........

We arrived 20 minutes early. I would like to say that I'll never do that again (fly 15 hours) but we still have to get home. Swimming is not an option. It took about an hour to get out of the airport. Great Wall had a driver waiting for us as soon as we left customs. China is much different than I imagined it, very polluted and smoggy. I really can't believe how well the flight went. Thomas waited until we got off the plane to have his meltdown. All he wanted to do was run! I think they were really hungry too. The White Swan hotel is beautiful. The rooms are much bigger than I expected. I was prepared to live a box for 3 weeks. Each room has a living room and 2 big bathrooms. We ate at the famous White Swan buffet before we even came up to the room. The food was fine. We are not going to starve. There were about a dozen famlies at the buffet that had just received their babies. It was very exciting. They were all so tiny. The kids watched Chinese cartoons and were mezmorized. They had a bath and we are putting them to "bed" although it's only 10AM here. We figure we should let them sleep a few hours and then wake them up. We'll wake them up after we get back from getting Bliss. They seem to be adjusting well already.
The next post will have some exciting photos!

We are In China!

Only have a second..... The flight could not have gone any better. The kids were perfect angels! They slept the first 6 hours. Mom and Dad we are still awaiting the arrival of the cell phones that we ordered. They should be here any minute. We'll call then. I'll post pictures later. We are getting Bliss at 2:30!

Goodnight Grammy and Grampy

Santa Monica Pier

Thomas had a fever but Ice Cream helped

We are in LA!

So far so good........ except I went to bed way too late, the dog barked all night long and then both kids woke up with colds. We left out house at 6AM sharp. At 6:16 Thomas asked if we were in China yet and then again at 6:53! The flight to LA went great. The kids were wonderful. They sat quietly the entire time. They played with stickers for a few hours and then watched 2 movies. They both complained that their ears were hurting when we were landing, probably because they are all stuffed up. The good news is I didn't have to break out any of my major entertainment ammunition. They still don't know I bought a GameBoy. It should come in handy during the 15 hour flight. We got to the hotel quickly and went right to the pool so that they could get some energy out. By the time we arrived in the hotel room they were bouncing off the walls , so it was perfect timing. We swam and ate by the pool. I'm not sure if it was lunch or dinner. I am already confused about what time/day it is. Thomas asked if we could go home now...... Linda Wier called to tell us that Liana was throwing up all night and that she was worried about Thomas and Madeline catching it since we saw each other just about everyday last week. Oh, how miserable that will be. Let's hope nobody throws up anything on the next flight! It's 2:30pm here. We are going to take a cab to the Santa Monica Pier and hang out there for an hour or 2. We'll come back to the hotel and sleep for a few hours before we have to catch our midnight flight. The weather is Awesome. I just want to go for a run!

We're leaving in a few hours!

Well, I should be asleep but I can't. We leave for China in 7 hours. The car is loaded and everyone is excited. Barb arrived tonight and she is going to be a tremendous help. I am trying to avoid being fearful of this whole process (15 hour flight) and remember to be thankful for this amazing experience we are about to embark on. I am feeling grateful that we are about to experience many things that most people never will. My thoughts are on Bliss and how she has no idea what is about to happen to her. I am saddened when I think about how traumatic the next few weeks will be for her. She will be torn away from all she has known. We have had to continuously remind ourselves to keep our expectations of her very low. We have been told that she may not react to us for a long time. I can't wait to see her smile. I only have four pictures of her and she is not smiling in any of them. Actually she looks quite stunned in all of them.
I can't believe we are finally leaving. This has taken so long. It almost doesn't seem real. I have been asked several times over the past few months if I am worried that I will not bond to her in the same way I have to my biological children. At first, early in the process, I did fear this. That fear is completely gone now. Her face has become so incredibly familiar, it is as if we have always known her. We'll be holding her in 48 hours! I just wish I could take something to knock me out until then.