She Now Likes Ice Cream!

Hi all, we had another good day here. The Pagoda was beautiful. You can climb it to the top. We also went to the Buddhist temple and the monks were holding a service. It was beautiful to listen to their chants and to see the services being held. The place was packed with everyone bowing before they enter and lighting incense for good luck. What an experience. Outside the entrance there were many beggars and they all come up to you and put their tip pan in front of you. It was humbling to see some of their conditions, but the guide said not to give them any money because then you would have to give all of them money. She usually gives them food or something to drink. After that we did some more shopping and sightseeing. There are so many things to do and see here. The other day we went to Mc Donald's. It was ok. Kind of the same. They offered green bean pie rather than apple pie, somehow it just didn't seem like dessert though.

Then, after her nap, we played outside and then walked down to the playroom at the White Swan Hotel. It is a nice playroom and is sponsored by Mattel. Her favorite toy is a Tigger animal that moves and sings when you pull on the tail. She is playing with 12 month age toys that make noise , but I am sure will catch up fast. She told everyone good-bye again when we left, which is pretty cute. On the way to the playroom, we went to this deli. They have Haagendaas ice cream there. I got some the other night and showed it to her but there was no trying it, she just shook her head. Tonight she tried it, made a horrible face, then changed her mind pretty quick. So, now my little Empress is a fan of strawberry ice cream just like her mom and great-grandfather. She is really funny and does everything she knows she is not supposed to and then grins and laughs.

Today she ate about everything they offered for breakfast, scrambled eggs, congee (Chinese grits), rice with vegetables, chinese noodles, baby oranges, watermelon and 2 slices of cheese. As long as she has her water bottle and a cookie or cracker in her hand, she is very happy. She likes to share too, she will take a bite of something and then want to feed you, too. It is very cute. Tomorrow we are going on a cable car ride up a mountain. Should be a good time. The guide, Jophy, who is just great, is going to the U.S.Consulate to do some paperwork and then we will go on Friday to take an oath AND THEN IT IS ALL DONE AND MADISON CAN COME HOME. Have a good day everyone, we will post more tomorrow.

Wednesday

Good morning all. It is 5:45 pm at home and 6:45 am here so Madison is busy at work looking for snacks and playing with her toys. She is very active. She loves books, too and loves when we read together. She turns the pages in the books. Today we are going to a Pagoda where you can walk up to the top of it, I will take lots of pictures. After that we are going to a Buddhist Temple and then to a DVD store. Should be a great day. I miss seeing everyone and look forward to seeing everyone this weekend. I miss the strawberry kiwi soda or any cold diet soda for that matter, and Pasta Villa and food where you can ascertain what it is made out of. Jen/Two shoes/Maonan Mom: Can you please email me at mailto:aswlaw@aol.com? The blog is still all in German so I can not read the instructions on it or upload pictures. Yesterday I also had problems reading the AOL email. The internet is still pretty sketchy here. Nan Hui Yao was at the orphanage and I took pictures and e- mailed them to her mom. Nan Jun Lin was moved to a foster care home/family, so I could not get pictures of her. I did get some of the orphanage and the Director's office and found out that the Director reads all the email sent to him on the Maonan Families Yahoo site. He speaks English even though he did not say so when I visited. Apparently officials are told not to to preserve their heritage. That is all for now, more after we get back from the busy day! Have a good day everyone.

Wednesday

Good morning all. It is 5:45 pm at home and 6:45 am here so Madison is busy at work looking for snacks and playing with her toys. She is very active. She loves books, too and loves when we read together. She turns the pages in the books. Today we are going to a Pagoda where you can walk up to the top of it, I will take lots of pictures. After that we are going to a Buddhist Temple and then to a DVD store. Should be a great day. I miss seeing everyone and look forward to seeing everyone this weekend. I miss the strawberry kiwi soda or any cold diet soda for that matter, and Pasta Villa and food where you can ascertain what it is made out of. Jen/Two shoes/Maonan Mom: Can you please email me at aswlaw@aol.com? The blog is still all in German so I can not read the instructions on it or upload pictures. Yesterday I also had problems reading the AOL email. The internet is still pretty sketchy here. Nan Hui Yao was at the orphanage and I took pictures and e- mailed them to her mom. Nan Jun Lin was moved to a foster care home/family, so I could not get pictures of her. I did get some of the orphanage and the Director's office and found out that the Director reads all the email sent to him on the Maonan Families Yahoo site. He speaks English even though he did not say so when I visited. Apparently officials are told not to to preserve their heritage. That is all for now, more after we get back from the busy day! Have a good day everyone.

Good Morning

Today we went for a tour to the ocean. There is a local market where the river meets the ocean. There were so many fishing boats and people around there. I took many pictures. It looked like something out of a movie. The boats were so old and all made out of wood. There were families living on them and many fishermen in the area. Across the street was the market. Most of the fish was dried. They had many kinds of fish and dried clams and dried field rats and dried baby bird in case you are hungry.

The drive to the ocean was very nice. There are so many buildings and high rises in Guangzhou. It is a city of 10 million people. The stark contrast between poverty and modern amenities is evident everywhere you look.

Madison had another great day and since she slept in the car she is not wanting to have her nap right now. We will go play with all of the other local children at the outside playground and park later and then head up to the White Swan Hotel again to the playroom to see the other new families. Madison can say bye-bye, baby (for this stuffed animal that they sent with her from the orphanage), more (for more food or drink), hi, and mama. She understands exactly what you are saying to her and is very smart. She continues to be a joy to be around. For all the Maonan families getting ready to travel, bring duct tape to hold the diapers up with. The diapers are not as good here even though they are Pampers. They kept falling off of her so I use a little piece in the front to keep them on. That's all for now. I will try to see if I can upload any pictures.

Pictures

I am having difficulty posting pictures. I can not seem to get them to upload. After hitting browse, it just keeps going around in circles.

Can anyone assist?

Thanks.

Happy New Year!

Hi all,

I had no access to the internet all last week which made it difficult to communicate. We have been having lots of fun. She is still such an easy baby to care for. She is very happy and easy going and loves to eat everything. She does have a fit if you take her food away. She eats a lot. She loves these little baby oranges. She peels them and eats 3-4 each day and loves little rolls. She smiles and giggles and can say a few words now. We went to the orphanage and the Director and staff took us out to a nice lunch. The chicken dish was served in front of me and the previously chopped off head was looking right at me. I stuck to the noodles and rice but did try some shredded pumpkin squares (not sweet though) that Ginny would love.

I took some pictures of another child for a mom that is waiting to travel. I also touched, picked up, played with or kissed each and every child in that orphanage because who knows if they had any attention that day. The "toy" in each crib for the children was a cellophane wrapped yellow scoop that comes with the baby formula. Yes, there were some other toys around, but not much. This is a good time to reflect on how thankful we should be for what we have. There were about 100 children and 20 special needs children. The staff does the best they can and loves the children, but there are just so many to care for. I arranged for the trip and another family also came with me which made the trip even nicer. The mom's name is Mamie and their baby is named Mae and she is so cute. They wanted to see their child's orphanage as well and to thank the staff. They are from Charlotte, NC.

Today we are going shopping and tomorrow the beach. We will be coming home sooner as the guide was able to secure an earlier Consulate appointment. I can not say enough about this adoption agency, HOPE for Children. They have gone out of their way to help and make this happen and I am eternally grateful to all of them and to Jophy, the guide over here. She is so kind and nice. She takes us to parks and to museums and to do lots of shopping. Yesterday Madison had her first chicken nuggets and french fries from McDonalds. She loves everything, except the children here do not eat anything cold, since they do not eat cold things here. No ice, no cold drinks, no Diet Sprite, only Coke Light and it all tastes funny. OK, that is it for now, going shopping... Happy New Year Everyone and thanks for all the nice comments and emails!

We are officially a family today..

Hi all. Today we went back to the Civil Affairs office and met with the Notary and one official. They ask you if you want to keep her, promise not to abandon or abuse her, and why you chose to come to China to adopt. As those of you who know me already know, I chose China because they honor and respect their elders and honor their heritage. This was instilled upon me by my grandparents and now I can pass this along to Madison. After we met with the last official, I said good bye to the lady and Madison said her first English words, she told the official "bye- bye". Pretty good after only one day of practice. She is very smart and picks things up quickly, such as "up" and "bus" and "more". She loves to eat and is very social. She will love playing with all of her new friends back home. She is a very happy baby and very content. I am truly blessed to have been given such an easy-going and good natured child.

After the Civil Affairs office, Jophy took us to a merchandise mart similar to the one Shelia and I go to in Miami where everything is available at wholesale, only here it is open to the public as well as to retailers. We picked up several things. However, it was difficult maneuvering with the stroller since the store fronts are very small and the aisles narrow. Tomorrow we have more paperwork and then are going to a museum. Later we will meet up with some other families. That is all for now, after 45 minutes she finally fell asleep. I hope everyone had a great Christmas!