Our Adoption Story

Re-Redirecting the Thank You gift

2011-12-23T20:35:00.005-05:00

OK, so it turned out that DC's Child and Family Services Agency had "enough" donations. But we are proud to announce the clothes happily made their way to St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children right here in Norfolk! The woman who accepted the three boxes full of clothing was so kind and thankful (and a bit taken by Jack's chattering on). She said they share resources with Norfolk's child services so anything St. Mary's couldn't use would be provided to them.

We want to once again thank our colleagues, friends and family for their generous donation of such beautiful clothing! What a wonderful thing you've done!

Redirecting the Thank You gift

2011-05-09T11:55:00.003-04:00

As it turned out, our three boxes full of clothes for the Chengdu CWI got caught up in customs in China and never made it through to the CWI. So we are redirecting our gift to Washington, DC's Child and Family Services Agency!

A Thank You to the Chengdu CWI

2011-02-18T16:25:00.004-05:00

In lieu of presents for both Jack's birthday and a "Welcome Home, Jack" party held at my office, Chris and I requested that our families and friends instead provide new clothing to be donated to the Chengdu Children's Welfare Institute (CWI) where Jack was raised from the time he was a few months old until he came home to us last July.

"...we want to give back to the Chengdu Children’s Welfare Institute in return for the precious gift they gave given us in Jack. Nothing could come near to giving the orphanage what they gave us ..."

What resulted from our generous families' and friends' hearts was 37 pounds of clothing! All those clothes are now in three boxes on their way to Chengdu!

Thank you, dear friends! We will never forget your thoughtfulness! Ahhhh, to think of the smiles when these packages are opened!

All Good Here!

2011-01-27T12:43:00.003-05:00

It's been all good here, and here are a few pictures!

Fun at ChristmasTown, Busch Gardens with Uncle Mike, Aunt Carol, Cousin Hailey, and Daddy.
Jack's trampoline is by far his favorite Christmas present!

Just a goofy picture:

Sacked out asleep after a day with Grandma Joyce and family!

FOR MOMMY

2010-12-02T20:24:00.002-05:00

DH here. Since Carol has been out of town the past few days, I thought she needed to see a least a few seconds of Jack. I hope she enjoys it.

Chris

October pictures

2010-11-20T08:04:00.002-05:00

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival with Jack in full Chinese garb!

Chhaya and Jack sharing a Moon Pie and looking for Daddy's ship.

Jack enjoying his birthday cake.

Pumpkins and Wheelbarrow

2010-10-22T10:02:00.002-04:00

Strong boy!

2010-10-18T13:17:00.005-04:00

Jack had surgery this morning and is napping now. Let me just say he was making me soooo nervous when we got home from the hospital because he wouldn't stop running and jumping and climbing. Obviously, all went very well; so much for anesthesia jelly legs! Also, get this: he weighed in between 27 and 28 lbs and measured about 34 inches! Two and a half months ago, he weighed 23 lbs 8 oz and measured 32 inches. I allow for some error in measurement, but still, that's a lot of growth!

Here's a picture that Carol (who we thank so much for being here) took of us in the recovery room:

Whirlwind, Part 3 - Meeting Granny

2010-09-22T07:56:00.005-04:00

And then, lucky enough to overlap with Grandma and Pop Pop's visit, Nai Nai returned to visit and brought along a very special person: Granny!!! (Jack's great grandma)
Jack thoroughly enjoyed showing Granny how many words he knew and how much he could eat and eat and eat. And when he was through with that, he would take off with Granny's cane across the yard. What patience Granny has! We can't wait to see you again soon.

Whirlwind Part 2, - Grandma and Pop Pop

2010-09-19T21:23:00.004-04:00

After the Gumble cousins visited and we went to my brother and sister's house for the Welcome Jack party, my parents came to visit for the week! We prepped Jack by telling him that Grandma would say to him, "Good boy, Jack!" and Pop would say, "Hey you!" in a gruffy voice. Jack sure caught on to mimicking "Hey you" in his own gruffy voice.

We enjoyed a trip to the botanical garden where Jack took the opportunity to identify facial features on Pop Pop. Pop Pop now wears an eye patch. (Just kidding.)

There were lots of giggles with Pop Pop! And Jack latched on to how Grandma's little piggy goes "wee, wee, wee" all the way home.

As their plane home flew over our house, Jack blew a big kiss up into the sky. Awwwwww.

Whirlwind, Part 1

2010-09-15T20:45:00.007-04:00

It's been a whirlwind the past few weeks, and here's Part 1:

Cousins Lauren and Dave and their daughter, Hailey, arrive with a climber slide for Jack! He can climb up it himself, exclaim he is up on top, and slide down - head first, too! They also brought a bajillion puzzles and books and -- most exciting for Chris and me -- gave us the gift of a date night out!!

Hailey loves her baby cousin Jack and has been reported to have cried twice since leaving because she misses him.

Then we whisked off to a "Welcome to the Family, Jack" party in Richmond where Jack did stunningly well meeting... let me count... 18 members of my family from as far North as Allentown, PA, to as far South as Columbia, SC. Carol and Mike, my sister-in-law and brother, ALWAYS throw an excellent party, and I think this one topped them all! We can't thank them enough! Below Jack shows a custom frame made by cousin Jill. Too cool!

Who can go without having "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" book in their collection?

My last post referenced the next (this) post as being titled "He poops", and I will spare you the details of Jack's first diaper leakage -- while napping. All I will say is that I am thankful for Lauren's command to me, "Take him into the shower!" Also will spare you Jack tearing off his shorts to try on new ones from Aunt JoAnne and Uncle Joe.

Whirlwind, Part II coming as soon as I download the pictures off the camera.

He eats, he...

2010-09-02T22:37:00.004-04:00

Oh yes, Jack's an excellent eater. He must have gained at least 2 lbs over the past two months.

He gets jiggy with it. On Daddy's truck bed, no less.

He draws. Here's one of his drawings from the first week at school.

Stand by for next post: "He poops, he..."

JACK AND DAISY

2010-08-28T19:00:00.002-04:00

Here's Jack walking Daisy.

A visit from Grandma Joyce

2010-08-25T20:43:00.003-04:00

Grandma Joyce visited this past weekend -- and brought a bag FULL of goodies! Jack's favorites seem to be the teddy bear cookies and the "big truck" (words which Jack says many, many times a day undoubtedly tied to the fact that Daddy has a big truck). We all had lots of fun playing, eating, and watching jack swim.

It was a bittersweet visit without the physical presence of Chris's dad, but I could feel him smiling down on all of us, giddy with excitement at Jack's silliness.

Just hang in there, the rest of the NC family, you will meet Jack soon! Until then, enjoy Jack through the pictures and videos that Grandma Joyce took while she was here with us.

Meeting Cousins

2010-08-16T21:09:00.004-04:00

This weekend, Jack got to meet his cousin, Jill, her husband, Chris, and their son (Jack's "second" cousin? Cousin "once removed"?), Nathan. Nathan will be three in December.

Nathan was so sweet to Jack! He shared his pine cones that he found in the botanical gardens and showed Jack how to open a present from Chris's parents.

Random pics for your pleasure

2010-08-11T14:27:00.005-04:00

Daddy and Jack after and during their hair cuts a few weeks ago. Yes, that's right, we took him for a trim, courtesy of our friend Natalie, soon after we arrived home.

Who's idea was it to give this boy so much sugar?!?! He is eating a cake topping saved from a baby shower given by my friend Margaret.
Riding on his new horsey from another friend named Margaret. He's learning to swing his leg over to hop on like a real cowboy!
I believe 21 months of age is far, far too young to be given carte blanche with chalk. Note the chalk around his mouth, too. If you could see his teeth, they would be blue, too. Speaking of teeth, he is cutting his first "US tooth" - it's number nine for his mouth.

First Day at the Beach for Jack

2010-08-08T13:42:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning we took Jack to the beach at the bay. Surely it must have been his very first time at the beach, right?!?

At first he was hesitant about walking in the sand, but it only took him a few seconds to get into the swing of it. He enjoyed being in the water, of course - as he is half fish, and quickly became content shoveling sand into his bucket and watching seagulls.

Daddy-O chills with Jack:

"What up, Daddy-O?!? Keep your sand on your own side!!"

Presents and a pic for Ye Ye

2010-08-06T07:59:00.002-04:00

Here's Jack with his first set of cars from Wei and family!
And here's Jack with his first desk from the Ludwigs! So studious!

This one is for Ye Ye (Chris's father who passed away earlier this year). Ye Ye was a huge UNC Tarheel fan, and Jack is practicing his layout with this UNC ball!

One month since Gotcha Day!

2010-08-05T06:28:00.004-04:00

It is hard to believe it has only been one month!

Here are some pictures from the past two weeks:

Splashing in the fountains at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. We go there a couple of times a week.

Feeding Maxine some Cheerios.

Feeding Daisy some Cheerios:

Splashing in his pool:

Working on the puzzle from Aunt JoAnne, Uncle Joe, and Cousin Danny:

Nai Nai is in town!

2010-08-01T12:34:00.008-04:00

Nai Nai came to visit on Thursday. Nai Nai is the Chinese word for paternal grandmother. It isn't enough to say that Jack loves his Nai Nai.. Nai Nai ADORES and LOVES her grandson, too! Here is a picture of the introduction:

Jack may be looking a little woozy in the above picture, but that's because he had doctors' appointments that morning. And would you look at the smile on Nai Nai's face?! If you could hear her laugh when she hears Jack's laugh - it is GREAT, infectious! Nai Nai thinks Jack is awesome and super smart, and that is not a biased opinion.

What is that saying? That grandparents are there to spoil the child? Well... Jack now has the coolest red wagon - with room for two (don't get any ideas Nai Nai)! It is really an awesome gift, and we know Jack is very familiar with riding in wagons in the orphanage in Chengdu. Plus, Jack got lots of hugs and kisses from Nai Nai, too!

We have really enjoyed Nai Nai's visit and will miss her when she leaves. But Skype provided a great way to introduce her to Jack and will continue to be a favorite way to keep in touch until we see each other in person again. And Granny, we missed seeing you and are happy you are doing well!

There's truth in those recommendations

2010-07-24T06:41:00.005-04:00

The adoption literature recommends that the few few weeks at home with your child be low key with no big parties or too many events lest you welcome sleep and attachment problems. I've seen the truth in that. Although Jack seemed to enjoy his trip to Hooters on Thursday night (Chris has the pics on his FB Photos) and a picnic and swimming yesterday (man, does he love swimming - he even went down a slide on his own several times), the past two nights his sleeping has been quite fitful with tossing and whimpering. I think Chris has been able to sleep through most of it though, thankfully!

Today we take our poop in to the doctor's office. I can't say that I will miss scooping the poop. And after all, there's always dog poop to scoop. Speaking of the dogs, Jack, Maxine, and Daisy have been getting along just fine. Jack isn't scared of the dogs, but he doesn't mess with them either (except to put pots in their water bowl and knock it over). He's reached out to touch them a few times, but without sustained interest. His lack of interest in the dogs seems to parallel his lack of interest in stuffed animals/toys.

We are establishing a routine, which other mothers have told me is the key to happiness: wake, stretch, get dressed, have breakfast, go for a walk with Daisy, playtime, lunch, play briefly in his bedroom, read a few books in our room, nap (his crib is in our room), then wake and snack. The after lunch routine is still being figured out, but dinner is to be served by 5:30 or else we have a bit-o-monster on our hands.

We love reading the comments that friends and family have posted on the blog! Thank you so very much!

Yay! Doctor!

2010-07-21T14:59:00.003-04:00

Jack actually liked (read: tolerated very well) the doctor with the exception of the stethescope. Chris and I love the doctor. Dr. Mitchell has a sub-speciality in international adoption, and he reviewed Jack Yiyun's files when we first considered adopting him.

Jack is still weighing in at 22.4 lbs which is at a lower percentile than those for his height and noggin, so the doctor recommended that his drinks be Pediasure, and that we continue to feed him the regular food we've been giving him. The doctor also said to keep him greased up with cream to prevent the itching and scratching. As proud parents, we were delighted to hear Jack is at the top in terms of his developmental ranking compared to what he's seen for other children that were adopted.

His vaccination records showed he was pretty good on shots, so prior to getting the titration results, he only needed two shots and a PPD test; we'll return to the office on Saturday morning to have that test read and to bring in the poop. Yes, multiple samples of poop. Oh please, like we all haven't taken poop samples before - if not for our kid, or our self, then for our dog or cat, right? Don't lie.

Then we went off for a bunch-o-lab work; mainly gallons of blood plus some. The main point here is that Jack didn't fight it too hard and even though he wailed and cried, within 15 feet of leaving the lab room, he was smiling and waving goodby to the technicians.

Now mommy is smiling because it is nap time.

Goodness! Where does the time go?

2010-07-20T18:56:00.003-04:00

With a toddler, apparently it goes to following them around the house, tickling, swinging, a very little bit of coloring, reading animal sound books, walks around the neighborhood and to parks, listening to chit chat and singing, feeding, feeding, changing diapers, and changing diapers.

We've been doing really wonderful. Jack is absolutely incredible and amazes us so very often with his words and actions: from dada, mama, more, please, cracker, bottle (ok, so maybe only mom and dad can fully understand what he's saying) to mimicking noises (mostly bodily and dog barking) and facial expressions (big smiles and squinting eyes) and sharing his food. He also amazes us with his appetite!

We went shopping the other morning for some smaller clothes for him - 12-month sized! I don't think it will be long until he isn't losing his 18-month-sized pants.

Chris and I are fairly tired, of course. And so, goodnight!

Home!!!

2010-07-18T07:28:00.006-04:00

Gack! It is so hard to write when I can hear the little squirt in his playroom (formerly known as the living room), and I just want to go out and see what he's up to. Well, that and I want to sleep!

Jack's internal clock is not as easy to adjust as is ours. We were doing fine and dandy until he woke up at 4am yesterday morning and then at 1:30am this morning. Chris has taken care of him when he won't go back to sleep. Generally he has been falling asleep when we take him out in the stroller but at 1:30am today that did not work for Jack or me; it did work for Chris and him later at 6am though. Here's a picture of what Jack does in the wee hours while Chris digs out of the destruction area in the kitchen. In all fairness he does put the pots and pans back, and it gave me the opportunity to dust off that shelf.

We left the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou at 10am Thursday (10pm Wednesday in US). Here's Keri and Jack on one of the red couches in the hotel. They do not look too enthused about posing for a picture, do they? in reality we just miss a shot of their gleaming smiles.

Our flight to Beijing was delayed on the tarmac for nearly two hours, and when we arrived in Beijing, our flight to DC was delayed by two hours which meant we were not going to make our flight to Norfolk on 10pm Thursday (US). On the 13.5ish hour flight from Beijing to DC, Jack slept for four hours, and then again for a little over three hours. Other than that, he played, flirted with the young girls, ate, peed, and pooped. Now that's the way to travel! And the cost of the extra seat for him - WELL WORTH IT!

We breezed through immigration with Jack covering me in wet raspberries the entire time. Thankfully the officer didn't seem to mind and welcomed us home.

Because of the delays, the airlines gave us hotel and meal vouchers, and booked us first class on a Friday afternoon flight to Norfolk, but after seeing how many people were waiting for the shuttle bus for the hotel, Chris decided he was up for a 3 1/2 hour rental car drive home. Um, who are we supposed to call at 12:30am when trying to figure out how to get a child strapped into a car seat? Oh, never mind, we're safe. We arrived home around 3:30am Friday... that's 41 hours of travel if I can do the math. Divide that by 10 and that's probably the number of hours of sleep Chris and I -- combined -- got in those 41 hours.

Is it nap time yet? Here's what Jack is up to in the playroom:

New addition to the family is home

2010-07-16T07:04:00.001-04:00

We made it home about 3:30am and Jack got to sleep about 6:00. I'm headed to return the rental car and Carol is trying to get some sleep as well. Thanks to the Lacher's for doing some shopping for us and the Marshall's for the welcome home decorations.
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Change of Plans

2010-07-16T00:46:00.001-04:00

Rented a car and driving to Norfolk.
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Made it throught immigration

2010-07-15T22:30:00.001-04:00

Jack is now a US citizen. We will be spending the night in DC. Home to
Norfolk tomorrow afternoon.
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We're here

2010-07-15T21:48:00.001-04:00

In DC

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Spending the night in DC

2010-07-15T08:05:00.001-04:00

Probably will not make our connecting flight to Norfolk.
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Flight dellays

2010-07-15T05:43:00.001-04:00

The flight from Guangzhou was delayed, but no problem, the flight from Beijing is delayed as well. Let's hope the flight from DC to Norfolk is delayed too.
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For our 14-hr flight: what we expect and what we hope for

2010-07-14T09:15:00.000-04:00

G'nite from China. We'll do our best to update in between flights tomorrow!

The last days in Guangzhou

2010-07-14T01:33:00.001-04:00

More pictures!

1. Carol, aka Mommy, and Jack in the lobby of the White Swan hotel. This is a really nice hotel, and one can't help but smile at the families and children that stay here.

2. Jack eating his first french fry - he likes them!! There's not much he doesn't like to eat!

3. The family before getting on the bus to go to the US Consulate to be sworn in on the adoption information. There must have been about 60+ families there getting processed individually and then sworn in as a group.

4. Mommy and Jack on the Orange (vs infamous Red) Couch at the White Swan Hotel. This couch is in the playroom... it is a LOT of fun in there! Jacks shares very well with other kids. Today in the playroom he was running from side to side loudly screaming "Jack" (or so we think) when he reached each side.

So here we are at nap time again, and I've been doing some packing because in less than 24 hours we'll be on a plane headed to Beijing! Later this afternoon, we will swim and then Peter will bring us Jack's passport with his visa for the US enclosed. Jack will be automatically naturalized as a US citizen as soon as we land in DC on Thursday evening.

While I regret just a little bit not documenting the trip more, I have no regrets about focusing on our budding new family. The encouragement, love, and happy thoughts from all of you have meant more than you could ever imagine. We three thank you and are keeping all of what you've given us deep in our hearts to share with Jack every day.

New photo

2010-07-14T00:06:00.001-04:00

I posted this to facebook, but it's too cute not to share with everyone.
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Little Swimmer

2010-07-12T02:22:00.001-04:00

He loves it! And the beach ball, and beach toys, and Keri's pink innertube!

Some pics from Guangzhou, Day 2? 3? Sat eve and Sunday!!

2010-07-11T03:34:00.001-04:00

Jack in his sailor overalls ready to take the evening Pearl River cruise and see all the bright lights.

Daddy and Jack and Cathy and Keri noting that a child under 1.2 meters tall is allowed on the cruise free with an adult.

Post-cruise happiness of Jack and Mommy. Mommy doesn't look tired, does she?

Jack eating a pear. He's sleeping with that orange right now. After the nap, we FINALLY get to go to the pool.

That was easy

2010-07-10T09:45:00.000-04:00

He went down without a sound tonight - with the exception of three "fuffs". (Obviously Carol here w that delicate language.)

The evening cruise was really nice, and I got my first opportunity to change a poopy diaper in a public restroom. Wet diaper changing I've done in a park and an airport on my lap. He's such a good boy during changing... Throws his legs up and all!

Tomorrow morning Yue Xiu park and then FREE TIME! Pool! The hotel is really, really nice. A magnifying mirror in the bathroom has made me feel like a woman again. A day - hell, even 2 hours - at a spa and I would feel like a goddess, I suppose.

Goodnight from GZ, China!

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Now in Guangzhou, Day 1

2010-07-10T02:40:00.001-04:00

Wow, so much to write, and I don't know where to start. Let's work BACKWARDS...

We are now in Guangzhou at the infamous White Swan Hotel. It is infamous because the US Consulate department for adoptions used to be just down the street so all the US parents would stay here, and by the looks of the dining room at breakfast today, they still do. Chinese children and their adoptive parents are everywhere! Guangzhou is on the southwest coast of China; the breeze seems to blow the smog out of town fairly well, or at least better than we experienced in Chengdu, Xi'an, and Beijing. Guangzhou is the "export quadrant" for China, and the architecture is different, more flashy. Tonight we will go for a dinner cruise on the Pearl River.

Jack is down for a nap and oh, the screaming, crying, and fighting he gave Mama! Although see the fun time with Mama pictures in this post. Chris had stepped out for a while before then because, let me say again, in no uncertain terms, Jack is bonding with Daddy first, and that can be exhausting (for both of us really). I read that a child will often bond with Daddy first, and obviously he can't bond with both of us at once. All in good time, all in good time.

This morning, Jack and Keri had their medical appointments: check out the naked baby, temperature, length, weight, eyes, ears, nose, many tears and that's done! The kids also had their visa pictures taken. Want to guess Jack's expression?? :( After the medical, our facilitator, Peter, walked Cathy and me through filling out all the immigration forms while Jack let Daddy chase him around the lobby. Peter is the man to get things done. He will go to the embassy three times for us while we only have to go once.

The two hour flight from Chengdu to Guangzhou went pretty well for the babes (see pic of Chris and Jack), and I am SURE the three hour flight to Beijing, then the 14 hour flight to DC, and the one hour flight to Norfolk will be the same. SURE. POSITIVE.

I feel like we didn't get nearly enough time to see Chengdu. Time has been flying by so quickly, and keeping our little boy happy and comfortable (see sleeping flag baby) has been our focus. Five days until we fly to the USA will undoubtedly go quickly, too.

I feel a little sad when I think of taking him out of his home country. I expect one day he will understand, and we will come back to see his incredible China.

So this is motherhood

2010-07-08T09:13:00.000-04:00

Eating Jack's strawberry koala snacks in the bathroom while the boys sleep.
And that's after whispering over two glasses of wine in Cathy's room after she changed two poopy diapers in two hours.

Thanks for the supportive words on the last post! Chengdu is quite humid, and I hear Guangzhou will be even more so.

A few more koalas, and I'm off to bed!
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About the people you once cared about

2010-07-08T02:45:00.001-04:00

Carol here. Jack and I are back from the Panda Base. How was it, you ask? Look at the cute panda picture on this post. Now imagine seeing those cute pandas while being inside a glass dome over a giant vat of steaming water. And there you have it – Welcome to Chengdu! And Jack didn't have the least bit of interest in any stinking pandas; I'll be surprised if he ever plays with the small stuffed one he got today.

So where was Chris while we were at the Panda Base?? If I had to guess, he was either in the bed or in the bathroom. He's in the bed right now, and I swear he's rocking himself to sleep – a quickly formed habit from rocking Jack!

I guess I HAVE to post a LITTLE about Jack. It is 2:30 pm here in China, and the baby boy has finally fallen asleep enough to be sneakily laid in his crib – on try #3. He wants to be – and gets – put asleep while we pace with him with his head on our shoulder and arms clutched around us. It's been a long morning and a later than usual nap time for this tyke.

The fun stuff he's been doing today include: showing me how he can roll his tongue sideways, putting Cheerios on the lid before eating them, giggling when tickled, running to Mama, and playing with Keri Dong Rui. Sadly for Keri and Mama Cathy, Chris and Keri should probably be sharing a room together.

That's all for now!

DADDY'S Little Monster

2010-07-07T08:13:00.000-04:00

Bonding schmonding. It's all about Daddy!

I think we have officially seen Daddy's Little Monster come out today, Day 3. After lunch (our leftovers and Daddy feeding Jack pictured in this post), Jack Yiyun could not get enough of running back and forth between Mommy and Daddy in the restaurant. The picture of Jack walking is super cute; too bad we can't upload video. The mess on the floor is Keri Dong Rui's; we describe her as a hoarder, and if she only knew what she had discarded while grabbing food to munch on and hold! She's absolutely adorable and only wants to be held by Mommy Cathy.

Then off to a park we went, Jack walking hand-in-hand with... yep... Daddy. Then back to the hotel to check out the 5th floor outdoor terrace and more running back and forth between Mommy and Daddy.

Bath time wasn't quite so bad tonight thanks to some rubber duckies from Keri Dong Rui and pre-bath splashing in the sink.

And then, for the grand finale, after the nighttime bottle was emptied, and Mommy laid Jack down on her chest to fall asleep -- oh lordy, the screaming and pushing away! That is, until Daddy came onto the bed, and Jack went to him. After about 10-15 minutes of being held on Daddy's shoulder being walked around the room, Jack fell asleep. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. It's really quite sweet, of course, and I am happy Jack is finding comfort with us.

So now Daddy is rewarding himself with some room service pizza. And I applaud!

More on our Chengdu sweetie, Jack Yiyun: Day 3

2010-07-07T00:47:00.001-04:00

Carol here. Uh yeah, we've been kind of busy being a new family and such, so sorry about slacking on the updates. Hah! Who am I kidding?! I'm not sorry at all; I'm enjoying our time together. But sorry we can not respond to all your e-mails.

The first 1 1/2 to 2 days Jack has been clinging to us, not wanting to be put down, and has fallen asleep on our chest before we cleverly (really carefully and slowly) sneak him into the crib for the night. Right now he is afternoon napping on the bed. I swear he sleeps with one eye open half the time, like he does not want to miss anything. Later in the afternoon yesterday and today, we started to see some signs of greater security, independence, and /or anger; he slapped Chris on the chest when Chris was holding him, he walked to Chris a few times (other than that, he hasn't walked although it is clear he can), he took bacon off the plate this morning, and for his nap, he would lie next to Chris to fall asleep, but not on top of him. All this is great to see and experience, as we are sure it has been an exhausting few days for the little man!

Jack is unofficially weighing in at about 20 lbs. Gee, I forgot to bring the tape measure so I don't know how tall he is. We went shopping for some shorts and tank tops for him today because even though we brought the smallest clothes we had from home, some are still too small. I would guess he is wearing 12-18 month size clothes and will quickly outgrow the 12-month sizes -- especially given the chow he's been getting from us.

Speaking of chow, We are loving the Chinese food here. OK, so Chris needed to break out for a burger last night, but other than that, it has been veggies, meats, noodles, rice Chinese-style. The breakfast buffet does have some Western food, but it could all be Chinese as far as I know - well, maybe not the croissants. And you know what follows chow...

Poop. I woke Chris and Jack up just after 5am to change a poopy diaper... a big one...one that couldn't quite be contained... almost, but not quite. A second pair of pajamas were bought this morning, too. And what follows a mess is a quick bath. He is not thrilled to be in the bath, despite one of us being in there with him.

The pictures are:

1. Cathy and her little smiling girl, Keri Dong Rui. This little peanut is a ham! Cathy's got her hands full and is super capable!

2. Us waiting to catch a cab after quick bargain shopping for clothes this morning. Jack loves his Daddy!

3. The Ezzelles (us!) shortly after getting Jack Yiyun. We are at the orphanage in this picture.

4. The three new mommies and their babies at the orphanage. The other couple is from Pittsburgh, and we will all be in the infamous-for adoptive-parents White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou Friday night - Thursday.

5. Family photo at the Civil Affairs office here in Chengdu. We expect to get Jack Yiyun's passport tomorrow.

Panda base tomorrow morning, and on Friday eve we fly to Guangzhou. I am guessing it is somewhere around a two-hour flight. It will be Jack's first airplane ride... I think it will all go well.

Our son is so wonderful!!!! It is hard to believe it is only day three!

Our first night and early morning

2010-07-05T18:42:00.001-04:00

Carol here... Right now Chris has his arm over the crib and is holding and stroking Jack Yiyun's hand as he slowly falls back to sleep. Jack Yiyun's schedule has been to have a bottle of formula at 6am and then fall back asleep for about an hour. Around 5:30am we heard him making sucking sounds, and when we turned him on his back and removed his fingers from his mouth, he immediately grabbed the bottle and started sucking it down. His ritual of falling asleep is for his eyes to get heavy, and he then fights the sleep, opening his eyes as soon as they close to search for our faces. His eyes stay closed 2 seconds, then 5 seconds, then 10 seconds, and after about 10-15 minutes, he is fully sleeping.

Yiyun slept through the night very well. He did go to bed a little late last night - around 10pm - because of a late nap. How we slept through the night is a different story! The crib is on Chris's side of the bed, and he was continually waking to look at Jack, and he slept nearly the whole night facing Jack. And me, well let's just say I missed my sleepy time meds.

It is so sweet to watch Chris with Jack Yiyun. The way he strokes him, smiles at him, jokes with him, and simply adores him.

OUR FIRST HOURS WITH JACK YIYUN

2010-07-05T05:21:00.001-04:00

We are finally back in the hotel room. It's almost 5:00pm. Yiyun and Dong Rui(Cathy's daughter) cried when they walked in the room, probably because of our excitement. But, it didn't last long and we took them into our arms with the help of cheerios. After some paperwork and information gathering at the orphanage we were driven to the street where Yiyun was found as a baby. Although we didn't know the intersection, the street was a busy street with a lot of nice shops. After a short stop at the hotel for a quick diaper change we headed out for a late lunch. Jack Yiyun proved that he has a healthy appetite. We fed him of noodles, rice, pork, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, chicken, cabbage and bread. The restaurant was empty, but we did have an audience; the entire wait staff sat a few tables away and watched us all very closely.

More about Yiyun. First of all, he has not let us put him down. He's happy being held by both of us. He wraps his body around us and holds on tight when we carry him. He has looked through photo albums and pointed at the puppies(Max and Daisy). We were told at the orphanage that he was very active and talkative, but he hasn't shown that side to us yet. He's still taking us and his new surroundings all in. He just fell asleep in Carol's arms, so we are going to try putting him in crib here in the room. Well, that didn't work. He's wide awake once again. We can't let him go. We'll go for now. More later.

Finding place

2010-07-04T23:43:00.001-04:00

We are headed to where Yiyun was found. There will be a lot more photos in a few hours.
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Happy Family

2010-07-04T23:35:00.000-04:00

Here is this first photo of the new addition to our family. We will send more later today.
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We are almost at orphanage

2010-07-04T21:43:00.001-04:00

And we will get him right away!!!

Ok, so we still have 1/2 hour to orphanage cuz of traffic.

We are having a ball in the van w Cathy and Lisa!

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Woot woot! Diaper bag packed!

2010-07-04T10:46:00.000-04:00

We are ready for bed now that the diaper bag is packed and ready to go tomorrow at 9am! We hear the orphanage is about 30 min away from our hotel (Sheraton Chengdu-VERY nice). Our friend Cathy and her friend Lisa (who we met years ago in a Mandarin class in Arlington [SMALL world]) are here and psyched, too.

Oh yeah, we had an awesome last day in Xi'an seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors, and the flight here to Chengdu was only a little over an hour long. Sorry, we are not posting any pics tonight... and my guess is that y'all will be wanting to see pics of something/one else tomorrow and not the warriors!
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Xi'an Day 1

2010-07-03T19:39:00.001-04:00

Just a few pics to post quickly before we head out for day 2 in Xi'an: Shaanxi Museum and Terra Cotta Warriors. Our flight to Chengdu leaves around 5pm tonight... tomorrow we will have our son!!!

1. The ancient wall surrounding Xi'an. Buildings inside the wall are restricted in height.

2. Chris's "hamburger" goes untouched at lunch.

3. C & C at the Wild Goose Pagoda (Buddhist temple).

4. Dumplings for dinner!!

Pictures from Day 2 in Beijing

2010-07-03T05:32:00.001-04:00

More pictures! (Assuming the last upload of pictures made it onto the blog [which we can not access from China].) Let's see if I can describe these photos in the order I think they will show on the page...

1. C & C standing in front of the Forbidden City paying respect to the late Chairman Mao. We are looking towards Tian'anmen Square, the largest square in the world.

2. C & C standing in front of the "lovers tree" in the Imperial Garden within the Forbidden City. While the Imperial Garden pales in comparison to the size and beauty of the Summer Palace, it does have a LOT of charm.

3. Before getting a rickshaw ride through the hutongs; our driver in the picture was excellent in getting us through the narrow alleys. Afterwards, we had lunch in a local home in the hutongs.

4. Dinner on our last night in Beijing: Roast Peking duck (eaten rolled in a pancake with scallions, cukes, and hoisin sauce), chicken and eggplant, and sauteed cabbage (yummmmmm). A few more dishes were delivered to our table as we finished eating all we could fit in our bellies and, like good guests, we started eating them. It turned out they were for the table next to us and the waitress who delivered the food to our table got the stink eye from the lead waitress as she took the food off our table.

5. Welcome to Xi'an! Here's what we saw as we exited the train station in Xi'an. People everywhere! And Xi'an only has a mere 7 million people compared to 16 million in Beijing. You can see the city wall that surrounds the city to keep the rebels out.

Btw, Chris and I just had a one hour massage in our hotel room... there were giggles from being tickled coupled with silence from the sheer enjoyment.

PICTURES FROM BEIJING

2010-07-02T23:18:00.001-04:00

Finally - internet connection in the room.

Here are some pictures from our first full day in Beijing. Wow - are we really here on the other side of the world?!?

Chris on the Great Wall before he continued on without me.

Carol with the complimentary bottle of cheap vodka for, er, at lunch. (This bottle is for your bar, Mike.)

Chris, who never uses chopsticks, showing off by picking up a peanut with them.

Us on a boat at the Summer Palace with a young boy our guide talked into sitting with us.

Will post more later today(for us) and tomorrow(for you).

Good Saturday morning from the train

2010-07-02T18:49:00.000-04:00

It is 630am and we will arrive in Xi'an a little after 8am. It is rainy and foggy outside as we watch little villages and farms go by.

The train was mad hot until it got moving and the AC turned on. It was so oppressing we questioned our ability to and interest in sightseeing today, but now I think we are OK and will be even better after coffee and shower.

Once we arrive, our guide (whoever he / she is) will take us for breakfast and hopefully we can check into hotel-- and check the internet.

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Farewell Beijing

2010-07-02T07:55:00.001-04:00

You all know me, I am a delicate flower, and today was a hot, sunny and busy day. We are now at the train station (train leaves after 9pm) after a day in Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, hutongs (old Beijing narrow alleyed neighborhoods) where we had lunch, Drum Tower, silk market (fake stuff; Chris was excellent at bargaining for tradition Chinese clothes for Jack Yiyun), silk factory, dinner of Peking duck and more.

Xi'an is supposed to be 100 degrees tomorrow. (Sigh)

cmr asked about purchases... too numerous to mention, plus I don't want to give anything away, and finally because I have a bad memory! I am wearing a lovely jade bracelet though, and we've gotten some traditional Chinese clothes and other gifts for Jack Yiyun as he grows older.

I can't wait to lie down in our train cabin. Hopefully the internet will work in hotel room in Xi'an so we can share some pics and Skype!
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Friday morning in Beijing-mmmm, bacon.

2010-07-01T18:42:00.000-04:00

Hi! We are just getting up and will be going to hotel breakfast buffet again. Eggs, sausauge, mashed potatoes, corn, congee, porridge, buns made w sticky rice flour, salted preserved eggs, noodles, rice, fruit and BACON are a few of the foods on buffet. Then we pack our bags, tour more of Beijing and catch a
7pm 12-hour train to Xi'an.

Bummed that our room internet isn't working so we can't Skype or easily upload pics.

Lastly, we see blue sky out our window!
.

Had delish dinner last nite at local restaurant
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To clarify news on Yiyun

2010-07-01T07:10:00.001-04:00

I should have said while we were shocked to hear about Yiyun, it was not in a bad way. More in a way like "our son is nearly 21 months old, but we don't have any info on him past 9 months of age despite asking for info, and here's our tour guide coming out of the bathroom with info on Yiyun, and HOLY CATS! We now know SOMETHING about our child as he is right now" kind of way.

Oh, and yes, we packed hydrocortisone cream.

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News on Yiyun!

2010-07-01T05:28:00.000-04:00

Sooooo, we were walking thru the Summer Palace -which is awesome and beautiful- and our guide walks up to us and says that he got a phone call and was to tell us that Yiyun has a heat rash or something that he has been scratching at, so we should not be surprised when we see him. Of course, after that we could not focus on any of the tour!

We are going to try to find out more about Yiyun before Monday because honestly the suspense is killing me!

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Legs don't fail us now

2010-07-01T01:57:00.001-04:00

We have climbed part of the Great Wall; some of us (Chris) went farther up than others (Carol). Wish you were climbing with us, Mom ;) Rain and fog all around. Then we went to a jade factory, cloisoinne factory and buffet lunch which was mamahuhu (so-so).

Our hotel is north of the city center between the 2nd and 3rd rings in a very commercial shopping area. Our beds there beckon us for a jetlag nap, but alas we are now traveling west with our guide -whose name happens to be Jack - and driver to the Summer Palace.

We are not part of a group BUT in Chengdu we will meet up with our friend, Cathy, whom we lived next door to in Alexandria. She is adopting a 19-month old girl from the same children's welfare institute! We will be joined with our children on the same day. Wild!

We can't wait to meet Yiyun!!!!

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Thursday morning in Beijing

2010-06-30T19:54:00.001-04:00

Carol here. We just had a yummy breakfast buffet at our hotel-you know me and food! And the coffee is excellent.

We slept about 9 hours on our firmer than American beds, and we slept well. Yesterday when we arrived we spent the afternoon walking inside and outside the upscale mall nearby -filled with young people- and ate dinner at a Taiwanese fast food place in the mall. Chris's chopsticks skills are climbing the steep learning curve.

Today we are off to the Great Wall and Summer Palace. Very smoggy here in Beijing. I can see about 4 blocks away and then nothing. We expect to post some pictures tonight.

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It's been a long day

2010-06-30T08:23:00.001-04:00

Going to bed now
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We made it!

2010-06-30T03:56:00.001-04:00

We just checked into our hotel. Trying to stay awake for a few hours.
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Our Itinerary in China

2010-06-27T14:49:00.005-04:00

We leave in less than two days! And here's the basics of what we will be up to:

June 29: Leave United States; only about 16 hours of travel time

June 30: Arrive Beijing, China in afternoon

July 1: Great Wall at Ju Yong Guan and Summer Palace

July 2: Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, and Hutongs; Overnight train to Xi'an

July 3: Xi'an City Walls, Wild Goose Pagoda, Shaanxi History Museum

July 4: Terra Cotta Warriors and Muslim Quarter (shooping & food); fly to Chengdu in evening

July 5: GOTCHA DAY in Chengdu!! (Jack Yiyun joins us!)

July 6-9: Spend time together as a new family, adoption appointments, visit Chengdu Panda Base

July 9: Fly to Guangzhou late afternoon

July 10-14: Spend time together as a new family, adoption appointments, visit Chan Clan Academy and Five Rams Park; evening cruise on Pearl River

July 15: Fly home to United States

A Different Perspective

2010-06-18T16:06:00.005-04:00

As you read this story below, you will see how the wife represents Jack Yiyun.

Imagine for a moment…
You have met the person you’ve dreamed about all your life. He has every quality that you desire in a spouse. You plan for the wedding, enjoying every free moment with your fiancée. You love his touch, his smell, the way he looks into your eyes. For the first time in your life, you understand what is meant by “soul mate,” for this person understands you in a way that no one else does. Your heart beats in rhythm with his. Your emotions are intimately tied to his every joy, his every sorrow.

The wedding comes. It is a happy celebration, but the best part is that you are finally the wife of this wonderful man. You fall asleep that night, exhausted from the day’s events, but relaxed and joyful in the knowledge that you are next to the person who loves you more than anyone in the world…the person who will be with you for the rest of your life. The next morning you wake up, nestled in your partner’s arms. You open your eyes and immediately look for his face. But it’s not him! You are in the arms of another man. You recoil in horror. Who is this man?

Where is your beloved?
You ask questions of the new man, but it quickly becomes apparent that he doesn’t understand you. You search every room in the house, calling and calling for your husband. The new guy follows you around, trying to hug you, pat you on the back. . .even trying to stroke your arm, acting like everything is okay. But you know that nothing is okay. Your beloved is gone. Where is he? Will he return? When? What has happened to him? Weeks pass. You cry and cry over the loss of your beloved. Sometimes you ache silently, in shock over what has happened. The new guy tries to comfort you. You appreciate his attempts, but he doesn’t speak your language-either verbally or emotionally. He doesn’t seem to realize the terrible thing that has happened...that your sweetheart is gone.

You find it difficult to sleep. The new guy tries to comfort you at bedtime with soft words and gentle touches, but you avoid him, preferring to sleep alone, away from him and any intimate words or contact. Months later, you still ache for your beloved, but gradually you are learning to trust this new guy. He’s finally learned that you like your coffee black, not doctored up with cream and sugar. Although you still don’t understand his bedtime songs, you like the lilt of his voice and take some comfort in it. More time passes. One morning, you wake up to find a full suitcase sitting next to the front door. You try to ask him about it, but he just takes you by the hand and leads you to the car. You drive and drive and drive. Nothing is familiar. Where are you? Where is he taking you?

You pull up to a large building. He leads you to an elevator and up to a room filled with people. Many are crying. Some are ecstatic with joy. You are confused. And worried. The man leads you over to the corner. Another man opens his arms and sweeps you up in an embrace. He rubs your back and kisses your cheeks, obviously thrilled to see you. You are anything but thrilled to see him. Who in the world is he? Where is your beloved? You reach for the man who brought you, but he just smiles (although he seems to be tearing up, which concerns you), pats you on the back, and puts your hand in the hands of the new guy. The new guy picks up your suitcase and leads you to the door. The familiar face starts openly crying, waving and waving as the elevator doors close on you and the new guy. The new guy drives you to an airport and you follow him, not knowing what else to do. Sometimes you cry, but then the new guy tries to make you smile, so you grin back, wanting to “get along.” You board a plane. The flight is long. You sleep a lot, wanting to mentally escape from the situation.

Hours later, the plane touches down. The new guy is very excited and leads you into the airport where dozens of people are there to greet you. Light bulbs flash as your photo is taken again and again. The new guy takes you to another guy who hugs you. Who is this one? You smile at him. Then you are taken to another man who pats your back and kisses your cheek. Then yet another fellow gives you a big hug and messes your hair. Finally, someone (which guy is this?) pulls you into his arms with the biggest hug you’ve ever had. He kisses you all over your cheeks and croons to you in some language you’ve never heard before.

He leads you to a car and drives you to another location. Everything here looks different. The climate is not what you’re used to. The smells are strange. Nothing tastes familiar, except for the black coffee. You wonder if someone told him that you like your coffee black. You find it nearly impossible to sleep. Sometimes you lie in bed for hours, staring into the blackness, furious with your husband for leaving you, yet aching from the loss. The new guy checks on you. He seems concerned and tries to comfort you with soft words and a mug of warm milk. You turn away, pretending to go to asleep.

People come to the house. You can feel the anxiety start to bubble over as you look into the faces of all the new people. You tightly grasp the new guy’s hand. He pulls you closer. People smile and nudge one other, marveling at how quickly you’ve fallen in love. Strangers reach for you, wanting to be a part of the happiness. Each time a man hugs you, you wonder if he will be the one to take you away. Just in case, you keep your suitcase packed and ready. Although the man at this house is nice and you’re hanging on for dear life, you’ve learned from experience that men come and go, so you just wait in expectation for the next one to come along.

Each morning, the new guy hands you a cup of coffee and looks at you expectantly. A couple of times the pain and anger for your husband is so great that you lash out, sending hot coffee across the room, causing the new guy to yelp in pain. He just looks at you, bewildered. But most of the time you calmly take the cup. You give him a smile. And wait. And wait. And wait.

How would each of us handle all these changes?

How would this impact us for the rest of our lives?

©2006 Cynthia Hockman-Chupp. Cynthia is an adoptive parent, teacher, and writer who has learned the most about parenting from her children. She operates a website with Heidi Louella, another adoptive parent and teacher, called http://www.a4everfamily.org/ with great information for families that are dealing with the challenges of attachment in young children.
Her analogy is courtesy of Dr. Kali Miller, an attachment therapist.

The bonding among the three of us is an extremely important part of Jack Yiyun’s development and our growth as a family. As his parents, Chris and I are responsible for creating a safe place for Jack Yiyun, so that when it's time for him to meet his new extended family, he'll feel secure through and through.

We love all of you and can't wait for all of us to get to know each other. But please be patient as we welcome Jack Yiyun as our son with all the time and care he needs.

Consulate Appointment and Travel Dates!

2010-06-09T08:42:00.006-04:00

Our U.S. Consulate appointment is confirmed for July 12!

We will begin our travel to China on June 29!

Expecting to return on July 15!

-- with our son in our arms!

Hoping we can see these guys when we travel

2010-06-08T13:08:00.002-04:00

Well not the Peeps version of the Terra Cotta Warriors (credit to Kathy Ansell in the Washington Post Peeps Show IV), but the real thing in Xi'an!

We got our USCIS updated approval today!

2010-06-05T17:44:00.002-04:00

What more can I say? How about we expect to travel by the end of the month. I should have confirmation by the end of this week.

Hurray!!!

Re-enlistment at Ground Zero

2010-06-02T14:52:00.008-04:00

My DH, sailor of 18 years, re-enlisted last week at Ground Zero in NYC during Fleet Week. I'm so pround of you, Chief!

Here are some pictures:

Travel Approval received!

2010-05-26T13:44:00.005-04:00

Margaret was right on with her comment on the last posting: we received travel approval ("TA") from China today!

We are still waiting on the updated approval from the USCIS.

Our agency said that IF we had the USCIS approval at this time, we would have probably traveled around June 8 - DH's birthday! We are hoping to travel mid-June... stay tuned!

Still no news

2010-05-25T13:09:00.004-04:00

There is still no news on when we might travel. The Norfolk USCIS office said today that our case is currently with the Adjudications Officers for final review.

Yesterday we mailed a package to Yiyun at the Chengdu Children's Welfare Institute. We enclosed two photo albums with pictures of Chris and me, the dogs, and some rooms in the house; two stuffed animals; and disposable cameras so that hopefully they will take pictures of him and then give the cameras to us for developing.

Kids say the darndest - and sweetest - things!

2010-05-13T14:23:00.004-04:00

Here's a card from the three boys of a dear friend's dear friend. These kids have given up the stuffed Elmo that each of them, now ranging from 4 through 9 years old, carried around with them as toddlers. They have also parted ways with books, toys, and clothing for Jack Yiyun along with giving him this heartfelt welcome. Thanks Oscar, Charles and Marcus! A bow and a wink to your parents, too!

What's in a Chinese name?

2010-05-11T13:41:00.005-04:00

Above is Yiyun's name in Chinese as it is printed on his paperwork. Below are the three above characters translated into pinyin ("spell sound"). The number after each pinyin word is the tone used when pronouncing the word. A 2 is a rising tone from low to high, and a 4 is a falling tone from high to low.

Liu2 - a popular last name
Yi4 - skill, art
Yun4 - fortune, luck, fate; to move; to transport; to use; to apply

A good friend has speculated that the whole name might mean to have artistic luck or fate. Another good friend thinks maybe the name-giver was thinking about the Olympics when naming him Yiyun; he was born in 2008, when the Olympic were held in Beijing. Apparently quite a few people in China gave Olympic-related names to their children born in 2008.

General travel itinerary

2010-05-09T14:50:00.003-04:00

Just over a week ago, DH and I had our "travel meeting" with our adoption agency. We talked a lot about expectations for when we are in China. As a result, here's how we see our travels going - whenever that may be!

Fly into Beijing, met by guide, stay for a few days adjusting to 12 hour time difference and sightseeing
Fly to Chengdu, met by guide, possibly getting Yiyun the day we arrive, stay for several days getting to know our son and sightseeing with him
Fly to Guangzhou for three business days of adoption and immigration procedures, guide included
Fly home

Our agency said we should NOT expect to receive updated photos and/or information on Yiyun before we travel. (sob, sob)

Fun Stuff! We are planning to send a care package to the welfare institute Yiyun is in. We bought some "soft" photo albums in which we can put pictures of ourselves, the dogs, his bedroom and playroom.

Crib and RACE CAR bed

2010-05-02T12:23:00.007-04:00

Because I know my mom is going to my sister's house today to take a look at the blog, and because some people (Lauren) won't stop bugging me for pictures of Jack Yiyun's room, I figured I better post up some photos, despite their camera-phone fuzziness.

I still have bunches to blog about as we plan our travel... which should be in JUNE!

Rad Rug

2010-04-29T16:54:00.004-04:00

I've got LOTS of update blogging to do, but in the meanwhile, I'd like to share the rad 6'6'' X 9'10'' rug we got for Jack Yiyun's playroom (formally known as the formal living room).

We Are The Truth - An Adoption Blogger Day

2010-04-15T16:10:00.004-04:00

From the Joint Council of International Children's Services web page:

"During a press conference today, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko stated that intercountry adoptions with the United States have been suspended until a bilateral agreement with the United States is signed. At this time, the Ministry of Education (the ministry responsible for intercountry adoption) has not confirmed the suspension nor issued a statement.
...

The outrageous treatment of Artyem by his adoptive family has rightfully resulted in outrage by the Governments of Russia and the United States and all who care about children. The tragedy has cast a light on intercountry adoption that says it is not safe, the system failed and adopted children cause insurmountable problems. The heartbreak of Artyem Saviliev’s abandonment has once again elevated a singular incident to a level which may result in the suspension of intercountry adoption. Suspending adoption, even temporarily, will only cause thousands of children to suffer the debilitating effects of life in an orphanage."

To ensure the world knows about every successful adoption, Thursday, April 15, 2010 has been designated as the day to blog about your adoption or the adoption of someone you know.

I only want to say that the process of adoption is difficult for everyone involved: the child, the birth parents, the adoptive parents, and more. However, I have seen the blogs of so many individuals who have overcome and stayed strong through those difficult times. I have also been made aware of all the resources available to help families through difficult times. I applaud all the successful and never-giving-up families who have been through the process of adoption.

We have a crib!!

2010-04-14T16:22:00.002-04:00

Zoinks!

When I came home last night, one of Chris's coworkers was here. I was told that he helped Chris take the futon out of the room to be Yiyun's and bring it downstairs -- which they did. But after 5 minutes of being home and not going upstairs like I usually do, Chris had to yell at me (sailor expletives have been edited out), "Oh fer crying out loud! Would you just go upstairs and look in his room!"

We have a crib in our house!

Letter of Approval and Visa applications

2010-04-12T18:47:00.003-04:00

My DH took our home study update materials, our signed letter that we are seeking to adopt Yiyun and our visa applications to FedEx on Saturday (yep, I'm worthless at filling out mailing labels), and our adoption agency received them today!

Now we wait for our agency to update the home study report based on all the information we sent them. They tell us they are going to make it a priority! They will send the report to us and then... well, I'll tell you what the next step is when it's time!

Here's black and white copy of the red seal on the letter sent to us by China!

Ladybug

2010-04-06T17:01:00.004-04:00

Ladybugs are apparently the unofficial symbol of adopting from China. When you sight a ladybug, it's supposedly indicates the referral of your child is close at hand.

Well...

When in PA this weekend, and transferring a bunch of baby/kiddo stuff from my niece's and nephew's truck to DH's truck, a ladybug landed on my sunglasses. So putting aside that I'm absolutely THRILLED that finally I am getting hand-me-downs, here's this sign.

And...

Voila! Today we were notified that the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has sent our adoption agency the "Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adopter" (aka the Letter of Approval). I'll write more once we have the letter in hand.

Another step completed

2010-03-31T17:05:00.003-04:00

Home study update interview with our lovely social worker: Done!

Estimates are that it will take somewhere around a month for our agency to update the home study, send it to the USCIS office, and to have it go through USCIS approval. After that, China will be notified that we are re-approved to adopt.

I have taped a picture of Yiyun to my computer monitor. Is he talking to me? Is he saying, "Mama, Baba, come get me!"?

Surprise!

2010-03-27T09:34:00.013-04:00

It's a Boy!

Our sweet little boy, Yiyun, is currently 17 months old. His birthday is October 11, 2008 - the date in between my dad's and mom's birthdays!

A local pediatrician who specializes in international adoption reviewed all of Yiyun's files from China and gave him a quite glowing evaluation. At nine months of age, he was crawling fast - particularly towards food - and knew his name when called. He was described as active, having a ready smile, and -- shocking! -- fond of playing with toys (just like his daddy).

He is living in Chengdu which is the capital of Sichuan province. Sichuan is located in south central China at about the same latitude as Savannah, GA. Ahhh, Sichuan... spicy food! And the Wolong Nature Reserve, home to the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda is nearby.

At nine months old, Yiyun weighed 19 lbs and was nearly 28 inches tall. We are super-duper anxious to receive updated information, such as his height, weight, pictures of him, and what he's doing. Often the adoptive parents will receive updated information once they start the process of adopting.

So where are we now in the adoption process? On March 16, our pre-application to adopt Yiyun was emailed to the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA). On March 18, the CCAA emailed our agency stating our application (sent in June of 2006) was being sent into the waiting children adoption process. Now we need to update our study because (1) we had moved since the last home study and (2) we need to have our agency state we are approved to adopt a child with a special need.

The home study update - which is required in order to update our US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) paperwork to bring Yiyun home as our son, as a US citizen - requires updated background checks, a meeting with our adoption agency social worker, and updated medicals. I got six needles yesterday for a total of 10 vaccinations and two tests; some were for the home study update and some were in preparation to travel to China. Chris only needed two shots! Our social worker comes on Wednesday. I estimate our updated home study would be on file with the USCIS no later than the end of April giving the thumb's up to China that we are good to go on the US side of things.

When would we travel? Not sure, but I would guess within four months!

And here's our sweetie at 9 months!

Adoption Status Update

2010-03-01T13:17:00.002-05:00

The latest batch of referrals from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) was for families whose applications were received April 6 through 11, 2006 (8th and 9th were weekend days). I estimate the next batch to cover up through April 17.

With Much Sadness

2010-02-26T07:56:00.005-05:00

DH's father passed away unexpectedly the day I wrote the last post. We thank everyone for all their kind words and thoughts at such a very, very sad time.

Two days ago, our agency called us to tell us that CCAA had pulled the files of those two boys off of our agency's list. They pulled the files because they had been with our agency for over 5 months without official word of any interest in them from any families. It's a new thing the CCAA is doing, probably with the intent to get those children exposed to other families looking to adopt.

China's adoption system is government-run. We have no idea where the boys are in the system now. Maybe their files will be sent to some other agency, or maybe they will show up on the next release of the "Shared" list (vs. agency list). Either way, we are thinking about what our next steps might be.

We are having files on two boys reviewed

2010-02-17T11:20:00.002-05:00

There are two boys on our agency's Waiting Children (in China) list that we are interested in learning more about. Tomorrow we are going to a pediatrician that specializes in international adoption. The doctor will evaluate the medical and developmental files and 3 photos of each child.

This is exciting. And, of course, a bit scary. But mostly exciting.

Adoption Status Update

2010-02-01T14:53:00.002-05:00

The latest batch of referrals from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) was for families whose applications were received April 4 and 5, 2006. Another small batch. NO, WAIT - another small batch in terms of number of days, but apparently a relatively large amount of children and parents were matched within this batch. Estimates are for for the next batch to cover up to near April 11.

We are looking into China's special needs/waiting children program. Maybe a little boy is in our future?!?

Adoption Status Update

2009-12-28T16:43:00.002-05:00

The latest batch of referrals from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) was for families whose applications were received April 1 through 3, 2006. That's a smaller than predicted batch. :(

Number of China Adoptions Continue to Decrease

2009-12-22T09:44:00.003-05:00

According the US Department of State's newly released numbers on adoptions to the United States, the number of adoptions from China decreased from 3,911 in FY 2008 to 3,001 in FY 2009; that's a decrease of about 23%. There's been a 62% decrease in the number of adoptions from China to the United States since FY 2005. I posted about previous numbers in this post.

What the State Department's numbers don't show is that the number of "special needs" (SN) children being adopted has significantly increased. Many SN children have very correctable and minor needs that can easily be corrected or or have already been corrected through surgery or treatment like cleft lip and/or palate, heart defects, birthmarks, missing fingers or toes, limb differences, droopy eyelids, etc. There's a chance we may see how we fit into SN program in the new year... the wait is potentially shorter.

Still waiting on the next batch of referrals...hopefully some info surfaces during the first week of January.

Adoption Status Update

2009-12-02T11:07:00.002-05:00

The latest batch of referrals from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) appears to have matched babies with families whose applications were received March 29 through 31, 2006. It took 10 months to provide referrals for applications received in March of 2006. Now... onto April of 2006, which I hope will not take more than six months to get through.

Adoption Status Update

2009-10-13T08:23:00.003-04:00

The latest batch of referrals from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) appears to have matched babies with families whose applications were received March 25 through 28, 2006; March 25 and 26 were weekend days. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, there were apparently a lot of applications logged in on the 27 and 28, so I am not too discouraged. I am predicting the next batch will match through April 1... and wishing it would cover through April 3. We'll see!

Financial Times: "Adopted Chinese daughters seek their roots"

2009-09-30T09:52:00.001-04:00

Awesome article that touches on fewer Chinese females being available for adoption.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/cc97dd18-a719-11de-bd14-00144feabdc0.html

Adoption Status Update

2009-08-18T11:21:00.004-04:00

The latest batch of referrals (processed during August) from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) appears to have matched babies with families whose applications were received March 23 and 24, 2006. As I mentioned earlier, there were apparently a lot of applications logged in those days, so I am not discouraged.

There appears to be a lot of applications logged in on March 27, 28, and 29, so next month I am expecting (really hoping that) the batch will cover 4 days -- the 25th through the 28th. After all, March 25 and 26 were weekend days!

Adoption Status Update

2009-07-20T09:24:00.006-04:00

The latest batch of referrals (processed during June/July) from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) appears to have matched babies with families whose applications were received March 21 and 22, 2006. There were apparently a lot of applications logged in those days.

I've been eyeballing some polls on prospective adoptive parents' log-in-dates (PAP LIDs), and I'm going to venture to guess that the next batch of referrals will cover 3 days, and that the third batch from now (in October or November) will finally close out the March 2006 dates. Once they get to the April applications, I expect the days should pass a little more quickly.

Today, I started a...

2009-07-01T16:30:00.001-04:00

BABY REGISTRY!

Adoption Status Update

2009-06-23T07:41:00.003-04:00

The latest batch of referrals (processed during May and some of June) from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) appears to have matched babies with families whose applications were received March 15 through 20, 2006.

Three year anniversary of LID

2009-06-18T10:54:00.008-04:00

Tomorrow, June 19, it will be three years since the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) received and logged in our adoption application. LID=Log In Date. Three years.

I don't really know what to say about this anniversary... sure you all know that when we started the process, we expected to wait about a year and a half to bring our child home... and that we've been quite patient and enjoying our life together in the meanwhile.

Could I say the wait has been tough? You bet. Could I say I've considered whether we should drop out of the China adoption program given that we might be waiting another year and a half, maybe more, maybe less? Yes, I've considered that. Could I say that I've imagined holding our child in our arms and bringing her home? Well, cha, yeah. I am sure I could share a lot more about the wait if I really thought about it. But instead, I'll choose to make an adoption journal entry privately- it has been six months since the last time I wrote in it... maybe my entry will be a short note to our child-to-be.

And I will continue to await rumors on the next batch of referrals...

My CPO

2009-05-27T16:58:00.001-04:00

CPO Ezzelle in his dress blues.

WOW.

What else can I say?

Very nice, Chief.

Adoption Status Update

2009-05-21T12:10:00.002-04:00

This past month (April) the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) appears to have matched babies with families whose applications were received March 9 through 14, 2006. Just to recap, for the past four months they have been working on matching March 2006 applications; the polls/estimates show there were a lot of applications logged in during March.

At this rate, one might estimate it will take at least another four months to finish referring for March. And then our eyes are on April, May, and June (our month) for which the polls/estimates show fewer applications.

Is it possible our wait will be less than a year and a half now?!?! I'll keep you posted every month.

Loving the green

2009-05-13T13:08:00.004-04:00

Below is Lunch, Part II. Seaweed salad. And a bit spicy, I might add. I love green.

I only peeled back half of the plastic wrap so I would refrain from eating it all.

And if you are wondering what are those crumbs underneath the green on the plate, that would be remnants of the infamous Radish Sandwich.

Yes, we adopted (a dog)

2009-05-12T16:16:00.006-04:00

If you haven't already heard, we adopted the last dog we were fostering. Her name is Daisy (she is just learning it), and she is a 6-year old, 44 pound Walker hound mix that was picked up in Southwest Virginia in January. Before we got her, she had 4 teeth pulled, a mastectomy, and was spayed -- even has a tattoo to indicate it! She's VERY quiet for a hound and mostly likes to sleep all day in a corner.

Here's a picture of her riding home from the vet today; the little bugger got into the front seat. And another picture of her as my office mate (smushed in between the filing cabinet and garbage can).

Maxine tolerates her, just like she did Sammy. As with Sammy, they really don't bother with each other.

"Favorable Determination" For the Third Time

2009-05-08T15:38:00.003-04:00

Our Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition has been approved - for the third time in our nearly three year wait - resulting in our receipt of the I-171H document. The I-171H from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicates we are "able to furnish proper care to an orphan" and that we've been approved for one child up to 18 months old, either boy or girl (all that is exactly what we asked for), and the embassy in Guangzhou, China has been notified. The approval is only valid for 18 months, and the fingerprint checks that are also required are only valid for 15 months, and, as many of you know, we started this process many moons ago; i.e., nearly 36 months ago.

We are still waiting to hear how far the CCAA got this past month in matching applications with children. There was talk that the H1N1 virus may be holding up the release, but hopeful me awaits rumors next week.

In the Toilet

2009-05-07T09:41:00.003-04:00

I just pulled a a dear coworker's ID badge out of the toilet at work. Is that SO bad? Of course the toilet had been flushed.

Should I have been a plumber instead of a psychometrician? Would that have helped me with my overwhelming fear of toilets overflowing?

Happy Easter!

2009-04-09T10:31:00.006-04:00

Make sure you get all the Peeps you can! And check out the Washington Post's Peeps Diorama Contest Gallery.

Adoption Status Update

2009-04-06T08:54:00.003-04:00

This past month (March) the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) appears to have matched babies with families whose applications were received March 7 and 8, 2006. Like the last two months, that's only 2 days worth of LIDs matched in a month, and once again, that's OK given that so many applications were received in March, 2006 -- especially March 7!