6 Month Anniversary

Well, I can hardly believe it but today marks the 6 month anniversary from when our family received our beautiful baby girl. Paige is 21 ½ months old and doing great. Bonding seems to have gone well from the beginning in China. It helps that we are able to stay with her instead of having her in day care. I stay with her 4 days a week and Mike has her 1 day. We started out with me working 2 days per week but soon got that down to 1 day. Mike still takes his 2nd day off so she gets to have both Mom and Dad home with her on Fridays!

6 months seem to have flown by and yet it seems like we have always been a family of 5. Of course, mom and dad are still adjusting to remembering how much stuff you have to take along when you have a baby. More than once we have found ourselves out and say did you bring the diaper bag? No, did you? No, oh shoot (or something to that effect). But we manage to survive.

It has been an eventful 6 months for us as we took our regular trips to Branson throughout the summer and had our convention for Servpro in Hawaii this year. We all had a blast in Hawaii for 2 weeks. But we were definitely ready to be home in our own beds with our regular routine. Paige did fantastic on the plane trip to Hawaii. After the long hard trip from China we were worried about it but she did really well and it helped that on the way back the stewardess rearranged the lady sitting with Mike and I to a new seat so we could have an empty seat for Paige to sit/sleep in. In between our travels we had a great summer at home. The boys had a good time teaching Paige to like the pool as much as they do. They took her swimming practically every day and she loved it. So much so that we could not turn our back on her or she jumped in the pool by herself! She definitely is not afraid of the water.

Now that school is back in session she misses her big brothers and is very excited to see them when they get home. She will practically squeal and run to them when they come in the door. They are good baby sitters so mom and dad can have a little time to themselves now and then.

Potty training is on the horizon as she will bring us diapers when she wants changed. Not always, but enough we know it is time to be thinking about it. I was hoping for more communication before I tried. She says a lot of words if we say them and she repeats them back but she is not using a lot of words in regular conversation. We still get a lot of ehh ehh and pointing when she wants something. She does use some words in everyday conversation like mom, dad, no (this one a lot), bye, Dustin, Derrick, yuck (when we change her diaper or go to the bathroom ourselves), hot (that is for my coffee in the morning), again (sounds like gin), eyes, nose, hair, ear, ball and few others but only occasionally like wow, uh oh, aww man, up, hi, etc. She is definitely doing well for only hearing English for the last 6 months.

She is growing like a weed. I had to get rid of several cute dresses in the last couple of weeks that fit her fine at the beginning of summer. She has grown 2 ½ inches and gained 4lbs since our medical exam in Guangzhou in March. But never fear after shopping for boys for 16 years I enjoyed myself immensely when I got to go buy new fall clothes for my baby girl. Her favorite food is still pasta, bread and gummy snacks. She also loves chocolate but we try not to give her too much of that. And she still will not eat rice of any kind. I even went to a local Chinese Restaurant in our small town and asked them for a recipe for congee and they told me how to make it and then gave me a bowl of what they had in the back for their own meals (they do not sell it at the restaurant). She wouldn’t take more than a bite no matter how much salt, sugar, etc I added to it and she loved congee in China. Oh well, surely in time she will expand her palate much like the boys did (although one boy could still be happy with nothing but pizza, burgers, and chicken nuggets).

If you read this thanks for sticking around and sorry for the slow updates. Mostly I update facebook these days and that is about all I have time for and if you are facebook friends with me you will know I don’t do that very often. Typing is a chore when you have a 21 month old on your lap trying to help!

Here are some recent pics from our trip to Hawaii.

Gotcha Day Video & Pics

Well, we have been home for 4 days now and I am sort of getting over the jet lag. This is the first night I've felt like staying up after Paige was in bed and posting on the blog. Here is the video of our Gotcha Moment (filmed by Dustin):


I only took about 500 pictures while we were in China. I didn't figure you all came out here looking for pictures of our sightseeing so I picked out a few of the best pics of Paige and the boys. Mike and I are in some of them too. :)













This is the famous red couch photo of the babies in our group (well, the ones that would stay on the couch at any rate). I think we are only missing a couple:



Our group at the White Swan Hotel:



Paige's first ride in a car seat. We did pretty well. We managed to leave St. Louis right at nap time so that helped.



I think she feels at home since she already is climbing on stuff, what do you think?

GOTCHA DAY

First, I have to say I’m sorry this has taken so long but it has been a busy couple of days and I did not have internet yet. Since I knew I wouldn’t have anything to post right away I delayed paying the $75 they wanted for a week’s worth of internet until I knew I would have time to use it.

So, for those of you who don’t know they call the day you get your baby Gotcha Day. For the first day we are just guardians. Then on the next day you become the adoptive parents. Our Gotcha Day was March 8th and the date of adoption was March 9th. We did not get to go to the adoption center until afternoon on the 8th. We had to wait all morning. We slept in, we ate breakfast, we read our books, the boys did homework and eventually the time passed. We got to the Adoption Center in Guangzhou a little after 2:30 and they told us our babies were still on the way (the drive from Huazhou City is kind of hazy, some said 5 hours some said 6 or 7). Either way, it was a long way and they were late. Most of our group took a seat on the couches in front of the elevators to wait. The elevators doors opened and out walked a group with babies. Well, we didn’t think anything of it until Simon (our local guide) said those are your babies! We were all like oh my gosh they walked right by us and we didn’t even know. So we made our way in to the crowded room where everyone just stands in the middle and when they call your babies name they bring her out and you get her. I wanted to post a video here but it wouldn't let me email it.

Her hair is so much longer than her referral picture. I thought they would keep it cut short and I’d have to wait that much longer for it to grow out but they didn’t. They let us spend a while with the baby and then they call you in to make the donation. Then you get to leave for your “harmonious period”. It was off to the supermarket to buy any supplies we needed (like formula and rice crackers). And in our case snacks for the boys. Then it was back to the hotel with a 15 minute break and then one parent had to go fill out paperwork with the adoption coordinator. Of course, that would be me (Angie). So, Mike and the boys got to spend an entire hour playing with her without me! By the time I got back they had her laughing. We gave her a bath and a bottle and put her to bed around 10 and she slept until we woke her up at 7 AM!

Dustin and Derrick (especially Derrick) have really bonded with her. We can hardly keep Derrick away. He is always playing with her, wanting to feed her, push the stroller whatever he can do. It is very cute and I have the pictures to prove it.
On Tuesday we went back to the Adoption Center to finalize the paperwork. Then it was off to Shaimen Island to take a visa photo and do some shopping. The shopping was great but we wore out before we finished with all the stores. We will make another trip to the island on Saturday for the medical check and do some more shopping then.

Since the internet connection I paid for won't let me post pics, this will be tmy last entry until we get home. Sorry guys.

Beijing

We made to Beijing safely after a looong flight. The boys did say it was the coolest flight ever as they had their own TV at their seat and could select from hundreds of movies, games, and music to listen to with their own headphones. And they served us Hagen Daaz Ice Cream as a snack. Yum…That’s worth 14 hours on a plane, right???



Today we visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. Tiananmen Square is just that, a big open square courtyard in front of their capital building. It was big but when you think about tanks rolling across it, it didn’t seem big enough for that! No tanks today though, just lots of people. Even though they told us the crowd was low because it was their off season and we were there early in the morning (about 9AM).



Tiananmen Square is the beginning of the Forbidden City which is series of Palaces used by the Emperor’s in early dynasties. Some of the buildings had been restored and were beautifully carved on the outside. Others had not been restored but you could still see the intricate carvings. It is called Forbidden because they were so concerned with safety of the Emperor that you have to go through 3 sets of gates before you get to the building that the Emperor would actually live in.



After spending a couple of hours walking through the Forbidden City we had lunch at a local restaurant where Peking Duck was the specialty. They served a variety of dishes along with the duck including some chicken, pork, and beef dishes along with vegetables. They scrounged up a couple of forks for us chopstick challenged people. I tried I just couldn’t get them to work for me. Mike used a fork too. Derrick is the only one who managed with chopsticks. Dustin just didn’t eat. Had to give him protein bars when we got back on the bus. It was all very good (except the duck, I didn’t like it – Mike liked it though).

Then it was on to the Great Wall. The Great Wall is over 6,000 kilometers (that is 3700 miles for us metric challenged folk). Only about 200 kilometers or 124 miles are in Beijing. We had a choice of the challenging climb or the easy climb with the harder one giving you a better view from farther up so of course that is the one we took. We climbed up about ¼ to ½ mile of steps to the first tower and that was quite the chore. The steps were extremely steep and uneven. Some you had to really raise your feet high and others were barely an inch high. The railing to hold on to (and pull yourself along) was right at the stair level so you walked stooped over pulling yourself up the stairs with the railing (at least I did). I think we rested about 4 times on that small section. The view was great though. There was still snow on the edges of the steps though so you had to watch your step going down. Especially since our legs were shaky from the climb up!



After leaving the Great Wall we stopped by for a couple of minutes to see the Olympic Stadium that Beijing built special for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It was a very cool looking building. We didn’t get to go in but we got to take a few photos.



Then it was back to the hotel to write post cards and blogs and eat dinner. We opted for a quiet dinner in our room with Pizza Hut. Yes, they have then over here. They told me most people like them better than in the USA. It would not be the Swanigan’s saying that though. There was no sauce (it was just bread and cheese) and the cheese was all mozzarella (no blend) so it was extremely chewy. It was ok I guess but I’ll stick to our way of making pizza thank you very much.

Well, we leave for Guangzhou in the morning at 5:45 (we have to have our luggage to the bell hop at 5AM) so I’d better get to bed. Monday is the day we get Paige so not too much longer now!

Travel

Well, we got our "inside China" travel itinerary today. It looks like we have several days of paperwork activities (which we expected). But the do have a couple of tours or sightseeing trips set up for us. In Beijing we will see TianAnMen Square, Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. While in Guangzhou we will see Yuexiu Park, Chen Clan Temple, and the Guangzhou Zoo. We also have a couple of free days scheduled (and I'm sure some of the paperwork days will have free time) - can you say shopping on those days. :) That's my kind of free day. The boys just groaned when I said that. I'm sure they will change their mind when they see all the cool stuff they can bring home. Monday, March 8th is Gotcha Day (for those not in the adoption world that is the day we will get little Paige). It doesn't look like we will get to go to the orphanage. The itinerary says we will go to the Guangdong Adoption Center. Too bad, I was really hoping we'd get to see the place that Paige called home for the last 9 months. The trip to the Guangzhou Zoo is on Mike's birthday, March 12th. Not a bad way to spend your birthday, huh?

Lots of the packing is done. I have clothes laid out to pack (don't want them in the suitcase a week early getting wrinkled). Everything but clothes and toiletries is already packed in the suitcases. So next week it is just a matter of folding the clothes are putting them in the suitcases.

It is really getting close now! By this time next week we will be on our way and a week from Monday we will have Paige!

Packing

Well, packing is well underway. There is so much to take "just in case". I have all of Paige's stuff together from snacks to medicines we might need to clothes. Hope I picked the right sizes! I am taking 12-18 months. I even put the outfits in seperate Ziplock bags to save space like the lists say to do but an added benefit is Mike doesn't have to try to match outfits! I have a lot of my clothes together or at least know what I want to take. The guys are another story. They will want to take the clothes they wear everyday so I'll be doing laundry and packing for them next week before we leave. All our paperwork is together too. That was a chore! We have to take copies of all the paperwork we've already sent to China plus our new paperwork and our passports, airline tickets...but we are so ready to go.

Travel Plans

We got confirmation of our appointment at the American Consulate for March 16th. So we will for sure be traveling March 4 - March 19th. Seems like such a long way off but I know it is only 4 weeks now.

Our travel schedule is like this:

Thurs, March 4: leave the US
Fri, March 5: Group arrive in BJ (Radisson SAS Hotel)
Sat, March 6: Group Sightseeing in BJ-TianAnMen Square, Forbidden City and the Great Wall (Juyongguan), lunch is included; CHI orientation

Sun, March 7: fly to Guangzhou. If skipping BJ, arrive in Guangzhou today. (China Hotel in GZ)
Mon, March 8: meet your child
Tues, March 9: do adoption process, registration and apply for the passport
Wed March 10, sightseeing or free day
Thurs, March 11: sightseeing or free days
Fri, March 12: get the passport and all papers back. (other CHI families will arrive in Guangzhou today)
Sat. March 13: medical exam for all children
Sun. March 14: free day or sightseeing
Mon, March 15: medical rechecks for children over the age of 2
Tues, March 16: ACS appt confirmed
Wed, March 17: take oath at the ACS and sign DS230 forms
Thurs, March 18: receive children’s visas late in day depending on date of ACS appt.
Fri, March 19: you can leave Guangzhou on this day and return to the US


We are not skipping Beijing and we will leave Guangzhou on the 18th by train to Hong Kong and will fly home on the 19th from Hong Kong.

I can't wait to go.

We Got Them!

We got our Travel Approvals today! And our Visa's arrived via Fed Ex today. So, 2 more things off the list! Yippee! One step closer.

Now that we have our TA's our agency can request our appointments with the American Consulate. They have requested March 16 or 17 as our first 2 choices of dates. It they confirm one of the these two dates our travel will stay with the estimated dates of March 4-19th.

The agency has to give 3 dates so their 3rd choice was March 23rd. If this is the date confirmed we will not leave until March 11 and return on March 26th. Boo! Surely we will get one of the first 2 dates.

They said it could take several days for a response from the American Consulate. Hopefully we will know by the end of the week or early next week which date they confirm for our appointments and what our travel dates are.

Visa's and Travel Approvals

Well, our courier emailed me tonight that our passports and Visa's were picked up from the consolute today and sent back to me via Fed Ex. I should have them by tomorrow at noon. One more thing to not have to worry about.

We have heard since last week that travel approvals for 12/28 referrals were arriving but had not heard from our agency that our TA's were here. Today RQ reported that the next batch of referrals was arriving and I couldn't stand it anymore. TA's for the last batch are almost always here before or about the same time as referrals. I finally emailed our agency and asked when they thought we would get them. They quickly responded and said our TA's were sent on Friday and should be here today or tomorrow. One would think they would know for certain the date (since they are not sent USPS there should be tracking on them). But at this point any info is better than none.

I did not here from them before 5pm today so I am assuming we will here tomorrow that the TA's arrived. Now they can request our American Consulate Appointments. Once those appointments are confirmed we will have official travel dates and can book our airfare.

I am keeping busy washing and folding clothes that I've gotten from Jen, Cheryl and Nicole. I just realized that a tote in Paige's room (that I've had for several years now) contains clothes from Nicole and not toys. So I have to go through those. This is good news though as Jen gave me mostly dresses and I still needed more casual clothes and this tote is full of nice casual clothes. I'm feeling a little like I won't have to do any shopping for girl clothes, which kind of bums me out since I've only ever been able to shop for boy clothes and always looked longingly at the cute girl clothes. I'm sure I helped Nicole pick out some of the stuff Sabrina wore that is in that tote though! And I am certain a few new things will find their way into Paige's closet. :)

Hopefully late this week or early next week I can confirm our travel dates.

Visa Applications

Well, I sent off our Visa applications to the courier today. She should submit them on Monday the 25th and get them back on Monday Feb 1 so we should have them by Feb 2 or 3rd I think. It was kind of nerve racking to put those passports in an envelope and send them off. They would not be quickly replaced! I am sure it is done all the time with no problems and I'm just stressing.

I have bought a few play clothes in size 18 mos to take with us to China. I plan to start going through clothes this weekend and next weekend that we accumulated from others. I just need to wash and put away the stuff.

Hopefully I can get Mike to paint the letters for Paige's walls this weekend so I can hang them up next week.

Lots to do and Derrick is on 2 basketball teams so we are busy with practice 2 nights a week and games all day on Saturdays.

Still no news on Travel Approvals.

Travel Plans

Well, we got a travel package from our agency. It has our Visa applications and some other paperwork along with our estimated travel dates of March 4-March 19. The don't think we will travel any earlier than that. Bummer cause I am ready to go. Well, I'm sure there are lots of things I still need to get ready. I just need to get busy doing them. Going to try to fill out visa application and get passport photos this weekend. We have been so busy at work we just haven't had time to take a breath.

Waiting still...

Well, we are still waiting. Seems like after 4 years a couple more months would seem like nothing but it seem like forever, it does.

We finally got an email today from our agency to verify our travel info (names, passport numbers, etc). I got it sent back as quick as I could so they could mail all our stuff over to China. That is the first step before we can get a Travel Approval and then appointments.

I've been going through some of the stuff I've got from Cheryl the last couple of nights. Now some of you have seen my kitchen and I still think where am I going to put all these bottles and snack containers. There has to be a bunch of stuff in those cabinets that needs tossed just where to start. I have too many cabinets to have this issue!

We still need to work on the walls in Paige's room too. I've got the wooden letters to spell her name so now Mike needs to paint them and put hangers on them. And we need to put the chinese word stick ons that Kristen gave us up. They were rolled up in the container so I have those laying under some books to flatten out.

I guess I'm passing the time tomorrow at Bonkers if the weather permits. Both boys have straight A's for the quarter so that means a reward trip with a friend and Derrick has chose Bonkers and since it is a snow day tomorrow again he thinks he is ready to collect. I'm sure Dustin will want a bigger trip (he already gets Branson and White Water for the 1st quarter so who knows what he'll ask for this time). I might have to rethink my new reward program though it seems to be working as this is the 1st time I can remember both boys having all A's in the same quarter and I don't think Dustin has had all A's since he left elementary school (and even then is wasn't always all A's just occassionally). Don't get me wrong he gets good grades, it is just a mixture of A's and B's. I guess the reward must be good enough to make them work harder and that was the goal.

Translated Info

Well, late Thursday night we got our translation of the referral docs. All the info is listed as normal as expected but it is nice to see it in English. The date of her medical report was indeed 10/22/09. I'll try to summarize some of the info for everyone:



Ji Ao An was found on June 19, 2008 at Yang Di Po Village, Bai Yu Town, Hua Zhou city. She was 24.8 inches and 13.6 lbs when found and initial diagnosis was that she was a normal baby. They estimated her birthday to be Nov. 19, 2008 based on her development. We have no idea what possessed someone to abandon a 7 month old baby. My hope is that if they could not care for her that they knew we were waiting to do it for them.



Her growth rate looks good. 2 months after her initial exam she had gained to 25.6 inches and 14.8 lbs and at 11 months (just 2 more months later) she was up to 28.1 inches and 17.8lbs. That is the last medical info we have on her. I found some Chinese growth charts online and compared her stats and she was right on 50% at each exam.



The report says she is able to turn herself over at 9 months and sit idependently and could grab toys with hands. At 11 months she could stand leaning on a bed and walk with a baby walker and bang blocks together. She is a quiet and cute girl (should fit in fine with my quiet and cute boys, huh). She looks for music and is bonded to her nanny. She likes to listen to music and watch TV (again a fine fit for my boys who love TV). She has not had any serious illnesses after admission expect an occassional runny nose, cough and fever but recovered well after treatment. Sounds like a baby, huh?



Her routine is to get up at 6am (ouch!), nap from 11-1 and to bed at 9. She eats 5 times a day mostly baby foods (they call it gruel) and formula in morning and evening. Her favorite food is bread (Mike read that and said well, she's your daughter).



She seems to have had all the normal vaccines our boys had DPT, Hep B, Polio, measles and one I've never heard of BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guèrin). It looks like she was due for her final Hep B in December after this report was done so I'll have to remember to verify that she got that while we are there.



My agency gave me an guestimate on travel of 3/4 but I sure hope we get to go sooner than that. I don't think we will get to go before CNY but I was hoping to go right after it on 2/20 or so. Only time will tell. First step is to return our Seeking Confimation Letter which we are headed to town to do now. I'll let everyone know when we will travel as soon as I do.