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!