Last post for this blog! - Aug. 8, 2005

Hello! Just in case you've decided to look one more time & haven't gotten a recent e-mail from us, we are now starting a family blog. It is: www.3spicykids.blogspot.com
You'll have to go to it to see why we're calling it such an odd name!
Thanks again for all the prayers & thoughts while we were in China!
Love,
all of us!

July 29, 2005

Hello everyone! We are home & recovering from Jet lag! Things are going pretty well - Walt & Libby were very excited to see us at the airport & we were very happy to see them! Walt has been very sweet with Annalee & Libby is trying! They had a stand off over Libby's rocking chair so I guess Annalee will be getting one as a belated b'day gift! Otherwise, Libby has sat down to play with Annalee & looks at her sweetly now & then! We haven't slept well at night but get good naps in the day so that helps. Annalee has her own room so that's a little hard on her. We try to stay in there until she falls asleep at night & will taper that off little by little. She was used to us being in the hotel room with her when we put her down at night so she has yet another change ahead. Hopefully it won't take too long to get used to her new surroundings. She's very happy during the day - walks around freely if we are in quick finding sight, plays with the toys, still points to go to the bathroom (only a few accidents!) and eats like a horse!! She's off formula & on soy milk now. Will slowly try out some dairy products with her to see how she does (many Asians are lactose intolerant - we've been told this by other adoptive parents & read about it). We will celebrate Libby's b'day on Sunday as a family since we had her party & Walt's before leaving. Lots of Love! Brent, Katie & 3 children (!)

July 26th

Hello! This will be our last posted message from China! We're ready to get Annalee home & settled into her life with us! And we can't wait to get hugs & kisses from Walt & Libby! We went to a folk art museum this morning - lots of beautiful displays of hand painted china, wood & ivory carvings. Annalee found a jasmine flower & enjoyed checking it out. She also does a lot of pointing. We've heard her babbling a bit more but nothing we can decipher. We have taught her the sign for "more" as she eats a good bit! She can feed herself easily with fork & spoon. When she wants more, she'll hold up her plate or gesture at the wanted food item with her spoon! She's a full of tricks! We had our American Consulate appt at Noon with about 35 other families - very quick. We swore that all information given by us over the last year & a half is true. When we touch down on American soil, Annalee will be an American citizen! We leave our hotel at 6AM tomorrow morning (Wed) - China time. We have just over an hour flight to Hong Kong & then off to Chicago at 12:45PM. I think you have the rest of the info. We'll land in Baltimore at 7PM Wed Eastern time. Love to all & many thanks for messages, prayers & good wishes. All is well!

July 25th

Hello! Everything went smoothly today at the medical appt. Annalee had a very kind Dr. examine her for the first part (listening to her heart) & he called another Dr. in to listen because he couldn't hear anything wrong - hooray! The Dr. who did the second part (hearing & vision) was female & she wasn't friendly at all but luckily didn't have to really touch Annalee at all. Lots of families coming thru there... All the apptments including the Consulate appt tomorrow are in the same area where we had fun shopping & enjoying shady streets with pretty buildings - much like walking thru New Orleans or Savannah, GA. Here is Brent's description of a Taxi cab driver here in China: They drive like they are being shot at, like fighter pilots over hostile territory. Never hold a straight line for more than a few seconds, stay unpredictable. Everyone here has enjoyed this description to gales of laughter! Love to all and especially Walt & Libby!

In Guangzhou Now

Yea, we finally got Annalee's smile on camera! The above right are just a few of the babies in our group - one started crying & they all joined in! The group photo to the left is all of us at the hotel in Changsha just before flying here to Guangzhou.Kind of hard to see everyone but we tried!
Tomorrow (Monday here) we go to the medical appt for an unbiased Chinese dr's opinion on the health of all the babies. He'll say they're all fit to come to the USA!! Then we're free to do some more exploring of the area. We had fun shopping today & found some very cute traditional clothing for Walt, Libby & Annalee! Love to all & hope you had fun today Walt & Libby!

July 23 - New province!

Hello! We made it into the next province of Guangzhou around 10AM. Annalee did well on the flight although not crazy about the seatbelt on the plane! We've been on buses & in taxis with no option for a seatbelt so she's a little spoiled on that front.... This is another huge city but nicer than Beijing (lots more greenery) & more modern I think so far. The 4 star hotel our agency usually puts groups in is full (the families in group A who went to a different province than we did for their babies) is in that one (China Hotel) but we ended up in the Garden Hotel - a 5 Star!! It's so fancy in the lobby I don't even know what to compare it to! The rooms are nice but still smallish but with fresh flowers, another nicer baby crib & they even brought baby toiletry products in! The internet connection is much better, too. The babies who were sick are fine now & the skinny ones are looking better skin tone wise, too. This afternoon we'll go get a few supplies (water & apple juice and hopefully pull-ups for Annalee since she's mostly potty trained). Tomorrow we go to what the guides call "shopper's paradise" on a nearby island - lots of fun stuff with serious bargaining involved! Supposed to be lush & shaded. It was raining when we got here but the highs last week were above 100F - sounds like what little news we've heard about weather at home! By the way, where's that tropical storm in the Atlantic possibly heading? You can e-mail me at aol account. We'll talk to you again soon, Walt & Libby! We love you!

Garden & playing in room

Orphanage Visit - July 21st

Hello! Finally able to get onto this site - just wouldn't work yesterday evening! I can only put so much info on each posting so sorry if this is choppy! It took us (myself & Jason - Dad of Mia) 3 hrs to get there yesterday. Our guide & nurse who joined our group went with us along with a driver. ChangeDe is a county & then city. It has 6 million people & is mostly country side although the city is quite large. It is mostly poor & in the southern part of the province. It is known for rice, oil & fish - located on large river. The orphanage was originally along the river but kept flooding. The building Annalee was in as a baby was 4 stories tall & everytime the river flooded, the babies were all moved to the top floor. She was found along the roadside next to the gate of the entrance to the orphanage. (Different from what was translated for us). So, good - her Mommy knew to take her close to help. Then last year, the new orphanage was built. Also houses elderly & disabled adults - 3 different buildings in all. The director was very nice & thanked us again for taking the girls. There are 22 special needs children on one floor (what we were told). We got there just before lunch time. They said we had missed playtime but there are 4 large bins of toys donated by Terri Coley (Mom who went on mission trip last summer & took photo of Annalee with her Nanny for us). They bring the bins out after breakfast & a teacher comes to teach the children how to play with toys. This is all what the Special Need's director told us. When we got their , the kids were in the play room watching TV (toys had been put away) - hhmmm... Chinese MTV... so we blew bubbles for the kids that I had brought - they went wild! And Jason handed out stickers. They showed us the rooms the girls had been in & their cribs. The children & floors & walls & their clothes were all dirty. Some had shoes on & some didn't. Most of the girls had the hair fixed but others didn't. Only about 5 babies & 5 toddlers & the rest preschoolers & older. Terri: the autistic boy was walking around freely & I played & talked to him as much as I could - Jason has him on video. The little boy waiting on his family was serious but we got photos & he smiled for the bubbles! His family should bring them when they meet him! Their lunch was rice, potatoes & beef - maybe for our benefit but they had a good meal yesterday! One little baby was so tiny & looked sick - sleeping while we were there. 2 baby boys were HUGE - one bigger than Annalee at 10 mos old. Diapers were rags covered by sheet of plastic & diaper cover type pants. No one was tied down as in another orphanage rumored nearby Changsha. The kids did seem happy while we were there & kept holding & pulling us down to their level. The staff all thanked us & smiled & hugged us for takingthe girls. Glad we went but can't imagine Annalee & Mia being there even after having them such a short time. Meanwhile, Brent & Annalee had a good day & she did new tricks for Daddy! : grabbed the fork/spoon at mealtimes & fed herself! Pointed & grabbed his hand to go potty, pointed to toilet paper when she was done & put her shoes on herself! Better go! PS - Annalee's Nanny told us she doesn't mind strange faces but won't go to just anyone, is serious & VERY smart - well we know that now! Walt & Libby - Mommy & Daddy love you & Annalee looks at your photos over & over again!