Day 16 and beyond!!

Hey Alex - recognize this place?? We ate 1 or 2 or 8 meals here!

We did manage to get all of our "stuff" packed away into bags - the 3 we brought with us, and the 2 that we bought over in China. Todd got a kick out of shopping for our new suitcase. The people kept telling us that they had disposable suitcases, or for more money we could get a suitcase that you could use more than once. Todd managed to hold his tongue for a while, but the comment finally burst forth (with a muted chortle), "Well, if I'm going to buy a suitcase, I certainly hope I can use it more than once!" Before coming here I had never heard of a disposable suitcase. Live and learn. The suitcase shopping also netted us 8 more purchases - maybe we should have bought that mongo-huge, gargantuan sized suitcase that we had laughed about earlier! The good news is - as I stated in the first sentence - that we did manage to get everything in. Everything, that is, except the one plug adapter that I used with my curling iron - it's still in the closet outlet in room 1430 of the White Swan Hotel. Of course, that was the one thing that we had borrowed for our trip. Radio Shack, here we come.

For our last meal in China, we decided to try a new restaurant. Todd and I were both terribly depressed at the end of our meal - it was by far the BEST meal we had eaten the entire trip, and we realized that we will probably never have another meal like it again. Todd stated quite emphatically that if we had found it earlier, we probably would have eaten there every day for the entire trip. We picked up a business card on the way out, hoping to pass on the name to other folks. Joke was on us - it was all in Chinese. We did manage to tell one person about it on the walk back to the hotel, though. If you are interested - go out of the hotel, turn right, walk past Lucy's, past the tennis shop, you will see tennis courts on your right, go in where the hostess is standing, they will take you through a courtyard and up some stairs - order the Sweet and Sour Chicken. Wish we knew the name!

Finally, Friday morning arrived. We were out of the hotel at 5:45 AM, and caught an 8:20 flight to Tokyo, then on to Minneapolis, and finally to Dayton. Total travel time was a little over 24 hours. Micah was awesome on the flight. The only time he cried was when I put him on the changing table in the airplane bathrooms for diaper changes. Other than that, he sat on my lap (or Todd's lap) and played with his fingers, stacking cups, rattle, my necklace, our hands, etc. He never seemed to be bothered by take-offs or landings. He smiled, laughed, slept, and was an all-around joy. One highlight of the trip was the McDonald's in the Tokyo airport - yes, McDonald's was a highlight. I had the best hamburger I'd eaten in a good, long time - almost tasted like there was a bit of horseradish or black pepper or something on it. And the french fries . . . heavenly!! Now, to satisfy my other cravings - PB and J, Subway, City BBQ, and ICE COLD WATER.

Even though Micah was awesome, it was the longest 24 hours I have ever experienced. I just couldn't wait to see Sofia, Peter, and Molly. If I let myself think about them, I would start crying. I guess 2 1/2 weeks without seeing them was just a wee bit too long for my taste. When we finally got to the airport, I couldn't seem to hold onto them long enough or tight enough. Thankfully, they were pretty tolerant of their overly emotional mother, and they let me hug on them and kiss on them as much as I wanted. I think they missed Mom and Dad, too. It was great to see my parents, too :) Our friends, Tom, Lisa and Beth Clinch were part of the welcoming committee as well. They very thoughtfully provided the welcome home banners that the kids colored and held at the airport, and also helped transport people back to our house from the airport. Another surprise - our friends the Dobbs were there, too! They left from the airport to start their PCS (for you non-military folks, that means they left the airport to start their drive across the country because they were moving). After a year of waiting, they just couldn't leave without one quick glimpse of Micah!

Now for the important part - Micah and the kids. We had been showing Micah pictures of the kids the whole time we were over in China. I kept wondering how much this was going to impress him . . . after all, he's only a little baby! Micah took one look at Sofia, smiled a HUGE smile, and put his arms out for her - remember, he still isn't really smiling at people much. We had her sit in a chair, then let him sit on her lap. He looked around at all 3 kids and smiled. Guess that answered my question! He did really well with my parents - again, we had showed him a picture of them, too. He relaxed enough with them to fall asleep on my mom Sunday afternoon - how sweet.

We have now been home for 3 full days. On Saturday night/Sunday morning, he slept 18 hours with a short 45 minute awaked period around 4:00 AM. He seems to have adjusted completely to the time change already. We are desperately hoping that this sleeping pattern continues. However, I'm sure that the tried and true kids' rule will apply to Micah - As soon as you figure out the baby's schedule, the baby changes it. He seems to be fine with Buddy (cocker spaniel), but is still a little uncertain about Fido (cat). This isn't such a good thing, because Fido likes to jump into the crib and sleep with Micah. I'm just waiting for him to wake up at some point and find Fido in the crib. Yikes. He officially hates his car seat. His very first car seat experience was coming home from the airport. I sat in the far back end of the van so he could see me from his his in the middle row (he is facing the back - only 18 pounds, and really doesn't have much neck and back strength yet). That trip was fine. Second trip was today going to Sofia's riding lesson - not too bad. Cried for a couple of minutes. Third trip (home from the lesson) - he screamed for the whole 20 minutes, and then hiccuped/gasped for 20 minutes after getting back in my arms at home. Fourth and fifth trips (to and from gymnastics) - equally bad. Luckily, Todd came home in time to do the kid switch at the gym, and then I was able to pick Peter up alone at the end of the evening. Everybody seems to be adjusting just fine to Micah being in my arms for 7 1/2 of his 8 waking hours each day. We will see how my arms and back adjust to it as he is awake for longer periods each day - ugh. Luckily, Todd's mom arrived today just hours after my parents left. It will be really nice to have an extra set of hands around for the next week. I'm hoping that Micah will feel comfortable enough by the time she leaves to sit on the ground for short periods of time so I can get some stuff done myself.

Before anyone asks - NO, I don't have any pictures from him at home. My camera's card is full, and I don't want to delete until I can backup my pictures. Yes, that is approximately eleventy-gazzillion pictures on my camera. Todd, you can stop laughing now - that's why I bought a digital camera . . . THINK HOW MUCH I SAVED by not developing 50 rolls of film :)

FIRST FOR TODAY (Monday, June 18) - Micah was playing with two stacking cups (playing means he had one in each hand and was examining them intently) when he suddenly dropped one. It fell between my leg and the arm of the recliner. He actually LOOKED for it (first time), LEANED OVER to continue to look for it (obviously the first time since it was a continuation of another first time event), and then STUCK HIS HAND DOWN TO SEARCH FOR IT AND RETRIEVE IT!!!!!! I was blown away. Up to this point, he has never shown any sign of wanting to find something that had been dropped, or even an awareness that an object continues to exist out of sight (OK - I am trying really hard to avoid using phrases like "object permanence" . . . I don't want to sound like a textbook). Maybe this is just a breakthrough in him realizing that he can now go after and get what he wants - no more crib bars in the way. He is continuing to become more comfy with the kids. I think the kids are getting more comfy with him. I've got 2 awesome Mommy's helpers in my 2 girls. They love to sit with him, play with his hair, help distract him when I change his diaper, etc. Peter is so funny - he just takes Micah in stride like he's part of the furniture.

I am rambling a bit. I think I will draw this to a close so I can get a bit of sleep tonight (although I am not a bit sleepy yet). 4:00 AM comes really early when you don't get to sleep until 1:30 AM.

Day 14 and 15 - June 13 and 14, 2007

OK, I'm starting off by posting the pictures from the medical exam yesterday. I was in a hurry to go catch the boat for our river cruise and ran out of time.

Wednesdays post - Today was our Consulate Appointment. Todd and I only had to sit in our room while our guide, David, ran over to the American Consulate with all of our paperwork. He then did all the hard work, while we played with Micah in our room. We were quite relieved to get his call letting us know that everything had worked out just fine.

Next it was out to SHOP!!!!!! Todd just loves to shop :) OK, I love to shop. He loves to bargain with the shopkeepers. It works out quite nicely. Now, how on EARTH will we get all this stuff home??

Last for the day was a river boat cruise. We ordered Papa John's pizza to take with us. It was a very nice couple of hours going up and down the river and seeing all of the buildings. It is amazing seeing the small, run-down older buildings tucked in among the huge, new skyscrapers. David says that when he was young (20 years ago) he would ride his bike through the fields to get to downtown Guangzhou. Now those fields are the huge skyscrapers. Kind of sad, but progress keeps on going. The last picture is of our hotel - The White Swan.

Post for Thursday - Today had two main events. The first was the attempt at packing all of our stuff into the bags that we brought with us. It was not a success. We will be heading out to buy a new suitcase as soon as I finish this blog.

The second event was the taking of the traditional adoption picture on the red couch in the White Swan. It is normally a picture of all the babies in your travel group. However, since we did not get to travel with a group, we contacted the other family that is here who got their little girl from Micah's SWI. They came over this afternoon, and I swear the kids recognized each other. Micah saw Anna and was all smiles. He crawled over to her and started touching her, smiling, laughing, flirting like a big boy! They were both really happy to see each other, so the photo session was a total success!!

Ok, so we really had three big events today. Probably the most important was our trip to the American Consulate where Todd and I got to take our oaths. Micah slept through most of it, but woke up just in time for the actual oath-taking. When we finished, he looked in my face and started laughing. Probably because I was starting to get all teary-eyed. That's why Todd was laughing, at any rate :) We got the legendary sealed brown envelope which contains all kinds of important paperwork that we have to give to the immigrations people when we get back to the good old US of A, and Micah's Chinese passport (I am posting a picture of him with it - it's a little red booklet).

Video

Word is that the video link from yesterday is now working. Go check it out - 14 cute seconds of Micah crawling, laughing, and blowing a raspberry in the camera lens.

Day 13 - June 12, 2007

Finally!!! Micah is acting like a little boy!!!! This just HAPPENED! No prodding, no encouraging. He just took off!

Check out Micah crawling (click on the word crawling)

More later. We're going to dinner.

Ok, now for the complete entry. Micah woke up this morning with his nose still running laps around us. I decided to try the Benedryl on him. I figured it would serve two purposes - 1) make his nose dry up for a bit, and 2) be a test run for our flight on Friday to see if it would make him sleepy or hype him up. I gave it to him at 8:30. By 9:00 he was sound asleep on me at the breakfast table. Soooo, our morning was shot - back up to the room for him to sleep until 11:30! Todd then took him to the Swan Room - a nice, big playroom set up for all the newly adopted babies. Then I took over while Todd took a break. Micah still just kind of sat there sucking on his fingers and not doing anything. I finally got him to crawl about 18 inches.

Then it was time to meet our guide David. We headed out to the medical clinic here on Shamain Island for Micah's final medical exam. He passed with flying colors. I am posting the picture of his hearing test. Notice the little squeaky toy in the doctor's left hand. Squeak, squeak on the left side. Squeak, squeak on the right side. OK, he passes :) It was a pretty cursory exam - they listened to him breathe, checked his height and weight, did the squeak test and we were done. Micah was a champ the whole time.

Next - back to our room to fill out the rest of the paperwork for our Consulate Appointment. At one point I was sitting on the bed holding Micah, when David told me I had to sign something. I put Micah down next to me on his back, turned to sign the paper, turned back to Micah only to find him SITTING UP next to me facing the other direction. I of course made a big deal out of it, and he looked up at me with this huuuuuge grin on his face. Me, being a mom, immediately put him back down on his back to see if he would do it again. He was back up quick as lightning.
over to the desk (keep in mind that he has been a total blob for the past week and 2 days - no inclination to move what-so-ever).around, and found him bounding across the bed on hands and knees, smiling and laughing like chasing me was the best thing on earth. I took him right back up to thePretty soon I walked I heard him laughing like crazy, turned pillows, and set him loose again . . . and again . . . and again . . . and again . . . Pretty soon Todd and I changed places, and Micah crawled to him just like he did to me. I think that made the whole trip worthwhile for Todd! We got a couple cute videos of it, but evidently I can't figure out how to get them posted here. I will keep trying. Micah also discovered his shadow on the floor. He also was introduced to the fine art of being put upside down by Daddy.

Last, but not least, was dinner. David took us to a pretty fancy Cantonese restaurant. It was one that you walk in and are faced with a room full of tanks full of every kind of creature you can imagine. When we walked in and saw all of this (and smelled it), I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be eating.














However, we then walked back further, we found a beautiful restaurant with at least 5 different rooms full of tables. We were taken to 3 different tables before David was happy with our seats. He explained that the cost of the meal was affected by where we sat. The first table was in the "tea room" section, and the second table was too expensive. Now it was time to order. I told Todd I wanted to eat snake, but they didn't have any out when he and David went out to order our food. I had to trust the two guys - yikes! Time to guess what we had . . .



















Dinner proved to be scallops (on the clam shells), shrimp (the whole thing!), sweet and sour pork (not pictured), sticky rice (looks like salmon steaks), water spinach (my new favorite veggie! not pictured), and the house specialty - pidgeon!! (the small, brown, chicken-looking things)

Day 12 - June 11, 2007

Howdy All,

Sorry for the late post. I fell asleep last night before posting, and then we had to rush around this morning and I ran out of time. So here goes:

Micah's new first for the day actually began last night. The idea of a spoon going into his mouth is a totally foreign concept to him. He HATES it. So, last night I put him on his back on the bed and force fed him about 5 small spoons of pears. Most of it came back out. Then this morning we got a bowl of congee (kind of like a rice porridge) to try the whole spoon thing again. This time, he LOVED it! Probably has something to do with the fact that they have been feeding him congee and formula from a bottle at his SWI. He acted like he had been eating with a spoon for weeks instead of this being only his second time. He still needs lots of work on getting the food off the spoon and into the back of his mouth. That will come with practice. We just have to revamp our expectations to that of a 5 month old learning to use a spoon rather than a 15 month old who should be feeding himself.

Next on the agenda was a swelteringly hot visit to The Yuntia Botanical Garden. This was an immense park with some of the most exotic looking plants that I have seen. It also sported such common plants as sunflowers and roses. I am attaching a variety of shots from our walking tour because words just can't describe how big and beautiful this place was. Unfortunately, my shots won't do it justice either because once again, it was very hazy. We spent 2 hours wandering around, ooh-ing and ah-ing over the landscape. Once note of interest. David, our guide, told us that this is a popular place for newlyweds to come for their wedding pictures. At one point after hiking up a 200 yard hill (straight up into the air - it rivaled the Great Wall for vertical climb), with sweat pouring down our faces, backs, fronts, and noses, we came upon a couple dressed in their full-up wedding best - beautiful gown, long pants and sleeves, etc. - getting their pics done. We wondered how they had managed the climb without passing out from the heat. We continued up and over the hill, and then started down the other side. Midway down, we met another couple making the hike to the top of the hill. This bride had her gown hiked up to her waist, and they were walking very, very, very slowly. I was fanning myself when they passed us. The girl looked at me in my shorts and t-shirt (with something very close to envy on her face) and said, "We are even hotter than you!" We all laughed. No, I didn't get a picture of that. Todd was very disappointed - it was a very funny sight!

Later, back at the White Swan, I fed Micah yet another bottle. The kid is obviously feeling much better because he downs these bottles in record time now. With a full tummy and the hiccups, we proceeded to have a really fun play session. I have posted a cute shot of him laughing. I think I almost got a belly laugh out of him. I would classify it as a strong guffaw.

Next was lunch at Lucy's - they serve American, Mexican, Italian, Chinese . . . pretty much everything. It is the haven for all the adoptive families who are craving some simple back-home kind of food. It is also the site that provided our picture for today's "What did we eat" question.

We finally got to go out shopping. Yippee! We have this great system worked out. We all go into a store, look around, then Todd and Micah go out and sit on a bench while I spend another 30 minutes in the store, I go out, wake them up, and then we head to the next store. On the rare occasion that we buy something, we gather everything up, then Micah and I head outside to cool off, and Todd swings into action - boy, he's good. This whole bargaining thing is totally embarrassing to me. I don't know why?!?! It is totally expected over here, but I'm just not comfortable with it. I think my dad would love to be here doing this with Todd. The 2 of them together would be able to buy the White Swan for a mere pittance!!

Dinner was at The Cow and Bridge - a Thai restaurant that we have been to before. Really good food. Good enough to get us out to walk the 3 blocks in a torrential downpour. (I noticed this morning - Tuesday morning - that the river has all kinds of trees and bushes floating down it. Evidently, southern China has been getting some monsoon type rain. We have escaped so far, although there is flooding in some parts of Guangzhou)

Day 11 - June 10, 2007

Today was Sunday. We had no activities planned, so we stuck close to the hotel. Good decision, since Micah is still just not feeling up to snuff.

We started the day with breakfast - and the new FIRST - Micah started "talking". After breakfast I pulled him over onto my lap and sat him facing me. He started doing these cute little "hmmmmmm" noises, so I did them back. He looked at me like I was crazy (well, why on earth WOULD someone respond to a little boy? Oh wait, he's not in the SWI anymore!), but he answered me. We sat there for at least 15 minutes, nose to nose, having the best conversation that I've had in a long, long, long time. It's amazing how much can be said with hmmmmm. uuuhhhhh, oooooooo, aaaaahhhhh, and MAMAMAMAMAMA (which I claimed to be his first real word :) It only took me 4 kids, but finally one of them said Mama before they said Dada!)

The other first for the day - his first REAL smile and giggle. Micah was cranky pretty much the whole day, so we decided this was going to be a calm, non-stimulating day. After taking a 3 hour long nap, and downing his 3rd bottle of the day, he seemed to come alive. Todd was sitting at his head on the bed, and made a car sound - vroom, vroom, vroom - while moving his head back and forth over Micah's head really fast. Boy, that got his attention FAST. Next thing we knew, Micah was smiling and laughing!!!! I got a couple of the smiles on camera. Luckily I had just pulled the camera out to take pics of him playing with his feet. The smiles are better.

Day 10 - June 9, 2007

First - I managed to get a peek at our blog, and noticed that one of the pictures from yesterday's SWI visit was covered up. That is fixed.

Todd peeked around the corner today and said to me, "You know, this whole adoption thing is like experiencing parenthood at a super accellerated speed. In just 5 days we have experienced EVERYTHING! Ohhh, his first smile! His first crawl! His first bottle! His first solids! His first . . . " It is so true. Everyday Micah makes a few more steps toward being a normal little boy in a family that is crazy about him.

Micah discovered syrup this morning while Todd was eating French toast. It is this wonderfully sticky stuff that makes things stick to your fingers. He hasn't discovered that it tastes good yet. That will be tomorrow's task :)

For those of you who are wondering - yes, he does still have a fever, but it responds well to Tylenol. I called the doc back in the States, and she said it sounds viral at this point, but if I decide to start giving him the antibiotics, that would be fine too. As the day went on, he developed gunkies from his nose, so I did start the meds around dinner time. He only drank 2 bottles today. Hopefully the meds will help him feel better so he can eat more tomorrow.

Today's activity was the Guangzhou Zoo - a very quick trip since Micah wasn't feeing well. The landscaping was gorgeous! It's very tropical here, and the plantlife sure reflects it. Todd and I had a ball looking at all of the animals. It took Micah a while to figure the whole thing out. Most of his life has been spent focusing on his fingers or other things close to him. It takes quite an effort to get him to focus away from his immediate area. Luckily, the zoo seemed to have plenty of opportunities for him to look around. For the most part, he just chilled out in Todd's or my arms, or hung out in the stroller. One of my favorite displays was the gold-fish area. They had tank after tank of really exotic looking goldfish - some of them even looked human - hee hee. Sofia, I managed to get a picture of the panda, although not a good one. It was pretty far away.


By far the best display was the monkeys. For a very very small fee (roughly $1), you could go down into the enclosure and feed the monkeys. Todd, being Todd, opted to do it. We thought he would just go down and hand out the food, but NOOOOOO, the caretakers set you up so that the monkey climb all over you. He had so much fun that I just had to follow suit. I can't believe how SOFT and light those little guys are. They must have liked me because one of them sat down and started to groom my hair. I'm pretty sure he didn't find anything living on my head - I hope.


Micah's big discovery/first event today was the discovery that eating can be a good thing. Todd force fed him a Gerber puff thingy (new invention since our other kids were small - they just melt in your mouth). I wish I had been able to take a picture of his face - yuck! Then, he stopped and thought about it, looked down at the others in Todd's hand (he had been pushing them around on Todd's hand for about 5 minutes), grabbed Daddy's hand and SHOVED it into his face. He couldn't get enough of them! We aren't going to push him to feed himself yet. According the the attachment info I have read, it is a good thing to feed him for a while until it is firmly established in his mind that we are his providers - food, love, comfort, safety, etc. His new discovery seemed to transfer to dinner time. Previously, he has just sat on our laps and watched his fingers with an occasional glance around the room during meal time. If we would try to put something in his hand, he would pull it away. Tonight, however, he became a little octopus! He started by grabbing one of Todd's chopsticks. He looked at it, waved it around, twirled it, touched it. Then he grabbed another one - two fisted! When Todd started to eat, he tried to grab the food as it went into Todd's mouth. The plate provided endless entertainment. Did you know that if you lift up a plate and drop it onto a table it makes noise? At one point he was holding a Gerber puff in one hand, the plate in the other, and looking at the food going into Todd's mouth. Multi-tasking!! And a huge step forward. I never thought I would be so happy to have one of my kids break a plate :)

I am also posting a picture of the lobby of the White Swan Hotel and the requisite picture of Micah sleeping.

Day 9 - June 8, 2007

The list of "firsts" continues - this time with Micah's first fever (101 under his arm as he slept), and Micah's first poo (finally!) followed soon after by his second poo. I won't post a picture of that . . . I didn't take any.

We visited Micah's SWI today. China doesn't really use the word orphanage, they prefer Social Welfare Institute, or SWI. We were concerned about how Micah would respond to being back there. He seemed to do just fine. He did recognize where he was. I can't say exactly how I know that - something about the way his body felt. He got very "alert"when he saw the play area, so we stopped and I let him look as long as he wanted. He never showed any desire to get down and play, though.

Our first stop was to meet the director in her office (wonderful young lady named Ms. Tang). They had a bottle waiting for Micah! The timing was perfect for that. He had refused to eat anything this morning, had a 100 degree fever (down with Tylenol), and it was hot outside as well as in the SWI. When he got a whiff of his good old familiar food, he forgot that he wasn't feeling well and downed the whole thing in no time!

Next, we got to go into the room where he lived before coming to us. There were about 25 beds in the room, arranged in groups of 8, with 3 or 4 nannies. I was able to get pictures of Micah in his old bed, and pictures of him with 2 other little girls whose parents will be heading over in the next couple of months to get them. You can get a feel for the room setup from those pictures. I was not allowed to get general room pictures, so you will just have to imagine what the rest of the room looks like :)




The nannies were all very happy to see him. They swooped down on us the second we were spotted, and then handed him around until everyone had a chance to see him again. It's not as good as having your very own family, but it's the next best thing. I think the best part for Micah was seeing the familiar babies. I have some pictures of him with the two little girls where he is looking right at their faces and reaching out to touch them. The little girl in the crib with him in the picture above did NOT want to see Micah leave. She cried her little eyes out when we walked out the door.

Our next stop for the day was a ceramic market. Foshan, where Micah is from, is known for its ceramics. Shop after shop after shop after shop of ceramics met us when we got out of the van. We were also met with incredible heat, a vicious thunderstorm, and a nice cooling rain. After looking through about 20 shops, we ended up going back and buying one of the first ceramic China-girl figurines that we had seen.

That brings us up to lunch. What did we eat today? That would be Chinese bean curd with brocolli (or is it broccoli?), steamed egg, and crab "things" (I assume they were crab eggs or something similar . . . it's the orange blobs on the bean curd). We also had sweet and sour pork, beans, somekind of vegetable that I've never seen before, salmon rolls, fried rice . . . As always, it was delicious, and I ate myself silly.


Now for the daily required sleep shot - this was when his fever was heading back up into the 101 under his arm range. We just may be staying home tomorrow to let him recoup. Sad, I was looking forward to the zoo.