Monday, February 3, 2014
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Back to the USA
Yeah! We are back in the USA!!! Staying in Southern California for a few days to visit with some of our family. Tomorrow we are going to the beach for a little while with our cousins. We went to the beach today....Eli liked the sand..a lot, but the waves and surf.....forget it!
The 12+ hour plane ride back was not that bad. I did not get a lot of sleep, but Eli slept a little in the begining and the end. He was a little loud and restless during the middle of the flight. The rude man in front of us was annoyed, but he deserved it........he put his seat all the way back which gave me absolutely no room. David kept trying to tell me not to let Eli kick the seat, but after a while it was fair game with the seat war.....
I cannot believe that Eli has been with me for almost two weeks. He has come a long way and is starting to pick up some English. I am also starting to understand what he is saying. The temper tantrums at the restaurants have mostly subsided. He does still throw himself on the ground occassionaly, but that too happens less and less. My cousin has a 5 year old son that went with us to dinner. Nate held Eli's hand as we walked on the sidewalk. It was too cute.
The 12+ hour plane ride back was not that bad. I did not get a lot of sleep, but Eli slept a little in the begining and the end. He was a little loud and restless during the middle of the flight. The rude man in front of us was annoyed, but he deserved it........he put his seat all the way back which gave me absolutely no room. David kept trying to tell me not to let Eli kick the seat, but after a while it was fair game with the seat war.....
I cannot believe that Eli has been with me for almost two weeks. He has come a long way and is starting to pick up some English. I am also starting to understand what he is saying. The temper tantrums at the restaurants have mostly subsided. He does still throw himself on the ground occassionaly, but that too happens less and less. My cousin has a 5 year old son that went with us to dinner. Nate held Eli's hand as we walked on the sidewalk. It was too cute.
Holt families in Guangzhou with me. What a great group of people.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Xiangjiang Safari Park
Lots of fun today! We went with other families from Holt to a safari park. We rented a stroller from the hotel.......best decision yet!!!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
In Guangzhou
Yesterday we had to go for the medical exam. Very busy place as other adoptive parents had to wait for three exams....eye test, ear, nose and throat, and regular body exam. Eli did not completely pass the eye exam so he had to go for a private test. Maybe he needs to have glasses???? David and I tested him back in the hotel and he did fine.....go figure.... ENT was fine. We have all of our body parts.... Then we came to the TB test......It took 5 of us to hold him down..... He saw it coming and freaked out.....yikes.
Today is Sunday....we walked to an underground passageway that led to a beautiful park. It had lush gardens, exercise equipment, boats, a playground, and rides. We had fun, it was hot. When it was time to go, Eli started to cry, and cry, and refused to leave. He sees something and immediately wants to try it. Needless to say we had to carry him back to the hotel kicking and screaming. After a quick bath and all the lights out, he fell right to sleep.
Today is Sunday....we walked to an underground passageway that led to a beautiful park. It had lush gardens, exercise equipment, boats, a playground, and rides. We had fun, it was hot. When it was time to go, Eli started to cry, and cry, and refused to leave. He sees something and immediately wants to try it. Needless to say we had to carry him back to the hotel kicking and screaming. After a quick bath and all the lights out, he fell right to sleep.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
What a wonderful birthday...
Today is my birthday. Traci, our guide in Fuzhou, and Bradd and Charity, the family staying with us in Fuzhou, gave me a lovely tea set for a birthday present. When I get back to school we will sit down for tea.
Yesterday, we went to a "tea" room. We sampled three different types of tea and learned how to drink or sip the correct way. It was beautiful.
Today we visited a Buddha Temple. Traci showed us around and explained in great detail all of the aspects of each area. On the grounds of the temple, in the water are many fish and turtles. Eli seems to love the turtles best of all. Of course he loves pandas too.
Eli seems to be settling down a little. I believe that he is starting to bond with me and with Uncle "tu tu" David just a bit. Of course I may just be imaging it. We did have our first big cry after we returned to the hotel. I cannot understand exactly what Eli wants some of the time, but the cry was because I took something away from him. He got very mad at me and then began to cry.....Oh well..... After about ten minutes of crying he stopped. All is well again.
Tomorrow, which is Friday, we will travel to pick up Eli's passport and then fly to Guangzhou in the evening. Flight number four......four more to go after this one.
Yesterday, we went to a "tea" room. We sampled three different types of tea and learned how to drink or sip the correct way. It was beautiful.
Today we visited a Buddha Temple. Traci showed us around and explained in great detail all of the aspects of each area. On the grounds of the temple, in the water are many fish and turtles. Eli seems to love the turtles best of all. Of course he loves pandas too.
Eli seems to be settling down a little. I believe that he is starting to bond with me and with Uncle "tu tu" David just a bit. Of course I may just be imaging it. We did have our first big cry after we returned to the hotel. I cannot understand exactly what Eli wants some of the time, but the cry was because I took something away from him. He got very mad at me and then began to cry.....Oh well..... After about ten minutes of crying he stopped. All is well again.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Eli is finally asleep for a nap!
Wow, what a busy little boy!!!! The last few days have been a whirlwind. Sunday, within ten minutes of arriving at the hotel, I had to be on the third floor to sign a permission for Zhao Lin to be in my custody for the night. As soon as we got back to the room everything became a cat and mouse chase as Zhao Lin said, "WOW!" and proceeded to touch and grab and touch everything, and I mean everything in the hotel suite. Very quickly I raced around trying to remove glassware, forks, spoons, knives, vases, tv controllers, lamps, bottles of alcohol, tea cups and numerous other items. His favorite word is "WOW!!!!!" when he sees something new.
Monday morning, we went back down stairs for me to sign all the adoption papers and to answer some questions for the representative from Fujian Province Ministry of Affairs. Then we had our passport application to complete. The very last question was "Do I promise to always love and take care of Zhao Lin?" Absoutely, yes!
Zhao Lin/Eli has calmed down a little since the first night. He does usually make a lot of noise in the restaurant, but that is improving also. I have learned a little bit of Chinese, but I don't think that he has learned much English. He is also testing us. Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days.
Monday morning, we went back down stairs for me to sign all the adoption papers and to answer some questions for the representative from Fujian Province Ministry of Affairs. Then we had our passport application to complete. The very last question was "Do I promise to always love and take care of Zhao Lin?" Absoutely, yes!
Zhao Lin/Eli has calmed down a little since the first night. He does usually make a lot of noise in the restaurant, but that is improving also. I have learned a little bit of Chinese, but I don't think that he has learned much English. He is also testing us. Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days.
Signing permission to have Zhao Lin over night.
Our first family picture together.
Panda World, Fujian
How cool is this!
Monday, September 3, 2012
We are in China
David and I have been in China for 5 days. I had trouble opening up the blog because everything is blocked here. Finally figured it out ..... We went to the Great Wall of China on Friday. Our guide Nancy said that you are a "hero" if you can make the climb.......well.....no one said that the first tower climb would be so long, steep and exhausting. I did make it to the first tower. David continued on to many more, but the humidity and heat made me give up. I did meet many people from many different continents. The girl beside me is from Italy and beside her the girl is from South Africa.
We also visited the Hutong section of Beijing and rode in a rickshaw. Saturday we traveled to the Forbidden City and Tianamin Square. Our guide, Nancy was terrific. She even went out of her way to make a special purchase. Thousands of people later and a celebrity status for us ( many families wanted us to pose with their children or families for pictures) we returned our hotel before going out to a local eatry with some new found friends. I ordered pork ribs, but I am still not entirely sure if it was indeed pork.
Africa, Europe, North America....COOL!
We also visited the Hutong section of Beijing and rode in a rickshaw. Saturday we traveled to the Forbidden City and Tianamin Square. Our guide, Nancy was terrific. She even went out of her way to make a special purchase. Thousands of people later and a celebrity status for us ( many families wanted us to pose with their children or families for pictures) we returned our hotel before going out to a local eatry with some new found friends. I ordered pork ribs, but I am still not entirely sure if it was indeed pork.
Many, many steps......
Nancy and I in the Forbidden City
Africa, Europe, North America....COOL!
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