Amy's Blog

Flummoxed

2010-08-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

I was pondering something deep the other day at breakfast, or at least that's the way that I recall it now, when Amy asked me a question. I said something about being flummoxed and she asked what flummoxed meant. I thought for a minute, hoping that I really knew, and explained that it meant confused, not sure about things. It took a couple of tries, but within a minute or two she was able to repeat the word back to me. A couple of days later I told her I was confused about something and she asked "are you flummoxed?" Perhaps a coincidence I thought to myself. A few more days passed and I didn't say the word, nor did I hear her say it. Then, as Beth and I drove through the parking lot at Big Basin, trying to figure out whether or not a car was going to leave and where we should park, Amy asked clearly "Daddy, are you flummoxed?" As Beth and I cracked up, we told her that not only were we flummoxed, but that she had asked the perfect question at the right time. Now I have to teach her about being flabbergasted.

Two Years

2010-08-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

On July 27, 2010 we celebrated our second "Family Day" by going out to dinner at China Chile. It hasn't quite become a tradition yet, but we have been consistent in marking the anniversary of the day we met Amy. I suspect that the intensity of the celebration will increase as Amy becomes more aware of the significance of the date. There was so much happening during those first few weeks that it's difficult to remember everything, but I do clearly remember going to the offices of the CCAA and nervously awaiting, along with other families, for some sign that we were going to meet the director, have a nice little chat and then receive Amy. Well, I missed the sign and we missed any chat because before we knew it someone was putting Amy into Beth's waiting arms. There were tears all around, and the start of what we hope is a long journey together commenced. Three days after celebrating the anniversary the three of us went to the Oakland court house to finalize the US readoption. We had been assured by everybody that the process we followed in China and with the US Consulate resulted in a 100% official adoption. However some people suggested that we also finalize it in the US with a formal adoption process. Beth completed the paperwork over several weeks and we made our way into the courthouse. Amy wore her pretty dress (which she loves to do) and we got there at 9:15 for our 9:30 appointment. We waited anxioulsy in the court room. As we waited Amy, of course, made friends with Jade - the little girl that was waiting with her family for the judge. Finally, at about 9:45 the judge called in the first family as we waited to see how long it would take. About 10 minutes later, the now officially larger family emerged from the judge's chamberS and we were called in. The judge immediately set us at ease and even the pictures of his family on his desk made for a nice setting. He explained that this was the easiest part of the process, he reminded us that this is a forever commitment and told us that a family made by adoption is no different than a biological family. He told us we had duties as parents and he said that the child also had duties. He had been pressed on this before by parents wanting the law of the land on their side, so he had explained to that family - as he now did for us - that the child was obligated to clean her room. We made Amy promise to the judge that she would. She promised. We plan on holding her to it. We walked out of the room with our papers, headed down to the registrar to get the official seals and then walked out of the courthouse - a family now connected and inseperable in every possible way.

New Posting

2010-04-04T14:06:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since we last posted anything about Amy. I could probably write for a long time, but I know that eventually Amy will wake up from her nap, and the patience of any readers we have will probably be tested by whatever I do end up writing. I am well aware that no child is as precious, precocious, pretty or perfect as our own, so I'll try to keep bragging to a minimum.

Amy is now a full fledged little girl. Today, Easter, she had on her pretty dress and she enjoyed getting the opportunity to wear her fancy black shoes. However, since she's still also a little kid, she took just as much joy in wearing the large fabric ladybug wings that are leftover from her Halloween costume. It does seem a fitting salute to spring (in spite of the rain surrounding the celebration).

She awoke to find that the Easter Bunny left her a basket and had hidden some eggs around the house as well as a couple of other small presents. She is definitely getting the idea behind the major holidays (at least the same idea as many of the rest of us have - food - gifts - fun; oh yeah, and maybe there's some signficance that we don't quite fully embrace or understand).

The past months we've witnessed Amy going from struggling to express herself, to today's situation, where she not only clearly states her views, she also manages to try to convince us through a wide range of emotions, and periodicially even a logical argument or two. I think that Beth and I generally still get our way more often than Amy does, but she's going to be a pretty fierce negotiator. When we tell her no, she often says "compromise" by which she means that we should do it her way. I guess that's what many of us mean when we say compromise.

We've been richly blessed. She has been healthy and is a good kid. She shares, she laughs, she (sometimes) cleans up after herself and she brings us daily doses of joy and love that are greater than any frustration that even a full-fledged two year old can provide.

I doubt that I'll return to frequent postings, but I will write here again relatively soon.

Peace.

2009-07-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

One year ago we wrote...

"TODAY'S THE DAY!!After some rather major luggage problems (we did get it all last night at last) and two flights, we met our two wonderful guides, Tom and Jim, at the airport. The hotel is great, huge room and crib already. Off to the museum this morning, then to the orphanage office here in Nanchang at 3pm for THE big event. We hardly slept last night! Can't wait.... "

And here we are one year later. On the eve of our first official family day. What a wonderful year it has been. Amy has developed from a baby into a (more) multi-dimensional child. She has taught us so much during the first 12 months. We have learned patience, and magnified our understanding of the meaning of joy. We have seen her fall down and bump her head so many times, yet her spirit is unencumbered, no, strengthened, by these experiences. She is 21 months and has the full independent spirit of a two year old. We try to not laugh when she says "Nooowww" to let us know that she is quite capable of making decisions on her own and that we are best served to take her direction. Which we always do, if of course it happens to agree with the direction that we already were pointed in.

It is hard to imagine that there was a time when we she couldn't walk, let alone crawl. Now she twists and spins to the music, practices "slow...slow...slow...FAST" as she seems to hover across the family room floor. She taps her ear to let us know that it is time for music and has learned that "Xie xie" is as good as, or better than, her sign language for saying thank you.

During the past 12 months I can't imagine how many peoples' days she has already brightened with her smile and her Peek-a-booing" at restaurants and wherever else she meets someone. If I were half as outgoing as her I would be a world-class salesperson. Instead, I think that I have the other part of her personality that peers through occassionally as she grabs onto moma's or dada's leg from behind and says "shyyy." Those of us that know her know that it is only a game to allow her to draw out her next BFF (best friend forever - of course.)

The number of photos has decreased considerably, in small part due to a video camera that takes care of capturing larger swaths of her life, but also because we are so busy being with her that it is hard to take the time to capture any single moment. I have enough shots to be able to create the basic images in my memory and I will let the rest be filled in with a combination of memory and imagination as time goes by. One of the things that I have been reminded of throughout this experience is the benefit of living in the moment. We had enough other reasons to know this before, but seeing her smile, even as she lifts the plate from the tray in a way that is sure to get her admonished, is the kind of experience that can only live in this moment.

One year. 12 months. Such a small part of my life, but a part that has forever changed who I am and who I will be and has brought a much different meaning to who I have been. I can not imagine what is wating for us around the corner. When I do take those foolish steps to peek around the corner I am filled with a powerful combination of joy and fear. I look forward to climbing mountains (literally and figuratively) as a family of three. I anxiously await the chance to ride a roller coaster with her and to watch her in her first recital (or debate, or soccer game, or who knows what). The anxiety comes in knowing that each of us are only on this earth for such a short time, and that now it matters more than ever that I am here to experience tomorrow. This powerful ambivalence drives me back to today, to this hour, and to this minute.

And to Amy I write, I love you. Thank you for all that you have given me. Xie Xie.

2009-02-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

Up, more, moo, meow
Key, monkey, bottle, ball
Bye-bye, hello, Mama, Dada
Music, go, quack, bath

Milk, duck, door

Okay, so Amy's pronunciation of these words may not be obvious to everyone, but they do tend to be used at the right time and she is able to get her point across. Of course she has other ways of making her point -- literally pointing and saying "that- that" clearly wondering how foolish we are to not know what she wanted before she gestured. She has other gestures too; my favorite is a one hand swipe followed by Grrr when we look at the "Brown Bear" book (without the hand symbol the Grrr is also useful for lions). Tonight we were looking at a book with a baby that had his tongue sticking out and Amy followed suit and looked to me to have me stick my tongue out too. It is so much fun to watch her ability to communicate grow.

Speaking of growing, she went to the doctor today and is at about mid-way in the height charts and on the thin, but healthy side. Everything seems to be pretty much on track. She's now 21.25 pounds and 2'7" tall. Apparently our kitchen table is about 2'5" since she has to duck a bit to get under the same table that provided lots of head room when she first started walking under it.

We are committed to savoring every day with her. Every parent knows what it is like to have a child go from baby to driver in the blink of an eye. We're trying to not blink.

Loyal readers will note a decrease in blogging frequency. I hope to make a monthly posting for a while but will be phasing this out later this year. Hopefully loyal readers will have enough chances to spend time with Amy to see for yourselves how special she is.

In Sickness and in Health

2009-01-24T15:30:00.000-08:00

Amy has for the most part recovered from her first major cold since she has been with us. Here's the summary: high fever, cough, runny cold, visit with the doctor, poking, prodding, worrying, "it's a virus," sleeplessness, Tylenol, "I think she's getting better," gradual recovery, higher energy, smiles return, relief settles in.

An interesting side effect of her illness was another dose of joy when her health started returning and her usual disposition reappeared. Once she gave me the "scrunchy face" I knew that everything was going to be okay. I am amazed at how much pleasure we both experience just from watching her.

Today we went to Gymboree and she demonstrated her advanced climbing skills. She's been practicing this new behavior at home by getting herself into our leather chair. She looks like she has just solved world hunger based upon the sense of satisfaction she displays while sitting regally in the chair. So far the only way down is with an assist from an adult but we're working on safe alternatives. At Gymboree she managed to climb up a pretty steep ramp using handholds and places to rest her knees. I was quite impressed. And then I realized just how many things there are for her to climb on at home. Lucky I am trained in risk identification and mitigation!

We are getting ready for Chinese New Year. It's a two week celebration that starts in a couple of days. We'll be going to a big party with lots of other familes that have adopted from China. It's always fun to see Amy interact with other kids and this should be especially fun.

Gung Hay Fat Choy (Cantonese) and Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Mandarin)

A New Year

2009-01-05T20:20:00.001-08:00

Everything is new this year. We think that it is so fascinating to see Amy study an object - it doesn't much matter whether it is a computer program or a piece of rug fuzz - ten minutes at a time. We stare at her and think how wonderful it is that she can be so amused by something that is new to her. Of course the irony is that we too are studying that which is new to us with the same rapt attention. If someone were watching us he would say "Isn't it cute how they can sit there and look at this creature for hours without saying a word."

We had a wonderful extended Christmas. Beth's Mom joined us for a few days which helped extend the family feeling of the celebration. Hopefully the family members that haven't met Amy can do so soon, and those who have met her can quickly return. It would be so nice to be closer to the extended family but the current situation forces us to focus on "quality time" when we do get together.

Amy is already developing nearly as quickly as everyone warned us she might. Her vocabulary is increasing (and/or our ability to understand strange sounds is improving), she is running around the house like she owns it and she continues to dance, smile and wave her way into the hearts of strangers and friends. Yesterday we went out to dinner at a local restaurant and she not only charmed the waiters and some of the neighboring tables, she managed to do so without creating an unpleasant scene during the entire dinner. We try to not take this behavior for granted but she is spoiling us.

We hope that the new year brings you the sense of joy that we all have deep within us - the joy of running around the house, exploring new things, making new friends and appreciating that every step is a miracle.

2008-12-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

We'll put down December 20th, 2008 as the day that Amy really started walking. I know that we've posted before that she could walk, and even that she had done some walking, but today she became a walker. She decided that it is generally easier to walk than to crawl and now does the bulk of her moving around on two feet. I am still amazed that within five months she has gone from just being able to roll over to walking around our house. I've concluded that just because billions of other kids have mastered this skill, it isn't any less of a miracle that humans can figure this out. Of course there are the other species where the babies just about start off walking, or swimming, or even flying within a short period of time, but for humans, we do pretty well.

Last night we went to a Christmas party sponsored by my employer. It was a great event and it was also a real joy to be out alone with Beth. We've had a couple of very short adult nights but this was the longest and grandest. Our sitter did well and we didn't even call once to check on her. That's not to saying we weren't both checking our cell phones every ten or twenty minutes but that's only normal. Hopefully we can get a bit more time together during the long Christmas break. I know that it is a healthy part of the family experience.

Christmas is fast approaching and we continue to confuse Amy with little stuffed animal ornaments on our tree (or off them if Amy has her way) and a stream of boxes from generous family and friends. She hasn't shown too much interest in the big guy with the red suit yet but I am sure that will come next year.

I hope that each of you experience a level of joy that you haven't known since those days when you saw Frosty and Rudolph and Peanuts and Santa for the first time.

Love,

JB&A

Playing

2008-12-14T17:20:00.000-08:00

We are having such fun watching Amy play. Whether she is playing with one of us, both of us, new friends, or on her own, it seems as though she finds a way to enjoy herself and to learn at the same time. When she finds that special block that apparently contains all the secrets of the universe, bangs it against whatever is nearby to hear its unique tone, and then looks at us with the joy and pride of heroic victory, there is nothing for us to do but to beam back at her. It is unfortunate that so many of us find it hard to appreciate the pure joy of learning; that we don't find ways to make all our experiences so rich; that we sometimes dwell on the rain and forget the resulting growth, let alone the rainbows. Sure, many of us try to fill our lives with the latest toys, but everybody knows that it is the box and not the toy that brings the fun. We are trying to learn everything that Amy has to teach us. Play. Play. Play. It's good for you

Christmas Rituals to Consider

2008-11-30T09:41:00.001-08:00

We are rapidly approaching Amy's first Christmas with us. As we find ourselves getting into the Christmas spirit, we also are beginning to ask what traditions we will be passing on to Amy and perhaps through her to generations beyond. For us this year, for example, having a "real" Christmas tree has been replaced with the practical reality of a nice artificial tree with lights pre-installed (Wouldn't you like to be the genius who came up with that idea?). Is this decision crucial one way or the other? And, although I (John) grew up in a household where Christmas stockings were not a major part of the celebration, I am currently pushing hard to keep this activity alive as part of our ritual on the Maynard side; it is always a fun challenge to find inexpensive little things that suit the person just right. I guess making snowpeople and snow angels will have to wait for our periodic trips to Lake Tahoe or Santa Fe or Wisconsin. Will we resume making some of our mothers' cookie recipes we've drifted away from in recent years? Hopefully some of my grandparents' Christmas tree decorations will survive into the next generation. Who knows what else will remain with Amy?

Not to be too heavy, but I also find myself thinking about the tougher questions. Why is it okay to pass along the myth of Santa while also holding fast to the value of truthfulness? (Don't worry -- I'm sure Santa will visit our house for quite a few years.) What about the significance of the Christmas story? What will Amy think about Christ, God or other religious concepts? She may not have to answer these questions today, but I do realize that our daily actions are starting to shape her life. It's an awesome responsibility. On the other hand, she may not realize it, but she is also shaping our reality every day. Part of the joy I've experienced with Amy is recognizing that I have much to learn -- or relearn -- about the joy of an empty wrapper or a new smell or a smile from a stranger.

I hope that those of you reading this are able to take some time to reflect on the beauty of the season in a new and special way.

JB&A

Small Steps

2008-11-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

Walking. It is such a complicated set of motions that it is hard to imagine that someone can learn it through observation and experimentation. Yet Amy is getting so close to doing just that. Lately she has been doing pretty well at standing up without support for a few seconds at a time and sometimes manages to take a few steps on her own. From what I've heard we are only a couple of weeks away from full scale chaos.

The three of us have gone to Gymboree for each of the last four Saturdays. It's fun to see Amy interact with other kids about her age. Sharing is not quite a commonly embraced value at that age, but somehow the group of about 8-12 kids manage to get along with each other as they go through instructor led play. Amy is gradually becoming a fan of the bubble session when "Miss Shannon" blows lots of soap bubbles around the room and the parents watch the kids watch the bubbles in amazement as they land softly upon the floor, the kids' hair and elsewhere. Today I witnessed Amy and a small boy compete for space in a box that has mirrors on the floor and the sides. I was pleased to see that as the boy inadvertently (?) muscled in on her turf she stood her ground and gently pushed back. I don't think we have to worry about this kid being made timid by others.

Beth and John continue to have a great time with Amy as we try to get enough sleep and attend to the other duties of life. Occasionally Amy sleeps until 7 which feels like a small holiday as we get to spend a few extra minutes sleeping or talking with each other before the focus shifts to her. As we approach Thanksgiving we are reminded of all we have to be thankful for, especially this year, -- including those of you who are still reading this blog.

May you have a peaceful Thanksgiving holiday.

Love,

John, Beth and Amy

Showered with Kindness

2008-11-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Amy was the guest of honor at a shower hosted by some great friends of ours. Beth and I were a bit nervous because Amy hadn't had her nap and was likely to get a bit crabby. We should have known better than to worry -- she was a rock star.

According to a popular test (Meyers Brigg), an extrovert is someone who gets energy from being in a room full of people, as opposed to an introvert who gets energy by being on his own. Well, I think we've got an extrovert on our hands. Amy greeted the room with a smile and didn't stop until the presents had all been opened and the cake consumed. Once she got in the car she rested a bit on the way home, got to bed a little early and slept through the night.

One of the hosts described another baby as an "angel baby." I think it's fair to say that we feel we have been equally blessed. Another friend said that we should spend time with other kids to know how good we've got it. I think that we have a pretty good feel for that, so we decided to pass on ,the offer for now.

Tonight it's dinner with a family up the street. Who knows, maybe Amy will make extroverts out of all of us.

Happy Birthday!

2008-10-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Amy's first birthday with her this weekend with a quiet gathering. First the important facts:

She liked the cake and ice cream but didn't dive into it as much as I usually do. (I'm sure she'll catch up eventually)
She received quite a few nice presents in spite of Beth and me managing to control our desires to buy every cute thing we saw
She wore a pretty dress that was given to her as a welcoming present. A-dor-able of course
She stayed up until 9:30 - way past her bedtime - but didn't appear to have any other strange birthday developments or food reactions

I know that every parent says that it is amazing how quickly kids grow up. I do think that it is a bit different for us. When we first met Amy most of the mechanics had not caught up with the nine months of development that had taken place. She couldn't roll over, her noises did not have appear to have connection to her intention and there was much bonding work to do. Within the past three months she has learned to eat solid foods, is walking with the help of one hand, has learned a few signs to communicate with us and has moved beyond ma-ma and da-da to include "UP" and is working on her name and everything else. In many ways it seems that we went from nearly zero to one in a very short span of time. It is truly miraculous to watch her develop before our very eyes.

We remain very thankful.

JB&A

Such a cute kid!

2008-10-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's time to brag. Our kid is soooo cute...

We had a great weekend, including a bit of downtime to catch up on things like hanging up pictures that have been sitting in Amy's room for a couple of months. The relatively quiet weekend gave us both a great chance to just sit and watch Amy as she moved from one cute thing to another. She is starting to try to sign along with us on some of the more routine signs like "eat" and "all done." It may still be more imagination than recognition on our part, but we think she is trying to use these at appropriate times. She's also loving peek-a-boo and is finding ways to amuse herself as long as she knows that we are within range. She watched the 49er game with us and applauded during the two good plays the team had. Coincidence? Maybe...Maybe not! It is so easy to just spend an hour watching her as she plays with her house and her other favorite toys. She's starting to get a better sense of balance and can walk with us with one hand. Feebly, but it's a step in the right direction. Our life is going to take another major change once she gets those legs stable. She's not going to be the type to sit quietly in the corner.

We have also started to use a sitter occasionally which has been a big adjustment. Fortunately the sitter seems very good and yet Amy is still able to greet us with a big smile and to lurch toward us when we return. We are all growing up and learning how to work this whole thing out.

That's it for this week.

JB&A

The Great Pumpkin

2008-10-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

For several years now we've been going to the pumpkin patch, watching other families take photos of their kids sitting on pumpkins, playing with scarecrows and otherwise amusing their parents. We often think about how weird it is that America has elected to celebrate fall by worshipping pumpkins, but watching the families with kids made it all very clear that this was a terrific ritual that has been passed from generation to generation to generation. Last year, out of frustration and a silent protest of the length of delay in getting Amy we didn't go. We were tired of saying "next year at this time..." Well our time has arrived and we are making the most of it. This week's photo shows how our "pumpkin" is celebrating. Even better, my parents are visiting us this week and we will get to dress her up again and take another round of pictures with Amy and her grandparents. We are once again very thankful for all we have.

Books and Dreams

2008-10-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, while I had my camera at the ready, I "caught" Amy playing with a "DREAM" bookmark (see photo on right). This provides a good segue into reading and the dreams that can be found in books.

Amy was the honored guest at a "book shower" put on and attended by folks from our church. What an outpouring of kindness was demonstrated by people who brought books to share with her. Some of the books had already been loved by other children while others were new but were accompanied by memories of how the story had been an important part of the life of the person sharing it with Amy. Each book was very special to us and will be to Amy.

We are so pleased that Amy seems to already enjoy our ritual of reading before bed, and even makes a point of grabbing the books we leave out for her (and a few others she accidentally gets hold of) and starts to turn pages. There's so much world out there for her to see and so many dreams yet to experience, that we are delighted that she has found this pathway and even more excited to know that as she picks up the many new books that each of them will also be imbued with a dose of love from someone that is a part of her life.

Family, Friends and Eggs

2008-09-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

We were delighted to have Amy's Aunt Kathy and Cousin Kristie visiting us this past week. They were great guests and it so nice to have Amy get to know some of her extended family. It's a bit strange knowing that my (only slightly) older sister's daughter is old enough to be Amy's mom, but that's part of the joy of being an older parent. Fortunately Kristie still has lots of youthful energy and was able to teach Amy how to make some funny faces, which, much to our delight, Amy enjoys sharing with us to make us laugh.We also had a wonderful experience when a couple of friends with Chinese ancestry and their families introduced us to the idea of the red egg celebration. It is a Chinese tradition that when a boy is one month old a red egg party is held to introduce the boy and his official name to the world.
(http://chinesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa012303a.htm) The tradition is now being used sometimes for girls and, in our case, was modified to reflect the fact that Amy has been home with us for about a month. We enjoyed Chinese pancakes, pickled ginger, and eggs dyed a deep red. Then we took turns saying a wish for Amy, and she received a beautiful jade necklace and a traditional red envelope. It was a very special event for us and we are honored to have friends who will help us connect to Amy's homeland.

Roulette

2008-09-10T21:31:00.001-07:00

We are making progress on getting a schedule set up. Amy is generally asleep between 8 and 8:30 with only a momentary cry when her head is rested upon the mattress. She routinely wakes up at six, not yet understanding that the weekend means that everyone is supposed to sleep a bit longer. She's getting an increasing portion of her calories from non-formula food. Overall, life is getting pretty smooth.

BUT... it's still a bit of a spin of the roulette wheel each day to see how joyous Amy will be and for how long. We've had a few days when things weren't quite going the way that Amy thought they should be and she let us know about it. Beth is getting the brunt of that since it's usually late afternoon when sleeping and food don't quite do the trick. By the time I get home Amy is usually mostly through dinner and she greets me with a million dollar smile. My challenge is to see if we can keep that smile going all the way until bed time. Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. I think that we both know enough about how life could be that we recognize that we are truly blessed with a wonderful child that is merely keeping us on our toes.

Speaking of on the toes, Amy is getting closer to walking each day. With quite a bit of support she is able to put one foot in front of the other and proudly approach the parent that isn't doing the supporting. It is amazing that this is a skill that humans can learn through a combination of hard-wired instructions and intense observation. I think of those with spinal injuries that are trying to relearn. The brain is truly an amazing thing. We are enjoying the ringside seat of the development that is occurring.

Best wishes

New Toys and a New Bed

2008-09-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

Spoiled? No! Okay - maybe a little. But it's not all our fault. We have been so blessed by the generosity of others. Amy has received enough new clothes to compensate for the fact that she changes them faster than a model at a fashion shoot (maybe she's practicing?). Friends from church have provided us the use of some very gently used toys that provide Amy with a constant state of Christmas-like joy. Admittedly, sometimes she still gets just as big a kick out of a plastic box-top as a stuffed animal but some of these Fisher-Price toys are just amazingly well designed to hold her interest and teach her things. The latest delight is a bouncy wonder saucer that she can sit or stand in and command a universe of toys that are built into the rim. Hard to describe but trust me, the only thing noisier than the toy are the giggles that pour from her mouth.

It's not been all toys and food for Amy. We're also trying to get her to sleep in a way that Mom and Dad can get back to a bit of a rested state. We're following the Ferber method which prescribes a way to let her know that we are around but that she is going to have to find a way to soothe herself to sleep. Yesterday, starting with her nap, we decided to put her in her nursery room crib instead of a portable crib in our room. Suffice it to say, she wasn't happy with the change of venue. After quite some time she felt asleep. We weren't looking forward to the evening repeat, but after one short crying episode she slept through the night. I still chalk it up as a fluke but if we stick with it for a few days we may be able to get past this stage and all enjoy the waking hours a bit more. This morning she fell asleep while bouncing in the wonder saucer and is resting as I type this.

Until next week,

J,B and A

Schedule - What's That?

2008-08-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

We are still at that naive phase where we believe that we can keep our lives under control. What better way to do that than to establish a schedule. A predetermined nap here, a routine combination of bottles and solid food there and voila - a normal life develops. Yeah - right. As Beth has stated, this is like trying to get all eight legs of an octopus to act according to your will. Five or six legs - okay. A seventh - you are doing very well. But inevitably, that 8th leg won't go where you want. Of course this is not news to any of you parents, but I share these insights for those that haven't been blessed yet.

We remain convinced that we truly are very fortunate, not only with Amy but with the community of friends and family that provide us with emotional support and other loving acts of kindness. On one recent day our schedule was "disrupted" by several friends and neighbors bringing a meal for the weary parents and gifts for Amy. Most seem genuinely surprised at how social, friendly and adjusted she is. I wish that Beth and I could take credit for this (I am sure that we will later in life) but for now we just remain so thankful for those who have been a part of her life before we entered the picture and for those who are part of all of our lives now.

Well, it's 10:00 pm and my schedule says that I should have been asleep at least 30 minutes ago to allow for the inevitable wake up call and gentle nudging - or kicking - when Amy decides she needs to be fed and changed. We are working our way to a crib (for Amy - not us) but until then we are sharing the bed. At least Beth and I are sharing. Amy consumes. It's amazing how much space she can take up. We wouldn't trade it.

Best wishes to all.

John, Beth and Amy

Home for One Week

2008-08-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

We've been back for a week and everything is going well. We made it through the jet lag, are back on track with the right formula and are trying to figure out how to create a schedule that works for all of us. We're working on increasing the solid food to reduce the number of feedings and increase the probability of a true sleep-through-the-night experience.

Each day Amy seems to be learning something new. She has mastered algebra, physics and three musical instruments. Her English is still a bit rudimentary so she expresses herself through sculpture and fine art. Her biggest frustration remains being only 90% of the way toward mastering the crawl. (I guess we all have a weak spot.) She gets around the floor by flopping, twisting, pushing and sheer will, but getting the butt up and arms moving at the same time eludes her.

Beth's Mom continues to provide great support to us. I think all three of us are dreading the idea that she will be leaving this week and we'll have to become even more resourceful in the way we juggle all the activities of parenting. I can't really imagine how parents with more than one youngster manage. If you are in that category please take a moment to give yourself a round of applause. If they have left home at this point and you are able to relax, give yourself a hearty congratulations and enjoy some peace and quiet. You've earned it.

Beth and I continue to be fascinated with Amy (surprise!) and find ourselves just staring at her with awe. Perhaps that is one part of our time management that we'll need to work on - but not for awhile.

Peace

We're Home!!!

2008-08-10T15:41:00.001-07:00

We made it!

Our trip home was not the easiest part of our journey, but it sure felt great once it was over. I imagine that the rest of the people on the back half of the plane that Amy filled with her noisy crying were also delighted once the plane pulled into the gate. We anticipated that there would be some problems since Amy got stuffy a couple of days before we left and and we had to learn all about saline nose drops and aspirators (for those non-parents out there - this is one thing that you should remain blissfully ignorant of for as long as possible). We were fooled when the ascent was noise free. About 4 hours into the 12 hour flight the pressure must have gotten to her, along with whatever else was going on. For the next three hours we tried about everything. Eventually some children's Motrin, more aspirating and pure exhaustion worked together to give us all peace until the final 10-15 minutes of the descent. By that time we knew the end was in sight and people probably wanted a nice wake-up call anyway (or so we will choose to believe). In spite of other babies also having similar problems (though not as noisily as Amy) our fellow passengers were all very sympathetic and considerate.

After a lengthy wait, we eventually got to immigration officer Tarawaski who scanned over the contents of the magic sealed envelope we had been handed by the US immigrations officers in Guangzhou. He was very pleasant but probably didn't realize his role as the final gatekeeper at the end of a multi-year endurance event. When he stamped Amy's Chinese passport with the US entry visit Beth asked - "so does this mean she's now a US citizen?" he said yes and waved us through to the luggage area. Unfortunately the one bag that didn't make it contained the backup formula and rice powder so we had to make the switch to the new formula immediately. Amy drank it, but it didn't agree with her and caused her face to break out. We've now switched to a different formula (which we bought at the 24 hour Walgreens at 2:00 this morning!) and life seems to be getting back to the new version of normal.

Beth's Mom is here and is providing great emotional, informational and physical assistance. Amy loves her grandmother and is having fun exploring the house. For the rest of the future visitors that may be jealous that they weren't the first to visit, take comfort in the fact that by the time you visit, we will have all figured out how this three person family thing is supposed to work and you will be treated to an even sweeter (hard to imagine) version of the family once you arrive.

We hope to continue to have at least periodic posts to the blog for awhile. We look forward to catching up with all of you in a bit more personal fashion over the coming weeks and months.

Best wishes to all,

John, Beth and Amy

Final Paperwork, Last Minute Swim and the Packing Begins

2008-08-07T05:42:00.000-07:00

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

I guess it already has been official for awhile but putting the last piece in the paperwork puzzle felt great. We got Amy's visa today in an extremely brief swearing-in ceremony at the US consulate. Along with about thirty other expanded families we swore that all of the paperwork we completed before was truthful and accurate, which of course it was. All of the families that were staying in our hotel - the infamous White Swan - got back on a baby express shuttle bus and enjoyed the ride with as much relaxation as possible while riding in an oversized vehicle within traffic that is as frenetic as you can imagine.

After the three of us got back to the hotel and enjoyed an afternoon nap, we did one more round of shopping before the rain sent us back inside. We decided to push our luck and got Amy into her ever so adorable swim suit and ventured timidly into the pool. To our great relief she is an aquatic wonder. (Do you sense parental pride blossoming ever so quickly?) She enjoyed splashing in the pool and immediately her legs started kicking in a nearly perfect breast stroke. With a bit of prudence we decided that the first adventure into the pool should not include a simulated baptism, so Amy's head remained above water and dressed with a smile throughout the experience.

We're now in the packing stage. I'm pretty sure that I just heard Amy wake from her nap to greet Beth with a "Mama" (parent's wishful thinking? random noise? gifted child? What do you think?) John is quick to point out that random "Dada" noises have long ago been interpretted as a sign of bonding with him. Now we need to figure out who this "La La" person is that Amy keeps speaking of.

The packing is an exercise in spatial reasoning and math. How do we get too much stuff into a small space while keeping no bag above 44 pounds? And then the carry-on bags. If John and Beth start a trip from Guangzhou at 8:30 in the morning and get into San Francisco at 9:15 am the same day and there is a 15 hour time zone difference between Guangzhou and San Francisco, how much formula will Amy drink and how many diapers will be needed? I guess we'll pack what space allows, which will hopefully be too much and then pray that we don't get stuck in a 12 hour layover in Hong Kong.

Well, this is the last entry from China. Thank you once again to those of you that have read and offered comments and to the vast number of people that have given us confidence, courage and stamina to get to this point.

Best,

John, Beth and Amy

Gearing up for the big trip home...

2008-08-06T02:04:00.000-07:00

Today was the penultimate official event in the American processing of our adoption of Amy: Our enormous and extremely detailed load of paperwork, which we began over three years ago, was accepted! We sat in the US Consulate office here for over an hour getting one last form notarized and then nervously watching from across the room as our envelope of pages ("a colorless, see-through envelope, permanently closable," mind you) was sorted, stamped and given the thumbs up. Our guide, Ms. Liang, and Beth breathed huge sighs of relief and happiness; John continued happily teaching Amy to try to stand up while holding a child-size table in the corner until he was informed of the situation.

The next, and final, event takes place tomorrow afternoon when we return to the Consulate and take an oath with a group of other adoptive parents. To be honest, we don't recall the fine details of what we'll be swearing, but we've gone over it before, and you better believe we'll be swearing it. After that, we'll be given back Amy's Chinese passport, which will then contain a US visa. Although she's been legally our daughter for a week, she won't be an American citizen until we land in San Francisco Friday morning. We have absolutely loved China and the kind people here, but it will be pure joy to hold Amy on American soil.

We still haven't made it into that beautiful White Swan swimming pool because of heavy thunderstorms these last few days. We have, however, been exploring the Mattel play room for adoptive families. Amy is definitely still at the wave-a-small-object-and-bang-it-on-things stage. She discovered large legos and was mesmerized by the tone they made against other plastic. The larger Sesame Street toys with lots of buttons and sounds were fun but a bit overwhelming, particularly since it's still very tough for her to coordinate enough to push the buttons reliably. Mattel also gave us the traditional White Swan Hotel gift for adoptive families: a custom Barbie doll, blonde and fair, holding a Chinese baby. It's somewhat amusing that they do this for this relatively tiny group of people, but seems quite dismissive of non-Caucasian adoptive parents, of which we have met several here. Well, generations of girls love Barbies despite her inane proportions too....

We've confirmed one flight and the other, a commuter flight from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, should be confirmed tomorrow. Beth still hopes to find the perfect traditional silk Chinese outfit for Amy to fit into for some photos here and to very quickly outgrow, so a bit more shopping may be in order whenever the rain lets up tonight or tomorrow. Then we're up at 3am Friday morning (we're 15 hours ahead of PST), which is when Amy should wake us anyway for a bottle, and off to the airport. Fortunately, Ms. Liang will accompany us; we would have taken three days to try to get through the Nanchang airport without our guide, and it's fairly small. Guangzhou is a major international airport. With some luck we'll get both our luggage through customs properly and our formula (dry this time!) through security without problem. We can hardly wait.

Love,
Beth and John and Amy

The Sights of Guangzhou

2008-08-05T06:25:00.000-07:00

Today was a sightseeing day in Guangzhou, which included the Six Banyan Tree Temple and Chen's Academy. While at the temple we saw a prayer processional and were honored to have a monk say a special prayer chant for Amy, Beth and me. Chen's Academy was a very nice blend of Chinese folk art set in a beautiful building with some interesting shops selling the craftwork. Our guide, Ms Liang, has taken good care of us, not only showing us these sights but also helping us to navigate through the big shopping center, where we replenished the critical baby supplies for the remainder of our stay and the much anticipated flight back to San Francisco.

We've had a couple of dramatic thunderstorms last night and today, but fortunately they didn't interfere with our other activities and they help to keep the temperature to something just above balmy.

Tonight's high point, at least from Amy's standpoint - which is what really matters now anyway - was the chance to play in "The Swan Room" I had heard about this special play area, which is cleverly sponsored by Mattel, from not only my ex-client at Mattel, but also from adoption lore. The room has all things Fisher Price and Mattel. We have come to learn that Amy is at the "push the button and make a noise" phase of her development. Some of us never outgrow that, but that's another story. While in the room we talked with an adoptive father who was there with his biological son and 18 month adoptive daughter (from a prior trip) and his new adopted son. Like many folks we have met on this trip they were part of the program that matched them with special needs children. In this case the boy's cleft lip was repaired between the time of the match and the time of the adoption. We have seen some very special people that have opened their hearts and homes to people in need. I admire them.

Amy has developed a pattern of a 3:00 a.m wake up call for a change of diapers and a fresh bottle. After that, she quickly (usually) returns to sleep until the morning, when she likes to awaken around 6:00 and start rolling around and working at mastering the crawl. She still can either get her butt up, or her head, but not both. I think that this is the start of the perpetual conundrum - the desire to see her advance while still wanting her to remain at the tender stage she is at. From those of you that have gone through this, it is clear that this dilema is always a part of the parenting experience.

Tomorrow is another dose of paperwork and then more relaxing and sight seeing.

Next stop: Guangzhou

2008-08-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

We made it safely to Guangzhou yesterday. To our great relief Amy was playful and babbling softly for nearly all of our 90-minute flight here, but the descent must have gotten her ears because she screamed the last ten minutes despite our best efforts offering a bottle and even cracker morsels. Oh well, we've certainly heard it before from other babies in that situation.

China Southern is quite a nice airline, and all of the airports we've used have been quite modern and use security much like that in the US. In all our planning for contingencies yesterday morning we made two bottles of formula and carefully packed it away in our carry on bags without a second thought. Of course the security screeners did give it a second thought, but we talked them into letting us keep the precious bottles and just emptying them, and we were at least able to get warm water for them at a restaurant near the gate. Fortunately Amy is quite happy with the occasional warm-water bottle. The surprising and annoying thing came when we later discovered that we accidentally had had two cans of soda that made it through without problem in our other bag. Oh well.

We're now at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou. It's quite famous in the China adoption community because virtually every family stays here as they wait for their child's visa for several days. It is gorgeous, with a waterfall and koi pond in the lobby and two outdoor swimming pools. The room in Nanchang was a bit larger though, so we're glad we were there first, as we did much more pacing the floors with an upset baby in the night there. We've met lots of American families in the elevators and lobby carrying or escorting Chinese babies and children, so conversations are very easy to start. Just outside the hotel, which is on a beautiful small island in the Pearl River, numerous industrious people have set up shops catering to Americans looking for silk baby clothing, toys and beautiful souvenirs, as well as laundry services that undercut the expensive prices of the hotel.

We've only seen Guangzhou on the half-hour drive from the airport so far, but it has ten million people and from the looks of the dense housing it must be geographically compact. The smog is definitely worse here than in Nanchang, but isn't so bad as to impair breathing, at least on this island. Guangzhou is the former Canton and is not far from Hong Kong in the south. Of course the language has switched on us from Mandarin to Cantonese, but our limited "Nihao" (hello) and "Jia jia" (thank you), plus a bit more we've picked up, are still serving us.

When we arrived at the airport we met Ms. Liang, our guide for this part of things. She got us checked in to the hotel, and we settled in and walked the neighborhood. The restaurants are overpriced in the hotel, but we discovered a great little "deli" nearby and it's quite good and a good deal, especially for breakfast. Ms. Liang met us this morning and we walked to a clinic that is authorized to do adoption exams for the US Consulate. It was a crazy scene as parents and babies and older Chinese children and American siblings and guides all pressed into three different lines -- one for temperature check and weight and height measurements (She's only 17.7 pounds -- Onyx our cat may rival that --- and 28 inches.), then one for an eye, ear, nose and throat exam, and finally a very quick general medical exam. Amy's still got some itchy places, though they are improving, and we're challenged to keep those teeny-tiny fingernails short enough to prevent scratching. The doctor looked at this carefully but decided there was nothing seriously wrong, so we passed the test to get her a visa.

After the big clinic experience, Beth and Ms. Liang spent an hour or two going through final paperwork we'll need to have in perfect form for the visa application that we submit on Wednesday. There's a lot of redundancy, but still lots of details needed for Homeland Security, the Citizenship and Immigration Service, Social Security, etc. Once the kiddo wakes up, we're headed out and about again or maybe to the pool. We talked to some parents there last night who were in the water with their new two-year-old, and she was loving it. Amy is amused by baths, so perhaps she'll take to it too.

Cheers to all!
Beth and John and Amy

Shopping - and of course walking - in the Heat

2008-08-02T01:59:00.000-07:00

If it weren't for the fact that they have very little diet soda, so we're forced to drink the "real thing" we'd probably be losing weight during this trip. There's the 17 pound press (or is it a clean and jerk?), the constant walking and carrying a supply kit that looks like we are destined for a major survival exercise. All of this in 90 degree heat with about 70% humidity. In spite of all this, as we venture around the streets of Nanchang, drawing the typical stares, sweet Amy remains placid and in good spirits. She's amazing.

We did do a bit more shopping today with our guide Jim and found some good deals. They would have been relative bargains even without bargaining, but we have learned that it would be against cultural norms to not play that game. It felt a bit silly working at getting the price of something down from $6 to $5 but it seemed to make everybody happy that Jim made the effort and was successful in saving us money.

During our afternoon stroll we met a family with a young girl (maybe about 6) and her older (10?) brother and mother. The little girl looked at us boldly and declared in unequivocal terms "HELLO". We returned the offering with our bilingual "Ni How - Hello" but this was only enough to get the adorable young lady started on her English recital. After all of the usual "How are you?" and "What is your name? (they always laugh when we try to repeat their names with all the grace and accuracy of 1 year old foreigner) the girl started reciting her ABCs. I (John) raced her through the alphabet. I think that she thought she won and I decided not to arm wrestle her for the title. We happened to be walking the same direction as they were so in spite of saying bye-bye about 15 times she was still determined to continue her English practice. Finally, from 15 steps ahead she shouted back at us "Fish!" and then "Apple" and "Banana" I really should have learned more Mandarin before this trip to have a chance at keeping up with a six year old.

We are preparing ourselves emotionally for the next phase of the journey and hoping that the vibrations of the plane reveals the quiet side of Amy, or at least her smiling cooing and babbling side, rather than the piercing demonstration of lung capability that is the other alternative. This flight is a good 90 minute practice run for the long trip back to the US on next Friday. At least on that flight we are almost guaranteed to be with other families in a similar situation, since all US/China adoptions get formalized in Guangzhou for their last step before returning to the US.

Love

J, A and B

Walking and paperwork and walking and paperwork...

2008-08-01T02:45:00.000-07:00

We're getting to better know Nanchang as we wander and walk the neighborhoods in between more visits to various offices to pick up the paperwork set in motion earlier in the week. We went back to the Chinese notary yesterday, where Amy discovered newspaper in the waiting room and decided its crunchy noise is lots of fun. Too bad for the official who had left it half-read on a coffee table. Afterward, Tom and Jim took us shopping for porcelain and embroideries. We found many lovely things, some even small enough to consider trying to get home safely, but were instructed not to buy on the first trip to the stores. Bargaining would be much more successful later, they said.

This morning the three of us headed out in yet another direction. By this time Tom had written us a note in Chinese, saying that we were a couple from America adopting this Fengcheng girl to take home to America with us, and that we loved her very much. It came in handy several times, and each time an even greater crowd grew as one or two began to read and discuss the note. Boundaries around babies here are not the same as we're used to -- it's very common for people touch Amy's hand or foot as they talk with us, but on a few occasions we've had to actually stop them from picking her up out of the stroller. It's all very friendly, and Tom said it comes from families typically living in large family housing where everyone took care of the baby together.

The city streets are crowded, but not completely packed as we've heard they are in the largest cities. The traffic, however, is fast and seems to follow few rules, so crossing at the corners is always quite tricky, especially with all the bikes, motorbikes and motorcycles which don't yield to anything. In yesterday's very long and heavy rain we got to see a colorful moving array of rainparka- wearing bicyclists everywhere. The rain has stopped now, but it remains cloudy and hazy -- probably some of the haze is due to pollution, but it is not obviously a problem here, except when a smoky bus rolls by. Today we bought a few more baby clothes and toys at a tiny baby store, and found a store of hand-sewn items among the many little food shops, trendy clothing stores and cigarette-and-drinks stores. (Speaking of drinks, the heat and humidity rage on, and John and I are drinking bottle after bottle of water, with a few juices and non-diet sodas thrown in. We're buying two-gallon jugs of water at the store every-other day too. There doesn't seem to be any recycling, unfortunately.)

This afternoon John went with Jim and Tom to pick up Amy's passport! It is Chinese, since she won't be an American citizen until we land in San Francisco. Much of next week in Guanzhou is really devoted to getting her an American visa to travel with. The passport acquisition means we're done with the official stuff here in Nanchang. Tom, our main guide, leaves tonight for Shanghai by train; Jim will stay with us, take us back to the porcelain shops tomorrow, and see us off to the airport Sunday morning. We have had a few long talks with Tom, whose English is more fluent, about China, history, religion, international relations and more. He was a visiting scholar in mechanical engineering at Brown University many years ago and, though officially retired now, still consults and travels to international meetings in between escorting adoptive families. He's very open to all questions and has fascinating insights. We've enjoyed both of them tremendously.

Amy, throughout all of this, remains a delight, of course. Handed any new object, she's intense as she stares at it and she explores its texture, waves it around and hits it against things. True to the old tale, she loves the boxes things come in as much as the contents. Her love of going anywhere in the stroller, or in a sling that holds her at my side, remains strong. She was perfectly happy to be out in the warm drizzle with a rainhat on and a light covering. She's eating more and more; we've gone from 3-4 to 6 bottles a day since we've met, and she has discovered that banana slivers and baby foods are good too. She adores the one (cardboard) book we brought (the everpopular "Who lives in the ocean?") and happily slaps the pictures as we talk through them. We would have felt richly blessed no matter what, of course, but her usually great behavior is a special delight and relief to these new parents.

Love to all,
Beth, John and Amy

A Walk in the Park

2008-07-30T01:22:00.000-07:00

Parenting today was like a walk in the park - actually it was a walk in a local park that was just a wonderful experience. The usual paparazzi were there of course (maybe that's not the right phrase since they were definitely part of the growing Amy Jing-Wan fan club) but even more interesting was us watching all the people in their public ad-hoc dance and Tai Chi classes. We met a 96 year old man that was about as flexible as Amy and seemed to have nearly as much vigor. His secret is Tai - Chi. I think I may have to start taking Tai Chi soon. We had several people say Thank You for adopting Amy and giving her a chance in the US. This was so touching for us, since we both feel so honored to have her in our family.

Following our stroll with our guides in the coolness of the 90 degree morning, we visited a local Budhist temple. It was beautiful and fascinating. We made our way from the Welcome Hall through multiple groomed courtyards into interior temples (there were four or five - each with its own large Buddha and several smaller Buddhas) and we saw women lighting incense offerings and grey-clothed young monks getting in and out of a VW van, just for some contrast.

There is a typhoon moving across parts of China. We appear to be on the outer edges of it and have just started getting a very heavy rainstorm, but nothing worse. It looks like another night in our hotel's buffet restaurant - which we discovered last night they close precisely at 9:00 - even if you are eating at 8:45. Most of the food is recognizable and even pretty good.

Amy is developing quickly before our eyes. She's returning smiles more often and -- hurray! -- even slept through the night last night. For the past couple of days she's been struggling to roll from her back to stomach. This morning she made it and has already started to try crawling - as you can see in the picture to the right. Her gentle cooing is music to our ears. The less than gentle crying that signals us that it's time to run through our parenting checklist (diapers - check; food - check; hugs - check; must be time for a walk...) is a bit less enjoyable music, but still a blessing.

Tomorrow we pick up some of the papers that are working their way through the system for us to take home with us and then we explore a bit more of Nanchang.

Love,
], B and A

Visit to Fengcheng

2008-07-29T04:13:00.000-07:00

Amy is continuing to warm up to us by starting to smile when we smile at her, and even reaching out to be held. She still hates going to bed! We're both definitely building up our biceps from walking her around the room over and over at 2am. She doesn't seem to know much about how to play, so we're teaching her to make noise by hitting two plastic cups together and rattling her toy keys, and she's starting to do it herself more spontaneously.

Amy makes friends everywhere -- people love her. We are major rock stars here just because we're white. Everyone stares openly and stops us on the street to ask to practice English with us and such. Kids and teens, who have studied English in school, are especially excited to say "Hello," and see how we respond. Absolutely everyone we've interacted with has been very kind, just curious. Now that we have Amy we are even more of a spectacle, as they try to figure us out and coo over her. People do seem to consider her a very attractive child.

Today we drove about 90 minutes from here in Nanchang (3M people) to the smaller city (300K) of Fengcheng and saw the outside of the orphanage where Amy spent one night right after she was found. The director would not let us in to look around, perhaps because of increased Olympics security, perhaps because he didn't feel like it. However, we took pictures of the building and area, both of which are quite nice. Then we found the site where she was found at one day old -- the entrance to a busy building supply market. We were very eager to learn as much as we could about this part of her history, but being there felt very sad to me. About 20-30 people there crowded around to see us and hear our story, but no one claimed to know anything about her story when Tom explained it. Of course we took all the photos we could there, but it was very sobering.

This afternoon we're supposed to start getting a massive storm from typhoon Phoenix, which just came across Taiwan, we're told. Surprising it could come so far inland, but they say it happens. Right now it's mostly it's just very hot and very, very humid. John and I seem to be the only ones sweating through our clothes though!

There's a Walmart about a ten minutes walk from the hotel, so we have been able to find what we need -- gallons of bottled water, rice powder and formula, more diapers, etc. I managed to pantomime baby powder yesterday and several clerks eagerly teamed up to help us find it.

Probably will do some sightseeing tomorrow while we wait for her passport to be issued on Thursday or Friday. There are nice parks with small lakes, and loads of little shops. We're continually shocked at how inexpensive things like souvenirs are. The area is famous for its porcelain, but I don't know how much of that we can carry home!

Since Amy's been through several bottles already today (her eating is picking up dramatically in the last day or two), we're off to the hotel's buffet for dinner for us. . . .

Love to all,
B and J and A

She's Healthy and (Mostly) Happy

2008-07-28T02:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry that we did not post earlier but something has been keeping us (wonderfully) busy. Amy Jing-Wan is now officially part of our family and we are delighted.

On Sunday morning our two terrific guides, Tom and Jim, provided us the necessary distraction by taking us to the local temple and museum. It was great to learn more about Jiangxi province and Nanchang. This is a very important area of the world. Interesting enough to keep our mind somewhat away from our 3:00 appointment at the adoption offices. But finally our 3:00 appointment came and we entered a room full of other expectant parents. There were some babies being held by Chinese people but we couldn't tell who belonged to whom. An official came to us and asked us for our passport and then rather uncermoniously said "You can take your baby." For the next many hours Amy let us know that her lungs were very powerful. Jim and Tom were helpful but concerned that we would have our hands full. So were we but we came back to the hotel and eventually discovered that if we walk with her she remains quiet. If we stop... not so much. Last night we managed to get a bit of sleep with her resting beteween us. She got tired of resting around 3:00 in the morning and entertained us for about 90 minutes before we got to sleep again.

This morning we were escorted through the process by taking a series of taxi rides from government office to government office getting fingerprinted, paying fees, meeting with a judge and who knows what else. By the time that we comleted Amy's photo at the police station it was official. She is ours to love and cherish forever. We could not be happier.

Once back in our hotel room there was more walking around and then some more walking around.

Amy is in good health. She's not eating the full ration yet but she has bonded with us. She hugs us and moves toward us if there are strangers in the area. She's started cooing. The official report claimed she can crawl, but I think that is about a week or two away. She has some heat rash but we can deal with that. The temperature is very high as is the humidity.

Tomorrow we are off to Fengcheng - the town where Amy spent the first 9 months of life. We have been told that we will not see the inside of the orphanage (social welfare institute or SWI) or meet the foster family, but Jim and Tom seem to not have given up hope that we might be able to. At least we will visit the spot she was found and see the outside of the SWI and see the town.

It has been fascinating how wonderful and curious all the people have been in Nanchang. Before we had Amy we thought we were the most interesting creatures ever to have landed here. People kindly look at us with curious eyes and then once we say Ni How (hello) they respond with great interest and kindness. After we started traveling as a threesome, we have now confirmed that we are the most interesting creatures to have landed here. People stop us to take care of Amy, to say hello to us and in at least two cases to practice English with these creatuers from another land. It is a terrific experience that will always blanket our trip with a sense of joy.

Tune in tomorrow for the next chapter.

Thanks again for keeping us in your thoughts. We can feel it from across the miles.

Love,

John and Beth.

In Nanchang...

2008-07-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

TODAY'S THE DAY!!
After some rather major luggage problems (we did get it all last night at last) and two flights, we met our two wonderful guides, Tom and Jim, at the airport. The hotel is great, huge room and crib already. Off to the museum this morning, then to the orphanage office here in Nanchang at 3pm for THE big event. We hardly slept last night! Can't wait....

2008-07-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

We safely arrived in Hong Kong last night about 6:00 PM after a long, but uneventful flight. Our hotel is adjoined to the airport so we were able to walk to the check-in and get freshened up. We thought about taking the 24 minute train to downtown Hong Kong but decided that we were better off to save our energy for another day of flights today and more adventure in the following days. That’s not to say we weren’t a bit adventurous. We decided to eat in one of the airport restaurants. We boldly walked past the Spaghetti House and even Burger King before settling upon a Chinese fast food restaurant. Suffice it to say that sweet and sour pork in Hong Kong is not the same as we have experienced throughout the US. One of the two dishes was pretty decent. After this we felt that we deserved to share a chocolate doughnut at the airport Krispy Kreme. You gotta love the international economy! Our flight to Guangzhou this morning is a quick one, followed by a two hour layover and a moderate flight into Nanchang – our home for the next week.

We're Off!

2008-07-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

Today is the day. We are starting our journey at 1:00 this afternoon and get to Hong Kong at 6:00 tomorrow evening. With or without time zone changes this is going to be one very long trip. Bags are packed, documents checked and re-checked, and wonderful emotions are all stirred up. I think we're ready. Stay tuned for exciting details and pictuers as they become available.

This is also a good time to thank all of you who have been so supportive during our lengthy wait. Without your support this we may have never gotten to this point. Thank you.