Tuesday in Guangzhou

Today was a free day for us. We spent most of the day here around the Hotel while Louise went to pick up the medical results. The knot on the back of Ali's head is still there and now she has 2 more forming. I do not want to take her to the Dr. here but we are also scared to wait till we get back to the states. Her cold seems to be clearing up. Every time she sneezes clear snot comes out. She STILL will not sleep all night. I can't just let her cry herself to sleep. I don't want all the folks in the hotel thinking we are being mean s we walk, and walk, and walk, and change, and change, and change, and eat, and eat, and eat, lol get the picture? lol But when she wakes up in the morning with that great big ole smile...It just melts your heart!!!

I thought I wasn't feeding her correctly so I went on line and found that I was doing a pretty good job. She LOVES oatmeal and bananas and we have found that she does not care for the rice cereal or congy. She drinks formula or watered down apple juice. I brought some apple sauce and carrot baby food but she will not eat that either of them. We have learned to give her a FULL belly when we go eat breakfast and 7 times out of 10 she will sit and be good while we eat. We will feed her a little after we are done and then we will save the rest for her for later. Russ and I have ate pretty good everywhere we have been so far. I did get American fried chicken from Lucy's the other day...lol, it tasted more like Capiton D's! lol I had to de-bread it so I could eat it.

We went to a few more shops today here on the Island. I got some silk Christmas stockings to hang on the fireplace. I think the guy was upset because Russell wouldn't buy a watch from him, so I don't think he gave me a good price but I just loved them so I had to buy them. We found some "Made in China" t-shirts in this same shop. I am going to get Ali a pink one before we go home. We got an etching ordered for Ali and it should be ready on Thursday.

On our way back to the hotel there was some type of festival going on in the park close to the hotel. I think it was something to do with the Moon Festival. There were 2 Lions dancing at the gate of the entrance along with some drummers. The hotel is selling Moon Cakes and I am thinking about getting some mini cakes to bring back home with us. Russell said...YUCK! lol Russ & Ali got their photo taken again by a Chinese lady this time. You would think as many families come here for their adoption that the local people would know what a baby carrier is. All the people, Louise said, know we will be good parents because the Father is taking care of the baby and not the mother outside the home. She said it is the Mother who carries the children not the Father. While at the free market the other day a little ole lady came up and was telling Louise that we have a very lucky baby.

We have a very nice lunch in the hotel then walked it off, gave Ali a nap and then played. Then we went to do some "Fake" shopping. Russell got a Rolex and an Omega watch. It was way to crowed and hot for me and I was getting claustrophobic so we had to go. Poor Russ didn't get to shop very long. He was in Heaven with all those watches! For things like this I wish we had someone here with us. I can't go out in very crowded places like that as I get so so uneasy and I do not want Russell to go alone. I don't dare go someplace like that without Louise! lol Yes..call me a scaredy cat!

Last night we spent some time by the pool. Of course only one of us could swim. I took care of Ali so Russell could enjoy the pool. She couldn't get in the water with her cold. Don't want it to stay any longer!!

Consulate appointment is today. We have to stay in our room till 11 just in case Louise has to call for any reason. I think Russ was hoping to go with her. I know I was. I have no Idea what we will do today. I know I am ready to come home. I need MY CAR, MY BED, MY HOME, MY FAMILY & FRIENDS! Can you tell I miss you all! lol

Have a great day. Till next time...
Lisa, Russell, & Ali

Guangzhou Sunday and Monday . . .

Hi.

I am sorry that we didn't post an update yesterday. We went exploring around the Island and were a little tired.

Yesterday we got up and had our first breakfast down stairs. Wow, we learned to make sure for the rest of the week to get down there a little bit earlier than we did! IT WAS busy!

We walked around the hotel and found the Red Couch area and the play room. We took a few pictures of Ali in the play room. There is a piano in there that she likes to play with. She didn't last to long in there when we were there yesterday as it was getting close to nap time; and boy was she in need of one!! We tried to wear her out yesterday so she would sleep good. The last few nights she has been getting up about 3 am and she is in need of a diaper change, she is also wanting to eat, and wanting to play!

We found a lot of the same type shops. We did get a few things for Ali. She ended up with another CNY dress, 3 pr shoes (2 are squeeky shoes). While we were out shopping the staff in one store gave her a China flag and the staff in another store gave her a cross necklace. We went into Jordon's and he was so kind to write Alison's name in Chinese for us for free. I got a fan to fan myself off in this heat and this is where we got Ali's 3rd pr of shoes. When we got back to our room, Ali and I took a nap. While napping there was a knock on the door and there was Ali's barbie! That was a nice surprise to wake up to.

We walked almost the whole Island. We watched a few of the local's swimming in the river. There were a lot of photo shoots going on all over the Island. A few of them took a few pic's of Ali in Daddy's arms. I think they thought they were being sly..lol but I saw them. I would just smile and wave once they realized that I saw..lol they would wave back. We got a lot of "Happy Baby" from the older women. We only have so far experienced one rude person. It was a man who I guess didn't like the fact that we had Ali. Our guide wasn't with us, so I have no idea what the man said.

We had dinner at Lucy's. Well I should say, Russ had dinner at Lucy's. I had to box mine up and bring it back to the room. I still didn't get to enjoy it. Ali does not like to sit still very long at all.
She likes to be on the go and thankfully she loves the baby carrier. We face her out front and she loves to look at everything.

She didn't sleep very well last night. Ali has been taking a morning nap and an afternoon nap. I have been trying to get her down for sleep around 8pm. But she will wake up not long after she goes down. I even make sure she has a clean diaper and a full tummy. But, she will wake up with a very full diaper or still wanting more to drink. Last night it seemed like every time we turned around she was awake and I know the whole floor knew she was awake. She was screaming at the top of her lungs. She does have a cold and her poor nose is so runny. I have been giving her Tylenol and I am wondering if that's why she isn't sleeping well.

Today she had her medical exam. She is 15.9lbs, and I forget how long. The Dr said it sounds like she might have a heart murmur. He said she should grow out of it. The knot on the back of her head is still there, so it can't be from hitting her head. If it was that, it should be gone by now. It does seem to be smaller, but I really can't be positive on that. The Dr didn't say anything about it today. We are going to make an appointment with Dr Chambers as soon as we can once we get home to have her look at it.

After medical, we went across the street to the free market. I tell you, the smell of all the dried goods reminded me of a farm when the farmers are harvesting the hay. It smelled so fresh. Russ tried to get me to touch dried snake! NO WAY!! lol There are so many strange things that they dry and used for food or medical. I wanted to take some photo's but Louise said most of the locals do not like to have pictures taken, so I didn't even get the camera out. Once we left the free market, we came to a really nice street with upscale shopping and a very nice "town square". I did take pictures of that street.

Not much more going on tonight. We ordered lunch from Lucy's. Once again. Russell got to eat his food first while mine got ICE COLD! He told me this morning that I needed to eat fast so he could go get his food. NEVER ONCE HAVE I COMPLAINED when I let him go get his food first and let him eat while I cared for our daughter!! Sorry, I had to vent there! I don't think I have got to complete a meal with Ali glued to me body. lol She is a Momma's girl!

I think tonight we are just going to take it easy. We may go to the pool. Russell went down by himself last night while I tried to get Ali to sleep. Guess I will let Russell finish this so I can go take care of Ali. She is waking up from her nap.

A few videos....

Saturday Night Update

Hello,

We had another travel day today. We are now in Guangzhou, China. Ali did pretty good on her first plane ride. All was well until about 45 minutes into the flight. She started screaming and the only way to get her to stop was a warm bottle. She fell asleep after downing a full bottle and slept the rest of the flight and half way to the hotel. We are now at the White Swan. Very pretty hotel that caters to adoptive families. It is on an island next to the pearl river. The island was home to foreign consulates during the last century and has a welcome European feel to it. We had dinner tonight at Lucy’s bar. This is a bar that was recommended by lots of adoptive families as they serve American style food. Lisa ordered iced tea for the first time in two weeks. I have to admit I was jealous. It looked so good in that mason jar filled with ice. I quickly downed my coke and ordered me an iced tea also. First cold drink I have had in 2 weeks. We did not take any pictures today. Sorry. Tomorrow we have a free day and plan to venture out on the island as there are many shops and parks nearby. We will take lots of pictures then.

Soon after arriving at the hotel, Louise and I ventured out to the grocery store to pick up some baby formula. We took a taxi to the grocery store but found it very hard to get one back to the hotel. After trying unsuccessfully for about 30 minutes, we agreed to ride on a small “trike” motorcycle driven by an old man. It was an experience. Louise took a picture but I did not have a camera with me. Hopefully she will email me copy when she gets home. Here are some previous pictures from our trip and another one of Alison.

Enjoy,

Russ, Lisa, and Ali

Do you recognize the structure in the background?

What about this one?

Very crowded and rainy the day we visited the forbidden city, but much cooler.

My daddy Rocks!

One Last Post from Nanchang . . . .

We are up and ready to head to the airport.

Last night was a restless night. Russ and I can not wait to get home to have Ali on a regular schedule. Ali was up at 9 with a very wet diaper, then again at 12 because she was hungry..even after going to bed with a full tummy and 2 dry diapers. Then again at 1 and we have no idea why this time. And again at 3 to PLAY, then again at 6 wet and hungry. I hate sticking a bottle in her face every time she screams..but it helps!

We all got up this morning and got our showers and bath. Ali LOVES the bath. She likes to splash in the water. She didn't like it the very first day, I could not even get her to sit down and she would stiffen up and stand tall. But thankfully now she loves it.

We went down to breakfast and she did good. She sat in the high chair while Mommy and Daddy ate. As we were about to get ready to come back up to the room her face had turned beat red... yep.... Nasty poop! lol I think they are gonna have to put some air freshener in the elevator! hahaha

Now we are just sitting in the room waiting to head out to the airport. We will try to post when we get to Guangzhou. If we don't We will post in the morning.

Love you all..
Lisa, Russ, & Ali

Here are a few more photo's from yesterday.

A few videos....

Ali talking at Cafe Roma

Ali in Carrier

Teng Weng Pavillon

Out last full day and night in Nanchang.....

Well, today is our last day and night in Nanchang. We fly to Guangzhou in the morning.

We got Alison's passport today!!! We completed most of our paperwork for Guangzhou with Louise tonight. Not much left to do! We will have free time when we get to Guangzhou on Saturday and Sunday. Monday -- Ali has her Medical exam. Tues -- we get the results. Wed -- is consulate appointment. Thursday -- we swear her in. Friday -- we get her Visa. Sat -- we fly to Hong Kong, and Sunday we will fly home! We can not wait to get to the White Swan. I am so ready for Lucy's!!!

Today we went to the Teng Weng Pavilion on the river in Nanchang. All I can say was WOW! How Beautiful! Russ and I have enjoyed all the sights we have been to. The Chinese are very good when it comes to building beautiful buildings.

If there is one job in all of China to admire..It would be a Taxi driver! I tell you what...those people have a very stressful job! But... they will get you to where you are headed and as fast as they can! Don't be a slow poke in front of a Chinese Taxi driver. Before he passes you he will lay on the horn and let you know you are IN THE WAY! lol

Russ and I had KFC for dinner tonight. I tell you what...One of the best Chicken sandwiches I have had in a very long time. But SPICY!!! lol I wanted to take a picture of the bag but I didn't get a chance to before we packed everything up.

Oh.... Guess what!!??!! Ali crawled today!!!!! Monday she would scoot backwards, she could not get herself to go forward....BUT TODAY!!! She crawled across the bed to get me! When Louise came in to get our paper work ready and I was telling her about it; so naturally we had to show her..and Ali did it again!! She is one smart little girl! We were so excited to see her crawl!

Nanchang Thrusday, August 26, 2010

Today was a very nice day in Nanchang. It was in the high 80's, but it wasn't very hot today.

We got out of the hotel today and went porcelain shopping. There is a piece here in the hotel that I fell in love with for Ali but Louise said I could find it cheaper in town; Louise was right we did find it cheaper in town. I also got a plate for Ali. Russell found a porcelain tea mug for himself. We went into a tea shop and had some Miracle tea. It was pretty good! We had a VERY NICE DINNER!! We went to Cafe Roma which is the restaurant we wanted to go to last night. I have to say...THE BEST ITALIAN I HAVE EVER HAD ANYWHERE!! EVER!! Well Ali is getting restless and it is almost bed time for her.

We will post more tomorrow!!

Love ya...
Lisa, Russell & Ali

August 25th in China. . . .

Once again we didn't do much today.

We were ALL going to go to Wal-Mart yesterday but after breakfast someone thought she should take a morning nap. So Russ and Louise went to get some juice and diapers for Ali while I watched her sleep. She woke up right before they walked in the door from the store. She always wakes up crying; but this is probably due to the fact that she ALWAYS wet when she wakes up, so after a fast diaper change she is all smiles. I shouldn't say always, sometimes she already has a big ole smile on her face! She is such a sweet baby!

Russell wanted to go to a bike shop he and Louise past when he got back so I decided to go for a walk with him. We got to the bike shop and looked around. He got a VERY good deal on a bike jersey and bike shorts. lol When we got back to the room Russell tried to try them on and the shorts would not even go over his hips! lol So we are going to exchange them today when we go out. It is so hot here I started feeling sick and got very uncomfortable so we turned around and came back to the hotel. I knew Russ was upset with me but he never said a word. When I get like that he knows to just do what I need to do or I get a nervous tummy!!!

There is an Italian Restaurant and a French Restaurant in town owned by the same (I think American) chef who married a local girl. We were going to go out to dinner last night but someone decided to go to sleep VERY early so we ended up ordering a pizza from the hotel.

Because SOMEONE went to sleep early last night, SOMEONE woke up in the middle of the night wet and hungry. I think it took about and hour and a half for BOTH us to put her back to sleep. Good thing I took a nap with her yesterday!! lol

Today we are going to go to a few porcelain shops and then Louise has to go pay the Notary. Tomorrow we get Ali's passport! Then Sat we fly to Guangzhou. Sat and Sunday will be free days for us in Guangzhou. Monday starts the last leg of our trip. It is hard to believe I have a Baby!! SOMEONE PINCH ME!! lol

Here are some pic's from our day!

Love & Miss you all so much!
Lisa, Russ and Ali

Morning update. . . .

Got the following e-mail from Lisa:

Ali just woke up...WE HAVE POOP!! lol Never been so excited to see poop before! Lol

To which I replied:

YEAHHHHHHH that is great news. I know that Ali has to feel better and that Momma and Daddy are happy too.

I just wanted to double check to see if this is a post that you wanted me to put on the blog???

To which Lisa replied:

Sure...post away! Hahaha

To which Russ replied:

lol Russ said "Sorry No pictures" hahaha

You just gottta love Poo Poo humor.

Love from China....

Well, I don't know what I did different yesterday thnt the day before. But Alis slept through the night with out waking up with an upset tummy! She and Daddy are still sound asleep. It's about 5:30 am here.

Yesterday was a nice quiet day in the hotel. We did a little exploring in the Hotel. We tried Ali in the stroller but it didn't last very long! haha Maybe about 15 minutes or so. She played a lot today.

Here are a few things she had done today... Roll around like crazy, she can get up on her hands and knees. She is trying to crawl but for now she just scoots herself backwards. So it will not be long till she is on the move!! I put her in the crib to play and she pulled herself up on her knees her legs are still a little wobbly. She kept on and on till she got up on her feet for just a few seconds! I think she was proud of herself. She just grinned like ..Haha, Look what I just did! Then she fell to her knees (LOL) it was so funny just watching her.

So far all her diet is, is formula...what the orphanage told us she was drinking, and Apple juice mixed with water. I brought some baby food - carrots and apple sauce- she does not like either one! I brought some puffs and she likes them okay but she got a little choked up both times I tried to give her some, so she isn't getting any more of those till she is a little older. I bought this really neat feeding thing that you put fruit or other types of food in and it is supposed to help them get introduced to other foods. We put a small piece of banana in it yesterday and she tore that up, she loved it. But it makes a big ole mess. At least I know now that we can use that. I did give her some pourage yesterday morning with some sugar in it. She loved it! Her diet from what we were told was formula, juice, egg, fruit, and a few other things I can't remember right now. I was like, there is no was she can be eating eggs. I gave her a few small bites at breakfast Monday morning and she knew what she was eating and she would open her mouth before I could get the fork to her mouth! Like feeding a little bird! haha

She is such a good baby. I know I keep saying that but she is always full of smiles and laughter.
She keeps us smiling! Russell has taught her how to do raspberries! So she will stick out that tongue and just spit she thinks it is so funny. Then she gets Daddy doing it to her and she will keep doing it back to him. To funny!

If it doesn't rain today we are going to try to get out. BUT, if it is still too hot Russell and Louise will go out and Ali and I will stay in. We need to get a few things from Wal-Mart and go shopping for a few gifts for Ali. There is a figurine down stairs in the gift shop I am going to get if we can not find one in town cheaper. It is a little girl sitting on an ox. She was born in the year of the ox so I thought that was just perfect. I know I will be going home with that for sure!

Being locked up in the hotel has been wonderful. Getting to know Ali and she getting to know us has been perfect.

Oh, I almost forgot... Last night Russell got his Beijing Duck! lol The hotel serves it in the Chinese restaurant. Oh my gosh..it was so yummy! Although we didn't get to stay very long at the restaurant, we did have enough time to enjoy it. Someone was getting sleepy! The girls in the wait staff had a ball with Ali. The girl that waiting on us, saw that I was having a time eating and dealing with Ali, so she came and held Ali so I could eat. Then ALL the girls came over and goo-ed and gah-ed over her. But they had to ask if she was a boy or girl..lol SHE HAD ON PINK!! lol She loved the attention! There was a play area for children so they brought her a few balls to play with also. She got lots of hugs!

Not much else going on. Thanks for ALL the helpful advice from everyone!!

Love you all!!

Lisa, Russ & Ali

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

No pic's on this post.

Last night was a LONG night. Ali woke up at least 3 times with a sour tummy. She has not pooped at all yet. Should I give her a suppository? What do you do when they wake up with a sour tummy? Okay all you Mom's help me out here!! I did give her some apple juice mixed with water sometime during the night. I think that kinda helped...till she woke up again. But this time she didn't wake up screaming bloody murder, she woke up with a great big ole smile and wanted to play! So I let her play while I acted like I was sleeping. I hoped she would settle down and fall back to sleep...BOY WAS I WRONG! haha

The last time she got up and wouldn't go back to sleep Russell got up and took care of her so I could get some rest. He was up with her for quite a while before he got her back to sleep. She is still asleep as I type this but she is starting to squirm around and whimper. So she will be awake soon. Russell went to down for some breakfast so that when she gets up I will be able to eat today when Ali and I go down for breakfast! lol

Nothing on the docket today just gonna stay here at the hotel. We are not going to be able to go to the orphanage or to Poyang to see her finding place. We did however get the complete newspaper with her finding add in it. We have a NEWBORN PICTURE!! I am very excited about that! We are bummed that we don't get to go to her home city but we are okay with it too. We do know where she was found and have the name of the person who found her so at least we have something.

Ali has been such a very good baby girl and she really only cries when she is wet or hungry. She does have a big ole knot on the back of her head. It looks like she may have fell or hit her head before they gave her to us. It does appear to be going down. Our guide said if it doesn't go down anymore soon, she is going to take us to the hospital to have it looked at. Well, Russ is back from breakfast. I guess I will get dressed and go down to eat while Ali is still asleep. Depending on what we do today will depend on a post later on today.

Love, Lisa

Monday, August 23, 2010 - Continued

We have been playing a lot today. Here are some snap shots that I took today that Russ and I just love.... Had to share!

Monday, August 23, 2010 - Civil Affairs

Today Russ and I got up and had breakfast. It wasn't as good as the hotel in Beijing. Ali had a few bites of egg and a bottle. After breakfast we met Louise down stairs and went across the street to the Civil Affairs office to complete some things for the Chinese side of the adoption. Gosh it was HOT in there! Once we did all that, we had to go to a Notary office and get everything certified.

Such a sweet smile.

We came back to our room and Ali took a nice nap. When she woke up we played a little and then we went and had lunch in the hotel. They said western style...but it was all Chinese! Needless to say, I am still hungry. I am going to be a trooper and not complain much about that!!! Now we are back in the room. Ali is getting spoiled! We can not even put her down! lol If we try, she cries! We both want to take a nap, but Ali has other plans for us right now. hahaha We are loving every minute of it though. That's about it for today. We are just going to take the rest of the day and rest up as much as we can. It is so hot here, and so we don't want to get Ali out in this heat if we don't have to. Russell has been putting her in front of the mirror and she loves it. She has quite the personality! She is pretty much a very happy baby. She only cries when we are changing her diaper or at bath time. That's about it for today.

Love... Lisa, Russ, & Alison