tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2113764606006468392024-03-13T23:09:05.365-04:00Road to Number FourFollow us on the last leg of our journey to get our #4.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-75538423437290966692008-07-05T16:41:00.001-04:002008-07-05T16:43:04.227-04:00MovingThis will be my last post at this site. Please feel free to follow us to the old/new blog <a href="http://acdbeach.blogspot.com/">The Complete Set</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-33875958978477172412008-07-02T18:48:00.002-04:002008-07-02T18:57:09.327-04:00Going BackI am getting ready to return to my original blog. I just need to get the new heading ready since, as Julie said at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Hong</span> Kong airport "You've found your number four!". I am planning the switch on the anniversary of us officially becoming four. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Annika</span> Day was on May 26 but we weren't all back together until June 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">th</span> so I will switch over one July 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span> (or there about). I will post the link as the final post on this blog. Please feel free to follow us back to the old/new spot.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-9977164720669817152008-06-29T19:09:00.006-04:002008-06-29T19:38:12.645-04:00Our WeekWe had a pretty lazy summer week. Alex started reading camp and we took our first trip to the beach. We have been together as a family of four for a month and three days (although David was gone on business trips for two of those weeks). Annika is settling in well and making progress. <div><ul><li>She is starting to roll and has so far got herself underneath the recliner and the coffee table. She hasn't quite figured out that she can use it as a way to get from one place to another but is enjoying getting around.</li><br /><li>She likes to lay on her stomach and play with her toys. I guess it is easier to work things over when they are stabilized on the floor and you can get a good look at them.</li><br /><li>She really enjoys eating things that you can chew. She discovered peas tonight. She also enjoys potatoes, crackers, bananas, and the Graduates diced pears. She is not feeding herself yet, but is trying really hard to get the hang of it. She is getting closer everyday to picking those puffs up with her fingertips.</li><br /><li>She is a big time bouncer. She LOVES the jumper. She likes to really get going and then pick her feet up so she just bounces for awhile.</li><br /><li>She has started standing with assistance. She also likes to bounce up and down by bending and straightening her legs.</li></ul><p>She has an appointment to get evaluated by early intervention this week. I don't know that she will qualify but figured it was worth the effort to try just in case. I don't think you should pass up the opportunity for free help.</p><p>We went to the beach on Friday afternoon. Alex played in the sand with some kids while Annika and I relaxed on the blanket. The water was too cold, 54 degrees, to really do much swimming but it was a beautiful afternoon (besides the fact that it started trying to rain about 30 minutes before we left).<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217448873742762050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3EO21L301qzzNR-OvbUeVPJSIZ7h80Sxo9UcT49oRTZrWe7jMXZ5Cy8QKrYNxY9ebeoqPgXtgVtgwuIcVhEE2ZK_WxlFf7-3ofeQreR0-ghUOkseEKt5xTL8Oe4864GxkyW5ny5dUTum/s320/004.JPG" border="0" /></p></div><p>This is the results of Alex's first attempt to feed his sister by himself. You'll be happy to know that some of it did end up in her stomach as well.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217448871844144802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPdzmzRt8a9LGu-XAS3k9-eWfYGfZqIS1ws9B_UBFz0yQb6YCeYR72wNo3adkWuc48rX-iTD02Mdf99Xsiyya6gpO5ymuAxTPWXJ-NoUEaZe7d331HXwzZNcB7vtLzefArejxCvxm9chL/s320/beach.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>Not only do life guards watch out for drowning victims and sharks, they also serve as photographers for beach goers. I wasn't sure how we would get a picture of the three of us together and than the life guard walked by.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217449487528538738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Jymf72nJ3EWJWYI4OmTORkQe1ut_vbDoLvEGbIYy-XKH3cjfOld-h2zn-Gylv35iiY-T9i7H025h0gZMRb63rqaiVY72bhGsO-8y5SeBpdIS4LCkCHeouOlXdzWl_lIYp4dQoAiJ1HKZ/s320/beach2.jpg" border="0" /></p><br /><p></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217448886672274610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWwfYxG-f4UNe_nNUfGhL9HcjYNPRwh4b1bZtYxDm1R9oK4tQPL2Bzy1vRsoU83dcy8s-IuFoFJtZ6UYf4oJM_2pAtGagiDBcItc7sBBo9gZjlD2by0x6OQ_3gPbBP5IoGfs2an-makjt/s320/028.JPG" border="0" /></p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217451094249483586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVOcOhSApJ6GU6mT6Ehuo2qKGgqz2syfKcB2W63pkgGUzhgvibbFUtOON32V8APYBOg2NMKl6upI3LizGap7rt9_xFf-z8J7F-CZ2efnQ0yNcm6HhAG6JMRXf1nmd6awu8jzN4LfLHc3r/s320/016.JPG" border="0" /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217451107067724162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpv-DkS5nkOb1TlOZA1s7r2il9ySN0KM2TsRUUUozvldl-FrSgtdcqCKVWP3GywpKJNPfgq1kH7X6Qu9Y7bpSLalD6iHMxUM2bkWNKHTKcUFlTfEX65HMN8jtzjm_5enkb7AjR-I0AhTdi/s320/037.JPG" border="0" />He always brings the boogie board but doesn't use it since the water is freezing.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-50649245216517801892008-06-25T22:19:00.005-04:002008-06-25T22:44:34.569-04:00Mid Sommer<div align="center"> Last Saturday we went to a Mid Sommer party at the house of some friends down in Massachusetts. It was fun. There was some frog dancing (kind of like the Swedish chicken dance) around the maypole and singing and lots of good food. There were also several families who had adopted from China. There were children from about 12 years old down to 8 months. We spent the afternoon on a blanket in the shade with a family from our travel group (whose daughter is looking LOVELY, by the way. It is amazing what some good food and alot of love can do.) So anyway, I know you only come here for the pictures so her she is (I couldn't decide so I just posted a bunch with a bonus Alex at the end. David only got a couple of him because he was busy being chased by girls the entire party so he was hard to catch).</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216010580051343522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMggH93fj_a0NhqgDYdKZibM8b8lhF_SU1WUd1p6ZqC9efub77hkuMax-aiU2ANwXgHzmhiq-SVT_feV2_xKVAaeoDhcI4moFud-TBbm-cxMyEis-rE4kVU4tEitpErvxsf5SrYF53Ayiz/s320/annikasummer1.jpg" border="0" />Check out the piggies!!! I still haven't mastered the placement yet, but at least they are looking less like antennae. Now she just ends up looking like her head is tilted to one side all of the time. She has now started to cry when I am just finishing up the first one. I don't think it hurts, I think she just knows they are lopsided with a horrible part and is embarrassed.<br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216010135678562178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXed3t20M7EggrrK1pa-nc1pUFrgpzSBCkQlvKNUbZ6DuUuD3n9L5Ik0qrojH3G6iG6pMTHjlMmoXhtO-CerA6b_ru7XJqUzM_a5l11oXkNfzU9vMtXjQUkP9rZB0s-vU2xQxnqFVTqJR/s320/annikasummer5.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p align="center">She really is pretty damn cute isn't she??? Can you see how I can't get anything done around the house???? Who has time to clean up when you could be kissing these cheeks??? Ya'll haven't even seen the full four tooth grin and the yucky face yet, they'll really do you in. </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216015175587579890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVSxOmZVl3k4d-Ho1pprAUD6BDo_NjrNwW3zbgK7RLYq3YrSaVGtX1AM8dgNcuoTDhE7lCbqKsCl4ps43RqK0FkQYXiK_iz4RxICh-mg6deEOyqB6NwPLlgFktsx3esIxPZWNb-D_p0CPm/s320/annikasummer7.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"></p><p align="center">This is face has a couple of possible meanings. She has either seen something very interesting that she would really like to get closer to (we see LOTS of interesting things) and check out or she sees a man off in the distance who is not paying attention to her and she is trying to get his attention. She is very interested in men, especially if they have facial hair or wear glasses. She loves the pediatrician because not only does he wear glasses, he also has a goatee and mustache and wears a bow tie. She even overlooks the fact that he keeps digging obnoxious amounts of wax out of her ears every time we visit. (Check out that wonderful part between the piggies, I really need to practice)</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216010580561932018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzb7UMKpaIbKFRsNo6ii6zgt6EuQFyii64zmKJFlcDktUAIgWiwRjT3byOtDrp-TBQQpaXkvDIsi0W95gblVezQWm5zhYFF1MZ5ODDEKHRkq-IFZBWnGJbsY9cnJk8T9nD47iinHgIeVl/s320/annikasummer10.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216010143345755954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUWQFSpXXKjqWINwlWHswtcKp8Bk-zvxboP7OAfGF9RX5QY-0V59umxWW7LWxDQBiC4dVyT7sfji9mnW_idalpTPqgBacldGBFTbPyBuaFw2nLOecvpWmFBnho5mDcWC_X4ATan0OOaMm/s320/alexsummer1.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">And here is handsome brother, probably thanking his lucky stars that he has briefly escaped from the girls who were after him for most of the afternoon.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-89222351108229097672008-06-22T22:39:00.003-04:002008-06-22T23:10:13.516-04:00The FlightI want to go back and post about some of the memorable things that happened to us while we were on our trip. One of the most memorable was the flight from Nanchang to Guangzhou. The flight is supposed to be like an hour and a half long (SUPPOSED TO BE). We got to the airport fine, had no weight issues when checking our baggage, and made it through security without a hitch. When we got to our gate, there were several other families there who where not in our travel group. It seems that the airline booked out group of 14 families and another group of 11 plus one single family all on the same flight. We all thought it would be so neat, a plane full of babies. Well, the trouble started when we got in line to board. For some reason the line stopped moving. There was quite a commotion at the front of the line. The other travel groups guide was yelling at the airline staff at the gate for some reason. Our (wonderful) guide threw her hands in the air and went to sit down while the other guide continued to argue with this extremely short man (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ESM</span>; he was even short for a Chinese person) from the airline. It turned out that they had too many babies on the flight and they were not going to let us board. After much more arguing from the other guide, they finally decided it would be okay.<br /><br />So we get on the plane and all of the non-adoption people are at the front and all of the adoption people are in the back. Okay, not big deal. WRONG!!!!! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ESM</span> approaches the other guide and more arguing in mandarin ensues. Eventually the other guide comes on the speaker system saying that there can only be 24 babies on the flight so two families are going to have to volunteer to leave the plane. Two families quickly volunteer and we are ready to roll. WRONG!!!!!! Seems they have some rule that there can only be one infant per row on airplanes. I don't know if this is only applicable in China or a rule everywhere, but it nearly started a riot on our plane. Like I said before, we were arranged so that ALL of the adopting families were in the back of the plane. The flight attendants started going through row by row rearranging people. Asking for volunteers to switch seats so that there would be only one baby per row. We were one of the first families to be moved. As we went to the front, a man laid into our (wonderful) guide. I don't know what they were saying (all in mandarin of course), but they had to be physically separated, and all of the women were patting our (wonderful) guide on the arm as she moved to the back to get another family.<br /><br />As you can imagine, everyone was starting to get a little bit irritable and this is when the yelling started. We were in the 3rd or 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">th</span> row, pretty much in the middle of the fray. A rather large man behind us started in on one of the flight attendants shortly after we sat down. It is kind of scary to be in an airplane surrounded by people yelling angrily when you don't have any idea of what they are saying. I didn't know if they were mad at us or the airlines at first. Eventually the large, yelling man said it wasn't us it was them and pointed at the flight attendants. The man who went after our (wonderful) guide told me that he really commended us for what we were doing but we should have planned our flights better. I had already decided that I did not like him very well after his original argument. I told him that it was the airline that had screwed up the reservations because we were two separate groups of families. He just turned around and didn't say anything else.<br /><br />After the yelling stopped, they gave us a boxed meal of a roll, grape tomatoes (which we were all deathly afraid of because they couldn't be peeled), a small bottle of water, a small packet of (what I later found out were) pickles, and a piece of sponge cake (evidently something that I did not know was a Chinese specialty before our trip). We then had to sit in the plane for about 45 minutes because there was bad weather in Guangzhou. We ended up being 3 hours late arriving.<br /><br />We later found out that the arguing match between the other guide and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">ESM</span> was as intense as the commotion that we experience in the front of the plane.<br /><br />The most amazing part was that all of the babies behaved wonderfully. It was the first airplane flight for most of them. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Annika</span> ate some cake and then fell asleep. The yelling didn't even seem to irritate her. A lot of people were down to their last diaper and low on formula by the time we landed, but everyone made it in one piece with no meltdowns. The White Swan seemed even more wonderful after that experience.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-22963094834012959792008-06-20T21:54:00.003-04:002008-06-20T22:06:14.058-04:00GO TO SLEEPIt is currently 9:54 pm and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Annika</span> is still going strong. She usually crashes around 8. I don't know what her problem is this evening. She had a serious case of the sillies from 8 until I decided to give up and put her in the pack and play at 8:50. She had a bottle about 20 minutes ago and is currently laying smashed up against my leg (she moved from the middle of the bed until she was comfortable snuggled in) alternating between waving her right arm as fast as she can back and forth in from of her face and kicking her legs straight up in the air. She is seriously fighting sleep. She has been doing great for the last few days, going down around 8, waking up for about 20 minutes at 4:30<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ish</span> for a bottle, and then up for good between 7:30 and 8.<br /><br />The poor thing has been cooped up in the van for the last couple of days as we have ran back and forth between where we live and where I work. She is definitely more of a stay at home girl and gets tired of the car seat after awhile. (Now, here we go with the fake cough) I can't wait until next week when we can really work on a schedule. We only had one full day at home this entire week, the rest either involved commitments at Alex's school or little things I needed to do at my school before the end of the year.<br /><br />Well, I'm gonna go see if I can wrestle her into submission. I almost win and then she does the full four tooth grin and wrinkles her nose and we start over. UGHHHHH!!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-75818479188998384702008-06-14T13:14:00.003-04:002008-06-14T17:12:16.201-04:00All Night Long (Updated)I forgot to mention in the big post that Ms. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Annika</span> Lin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">LuMu</span> slept through the entire night. And to top it off, she didn't get up until 6 am instead of the obnoxious time of 4:30 which she had been favoring.<br /><br /><span style="color:#6666cc;">I have been telling everyone all day that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Annika</span> finally slept through the night and just now David told me that she woke up at 2:30 and drank a bottle. I don't know how I slept through that.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-16547038538755319272008-06-14T12:19:00.008-04:002008-06-14T12:47:25.525-04:00The Week in Review<div><div>I wrote a real long post on Thursday night and some how it didn't end up posting or saving on Blogger. Don't know exactly what happened there, so I am trying again.<br /></div><div>We had a very busy week and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Annika</span> is doing new things everyday. Here are a few things that we learned about her this week.</div><ul><li>She loves to swim. We took her to the pool at the Y on Wednesday evening and she thought it was pretty cool. She tries to put her face in and loves to be pulled around on her stomach while she kicks her legs.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211779090924284690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnQ8aMJc0fIER6abrLGklP8on5JyhV1WtN-yVGByim6RVnI_58LKVbNmSQ_1Q12rjg6-HD56S09p2LoJh_HdjRBdUt1wWQbuALLBfZzlQysmLN1drHZH1XMNl0AVlgHwGu-3Tp04UMCsR/s320/027.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211779099608067874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPb53PcsyXmlZqiiX4YWJZ0QH8IRYv7YyYDmDTEDZXP7-6moHKVUtcBbpaUm6kI4H5tKnU9aVNDksX6cTaYmptafxzhfs519HUtlGZ5-e66o8pDpgYhnKDRRAMAGwBpUmOe4qwcZ2jpWb/s320/028.JPG" border="0" /></li><li>She doesn't like to share Mom's lap. Alex got into my lap while I was holding her and she started to whine and try to push him away with her feet. She smiled really big when he got up. Alex says that she is going to have to get over it because he is not going to start sitting in my lap. </li><li>When she doesn't want to eat something, she refuses to open her mouth. She is not a fan of fruit and will not drink anything but formula from a bottle. If you try to give her either of those things, she tightly closes her lips and refuses to open her mouth. Sometime she will even shake her head back and forth.</li><br /><li>She is starting to roll over more and is able to sit for longer periods of time. She loves to jump and really enjoys the jumper that a friend let us borrow.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211776894025848818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWrtQELnuUGae-tjNNdwMmpqJ6J2Um7u90AlhyphenhyphenhcpllIieOTU67Uyr7URPk5MXnuKwR5G8oHalQlncI0RSbgJBMfvjuxekPRyntUHV_ZP7k373_qyf0isAi3UoyAg9yZ6VsEF9GMHVw1-/s320/011.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><li>One of her favorite things is a good stretch. After she wakes up or has been sitting (in her car seat or stroller) for a long time, nothing is better than to lay down and stretch. </li><br /><li>She loves to look at things upside down. She is always flopping her head over when you carry her. She started this in China and is just doing it more and more. She has discovered ceiling fans and likes ceilings that have patterns on them.</li><br /><li>She still loves her brother and really enjoys their play time every afternoon when he gets home from school. They play on a blanket on the floor in the living room.</li><br /><li><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Annika</span> really likes television. I have figured out that when she watches it she will let me do things to her hair. I have done really bad piggy tails the last two mornings. It is kind of hard to get them even when you do them from behind and above. I definitely need some more practice.</li></ul><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211778362503612146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EgrHHQsboJq8cKiylxwjeugsHthY60_9kxUfVafn8BYdHaRoIkcHhtWDpp7vYmEijxteH8MoutuZInRgCuqiD1kD6JYhHTit-Jn0FJy1w51BEA6BPbgHLcLBV-P7xwJpru9R8xz7I3sN/s320/044.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p>Alex had two fun events at school this week. Thursday was field day. We stopped by for a little while and it really looked like fun. He wanted to introduce everyone to his sister. On Friday, they had a wax museum of famous Americans. Each student had been researching a famous American. For the museum, they each dress as their person and then stood behind their desks. You would push a circle on the desk and they would raise their heads and tell about who they were and then put their heads back down. It was really neat. Alex was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Thurgood</span> Marshall (the first black supreme court justice). We have been calling him <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Thurgood</span> for the last few days. He looked really cute in his costume. He only has 4 and a half more days of school and then it is summer vacation. He can't wait.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211777831993989874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6RALmWWBMq5l9ofUz9NVykm9INexfjCcHTa721Bj_6RgcT_BZakMdBg7osWA_HrSPIHnuanq5oVSK3gyp4tCsKGnPBFL1NJTeeuoRFqNzmkCZk0nU3mDrJ1np_JQb790cBfm3CwmCxz5R/s320/045.JPG" border="0" /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-64281500905056788582008-06-10T14:12:00.005-04:002008-06-10T14:20:23.429-04:00Our Little Peanut<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPbHiqdSa2hQ0ihhlceLOgaUzaQkKO4uC_Mp7xtnyZ8zj18gZJK3uRJqubduAff5mCj3LTb_ZYEp0kXGHmXwp5X8noAdkAr6svbAmJrqe64BfkYz8k5GozaM4LWQJujLRxSo71aAuESRt/s1600-h/331.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210318520807179522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPbHiqdSa2hQ0ihhlceLOgaUzaQkKO4uC_Mp7xtnyZ8zj18gZJK3uRJqubduAff5mCj3LTb_ZYEp0kXGHmXwp5X8noAdkAr6svbAmJrqe64BfkYz8k5GozaM4LWQJujLRxSo71aAuESRt/s320/331.JPG" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Annika</span> had her first doctor's appointment this morning. She is 27 1/2 inches long and weighs in at 15.3 lbs. When she had her physical done in Guangzhou, they said that she weighed 6.9 kg (which is 15.2 lbs). I think their scale was wrong (the one in China) because she is getting all sort of rolls and dimples that weren't even there when we got home so we know she is gaining weight. Plus she is eating everything that is put in front of her and lots of it. People can't believe how little she is when they see her in person. We took a picture with the bear that Alex built her to give everyone <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">something</span> to compare her too. She is currently wearing 6-9 month clothes. <div> </div><div>We also had the fun experience of getting lab work done. I really hope they got all they needed today and we don't have to do that again any time soon. They had to draw out of both arms to get what they needed. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-4879931059542862822008-06-08T16:01:00.006-04:002008-06-08T16:25:59.878-04:00Misc. Pictures and Chinese Baby FoodHere are some miscellaneous pictures of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Annika</span> from our last day in Guangzhou and our trip home.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209604974441180418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtIXSkdLCu4PfYUjMpGe1OMS9VCLfREGp_AaKI7YngAHmVnF9-p2aXVoHQBulE-lBxVxOJWquFKiRgixBar6xSw4rFHe44puMjo8_VmcrGPcxgnahDNGyivwS_C3db_3wdUya3WgzOd-e/s320/238.JPG" border="0" />Over a business lunch at Lucy's, David asked <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Annika's</span> opinion of the latest email we received from the office. I missed her laying her chin on the table as she concentrated on the screen. She loves the Blackberry almost as much as Daddy, although her favorite things are the pictures of the cute Chinese baby and the big brother. Any time David took it out she would angle her head so she could check out the screen.<br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209605983724364978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4CUjSHtrEEYVaKbdMVgY_GRjpBlV4oW0dD49ll8zhRnt2LS6jlASdY1JsBKMR3svwljAWy1YtypP4exWcvPgmTqXHOu0pI3f9c1WfXgVB6Hbwb6HUyE-5eIJHPYqHcCNkAPQgk1z6llx/s320/244.JPG" border="0" /> <div>It's much easier to get a good Red Couch picture when there aren't 16 other screaming, squirming babies and your in a comfy dress.</div><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209603815342257490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJleTCeQaCikhj6gMxU0gVGyzct-mSzplXsNY8-A8Vb9-tDmuo_kx2mnuZTSiWxnG50rJsizZvdNBP3vaOPxIQBZq2oekuyJ1Qy43hloQCugdLslHWF6tbw4tyEBHj7GXH7GJ2vp4xWT3x/s320/253.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>"Hey Mom, quit taking my picture and get me out of this box they call a bassinet. I'd much rather be sleeping on Dad right now." Everyone recommended getting one of these things on our way home. First of all, they had a very hard time anchoring it into the wall so that made me a little nervous. Secondly, they placed a cardboard box like you would sort mail into in an office mail room into for her to sleep in. The male flight attendant was going to just leave it at that, but the female attendant filled it with pillows and put a blanket over the top of them. She woke up as soon as we laid her in it. We didn't even bother to ask for one on the flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209605987260234274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUUH538JcPUurdAEkIACfP8D9t6yOAnVDiSdhH70S7kPqRSsF7EYkG0yKVeE4yvNUxqfRyuxOhihvb1Sfq81yalL30b9Vjhm5ChJ7rwzZL5HasVVlTlfVzidnAl0_Zq4bC-cxgOS1a-yV/s320/254.JPG" border="0" /></p></div><br /><p>I wanted to take our little American citizens picture as we came out of customs, but four carry-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ons</span>, a stroller, and three large suitcases made it a little difficult, so I waited until we got to the lounge area to take her first picture in America. She insisted on getting dressed up for the occasion, even wanted to wear her new shoes with the roses on the toes. Who am I to argue. </p><p>So on to baby food. Be sure that you don't have any baby food that contains meat products when you go through customs. They confiscated our last bottle. It was marrow and vegetables and I wasn't going to feed it to her anyway because how gross does that sound!!!! They were concerned because they weren't sure what kinds of bones it came from (no one could read <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Mandarin</span>) I also ended up with a bottle of shrimp and vegetable baby food (I know some people that would have serious panic attacks over that one). It was in a three pack that wasn't labeled in English on the outside of the packaging and went directly into the trash once I saw what was in it. So two important lessons on baby food from China (1) read the small English label very carefully before using (although there are helpful pictures on the front of the jars as well) and (2) don't take meat foods through customs (although I think they are mainly worried about poultry).</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-17560802834749421012008-06-08T15:03:00.007-04:002008-06-08T16:00:04.174-04:00First Haircut<div align="center"> We took Annika to get her first haircut yesterday. Her hair is incredible. It is long and thick and gets really stinky when she is sweaty. We couldn't do anything with it so we decided the best thing to do was get a trim. The woman who cut it is related to the author of Daughters from Afar (have never read it). Here are some before, during, and after shots.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209592585424690754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyczZh-TV14ti_ZcaB4dl_yeKH22e5LrHcT3eNvcUKLki58IYWdEobh3Ws-Ttjg6A-q4mH0T_4ag6TdpyfEGvXcP_QFDJ3QPBaYZiall2RhsFm4RriCTVhyhbVp0ePBVf5tyYBCZW38VO/s320/351.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center"> Before the big cut.<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209601299548591858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj40BJ3NRzBBin6nCWLyMnVKKnIfl81-w2jPih2fI-tju93XJOjMd3uGr3PFDCMBcJSHsdirk-xxer8f1tdDOyg9Fvm2AE1mz2XTf4_JD6pjoZG8atna1AscF3ilCgmE896zYQMVpqV4Bzp/s320/258.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center"> We needed a few Cheerios for make it through. (Notice how small her head looks next to my hand)<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209602006715583330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82ymhdhlNbv-gnZwZCKCllayatz9cLyYDkDKLKFO3sZCMmr5zo4h041WVfSlqnh8K1vsTpO8gfv3Mg4rgJo32tTW2sJ8FbkugOlEZTqdDpHlKmyiI4OVDdrujE7Qq4XqpYmjCuBwEutHM/s320/262.JPG" border="0" /><br />We made it through with just a few tears (mainly when it came to the bangs).</p><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209602013157120114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHr7n0oakaZICcY-xghJyQHYxrTHOAJ6v3YvZShKm-c7tiHr8UjEfcQ-Q-TXlPVl2AbnVmeigF0PaOzMGlb8IEUsV5JmAMdG1MtOkF3pT9HMpmQ_iGqC9Cl5DAzfuGWZTiii7JpTdOekj/s320/359.JPG" border="0" /></div><p align="center">Our pretty girl all finished and off to lunch (don't worry she was in her grandpa's lap in the backseat while we were parked in the parking lot, we weren't doing a Brittany Spears and driving with her out of a car seat.)</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-506206828034371102008-06-07T21:21:00.009-04:002008-06-07T21:59:48.954-04:00Red Coach Picture<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrXvnicB7QBmo4zgURJiboKUJCM3-yja9bn_6faiTL4fumYD2moEq1qDSDpVsnsqWrCrMu8GMvahN1XGHVp5DeSBjXdeXLl7zUysP4MsySkvZSVNP-oJcUuOmneJoY-PQFtSNw9s4M8rZ/s1600-h/Red+Couch+Pictures_16.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209321257442775282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrXvnicB7QBmo4zgURJiboKUJCM3-yja9bn_6faiTL4fumYD2moEq1qDSDpVsnsqWrCrMu8GMvahN1XGHVp5DeSBjXdeXLl7zUysP4MsySkvZSVNP-oJcUuOmneJoY-PQFtSNw9s4M8rZ/s320/Red+Couch+Pictures_16.JPG" border="0" /></a>We took the red couch pictures last Tuesday. As you can tell, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Annika</span> was very excited and couldn't wait for her picture. She fell asleep about 5 minutes before I was going to change her into her dress and then I had to wake her up to put it on. Those dress aren't exactly something you can just slip them into while they sleep. Any thing that requires a side zipper to get it over there head is challenging but even more so when you are trying to get it on a sweaty, screaming, sleepy 8 month old.<br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209319542071436098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFkxjEDm0zgPfbjKbbYe7emUJqImwBDFO8lS3SEWq_txNCcMOe2nQ066gFfbUcH0P3rZDVd7BVAwnsSoWHmrZnqbRWAoEhFeaGj7YkDbfdGB49LIbBij-hQxOkzLdC4TZaJQ7FKR7xMhp/s320/Red+Couch+Pictures_13.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>Who ever started this tradition must have not been in a very large travel group. We had 14 babies 8 month and younger and than 4 older children (who didn't seem to be too excited about the prospects of sitting with all of the squirming, screaming younger girls. Can't say that I blame them). The picture was scheduled to happen right at nap time, which should have been a tip-off that we were headed straight for disaster. Several girls showed up already crying. By the picture you can see that those who weren't crying were not paying a bit of attention to the hoard of paparazzi who was desperately trying to get the perfect picture (Wish I could have taken a picture of all the photographers, they were pretty funny too). The guide tried to give us some direction at first and then ended up just sitting back and laughing as it became chaos. </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57cxURyAMYedEVb2zaMegKWodd6N8To7I9QlQE7DajLaC0TBVGxcgaNaj6gmhoQp5Kd_P7ABznHg-r7SuhMX9M9n6Qg1YYR9cwlTJY9-uBjvxBaeZUlX8Y7adLaWPvToex_bbKSxLaUjI/s1600-h/Red+Couch+Pictures_40.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209318804972768690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57cxURyAMYedEVb2zaMegKWodd6N8To7I9QlQE7DajLaC0TBVGxcgaNaj6gmhoQp5Kd_P7ABznHg-r7SuhMX9M9n6Qg1YYR9cwlTJY9-uBjvxBaeZUlX8Y7adLaWPvToex_bbKSxLaUjI/s320/Red+Couch+Pictures_40.JPG" border="0" /></a> After what seemed like 30 minutes of attempting the picture, everyone finally gave up and moved to take one giant group photo of everyone in our group. (David and I are the two giants in the middle of the photo. Maybe we would have been less noticeable if we would have sat on the front row or at least not have stood next to two of the shorter families.) We drew quite a crowd when we would go out together places. I can only imagine how strange it would have to be to walk out of a building into a group of 20 American families each with a Chinese child(some with two). One woman even <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">snuck</span> in behind out guides as they were taking this picture and took some with her own camera. <div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209322621005188434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigIanlUuh6GfEBSi3Hy3EKZlJqf2is5dAwyGtlR0RdqB8EVgjH1-RBDJARM3SDlm7Tm9DDoa47hUiXBlgxQSHuIjUcX_wv5VbvxIjxLOovUKgSlLGak0kvnzOQ4UcakkYyqSj6GusEUHQn/s320/Red+Couch+Pictures_46.JPG" border="0" /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-73114223838426869522008-06-06T14:29:00.002-04:002008-06-06T14:40:29.563-04:00We Made ItWe got home late last night. We had some weather issues in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Minneapolis</span> and that set us back a few hours. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Annika</span> was a trooper, she slept most of the way home and only got fussy while we were sitting in the plane in Minneapolis for two hours waiting to take off.<br /><br />We weren't sure how <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Annika</span> would react to everyone once we got home, but we shouldn't have worried. It was love at first site when she saw her brother. He got giggles and she couldn't stop kissing him. She would go for his cheek <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">every time</span> he got within kissing distance. She was still very happy to see <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">him this</span> morning. She also really likes her Grandma and Grandpa. She is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">still</span> trying to figure out the dog but thinks she may like him and hasn't really seen much of the cat yet.<br /><br />Since I didn't do as much posting as I had planned from China, I am planning on posting more pictures and things here over the next few days to catch everyone up.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-67398509642581485822008-05-31T09:13:00.001-04:002008-05-31T09:16:26.208-04:00All you really want<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipe-BALa3LOYg_E2nM2Eg09RJM5-Tf49Xy4SqWeAWdnPi7LSVXEy3SQiCIMWTqF339hL1Ec8pATFCYtiOXvJWDVAQ6ERSuROBrtP8PmviX2-Y0K6eJk5A3FNIyYvQr3rrhmg7nYr24-Yp9/s1600-h/big+grin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206530155700359650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipe-BALa3LOYg_E2nM2Eg09RJM5-Tf49Xy4SqWeAWdnPi7LSVXEy3SQiCIMWTqF339hL1Ec8pATFCYtiOXvJWDVAQ6ERSuROBrtP8PmviX2-Y0K6eJk5A3FNIyYvQr3rrhmg7nYr24-Yp9/s320/big+grin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNW7imMYugUM6nu90JrZhX8RoxqrV0iRjE0iv2v-yE0h2ONc95rkPC4tuIYa0CoilFPgEGVC0lgB4CArxvAQ3t5yjhOgBeYDtK2zqmZZQS9GnB57ollwnKBCDpku0Tq7bUNP5vB2N1EXZb/s1600-h/piggies.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206530160709904162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNW7imMYugUM6nu90JrZhX8RoxqrV0iRjE0iv2v-yE0h2ONc95rkPC4tuIYa0CoilFPgEGVC0lgB4CArxvAQ3t5yjhOgBeYDtK2zqmZZQS9GnB57ollwnKBCDpku0Tq7bUNP5vB2N1EXZb/s320/piggies.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQbzW7cH3nPqCIhcw5y39z0usQP3GttK-41zSfADN_qfCR0kYl-Mu87kM6el89KcqFwTai8Z3zT9aiPjGlN2kgLliLwrgS0HfvQErTUQPpwK5Pyzxvb_LBX65VrpYivATnfqddi0h28xG7/s1600-h/keys.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206530168749156194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQbzW7cH3nPqCIhcw5y39z0usQP3GttK-41zSfADN_qfCR0kYl-Mu87kM6el89KcqFwTai8Z3zT9aiPjGlN2kgLliLwrgS0HfvQErTUQPpwK5Pyzxvb_LBX65VrpYivATnfqddi0h28xG7/s320/keys.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-58303290971062151602008-05-29T18:30:00.004-04:002008-05-29T18:39:00.691-04:00Wal-Mart<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7ls05uEYrDEHoA9isnr0ys7lzlDAMDb63_f_9EFwtoYNzYql_GDMycvtT5Pbkyy7uan6JuPMlAm7zJOUhZnjrM7yXISSqDB-xPsWR5BNDT0YO3LD4ha6aeIAYuEax8Dz1venaoYirMPO/s1600-h/Carrie's+China+023.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205932616985020098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7ls05uEYrDEHoA9isnr0ys7lzlDAMDb63_f_9EFwtoYNzYql_GDMycvtT5Pbkyy7uan6JuPMlAm7zJOUhZnjrM7yXISSqDB-xPsWR5BNDT0YO3LD4ha6aeIAYuEax8Dz1venaoYirMPO/s320/Carrie's+China+023.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGaQKPIId-Ys1PO7M9JlTLmVtdUgfKc7dTCFkLYQC8vKRlNPI66ob9M-xjD0uzlBnU99bTfNHoTHcSaQXMQPn5xwDbmrwzXA4nzTFiOifl13LvhE1JyaaD-jA1kfS6Kgs7YcK27ThiHtCu/s1600-h/fish.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205931856775808658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGaQKPIId-Ys1PO7M9JlTLmVtdUgfKc7dTCFkLYQC8vKRlNPI66ob9M-xjD0uzlBnU99bTfNHoTHcSaQXMQPn5xwDbmrwzXA4nzTFiOifl13LvhE1JyaaD-jA1kfS6Kgs7YcK27ThiHtCu/s320/fish.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOrJZjH8IoOYnyzmlVaOjIFfTqYAqraz_RBlLuSdCbnfIvwpybJbC5-fO8psIwFCNJNsM19WiZh3WVVKeU9c65g2my1mL9zdjMIhB5wZ9BvU_p6zoobBquY0HXtjErvrVTwQrcpuF47Cg/s1600-h/chicken.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205931861070775970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOrJZjH8IoOYnyzmlVaOjIFfTqYAqraz_RBlLuSdCbnfIvwpybJbC5-fO8psIwFCNJNsM19WiZh3WVVKeU9c65g2my1mL9zdjMIhB5wZ9BvU_p6zoobBquY0HXtjErvrVTwQrcpuF47Cg/s320/chicken.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9UuphyOSDFtf8HbGNTxgOxgHVqxvrsPAEGqzuehwq0JK95Cg-v32jPhHdYzlUxfSEDQj3t7yqUwAT9__kU6QSyzLexWlS9sc19LuH1UhxO3gvSDsZ-X3D_VWK1kYHpQwdj9UAZ4J8so6/s1600-h/Carrie's+China+018.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205931869660710578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9UuphyOSDFtf8HbGNTxgOxgHVqxvrsPAEGqzuehwq0JK95Cg-v32jPhHdYzlUxfSEDQj3t7yqUwAT9__kU6QSyzLexWlS9sc19LuH1UhxO3gvSDsZ-X3D_VWK1kYHpQwdj9UAZ4J8so6/s320/Carrie's+China+018.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdmKyaK1_wWYgFV9Ht2NrQ0zcDS1IdKPTauw-JoS2ABYsugIBNcIBTTLjF110T_X3gBGNG02yuxoG8VhCpDfV5M9rWBpWa8EyOPegLJ-XdAmW4L653DgN5FCGHW7AHIi82lGe6-pUSAGr/s1600-h/Carrie's+China+019.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205931556128097922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdmKyaK1_wWYgFV9Ht2NrQ0zcDS1IdKPTauw-JoS2ABYsugIBNcIBTTLjF110T_X3gBGNG02yuxoG8VhCpDfV5M9rWBpWa8EyOPegLJ-XdAmW4L653DgN5FCGHW7AHIi82lGe6-pUSAGr/s320/Carrie's+China+019.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-89691235449517334702008-05-29T05:31:00.002-04:002008-05-29T05:58:20.248-04:00Lazy dayToday and yesterday were our "off" days. We didn't have any appointments and didn't need to rush anywhere. Yesterday some women came to the hotel selling silk clothes. We got <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Annika</span> a pretty two <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">piece</span> set (they call them pajamas), David got a tie, and I got a custom silk blouse (since there is no way I will ever be able to find clothes to fit me here). We are going to get clothes for Alex once we get to Guangzhou, although I don't know exactly what to get for a seven year old boy. In the afternoon, we visited the Tang Pavilion which is about 10 minutes from our hotel (probably less than that). It was pretty amazing. I am <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">sooo</span> impressed with the old buildings here in China, they are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">magnificent</span> (I LOVED the Forbidden City, which I still haven't blogged about yet). There were beautiful gardens surrounding the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">pavilion</span>, one was a park full of bonsai trees. After the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Pavilion</span> we walked a few blocks to a pedestrian mall to look for baby stuff (I only brought three baby outfits with us, bought a few at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Wal</span>-Mart on Tuesday, and have been trying to find things as we go along). We found some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">pjs</span> and one cute outfit and were able to find somethings to hopefully tame the mane on our sweet baby. When we got back, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Annika</span> fell asleep and David went to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">restaurant</span> in the hotel to pick dinner up for us. I am not getting tired of Chinese food unless it is bad Chinese food. The stuff in the second floor of the Gloria Hotel in Nanchang is the good stuff, if you come here we highly recommend the pepper steak and the shrimp in brown sauce (YUMMY), <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Annika</span> recommends the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">congee</span> and the steamed eggs (YUMMY). <br /><br />Today we went shopping for <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">porcelain</span> and then to a department store that would give Macy's a run for their money. We bought several <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">porcelain</span> items and now have to figure out how to get them on the our next destination. We may end up shipping them home depending on how much it costs.<br /><br />Tomorrow we head to Guangzhou.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Annika</span> is already making progress. She can sit up by herself for long periods of time now and has started to pick toys up by herself (it is still a happy accident when she actually gets <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">ahold</span> of them). We have decided that she really likes food and are not going to waste anymore formula trying to feed her all day. She got up this morning and ate a bottle and a good helping of vegetable cereal, then after a nap we went down for breakfast and she had <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">congee</span> and some banana bread. Then for lunch she had more vegetable cereal, steamed eggs, watermelon, and various pieces of white rice from David's plate. Last night she ate jarred food and loved it. We definitely have an eater on our hands (fits right in with the rest of the family, loves to sleep and eat!!!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-17123979555718343752008-05-28T02:10:00.006-04:002008-05-28T02:35:07.730-04:00Day One PicturesHere are some pictures from our day at the Great Wall and in Beijing. There is really no order to the pictures, just ones that I liked. The first ones are at the Olympic Park.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvGSVjsZ1ozlGK7wifycyzneG8yK-7j3RJ6fSVQDgQc576CwIxDL44Skp1FJk_VDxkMad3tvJhtaLNWqYArxexsYDrzyNkCa0qEHp_wERxvDcNotn_9qN9bo3ftrvA12FtlKtuCiUb2J3/s1600-h/olympic+man.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205312475247085106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvGSVjsZ1ozlGK7wifycyzneG8yK-7j3RJ6fSVQDgQc576CwIxDL44Skp1FJk_VDxkMad3tvJhtaLNWqYArxexsYDrzyNkCa0qEHp_wERxvDcNotn_9qN9bo3ftrvA12FtlKtuCiUb2J3/s320/olympic+man.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCh4K_EJmUR2VV0N2NY6kYvuu_spgWzpaQOGnjaQ-B31YPj1pZW1WgEfckQW3anXZiL-adk2pYJ_yqKT5582EV449zXZ3-pyLkPSmX_-crUH1daUYRZbQ52juRCk5URp9JdTIef7lkj2_/s1600-h/dragon+head.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205312475247085122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCh4K_EJmUR2VV0N2NY6kYvuu_spgWzpaQOGnjaQ-B31YPj1pZW1WgEfckQW3anXZiL-adk2pYJ_yqKT5582EV449zXZ3-pyLkPSmX_-crUH1daUYRZbQ52juRCk5URp9JdTIef7lkj2_/s320/dragon+head.jpg" border="0" /></a> This is the Dragon apartment building I mentioned before. I think it is pretty cool.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41azMqsS0jAymMmbtgTIfHmqTceI9evjJ_PLeZC6GZuOlzmq41pCSp93cLqq_Z9cLlrWLPHXG4fd-qHmSYvrIFAJICd0HmgDB6kvhcBz0qZbBCbeffr0KaUqhkqb0j31Bywb6B1HMtt8-/s1600-h/birds+nest.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205312479542052434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41azMqsS0jAymMmbtgTIfHmqTceI9evjJ_PLeZC6GZuOlzmq41pCSp93cLqq_Z9cLlrWLPHXG4fd-qHmSYvrIFAJICd0HmgDB6kvhcBz0qZbBCbeffr0KaUqhkqb0j31Bywb6B1HMtt8-/s320/birds+nest.jpg" border="0" /></a> Bird's Nest stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ytd3W6QDvBaAe7MjsrohH2O4M2slCqN7-gsfFpF6Qf_ZsMVbOQoN-vNCEFXJvtN5ZNzB0mJhMGF6dSOp39ElLYt082Ie2DvIo9kzmiyDVC-96ZyIY0nZqsRiWupRnTDddUyfqsU9sjc3/s1600-h/water+cube.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205312483837019746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ytd3W6QDvBaAe7MjsrohH2O4M2slCqN7-gsfFpF6Qf_ZsMVbOQoN-vNCEFXJvtN5ZNzB0mJhMGF6dSOp39ElLYt082Ie2DvIo9kzmiyDVC-96ZyIY0nZqsRiWupRnTDddUyfqsU9sjc3/s320/water+cube.jpg" border="0" /></a> Water cube, where swimming will be taking place<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkhMBPdoNMNZXYatHKiVNN_Dp5k5UfN-JrelwdT8Eh-jUCvnpigG5BT22l6wuL31splSOX0EhKVhFeTkxUn2MKg2IrMbEqTO8qsso_eV22fK8VzbeoEQLuWyvlqJc9m-Ip-UFnYv_zMBX/s1600-h/torch+tower.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205312488131987058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkhMBPdoNMNZXYatHKiVNN_Dp5k5UfN-JrelwdT8Eh-jUCvnpigG5BT22l6wuL31splSOX0EhKVhFeTkxUn2MKg2IrMbEqTO8qsso_eV22fK8VzbeoEQLuWyvlqJc9m-Ip-UFnYv_zMBX/s320/torch+tower.jpg" border="0" /></a> Torch Tower, self explanatory.<br /><br /><div></div>The next few are from the Great Wall.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjXft2qqV30pmYXTS1TCn5OZbajJaLUAYtrtJSXODMw7iE_nOhoe2z_Q_7_dHtXYSo0_QCGauTpykiSMqLF2N3EIxXxf7uuq-lhTodbx3gIO4idIWaF5aeCH-H2vlka66FI3j2cPO6nHz/s1600-h/buildings.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205310031410693634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjXft2qqV30pmYXTS1TCn5OZbajJaLUAYtrtJSXODMw7iE_nOhoe2z_Q_7_dHtXYSo0_QCGauTpykiSMqLF2N3EIxXxf7uuq-lhTodbx3gIO4idIWaF5aeCH-H2vlka66FI3j2cPO6nHz/s320/buildings.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSuWJtVVcTy2d27AMcXDsaOqLGczO4xNybpaDviMvFZfFSKJOCbXMMzU58Yzb4YqmTMa-nj-e2YyGVKOJLQz6OSGQg1wpIAsCJ7IL02RSHAo_NnVtcvu-n9J9lZ0yeYyJHAFHyTml4-Ze/s1600-h/roof.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205310035705660946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSuWJtVVcTy2d27AMcXDsaOqLGczO4xNybpaDviMvFZfFSKJOCbXMMzU58Yzb4YqmTMa-nj-e2YyGVKOJLQz6OSGQg1wpIAsCJ7IL02RSHAo_NnVtcvu-n9J9lZ0yeYyJHAFHyTml4-Ze/s320/roof.jpg" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205310443727554082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMIX5gmkP66iXn60hUa-q0rSC32qh42_2OGxZHGZbtMe1ngwz6gwjMtDPcrrKaXVnV7e7wOu1qI7tbwlu8TOa6DUSrhapZoknwEeuPVTPoeAtggnFfDCDeb77YUz0BG4Ct41Wwc4nH3jq2/s320/steps.jpg" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYiMx28pT4YtYBFpK0bJuMyEmh-3zq9UeT-sVUXiVgB9upldDkEjIuISzdRXl31RcdAD06Mq3XzMbXMAu33XoLZFIEKf_2eqzPWF4P0s2Wk4fE3pnY2SZUahBVQHdo3lC85e5Ssxv6ujQ/s1600-h/jade+dragons.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205309537489454562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYiMx28pT4YtYBFpK0bJuMyEmh-3zq9UeT-sVUXiVgB9upldDkEjIuISzdRXl31RcdAD06Mq3XzMbXMAu33XoLZFIEKf_2eqzPWF4P0s2Wk4fE3pnY2SZUahBVQHdo3lC85e5Ssxv6ujQ/s320/jade+dragons.jpg" border="0" /></a> This was a boat that was at the jade factory. It was incredible. There was carved chain on it where each link was individual.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFbG89mqMF_ixR2XwuX2N8rT1JfB50w254zs-INkqSVIIuoNkBKR_R236xlBQwY072k9yMkzpkrRYLGq4WXVcvgEh9kh8qH75JcFOcAFD-D5wyyLuf2RUlEzSgALpGqIHTG7S_IH1jtff/s1600-h/funny+sign.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205309541784421874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFbG89mqMF_ixR2XwuX2N8rT1JfB50w254zs-INkqSVIIuoNkBKR_R236xlBQwY072k9yMkzpkrRYLGq4WXVcvgEh9kh8qH75JcFOcAFD-D5wyyLuf2RUlEzSgALpGqIHTG7S_IH1jtff/s320/funny+sign.jpg" border="0" /></a>We just thought this sign was funny. David saw it from the bus.<br /><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-82721292946688615232008-05-28T02:01:00.005-04:002008-05-28T02:10:36.317-04:00Our Beautiful Girl<div><div>Here are some pictures of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Annika</span> on day two of being with us (once we could actually get her to sit up away from us without screaming).<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205305753623266738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGt51jtHPjf60isI0u0c8xc6UYGZEgtsadD2dpAoZsEVopgeRlBZ46I4X_JXhVxg39HI4DEdonNbhpO78QfTkanWdyXs_yj4oG-PDE2rXY5DXX7_2j2NY6CCUz4RslLd8CoD8OvU8SuqQY/s320/bedhead.jpg" border="0" />Here she is before her bath with a slight case of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">bedhead</span>. It was even worse this morning after having to rub <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">elimite</span> into it last night to treat the scabies.<br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205306561077118402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIiasgjkGINABxIFo1wNorJLgmXDfzG_OuKQRJfywogUOO8aKC4WeP3y_ugsljsAscOEghIyNUOPvqlz7lqgHKdI4Ou5f3jMTGaC3Reg48eEGLiNBn8Cucl1Yk5P2yc25odc_6_56-lRG7/s320/Carrie's+China+005.jpg" border="0" /> <div>This as at breakfast, enjoying a bowl of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">congee</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Congee</span> is basically really watery white rice. They serve it on the buffet and when we go out to dinner. Sometimes it has scallions floating in it and on the buffet there are all kinds of unrecognizable dried "goodies"to add in (no they aren't fruit, probably dried sea creatures like the ones at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Wal</span>-Mart yesterday). </div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205306986278880722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzV9aGGJgwfgZdz-OzpPgjwuvqJMTw2oXICZsiwZ2esMc18HzefrCTDyz1miGxDAYLPEQbsYRoerMpJ6fMUNzP0nxJX6wIsFYAEjVuIK13S4ntvL1wjaFvlC8xsBQVZuZtIUxzJjts09gv/s320/pretty+girl2.jpg" border="0" /> <div>Here she is enjoying fruit puffs at the notary office. This is shortly after she discovered the cute baby on the digital camera that she is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">soooo</span> fond of.</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-31694983772294640392008-05-27T10:13:00.002-04:002008-05-27T10:17:51.175-04:00First KissI forgot to mention in my first post for today that I got my first kiss tonight at dinner. I have been kissing on her every since the minute she was handed over to us. She seemed to like to be kissed on the cheek and right on the corner of her mouth. Today we showed her a picture of herself in my digital camera and she was very interested in the baby and she kissed the camera. Tonight after dinner when her belly was full I was kissing her again and she open her mouth up and gave me a big baby kiss right on the lips. She did it about 4 times. I would give her a kiss and then she would kiss me. I was so excited!!!! She won't kiss David but she is constantly looking at him adoringly (it's really pretty disgusting <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">LOL</span>) so I'm sure his turn is coming soon. <br /><br />I can't believe how much I already lover her. She's most definitely our girl.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-41094472741303312192008-05-27T09:39:00.002-04:002008-05-27T10:06:49.266-04:00Busy DayToday was very busy. After sleeping from 9 pm until 4:30 and then going back to bead until 7, we started the morning with our first smile for Mom and Dad after just a couple of kisses and a little tickling. Then it was off for the first bath and the washing of the crazy hair. (I think she has more hair than me on her head, and that is saying something. There is so much that it will not be contained by the puny baby barrettes that I couldn't wait to use). She enjoyed watching her feet in the bathtub and didn't fuss at all. We washed the hair in the sink because we couldn't get her to lie back in the tub (too busy watching the feet for that). Next came some nice hot <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">congee</span> at the buffet then it was to the bus. We spent about 2 and a half hours at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">un</span>-air conditioned adoption office first getting rid of those crisp bills and being interviewed. (Every place we stopped to day required a picture with eyes open which guaranteed that she fell asleep right before we got off the bus at each stop.) After that visit we made a quick stop to get her passport pictures taken and then visited the notary to get our red books (guess this means she's ours now). We got back to the hotel at almost 1pm and some of decided that we wanted Pizza Hut. I think it was the best pizza I have ever had in my life, I was so hungry. We have been eating at some very nice places, but the food just isn't the best (or at least not what I like) plus now we are also feeding a baby so you kind of lose track of what is going on and when your eating family style <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">alot</span> of stuff is gone before you even get a chance to start.<br /><br />After lunch we took a nap (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Annika</span> slept while we ate since we were in the room) and then we went to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Wal</span>-Mart. I have been looking forward to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Wal</span>-Mart and I wasn't disappointed. It is two stories, food on the first floor and everything else up stairs. We started on the second floor and then rode the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">escalator</span> down stairs. There were <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">soooooo</span> many people there. One thing I have to say about the Chinese is that they are noisy. The music was blaring and everyone was talking. They always sound like they are arguing to me, even though I am sure they probably aren't. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Alot</span> of people gave us a double take and most were looking at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Annika</span> with some interest, one woman even stopped to ask David some questions about the adoption process (someone else asked about it in the elevator at the hotel too). Anyway, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Wal</span>-Mart in China is similar to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Wal</span>-Mart in America, the signs are similar (except for the language obviously) and some of the brands are the same. There is a live market in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Wal</span>-Mart here though (snakes, fish, turtles) and they also have one are that is all dried sea creatures (different kinds of fish, shrimp, etc.). Kristin said she saw squid chips with the snack foods and they sold <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">durian</span> (the stinky fruit) in the produce section. They had several different types of prepared foods: salads, roast duck, chicken feet prepared a few different ways. At the checkout counter they sale gum and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">mentos</span> right next to shrink wrapped (unrefrigerated) chicken wings (which our guide said are very good, but I'm not going to be the one to try them. She was very surprised we do not have them in America and said that we probably all have allergies because of the way we eat.)<br /><br />So, at dinner we found out that most of the girls have or recently had scabies and that we need to treat all of them with the cream. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Annika</span> had some brown spots on her face, arms, and lower legs when we got her as did several of the other girls. The doctor who traveled with us just wants to make sure that everything is dead and that they don't have any further problems so we got to apply the cream tonight before bedtime.<br /><br />Well, guess I should go so that I can get some rest. Tomorrow is a fun day with no big plans except to get measurements for dresses and to go see the nearby pavilion. Hopefully I can find some time to get some pictures on as well.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-10484807096264666362008-05-26T04:49:00.005-04:002008-05-26T05:46:47.058-04:00Annika Day<div><br /><div><div>We got up at 7 this morning after a night on a wonderful bed that felt like plywood with a couple of blankets on top, much better than Beijing. We ate a little breakfast and then tried to kill time in our room until the babies arrived at 9:30. We made it in the room until 8:45 and then headed down. It was easier to wait with some of the other families than to hang out in our room by ourselves, everyone was very excited and a little slap-happy. Then the babies showed up. It was crazy all of us video taping and taking pictures of them, trying to figure out if they were our baby. One of the first babies to arrive had <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">alot</span> of hair and looked similar to the picture and we all thought she may be <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Annika</span>, then there was another who might have been. In the end we had it narrowed down to three of the thirteen babies. It was one of the most emotional things I have ever done to watch the people I know get their babies, to see a family being made.<br /><div><div></div><br /><div>We were wrong about which baby was ours. We were the last family to get called. When it was our turn there was a woman in the door holding a baby that we had not seen earlier when we were guessing. She had more hair than I have ever seen on an 8 month old. That was our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Annika</span>. I took her from the woman and gave her a couple of kisses and she checked me out. Then I gave her to David and she checked him out. She has been clinging to us since about 20 minutes after she got handed over. She cries if we put her down and she is pretty quiet. She looks at you and you can tell she is trying to figure everything out. She liked the hip hammock and went to lunch in it. She wouldn't take a bottle but we tried custard and rice at lunch and chowed down on it. We have since got her to take a bottle (don't think the first one was hot enough). David put her in the stroller to run to the grocery store earlier and she was fussy at first but then fell right to sleep and took a decent nap. She woke up right before we headed back when she and I were alone for a minute in the store and we drew a small crowd, who I could not understand since they were all speaking Chinese. All she wants to do is be held, but you have to stand and sway or she starts to cry again. She and David are sacked out in the bed right now. She is on top of him and they are both out cold.</div><div></div><br /><div>Here are some pictures for your viewing enjoyment.</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204608933834196306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsbs_ktdrHItugNnIFIFwmTBQ1fngbTAY_OkYZhg9WVciIR6kkcn1IH6ZmS9AVe7jXH6pcWUSX4fK6js4GnfXGKgA2G0R58QLym_XLR0uLHi5Wpzl8ixLBmmcictb4FLbinQjf3-ECybn/s320/smIMG_2124.jpg" border="0" /></div></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204620010554852738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5E0B6dHbUbCnRHtBJBKzGLUWTA3YPhxkhM19dsPX9KIukiR98CwCAzZwJ1v3wmeiKxKmA-u4cWsu0QmZqXXnzxJ8TpM0Bfs1m6tnp9hVwBtotCn1QdWFK7JwuhCHtv2b456KSdcM9KvN/s320/sweet+bum.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204609170057397602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTGF2TmRtwASEGL40vHyLx3nSOeZlZSo9WDwJ4pxp6pk-Y_yhfi39nOwXvfqntLLkvph-HL-EytHa86Ilr2EzOyZKxNWLNLsLbzEAF2W7zFslrcuBlhCoSiI9s3IN5NyvuX5clk-mE7fk/s320/smIMG_2135.jpg" border="0" />Tomorrow we are going to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">consulate</span> and then to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Wal</span>-Mart (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">YIPEE</span>!!!!!) I will try to post more pictures tomorrow and tell you about the forbidden city.</p><p>I have to tell Big Brother Alex congratulations and that we love him. And that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Annika</span> loves the singing bug that he got for her.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204619847346095474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZIePfjIU0LtJ_nfH5b0hviD63Yyp1Vflw3VknX-OWOX74xGUNy7wKrYcyfj1usDzqJ-saCxlcvfzzU1-0X6EdMGW5TtD2sOfIS5LpjqN0i2y11jcAP1rYPqFBEFX2JGJZyFG1FLe7dWU/s320/stroller+sleeping.jpg" border="0" /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204620367037138322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkWCZpr0Y0cdhJmJtYSL0mZuSglSey6Js0ROI3YZymXXwvSF_tuCCAhog7DsMDFg1Y7UBQ51gID6jZzw7enHRhTvibL8EwXh6zVEL-egeaGhNK-FXHAPHt6TEOrM-1To0lY9sB8pUE8SE/s320/naptime.jpg" border="0" /></p></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-24977165359141914322008-05-25T19:00:00.003-04:002008-05-25T19:02:24.734-04:00We're in NanchangJust a quick post to say that we are in Nanchang and are 2 1/2 hours from meeting <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Annika</span>. We got in last night. I was getting a little cranky so decided to go to sleep instead of blogging once we got everything ready for today. <br /><br />I will post about the Forbidden City (AMAZING) later. Gotta go finish getting ready so we can eat and go get that baby (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO</span>!!!!!!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-31685460278378897372008-05-24T09:57:00.005-04:002008-05-24T10:23:14.141-04:00Beijing Day One(I have lots of pictures to post but blogger is not cooperating tonight, I will try to get more up some time tomorrow).<br /><br /><div>We had a very busy day today. We started out at the breakfast buffet which included fried rice, lo mien, dim sum, an omelet bar, toast, and two types of vegetables and sauce. Then we loaded into a bus and headed for the Great Wall.<br /><br />We made one stop at a factory that does jade carvings. They told us about the different grades of jade and how to determine if jade is real or not. The most interesting thing that I learned is that Chinese cabbage is an important thing when it comes to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">fung</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">shu</span> (I think I totally spelled that wrong but you know what I mean). You are supposed to put it in your house to bring good luck. The leaves have to face the door and/or window and the roots should face in or all of your luck will leave (who knew?????). After a bit of browsing, it was back on the bus and off to THE wall.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203947049309111618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo2GkV1zE8U-WILF5SZTkCEJa7IF5rXFp_tGr6VUpOxOjz0gSdcbQNXMJ5UM_UZbYJElKK-dxw1ZnSN9OW3ErwX_cwkBO4yr824cCCFD72TiUPlsqkHu0Wjnq128CwkvTigj3JialCHjWp/s320/BEIJING+GREAT+WALLJPEG_48.jpg" border="0" />It is pretty exciting to be able to see it as we drove up. I had every intention to climb a least a little way up, until I saw it. No on bothered to mention that is practically straight up in the spot where we were going. I am scared of heights and knew that if I went up I would not be coming back down again. Needless to say, David and I climbed the ramp up to the tower at the base of the section we visited. David took a bunch of pictures and I video taped a little. Then we found a couple of soda and enjoyed the shade until everyone else was finished. A few people from our group made it to the top (including a 4 and 5 year old, it was less scary for them because they are much closer to the ground). It looked like the view was great based on the pictures I have seen, but I am totally satisfied with having kept myself close to the bottom people watching. I can still say that I climbed the Great Wall, don’t have to tell anyone how far we went.<br /><br />The food here is okay. Everyone is kind of scared to eat because we are afraid we will get sick. I have been trying things and feel fine so far. I was very excited when we had mini bean paste spring roll things at lunch (THEY ROCKED!!!!). We had <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Kung</span> Po chicken for lunch and dinner and it was pretty tasty as well. I think that we will have more options once we are out of Beijing and can get out on our own a bit more. On a strange side note, there is a seal living in our hotel. He lives between the aquariums of living food (including one cute turtle) and the fancy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">restaurant</span> where we ate dinner tonight. I felt sorry for him because he is in a little, tiled pool surrounded by glass that is about 3 or 4 feet tall. He kept giving everyone the stink eye when they were standing and looking at him.<br /><br />After lunch we went to see an acrobat show. It was pretty good except we were all fighting to stay awake the entire time. If you have seen the Big Apple Circus or Cirque <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">de</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Soliel</span> it was similar to what they do in those shows. They did an amazing bicycle act where there were like 12 girls on one bicycle at the end and there were these amazingly flexible girls who had me wondering how they avoid serious neck injuries since they could lay on their chins with the butts on the top of their heads and their feet flapping around in the air.<br /><br />I almost forgot that we drove through the Olympics park today. The Bird’s Nest is BEAUTIFUL!!! We also saw the Water Cube building and the tower where they will light the torch (It is outside of the main stadium which our guide that was very strange because it will make it awkward to light the torch.) There is a giant apartment complex across the street that is built like a dragon. It is three or four buildings in a row that are 10 or 15 stories high and then at the front of them is a very tall building that they have built so that it looks like it has a dragon’s head at the top (use your imagination).<br /><br />Tomorrow we are going to the Forbidden City/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Tiananmen</span> Square and then flying off to Nanchang where we will meet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Annika</span> on Monday. We are going to meet the babies in the hotel at 9:30 Monday morning (China time).<br /><br />Gotta go so that I can get some sleep. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-74971149857027420372008-05-23T19:29:00.003-04:002008-05-23T19:41:31.984-04:00We Made It<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaqauADBlMHciiOJpIjJt0lPQjllsCbX8ZcAuMGO_g-3SocGdlaxSP67vZHiLR0ETy0v5Bm188bpIddWv45jwUXr-nh-7Rly3AbmUbMo9ALMWNS50syVZ4Lgh7fiTdiGGDzR9yCdKpmur/s1600-h/smBeijing+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203720683057775906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaqauADBlMHciiOJpIjJt0lPQjllsCbX8ZcAuMGO_g-3SocGdlaxSP67vZHiLR0ETy0v5Bm188bpIddWv45jwUXr-nh-7Rly3AbmUbMo9ALMWNS50syVZ4Lgh7fiTdiGGDzR9yCdKpmur/s320/smBeijing+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9sSzw74Pd7MlzmlL-Rlan_Z-ooQE-xUS5a7hmso1uBcIxli84oR0EpicUVO8Uybv7Tsfx0IYmeDlxEroXlFA5qabB8-ccebZnlOQscfgYO_uNKC9OrRG1nd3EF5obmcq-S6cTkGAaXUo/s1600-h/smBeijing+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203720687352743218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9sSzw74Pd7MlzmlL-Rlan_Z-ooQE-xUS5a7hmso1uBcIxli84oR0EpicUVO8Uybv7Tsfx0IYmeDlxEroXlFA5qabB8-ccebZnlOQscfgYO_uNKC9OrRG1nd3EF5obmcq-S6cTkGAaXUo/s320/smBeijing+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>We arrived into Beijing at about 9:05 pm Friday night. Our flights were really good, no delays and very little turbulence. Our adoption agency sent a car to pick us up from the airport because we got here later than the rest of our group. David had trouble getting the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Internet</span> up last night so I had to wait until this morning to post. The pictures above are the view from our hotel window. The sun is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">courageously</span> trying to break through the smog, but seems to be losing the battle.</div><div> </div><div>I figured I'd just make a list of a few things about our trip so far.</div><div> </div><ol><li>If you have to fly to any place that is more than about 6 hours from home I highly recommend world business class on Northwest airline. The seats lay flat, there is a huge selection of movies (watched Juno and 27 Dresses), they feed you good food constantly (ate 2 breakfasts and 2 dinners on the way over here. It was GOOD!!!!!). Also, numerous layovers aren't that bad of a deal.</li><li>One thing that you always hear before you travel to China is that the beds are like sleeping on plywood. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">OMG</span>, they are hard!!!!!! It is like a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">boxspring</span> without a mattress. Let me tell you though if you are tired enough it doesn't really matter.</li><li>We are going to be pros at brushing our teeth with bottled water. You can't put the tap water in your mouth because of all the little buggers that live in it.</li><li>David just says "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">MMMMM</span> Fresh Air" (see pictures above)</li></ol><p>Well, gotta go. We are eating breakfast and then heading to the Great Wall. We are doing dinner and then heading to the acrobat show. I'll post more tonight when we are finished for the day.</p><p>Gotta tell Alex we love him!!!!! </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211376460600646839.post-83351630787611586072008-05-21T17:21:00.003-04:002008-05-21T17:29:07.463-04:00On Our Way<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6AOlK6D08gYorWZYXCTu90xoJDR9gKeYEQpgBOA9MnNdKkVS00rpJGR3Nit3F0bUhVd6V8Eb12TdcdNqtqQ2TggQzZsrxqU0fh1k9j20wprhsO9hHbSjwmKJwA16zTVBO2wah1uPsv2w/s1600-h/036.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202946142904833154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6AOlK6D08gYorWZYXCTu90xoJDR9gKeYEQpgBOA9MnNdKkVS00rpJGR3Nit3F0bUhVd6V8Eb12TdcdNqtqQ2TggQzZsrxqU0fh1k9j20wprhsO9hHbSjwmKJwA16zTVBO2wah1uPsv2w/s320/036.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>We are about an hour and a half away from starting the end of our big journey. We have been waiting for this day for almost three years. I still don't feel like it is really happening. Even after spending the majority of the day packing and running around getting last minute items. I am happy to report that the bags weigh in at 41 and 42 pounds. We each have four changes of clothes and two pairs of shoes. There is a whole lotta medicine and some baby stuff. Alex thinks he is very cool because we let him stay home from school today so that we could have some last minute time together. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I will try to post at some point tomorrow to let you all know that we made it on our way.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6