Wil finds his soul mate...

Day 12

OK, maybe that is not fair, but his connection with the six year old female chimpanzee at the Guangzhou zoo was something very special.  We have fondly referred to Wil as our little monkey since he was very, very young.  We recently learned he is born in the year of the monkey.  Upon entering the zoo, his eyes met those of a local chimp just 2 months older than he is, and they began to run back and forth along the front of the monkey exhibit.  Back and forth for a very long time, until she began a sort of peek-a-boo game with him where she hid and then came out to see him.  Unbelievably cute.

Photos from day 12

(If you can't see the Flash slideshow above, click here.)

The zoo itself was really fun.  We could get much closer to the animals than in the US and people were actually feeding them.  We saw the hippo eating, and the llamas up close.  Christopher really wanted one to spit, but could not make it happen.  The big cats were amazing.  Siberian tigers, leopards, roaring lions, lion cubs wrestling and getting a bath from mom, and even Ligers.  Yes, a cross between a lion and tiger.  One of our kid's favorite signs of the day was for the donkey.  Chinese somehow translates it into english as a Domestic Ass.  You can imagine their reaction.

After the zoo, we all needed to rest, and get something to eat.  We had one last round of souvenier buying at Jordan's shop, and we decided it was time to take advantage of the McDonald's delivery service. Our happy meals were delivered to our hotel! Nice!

Dinner tonight was to be our last outing with our tour group.  We boarded a dinner cruise on the Pearl River for a 2 hour trip.  The Guangzhou city lights were bright and beautiful.  Big stadiums built for the Asian games lined the river, along with the tallest building in China.  The food for dinner was interesting to say the least.  During our travels we've discovered lots of chicken dishes, and most of them have small bits of chicken cut up, but pieces of bone are left with the meat!  Mostly the kids ate corn on the cob and a bit of rice.  Our favorite "specialty" of the night was fried chicken feet.  One member of our group tried it, gross.  There was a silly clown doing some juggling, and Christopher got in on the act.  Anna Mei liked the loud Ricky Martin music playing and did some dancing.

As for Anna Mei, she sits on the bed laughing at the moment.  She is crawling and standing  She loves to sit on her brother's laps and play. When she is angry she balls up her fists and lets us know how she feels, but it never lasts very long.    

This is the last we would see Brian, Jeanne, and their daughter Willow as they were flying home by way of Hong Kong.  They would board the speed train tomorrow  Willow is a sweet girl with a huge appetite.  Willow took to playing with Wil.  She bonded well with Jeanne, but was not sure about Brian yet.  We were warned this could happen, and she was gearing up for the long trip home.

We are dreading the 25 hour travel time home ourselves.  Tomorrow we have a free day to relax and pack, and Thursday we leave at 5 AM China time from our hotel.  That is 5 PM your time, and we land in Newark at about 5 PM eastern standard time.  This will be the last leg of trip, and we are ready to get back to some baseball, american food, our own beds, our pups, and to family and friends. This will be our last entry from China and we are very grateful to all of you that have logged onto the blog each day to read about our journey.  Anna Mei will soon meet all of you!

It's Official...US Citizenship

Day 11

It was a very early morning as we all boarded the bus for the US Consulate around 7:20 AM.  It was a 40 minute bus ride to a very average looking office building.  The only sign that the consulate was even here was a small american flag on a sign by the escalators. We waited around to go up, we waited to get into the consulate area, we waited to get through security, and then we waited until a woman arrived and talked to us about the current state of US adoptions from China.  The interesting news was that last year, 65% of US/Chinese adoptions were special needs children.  This year, that is already up to about 73% of the adoption cases.  She asked us as parents to raise our hands to take an oath, and then we waited to be called to the window one by one.  We were a little on edge, hoping we would not have any problems.  The woman at the window was very sweet and talked nicely to Anna Mei.  She looked through all papers, stamped all the appropriate places, and asked for an official signature.  That all finished, she said congratulations and sent us on our way!  Our guide will pick up Anna Mei's official Visa and passport from the Consulate tomorrow, and we will be ready for travel!

Photos from day 11

(If you can't see the Flash slideshow above, click here.)

After the consulate, it was off to another park to walk around, tire out the kids, and give the babies something new to see.  This park was full of winding paths and beautiful flowers.  Someone turned up the heat here, and a low 70's day was completely uncomfortable with about 100% humidity.  We hoped for a dip in the hotel pool, but were disappointed to learn it was not yet open for the summer season.  At this point, I collapsed due to a nasty sinus cold and a rocking headache.  Chris was very kind and took all four kids out on the town while mommy got a very much needed nap.  Where should they go? Back to play games at Dong's shop!  A few chinese checkers games later, and they left happy (Dong was too, as he made a few more sales!)   Dinner out, and an early night for everyone.

As for Anna, well, we are putting her on the floor much more often and she is standing and moving much more.  She cruises along while holding on, and she crawls when she wants something.  She is developing before our eyes.  We can't wait for her hair to grow in.  They obviously shaved it right before we met her.  Now, it is softer and growing in a little bit.

Tomorrow we visit the zoo and have a cruise on the Pearl River at dinner time.  It will be our last day of sightseeing in China.  Wednesday we pack up, and get ready for a very early and very long Thursday.

We have all been blessed…

Day 10

Today we ventured out in the van with the other families to a Buddhist Temple. This temple is known to have a very small piece of the original Buddha's remains which was a gift to the emperor of China many generations ago. This temple is about 1,475 years old, and is frequented by the locals of Guangzhou for daily prayer as well as being a tourist site. Our tour guide Aron taught us about the laughing buddha and how he was something like a saint, not the actual buddha himself. The miracle or talent this buddha is known for is taking everyones hardships and sorrows upon himself (into his large belly…he is not fat with overindulgence, but with all of the sorrows he has taken in from his followers).

Photos from day 10

(If you can't see the Flash slideshow above, click here.)

We also learned that the buddha statues are set in three, and the incense sticks lit for each person are done in threes, as these represent a person's past, present, and future. All of us lit our three incense prayer sticks and made our three wishes to the Buddha. Wil later was sad that one of his prayers could not come true, as he wished for the great buddha to come back to life if he was in fact such a great man. So sweet.

We were then led into the temple area with the largest three Buddha's. There a buddhist monk asked us to take off our shoes and enter the roped off area. We kneeled before him, and he proceeded in a beautiful chant and dripped water in a blessing upon our heads. The blessing is to bring good health and happiness.

From there it was off to a local park. We are all so impressed with the emphasis in this culture upon exercise and healthy living. Every park has exercise equipment and areas for walking which are in constant use by men, women, and children all together. This park had that along with a large area for badminton and ping pong Many children played with their parents in the park. Further on, there were some small rides. The boys enjoyed a short rollercoaster ride, and a bike ride on a monorail which resembled something like General Greivous rode in the movie. All of this surrounded a beautiful lake. There were more people playing the local version of hackysack, and we stopped to play with a local man that laughed as us americans. Anna Mei took her nap peacefully sleeping in the stroller as we walked.

We were on our own for the afternoon, and used the opportunity to do a few errands, have lunch at a new favorite chinese style restaurant, and back to the hotel room for quiet time. Anna Mei is beginning to practice standing more, and loves the stacking cups we brought along. Last night she kept Mommy up to 11 PM since her nap was so late, so our goal is an earlier bedtime tonight. Tomorrow is a big day.

We meet at 7:20 AM to board the van for the US Consulate in Guangzhou City. There, we will meet with the proper officials, and should all go well, Anna Mei will officially be a US citizen tomorrow. Nothing can ever be easy, so of course we have one obstacle to overcome. We are told our notary in BaoDing did a poor job. She left out one sentence telling that Anna was in the care of the police officer that found her in the two days time span between when she was found and when she was admitted to the orphanage. In the recent past, the US Consulate has been picky about this omission, but if pressed, will still approve the application. Worst case: we must remain longer in country while the notary does the correct forms. However, we are told they have made exceptions, especially if pushed a bit. Glad Chris is here! Stay tuned for the results :-)

Finally McDonalds!

Day 9

TB test reads negative!  Anna crosses another hurdle to coming home!

The big news of the day is that Anna passed her test today.  Overall, it was a nice day.  We were reunited with the other families from our travel group.  Charlie is still doing well, and we met Willow, Brian and Jeanne's new daughter.  She is a few months younger than Anna, but the difference in their size is staggering.  Willow has a full set of hair, eats solid foods, says mama, walks, and seems to have been from a good orphanage.  She is quiet and sweet.  She has attached to Jeanne though, and is giving her arms a real workout.  Brian can play with her, but certainly not hold her!  It will come with time.

Photos from day 9

(If you can't see the Flash slideshow above, click here.)


After the medical exam, we headed off on our own.  Wil NEEDED a McDonalds fix.  That meant a treck off our little island and into Guangzhou city.  WOW, the sights just across that little waterway!  Live scorpions in buckets, snakes, turtles, and snakeheads for sale for food.  Live chicken and ducks in cages, and huge bags filled with teas, pastas and spices.  After some aimless walking we finally found our way to the mall area with lots of upscale shops (and McDonalds!).  Wil had his happy meal, and we all enjoyed an ice cream cone.  As we left, we realized we were lost.  No idea which way to walk!  Taxi!  The taxi ride cost us a whopping $1.50.  Best money we ever spent.

Another stop at our favorite little gift shop, and we bought Chinese Chess game for 300 RMB.  Dong, the man in the shop, taught the boys how to play, and Christopher and Alex are addicted.  It is similar to the western version of Chess but has some really fun differences. Tif got a few silk outfits for Anna Mei and a few other little things.  Dong was very excited we were buying so much.  It seems like every where we go there are stores after stores after stores lined up and tons of people working always buzzing around.  Chris mentioned that if everyone seems to have a store, who is buying all this stuff?

The people aren't very friendly until you engage them then they usually give you a smile. We are getting a little annoyed with the lack of respect when holding doors, or giving personal space. I almost yelled at a driver the other day with no respect for the fact that he drove so very close to our stroller.  But overall, everyone is very friendly and amazed at the sheer size of our family.  One man said, "we have that much children, we in jail!"  I certainly think that was a joke, but it sticks in my mind.  Another man talked about this generation in China not knowing Uncles or Aunts.

No major changes here with our princess.  She is still happy, drinking tons of bottles, babbling, laughing…

The boys are happy too.  Everyone is actually enjoying the journals they are keeping, and lots of poker games are being played to pass the time in the hotel room.  My 6 year old was teaching me what a "push" is yesterday.  Is that wrong?

A day with the family…

Day 8

By now we are all so much more settled and enjoying the fact that Guangzhou is mostly all walkable…no vans or driving!

Photos from day 8

(If you can't see the Flash slideshow above, click here.)

Friday began early, and we all hit the hotel breakfast. I think the kids have settled into a mostly eggs, bacon, and watermelon breakfast each morning. Today we were supposed to visit a local garden, but the weather is cool and rainy. Highs in the upper 50's so we went to Chen's Ancestral Lineage Hall. Everything is freshly painted and planted in Guangzhou since the Asian Games took place here last year. I asked about dragon boating and was told that does not take place much here in this part of China. Mostly North and West. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed. Anyway, the Chen home definitely was a different style than anything we saw in Beijing. Even Chris's favorite Foo Dogs guarding the gates were smaller and skinnier (smaller city, less power, is symbolized in the statue's size). However, I thought this was much more beautiful. The wood carving was much more ornate, and the small courtyards and gardens were full of trees and flowering plants. Indoor rooms all looked out on the beautiful courtyards, and Wil and I followed the sound of a flute playing. He was fascinated and scored himself a flute to play the rest of the day, as well as a more complicated Calabash for the family. The Calabash is a high pitched flute type instrument played by some mountain communities. They have a traditional peacock dance where a woman in silks dances to this instrument's tune. Very beautiful.

We were back by early afternoon and decided to try the Thai restaurant on the corner. While Anna slept through the entire meal, we tried duck skewers, vegetable wonton, fried rice, and some outstanding fresh juices. The iced lemon and mango were the best. Service was slow and it was late afternoon when we left. Quick trips for more formula, a new suitcase for all this stuff we are buying, and to pick up our clean laundry (thank god!), and we were in for "family game night." A few rounds of poker, a Poppa John's Pizza delivery, and we were asleep by 9 PM. The laundry was extremely cheap and we would all love this type of service at home!

As for dear Anna; she is doing so very well. She is drinking tons of the new, more age appropriate formula. We've gotten a few bites of yogurt in there, a few bits of baby food, and she spent a good 15 minutes playing with a few Gerber Baby Banana Puffs. I think maybe one or two actually went in her mouth. But she is very content with all of us. She crawls to all of us on the bed to play. She hugs and cuddles. She crawls right in and laughs when the boys wrestle. Today she has her TB test read at the medical center. If she has TB we will have to stay in country for longer while she takes medicine. We are feeling confident though, as the bruise on her arm from the test remains flat.

Day 5 Gotcha Day Revisited...

OK, we never finished off the story of Anna Mei's Gotcha Day. Looking back now, it seems to be a humorous tale. At the time, there were definitely some stressful moments. So, we left off with meeting Anna Mei, and we then boarded our van, to head to the notary. The plan was quickly changed when the time revealed 4:10 PM and the passport office closes at 5 PM. So we let the caregiver and orphanage director know we would be a bit late to the notary office, and we would meet them there. Our driver soon learned the GPS address for the passport office was incorrect. The phone number our guide had was out of service. We began to drive. Several stops and questions later, we seemed to end up in the same place, but now it was 4:45. Our guide Vanessa had a new plan since she knew not getting the passport meant another trip to Hebei Province (4 1/2 hours each way). She jumped out at a busy intersection and hailed a taxi. The taxi driver took us to the same place! Finally, following the taxi again, we ended up at the passport office at 4:55 PM on the van clock. Vanessa sprinted into the building and came out 10 minutes later carrying a chinese passport. Without this, Anna Mei would not be able to board the plane to Guangzhou with us for the next leg of the trip.

A huge sigh of relief and off to the notary. They knew we were coming so they stayed open late for us (the 4,500 RMB fee was certainly an incentive for them to wait for us). The orphanage women had left by now, and we quietly answered a few questions and received a stack of official forms we would need for the US Consulate to prove the Chinese Government recognized her as ours. Her first diaper change, and her first bottle from mom later, and we were back in that van for the 4 1/2 hour drive back to Beijing. The ride was very difficult since we felt like we were in an Indy race using a big 10 person bus. Everyone tried to sleep but it was the most uncomfortable sleep imaginable. Anna slept on both Mom and Dad, and we tried to focus our eyes inside the car and not on the traffic and horrible driving around us. When it got dark, Anna Mei got pretty scared by the lights on the ceiling of the car. Not much calmed her, until good old cartoons to the rescue. Chris pulled out the ipad with cartoons of Kai Lan. She sat and smacked at it and watched until she settled and finally slept. China does't require everyone to use seat belts and we couldn't get a car seat so we made the best of it. Anna is in our arms when we travel by car so we buckle ourselves and hold her.

We pulled into the Beijing Hotel, stumbled upstairs, and all quickly fell asleep. Thankfully, our guide had called ahead and a crib stood waiting for Anna when we arrived. We were all thankful the long day was behind us and beautiful Anna Mei was in front of us.

Today is all about Anna Mei

She slept in again this morning in her crib cuddled in her new pink blanket.  Morning seems to be her peaceful time.  She sleeps late and is ready for a nap again by late morning.  Come afternoon and evening she is wide awake and ready for action!  Our plan for this day was her appointment for her medical exam.  What a crowded, hectic, crazy place that clinic was!  Chinese locals stood around everywhere inside, many in masks (to avoid infection?), waiting their turn to see a doctor.  The wait did not appear to be short in any way.  Ours however, was.  We arrived in Guangzhou earlier than most families do since we did not have to fly as far to her province to meet her.  This put our schedule ahead of other adoptive families this week and we were the only family in the adoption clinic area.

Photos from day 7

(If you can't see the Flash slideshow above, click here.)

Anna weighed (21 lbs), measured (75 cm), head circumference taken (47 cm), and was generally checked over.  She checked out beautifully.  It appears her cleft palate repair was a good one, and they do not see any remaining holes to be repaired.  Her lip is done well for now, and will have a revision in the future.  She has a cleft gum ine, which was completely expected.  That means her teeth are there, but in the one section set incorrectly in position.  When she gets older, that will be a surgery to fix her gum line and set her teeth correctly.  Yes, she can hear.  They did give us a scare on that one when we were home.  She has an ear wax build up, and we will see an ENT to see if she will benefit from ear tubes.

As we get to know her habits, I can predict that this little one has had lots of ear infections.  First of all, she definitely prefers to settle herself down flat on her back or on a pillow and be handed her bottle to drink.  One note about the bottle.  Because of the cleft, she never learned to suck.  So the orphanage took a regular bottle and cut a huge hole in the top.  She basically holds the bottle in her right cheek and gulps it down as it pours into her mouth.  She can control it enough to take breaks when she wants, but takes a bottle very fast.  We mentioned the formula diet before.  We have found Enfamil formula here that is appropriate for 1-3 year olds, so we switched to that (no problems from her with the switch), and we are giving her MUCH more of it than they were.  We are happily changing many more diapers.  We are also working on introducing new baby foods.  We had packed a few, so last night she tried butternut squash mixed with apple.  She took some off the spoon.  I guess about 5 or 6 full spoonfuls (though in much smaller bites) in all got in there which we think is a real success.  We will keep trying at all meals today.  The key is, she is trusting us more now.  Before she would not allow anything into her mouth, but now she will let us try.

We are also learning her special little habits.  She LOVES playing with her hands.  The sad truth is that these were her most available playthings.  She has lots of sweet and funny finger movements,  When distressed she will stop, extend her left hand, and study it seeming to make sure it is all still there.  She also loves to put her tongue carefully between her two middle fingers either in play or when she is sad.  These seem to be her little coping mechanisms.

She also has a sweet but disgusting little habit of spitting all over her fingers and drawing on everything and everyone in reach!  We need to get this little one some crayons and paints!!  She loves music and dances.  When she is feeling silly she moves her head around back and forth, and if I try to do it too and keep up I make myself very dizzy.  Anna Mei unquestionably fits into the DiMedio mold already.  She loves to laugh, play, and even wrestle around.  She also loves a good cuddle.  I'm afraid she is also a bit opinionated and stubborn, go figure!  She can communicate just fine when she is not happy with what we want her to do.
The locals are great sales people and are very aggressive.  We got roped into going to many stores designed to suck money from adoptive parents.  Fortunately, everything is so cheap so we gladly purchased famous chinese squeaky shoes, chinese foo dogs and we are going back for a chinese chess set made from bone (don't want to know what kind of bone).

Most importantly, she is already giving and receiving love.  She has a permanent place in all of our hearts

Gotcha Day continues...

Day 5
Yes, we know we have been out of touch for a while!  The past two days have blurred together in a mass of movement and activity!  Most importantly, we are getting to know Anna Mei.  She is an absolute doll, that loves to sit and play.  Mostly she loves to climb on Daddy, beat him up a bit, and then giggle herself silly.  We are realizing how deprived Anna Mei has been since she has only been bottle fed (yes, she is 2 and being fed baby formula).  Her facial expressions, hand gestures and body movement are so beautiful and so insightful.  She is a beautiful little girl deprived the basic necessities in life but her spirit is strong and full of life.  She reminds us every second on why we made this decision and why this journey has meant so much to us...she needs us so much and we are realizing how much we need her.

Photos from days 5-6

(If you can't see the Flash slideshow above, click here.)

Day 5 began calmly.  Anna Mei slept in until 7 Am or so.  The boys are still up around 5, but play with their games in their room until breakfast.  Down to the hotel breakfast again.  She will take her bottle from us, but sometimes is grumpy and refuses.  Anna will NOT eat anything solid.  Tiny bits of mashed banana made her crazy mad.  Everyone else ate well, and we were back to the room to pack.  Chris took the boys to the pool.  They said that while it was indoor, it was FREEZING.  Even the hot tub area was cold.  Anna Mei was exhausted from the past few days, and fell asleep for a long morning nap.  We needed to grab lunch before meeting Mrs. Li, so we walked across the street into the mall area.  There was a sushi express with lots of little plates of suishi and terriaki going past the tables.  We took all we wanted.  I think Christopher counted 15 plates!  The best news of the meals was Anna Mei finally let some rice in her mouth, and then had a great time playing with the sticky rice on her fingers.  The total bill ended up being a bit more than $10.  Crazy cheap.  We feel like Bill Gates.

So, Mrs. Li was ready to take us on another tour, this time to Heaven Temple.  This is a large public park at the entrance.  Here we saw a large group of senior citizens doing gentle stretches and exercises in unison and chanting.  They were clapping and chanting, "We exercise today, we exercise for our health (in Chinese of course!)"  Then we walked to this long alley where along the entire fence, one game of poker after another was being played.  There were probably 50 groups of about 6 people engaged in poker games at once.  Betting is illegal, so this is just a nice way for the elderly to pass the day.  They were selling their version of a hacky sack and the kids love them.  They are plastic feathers with a rubber bottom and tin in between for sound effects.  They were a whopping 10 RMB (1.75 us dollars for all 3).

Into the Heaven Temple itself, we learned this is where the Emperor himself would come to pray at the moon/spring festival.  The long walkways were for the special dignitaries to watch his procession to prayer.  He would be expected to fast for 3 days before this long walk.  We felt the long walk ourselves carrying Anna Mei, and after the past few days. The coolest part was the final outdoor prayer area where all sets of stairs were sets of 9, and the rings surrounding the stone upon which he would pray went out in multiples of nine.  The belief is that there are nine layers of heaven.  Symbolism of the sets of nine has been everywhere in our travels.

After the heaven temple, it was back to pack some more.  This was a tough time for Anna Mei.  This was her most fussy.  She liked walking the halls, but after a while, even that did not help.   We rallied and headed out to dinner with Mrs. Li and her husband.  They are a very sweet, kind couple.  We tried many different dishes, but Anna Mei was having none of this.  She screamed her way though the first part of the evening.  Then, something Wil ate brought hives to his face.  Chris wanted to wait it out, but an overly tired mom would have none of it.  Not willing to take any risk here in China.  Mom gave him Benedryl.  Within 10 minutes Wil was asleep in his chair (but hive-free!).  The restaurant we ate at was over 160 years old.  The walk back to the hotel carrying both Anna Mei and Wil felt like it took about that long.

The kids collapsed, and we realized there is no question this girl is battling an ear infection in her left ear.  Easy to tell from the grinding of her fist deep into her ear, amidst lots of crying.  We decided it was time to use the pharmacy we brought with us!  Some infant Motrin, and a dose of Amoxicillin later, she was on the road to happiness.  We also discovered what we thought was her body temperature, was absolutely not.

Fever gone, we are on to getting her to eat!  The very sad truth is that for the first two years of her life, this girl has been fed baby formula, and a little bit of rice cereal.  Her caregiver said she would sometimes get mashed fruit.  Her body size is tiny.  She is not walking.  Only standing holding on to things, and she scoots more than she crawls.  The good news.  We were right.  They are "smart eyes" we saw in those pictures.  She is coming out of her shell more and more every day.

Day 6

Anna Mei is a good sleeper (yes!).  She is much happier this morning and we are continuing the medications.  Our final breakfast at the Beijing Hotel, and off to the airport.  Today is all about flying to Guangzhou.  Everything going through the airport went smoothly, and we boarded our flight without much trouble.  Our seats were scattered throughout the plane, but the airline stewardess was fantastic and sat us mostly together.  The plan was for Anna to hang with mom.  She decided this airline thing was not for her.  She screamed even while were still boarding the plane.  After walking around with her and trying just about everything we could think of, Dad bit the bullet and took over.  She kept crying long enough that Chris actually went into a bathroom for a while just to try to give everyone's ears a break.  Finally, she fell asleep.  Daddy slept with Anna Mei sleeping on his belly the rest of the flight.  Mom hung out with the other boys and played video games.

We met our guide easily at the airport, and had an easy ride to our new hotel.  The Victory Hotel.  The stress of the past days and the big city melting off us as we see a cute, quiet town, a nice clean hotel with both wifi and a water filter at the sink.  Life is getting easier.  Anna is getting easier.  We walked to a playground and let off steam, then went to Lucy's diner.  Lucy's was the diner I read about online that all adoptive families come to love.  The big cheeseburger and fries was rejuvenating.  Anna at off a spoon for mom some chicken congee (mushy rice with chicken stock).  We left full, smiling, and walked to buy some better formula for Anna Mei.  Home to bed.  The beds are small, but comfortable.  The rooms are small, but clean.  Day 6 ended as a very good day for all of us.

Gotcha Day...

How do we even begin to describe our journey to Anna Mei?

The day began early again, as we all still wake by 4:30 most mornings (though Mom had a very restless night...something like a five year old child trying to sleep on Christmas Eve).  A good breakfast and it was into the bus for the 4 1/2 hour drive to the capital of Hebei, Shi Jia Zhuang, to the provincial office to meet Anna Mei.

Photos from today

(If you can't see the Flash slideshow above, click here.)

One important note about the driving here.  Our driver would frighten even the most hardened New York Cabbie, as would every other driver on the road.  At any given intersection bikes, scooters, traffic and people weave in all directions.  The cultural tendency of not respecting personal space applies to cars as well as inches separate the movement of cars.  We found it best to keep our eyes in the car as much as possible as our driver liked to move through the many manufacturing trucks with inches to spare, and no driver hesitates to drive on the shoulder of the roads.  One note, the boys were fantastic on this trip.  Christopher worked on his poetry homework, Alex listened to music and played games, and Wil drew pictures for Anna Mei of our family.  We had another few rousing games of Old Maid as well.  So anyway, we arrived alive, a bit early for our 2 PM appointment.  We were told we would need to wait.   Still waiting for the person in charge around 2:30 our guide had an angry conversation with someone in the main office on the phone.  It seems the woman we had an appointment to see was home today with an emergency, and there was no plan to replace her.  Fortunately, she was able to persuade them to have another colleague come over to help us.  By 3 PM we had been fingerprinted, our documents checked, and our answers were sufficient as we promised to care for all of Anna Mei's health, education, and welfare needs.  Anna was running late, so we sat to wait.

The photo with her on her caregiver, Mrs. Li's lap is our very first interaction with Anna.  She was nervous, but did not cry.  She let me hold her and was very interested in her new brothers.  We were introduced to her as Ma Ma, Ba Ba, and Ge Ge.  Mrs. Li sat and answered our many questions.  She was kind and you could see she cared about Anna.  We learned though that their were 80 babies in their baby section of the orphanage, and we are quickly seeing how she has learned to sit and entertain herself with her fingers.  She will sit, lick her fingers, and mark her territory so to speak with her hand.  She will touch things, then put them down and taste them off her fingers.  She was treated as a baby at the orphanage and at age two is still almost primarily on bottles and very little solid food. We have the world of food to introduce this little girl to!

Our favorite moment of the day came when she met her Daddy.  Within minutes they were playing a game with his mouth and she let out full belly laugh.  The laughs continued as we discovered on the ride home that she is very ticklish on both her belly and her feet.

She is absolutely beautiful in every way.  She is happy, smiles, interacts with the kids and us.  She rarely fusses.  On the long drive home she became afraid of the lights of the cars shining in and making designs on the ceiling.  She cried for a while, but was able to be comforted by mom and by Kai Lan playing on the ipad.  You know us DiMedio's...technology to the rescue!

There are so many other details to share, but we are starving now and need to head out to breakfast.  We will continue to share, but please know, she is happy, healthy, and we are all already completely in love with her.

United with Anna Mei

Happy Birthday Grandmom! We are thinking of you…

Another early morning for us, and still a bit stiff.  We were warned the beds in China are firm.  It's something like sleeping on a box spring with no mattress.  Breakfast at the hotel with eggs, kiwi juice, and even hot dogs and baked beans.  Crazy mix of foods.  Wil has a few "pet" fish in the Koi pond which he swears he has trained.  When he holds out his hand they come over to him and come to the surface.  Met Charlie, Debi and Ed's son, and he is a doll.  After 45 minutes of crying after his caregiver left, he has been a happy, content little 18 month old cutie.  You should see the looks we get as we "Americans" walk down the street now with a chinese baby BOY.  Alex is still the most requested "photo", but all the boys took more pictures with overly friendly strangers today.

Photos from today

(If you can't see the Flash slideshow above, click here.)

Things are hectic at the hotel still because of the Chinese Government Convention.  The same convention had the entire Tian An Mein Square closed down and guarded by armed guards today.  We saw the square and Chairman Mao's photo as we walked through crowds into the Forbidden City, an amazing complex of open corridors and ornate rooms designed only for the emperor and his wives.  We could also see clearly where much of the gold was scraped off by the British Soldiers during the British Occupation.  Chris can not get over how "cheap" everything is once we convert from Yuan to Dollar, so he is filling our bags up quickly.  The kids are also getting great practice at division as they try to calculate the prices of everything (divide by 7).  On the way out of the city we were mobbed by venders selling everything, and Chris soon became an easy target.

We said goodbye for a few days to Mrs. Li and the other families while they headed to their children's provinces, and happily headed into the hotel for an afternoon "off".  The kids most wanted to hit the indoor tennis court, so we went and played as a family.  Sooo fun.  They also have two squash courts, a bowling alley, billiards/chess rooms, and a professional style ping pong room.  Maybe we find the indoor pool another day.  We decided a simple american style meal in the hotel was the easiest bet tonight, and went to Outback Steak House, where Wil proceeded to fall asleep on the table and eat nothing.  Jet lag is taking a toll and he slept until 4:30 this morning.

We all tried to turn in early today, because the big day is tomorrow.  We head out in our little bus for a 4 1/2 hour drive to the capital of Anna Mei's province.  At 2 PM we have an appointment to meet Anna Mei with her caretaker and the orphanage director.  We hopefully will have some time to talk before we leave them and head to the notary and passport offices to finalize the Chinese side of Anna'a adoption.  We then jump back on that bus with our new little girl for the long 4 1/2 hour drive back to Beijing.  I am more than a bit nervous about how those first hours on that bus ride will go, so we have been preparing and overpacking for the trip.  Hopefully the next entry will have some photos and good news to report.

We climbed the mountain…

After our early start, we were starving by breakfast!  The hotel breakfast had donuts, OJ that tasted like Tang, and plenty of the good old american eggs, bacon, and cereals to keep us happy…plus congee, lo mien noodles, fried rice, and dragon fruit!  Mrs. Li marched us off to the Great Wall today.  What an awe inspiring sight.  To think it spans about 6,000 miles over these rugged mountaintops, and it was built stone by stone centuries ago.  We climbed straight up steps that make Rocky look like a real wimp, but coming back down was even more scary.

Photos from today

(If you can't see the Flash slideshow above, click here.)

Then off to lunch and a stop at the Jade Factory! We watched the master carvers turn dirt covered brown lumps into white and green works of art.  All the boys picked out a jade piece to match their chinese zodiac year; Christopher, dragon; Alex, snake; Wil, monkey (All so fitting, no?)  Anna Mei was not forgotten, and scored a jade pendant representing the ox, her birth sign.  We could not resist the temptation, and a new smiling buddha will bring love, luck and prosperity to all that visit our home and rub his tummy (Buddha's, not Chris's).

On to the Summer Palace, where Wil did NOT buy into the idea of "no rest for the weary".  In his defense, he is fighting a sinus infection since the plane ride, and it was about 3 AM back on US time.  While others walked along the lake, Wil and Mom rested on a rock enjoying the scene.  We made a few friends as the locals here have no hesitation about walking up and asking to take pictures with us, especially the boys!  Alex was the star today, as he gained the attention of quite a few young giggling chinese girls which had no problem coming up and asking him to take a picture. That is not to say Chris and Wil were left alone. I think most of their stranger "picture counts" today were above 5.

We thought we'd drop when Mrs. Li pulled into the silk factory, but we are thrilled we did!  Two silk comforters and a chinese silk outfit for an older Anna Mei later, we walked out knowing how the silk worm grows, makes a cocoon and dies in 25 days leaving a single silk thread that can stretch out the length of one mile. Very cool.

We had to hurry back to the hotel as Ed and Debi from Philly were supposed to meet their son for the first time at the hotel tonight, but traffic did not cooperate.  A LONG ride through insane traffic, a 2 minute stop to take a photo of the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium, and they arrived a bit late for "Charlie" and his caregivers.  It was amazing to witness the beginning of a new family, knowing that Monday we would be doing the same.

One note about the photos, you will notice we had to travel as far as Beijing to find nice weather.  It was "sunny" and about 68 degrees all day.  Notice the sky in our photos.  That is as sunny as it gets here.  That is a permanent smog settled over the city.  Mrs. Li mentioned that all factory work was shut down for days before the Olympic games to let the sky clear up.  As soon as the games ended, it was back to business and polluted airways. Craziness!

Thrilled to be back at the hotel, but knowing we had to eat, Chris ran to one of the many KFC's we have seen in China while we showered up for bed.  Worst KFC food we have ever had, but best choice for tonight.  Everyone collapsed in exhaustion (leaving me in peace to write this).  Tomorrow: Tian An Men Square, the Forbidden City, and an afternoon to ourselves to enjoy the hotel pool and indoor tennis court.  One Day until Anna Mei.

We arrived in Beijing!

[Note: Chris and Tiffany are not able to make posts at this time inside China. Anna Mei's Uncle Greg is serving as guest blogger and making the posts.]

And what a trip it has been so far!  We woke early in Thursday morning at home, did our final preparations, said goodbye to the dogs, and we were off to the airport in a car by 8 AM.  A minor hiccup 5 minutes from home when our driver bumped the car in front of us while coming to a stop in New Hope!  It could only be blamed on the enormous amount of weight our family combined with our luggage created!  No damage, and no delay.  The kids got a start on their homework right away in the car on the way to the airport, and have already begun writing in those journals! Newark airport was quiet, and the plane got off on time.  Thank god for individual video players on every seat back, as the entire 14 hour flight experience was completely entertaining for everyone in the family.  A networked poker game between all the boys on the video monitor was a highlight.  Only Wil slept a bit, and Chris and I got a few cat naps, which the boys would live to regret later!

We met our guide, Mrs. Li, as well as the two other families traveling with us in the airport, and boarded a bus for the Beijing hotel.  This is when the fatigue began to really set in.  It was 4 PM on Friday, China time, and no hope of sleep was in sight as Mrs. Li discussed getting rooms, exchanging money, and going out for a Peking Duck dinner.  With a minor room mix-up (they wanted to give us our "adjoining" two rooms on separate floors) we had it straight and headed up.  Our hotel is filled this weekend with Chinese dignitaries from around the country, so all rooms are full, and there is tight airline style security at all entrances!  Well, within the first 5 minutes of being in the room, Wil managed to get himself locked in the bathroom.  He could not turn the lock back to get out.  So, now the crazy American family has to have a guy at the front desk come up to rescue our son from the bathroom.  Those of you who know Wil, know he handled it just fine.  No tears, and he found humor in the situation right away.  Sooner than mommy did, I'm afraid. 

The day was not over yet! Time to go to dinner!  We walked Wang Fu Jing street to "the" place to have Peking Duck.  We are told every president and traveling dignitary goes to this place.  The duck itself was outstanding, and we enjoyed getting to know Mrs. Li and the other families.  Unfortunately, Alex fell asleep at the table, Wil dropped his glass of watermelon juice and it smashed on the floor, and Christopher nearly threw up at taking one bite (I think it was the exhaustion), and then fell asleep with his head on the table.

But the day was still not over!  Upon getting back to the room, we were ready to crash, but the kids had their second wind!  I thought I'd lose it!  OK, I did.  Twenty five hours into the day, we finally fell asleep. 

…writing this at 6 AM…we've been up since 4 AM.  Wil has been up since 2 AM China time, and we found him around 4 AM sitting in his bathroom surrounded by his math homework pages and a set of crayons.  Too cute.  But we all feel rested and excited about the adventure ahead!  Today: the Great Wall of China, and the Summer Palace!

Packing...

We are in the final days before our big trip. Our dining room table is full of tiny little toys, travel blankets, so many medications, and our favorite snacks for the plane ride and the hotel.  Now to get it all into as few suitcases as possible...

We fly out early on Thursday, and will spend the first few days adjusting to "China Time" while our guides show us the Forbidden City, The Great Wall, The Summer Palace, and the site of the recent Olympic Games.  Then Monday it is an early morning, and we drive the 1 1/2 hours to Anna Mei's province capital where the orphanage director will meet us, with Anna, to officially complete the Chinese portion of the adoption process.  From our meeting forward, Anna Mei will never leave our side.

We will be in Beijing a few more days before we jump on an in-country flight south to Guangzou.  The last week of our trip will be spent at the Victory Hotel while we complete the necessary medical appointments and paperwork for the US Consulate.  Anna Mei should become a US Citizen on 3/22 and we will be on a return flight to the US on March 24!

A very heartfelt "Thank You" to everyone.  There has been an amazing outpouring of love and support for every one of us.  For all of the stories of what we need to see and pack for China, and all of the very positive descriptions to my sons of how great it will be to have a sister in the house, thanks.  Thanks so much to our kid's principal & teacher's for the extra help and support for the trip,  our fabulous house sitter, our dedicated dog sitters, for the many hours of "adoption therapy" offered free of charge by our dear friends, and for everyone that offered to help us out along the way!  Anna Mei, we can not wait until you get a bit older and can share with you how very much this entire community is excited for and anticipating your arrival!

This morning little Avery Michalowski (age 2) was asked, "Are you going to have a playdate?"  Her reply, "Oh yes, with Anna Mei!"