March 30, 2008 - Settling In.....

We are back and finally getting closer to normal. Helaina has adapted quicker than us as we still feel a little jet lag and are recovering from being sick. Helaina celebrated her first Easter at Poppa's house and here she is all dressed up in one of her Chinese satin outfits, enjoying a little snack! We found out Helaina likes music and dancing at her very first party (a surprise birthday party for a co-worker with live DJs and disco balls. This is good news for daddy as someday he will pull out the guitars, along with the Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young CDs. We have no idea how she will react to Barry Manilow, but based on the party she seems to be a natural rocker and might not be into ballads (Daddy hopes).

Daddy is training Helaina to take over his house duties, he can't wait for her to get as big as the vacuum cleaner. She loves to play with the dishwasher but hasn't seen the broom yet. The possibilities are endless. She is now an all-American gal because she loves spaghettios, as evidenced by the clean bowl and her cleaning out the can! We took her over to the park and she loves to slide and swing, come on warmer weather! Helaina has been to the doctor who will repair her cleft, she loves the light being shined in her ear. She faces a long surgery and hospital stay, which will probably be more traumatic for the parents than Helaina.

Anyhow we are slowly getting into a normal routine, as normal as things can get with a 2 year old "energizer bunny".

Tuesday Finally!!!!!!!!!!

We are finally at the end of our long journey to get Helaina. It ended with our swearing in at the US Consulate at 4:30 pm, the same date Helaina was found abandoned in Xi'an, March 18, 2006, 2 years ago. We are ready to get out of Dodge. There were 35 families at the swearing in ceremony, but the major thing is a brown enevlope that is only to be opened by US Customs in Chicago when Helaina Marie Morgan becomes a citizen of the United States of America, the good old red, white and blue! She was officially our daughter in Xi'an.

We meet our guide at 6:00 am Wednesday morning and land in Syracuse at around 7:00 pm with the most important package of our lives, 13 kilograms of the most amazing 2 year old I have ever seen. I don't care how much screaming she does on the flights, she is coming home. Here are a few photos taken on a rainy day in Guangzhou when we went back to the Provincial Park and of course, Helaina. Right now she is talking in her crib, no doubt wound up from all the activities of today, she has a lot of stamina for a 2 year old as we are near exhaustion. We are looking forward to having everyone meet her. Number one for take off!!!!!!!!!! For those of you into Forestry here is a photo of a tree in China and Helaina learning some leaf identification.

St Patrick's Day in China

The luck of St. Patrick and a four leaf clover was with us today as it started out with both of us at our peak heart rates. The guide's interpretor, Edward, knocked on our door and said there was a problem with our paperwork and we must quickly go to the US Consulate. It turns out that one of the forms used was an old form that had to be replaced with an updated one. We pulled up to the Consulate, were handed new forms to sign and then went site seeing. Our heads are still spinning from that experience. Hopefully everything is in order and we get Helaina's visa tomorrow.

Edward figured out what Helaina means when she says "Ahhh La" all the time, it means I want, give me. That makes sense because we probably give her everything now. So be ready when she points and says "Ahhh La". We went to a temple and the largest park in Guangzhou today and ate some pretty spicey Chinese food for you spice lovers out there. Time for the Tums. Our guide also offered to take us to see a Chinese doctor because we are both hacking pretty good. We opted for the medicine store instead and were given a package of Xiaoyan Pian, some mysterious brown pills "No Side-Effect". I think we will suffer until we are back. We see the finish line in sight though and will be signing up for either "Amazing Race" or "Survivor" next. I have learned things about Roberta I never knew on this trip. Mommy note: It's amazing to see all the flowers and trees here. It's very beautiful and peaceful in all the parks, temples and pagodas that we visited. Hard to believe we'll be back to cold and snow shortly after wearing shorts, smelling flowers and listening to the birdies.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Guangzhou on a Sunday, we did a little shopping and visited the Six Banyan Pagoda. Each day we eat foods from different parts of China, sometimes you hit something that knocks your socks off. Helaina got to drink some tea that brings luck and makes you healthy. I hope it works for Roberta as she has a cold and sore throat since being in Xi'an. Edward the interpeter got to see a cousin he hasn't seen in 5 years and here she is holding Helaina. Yes we got her some satin outfits and those famous "squeaky shoes" that she will wear whenever we visit.

Helaina knows the sign for more, we saw it when she liked playing "Pat a cake, pat a cake, bakers man....". Here is a picture of her eating her first Pizza Hut pizza, yummy. She liked the crust and ate it up. We also got her some vanilla ice cream which sometimes bothered her because of her open palate. I have a good shot on video as to what happens. Tomorrow our documents are taken to the US Consulate and the next day we get her travel visa. Look out Syracuse because here she comes, the Xi'an warrior princess (not the one from the TV show). Note from Mommy: Here's Jim holding a package of diapers we had to buy. I might also add that he's only changed one diaper since we've been in China - and it wasn't a "nasty" one either! But he's more than willing to learn - good thing. I had to change a "nasty" diaper in the van today while shopping. I warned the guides and driver that it might get a little stinky. It was very funny when the aroma hit the inside of the van and one of the guides opened his window all the way!

Saturday, March 15, 2008, Guangzhou

Time for me (Jim)to write a post. Helaina left Xi'an kicking and screaming Friday night, needless to say she doesn't like seat belts on the airplane. It's amazing how much strength and stamina a 2 year old has. Some people laughed as we (Roberta) changed a nasty diaper during the rapid descent into Guangzhou. She was none the worse for wear though as she smiled and laughed her way through the airport in Guangzhou. Now does that make us parents yet or what? We just can't wait for the next 3 flights, I'll have to buy some stiff drinks for the rest of the journey.

Here are some photos of Helaina's medical exam and the doctor said something like" beefy" in Chinese when he looked at Helaina's thighs, tell me about it, I felt them during the flight from Xi'an. Also there is a photo of Chinese students from 3 to 5 learning English. I had to sign their books after they answered my question in English. I asked them what they thought about Spitzer and they all had their own opinion. Yes we get CNN on one station but any China news is blacked out. Pizza in the room tonight should be interesting. We really can't wait to get home and have you all meet her, I'll also be looking for some qualified baby sitters.

Friday, March 14, 2008 - Departure Day for Guangzhou, finally.

Helaina is in rare form today. Thank goodness she's napping now. She made lunch today extra special by tossing food she didn't want on the floor, trying to wriggle out of the "baby chair" (as they call it in China), and by letting everyone in the restaurant know that she was tired and needed a nap by crying one moment and laughing the next. We're packed up and ready to be picked up at 5:00pm for our ride to the airport. Our flight to Guangzhou leaves around 7:30pm and gets us there at about 9:30pm. It will be another late night. Tomorrow is paperwork and Helaina's physical, Sunday is sight-seeing, Monday is our consulate appointment, then Tuesday we jump for joy because we leave for HOME on Wednesday. Not looking forward to the 14 hour flight from Hong Kong and then the 3 hour lay-over in Chicago, but if it gets us home, we'll take it.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Today we had a nice (spicy) lunch out at a restaurant and then toured the Xian City Wall. It was sunny and warm. We can't believe that we have to return next Wednesday back to the cold and snow. It's been so nice wearing short sleeves and we can't wait to travel to Guangzhou tomorrow where it will be even warmer. Glad we packed shorts. The thought of packing everything all over again for our first plane trip with Helaina tomorrow makes us tired just thinking about it. At dinner tonight we sat at a table next to a little boy who had a repaired cleft lip. When the little boy turned around and saw Helaina, he smiled as big as can be. Helaina saw him and she got excited too. Come to find out, they were pals at the same orphanage. We've got pictures of them together while they were there. Here are a few photos from today's activities. Helaina continues to impress us daily with her independence, intelligence and her skills for taking care of herself. We can tell that she was well cared for at the Xian Children's Welfare Institute and learned a lot in the 2 years she lived there. We can only imagine how much they must miss this little China doll.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Today was a free day. We wanted to walk to a park close to the Xian City Wall but it rained in the morning. We did a little shopping at the local Vanguard (kind of like a Super Walmart). It's always a challenge between speaking no Chinese and not knowing the "rules" of things around here. It did clear up later in the afternoon so we made it to the park then. Helaina is always a big hit wherever we go. Chinese women come up to her and start speaking to her in Chinese (obviously). They almost always pinch her chubby cheeks, motion to the scar on her lip, and then say "lucky baby". If they only knew how lucky we are. Helaina didn't eat much today. She's had a cough since we got her on Sunday and it's finally breaking up, thank goodness. Today I was spit up on, peed on, pooped on and phlemed on, so I guess I am officially her mother!!! She did have a little soup for dinner (minestrone, not the fish head soup that was in the crock next to the minestrone) and a few crackers. She's on the mend, thank goodness.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - Her personality has arrived!

Well, it took 48 hours but our little fortune cookie Helaina finally made an appearance in full swing! We had an amazing day seeing the Flying Goose Pagoda in the morning then visiting the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit in the afternoon, including lunch at facility. We've seen the Terra Cotta Warriors so many times on TV, but when we actually walked into the first chamber (pit) and were standing there at that truly amazing site - with our daughter - it was overwhelming. We've got some amazing photos. Lunch was great - and Helaina kept us laughing throughout. We put a plate of food in front of her and she picked up the chopsticks next to her and started trying to eat with them! We cracked up, and the funniest thing was that she was pretty good at it! When it comes to getting food in her mouth, anything goes - forks, spoons, fingers, chopsticks, slurping - she's hysterical, and thoroughly enjoys every moment of mealtime. We had to buy a stroller because she's on the hefty side and was breaking our arms carrying her. Her thighs - man are they meaty - she definately needs a Thighmaster!!!

Monday, March 10, 2008

After her 9-hour sleep Helaina woke up crying, of course, not really sure of where she was. After some comforting, we went to the breakfast buffet in the hotel. Big hit with Helaina. She had some congee, a scrambled egg, apple juice and some watermelon. It certainly wasn't a day of rest - back to Civil Affairs office for paperwork. After meeting with the Director and a notary, we signed lots of documents then put our red thumbprint over our names. Helaina had her foot stuck in blue ink and her little footprint was stamped on a document too. After we answered some questions and promised never to abandon her, that was it. She was ours. She was still quiet most of the day (and tired), but at night we did manage to get a laugh out of her. It was priceless. She again went right to bed and slept another 9 hours. Wish I could say the same for us. Our room is hot and stuffy (air conditioning doesn't work at all), and the bed is hard as concrete!

More on our Gotcha Day, Sunday March 9th

Van ride to the hotel. First diaper change. First meal together (this gal can eat). First bath. Helaina was quiet most of our first night together. She really didn't cry too much other than initially when her Nanny handed her over to us. She ate well and enjoyed her bath. We sat her on the bed later that night, looked at each other and thought "Now what do we do?" She was so exhausted from her ordeal that she went right to sleep when we put her in the crib. No fussing at all. She slept 9 hours straight through. Poor little gal was emotionally and physically exhausted - as were her Mommy and Daddy.