Update #8

Last night it was difficult for Emmy to fall asleep.  She was grumpy and restless and I'm sure not feeling great. This morning she woke up full of it and ready to party.  Steve and I, on the other hand, have caught her cold and were tired and praying for the energy we needed to be the parents we wanted to be today. 

We went to breakfast and were seated at a table next to another American family adopting a six year old boy.  What a gift that was to hear their story and meet their precious little guy!  It was energizing to be around people having a similar experience. And it was interesting to watch Emmy watch the other American families. You could almost see her processing those western faces in families with the Chinese faces. Talking with the family and hearing their story made me tear up and I spent much of the morning crying at various things like the kind boy at the park who gave Emmy a little fish toy, the groups of people doing tai chi and playing basketball and table tennis and hacky-sack, the huge amphitheater of people doing aerobics together that Emmy and I joined, the small groups playing music with interesting instruments, the beauty of the park and how being human on a Sunday looks the same wherever you are...spending time with people you love doing things you like to do.  I wish you all could have been there.  We miss you.  

We then discovered a new tiny restaurant and ate some delicious noodles and rice and mutton. Then we were back to the hotel for a nap, a snack, playing with the new toys from the park, some swinging and playing with a new friend (playing is a stretch...mostly Emmy told him the swings and slide were hers...stinker!).  Dinner was chicken curry (yum!) from room service.  We stayed in because Emmy's cough is getting worse and is causing her to vomit a lot.  We are supposed to go to the safari park tomorrow but I think we won't because she's just not feeling well (and, as you know, animals aren't her favorite anyway). We can stay here and maybe walk to the park and keep working on using "please" and "thank you" and play with instruments and snuggle.  Counting down the days until we're home...5!

Update #7

Last night Emmy slept much better...though we didn't get in until 11:00 so we went to bed late.  Her cough has still been pretty nasty, especially when she gets excited or is really active (and being three that is pretty much all of the time). Today we had Emmy's medical appointment for the consulate. Our guide was Cordelia who was very good -- kind but no-nonsense and professional -- perfect for her job. (An aside, I've been thinking about how tricky Anna and Cordelia's jobs are and how well suited they are for them. The in province guide has to be a counselor/translator/tour guide for both parents and child without creating an attachment with the child that will be confusing.  She has to encourage and guide parents who are equal parts thrilled and terrified. And she has to know and understand the Chinese aspect of the adoption. The Guangzhou guide has a similar role but also must understand the US aspect of adoption.  Today Lu Xin told Cordelia that Cordelia was "Mama." Before her, Anna was "Mama" and "Jie Jie."  And a lot of the time, I am "Jie Jie."  It's nice to be on the side of having adopted before and knowing that Lu Xin will be fine...great even...and that we will all be fine. But if Anna and Cordelia weren't so great at their jobs, it would be more confusing and painful for the children and the families. But Anna and Cordelia just reminded her who the mama and baba are and moved on. Because the reality is that Emmy will not understand what it means to be in a family for a while.)

So...medical appointment...Cordelia took us to the appointment.  She explained to Emmy what would happen at the appointment and Emmy was fine until the baby before her cried through her ear and eye check. But once the doctor did my ears and eyes, she was okay with hers. The next part was a body check and then the dreaded TB blood test.  They will not allow parents in for that one. Apparently, it was difficult to find Emmy's veins so it took awhile and was scary for her.  But she was brave (as she is) and earned two lollipops. The doctor there prescribed some antibiotics for her cold.  Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow. After lunch, she took a two hour nap and then we mostly stayed in the room. During that time I had the brilliant idea of blowing up a balloon to play with.  Um...yeah.  Emmy?  Terrified of balloons. The offending balloon is hidden safely in the closet now so Emmy can once again wander freely around the room without fear of it jumping out at her.  We also drew with crayons (Steve and I) and a pen (Emmy) and made necklaces out of beads (Steve and I) and took them apart (Emmy again).  We are working toward bonding with Baba so he did bath time tonight with me safely in sight. He's way more fun than I am. I would totally bond with him!  Then we went adventuring in the hotel and found a playground on the 4th floor. Emmy did the slide a couple of times but her cough came back with a vengeance so we came back to the room for dinner. Maybe more slide tomorrow if she's doing better.
I remember last time we came to China we were ready to be home and do life together in a more...regular (non-hotel, kitchen-to-cook-in, whole family together) way by the second day in Guangzhou. We are definitely in that space. Many of you have mentioned experiencing something similar. We are trying hard to live in this moment and in each as they come...even while we are on hour two of waiting for a darling little voice to stop taking and go to sleep!

Update #6

Last night was a rough one for our little one.  She woke up once every half an hour crying for "Mama"...I'd put my hand on her head or hold her hand and say, "I'm here." Then she'd fall back asleep for another 30 minutes.  She woke up having had her first accident (with us) and a pretty good bloody nose to boot.  We had our last breakfast in Nanjing and then packed our bags.  Emmy helped put the items in bags and also "helped" take them out and put them back in drawers.  At one point, Steve was going to take her on a walk in the hall but she burst into tears. After lunch, she took a nap then we went on a walk. She was a bit more apprehensive than usual. Last night Anna told her that she would go on an airplane to Guangzhou.  She did not look thrilled.  When our guide came to pick us up to go to the airport, she got very quiet.  Then our guide told her we were going to the airport to go to Guangzhou.  Lu Xin yelled, "Bu Yao!" And burst into tears. She cried quietly all the way to the airport and when it was time to get out she started getting frantic...kicking and screaming. Our guide quickly started talking to her. It turns out Emmy somehow got the idea that she was going to Guangzhou with just Baba but she wanted Mama to go, too.  Phew. Easily solved.  Once that was cleared up, she was much happier.  Our flight to Guangzhou was delayed by about an hour and Emmy became more excited, manic and anxious as we waited.  Finally it was time to fly.  Behind us on the plane was a year old baby.  Lu Xin called her Mei Mei and tried to talk to her and comfort her throughout the flight. Also, Lu Xin's favorite nanny had given her some chocolate cookies which we saved for the flight (risky move). She was excited to see them and, in typical Emmy fashion, gave one to mama, one to baba and one to Mei Mei before she ate her special treat herself. That's the good news. The bad news is that eating them all fairly quickly combined with decent turbulence, excitement and nervousness and a nasty cold equals tossing her cookies in the friendly skies...onto her shirt and into her mom's hands. Then she got to wear her mom's sweater for the rest of the flight because her parents, who really have parented three other three year olds, forgot to pack a change of clothes for her.  Eventually she fell asleep for the last 30 minutes or so of the flight. Waking up upon arrival and still wearing my huge sweater, poor exhausted, sick Emmy also threw up while waiting for our luggage and while waiting for our driver outside which led to a lovely family asking our guide where on earth we are from.  We are now finally in our very fancy hotel, covered in throw up and snot and trying to get Miss E back to sleep.  But we are here and beginning the second half of our adventure. Tomorrow we will go to medical appointments for Emmy. Thanks again for your prayers for us and for Grandma.  And thanks again for your emails. You guys are the bomb-diggity and we are blessed.

Update #5

Last night sleep did not come so easy for Lu Xin or for us.  She has a pretty nasty cold which took a turn for the worse last night and kept her up from 2:45-4:45.  Then the cold gave her a fever today too.  We mostly laid low today. She was a bit sadder today and less interested in Steve (hard to be the Baba).  She had a couple of teary moments. It was hard to tell how much of it was the transition and how much was not feeling well.  We did take one walk and discovered that Emmy does NOT like anything with fur. Ella and Hero may not be a happy surprise for her. :( She doesn't even want to touch stuffed animals. 

This evening we had our celebration dinner with Anna.  The dinner was delicious.  We had dishes that were unique to Nanjing.  Emmy enjoyed an egg dish and wrestled with her chopsticks.  She most frequently uses her left hand which is fun and in China is a sign of intelligence.  After dinner we walked around the mall.  Emmy chose some fake plastic glasses and hair ties.  She really, really likes glasses.  

Tomorrow we fly from Nanjing to Guangzhou.  We are very ready to begin the next part of our journey and to be one step closer to home but please pray for Lu Xin.  This was the most difficult part for Eli. Flying from his home province of Hefei to Guangzhou was confusing and terrifying for him.  It's a tough transition as Emmy has started to think our tiny hotel room is home. Also, please pray for my Grandma June (one of the amazing women who Emmy Jun is named after). She fell and was hurt pretty badly. She is recovering at the hospital now.  

Thank you for your emails. They help us feel loved and connected to home!

Mandy and Steve

Update #4

This morning began at 5:00 am with an early morning wake-up by a little princess who needed to go potty.  We got to do a long FaceTime call with the three big kids and Grammy and Papa Joe which was super nice.  Emmy loved seeing them and talking to them.  She also liked trying to put chopsticks in their mouths.  We then went up for the breakfast buffet (delicious, by the way!) at which Emmy ate much more than Steve or me.  We think that we've figured out that she likes pretty much anything but a couple of vegetables and pizza.  (She really hates pizza but that didn't happen until lunch.  She also really loves milkshakes but that also didn't happen until lunch!)  

After breakfast, we went back to the government office to complete the paperwork for the adoption.  The other three kiddos were there, too.  The sweet friend who had such a hard time yesterday was much better today and only cried a little bit when the nannies left.  Emmy, of course, had to go potty immediately upon entering the building and walked right past the nanny and orphanage director with me to get there saying, "Hiiiiii!" as she walked by.  She was charming…playful, funny, fun and sweet.  She colored, told the nanny and director funny stories and sang them songs but did not stray from my side.  Steve and our guide, Anna, had to go exchange money for Emmy's orphanage fee so I stayed with Miss E.J. (as Grace is calling her) and the orphanage folks.  They moved to the sides and just watched her, smiling, and then we exchanged emails so I can update them on Emmy.  (We are so impressed with her orphanage.  I don't think I mentioned it yesterday but they gave us a life book for Emmy yesterday.  It has journal entries and photos from around the time she was 6 months old until now.  We are so grateful!  What a treasure to have!)  After we exchanged emails, they decided it was time to go and I told Emmy to say goodbye.  She shouted (in Mandarin), "Goodbye, I'll meet with you tomorrow."  And they left and that was it.  No crying this time.  It was a bit sad that she thinks she will meet with them tomorrow.  But, as Steve said, maybe tomorrow could be 10 years from now and we will come back for a visit.  

On our way back from the office, Emmy decided that she needed to "shao pi-eh" (okay, I know that's not the actual pinyin but that's what it sounds like to my very untrained ear and means go potty) but we were not back yet.  She becomes a bit more frantic.  Then as we're driving in very busy traffic in the middle of the numerous tall buildings in the very huge city, she notices across the 6 lanes of road that we are driving past the hotel…our 3 1/2 year old…who has seen the outside of our hotel building once…and who was carrying on a conversation with Anna at the time…says, "Oh I see home now.  There it is!" and calms down.  Smart kiddo, huh?

After a lunch of pizza and milkshakes (what were we thinking?), we spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to nap (which looked like playing with her doll in her crib and teaching an invisible class all about types of fruit), going on a walk around Confucius Temple area (and getting our photo taken with a group of teenage girls) and then leaving because someone in our group had to "shao pi-eh."  Then Emmy wanted to take a bath and play with beads with Baba.  Right now she is helping me blog and eating some noodles.  Hopefully sleep will come more easily for her tonight.  She has a pretty nasty cold which will be hard to get rid of with so little sleep.

I think this evening we will go back to the old standby for dinner (noodles - yum!) and hope to get her in bed by 7:00.  

Love to all of you and thanks again for your prayers!

Love, 

Mandy, Steve and Emmy 

Hi, Noah here. I really wish to see her in person.  She is so cute! (-:

Gotcha!

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for…we met our girl! 

At 1:20, we left the hotel for the government office.  Lu Xin was supposed to arrive around 2:00 with three other children who were also meeting their families today.  The first child to arrive was a darling nearly-three year-old girl.  It was so difficult to watch her fear as she met her family and her nannies left.  She finally allowed her dad to hold her but didn't stop crying the entire time she was in the office.  Then two darling boys came with their nannies and met their families.  One of the boys was intrigued by his dad's iPad which helped their bonding considerably!  The other looked nervous but was not crying.  

At 2:45, Lu Xin finally arrived and had to go potty immediately upon arrival (I'm sure I would too after a 4-5 hour drive).  She had her photo album that we had sent and was not about to let go of it.  Steve and I, however, were not as interesting as the album.  It was obvious that the orphanage staff had tried to prepare her but…I don't know how you prepare someone for that kind of a change all of a sudden.  She showed us photos in the album and who her big brothers and big sister are and even who her Mama and Baba are as long as we didn't touch the album because it. was. hers.  Other things that were hers were her scarf, her coat, her hat and her juice.  

When it was time to go upstairs for the family photo, the nannies tried to talk her into holding my hand but she was having none of it.  But she would sit with us for the photo (and I believe made the V for Victory sign in the photo…we'll see tomorrow).  After the photo, the nannies again tried to get her to go with us but, seeing that she wouldn't, the nannies disappeared.  Poor Lu Xin was terrified.  It was heart-breaking.  She was screaming, crying and kicking as we got into the van to drive back to the hotel.  All the way to the hotel, she called for her favorite nanny.  She melted into me with her crying and looked pleadingly into my face and asked again and again for her nanny.  Sigh.

Back at the hotel, we got into the room and she warmed up very quickly.  Apparently Steve and I are pretty funny at times because within a few minutes she was smiling and within an hour she was giggling up a storm.  How grateful we are for her fun, chatty personality.  We went to get dinner (noodles!) to bring back to the room and she fed herself and us dinner (which may have included a sweet bag of Trix).  It reminded us of Eli.  He would always share whatever food he was eating.  Sweet kiddos. 

After dinner, she wanted a bath and washed her own hair and body innumerable times until the water got cold.  Then she put on her pjs (4t is a bit big but we are guessing 3t is tight…she loves to eat!) and her boots from the nannies and we played for a while.  Before we left, Grace, Noah and Eli made a video of themselves dancing to a Chinese children's song.  She played it over and over and danced and sang with them.  Love!

At 7:00, we started getting ready for bed…brushing teeth (new experience for her, I think), going potty 400 times, reading books, praying, songs.  And then, she talked and attempted to climb out of her crib and go to the potty and talked and talked and talked and sang for two hours and 45 minutes while I hummed "Baby Mine."  We finally were successful in outlasting her but I'm not sure I'll have much of a voice tomorrow. :)  

I suppose I better hit the sack since I only had 5 hours of sleep last night and who knows how tonight will go! :)

Love you all!  Thank you for your prayers.  Keep em coming!

Mandy and Steve