May 16, 2013: 9:01pm, Guangzhou

May 16, 2013:  9:01pm, Guangzhou

Today was a wild day!  At 2:30pm, just minutes after Zia Mei went down for her afternoon nap, our hotel room phone rang (it’s SO loud!)  It was Zhou…he was talking so fast I could barely understand him.  The gist was:  wake baby up now, come down to the lobby now…the Embassy has re-opened and you have a 3:30pm appointment!  So we threw baby girl in the carrier and rushed downstairs.  She was adorable…so sleepy, but didn’t cry the entire time. She is such a trouper. 

We are sooooo pleased to say, we have officially become a family!  Zhou picks up Zia Mei’s visa tomorrow afternoon, and we are on a plane back home this Sunday!  Woohoo!!!  Finally! 

The Embassy appointment was a very interesting (and emotional) experience.  They usually only take 12 families a day, but due to the chaos this week, they were processing 100 child visas today. The room was full of adoptive families…it was a very cool experience.  They called us each up one by one to the window where they made sure we had all the correction documentation in order.  I think Zia really knew something exciting was happening.  She kept pointing and she even blew a kiss to the lady behind the window.  Usually she only blows kisses to us, and every once in a while she will blow a kiss to one of our friends when prompted, but today, she was all smiles and had kisses to share.  We were the second ones called to the window but were there for a little over two hours waiting for everyone else to be called.  After everyone was done, an official asked us all to stand and raise our right hand and repeat a statement after her, basically promising to be wonderful parents to our children. Zia Mei kept looking up at us with her beautiful wide eyes. The entire room repeated the statement in unison, and truth be told, we couldn’t even tell you exactly what the statement was that we repeated, because we were  so emotional! I think I was the only grown woman in the room crying!  It’s been a long time coming, but we are finally very proud parents.  It’s official!  

May 14, 2013: 9:12pm, Guangzhou

May 14, 2013:  9:12pm, Guangzhou

Well, our adventure continues!  We have had a slight (or rather not so slight) hiccup in our travel plans home.  Yesterday, the American Embassy in Guangzhou experienced some sort of threat (that is left to be divulged), and they have suspended all visa processing for at least the next few days.  We were scheduled to process Zia Mei’s visa today, pick it up tomorrow, and fly home on Thurs.  Unfortunately, this is not the case.  We are waiting to hear exactly when they will allow us to enter the Embassy again in order to process her visa, so it’s looking like our time in Guangzhou is extended for at least another few days.  Zhou, who has been with our agency since 1994 said this has never happened!  This is a very unique, and not so fun experience.  We are hoping to be home by Monday or Tuesday, but we will see. 

Our poor friends had their appointment to process their daughter’s visa yesterday when it all happened.  They were stuck there for over four hours while they locked the place down…no one was allowed to go in or out…they have a 21 month old, and weren’t allowed to bring anything in with them (no bottle, diapers, zip, zitch, nada).  They said it was really scary.  No one was telling them what was going on, and they shut off the heat, so it was beyond hot and humid in the building.  Luckily, everyone is safe, sound, healthy and once again happy.  This is definitely a set-back, but we are taking it in stride.  Not much we can do other than enjoy our time with our little tiger.  She sure is a tiger too!  She growls and grunts…and cracks us up daily.  Today we met a wonderful couple from Hollland who had their Gotcha Day yesterday.  They adopted a 2 ½ year old little boy.  We have met so many wonderful new friends from all over the world.  It is truly the essence of global consciousness, and we are so happy to be a part of the pulse.

Tonight may have been the most precious bedtime moment with Zia Mei to date.  Going to sleep is still scary for her, so we have developed a routine of putting her in the carrier, and walking around our neighborhood until she falls asleep.    She loves being close to me and falling asleep on my chest which is quite precious in of itself, but tonight was beyond amazing.  She looked up at me, smiled, blew a kiss, then closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.  She is such a beautiful little person, and we feel infinitely blessed.  Eric has more photos and videos, and will send them soon.  Currently he is scrambling and trying to figure out what all this means for our travel plans.

May 12, 2013: 10:04pm, Guangzhou

May 12, 2013:  10:04pm, Guangzhou

I am so thrilled to say I have finally joined the “mom crowd!” Been a long time coming, but it was SO worth the wait!  Today we went to a market place with the group, then broke off once Zia Mei feel asleep.  The market was wild…very loud and loads of new smells.  For dinner, we ate with the group again, then Miss Tiger Princess fell asleep in my arms again on our walk back to the hotel.  On our walk back, we stopped in our favorite local convenience store called Jennifer’s and found the most beautiful silk blanket for our little tiger.  And Eric, being the romantic (and sneaky) one that he is bought me a pair of pearl earrings for Mother’s Day. I couldn’t have asked for a better first Mother’s Day.

May 11, 2013: 9:20pm, Guangzhou

May 11, 2013:  9:20pm, Guangzhou

These last two days have been wonderful…we are bonding and becoming a true family.  Eric and I are getting into the groove of parenthood, and having a blast!  This little tiger is definitely keeping us on our toes, that’s for sure!  We have nicknamed her “Snarlpuss” because she has the funniest little mischievous growl at times…especially when she is tired or trying to communicate something.  She is a very funny kiddo…her personality just shines.  We have had two days on the island, just hanging out, doing a little shopping, and simply “being.” It’s been such a special time. Last night she fell asleep in my arms in the carrier while we were walking around the neighborhood.  She said “mama,” then blew us kisses, then drifted off.  She is the most precious little thing. 

We all had a little bit of an off day today, however.  Zia Mei was a little cranky because she didn’t take a very good nap…hence the nickname!  And Eric and I had a very humorous mix-up.  In order for the electricity to work in our room we need to put our key in this little slot by the door, and while we have two keys between us, we couldn’t seem to find the second key.  You can get down the elevator without a key, but once again, to go up the elevator, you need to swipe your key.  It’s super annoying!  So…I was putting Snarlpuss down for a nap, and Eric went downstairs to the lobby to send videos since the Wifi is much better down there.  While he was gone, I went to make Zia Mei a bottle but of course Eric had the key, so I was sunk because no key equals no electricity, and no electricity equals no hot water for her bottle.  But I thought, “okay, no worries…we’ll just go to the lobby, get the key, then he can knock on the door when he makes his way back up.”  So that’s what we did.  Except he wasn’t in the lobby!  So…there I was, in socks, with sleepy Snarlpuss in tow, and no husband or key in sight.  The lady at the front desk kindly let me in the elevator, and we began heading back up our room, when the elevator stopped at the 4th floor (we are staying on the 5^th floor).  Low and behold there was Eric!  Eric had gone back up to the room at the same time I was heading downstairs, but he accidently landed on the 4th floor instead.  He thought he was at our room, so he was getting increasingly more and more frustrated when our key didn’t work, so he started knocking on what he thought was our door.  After about a minute, a man came to the door who thankfully turned out to be a member of our group!  It was an absolute comedy act, and one we are hoping we don’t repeat again! 

After Zia Mei “napped” we went to the outdoor playground, and she had no idea what to do.  It was adorable…she just stared at the other kids, wide eyed. She loves all the action, but is pretty shy around strangers already, which is a very good sign. Our attachment and bonding period is going extraordinarily well, and while we know we will have to work overtime once we get home, we trust the foundation is there, and we couldn’t be more pleased.  International adoption is just so mind-blowing and amazing.  Today the other families met up with us, and it is just so incredible to see everyone with their kids!  We have all become very close, and know the bonds between us will last a lifetime. 

Funny little story:  since day one, we have all had the running joke that “no matter what, we are not allowed to cause an international incident!  That is Rule #1.” Today, after having dinner with two of the other families, one of their daughters fell down, and everyone turned to see if she was okay. She was, of course, and since I felt she was uncomfortable with everyone staring at her, I turned to Eric and said, “Let’s just walk away so she doesn’t feel like she’s being stared at,” which is exactly what we did.  However, when we turned away we saw at least 5 Chinese pedestrians staring at the all of us, and Eric, being the quick one, whispered to me, “Oh no! We are breaking Rule #1!”  It was quite humorous, as you can imagine.

So excited to celebrate my first mothers day with the two loves of my life tomorrow!  What a blessing.

May 9, 2013: 8:47pm, Guangzhou

May 9, 2013:  8:47pm, Guangzhou

These last two days have been incredible.  We are in full fledge toddler mode over here!  Zia Mei is becoming increasingly more comfortable with us and is all over the place as a result!  Her new favorite thing to do is blow kisses at us. It melts our hearts every single time. Yesterday at dinner she called us Mama and Baba (“Daddy” in Cantonese).  As you can imagine, that pretty much put us over the edge in love!  It was amazing. 

Bedtime is getting much easier.  Even though she can’t understand our words yet, I know she feels safe with us and is beginning to trust that we will be there when she wakes up. 

The hotel has a wonderful little playroom, so we have been spending some time there.  She is a smart little cookie, and we love to see her little mind hard at work.  We also spend a good deal of time in our hotel room bonding as well.  It’s been amazing, and while we miss home and our dogs, part of us wishes this time never had to end.  This is such precious time, and we are savoring every single moment.

Yesterday, we took Zia Mei to get her medical exam and to the police station, where she got her passport info processed.  Our little Tiger Princess is more like a scared kitten in a doctor’s office.  She started crying when the doctor took out a measuring tape and gently put it on her head.  We did our best not to laugh.  She cried through the whole appointment but was all smiles the moment the exam was over and she was back in her Mama’s and Baba’s arms.  Oh, the drama!

At the police station, the policemen who were in charge of processing the passport info were running behind so we were there for over an hour.  Fortunately, all the other adoptive families were there too so we got to spend some time sharing stories of our experiences.  We made friends with a wonderful couple from Norway who waited 7 years for their little boy!  We also made friends with a great family from Phoenix who brought their three biological children and all the grandparents on the trip.  Now that’s what I call a family adventure!

Our driver got lost in this wild city during these errands so we were in the car for a bit longer than expected.  Our Zia Mei is quite the wiggle worm in the car and we are looking forward to being back in the land of car seats when we have our automobile adventures.  The traffic out here is wild.  It reminds us of our honeymoon in Vietnam.  There’s a method to the madness but we sure haven’t cracked the code.

After the police station, we enjoyed some down time and then met the group for a dinner buffet in the hotel.  There were some very unique options at this buffet.  Eric was a bit adventurous with some things but I played it safe.  Our guide, Zhou, had things on his plate that looked more like a science experiment than a dinner.  He seemed to enjoy it though so to each their own.

Today was a mellow day.  We started with a breakfast buffet (much better than the dinner one!).  After being egged on by the other couple we are with, I made Eric dive in the deep end of the pool of parenthood by sending him upstairs to change his first #2 diaper on his own.  He did great but took a little longer than expected and I did get a bit worried that I would come up to a crazy mess of a hotel room!  Fortunately, I taught him well and everything turned out okay.

After breakfast, we took a short and very humid walk that had us all sweating bullets.  We hustled back to our air conditioned hotel and spent the rest of the day playing in the room and the play area.  Eric had the bright idea of getting the group to walk to dinner and, of course, after a day of no rain it started dumping right when we started our walk.  We kept Zia pretty dry but the rest of us got soaked!  It was a fun dinner though.  The rain stopped in the early evening and we got to take a nice stroll through the island while Zia fell asleep in Crystal’s sling.  She fell asleep blowing kisses to us.  Precious. 

Tomorrow, the rest of the families from the first part of our trip fly to Guangzhou to meet us.  It will be a blast seeing them with their children and hearing about their experience.  Then we get to share the last week together as a group.  We are so thankful to our agency for the way they set this up.  It is such a cool way to become parents!

Family Gould – over n out!