Friday, December 31, 2010

Fprgot to mention

Last night Quinn decided the time was right to give Dad a kiss. He puckered up and smacked his lips together until I got good and close and he kissed me right on the lips. He kisses the air when he likes something or wants us to do something for him.

Jetlag adjustment

We are starting the adjustment process. Quinn had a little trouble this evening staying asleep. His body seemed to think it was nap time only. He woke up around 1AM and had a rather loud crying fit. Later on I checked on Calliope to find her still asleep in bed. But with her hands covering her ears.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Christmas music

We arrived with Christmas Music and we leave with Christmas Music. If you've ever wondered I can confirm that it's not decorations that make Christmas. GuangZhou has decorations in spades but not an ounce of Christmas spirit. That Chinese Christian family I spoke to asked me if I was enjoying Christmas in China. I said it was wonderful to celebrate Christmas in China. And it is wonderful. In the States most people celebrate Christmas by trying to give and get presents that make them feel important and worthy. Here in China, it is obvious that no one has any idea what Christmas is about. Just another festival with gaudy music and decorations. It must be an incredible blessing for Chinese Christians to be able to contemplate the incarnation of God in this world and skip over the community Christmas.

Lazy pajama days

We've mostly just been chilling in our room the past couple of days, and sending Aaron out to bring us food, or ordering dim sum from downstairs. The only notable thing to happen was that we got Quinn's Chinese passport and visa to the US, and I discovered honeycomb cake. Amazing. I'm still kinda sick, and was just not up for much urban exploring, so we laid low. Calliope wasn't the least bit interested in going out far anyway. This has been a super smooth adoption trip overall, but I do regret not getting to see more of Guangzhou. I would have liked to have visited ShenZhen as well, but it was not to be. And we only did a grand total of three hours of real shopping this entire trip . . . I think we averaged three hours of shopping each day in '07.

I'm finding China to be even more fascinating this time around. I think on the last trip, we were just so overwhelmed by becoming parents for the first time, and we had such a sick little baby to take care of, that the 'where' of the experience was lost. But this time was totally different for me, and I'm glad everything worked out the way it has. Could have done with not getting sick, of course, but every time you bring a new germ factory into the family, you take that risk. :)

I am going to miss this hotel! Crazy excellent service, seriously good food, and I really did like the location a lot. Thumbs up for the Garden Hotel. I'm no longer sad that we weren't able to book an apartment for our stay. Can't say that I would like to sleep on this couch for another 2 weeks, though. It's shaped in a half-circle, so my spine is now permanently curved. But hey, it was a better choice than sleeping in the bedroom with all three snoring machines. And we could have gotten a roll-away or an inflatable mattress if I had really wanted to.

Quinn is asleep, and Aaron and Calliope are out for a final nighttime jaunt to McDonald's. She has to enjoy it while she can, because it's not a place mama lets her go when we are back home. We won't have many pics from this second half of the trip, but we do have some remarkably cute footage of Calliope and Quinn acting very much like brother and sister. Quinn was apparently very popular on the playground at the SWI, and the nannies say all the children loved to play with him. I can see why . . . he's very goodnatured and sociable. Makes sure everyone is included, and doesn't mind getting knocked down. Which is a good thing, because he gets knocked down a fair amount. Today, he seemed to sense that something was going on in the flurry of packing, and he was very emotionally clingy. I don't think he realizes yet that we are taking him with us.

We leave in the morning, flying Korean Air to Seoul. Short-ish layover, then off to Atlanta. We arrive in ATL about 30 mins *before* we leave Seoul. Figure that one out.

-starla

Monday, December 27, 2010

Thoughts You Think At 4AM . . .

. . . when your cold meds haven't kicked in yet and everyone else is asleep.

First Thought: Shouldn't have eaten so much at the thai restaurant. For those who might be in GZ soonish, it was very good, it's just that I ordered all wrong. It was The Banana Leaf across the street in the taller of the two Friendship Store buildings, on the 5th floor. As you come up the escalators, it's the restaurant to your right. A little hard to spot because of the way the sign hangs, but definitely worth trying out. Very family friendly - it was near empty when we were there, and one of the attendants came over and made a star shape out of the chopsticks to entertain Calliope. Entertaining Calliope for me is generally the best way to win my undying gratitude. Only one word of warning . . . if you have a sensitive kid, you should know that the little bridge that takes you into the dining area crosses over water with fake alligators in it. Not a hit with our little miss.

Second Thought: From the 26th floor, the noise the tramways make here sounds like whale song, or like the pips and squeaks of dolphins swimming in their pods. It can change your whole perspective on the traffic noise if you think of the flow of cars as the tide, the horns as the call of sea lions, and the trams as whales serenely sailing through it all.

On the other hand, why the heck is there so much gosh durn traffic at 4AM???

Third Thought: Don't get me wrong, I totally appreciate how nice and helpful everyone was at the US Consulate today (yesterday?), but the poor lady who wanted to give us a bunch of stats and figures about how many visas they handle, and to your left are the windows where we do these kinds of interviews, and one day this office will more to a different location, and how many of you have been here before blah di blah clearly has never had to hold onto squirming toddlers or babies in a gov't building when all you want to do is hurry up and get through the LAST hurdle before being told you can bring your kid home, and yet still, I do feel bad, so . . . I'm really sorry that none of us seemed to pay attention to your opening remarks, nice lady who comes from Hawaii (see? I was paying attention to some of it).

Fourth Thought: It's hard to type in the dark. Why doesn't the new MacBook Air have a backlit keyboard?

Fifth Though: Oh yeah, now the meds are kicking in. Good night, all.

-starla

Staggered and somewhat, slightly dazed

Yes, that is what two weeks in China with two demanding kiddos and a cold will leave you. We made it through our last step today. We just need to collect Quinn's Visa on Wednesday and take off on Thursday. He will be a US citizen as soon as I set him down on US soil. He and Calliope ran around for 15 minutes tonight in the hotel room. They were giggling and laughing and screaming as they chased each other and pulled each other around with the Hip Panda. Amazingly, this did not end in tears as no one fell down to violently or ran into a wall. I expect to have daily moments from now on where these two go from the heights of fun to the depths of despair because they took their game just a little too far. He is really very physical. And, well, you know Calliope already.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

A Word Or Two About Our Little Man

Hao Zi, HaoHao, Quinley, Mr.Quinn, Big Guy, Buddy, fella, Lil Dude, BaoBao, Baron von GrabbyHands . . . we've called him all of these things, but he is starting to answer particularly to Quinn. It suits him, I think.

He's a satisfactory baby in every way . . . he sleeps when we want him to sleep, eats when we want him to eat, giggles when he is tickled, keeps himself occupied for hours with an empty paper bag, and always smiles when we smile at him. As soon as we pull out a diaper, he lays down for his diaper change and lifts his legs in the air. If I bring over socks, he sticks his foot out for them. We take him into the bathroom, and he stands still for his shower. He loves books and cars and stickers and stacking cups and candy and looking out of the windows. He sucks his thumb and licks his toys and has no interest in watching tv or videos. He is mischievous, easy going, happy natured.

Not really sure what we did to get so lucky.

-starla

Sunday - free day

Yes, a free day. All to ourselves without any government officials and their expectations. And they all have expectations. I am now on the mend. The cold I had put me down for 2.5 days. Of course fate decreed that those 2.5 days were spent carrying two kids at the same time and finding a regular source of congee. Our new little guy is an eater. Starla was ably in charge while I was laid low. Unfortunately, she is now the one laying low. I'm feeling alright again and I am back in charge of the group. As I said, we had a free day today. Starla spent today sleeping. Calliope, Quinn and I ventured around the hotel and some of the streets to entertain ourselves. While Quinn was napping Daughter and Dad went to McDonald's for some quality time. She had chicken nuggets and we shared some fries. I still think it is a cruel irony to give out the "Sweet and Sour" sauce packet with nuggets in China. Anyway, we enjoyed ourselves in a rather nicely appointed McDonald's. They're always better overseas. This one offers fried pies still...except they're taro and pineapple flavor. During our ventures it was nice to be greeted by a Chinese family in the lobby. They were three women and a baby. One of the women was obviously the grandmother and was quite tiny. And I know tiny. They were all smiles and wanted to affirm the adoption of Chinese orphans. Then they wanted to know if I believed in God. By which I assumed they meant to ask if I was a Christian. They were very pleased with that. We chatted a bit about Calliope and Quinn and our visit here so far. They spoke some English and I got to use some of my Mandarin. They ended by giving us a blessing, which I returned and we parted ways. Humorously, the last time we were in China I was out with Calliope on my own and spoke to several older ladies curious about me and and a tiny Asian toddler. Starla was sick then, too, and I got to pull out one of the phrases I know well. Wo de TaiTai bu tai shufu - My wife isn't feeling too comfortable. Calliope has been doing better and better. Quinn is nothing but smiles and eating and playing. Tomorrow we finish everything we need to come back home as a family of four.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas Feast

Quinn and Aaron slept for about 3 1/2 hrs today after the medical exam, so Calliope and I stayed in the living room and ordered beef congee and rice for lunch. I also splurged on something called 'green bean cream dessert' which cost a whopping 30 yuan, and was neither green nor creamy nor desserty. Very perplexing. There did seem to be beans involved, however.

For our Christmas dinner, Aaron ventured out with Quinn in the hip panda . . . Aaron can't leave Quinn behind or we will upset the executives who are the rightful denizens of this executive floor with much wailing. They got rained on, which Quinn enjoyed a lot. We feasted on french fries, nuggets, vanilla coke and fried taro pie. Calliope seems skeptical that this is actually Christmas Day. Doesn't exactly live up to her preconceived notions, I guess.

My all pie dinner reminds me of just how much I am going to miss my all bun breakfasts, and my all sweet dim sum lunches when we return home. We get comped breakfast buffet up in the executive lounge each morning, and I eat two smashed red bean buns and three soft buns with marmalade. For lunch, I typically order three steamed sesame buns (heaven!), steamed cake with ginger sauce, healthy oatmeal bread, and sometimes pastry with preserved quail egg and red ginger. My mother in law bet that I would lose ten lbs in China, but that sure ain't happening. Calliope, however, is eating plain white rice morning, noon, and night, with the occasional french fry to break up the monotony. Quinn eats anything and everything all the time. Finally, an easy eater in the family!

Tomorrow we have a free day, and then we have our US Consulate appointment Monday afternoon. So close to be done.

-starla

Friday, December 24, 2010

Under the Jolly Weather

Rain, rain, rain. Traffic was a mess this morning, but we have returned from the medical exam and all went well. Our guide is very efficient . . . instead of waiting around for a particular doctor like other families do, she zipped us into the exam rooms and went and got the doctor herself. We did almost no waiting at all, despite the full rooms.

Quinn did a fine job- I don't think he cried more than two minutes total, despite being prodded and poked, measured and weighed unceremoniously.

Aaron is basically incapacitated by this cold, flu, whatever, and I'm starting a scratchy throat and sore head as well. I'm sure the kids are both perfectly able of taking care of themselves, right? They seem pretty capable.

Trying to get Quinn to lay down for his nap right now, but the boy is a climber. Better set the crib walls high at home.

So, Merry Christmas everybody. We're just going to hibernate in here today. After all, Calliope says this hotel is way better than her house. I guess we need to call our contracter and have him install a dim sum restaurant with pretend boats in our basement, or she will never agree to come home.

-starla

Christmas Eve In The PRD (Pearl River Delta)

I get to be the one updating the blog by default . . . because I'm apparently they only one able to stay awake past 8PM, when the internet signal is strong again. Guangzhou is really hopping out there tonight. There's a fancy event with fancy music and fancy folks in their fancy clothes in the hotel tonight, and about a gazillion cars going in and out of the Friendship Stores. I'm hearing near constant traffic whistles, and the hum of cars . . . although I don't know if any of this is related to it being Christmas Eve. Christmas is not really a holiday here in China, and nothing shuts down here even on Christmas Day. But there are Christmas decorations everywhere, Christmas music 24/7, and even the Pizza Hut across the street was serving a special set menu for Christmas. Our guide says that it is gaining momentum as a holiday, because the young people are determined to celebrate it. Those crazy kids.

Speaking of Pizza Hut, we went there for lunch, and Calliope need to use the squatty potty and it went pretty much as you might expect. She peed in her shoe. *sigh*

Anyway, the Guangzhou branch of the Schnurbusch family is pretty much ignoring the fact that it is Christmas entirely. Hoping Calliope forgets what day Saturday is, because we have no presents or anything planned. At this stage in every adoption trip (halfway through!), it's mostly just about survival. The trip to Longgang was so arduous and fraught with tribulation, that Aaron (!!!??!!) came back sick, and slept through most of today. Aaron never gets sick, so this was a shocker. Had to wake him up and drag him out today to do the only really touristy things we had planned for the whole trip. We went to Yun Tai Gardens (but in order to get Calliope to leave the hotel room we had to call them "Chinese Princess Gardens") and the Chen Family Temple. Yun Tai was one of our favorite spots when we were here with Baby Calliope, so it was super duper special to see her running around the gardens as a big kid. So cool to see roses and tons of other flowers blooming in December. Guangzhou is known as the City of Flowers, and Yun Tai is "The Pearl in The City of Flowers". They also have a Dutch windmill, and Santas playing saxophones. And as a waterfall aficionado, Calliope was ecstatic. Quinn was stoic, as per usual.

In 2007, we had to skip the Chen Family Temple, because Calliope had been so ill with her ear infection. So it was nice to see . . . a truly spectacular example of Temple architecture from the Qing Dynasty. I could have stayed there a whole lot longer, but after 25 minutes, Calliope was fretful, Quinn was hungry, and Aaron was near comatose. So we left, and I didn't even get to peek into the gift shop. I have a family of killjoys.

The camera we brought is officially dead, but supposedly the video camera can take still shots. So I used that . . . but I have no clue how to upload them to the computer, and I am doubtful as to their quality. Keep y'all's collective fingers crossed that it worked, because otherwise we will have no more pics from the second half of this trip.
You can see more about the Temple here: http://www.chinatour360.com/guangdong/guangzhou/chen-ancestral-temple.htm
And in lieu of my pictures of Yun Tai, you can jump to this other family's blog who were there a few weeks ago . . . they have a way awesomer camera than we have anyway, and probably far more cooperative kids: http://simply-family.blogspot.com/2010/12/visit-to-yun-tai-garden.html

Tomorrow is Christmas! . . . . and we are going to be at Quinn's medical exam and spend a bunch of time doing paperwork. And it's going to rain all day long. So . . . hope it's a merry one for everyone!

-starla

P.S. Wanted to include my favorite Quinn memory for today. He really loves the photo album we sent him in one of care packages, and he dragged it to me this evening and put his fingers on a picture of me, Aaron and Calliope. When I said "Baba", he put his finger on Aaron, when I said "mama", he put his finger on me. When I said "jie jie", well, you get the idea. Then he grinned at me the biggest smile I have seen yet. We only met him Monday, you know. And he's already getting a handle on this whole family thing. Amazing kid.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Longgang SWI picture post
















Sha Mian Island picture post

I wish we could have taken a dozen more pictures of the time we spent visiting the island on Wednesday. It's where we stayed for three weeks while adopting Calliope back in '07, and it's a really nice and beautiful place. We did some shopping at Jennifer's Place and Master Wang's, ordered Quinn's chop, walked around the White Swan hotel lobby, and ate Thai food at The Cow and Bridge. All in all, we crammed several days worth of the Sha Mian experience into about 3hrs. :)

The picture with the Christmas tree was taken in the lobby of the Victory Hotel, where we stated in 2007, the shopping pic was taken at Jennifer's Place (which has added a Subway restaurant since we were last there), and the red couch and waterfall pics were taken at the White Swan. I'm really glad we decided to go on a gorgeous day. We return to Sha Mian for Quinn's medical exam tomorrow (what a Christmas memory for him!), but it's supposed to be much colder and rainy all day.

-starla







Around the Garden picture post
















Giggly Boy





Wednesday, December 22, 2010

For want of a camera charger . . .

Sorry guys, yet another post without pictures. Aaron took a cab to the Sony service center, and they didn't have a camera charger either - and neither did the Friendship Store across the street. We have just a few pics from our visit to Sha Mian Island yesterday (it was a lovely day!), but we can't risk uploading them.

Aaron and Quinn are off today to visit Longgang SWI, where Quinn spent 18 months of his life. It's a 2 1/2 hr trip each way, so Calliope and I are staying in the hotel. Currently, she's filling the new stroller with random stuff from around the room and wheeling them in circles, saying "This goes to to the recycling bin!"

Quinn is still very much a daddy's boy. He did give me some giggles and smiles this morning (woke us up at 4AM!) and even let me tickle him, but there is no doubt who has lately become the center of his world. He toddles off after Aaron every time Aaron leaves the room, and it's pretty stinkin' cute. He lets Aaron do anything, without complaint. Diaper changes, nose wiping, even a shower (necessary after three diaper blow outs in 10 hrs) . . . as long as Aaron instigates the activity, he's completely fine with it. We've decided that, if he had to choose one of us to immediately attach to, it was better to be Aaron than me anyway. He's such a big boy that I never could have carried him around so much. Aaron, however, is able to lift and carry both kids, the backpack, and push the stroller all at once. It's good to have an iron man around at times. It's going to be interesting to see how he will handle two kids, three suitcases, three carryons, and the stroller at the airport. Oh, how I am going to laugh with my tiny purse in hand.

Yesterday, we had to go to the big, brand new police station in Guangzhou for some completely unknown reason (we just do whatever Connie, our guide, tells us to do), and among the dozens of other adoptive families waiting there was another boy from Longgang SWI. He was maybe 9 or 10 yrs old, and recognized Quinn right away. Came over and was teasing him, calling him by his nickname, Hao-zi. It was a sweet moment. I guess they don't keep the babies as separate from the school aged children as we thought.

Not sure what we are doing tomorrow . . . it might be a free day, or we might be going to Yun Tai Gardens. We purposely didn't schedule very many touristy activities, or a lot of shopping days, because Calliope is so easily overwhelmed outside of the hotel room. She really loves just being in the suite.

I can't remember now if we mentioned that the notary that handled our adoption interview at the civil affairs office was the *same* notary that handled us for Calliope's adoption. We didn't remember her, but she remembered us 3 1/2 yrs later! Calliope does tend to make an impression.

She and I are going to have lunch in the hotel's Cantonese restaurant now. They have AMAZING dim sum, and you get to eat inside a boat. A pretend boat, but still. Pretty cool.

-starla

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Smiles and grunts

We've had another successful evening of sleep. Definitely, better sleep habits than last time. Quinn sleeps all the way through the night and wakes up ready to play. He's already reaching up to Dad when he wants to see out the window. He loves the 26th floor view and can just barely get his nose over the sill. He's got plenty of smiles and grunts and is adjusting fine so far. We haven't found the food he doesn't like, yet. But he isn't into bibs.

Monday, December 20, 2010