Photo with Santa! 11/26

Lotus' first photo with Santa! She did not scream but would not smile and laugh like she does at home. Enjoy photo!

Coming Home Photos

Photos

Finally Some Time to Update

The last few days in China were busy and tiring, also with the internet connection was very slow which made it even harder to post. So here it goes;

On Wednesday the 14th was our Consulate Appointment for all our paperwork. We had to wait in our room till Jocelyn called to say all our paperwork passed and we good to go, our Visa for Lotus was granted. Afterwards we met up with Adreanna and family for lunch. The group also met at 3:30 for the Famous Red Couch Photos at the White Swan. They came out pretty good. Then we did some shopping later and then had Papa John's for dinner before the cruise on the Pearl River. The cruise was nice, especially when all the buildings lit up. Lotus did well and she is sleeping well (in China).

On Thursday, we took the oath at the US Consulate and received Lotus' passport with Visa and all other important paperwork. The group did one last dinner at the Cow & Bridge, (before dinner Lotus did repeat mommy saying ooohhhh phah, it was pretty funny). Of course it was really good as usual. Before our oath appointment we went to a very local restuarant and had lunch. The staff fawned all over Lotus and wanted to hold her and walk away with her. We had a chicken dish, which had chicken feet in it. Kevin tried the feet and then spit them out. We also did some last minute shopping and picked up the granite slate engraving of Lotus. Later that night it took forever to pack and did not get to sleep till late and then up very early for all our plane rides.

On Friday, we had to be in the lobby by 5:30 am. Crazy!!!!! We then went to the Guangzhou Airport to fly to Hong Kong. The flight was not too bad, but the take off and landing was hard on Lotus. We got to Hong Kong, had to wait forever to get our ticket. We also had to go through security again. Afterwards at our gate we bought some drinks for the plane (which you are allowed to do once past security), I bought water for Lotus' bottle and there was one more check point where you board! They made me throw out the water. I explained it was for formula, that did not matter. Needless to say I was not happy. The flight was long and tiring. Lotus did well, she had some moments. And of course the other passengers gave dirty looks, not much I could do. When we finally touch down in Newark, we had to go through Immigration and Lotus was congratulated and welcomed a USA citizen. She was asleep. Then we went got our luggage and went through customs. Finally, we made it through ! Both Mom-Mom and Grandma, Ian, Eric and Colleen were waiting for us to welcome us home. Plus Jimmy and Karin were there to pick us up and take us home. I could not wait to go home!

Once we got home, everyone stayed for a bit and Sandy, Jay, Tara, and Brendan came over too. It was nice to see everyone and have everyone meet Lotus.

Lotus did not sleep through the night, she was still on China time. It has been a tough 11 days, I think I am over the jet lag. We are all sick with a cold, which also has not been fun. Trying very hard to get Lotus on a schedule. She will wake up a few times a night screaming. I go in and rock her back to sleep which works for a bit. My sleep has been crazy and have not really been able to do much until late last week.

We went over to Mom-Mom's for Thanksgiving, it was nice to spend time with the family. Lotus and I went shopping the day before and the day after Thanksgiving. It was great to get out of the house. Saturday I took Lotus up to Kevin's work to see everyone. It went very well.

Lotus is blossoming every day. Tonight went to get her photo taken with Santa, it was great because she did not scream. She did eat some baby ball cookies today, that was a first. I have been working with her playing with food on her tray. I did have to put the cookies in her mouth but she ate them and was chewing them. Great strides. She also has been sucking her thumb and fingers which makes me happy to see her starting to show hand mouth coordination. She plays well and has been standing up alot on her own. Few steps with help. I think she will be taking off soon! Wednesday is her appointment at CHOP. I am interested to see where she is at developmentally.

Now that I am catching up on things and able to find more time, I will be posting more to keep everyone up to date. Thank you for reading our travel entries! It was great to read all the comments.

Love,

Deb, Kevin and Lotus


PS I forgot to tell you all that Lotus did raspberries for the first time today while we were in the car on the way to the mall. It was too cute.

The animals are also doing well with the transition. (Although we are fearful she might be allergic to the dog or the long haired cat, thinking the dog, yikes!)

Gotcha Day on You Tube

Copy link below and paste into your web browser to watch Lotus'Gotcha Day Video on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7g213z4T7Q

Gotcha Day Video, Guangzhou Zoo(11/12/07) and Visa Paperwork (11/13/07)

Hopefully this works, I am going to try to post gotcha day video (I was having issues with computer recognizing the video camera, finally got it to work). Enjoy! Having issues didn't post.

Monday was the trip to the Guangzhou Zoo, it was neat to see the zoo. Lotus fell asleep almost right after we got there. She got to see the brown bear and that was it. We checked out the Panda, elephants, bears, tigers, oh my, lol. Funny thing is they have dogs in the zoo, like we have for pets. All and all it was fun (but very hot). Lotus woke up right as we were leaving. Next year, we will go to the Philadelphia Zoo, we will make sure we go after nap time. After the zoo, we came back and had lunch at Lucy's. Lotus had a meltdown once mommy got her food, she does not like it when mommy eats. We then came back and took a nap. Jocelyn stopped by and dropped off a birth certificate and abandonment papers and others for us. Later, we went to dinner at the White Swan Deli with Adreanna and family. It was not bad, I got a noodle bowl which was tasty(Lotus had meltdown again when mommy got food). Kevin got a sandwhich and we shared cheese bread (very good). We then went to Susan's Place to pick up some things that we were waiting to be engraved. When we came back Lotus played on the bed and opened up even more, she likes to play on my tummy now and we do SO BIG. She is laughing and giggling. Today we had breakfast downstairs, came back up to room and Lotus had play time again, it is so much fun. Mommy went to do visa paperwork while Lotus napped. Once I was down Lotus was awake. We then all went out to take a walk, get some starbucks and do some more shopping (what else, lol). Came back to room and gave Lotus a very late bottle, she was not happy. After her bottle and nap we went to dinner with Yvonne and Scott and their daughter. They are from Wyoming. We ate dinner at the Cow and Bridge (very good food). Then Kev and Lotus and I took a walk. Then came back for more play time. Lotus really blossomed some more. Got some great photos. She is now sleeping and so is Kevin. My turn next once I am down writing to everyone. Tomorrow we wait for our visa appointment and then do the famous red couch photo, then a cruise on the pearl river (after dinner). Looking forward to an outing. Well getting tired, will upload some photos and then go to bed.

Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

PS Thank you everyone for all the great comments, it has been nice reading messages from everyone back home. Cannot wait to come home!

Pearl Market Trip and Sensory Overload for Mommy (Nov 11th 11:30 pm GZ)

Lotus is doing well and hamming it up for the camera. Playing more and more each day. She loves her showers in the morning. Still hates the diaper change and changing of clothes. I am sure that will eventually get better. Doing well with bottles (formula, cereal, and sneaking in baby food to change up the flavor). Whenever we are out the older chinese women fuss over Lotus and little kids do too. It can get overwhelming, but we smile and nod and give thumbs up. Alot ask us if we like baby, yes-yes of course we do. We walked to Pearl Market, the long way. We saw dried seahorses, star fishes, all kinds of mushrooms, lizards, etc. Then we went through the pet section, saw a bunch of cute puppies, kitties, hamsters, bunnies, parakeets, ducks and turtles. Lots of koi fish. It was very interesting and different all at the same time. The walk to the Pearl Market was exhuasting, it was hot and sometimes smelly. Lotus napped during part of it. I was able to buy a few strands of pearls, two strands are for Lotus' wedding day, I am going to make a necklace and double strand bracelet for her special day. She can decide if she wears them that day, if not they will be a keep sake for her from her country. After spending much time in the market, we eventually found KFC. Crazy busy, language barrier, and too many people. Mommy couldn't take it anymore (for those that know me, know I get claustrophobic when an area is over crowded, especially in elevators). We eventually got back to the hotel and took an hour nap before dinner at the White Swan with Rhonda, Bart, Ella, Adreanna, Addison, Carol, Renee, Kevin, Lotus, and me. It was all you can eat buffet, pricey, but good american food. It was very nice. Afterwards we went to Susan's Place to pick up some things that we bought yesterday and needed to be completed. And of course bought more stuff. Two new suitcases too, to help bring everything home. When we got back to the room Lotus played some more with us and the stacking cups and the tv remote control (she can change a channel and turn it off, lol, she like how the remote lights up) then she had a bottle and went to bed. She will sleep to about 6:30 am. Not bad, but mommy is tired and so is daddy! Here are some photos from today! Enjoy till tomorrow. We have a trip to the Guangzhou Zoo. Get to see the Panda Bear.

More photos tomorrow, need to down load my camera. Looking forward to coming home and everyone seeing Lotus and for us to see everyone! And for normal tv, food, shopping, driving a car, etc!

Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Free Day ! Group Dinner at Cow & Bridge (Nov 10th 11:30 pm GZ)

Today we had a free day with no paper work or adoption stuff! Yippepepe! Kevin, Lotus, Ashley, Addie Grace, and I went back to the Good Buy Department Store and the Walking Street to shop some more, the island does get a bit boring at times. Same shops, same stuff. It was a good day, went to Mc D's again for lunch. Lotus is doing well, she is babbling more and smiling and pooping (lol, finally!). She is doing well with playing and holding. I have been sneaking baby food in her bottles to get use to other tastes since she refuses to put anything but a bottle in her mouth. I think she is teething, no fever, just some drooling. When we got back from shopping, we took naps and then went to dinner at the Cow & Bridge (the whole group) at the end we celebrated Ella's 4th bday (she is Rhonda and Randy's daughter). She was cute blowing out her candles. New for her, they really do not celebrate birthdays. So this was something new for her. After dinner, Kevin and I went to Susan's shop. Her husband Dong is from Wuchuan, they will take a photo of Lotus' finding place and send it to us along with other photos of Wuchuan. They told us today the area was by the beach. Her mother was smart, since it is very busy there and Lotus would be found quickly. I am glad that she was found quickly and found her way to us. I hate to admit this, but all the waiting, all the ups & downs, all the heart ache during the wait, was all so very worth it. You really do forget all about it once you are holding your baby in your arms. The first night with Lotus, I kept waking up and I would look to watch her breath. I am just in awe and am really enjoying motherhood. It is alot of work but the rewards are priceless. You cheer over the silliest things but these are milestones. She has impacted my life in such a way, it leaves me speechless. Ok, I cannot read the screen, as I am all teary so I will just post some photos from today.

Using the remote to the TV!!!!!!!!! She can use the ipod too, she forwards quickly through the pics, lol. Tomorrow is trip to the Pearl Market. More shopping, did you ever think you would hear me say I am tired of shopping! Going to bed, zzzzzzzzzzz!

Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Rest of Today (Nov 9th 10:11 pm GZ )

Blogger is acting up, I can no longer view our blog. I can post still, just not view everything. Very strange. So anyway, today we went to the Banyan Buddist Temple, the Chen House, and an Art Craft Shopping area. In between,, Lotus had a bottle and a nap. I cannot remember if I told you in the last post, but we bought her a piece of jade for her 16th bday, to make a necklace out of for her. Very pretty. It is a circle which means happy family. The outing was nice but long. Afterwards, Kevin and Lotus took a nap while I while I went for an hour massage. It was nice and very relaxing. Later we went to the Cow & Bridge for dinner, this is the best place on the island to eat, the food is excellent and not very expensive. Dinner for two was less than 26 USD and that was including tip! Lotus sat in a highchair and played while we ate. She was content. We walked a very little bit after dinner, bought a few more things. I am getting tired of shopping, lol!

I have to say Lotus laughed today and smiled and hams it up for the camera. She babbles babababaaba and mamamamama and makes other noises which are not words. She was also walking a bit supported by me. While we were playing on the bed she did more crawling and turning over herself. It really has been great to see her blossom more each day! Cannot wait to see what tomorrow holds.

Love,

Deb , Kevin, and Lotus

Some pics to end our night:

Some Yesterday and Today (Nov 9th 4 pm GZ)

Shopping was good yesterday, confusing though with the slips and paying and going back to each area to pick up. Bought some winter clothes for Lotus and gifts for others. I am also getting gifts for her b-days till she is 18 and I want to find something nice for her wedding (maybe a set of pearls). It was exhuasting since I decided not to bring the stroller and use the hip hamock for almost 4 hours! It is hard when you have no hips, lol. Lotus had her Visa Photo taken and her physical. She is 19.5 lbs and 29.5 inches tall! She does have a skinny waist! She is wearing like 12-18 mos tops and 12 mos bottoms that still need to be rolled at the waist. I have been buying her lots of pant jumpers and dresses. They seem to work out well. Let me tell you Lotus hated her physical, she screamed bloody murder when they were checking her ears. I had to hold her hands down and Kevin had to hold her head still, it was heart breaking to hear her scream so strongly. She was happy when it was over. We had Papa John's for dinner. Then Kevin went to get a 2 hour massage for less than 13 USD, incredible. Once I am done posting it is my turn! Lotus and I went shopping for formula and diapers and of course some clothes and gifts. The bartering is tough.

Lotus is doing so well with toys and eating and she blossoms more each day. It is great. She was so meant for us! Here are some photos from the past few days, later I will post about today.

Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Lotus is Blossoming! (Nov 8th 9 am GZ)

Yesterday was a very good day. We applied for Lotus' passport and we received our adoption registration. The family photo looks wonderful. We all had a group dinner at JM Chef with our guide Jocelyn, it was very good and had alot of choices and food for about 14 dollars for both kevin and I. It was great. Did more shopping, alot of squeaky shoes and gifts for Lotus for her b-days. Picked up a beautiful white chinese dress for her christening. She is blossoming every day. Last night we played on the bed, she spent time on her tummy and some crawling. She learned how to make one toy make meowing and barking noises. And how to close the door on the toy. She does love her stacking cups. She is still clingy but doing more play with us. She is also babbling alot more too. Getting a little better with diaper changes. Drank 4 huge bottles yesterday, does not like table food. Gave her piece of rice and she screamed and started drooling. She was not happy. Today is more shopping at the Guangzhou Department Store and other stores in same area. Love the shopping. Later today we have her physical and visa application to do, we are getting closer to coming home with our little princess. She has already managed to wrap Kevin around her little finger (think it happened the moment she was handed to us). More Photos from the past few days: Oh one more thing she does babble ma ma ma ma ma, I know she is not calling me that, but I can still bask in the glory of it! :)

Promise more photos later, need to make bottle and change the not so sweet smelling Lotus.

Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Waking Up Later Each Day!!! (11/07 6:20 am GZ)

Finally sleeper later than 3 am or 4 am. Think we are getting adjusted to the timezone! Lotus sleep through the night till about 5:45 am. She did have too long of a late nap yesterday which is why she stayed up too late. She is eating really well, bottles with formula & cereal only, no table food at all. She finally found the stacking cups and other toys and is playing very well. She does love the stacking cups (first day wanted nothing to do with them). We bought some clothes for her last night and a couple of books and a very nice blanket and a cute coat for Chinese New Year Celebration! Want to find Chinese music for her to comfort her, the tv on the chinese channels helps during some little fussing (diaper changes, she hates them). Thursday we go to the Guangzhou Department Store, more shopping, and there you do not pick up things, you point and they give you a slip, then you go to the register and pay, then get all your stuff. No bartering here, which will be a little bit of a relief. Found squeaky shoes for 25 rmb or about 3 and change US dollars, they are so cute! Going to go take my shower so we can get ready for breakfast. Takes longer to get ready with 3 of us, lol. Photos from yesterday:

love,

deb,kevin, & lotus

It's Official!!!! Lotus is Officially Our Daughter!! (Nov 6th 5:19PM GZ)

We had a great night last night. Lotus went to bed aroud 10:15 and slept till about 5:30 almost 6 am. She woke up cooing and was happy. She had her first bath today in the sink (our room has a shower stall), she was not happy at all. She calmed down on the bed when I was drying her off. She then finally decided to gulp down a bottle (she is adamant if she does not want the bottle). Today we went to the Civil Affairs Office where Gotcha Day was yesterday. We had family photo for the adoption registration paperwork and 2 interviews, one with the adoption official and the other one with the notary public. We passed the tests, lol. Tomorrow we go back to pick up adoption registrations then off to apply for her passport! Later on tomorrow we will have a group dinner at JM Chef a Catonese restuarant on the island. Tonight is our time, we had lunch at Lucy's (hamburger not so good), then when I got back to room Jocelyn called and said we needed to go back to the Civil Affairs Office to have our family photo retaken because the ones taken earlier were not good. Two cab rides later we were back at the hotel, picked up calling cards to call home. Kevin and Lotus are taking a nap right now. I could not get her to go down in the crib, so she fell asleep being rocked in her stroller. So far , Lotus has 2 pair of squeaky shoes (one hello kitty), a CHOP (stamp with her name), and we are waiting for a name picture ( yes another one, but this one is really cool and it has Lotus' on it, perfect for her). After nap it will be shopping time and then dinner and then bed! Been a great trip and Lotus was definitely meant for our family! Some more photos from the other day:





Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

WE HAVE LOTUS!!!!!!!!!!!! (Nov 5th 8:44 pm)

We received Lotus after 4 pm, she was the 4th one out of 7 children. She was the only one that did not cry. They brought her out wearing her b-day crown we sent her for her b-day back in September! It was adorable! She was laughing and cooing and took to both of us! She did spit up and needed to be changed (Kevin was lifting her up over his head and down again). She does not like to be changed, she fuss a tiny bit. She loves to be held and walked around. We did find out she likes the stroller and I am moving it back and forth. Think she is about to doze offf! Eyes are closing. She waves hello and babbles alot. She was walking at the Civil Afairs Office if I supported under her arms. She is waving hello in her sleep right now, too cute! She has not taken a bottle yet, but I sure she will be hungry soon! She is sooooooooooo precious, she likes to hug and snuggle. We are truly blessed! Here are some photos from today:

Well, Papa John's Pizza is here time to eat dinner! Will post more later! WE miss everyone and cannot wait for Lotus to meet her family.

Love,

Deb , Kevin and Lotus

Left Hong Kong Now in GZ (Nov 4th (GZ) 11:18 pm)

We left HKG late this morning and arrived in GZ in the afternoon. It was a quick flight, only like 30 minutes. We checked into the Victory and once we changed rooms once due to only 1/4 of a closet and no drawers for clothes. Trust me we needed a bit more space for the next 12 days, especially once we get our crib in the morning the room will be very crowded. So we got settled and unpacked. We went on a tour of Shamian Island. We went in and out of stores to check out for the next several days and ate dinner at Lucy's. I had a grilled cheese and fries, Kevin had a roast beef sandwhich, nice to have home foods. There were sooooo many adoptive families at Lucy's with their children, was weird to think that will be us tomorrow. BTW, our gotcha time is 3:30 pm , have to wait the whole day!!!!! I hope it goes by quick. It probably will, have alot to do, meeting with guide, go to bank, drop off laundry etc. Oh well, getting tired and tummy hurts (cannot figure out what I ate or drank to cause it, hope it goes away!) Here are some pics below:

More tomorrow, tummy really hurting!!!!!!!!!!

Deb and Kevin