Thursday, November 3, 2005

At 5:30 am, we left the White Swan, along with Rick/Denice/Thomas/Gemma and the Huangs/Ada. Our little bus was filled to overflowing with us and our luggage. It was still dark. All of us were so ready to come home. It was a quick flight to Hong Kong—beautiful brand new airport, beautiful view of the mountains surrounding HK. Our flight home was long but made easier by the fact that Elizabeth, Auntie and I sat in the middle of the plane, with five seats in a row all to ourselves. Elizabeth was SO good—she never cried. Elizabeth played with her stacking cups, listened to the movie with headphones, slept a little, ate, and drank her bottles. I talked with another new mother whose baby girl was the same age as but was bigger than Elizabeth while we walked our girls up and down the aisle. In Chicago, we had to say goodbye to Auntie—that was hard—but all of us were anxious to get home. In our haste to say goodbye and catch our connecting flights, Auntie left with Elizabeth’s pink cotton blanket (would you believe, she mailed it to us almost immediately after arriving home in Texas—what a wonderful Auntie!). Before boarding our flight to Portland, I changed Elizabeth into her “coming home” outfit: maroon corduroy dress, white tights, and squeaky shoes. She couldn’t have been more adorable!

Well, the best-laid plans and all that…Shortly after boarding the plane, but before we’d even taxied out onto the runway…diarrhea, through her tights and even onto my jeans as well. I had to wait until we were airborne to change her. We probably weren't too popular on that flight. Consequently, when we arrived in Portland at around 5 p.m., Elizabeth was bare-legged and shoeless (but nonetheless absolutely adorable!). So many people met us at the airport—what a wonderful surprise! My niece and nephew had even made (with their Dad’s help) a Welcome Home poster for Elizabeth. I was so very tired and sick with a sinus infection at that point, so much of our arrival remains a blur to me. We were last off the plane. The flight crew helped me maneuver down the aisle and off the plane. Due to being so sleep-deprived and not feeling well, instead of going through the revolving door and out to meet everyone waiting for us, I walked past the revolving door, pushing Elizabeth in her stroller, and continued quite a ways through the airport before I’d realized what I’d done. I think I confused everyone who saw me through the glass windows—where’s she going? I was so happy to be home and so excited to show everyone my beautiful new daughter! We collected our luggage and then headed home. I sat in the back with Elizabeth, and she didn’t protest a bit about sitting in her carseat for the first time. Once home, Dad and Elizabeth opened presents—Dad had celebrated his birthday while we were in China. One of Elizabeth’s gifts from her Auntie Sue was a stuffed pink-and-white cat, which she absolutely LOVES—my cat-loving sister’s attempt to influence my daughter, I think, knowing how much I love dogs!—and now Elizabeth won’t go anywhere without her Kiki! And it was so good to see Baxter! And best of all, Elizabeth was not the least bit frightened of him, even when he barked. What a huge relief! I also learned that Mom and Dad didn’t exactly have a relaxing day before going to the airport to meet us—apparently, the pump to my well broke that morning, so they scrambled to find a plumber to come to fix it before they had to leave for the airport at 4 pm. They did, and he finished up just as they were leaving. What a day for them. What wonderful parents I have!

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

I bought a great red wheeled duffle bag from one of the shops across the street from the hotel to hold many of my Chinese purchases for only a few dollars. Auntie, Elizabeth and I ate lunch outside at Lucy’s (cheeseburgers—yum!). At 3 pm, our group left the hotel for the U.S. Consulate for our consulate interview. We traveled in a large bus this time, along with other adoptive families who we had not met before. I must admit that it (the consulate appointment) wasn’t what I’d expected at all--we took a group oath, received the babies’ visas, and then went back to the hotel. Kirsten, Johnny, and Amelie left for the airport from the Consulate. I was so sad to see them leave—our group had become very close in China. We ate dinner that evening outside at Lucy’s (I had quesadillas—yum!) with Rick and Denice, Steve and Annie, and all of our children. I have a confession to make: I “borrowed” a terrific little metal baby spoon that evening from the restaurant…I took Elizabeth down to the Swan Room to play after dinner while Sylvia packed and rested in the room. Elizabeth played for quite a while with a little girl named Alayna from Virginia who was a new jie jie (big sister) to a little girl from China. We were back in our room by 9 p.m. because we had to be up before dawn to leave for the airport.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005

Shopping, shopping, and more shopping! Shihong submitted all of the babies’ documents to the U.S. Consulate, which is located in a brand new office building. I had to go there with him because I’d forgotten to have the vaccination affidavit notarized before leaving the U.S. We went by taxi (Elizabeth stayed back at the hotel with Auntie), and after my signature was sworn to, I waited until Shihong was finished, and then we both came back to the hotel. We chose to skip the optional Pearl River evening cruise to stay back at the hotel and relax.

Monday, October 31, 2005

We checked out of the Lakeshore and drove to the airport to fly to Guangzhou (9:45 am flight). This was Elizabeth’s first airplane ride—what a great traveler! I’d packed baby Benedryl just in case but never used it. She is such a good-natured, happy baby! We arrived in Guangzhou and checked into the White Swan. It is a beautiful hotel situated on the banks of the Pearl River on Shamian Island, complete with an indoor waterfall! All American adoptive parents must go to Guangzhou for their consulate appointment, which is the last thing to do in China. In the past, the U.S. Consulate used to be located nearby; now, it is located about 45 minutes away from the White Swan. Despite this, many adoptive families still choose to stay at the White Swan, so the hotel is full of Americans and beautiful Chinese babies. I wanted to stay at the White Swan just so that Elizabeth would get a “Coming Home” Barbie! Mattel gives a blonde Barbie doll, who is holding a dark-haired baby, to all of the newly adopted children staying at the White Swan. Elizabeth was no exception. Mattel even has a playroom for children called the Swan Room, located on the ground floor of the hotel. We took the children for visa photos at a camera shop across the street from the hotel and then walked to the clinic for the babies’ medical exam. This exam was different than the one performed in Nanchang—this exam was solely to assure the U.S. government that Elizabeth was healthy and would not be a burden on the government upon her arrival in this country. She tolerated the exam, but she did cry a little bit. We bought food at the little deli next to the hotel and had a little picnic in the room that night for dinner. Though there was a wooden crib in the room for Elizabeth, she slept between Auntie and me in the king-sized bed. I have no idea why we ended up with one king-sized bed instead of two double beds, but it wasn’t a big deal to us so we never asked for a different room. As I post this, I don’t remember which night this happened (should’ve kept a journal!), but Elizabeth had the BEST time one night at the White Swan: as Auntie and I lay in bed, Elizabeth stood on the bed between us and tried to walk but she kept falling over. This made her laugh, which made us laugh, which made her laugh even more. She has the greatest giggle! She did this over and over and over again until she finally fell asleep.