Zhengzhou

Today we took the camera out as we walked through Zhengzhou. Our destination was the park. I think I had mentioned before that the sidewalks are shared with scooters and bikes. Walking pedestrians are expected to move out of the way for both the scooters and the cars. There seems to be a universal honking language between the cars, scooters, and people. A few of our friends have joked that there is a 6th sense among the people here, and they seem to know exactly where to go and when. The park is quite serene and very beautiful. There are paths around a lake with paddle boats to rent, a butterfly garden, a street fair, and gazebos. Lee really enjoys the butterfly garden. He was very tired towards the end of our walk, and he fell asleep in the carrier. He is sleeping right now as I type this. I have been taking a nap with him everyday and as a result it is harder for me to sleep at night, so today I opted for bloggind while he sleeps, in an effort to go to bed earlier tonight. A note for those of you who are traveling to Zhengzhou and either have the option of choosing your hotel or just want to save a little more money: The Crowne Hotel and Holiday Inn Express are right next to each other. If you stay at the HIE, you have breakfast at the Crowne, and they also share the pool and workout facilities. Our friend who is staying at the HIE says the rooms are very similar. Enjoy the pictures! Blessings from China, Tasha

Lee 101

Just a few things we have learned about our little Lee: * He has quite a sense of humor. He loves to smile :)

* When they said he was "active and lively" they weren't kidding

* He is not a morning person... he seems to be very upset about having to wake up in the morning. After about 10:00, he seems to perk up.

* He is a chatterbox and a little parrot. I am simply amazed at what he can say already. He says the following words: - No - Don't do that! - Uh oh - Look - Football - Elmo - Bye Bye - Hello - Emma, Silas, Lucy, Jo, Daddy, Momma, jie jie, gege, nie nie, etc... He will basically try to repeat anything we tell him.

* He is silly!

* He is a picky eater and can stick his entire hand in his mouth. Now that's talent ;)

* He loves electronics and Elmo!

* He loves to cuddle

* He knows how to bring on the charm. He can batt his eyelashes like it's nobody's business. He even has this little pose that he does when the eyelashes don't work.

* He has many faces and noises that he likes to make. He loves to be loud!

* He likes to sleep with his Mommy and Daddy

* He loves to push the buttons for the elevator

*** He is simply AMAZING Blessings from China, Tasha

Catching Up With Mr Spunk

The LONG day I mentioned in the previous post was followed by a long day of relaxation. Let's start with the long day first. We went to the government office where we were given Lee, to finish paperwork. The first think the official asked our guide was, "How is the boy doing?" Yes, it was that bad. Our guide told her that he was doing well, and honestly he was. Each day, we are seeing more and more of his personality unfold. Well, it is OFFICIAL. In China's eyes, Lee is our son!

After the office business, we went back to the hotel for a short break for lunch. Then we got into a van and drove to Xuchang City, where Lee is from. It was an hour and a half drive through city and country scenery. On the way to the police station in Xuchang (I am still not sure why we were there exactly), Lee started to play and laugh with us.

When we arrived at the police station, we were met by the orphanage officer who turns out to be the woman who Lee was crying for and calling "mama" when we picked him up. He was happy to see her, but content to be with us. He played with us while keeping a close eye on "mama." Our guide told us that the officer said the nanny really wanted to see him. It was kind of spur of the moment, but we agreed to go. He was handling seeing the officer really well, and we were encouraged that he would handle the visit well too. When we arrived at the orphanage, the director was waiting at the gate with another child from his room. When the van door opened, the little boy tried to climb inside. This little guy seemed to go and do whatever he wanted. haha We walked into the orphanage and past the tiny baby rooms to the upstairs. There were so many babies in the rooms. Some with IV drips attached to their heads, and others standing up in their cribs, watching us go by. The little boy who met us at the van, walked in and out of each room. He grabbed a broom and dust pan and was sweeping along the way. It was really cute (he is between 1 and 2 years old).

The nannies (there were several) kept pouring out of the rooms and handing Lee off to the next and taking pictures with their cell phones. A nanny, who was obviously not working and in regular street clothes, came up to Lee with tears in her eyes and picked him up. She was the nanny we recognized in all of his previous pictures. When we arrived in the room, it was empty. All of the children were gone except for 2 little baby girls who were not walking yet. They must have been 5 or 6 months old. They showed us Lee's crib, and pointed out all of his pictures on the walls and bulletin board. They then whisked us away to the playroom, teaching room, and finally the playground. There were children everywhere. It seems like his age group and up were given free time to roam among the halls and to go outside and play. When it was time to go, Lee did not want to leave with us. In all fairness, we were taking him away from the playground that he just step foot on. Our guide was anxious to get back home because if we left then, it would be 7:30 or 8:00 pm when we arrived back at the hotel. It seemed really fast in the orphanage, but we did learn that the children are very well cared for. They get exercise. They go outside. They get out of their rooms. It was totally different from how I imagined his life was. It was better actually. I will point out, that if you have a child from Xuchang, I have noticed from other people's posts and our own experience, that they seem to hold on to the finding notes or outfits for when the parents visit. They do not send them with the child. It is kind of like insurance that you will bring them back and they can see the child. Lee was crying when we left, and continued to cry for a while. Joey pulled out the ipad with Elmo and he calmed down quickly. He was quite somber as he watched it, and eventually fell asleep.

When we got back to the room, he perked back up and was all smiles. He played and played and played until he was tired.

Yesterday, we woke up and had breakfast. After breakfast, we went back up to our room and started playing with the toys. Then we heard a knock on the door. John and Connor came to visit us! Lee perks up anytime he sees Connor. They are such good friends. We went play in the play room at our hotel, and then took a walk to the local park. We are going to try to head out to the park tomorrow to take pictures of it. We forgot the camera, and today it has been raining all day, so no pictures of it so far.

After our walk, we came back to the room and fixed lunch for Lee. We were going through our suitcase and when he saw the cup of soup noodles, he got really excited. He ate almost the entire cup! He has quite an appetite at times. Other times, he will say "no," no matter what we offer him. He is very picky. Once lunch was over, we had a long nap. Very boring for you to read about, I know. LOL We walked to WalMart after nap time, and Lee's eyes lit up when we walked into the store. He was amazed with all of the food and the signs. He kept pointing at everything. We bought some Winnie the Pooh yogurt drinks for him which he really enjoys. He gets so excited when he sees them. When we received information on him, they said he was still on a bottle and drinking formula, but when we offer a bottle to him he refuses it. He also refuses the sippy cup. He prefers drinking from a straw, so we picked up a couple of straw cups for him as well. After returning to the hotel, we met up with some friends of ours and left to have dinner. It was quite interesting. We asked what the different meats were and the waiter told us pig and our friends chicken for the dishes we chose. Ours turned out to be pig liver, and theirs was chicken gizzards. Yummy! :/ When we left the restaurant, we went to the Holiday Inn next door and bought ice cream. Little did we know that the tiny cup of Hagen Dazs was $10!!! Yikes! Dinner was definently an adventure. Lee was so tired, that he fell asleep in the lobby. We took him up to our room and changed his diaper and clothes and layed down with him in the bed. He fell right back to sleep.

I hope to post a little about Lee's personality in the next post. There is alot to say about him. haha Blessings from China, Tasha

LONG day

We had a really LONG day today. Lee and Joey are sleeping. I am about to fall asleep right here right now, but wanted to post a picture which I feel will speak for itself. Thank you for the prayers, please keep them coming. We have a free day tomorrow, so I will post more about today, then. Blessings from China, Tasha

Gotcha Day!

We were waiting at the government office for the babies to arrive, and when I saw Lee and Connor walking up the steps, my mind froze. I had the camera set to film them coming up the steps, but I couldn't think straight to get it done. Thankfully a friend from our group took our camera and took pictures for us. However, I cannot load those pictures until I get a USB cable for our camera to load them directly because I forgot to format the disk prior to using it. So no actual "gotcha" pictures in this post. I can describe what happened though, and our little boy is heart broken. He came to me with little whimpers, and then when he lost sight of his nanny, he broke down and cried inconsolably. The mutual love between the two of them was very apparent. He screamed and cried the entire time we were there. He settled down a bit during the bus ride, but as soon as we got in the hotel he began to cry again. It took a while, but he cried himself to sleep on my chest. When he woke up, Joey left to go to a meeting and we bonded a bit over Elmo. We looked at the photo album that we sent him, and he pointed to Joey and said "baba" (daddy) and then looked at my photo and then back at me and slightly jumped when he realized I was the "mama" in the picture. He has been glued to me ever since. He is doing okay, as long as we don't leave the room. He is scared, heartbroken, and very unsure of us. Please pray for him. It hurts to think of how much pain and uncertainty he is going through right now. I know that with time, love, and the Grace of God, he will blossom and eventually love us as much as we love him. We are so grateful that his nanny loved him so much. Our prayers were answered through her, there is no doubt. By the suggestion of our guide, and our own devices, we will not visit his orphanage tomorrow. Our guide, and we, think it will be too painful for both him and his nanny. They said their "goodbyes" today, and I don't have the heart to put them through that misery again. I am sad about not being able to see where he has lived personally, but his emotional well being is far more important than my desires right now. Hopefully, one day when he is older, we can take a heritage tour together and see his orphanage together at that time. Here are a few pictures from the hotel room. When Lee fell asleep, I snuck him onto his Daddy while I took a bath (his diaper busted and he peed all over me on the bus ride to the hotel room). Lee did not know that he was on his Dad, but his Dad was enjoying his chance to hold him very much. Blessings from China, Tasha

Day 4: Zhengzhou

Today we flew into Zhengzhou. This city seems so much busier than Beijing. The sidewalks are shared with crowds of people on scooters. You have to constantly be on your guard while walking about. We had a quick lunch at the hotel after our plane landed and then went exchange money at the bank. After the bank, we walked to stores and WalMart to get supplies. Then we bought dinner at Pizza Hut. Our hotel is really nice. The room is a little small but it stays nice and cool. When we came back from running errands today we found Lee's crib all set up in our room. We aren't planning to use the crib, but it was still nice to see it there! :) Only 11 hours left until we leave the hotel to meet our little guy!!! We are so excited! Please Lord, prepare his heart for us and guide us in comforting and parenting this new little blessing. Blessings from China, Tasha

Day 3: Beijing Tours continued: Jade Factory, Great Wall, Olympic Landmarks, & Acrobatic Show

Today was a very busy day. We started off with a tour of a jade factory. There were so many unique and beautiful pieces. It is tradition to give your child a piece of jade when they marry. We chose what is called the happiness ball, which is 3 balls within each other. Each layer represents a different aspect of family. The outer layer represents the parents, middle layer represents the children, and the inner ball represents grandchildren. It was neat to hear the different cultural aspects regarding jade. My favorite color is green, so I have always thought jade was really pretty. After the jade tour, we traveled to the Great Wall of China for some hiking. The wall is tall and STEEP. Joey and I managed to make it to the 5th tower at the top of the mountain. Coming down the mountain, our legs felt like jelly. I have a feeling we will both be sore tomorrow. It was said, by Mao I believe, that those who climb the wall are heroes. I guess Joey and I can wear our capes now. haha After the wall, we drove past the water cube and the bird's nest. They are HUGE and so impressive. The architecture here in China is simply amazing to begin with. The newer buildings really test the limits. Even on the towers at the Great Wall, there were little carvings in the roof and on the roof. Simply amazing. After visiting the Olympic landmarks, we traveled to a Chinese Acrobatic show. It was AMAZING! These yound people were simply amazing. We really enjoyed it and had a great time. Now we are back at the hotel and are about to pack up because we leave for Zhengzhou tomorrow. We leave early in the morning (Sunday China time, and Saturday US time). We will then have only one more sleep until we meet Lee!!! The excitement is building. We are so close and I just want it to be time already! Call me Miss Impatient lol We were able to talk to our children today and they seem to be have a blast at their Maw Maw Nancy's house, which makes me feel good. Tomorrow they are heading to my sister's house and she will keep them until we return in 2 weeks. Be sure to check out the new pictures in the previous post. The computer ran out of battery power before I could finish uploading all of the pictures. I probably will not be posting tomorrow, as it is a travel day. ( I will try to add pictures tomorrow morning. I am having difficulty with blogger right now) Blessings, Tasha