It has ben a while.............

As most of you know, Autumn had her surgery June 1st, and since, is doing fantastic! She is eating just about everything, most consistencies, and is doing great! We hardly ever see any choking problems- which was a very minor issue before the surgery. She has also really picked up the drinking. She has never been one for drinking liquids- but now she is really doing better. She will only drink water, but at least she is drinking more. As for talking - she was a little slow at first, which had me worried. Six weeks after surgery, she saw Dr. Ray. He thought that she'd just take off with the words. Well, it took a while- I think the biggest impact on her talking has come from daycare. She graduated to an older class Mid-August and since, she is talking so much more. We cannot always understand her, and pronunciation of some words just don't make sense- but we praise her for trying nonetheless. Tomorrow, gonna try tumbling class. She is still doing great with her gross motor movement. I think she will have fun with it.

Cleft Palate Surgery done!

June first Autumn had her cleft palate repaired! She did much better this time in terms of the Emergence Delerium. The nurses did a great job staying on top of the pain medication, she pretty much slept for the first 12 hours. Then it was just cranky and frustrated anytime the nurses came in. Her blood pressure was a little high the first day and over night, but was better when they let us go. Today is post op day 5. Problems and issues- she is not wanting to eat well. She has to have pureed food for 3 weeks - no finger foods, and we have to feed her. I think this has her frustrated. She has shown interest in what we are eating (obviously she can't have it) so we have decided not to eat around her. This just adds to the frustration since sh can't have what we eat. And I have tried to mush up what I am eating- she knows the difference! She is not wanting to drink either. She will take about 3-5 sips per day from her cup= otherwise, we are having to give her liquids with a soft tip syringe. She hates this. We try to do it after she has finished her food in order to somewhat clean her mouth. The other thing she hates is the arm restraints. We are with her all the time, so we can watch her hands. However, naptime and bedtime, she has to have the restaints. I think though that she is getting used to this. It keeps her hands out of her mouth. We have to do this for 2 weeks. She is a finger sucker, so this has been very frustrating for her. But getting better. Lastly, we took her to get her picture made prior to the surgery. She did a wonderful job!

Playing Catch Up!!!

Oh my - I have not updated our blog since December- where has the time gone? Day to day life now that we have Autumn is so busy! She is doing so well everyday, and we try to take advantage of every second we have with her because she is changing and growing so fast! But it does no leave much time for computer emails and updates. Well, since I last wrote, we celebrated our first Christmas with Autumn. She loves to jump on pillows, flip, and such, so we thought the perfect gift for her would be a bean bag. We found a small one, that is made like a flower, with a small ladybug on it. She loved it. Additionally, she got some books, which is probably her favorite. One of her books allows us to record the story, so when she turns pages, she hears our voice. She was pretty amazed by that, and it did not take her long to wear it out. She also got lots of gifts from family and friends. The most special thing about Christmas though was just being able to be at home together with our little girl.

Soon after Christmas, she had her first surgery. We went to Knoxville the night before, to be a the hospital bright and early January 4th. Surgery lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Everyone was very nice, and kept us posted with every detail. Autumn emerged later - a changed little girl. It was a little sad for me I must say, because I got so used to her cute smile - and how big a smile she had with her cleft lip. After surgery, she really looked different. On top of that, she had a reaction to the anesthesia- called Emergence Delirium. That was very challenging. She cried, well, screamed, banged her arms, legs and just was inconsolable (unless I held her and walked with her) This went on for about 12 hours, with a couple of one hour breaks due to morphine they gave her. She was so bad, that she got her incision to bleed, and I really thought they were going to have to take her back to surgery to stop the bleeding. But, she calmed down with the morphine and the bleeding slowed. The next day we took her home, and she got better and better. Once the swelling started to go down, it was amazing the job Dr. Ray did to fix her lip. It looks very natural, and symmetrical. As days pass, it is neat to watch her learn to use her lip. It is not only aesthetic, but functional too, as she eats and forms sounds. She will go back on June 1st for the palate repair. In the meantime, we continue with speech therapy twice a week. I can't say enough about her speech therapist. She is one incredible lady, that seems to love our little girl. Autumn is also making some progress with her fine motor skills and gross motor skills. She will be re-evaluated by occupational therapy next week.

We also celebrated Autumn's second birthday, with her first birthday party. We used Chinese New Year as the theme, since it was also around the same time. She was a little scared I think with all the people at our home. We had a good mix of family and friends, children and adults. Mike made Autumn's favorite meal - spaghetti. Our friend Clara Chay fed Autumn her dinner- and she ate an adult size serving! She was so happy and laughed out loud when we sang her happy birthday - like she knew it was all about her. She was not interested in birthday cake though- she cried when I tried to feed it too her and instead, ate some applesauce. Not a bad thing I guess to not care for sweets. For her birthday, we got her a toddler trampoline. She loves it so much. However, sometimes she gets to jumping so fast that she can't stop herself and she cries. But then, she goes right back to it. Her favorite birthday toy - a ball.

So day to day, not much else happening. We are looking forward to Easter - so many cute outfits for girls! I can't wait to go shopping! Also, looking forward to a long weekend in Charleston in April. Autumn has never seen the ocean so that will be a first for her. Mike and I will be attending Bethany's information meeting April 1st to discuss our experience with international adoption. Perhaps looking forward to another experience? Thinking - still a little soon to know for sure. As for Autumn, she has now mastered climbing the stairs and is starting to feed herself some. Feeding herself and her speech has been her biggest issue. She has a small vocabulary "Hey" "MaMa" and "uh-oh" She can point and make different sounds to express what she wants. She is becoming more loving, will give and accept hugs and kisses and is learning to do the same for her dolls and stuffed animals. She has really turned into a very loving child, and it is such a good feeling to be on the receiving end of her hugs and kisses.

Christmas is here!! December 23, 2010

Our first Christmas with Autumn is finally here! So much is happening- so much going on- where to start. Since the last update, Autumn had her church dedication on November 28, 2010. She did so good. She was so quiet and patient. I think she enjoyed the attention. Our friend Allyson sang for her- a wonderful song by Steven Curtis Chapman, "Love Takes You In" Here are the words- it speaks volumes I think of our journey:
"I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in"



Other updates: January 4th, Autumn will be having her cleft lip repair - I am worried, happy, nervous, all of these emotions. While I know it will help her so much, she is going to look different. She is so sweet and cute like she is now, I can't imagine her changing. I am trying to remind myself that this going to help her in so many ways, especially speaking and eating, not just aesthetics. She is doing well- her gross motor development just amazes me every day. She is a little slow still with the fine motor- speech therapy is working with her and probably after the new year, she will start occupational therapy to help with her fine motor. We are looking forward to a wonderful Christmas with her- she is enjoying the decorations, and we plan to attend this afternoon's Christmas party at her daycare. She loves going and playing with the other children. We have also gone through her first illness- bilateral ear infection, GI bug- all at once. She is a trooper. Anyway, I will try to update more later- but here are some new pics - courtesy of an old and dear friend- Ryan Bumgarner Photography. Merry Christmas!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

November has been a busy busy month. Autumn is doing great! She is running, jumping and really doing well with her gross motor. She is catching up quickly. Her fine motor skills are still somewhat behind. She is not feeding herself, but she eats great and is growing. I don't think it will be much longer for her to catch up there too. She had her first daycare day. We have her at First Baptist Asheville. Those folks are just angels. They are really loving and kind to Autumn, and seem to have a genuine interest in her doing well. She spent her first 1/2 day on November 16th. She did well. I was nervous leaving her, but felt much better after I saw how well she did. The second day, she ended up there all day. Mike had to go out of town. She seemed to have a really good time. She ate all her food we packed. However, she did not nap. She went to another class while her class napped. Hopefully, she will get used to this. She naps good at home, but did not want to nap there. Anyway, that night she was so tired, but insistant on more and more play. She absolutely crashed when she went to bed. The early intervention folks came out to see her, and hopefully, she will be starting some speech therapy soon to help with her talking and eating. This weekend, she will have her church dedication. We are looking forward to this. One of our dear friends is coming from Charlotte to sing. Here are some of the latest photos we have - enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Mike and I LOVE Halloween! I enjoy being at home, handing out candy and seeing all the kids- which is what I am doing now as I update. Autumn went to two houses, dressed as a bumble bee. That is about all she could take. Hopefully, will have those pictures up soon.
The last few weeks with Autumn has been AMAZING! She is such a sweet little girl. She goes everywhere with us, and seems quite at home whether we are at Church, Target, a restaurant, just wherever- she is happy to be there.
We have had our checkups with our Pediatrician, Dr. Chu- everything checked out well. He did a slew of labs, repeated some vaccines, and thought overall she looked good. He referred us to the NC early intervention program, and we met our caseworker last week. She was very nice, and Autumn qualified for their services, since she has a cleft lip and palate, and has some mild developmental delays. She recommended that we begin some speech therapy and occupational therapy also. So that will start soon. We also registered for daycare last week. I am so thankful that she will start at First Baptist Asheville. We looked at several, and I really was pleased with the compassion that they showed to Autumn. She also got to meet her classmates, and play a while on the playground with them. She had a ball, and cried when we left- I was sad/happy about that. We also had dinner last night at the neighbor's= she did great! She just takes it all in. Such a good girl- here are some new pics. We have about a 1000- hard to decide which ones to post! :)
We took Autumn to the Biltmore Estate- Antler Hill Village- she has a pull behind for the bike - she fell asleep during the ride! I think she likes it.

Autumn and me - her first time going to Church.

Autumn received her first "Steeler's" attire from her grandparents in the mail. CUTE!

Autumn and me at her first visit with Dr. Chu.

Autumn's first time on a swing - she LOVES it!

Autumn in her Halloween outfit! LOVE the skirt!

Still in her Halloween outfit- gotta find another reason to wear the skirt! She is so cute in it!

Probably the cutest pic I have- All my girls watching Daddy on the front porch!

Finally Home

We have now been home a week with Autumn. We have been quite busy, which is why I have not updated our blog. Mike and I have had a hard time adjusting to the time change from China, as well as jet lag. The jet lag was the worst. I am sure Autumn felt it too. We had over 24 hours of total travel time between the actual flights and airport layovers. Autumn did OK, considering she is so young and not used to any type of travel. She has done well at her new home. We were worried about how she'd handle the dogs. Her first sight, her little eyes were so big. No tears though. She lets them smell her and even accepts a lick or two. Initially, their barking scared her and she whimpered a bit, but is even doing a little better with that. She has explored all of the upstairs. Just a few days after arriving home, she really started to crawl good, and then, she stood up by herself. Wednesday, she really started walking. She is quite unsteady and falls down a lot, but at least she is trying. She is doing great with eating. We are trying a variety of things, and likes it all except for potatoes and Lima beans. With the weather being so nice today and yesterday, she has spent time on the porch and seems to enjoy being outside. She is not saying anything yet, but does a lot of laughing, smiling squealing with delight. She seems to be a very happy child, and I am so thankful for that. We had our first home vist yesterday with our social worker, and I think that went well. Autumn is our daughter, but we'd like to re-adopt her now that we are home. This will give her an American birth certificate, which down the road will help her tremendously. This weekend, she is playing host to Mike's family and has really put on a great show for them. Anyway, here are some updated pics. Enjoy - will try to add more later.

SLEEPING IN HER CRIB

A TRUE AMERICAN

PLAYING IN HER WALKER

It's official!

Autumn is officially our daughter. She had her consulate appointment yesterday. We completed all of our paperwork, and how awesome that we did not have to go! All I had to do was sign for Shiyan to go for us! We did not have to do anything! We now have her abandonment certificate. It is so sad that this precious child was abandoned. We also have the clothes she was wearing and her admission pictures taken at the orphanage. She was also wrapped in a hello kitty blanket, and we have this too. These items, her only connection to her real family. She has an amazing story. Once the paperwork is cleared, then Autumn takes her oath to become a US citizen- obviously she can't do this so we as her parents do it for her. This ceremony was today. I was SOOOOO worried about how she would do. It was a 30-45minute busride to the consulate, and then a lot of wait once there. She was a perfect little angel. She loves to ride the bus. I guess that she is amazed at all of the sights- she has never been out of the orphanage, other than her quarantine for chicken pox. Anyway, she did great! No fuss whatsoever. In fact, she was so happy! Even better, on the busride back, she took a bottle for mike, actually 2 bottles, they were small. Once we arrive in Chicago this week, she is officially a US citizen!! YEAH!! She is doing so much more. She is crawling up into my lap now to get some loving and is offering up some hugs. She reaches for both of us too. She is such a sweet girl. She is also more vocal - we can't understand it, but she is vocal. She is not walking, but will walk when she is in the crib and can hold to the sides. She has started to crawl too. Her nanny said that she stopped crawling a while ago when she started to walk. I guess she is regressed and will get back to walking. She is doing a lot more every day that passes.
As for us- Mike and I are doing great. We are thrilled to be coming home the day after tomorrow. And as a treat, I also had a mason jar full of sweet tea and lemmons tonight!!! Never did I think I'd find that in China. HEAVEN!

Turned a corner-

AUTUMN BEFORE THE DINNER CRUISE
Here is Autumn with the "GUANGDONG BABIES" all from her province. We took so many pics like this, Autumn would not look at the camera. Ezra her buddy is right beside her, the other little girls Emily and Natalie.

Finally, after a week, things are somewhat "normal." Well, for living in a hotel room and eating every meal out, I guess normal. Autumn has gone back to drinking from the bottle. She just started last night. I think she is getting more comfortable with us and this is why? We have let her sort of take the lead, and not pressure her to drink too much. She did 5 oz last night, and 6 this morning. She also took another 4 ounces during the day. She is eating like a champ. And what goes in, comes out too. Mama is happy. She is starting to really show some personality and can get quite cranky when she does not get her way. She HATES a diaper change. Most changes, it takes both of us to get a diaper on. She also let me trim her nails. She gave me a nice scratch on my neck today, so had to be done. She also understands "no." She is getting a lot more active in the crib. She was trying to chew on the side rails, can't be good with her lip. She understood No, and seemed to pout a little but stopped.
We took a dinner cruise last night, she did pretty good. The papa john's pizza was great! Towards the end, there was some entertainment which the kids enjoyed. It was a good distraction. We are finding that children have very short attention spans, especially ours. We hope that everyone at home is doing well- especially Ronnie - hope you are healing well from surgery. Hang in there- can't wait to see you all soon!

And she finally smiles!

Last night- finally got some smiles and laughter from her- it has continued on through today. She is pretty fussy, but is smiling more. She is pretty comical at times. We have had a lot of fun just playing. She is eating much better, in fact, the last few feeds, this has hardly been an issue. She ate an entire ladle of wheat oatmeal and a sausage link at breakfast, for example. She is still not taking the bottle though. Overall, I'd say things are some better. We are going on a dinner cruise tonight, and having Papa Johns pizza! Yes, they have it here. We can hardly wait. The weather is better, very hot. I just went out to buy more diapers, and locals are walking around in masks. I am not sure what kind of air I took in, can't be good. The smog is terrible. I have had a cough for the second day now. Shiyan has spoken to Autumn's orphanage director again, and we have found out the she took the majority of her meals in the crib- she stood while being fed. They also added sugar to her formula and her water. Chinese formula is much sweeter than what we have- it must have been like syrup. Needless to say, we have not done this, and perhaps that is part of the problem? She also fed herself her bottles in the crib. We have tried this too, but did not work. Anyway, here is a new pic of her wonderful smile. Enjoy, and I can't wait to see everyone very soon!! This week!!! :)

More Pics

Grandparents requesting more pics, so here you go. The one of Mike, Autumn and me is at the Chinese restaurant we went to, and the bucket of eels, evening special. Yes, they are alive and I assume you can pick the one you want. Our dinner was conservative, but delicious nonetheless. Other pics, Autumn at various times. There is one with her touching her toy with her last three fingers. She does not use her index finger, just the last three. She can, and we have seen her grip using the index, but no touching or pointing. She also had a mad screaming fit about 2pm today. I was in the process of preaparing her rice cereal, and turns out, feeding her made her better. She took it all, and some extra pear purree. Along with some left over formula and pedialyte. Still no bottle or sippy cup though. It is the best she has eat yet, so I will take it. The marks on her arms and face are from the chicken pox.
We also learned, thank you Amy, that the formula we brought for her is on the recall list. Not sure if it will make a difference, but while we are here, going to do only the Chinese formula. We don't have much of a choice. I will purchase enough to take with us and try to transition her at home. HOME, can't wait to get there. Enjoy the pics-

Today's update.

I think she may be doing a bit better. We went with our group to an authentic chinese restaurant last night. Shiyan our social worker here, is so wonderful. She wants so much for us to have a good time. She had everything arranged for us- the meal was served family style, and there were about 3-4 families per table. Our group is so supportive. Everyone is aware of the hard time we are having. Most of the kids are doing well. You can really see the difference in the children from orphanages vs. the kids from foster homes. There is a 3 year old with some delays as well. There are others having the eating issues, perhaps not to the extent that we are though. She was fussy about the entire time we were there. But easily calms I think. When we got back, she took about 2-3 tablespoons of rice cereal, and ounce of her vit. c liquid, no fuss. It was amazing. She still refuses a bottle though. We are just doing the best we can.
We took her to the payroom this morning. She played more today than she has yet. Ezra is another child about her age. He was fostered. He seems right on target with where he should be and is all boy. I think that Autumn enjoyed being around him. He will be in Knoxville, so hopefully, they will be good friends for a long time. Autumn did smile twice for me today. I almost cried. I will try to post more later.

Separation Anxiety?

So we've had Autumn since the 19th. She does not smile, does not laugh, and feeding her is pure torture, for her and me. It takes two of us to hold her down to get it in. Last night, she took about 1/2 ounce from her bottle and then it was like she realized what she was doing and refused the rest. We got it in her with a syringe though. She opens her mouth and takes it. Swallows, then screams. I just don't understand. Same with food. Shiyan thinks that she is depressed and it is a trust issue, ie she does not trust us yet. Shiyan thinks a little more TLC is all she needs. I cuddle her as much as I can, and so does Mike. We are using the strap on baby carrier (thank you so much Debbie Crain for this!!!) She likes it. Anytime we are holding her close, she seems content. She does not smile. She does not laugh. This transition I know is hard, but how long will it take her? Otherwise today, a little bit of a cough, no temp. This is very hard. In a lot of ways, I feel like I am a failure to her. She really is so precious, I just wish I knew how to make this all better for her.

Mike's initiatiation to what prunes can do!

So yesterday, Autumn did not eat or drink but about 2-3 ounces. That's it. She took about 1/4 container of prunes, washed down with about 1/6 ounce of water. Then, our social worker came. Shiyan is so awesome. She brought prune juice and pedialyte. It took Mike holding her, and Shiyan holding her head, and a lady downstairs came an talked to her in Cantonese (her native language) and we finally got about 4 ounces of formula in her with a syringe. She turned flips, cried, and screamed, fought us to the end, but finally got it in her. She is dehydrated. Shiyan thinks she has a major case of separation anxiety and depression. So lots more TLC and hopefully this will get better. She went to sleep no problem. (probably tired from the fight) This morning, still would not take a bottle, but we got about 5 1/4 ounce of formula with the syringe. She took about 5 forced bites at breakfast and lastly had a major wake up stinky diaper and during breakfast, finished what she started. Mike was a good help, but certainly allowed me to do the changing. I hope things will get better for her. I hate force feeding her. She loves to walk- so going to strap on the baby carrier and take her to Starbucks.

Updates on Autumn

So a few new pictures- grandparents request. Autumn is a handful! She will not take a bottle. She will not eat. She will not drink. All day, I have managed about 1-2 ounces of watered down juice and water, 2 spoons of yogurt, and just now, she took about 1/4 of a container of mashed prunes. The liquids, all with a 5cc syringe! Interestingly, she took the prunes in her crib which makes me wonder if she was mostly fed in her crib at the orphanage. She will not take a bottle in it though. We have contacted our Social Worker who will arrive here later today, and she is going to call the orphanage for suggestions. We have figured out her "mad cry" which happens often. And her sad/scared cry. She loves to go for walks in the stroller. Thank the Lord we have a stroller at home! She loves it. There are cobble stone streets here and she babbles as she jiggles over the stones. This is the most talk we have heard yet. She is still quite shy. I also worry that she is sleeping a little much today, but understandably if she does not feel well. Being a first time mom - this is quite hard. Still hoping she has a good poop!

Last 24 hours -

The last 24-36 hours, not good. The evening of Gotcha Day, she started with a low grade temp. It spiked at 102.4 yesterday morning. She would not take much of a bottle, very cranky. We had several appointments yesterday, and bless her heart - with a temp of 102 - she survived all of it. I took pedialyte, but again, she would not take a bottle. We have infant Tylenol, which controlled it some. Anyway, we had her medical exam for US clearance yesterday, luckily her temp was 100.7. Still not so good, but he gave her antibiotics and "Chinese herbs" which turns out to be Vit. C. The doctor palpated some lymph nodes in her neck, and I can feel them too- he though perhaps she was suffering a sore throat? The nodes aren't very big. It was a nightmare last night trying to get the antibiotics in her- she screamed and let me tell you - she has a great set of lungs. So after finally getting the medicine in- she was so tired, we did not bath her. She sleeps so good. She likes the crib and self soothes very well. All she needs is a dim room, and her blanket. Thank the Lord for that. This morning - fever has broke. I was scared though - she slept about 7-8 hours and her diaper was dry! I was able to get about 5 and a quarter ounce of formula in her. She went back to sleep for another hour or so. Mike was able to get her antibiotics in her, no trouble this time and about 10 spoons of cereal. No poop since we've had her so I am worried about that, but plenty of gas. Sorry for the graphics, but would love some suggestions here. Trying to feed or bottle her is like torturing her. I don't know if she is traumatized by her situation or just doesn't feel good still. She is still very quiet, and timid. She did manage to produce a very wet diaper late morning - so that is good.

We were to go to the zoo today, however, with her feeling bad, we are going to for ego that. In addition, there is a typhoon on the way- I heard it is the equivalent to a cat. 3 hurricane. (overheard in the elevator this morning) and it is to directly hit Hong Kong, which is close to here. They advised all cars off the roads for Guangzhou today, for flooding. We have her passport appointment for later- not sure if we will be able to go with the weather? It started raining last night and is still messy today, lots of wind. Please pray for the weather and for Autumn. Not to mention her new mother who is about crazy with nerves today. I am fixated on what goes in and "out" and I worry about dehydration, but at least her temp is better. Mike however is great. She could not have picked a better Daddy. Very calm and patient with her. I will try to get some more pics up soon.

Gotcha Day!

So about 2pm today, our group ventured over to meet our children. We are a group of 4 families so far. It was a very emotional day. We saw Autumn before we met her. I recognized her instantly. Then, we got to meet. Her nanny told us that she was carsick on the way over. It is a 4 hour bus ride from Guangning to Guangzhou, and her first time traveling. She also missed her nap time. We first noticed lots of small scars all over her body, her face. Turns out that she was hospitalized late August through September with chicken pox. It looks like she is healing, but several spots nonetheless. She is VERY quiet and shy. She sat in our laps no problem. She whimpered a little, not loud, very soft cries. I think more than anything she was tired. She tolerated the bus ride back to the hotel, no problems. She seems to have good sight, good hearing. She watches everything you do. She has not spoken, but I understand she was talking very minimally at the orphanage. She sucks her fingers constantly. She loves to be held. She loves a blanket. Her hair looks very healthy - and quite a lot of it. She hates shoes. In fact, she was wearing a new pair today, and her nanny said that otherwise, she does not like them. She seems to like cartoons. She does have a cleft palate - I cannot tell how much affected, her front gum line is affected. She has had no surgery.
So back at the hotel, we finally got her to nap. She sleeps with her eyes half open. Mike is a little amazed at this. He has now gone to get supper. I hope that she will eat with no problems. Will try to update more in the next couple of days. Hopefully she will open up a little more, but for now, very quiet and shy.

New shoes and BIG TROUBLE!

So, our guide in Beijing said "no trouble buying shoes - take taxi to Carre Four - like WalMart - then taxi back - take a card with hotel name on it." Sounds pretty easy, right? Well, getting there - no trouble. Found shoes - very nice, not expensive. We also got a case of bottled water. Water here, not palatable. Anyway, we got back out to the sidewalk. No taxi. I literally stood for about an hour trying to flag one down. No taxi. In flagging taxi cabs- I also sparked interest in very questionable locals. I called our friends at the hotel - to try to get the hotel to send us transportation. Not successful. So I said a little prayer, or actually, said a big prayer. And about that time, here came a man on a rickshaw scooter built for 3. HALLELUJAH. We were saved! But, I can tell you, the ride back was very scary. There is not highway patrol here.In our ordeal, did not see the first policeman. The cars drive like maniacs. Buses almost running us over. Going the wrong way on a one way street. But in the end, here we are safe and sound. Will not be taking another taxi anytime soon! :) One story hopefully to laugh about someday.

We had a wonderful breakfast this am. The hotel serves a mix of Eastern and Western, so I had bacon and noodles. Topped it off with some cornflakes. The fruit here is exceptionally sweet. And after breakfast - we found some local shops - met Stella and Jordon who will help us hopefully with everything from diapers to gifts and laundry. Also found STARBUCKS!!

But the good news - we meet our guide at 12 (in two hours) to go get Autumn. And to answer other questions - yes, she is in our care after that. We have many days and appointments coming up in order to finalize the adoption, but in two hours, she is officially in our care. Exciting, and scary all at once!!

Now in Guangzhou!

Trying to see if downloading pics works. Here Mike and I are in the rickshaw touring the Hutong.
Mike and I have now arrived at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou. We had to get up this morning at 345am to catch our van to go to the airport. We are very tired. We have to exchange our money, find Mike some shoes (long story) and hopefully find some lunch. I hope that we are able to get lots of rest this evening because tomorrow will be a very busy day! We don't know what time we will meet Autumn, sometime in the afternoon, I think? And after that, she is in our care. We just had the crib delivered.

A little about Guangzhou. I am so amazed at the rows and rows of apartments. I have often wondered how you can fit millions of people into a small area, now I know. It was truly amazing. Life in China is very different than what we are used to. Hopefully this week we can get out and explore the city.

Touring Beijing

Mike and I started with our group at 8am this morning for our tour. We first went to the Cloisonne factory where they make the copper chinese vases. It was very interesting. Then we went to the Great Wall. Unfortunately, it is raining today, but we made the best of it. We got an umbrella and poncho and did OK. The Great Wall is so amazing- it is so much more than what you see on TV. I did my best with the climbing..... step after step, and none of the steps are even. I wish it had of been more clear- lots of fog. Then on to the Hutong ricshaw tour, olympic village. I don't remember a time when I have ever been so tired. And the traffic here... oh my goodness. No traffic patterns in the US match what we have seen here. It is just crazy! All the time, not just at rush hour. Tomorrow, we will be leaving at 530am to catch our flight to Guangzhou. Will update when we get there.