We Have Arrived!

She did it! Ava slept all night. By herself. In her own bed! I'm not expecting the same tonight but we'll take what we can get.

We've been home 24 days. I planned to blog after a week, but I had the flu and Ava had strep. It wouldn't have been a pretty post. Then, I planned to write after 2 weeks, but we had a plumbing emergency in the basement. 3 weeks, well, it just didn't happen.

So here we are. Ava is doing quite well; though we have had our struggles, usually at bedtime. When we brought her home, I took her upstairs to show her her room. She screamed when she saw her crib. Sleeping in it? Not a chance. So, now, our 20-month old sleeps in a toddler bed. And she's happy.

So very happy. She's got quite the personality, but won't share it with people she doesn't know. She is very shy, quiet and timid around new people. But that isn't a bad thing.

We've been so busy since we got home. I lost count of doctor appointments, but it's all been good news. We saw the cardiologist this week. I was a little nervous about that one. Ava had open heart surgery when she was 10 weeks old (Tetralogy of Fallot repair) and the orphanage never took her for a follow up. As it turns out, everything is fine. Her surgery was successful. As long as everything continues to grow as it has, she won't need any future procedures. She does have a heart murmur (despite what the doc said in China), but Dr. Weigel says it's nothing to worry about. And come back in a year.

Ava is talking like crazy. She speaks mostly baby-talk, but easily makes her feelings known. Her new thing is saying "thank you." Hey, at least she's polite.

She's had no trouble adjusting to all the new food. In fact, she likes EVERYTHING. Steamed vegetables? Bring 'em on. Oatmeal? Better make 2 bowls.  The people at the orphanage said "cookies and candy are her favorite." They were right, though now we should add pound cake to that list. But, really, she's just as happy to eat edamame and snap peas.

Speaking of food, I have to thank all our friends at school/church for all the great meals they've brought over for us. It has been such a great help, especially since Ava needed to be held all the time until very recently. Life is slowly returning to normal, so maybe it's about time I cooked a meal -- it's been 6 weeks since I put proper food on the table. Again, thank you, my friends for giving me one less thing to worry about.

Tomorrow is Easter. And we have much to celebrate!

Hong Kong

We made it to Hong Kong. We are tired, so I'll keep this short. Ava has been such a trooper today. It's almost 8:00, and we're waiting for dinner. She's hungry and exhausted, but still has a smile on her face. Leaving for the airport in the morning and, finally, we're coming home!

Sent from my iPad.

Heading to Hong Kong

Today is our last day in China. We are waiting for Ava's visa and in a couple hours, we'll be on the bullet train to Hong Kong. We have spent the morning packing and, right now, Ava is taking a nap. She has really warmed up to her Daddy today. More than once, she asked him to hold her. He even got her to sleep, which isn't an easy thing to do.

While we are so happy to be coming home, we will treasure the time we spent with Ava in China. The sights, the smells, the people. I'm trying to soak up as much of it as I can, so I can remember and share it with her one day. Everything we've done here has been an adventure; from getting in a cab, to finding food, to even crossing the street (it's much like playing a game of Frogger). I'm sure there are traffic rules, but we could never figure them out.

This trip has turned out so much better than I imagined. We have been stretched beyond measure, challenged, changed. Rewarded. We have met families we'll never forget. I have laughed (often when I didn't know what else to do), cried, learned so much about myself. Would I do it all over again? In a minute.

Sent from my iPad.

Rough afternoon...

Ava woke up from her nap screaming - just like that first afternoon with her. There was nothing I could do to console her. I tried to hold her. She arched her back, broke loose and squirmed away from me. Ava threw herself to the floor and tried to beat her head against it. I held her tight so she wouldn't get hurt. More than an hour went by. Our happy baby was suddenly terrorized. Bad dream? Grieving? Confused? I don't know. Finally, she sat quietly next to me holding my hand. Then Kevin comes in acting foolish and saves the day. Suddenly, Baba with a sock on his head was the funniest thing ever. Ava's face lit up again. And she was fine.

I know there will be more times like this. We expect it. Very soon, we will take this sweet child away from everything familiar to her. And it may get more difficult. But it'll be OK. No one has days of only lollipops and rainbows. Sometimes, we all just need a little extra love.

Sent from my iPad.

Last Day in Guangzhou!

One week ago, Kevin and I met Ava in a freezing cold orphanage with no heat. She came to us wearing a pair of pajamas, a red sweater, red socks, red shoes and a big pink puffy fleece coat (top and bottom). She was scared. Confused. Sad.

Today, Ava is a different child. Such a personality! Shy around new people, but not for long. Our little girl has experienced so many firsts this past week; probably even some that we aren't aware of. She is still a Mama's girl, but has started asking for Baba and letting him hold her. And she has started playing flying saucers at the breakfast table, but that's another story.

This morning, we visited the US Consulate and took an oath. When we land in Chicago on Wednesday, Ava will become an American citizen. After our appointment today, our group went back to Shamian Island for lunch at Lucy's, then we took a nice walk. Ava put on a show for the shopkeepers; blowing kisses, talking and giggling. She couldn't be more perfect for our family.

Tomorrow afternoon, we take the bullet train to Hong Kong. We'll stay the night there and fly out Wednesay morning. While we have come to understand and appreciate Chinese culture, we're ready to go home. Kevin and I miss Jackson and Molly so much - leaving them has been the most difficult part of this trip. Soon, we'll all be together. And we can't wait.

Safari Park

This morning, we visited Safari Park. Definitely an adventure. Our guide can't go everywhere with us since there are others in our group and everyone wants to do something different; so she arranged for a driver to take us there, wait for us and bring us back to the hotel. Easy enough, right? Wrong. He took us there but when we were ready to leave, he's nowhere to be found. We have no way to contact him or anyone else, and no one at the park spoke English. We were told it would be hard to find a cab there (which was why we hired the driver), so imagine Kevin, me and little Ava with her rice cookie standing in the parking lot. I'm near tears and beginning my first meltdown when a cab drives up. He doesn't speak a bit of English, so we show him our room key with the hotel name on it. He shows us the amount of money he wants, and we get in the cab. That dude could've taken us anywhere, but by the grace of God we made it back to the hotel.

Safari Park was such fun, though. We took a train ride throughout the place and saw all kinds of animals. Many of them came right up to the train. Ava giggled the whole time! If it weren't for the rain, we could've spent all day there.

There was a young couple sitting in front of us on the train. They spoke broken English, and told Kevin our daughter looks Chinese. Kevin told them she is. "Impossible", the man replied. We just smiled. Apparently, Ava wasn't properly bundled (Chinese parents dress their children in many, many layers). I can't tell you how many women have come up and scolded me (in Chinese and in English) for not dressing her properly. Seriously, Ava is fine. And she hates all those layers - she will take them off if I dress her so that people will leave us alone.

We are back at the hotel now - and I think it's a good idea to stay put for the rest of the day. Enjoy the pictures - the man walking the monkey and the smile on Ava's face made this fiasco of a day so worthwhile.

Saturday, March 10

This morning, Ava had her medical exam.  I heard many horror stories about the facility and the sick people there but, lucky for us, it just moved to a new location.  It was clean, we were in and out very quickly and adoptive families were kept separate from everyone else.    We went in one room to get ears and throat checked, another for height and weight (she's up to 23 pounds) and the last room for a quick heart exam.  Ava had open heart surgery when she was just a few months old.  The orphanage said she never went for a checkup after that surgery, since she was doing fine.  Her paperwork following her heart surgery stated she had a moderate heart murmur, but it's now gone.  She may still need a procedure down the road, but we'll figure that out when we get home.  Right now, she appears to be perfectly healthy.  

After her exam, we went to Shamian Island for lunch and bought a few pairs of squeaky shoes and some other souvenirs.  The people there are so friendly.  One store even let us borrow a stroller for a few days.  Ava sat in the floor in our room and played with her new shoes for a while when we got back to the hotel - seems she likes shoes as much as her Mommy and big sister.  

We just got back from dinner at an Italian restaurant called "The Italian Restaurant".  Not bad.  Ava had spaghetti with cream sauce and loved it.  She won't eat congee anymore, especially after I introduced her to oatmeal.  Really, she just wants to eat what Kevin and I are having.  

We are having a much easier time in Guangzhou.  Our hotel is full of adoptive families (our Shanghai hotel was full of Chinese businessmen) and we are enjoying our time with them.  

Kevin and I can't get over how well Ava is doing with us.  Until today, she only wanted me to hold her.  Kevin was her playmate but she wouldn't let him comfort her.  That is slowly starting to change.  He carried her back from the restaurant and she smiled the whole way.  She likes walking around the hotel and will go to the door in our room and yell when she's ready to go.  

She has a few nicknames - both of our guides call her "Shanghai Girl", they say because she's smart and pretty.  But Kevin and I have been calling her "The Dictator".  It's just as fitting.  You'll see. 

Sent from my iPad.

Busy day...

Goodbye Shanghai, Hello Guangzhou

There was an international incident aboard China Eastern Airlines today. Kevin and I were the only two non-Chinese people on the plane. No one spoke English. We weren't even sure that we were on the right airplane. Ava, the crazy baby known for being head-strong and stubborn since she was born in the year of the tiger, fought me for almost 3 hours. Not only is she head-strong, her body is strong. I wrestled her in that cramped window seat until I gave up. I let her destroy the airline-provided snack of bread, dried apples and crackers. She crumbled food and threw it everywhere. And I didn't care. I was spent. Many glares from the others on the plane, crazy American mother letting her baby yell and scream and have a food fight with herself. Kevin was playing Angry Birds during all this. Yes, we had words. And more glares from fellow passengers. But we made it to Guangzhou, and I'm pretty sure someone is still cleaning the plane.

Our new guide, Helen, met us at the airport. There are 2 other families in our group here. Their flights hadn't come in yet, so she put us in a cab and told the driver where to take us. He didn't speak English. Kevin on the verge of yet another meltdown.

But we made it to The Garden Hotel, which is great. Our hotel in Shanghai was beautiful, but it was on a 12-lane road and we couldn't really walk anywhere. The Garden is in a more pedestrian-friendly area, and it's easy to venture out without our guide. We feel much more relaxed here.

Last night, we took Ava to the Shanghai acrobatics show. It was awesome! Think Cirque du Soleil on steroids. Yesterday was National Women's Day in China, and it was fun to do something like that with Sarah since she was away from her family. Ava loved it! We were a little worried since the show was 2 hours long and began at her bedtime, but she was fine. Not a peep during the show and she fell asleep in the cab on the way back to the hotel.

Ava is adjusting beautifully. Today at the airport, a Chinese woman working at security held her hands out for Ava to go to her. My smart baby girl shook her head "no", gave me a hug and said, "mama". I nearly cried.

We keep telling her about all the love waiting for her back home. She doesn't know what we're talking about, but that makes it all the more special.

She loves the camera!