Home Sweet Home

We made it!  Finally home, couldn't wait to get here.

The 2 hour train ride to Hong Kong yesterday was terrible for Adriana.  She was tired and just did not want to be stuck on a train.  After the train we were dreading the almost 15 hour plane ride.

We loved the hotel in Hong Kong.  It was posh and very nice.  We got in so late we skipped dinner all together.  We woke early and were all set for heading to the airport.  We grabbed an early shuttle to the airport and waited in line.  It took longer than expected and then they told us our seats weren't together.  The lady at the counter had to call a supervisor over and then they finally got us 3 seats together.  What a long flight...  Adriana was an angel and handled it great compared to the train ride.  We are so happy we bought her a seat.  Once she fell asleep in our arms we could just lay her down on the seat between us.  Did I say how happy we are to be home?

Immigration and Customs in Chicago took longer than expected.  Once the paperwork was done at Immigration Adriana became an American Citizen.  We almost missed our connecting flight to Milwaukee.  We made it to the gate just as they were finishing boarding.  Yes we made it.  No our luggage did not.  No big deal though, they will send it to the house tomorrow.

It was such a great relief to get home.  We pulled in just as the landscapers were finishing a project we had planned.  The timing was perfect.  We fed Adriana and put her in her pajamas.  She was soo over tired.  She woke once so far but was back asleep 5 minutes later.  She was probably scared because she has probably never woke to a room with nobody else in it.  We heard her on the baby moniter and rescued her.

Cindy and I are both tired but very relieved to be home.  It was a trip filled with excitement and was also very stressful.  Adriana was a great baby and that helped. 

Hopefully we will post some photo's and videos in the next few days.  I think we will be pretty busy trying to get Adriana used to her new home.  We already let her try out her excer-saucer.  She loves it.

I'll probably post more tomorrow or the next day.  Just too tired and am probably forgetting alot.

Can't wait to see Kozmo tomorrow!

It's great to be home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE ARE ALMOST HEADED HOME!

We signed our last document today! We were at the American Consulate applying for Adriana's Visa. We took the oath today. Tomorrow we pick up her visa and get on a train for Hong Kong. On Friday we leave Hong Kong and head for Ohare then to Milwaukee. We are already preparing things for the long plane ride. We bought her a stuffed panda bear to surprise her with on the plane.

Yesterday we went with the professional shopper to the pearl market and then the jade market. We think she saved us a ton of money. The pearl market was incredible with millions of pearls. Just big clear plastic bags filled with strands of pearls. Not a few bags. This market was huge with thousands and thousands of bags of pearls. The guide new her stuff about pearls and jade and she really scrutinized each and every pearl and jade. She turned several back due to not grade A quality. To us they looked the same.

Of the 9 families we think Adriana is the most vocal and outgoing. As with all the babies Adriana's age they still do not crawl yet and some can't even sit on their own. Adriana can sit on her own and roll from her back to her tummy. They say for every 3 months in an orphanage they are 1 month behind. They also say they catch back up quickly once your home. Without Cindy's approval I taught Adriana how to stick out her tongue and do the fish face. Now I can't get her to stop. Once we get our computer fixed at home I will be able to send out pictures and video's. We are as disappointed as you are not being able to post pictures.

We went out for dinner tonight with another couple. Adriana ate a full cup of mashed potato's and was still hungry. She has one heck of a little belly. I had to go out and buy a hand carved fat bellied buddah because I think of her little belly like that. We are very lucky that she is one happy little baby and has bonded very well with us. We have been fortunate to have only a few brief meltdowns compared to what some of the other family's are dealing with. Can't wait till the long plane ride is behind us.

Hopefully our next post will be with a fixed computer from home. It's been quite the experience here and have appreciated everything but can't wait to get home.

Almost home!

Everything is going great. We like the White Swan hotel and like Guangzhou. You can actually walk around here without worrying about getting run over.

Today we went to XiangHu Park. It was very nice with flowers everywhere. The food has been ok. We actually went to a French restaurant tonight with another couple. Our guide said it was a nice "Western" restaurant. I didn't know French was Western, but it was very good food. We stopped by a little bakery and bought two pieces of cake on the way home. Yesterday we were walking to a Western restaurant and Adriana fell asleep before we got there. We ended up taking her back to the hotel and I went to the restaurant and ordered take-out. It wasn't bad but the hamburger meat didn't taste the same as in the states.

Yes everyone brings the children everywhere they go. It gets a little noisy at times but not as bad as one would think. Most of the kids are used to being hauled everywhere and most of them fall asleep during the bus rides. Adriana stayed awake the whole trip today. It surprised me. I wish that she would sleep in but that hasn't been the case.

It was actually cool today. It was nice not sweating at all.

Adriana has been very good. She is asleep now and will wake at about 5:30 am. She smiles and giggles all the time.

We did the "red couch" photo yesterday. Talk about screaming kids. The guide counts to 3 and then the parents all drop their kids on the couch and run. Boy was there some screaming going on. Adriana didn't cry, she just sat there trying to figure out why all the other kids were crying.

Adriana got me yesterday morning and this morning. I fed her a bottle and 2 minutes later she gave threw up soaking me from my chest down. Cindy was in the shower and I yelled. She came out and saw what happened and had tears running down her face because she was laughing so hard. I think Cindy can feed her tomorrow morning! That was another trip to get laundry done. Laundry is pretty cheap to get done.

The food here has been pretty good. Some of the foods are very hot and spicy. The food is very cheap and you can really get alot of food. We have been avoiding the restaurants with the tanks of live food. I saw someone today with a plate of pigeon sized birds intact. GROSS

Tomorrow morning we meet a professional shopper, Ann from Red Thread. We will tell her what we want to look at and she takes us to the different shops by taxi. Once we pick out what we want she does all the negotiating to get the best price. She only charges $10 an hour. Then tomorrow afternoon we take a 45 minute walk to a pearl place. We will have to see... We bought two silk Chinese outfits for Adriana. Maybe she can wear them at Christmas time. Around the hotel are lots of little shops but not a lot of good quality things just more tourist type stuff.

On Wednesday we go to the American Consulate to do the oath-takeing ceremony. Then on thursday we get Adriana's Visa and jump on the train for Hong Kong. We won't get to Hong Kong till the evening and then fly out of Hong Kong before noon on Thursday. We can't wait to get home but that is going to be a very long flight trying to keep Adriana quiet.

That's it for now my time is about up. We can't wait to get home. I can't wait to get my computer fixed.

Till next time...