Home at last!!

Well, we have been home since late Friday night. The trip home, as many of you know, was a little more interesting than we were expecting. We ended up spending an unexpected night in Tokyo. It is an extremely long story that I won't go into on here. After many frustrating hours, we finally landed in Minneapolis at 5:30 Friday evening.

Considering the length of the flights and the extra time it took to get home, Dexter did wonderfully. We were a little concerned about how he would deal with being in a carseat for the first time, but he sat great.

We arrived at our house at 8:30 to welcoming hugs from Elli and Zane. It was great to finally see and hold them again. They were also really excited to finally meet Dexter. Grandma Kathy, Aunt Emily and Broc were here to greet us too. They had balloons lining the front sidewalk and a bunch of signs welcoming Dexter home. Dexter warmed up to everyone quite quickly, even though Zane scared him a little with his wild ways. Since it was late and we were all tired, we didn't stay up too late. Dexter is still on China time, so we're lucky that Grandma was willing to stay up with him!

We have had a few visitors already, which is great. We're excited for him to meet everyone! We've got lots to look forward to - - let the adventure begin!

Misc. Photos from Shamian Island

Dr. Sun Yatsen Memorial Photos

Last Day Photos

The one picture is an example of the amazing way people haul things around on their bicycles.

The other is a view of the city from the top of our hotel.

Our Last Full Day

Today was our last full day in China. It is kind of a bittersweet moment for us because we have had such a life changing and wonderful experience here, but we are also very excited to get home again. We can't wait to see Elliana and Zane!

This morning, we took a taxi to the Dr. Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall. It is a huge memorial and grounds area dedicated to Dr. Sun Yatsen, who was considered the founding father of contemporary China. It was a magnificent structure with meticulous landscaping and greenery. This tropical climate is great for flowers!

We did some shopping after that and took a bunch of pictures of the island. We tried to soak in every bit of China that we could today. We want to be able to tell Dexter all about it some day.

We had our final adoption related appointment this afternoon at the US Consulate. We took an oath there and received Dexter's passport and visa. There were 31 families that were there with us. I teared up at the end of the oath. We are bringing Dexter home!

After we arrived back from the Consulate, we said goodbye to some of the families that we have gotten to know so well over the last 2 weeks. Although we are all so excited to get back home to our families and begin the next chapter of our lives, it was hard to say goodbye to people that we have grown so close to and that we have traveled this path with. Bittersweet.

Tonight we finished up our day with some final souvenir shopping and then came back to pack. We also Skyped with the kids and Mom and Dad. It was so great to see them! We leave the hotel at 7:00 tomorrow morning and our flight leaves Guangzhou at 10:20. With all of the time changes, we are supposed to land at MSP at 1:30 Thursday afternoon. Dexter becomes a US Citizen as soon as we clear Immigration in Minneapolis!

What an adventure this has been. Thanks to everyone for all of the support, prayers and good wishes during our journey to bring Dexter home. We'll put an update on the blog sometime after we return home.

River Cruise

The Red Couch photos

Us with Molly on the Red Couch.

The whole group of families from our agency.

Consulate Day Pictures

One picture is some snake wine that Missy saw while strolling through the market area. She didn't try any :)

The other is of Dexter after we tried on his traditional outfit before going over for the "Red Couch" photo.

Consulate Appt Day

Today was our Consulate appointment date.  We didn't actually have to go to it.  Our agency guide went for all of the families and everything went fine.  All paperwork is done. 

At noon, our entire group met at The White Swan Hotel for the famous "red couch" photo. There are a bunch of red couches at the hotel and it has become a tradition for adoptive families to have pictures taken of the children on the red couches. Usually, the children wear traditional Chinese clothing for the photos. It was fun shopping for Dexter's little outfit! The tradition has been going on for years. Most of the kids did really good.  A few cried, but we still got some good pictures. 

After lunch, I brought Dexter back to the room for a nap and Missy went to get a foot massage.  For $10 US you get a 90 minute massage that includes some work on your neck, back and arms too. She really enjoyed it and said that it was probably the best massage she's ever had.

Tonight, we went on a dinner cruise on the Pearl River. I wouldn't want to swim in it, even though the locals do, but it was great to take a dinner cruise on! The buildings along the river light up at dusk, so it was a really amazing cruise down the river. We went as a group with the other families from our agency and everyone really enjoyed it. The buffet was authentic Chinese food. Got to try some duck tonight. Dexter really enjoyed the food, too. He is now starting to eat a little better at meal time. He's also discovered Oreos.

Only one more full day here. We are excited to get home to see Elli and Zane and so everyone can meet Dexter, but also a little sad to be leaving Dexter's natural home. The people here have been very kind. We've really enjoyed it here.

More Pictures

Using chopsticks to eat for the first time and play time after bath.

Pictures

Guangzhou Zoo

The highlight of today was a trip to the zoo this morning. It was a nice zoo with lots of animals. I think it is actually the largest zoo in southern China. Dexter was still a little too young to get a lot out of it, but he did enjoy seeing some of the larger animals (elephants, giraffes, hippos). Seeing a king panda was probably the highlight for us. We also got a close up view of an alligator.

We were really a highlight for the people at the zoo today. I don't think they get many American visitors. We've had a lot of "looks" from people during our visit here, but today we had quite a conversation (one sided) with an older Chinese woman. She actually called over the rest of her family to come and look at us while we were feeding Dexter. At one point, she took the bottle out of his mouth and held it away from him to see if he actually wanted it back. We have no idea what she was saying to us, but in the end it appeared that she approved of our decision to adopt him and she made a heart symbol with her fingers and gave us a thumbs up.

Our bus ride back to the hotel was longer than it should have been. The main bus entrance to the island was closed because the President of Pakistan is staying at a hotel on the island. Glad we're not staying there! Some of the families in our group are staying in that hotel, and it is also a meeting spot for our group. Couldn't it have been the President of Iceland or something?

After we ate a small lunch we spent some more time at the "local" market across the canal from our hotel. We've heard that there is a "pet" market over there that we thought would be interesting, but we haven't managed to find it yet. We did do some shopping, though. Next on our shopping list is a BIG suitcase for all of our purchases.

Tonight we decided to do a group meal with everyone from our agency. We went to one of the local Cantonese restaurants for some regional food. Our guide called ahead to place the order for us. We had fried rice, beef noodles, tofu, dumplings and a few other items. The main dish was pigeon, which was actually pretty good. We're getting pretty good with chopsticks, but the pigeon was a challenge.

By the time we got done it was getting late so we brought Dexter back for a bath before bed. Jeff made a trip to the Carrefour (Chinese equivalent to Walmart) for some additional supplies. We had been there before, but it was with our whole group and our guide. She wrote out the location information in Chinese for Jeff to give to the cab driver. He made it there and back with no trouble.

We've really such a good time here in China. It seems like it was more than a week ago when we met Dexter. He is such a good natured little guy. We're excited to bring him home in just a few more days. We're anxious to get back to Elliana and Zane, although it sounds like they are having a great time with Grandpa & Grandma.

Sightseeing

Today was a free day for us and we spent part of it on a sightseeing trip with the group of families from our agency.

Our first stop was at the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees. In the center of the temple grounds is a beautiful, towering pagoda. On the outside, the pagoda appears to have 9 stories, but on the inside it is actually 17. There are also many other buildings on the temple grounds. It was a busy day there, with many people there for worship.

After the temple we spent some time at the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum. There was a garden area with beautiful flowers at the entrance. Inside, there were rooms and rooms of exhibits. The detail in the pieces was unbelievable. The outside of the building had intricate carvings that were beautifully painted. All of the art in the museum was done by local artists from this province.

By the time we were done it was after noon, so we went to lunch and then decided to come back to our room and take a family nap, which is completely uncharacteristic for us. We were all exhausted from another night of limited sleep. Dexter woke up with some bad coughing that kept us all up for quite a while.

After resting, we did some more shopping and then went to supper. As we were leaving supper there was a thunderstorm rolling through. We ran back to the hotel through the rain and were thoroughly soaked. I don't know if Dexter has ever been out in the rain before. He wasn't a big fan.

After the rainstorm ended, Jeff made a run to 7 Eleven for some snacks and some Chinese beer and wine coolers. Kind of a nice way to end the evening.

We have quite a bit of free time again tomorrow. It sounds like we're going to go to the zoo with the other families from our agency. These last few days here consist of a lot of waiting around for paperwork, so we are doing our best to find interesting things to do here.

A nice relaxing day

Today was basically a free day for us and we didn't do too much. Dexter had a rough night due to his cold and his shots so none of us got a great night of sleep. We had a late breakfast and did some shopping before coming back to the hotel to play and rest.

This afternoon, Jeff had to meet our guide to dob some paperwork and we got a schedule for the rest of our time here. Not a whole lot left to do, so we get to do a lot of sightseeing.

Later this afternoon we got together with a friend from Lewiston (Karl), who happens to be here for business. It was nice to spend some time with someone from home in this faraway place. We showed him around the island, checked out a couple of shops and had a cool drink at Starbucks. After that, he guided us back to the area around his hotel. We discovered that if we would have walked a few more blocks yesterday, when we were browsing the local market area, we would have gotten to his hotel and also back to the same shopping mall that we had been to a few days ago. It is unbelievable how one minute you are walking down a street that is very third worldish and the next you are in a modern, busy shopping area. We shopped for a while and then ate at Pizza Hut. We finished up with a little more shopping before taking a taxi back to our hotel.

Dexter had a pretty good day today. We are really starting to get to know him. He's got a very loving and active personality. He reminds us a lot of Zane. We really miss Elli and Zane and are really getting anxious to go home. Our time here has been wonderful, but we're looking forward to what lies ahead. . .

A new friend

This is our new friend Kimmie. She was adopted by a family from Louisiana that also used CHSFS. They are really nice people and we all went to the market together. Kimmie is their 11th child (5th adopted child).

Market pictures

Our little friend

A Tough Day

Today was the most challenging day that we have had.  This morning Dexter woke up and his cough was a lot worse.  We were a little concerned that he wouldn't be able to get the shots that were needed.  He seemed better after we were up for a while. He seems to be a resilient little guy.

After breakfast, we ventured out a bit with one of the other families in our group.  We went to a local market. It was very interesting to get another perspective on how the Chinese people live.  Some of the most interesting things at the market included live scorpions and dried seahorses. We took lots of pictures. While we were at the market it became clear that we are quite intriguing to the Chinese people. As much as we enjoyed taking in the market, they seemed to enjoy watching us.

When we returned from our adventure, we rested and had Papa John's Pizza for lunch while we waited for our appointment to have Dexter's medical exam and vaccinations. Medical care here is definitely different that what we are used to. Although the clinic was clean, it seemed to be a disorganized mess. The hearing test consisted of a doctor playing a children's keyboard and using squeaky toys to see if he reacted to sounds. The physical exam was abrupt and frightening for him. He had to get two shots which was also pretty traumatic for him (and us).  The nurses were not the most gentle people around.

Dexter did pretty well for a while, but started to have some issues shortly after supper.  He started to run a fever and we could tell he was having some pain in the areas where the shots were given.  He is also now having trouble sleeping comfortably.  Hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

The funniest part of the night was a surprise that I found in one of our bathrooms. As I walked in, I noticed some movement on the bathroom counter.  It was a little lizard that looked something like a small gecko.  I found a little bag to put on my hand to grab it and then put it into an empty water bottle.  I showed it to Missy and then brought it down to the front desk.  The girl at the desk jumped back when I put the bottle up on the counter.  I just wanted to know what it was and if we needed to do anything to make sure we didn't get any more in our room.  She never told me what it was called but said they eat mosquitoes and usually live in trees.  She said it is not a common occurrence to have one of these in the room.

It is getting late - - more tomorrow. . .

More Pictures

Two pictures from the shopping mall area and one of our guide's living room with the two other families from our agency.

More orphanage pictures

Two pictures from outside the orphanage and one of the playground area.

Pictures

These pictures are from our orphanage trip.

One is of a nanny giving M&M's to Dexter and two of his friends.

The other is from just inside the entrance to the building.

A busy, fun-filled day!

Yesterday, Thursday, was a very busy day but we got to see and do a lot of fun and interesting things.

We started the day by going to Dexter's orphanage. It was about a 1 1/2 hour drive to Dongguan City. You really couldn't tell the difference between one city and the next because there really isn't much for rural area. There are some agricultural spots but they are mixed in with the housing. Guangzhou, where we're staying has about 13 million people. Dongguan City has 6 or 7 million.

We are very glad that we got to visit the orphanage. We didn't know for sure if we would get to go because of the swine flu scare but we were able to visit and spend time in the office and reception areas of the building. It is a very nice and clean building and they seem to take good care of the children. We were able to talk with the Vice Director and get some more details on how things are done there. We were also given more info on the surgery that he had to repair his cleft lip. It is all in Chinese, but our guide translated it for us.

On our way up to the offices, we got to see some children doing a therapy session with some nannies. They said it is for the children that are a little behind in their mental and physical development. They said that Dexter is a very smart child and did not need to be part of these sessions.

A couple of the nannies then brought in two of Dexter's friends that he slept next to. It was really interesting to see him interact with them. A nanny brought a couple of packages of M&Ms for the kids to share. They all seemed to love chocolate!

One of the more interesting parts of the visit was being told how to take care of him. They are not shy about giving their opinion on how things should be done. They also gave him a bottle while we were there, which was kind of enlightening. The feeding position was kind of interesting, but it seemed to work, as he sucked it right down.

We also got to spend some time on the front grounds taking some pictures and video and got to see the playground area. It was nice to get a first hand look at the building and grounds rather than just seeing them in pictures. Thankfully, Dexter did really well while we were there. It didn't seem to be traumatic for him, which we were initially concerned about. The nannies and the Vice Director were also glad to see us. They really like seeing children placed with good families.

After we arrived back at the hotel, we had a couple of hours to rest and cool off. We then met the rest of our group of CHSFS families and were taken to a shopping mall in the city which also had the Pearl Market. There were a bunch of stores with all kinds of pearls.

Our night continued with going to our agency rep (Molly's) home for an authentic Chinese meal. It was very interesting to see how the Chinese people live. Very few people have actual houses, they all live in apartments. Our rep's apartment was very small. It had a tiny kitchen, a small sitting room, one bedroom and a bathroom. They had a small dishwasher in the kitchen that looked like a toaster oven and they had a small washing machine that sat on their balcony and was the size of a dorm fridge.

The meal we got was excellent. Molly's husband, Joe, made all of the food. We got fried rice, spicy bacon, spicy pork, tofu and chicken, cucumbers and soy sauce, spicy chicken, broccoli and watermelon. The Pearl River draft beer was good too. He must have cooked for hours. It was definitely a great experience.

When we got back to the hotel we were all exhausted and went to bed. Sorry for the delay in updating this. The following posts will be pictures from our day.

More Pictures

A Step Forward

We had a really good day today. We were a little concerned because Dexter hadn't seemed to do any grieving, which is usually normal amongst adopted children. Now we think that he just handles things a little differently that we expected. Today we realized that he was actually being really reserved and he now has started to open up and show a lot more of his personality.

He seems to have started to become somewhat attached to each of us and is realizing that we should be there and doesn't like it if we are not. He even cried for the first time tonight when we were trying to lay him down for bed when we tried to leave the room. We of course couldn't let him cry, so Missy held him until he fell asleep.

Otherwise, today was more of a slow, relaxing day. This morning after breakfast we went for a walk and let Dexter feel some of the plants that are growing in the park area. He seemed very intrigued by them. We stopped at Starbucks for a little treat and then headed back to the hotel for some play time. This is when he really started to open up and was really enjoying himself. He is staring to "talk" a lot, which is more like making noises and he did quite a bit of laughing today. He is such a joy. He is also still quite a cuddler, which we also love.

After lunch, we had our one adoption task for the day. We had to go to the Police Department to have his picture taken for his passport. It was about a 20 minute drive in the crazy traffic. Dexter fell asleep on the way and slept until we woke him up for the picture. We are really starting to get to know the two other families in our group and they are both very nice.

When we got back, it was time to start thinking about supper. We decided to venture out of the norm a little and ate at the Thai restaurant. Being a somewhat picky eater, I was a little nervous going into it but was actually even more adventurous than Missy. I had the roasted chicken which sounds boring but when the chicken comes with the head still attached it definitely gets more interesting. Missy wouldn't even try a bite. I can't say I would get it again, but it wasn't too bad. It was a very scrawny chicken with very little meat.

After supper we did a little shopping. Things are pretty cheap here. Some of the shops do some little things for free for adoptive families, which is a nice little gift.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day. We get to go to Dexter's orphanage. We won't get to see the areas where he slept and played because of the swine flu scare, but we will get to go into the main building and talk with the Director again. The Director is also planning to bring out Dexter's best friend so we can get some pictures. That will be a great thing to have for Dexter. After the orphanage, our agency guide is going to take all three families to the Pearl Market and then she is taking us to her house and her husband is going to make us a traditional Chinese meal. Lots to look forward to.

Another good day!

We had a really good day today. Dexter is still doing very well. He slept all night last night, which was great! He still hasn't cried at all. I'm sure it just hasn't begun to sink in for him yet. He will likely start mourning the loss of his life in the orphanage, but for now we are enjoying some really good times with him. He is such a wonderful, playful and happy little boy!

We had some appointments today for paperwork which was followed by a trip to the local Walmart-like store. Our guide took us to the store and helped us locate all of the supplies that we needed.

We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon at the hotel, followed by some shopping this afternoon. We had dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant and introduced Dexter to lasagna and spaghetti, which he seemed to enjoy.

We are really enjoying our time here and feel blessed to have this time with Dexter. We do, however, miss the other 2 kiddos like crazy. We enjoy talking to them each night via Skype - - gotta love technology!

This drastic time change stuff is really draining about this time every night. Will write more tomorrow.

More Pictures

Picture

GOTCHA DAY!!!

We are having some issues getting full posts to the blog. Sorry for all the delays. Below is the text version of the post we tried to send last night but failed. We will post the pictures later when we can get them to up load.

The day we have been waiting so long for finally arrived. We got Dexter at around 3:15pm today.

We met our representative and two other adopting families at 1:00. The first order of business was exchanging our money into Chinese Yuan for the orphanage fee and doing some paperwork. We all then loaded into a large van and headed for the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs office. We had to get our temperature taken due to the swine flu concerns.

There were many families there to get their children. We had to do some more paperwork and then just wait until the children arrived. We were the last ones in our group to get our child. The orphanage people we running behind.

When Dexter first came into the office they still had him wearing all pink, even his sandals. Before we got him, they took him into a side room and changed him. Then they finally brought him out and we got to meet him. He just looked at us for a few minutes and then started taking the Gerber puffs we had along for him. Melissa picked him up and we played with him. I then went in another room to do more paperwork and pay the orphanage fee. After that was completed, the orphanage director and the one nanny that came along came out and talked with us to give us some details about him.

Dexter has been great the whole time. He has a wonderful personality and smiles and giggles a lot. He loves to play with toys and balls and will throw them all over. He can walk quite well. He still has not cried once.

He is very small for his age. He can wear 12 month size shirts but we need to find some 9 month size shorts.

He has already had many firsts. He had his first stroller ride, his first meal out at a restaurant and his first bath in a normal bath tub.

The pictures attached are from when we got him and the other is from his first stroller ride.

More tomorrow. . .

On to Guangdong

Today we left Hong Kong and arrived in Guangzhou. It wasn't the most exciting day but it may have been one of the more interesting. Unfortunately, we are unable to view our blog from here in Guangzhou. We are able to email our post to the blog, so hopefully they'll come through okay.

We took it easy this morning and just got everything ready to go. After breakfast, we packed up to go and took the MTR train to the station where the Intercity trains leave from.

The train ride was nice. it was interesting to see the countryside and we also traveled through Dongguan, which is where Dexter's orphanage is. It is a huge area.

The most interesting and least fun part of the train was when we arrived in Guangzhou. After going through Customs and Immigration, we were swarmed by people trying to get us to use them as a taxi service. All the books say to ignore them because they don't have the same certifications as a regular cab driver. But as we tried to get by them to find the taxi stand, they continued to follow us and make uncomfortable comments.

The taxi ride after we got to the taxi stand was almost as interesting. They drive like maniacs around here.

We were relieved when we finally got to the Victory and checked in. It is a nice hotel and we have a two room suite that is Japanese style with the bed on the floor. The suite is spacious, which we will really appreciate once we have Dexter with us.

After unpacking, we decided to explore the area. We walked around and found the other major hotel that everyone stays at and a bunch of shops and restaurants. We ate at Lucy's which is a more American style restaurant.

After supper we came back to the hotel and checked it out. Went up to the roof to check out the pool. It is really neat but is kind of scary when you first look at it. It appears that you could basically swim off the edge of the building.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and preparing for tomorrow. It will finally be the big day. We cannot wait.