Happy Halloween!

Today we visited the Teng Wang Pavilion, which is only a short walk from the hotel.  It was very neat to see, we got to see a short musical show at the end of it that Amelia loved, she recorded the entire thing on her ipod.

Being Halloween today, our guide, Helen, surprised Amelia with a bag of candy!  I think it made her day.  Zoe has been a bit of a bear off and on today, but the timing of the tour today messed up her nap time and she never did get straightened out.  Doesn't help that she had us all up at 5:30 this morning either.

Tomorrow is the orphanage visit, and a visit with Zoe's foster mom, it's probably going to be very emotional for all involved.  We can tell she was taken very good care of, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to thank her foster mom for the care she gave her.

Thanks everyone for all the nice messages, both here and on facebook.  I am able to get the VPN to work somewhat and we can read facebook, but having a difficult time doing much else.

Couple Pics from today

Pretty quiet day again today. We went for a walk down the pedestrian shopping street, only bought a couple pairs of shoes for Zoe as the ones we brought are too small. It's amazing what 7 years can do, when we were in China in 2005 everything was so cheap, but now in the nice shops prices are probably similar, if not higher than back home.

That being said, get off the shopping streets into the markets, and things get cheaper, but still no where near the bargains as before.

Tomorrow we visit the Teng Wang Ge pavilion, so lots of good photos coming.

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Paperwork day

So not a lot to say. Raining all day, but just a shower, not a downpour.

we visited the Civil Affairs Office, Notaries Office and Police Station, all to complete necessary paperwork to complete Zoe's adoption. Now we just have to wait for the processing to be completed and we will be done this part of the process.

As it wasn't a busy day we didn't take many pics, but I added a few of those we did take.

Tomorrow is shopping day! (Trying to psych myself up for it)

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All's well

We've made it through the first night now, and all is going pretty well. Zoe was pretty serious yesterday evening with us, as expected, while she tried to figure us out. She would crack the odd smile, but not too many and largely just for Amelia.

She was sad prior to bed time for about an hour, which eventually lead to sleep. Around 3am, she woke up and took 1/2 a bottle before going back down until morning, so our night was pretty good, except we're not sure if Amelia made it back to sleep after the 3am wake up.

This morning she has had another bottle and some cheerios and has been blessing us with smiles and giggles while Amelia has been hamming it up for her benefit. She laughs and giggles when Amelia pretends to sneeze and will sometimes try to mimic her.

So overall things are going well. She is eating, smiling, and seems to be beginning the big adjustment she has to make.

Today is paperwork day, apparently around 4 hours visiting various offices to complete necessary documents.

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Gotcha!!!!

Introducing Zoe Shui Ting Farrish.

After a short 6 year wait, finally, GOTCHA!

I'll keep this short and sweet for now as our room service just arrived. She's big, 8.5 kg according to info given to us but we haven't put her on our scale yet to confirm. She is tall, and 6 teeth! At 11 months!

She's not fond of the bottle we made her, but is drinking the same formula from a sippy cup instead. She's loving the cheerios we brought also.

And, as expected, she is totally enamoured with her older sister, and of course, Amelia is the proudest big sister ever!

We've had a few smiles, she was sad a bit when we first got back to our room, but got over it easily after being held by mama.

More to come later.

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Too pooped to colour!

It appears all the travelling, long days and short nights have finally taken their toll!

Amelia was colouring while Janey and I organized the new hotel room and next thing you know, she's out!  Crayon still in hand!!

We have had a LOT of travelling, and with the time change difficulties, she has been lucky to be getting 6 hours sleep a night.  All along tho, like the little trooper she is, she has been an incredibly good girl, making us proud at every turn with her good manners and consideration.

Another note from Amelia

Dear Everyone,

Tomorrow we are getting my little sister. It is so exciting! Today we are flying to Nanchang where my sister was born. The plane ride is 1 1/2 hours which to me seems like a very long time. But it will all be worth it.

Amelia

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Not much to report

We have a relatively quiet couple days now, so not a lot to say. Friday morning we walked around downtown Qianjiang. Being well off the beaten path, we were drawing quite a few looks. This area of China does not see many Caucasian people, so Janey and I with Amelia were quite the spectacle.

I'll add a couple pics we took of Qianjiang. It's a very nice city, crammed into a valley between the mountains.

In the third picture, if you look close, you can see a few small stone structures. There is 3 in the top right corner and one in the bottom left. These are tombs, and we saw them all over the place during the drive between the city's. Apparently in rural areas it is still the norm to bury people in tombs.

It's Saturday morning here now, this morning we are going to visit the Chongqing old town, before flying to Nanchang this afternoon, at 2:45. We'll then finally be able to settle in for a week, and unpack our luggage and get organized.

Tomorrow is gotcha day, we are all very excited, Amelia especially.

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A message from Amelia

Dear everybody,

Yesterday we went to the orphanage where I lived when I was a baby.  It was closed so we couldn't go in.  My favourite thing yesterday was seeing the mountains.  Speaking of mountains, a man named Mao gave us a tour of his house.  Mao lives on a tall mountain.  Mao has animals, he has a dog, a rooster and two big fat pigs.  We've had long days here in China.  We still need to get used to sleeping times in China, so we are still tired.  I cannot believe that people back home are awake when we are asleep and we are asleep when you are awake.

I am picking out two pictures that I took to show you.

Amelia

Qianjiang homeland trip!

After our short night last night, we've all done pretty well today, with still more travelling.  We all managed about 6 hours sleep, were up at 8am, and on the road around 10, heading to Qianjiang, where Amelia was born.  Our guide for this part of the trip is Michael, who was also one of our guides in 2005 when we were here to get Amelia!  Very nice to have that familiarity.

The highway to Qianjiang is quite nice, a twinned highway, much like the 401, except that a large part of it goes UNDER the mountains.  Tunnel after tunnel, some of them going for probably 5 km or more.  When not in the tunnels, the scenery was fabulous.  I will attach a few pictures to this post, but the app I'm using will not let me insert them into the middle of the post so I think they will be at the bottom.

On the way we stopped at a nice scenery viewing spot, from which Michael took us on an off road adventure.  We climbed down some slick dirt paths to some local houses to get a closer look, at one of them we met the owner, a man named Mao, who happily gave us a tour of his home.  This was an unexpected but great treat.  He was very nice and at the end, he took Amelia's hand and helped her back up the dirt paths to get back to our van. 

We got to our hotel in Qianjiang shortly after 2pm, had a quick bite to eat then went to visit some of the important places in Amelia's past.  We are now back at the hotel and taking it easy before we plan to head to bed early.  This will be our first opportunity to make up some of the lost sleep.

Tomorrow we have the morning to walk around the area before heading back to Chongqing after lunch.  As we have Saturday morning free before flying to Nanchang, Michael has offered to take us on another tour of our choice, so we may get a chance to take Amelia to the zoo to see the Panda's.

A couple notes to everyone - I haven't been able to get the VPN to work properly here so we do not have access to the blog or facebook.  Comments posted by you guys on the blog are e-mailed to us, so we are reading them and appreciate getting them, but we do not have the ability to reply to them.  The Great (fire)Wall of China strikes again!

Also if someone could pass along to Florence that Janey plans to call her but we don't know when we will get a chance yet, it might be Saturday or Sunday until we get the time to get a calling card.

BTW - I've taken 192 pics so far.  :)

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We made it!

25 hours straight in airports and airplanes, but we have made it!

Arrived in Chongqing on schedule at midnight, got the luggage fast and we were at the hotel shortly after 1am.

It's now 1:30 am, we are making Amelia some porridge as she just asked us 'when is supper?' Are 12 hour time changes fun or what??

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Twas the night before we leave . . .

And a crazy fall thunderstorm was heard all through the house!  10pm and the Sweet P’tato isn’t sleeping yet.

Zoe's room is ready! Finally!!

With a week to go, Zoe's room is finally ready for her arrival!

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Our Itinerary

IN-CHINA ITINERARY OCTOBER 24 – NOVEMBER 9, 2012

 

Wednesday, October 24

Arrive in Beijing on AC0031 (4:05). Transfer to flight to Chongqing. Local guide will meet you in Chongqing and transfer you to the Chongqing Harbor Plaza Hotel.

 

Thursday, October 25

Take van from Chongqing to Qianjiang in the morning (approx. 3.5 hours). Spend day and night in Qianjiang at Rose Plaza Hotel.

 

Friday, October 26

Spend the morning in Qianjiang and return to Chongqing in the afternoon. Spend night in Chongqing at Chongqing Harbor Plaza Hotel.

 

Saturday, October 27

Fly from Chongqing to Nanchang. Guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the Gloria Grand Hotel.

 

Sunday, October 28

Meet your daughter at approximately 4:00

 

Monday, October 29

Begin provincial adoption process at the adoption centre (registration and notarization) and then go to Public Security Bureau to apply for passport.

 

Tuesday, October 30

Shopping.

 

Wednesday, October 31

Visit the Temple of Teng Wang Ge.

 

Thursday, November 1

Visit orphanage.

 

Friday, November 2

Guide will pick up children’s passports and certificates.

 

Saturday, November 3

Fly from Nanchang to Beijing and transfer to Crowne Plaza Hotel.

 

Sunday, November 4

Take visa photos for the children and complete some paperwork.

 

Monday, November 5

Medical examination for the children at the International SOS clinic. Canadian Embassy appointment in the afternoon.

 

Tuesday, November 6

Visit the Great Wall (lunch included).

 

Wednesday, November 7

Sightseeing (Hutong Tour/Drum Tower or Forbidden City/Tian’an Men Square or Summer Palace). Guide will pick up baby’s visas.

 

Thursday, November 8

Shopping. Peking Duck dinner in the evening.

 

Friday, November 9

Check out by 2:00 p.m. Leave Beijing for home on Flight AC0032 (6:45).

Updated Photos

We have updated photos of Zoe!  Not sure when they were taken, but probably sometime since early September.

Second Test

This time I’m trying a test post using the e-mail option.  I’ll attach a recent pic of the soon to be big sister!

 

3 weeks today until we leave!