Tuesday, September 30, 2008
We Are Home and Sick
Friday, September 26, 2008
We Are Packing And Ready
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Red Couch Photo Day
Amy: Our time is coming to an end in China and we are SO READY to be home with Ty. This trip has been full of wonderful memories, history, sights to see and food to eat. But we are ready for a sense of normalcy. Hotel living and eating out is getting extremely old. We are ready to be in our home and introduce Ty to his new bedroom, toys, family and friends. The little guy is a charmer and has attached to us very well. He is a musician banging his utensils on the table repeating his dads beats, an engineer taking things apart and putting them back together, a sweetheart blowing kisses and waving goodbye as we leave a place and a chef, making interesting concoctions with his food. We have also started to eliminate dairy products from his diet to see if it makes any difference in his blowout diapers. Asians are prone to be lactose intolerant and we are seeing if this might be true for Ty. Day 1, we can see a slight improvement. We will see what Day 2+ bring.
Tomorrow we take our oath and go to the zoo. Everything was perfect with our Visa/Immigration paperwork and there were not any questions, praise God. We have been killing time visiting the shops on the island and went to the Pearl Market today with our group. All shops sell the same thing and most follow you around like pests. They do not understand the concept, "I am just looking, thank you" which really means "LEAVE ME ALONE!" We did find a lovely shop that all the profits go to benefit the orphans of China. They were classy and had handmade products that were gorgeous and unique.
We had a really cool experience today leaving the Pearl Market. Our guide was getting a taxi for us and they were all full as each drove by. Finally, an empty taxi approached us and another man wanted it. Our guide guarded the doors and said, "No" and motioned us to get in the cab. We were kind of afraid and could feel some stress. We didn't want anybody to be mad at us. The taxi driver kept looking at Ty and asking questions to our guide. When we arrived back at the hotel, the cab driver would not take our fare. He pointed to his lip and gave a thumbs up to Ty. Our guide told us he too had a repaired cleft lip which I thought I got a glance of when we got in the cab.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Guangzhou Sauna
"Smell my feet and I will honk your nose."
This picture speaks for itself.
This picture too speaks for itself.
Ty looking cute in his new stroller.
Ty posing in the playroom at the hotel.
Ty and Dad playing basketball.
Our hotel is on the Pearl River. There is a lot of barge traffic.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Shaolin Temple Day
Warrior Monk Statute outside Shaolin Temple - The Home of Shaolin Kung-Fu
Ty in His Hoodie
Total Cuteness 101
Shaolin Temple Kung-Fu Show
Shaolin Temple Warrior Monks Statute
Pagoda Forest @ Shaolin Temple
Shaolin Temple East Tower (Gorgeous!)
Troy: Today was another great day! A little cool, but nice. We went to Shaolin Temple - 50 miles northwest of Zhengzhou. Shaolin Temple is the Home of Shaolin Kung-Fu. All the children who were a part of the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony doing Kung-Fu in white outfits were from this school and temple. We saw them all practicing out in the courtyards together on our way to visit the site. There were hundreds of them - amazing sight. We saw a Kung-Fu show and visited the Pagoda Forest. Each pagoda is the tomb of a Shaolin Warrior Monk. There were 247 pagodas in the forest with the earliest dating back to 719AD. That's more than 700 years before Columbus discovered America! We are back at the hotel and finishing our packing before we fly to Guangzhou tomorrow! We're excited about being on the road again. We have heard great things about Guangzhou and the White Swan Hotel where we will be staying. Very kid friendly. We will be there until flying home this coming Friday non-stop from Hong-Kong to Chicago! Bye for now!
Amy: Today was such a long day that Ty went down at 6:30 tonight! He also presented us with another major blowout that got all over my clothes this time. Chinese children are known for their loose stools and we can verify that whole hardily. It doesn't help that he is teething and that causes a little extra mess. A couple that just adopted their 3rd daughter presented us with a pair of plastic pants to put over Ty's diaper. This will be VERY helpful, especially on the plane. We have a list of things created that we need to purchase when we get home. So far they are Nuby sippy cups (brought one with us and he loves it), plastic pants and a basketball hoop. This boy loves to throw things in the garbage can or on the ground. Ty is also eating scrambled eggs for us, sausage and passion fruit. Today was the day that he wanted anything I wanted and it was all about the mama. He even said "Mama". My heart melted. He is starting to wave bye-bye and blow kisses. His personality is really cute and comes out more each day.
See you in Guangzhou! We are ready for a change after living in the same hotel room for a week. We are also ready to get back to a slower pace of life. We will NEVER complain about traffic, bad drivers or the size of our house. Americans are SOOOOO spoiled!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Water Day
Ty pointing out fish at Zhengzhou Ocean Aquarium
Yo - I know I'm cute in pictures, but wait till you meet me in person!
Ty having fun at bath timeHey Girls - Check out my sexy "wet" look
Friday, September 19, 2008
Henan Museum and Orphanage Tour
All the fun at Swallow's Nest.
Sorry for the lack of pictures. It has not been the best day for us in downloading pictures to Blogger. Not sure if it is us, or the blogger issues. We have tried 5 times, including a slide show, so this is all you get.
It has been an emotional and grateful days. We visited Ty's orphanage in ZZ on Wednesday and Swallow's Nest, his foster home today. We have been able to piece more of Ty's history together and our heart breaks for this little guy. He has had more transitions in his 16 months then we would ever hope for. The good thing is, this little man goes with the flow which is a great survival technique. Ty spent the first 2 months of his life at Zhengzhou Social Welfare Institute (ZZ SWI), then was transferred to an orphanage in Kaifeng since he was being sponsored by Love Without Boundaries (they like to keep the kids they sponsor together) for his cleft lip surgery where he spent a year, then was transferred back to ZZ SWI for a month before Pam got him at Swallow's Nest in July. Then he was placed in our arms on September 16th, 2008. The madness stops. Please don't be offended if we do not let you hold Ty or babysit him for a while. Ty needs to know WE are his parents and WE will NEVER leave him. Ty needs stability in his life and our time here in China is not stable. In a couple of days, we get on an airplane ride and go to Guangzhou where we will be in another hotel with new people, new smells, new food.
While we were hesitant to take Ty back to his orphanage and foster home, we have seen incredible changes in him just tonight. Visiting these places I think made him realize that we are his parents and he is not going back. We have stayed in the hotel for the most part of the afternoon/evening with the exception for a walk in a nearby park after his nap. Ty played and played with his diapers, empty coke bottles, a flashlight, the remote control...seeking our help in figuring out how they worked and making simple games out of objects. He laughed, smiled, cooed and was talking away while pointing at objects in the newspaper. He is truly coming out of his shell. His body is becoming stronger by pulling himself up on objects throughout our room, crawling across the room (he would always stay in one place before), and walking with assistance. Before, he would take about 4 steps while I would hold his hand and then sit down. Tonight, he walked from our bed to his crib which was probably 20 steps for him! It is amazing to see the progress each day! He amazes us. Troy calls him a "soldier".
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Registration Day
Troy and Ty reading bedtime stories.
And Panda falls out.
Ty slowly waking up this morning with his book.
Amy and Ty at Henan Center for Adoption Affairs.
Ty enjoying the baby pool at the hotel.
Amy: It was another eventful day with Ty waking up around 6:30. He was still groggy and laid in bed with me for another hour for cuddle time. We then went for breakfast at the hotel and he enjoyed his congee, yogurt, noodles and steamed bread. The boy likes his carbohydrates. We are still keeping him on similar foods during this time as he continues to have so many changes in his life. After breakfast was the walk to the registration office. It was here that Ty legally became ours in a very informal ceremony. Then we hit the baby pool. Ty LOVED the water with his stacking cups which has become his favorite toy we bought. They would sink to the bottom and he stuck his head in the water to retrieve! We were shocked. It was also during the pool time that he wanted to walk. We still had on a regular diaper which of course was heavy as could be, but we were grateful for it since it added extra weight he needed to drag. Ty has low muscle tone and can pull himself up, but is still very unstable. He enjoyed himself walking in the pool to gather his toys. After this, the boy had a 2 hour nap and lunch of rice cereal and yogurt. At 3:00, our travel group took a bus to the Lotus Center. It is a 3 story Super Walmart type with conveyor belts that take you up each level. Your shopping cart is magnetized which keeps it in place while you go up and down. It was an interesting experience as we roamed the isles and picked up a few stacks and more diapers for Ty. Then we came back to the room for some more playtime before dinner. We were tired and didn't want to leave the hotel. This became a good thing since Ty had a major blowout at dinner and had poop all over his clothes, shoes and high chair. Troy picked him up and got poop all over himself. We attempted to wash him up in the restroom, but it was occupied, so we rushed to the room and put him in the tub. The hotel later came to our room to present us with our bill. We thought we handled the situation pretty good considering all things. Once again, we were grateful we were close and not someplace else. The theme of the day with our travel companions is "blowout day", so Ty was right in line. Tomorrow, Ty is getting diluted orange juice instead of apple juice. Ty continues to blossom and grow in his comfort with us each day. We have gotten more smiles and lots of giggles we captured on video which we will upload probably tomorrow. Ty is also exploring more of our hotel room and pulling himself up on furniture. As always, he is a blessing. We have discovered he prefers his left hand and can use his right (like his mom), gets frustrated when he cannot do/get something (like his mom), is patient and easy going in new situations(like his dad) and likes his books (like his dad).
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Forever Family "Gotcha" Day 2008
Troy & Ty after Adoption Photos
Ty playing on Mommy & Daddy's Bed
Ty taking his afternoon nap on Mommy & Daddy's Bed
Troy and Ty sitting on floor together before Bedtime
Amy and Ty reading together before Bedtime