We are home!

After a long day of  traveling, we are home!  Lauren did great on the flight.  We flew from Guangzhou to Beijing and then Beijing to LAX.  On the first leg of the flight I gave her a bottle when we were taking off taking off and the second leg, she was sucking on her fingers during take-off so the pressure change did not seem to bother her.  She sat on my lap in the ergo, but I was able to lay her down during the Beijing to LAX trip.  She slept for about 6 hours straight and then on and off for about 3 more hours.  She was mad that she could not roll over in the chair as she kept falling off.  All in all she was a good traveller.

First plane ride

 

Asleep in the plane.

Just landed at LAX

Finally home after a long flight!

We were greeted by family at the airport and came home to home cooked bubur (congee) and meatball soup.  My mom brought a helium balloon which Lauren loved.  I finally had to coax it out of her hand at bedtime.  She saw Bali through the glass window and was amused by Bali. She was laughing and babbling.  This morning we let them meet and she seemed to like Bali.  For now Bali is staying outdoors (poor Bali!).  Lauren is fine with her, but Bali does not understand that not all the toys are hers now.  (again, poor Bali!) 

Lauren and Ava meet for the first time

Maybe it was beginner's luck, but she was ok in the carseat on the way home!

She woke up and found the balloon again.

Hi Bali! 

Thank you again for the prayers and good wishes!

On our way home!

Our bags our packed and we are homebound! It has been an incredible journey and we look forward to introducing Lauren to all our friends and family.  We leave at 3:30 pm to Beijing, where  we have a 3 hour layover.  Then we will leave at 9:00 pm from Beijing, China time and arrive in LAX at 6:00 pm Friday night. Please pray for a smooth flight.  Keep your fingers crossed that Lauren does well on the flight.  And those seating around us have patienc if she decides to show her stubborness!  See you all soon!

Last time waking up in China. 

Last time playing in the playground

Packing one china baby home!

My US passport and Lauren's Chinese passport

Thank you to all who followed our journey.  We are so grateful for the prayers, good wishes, and warm thoughts.  Stay tuned for her adventures in Long Beach!

Last full day in China

Today is our last full day in China.  Tomorrow we are scheduled to leave the hotel at 1:00 pm for the airport!  It was a free day today as we waited for our visas to be issued.  It was scheduled to be done at 3:00 pm and our guide Kelly will be picking it up and delivering it to us.

Today Lauren sat in the high chair!!!  There were some protests from her, some louder than others, but nevertheless she sat in the high chair.  We did not put the table top on the high chair as I think it makes her feel too confined.  I met a woman in the lobby who volunteers at the orphanages and she said that sometimes the  high chair or stroller makes the babies feel too confined.  She said that often, kids are fed while laying down.  This is so that they don't have to be chased around.  I did see this at Lauren's orphanage.  The good thing is that during the week the hotel puts all the adoptive families in a separate room for breakfast so that they can accommodate the business travelers in the main dining room.  In this room, I felt more comfortable in letting Lauren make loud protests since all the families understand that each of us are dealing with different issues with the kids.  I think her protest was a combination of not wanting to sit in the chair and being hungry.  Good thing Dad came fast with the plate of food and bacon distracted her.  She loves, loves, loves bacon!  I think it is the saltiness.  She sucks on the bacon and takes little bites.  I hope she doesn't think she is going to get bacon everyday at home!  She has also progressed from me feeding her the fruit pouches with a spoon to her sucking directly from the pouch.  Although I have to watch her as she can get overly eager and squeeze too hard.

Yuexiu Park is located across the street from the hotel, we just have to cross underground through the metro station since it is across a major street.  It is a beautiful park.  Very serene and lots of trees and greenery everywhere.  There is also a small amusement park inside the park.  Lauren was very observant watching everything and taking it all in. The weather was great.  Much cooler and breezy since it had rained yesterday. 

From there we went back to the hotel thinking that Lauren would go down for a nap.  But she decided that today was a no nap day.  So we headed to the playground.  Lauren tried to keep up with some big kids, but mostly she continued her exploration of climbing on a rock structure.

For dinner we went back to the noodle place around the corner from the hotel. Our guide helped us out by writing on a sheet of paper what we wanted so that we could just hand it over to the waiter.  But since someone did not have a nap, Lauren feel asleep while we were walking there.  So she missed dinner entirely.  Too bad because she loves noodles and we went there for her.  Oh well, at least Dad and I could eat our dinner in peace while she continued sleeping through it all.

Our order cheat-cheat

Street noodles, dumplings, and veggies.  Yum!

One more sleep to go before we head home!

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween from Guangzhou, China.  Today was an early day as we had an 8:30 am appointment in the US Consulate for the Oath Taking Ceremony and for a final review of our paperwork to get Lauren's visa.  Her Chinese passport was issued yesterday, so now we are waiting for the US Visa to be issued for the passport.  Lauren will actually become a US citizen as soon as we pass through immigration in Los Angeles and the immigration officer will process the documents at the airport.  After much protest from miss Lauren, I finally got her to wear her chinese dress.

"Ok, I'll wear the dress if you let me suck on my fingers!"

The water bottle is one of her favorite toys

As we had to leave before 8 am, I fed Lauren a banana and had her eat cheerios to tie her over.  Our guide said that we would be back in the hotel by 10:00 am and can have our breakfast then if we choose.  Today she sat on the seat of the bus by herself for about 10 minutes before climbing back on my lap.  So we are practicing with her sitting next to me whenever possible in preparation for the flight.  I don't know what the policy is on take off and landing regarding a baby in your lap.  Also today she actually went up to Dad and asked to sit on his lap!  So of course Dad was happy to obliged and gave her a horsey ride. 

Breakfast in bed with her favorites, Cheerios!

There are no pictures allowed in the US Consulate, so each of the families just posed in front of the lobby sign in the lobby. 

Since it is after all Halloween, the families decided to meet at noon in the play area for trick or treating.  Lauren of course has no idea what Halloween is, but loved the bag I gave her.  She carried it around all over the playground.  She still is not showing much interest in the playground structure except for the one time she followed a little girl and then found herself stuck in the middle of it all.  She did not like it so much and climbed out!  She also climbed up and down the rock wall.  We definitely have a climber on our hands.  One of the moms brought bubbles and Lauren loved chasing and popping them.  Note to self:  buy bubbles!

She now knows that she can push the button to call the elevator

She loves riding the elevator by herself vs being carried

And after 15 minutes of coaxing and telling her to sit down in the bathtub, she finally sat down! 

Theme of the day is water!

We woke up to a wet and rainy day.  The plan is to go to Shamian Island today because the four families that joined us had not had a chance to go.  Since it was raining, I thought the trip would be cancelled and we would just have a hotel day today.  But at breakfast the other families agreed that we would go forward because a little rain does not hurt anyone.  So off to the island we went.  This time we bought squeak shoes!  After we finished shopping Dad and I decided that we would get massages.  Dad got a whole body massage while I got a foot massage while Lauren was sitting in my lap.  I kept her occupied by feeding her a banana (her favorite fruit) and cheerios (her favorite snack).  Then we discovered that the massage came with a lunch, so we ordered two rice dishes thinking that it would be easier to feed her rice vs. noodles.  The rice was a bit hot and boy did Miss Lauren throw a protest!  When she sees food it better be ready for her to eat!

Lauren is becoming familiar with hotel and our routine.  She will now push the button to call the elevator to go down to the lobby.  She also discovered the escalator and loved going up and down with Dad.  She still will not let him carry her, but now she plays peek a boo with him.  And is comfortable with him getting close to her or helping her with the stairs. 

When we returned Lauren took a nap.  Again it takes her sometime to fall asleep but once she is asleep she is hard to wake up. 

Not ready to wake up from her nap.  Notice she stuck her fingers back in her mouth.

Sleepy head

Because it is still raining and we are too lazy to leave the hotel we just opted to eat downstairs in the hotel again.  This time we ordered a fish soup and Lauren loved eating that with rice.  She has now mastered the "I'm full" notice to me by spitting out the food once she is through.  This is actually a good sign as she is beginning to self regulate.  Many of the orphanage kids will continue to eat, even if full, until they get sick.  This was explained to us to be aware of.  The reason is that they may have not gotten enough in the orphanage, so when there is food they eat as much as possible, not knowing when the next meal would be. 

At dinner, but still refusing to sit in the high chair

The other water story is about bath time!  The great news is that Lauren was able to get into the tub by herself without me having to go in there!  YEA!  She stood the whole time, but I will take that for now if it means that I don't have to go in with her.   This is a huge accomplishment because she was so afraid of the water when we first got her.  Even walking into the bathroom to turn on the sink faucet scared her.  Tomorrow we will work on sitting in the tub.

Her signature two fingers in the mouth when she is tired or scared