Playground fun in Chicago

This past weekend, we went with my brother and sister-in-law to Chicago. We ate lunch in Chinatown, and did a little shopping there. We bought Nathan some chopsticks, and Avery a starter set of chopsticks. Nathan saw a candy store, and immediately walked in. The kids got some yummy treats - Thanks again Aunt Elaine!

We then headed to Millennium Park and walked around. We enjoyed some ice cream as well. We were on our way to the lakefront, when we spotted a park. The kiddos had a great time. Our two kids were tackling their dad (as usual), when another little Chinese boy spotted them attacking Eric. So this little boy joined in the fun...cracked us up!

We made it to the lakefront, and Nathan was amazed at the size of some of the boats. I said to Avery, "Look at the size of that boat!" The girl wasn't impressed. Guess that's one of the many differences between boys and girls. So thanks to Joe and Elaine for a wonderful day, and the beautiful pictures. They are priceless.

So, we are getting more and more settled day by day. Can I tell you that these days just fly by? I am thoroughly enjoying my time off with the kids. I will never get these moments back, and I do cherish them.

Nathan is understanding more and more English each day. He is picking up some more words (socks, shoes, drink, hungry, upstairs, downstairs) and he is even saying small sentences and is able to get his point across. He just told me, "Meow is sleeping." Meow is what he calls our cat Abby. The other night, Eric was upstairs with the kids - they were all watching SpongeBob, and Nathan came downstairs to me and said, "Mother! More SpongeBob! Mei Mei bed! Father bed!" Eric and Avery had drifted off to sleep and he wanted more SpongeBob! It is amazing to continually witness his growth with our culture and language. And I can tell that he is comprehending more by what I tell him and ask of him. This is amazing stuff....

Next time I will post some pictures of the kids in our pool, (and Nathan's first time in our pool) along with a very interesting picture of Nathan, involving the way he ate a smore.

The weather here in the Midwest has been beautiful. I have two great kids, a wonderful husband, and great family and friends. Life is good.

A day in the life

The kids are doing just fine. They amuse each other, which is good for their mama. They like to watch TV together, chase each other, and ride bikes in the house together. So, in a way, it's a little easier on me.

On the other hand, I have one person calling me mommy and the other calling me mother quite a bit. I have told Avery she is going to need to be less dependent on me, since she is getting older and cannot get my undivided attention anymore. It is hard for her, but she'll conform. She has often been challenging me (not in a good way) and has spent some time in her bedroom for bad behavior. I wonder what her brother is thinking when she is throwing a 3 year old tantrum - screaming at the top of her lungs and flailing. She pushes the limits and he is rule follower. I am a rule follower as well, which is a trait that I love in him. But, I am fond of Avery's leadership qualities, and the fact that the girl knows what she wants. It is very challenging at times to discipline her given her specific personality. God broke the mold when He made her. Seriously. Love that girl to pieces though.

Now let's talk about that boy that I love.

I took him to his new school yesterday that he will attend in the fall to fill out paperwork. Then, I happened to meet the ESL (English as a second language) teacher, and she seems very dedicated and really nice. I was completely impressed. Nathan will be in first grade in the fall. He will be in the regular classroom most of the day, and he will get one hour of one on one time with the ESL teacher. We ended up going on a tour, and he got to see the library, art room, computer room, and the gym. Also, Eric's aunt works at the school, so we saw her and her classroom. Her students had been following our journey while we were in China, so they were excited to see Nathan (and Avery!) in person. I think he liked the visit.

He is saying in everyday conversation: hot, cold, drink, water, milk, open, chocolate, yes, no, Avery, Nathan, mother, father, thank you, you're welcome, hello, bye bye, please, TV, noodle, fries, pizza, take a shower, brush the teeth. He knows up, down, hold hands, wash the hands, stop, lay down, and come here - and more I'm sure that I am probably forgetting.

We are calling him Nathan now and he is responding, although sometimes we forget and call him Guohao.

So I must say that life is not as overwhelming as I thought it would be at this point. I am a very lucky mommy.

One more thing - Avery just asked him for an M&M, and he said, "Hold on!" I love it!!!

Sweet siblings

Nathan Guohao is doing well. He is getting along fine with his sister, and has just begun to harass her a little today, with a little mimicking as they were shooting some baskets in our indoor basketball court. You know - that good old fashioned boy fun. And by indoor basketball court, I am talking over the door Nerf basketball in the foyer. I know that he is becoming more comfortable with her. He does have a joking personality, which is subtle in his own way, but adorable too in my eyes.

Please note in the first picture Avery is not too thrilled. This was the first night home, and she was trying to figure out what she had gotten herself into by volunteering to be a little sister. But when Nathan Guohao starting blowing bubbles for her, she was completely convinced that she just might keep him around for a few days.

He is saying regularly "take a shower", "brush the teeth", and this morning he told me, "Mother, eat noodle!" He learned the word noodle yesterday - it is his tie to his homeland and his familiar food that he needs right now. He is eating Chinese noodles by the truckload, and that is okay with me.

Eric was in the basement tonight with the kids, and they were giggling together - that kind of pure fun that a child has, that seems to diminish as we reach our adult years.

A brother was exactly what Avery needed. Although she is realizing that the world does not revolve around her anymore (the nerve of us), she does know that she cares deeply for her brother. She told me today, "Mommy, I love Guohao." It was honest and sincere. And that makes me so happy.

We are home!

Just wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know we are home. I am having some major jet lag and hope to become more human in the next day or two.

I have to say that the kids are doing extremely well together. It was adorable to see their first hug, and hugging my sweet Avery was indescribable.

We took the kids to the park today, and they were chasing their daddy around and then jumping on him, squealing with laughter. Avery is loving her big brother, and I still can't believe I have two kids! They also ride little tricycles around the house together and play nicely together. Hmmm.... I hope that will last.

Our sister-in-law has been such a help speaking Mandarin to Guohao. She told Guohao today that he has an American name (just like her) and we want to start calling him Nathan, and he told her, "No thanks." So she told us what he had said, and we started chuckling. I started a song with the kids in the car today: "Avery, Mei Mei, Nathan, Guohao" over and over. So we are starting to call him Nathan Guohao for now and eventually we will drop the Guohao (although it is part of his middle name). I'll keep you posted on that.

So Nathan Guohao is adjusting well to life here at the house. He is very excited about everything here, and went to bed last night with no problems. Now if I can just get one very stubborn little girl to follow suit, I will be in business.

I will post pictures with the kids together next time.

Last post from China!

Hello everyone. After having some technical difficulties with attaching pictures yesterday, we (insert computer savvy husband) have solved that problem.

Here are some random shots from the past few days. The boys are like peas and carrots. They actually have many similarities. They both enjoy eating fish, racing each other down the hallway to the hotel room, playing video games together, and just being boys. They are also both very meticulous (yikes) and it appears that we have another history buff in the family. Guohao is glued to watching war movies on TV.

Yesterday, we took our oath at the American Consulate. It went smoothly, but not so much on the way there. Our van broke down. In the fast lane of the expressway on an overpass. Something about the fuel gauge. So the driver was rocking the van side to side every five minutes, to Guohao's delight, and was continually unsuccessful in getting the van to start. The video game Frogger kept coming to my mind, as cars were flying by us, with an occasional honk. Like we planned on sitting in the left hand lane of a busy expressway while approaching rush hour. They immediately called for another van to pick us up. Now mind you, this is the one appointment that you cannot miss/be late for. The travel home could be potentially postponed. So, needless to say, I was praying (hard) for two things. One - please don't let us get smashed on the highway on the other side of the earth, and two - if we survive, please Lord get us to the Consulate on time. My prayers were answered!

Take note of the picture with the bugs. Those are water beetles. And yes, you can hand pick which ones you would like cooked and served to you. They want it to be fresh you know. Eric got scallops - Bill surprised him, but we found out later that they were fresh from the tank. Eric absolutely loved them, and I think he loved them even more when he found out they had been live creatures about 15 minutes prior to being in his belly. We really enjoyed that restaurant. There were fish in tanks that were just huge, and a live lobster that looked like it was on steroids.

This boy of ours makes messes. Here is a picture of the table after breakfast this morning.

Here are the pictures of our cute (in our biased opinions) kids on the red couch - a tradition amongst the majority of American adoptive parents.

We leave for home tomorrow. We are so excited. We are actually 96% packed already. We have had a wonderful trip here, with the other family, and with Bill. But the best thing of all is that we have a son.

Boy, will I miss Bill. And he is best buddies with Guohao. I asked Bill last night if any adoptive kid has ever talked to him so much, and he said no. (Guohao is the oldest child, and the first older boy that his been adopted through our agency.) He said that he is really enjoying Guohao. We can tell by the way that they interact, and the way Guohao will grab for Bill's hand sometimes when heading out the door. I am getting sad for them to leave each other as I type this. I told Bill I will email him pictures of Guohao growing up. I may just stuff Bill in our suitcase and take him home with us. If only it were that simple.

So, thanks to everyone for following our journey. We love you all, and you have been nothing but supportive of us. Adopting an older child is always filled with a fair amount of uncertainty, and God has given us a beautiful child. Again. I am forever grateful.

Sheri

"Mother, eat!" "Father, eat!"

Food is on this boy's mind 24/7.

I think it is a combination of the lack of food that he got, and the new taste of things and unlimited amounts.

Almost every hour or two, Guohao is saying, "Mother, eat!" or "Father, eat!"

It didn't take him long to learn that word.

He loves to drink milk. We have cut him off of sugar - he goes into hyperspace with it. Absolutely nutty, jumping around with endless energy and uncontrollable giggling. He is high enough on life as it is.

Today, Bill went to the American Consulate to process Guohao's visa, so that he can travel home to America.

Tomorrow, we go to the American Consulate to take an oath, a swearing in of sorts.

Friday, we pick up the visas, and Saturday we head home.

We are ready to come home. It seems as if we are almost living a different life here.

We were forced to move rooms two days ago - there is major construction going on on the island (they are preparing for the Asian games this fall), and they had to change the window in our old room. Our old beds were really comforable. The new king size bed is the equivalent of laying on a 2X4. I never thought it was possible for a company to manufacture a bed that hard. Only three more sleeps, and then we start the journey home!

Orphanage visit

Today was a special day - one that I will always remember.

We had the opportunity to visit Guohao's Social Welfare Institute. He was there the first four years of his life, as well as the month prior to his Gotcha Day. When we were walking up to the grounds, there were already kids yelling his name from a window up above that recognized him.

When we arrived to where the children were, Guohao was able to pass out some cookies that we had brought in with us to his little friends. The children were excited to see him, and to also get a treat. The children are preparing for an International Children's Day, so we got to see them perform a short skit using sunflower props as a cheerful song played in the background. It was precious.

We found out that there is a girl a little younger than Guohao, who he was good friends with while he was there. We were able to get some pictures of the two of them, and we did find out that she was being adopted as well to a family in the U.S. She was just as cute as a button.

He was happy to see everyone again, and seemed proud to show the children his new mama and baba. It was a nice visit.

I will be forever grateful to God, as well as the foster care director and Guohao's foster family for loving our son so much. It has made his transition to us practically seamless.

Celebrity Sighting

As planned, we were able to meet up with Vickie, Ron, her husband, and the Min siblings, Chloe, Chase and Chance. We had a nice dinner, and it was great getting to know Vickie in person. We both belong to a Yahoo group for people who have adopted older kids.

It was amazing to see the siblings together and meet everyone. Chloe is just like I imagined her to be - a lot like our Avery. The Min sibs were stealing food from each other, so we knew for sure they were siblings.

Chance ordered pigeon. That's right, pigeon. And we are not is Kansas anymore, folks. The whole bird came out on a plate, eyes and all. I will refrain from explaining what was done to that poor pigeon's head. Maybe Vickie will mention it in her blog.

Today, we ate at a Chinese restaurant, and Bill and Eric ordered shrimp. They came out to us as if someone had just pulled them out of the water, boiled them, and put them on a plate. Eric said that they were awesome.

It's interesting seeing the presentation of food here. I love to see people eating in this culture. And Eric is my adventurous eater (me, not so much), as well as Guohao, as this is all he has ever known.

One more thing happened at lunch today. Here in China, when an entree is complete, it is brought out the minute it's done. Unfortunately, Guohao's fried noodles were the last to come out, and apparently, he was quite hungry. He stopped the waiter, and asked in a relatively loud voice in Chinese, "What's the matter?? Slow service!!" The waiter said, "Sorry!" Bill started cracking up, then he told us what Guohao had said. The fried noodles came out a minute later. Okay, this boy is definitely coming out of his shell now.

Travel group

We have been having such a good time with our new friends, David and Julie, who are here in China with us adopting a 13 month old girl, Megan. We just met them a week ago, and we have shared such great moments together. We have cried together and cracked up together. We received our children within a few moments of each other, and we will always have that special bond. They have two biological boys, and the older boy is 15 days older than Guohao. We have had the experience of adopting an infant girl from China, and they have the experience of a seven year old boy, so we are relying on each other for support and encouragement. God has perfectly planned them coming into our lives. We are so thankful.

So, in the first picture is our travel group including Bill, who works for our agency. If I said that Bill is great a million times, it wouldn't be enough. He has such a way with the children, and he processes the paperwork with ease (so it seems) and perfection. All we have to do is be parents to our kids.

We posted a picture of Guohao's addiction, the DS. You may know it as the "Dit Dit Dit". Does anyone know how to make a six hour battery for a hand held game last for a fourteen hour plane ride?

Yesterday was Guohao's first time in the pool. Of course, he was clinging on to Eric. He had water wings on, but didn't know why in the world he was wearing them. Eventually, I think we conveyed to him that Eric would not let him go, that he would be safe. Despite him being a little scared, he did enjoy himself.

Today is a free day, so we are just hanging out in the hotel. I spoke with Vickie earlier - she is here adopting Chloe's brothers (the Min sibs) and we plan on having dinner tonight with them. I have been following her blog for the past year, and she truly has an amazing story. There is a link to her blog on the right of my blog under the "my blog list" section - her blog is "Just a MINute Mom". Just a brief scenario of her story: They adopted Chloe last year, and when Vickie was in China then, she found out that Chloe had two biological brothers, and it took a year, miracles, and mountains moved, but they are here now picking up the brothers.

I am really excited to meet the clan. Seriously - this is big time. Vickie seems like a riot, and I told her that I consider her a "celebrity". Look out Vickie and the Min sibs, the paparazzi is coming! Stay tuned tomorrow for pictures.

Guangzhou Safari

Okay - so we have never heard Guohao talk as much as he did today. Bill asked him this morning at breakfast if he had ever been to a zoo, and he said no. He had just seen pictures in books. We took him to the Safari in Guangzhou, and even to us adults, it was unbelievable. Imagine his excitement seeing live animals for the first time in his life. Wow. The first part of the excursion was a "safari on wheels", which consisted of driving in your own vehicle completely open to the animals around you. Picture something like Jurassic Park sans dinosaurs. The animals were actually walking in front of cars, and going up to and in some cars (people feeding them - probably illegal). We have it all on video tape of Guohao talking, almost screaming the words with excitement. This is unbelievable footage of him in his homeland, and in his glory.

We saw the pandas that had been relocated from Chengdu after the earthquake in 2008. They are beautiful animals, and were feasting on bamboo. We were literally about fifteen feet away from the pandas. The also saw wild zebras on their hind legs playing/fighting. Just an amazing day.

By the way, the last picture is of Guohao and Bill, our facilitator here in China. Bill is a wonderful man, who is so good with the kids. And bless Bill's heart, he told us on our way to the car that he had answered about 300 questions that Guohao had asked during the course of the day at the safari.

We're off to the pool finally - haven't made it there yet until now.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Guohao is sick of hamburgers.

We wanted to with all of the mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Gotcha Day Avery!!!

Three years ago today, our lives changed forever. Our baby girl was placed into my arms, an answer to many prayers. Little did we know that one little girl would impact so many lives.

You are a confident, assertive, and beautiful girl. We know that you will go far in life with your take charge attitude. And we know that you will be wearing the pants in your family. Our guess is that maybe you'll be be a supervisor of some sort, or the next Judge Judy.

Avery, we love you so very much. We miss you terribly. And we can't wait to give you hugs and kisses.

Yuntai Garden

Today we went to Yuntai Garden. We had requested to go there, since we loved it the first time we were in China. It is so picturesque. Eric always teases me that I cannot even keep three house plants alive - I can't imagine tending to this garden.

Guohao is completely addicted to the Nintendo DS that we brought, specifically the Super Mario Brothers game. So when Eric saw some of the characters from Super Mario Brothers at the Yuntai Garden, he took Guohao right up to it. He wanted his picture taken with every single character. We'll spare you all of the pictures.

He has developed this means of communication, which to us is just awesome. There are the hand signals for the bathroom - we won't go there. Then there is the charade for the Nintendo DS - it is moving his fingers acting like he is playing the game and saying "Dit Dit Dit", like beeps. He calls us "mother" and "father". So he'll say, "Mother (or father), Dit Dit Dit?" And depending on where we are and the situation, we'll say "No Dit Dit Dit" or "Yes Dit Dit Dit". Crazy, isn't it? I guess we'll never forget the ways we communicated here in China.

He is now saying: Yes, No, Mother, Father, Eat, Good morning, Hello, Bye Bye, Thank You, Okay, and "bounce the ball" in daily conversation. I may have missed some. And we have known him for only four days.

We try and keep him out of the stores whenever possible. He is like a kid in a candy store. We are working on him not touching everything in sight. He is just so excited. Eric gave him some money in an envelope, and it is burning a hole in his pocket. It doesn't help that when he does spend his money, Eric replenishes the bills right away.

He loves butter. He told Bill that he has never had it before. He puts it on his toast, and even muffins when we eat breakfast. He told Bill that I was "wasting money" because I didn't drink the milk from my cereal bowl after having eaten the cereal. It gave me a different perspective on things, and I know that in our culture, we are wasteful. So I drank the milk from the bowl.

So all is well here in China. One more week, and we'll be flying home. We are missing Avery so much, and it has been pretty tough on her, having her mommy and daddy away for so long. Our precious girl could use some prayers. Can't wait to squeeze her tight and have the four of us together. That will be a great moment.

More firsts

Sorry that we didn't do a post yesterday. Last night we were just exhausted. I know when I am following blogs at home, I would wake up and check the computer. It's exciting to see how each day unfolds.

So, to catch everyone up, yesterday we went to Lucy's (for the fifth time) and we were pleasantly surprised when Guohao chose chicken wings! I guess he has had his fix of hamburgers for a while. Then we surprised him with a vanilla milkshake - yum. Yesterday was a free day, so everything was done at a leisurely pace.

After lunch, we went to the park, and when the the playground came into his view, he started running toward it. The excitement in this little boy just makes us smile.

Guohao asked Bill if he would ever be able to visit China again in the future. The answer? YES! His questions that he asks are just so precious to us.

When we first got Guohao, we asked the foster care director what his favorite food was. Can you believe that the answer was pumpkin?!? So, when we went to eat dinner last night (just the three of us) at an Italian restaurant, we were unsure what he might like. Thankfully, he can read the Chinese characters, so when he read pumpkin soup, he pointed to it on the menu and said, "Yes, yes!!!" He had banana milk to drink. He loved it.

Take a look at the picture he drew. He signed his Chinese name of course in the Chinese characters. Priceless.

Doctor visit

Today we went to the doctor, a requirement of the adoption process. Guohao needed four vaccines and a TB test, which is another injection. The vaccines are mandatory in order for us to proceed with the adoption procedures. I am not a fan of all of the vaccines at once, but it was completely out of our control. Guohao told us (in charades fashion) that he was going to cry, and he did. I cannot say enough about our facilitator Bill here in China. He was amazing on our first trip here with Avery, and we could not have survived this trip without him. He ended up holding Guohao for the last three shots (I held him for the first two) as he was fighting everyone, because Guohao said that the shots were too painful for him. We felt so bad for him. Bill told Guohao in Chinese, "I'm sorry." Guohao told him in the midst of being traumatized with injections, "It's okay." Again, we are amazed at the character that our son has displayed at the age of seven, and Bill even commented on that. Once it was over, we gave him Pez candy. And yes, he got another hamburger. Oh, and by the way, he is doing great so far, with no fever or adverse reactions to the shots.

Last night, we took Guohao for a vanilla ice cream cone, which he loved. Eric got a brochure from the store with a bunch of cakes on it. Guohao saw it and wanted to put it in his backpack. He keeps most of this toys and important things in his backpack. Gaohao asked Bill when his birthday was (it broke my heart that he didn't even know his birthday) and that he wanted a really big cake on his birthday to share with everyone. He is such a compassionate little boy. Guess who's getting a really big cake on his 8th birthday? :)

We have had Guohao for two days so far, and somehow it seems longer. As I type this, the boys are playing the Nintendo DS system together and cracking up. I am so glad that Eric has a son. It is a wonderful thing. God has given us a beautiful boy inside and out, and we are so thankful.

So far, Guohao is saying yes, no, and okay to us a lot. It is amazing the way that kids can pick up a language so quickly. He repeated the phrase "bounce the ball" a few times and even used "Oh brother" appropriately.

We went to the police station today to apply for Guohao's passport. Tomorrow is a free day and we plan on taking Guohao to the pool. Another first.

I'm not sure who is enjoying these "firsts" more, Guohao, or his parents.

One more thing - just wanted to give a shout out to my brother Joe to have a very Happy Birthday!!!

Sheri

Doing great

We are doing great today. Guohao slept through the night without any problems. When I kissed him on the forehead goodnight, he smiled so wide. He is just so happy to have a mama and baba. I had to wake him up because we had to get to breakfast and then back to Civil Affairs to finalize the adoption.

He is officially ours!

We found out through Bill our agency representative, that Guohao asked if "this was America". Too cute. He told him no, that it was the hotel. He explained to him that we would get on a big airplane soon, and when we land, he will be in America. He had never been in a hotel before. And we had the privilege yesterday of watching him eat his first hamburger. So what did he want to eat today? You guessed it - a hamburger.

He's never been in a pool either to go swimming.

We went shopping today and bought him a calabash flute. His eyes lit up when he saw it, how could we say no? Everything is such a new experience to him. Eric had given him 5 yuan to put in his pocket. When we bought the flute, he pulled the money out of his pocket. It was so sweet.

Whenever we are eating, he wants to share his food. He even shares his M&M's, which he loves.

He is kicking the soccer ball right now with Eric and he is just squealing with laughter. Music to our ears.

He deserves the best in life. And we are honored to be his parents.

We are just smitten with him.

Gotcha Day!

Today has been a great day and an answer to many prayers. We got Nathan (Guohao) today, and he was waiting for his new family. We will call him Guohao in China, and then introduce him to his American name once we are back at home. He got the album that we sent him in January, and you can tell that he has been looking at it often. The director of the foster care system was there and told us that he was counting down the days on the calendar on when he would meet us. When the director asked him if he was excited to meet his family, he said, "I already know them." He had been looking at the pictures so much that he felt like he knew us. Now if that doesn't melt a momma's heart! He is a gentle and caring, and we couldn't be happier with our precious boy. He is attaching very quickly with us.

He wanted a hamburger, so we went out to dinner, and he ate the whole thing! He also ate a lot of fries and drank a carton of milk. He is very independent and smart. And he cleans up after himself.

He loves all of his toys, and can count to ten in English and knows the alphabet. He knows the words apple, mother, father, and bed. He is very good at coloring.

When we walk around, he grabs for each of our hands. So precious.

He recently fell at school, so he has a boo boo by his eye.

We will post more tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your support and prayers. We are just beaming with joy.

Sheri