Our Little Pumpkin is 1

Yesterday was Meili's 1st Birthday. She has come soooooo far in the month and a half since she joined us. We have been so blessed to have her in our family and we are overwhelmed with the fun she is and with the outpouring of support and love from family and friends. Meili is loved, no doubt. The last month has been party after party. It all started with small family gatherings and evolved to another baby shower, a church party, a school carnival, another baby shower, trick or treating and a birthday party. Whew! Here are some photos of the events and more. Thank you everyone who has entered Meili's new life here so far.

Meili and Mom played dress-up while looking through the box for costumes.

Trick or Treat, We're pretty sweet

Showered with love and gifts 2 more times.

A pumpkin cake for a little punkin'.

Yum

Whew, I'm partied out!

Finally settling in

Finding time to post to my blog is now very difficult. Meili occupies what used to be my computer time. That is a great thing, but sorry I have not shared more with all of you. We are doing great. Meili amazes us each day with her progress. She is a totally different little person than the quiet little sweetie we picked up on 09/18. She is still a little sweetie, but has major actions and attitude to go with it. She has come so far with her physical abilities and is all over and into everything. We have to watch her like a hawk. She is starting to take steps and wants to be "walked" a lot. We are having fun with her progress. Enjoy the pictures.

2 Weeks Later

It has been 2 weeks since we first saw Meili. It does not seem like it has been such a short time. It seems like she has been part of us forever. We are recouping fine. All a bit messed up time wise and sleepy but fine. She is loving being in a house where she can get around on the floor and play. My arms are loving it too. She has met her Grandma, Aunt & Uncle and Cousins who live nearby and a few neighbors and seems fine to meet them and enjoy their company. We are excited for her to meet more of the people we love.


(We took a red couch photo the day before we left) The next picture is Meili in her new room when we arrived home. She was so happy and excited to see it.

Home Sweet Home

We made it home. We left our hotel in Guangzhou at about 5:30 A.M. We left on the airplane at about 8:30. We landed in Hong Kong then waited about 1.5 hours then left for San Fransisco. We arrived in SF at 8:30 A.M. this morning, the same day/time we left Guangzhou. It is weird. We lost a day going to China and we gained a day coming back. We then had an 8 hour lay-over in SF (Yawn) and they had "supposedly" left one of our bags in Hong Kong we we were worried about it but it showed up at our final destignation. Grandma and family met us at the Airport is was good to see them. We are all exhausted except Meili and Zach who slept the most on the flights and breaks. Meili did pretty good on the planes and is so happy to not be in a hotel, bus, plane or anything like it. Thank you everyone who followed along. We will continue to post as able.

Shoes you cannot buy

Yesterday was our Consulate appointment. We did not have to go. Our guide goes to the appointment and presents all the paperwork, ours was all fine and today we will go at 3:00 P.M. to finalize everything and be done so we can go home tomorrow. Bittersweet! Although I am extremely excited to get home I am sad to leave Meili's birth country. There is so much here to see and learn. I just hope we can bring her back someday. We plan on it for sure.

So during our consulate appointment, we ventured out in Guangzhou. Lets just call it another one of Burt's great adventures. We had the concierge recommend a shopping area outside of our hotel area and took a taxi. The taxi driver stopped in horrible traffic at a public WC (toilet) in route. When we finally arrived it was just a big modern shopping mall with all the overpriced stores like we have in the US. So we kind of wandered around and passed things like amazing lighting stores and beautiful flower shops and bakeries. Then found some really promising looking shoe shops with loads of shoes and styles. We thought wow, we can load up on cool shoes for everyone. Not so, we asked for a shoe size and were told cannot buy 1 pair, only many. What? We then realized we were in the Wholesale market for shoes where buyers come and place orders. Weird. Okay strike out for that. So after about 2 hours we were all sweaty and tired and got a cab back to the hotel.

The boys all went swimming on our rooftop pool that goes to the edge of our high rise. It is very scenic but a little scary.

Later in the evening we went with our guide on a dinner cruise on the Pearl river. It was nice and relaxing and the boys really enjoyed being on the boat and taking pictures. The food was traditional Chinese and we ate as best as we could considering some strange to us food.

Today we are going shopping at an electronics market and other places and then going to the consulate.

We are very excited to head home tomorrow. See you all soon.

3 days later

We are still alive. Sorry for not posting sooner. We had a free day on Monday in Wuhan and we were all kind of worn out and still a bit sick so we just vegged and did not do much but pack and get ready to leave and venture out around the hotel a bit.

On Tuesday we checked out and then visited the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan. It is a very famous tower that has been burned down and rebuilt several times but was originally built in the 200 BC era. It was a tower to scope for enemies but is now just a tourist place to view the Yangtze river. It was very hot and humid and we climbed a million stairs. ARGGGG. We then stopped at a local shop to buy some turquoise carvings for gifts for Meili later on. This is the local stone mined in the area.

We then headed for the airport and took a dinner time flight to Guangzhou. We arrived around 8 P.M. and met our guide then went to the hotel. We are staying at the Victory on Shamian Island. It is nicer here than in Wuhan and more peaceful but also much more humid. We are all feeling much better.

After a much better nights sleep than in awhile (softer beds) we ate breakfast then went to the local Buddhist Temple to visit. Then we went to the Chen family Museum that contains local artist works such as old ivory carvings, embroidery, puppets and calligraphy. So many beautiful things. We had lunch at the famous Lucy's cafe the fries are great. We then went for Meili's Medical exam. This went well and she is marked as healthy. We then got our paperwork ready for the consulate. We are ready to get the visa or Meili, do so shopping and get home.

Children's Hospital, Table Tennis and the Museum

Yesterday we took Meili to the Wuhan Children's Hospital to check and see if she had an ear or other type infection as she is miserable and has a runny nose and picking at her ears. Just me Meili and the guide went in. The boys stayed out in the van. What an experience. The hospital was packed with locals. I was nervous to even breathe the air in there. They do the best they can but it appears the equipment is not new or sanitized for each patient and you have to see a different doctor for each ailment. We saw one doctor to look in her throat which she said was infected and gave us a prescription then we had to re-register and wait for a second doctor to look in her ears. Fortunately her ears were fine. The medicine is traditional Chinese and is herbs or something that we add to her milk. I hope it works. So far she seems okay and we hope getting better. We will go to a western style doctor in Guangzhou if she is still sick on Tuesday.

While we were in the Hospital the boys ventured out a little into the neighborhood where they found a group of boys and men playing table tennis on a built in cement table with a net across it. Table tennis is one of the main sports in China and they have a national team that is very good and popular with Chinese people. They watched the group play for awhile and then were invited to join in. The locals were amazed that Dad, Zach and Andrew could even compete. Andrew even scored some points to the disappointment of the boys his age. They had fun but did not have the camera for photos.

After the Hospital we went to the Hubei Museum which is here in Wuhan as it is the capital city. The museum houses mostly artifacts that have been recovered from ancient emperors tombs. They were interesting to see. The most interesting part was a room that contained sections of actual ground with exposed artifacts. The artifacts were chariots with the skeletal remains of the horses still attached. The Emperor was buried with a whole fleet of horses and chariots. This is similar to what was found in Xian where the terracotta soldiers are. I guess the belief is that they will need their army and soldiers in the next life to assist and protect them. I took a picture in this room and was immediately told no flash pictures. OOOPS

Well Burt, Meili and I are all sick but doing okay. She is the most miserable but still in good spirits most of the time. We hope to all be well and that the boys are spared. Our love to everyone. Can't wait to get home.

Our kids, the with social elite in Wuhan

Today we visited East Lake in Wuhan. Wuhan has many lakes but this is the biggest. It is more like a lake with a park and many amusements along the lake. It was beautiful and relaxing. We started by riding in an electric car around the lake and making a few stops. The boys had fun trying their skills to stand and walk inside plastic blow-up balls on the water. Zach wins the prize for being able to do it the longest.

We rented a pedal boat and went out on the lake. It was fun to be out on the water to see fish, ducks and the lotus flower pads and flowers.

This week most Chinese are off work leading up to the big Chinese holiday on October 1st. The Moon Festival. At the lake we saw no less than 6 Chinese Wedding couples. Our guide told us it is popular to get married at this time of year because of the time off for honeymoon and for the guests to be able to come. The brides were very beautiful.

We had lunch at Pizza Hut which here is an upscale restaurant and more expensive. They have a full menu. Dad and the boys thought they had ordered some onion rings and ended up with fried calamari I thought it was funny. They have a salad bar where you can buy a one trip bowl for a certain amount. The people then take the bowl and create art so that they can fit as much as possible into the one bowl. One man was at the salad bar almost the entire time we were there creating his master piece. Most Americans would not have the patience to do this just to save a buck or two.

After lunch our guide Linda took the boys to the swimming pool. After they had been gone for an hour I went to check on them. In the lobby outside the pool there was a group of young ladies gathered. I watched and saw that the boys were in the pool playing with some young Chinese men. They were throwing Zach in the pool and splashing around with the boys. I went in to watch them and tell them time to get out. I wondered about the group of girls out in the lobby. One of them came in after awhile with a paper and pen and talked to one of the boys. He tried to grab her and pull her in so she left. I finally realized what was going on. Remember I mentioned the Pop star staying here and all the girls out front last night, well he and his group were in the pool playing with our boys. Our guide Linda does not follow the latest trends and did not realize who they were. Anyway our boys were hanging out with the elite of China and did not know it. They seemed like nice guys, but who knows. The girls out in the lobby told Linda they were jealous of her because she was swimming with them. (Linda is young and attractive) so I am sure they were jealous. Too funny. Too bad I did not have my camera. The pop stars name is Quan Chin or something. Linda said she would look it up so we would know.

Meili continues to blossom. She loves her Ma Ma and says Ma Ma, she says bye bye and waves when we leave places. She adores her Da Da and Andrew and Zach and gives them all big smiles and loves. We are having such an adventure, but can't wait to get home as well.

Newest Exhibit at the Wuhan Zoo: Andrew

Today we visited the Zoo in Wuhan. It is surrounded by a beautiful lake. The lake has lotus flowers growing in it. They are beautiful and the roots and the seeds are eaten by the local people and used in many dishes. Zachary found a really cool rock by the lake so we took a picture of him by it.

At the zoo we saw orangutans, lions, tigers, Asian bears, and Asian deer, and we were supposed to see Pandas but one of them was out on loan to another zoo and the other one was sick and had been taken to the vet. We were disappointed not to see the pandas.

A large group of Chinese middle school children were at the Zoo and they were so curious to see foreigners. Many of the people here do not see people from other places very often so we get a lot of stares. The school children crowded around us and many of them spoke some English as they study it in school. They loved Andrew and asked him questions. Andrew was a bit embarrassed especially by all the girls asking him questions. They wanted to know where he was from and did he want to live in China? He told them Arizona and no. They thought he was funny. At the end of our visit Andrew and Zach got to drive a small boat around in the lake and shoot at buoys that would spray water. They had fun.

After the zoo we had a nice lunch of rice noodles, Chinese cabbage, beef and potato soup, and a dish made with tofu and beans.

Then we relaxed for the evening and had a big bowl of "cup of noodles" type soup made with boiling water in our room.

We went to a small shop outside the hotel to buy the soup and snacks and everyone was curious about us.

There is a Chinese pop star staying at our hotel so there is a large group of young girls camped out in front of the hotel trying to get a glimpse of him. It was strange to walk out in front of them all staring.

Meili is doing great. She has come so far in just a few days. She is blossoming and is so happy. We are thrilled to have her in our family now.