Tuesday, October 25th was our last day in Guangzhou. We couldn't get Juliet's U.S. Visa until late in the afternoon so our flight out to Hong Kong was scheduled for that night at 10:20pm. We checked out at 2:00pm from the Garden Hotel and went over to Shamian Island again to kill some time before being picked up for the airport. We did a little more shopping and said good-bye to some of the store owners we had become acquainted with. We also walked over to the big market area across the bridge from the island. In this area, you see just about everything. There are tiny shops with goods protruding out into the streets, selling everything from live scorpions, dried turtles, various herbs, roots, and even illegal tiger paws and antelope skulls. You have to see it to believe it. On one street you can buy all sorts of pets and pet supplies, and Juliet was especially enamored by the puppies, kittens and rabbits. If you keep walking through this market area, you end up in a big, bright, loud shopping district. Each store is blaring loud music, and the workers stand outside encouraging you to come in and shop. Believe it or not, we also ran into another "Chicken Man"! There are also all kinds of restaurants, many being fast food places, like Pizza Hut, KFC, Papa Johns, and McDonalds. We decided to introduce Juliet to her first McDonalds experience. She seemed to enjoy some bites of chicken nuggets and a few french fries. We took a cab back to our hotel where John, one of our guides, met us with Juliet's visa and to take us to the airport. The flight to Hong Kong is only about 30 minutes, but since it was delayed slightly, we didn't land until around midnight...right when Juliet fell asleep. We had to go through customs there, and then head to our hotel, which was attached to the airport, luckily.
After about five hours of sleep, we got up for our flight home (with a short stop in Tokyo first). We were convinced that Juliet would sleep a lot of the flight home since she hadn't had much sleep the prior day. However, that was not the case at all. She was so overtired, she couldn't stay asleep. She had her own seat, but she wanted to sit with us most of the time. She was crawling all over the seats, would fall asleep for a short time but wake up crying, and just seemed uncomfortable and exhausted. She did have some silly times when she wanted to play pat-a-cake and giggle with the people around us. However, of the thirteen hour flight, Juliet only slept about two or three of them (and not consecutively). The passengers all around us were annoyed and each of them offered their own advice on what we could be doing differently (none of which worked).
We finally arrived in Detroit around 1:00 p.m. and when Matt looked at his phone, he realized it he had a voice message from his Dad. Apparently there was some confusion on which date we were coming home. When we looked at Matt's phone again, we realized it was October 26th, not the 27th which we had previously (and mistakenly) thought we were arriving on...thinking we were losing a day coming back. It was such a stupid oversight on our part, but being so tired, it actually seemed funny at the time. We had it all planned that both sets of grandparents would get the kids out of school early on the 27th (Luke's birthday), and they would all meet us at the airport when we arrived. Luckily, Matt was able to call his dad, and Grandpa Jakubik was able to pick us up after we got through customs. Unfortunately, there was no one to greet little Juliet as she became a U.S. citizen dressed up in her fancy outfit!
The grandparents met at our house and Matt picked up Luke and Mia right after school so Juliet could meet her family. It all worked out, just a little different than we planned. Juliet was very interested in everyone, despite being tired. She enjoyed walking around our family room with her new squeaky shoes, taking toys to everyone. She also really liked looking at Sydney, our dog. She would stand and stare at her, and then reach out a finger to touch her nose. It was very cute. Luke and Mia kept saying that she looked just like the blog pictures, laughing at her.
Today (Thursday) was a good day. We woke up to signs planted on our front lawn, welcoming Juliet home. Juliet had a good night's sleep and a super long nap to catch up on her rest. It was Luke's 11th birthday, and she enjoyed watching him open his presents. She played a lot of pat-a-cake with both Luke and Mia. Every time we stopped, she would start again, trying to get us to keep doing it. We took Luke out for a quick dinner at the Asian Buffet. We didn't want to be out too long with the baby, and Luke loves Chinese food so it was perfect. Juliet was a hit there with the waiter and the owner. She liked it when the owner spoke in Mandarin to her. Luke was sung to and got a special dessert plate. Juliet watched intently at all of these new experiences and even broke out into pat-a-cake after Luke's birthday song.
Mia helped me give Juliet a bath and get her dressed for bed. Mia has always been a little mother, and she is so excited to help out with Juliet. Both kids are so happy to have another addition to our family.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Consulate and Back to the Island
Today we had our Consulate appointment at 8:30am. This appointment is part of the process for Juliet to become a U.S. citizen. The appointment was fairly uneventful, more forms to fill out and documents to sign. Then we (all the families there) had to stand up and swear an oath that all information we provided was correct. Once that was complete, we were on our way again. We'll get Juliet's passport tomorrow night and she'll officially become a U.S. citizen once we go through customs in Detroit.
After that, we headed back to Shamian Island to let Juliet run around and to do a little more shopping. She had fun exploring all the bronze statues throughout the island and was especially interested in the one with all the little children following a piper. The wedding couples were out again today for their photograph sessions and there were older people playing cards and badminton in the boulevards. We met an extremely friendly shop owner named Jordan who hand painted a picture of Juliet's name using different Chinese animal characters for each letter of her name. He also made a picture for her using Chinese caligraphy characters for her name. He was one of the nicest people we've met her so far.
Today, Juliet also debuted her "squeeky shoes" that we bought for her last night. They're very popular here and they have a little squeeker in the heal. Each time she steps they squeek. She was really surprised at first but then she had a ball walking around and squeeking. She was quite the hit where ever we went today. Beth liked them so much that she had to buy several more pairs to bring home.
We had lunch on the island again and then walked over to a park for a bit. Juliet met a little boy and was showing him all the leaves on the ground. They were very cute together and he tried to take Juliet by the hand and lead her to the play structure. She did not like this at all! She started crying very hard, shook her hand loose and came running back to Beth and I. Once she calmed down she resumed her search for leaves.
After heading back to the hotel and a short nap, we played in the room for a while and then headed out for dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant by our hotel that is very popular. The owners are both from Mexico and the food is about as authentic as you can get (in China). We met a couple from Lebanon who was very nice and had many questions about the adoption process and Juliet's story. She seemed to like them very much and even let the man hold her while his wife took pictures. We headed back to the hotel and Skyped with Luke and Mia for a while so they could see their new sister again. Then it was bath time and bed time.
After such an easy first few days with Juliet, the last few have been more challenging and more as expected. She's definitely going through some grieving and she's becoming more stubborn and seemingly frustrated. We're doing our best to reenforce to her that we're not going to leave her and that she can trust us. We're planning to hold her quite a bit, make as much eye contact as possible, feed her instead of letting her feed herself, etc. All the things that are recommended to promote attachment and bonding.
Tomorrow night, we fly to Hong Kong for a short night's stay and then and early flight back to the States (via Tokyo). It's going to be another long day as we have to check out of our hotel at 2pm and then we're not being picked up to go to the airport until 7:30pm. We still have to come up with something to occupy ourselves during that time. I'm sure we'll find something to do.
This will probably be our last long post until we get back home. I may be able to post from my phone before the flights, but I don't know for sure. Thanks for all your comments and encouragement along the way. We can't wait for everyone to meet Juliet!
- Matt and Beth
After that, we headed back to Shamian Island to let Juliet run around and to do a little more shopping. She had fun exploring all the bronze statues throughout the island and was especially interested in the one with all the little children following a piper. The wedding couples were out again today for their photograph sessions and there were older people playing cards and badminton in the boulevards. We met an extremely friendly shop owner named Jordan who hand painted a picture of Juliet's name using different Chinese animal characters for each letter of her name. He also made a picture for her using Chinese caligraphy characters for her name. He was one of the nicest people we've met her so far.
Today, Juliet also debuted her "squeeky shoes" that we bought for her last night. They're very popular here and they have a little squeeker in the heal. Each time she steps they squeek. She was really surprised at first but then she had a ball walking around and squeeking. She was quite the hit where ever we went today. Beth liked them so much that she had to buy several more pairs to bring home.
We had lunch on the island again and then walked over to a park for a bit. Juliet met a little boy and was showing him all the leaves on the ground. They were very cute together and he tried to take Juliet by the hand and lead her to the play structure. She did not like this at all! She started crying very hard, shook her hand loose and came running back to Beth and I. Once she calmed down she resumed her search for leaves.
After heading back to the hotel and a short nap, we played in the room for a while and then headed out for dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant by our hotel that is very popular. The owners are both from Mexico and the food is about as authentic as you can get (in China). We met a couple from Lebanon who was very nice and had many questions about the adoption process and Juliet's story. She seemed to like them very much and even let the man hold her while his wife took pictures. We headed back to the hotel and Skyped with Luke and Mia for a while so they could see their new sister again. Then it was bath time and bed time.
After such an easy first few days with Juliet, the last few have been more challenging and more as expected. She's definitely going through some grieving and she's becoming more stubborn and seemingly frustrated. We're doing our best to reenforce to her that we're not going to leave her and that she can trust us. We're planning to hold her quite a bit, make as much eye contact as possible, feed her instead of letting her feed herself, etc. All the things that are recommended to promote attachment and bonding.
Tomorrow night, we fly to Hong Kong for a short night's stay and then and early flight back to the States (via Tokyo). It's going to be another long day as we have to check out of our hotel at 2pm and then we're not being picked up to go to the airport until 7:30pm. We still have to come up with something to occupy ourselves during that time. I'm sure we'll find something to do.
This will probably be our last long post until we get back home. I may be able to post from my phone before the flights, but I don't know for sure. Thanks for all your comments and encouragement along the way. We can't wait for everyone to meet Juliet!
- Matt and Beth
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Shamian Island
Today Juliet woke up in a good mood so we played in the hotel room for a while before heading to breakfast. Matt tried desperately to find updates on the Michigan State vs. Wisconsin game on the internet, and when he did, he and Juliet sat at the computer cheering the Spartans on ... and it seemed to have worked! We headed down to a late breakfast and then took a walk around the hotel gardens so Juliet could get some exercise and see the fish. She was especially taken with leaves again so she tried to pick up every one that she could see. Once she seemed to get bored with that, we layed her down for a nap, but that didn't last too long.
We decided to head over to Shamian Island where the famous White Swan Hotel is located. The White Swan is known for catering to adoptive families so many adopted children have stayed there. The hotel is closed for renovations now, but all the shops surrounding it are open for business. All of the shop owners speak really good english and are extremely friendly. The shops carry everything that adoptive families may want to bring home, such as traditional Chinese dresses, children's shoes, and other souvenirs. Many of the shops carry the same types of goods, so everyone is trying to get you into their shop. One woman even offered to feed Juliet some soup after Juliet spied her son eating his dinner.
Shortly after we arrived on the island, Matt remembered that, although he brought the camera, the battery was still sitting on the charger back at the hotel room. So, we unfortunately do not have many pictures from the island. We tried to make due with the iPhone, but the photos just weren't the same. The island looks very much like New Orleans actually. There are boulevards that people walk along with moss covered trees overhanging. Every so often there are fountains, statues, and even a Starbucks. Usually, the area is teaming with foreign families and their adoptive children, but since the White Swan is closed, it was mostly Chinese families enjoying the area. It seems to be a very popular place for photography as we saw several brides and grooms getting photos taken as well as aspiring models being followed around by their "paparazzi". Juliet was most taken in by the little dog playing fetch with her owner ... and by the leaves ... and by the little boy with the lollipop.
After buying her some chinese dresses and some shoes that actually fit (the ones from the orphanage are about 2x too big and have cotton shoved in the toes), we decided to head to Lucy's for dinner. Lucy's is a restaurant on the island that caters to American families. Even though they have a large menu with American items (hamburgers, cheeseburgers, etc) we ironically found ourselve still ordering Asian food. Juliet loved the chicken congee!
After the taxi ride back to the hotel, we found a huge party of some kind going on in the lobby. It was so crowed. There was a guy cruising around on roller skates playing the flute and wearing a costume that looked like he was riding a chicken. He was handing out some sort of dried olive snack. Juliet wasn't sure what to make of him. After her bath, she practically fell asleep on the bed she was so exhausted. She's now sleeping soundly.
Juliet is still doing very well. We both agree that she seems to be going through some sort of grief process as she's not quite as happy go lucky as she was the first few days. There's less smiles and giggles and she seems to get frustrated very easily, which results in some very stubborn behaviour. She definitely has a temper and she lets you know when she's not happy. All the changes that have occurred in her life over the past week or so are probably taking a toll on her, however, these moments don't last long and she can be easily distracted by something interesting .... like leaves. It will be good to get home to a normal routine. Especially in the fall .... because of the leaves.
We decided to head over to Shamian Island where the famous White Swan Hotel is located. The White Swan is known for catering to adoptive families so many adopted children have stayed there. The hotel is closed for renovations now, but all the shops surrounding it are open for business. All of the shop owners speak really good english and are extremely friendly. The shops carry everything that adoptive families may want to bring home, such as traditional Chinese dresses, children's shoes, and other souvenirs. Many of the shops carry the same types of goods, so everyone is trying to get you into their shop. One woman even offered to feed Juliet some soup after Juliet spied her son eating his dinner.
Shortly after we arrived on the island, Matt remembered that, although he brought the camera, the battery was still sitting on the charger back at the hotel room. So, we unfortunately do not have many pictures from the island. We tried to make due with the iPhone, but the photos just weren't the same. The island looks very much like New Orleans actually. There are boulevards that people walk along with moss covered trees overhanging. Every so often there are fountains, statues, and even a Starbucks. Usually, the area is teaming with foreign families and their adoptive children, but since the White Swan is closed, it was mostly Chinese families enjoying the area. It seems to be a very popular place for photography as we saw several brides and grooms getting photos taken as well as aspiring models being followed around by their "paparazzi". Juliet was most taken in by the little dog playing fetch with her owner ... and by the leaves ... and by the little boy with the lollipop.
After buying her some chinese dresses and some shoes that actually fit (the ones from the orphanage are about 2x too big and have cotton shoved in the toes), we decided to head to Lucy's for dinner. Lucy's is a restaurant on the island that caters to American families. Even though they have a large menu with American items (hamburgers, cheeseburgers, etc) we ironically found ourselve still ordering Asian food. Juliet loved the chicken congee!
After the taxi ride back to the hotel, we found a huge party of some kind going on in the lobby. It was so crowed. There was a guy cruising around on roller skates playing the flute and wearing a costume that looked like he was riding a chicken. He was handing out some sort of dried olive snack. Juliet wasn't sure what to make of him. After her bath, she practically fell asleep on the bed she was so exhausted. She's now sleeping soundly.
Juliet is still doing very well. We both agree that she seems to be going through some sort of grief process as she's not quite as happy go lucky as she was the first few days. There's less smiles and giggles and she seems to get frustrated very easily, which results in some very stubborn behaviour. She definitely has a temper and she lets you know when she's not happy. All the changes that have occurred in her life over the past week or so are probably taking a toll on her, however, these moments don't last long and she can be easily distracted by something interesting .... like leaves. It will be good to get home to a normal routine. Especially in the fall .... because of the leaves.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
From Hangzhou to Guangzhou
Yesterday we had an eventful day before leaving Hangzhou. We were picked up by Jessica at 10:00 a.m. and taken to the The Hangzhou Children's Welfare Institute (the orphanage that Juliet lived in for just over 8 months). It was a beautiful facility and only about 3 years old. From the minute you walk into the front doors, you can tell the children are well-loved. There is a large wall with laminated pictures of the children taped to it. Some of the pictures are of the kids with their adoptive families too, and we were encouraged to send them a picture of Juliet with Luke and Mia as soon as we get home to post on the wall. We found two pictures of Juliet taped on the wall already. We were greeted right away by Chen, one of the directors that brought Juliet to us at the Civil Affairs Office. Juliet was a little stoic at the orphanage, just looking around and thinking. Although Juliet had been in a foster family for about 8 months, she returned to the orphanage about three weeks ago to prepare for her adoption. It must have been somewhat confusing for her, but she handled it well. Chen offered to hold her, and she reached over to her, sat in her arms for a minute, but then she wanted to come back to us. Chen laughed and said that was good. Chen sat us down at a small meeting table in the lobby to give us a bag of "goodies" for Juliet to take home with her. There was a giant stuffed cat (as big as Juliet), a CD of photographs of her time spent in the orphanage, some Chinese play-doh, and a memory book. The memory book describes in Chinese her likes, dislikes, friends, schedule, etc..., and it has cute pictures of her in it too. There are even photographs of the day she was brought to the orphanage at two months old.
Chen took us to the toddler room where Juliet stayed. We saw the crib she had slept in which is now occupied by someone else already. We saw the play room which was full of toys. In the washroom, each child had a towel on a hook with his/her picture on it. As we were looking around her room, the other toddlers returned to have their lunch. They were all dressed in little yellow sweatsuits and were so excited to see us. They were waving and smiling. They liked getting their picture taken. They each had a seat around a table for what looked liked a pretty yummy lunch of rice, meat and vegetables. Juliet started to squawk a bit hoping to sit down and eat with them. We took Juliet's picture with her three nannies, and they all gave her kisses good-bye.
Chen also showed us the music room, and the older kids' classrooms. They have a strict curriculum they follow for their schooling. They learn both the Chinese characters and the English words that go with them. They take their education very seriously even in the orphanage. We were also able to see the music room, and the playground area.
In the craft room, we ran into three women and three young girls from the states that volunteer their time for Red Thread Charities. This organization goes into the orphanages for a couple of weeks each October and helps them with a variety of needs. One of the women, Jane, actually had sent us pictures of Juliet back in July from her last trip to the orphanage. She was so kind and excited for us. She couldn't get over how well Juliet was doing and that she totally seemed bonded with us already. She had brought her own adopted Chinese daughter along, as well as her grandaughter to help for the few weeks she was there. The girls ranged from probably 9-11 years, and they kept telling us, "Thank you for adopting the baby, Congratulations!" It was a great experience at the orphanage, and we feel lucky that Juliet had been cared for so well during her stay there.
Before heading to the airport for Guangzhou, we stopped by Juliet's finding place. There are four bus stations in Hangzhou, and she was found outside of bus station #2. Although we weren't sure of the exact location of the spot, we took some pictures of the entrance to the station.
Although the plane ride from Hangzhou to Guangzhou is about two hours, Juliet stayed wide awake for her first flight. She layed her head down just as we were starting to land. We were greeted by our guide, Judy, after getting our luggage. She informed us that we were upgraded to the 5 star Garden Hotel with a suite. We weren't sure why, but we didn't complain It is the nicest hotel we have ever stayed at, and the staff is super friendly. Juliet was even given a small basket of bath accessories and a stuff panda to play with. You see people from all over the world staying here and quite a few adoptive families too. There is a beautiful garden area behind the hotel, with a cascading waterfall, and a giant fish pond. Juliet liked watching the huge koi in the pond after breakfast.
We had to visit the Guangzhou Medical Center for Adoptive Children today so Juliet could get a brief physical. She was a hit with the doctors, and she passed all of her tests with flying colors. She only took a short nap unfortunately, and doesn't seem very well rested as of now so we think a change of scenery is what she may need. It is 88 degrees and sunny here so we are going to go out and investigate the area.
Chen took us to the toddler room where Juliet stayed. We saw the crib she had slept in which is now occupied by someone else already. We saw the play room which was full of toys. In the washroom, each child had a towel on a hook with his/her picture on it. As we were looking around her room, the other toddlers returned to have their lunch. They were all dressed in little yellow sweatsuits and were so excited to see us. They were waving and smiling. They liked getting their picture taken. They each had a seat around a table for what looked liked a pretty yummy lunch of rice, meat and vegetables. Juliet started to squawk a bit hoping to sit down and eat with them. We took Juliet's picture with her three nannies, and they all gave her kisses good-bye.
Chen also showed us the music room, and the older kids' classrooms. They have a strict curriculum they follow for their schooling. They learn both the Chinese characters and the English words that go with them. They take their education very seriously even in the orphanage. We were also able to see the music room, and the playground area.
In the craft room, we ran into three women and three young girls from the states that volunteer their time for Red Thread Charities. This organization goes into the orphanages for a couple of weeks each October and helps them with a variety of needs. One of the women, Jane, actually had sent us pictures of Juliet back in July from her last trip to the orphanage. She was so kind and excited for us. She couldn't get over how well Juliet was doing and that she totally seemed bonded with us already. She had brought her own adopted Chinese daughter along, as well as her grandaughter to help for the few weeks she was there. The girls ranged from probably 9-11 years, and they kept telling us, "Thank you for adopting the baby, Congratulations!" It was a great experience at the orphanage, and we feel lucky that Juliet had been cared for so well during her stay there.
Before heading to the airport for Guangzhou, we stopped by Juliet's finding place. There are four bus stations in Hangzhou, and she was found outside of bus station #2. Although we weren't sure of the exact location of the spot, we took some pictures of the entrance to the station.
Although the plane ride from Hangzhou to Guangzhou is about two hours, Juliet stayed wide awake for her first flight. She layed her head down just as we were starting to land. We were greeted by our guide, Judy, after getting our luggage. She informed us that we were upgraded to the 5 star Garden Hotel with a suite. We weren't sure why, but we didn't complain It is the nicest hotel we have ever stayed at, and the staff is super friendly. Juliet was even given a small basket of bath accessories and a stuff panda to play with. You see people from all over the world staying here and quite a few adoptive families too. There is a beautiful garden area behind the hotel, with a cascading waterfall, and a giant fish pond. Juliet liked watching the huge koi in the pond after breakfast.
We had to visit the Guangzhou Medical Center for Adoptive Children today so Juliet could get a brief physical. She was a hit with the doctors, and she passed all of her tests with flying colors. She only took a short nap unfortunately, and doesn't seem very well rested as of now so we think a change of scenery is what she may need. It is 88 degrees and sunny here so we are going to go out and investigate the area.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Made it to Guangzhou!
After an extremely long day, we finally made it to our hotel in Guangzhou. Today we woke early, checked out of our hotel in Hangzhou, visited the orphanage where Juliet stayed, visited the "finding place" where she was found after she was abandoned and then went to the airport for our flight to Guangzhou. It was a very long and very emotional day. We're all exhausted. Juliet did not get a nap today and was very restless on the airplane. The women sitting around us all tried very hard to entertain her, but it wasn't until the snack was delivered that she decided to calm down. She finally fell asleep in the van driving from the airport to the hotel, but she only slept for about 20 minutes. Once we checked into the hotel, it was bath time and then we put her right to bed. She fell asleep almost immediately.
We're very tired as well and we plan to try to get a good night's sleep tonight. We promise to post the pictures and a better description of our day when we have more time tomorrow.
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| China 10/21/11 |
We're very tired as well and we plan to try to get a good night's sleep tonight. We promise to post the pictures and a better description of our day when we have more time tomorrow.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
More Paperwork, More West Lake
This morning we did our last day of document work here in Hangzhou. We were first taken to the bank to exchange our money for the adoption payment and orphanage donation. Juliet liked waddling around the lobby while the local customers smiled at her. Even the serious security guards at the bank seemed somewhat amused by her. After the bank we had to go to a notary office to make all of the documents official. We were done for the day with Jessica before 11:00 a.m. She offered to take us to see how silk is made in the beginning stages at a local center, but we decided to return to the hotel since we had already visited the silk market near our hotel three times.
Juliet slept about 2.5 hours again this aftenoon. It is hard to believe how tired she gets after sleeping twelve hours at night, but all of these new experiences in the "real world" exhausts her. She seems so curious when we are out, like everything we do is completely new and exciting.
When Juliet woke up, we walked the 30 minutes back to West Lake with her. She likes traveling in the baby carrier strapped to us, although even in that, she gets heavy after that long of a walk. It is funny how you rarely see strollers here. Most people just carry their kids around in their arms, and that seems really tiring and awkward. They either don't have space to store the strollers or they are just too bulky to maneuver around the fast paced sidewalks. Occasionally you see a little kid sitting on the "floor" of their parent's scooter zipping around. It looks totally unsafe but it seems to work here.
Today seemed more crowded at West Lake. People must come in at the end of the week for a long weekend. It was a totally different view of the lake today, being overcast. The big dragon boat coming in was cool to see. We stopped at the two-story Starbucks that overlooks the lake and Juliet liked walking around the garden area. She was trying desperately to step on each leaf she saw. We saw the tail end of a huge fountain show that occurs each day at the lake. They are quite large, and on a sunnier day or lit up at night, they must seem even more spectacular.
After the lake, we walked along the main road across from the park. It is lined with high-end shops like Cartier and Prada. This area definitely caters to the very wealthy with the designer stores, expensive restaurants, and flashy cars everywhere. It is not what most would envision China to be like here.
We ate at a nice Thai inspired restaurant across from the park. It was the first restaurant we have eaten at where we didn't accidently order too much food. We have had to point at pictures of items we want and then hold up our fingers, trying to tell them one of this or two of these. We usually try to tell the waiters we need something for the baby, and then a huge bowl of food shows up for her that is too much for even an adult to eat (although Juliet likes to eat...) We are getting the hang of this now. Juliet liked playing with the wooden chopsticks tonight. She is getting pretty good at feeding herself with the fork and spoon we brought for her, especially if we help her get the food on the utensil first. The nannies in the orphanage usually feed the young kids by spoon so most likely she hasn't had much practice on her own. She seems to like the independence though.
We are constantly watched in restaurants or on the streets with Juliet. The local people are very curious about her, probably wondering how we look as we do, yet we have her. At least once a day, a local person looks at us, then at Juliet, and asks us (or Jessica) if Juliet is a "China Baby". It doesn't seem like the local people see many adoptive families here. Tomorrow we get to visit the orphanage, her "finding place" and then we are off to the airport for the flight to Guangzhou where the U.S. embassy is located. This will be Juliet's first plane ride, and luckily it is only about an hour.
Juliet slept about 2.5 hours again this aftenoon. It is hard to believe how tired she gets after sleeping twelve hours at night, but all of these new experiences in the "real world" exhausts her. She seems so curious when we are out, like everything we do is completely new and exciting.
When Juliet woke up, we walked the 30 minutes back to West Lake with her. She likes traveling in the baby carrier strapped to us, although even in that, she gets heavy after that long of a walk. It is funny how you rarely see strollers here. Most people just carry their kids around in their arms, and that seems really tiring and awkward. They either don't have space to store the strollers or they are just too bulky to maneuver around the fast paced sidewalks. Occasionally you see a little kid sitting on the "floor" of their parent's scooter zipping around. It looks totally unsafe but it seems to work here.
Today seemed more crowded at West Lake. People must come in at the end of the week for a long weekend. It was a totally different view of the lake today, being overcast. The big dragon boat coming in was cool to see. We stopped at the two-story Starbucks that overlooks the lake and Juliet liked walking around the garden area. She was trying desperately to step on each leaf she saw. We saw the tail end of a huge fountain show that occurs each day at the lake. They are quite large, and on a sunnier day or lit up at night, they must seem even more spectacular.
After the lake, we walked along the main road across from the park. It is lined with high-end shops like Cartier and Prada. This area definitely caters to the very wealthy with the designer stores, expensive restaurants, and flashy cars everywhere. It is not what most would envision China to be like here.
We ate at a nice Thai inspired restaurant across from the park. It was the first restaurant we have eaten at where we didn't accidently order too much food. We have had to point at pictures of items we want and then hold up our fingers, trying to tell them one of this or two of these. We usually try to tell the waiters we need something for the baby, and then a huge bowl of food shows up for her that is too much for even an adult to eat (although Juliet likes to eat...) We are getting the hang of this now. Juliet liked playing with the wooden chopsticks tonight. She is getting pretty good at feeding herself with the fork and spoon we brought for her, especially if we help her get the food on the utensil first. The nannies in the orphanage usually feed the young kids by spoon so most likely she hasn't had much practice on her own. She seems to like the independence though.
We are constantly watched in restaurants or on the streets with Juliet. The local people are very curious about her, probably wondering how we look as we do, yet we have her. At least once a day, a local person looks at us, then at Juliet, and asks us (or Jessica) if Juliet is a "China Baby". It doesn't seem like the local people see many adoptive families here. Tomorrow we get to visit the orphanage, her "finding place" and then we are off to the airport for the flight to Guangzhou where the U.S. embassy is located. This will be Juliet's first plane ride, and luckily it is only about an hour.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
A few more videos .....
Luke and Mia liked the first video we posted so much that we thought we would post a few more that were taken over the last couple of days. They love watching their new little sister and they've had a lot of fun using Skype to talk with her. We miss you Luke and Mia!
Juliet playing in our hotel room:
Playing in the hotel lobby:
Goofing with Daddy:
Juliet playing in our hotel room:
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| From Videos 10/19/11 |
Playing in the hotel lobby:
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| From Videos 10/19/11 |
Goofing with Daddy:
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| From Videos 10/19/11 |
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