Hello from Guangzhou

Sorry for skipping a day in our posts but we were traveling last night. We left Henan province at about 6:10 PM and arrived in Guangzhou at somewhere around 9PM. Brett did wonderful on the flight. The flight was a little bumpy at several points, and Brett did break down a little, but was easily comforted. Upon landing, he asked Grace, our guide, if he was now in the US. His nannies at New Day had been telling him how he would get on an airplane to go to the US and he thought this was that flight. Even the bus ride to the hotel was an uneventful ride. Brett was excited by the many cars and buses. However, once we got to the hotel and up to our room, Brett had a complete emotional meltdown. This was the first episode like this that Cindy had seen (I have been the unfortunate witness of two others where he wanted is Mama). With a little distraction from Abigail's and Chloe's "Ni Hao" video, he did calm down and settle into our room. 11:30PM and we were all asleep.

This morning was his medical exam, and Brett seems to have a pretty bad case of "White Coat Syndrome". This is likely due to a few visits to the hospital he has had. Again, Brett was a real trouper - he listened to the doctors and nurses and we made it out with only a few tears. Next was the immunizations - the Hague agreement required that all internationally adopted children be COMPLETELY up to date on their shots before they can leave their home country instead of catching up at home. With a big thanks to the staff at New Day, Brett was missing only one shot for chicken pox. The other test that is required by the US CDC is a TB test. Some wonderful politicians at some level in the US government didn't think that thess children had gone through enough in their young lives and require that they be TB tested before they can come into the US. Brett's bubble test will be read on Tuesday. Since some kids produce false positives, we pray his arm is clear.

Tonight, Cindy, Brett, and I will be meeting one of the people that were sponsoring Brett at New Day. They live in Hong Kong and will be taking the train into Guangzhou and having dinner with us tonight. We are excited to have the company and hear about their connection to our son.
Russ

Wrapping up in Henan

It is Friday morning here. Today is our last day in Henan, and we fly out to Guangzhou tonight. Yesterday was a quiet day filled with playing in our room, the play room, and a visit to the pool.

Brett continues to amaze us each day. He obviously received wonderful PT at New Day as he climbs everything! We spent much of the morning in the playroom with several of the families in our travel group. Brett enjoyed the ball pit and looking out the window at all the cars and buses. We practiced colors as the buses went by.

We then ventured to the pool and tried to entice Brett into the little pool. Although he was amused by Mommy splashing around, he was a little to overwhelmed by everything around to get in himself. We'll try again at the White Swan, hopefully with a few less sounds of people hacking up loogies in the pool!

Our only official business yesterday was to take Brett to the Office of Security for them to actually see his face before issuing his passport. Yesterday afternoon, he pointed to the computer and asked to talk to his sisters. He had to settle for pictures until the evening, as I'm sure Granny and Grandpa might not appreciate a call at 3am. We finished our evening with Skyping with family and friends and some songs at bed time.

We feel so blessed that Brett was well prepared by his nannies and staff at New Day. Considering he is three and we don't understand all he tries to communicate, we think his transition is going well. We also want to thank all our friends and family who are following along and sending us email or leaving comments. It can feel lonely sometimes here. If you venture out the hotel, you have to dodge the bicycle, motorcycles, and cars on the sidewalk. Nobody speaks English. We also have to look beyond the stares and pointing to Brett.

This morning we will exchange some money at the bank in preparation for Brett's physical in Guangzhou and do a little shopping to bring back some local art and items that represent Henan. Then, we're off to Shamian Island in Guangzhou, where the streets are safe. We will try to post again Saturday night.

Jiaozuo - A long day

We had a great morning playing in our room and the playroom. We also found the pool in the hotel. Brett was a little intimidated by the size of the lap pool, which was 6 lanes wide and 25 meters long. There is a smaller splash type pool on the far side of the pool, so I think that we might try the pool today, if Brett is ok with going back in there.

At lunch, I do believe that Brett was not very happy with our lunch selections. He was asking the waitress, in Chinese of course, for additional things to eat. He asked for items such as ice, shrimp, and fruit (several times). He is such a flirt and is open to making sure his wants are made clear. I wish that we could hire someone to come to the house twice a week to speak Mandarin with him. His pronunciation and vocabulary (according to the guide) are both very good.

As far as official tasks, our only item for the day was to travel to Jiazuo to have the adoption paperwork notarized. For some strange reason, this orphanage requires that the notary be done in the city where the orphanage is located and not in the capital city like the rest of the orphanages in this province. The ride to Jiaozuo was about 2 hours there and about 2 1/2 hours back due to traffic. The ride itself was very pretty with most of the land being agricultural use. The only problem was that the driver was falling asleep both ways. On the way back, all of us passengers kept a close eye on the driver, and when we was drifting off, we made several comments to our guide. The response back from the driver was that he was not asleep, that his eyes have small slits and it just looks like they were closed. We were not believing him.

On the ride home, we had the driver stop at McDonald's for dinner. That hamburger and fries were very good and were exactly like home.

After a few Skype calls with family where Brett was progressively getting more tired and rambunctious, we all went on to bed.

Adoption Day

Today we received our official adoption certificate. After a short ride to the Registrar's office and lunch, we attempted a nap again. We both laid down on a bed and Brett crawled up too. He immediately began sucking his finger, indicating he was tired, but soon spotted Thomas the Train on the floor and was down again. The good news is we had fun playing. We ended our afternoon with none other than a trip to Wal-Mart for supplies and drinks. Brett fell asleep on the bus ride and missed most of the excitement. Interesting to see the raw, unwrapped chicken on the ice tables for shoppers to pick up and the exotic dishes in the deli window. Most of the meats include either the head or feet still attached not to mention the entire pig hanging in the open air. Yummy!
It is near impossible not to fall in love with this little guy. He seems to capture the hearts of many with his smile and giggles. We ended our day with some PB&J and noodles in our room. Of course a bath followed and we pray for another great night of sleep.

Family Day - part 2

Brett adjusted well today. The highlights of his evening included having his footprint taken for our adoption paperwork, playing ball in the hallway with the other kids in our group, getting a bath, and Skyping with the grandparents and Uncle Scott and Aunt Melissa. (Sorry we woke you Melissa and Scott.) Brett is giving hugs, kisses, and saying quite a few English words. He seems to understand most of what we tell him between his English, our few Chinese phrases, and some sign language. We've learned he loves to look out windows, joke around, giggle, eat french fries, splash in the bath, suck his pointer finger during sleep, and just plain look cute!
We're adding a few more items for your viewing pleasure, but we are off to bed after one exciting day. Brett is peacefully sleeping as post this.
Good Night (Abigail, sorry we confused you about the night/day differences here.)

Brett's Family Day Part I

While I have a few minutes, I wanted to post a quick update. Russ will try to upload some video later tonight and fill in some details.
This morning we left the hotel around 9:40 to go to the Civil Affairs Office. Six of our eight families were receiving their children there. Four of the children arrived right away. We had to wait for almost an hour along with another family. Boy, I thought the last year was tough! Our guide called to check on their status and told us Brett was crying in the car. Why did she have to tell us that? Tears started right away as I knew he had been taken from his nanny at New Day. His home orphanage wanted to be the ones to deliver him to us.
Finally, the van pulled up, and Brett was hysterical. Poor little guy was overwhelmed without a familiar face. He went to me right away, and we calmed him down with our poor Chinese and some M&Ms. He even shared with us and anyone within arms reach.
After our quick reunion, we headed for the family photo for his adoption paperwork tomorrow and back to the hotel. By this time, Brett was over-stimulated by the noise and events from our walk home. Upon entering the room, he found his suitcase and proceeded to pick out a Cars shirt and underwear. (Addison, you have a buddy here!) We then played with every car and train in our suitcase until Russ got out the Bugles. Boy was Brett amused with food you could play with. He had a Bugle on each finger. We later ordered some noodles for Brett. He settled for a banana and french fries. Like Abigail, he loves ketchup and finished it off with a spoon. Better head to Sam's for Ketchup!
Nap time was a no-go. He became very upset and wanted out of the room. We decided a nap was not necessary today and started to sing ABCs. He sang right along with us until he noticed the phone. He has "pretend" called his sisters and half of his friends I am sure.
Brett has the sweetest voice, cutest laugh, and the biggest heart. No matter what he is eating, he tries to share. So far, he seems comfortable with both Russ and I. We hope this continues as he is one heavy boy to carry without a break. We'll try to get him on the scale later today.
We thank God this long journey has ended and pray for our new journey ahead of us. We look forward to updating more later. We are off for more paperwork. My apologies for any errors in this rushed post.
Blessings,
Cindy

In Henan

We arrived safely in Henan yesterday afternoon. It is now 4:45 Monday morning, and we are already pacing the floor. We leave the hotel at 9:40 to head to the civil affairs office to receive Brett. We pray he had a good trip here, and the transition goes well. Next post will be more exciting!