A visit to Guangdong and a dip in the pool

Well, the visit to the orphanage was very emotional for us. Not only did we meet some of the nannies that took care of Hannah, but we also got a tour of the facility and saw her old crib and roommates. There were lots of babies there and also older girls about age 8-12 and it was very hard not to try to smuggle them all back onto the bus with us. It was a heart wrenching day. On the positive side, we did get 2 small toys that help Hannah to go to sleep at night and she got to say goodbye to her old home with us which should help to ease the transition a lot for her. The nannies described her as being active, of strong character(a polite way of saying that she's most likely as stubborn as our Irish lass at home, Riley) and is afraid of nothing! Sounds like we've got our hands full alright. The "honeymoon period" is ending and last night we got a 2 1/2 hour grieving and teething fest starting at 2AM. So, you want to parent a toddler, eh? Let the games begin! She's also losing her inhibitions and getting really comfortable around us which has resulted in our hotel room getting trashed. She really enjoys clearing things off which is nice if you're into minimalist upper surfaces and nothing but clutter on your floors. She is mischievous on a level we never had with Riley so this should be very interesting. It is entertaining for now but then again, we have maids at the hotel... In other news, we took Hannah for her first swim in the pool here at the White Swan. She was ambivalent about it but we were just glad that she didn't hate it as it gives us a respite from the crazy heat and humidity. She loved splashing Mommy, of course. I finally got to do a bit of shopping while Riley napped and I was thrilled to find a shop whose proceeds go to benefit Chinese orphans. I had a long conversation with the owner, a British woman who actively works to help older special needs kids that live in orphanages here in China. She blew me away particularly after my experience this morning at Hannah's orphanage. Inspirational. Needless to say, I will be doing pretty much all my souvenir shopping in her store. I found gorgeous traditional silk jackets for both Hannah and Riley to wear for the next Chinese New Year celebration and I have my eye on a beautiful Chinese silk christening dress there as well. She also carries lots of handmade gifts because she believes strongly in employing the local poor from the rural areas as opposed to just stocking factory made junk. Everything in the store is just beautiful. I was very impressed. Tomorrow we are doing some sightseeing in the countryside and checking out some Ming Dynasty temples. Should be cool. Enjoy the pix!

Days 3 and 4 in Guang Zhou

So sorry that we didn't blog yesterday - the jet lag hit me hard around 5 PM and I couldn't do much of anything except take care of Hannah. I'm still not sleeping much - pretty much waking up at 3 AM every day and lying in bed until 6 waiting to start the day. I'm sure I'll adjust to the time change 2 days before we come home and I'll be in the same boat for another 2 weeks. Whatever....let's talk about the amazing Hannah En Ming!! She continues to surprise and delight us and we're proud to report that we can get her really giggling up a storm with our expert "tickle monster" skills. Thanks to all the kids back in Cold Spring who gave us a lot of practice over the past few years. Yesterday, we traveled to the Security Bureau of Guangdong Province to finalize our adoption. On the way, our guides discovered that the Bissinger family picture that they took on Tuesday did not make it onto our paperwork. Instead, the papers had a photo of a different couple who had adopted a little boy. We were a little nervous that this was going to delay everyone else but one of the guides literally got off our bus in the middle of traffic to go fix the problem. She did and met us at our destination no problem or Mei Wan Ti as they say here. We were a little early for our appointment so our other guide, De, took us to the supermarket in dowtown Guangzhou to buy formula and candy for the orphanage visit tomorrow. This was an experience. I have never in my life seen so many human beings crammed into one store all trying to shop as quickly as possible. A claustrophobic's nightmare. Imagine Shop-Rite on a Sunday afternoon and then quadruple the amount of people and turn the air conditioning off. Lovely. We got out with formula AND a little cool teething rattle (Go Rob!!) and then it was back on the bus. The traffic, by the way, is completely nuts in the city - no rules to speak of - everyone just drives when and where they feel like. Not for the faint-hearted. Did I mention no car seats for the babies? Yeah, we're now doing a lot of walking. Once we arrived, the scene at the Security Bureau honestly resembled a large DMV. Oficers were seated behind a long counter with digital signs over them and digital signs with numbers for who was next. The only weird difference was that everybody there was adopting a Chinese baby, so the room was packed with a very different demographic than your average American DMV. Bizarre. We were in and out of there in about 15 minutes thanks to our guide who is an older man who is obviously afforded a lot of respect as Rob and I were allowed to cut a LOT of people in line when all our papers were in order. This is clearly the kind of thing we've paid the agency for and I have to say when you're carrying a squirmy toddler in a sultry room, it's well worth the expense. So, with no fanfare at all, Guan En Ming officially becomes Hannah En Ming Bissinger and it's back on the bus! I gotta say - everyone should adopt a baby - it's a trip in more ways than one! We are settling into life at the White Swan and starting to establish a sleep schedule for Hannah. She's been sleeping great through the night (about 10 hours - wish I could do that!) but her naps have been kind of all over the place so we're trying to make sure she's in the room most days around noon to rest. We're so impressed with how good she is in terms of going with the flow. She actually loves going out for a stroll and now walks over to her stroller in the room and points to it a lot. I guess the 2 days of BabyBjorn didn't grab her. I'm ok with that in this heat, though. It's incredibly humid here, so you sweat profusely every time you leave the hotel. We had a very funny dinner last night - ordered scrambled eggs and white rice for Hannah and when the rice was put down in front of her, the reaction was as if someone flipped the "extrovert" personality switch. We were laughing so hard because not only did she finally let us feed her from a spoon(Yea!) but she started to "talk" to us nonstop and became very animated for the rest of the evening. The kid LOVES rice. Who knew? I know, I know, she's Chinese, duh, but we just hadn't gotten around to ordering it til then. Now we know. We finally Skyped Riley and Grandma and Grandpa succesfully with video and everything! It was so great to SEE Miss Riley Jane if only on Rob's laptop. Hannah cried the whole time because we had to wake her from a too late nap so they could all see her and she was not too cool with that idea. It was more than worth it - we can't wait to do it again tonight. Today we did a lot of walking around Shamian Island and also the lower part of Guangzhou. The island that our hotel is on became a British and French concession after they defeated the Chinese in the Opium Wars and so it's full of old decaying colonial buildings some of which are quite beautiful. Check out the pix we've posted. After crossing the footbridge and walking around Guangzhou, we're so grateful to be on this much quieter and manageable island with our new baby! You'll be able to see a real difference in the pictures. Hannah continues to fight off her head cold and I'm beginning to think the air conditioning in the hotel is aggravating it. Anytime we're outside in the heat and humidity, she's fine. We go back to the room and her little nose runs, she starts coughing and her breathing gets phlegmy. We have the thermostat in our room set at its warmest but I think it's the dryness that's getting to her. We've been giving her an extra bottle of formula to keep her hydrated because that's all she'll drink. I clocked her today and she downs that 8 ounce bottle of VERY warm formula in about 90 seconds!! She continues to eat well and she is just so adorable that we truly are having a good time but still cannot wait to be home. It's going to be a loooong 9 days. Tomorrow we go to Hannah's old digs - I will blog again once back from our journey to Dongguan Children's Welfare Institute.

She laughs, she walks, she's ours!!

WOW!!! What an exciting day! It's Day 2 in Guangzhou with Hannah and we are really getting to see her open up and surprise us. We are overjoyed. First of all, Rob was sad that I managed to make her smile and giggle last night and he didn't, so, of course, he spent the whole day being the greatest Dad ever and, boy, did it pay off! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Hannah slept like a champ from 9:30 PM to 7:30 AM. Problem was we had to be on a bus by 8:20AM! Thus, a mad dash to the breakfast buffet which was very swank(gal playing piano, insanely attentive waitstaff) and in my haste to get things done, I opened Hannah's bottle cap and it exploded all over me. Very embarassing. We are way out of practice and, in our defense, Riley was never bottlefed so this whole making formula thing is freaking me out. Anyway, we made it to the bus on time and it was back to CCAA(China Center for Adoption Affairs) where we got Hannah yesterday to finalize the adoption today! Once there, and I am not making this up, Rob commented to one of the other dads that he suspected that Hannah was keeping secret about her walking skills. Literally seconds later, she gets off the couch and walks across the room!!! Unbelievable! I grabbed the camera, Rob got all misty on me and every other parent in the room stood their baby up and began requesting some walking. Too much. We did some interviews with the adoption workers, who complimented my pronunciation of Chinese(see, those CDs from the library paid off after all!) and then rubberstamped everything, so we are very close to finalization. Tomorrow we go to a judicial office and then I believe we just have to wait for her visa to process and the American consulate to go through all of their stuff. The whole shebang was wrapped up by 10:30 AM, so we had a nice long day to fill. We walked around the neighborhood near the White Swan Hotel and did some grocery shopping and some browsing. Hannah took her nap in the Baby Bjorn on Rob's chest so we also stopped by Starbucks and enjoyed some frappucinos. We got back and went to the giant playroom in our hotel for a while then back to the room for snacks. Rob had Hannah full on laughing by hiding her Cheerios under the nesting cups. Classic comedy. Then, shocker again - our little girl who yesterday was so withdrawn, solemn and private began feeding ME some Cheerios!! Very big deal from a bonding perspective - I was thrilled! We are so amazed at the rate that she's doing this stuff. Everything we've read says that it takes a good deal of time before you see a smile or hear a laugh or get real interaction so she is truly a wonder to behold! The nannies at her orphanage must have really been great. We're excited because our guides have told us that they are trying to arrange for a trip to Hannah's orphanage for the 4 couples in our group that have babies from there. I really hope that happens so we have some pictures and video of the place where she spent the first 19 months of her life. She may be curious about that one day. Well, we capped off the exciting day with one more big milestone - her first bath ever! (They sponge bath the babies in the orphanage) She took it in stride and promptly hit the sack for a nap as soon as the pajamas were on. I have to say that these last 2 days have been totally incredible. The Gotcha Day was so surreal and amazing. She was literally wearing a shirt that Riley wore at her age that I think is right now in her drawer at home. It's as if Hannah had gone to Cold Spring to get dressed for the important occasion in clothes that Mom and Dad would recognize! She was so calm and curious while Rob and I couldn't have been more emotional and excited. It cracked us up. All the babies around us were crying and there was Hannah, examining my "safe and sound" silver necklace. (Note to all the grandparents: she LOVES anything silver and shiny- commence spoiling) She will absolutely fit in in our family because she is a major control freak and is very intent on figuring things out. So much for my theory, Lisa & Becky, that she might be chill and help the three of us to just relax!! She reminds us of her big sis all the time - her stubbornness, her focus, her personality are so much like Riley it's uncanny! I really already feel like she's been part of the family all along - she's just been away for a while. It's great to have her back.

GOTCHA!!!

(Rob'sAccount)

We've got her!! Finally Hannah is in our arms after a day so exhausting both mother and daughter are sound asleep sitting on the veranda of the local Starbucks and daddy tries to post using a computer with only Chinese characters!

SO- here are some pictures to hold you all over until we'll fill you in on the details soon when we're all better rested.

Thanks and much love to everyone who has been so supportive throughout this long, long process.

Morning in Hong Kong

Well, we made it! The flight was very long but we had individual choice of hundreds of movies,TV shows , music and games on the seatback screens, so we made sure that we watched LOTS of movies before Hannah prevents us from doing just that! All of the travel went very smoothly. Sleeping on the other hand...not happening. Rob actually has gotten about 6 or 7 hours in the last 36 hours whereas I've gotten about 4! Rob says he's amazed that I'm not sleeping as he remembers me on tour being able to sleep anywhere, anytime of day. I, of course, was not about to meet my DAUGHTER!!!! We are about 6 or 7 hours away from holding her in our arms. We cannot claim to have really been in Hong Kong as we're staying in a hotel connected to the airport so it's sort of like staying overnight at JFK and saying that you've been to NYC. We so don't care as we are now so focused on getting to Guangzhou. Saying goodbye to Riley was heartbreaking for both of us but we have since spoken to her twice and it sound like she's having a blast with Grandma and Grandpa. We do miss her a lot, though. Speaking of Riley, here's today's "RIDDLE FOR RILEY": What capital city will host the Olympics next year? (Hint:It's in the same country we're in right now). Check back in later for the "Gotcha Day" pix!!!!!

Zai jian! (Goodbye!)

Well, this is it - our last post in the U.S.! We spent an adrenaline filled day running around picking up wads of cash from the bank, cleaning, buying last minute groceries for Riley and the grandparents, saying goodbye to dear friends and of course, playing with Riley. We fear for my parents' stamina after a day of following her on her scooter AND bicycle and swimming in the pool. Maybe they can trade off. We are officially packed and ready to go. Barring any bizarre weather in NJ, we should be ok to fly out of Newark and over the North Pole, past Mongolia to Hong Kong. (We have informed Riley that we will actively look for Santa's house) Check back on Monday morning when we should be able to post some "Gotcha Day" photos!!! Off we go!

40 hours to go!

Yes, I'm counting in hours now. The anxiety and anticipation is really almost unbearable. I sleep fairly well every other night but I don't see how I'm going to rest at all over the next 2 days! As I've said before, the slowest summer of my life, no question. We decided that we will say our goodbyes to Riley here in Cold Spring and then head to the airport which I hope will be easier on her. I'm completely dreading it and I know Rob is too. I am emotionally drained between longing to leave and get Hannah and longing to not have to leave Riley for two whole weeks. But I think in the end it will be best for everybody that she's here getting incredibly spoiled by everyone around her. It's going to be harder for Rob and I but we will certainly have plenty on our plate once we get to China! I want to encourage all of our friends and family who read this to comment or email us over the next 2 weeks while we're away because it will be great to hear from you!! XieXie Ni! (Thanks!)

4...3....ITINERARY!!!

At long last, the plane tickets, passport and itinerary arrived first thing this morning! Here's the scoop:

August 25 Sat Depart Newark Airport to Hong Kong 3PM
August 26 Sun Arrive Hong Kong 6:50 PM Stay at Regal Aiport Hotel
August 27 Mon Bus Ride from Hong Kong to Guangzhou - MEET HANNAH EN MING!!!
August 28 Tue 10AM Registration in Guangdong (at White Swan Hotel for next 10 days)
August 29 Wed Guangdong Public Security Bureau - adoption permission
August 30 Thu Bonding time with Hannah
August 31 Fri Bonding time with Hannah
Sept 1 Sat Adoption process completed by end of today
Sept 2 Sun Preparation for Visa interview
Sept 3 Mon Rest and day trip - time with Hannah
Sept 4 Tue Hannah's medical examination
Sept 5 Wed Rest and day trip - time with Hannah
Sept 6 Thu Visa interview/Consulate appointment - Hannah becomes a US citizen!
Sept 7 Fri Bus Ride back to Hong Kong - Stay overnight at Regal Airport Hotel
Sept 8 Sat FLY HOME WITH HANNAH EN MING!!!

We are beyond excited at this point. Just have to make it through the next 71 hours and we'll be on our way! Haven't been sleeping too well - just like right before I gave birth to Riley. Interesting. China, here we come!

5....

Today was a wonderful day spent with Miss Riley Jane Bissinger. We packed up her backpack for the first day of school, we watched "Magic School Bus" together, we played at the playground and I videotaped her riding her bike with no training wheels! Despite the overcast weather, we really managed to have a great, relaxing summer day. Thanks to all the family and friends who have started calling and emailing to wish us well on our journey. We are incredibly blessed to have such thoughtful people in our lives. The families from our agency who were traveling to other provinces got their babies today and a few have posted pix on their blogs. So exciting to see people we met at our travel meeting 10 weeks ago holding their daughters at long last! In about 6 1/2 days, we'll be posting a similar shot! Surreal. Life is beautiful.

Another delay....6 days to go!

Yes, our departure has been pushed back 2 days so that we're now leaving on August 25th. So, Saturday it is! Hannah En Ming will be 19 months old when we meet her a week from tonight!!! Very exciting. We have a return date of September 8th which is also a Saturday. This is great news for Riley as she was starting to stress that she would have to miss some of the first days of 1st grade just to pick us up at the airport. This child of mine really likes school! We are pretty much all packed but the babyproofing is giving us some trouble because we have renovated the kitchen since Riley was a toddler and now all the stuff that used to keep the drawers and cabinets safely closed to her in the past doesn't quite work with the new kitchen. We are headed to Babies 'R' Us for help today! My final night as a waitress was predictably insane with heaps of high maintenance customers seemingly hand picked to remind me how nice it will be NOT to have to deal with them anymore. Hannah couldn't possibly be as much trouble as they were. (I'm tempting fate here in case you hadn't noticed). Well, it's the home stretch...we should get our tickets and itinerary on Tuesday or Wednesday and I'll post again then!

1 More Week and We're on a plane!!

I realized at about 4PM today while playing in the pool with Riley and her friend Bridget that Rob and I will be literally flying to get Hannah a mere week from that moment! There's no good way to describe the mixture of anxiety, excitement, frustration, joy and anticipation that I'm feeling now. It's completely surreal. Unbelievably, we STILL do not have our plane tickets, itinerary or my passport(Rob got his back early for his London trip)! I think that our agency enjoys torturing us. Every time I see a FedEx truck, I get a knot in my stomach and my heart beats faster. That's not right. I did make Hannah's first pediatrician appointment with Riley's doctor for Sep. 10th, so I really hope we're back for it. Who knows? Rob is starting to tap into my nervous streak and has joined me in freaking out which is comforting in some bizarre way. I do have to say that we are pretty prepared to go in terms of our packing list. We plan to do major final babyproofing this weekend and pack our clothes,too. I will work my last night at Cathryn's this Saturday. A momentous occasion after 7 years of waiting tables there. Rob only has 3 workdays left. I think the 2 weeks that we're going to China is the longest time we have not worked since before we got married! What a phenomenal trip this is going to be! Time off from work and a beautiful new daughter to bring home.....it doesn't get any better than that!

10 MORE DAYS The Countdown begins!

So, now we're really getting close. I got my last bit of US paperwork done today(thanks, Camille, yet again for being a notary!) and Hannah's suitcase is packed! I found out today that our agency is aiming to get us home by September 5th or 6th so it's definitely a 2 week trip. Hurray! Riley will most likely start 1st grade AND get a new sister on the same day!! Crazy, huh? Gotta go play with Riles. I'll blog again soon!

2 MORE WEEKS!!!

Well, we're getting close now. Not much to report. The Skyping did not go well while Rob was in London and now our camera is messed up so we may have to settle for audio-only correspondence while in China. I will still be blogging, though, and will take tons of pictures to post, so that will have to do, I guess. No news on our return date. I sent an email to our agency today begging for info so we can write the "Countdown" numbers on Riley's calendar, but still no word. I went to see The Police at Giants Stadium this past Sunday and felt so great that I finally got to see my all time favorite band live! Never thought it would happen! The show was fantastic - Stewart Copeland's still got it, Andy Summers is way better than he used to be and Sting is still Sting (singing too often over Stewarts amazing drumming but looking incredibly hot, so you forgive him.) Very satisfying performance. Riley had sleepovers at her grandparents' and her cousins' and Rob traveled to London this past week for work. I am experiencing the calm before the storm that will be China. Please pray that the next 14 days fly by!!!

Skype,anyone?

Rob and I just set up a service that will allow us to call our home computer from his laptop while we're in China and not only hear each other but SEE each other!! (We got a little $25 video camera that perches atop our screen at Radio Shack) We are totally psyched about this!! If any of our wonderful family or friends would like to have a sneak peek at Hannah while we are in Guangzhou, all you need to do is download the program for free off www.skype.com and get yourself a little camera and plugin headphone/microphone($5) and we can have ourselves a videochat. The future is now, my friends. We will also be getting a "pandaphone", which is a rental cellphone in China, to keep in touch the "old-fashioned" way. I am nesting like a madwoman. Got Riley signed up for her fall gymnastics, soccer and piano and made a second visit to Target to ferret out all the hard to find items I missed on my 1st try. I'm starting to feel a bit more prepared for the insanity that will soon be my life! Still no word on the return date - I'll post it as soon as I hear.