Our Journey to Hannah

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

Happy to report that a fun time was had by all the Dads at our place yesterday! Riley made ginger snaps for all of them and Hannah made a very cute book at preschool for Rob. Papa Walt grilled up some mean BBQ chicken and Rob got stung in the *** by a bee providing a wonderful comedic moment for all to treasure. Riley lost a tooth in the midst of it all. The Sciclunas joined in the fun and I must say it was a really great time!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hey! My girls impressed me with some handmade presents(including my new necklace made by Hannah in preschool - see photo) and breakfast in bed all without the help of Daddy who's in Boston teching a show. Then, Riley, Grandma and I went to see "The Miracle Worker" and had a good cry followed by dinner at the Japanese hibachi joint. The flowers in front of Hannah in the picture were sent to me by my very thoughtful godson, Alexander. A very fine Mother's Day. I'm a lucky Mom.

Belated photos

2009-04-23T19:19:00.003-07:00

Found my camera! Happy Easter, Birthday, Spring everyone. Enjoy the pix!

Hannah's 1st day of school!

2009-04-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I was a nervous wreck, but Hannah did very well! No potty accidents and Miss Sally said that she was focused for most of the 3 hour stretch. (The last 45 minutes she was ready for Mommy). We're so proud of her and she really liked her new preschool and teachers! Hooray for Hannah!

Happy Birthday Riley and Happy Easter Everybody!

2009-04-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

So, it finally happened to coincide - the Easter Bunny arrived on the morning of Riley's 8th Birthday! We had ALL the relatives over to celebrate and had a fantastic time. Egg Hunts, presents, lots of candy and desserts, it was fun. I have foolishly lost my camera in all the hubbub but I did borrow my wonderful friend Lisa's camera to get some shots of Riley's party with her friends yesterday. Her new zip line courtesy of her grandparents was a big hit and we could not have asked for more beautiful weather. We love the new house even more now that we can eat and relax on the deck outside! In other big news, Hannah will be starting preschool this Tuesday!!! I think that she is going to love it - she seemed very happy to be there when we visited and we're starting off slow with just 2 mornings a week. I cannot believe that BOTH my girls will be in school in a couple of days! How did that happen so fast?

A milestone for Hannah

2009-04-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

So, this is kind of a strange thing to keep track of, but today marks the first official day that Hannah has been with us longer than she has been in her orphanage. It makes us so happy to know that her time spent with her family now is longer than her time without us. It's been a glorious 19 months and as bizarre as it sounds, I really think that she has really blossomed into herself in the past few weeks! She is a true chatterbox, she has ditched the diapers and she shows so much unbridled affection that she fills my heart with love for her every day. We are so lucky to have her in our lives. We love you so much, Hannah En Ming.

Hallelujah, we have big girl underwear!!!

2009-03-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

I have waited a verrrry long time to post this but after a whole week with only one accident, I can now officially declare my Hannah "potty-trained" and somewhat ready for preschool! Whew, that is a load off my mind. I can make no claim toward this achievement as Hannah made a sudden decision in the midst of a DOUBLE ear infection last week. Now, if it were me, I think I'd be a little more prone to wetting my pants if both of my ears were infected and I felt really cruddy but my Hannah continues to surprise and amaze! I do think that I will hold off on dropping her at school until summer but I am looking forward to some precious free time in 3 more months. We're all very impatient for warmer weather now that April is almost here but the gals had a blast hunting for eggs at Riley's friend Olivia's house yesterday even in the chilly rain. I am very excited for spring to arrive with our first Easter in the new house, soccer and playtime at the Tots Park! Oh - in other big news - Riley is getting orthodontic work done to prepare her upper jaw for future braces. She's taking it well considering the ban on gum, taffy and all sticky candy right before Easter. The best part is that it's all happening on the roof of her mouth, so her smile will look the same for now. Riley also got a no cavities report from the dentist today and an amazingly wonderful report card on Wednesday! Her teacher tells us that she's reading at a mid-third grade level and is doing so well that she's practically ready for 4th grade!! We are beyond proud of our kids this week. Life is good.

PARTY TIME!

2009-03-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

The new house has officially been broken in for parties and we certainly started things off with a bang. Hannah's 3rd Birthday Party was a great success and we hope to have many many more parties in our new home! All of the kids had a blast and it was really nice to have so much room to entertain for a change. Rob and I both marveled at how much easier the process was. Riley had so much fun that she has already sent out invitations for her birthday party in April! Everyone was beyond generous not only with housewarming gifts and presents for the birthday girl but also with helping to set up and clean up the food!! We can't thank you all enough! We've been waiting a long time to be able to throw the kind of party we've always wanted to and it's so satisfying to finally have done it. Here's to many more!!

Surprise!

2009-02-24T07:10:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we drove to Vienna,VA for Aunt Renee's baby shower! We had a great time and are very excited that our new cousin will soon be here. Riley and Hannah particularly loved swimming in the hotel pool. Summer can't come soon enough. On the drive home, we stopped off in Wilmington,DE to have a reunion with Hannah's friends from China and their parents. Lily and Bella are getting so big and they all had fun playing and eating together. I'm so glad that we are able to get together with them every 6 months or so. Now, we're gearing up for the first big party at our new house this coming Saturday. Hannah's birthday celebration continues...

Hannah can see!!!

2009-02-13T04:05:00.000-08:00

Just as many of us have suspected, Hannah is near sighted like her Mommy. Yesterday, she received her first pair of eyeglasses and she loves them! They are Disney Princess "Snow White" glasses and they came with a little pink pocketbook. Hannah ate it all up. She can't wait to show Daddy tomorrow when he is finally home from England! I, for one, am so relieved that she can finally see the world around her and also, that her time in China will truly be a blur. :) Yea Hannah!

Happy 3rd Birthday Hannah/Happy Chinese New Year!!

2009-01-26T17:59:00.000-08:00

What a very fun day was had today! Hannah lived it up at her very favorite place to be - Miss Stacey's music class, then on to chores with Mom made much more exciting than usual by the addition of the normally off-limits lollipop at the bank and Hannah's first ever "own cart"(kid sized) at Adam's Market. She's been yearning for to push that thing for a long while and now that she's 3, look out shoppers' ankles!! Here she comes. She did run pretty hard into a fur wearing older woman and the old animal activist in me was secretly pleased. On to pick up Chinese food in honor of the Year of the Ox and then home to see Daddy off to England. (Rob's working on another Scooby-Doo tour over there). A quick nap in the car and then some Dora TV time, of course. To top it all off, Grandma and Grandpa came over to partake in the Chinese food and brought with them the family fave- the Carvel ice cream cake. A perfect birthday, I'd say. Enjoy the pix. Happy birthday cutie banana.

THE NEW HOUSE!!

2009-01-25T04:51:00.000-08:00

Wow-

It's been a busy month and a half. We moved on my 40th birthday (not the day I had in mind but nice to get a big house as a present). The weather promptly decided to dump snow, snow and more snow on us, so my parents' housewarming gift of a snowblower could not have been more perfect! We managed to get a Christmas tree in time for the big day and enjoyed our first holiday in our new digs. We feel like the house is our new full time job (as I'm sure every new homeowner does) and spend every weekend at Home Depot one day/painting,unpacking,putting furniture together the other. It's great, though. The extra space seems ridiculously large - I'm loving it. More than that, the kids can jump, run and be loud without my constant worry that they're disturbing the neighbors. BIG RELIEF! We really are blessed to be here. My very favorite part of this new living space is the view we have out the back of it - it's truly spectacular especially at sunset. Oh and also I could not love the school bus picking Riley up more. I can ease into my day :) The time since we've moved in has flown and I cannot believe that Hannah's 3rd birthday is tomorrow! She is now in her "big girl bed"! (She finally realized that she could jump out of that crib). It is a happy new year.

THE BIG MOVE

2008-12-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

Just a heads up to all our family and friends that we will be moving this weekend! (I've still got loads of time to shop for Christmas gifts, right?) Our new house is amazing and Riley is very excited to finally be able to ride the school bus every day. Boy, is she in for some disappointment. Her own room will more than make up for it. So, it looks like Santa Claus will be able to come down an actual chimney to give the girls their gifts this year and I can't think of a better 40th birthday present for me! Here's hoping Hannah will actually be able to sleep in her new room. She's always been fine when we've traveled and stayed in hotels, so I'm feeling optimistic. Keep your fingers crossed that the next 5 days go really smoothly! Enjoy some pix from when we first looked at the house back in September!

20 more days...

2008-12-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus came to town tonight and the gals were jazzed!! They bundled up, walked down to the Hudson, got their hot chocolate, listened to Christmas carols and finally, after the tree was lit, the big fat red man arrived bearing candy canes. (Hannah's favorite part) I love the little village I live in so much on nights like tonight.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T07:39:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a very happy Turkey Day!! We did- a nice day of rest amidst the chaos. We are moving into a new house before Christmas! So, we have bought a second car(the new house is not near the train station), picked up hundreds of cardboard boxes from friends who've recently moved and begun filling them, not to mention finally dealing with RE-adopting Hannah(it's a long story) and retreating Hannah with meds because an old parasitic friend from Dongguan is revisiting her intestinal tract! It's been a little hectic. Everyone is happy for the move, though. I may have to shop on Christmas Eve this year - unprecedented but necessary, I think. Enjoy the pix of the holiday. I may not be posting until the new year, so Merry Christmas too!!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

Wow - what a whirlwind weekend!! The gals had a blast as a "fire devil" and a butterfly - marching in the Cold Spring Halloween Parade, trick-or-treating(Hannah says"trick or treat" clear as a bell because of the resulting candy) and partying with so many friends. Rob is currently away in sunny Florida working on the "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" tour but returns home this weekend. We're missing him big time. Lots of people are now coming to check out our condo but no sale yet. Looks like 2009 may be the year of the big move. I'm crossing my fingers that we're in the new house before Hannah turns 3. My personal favorite part of this year's Halloween was drinking egg creams and eating candy while watching "The Nightmare before Christmas" with Riley on Halloween night. Enjoy the pix!

Liberty enlightening the world

2008-10-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

We did one of those touristy things that you never do because you're from the place and visited Lady Liberty yesterday. Riley got really into it and being up close with a statue that large really is pretty amazing. Hannah preferred the wide open spaces of Ellis Island. Perhaps she can relate to the "immigrant experience" :) Got to admit that seeing the history of how open minded and welcoming our country has been to foreigners in the past gives me hope for its future.

You know fall's here when...

2008-09-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

you go apple picking!! We did our annual trip - this time to a great orchard in Newburgh. I made sure to get lots of pictures of Milo and Hannah because about a year ago, we did the same thing, so I think I'll try to make it a tradition. The weather was incredibly beautiful and all of the kids had a great time. We are all happily settling in to the routines of school and work and I am really enjoying teaching dance again. I didn't realize how much I'd missed it. I'm so happy that autumn is finally here -my favorite season!!!

One Year Ago Today...

2008-09-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

We became a family of four. And it fits. All of the chairs at the table are taken. Riley has someone to play (and fight) with. We all laugh a lot more than we used to. Life is much more chaotic, but somehow just right. Hannah was the missing piece of our little puzzle. Thank you China for choosing the perfect child for our family. She is amazing.

First day of school!!

2008-09-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

OK, today was the 3rd day of school, but I can still blog, right? Riley has begun the 2nd grade and is off to a great start. I am so relieved to have more structure in the day and less sisters fighting in my living room. We'll see how happy I am once I get back to work next week. I have really enjoyed all the free time with the familia. I am, however, excited to get back into the studio and dance, though! Bye bye summer! Hard to believe we were still in China this time last year. So nice to be home with the WHOLE family walking her to school on the first day.

GOTCHA!!!

2008-08-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

It's a wonderful day in our house - the one year anniversary of Gotcha Day!! One year ago, Rob and I were in a crowded, hot Civil Affairs office in Guangzhou nervously waiting for them to bring in our new daughter. She was serious, pale, quiet and curious. She loved the box of raisins that we gave her once back at the White Swan hotel. She would not stand up and didn't make a sound. Wow, how things have changed!!! She is still curious and loves to eat but Hannah En Ming is silly, has a savage tan, is very funny, LOUD, and runs just about everywhere she goes. Today we just marveled at how far that she's come and fell in love with her for the 365th day in a row. Happy Gotcha Day Hannah!!! We love you so much!!

1 Year since we boarded the plane to China!

2008-08-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

Can you even believe that a whole year has passed since we got on the plane to meet our feisty toddler? Amazing! Now it feels like she has always been a part of the family and we can't imagine life without her. We just returned from a wonderful vacation in northern Vermont. We'll post some pix from that but for today just thought I'd post my fave one of the girls from last week. We love you Hannah and Riley! What a pair!

What a difference 11 months makes!

2008-07-31T18:07:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a couple of pictures that show how different Hannah and friends are now that they are with their "forever families". Lily and Bella are to Hannah's right in the famous "red couch" photo. The girls are all thriving now and it's wonderful and amazing to think about the journey that they've taken in the last year. We are all so blessed to have them in our lives. They are true survivors. It's so fantastic to see the light in their eyes that wasn't there when we met them. God is good.

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Hannah!

2008-07-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to do a quick post to wish Hannah a Happy 2 1/2 today! Yet another milestone is reached. She spent her day happily playing with a couple of her old pals from China who came up to visit! Lily and Bella played at the Tots Park, ate pizza, visited Chuang Yen Monastery and picniced by the Hudson River with all of us and Hannah really had a wonderful day! It was so great to spend time with our friends and get the girls together again. All of them have come so far since we brought them home. Just to update everyone - Hannah is trying hard to swim, chattering up a storm with lots of 2 word "sentences", still eats us out of house and home, loves to "sing" the ABC song and cracks us up daily. I can't believe that she is 2 1/2 already! Still seems like yesterday that I saw her face for the first time when she was just 16 months old and fell in love.

Happy Birthday Daddy, Aunt Chris and America!

2008-07-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well we had a very nice July 4th with a trip to Papa Walt and Robin's for a big triple birthday bash! Fun,fun fun with cousin Paige!!! Rob and Riley are out enjoying the fireworks as I write. We wanted Hannah to get some decent sleep, so I'm home enjoying some alone time. Now that Riley has her own blog, you know most of what we've been up to but I do have to say life is so different, in a good way, when you don't have to go to work! I am really loving all the time that I'm getting to spend with Riley especially. She is such an amazing kid and I'm so proud of the person that she is. We finally booked our vacation and the winner is Vermont! We're going to stay in Burlington for a week and bike, hike and tour the Ben & Jerry's factory for sure. I am very excited to get away from it all and go someplace cool in August. Riley is doing her "Snow White" thing for now and we had fun at the lake the other day. Hannah continues to crack us up and amaze us with all her new words. We are so lucky and blessed. Summer.....I love it! Happy Birthday Rob!!!!

Are you ready for the summer?

2008-06-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a busy month it's been!! The Moms/kids camping trip was a great success - Riley and I had some very good bonding time and learned a lot about making fire. Riley's soccer season has wrapped up and we're proud to say that her team lost only one game the entire spring! Riley turned out to be an exceptional goalie. We've done lots of swimming at the lake and trips to Splashdown already and it's not even the 1st day of summer! The weather forced us but we're very glad to oblige. I'm so glad that our friends the Shuks coerced us into getting a season pass for Splashdown - so worth it!! I went on a field trip to Constitution Marsh with Riley's class and we collected bugs from a stream and examined them. Very cool. Riley and I also checked out an old favorite movie of mine at the library - Buster Keaton's "Sherlock, Jr."- and Riley giggled her way through the whole thing. So satisfying to share favorite things with your daughter. I made it through the big dance recital which had it's debut on an actual stage this year. Riley did fantastically well as did all of my students. We also celebrated cousin Paige's 4th birthday with her which was a special treat for all of us! Riley had her piano recital and again did a great job and celebrated with a night out to dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, Papa Walt, Robin and Carm. Rob enjoyed a wonderful Father's Day BBQ at my cousin Noreen's and got a new itouch which he adores which came with our new Mac!! Yes, we've made the big jump to Apple because our PC died for the umpteenth time and we have just had it. So, I'm typing this on our fancy new system. It's really nice. I haven't been too good about taking pictures of all these events and some are still trapped in our dead PC but I will post what I have left in my camera. Last day of school is just 6 days away!! My last day of teaching is tomorrow!! Hooray for summer! I am so excited to have less to worry about for a good 9 weeks... Enjoy the sun!

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

2008-05-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm more than a little late on this one but I personally had a fantastic Mom's Day this year and I hope all you Moms reading this did too! Got to sleep in, order any breakfast I wanted, went out to lunch with my hubby, the girls and the Grandmas, and got to chill out and read a magazine while the kids played at a kids museum. Bliss. I had no responsibilities that day and man was that nice. Back to reality now, though, and I'm 11 days away from running a dance recital, 2 days away from a camping trip with Riley and only 5 weeks away from the last day of school!!! How did this happen? Hannah continues to grow in ways we never imagined - she's chatting up a storm and comes out with new words every day, she is such a snugglebug and loves giving us hugs and kisses and she's occasionally asked to go on the potty with actual results! (I am so completely not getting my hopes up on that last one though, because Riley faked me out with that action when she was only 19 months old. The diapers didn't leave the house until she was over 3.) We also enjoyed seeing the family for cousin Carolyn's communion. The girls had a blast. Life is good.

Riley's Birthday, Part 2

2008-05-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

The sun came back for Riley's "Family Party" on Sunday and a great time ensued! We were so sure that it was going to rain that we set up the party at the dance studio, but the sun broke through so we ate there and then moved the whole gang out to Mayor's Park for kickball, potato sack races and cake. Perfect! It was so wonderful to see all the kids having so much fun and it was really nice for Rob and I to catch up with our old friends who traveled from NJ. All in all, a fantastic celebration for Riley's 7th birthday!

Hooray for Spring!

2008-04-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we've had a wonderful week off from school and work and lucked out with some fantastic weather. Hannah is the most excited about finally getting outside to play, I think. She literally dances around when I out her jacket on to go out now. She LOVES the Tots Park and she was a true Bissinger(in the sense that she loves to travel) as I dragged her all over the tri-state area. We hit the Bear Mountain Zoo, the New York Aquarium at Coney Island, took a train to the playground in Peekskill and took in the Liberty Science Center in NJ. All of the trips were great. The only bad news of late is that both girls have serious seasonal allergies and the high pollen count really made them feel terrible for a couple of days. I am so proud of Riley because even on Benadryl, she scored a goal on her first day of girls spring soccer!! She rocks. Back to school tomorrow and 9 more weeks until the wonderful freedom of summer. Will post again after the big family party for Riley's birthday next week. Til then, enjoy the latest pix.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY!!!!

2008-04-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Riley Jane is 7 years old! We can't believe it either. She had a fantastic day spent bowling with her closest friends and going out to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Ettinger at a Japanese hibachi restaurant. The weather was perfect, the party was relaxed and great fun and dinner was very entertaining mostly because our table's chef could not seem to aim well enough to flip the eggs into our mouths. Lots of food flying everywhere is high comedy when you're 7! We capped off the day with a game of Clue(brand new present) and vanilla egg creams. Rob's favorite gift that was intended for Riley but which he is still playing with as I write this at 10PM was a set of 100 Kapla blocks. I can see that they will both be building many things for Hannah to destroy in the near future. Today was the kind of day that simply made us all feel very blessed to be alive and have one another. Hooray for 7th birthdays!!!

Happy Easter!!!

2008-03-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hey, everybody! What a busy month it's been. Hannah and Milo took in "Sesame Street Live" from the 3rd row center (thanks, Lisa!) and enjoyed Elmo's singing and dancing in person. Riley had her Destination Imagination tournament and her team did an amazing job! We were very proud of our tap dancing turkey. We baked shamrock sugar cookies for St. Paddy's Day but did miss out on corned beef this year. My Dad made up for it by baking some fantastic Irish soda bread. I got a much needed haircut (haven't cut my hair since before we went to China!). Hannah got her first ever haircut from Grandma Ettinger and she looks even cuter! We took Hannah on her first family hike and she did great. Her stamina is unbelievable. Finally, Easter was cold but fun this year. We started the day off with the Easter Pageant at our church which Rob and I directed. All of the kids, including and especially Riley, did a wonderful job and we were once again very proud of them. After the service, Riley went on her 4th egg hunt of the week (there's WAY too much candy in our house right now) and Hannah had her 2nd. This was followed by brunch with Aunt Liz, Uncle Carm and all the grandparents which was wonderful. Then off to Aunt Jean and Uncle Lawrence's for the big Easter Party and yet another egg hunt!! All of the cousins had fun playing together and I ate more desserts than I think I ever have at any holiday party that I've ever attended. Hannah's first Easter with us was joyous as Easter should be! Now if it will just warm up outside, life will be just perfect. As always, enjoy the pix!

Happy 6 months since Gotcha Day!(a day late)

2008-02-28T09:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I really did mean to post yesterday but was just too busy. We had a visit from our sweet social worker, Terri, to check up on Miss Hannah's progress at the 6 months home mark! She will officially be home 6 months on March 8th, but it's unbelievable to think that 6 months have already gone by since we were nervously waiting in that Civil Affairs Office in Guangzhou to meet our new daughter! Terri was amazed at how much Hannah has grown since she saw her in September and was impressed with her speech and thought she was just adorable. Of course she is! We had to submit photos to be sent back to China that show her with friends and family and I spent the last few weeks putting poor Hannah through all the blood work and tests that I couldn't bear to put her through when we first arrived home. She HATED the blood work (who doesn't?) and I hated doing the stool sample(again, who doesn't?) but she's just fine and now we can send all that paperwork in. We have one more visit from Terri in August at the 1 year mark and then I can stop worrying that I may be doing something wrong and this wonderful child will be gone. Completely paranoid, I know, but this adoption process stresses me out no matter how much I tell myself that everything is ok now and Hannah is all ours. The truth is she is incredible, intelligent, funny, determined and every bit the curious 2 year old and we could not love her more. It's been a fantastic 6 months.

Happy Chinese New Year!!

2008-02-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

I'm a week late with this post but just wanted to share pix from the great Chinese New Year Party we attended last Sunday! Hannah and Riley got to set off firecrackers, play traditional Chinese instruments, participate in the big dragon dance parade and Riley even made a rat snowglobe. (It's the year of the rat.) There were about 30 kids there, many adopted from China, Vietnam and Cambodia as well as friends of Chinese descent. Rob, Riley and I have gone twice to this party while waiting for Hannah to arrive, so this year was especially joyous for us and lots of people were very excited to finally meet Hannah En Ming! Hannah LOVED the dragon parade and giggled out loud at all the loud confetti poppers going off as the dragon danced by with her under it. She also refused to use her fork and would only accept my feeding her with chopsticks at the party, which I found very interesting. She was true to her heritage and culture for the night! We had a blast. Of course, the very next day found both of them not feeling well and Riley was absent from school for the first time since starting kindergarten at Haldane. They are both feeling a little better now but still sniffling and coughing. I cannot wait for the winter to be over. We also went to cousins Bryan and Johnny's big birthday party yesterday. Very fun for all and I will post a picture of all the kids from that party too. Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. We'll post again soon!

What a Party!!

2008-02-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

Well, Miss Hannah celebrated in style on Saturday with her Elmo themed bash! All her aunts made it as well as all her cousins including her birthday sharer, Bryan. Happy 10th birthday, cuz! All the kids had a great time playing stick the nose on the Elmo, freeze dance, follow the leader, limbo and pulling strings on the giant Elmo pinata! My camera wasn't as cooperative as the crowd so I don't have much to post picture-wise, but a fun time was had by all and I once again marvel at how blessed Hannah is and, more to the point, we all are to have such generous, loving family and friends. Thank you to all of you for being there and for helping to make it so much fun for us. Now I get 2 months reprieve until Riley's turn comes around. Whew.

Pics from Hannah's birthday

2008-01-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

Yea! Here you go!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, HANNAH!!!

2008-01-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

OK, this is the rare post without pix, but I just wanted to make sure that I posted on Hannah's birthday. She actually had a great day playing with Riley, Grandma and Grandpa Ettinger and I and even was treated to dinner at a seafood restaurant, where she discovered her fondness for calamari, followed by ice cream cake at her grandparents'. As soon as Rob gets back from LA, I promise to post pictures of Hannah enjoying her cake. Next week, the big party at the dance studio happens. I have a feeling both our girls are going to dance their little butts off! Can't wait!

Happy Happy Holidays!!!

2008-01-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

Well, we made it through the holidays! Miraculously, considering how much happened! We got our engines started December 15th at a Christmas cocktail party at our good friends Rob and Pam's house in NJ. We seized the opportunity of a night out with no kids and had a delicious dinner at a new restaurant as well. A wonderful way to celebrate my birthday, even if it was the day after. The next week we jumped in the car and drove out to Long Island to celebrate the holidays with Aunt Debbie, Uncle Ron & the boys who lavished the gals with love and presents. Hannah is lucky to have such thoughtful godparents. Riley woke up the next morning, threw on her costume and was a beautiful angel in our church's annual Christmas Pageant. The next evening 'twas the night before Christmas, so we headed to Aunt Jean and Uncle Lawrence's where the cousins basically ran rampant (Hannah included) from 5PM to 10PM at which point they collapsed in the car for the drive home. Turned out that Santa was very generous this year and Riley did NOT get the coal that she repeatedly predicted. (Don't ask - I have no idea) After unwrapping tons of presents and a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Ettinger, we headed to Papa Walt's place in Kerhonkson for a very nice relaxing Christmas Day. Were we ready to slow down yet? No way - the following evening saw us at the Bronx Zoo for the "Holiday Lights"and we got to spend some fun time with just the four of us and Riley and Hannah particularly enjoyed seeing reindeer closeup. Two days later, we were back in the car driving to Vienna, VA for Aunt Renee's Wedding!! Riley and Paige were the two cutest flower girls ever and Hannah didn't look so bad herself. The wedding and reception were beautiful and we had a great time. We did some sightseeing in DC and Philly and then, because we're totally insane, we went to a New Year's Eve party at our friends Becky and John's with more playtime for the girls until about 8:30PM when we finally surrendered to our fatigue and dragged our butts home to the biggest mess you've ever seen. I'm still working on it but as you can see, I'm blogging again, so I guess I've made some progress. OH! We also stopped for lunch at Friendly's in Newark, DE to see Joe, Charmaine and Hannah's old pal from the orphanage, Lily! It's already amazing to see the change in these girls since they were in China together. We hope to see them again soon. Well, I've rambled long enough...Rob is in tech for a show in New Haven,CT for the week so I'm single-momming it right now. So far, so good. Then again, it's only been a day. Riley is back to school and I'm back to teaching and honestly, the return to a routine is very comforting. Of course, Hannah's 2nd birthday hits in about 3 weeks, so I'd better not get too comfortable. There will be pix of that on the blog for sure. Hope everybody is healthy and well and here's to a wonderful, unpredictable new year!! Enjoy the pix!!

The Sisters Bissinger

2007-12-04T08:28:00.001-08:00

Just a quick post to show off the latest photos of Riley and Hannah tearing up the house! These two are getting along famously now and we had a nice weekend just putting up our Christmas decorations and watching the snow! (Hannah's first!) 21 more days until Santa comes! Start your engines...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We saw lots of cousins, aunts and uncles at my Mom and Dad's on Turkey Day and Hannah skipped her nap which resulted in her passing out right at dinnertime. As you can see, Rob joined her. We all had a great time over the 4 day weekend and enjoyed lots of ice skating with Riley, Aunt Renee's bridal shower, Rob's 20 year high school reunion and just plain hanging out together as a family which was really nice after the hectic pace since we got back from China. The girls are getting along very well now and we're looking forward to a great Christmas season!! Enjoy the holidays!!

Happy Halloween!!

2007-11-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

What great fun we had this Halloween! The annual Cold Spring Halloween Parade went on despite a very rainy day. The sun came out just in time for the main event. Hannah dressed as the cow who jumped over the moon(Rob), Katie was the cat and the fiddle and Riley was a beautiful fairy. There was live music at the end of the parade and Hannah boogied. She is VERY into my "Dance with me baby" class and the moms in the class all remark on what a very happy baby she is and I tell them they've been duped because she is at her sunniest in that dance studio, which, of course, warms my heart every time. Despite a nasty bout with bronchiolitis last week, Hannah's been doing really well and some attempts at words like"doggie", "yogurt", "hot", and "choo choo" have been heard. Very exciting. She is cracking us up pretty regularly too. She has a fantastic sense of humor - she laughs every time I bump my head or slip which evidences it. Riley is making us proud by beating Rob at chess periodically(could he actually be letting her win?hmm..) and making the Destination Imagination Team at school! Smarty boots. Took the girls to the Children's Museum of Manhattan for a day and they had a blast. We're gearing up for a very big Veteran's Day weekend with Rob, Riley and I going to Rob's opening of Meet Me in St. Louis at Paper Mill Playhouse in NJ and the girls making a trip to the NY Hall of Science so Riley can see the "Cyberchase" exhibit. Should be exhausting but fun! Will try to post again after Turkey Day with new pix.

God Bless Hannah En Ming!!

2007-10-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally got our daughter baptized. Hannah's Christening was on October 14th and it turned out to be very entertaining as well as beautiful. Hannah enjoyed the water poured on her head so much that she practically dove into the baptismal font and thankfully, Reverend Leslie Mott has a firm grip so nothing sacred got destroyed. Godparents Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron did a great job especially considering that they kept a toddler amused through an hour long service. Incredible! The Christening was followed by an amazing giant party at Grandma and Grandpa Ettinger's house complete with bouncy house and mountains of food. Thank you so much to all of our family and friends who were so very generous to Miss Hannah!! She is blessed in so many ways! What a fantastic day!

Fall with the Family

2007-10-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody!! Just updating with the latest family photos. Hannah continues to delight and amaze us. She really is coming out of her shell in so many ways. Riley has also been a stellar big sister as we knew she would, helping us out and playing with her new mei mei a lot. Riley is back to her busy schedule of piano, chess, tap, gymnastics and soccer plus first grade, of course. I wish I were kidding but she truly enjoys every single thing so Hannah and I spend a lot of time in the car. We've also snuck in some apple and pumpkin picking on the weekends and we're already getting excited for the big Cold Spring Halloween parade. I'm loving my dance classes this year - I have a great bunch of kids! Rob is back to working on 3 shows at once - so business as usual for him. He goes to L.A. soon for 3 days and I'm gearing up for handling my 2 girls solo. It's a whole new ball game as Rob and I are rapidly finding out. Life is very crazy but wonderful and we will post lots of pix from Hannah's Baptism and Welcome Home party next week!! Hope everyone's enjoying my favorite season of the year.

There's no place like home!!!!

2007-09-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!! So sorry that we haven't posted in 10(!!)days but what a long, strange trip it's been! We are in fact home safe and sound and Hannah is doing well. The day after our last post was a terrible one. Hannah began running a fever on the boat cruise and we started her on some infant Tylenol that night. She had a good night's sleep and a decent breakfast but then suffered a febrile seizure during her nap (while lying in my arms). We had no idea what was happening and thus, were terrified. Luckily, we were still a few hours away from checking out of the White Swan and we were able to rush her to the clinic on the 3rd floor of the hotel. The doctors immediately gave her a shot to bring her fever down and mistakenly thought that she had tonsilitis and her tonsils had swelled, cutting off her airway resulting in the seizure. Since we've been home and seen our pediatrician, we now know that this is not the case. Her temperature spiked suddenly which results in a convulsion which causes no permanent damage..just shaves a few years off the life of the parents who witness it! The next 48 hours were pretty hateful because all we could do was worry - about Hannah, about having to shoot horrible tasting antibiotics down her throat(which she of course fought off like the incredibly strong girl she is on the bus to Hong Kong, the hotel in Hong Kong and the lovely 15 hour plane ride home) and about getting through the "laser temperature scanner" at the Hong Kong border with a feverish child. I wish I were kidding. Rob and I have never experienced this level of stress and hope we never have to again. God love the man who sat across the aisle from us on that flight to Newark because Hannah is impervious to Benadryl and must have thrown every toy we brought on the plane at or near him at various points. Everything was better when we made it through immigration(Yeah for new American citizen Hannah En Ming!!) and feasted our eyes on Riley Jane!! She broke Port Authority protocol and came running up the ramp yelling "Mommy!" and there were big hugs all around. We looked up to see my Mom and Dad, Godmother Debbie and Aunt Anna all in tears. What a welcome! Once back in Cold Spring, Riley surprised us with balloons, signs and cupcakes and we all had some dinner and collapsed. The rest of the week is a bit of a blur. Lots of jet lag moments for Rob, Hannah and I and a bit of regression on Hannah's part but who could blame the poor child? I felt like screaming in rage a lot of the time too and I hadn't just been kidnapped out of my country and made to live with 3 strange looking people who speak a foreign language. I'm totally amazed that she's dealing with all this as well as she is. That said, I have to admit my anxiety of waiting has now been replaced with the fatigue of being a new mom. I am wiped!! Happy, but wiped!! Kudos to all the mothers of two or more kids - I have newfound respect. What a crazy balancing act! It's great to sit at the breakfast table with all 4 chairs occupied at long last, though. We made it...we're home.

Our last night in Guangzhou!

2007-09-06T00:56:00.000-07:00

I'm posting mid-day because I think we'll be in kinda late after our big cruise tonight. Hannah was super crabby today, of course, because it was picture day. I really think that a new tooth must be breaking through her gums because she is drooling like crazy and the boogies are flowing! We received all of her final adoption paperwork today including the adoption certificate with our family picture on it and her official finding ad, history and immunization record. Everything is in order to go to the American consulate tomorrow and magically turn her into an American citizen! We are excited that we can start packing to return home. Rob did buy a new leather carryon bag which he plans to keep for future business trips. It's very nice and he clearly loves it - I love that he got it for 30% off an already low price! We will stuff it full of all the souvenirs for the trip home since Hannah is allowed a carryon too! It was wonderful to speak to Riley this morning and hear all about her first day at school! She said it was boring but she was excited to name all of her friends that are now in her class. I can't wait to walk her to school on Monday!! Hard to believe that in less than 48 hours, we will be in the air headed to Newark Airport!! I've never been so happy to be going to New Jersey! We're posting pictures of the travel group(sorry dads, somebody had to take the photos) and also the eagerly anticipated "Red Couch" picture which went surprisingly well thanks to Charmaine's genius idea of handing each baby a piece of cracker just before all the moms walked away. Hannah proceeded to feed everyone and only Claire cried. The girls names are (left to right) Jaiden, Lily, Isabella, Hannah, Kimberly and Claire. Hannah is the eldest at 19 months and there is some debate as to who's really the youngest - Isabella or Claire. Remember - these birthdays are assigned based on doctor guesses. They are all beautiful. Well, I will try to blog one more time before we get on the plane - probably from Hong Kong. Say a prayer we can fit everything into our luggage - we bought a lot more than we planned to. Bye Bye White Swan!

Lost in China

2007-09-05T03:57:00.000-07:00

We finally got some relief from the intense humidity today and the timing was perfect because we planned to take the day off from the scheduled trip to the "mall" and walk around Guangzhou which is exactly what we did. I was proud of the fact that we just set out map in hand and found the intended destination - Hualin Temple. It turned out to be the birthplace of Chinese Zen Buddhism and was, in fact, very peaceful and beautiful despite its proximity to one of the busiest marketplaces for jade and spices in the city. We saw "the 500 ahtars" - all gold statues filling an enormous hall and buddhas that many Chinese were burning incense for and praying. Really interesting and the incense smelled wonderful. Hannah loves strolling so even after she woke from a short nap, we were able to explore other small labyrinthine paths in the city. We had a great time and will tell our tour guide none of it. He would probably be upset with us for venturing so far from the hotel without an escort. We did receive a lot of stares being the only white people around pushing a Chinese baby in a stroller but we'd better get used to that as I'm sure the same thing will happen to us in small town America. It was a thrill to explore the city's neighborhoods and I'm glad that we got a feel for "real China" as opposed to the tourist version that exists here on Shamian Island. Hannah continues to be a peach and hates going down for her nap, but she wouldn't be a Bissinger girl if she didn't. Right Riley? We're gearing up for a very big day tomorrow. We have a travel meeting (HOORAY!!), a group picture and the taking of the famed "red couch picture"(a tradition in the adoption community of taking a picture of all the babies in your travel group in traditional Chinese clothing on the red couch in the White Swan Hotel) , and finally, a cruise on the Pearl River with dinner included to celebrate the end of our trip! Very exciting. On our minds the most, though, is Riley's first day of 1st grade!!! We miss you so very much Riley and hope you have a fantastic first day!! We love you and will see you in only 3 more days!!!

Tuesday 's medical exam and some dubious English

2007-09-04T05:48:00.000-07:00

She's a healthy, happy girl! No official word on the results of this morning's exam so I'm going to go with no news is good news. She had a pretty rudimentary check up including a squeaky frog to check her hearing. They of course did height, weight, head circumference and checked the ears, throat and lungs. That was about it. Hannah was crabby throughout but then, who really enjoys going to the doctor? She fared much better during the last of our souvenir shopping today (she really likes that stroller!). Rob got everyone's comments on the blog printed out in the business center of the hotel! So great to finally read everyone's reactions as we've been able to post on our blog but haven't been able to see it. Very strange but we hear it looks great! Thanks for all of your wonderful comments and wishes - we can't wait for you to meet this new baby of ours who is already so loved! The rest of the day we spent hanging out and playing in the room and at the pool. We finally ordered takeout from a place called Danny's Bagels and Hannah loved her first bagel as well as the bites she nabbed from my chicken parm sub! Pretty great bagels in China - who'da thought? We're posting a picture of an elementary school class that passed us on our way back from the medical exam. Interesting t-shirt for a school teacher, huh? The picture also gives you some idea of how close the traffic likes to get to the pedestrians (which in this case happen to be tiny children). Oddly enough, you hardly ever see people writhing in agony on the side of the road from hit and runs. Hannah continues to be in constant motion and is getting extremely vocal. I wonder if the babbling is in Chinese that I don't know but I am glad that she's making conversation at least. She let me hold her hand while walking for the first time today! Big deal for me because she finally trusts me enough to depend on me for something. We were at the pool and we spent a LONG time just walking to the water, dipping our feet in, then walking away, and repeat ad nauseum. Fine with me. She really LOVES the water too! Big fit when we had to leave. Well, we're off to dinner at Lucy's. Enjoy the pix!! 4 more days and we're home!!!

We begin our final week!

2007-09-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day everybody! Today on the tour bus, Christmas carols were playing, so perhaps that was our guides' attempt to spread some American holiday cheer. I'll recap yesterday and today's events. Yesterday was fairly low key. Hannah continued to explore the hotel room and get into as much mischief as she could in our tiny space and Rob, God bless him, went to our guide De's room to do more paperwork. (It never ends!!!) All he can say is packing the White-out was the right call because I don't know if we've mentioned it, but our guides here in Guangzhou barely speak English and the translator is difficult to understand as well. Always fun when you're dealing with official paperwork in a communist country and you want to make sure you're getting it right. We also had to, without advance warning, scoop up Hannah, bring her across the street from the hotel and have her passport photos taken which should come out just great as I had zero time to clean her up and she had a boogie crusted nose and drool all over her onesie. Should be a lovely picture. I guess as long as it gets her to America, we'll go with the flow. Hannah took a much needed 3 hour nap and then we set out to order both our girls their "chops", which are personalized Chinese rubber stamps that come with ink and their Chinese zodiac animal carved on top. (Riley's a snake and Hannah's a rooster) The stamps have their names in both Western and Chinese characters - very cool. A nice man named "Michael" made them in 24 hours for us and did a great job. We ate out at a Thai restaurant last night called "Cow and Bridge" and loved it. Hannah especially enjoyed her chicken congee and iced coconut milk! Rob had the best Pa'tay of his life (and I quote). Today, we went to the Guangdong Folk Art Museum inside the Chen Clan Academy in Guangzhou. Great stuff!! It was built in the late 19th century (I don't think we're going to see anything truly ancient on this trip - next time, I guess) and it houses some really beautiful and extraordinary artwork. Rob and I were so happy to be able to see some art while we're here. After the museum, we went into the city for a bit of shopping and just picked up some baby books in English/Chinese, a CD of Guangdong style music which our guide really wanted us to get and some dipes and wipes. There's another big shopping excursion planned for Wednesday, but I think we're going to pass and rest up for the end of the week which will be jam packed with American consulate activities and celebratory river cruising!(I kid you not - we are heading out onto the Pearl River for a party on Thursday night!!!) We are posting a picture of the lobby of the White Swan Hotel to give you an idea of the swank accomodations. This place would be so relaxing if we weren't taking care of a baby! Practically everyone here is in the same boat as us, though, so it's a pretty strange scene at the breakfast buffet in the morning. Ripe material for a play, Rob thinks. Tomorrow, Hannah has her medical exam at the local hospital - let's hope she is as healthy as she seems. It's been such a blast getting to know her this past week. She is so much fun and very smart - she has already picked up the word "up"(hmm...wonder why...?) and calls me "Mama" and Rob "Rah" or "Bah" but we're working on the "Dada". She LOVES to play silly games and is extremely physical. We are soaking up the snuggly hugs and the way she just throws herself at us with a big smile on her face. I think we both expected to love her like crazy but never thought that she'd be loving us right back so soon. It's indescribable, the joy. We are so lucky to have her in our lives - she's amazing. And let's not forget that we have "double happiness" because of our amazing gal Riley who is due for a riddle. Here goes: When you say hello in Chinese, which part of your body does the first word sound like?

Pictures from Saturday

2007-09-01T23:31:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from Saturday's sightseeing trip and dinner at the Victory Hotel. It is a lovely Sunday here in China which we're spending mostly doing paperwork and laundry. More later....

A visit to Guangdong and a dip in the pool

2007-08-31T06:25:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-30T04:02:00.000-07:00

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!!

2007-08-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2007-08-27T04:58:00.000-07:00

(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

2007-08-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

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!)

2007-08-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-08-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2007-08-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

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....

2007-08-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-08-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

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!!

2007-08-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-08-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2007-08-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-08-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

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.

Departure Date!!!!!!

2007-07-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally know when we're leaving - August 23rd!!! 3 more weeks and Rob and I get to meet Miss Hannah! Strangely, we don't have a return date yet, but everything about our agency seems pretty strange. They tell us that we'll know the return date soon - let's hope that means days and not weeks! I did a giant shop at Target today - most of our travel stuff - it was pretty overwhelming. Lots of disposable bibs, placemats, wipes, baby food, etc. for Hannah and lots of meds, protein bars, thermoses, backpacks, etc. for us. My Mom and Dad came over yesterday with Riley's crib and we put that together, so now the girls' room really looks like the girls' room! I'll have to post a picture. I'm so excited that this is all finally happening and thank the Lord that tomorrow is August 1!!! We made it through the longest June and July of my life. We also received Hannah's "finding ad" which is a picture and short description of a found child in China. It is part of the legal process there mainly in order to give the birth parents a chance to reclaim their child. Hannah's ad came out in a local Donguan paper called the "Southern Farmer's Daily" on November 30,2006. She was just as chubby cheeked and adorable as in her referral pictures and maintains her very solemn expression. A very smart businessman in Utah tracks down these ads for you and translates them as well. It's an important part of her history and I'm glad that we have it. Well, on to waiting to hear about when Miss Riley gets to meet her sister....

Pix from the baby shower!

2007-07-29T14:07:00.001-07:00

Happy Half Birthday Hannah!!!

2007-07-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

Little Hannah En Ming is 18 months old today! We were kinda hoping that we'd be in China to celebrate with her but I suppose we will have to wait. Still no word on the travel dates. I'm starting to build up a level of anxiety similar to what I felt right before the referral came, which is not good. What's particularly frustrating is to see that most of the families that got their referral when we did are traveling to China this week! I really must stop reading the Rumor Queen website. Too depressing. Riley and I are having a fun summer week - we went to the NY Hall of Science, Stony Kill Farm, the lake, the pool(it's finally open!!!) and are hitting the waterpark today. Rob's play in Cape Cod opens tonight - Break a leg, honey! Happy 1/2 Birthday Hannah!!

TA has arrived!!!

2007-07-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

Our travel approval has finally been received by our agency, so we have jumped the final paperwork hurdle in getting to China to get Hannah!! Hurray! Now our agency can make a consulate appointment and book our travel and hotel. We should know very soon what our exact travel dates are - Hallelujah! Interestingly, Riley and I were hiking today and a ladybug landed on her arm at about the same time that we got the email from the agency. Cool,huh? (Many folks in the China adoption community believe that a ladybug sighting is very significant in terms of baby news). I will post again when I have the dates. It's a happy day!

Holy Cow! A Baby Shower?!?!?!

2007-07-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

OK, I have never been more surprised in my life! On Friday night, July 20th, I popped over my friend Becky's house with my other pal Lisa just to hang out, gossip and watch a movie. Turns out, I'd been had! A slew of fantastic friends and family were lying in wait to shower me with presents!! As soon as Rob gets back from his job at the Cape, I will post pictures that prove I had no idea because I'm not wearing any makeup whatsoever! Hannah is more eagerly anticipated than even I thought - what amazing, thoughtful gifts! I am still so overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends and family. Our life is truly blessed. I am also impressed by the acting abilities of my parents, Lisa, Kara, Michelle H. and Camille. (Rob's always been a good actor, so he gets no kudos). I talked with all of them in the 24 hours leading up to the shower and no one let on even a little bit. Well done! Now I'd really better start packing - I've got some great stuff to put in the luggage. Still no definite word on the travel dates yet. Rob is going to London in a couple of weeks and will need the passport that our agency has to obtain our Chinese visas, but with any luck, we'll have that all sorted out by then. I keep telling myself only 4 more weeks(I hope) and we'll finally be on the plane to Guangzhou and Hannah En Ming! Thanks everybody for the love, gifts and prayers - you are incredible!

More info on Hannah!

2007-07-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

Happy to report that the translated medical report finally arrived and our little cutie is healthy and well! We were surprised to read that she was a preemie - clearly she has caught up in her weight gain. She got her 1st tooth at 10 months and had 4 teeth at her 1st birthday. She also could stand with support by 11 months. Hannah is active, loves to smile, and enjoys crawling and walking around in a "baby car"(walker). She gets up at 6 AM(ah,yes,of course), naps from 12-2 and bedtime is at 10PM! She clearly does not need as much sleep as Riley did. She eats 4 meals a day and apparently loves milk. It's all great news. Now I really cannot wait to go meet her! Still no news on our travel dates and I was a bit depressed to read on the Rumour Queen site of someone with our log-in date traveling on Wednesday! Why can't it be us? Picked the wrong agency, I guess. Well, Riley and I are off to play on this hot summer day. Oh- camping was a blast and we are all covered in mosquito bites but happy.

Still Waiting....

2007-07-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to pass along the news that we are delayed for travel because of some paperwork that was improperly filled out by some other couples in our travel group. Very frustrating particularly when you realize that the agency didn't catch it before sending it to China. So, rather than leaving at the beginning of August as we'd hoped, they are now telling us to prepare for the week of August 20-25. AAAAHHHH! I'm getting a little impatient here. In better news, the Rumour Queen reports that TA's(travel approvals) are beginning to arrive at some agencies, so perhaps we will at least get some definite dates very soon. Meanwhile, the Bissinger family spent the weekend unearthing and cleaning toys, clothes and shoes for Hannah. We are rapidly realizing what a tiny space we live in and she's not even here yet! I predict, by the way, that Hannah will wear a different outfit every day of her life from 19 months- 36 months. I am not joking - please do not even think about buying this kid any more clothes- the hand-me-down situation is in full effect! (That last comment is primarily aimed at my Mom:)) We also found out, after some research, that the orphanage workers are actually speaking Mandarin, so the 5 lessons we've had in Cantonese were, although interesting, pretty much a waste of time. Live and learn. If I ever need to ask someone if they understand English in Cantonese, I'll be ready. Rob is rapidly becoming a hot ticket to hire in NY. He has landed 3 design jobs all in the past month - a musical at Paper Mill Playhouse in NJ, a play in Cape Cod and a first national tour of "ChittyChitty BangBang"! I'm so proud of him - it's about time! I hope everyone has a happy 4th'o' July and I'll post again when we're back from our camping trip this weekend.

17 months old today!

2007-06-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

Happy 17 month old birthday, Hannah En Ming! With any luck, we'll be seeing you right after you are 18 months old! Well, the past week has gone pretty quickly. Riley finished kindergarten and exited her school proudly carrying her "Perfect Attendance" certificate high over her head! We are very lucky to have such a healthy and determined child. She found out that her 1st grade teacher will be Mrs. Conley and her report card was stellar. We're extremely proud. Riley also had her big ballet recital at the Paramount Theatre in Middletown and did a great job as a "Broadway Baby". Yesterday, Riley and I headed to the Build-a-Bear Workshop to make a brand new stuffed animal for Hannah. Riley chose a purple and blue hippo which she named Ming Ming. She also generously purchased matching fairy outfits for her own "I love you" bear and Hannah's hippo. Very cute. Today we spent the 97 degree day swimming at the lake with friends, which was the right call! Rob is busily working on "Spiderman", "Meet Me in St. Louis" and a play in Massachusetts all at the same time. So, business as usual for him. I am loving the fact that Riley have little to no obligations right now and am simply trying to go with the flow. So far, so good. I do, of course, have that tiny bit of anxiety about my baby waiting for me in China always in my subconscious, though, so I think I won't truly be at peace until I've got her. I shall post again when we finally get Hannah's translated referral.

Pictures of Hannah's orphanage

2007-06-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

Hi! My very dear friend Lisa has done some wonderful investigative internet work and found a site that has some good pictures of the Dongguan CWI. So, if you're interested, you can go there and see where our Hannah is right now. The site is a few years old but you do get a sense of the place from the pictures. Go to www.myadoptionwebsite.com/ourkaty and click the bottom yellow bar, then "trip to China", then "September 16" and all the pictures will come up. No word yet on travel approval but we don't expect to hear until July. Riley and I did some shopping for Hannah En Ming at BabyGap yesterday before her piano lesson and got the cutest swimsuit, dress and a pink onesie with "Unforgettable" printed on it (too perfect - Ming means unforgettable!) Riley was intrigued by the concept of onesies. The bedroom is coming along - furniture is moving, clothes are being set aside in the 12-24 mos size range and the booster seat is already in place at the kitchen table. Very exciting. I probably won't be able to post again until next week because of Riley's big ballet recitals this weekend and the dress rehearsals leading up to them, so Happy Start of Summer and here's hoping the next 6 weeks fly by!!!

Hannah in full color

2007-06-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!!!! Here are the full color amazing photos of adorable Hannah En Ming! We enjoyed a wonderful Dad's Day showing off our new baby girl's pix at church and at Katie's cousin's BBQ. It's so fantastic to see how excited everyone is about the new member of the family! Still no word on travel dates but this week we tackle the "making room for the baby" project in Riley's room. Should be very interesting. So far, Riles has been very accommodating. She even took her beloved racecar track apart yesterday so there will be space for the crib. What a good sister. Well, we'll write more soon. Enjoy the cutie.

What a week!

2007-06-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I think the Bissingers have finally come down(somewhat) off our collective "Hannah high"! What a crazy emotional week since we got the big news!! Rob promised to scan the color photos of Miss Hannah En Ming at work today so that we can post then here. He has been extremely busy with "Pirates!" opening at Paper Mill Playhouse and continued work on "Spiderman". It's looking good that he will be free to travel in August, though, which is fantastic. Katie is wrapping up all her dance classes following a great couple of recitals and looking forward to only working weekends at Cathryn's for a while. Riley has checked off recitals for piano, tap, and musical theatre. She has her gymnastics show on Saturday and her ballet recitals next weekend. All this and she just lost her first tooth! The Tooth Fairy was very generous with an Abe Lincoln bill. Rob and I seem to recall only getting a quarter but I guess inflation is at play. We are now hoping for an August 1 departure date for China which would give us only 48 more days to wait. 7 weeks to prepare for a toddler in the house - I can absolutely manage that! I have to admit that I have already ordered dipes & wipes, bought some cute clothes at Target and pulled out the Riley hand-me-downs from storage to go through. It's hard to hold back now. I also found some pictures of Hannah's CWI(orphanage) on the internet. I'll try to post those with her color pix.

WE ACCEPT!

2007-06-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we went to our travel meeting on Saturday and met one of our facilitators in China - Grace Chang- and also many of the couples that we'll be traveling with to China. It was a chaotic, emotional, highly charged meeting to say the least but clearly everyone was in a joyous daze. It was so exciting to see everyone else's baby pix and the ages ranged from 7 months to 2 1/2 years! We were surprised to find out that our travel group received referrals from 3 different provinces! So we are all going to fly to Hong Kong together in August(hopefully the first week) and then split up into 3 groups to go claim our babies!! Our province, Guangdong, has 3 or4 other couples traveling together - Amazingly, another couple's referral picture showed their daughter Lily wearing the exact same outfit as our Hannah! Clearly they are friends who share each other's clothes. :) We did hear ominous news that Guangdong may be soon requiring adoptive parents to stay in country for 3 weeks instead of 2. This would be particularly sad for Riley who is going to be very eager to meet her new sister and probably will not want to wait an extra week. Hopefully, this will not transpire. The best news of the whole meeting for us (besides getting Hannah's photos in full color - will post soon) was finding out that we are going to be staying at the "White Swan" hotel in Guangzhou for all but one night that we are in China! This is great because it is usually the "4 star treat" that adoptive parents get at the end of their trip to China but since our Miss Hannah En Ming lives in Guandong, we get to be there the whole time!! She's bringing us good luck already!! Grace Chang also informed us that Hannah's favorite toy is a jingle bell, she enjoys walking around in walkers, and LOVES TO EAT!!! She is most certainly not a picky eater as her favorite foods are chopped meat,rice, eggs, chicken,vegetables and fruit. Is there anything left? Grace told us to stock the fridge before she gets home! We're thrilled. She is so perfect! I am still walking around on air and can't really focus on anything but Hannah and China. Rob and I made a first attempt at learning Cantonese and we are pitiful but to be fair it's REALLY hard. We plan to learn "I can't understand you" and probably use that more often than not. Well, about 7 more weeks and we'll be on a plane. Unreal and so exciting! Please pray that our "travel approvals" come through quickly. We are psyched!!

More details

2007-06-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

I did some research on the Chinese characters of Hannah's name and discovered that En Ming(that's her middle and first name respectively) means unforgettable kindness. How completely perfect! So, we're thinking that her name will be Hannah En Ming Bissinger. I am still on cloud 9 today. Rob is at a Father's Day Tea at Riley's kindergarten and I can't stop staring at Hannah's pictures. We are all blown away by how amazing life can be. We are off to Pennsylvania tomorrow to our agency for a travel meeting. We will meet the 20 other couples that we'll be traveling with to China. Just a tip - don't book any flights from Guangzhou to Newark any time in August. 20 babies on their first plane trip - makes you want to run right out and adopt, doesn't it? :)

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

2007-06-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

Introducing the newest member of the Bissinger family - Hannah!!!

Her Chinese name is Guan En Ming, her birthday is January 26th,2006, so she is a little over 16 months old and she is currently at the Dongguan Children's Welfare Institute(an orphanage) in Guangdong Province. We hope to go get her in late July/early August and bring her home to Cold Spring! We waited 19 months to the day from our log in date in China and wow is she worth it!!! We are in love!!!! Enjoy the adorable photos!

Any minute now....

2007-06-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! I can't believe I actually created our own blog. See what you can do when you're forced to sit at a computer anxiously waiting for an email from your adoption agency? That's right - we got "THE CALL" yesterday at 12:45 PM letting us know that we received a referral!!! Trouble is we haven't seen any specific info about our new baby yet and I am LOSING MY MIND!!! Rob is insanely happy and I feel like I just gave birth and the nurses ran out of the room with my child before I could see him/her!!! I don't think that I have ever been this anxious in my life. I thought callbacks for Broadway shows were stressful - I was wrong. I've created this blog so we can get all the info out to all our family and friends quickly. Cross your fingers that it happens today. The email should arrive today and the Fedex package with all of the baby's info should arrive tomorrow. I'm so excited that we will finally be a family of four!!!

Katie