Here's Some Pictures

Before we left Xining, we got a picture with our coordinator.  He was so nice and helpful during our stay there.

Our hotel in Nanning... Jade helped take pictures with her camera phone :)

At Pizza Hut with our coordinator in Nanning.  It's a ten minute walk from our hotel!!

Arrival in Nanning

Yesterday we left Xining and came to Nanning.   We were by ourselves in Xi'An airport.  When we landed we had to claim our bags then go and recheck them.  That was fun trying to figure out where we needed to go but we made it.  The amazing and unexpected thing was that Jade loves to fly.  During take-offs and landings she would put her arms in the air and yell "YEAH!!!" She did great even though she only had a 20 minute nap.

Today has been fun in Nanning.  It's been rainy, but warm with plenty of air to breathe.  We went and got more passport pictures, ate at Pizza Hut and went shopping at Wal-Mart.  It sounds like a normal outing, but it was anything but.  Our hotel is in the old part of Nanning but it is very pretty and busy.  We are in the heart of a business district and close to many shops and restaurants.  It is nice to be able to get out and walk.

Our hotel room is very nice, but only has one bed.  The floor is as soft as the bed (maybe even softer) so we can have the boys on the floor.  We have a two room suite.  They basically took two rooms that have a connecting door and made it into a suite.  We have a closed in patio that is on the outside of two walls.

Tomorrow we will meet Abram.  He is going to be brought to our hotel room in the afternoon. We are so excited.  Our coordinator is great.  He is like us in that he uses lists for everything.

Adventures in Parenting

Yesterday was a hard but good day for Jade.  We were scheduled to visit the orphanage and meet the foster family.  After breakfast we came back to the hotel room and she got a nose bleed.  It was pretty bad and when she saw the blood she freaked out.  It took me awhile to calm her down.  We decided that the best thing to do was for us girls to stay in the room while Steve and Elias went to the orphanage and meet the foster family.  Seeing all the kids that were SN really upset Elias, but we were able to talk to him and help him understand.
Jade's foster mom really wanted to see her.  We knew that this was going to be difficult but we allowed it.  We met in the hotel lobby.  When Jade first saw her she was mad then she went to her.  After about 10 minutes it was time for her to leave.  The foster mother handed Jade to me and Jade started crying.  I brought her up to the  room and was unable to calm her down.  When Steve got to the room I put her on the floor. Steve was in the other room and she walked up to him and gave him a hug and cried.  She sat on the floor and Steve sat down next to her.  He was mirroring her moves.  Until now she would not let him hold her or take care of her.  She climbed into his lap and for the first time calmed down.
From then on they have had a connection.  She has now designated him her bathroom buddy.  Ever time she needs to use the bathroom she grabs his hand.  She is also playing with him a lot.  Last night she saw Elias give me a kiss good night so she grabbed me and gave me a kiss.  Then she saw Papa and called him over and gave him a kiss.   At 2 O'clock this morning she climbed into our bed and said Papa and cuddled up with Steve.  I think that she now officially has Steve wrapped around her finger.

She has slowly started coming back to me.  It is great that Steve and her got to bond.  It was hard that she was pushing me away but we were able to reconnect.
Today we will get Jade's passport and some other paperwork, and tomorrow we leave XiNing and head to Nanning.

"MeiMei Jade"

Yesterday was a very productive day.  We stayed in the hotel all day and just bonded with Jade.  She was responding to her name our to us.  She did respond to "GeGe" (big brother) when talking to Elias.  So we started calling each other by the Chinese word then our name: "PaPa-Daddy," "MaMa-Mommy," "GeGe-Elias" and MeiMei-Jade.  MeiMei means little sister.  This seemed to make sense to her.  She spent a lot of time processing it yesterday, but she also started responding when we called her MeiMei Jade which is more than we got from calling her CaiYi.  In the morning, Steve had gathered up shoes and placed them by the door.  Since Jade's were in the closet and out of the way, he left them there.  Not long after, we noticed her go get her shoes and put them next to Elias's.  We were very encouraged by this.  She's allowing me to comfort her more and more.  The first day she seemed to only be comforted by food.

Today we are preparing to visit the orphanage and the foster family.  We want to do this, but are concerned about how it will affect Jade.  But it will be nice to meet them and get to know them.

The more and more we are with Jade the more we see her progress.  She loves to help.  She is also starting to understand what we are telling her.  We use hand gestures while we talk and this helps her.  I told her PaPa Daddy went to get food.  I pointed to the door and then to my mouth.  When she heard the door unlock she jumped up yelled "DaDa" and went into the bathroom to get her bowl.  While we were getting things ready, I said "GuGu Elias's bowl" and she got his bowl and brought it to me.

We can not wait to get home and get her to the doctor.  The more we watch her, the more we wonder if she has some equilibrium problem.  It seems as if she walks like the world is moving.  The only time she watches TV is when I am cradling her.  This would explain a lot.

Family Day for Jade Cai Yi

So after 13 long months we finally got to hold our baby girl. 

We are so happy to finally have her and we are excited to get her home and start working with her.  We were told that she only had mild delays.  Now that we have spent some time with her, we think that she has some more complicated delays.  This was hard to deal with at first.  We were just not mentally prepared for this.  Some of it could be the highly stressful situation we've all been thrown into (Us in China, her away from the home she grew up in).  We have been with her for almost 24 hours and she is still asking for her foster mother but she is slowly letting me comfort her.
She loves to smile and is a happy girl most of the time.  She has no idea what is going on and is scared.  She is our daughter and we love her so much.  She has the cutest faces that she makes and has such a sweet personality.  She loves her brother Elias and follows him around a lot.
We know that this is not going to be easy but we will make it.

Arrival in Xining

We arrived in Xining (pronounced: "Shee-Ning') yesterday morning.  It is a beautiful city high up in the mountains of Qinghai ("Ching-Hi') Province.  On the way to the hotel, our coordinator told us some history of the area and we saw a lot of the city.  We were told that in the winter there is about 20% less O2 than what we are use to.  We can tell.  They also burn a lot coal for heat and you can smell it.  We are doing okay.  I think we will be glad when we can get closer to sea level.  I find that I get tired doing simple things and have to take deep breathes.  I am also having very bad headaches.  This is all normal for altitude sickness.  We are 7400 ft above sea level plus the 8th floor of the hotel.  Steve and Elias are doing pretty good.  I think they can feel a difference, but they are not having the problems I am having.

We have also learned the true meaning of culture shock.  It is very hard to communicate with people here.  At dinner last night we met a college student who was just starting to learn English.  She talked to us a lot, but it was very hard for both of us.  She was very sweet.  She is leaving tomorrow to go home so we may not see her again.  We also noticed that there are not many westerners that travel to this province.  We are in the nicest hotels in the city and no one speaks good English.  In Beijing and Taipei there were many people we could talk to.  

We are loving the experience though.  Sometimes going outside your comfort zone is a good thing.  We are so glad that Elias has been able to be with us for this.  This is going to be something that he is going to be able to share with Jade and Abram.  A kind of bonding for them.

In a few hours we get to go and pick up Jade.  Our 13 month paperwork journey is almost done and our life time family journey with her will begin.  Tomorrow we get to tour the orphanage and meet her foster family.  We are so excited for that.  We will try and post pictures and let you know how the family day went tonight if we have time.

Thanks for all the prayer.

Fun In Beijing

Today has been a fun day.  Well maybe not so much for Elias.  We went to the Great Wall today.   It was bitter cold and none of the vendors know the word "no" but it was a sight to see.  On the way there we saw a traditional ceremony.  Our taxi driver pulled to the side of the road so we could watch it.  We did not stay for long but we could if we wanted to.  He even tried to pull over on the way back, but we felt bad and did not want to take advantage of his kindness.
We also made it to the Harley Davidson store.  There were not many items that had Chinese writing on them. After we checked out, the sells lady gave us about 6 key chains for free.  We are tired and have an early flight in the morning.  I think it is time to relax and watch some TV we cannot understand.