Friday, November 30, 2007
Milk
Casey loves milk. Regular milk, formula, soy milk, vanilla soy milk, soy milk formula. She doesn't care, she'll take any of it. And don't be slow in getting it to her or get between her and her milk. So a few days ago I taught her the sign for milk (I put my hand around hers to show her how to do it) and by now I'm pretty confident in saying that she gets it. She squeezes her little hand like she's milking a cow and we fall all over ourselves scrambling to get some kind of milk into a sippy cup.
Not a morning person
Casey is not a morning person. We spent the morning eating breakfast, trying to nap, and nose-wiping (which leads to crying). We were going to go to Gymboree music class at 10 but it just didn't happen.
We got in the car to go to meet Catherine for lunch at Cafe Borrone's (my favorite place) and she fell asleep in less than 60 seconds. I sat in the parking garage as long as I could so that she could at least get a 45 minute nap in. Then I saw my favorite sandwich on the menu. Things were looking up. Casey had a good time playing with Catherine and staring at other customers trying to get them to look at her, looking at the fountain (she threw her toy in, which I should have seen coming), and inadvertently feeding Cheerios to the pigeons. And she liked the chicken panini! That's my girl.
Then we went to the park to meet Max for a walk. Casey got to see the sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens, rabbits, and geese. The geese were honking angrily at us and she wasn't even scared. Max and I were!
Went home for a quick bite and went next door to play with Arjan (4). He put up a tent in the living room, which she loved, and she got to play the organ and ride on a rocking horse. She was very proud of herself. It was fun to watch her checking out all the toys, and she got a big bag of toys to bring home.
Now she's running around with dada, squealing and making all kinds of weird happy noises, and having a great time. So smiley. She definitely likes the night life.
We got in the car to go to meet Catherine for lunch at Cafe Borrone's (my favorite place) and she fell asleep in less than 60 seconds. I sat in the parking garage as long as I could so that she could at least get a 45 minute nap in. Then I saw my favorite sandwich on the menu. Things were looking up. Casey had a good time playing with Catherine and staring at other customers trying to get them to look at her, looking at the fountain (she threw her toy in, which I should have seen coming), and inadvertently feeding Cheerios to the pigeons. And she liked the chicken panini! That's my girl.
Then we went to the park to meet Max for a walk. Casey got to see the sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens, rabbits, and geese. The geese were honking angrily at us and she wasn't even scared. Max and I were!
Went home for a quick bite and went next door to play with Arjan (4). He put up a tent in the living room, which she loved, and she got to play the organ and ride on a rocking horse. She was very proud of herself. It was fun to watch her checking out all the toys, and she got a big bag of toys to bring home.
Now she's running around with dada, squealing and making all kinds of weird happy noises, and having a great time. So smiley. She definitely likes the night life.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
The Office
Today Eric took the day off so we could take Casey to an appointment at the International Adoption Clinic at Oakland Children's Hospital. Our appointment got rescheduled for next week but Eric took the day off anyway. For me it was like a second Thanksgiving. I went on my run, to Starbuck's, took a shower, AND washed my hair. What a day.
Then I took Casey to the office so I could turn in some forms so I could get adoption leave and get Casey on my health insurance. Of course we did the rounds and said hi to everyone. Since it was her second time there she felt pretty comfortable and went from office to office charming everyone and swiping things from their desks. She stole a picture of our HR woman's daughter, a troll and the troll's brush (she brushed her own hair with the brush), and other less interesting things. If we went to an undecorated office, she would start a game of peekaboo. She ran all over the place and made new friends and luckily didn't yell too much. Overall she had a fantastic time. Certainly more fun than I've ever had there. Maybe we'll go once a week! We'll see how it compares to Gymboree.
In the afternoon we picked up Eric and went to Jennifer's for a tea party. After eating a huge breakfast (a whole banana, oatmeal, babyfood, and milk) and a huge lunch (I can't remember what it was but it was big) she ate cake like we hadn't fed her all day.
Then I took Casey to the office so I could turn in some forms so I could get adoption leave and get Casey on my health insurance. Of course we did the rounds and said hi to everyone. Since it was her second time there she felt pretty comfortable and went from office to office charming everyone and swiping things from their desks. She stole a picture of our HR woman's daughter, a troll and the troll's brush (she brushed her own hair with the brush), and other less interesting things. If we went to an undecorated office, she would start a game of peekaboo. She ran all over the place and made new friends and luckily didn't yell too much. Overall she had a fantastic time. Certainly more fun than I've ever had there. Maybe we'll go once a week! We'll see how it compares to Gymboree.
In the afternoon we picked up Eric and went to Jennifer's for a tea party. After eating a huge breakfast (a whole banana, oatmeal, babyfood, and milk) and a huge lunch (I can't remember what it was but it was big) she ate cake like we hadn't fed her all day.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Triple nap day
Casey was in a great mood today. Maybe because of the triple nap. She's getting over a bit of a cold so we didn't go out much. She is the boogermeister, but not being able to breathe doesn't seem to slow her down. I have to take the sippy cup out of her mouth to make sure she breathes. She LOVES her milk and formula and can't get it into her mouth quickly enough.
Today we met Max at the park for a walk. She fell asleep for the first half and then was humming and singing to herself for the second half. It's so funny. We let her walk for the last stretch to make sure she gets her exercise. She LOVES Max. She was cracking herself up going from Max to me to Max to me. Thank goodness she likes the stroller. She's also getting the hang of the carseat.
On the way home we went to the store and the guy thought she was a boy. Maybe because of the scabs on her face and her haircut, but come on, she's wearing pink pants and a sweatshirt with a heart on it!
The scabs are almost gone. Yes, she fell in the driveway. Headed downhill in our steep driveway. She was fine with it but it was painful for us. But she's gone four days without hitting her head on anything so things are looking up. Even with the scabby face and the boogerfest in her nose, she still loves the mirror.
Today we met Max at the park for a walk. She fell asleep for the first half and then was humming and singing to herself for the second half. It's so funny. We let her walk for the last stretch to make sure she gets her exercise. She LOVES Max. She was cracking herself up going from Max to me to Max to me. Thank goodness she likes the stroller. She's also getting the hang of the carseat.
On the way home we went to the store and the guy thought she was a boy. Maybe because of the scabs on her face and her haircut, but come on, she's wearing pink pants and a sweatshirt with a heart on it!
The scabs are almost gone. Yes, she fell in the driveway. Headed downhill in our steep driveway. She was fine with it but it was painful for us. But she's gone four days without hitting her head on anything so things are looking up. Even with the scabby face and the boogerfest in her nose, she still loves the mirror.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Today
Today was a pretty good day. Casey and I went to the park with Jeanine, Lance, and Brynn to play on the swings and the slides. Casey was happy that she got to see Lance again. She is friendly to most people but she definitely has a thing for Lance. And he brought pumpkin bread that he made from a real pumpkin so I was impressed too.
Even though it was a good day, when 4:45 comes it's like being in the last mile of the marathon. The end is in sight and I need to be done. In the marathon at mile 25 I called Eric and said "bring Pepsi!" At 4:45 today I emailed him telling him that Casey was looking for him and asking about him. When I hear the garage door go up I start whispering loudly "DADA! DADA!" and we look out the window and watch him come up the steps and scream at the top of our lungs with excitement. Casey always looks a little surprised that I am screaming louder than she is but she likes it.
Even though it was a good day, when 4:45 comes it's like being in the last mile of the marathon. The end is in sight and I need to be done. In the marathon at mile 25 I called Eric and said "bring Pepsi!" At 4:45 today I emailed him telling him that Casey was looking for him and asking about him. When I hear the garage door go up I start whispering loudly "DADA! DADA!" and we look out the window and watch him come up the steps and scream at the top of our lungs with excitement. Casey always looks a little surprised that I am screaming louder than she is but she likes it.
Monday, November 26, 2007
When Casey lived in China
Here are some pictures of the play yard at the orphanage Casey lived in for her first 15 months. I love the picture of her in the car. When we got our referral we sent a care package and included a disposable camera and these are the pictures they took. You can see the outside looks pretty nice. A foundation called Raising Hope International (http://www.raisinghopeintl.org/) donated the playground equipment a few months ago. When we took Casey to the playground at the hotel, we could tell it was not her first time on the slide.
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There is a foundation called Love Without Boundaries that finds out what orphanages in China need, buys it for them, and makes sure it gets there. (They do other things too like providing surgery for kids with cleft lips and cleft palates.) Kate from Love Without Boundaries asked the director what they need and he said what they need most is cans of powdered formula ($10-12 each) and a generator ($2700-$4100). If they can get enough money they will buy the generator. We plan to donate tonight.
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Casey has everything she needs. If you want to help her friends who are still living there, you can go to
click on the Visa/MasterCard icon in the bottom left
click "other donation"
and in the notes section write "YangDong Orphanage assistance, in honor of Casey". Or if you prefer to donate to them in general you can just write "In honor of Casey."
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Or you can write a check and include the same note. Send it to
Love Without Boundaries
306 S Bryant, Suite C
PMB 145
Edmond, OK 73034
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Kate will let us know when a donation is made in Casey's honor. And it's tax deductible.
Registry
Some of you have been asking our parents what you can buy for Casey. She has so much stuff already -- toys, clothes, strollers, and backpack carriers passed down from her friends who are a few years older. There is no reason to buy new stuff when there is already so much baby stuff out there. She really has everything she needs.
If you want to buy her some books, we registered on Amazon.com for lots of books that are on her wish list (yes, she told us). You can go to Amazon.com, baby registry, and search for Eric Carlson. In the next post I'll give you a better option though. If you check the registry you might notice that she's also registered for a diaper champ. I had my "I told you so" post all planned out in my head for all the doubters who said she would not be potty trained. Well, I hate to say it but you were right.
In my defense, Veronica & Ted's and Susan & Steve's babies are potty trained. They are both nine months old. You put them on the toilet at the same times every day and say "sshhhh" to get them to pee. If you say "ba ba mmm" they will poop! It's true. Ted gave Cami a bath and took her out and had her on his lap in a towel. He told Veronica and Kyle to shhh and then realized what he'd done right before she peed in his lap. Susan had Ava on the changing table and asked her, "Do you need to shhh?" Susan said that's when she realized it's a command, not a question.
We asked the orphanage director if Casey was potty trained, just in case, and he said "No, she's just a baby!" Even without the translator we could tell he was questioning our ability to take care of a child. Not to mention our sanity.
If you want to buy her some books, we registered on Amazon.com for lots of books that are on her wish list (yes, she told us). You can go to Amazon.com, baby registry, and search for Eric Carlson. In the next post I'll give you a better option though. If you check the registry you might notice that she's also registered for a diaper champ. I had my "I told you so" post all planned out in my head for all the doubters who said she would not be potty trained. Well, I hate to say it but you were right.
In my defense, Veronica & Ted's and Susan & Steve's babies are potty trained. They are both nine months old. You put them on the toilet at the same times every day and say "sshhhh" to get them to pee. If you say "ba ba mmm" they will poop! It's true. Ted gave Cami a bath and took her out and had her on his lap in a towel. He told Veronica and Kyle to shhh and then realized what he'd done right before she peed in his lap. Susan had Ava on the changing table and asked her, "Do you need to shhh?" Susan said that's when she realized it's a command, not a question.
We asked the orphanage director if Casey was potty trained, just in case, and he said "No, she's just a baby!" Even without the translator we could tell he was questioning our ability to take care of a child. Not to mention our sanity.
Naps
She's napping! Yay! And not on me, so I can type with two hands.
She didn't nap at all yesterday. Jeanine and Brynn came over and we gave the farm another try. This time she didn't fall asleep and got to see all of the animals, except for the pigs who were mysteriously missing. She watched the chickens for a while. Eric made chicken noises while I explained that that's what we had for dinner last night that she liked so much. She said yayayaya. Casey and Brynn ran around leaving a trail of Cheerios wherever they went.
Then at 7pm we met Jennifer and Kathy (some of my running girls) and their families at a festival of lights parade. I thought maybe we were crazy to take her that late with no naps, and thought we were crazier to get her out of the car seat since she fell asleep on the 10 minute drive over, but she rallied and had a good time. She liked the bands, the floats, the lights, and all of the characters, but she mostly liked looking at the people in the crowd. She was pretty quiet but did a little bit of talking and a lot of clapping.
We went home and read a few books and she went right to sleep.
Eric is at work again today so we'll see how it goes. I think it should be easier than last week.
She didn't nap at all yesterday. Jeanine and Brynn came over and we gave the farm another try. This time she didn't fall asleep and got to see all of the animals, except for the pigs who were mysteriously missing. She watched the chickens for a while. Eric made chicken noises while I explained that that's what we had for dinner last night that she liked so much. She said yayayaya. Casey and Brynn ran around leaving a trail of Cheerios wherever they went.
Then at 7pm we met Jennifer and Kathy (some of my running girls) and their families at a festival of lights parade. I thought maybe we were crazy to take her that late with no naps, and thought we were crazier to get her out of the car seat since she fell asleep on the 10 minute drive over, but she rallied and had a good time. She liked the bands, the floats, the lights, and all of the characters, but she mostly liked looking at the people in the crowd. She was pretty quiet but did a little bit of talking and a lot of clapping.
We went home and read a few books and she went right to sleep.
Eric is at work again today so we'll see how it goes. I think it should be easier than last week.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Absolutely
There's no question it was my best birthday ever. First of all, I got to introduce Casey to Target, which was cool. Second, I got to assemble all kinds of things like changing tables, safety gates, a pack-and-play, and set up a humidifier. Finally I got my 1st birthday card that Casey "picked out." :) It was fun.
And then today, our friends TP and Al and their 3 kids came over and surprised me with an ice cream birthday cake. Casey *loved* the singing and clapping. And she *loved* watching the big kids play. It was very exciitng.
Yep - defintiely best birthday ever.
And then today, our friends TP and Al and their 3 kids came over and surprised me with an ice cream birthday cake. Casey *loved* the singing and clapping. And she *loved* watching the big kids play. It was very exciitng.
Yep - defintiely best birthday ever.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Best Birthday Ever?
To celebrate Eric's birthday we let him sleep in until 7am. Then we went to Target and Starbuck's. It was Casey's first trip to Target and she was very impressed with the people and the selection. Casey and I sent Eric off to the baby section while we picked out birthday cards. Then we went home and realized we forgot something so Eric got to go to Target twice on Black Friday.
It was a lazy day. Casey spent the whole day in her pajamas and we ate leftovers all day long. Our friend Kathy came over with her kids and Casey was happy she got to hang out with big kids (3 and 4). They taught her some new daredevil tricks she'd never considered before.
Then Eric spent the evening installing gates on the stairs.
It was a lazy day. Casey spent the whole day in her pajamas and we ate leftovers all day long. Our friend Kathy came over with her kids and Casey was happy she got to hang out with big kids (3 and 4). They taught her some new daredevil tricks she'd never considered before.
Then Eric spent the evening installing gates on the stairs.
The First Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Mainly because the focus is on food, and not just any food, but all of my favorites, with no focus on presents. We went over to Davina's and she and Tyler cooked up an amazing and healthy feast. Casey loved the food, especially the sweet potatoes, which I know had other secret ingredients like butternut squash and carrots. She devoured the leftovers today and when they were gone she just pointed at the empty bowl and cried. I knew how she felt.
We spent the day just hanging out with everyone, eating, talking, and watching football. Casey had a great time and was so busy she didn't even bother to play with any of her toys.
And to top it off, she went right to bed when we got home and slept all night.
We spent the day just hanging out with everyone, eating, talking, and watching football. Casey had a great time and was so busy she didn't even bother to play with any of her toys.
And to top it off, she went right to bed when we got home and slept all night.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Casey is 16 months old today
Today was much better. Either she was back to her funny self or maybe I wasn't seeing any humor yesterday when I was both tired and on my own. Or maybe she was happy to have daddy home. Eric took the day off and just took a few calls from home and 2 on 1 is a whole different game. We took her to our favorite park and walked a mile (she rode) to the farm to see the pigs and goats. Unfortunately she fell asleep right before we got there and then slept all the way back to the car. She enjoyed her first trip to Starbuck's and the bagel store though. The bagel store owners have been patiently awaiting her arrival and yelled "Hi Casey" when they saw us. There were lots of big kids in there and she planted herself right in their path so she could watch them. Gymboree is right next door so we checked that out too. I think we'll sign up for the regular gymboree class and the music class. The girl likes to make noise, maybe she can turn it into something. So far I think the symbols or drums would suit her. She was humming to herself in the stroller today. So cute.
We went to Whole Foods and picked up dinner from the "salad bar". It's not really a salad bar but more of a giant everykindoffoodintheworld bar, so I picked everything I liked that I thought she could eat. If she didn't like it, more for me. For some reason it was all orange, yellow, or white. She loved it all, except for the turkey. Luckily I bought something for myself too.
So everyone knew about the baby altimeter but me?? Anything else I should know about or are you all just going to wait until we figure it out for ourselves?
We went to Whole Foods and picked up dinner from the "salad bar". It's not really a salad bar but more of a giant everykindoffoodintheworld bar, so I picked everything I liked that I thought she could eat. If she didn't like it, more for me. For some reason it was all orange, yellow, or white. She loved it all, except for the turkey. Luckily I bought something for myself too.
So everyone knew about the baby altimeter but me?? Anything else I should know about or are you all just going to wait until we figure it out for ourselves?
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
I tired
If she starts screaming and crying, the only solution is to pick her up and stand up. Don't sit down or think about lying down. Don't even try putting one foot on a chair. She will know. This goes for all 24 hours of the day. I tried to sleep standing up from 5am to 6am. Go ahead moms and dads, laugh because it's not that early. But she went to bed at 1:30am. Then for some reason I woke her up at 9am to get her on California time. Someone please slap me. No wait, I'll slap myself.
We walked to the park today. She was pretty content on the stroller ride on the way there and most of the way back. Luckily I brought the Ergo carrier. She loved the swing.
I'm so tired. She cried a lot today. I almost called Eric to come home early but instead I emailed him to tell him to work a half day tomorrow.
I was trying to decide if it was even worth showering now that it's 7:40pm but I just killed a bug on my leg so that seals it. Maybe.
We walked to the park today. She was pretty content on the stroller ride on the way there and most of the way back. Luckily I brought the Ergo carrier. She loved the swing.
I'm so tired. She cried a lot today. I almost called Eric to come home early but instead I emailed him to tell him to work a half day tomorrow.
I was trying to decide if it was even worth showering now that it's 7:40pm but I just killed a bug on my leg so that seals it. Maybe.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
We're home!
We're finally home. It was a long flight. She was pretty good considering the circumstances but it wasn't easy on any of us. Every time she started to cry I panicked (what if she cries for the rest of the flight?) but her cries were short, thank goodness. We walked her around a lot and I didn't notice anyone glaring at us.
We brought her in the house and as you can see from the picture, she looked somewhat skeptical about the place until she saw a toy that has lots of balls and slides and music from her neighbor. She bounced a little while watching it but has been fairly subdued. We're all suffering from jetlag, mostly me, then Casey. Eric seems a little tired but not too bad.
We've been sleeping a lot. And unfortunately crying a lot. Mostly it's Casey crying but I almost joined her last night when she wouldn't sleep. I brought her upstairs to the couch and she eventually slept while I lay awake hoping she'd stay asleep.
It's just like when we first brought her to the hotel and she didn't want us to put her down on the ground or the bed. She only wanted to be held. I assume in a few days she'll feel more comfortable here and want to run around and check things out. I can't wait. Meanwhile it gives us a chance to unpack without putting everything out of her reach. It looks like we're going to have to do super duper Casey-proofing in the house. Eric already took care of most things before we left but there were a few things we thought we might not need.
We brought her in the house and as you can see from the picture, she looked somewhat skeptical about the place until she saw a toy that has lots of balls and slides and music from her neighbor. She bounced a little while watching it but has been fairly subdued. We're all suffering from jetlag, mostly me, then Casey. Eric seems a little tired but not too bad.
We've been sleeping a lot. And unfortunately crying a lot. Mostly it's Casey crying but I almost joined her last night when she wouldn't sleep. I brought her upstairs to the couch and she eventually slept while I lay awake hoping she'd stay asleep.
It's just like when we first brought her to the hotel and she didn't want us to put her down on the ground or the bed. She only wanted to be held. I assume in a few days she'll feel more comfortable here and want to run around and check things out. I can't wait. Meanwhile it gives us a chance to unpack without putting everything out of her reach. It looks like we're going to have to do super duper Casey-proofing in the house. Eric already took care of most things before we left but there were a few things we thought we might not need.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Going home! (Finally)
We're packing up and signing off. Wish us all luck on the flight home. Evidently it's a very full flight. I hope the 3rd person in our row really likes kids....
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Casey's favorite toy
We brought a bunch of toys, books, soft blankets, and small stuffed animals with us to China. Casey's favorite toy is the yellow pack of "Wet Ones" wipes. She likes to carry it everywhere. Luckily we brought a bunch. A few minutes ago she ran right up to a pile of our favorite board books and picked up the pack of Wet Ones and ran back to us. Sigh.
Eric bought me a pack of about 20 tissue packets yesterday with different colors and characters on them. We busted them all out of the pack and threw them on the bed with her and she couldn't believe her good fortune. She looked like she was on a game show being showered with $100 bills. We might get another batch for the plane!
Eric bought me a pack of about 20 tissue packets yesterday with different colors and characters on them. We busted them all out of the pack and threw them on the bed with her and she couldn't believe her good fortune. She looked like she was on a game show being showered with $100 bills. We might get another batch for the plane!
US Consulate
I forgot to mention that yesterday was our visa appointment at the consulate. Everyone there, maybe 60 families, got visas for their babies. We just had to show them her passport picture and her actual face. Unfortunately she was asleep at the time but she woke up for a few minutes to look at the woman behind the counter. We weren't allowed to bring in cameras.
Today at lunch we got her passport and all of the official documents we need so we can leave tomorrow! We can't wait to get home.
Casey will travel to the US on her Chinese passport and we'll go through the forein passport holders line, and once we're through she'll be a US citizen. Then she can get a US passport and keep the other as a souvenir. Right now she and Eric are practicing their chant for our arrival. USA! USA!
Today at lunch we got her passport and all of the official documents we need so we can leave tomorrow! We can't wait to get home.
Casey will travel to the US on her Chinese passport and we'll go through the forein passport holders line, and once we're through she'll be a US citizen. Then she can get a US passport and keep the other as a souvenir. Right now she and Eric are practicing their chant for our arrival. USA! USA!
Goodbye dinner
Tonight was our last dinner with the whole group. Most of the people leave tomorrow and we leave on Saturday. Tonight we had lots of not so great and very meaty food. Thank goodness for trail mix. It will be nice to go home and be able to order my own food again.
The goodbye dinner also included lots of rice wine and Jack Daniels and no food for kids. No, I'm not joking. I don't understand it. Then they gave some very thoughtful gifts to the girls, including a pearl necklace and a CD of Chinese stories (or music maybe) for kids.
We took a few group photos of all of the kids. Casey missed her afternoon nap too, because we didn't want to miss the aviary, but she did really well at the dinner and through the pictures. She alternated between crying and smiling in the pictures.
The goodbye dinner also included lots of rice wine and Jack Daniels and no food for kids. No, I'm not joking. I don't understand it. Then they gave some very thoughtful gifts to the girls, including a pearl necklace and a CD of Chinese stories (or music maybe) for kids.
We took a few group photos of all of the kids. Casey missed her afternoon nap too, because we didn't want to miss the aviary, but she did really well at the dinner and through the pictures. She alternated between crying and smiling in the pictures.
See the birdie?
Today we were supposed to go bowling. Bowling with babies? Bowling? Kyle was excited about it and we were a little curious to see what bowling in China is like so we agreed to go. Then we got downstairs and there weren't enough people who wanted to go bowling (surprise) so they cancelled. Our friends took off and went shopping, which was probably the one thing I wanted to do less than bowling, so Eric and Casey and I were just standing there trying to decide whether we had time and enough gear to go to the park, and one of our guides, Claire, asked if we wanted to take a tram to the top of White Cloud Mountain (I forget the Chinese name) to an aviary. Of course we said yes.
Casey liked the ride up in the tram and loved watching the birds. We put her in the backpack so she could have a better view. We must have said "See the birdie??" a million times. She was very curious and very interested. Claire bought some bird food and a bunch of birds came over and Casey was all smiles, even though we missed our morning nap (all three of us). Then a peacock came over and she started clapping. Then we saw a bird show where birds rode bikes and bowled (so we didn't totally miss out on bowling), but she was most impressed with the dancing birds. She was a big hit there because she waved and grinned at just about everyone she saw. It turned out to be a good day.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Flips and Giggles
OK - so we haven't been very good at winding Casey down before bed time. She loves her bath - in fact, she tries to climb into any bathtub she sees (dry or wet) because she loves to splash and sing in the bathtub.
This video clip is post-bath - she's in such a party mood, Jamie was having some fun with her. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPuVivWBVms
And as always, we are updating the Picasa Web Album Daily - enjoy the new picts.
Eric
ps - I have been rather shameless trying to get her to say "Dad", Dada", "Baba", or just plain "Da". I've used the advantage of Jamie being a bit under the weather and not being able to talk as much to steal the advantage on this front. Today she clearly looking at me and saying "Da"! Score!
This video clip is post-bath - she's in such a party mood, Jamie was having some fun with her. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPuVivWBVms
And as always, we are updating the Picasa Web Album Daily - enjoy the new picts.
Eric
ps - I have been rather shameless trying to get her to say "Dad", Dada", "Baba", or just plain "Da". I've used the advantage of Jamie being a bit under the weather and not being able to talk as much to steal the advantage on this front. Today she clearly looking at me and saying "Da"! Score!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Imitation
Casey woke up all smiles today. She was showing off all of her tricks -- putting her finger to her mouth and making the bababababa sound, blowing kisses, and sticking her tongue out from side to side going ldldldldldldl (that's her favorite). Then she put her hand over her mouth and fake coughed, I assume imitating what she's been seeing me do the past few days. Nice. Then she put her hands in the air and shook them like jazz hands. Must have learned that from daddy.
Right now she's admiring herself in the mirror. She is showing her best friend her rattle. Whenever she gets a new toy she swaggers over to show her mirror friend. Sometimes when she starts crying we bring her over and her cute friend calms her down. It usually works. Now she's heading over with her doggie book. Now she's coming to show me!
Right now she's admiring herself in the mirror. She is showing her best friend her rattle. Whenever she gets a new toy she swaggers over to show her mirror friend. Sometimes when she starts crying we bring her over and her cute friend calms her down. It usually works. Now she's heading over with her doggie book. Now she's coming to show me!
Party girl goes on a dinner cruise
Tonight we went on a dinner cruise down the Pearl River. Casey had a great time, dancing to the music, looking at the lights, and waving to people. She's a party girl. She also had a good time playing with Kyle. She already looks up to him and it's really cute. He invited her over to his house when we get home. On the way back to the bus from the boat ride we saw a man with a monkey on a leash. He also invited the monkey to come over to his house.
Father daughter day
Today was paperwork day. One person is designated to fill out the paperwork while the other person takes care of the baby. I did the paperwork because I've been taking the nighttime cold medicines during the day and didn't think I could handle watching the baby. Eric and Casey went with Veronica, Kyle, and Cami, and Susan and Ava to the fun park. They went paddle boating and Casey had her first blueberry muffin. Susan wondered if people thought Eric had 2 wives and 4 kids.
I think I filled out 5 forms and it took from 9-12! We went line by line and they told us what to put in each blank, and then one person checked it and another doublechecked it.
I think I filled out 5 forms and it took from 9-12! We went line by line and they told us what to put in each blank, and then one person checked it and another doublechecked it.
Doctor visit
Yesterday we went to get a checkup for Casey to make sure she's healthy and can enter the US. It was mass chaos in there, babies crying, people running around, parents trying to go to the three stations to get the babies signed off.
She got weighed and measured. She now weighs 19.5 pounds, which is less than what her referral said. I hope she didn't lose weight the first week she was with us! Maybe they exaggerated in the referral? We'll never know. But she's eating a lot now so we're trying to fatten her up.
She also got her ears checked. The doctor showed her a little toy and then snapped his fingers by her ear but she didn't respond because she was so focused on the toy. Then he started playing some music and she started singing "lalalalalalalala" and the doctor started laughing. She only cried when he put the thing in her ear to check it. She wasn't thrilled about the tongue depressor either but was pretty good about that too.
Then last night we skipped the group dinner and had a party in our room. We ordered food delivery again and Karen and Randy brought Ashley and Jeanine and Lance brought Brynn. It was a fun time. The girls played together pretty well.
She got weighed and measured. She now weighs 19.5 pounds, which is less than what her referral said. I hope she didn't lose weight the first week she was with us! Maybe they exaggerated in the referral? We'll never know. But she's eating a lot now so we're trying to fatten her up.
She also got her ears checked. The doctor showed her a little toy and then snapped his fingers by her ear but she didn't respond because she was so focused on the toy. Then he started playing some music and she started singing "lalalalalalalala" and the doctor started laughing. She only cried when he put the thing in her ear to check it. She wasn't thrilled about the tongue depressor either but was pretty good about that too.
Then last night we skipped the group dinner and had a party in our room. We ordered food delivery again and Karen and Randy brought Ashley and Jeanine and Lance brought Brynn. It was a fun time. The girls played together pretty well.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
New Web Album
OK - we've taken *many* more pictures than we've posted. Some folks might want to see more so I've tried to set up a Web Album via Picasa. There should be a link on the right-hand side bar that you can always click on. The address is:
http://picasaweb.google.com/edcarlso/ChinaFall2007
We haven't yet put captions on any of the pictures - hopefully we'll get to that at some point. (?)
Enjoy.
http://picasaweb.google.com/edcarlso/ChinaFall2007
We haven't yet put captions on any of the pictures - hopefully we'll get to that at some point. (?)
Enjoy.
Scary Tiger Face
The face that frightened Ted when he met her. This is her funny smile. No joke. Sometimes she'll even growl if you are lucky.
Visit to a Buddhist Temple
Yesterday we went to a Buddhist temple so they could bless the kids. It was beautiful but the incense was a little intense. I am coming down with a cold, or I should say I already have one, so that didn't help.
If you throw a coin into the hole in the statue (I don't know what it is) then you get good luck. Everyone was throwing coins at the hole, and we gave Casey one and you can see that Eric gave her a pretty good shot. And she has a pretty good throwing arm (righty and lefty) and rarely holds something that she doesn't throw. But she held on to that coin. I guess if she's going to hold onto something it's good that she chose money.
If you throw a coin into the hole in the statue (I don't know what it is) then you get good luck. Everyone was throwing coins at the hole, and we gave Casey one and you can see that Eric gave her a pretty good shot. And she has a pretty good throwing arm (righty and lefty) and rarely holds something that she doesn't throw. But she held on to that coin. I guess if she's going to hold onto something it's good that she chose money.
Then we went souvenir shopping again. I don't know what people are going to do with all that stuff! We did get a chop for Casey (the man carved a stamp for us with her Chinese name on it) that is pretty neat, see the picture above, and a couple of pictures that someone made using his fingers and ink. It's pretty impressive.
It's like 2am here. The girl wakes up crying so sad in the middle of the night. Now she and Eric are sleeping peacefully while I am wide awake and sick.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
We love the Garden Hotel!
Last night we went out for Japanese food in the hotel. It was a much different experience with kids. Jeanine and Brynn left first, then Casey and me, and I don't know what happened after that.
Yesterday was a huge day. She saw her friend Brynn eating oatmeal and then Lance just stuck some in Casey's mouth and she finished Brynn's lunch. Thanks Lance! Then we got back to the room and she ate eric's Ritz Bitz and then drank all of his drinkable yogurt out of the cup. We hadn't unpacked yet so there was no time to look for spoons. She's been eating and pooping like a fiend since. Last night she was crazy. She's hilarious. We're trying to get a picture of the tiger girl growl/smile. When she met Ted she flashed him one and he gasped and said "What's that!?"
She did a lot of running in the hall and a couple of judo rolls and just bounced right back. Impressive.
Sorry we haven't been posting. We can't get onto the blog. More later. Time for our next adventure.
Playground fun
This hotel has a small playground - it was a big hit. Casey is queen of the playground. No fear of anything - she wanted to dive down the slide headfirst. She luaghed and squealed and was hyped up the rest of the evening.
(ps - we're having some difficulties "seeing" our own blog since yesterday. I'm trying to post this by sending an email to my own blog - hopefully this works.)
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Daddy, I want an oompa loompa now!...
So, my view of the tourist story. Yes, Casey ran up to hug the saleswoman. The woman, immediately unwrapped the drum, showed Casey how to make noise, and then turned to me and said "20 yuan" and Casey wandered off with the toy. There was really no room for negotiation.
Check here for the post purchase video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD_gWZustCs
$3 is cheap engtertainment now, but we'd better be careful as she gets older....
Check here for the post purchase video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD_gWZustCs
$3 is cheap engtertainment now, but we'd better be careful as she gets older....
An American Tourist
Casey is now officially a tourist in China. Not because she has a passport or a visa or an adoption certificate but because she bought her first souvenir. At the park today she did her famous running hug on a saleswoman who was selling crapola, and the woman handed her a little drum rattle kind of thing that you shake back and forth to make a cool drum noise. She loves anything that makes noise so she was thrilled. 20 yuan later (3 bucks), her status is officially changed. Check out the pink Piglet stroller. It has ears but you can't see them because the lid isn't up.
Freaky Friday
She likes peach babyfood! Even mixed with rice cereal (the Whole Foods one, not the one we got here). I guess the trick was to keep trying things. She really has been very good about trying different foods. Luckily her friend Brynn rejected the peach so they traded lunches and Brynn got a jar of banana. Casey had some more at the restaurant we went to tonight for dinner. They didn't have little spoons so she was eating it from a big soup spoon. And from a shot glass, but don't tell anyone. She was laughing and standing on her chair, doing peach babyfood shots, and we were both covered with peach and rice (the rice was my fault but it's nice to be able to blame it on someone else).
I, on the other hand, ate a little bit of bokchoy and rice and tried a little of the beef and made a wincing face. Then I saw the chicken head, the snake, and some crazy fish dish and shook my head back and forth very quickly with my hand over my mouth.
I, on the other hand, ate a little bit of bokchoy and rice and tried a little of the beef and made a wincing face. Then I saw the chicken head, the snake, and some crazy fish dish and shook my head back and forth very quickly with my hand over my mouth.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Yep, she's my daughter
Yesterday on the bus Eric and I were eating chocolate Pockys (looks kind of like a skinny breadstick dipped in chocolate). Casey took mine from me and fed it to me. (We've been trying to get her to feed us cheerios and other little cereal things so she'll get the hang of it.) I took two bites and then she took a bite herself and wouldn't give it back. Yay! Yes, I know she shouldn't eat chocolate. Or long skinny things that have the same circumference as a baby nostril. But she likes them! (They are pretty good.) She only makes a slight wince when she eats them, compared to the full-on grimace when she eats anything else. Will I be a mom who feeds the baby poptarts??? She really does try different foods, she just hasn't found anything besides Pockys worth eating, and we gave her brown sugar oatmeal today, among other things. Not interested. We'll keep trying though. And yes, we're trying non-sugary foods too.
Before we got on the bus, Lance put a cheerio in her mouth and she took it out and stared at it and then took a bite. After 8 bites and about 15 minutes she had finished half of it before she lost it.
This is really the first time she's even seen people eating solid food, so it's going to take a little while. She's getting the hang of it though. You can let her play with anything because she doesn't put anything in her mouth. It's very strange to see.
Before we got on the bus, Lance put a cheerio in her mouth and she took it out and stared at it and then took a bite. After 8 bites and about 15 minutes she had finished half of it before she lost it.
This is really the first time she's even seen people eating solid food, so it's going to take a little while. She's getting the hang of it though. You can let her play with anything because she doesn't put anything in her mouth. It's very strange to see.
Eating
So - it's actually been difficult getting Casey to eat. She's really only had formula and rice cereal from a bottle. And maybe we don't make it right, or maybe the setting isn't right. She's really only taken 2 1/2 bottles from us. (One from me and one from Jamie). Generally she just covers her face with her hand.
Jamie managed to get her to eat today, though. She still wasn't sure about it (the taste and the spoon were probably weird) and she didn't eat a ton, but it's a start.
For those who care to see here's another video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3m4cXpGdqc
More later....
Jamie managed to get her to eat today, though. She still wasn't sure about it (the taste and the spoon were probably weird) and she didn't eat a ton, but it's a start.
For those who care to see here's another video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3m4cXpGdqc
More later....
One sweet smile
So - I had to work pretty hard, but I got a smile today. Wow, is it beautiful. And she gave me a bonus laugh to boot. She got pretty cracked up when I tried to eat her foot - she'd just giggle and smile. It was the absolute best. Unfortuantely, Jamie was not able to quite capture it on film. She squints her eyes up and gives a big toothy grin - really adorable. This is the closest we got.
In addition, we sort of skipped her nap today becuase I was having too much fun playing with her. That will probably prove to be a mistake, but for today, I have no regets. Now it's time for dinner.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The director of YangDong SWI and Casey's nanny (Chen Xue Yun)
She smiled for them. We could tell they took good care of her and love her. The director answered all of our questions through a translator. They don't speak Mandarin or even Cantonese. It's a Yangjiang dialect which is similar to Cantonese.Napday
Today we did a lot of napping. I think we may not have gotten as much sleep as we'd thought last night and Casey has a bit of a cold. She hardly ate anything although she was happy to drink juice and water from the sippy cup. At dinner tonight all the other kids were chowing down. Seriously they couldn't get enough food in their mouths. Luckily I had heard from people who have also gotten children from Yang Dong that they often aren't ready to try solid food and also don't always take the bottle if it's not exactly what they are used to. We managed to get a few spoonfuls of babyfood down her, and she tried a bit of congee (rice soup), but other than that, she's probably pretty hungry. She loves rice but just for throwing and playing.
This morning we signed the papers and made it official. We also met her orphanage director and nanny and they answered all of our questions. We saw our first smile when she saw with her nanny. We got some videos of them together and I'm sure she'll want to see them some day. While we were talking to the director through a translator and we see the nanny off walking with Casey, and Casey is walking unaided, on her own, and she's pretty stable! We were surprised because I don't even think her feet have touched the floor in our hotel room. She doesn't want us to put her down. She has never indicated that she wants to get down. But now that we know, we put her down in the hallways and she's the speed champ. I can tell they took good care of her there because of the way they were playing with her and the way she reacted to them. It was happy but sad.
Then we took several naps, I'm not sure if it was a bunch of them or if it counts as one long one, but when we went to dinner she was feeling a lot better and we each finally got her to laugh. She has a lot of teeth! They are not getting brushed at all here, unfortunately because it's hard enough to get food in there. She just covers her mouth with her hand and she's pretty strong.
She will go to anyone. She just goes up to people she's never seen before and gives them a big hug. It's fun and it seems nice now, and she scored us an extra bottle of water from the hotel housekeeping woman on the way back from dinner (she ran right into her arms!), but sometimes that can lead to problems attaching with parents and understanding that her parents will take care of her (not to mention stranger danger!). She does check to make sure we're nearby, even when she's sleeping, so I think it will be ok, but we are trying to carry her a lot and talk to her a lot. I love the Ergo baby carrier and so does Casey.
That's the story. Everyone else is asleep on the bed again so I think I'll join them. I don't know how I can still be tired, but I think I'll fall asleep in 2 minutes.
Thanks everyone for your comments and emails. We really love reading them. Sorry we can't respond to them all. As you can imagine it's pretty busy here.
This morning we signed the papers and made it official. We also met her orphanage director and nanny and they answered all of our questions. We saw our first smile when she saw with her nanny. We got some videos of them together and I'm sure she'll want to see them some day. While we were talking to the director through a translator and we see the nanny off walking with Casey, and Casey is walking unaided, on her own, and she's pretty stable! We were surprised because I don't even think her feet have touched the floor in our hotel room. She doesn't want us to put her down. She has never indicated that she wants to get down. But now that we know, we put her down in the hallways and she's the speed champ. I can tell they took good care of her there because of the way they were playing with her and the way she reacted to them. It was happy but sad.
Then we took several naps, I'm not sure if it was a bunch of them or if it counts as one long one, but when we went to dinner she was feeling a lot better and we each finally got her to laugh. She has a lot of teeth! They are not getting brushed at all here, unfortunately because it's hard enough to get food in there. She just covers her mouth with her hand and she's pretty strong.
She will go to anyone. She just goes up to people she's never seen before and gives them a big hug. It's fun and it seems nice now, and she scored us an extra bottle of water from the hotel housekeeping woman on the way back from dinner (she ran right into her arms!), but sometimes that can lead to problems attaching with parents and understanding that her parents will take care of her (not to mention stranger danger!). She does check to make sure we're nearby, even when she's sleeping, so I think it will be ok, but we are trying to carry her a lot and talk to her a lot. I love the Ergo baby carrier and so does Casey.
That's the story. Everyone else is asleep on the bed again so I think I'll join them. I don't know how I can still be tired, but I think I'll fall asleep in 2 minutes.
Thanks everyone for your comments and emails. We really love reading them. Sorry we can't respond to them all. As you can imagine it's pretty busy here.
She walks!
Check it out - the girl can walk. Here's a quick clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyK-sKdm3D0
She can actually walk by herself too - we'll try to get more clips. She's napping at the moment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyK-sKdm3D0
She can actually walk by herself too - we'll try to get more clips. She's napping at the moment.
Monday, November 5, 2007
The sweetest baby
I have to say, she is very sweet, very mellow, and very cuddly. We are so happy. She is adorable.
When we got her yesterday she seemed pretty tired and was yawning a lot, but she didn't want to miss anything. She keeps checking to make sure we are both still here and she has us workin' hard to get our first smile or laugh. Eric made a delicious bottle last night and she chugged it right down but today's isn't quite as tempting. She is learning to drink water from her sippy cup though. The SWI director gave us some of her formula so that helps a lot. He also gave us a nice note and a little snow globe with a dog -- for year of the dog. Then he disappeared before we had a chance to ask him our list of questions. Now we have to try to get ready for our next appointment and I hope we'll get a chance to talk to him.
When we got her yesterday she seemed pretty tired and was yawning a lot, but she didn't want to miss anything. She keeps checking to make sure we are both still here and she has us workin' hard to get our first smile or laugh. Eric made a delicious bottle last night and she chugged it right down but today's isn't quite as tempting. She is learning to drink water from her sippy cup though. The SWI director gave us some of her formula so that helps a lot. He also gave us a nice note and a little snow globe with a dog -- for year of the dog. Then he disappeared before we had a chance to ask him our list of questions. Now we have to try to get ready for our next appointment and I hope we'll get a chance to talk to him.
Play time
One more video before I go back to bed. This one's fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5gTrKCIv8s
This back in our hotel room just after we got back yesterday.
Isn't she cute!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5gTrKCIv8s
This back in our hotel room just after we got back yesterday.
Isn't she cute!
The arrival
Casey is currently sleeping on Jamie's chest. I'm going to post some videos for peoples enjoyment back in the states. I can't really describe the scene at the Civil Affairs office - let's just say that we weren't the only group. We rode up to the 9th floor of this office building, stepped out into a scene with lots of kids, lots of crying (of kids and new parents), and our group of 10 families who just look dumb struck. With our group, Norman had us stand in the middle one couple at a time and each orphanage director brought out our kids to us one at a time while everyone else took pictures. It was an amazingly, emotionally charged scene. I hope the videos do it some justice.
Casey was very mellow - she didn't cry at all until we go back to the hotel and even then Jamie was able to calm her right down.
I made my first bottle of formula before dinner last night - Casey liked it, but I need to get faster. I'm not very efficient at making it yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Bge6a_pHM
Click on the youtube link above to see us all.
Casey was very mellow - she didn't cry at all until we go back to the hotel and even then Jamie was able to calm her right down.
I made my first bottle of formula before dinner last night - Casey liked it, but I need to get faster. I'm not very efficient at making it yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Bge6a_pHM
Click on the youtube link above to see us all.
Introducing!...
Here she is (at long last). Casey Loryn Carlson and family. More pictures and video to come.....
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Distracting ourselves on Family Day
Yep - it's November 5. Gotcha Day. By tonight I will be a Dad, and I'm still not sure it has really totally sunk in.
Actually, I'm sure it hasn't. Half our crew got up at 5:30 this morning to fly up to Jiangxi province - we are part of the crew that stays here. It makes the logistics much simpler, but it means that we need to kill time today. Quite frankly, this reminds me of the night that I proposed to Jamie. I had this whole plan to propose under a meteor shower (at 2am) . While it was a cool plan (and while it worked out well) what it meant in practice is that I spent the day agitated, Jamie fell asleep at 9, and I stayed up pacing until 1am alone when I could wake her. At least today we have each other to hang with.
We slept in as late as we could (6:30?) and when we did get up we ended up going for a walk through the park across the street from the China Hotel: Yue Xiu Park. What a great park! China seems to have great parks in many of its cities. For $5 yuan/each we got to walk all over. And the park was packed - almost entirely with seniors who get in for free. It seems like quite the social scene. (In addition to being the only westerners we saw in the park, I think we were also about the only ones under 60).
There were all sort of activities: Tai Chi, aerobics, badmitton, hacky sack, dance, and a whole lot of walking-and-slapping-yourself, which was my personal favorite. I particularly liked the women slapping her chin and the other women slapping her left armpit. Whatever it takes to keep up the circulation! (And remember, this is pretty much all seniors playing hacky-sack - we wanted to take video, but we weren't sure we could pull that off.)
The park also has a several small lakes with rental boats and a couple of small amusement park areas. It was very very cool.
Anyway, the weather has been spectacular too - we cannot complain at all. It's been in the 70's and the humidty has been fairly low.
So it's now late morning - time to shower and finish my book. I doubt I'll have as much free time in a few hours. I'm still having a hard time picturing the scene at tomorrow's breakfast when all of us have a little girl in tow. I'm sure it will not be nearly as sedate. :)
Actually, I'm sure it hasn't. Half our crew got up at 5:30 this morning to fly up to Jiangxi province - we are part of the crew that stays here. It makes the logistics much simpler, but it means that we need to kill time today. Quite frankly, this reminds me of the night that I proposed to Jamie. I had this whole plan to propose under a meteor shower (at 2am) . While it was a cool plan (and while it worked out well) what it meant in practice is that I spent the day agitated, Jamie fell asleep at 9, and I stayed up pacing until 1am alone when I could wake her. At least today we have each other to hang with.
We slept in as late as we could (6:30?) and when we did get up we ended up going for a walk through the park across the street from the China Hotel: Yue Xiu Park. What a great park! China seems to have great parks in many of its cities. For $5 yuan/each we got to walk all over. And the park was packed - almost entirely with seniors who get in for free. It seems like quite the social scene. (In addition to being the only westerners we saw in the park, I think we were also about the only ones under 60).
There were all sort of activities: Tai Chi, aerobics, badmitton, hacky sack, dance, and a whole lot of walking-and-slapping-yourself, which was my personal favorite. I particularly liked the women slapping her chin and the other women slapping her left armpit. Whatever it takes to keep up the circulation! (And remember, this is pretty much all seniors playing hacky-sack - we wanted to take video, but we weren't sure we could pull that off.)
The park also has a several small lakes with rental boats and a couple of small amusement park areas. It was very very cool.
Anyway, the weather has been spectacular too - we cannot complain at all. It's been in the 70's and the humidty has been fairly low.
So it's now late morning - time to shower and finish my book. I doubt I'll have as much free time in a few hours. I'm still having a hard time picturing the scene at tomorrow's breakfast when all of us have a little girl in tow. I'm sure it will not be nearly as sedate. :)
The Last Supper
The Bay Area Gang - Ted, Kyle, Veronica, Jeanine, Lance, Eric, Jamie, Steve, and Susan - eating Japanese food on our last night before adding four girls to the party.
Updates:
*Eric got the window open with my handy new pocketknife screwdriver. My hero.
*We met the other families at dim sum today and they are all very nice. So far, so good. It was nice to meet the people we've been emailing.
*Did a little shopping today.
*Tomorrow's the big day! We leave to get CaseyYing at 3:30 tomorrow afternoon. That's eeeearly Monday morning California time. We'll post pictures and video as soon as we can.
*They put a crib in our room.
*Eric's sporting the stylish Ergo carrier right now.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
One of the five senses is not happy
We made it to Guangzhou yesterday evening. One of our guides, Grace, picked us up at the airport. She is incredibly nice and willing to answer our questions. We finally got to see the list of families who are going to be here with us and there are 18 all together - two more from the bay area who we have not met yet. I think 10 are going to stay here with us in Guangzhou and the other 8 are going to Nanchang, Jiangxi for a week before they rejoin us.
We're staying at the China Hotel, which is a Marriott. We walk in to the spacious and ornate lobby and there is a string quartet playing. We wait for the elevator to go up to our rooms and the doors open and there is Veronica, Ted, and Kyle! They were on their way to the hotel restaurant so we put our things away, said hi to Jeanine and Lance who are in the room next door, said goodbye to Susan and Steve, and headed to the Starbuck's (yes Starbuck's) to meet V T and K before walking over to the restaurant. We heard all about their trip to Beijing and Xi'an. They had a great time and saw a lot of the sights we saw last year.
Ted ordered a bunch of food and I was eating tofu and vegetables, and a little bit of the chicken dish. At the end of the meal, Eric noticed that one of the last few pieces of chicken on the platter was actually the chicken head and he was right because I saw the beak before Ted quickly put a bowl upside down over it. I had been on the cusp of going vegetarian for the next few weeks anyway, and I think that should do it. When we were walking around Hong Kong, we saw the shops with the turtles, eels, and fish -- one fish tried to escape but ended up flopping around on the sidewalk -- and the dead chickens hanging outside and who knows what else because I try to quickly avert my eyes.
Yesterday I read a book by Xinrin called "Sky Burial" about a Chinese woman who wanders in Tibet for 30 years and a family takes her in and she finds herself repeating the buddhist mantra all the time. Last night in bed I found myself repeating my own new mantra that I learned in Chinese class "Wo chi su" which means "I am a vegetarian" or more literally "I eat vegetables". So I've been practicing in my head because I don't want to inadvertently say something like "I eat shoes" or "I am a vegetable", which I think would be very close "Wo shi su".
When we got back to the room I realized that I don't think I'm going to be able to handle the overpowering smell of mothballs. It's one of my most hated smells in the world. No one warned me about this. I was warned of the hard beds, which were in every hotel we have stayed in in China (which I love, by the way) but not the smell of the mothballs in this hotel. I was so tired last night that I was able to fall asleep but at 4am I realized that I could no longer use the stinky pillow and that the best way to avoid it all was to sleep with my nose in Eric's armpit. He was pleased and surprised because I don't often compliment him on his armpits, but really it's all relative.
Veronica told me to call them when I wake up, but I don't think she meant 4am when she said that. I've been reading and pacing and trying to open the windows and let in some of that fresh polluted Guangzhou air in but have had no luck. I'm so glad that we only stay here one week before moving to another hotel. At least for now I can imagine it will smell better. Last night I opened all of our soaps and shampoos and conditioners and anything that might smell nice and put them on the nightstand by my bed. The mothballs are laughing at them.
Lesson learned: Never ever ever stay at the nicest hotel first. Save it for last.
Finally it's 7am! I can wake everyone up now. Today after breakfast they're taking us for a little shopping trip (diapers!) and we'll meet the rest of the group! Their flight was supposed to arrive at 6am. I hope they don't mind that I've decided to wait til I get back to California to shower and brush my teeth. Eric said my hair looks fine. But then added that I might want to pull it back.
We're staying at the China Hotel, which is a Marriott. We walk in to the spacious and ornate lobby and there is a string quartet playing. We wait for the elevator to go up to our rooms and the doors open and there is Veronica, Ted, and Kyle! They were on their way to the hotel restaurant so we put our things away, said hi to Jeanine and Lance who are in the room next door, said goodbye to Susan and Steve, and headed to the Starbuck's (yes Starbuck's) to meet V T and K before walking over to the restaurant. We heard all about their trip to Beijing and Xi'an. They had a great time and saw a lot of the sights we saw last year.
Ted ordered a bunch of food and I was eating tofu and vegetables, and a little bit of the chicken dish. At the end of the meal, Eric noticed that one of the last few pieces of chicken on the platter was actually the chicken head and he was right because I saw the beak before Ted quickly put a bowl upside down over it. I had been on the cusp of going vegetarian for the next few weeks anyway, and I think that should do it. When we were walking around Hong Kong, we saw the shops with the turtles, eels, and fish -- one fish tried to escape but ended up flopping around on the sidewalk -- and the dead chickens hanging outside and who knows what else because I try to quickly avert my eyes.
Yesterday I read a book by Xinrin called "Sky Burial" about a Chinese woman who wanders in Tibet for 30 years and a family takes her in and she finds herself repeating the buddhist mantra all the time. Last night in bed I found myself repeating my own new mantra that I learned in Chinese class "Wo chi su" which means "I am a vegetarian" or more literally "I eat vegetables". So I've been practicing in my head because I don't want to inadvertently say something like "I eat shoes" or "I am a vegetable", which I think would be very close "Wo shi su".
When we got back to the room I realized that I don't think I'm going to be able to handle the overpowering smell of mothballs. It's one of my most hated smells in the world. No one warned me about this. I was warned of the hard beds, which were in every hotel we have stayed in in China (which I love, by the way) but not the smell of the mothballs in this hotel. I was so tired last night that I was able to fall asleep but at 4am I realized that I could no longer use the stinky pillow and that the best way to avoid it all was to sleep with my nose in Eric's armpit. He was pleased and surprised because I don't often compliment him on his armpits, but really it's all relative.
Veronica told me to call them when I wake up, but I don't think she meant 4am when she said that. I've been reading and pacing and trying to open the windows and let in some of that fresh polluted Guangzhou air in but have had no luck. I'm so glad that we only stay here one week before moving to another hotel. At least for now I can imagine it will smell better. Last night I opened all of our soaps and shampoos and conditioners and anything that might smell nice and put them on the nightstand by my bed. The mothballs are laughing at them.
Lesson learned: Never ever ever stay at the nicest hotel first. Save it for last.
Finally it's 7am! I can wake everyone up now. Today after breakfast they're taking us for a little shopping trip (diapers!) and we'll meet the rest of the group! Their flight was supposed to arrive at 6am. I hope they don't mind that I've decided to wait til I get back to California to shower and brush my teeth. Eric said my hair looks fine. But then added that I might want to pull it back.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Goodbye Hong Kong
Soon we'll be experiencing many "firsts" and today we fit in some "lasts". Instead of sight-seeing we decided to have relaxation day. It was our last day for a long leisurely breakfast and tea with the paper. We did a quick workout at the gym and then sat in the hot tub, did a few laps in the pool, and sat in the hot tub some more. We're reading and packing up to head to the airport in an hour to begin the real adventure.
Last night we took a ferry to a nice restaurant (Hutong -- one of Aqua's restaurants) and had a beautiful view of Hong Kong Island and our hotel. At 8pm every night there is a light show so we had perfect seats. The bartender invented personalized drinks for each of us and we had a great meal.
Before dinner we had the gang over for some champagne to celebrate our upcoming arrivals. It's Susan & Steve, Jeanine & Lance, and Eric & me. This is our "Before" picture.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Hello Hong Kong
Hong Kong is amazing. Partly because we're staying at our friend's apartment at the Four Seasons and we can see Hong Kong harbor (and everything as far as the eye can see through the smog and haze) from our luxurious room on the 55th floor. We took a long walk with our friends Susan & Steve yesterday partly indoors and partly outdoors - through covered walkways and underground and through parks and across busy streets. We took a tram up to the top of Victoria Peak and then walked all the way down and around the town and through the streets, stopping for Thai food and tea and a couple of antique shops. I don't know how far we walked but we were all pretty sore today.
For dinner we met our friend Miwa who is here on business. We went to a local Cantonese restaurant that had three floors and was still packed even at 9pm on a Thursday night. (I think today is Friday but it's hard to keep track.) The menu had sections for chicken, beef, seafood, goose, pigeon, and frog, but still they needed a separate section for miscellaneous.
Today Jeanine & Lance joined us and we all took the ferry over to Kowloon. Lots of opportunities for shopping but luckily no one else wanted to shop either so we went to a park and then to an art museum. The best part about the museum was that it's a school day and there were lots of students of different ages, all dressed in their school uniforms. The students seemed interested in the art and the antiques that were over 1,000 years old and were dilligently taking notes until something (someone) more interesting came along. As Eric passed by, they would look straight up and their eyes and mouths would get big and I wish I understood more than 10 words in Mandarin. He hasn't gotten asked for any autographs or photos yet though like he did at the Great Wall last year.
Ok, time to go check out the rooftop hot tub and pool on the 59th floor.
For dinner we met our friend Miwa who is here on business. We went to a local Cantonese restaurant that had three floors and was still packed even at 9pm on a Thursday night. (I think today is Friday but it's hard to keep track.) The menu had sections for chicken, beef, seafood, goose, pigeon, and frog, but still they needed a separate section for miscellaneous.
Today Jeanine & Lance joined us and we all took the ferry over to Kowloon. Lots of opportunities for shopping but luckily no one else wanted to shop either so we went to a park and then to an art museum. The best part about the museum was that it's a school day and there were lots of students of different ages, all dressed in their school uniforms. The students seemed interested in the art and the antiques that were over 1,000 years old and were dilligently taking notes until something (someone) more interesting came along. As Eric passed by, they would look straight up and their eyes and mouths would get big and I wish I understood more than 10 words in Mandarin. He hasn't gotten asked for any autographs or photos yet though like he did at the Great Wall last year.
Ok, time to go check out the rooftop hot tub and pool on the 59th floor.
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