tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24409795830121857232024-02-06T21:12:22.923-08:00Hoggdogg Baby BlogThis is a place for us to share information and provide updates on our journey to a little boy in China.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00536912840838510548noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-2869566541690633172014-05-03T15:06:00.001-07:002014-05-03T15:11:43.208-07:00We've Started a New Travel Blog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We just wanted to let all our blog followers know that we have decided to create a new travel blog to capture all of our new adventures in Europe. Of course Cooper is THE prominent feature in just about every blog post! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check it out at <a href="http://www.hoggdogg.com/"><b>www.hoggdogg.com</b></a>, or use the "<a href="http://www.hoggdogg.com/"><b>Travel Blog</b></a>" link to the right <b>-----></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-- Ryan, Ronda, and Cooper</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5RflAKbAfvGtuXGwMuBZFcnTM7oRz3tW6phG5kv4wxMH_pVTe3Blhqa3ta1UeX9JhKqufZAEDxAwu9NUO9Eo8m8S_RV9ynZUKXuLDrKXKJXpcZ4zukHUc37VOPnhnWxZaCA1pj6C1Te6/s1600/IMG_3221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5RflAKbAfvGtuXGwMuBZFcnTM7oRz3tW6phG5kv4wxMH_pVTe3Blhqa3ta1UeX9JhKqufZAEDxAwu9NUO9Eo8m8S_RV9ynZUKXuLDrKXKJXpcZ4zukHUc37VOPnhnWxZaCA1pj6C1Te6/s1600/IMG_3221.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cooper in the Formula 1 race car</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00536912840838510548noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-68627283047273986592013-06-16T19:23:00.001-07:002013-06-16T19:23:50.211-07:00Moving on Up!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We have good news all around... We are out of the PICU! We have removed all tubes except for an IV to get fluids. He was able to get out of bed and he even took a few steps. Because there was no muscle to work with for surgery it has really cut down on the healing time. I'm really trying to find the good news with his unexpected diagnosis. The surgeon had originally said that we would be in the hospital for 2-4 weeks but with the way Cooper is progressing so quickly we should be going home in the next few days! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0dnAiuoEHyo/Ub5wOf2sV8I/AAAAAAAAFeE/6UZSp2Notls/s1600/13+-+2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0dnAiuoEHyo/Ub5wOf2sV8I/AAAAAAAAFeE/6UZSp2Notls/s320/13+-+2" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding in the Wagon!</td></tr>
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Today Cooper was able to eat some food. He was so excited! We also had some visitors, the Londono family. They brought Coop a Tigger stuffed animal that he has not let out of his sight. All the excitement for the day has worn him out. Here's to him sleeping through the night!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kmjDN18ENM8/Ub5wObal65I/AAAAAAAAFd8/67xlQW7DMqY/s1600/13+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kmjDN18ENM8/Ub5wObal65I/AAAAAAAAFd8/67xlQW7DMqY/s320/13+-+1" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth, Cooper, and Victoria</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BthnBlXr3XE/Ub5wOWuOR6I/AAAAAAAAFd0/TmFTLVX3BzA/s1600/13+-+3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BthnBlXr3XE/Ub5wOWuOR6I/AAAAAAAAFd0/TmFTLVX3BzA/s320/13+-+3" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too Much Wagon Excitement!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00536912840838510548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-21834841415373935682013-06-13T21:03:00.002-07:002013-06-13T21:03:16.983-07:00PICU Day #3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today was much more eventful than yesterday. This morning, Cooper's surgical team decided that he could be extabated after he was given an epideral. So around 10 we got to watch one of the anesesiologists give his epideral, and then around 2pm, Cooper came out of his sleep and they pulled out his breathing tube. He was very upset at first, he cried and whined for about two hours. But after some drugs he is back with us! The nurses removed several of his 'tubes' and he seems to be recovering. His face and extremities are very swollen. He does have a pitiful little growley voice, but he still has a great sense if humor. He played peekaboo with the nurse that pulled out his tube!<br />
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One of Cooper's favorite things that is attached to him is his oxygen detector (I'm sure that's not the technical term). Here's a picture of him and his ET toe!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mCkXk0qcQY4/Ubp7F5x3fcI/AAAAAAAAFcY/eYOkuciwbVs/s1600/13+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mCkXk0qcQY4/Ubp7F5x3fcI/AAAAAAAAFcY/eYOkuciwbVs/s320/13+-+1" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooper!</td></tr>
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We will remain in the PICU for at least another day. Later this evening, the surgical team plans on taking out Cooper's drains... Just another step towards getting completely unplugged! <span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">We have a sleeping room again tonight, so we will be on rotating watch. We are also very grateful for Grizzy making the trip between Colorado Springs and Denver and taking care of our house and dogs during this time. We couldn't have done it without her!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">We have been keeping a close eye on the situation back home. The Black Forest Fire has created such chaos in our beloved city. We are praying for everyone that has been affected, it is such a tragedy. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Much Love from Denver,</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Ryan, Ronda, and Cooper</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00536912840838510548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-69982386677831222122013-06-12T20:30:00.001-07:002013-06-12T20:30:04.206-07:00PICU Day #2<p> Not a lot to report today. The surgical team came in this morning and made the decision to keep Cooper on the ventilator so it has been a very quiet day. We have seen six doctors and a bunch of nurses that come in every hour or so. I really can't get over how kind everyone has been. This is an amazing hospital. Tomorrow the same thing will happen. A team will decide if he is ready to wake up or not. He's had a fever on and off but I guess that's normal. </p>
<p>The big news today is the Black Forest Fire. The evacuation area is about two or so miles from our house. The wind is blowing north so we don't believe that we will be evacuated but we needed to get a plan in place just in case. Ryan's Mom, Barb (aka Grizzy), is staying with our dogs at the house. Ryan made a trip back home to trade cars with her in case she needs to take the dogs somewhere if the fire heads south. The trip normally takes about an hour but today it took over two hours because of all the people being evacuated. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this fire. </p>
<p>The love that we all have felt from everyone has been amazing. Thank you for all your prayers, kind words and good thoughts. Until tomorrow... Here's a video from today. </p>
<div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="500" height="305" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZhqbAFMFRQ0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00536912840838510548noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-48723696289982504522013-06-11T19:10:00.001-07:002013-06-11T19:10:57.390-07:00In the PICU<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: -webkit-auto;">What a day. The good news is that he made it through the surgery and he is stable...now. Thank you to everyone for your good thoughts and prayers. They were felt!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for Surgery</td></tr>
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Cooper charmed every nurse and doctor that we saw before the surgery. They let Ryan and me go back to the Operating Room with him until he fell asleep. He never cried or even fussed once. Such a trooper! His surgery lasted about 4 hours and we got an update every hour. The surgeon came and visited with us after he was all done. He had good news and some not so good news. Cooper did great in the surgery. Unfortunately the hole in his abdomen was much larger than he ever imagined it to be. He had hoped to be able to stretch the muscles and sew them together to create a tight firm belly. Cooper's stomach muscles are pretty much nonexistent so they had to use a mesh to hold everything in place. What this means is Cooper will still have a belly. It is about half the size as it was before. The doctor thinks that Cooper will grow into it over the next few years. The bad part about this is that Cooper will always have a weak abdomen. He won't be able to participate in all activities and he will always have to be extra careful. I think I went into this somewhat naively. I thought that he would be "perfect" if he could just get through the surgery. I didn't think about the chance that this would be a lifetime thing.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">After speaking with the doctor we met Cooper in his room in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. It was quite a shock to see my tiny little boy with so many tubes sticking in and out of him. He has eight tubes! One down his nose to suction anything in his stomach, a breathing tube down his throat, a central line in his jugular, an IV in each arm, two drains in the incision and finally a catheter. When we came into the room Coop's nurse was getting him all hooked up to various machines. I guess Cooper didn't want to be asleep anymore so he semi woke up and tried to pull the breathing tube out. Ryan yelled at the nurse and before we knew it there were a dozen nurses and doctors in here. I guess when he pulled the tube out all his stats dropped and all kinds of alarms went off. It was a very scary 45 minutes that they worked on him. Since then he has tried to wake up a few times. They had to restrain his arms so he doesn't try to pull out the breathing tube again. The nurse thinks that he is a trouble maker!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">State of the Art</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scary...</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Ryan and I will be staying in the room with Coop. I hope we get some sleep. I don't know how it will be possible. We will write again tomorrow!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00536912840838510548noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-42291886861931606092013-06-10T07:25:00.000-07:002013-06-10T07:25:23.145-07:00Cooper's BIG Surgery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SMprrmLTrIZmapzmEnPehO0a3EFmpQi1EYyz1STve6pktXx5uFpO9nTkOaYHeVpomaSmUrz1bVb9IE6jw7H2x-HhUYsZMyp10ymvVQfFIXh11cgZnwXxpjeRGp2DTLAdFxnwOmBIHMl-/s1600/IMG_0173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SMprrmLTrIZmapzmEnPehO0a3EFmpQi1EYyz1STve6pktXx5uFpO9nTkOaYHeVpomaSmUrz1bVb9IE6jw7H2x-HhUYsZMyp10ymvVQfFIXh11cgZnwXxpjeRGp2DTLAdFxnwOmBIHMl-/s320/IMG_0173.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br /><span>As most of you know Cooper was born with a rare </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0); text-align: left;">congenital condition called </span><span style="text-align: left;">Gastroschisis. It is </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0); text-align: left;">where there is incomplete formation of the abdominal wall so that the intestines protrude outside the body.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0); text-align: left;"> Babies
born with this condition have surgery to repair it as soon as they are
stable enough after delivery. The doctors in China did not perform this
surgery correctly on Cooper when he was born so he is having surgery to
fix it now! We knew all this when we chose to adopt Cooper. We thought
that he would have the surgery as soon as we got home with him from
China but Cooper was malnourished and too small to do it until now. So tomorrow, Tuesday June 11th, we will be moving up to the Denver Children's
Hospital. They believe he will be in the hospital anywhere from 2-4
weeks. We won't know how long until we see how the surgery goes. There
are all sorts of complications that can happen. The doctor has told us
on many occasions that this surgery "is a really big deal!" He has been
incredible over the past year getting us and Cooper prepared for this
surgery.</span><br /><div>
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So please
send some prayers for our amazing little boy. A year ago we were getting
ready to board a plane to pick him up. I can honestly say that it has
has been the best year if my life. <div>
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Our plan is to
update the blog daily like we did while we were in China so all our
friends and family can be updated on Cooper's progress. Much love to you
all! <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-24780223368913249072012-10-18T12:05:00.002-07:002012-10-18T12:12:53.863-07:00Four Months Later...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Our life changed forever four months ago today. On June 18th we
met a sweet, scared, tiny little boy that was in complete shock. He is
still just as sweet but today he isn't scared of anything! <br />
<br />
We
have
done so much in the past four months. Probably too much, but hindsight
is always 20/20. We had company at our house from the day we got home
from China
in early July until early September, save a few days here and there. It was
great to
see everyone and watch Cooper get to know his new family; however, it
has been so nice to get in our own routine. We have done quite a bit of
traveling in our short time home. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6uu_CTX-CZPYaPR3P1fwjdpBkSmiVo2knuABaHLbs0hHdlBUrgkbFoNpte3rpcLtr711BYJdnrszMp9_hclihmK-oljXtjigMkrhof3M-ft4VNh3bMK_rUDdAIy5l3xoEFMMUD96YCD4/s1600/IMG_3727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6uu_CTX-CZPYaPR3P1fwjdpBkSmiVo2knuABaHLbs0hHdlBUrgkbFoNpte3rpcLtr711BYJdnrszMp9_hclihmK-oljXtjigMkrhof3M-ft4VNh3bMK_rUDdAIy5l3xoEFMMUD96YCD4/s320/IMG_3727.JPG" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uncle Cam & Cousin Kate in Estes Park, CO</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We were able to take Coop to see his first baseball game in Denver. We were lucky enough to see our San Francisco Giants win!<br />
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<br />
My Mom, sister Christy, niece Kayla and her husband Nick came for a week in late August to visit. It was great for Cooper to be able to bond with them and for them to get to know the newest addition to the family. <br />
<br />
In late September, we went to Jodee's (Ryan's sister), wedding in
Pacific City,
Oregon, for five days. Ryan's entire family was there! Aunts, uncles,
cousins, grandparents, parents, and family friends. We had such a
wonderful time and
Cooper loved being the hit of the show. He was an absolute monster
on the plane ride to Oregon, but was great on the ride home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4gw6kswIuVOEtYRjpVy1wVl1qalAcW5SKdPGT2tXytwfsqhSBRg3U8dxueJ5qzkQwQGUE520IYt6VM77uGt8_dcEJYLLnWG-Bgg5AHcRo6nceHXtoSjI4YcLNCo4OfBE6ZTeRf2AyKBT/s1600/IMG_5758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4gw6kswIuVOEtYRjpVy1wVl1qalAcW5SKdPGT2tXytwfsqhSBRg3U8dxueJ5qzkQwQGUE520IYt6VM77uGt8_dcEJYLLnWG-Bgg5AHcRo6nceHXtoSjI4YcLNCo4OfBE6ZTeRf2AyKBT/s320/IMG_5758.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newly Married Aunt Jodee & Uncle Casey</td></tr>
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<br />
In early
October, we drove to Omaha, Nebraska, to visit our niece, Kayla,
and her husband Nick. Nick is in the Air Force and they are stationed
at Offut Air Force Base. We enjoyed the nine hour car ride through
eastern Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, and Cooper gave us play-by-play
as he watched the fields and animals along the way. We were pleasantly
surprised with Omaha - it turned
out much different than expected. We found some cool local restaurants,
had some great meals, and had time to explore the Farmer's Market and
the Omaha Zoo. The zoo was
amazing! We also spent some time with friends who used to live in
Colorado. They took us to a great pumpkin patch near Bellevue, Nebraska
where we took some great "pumpkin photos" and Cooper experienced his
first tractor ride. We
are definitely looking forward to visiting Omaha again. Cooper loves
his cousin, Kayla!
The ride home to Colorado was long and Cooper wasn't quiet for more
than
two minutes the whole NINE hours. Not crying or whimpering, just giving
his narrative from the back seat - his version of talking! We thought
that if we turned on a
movie he might quiet down for a bit. No - oh no, that made him so
excited he
screamed at the screen! He is so very dramatic!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayla & Coop at the Omaha Zoo</td></tr>
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<br />
Last week we had an appointment at the Denver Children's Hospital
with
Cooper's surgeon. The good news is that Cooper has put on five pounds
and grown two full inches in four months. He now is actually on a U.S.
growth chart! The doctor said he was pleasantly surprised at Cooper's
progress and that he has
done better than he ever expected. That being said, Cooper is still not
big enough for surgery. The doctor was very frank with us and used
phrases like, "this is a very big deal," and "this is a potentially
life-threatening
surgery." We agreed that we should wait and decided that after tax
season will be a good time to do the surgery - probably next May. We
found out more details on the recovery as well. Cooper will
be in the hospital for a minimum of two weeks and he will go straight
from surgery to the intensive care unit (ICU), where he will be placed
on a ventilator. The surgeon explained that Cooper may need more than
one surgery, depending
on how much he can "close him up" during the first procedure. Once he
gets released from the hospital it will be a 10-12 week recovery at
home. We left the appointment scared to death but thankful that the
doctor
was so honest with us. We now know what we are dealing with so we can
at least try to prepare for May.<br />
We have lots planned in the upcoming months. Tomorrow Cooper gets to
celebrate his Daddy's birthday and believe me we have so much to
celebrate! We are planning our annual trip Phoenix, Arizona for
Thanksgiving to see Ryan's best
friend, Ben, and his family. This will
be our fifth trip to Phoenix for Thanksgiving. We can't wait for Cooper
to meet them! Two days ago Ryan emailed me from work and
asked, "If you HAD to fly home from Hawaii, would you rather do it
during the
day or night?" What?? Hawaii??? Ryan has a work meeting he has been
asked
to attend in Honolulu. We did some research and discovered that we
could get me a ticket using miles (China miles!) and
Cooper will fly for free since he is still under two years old. We
will be staying at the
Hale Koa on Waikiki. It is the DoD hotel right on the
beach! I am so excited. We have never been to Hawaii! <br />
<br />
We have also started the process looking for daycare for Cooper
during tax
season (Jan-Apr). We are weighing all the options and have found
local, private places, and we are also considering using the child care
on Peterson Air Force Base where Ryan works. We have our first
interview tonight. We shall see what happens! <br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
I ask myself on a daily basis, how did I get so lucky? God is
good. That's the only answer! He knew the perfect little boy our
family needed. He made us wait six years - a looooong time! Nothing
has ever been more worth the wait! Thank you to everyone who has helped
us along this
journey. Here's a little bit about Cooper you may not already know:<br />
<br />
He loves to dance! <br />
He loves to eat!<br />
He loves to make people smile!<br />
<div class="im">
<br />
He loves to play in the dirt and rocks<br />
He smiles all of the time</div>
He has about 10 words - Baby, Papa, Bye, Dog (every animal is a dog),
Mama, Dada, Uh-oh, Snack... and a few more when he makes them up.<br />
He understands absolutely everything we say<br />
He loves to eat<br />
He makes us laugh<br />
His favorite foods are broccoli, sweet potatoes, mac & cheese, pb & j, french fries, veggie fries, and apples<br />
<div class="im">
<br />
He climbs on everything<br />
He loves the bath</div>
<div class="im">
He is sooo funny</div>
His favorite toy is... our shoes!<br />
and, he loves to eat!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVZCdK1H5jXx_Rc1earX8Dr4hRXP5ChMMHKIcBzDtLMwux__iBx015uZyDSxkjrxcXzU2BViuSFoK902ZEzdBGVQtNtF6NfVwTXiKXwkbbA5XXngW1VfplprV0rzM6F_ML_T_Xwhtw-j-/s1600/IMG_5563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVZCdK1H5jXx_Rc1earX8Dr4hRXP5ChMMHKIcBzDtLMwux__iBx015uZyDSxkjrxcXzU2BViuSFoK902ZEzdBGVQtNtF6NfVwTXiKXwkbbA5XXngW1VfplprV0rzM6F_ML_T_Xwhtw-j-/s320/IMG_5563.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa Jim and Cooper at the Beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxv4_GpzHowRKhHMt8ZiY4cGWfnyR2l13LKKqjkDZnU8haHH9CdXFAdHzkmlJTWuP_RAnfwxlWGyDORyfktRdaWfrKoKvYh5s3ZgONveLMrUj8Tg7G0PeU03twqbuiHA0CWa7uQeG_70x5/s1600/IMG_5572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxv4_GpzHowRKhHMt8ZiY4cGWfnyR2l13LKKqjkDZnU8haHH9CdXFAdHzkmlJTWuP_RAnfwxlWGyDORyfktRdaWfrKoKvYh5s3ZgONveLMrUj8Tg7G0PeU03twqbuiHA0CWa7uQeG_70x5/s320/IMG_5572.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Grandma, Grizzy and Coop in Oregon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHOhwapZUavEhitcJ71VbBrB1zg18-erHBxvu3igsnvAZnBFtSZZ7quRxku5_IHgxwIvqHUU9YBvGz0TKemEKkpxLG4bbxxiLWAhVyWKCInPIG6I0fgsmWFtS3f87JXk8VI2cXQU4TGJS/s1600/IMG_5793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHOhwapZUavEhitcJ71VbBrB1zg18-erHBxvu3igsnvAZnBFtSZZ7quRxku5_IHgxwIvqHUU9YBvGz0TKemEKkpxLG4bbxxiLWAhVyWKCInPIG6I0fgsmWFtS3f87JXk8VI2cXQU4TGJS/s320/IMG_5793.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooper's New Buddy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiue29p2vd2-vageuCX28JiGQFqOXGUqxBB4y-EISi7o-OCc1FmKot8k3BlkgKynM6n5MU4ZG3gRqSa-_F4pHWtpQYC11u6LqRZkHXYyTh0Dvx-FivFlKk16ZbLjjAGuX-y0KjVl169oZRk/s1600/IMG_5801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiue29p2vd2-vageuCX28JiGQFqOXGUqxBB4y-EISi7o-OCc1FmKot8k3BlkgKynM6n5MU4ZG3gRqSa-_F4pHWtpQYC11u6LqRZkHXYyTh0Dvx-FivFlKk16ZbLjjAGuX-y0KjVl169oZRk/s320/IMG_5801.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Omaha Zoo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz7V2UAHmgXnbITSDyzbgIhXAHuyV1qwE2OitYUrWoI5QGjbnCbynw9EO9W5-p8Wq7j7FBMgfjUhMYjItYXK441aYE-_CbeXaCfCmAAbtWVsTOgZN8T9ML06f77T4JqSSaMpgVWWotISzw/s1600/IMG_5837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz7V2UAHmgXnbITSDyzbgIhXAHuyV1qwE2OitYUrWoI5QGjbnCbynw9EO9W5-p8Wq7j7FBMgfjUhMYjItYXK441aYE-_CbeXaCfCmAAbtWVsTOgZN8T9ML06f77T4JqSSaMpgVWWotISzw/s320/IMG_5837.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkin Patch - Super Heavy Pumpkin!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-89071226320987067302012-08-15T11:03:00.001-07:002012-08-15T11:03:38.776-07:00Five Weeks Home!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxjQ6JDZ3MmZhyphenhyphenYED8UBWiejXxAjyiddIm0g6BUvznSykPDvnD_A_v8K2YIW-hASDyP76Z4kzA7js6vDA-b_3LMyb9ngoGTmcR_nnYTNwXt8gwoC8c3JduzsmbOczRGT0RR5lK9Th3hOJ/s1600/meeteetse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxjQ6JDZ3MmZhyphenhyphenYED8UBWiejXxAjyiddIm0g6BUvznSykPDvnD_A_v8K2YIW-hASDyP76Z4kzA7js6vDA-b_3LMyb9ngoGTmcR_nnYTNwXt8gwoC8c3JduzsmbOczRGT0RR5lK9Th3hOJ/s200/meeteetse.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ahhh, the fresh Wyoming air!</span></td></tr>
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We have been home now for five weeks! The time has flown by, and we have done so much it feels like much longer. Cooper is doing amazing in his new digs. He has met his grandparents, his great-grandma, cousins, aunts, uncles, and his dogs. He loves Tucker (the English Bulldog) and George (the Great Dane) and likes to let everyone in the room know when he "spots" them. "DAT! DAT! DAT!" he will yell to get everyone's attention, and then point at the dog. He does that with a lot of things, but he is most excited when a new dog enters the picture. I call him our little "dog spotter." He has started helping me feed them by taking the bowl of food and putting it on the ground, then backing away!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBGC3IPfo3IIH4XzPQg7PxZJPaqQMFRuyt99ZilpuL6AF4ll9aSIGgZIsba2zaeFtidLNw7ea-MTX54y8D2t9xCvBI82SQUlukgv9ASi14-4TY-PXsalnibYKISA2TyoFXXtjuDxAq7wlf/s1600/coop-george.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cooper and George" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBGC3IPfo3IIH4XzPQg7PxZJPaqQMFRuyt99ZilpuL6AF4ll9aSIGgZIsba2zaeFtidLNw7ea-MTX54y8D2t9xCvBI82SQUlukgv9ASi14-4TY-PXsalnibYKISA2TyoFXXtjuDxAq7wlf/s200/coop-george.jpg" title="Cooper and George" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cooper and George</span></td></tr>
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He is starting to play with toys a little more and really enjoys dragging everything from his room into the living room to be on display. He also really likes shoes, and every night when I come home, there are at least two of my shoes in the living room. We have done one long trip in the car - we went to Montana/Wyoming to
visit family a few weeks ago. Cooper did great and fussed about the
same amount I would if I was strapped into the back seat for that long.<br />
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He also has learned a few words, including "more" which means "more" and "nose," interchangeably; he says the word "bubble" a lot - that one seems easy for him to say; and he says "dada." Ronda and Aunt Kearsley have worked on some sign language with him, so he can sign "please," "thank-you," "more," "water," and he is working on "up." Genius!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVe4VTNxHVnzzniL_TE3-4LB-8_vug3pjc9bgw6LgVW4VUoepA5zPMy-CMKFDKWEMeUk7ilQKbcSNIULLDKxKCyULPEyjchB9ATzGW3fDxhwECG6yUehpc2Y6ReDiuok_LvsLG93I4sCVj/s1600/bathtub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bath time!" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVe4VTNxHVnzzniL_TE3-4LB-8_vug3pjc9bgw6LgVW4VUoepA5zPMy-CMKFDKWEMeUk7ilQKbcSNIULLDKxKCyULPEyjchB9ATzGW3fDxhwECG6yUehpc2Y6ReDiuok_LvsLG93I4sCVj/s200/bathtub.jpg" title="Bath time!" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
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We have come a long way in the bath tub from <a href="http://blog.hoggdogg.com/2012/06/life-is-good.html">that first bath in China</a>. Now he claws and scratches to get IN the bathtub. He loves bath time and still loves the water!<br />
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Before we left for China, we made appointments with our Pediatrician and the surgeon at Denver Children's Hospital, so when we got home to Colorado, those were two of the first things we did. First, at the pediatrician's office, we learned that he was "normal" for a kid his age in both head circumference and height, but didn't even make the weight chart. As we expected, the surgeon echoed our pediatrician by telling us that we wouldn't be able to have his stomach repaired until he put on some weight. The surgeon estimated 6-12 months. We made an appointment to meet with him in October to see what progress has been made. Last week (one-month home) we went back to the pediatrician and learned that Cooper had gained 3 pounds and grew one inch! In a month! We may surprise the surgeon in October if he keeps up that growth! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8mPgKBbv1xMdS-wXH6dZKpVYdTtEp5J2TSHVW6yOcMQr5zlGV4lF_nxSLKzd9kNJIUVUqkTsqoMNoNsrpKpGQykvUv4x5YiOjMTE09pJRLSBGu_NLrTX6aO52UZZncHQONkiFyVAyLPq/s1600/spaghetti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Spaghetti!!!" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8mPgKBbv1xMdS-wXH6dZKpVYdTtEp5J2TSHVW6yOcMQr5zlGV4lF_nxSLKzd9kNJIUVUqkTsqoMNoNsrpKpGQykvUv4x5YiOjMTE09pJRLSBGu_NLrTX6aO52UZZncHQONkiFyVAyLPq/s320/spaghetti.jpg" title="Spaghetti!!!" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
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Cooper eats like a kid on a mission. He loves pasta, oatmeal, apple sauce, veggie straws, and dried apples. Sometimes we find a dumpling as an appetizer at a restaurant and when he tastes them he does a little wiggle dance... so he still likes dumplings too! We have had such good luck with his diet, and Ronda does an amazing job of keeping him eating foods that give him the best calories possible.<br />
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Let's see, can he work a room? Umm, yes! We have had a few occasions like family get togethers and one event at CCAI where he is in a crowd and initially is taken aback by the number of people. However, that shyness quickly fades and he starts to sparkle... and introduce himself to everyone. He likes to wave and play jokes on people, like hey - want to shake my hand? Too slow buddy! He also thinks that it is funny to call himself "dada," but he will point at me sometimes and say it too. That's good enough for me at this point. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOmWuNZJwIOiQqN1QGmIfSkyEEr4sEICXko6nvxB2sM_nF-fGhBATpKVjTcYzSaQb1S2PkNJenJ1ZFvSUgBPgNoy5uKU9CZGdaWQ9vyJ4iDiW8Nr23LKg5wzdlaM5bhMqscF0CmV4tmus/s1600/strike-a-pose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOmWuNZJwIOiQqN1QGmIfSkyEEr4sEICXko6nvxB2sM_nF-fGhBATpKVjTcYzSaQb1S2PkNJenJ1ZFvSUgBPgNoy5uKU9CZGdaWQ9vyJ4iDiW8Nr23LKg5wzdlaM5bhMqscF0CmV4tmus/s1600/strike-a-pose.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Strike a pose!</span></td></tr>
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Do we think that his development is amazing? Yes! But we aren't experts. We look forward to getting his surgery done and can't wait for him to start saying a few more words, but most of all we are sooooo happy to be at home with our little guy. He's the best and we are both in love with him!<br />
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Last week we got an <a href="http://www.ccaifamily.org/" target="_blank">email from our agency</a> telling us that there are financial savings to repeating the adoption process within a year... hmmmmmmmmmm..... more to follow on that.<br />
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Until next time, Ryan. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00536912840838510548noreply@blogger.com4Colorado Springs, CO, USA38.8338816 -104.821363438.6359796 -105.13722039999999 39.0317836 -104.5055064tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-25126027206815899122012-07-04T20:30:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.084-07:004th of July<center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/07/04/4400.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/07/04/s_4400.jpg' border='0' width='407' style='margin:5px'></a><br>Cooper's California Family</center><br />Today we are celebrating the 4th in the park with family in Escondido, CA. Cooper is having a great time with family and friends, and he loves watching the kids run around and play in the grass. We are ready for the fireworks. Tomorrow we leave California for Colorado, where we will start the next chapter! <br /><br />Much love to all those in Cali, and get ready Colorado, Cooper is coming! <br /><br />Until next time, Ryan.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00536912840838510548noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-40359251281846135592012-07-02T21:38:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.090-07:00Back in the USA!<center><br /><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/107261139255845737398/BlogPhotos02#5760797925454013266'><img src='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8NysgzZvv9Q/T_J3MPF-Y1I/AAAAAAAAFIk/ysOvMUZ8Lws/s288/5.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='533' style='margin:5px'></a><br />Ronda, Cooper, and Grizzy Outside Hong Kong Airport</center><br />This morning (Monday), we checked out of our hotel in Hong Kong and caught the bus for the airport at 8:00. We arrived at the United counter and stood in line for about 20 minutes before we checked in all of our luggage and crossed our fingers that we would see it again in the USA. We had breakfast at McDonald's and then made way for our gate. After spilling coffee on Cooper while riding the escalator, and having our water taken from us prior to boarding (apparently they won't let you purchase a bottle of water in the airport and take it on the plane with you in Hong Kong), we boarded and luckily got Cooper his bottle prior to take off. We were really trying to avoid being "those parents" with a cranky 17 month old on a long flight. <br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/107261139255845737398/BlogPhotos02#5760797939443629666'><img src='https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-WvTU7d45hlM/T_J3NDNW_mI/AAAAAAAAFIs/g4NYNW1dx2A/s288/2.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='533' style='margin:5px'></a><br />Cooper getting some Z's on the plane home</center><br />He fell asleep and we had a few naps during the fight. We made it to San Francisco with no delays and passed through immigration very smoothly. The brown envelope that the US consulate in Guangzhou prepared was exactly what the officer needed to process his immigrant status. We passed through, and Cooper was officially a US citizen. <br /><center><br /><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/107261139255845737398/BlogPhotos02#5760797974919620786'><img src='https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Phd0Ju-hfNs/T_J3PHXfqLI/AAAAAAAAFI0/KL9tnv8DuT8/s288/6.jpg' border='0' width='350' height='262' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />We picked up our bags and were met by a customs inspection beagle (scent dog) who decided that the pork buns and dumplings that we had brought for Cooper's lunch were not allowed in the USA, so we had to throw them out. We cleared customs, re-checked our bags, cleared security, and made it to the gate for our final leg to San Diego.<br /><br />In San Diego, we picked up the rental car and Ronda's brother and sister, Joel and Christy, were waiting with a car seat for Cooper. We loaded the car with all the luggage, installed the car seat, and headed north for Escondido. We arrived at Ronda's brother, Cameron's house at around 2:30. Around 4:30, Joel, his wife Martha, and Christy arrived with Cooper's cousin, Maya! The two played, although neither really knew who each other were... But it was awesome to see them together. It was something we had talked about for a long time. Cooper also got to meet his Grandma Letha, who he kept smiling and talking to all night while she tried to get him to sit still to take a photo. Cameron's amazing wife, Barb, made dinner for everyone and we sat and ate and talked, really still dizzy from the traveling we had done the previous 30 hours. <br /><center><br /><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/107261139255845737398/BlogPhotos02#5760798109619098562'><img src='https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mlwc7HCAE6c/T_J3W9KWk8I/AAAAAAAAFI8/4TjCKbVcDNc/s288/3.jpg' border='0' width='400' style='margin:5px'></a><br />Cooper playing with his cousin (not pictured)</center><br />Cooper got a bath and bottle and went to bed, and we did some laundry. Tomorrow we are going to the beach for his first ocean visit, and Wednesday we are planning to celebrate the 4th of July for the first time with our son. <br /><br />We are so blessed to have such great families and friends, and we keep thinking about all the amazing friends we have made along this journey to Cooper. If you are reading this, we are thinking of you, and hope you have made it home to your families and are relishing the time with your newest family members with your loved ones like we are. <br /><br />Until next time, Ryan.<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=San%20Diego,%20CA&z=10'>San Diego, CA</a></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00536912840838510548noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-58287838650440957222012-07-01T07:08:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.114-07:00Hong Kong Day 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSW_3I1Nh-0iAW6a6OP4u7pvf8LFUitkK4KSP5duatw8LBiRHuAEpTwfb_1nqQXtfgiJz6SIG4MJ8lQKKeN8IMfANatlbPuM2yYO2tinNHlTxgIpbhxDKgb-Kd0bgHYClJnJxIj9iQvBNu/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252030%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A05%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSW_3I1Nh-0iAW6a6OP4u7pvf8LFUitkK4KSP5duatw8LBiRHuAEpTwfb_1nqQXtfgiJz6SIG4MJ8lQKKeN8IMfANatlbPuM2yYO2tinNHlTxgIpbhxDKgb-Kd0bgHYClJnJxIj9iQvBNu/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252030%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A05%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341151606257.498" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div> We had a very full day in Hong Kong. We left the hotel at 8:30 to have breakfast at McDonalds. The breakfast here at the hotel cost $30 a person so we opted for something a tad bit more reasonably priced. The breakfast sandwiches tasted just like home and Cooper liked everything. After, we decided to brave the subway and it actually ended up to be quite easy. We took it to a large bus station in HK then boarded a bus for Stanley Market. The ride on the double decker bus was on a very crazy road and it took us about 30 minutes to get there. HK is another very large city with 9 million people. <br/><br/>We walked around the market for a couple hours. It was enjoyable but kind of hard to maneuver with a stroller. We had lunch at an Italian restaurant along the oceanfront and it was delicious. When it was time to leave the market we decided to take a taxi to our next destination, Nan Lian Garden. It took about 45 minutes to get there and Cooper was a mess the entire ride. With that being said I was trying to hide my camera from him and I forgot it in the taxi. Once I realized what I had done I got so upset. The good news is that we have backed up all of our pictures every night and I only lost the pictures from today. The bad news is I'm out my brand new camera. At the garden we found a man who works there who spoke excellent english and told him what happened. We were hoping that we could somehow contact the taxi company and have the driver return. The man called the police and they came and we had to file a police report about our missing camera. Ryan remembered the drivers name but didn't remember his number. There are so many taxi drivers here that unless the driver turns the camera in to lost and found we are out our camera. I hate when I do things like this! <br/><br/>After the meeting with the police we visited the garden. It is a beautiful place and is attached to a nunnery. We toured the grounds and found our way to another subway station. To get back to our hotel we had to switch trains three times. Cooper did great. He loves to people watch and people love to stare at us wondering what we are doing with a Chinese baby. We get quite a few questions but mostly just odd looks. <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOrGTeacDIVFokDVNFGkn1GAjBw4Lei8biI9-NFvtkWg2ShKryCKVgJEzME_O83SLUPLLAxxEyDG6YZp1xgjzGZchyphenhyphentQpAnIDMbW_g920L2AJXvTi6nniW_NbFIKa-0VEkx1ax17owSy8l/s1024/Photo%252520Jul%2525201%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A46%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOrGTeacDIVFokDVNFGkn1GAjBw4Lei8biI9-NFvtkWg2ShKryCKVgJEzME_O83SLUPLLAxxEyDG6YZp1xgjzGZchyphenhyphentQpAnIDMbW_g920L2AJXvTi6nniW_NbFIKa-0VEkx1ax17owSy8l/s400/Photo%252520Jul%2525201%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A46%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341151606249.591" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHjz1FJP3kkwLJk41ptQtfD8DVA4z8-F3_kK8W-vK5dnamcdnSTGqU_gBgraLL8gtoWx4YkISL_XFtiCVeXjH6uzug5ZSTWbs3meuH-AAeoUg-GY51Ztldf4iPZJpRHIjgqinExTuw0ep/s1024/Photo%252520Jul%2525201%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A03%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHjz1FJP3kkwLJk41ptQtfD8DVA4z8-F3_kK8W-vK5dnamcdnSTGqU_gBgraLL8gtoWx4YkISL_XFtiCVeXjH6uzug5ZSTWbs3meuH-AAeoUg-GY51Ztldf4iPZJpRHIjgqinExTuw0ep/s400/Photo%252520Jul%2525201%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A03%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341151606334.2388" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="266"></a></div>Back at the hotel we decided to use up some more of Cooper's endless energy at the pool. When he saw the water he got so excited! We are super thrilled that he likes the water. We stayed in the pool until he started to shiver. At that point we thought we should get him in a warm tub and ready for bed. We tried to keep him up as long as possible because it would be nice if he would sleep on the plane tomorrow. <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0SYw3e41HKM/T_BX2X1p5tI/AAAAAAAACFo/P-YTu-4zOJQ/s1024/Photo%252520Jul%2525201%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0SYw3e41HKM/T_BX2X1p5tI/AAAAAAAACFo/P-YTu-4zOJQ/s400/Photo%252520Jul%2525201%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341151606269.6216" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div>This is our last post from Asia. We fly from here to San Francisco tomorrow morning. It is a 12 hour flight. I have no idea what we are going to do with a squirmy little 17 month old boy on a plane for 12 hours. I feel sorry for the people around us! From San Francisco we fly to San Diego. We are staying there for a few days to visit my family. The adventure continues! <br/><br/> <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxlsBYb09DJ46e8qbP__2VE0ARYJfGTd60d_seLlxSIq5JmHNDrQPpQxblQCKcnrgMg1G-41eNZsKWU3O2bGa7AGdl_QBBfVsT39Qyk3ksaScGN8uq5rbDCcJPUsfOCMcFKJgfsIuYzfk/s1024/Photo%252520Jul%2525201%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A36%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxlsBYb09DJ46e8qbP__2VE0ARYJfGTd60d_seLlxSIq5JmHNDrQPpQxblQCKcnrgMg1G-41eNZsKWU3O2bGa7AGdl_QBBfVsT39Qyk3ksaScGN8uq5rbDCcJPUsfOCMcFKJgfsIuYzfk/s400/Photo%252520Jul%2525201%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A36%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341151606342.0813" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Two of Cooper's Favorite Things... Steam Buns and Pork Dumplings</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-51033185203258581722012-06-30T07:20:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.113-07:00Hong Kong<div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-b1jRfDyx2v6gl4VFiCOhAef1xhDKpSR4ZBhvIDCc3xEwcOUq-3ffC7IDE81rGKytoN5_mxahF0YqV7QyTdSxY8rK5q5_pYfWYVokG5eXCUEArzlnH6aFBLZu3gTnvyAIKTOzSdKjhHH9/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525202%25253A25%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-b1jRfDyx2v6gl4VFiCOhAef1xhDKpSR4ZBhvIDCc3xEwcOUq-3ffC7IDE81rGKytoN5_mxahF0YqV7QyTdSxY8rK5q5_pYfWYVokG5eXCUEArzlnH6aFBLZu3gTnvyAIKTOzSdKjhHH9/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525202%25253A25%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341065664781.6716" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Cooper enjoying his book at dinner</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><br></div> This morning we had our last breakfast in China at our hotel in Guangzhou and at 10:00, along with three other families, we boarded a van for Hong Kong. HK is a part of China but it is a special Economic Zone with its own legal system, currency, and the people of HK have their own passports. We had to go through the China border and show all of our documents and then a few yards later we had to go through the HK border and show all our documents again. Th border crossing took about 30 minutes and the entire trip was about two and a half hours. The vans were very nice and the air conditioning was excellent. They drive on the "other" side of the road in Hong Kong, so the van driver was on the right side of the van. It took some getting used to, and then all of a sudden, I looked up and we were on the wrong side of the road. I missed the crossover, and I've always wondered how that works. Ronda and I are both excited to he back to the US where we have car seats! Cooper sat on our laps, and took a nap in the baby carrier on Ronda's chest in the back of the van. A car seat would have been much easier, not to mention safer. <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjAK_tv40otr2mZx2EPeNaujvA-d3nk4xqkk8_Vy3Y_jbOJvI8fZPMzt1PXqBhd-PVVzqAuBAp1_MDarXvQD4ATcoyAUQcpwgUUvmoqwjW64pb9GACx3ZNbPSZEwDqj2KLG2yT-XqOkww/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A30%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjAK_tv40otr2mZx2EPeNaujvA-d3nk4xqkk8_Vy3Y_jbOJvI8fZPMzt1PXqBhd-PVVzqAuBAp1_MDarXvQD4ATcoyAUQcpwgUUvmoqwjW64pb9GACx3ZNbPSZEwDqj2KLG2yT-XqOkww/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A30%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341065664808.6672" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Ummm, wrong side?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><br></div> We arrived at our hotel in Hong Kong around 1:00 and checked in. We had to change some money, because they use the Hong Kong Dollar and not the Chinese Yuan. I had some Chinese money left, so I tried to change it, but they only accept 50's and 100's. I only had one 100 and a bunch of 10's and 5's. So I was stuck with 80Â¥. Then I realized it's not that big of a deal since its only about 12 US dollars. Since we arrived before check-in, some of our group's rooms weren't ready yet. They gave the bellman their check-in luggage and brought their carry-ons to our room. Then three of the families, including ourselves, decided to take the hotel shuttle to the local shopping area recommended by the concierge.<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Gh17AbxpUYmwuatLkCQl4bCOh89Px3reHWxaYQYXEbmrv_MlAtSJGA2qGL_u5gYlSmEQ1fHxcus0fZ1zWbontD_292exPZasaUlNazbLXUMuPzZ_Dk1To0bdbBslwXIeeUzEYButzCRJ/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A09%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Gh17AbxpUYmwuatLkCQl4bCOh89Px3reHWxaYQYXEbmrv_MlAtSJGA2qGL_u5gYlSmEQ1fHxcus0fZ1zWbontD_292exPZasaUlNazbLXUMuPzZ_Dk1To0bdbBslwXIeeUzEYButzCRJ/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A09%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341065664869.8608" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Outlet shopping near the hotel</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">We are staying at the Marriott next to the airport. While it is going to be very easy to catch our flight on Monday morning, it really isn't that close to much else. So I was a little skeptical about what we were going to find at this "shopping area." Much to my surprise it was a huge outlet mall with a gondola and several stores we actually recognized. We settled on a Spaghetti restaurant for dinner, and got a table right as a huge storm was blowing in lots of rain. The food was very good, and everyone was excited about finding a place to eat that they really enjoyed!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibqhwRbYQviVRCK6SU8YKpteMQ3hhyphenhyphen0anz7bpXUbj-WCx6uxGV_eenH-H3-inr8h_5Jm8tNIurYjbRhpDg0ROOoOCcA2Re7s7jMEv0AQTFVN2ikyeiek6lVAX6QZQauAMdTFxD1RkE24K/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A50%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibqhwRbYQviVRCK6SU8YKpteMQ3hhyphenhyphen0anz7bpXUbj-WCx6uxGV_eenH-H3-inr8h_5Jm8tNIurYjbRhpDg0ROOoOCcA2Re7s7jMEv0AQTFVN2ikyeiek6lVAX6QZQauAMdTFxD1RkE24K/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A50%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341065664796.6963" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Ronda and Grizzy at dinner</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">After dinner, we split up and two of the families (yes, us) decided to take the gondola. Ronda had read about a huge Buddha statue in Hong Kong and we saw some photos of the statue around th shopping mall. So, after some conversing with the gondola operators and ticket salespeople, we figured out that the gondola actually takes you over the bay and to the island where the Buddha statue is located.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpLe23_KfEuCh4uSWPWAip7Qkp_ZOl1vwZcPVqKMe7F4x3-k3a2ogJFf381vxhsoHhRWfq-Fq3FulZBbyuCHIthx2aF2lkFoxgSHzUcEGp4TzPeSr7o03ao3L62qWnzvBvMRElT-JwPgge/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpLe23_KfEuCh4uSWPWAip7Qkp_ZOl1vwZcPVqKMe7F4x3-k3a2ogJFf381vxhsoHhRWfq-Fq3FulZBbyuCHIthx2aF2lkFoxgSHzUcEGp4TzPeSr7o03ao3L62qWnzvBvMRElT-JwPgge/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341065664829.5356" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Gondola ride!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86QlNVEDMZ1n0BYjbaJq317tSET3z2NefzJaotZ_t90hIdBzyobJzTIJN2lH5vVItKX-LqMNRGM6P43WaeQw2PLlk7DtPaL3wP-h4HXxP3p_MFdW_OoTSgxIkkNzxub9nwiiqB6SbQCpr/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A24%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86QlNVEDMZ1n0BYjbaJq317tSET3z2NefzJaotZ_t90hIdBzyobJzTIJN2lH5vVItKX-LqMNRGM6P43WaeQw2PLlk7DtPaL3wP-h4HXxP3p_MFdW_OoTSgxIkkNzxub9nwiiqB6SbQCpr/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A24%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341065664883.002" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Family photo on the gondola</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">It was still windy and a little rainy when we boarded the gondola, but halfway over the bay and up the mountain, the clouds cleared and blue sky appeared. It was really beautiful aand the sights were breathtaking! After about 20 minutes, we finally sighted the huge statue. It was so cool. We arrived at the end of the gondola about five minutes later and started walking towards the statue. The statue was closed and the last gondola left about 45 minutes after we got there, so we hurried to see as much as we could during our short time. It was one of the coolest things we have done on the trip so far! It is a Buddhist monastery and temple, and there are brahma bulls walking around, and sleeping dogs all over. Cooper really liked the animals. Since it is at the top of a mountain on the coast, the wind was whipping, and the flags were really flapping. We saw as much as we could, and then got back on the gondola. We got back to the bottom and took the hotel shuttle back to the airport hotel.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKItmU8g76c49ZptTE9wxVZ5rpQKA5SPl22-Kw8gPaMOlz1GKV3hPUy1AeWtRO0G5KMHMmxPEl3q5Karq1uondR0h0npQuyoEkdgEbmxUDI-BYCe4r_vZV5lFRSFXYyvaI5-HyaL891bVW/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A02%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKItmU8g76c49ZptTE9wxVZ5rpQKA5SPl22-Kw8gPaMOlz1GKV3hPUy1AeWtRO0G5KMHMmxPEl3q5Karq1uondR0h0npQuyoEkdgEbmxUDI-BYCe4r_vZV5lFRSFXYyvaI5-HyaL891bVW/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A02%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341065664809.8704" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">The statue</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGImed2nxVhPopIHWL9Rpxrj8g6eaRNd88o-epmENSJRXHa-6sGNLHDIjNoyyCoMj70QQASJHvNTLEf7REd8lYBif9WTwNyqKycJw_QilIikB6hJ7w1SueWyOckQkrQ8EvyeHsIHy3eAMh/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A01%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGImed2nxVhPopIHWL9Rpxrj8g6eaRNd88o-epmENSJRXHa-6sGNLHDIjNoyyCoMj70QQASJHvNTLEf7REd8lYBif9WTwNyqKycJw_QilIikB6hJ7w1SueWyOckQkrQ8EvyeHsIHy3eAMh/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A01%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341065664814.097" class="alignnone" width="400" height="300" alt=""></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">The flags we really flapping!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2P2LXPA26Ic/T-8HG3Wkt-I/AAAAAAAACD8/G0BBcs2tT3o/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A58%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2P2LXPA26Ic/T-8HG3Wkt-I/AAAAAAAACD8/G0BBcs2tT3o/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252029%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A58%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1341065664880.3108" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Bull lounge</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><br></div>We have one full day left here and we plan to make it count. We are planning to go to the Stanley Market tomorrow as well as a popular Asian garden in the center of Hong Kong. We may even attempt the metro! We leave here on Monday morning at 11:00. One more day and we are going to make it count! <br/><br/>Until next time, Ryan. <br/><br/> <br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-42458430206334652552012-06-29T07:52:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.112-07:00Last Day in Guangzhou<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbCdZbocj114ozRsEmShZmIylWjE2UgSMuKqOlXJogbPaiaPoz3qeJCRxMUYUQVp8wZlICRPvLR9wzQfs2ueJbbXSSVm9FiB9MeR3sBEhVRS7xS8gBpYXGmdvkVIPs2W5CY8Ms8NJxwSC/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252028%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A54%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbCdZbocj114ozRsEmShZmIylWjE2UgSMuKqOlXJogbPaiaPoz3qeJCRxMUYUQVp8wZlICRPvLR9wzQfs2ueJbbXSSVm9FiB9MeR3sBEhVRS7xS8gBpYXGmdvkVIPs2W5CY8Ms8NJxwSC/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252028%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A54%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340981455427.493" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="302"></a></div> Today is our last night in mainland China. Tomorrow we take a three hour van ride to Hong Kong. That means we are almost home! <br/><br/>We had a very relaxed morning until 10:30am when we met in the garden for group pictures. We started by taking pictures of each individual family and then we did the whole group and then a picture of just the children. Everything was great until we put the babies together for their picture. Cooper has his first public meltdown! For some reason he was not happy and as you will see in the picture he is not a pretty crier! His entire face turns red. After the photo shoot I picked him up and he continued to sob so I took him to the room and gave him a bottle followed by a three hour nap. Our plan for the day was for the three of us to visit the fabric market. I volunteered to stay at the hotel with Cooper. Ryan was a good son and took his mom to buy some fabric. They came back and she had spent $4.00! Wow big spender! <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnA1BkceYmTibYHYCxV8Kvq0296_fN4tT4jmImbpdVxa1ShxlrBO-jrqYyYZCMvFjQaFBYiZ0YKoykXZAkR-tSA5AbOzXtGWdQIP7qmRGLJEVfedfVAYHtT27nYwLTUc_BdNKKb-XeNAT/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252028%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A47%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnA1BkceYmTibYHYCxV8Kvq0296_fN4tT4jmImbpdVxa1ShxlrBO-jrqYyYZCMvFjQaFBYiZ0YKoykXZAkR-tSA5AbOzXtGWdQIP7qmRGLJEVfedfVAYHtT27nYwLTUc_BdNKKb-XeNAT/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252028%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A47%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340981455482.2446" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="366"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaETYs4H-8nDFJ15jsO3BrE-f1pllBWxQ17a1xdEbPHT13ylNS3uX9RUdacjP2fQ-GEjKxIBm4QUrEOZQqufEkUK7lmxQ0Gqw7A4I3zQd57TDcLu40cD31bvu3vkLtOr-L9ELNXf2djWoA/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252028%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A58%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaETYs4H-8nDFJ15jsO3BrE-f1pllBWxQ17a1xdEbPHT13ylNS3uX9RUdacjP2fQ-GEjKxIBm4QUrEOZQqufEkUK7lmxQ0Gqw7A4I3zQd57TDcLu40cD31bvu3vkLtOr-L9ELNXf2djWoA/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252028%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A58%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340981455410.1223" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="266"></a></div>While Cooper was still sleeping Ryan and I decided to go to the Guangzhou Museum. It is located in the big park we visited a few days ago. We had to hike up a huge hill to get there. I cannot stress enough how hot it is here. I thought I was going to die. This park is amazing though and after the museum we walked back to the hotel through the park. I would really love to visit this city in either the spring or fall. <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPJIjWgi1Do0lYNzH474q4X2sWNtLccXMXxw1pAX8hq2IngLXla1AH5OZ7UiPli78qkSSVmIloycPVkpp1MssqJMNfeI3R2edl_knP4-eDZMuu4dH4mvVK5wHqr-OCV6BRV_JChdsOZG1/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252028%25252C%2525202012%25252011%25253A37%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPJIjWgi1Do0lYNzH474q4X2sWNtLccXMXxw1pAX8hq2IngLXla1AH5OZ7UiPli78qkSSVmIloycPVkpp1MssqJMNfeI3R2edl_knP4-eDZMuu4dH4mvVK5wHqr-OCV6BRV_JChdsOZG1/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252028%25252C%2525202012%25252011%25253A37%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340981455482.3533" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="534"></a></div>At 4:00pm we had a meeting to pick up our child's visas and to say goodbye to the first family who left. We got Cooper's passport back with his US Visa allowing him to enter the United States. We also got a large brown envelope that has three seals on it and is also sealed in a plastic bag to give to US Immigration. We were given strict rules to not open the brown envelope or we will ave to go through these past two weeks again! The Immigration officer in San Francisco will know what to do with it. <br/><br/>We had heard about a few Irish pubs in the area so we joined another family and caught a cab to check on of them out. It was delicious! I wish we would have found this place sooner because we probably would have eaten every meal there. <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-reriu9gRTDM/T-3AIaM40QI/AAAAAAAACDg/pg0NZBSrZ-c/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252028%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A53%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-reriu9gRTDM/T-3AIaM40QI/AAAAAAAACDg/pg0NZBSrZ-c/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252028%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A53%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340981455456.051" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="300" alt=""></a></div>We have almost everything packed. Check out is at 10:00am tomorrow morning so this is our last post from China! ~Ronda<br/><br/> <br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-21664814424440483302012-06-28T06:46:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.080-07:00Consulate Appointment<div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqtGvnviSgGs8vPF5_fg3IxHIVS4A-U7iOwRf9r9WUo5agxizEIiWx6ga1WiWMDhW1mAidq8DoQKMQ_89SS0tvN_N9fGBZDwmU6WDfxSmH7feOJHFLPBxhRhvL4EYWj65j3EKrAqKtnl9/s936/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A06%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqtGvnviSgGs8vPF5_fg3IxHIVS4A-U7iOwRf9r9WUo5agxizEIiWx6ga1WiWMDhW1mAidq8DoQKMQ_89SS0tvN_N9fGBZDwmU6WDfxSmH7feOJHFLPBxhRhvL4EYWj65j3EKrAqKtnl9/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A06%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340890880052.1836" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="438"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">On the Bus to the Consulate!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><br></div> Today was the day we've been waiting for for a really long time!!! Today we met with the consular officer and took the oath for Cooper to become an American citizen! We started the day with another breakfast at our hotel, and then met our group in the hotel lobby at 9:00 to board the bus for the US Consulate in Guangzhou. Everyone dressed up a little bit for the day, and lots of people wore their red, white, and blue for the occasion. Cooper, Ronda, and I wore our coordinating flag colors like everyone else. We took some photos in the hotel lobby and then got on the bus. <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WhHc1MX9uaU/T-xcTphZSfI/AAAAAAAACCA/sExosLwWrcA/s1009/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A00%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-WhHc1MX9uaU/T-xcTphZSfI/AAAAAAAACCA/sExosLwWrcA/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A00%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340890880008.5103" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="406"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Ready for the Consulate Appointment!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><br></div> We arrived at the consulate and bypassed the lines of people waiting to get their US visas in order to travel to the United States. We were led to the fourth floor, where we had to leave our strollers, cameras, phones, and iPads and go through a metal detector. Once past the security check, we were led into a waiting room where we found a few other couple who were also waiting to meet with the consular officer, but they weren't part of our group. Once we were all seated, a woman (from behind a bulletproof window) introduced herself and explained how the process would work. Then she administered the "oath," which turned out to be more of a promise that we hadn't lied about anything we put in our adoption paperwork, and less like a citizenship oath. Then they started calling names, and Ronda, Cooper, and I were the last ones called. We approached the counter, handed the lady behind the glass our paperwork, and after two minutes of pap shuffling, she gave us a few forms back and that was it. Not a lot excitement for this much fanfare. Then we followed our group back past security, got our phones and cameras, and went back to the lobby, where we took some pictures withe the consulate sign and the flag. We got back to the hotel by 11:30. The morning went quick.<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBKEPp_Hly-P4Y4wpLU0V4wn6a14I2QFiwT9cCIa0t1Jnh-1h8McS9PdT4dyp-UgqABwhHnXzworPYOGa_1FEVx0UJoeiMOfUR5Dj_7Yl8QR6UM5RcOeSMv9ZPOFl2TS5ufYV_GQ7kGoU/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A25%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBKEPp_Hly-P4Y4wpLU0V4wn6a14I2QFiwT9cCIa0t1Jnh-1h8McS9PdT4dyp-UgqABwhHnXzworPYOGa_1FEVx0UJoeiMOfUR5Dj_7Yl8QR6UM5RcOeSMv9ZPOFl2TS5ufYV_GQ7kGoU/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A25%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340890880019.7976" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Lines to get US visas outside the Consulate</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGshgnjv4sK9o71YS2ivODzxdgqegtBD26kZ6-DpWpHmR6GKBDP7O5xUGqN2MQriF1IrGXjqdPdXJN1RoxklUvVf3p4rshlDdZJJWZULZ_sPSrWdE5xluEDoHNvW1bczv2H530Pqae9S0H/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A45%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGshgnjv4sK9o71YS2ivODzxdgqegtBD26kZ6-DpWpHmR6GKBDP7O5xUGqN2MQriF1IrGXjqdPdXJN1RoxklUvVf3p4rshlDdZJJWZULZ_sPSrWdE5xluEDoHNvW1bczv2H530Pqae9S0H/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A45%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340890880067.5613" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="218"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Appointment Complete!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We then decided to meet with some other families at the pool to hang out in the afternoon. We put Cooper down for a nap (Grizzy volunteered again to watch him) and got some quick takeout from Starbucks and McDonald's, and went to the hotel pool. We swam for about an hour, and then went back to the room and got Cooper and Grizzy and went back to the pool. Cooper loved the water. He swam, and swam, and swam!! He wore his new trunks that barely fit, and his little red swimming shirt to cover his belly. But he loved the pool. We stayed there for a couple more hours, just swimming and hanging out with our new friends.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRauPO1znFKWSAjFSOg4YhxP4eS6KC3tG4N8hBh9skMhqVb6xNTHwDwHHWQCU5GDjal5v-GRSDCK-6GA4unr-40FdBJhoG3YLDd7GrZU-FKZgAC04grKjbtstAozh3ZWKgzLWHOqlubY_/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A28%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRauPO1znFKWSAjFSOg4YhxP4eS6KC3tG4N8hBh9skMhqVb6xNTHwDwHHWQCU5GDjal5v-GRSDCK-6GA4unr-40FdBJhoG3YLDd7GrZU-FKZgAC04grKjbtstAozh3ZWKgzLWHOqlubY_/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A28%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340890880019.0154" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="329"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Ronda and Cooper at the Hotel Pool</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><br></div>We have really got to know some of the families really well, and we hope to stay in close contact once we part ways in a few days. It has been so awesome watching all of these kids get better and better acquainted with their parents and their surroundings over the past week. The difference from last week in all of these kids is night and day. It has been great to have other families that are going through the same sort of issues that we have, to talk to and bounce ideas back and forth, and we have really grown into one big family over the past 14 days!<br/><br/>We met our friends for dinner at a restaurant in our hotel called "Food Street" which is an attempt to capture Chinese street food favors in a large, loud restaurant setting. They got the large and loud part right, and it was a good thing that the restaurant was loud before we got there. We showed up with about 22 people for dinner and found two big tables in the back. We laughed, talked, and ate some Chinese food, and the kids were overall fairly happy in their kiddy seats. One of the couples ordered a Peking Duck for dinner. When they asked the waitress for the duck, she said that it came in two courses, and that would be too much for them to eat alone. So they agreed to only one course. When the duck came out, it looked spectacular, and they did a nice presentation. Then the waitress began to carve it and she only carved off the skin! That's the first course, just the skin. I guess the rest of the duck is the second course, and most people have it prepared in another dish once the skin has been removed. It was funny to watch, and the couple laughed about it, but I'm sure they went to McDonald's after the meal was over, because there was lots of leftover duck skin! <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaN30rv4ek4ulShmH0Gap_MOPoCk5-dBrK38fvz2QdI7JpXjwLqlkRKgoxMybP9Xpg43t8q5TOu9E1kM2fJ6KzuA-v1YzCInhtwwBWCxBctj3IXTRU4_6Zn9cCepILtAXsddmEueScquIQ/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A19%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaN30rv4ek4ulShmH0Gap_MOPoCk5-dBrK38fvz2QdI7JpXjwLqlkRKgoxMybP9Xpg43t8q5TOu9E1kM2fJ6KzuA-v1YzCInhtwwBWCxBctj3IXTRU4_6Zn9cCepILtAXsddmEueScquIQ/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A19%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340890880019.291" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Carving the Peking Duck!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjGnq9fVWY44heasVL-cN33Piz9EtFiFP3eGRwqLiCdVWW67S1KiRZsMINHh9qBvZNzK7byQ5rTj8JfUjE-i12R9cuqzFa2eM5wPkYn23v0zcuVtp6I3nUtxHHnGXkrx9Iu4DOxfCFzeX/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A54%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjGnq9fVWY44heasVL-cN33Piz9EtFiFP3eGRwqLiCdVWW67S1KiRZsMINHh9qBvZNzK7byQ5rTj8JfUjE-i12R9cuqzFa2eM5wPkYn23v0zcuVtp6I3nUtxHHnGXkrx9Iu4DOxfCFzeX/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A54%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340890879984.793" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">The Food Street Chefs</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEircJlLM0W88n3Jb0zBe0JBHI6t5y0mQr_T_XOGtj9unkpHmhsBLcM50caHya7qKpnib81bQ3SnfEn4nkG_nVAbHlJBs1QRY2TKpdciBudBEvhp81_C3aKCOIQL3B9NTjj4Dr9hpxFd3YYP/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A54%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEircJlLM0W88n3Jb0zBe0JBHI6t5y0mQr_T_XOGtj9unkpHmhsBLcM50caHya7qKpnib81bQ3SnfEn4nkG_nVAbHlJBs1QRY2TKpdciBudBEvhp81_C3aKCOIQL3B9NTjj4Dr9hpxFd3YYP/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A54%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340890879991.831" class="alignnone" width="400" height="250" alt=""></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">How Much is that Ducky in the Window?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We finished dinner and came back to the room, gave Cooper a bath, a bottle, and he went right to sleep. Very tired from a big day! I am so excited that he likes the water, and I can't wait to get him in the lake! Tomorrow we will take our group photo and then we are planning a trip to a fabric market for Grizzy. In the afternoon we will get Cooper's passport back with his US visa in it. Once we land in San Francisco, he will automatically become a US citizen, and we can apply for his new, blue US passport. We will leave Guangzhou on Saturday morning in a bus destined for Hong Kong. Our trip is nearing its end, but we have a few more exciting days ahead of us!<br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><br></div> Until next time, Ryan.<br/><br/><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisciKwXiI9nuuvTdutfDCMNBtR3T4AKq8o5G49ccdG5-vB6vcRLLjByy98HjAPSM-Ylqy6buB4xpK6dEninjDDnJNRJbgH2Tf8xd_PCayh25eeyH8Go3aqQv9ize1dQEcUuCCmS4IoMcZz/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A15%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisciKwXiI9nuuvTdutfDCMNBtR3T4AKq8o5G49ccdG5-vB6vcRLLjByy98HjAPSM-Ylqy6buB4xpK6dEninjDDnJNRJbgH2Tf8xd_PCayh25eeyH8Go3aqQv9ize1dQEcUuCCmS4IoMcZz/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A15%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340890880071.3784" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="371"></a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-3127708037366374762012-06-27T07:04:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.088-07:00Pearl Market, Pet Market and Shamian Island<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">First I want to say that my heart is breaking for my city that I love. We have been trying to stay up to date with the fire. It is so very sad. I am sending my prayers.</font><br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkhUUGzQJgXl5eT9hnhp_vq3izGONaulAXLdu1v90CHbqCKMeknH8URw_op5xr4MLeta2eYgiSUgHSWTyMxOHrGIlQlI78YVJ8oIZqsWSI_LP_4u97Nfula2q-EZT8AgFYaU1uW4Y1Z9S/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A40%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkhUUGzQJgXl5eT9hnhp_vq3izGONaulAXLdu1v90CHbqCKMeknH8URw_op5xr4MLeta2eYgiSUgHSWTyMxOHrGIlQlI78YVJ8oIZqsWSI_LP_4u97Nfula2q-EZT8AgFYaU1uW4Y1Z9S/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A40%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340806137510.1123" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Cooper at Breakfast</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Today was a free day. Our guides organized a shopping trip for us so we left the hotel at 11:00am to head off to the Pearl Market. It is a six story shopping mall filled with pearls and any other kind of bead or stone imaginable. We went to a store on the top floor where we got a lesson on pearls. There are many classes of pearls and the price ranges depending on the quality of the pearl. I've read about this market before and knew I wanted to purchase a strand. My hope is to someday give them to Cooper's wife. I decided on a high quality stand (so they say) and they string them right there and add a beautiful clasp. I think they are beautiful and I'm very happy with my purchase.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-KI-eiE8jW94/T-sPmqoHGfI/AAAAAAAACAg/tObJuQZt6Yc/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A35%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-KI-eiE8jW94/T-sPmqoHGfI/AAAAAAAACAg/tObJuQZt6Yc/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A35%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340806137490.6897" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Pearl Market</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioha_YcadlzDlSiZ6316WkRczTqqPlexIF9s73yrAJ-IlLZ9tC7YCsYMXb5cEWfe8EpQJJKW0zNWUUwfWrQZxbm0LJRRIFMl-aRLfPSjcf6T04S5bhZIaUQvHCLI_aQmIx8biAr8bkaIkU/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A41%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioha_YcadlzDlSiZ6316WkRczTqqPlexIF9s73yrAJ-IlLZ9tC7YCsYMXb5cEWfe8EpQJJKW0zNWUUwfWrQZxbm0LJRRIFMl-aRLfPSjcf6T04S5bhZIaUQvHCLI_aQmIx8biAr8bkaIkU/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A41%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340806137502.7031" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Strands of Pearls for Sale</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">We left the shopping mall to walk to the famous Shamian Island. Most all adopting families used to stay at The White Swan Hotel which is located on the island but it is now closed for renovations. The quaint island has many Western influences. We walked from the Pearl Market to get to the island. We passed a pet market and a spice market. They are two things that would never pass strict American health and safety codes but were quite interesting to see. Walking to the island I started to feel very dizzy and sick to my stomach. We decided to have lunch first at a restaurant called Lucy's. It is a popular eating establishment for adopting families because they serve American food. Before we got to the restaurant it started to downpour. The rain does not cool anything off here. It just makes it more humid. Have I mentioned its very hot and humid here? At the restaurant I started to feel worse so unfortunately we had to cut our time on the island short. I'm pretty sure I had heat exhaustion. We took a taxi back to our hotel and I slept all afternoon. We were in the taxi about 20 minutes and it only cost about $4.00!</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmWZ8oHPZQd5-lpYLMF06w1rB6xxfPrljsfMhMEMZprCY7-NVl7x7g6pEoOJQZ7KqfIbhsXTLT4XDdDf9D6NyALO02A4LWZpADELgwuZjHY8K_vX1iw5OMCCtsX1kll6uDPvfu70-MNwq/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%25252012%25253A59%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmWZ8oHPZQd5-lpYLMF06w1rB6xxfPrljsfMhMEMZprCY7-NVl7x7g6pEoOJQZ7KqfIbhsXTLT4XDdDf9D6NyALO02A4LWZpADELgwuZjHY8K_vX1iw5OMCCtsX1kll6uDPvfu70-MNwq/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202012%25252012%25253A59%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340806137449.0686" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="534"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Lizards on a Stick! Yummy!</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpAxgftjuBFPliXrDbm7aN_NUoQKml6oWnA7R1FGnh23ymKWvL0oHN4lii6HdO24ctgRbQaeNNtKe85syy5jD3jCbKIOcjF4OOlJwYSTwhVMYH5JRMYca_K4JvComYM9JBkzPeoOp4Uxj/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A49%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpAxgftjuBFPliXrDbm7aN_NUoQKml6oWnA7R1FGnh23ymKWvL0oHN4lii6HdO24ctgRbQaeNNtKe85syy5jD3jCbKIOcjF4OOlJwYSTwhVMYH5JRMYca_K4JvComYM9JBkzPeoOp4Uxj/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A49%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340806137446.8982" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Fish for Sale at the Pet Market</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbLiirooa_5_uVNkW5ZmyxS7hwrqCAGy7tzxgoaICLmjWx1X36cvTx8CPogk0ByHDoxM9MSc4qz6TFD3kxbwKrIb1q1cURgQF0__BwQzfJGJnXIT5j9bfOLzOMpj4-BqjbpfAwCpKaH2V/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A55%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbLiirooa_5_uVNkW5ZmyxS7hwrqCAGy7tzxgoaICLmjWx1X36cvTx8CPogk0ByHDoxM9MSc4qz6TFD3kxbwKrIb1q1cURgQF0__BwQzfJGJnXIT5j9bfOLzOMpj4-BqjbpfAwCpKaH2V/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A55%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340806137458.672" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Spices on Wholesale</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-kkyuD5Am1Kk/T-sP3081THI/AAAAAAAACBA/daYD2BLLbGE/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A56%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-kkyuD5Am1Kk/T-sP3081THI/AAAAAAAACBA/daYD2BLLbGE/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A56%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340806137508.5598" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="534"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Ryan, Grizzy, and Cooper Cruising Through the Market</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Ryan and Grizzy spent the afternoon entertaining Cooper while I slept. He is such a smart little guy. I really can't wait for everyone to meet him. Tomorrow is the day we have been waiting for, our US Consulate appointment. ~Ronda</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hlSwvcJylFw/T-sP8f4ZIjI/AAAAAAAACBI/SHD4bsB_KEE/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A42%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hlSwvcJylFw/T-sP8f4ZIjI/AAAAAAAACBI/SHD4bsB_KEE/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252026%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A42%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340806137543.495" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="534"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Cooper!</font></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"> </font><br/><br/> <br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-78769334881574934882012-06-26T06:53:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.123-07:00The Guangzhou Zoo<div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MgKg1PD96s0/T-m6Uxli7zI/AAAAAAAAB_M/QOSTL-ARX8M/s777/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A43%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MgKg1PD96s0/T-m6Uxli7zI/AAAAAAAAB_M/QOSTL-ARX8M/s350/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A43%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340718879136.1118" class="alignnone" alt="" width="350" height="461"></a></font></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Today we went to the Guangzhou City Zoo. We had breakfast at the hotel and left on the bus at about 9:30. Most of the families in our group went today, the ones that didn't go with us had already been there on previous adoption trips. It was very hot and muggy today, so that made the zoo trip and all the walking up the stairs with strollers even more fun!! </font><br/><br/><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">The first main exhibit we visited was the Asian Bears. They were very cool, and one of them was in the pool, just swimming with his head above water. There was another one that was pacing along the bank of the pool. They looked like black bears in the USA with bad haircuts! They were really funny looking, but fun to watch. Cooper doesn't know the difference, so he didn't get the haircut joke. Next we saw the tigers, and Ronda filmed a young pair of tigers playing in a pool of water. It was another cool thing to watch. They play pretty rough! The last main exhibit we saw was the pandas. I have heard people say you need to do two things while you are in China: climb the Great Wall and see some pandas. If that's the case, then mission accomplished, let's go home.</font><br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-89Mmqd7T5LU/T-m6IQe8LzI/AAAAAAAAB-s/xm3h6fEJySQ/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A53%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-89Mmqd7T5LU/T-m6IQe8LzI/AAAAAAAAB-s/xm3h6fEJySQ/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A53%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340718879157.6013" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">The Main Entrance to the Zoo</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFpjh_hSiLqDuKEZ-7PV-pUly-XrCVBw1gzLY-7I5aPSjnxPlLkI7iwbuZ9n2HvY2gpXPmxaOjKjwE5zkGp9C27_Lev64tKsAc_SmFR9orBblDMFgU0tCFtiBeSIVZ1hy6zjQLsLg4yw5/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A17%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFpjh_hSiLqDuKEZ-7PV-pUly-XrCVBw1gzLY-7I5aPSjnxPlLkI7iwbuZ9n2HvY2gpXPmxaOjKjwE5zkGp9C27_Lev64tKsAc_SmFR9orBblDMFgU0tCFtiBeSIVZ1hy6zjQLsLg4yw5/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A17%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340718879155.965" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Funny Asian Bear Taking a Dip</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtyR1_OsBwEH89y3xOvJa7lNQAZqn-MVSZuntGbw6IWRR88ks1GLVFPb5_rLETQ_O7dz2hCvUQGkoGRCw_IQ4_g7hOUYO9PqPKxdeJQvxn39SgNJk1I7fP4RrLBoNRwtZja33IDdJsYmxn/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A36%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtyR1_OsBwEH89y3xOvJa7lNQAZqn-MVSZuntGbw6IWRR88ks1GLVFPb5_rLETQ_O7dz2hCvUQGkoGRCw_IQ4_g7hOUYO9PqPKxdeJQvxn39SgNJk1I7fP4RrLBoNRwtZja33IDdJsYmxn/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A36%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340718879129.602" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Tigers Playing in the Water</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhussL09MpqyPXaH5OfzzLG5N-YtKVP_VVSXR2aJq-g9zexLCD2aU-hxB0NVEX4vp7DfK6AfCWj5qkoZLJOxUjTGCnHx03TGxFgZUkRY-JlcrbIL9kSAhrz8-zZDJYokq24RVdCX1WexX3z/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A04%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhussL09MpqyPXaH5OfzzLG5N-YtKVP_VVSXR2aJq-g9zexLCD2aU-hxB0NVEX4vp7DfK6AfCWj5qkoZLJOxUjTGCnHx03TGxFgZUkRY-JlcrbIL9kSAhrz8-zZDJYokq24RVdCX1WexX3z/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A04%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340718879186.4211" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="360"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Panda Watch</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEPEQcS8Dxow7sWaI00kCCZHn0V6YoMytx5KaeTfTPB8TOJSSexm_ARB6HhYggrdk7bTmdhFGBietQyj5Rj9qe1ibZxTuzbJVlmX9ziN5BE4MF75t_77KJhIYnaCgS7N16_kLnGILNK0l/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A55%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEPEQcS8Dxow7sWaI00kCCZHn0V6YoMytx5KaeTfTPB8TOJSSexm_ARB6HhYggrdk7bTmdhFGBietQyj5Rj9qe1ibZxTuzbJVlmX9ziN5BE4MF75t_77KJhIYnaCgS7N16_kLnGILNK0l/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A55%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340718879218.5513" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Don't Pet Me!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Cooper had a good time at the zoo, but the humidity combined with the increasing heat made for an extremely sweaty time. We were happy to get back on the bus and ride back to our 5-star hotel. When we got back, Grizzy got us lunch at McDonald's and we had lunch in the room while Cooper took his nap. Grizzy volunteered to watch Cooper while Ronda and I went to the pool, so we took advantage of the offer. The pool at this hotel is very nice, and we had a good time hanging out talking with a few other couples in our group who were also try to get some relief from the heat.</font><br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAaLRVLHpSxIBEBY_lDdAULjME3MPcnkQ52VhZkAnC6AsoP7lmAFxEg4tf-ZEX4dtQDhk3FCmDTav8WDaUDvnyWqq2cIcMQaunQ4dK0mJ2O5Zt8OGRytrLUYTGein-_idOXla5OvIYkez/s896/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A59%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAaLRVLHpSxIBEBY_lDdAULjME3MPcnkQ52VhZkAnC6AsoP7lmAFxEg4tf-ZEX4dtQDhk3FCmDTav8WDaUDvnyWqq2cIcMQaunQ4dK0mJ2O5Zt8OGRytrLUYTGein-_idOXla5OvIYkez/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A59%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340718879124.7024" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="457"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Cooper's Nap Time</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"></font></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">At 4:00, our reps met with us in the hotel business center to go over all the paperwork needed for our consulate appointment on Thursday. It was exciting to get out all the documents we've been preparing, notarizing, authorizing and mailing over the past six years, and placing them in a pile for their final purpose... to get our son a visa in his passport so we can take him home!!</font><br/><br/><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">For dinner we decided to take Cooper for a walk back down the street to the restaurant we ate at on Sunday night. We think that the medicine he is taking to get over his cough makes him a little drowsy, which also makes him a little cranky. He fussed the whole way the and back, which made the whole trip somewhat difficult... I know, welcome to parenthood! </font><br/><br/><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Tomorrow we go the the Guangzhou Pearl Market and we're going to visit the Shaman Island area for some shopping. Another day of fun before our main purpose here, the consulate appointment on Thursday. Until tomorrow, Ryan.</font><br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYH8FdHuDPqDmiJpxLpMMaXLTFGtidsyYjxqxOMhSbzihLD7qJZWEbohIW4Qthm4tCOWr30-YD70RXn2UYdcz_csLuwILGbIfsxeOea43Mh9xi-E5QSl2582icB4_HwmEUi1s540uh4tCS/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A39%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYH8FdHuDPqDmiJpxLpMMaXLTFGtidsyYjxqxOMhSbzihLD7qJZWEbohIW4Qthm4tCOWr30-YD70RXn2UYdcz_csLuwILGbIfsxeOea43Mh9xi-E5QSl2582icB4_HwmEUi1s540uh4tCS/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A39%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340718879216.9126" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">On the Bus... No, there aren't any car seats.</div> <br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-83438656515145886682012-06-25T07:37:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.127-07:00Medical Appointment and Pearl River Dinner Cruise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPuuniJ0bWFC2ELi6zsvQrmsWY5DfLO2vhnF3E8tzMRGVVSSeYxcYKMa6oAz8UtLgQ78KnYXLC93F5RcV0yrmK5sdDhmV2KXl7qBsTUY2jj7hSRc_8bCB4EnJKDWmpSvIe5-sH9dSpl67/s682/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A04%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPuuniJ0bWFC2ELi6zsvQrmsWY5DfLO2vhnF3E8tzMRGVVSSeYxcYKMa6oAz8UtLgQ78KnYXLC93F5RcV0yrmK5sdDhmV2KXl7qBsTUY2jj7hSRc_8bCB4EnJKDWmpSvIe5-sH9dSpl67/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A04%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340635181427.8628" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="601"></font></a></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"> We had another crazy thunderstorm this afternoon. I was wishing I could send the rain to Colorado to drown out the terrible forest fires I have been reading about. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected. I feel a million miles away from home right now and wish there was something I could do to help. </font><br/><br/><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"> Wow. What a day. Have I mentioned that it is really hot and humid here? Ok just checking. Today started out with our medical appointment for the US Consulate appointment and Visa photo. All the families boarded the bus for a 20 minute trip to the medical office. Cooper got his picture taken for his Visa application and did great. We then had three stops at the medial appointment. First was weight and vitals. He weighs just about 19 pounds. I looked up a chart and he is less than 3 percentile for weight and height. He doesn't look that small in pictures but he is tiny. Next was E.N.T and he passed all the tests. Last we saw the doctor. He was finishing the paperwork from the previous child so we went in the room and took off Cooper's clothes to get ready for his exam. When the doctor came in he saw Cooper's tummy and did an involuntary "Oh!" he asked a lot of questions about Cooper's diet and his general health. The doctor prescribed a cough medicine because we can't seem to get rid of this stupid cough and runny nose. Cooper didn't care for the doctor too much. I think he felt a little violated! But everything went really well. <br></font><br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q9BZXCmXm-0/T-h1JMU6hyI/AAAAAAAAB9k/2QC59lE8iaI/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A43%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q9BZXCmXm-0/T-h1JMU6hyI/AAAAAAAAB9k/2QC59lE8iaI/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A43%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340635181443.5596" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="534"></font></a></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Cooper fell asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel so we put him in his crib and we ordered Papa Johns Pizza. It was pretty good and the best part was that they delivered! After nap time we walked to a huge park next to the hotel. It is very difficult to cross the streets here so we used the subway tunnels to get there. It worked out great! The park was beautiful but we only stayed about an hour because of the heat. It is very tropical here. On our walk we visited a shopping center that had 8-9 feet transformers in front of it. They were really cool. </font><br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCJOXJvIcOht4AxgdqVXdVxNF5u068kB2B6Mu8Odkwkcd7nDh4UdUp8oFYxrGBVrCCbg9Y7Lvu9sB3IyK1sl_wxpjFBS9kseiHlKoyFyuMS8QG4vLDcxjgj9K2mwcr3WVcbVMxF9snHkh/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525202%25253A31%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCJOXJvIcOht4AxgdqVXdVxNF5u068kB2B6Mu8Odkwkcd7nDh4UdUp8oFYxrGBVrCCbg9Y7Lvu9sB3IyK1sl_wxpjFBS9kseiHlKoyFyuMS8QG4vLDcxjgj9K2mwcr3WVcbVMxF9snHkh/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525202%25253A31%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340635181424.4473" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="534"></font></a></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Tonight we went on a dinner cruise on the Pearl river. I really can't get over the size of this city. It is huge. There are 15 million people that live here. It is a very beautiful place and there are so many skyscrapers and so much to see. We saw a tower that we were told is the second tallest tower in the world. It changes color every few seconds. We really enjoyed the tour. </font><br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTcvHPxvVYlr9uRQp_2um9mH5FvQ2qEthh_YIvqxjx_y8epCw1sWhFnSRhEXGoO-hR0LF3Z1j63FUhP6bnx-SclKzl20xahxbq04OqAwlG0Jr-ZgeggKBPfd8XgN90H7Nnuqj3FWu_DKl/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTcvHPxvVYlr9uRQp_2um9mH5FvQ2qEthh_YIvqxjx_y8epCw1sWhFnSRhEXGoO-hR0LF3Z1j63FUhP6bnx-SclKzl20xahxbq04OqAwlG0Jr-ZgeggKBPfd8XgN90H7Nnuqj3FWu_DKl/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340635181452.7463" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="534"></font></a></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Today we have had Cooper for a week. He is such an amazing little boy and we already love him so much. Everyone told/warned us that our lives were going to change once we became parents. I knew it would change but I had no idea to what extent and how I would feel so differently. It is a wonderful feeling. I can't believe all that he has learned in just one short week. He already knows his name, he can wipe his own face, he can now walk with no help, he can give high fives, and so much more. He is so loving and he smiles all of the time! I am the luckiest mom ever! ~Ronda</font><br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdYza_lZmFPp0rS9kxk1jdm-QGww2ezG5DnTipGL4F5wtcrtET7d76Bwmu69OOQqMBU4MX3pdNM2u7fFzbkb86249ynLmbgm1BJVMc2dKW3O4ulOsIrgFU_1SoHrUYjl7ohkLej96fQbx/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A12%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdYza_lZmFPp0rS9kxk1jdm-QGww2ezG5DnTipGL4F5wtcrtET7d76Bwmu69OOQqMBU4MX3pdNM2u7fFzbkb86249ynLmbgm1BJVMc2dKW3O4ulOsIrgFU_1SoHrUYjl7ohkLej96fQbx/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A12%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340635181480.3887" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Scary Doctor at the Medical Appointment</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZ0weF86B0c49DyPcDqCTltUet3mTYcZsJqVbtkXiL8LiunD14JFy8iGrirNHGCr9geQyG6IjSE8uKJ35qw4iZqvFyLWg4yBkSHf7bQ3-stpDkhZwtTHvOaziEwmPLUPEZguSjw4CGYdf/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A51%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZ0weF86B0c49DyPcDqCTltUet3mTYcZsJqVbtkXiL8LiunD14JFy8iGrirNHGCr9geQyG6IjSE8uKJ35qw4iZqvFyLWg4yBkSHf7bQ3-stpDkhZwtTHvOaziEwmPLUPEZguSjw4CGYdf/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A51%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340635181455.9812" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="534"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Walking with Daddy at the Park</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOU97t3zd5hZPvTRF3pz4URCVTupw7Ze366IUGkKQQc86vVozhfoXjkbHGjy9gpWDKHpFWHCl2_jkUXrK0T5iAvGKIuCSq6nGeL3dQJ33o5bFLw2PO_FY1LYasI_0d9MJtPeUWNiZXQNL0/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A45%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOU97t3zd5hZPvTRF3pz4URCVTupw7Ze366IUGkKQQc86vVozhfoXjkbHGjy9gpWDKHpFWHCl2_jkUXrK0T5iAvGKIuCSq6nGeL3dQJ33o5bFLw2PO_FY1LYasI_0d9MJtPeUWNiZXQNL0/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A45%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340635181510.712" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="534"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Hanging with Mommy on the Boat</font></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"> </font><br/><br/><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"> </font><br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-2667284684124382962012-06-24T07:44:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.085-07:00Guangzhou City Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Today started with another great hotel breakfast. Since we didn't have any formal appointments today, our reps planned a morning of tours for us. So we spent the morning with several of the families in our group, and a couple new families that joined our group here in Guangzhou. They picked their adopted kids up in other provinces, and have joined us here to do the US Consulate appointments together this week. Some people have asked where in China we are, so here's a map for reference (we are the blue dot)!</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I7iwQoIYsZA/T-clxk6tYCI/AAAAAAAAB88/iGDo2Cq2szA/s640/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A31%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I7iwQoIYsZA/T-clxk6tYCI/AAAAAAAAB88/iGDo2Cq2szA/s350/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A31%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180935.1313" class="alignnone" alt="" width="350" height="525"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">We boarded the bus at 9:20 in the rain and headed to the Buddhist Temple. It was really amazing to see. There were at least four separate prayer rooms with big statues in each, and the main one had three statues in it that were huge! It rained the entire time, so we sort of spent our time moving from cover to cover, and we really didn't get to enjoy each one as much as we would have liked. At one of the smaller temples, they had brought in several coolers with fish in them. The fish were going to be blessed and then let go in the river later today. Pretty cool.</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBq_eCgKLGmRTrmCzVy98-9uhNOauXdgmiPXeP_LBq1qgd598v3r0WV9CZsjD1ts0CviY1q89-JuEcKF_jS4rzTiv8qWU1vCJlK4PDtEa297PYdDdlH68vKG_8hpcz_zwHr3ZyoJKsGgd/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A46%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBq_eCgKLGmRTrmCzVy98-9uhNOauXdgmiPXeP_LBq1qgd598v3r0WV9CZsjD1ts0CviY1q89-JuEcKF_jS4rzTiv8qWU1vCJlK4PDtEa297PYdDdlH68vKG_8hpcz_zwHr3ZyoJKsGgd/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A46%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180928.7185" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="534"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">The Pagoda at the Buddhist Temple</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--_SxZjSjIXE/T-ceo_GZVdI/AAAAAAAAB7s/WJYeKdEsYq8/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A00%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--_SxZjSjIXE/T-ceo_GZVdI/AAAAAAAAB7s/WJYeKdEsYq8/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A00%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180946.073" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="534"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Inside the Main Hall</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kMKsh5QeJ32vO90wuEUiipaHH6s0ASWDrvQ1BLB-O24Q2w3ZeO2H7oesYi9uwMpbftnFfgT_CotA2T9S3ibLElm4ASnBOirOIvPMc50EphpYCxHJ3_zgM862EUIXl6EjFjS0dmsJFcUv/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A13%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kMKsh5QeJ32vO90wuEUiipaHH6s0ASWDrvQ1BLB-O24Q2w3ZeO2H7oesYi9uwMpbftnFfgT_CotA2T9S3ibLElm4ASnBOirOIvPMc50EphpYCxHJ3_zgM862EUIXl6EjFjS0dmsJFcUv/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A13%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180993.0237" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Coolers of Fish Ready for the Blessing!</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Next we went to the Chen Family House. It is a very cool place that was built by the Chen family in the late 1800s as an academy for their family to study the family history. It now doubles as the Guangzhou Folk Art Museum. The entire place has several buildings with very ornate decorations and rooftop carvings. It is obvious that this place took a long time to build. The doors are all carved wood stories and the rooftops are covered with statues that also tell stories. We shopped at the stores and found lots of stuff that we couldn't live without. While we were at the Chen House, the rain stopped and the sun poked its head out. I'm not sure what's worse... 90-degree heat with rain, or 90-degree heat with 95% humidity. We ducked from room to room enjoying the air conditioning and fans, but the bus was the only place we got real relief from the ridiculous climate here.</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OsZY2NThsvU/T-cev8pIRPI/AAAAAAAAB8E/0QkbNIL6G-w/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A36%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OsZY2NThsvU/T-cev8pIRPI/AAAAAAAAB8E/0QkbNIL6G-w/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A36%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180916.5708" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">One of the Lions Outside the Chen House</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SH92Jwoktc4homEJdPobe_YRM3mSolQcNWNX-K044OjznaWcrnkXvZ-U8xumjibhMpVUFp6L_IwHLXrBq8TVPyvhHvr78aeK3eMpxBUXAqrSNGgOm3Os7j9TDNiN7jRAjX5epDIC11ny/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A45%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SH92Jwoktc4homEJdPobe_YRM3mSolQcNWNX-K044OjznaWcrnkXvZ-U8xumjibhMpVUFp6L_IwHLXrBq8TVPyvhHvr78aeK3eMpxBUXAqrSNGgOm3Os7j9TDNiN7jRAjX5epDIC11ny/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A45%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180925.7813" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Inside the Chen House</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">The last place we visited was the arts and crafts bazaar. It was another government-guaranteed place that our guides found, but in our opinions, the prices were nearly double what they were at other places. Grizzy bought a refridgerator magnet. Once good thing, while we were there, we visited a local shop across the street and bought some diapers at about half price we have seen at other places. We got back to the hotel around 12:30 and picked up McDonald's for lunch (it's right next to our hotel).</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">After lunch, Ronda and I left Cooper napping with Grizzy and we went with a few other families to a big new shopping center. The main reason for the trip was for some of the other families to pick up some items like formula and diapers at the Walmart, but we also found a few toys and enjoyed a Starbucks coffee treat. We also visited the local Apple Store and walked the halls of the mall. It was a familiar layout, but we didn't recognize any of the store names. </font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2t5pS7dgvpuOZU3rSOYOHcnu8lPOl-vc6Q9599hI4006TftONfxsnM1KgPeKVDNxKiyBnKjGp6TKAXBJYGU5iLO3J7KkV-XsJFgQaLjlFrBK3wFis6kxdG9HPXGwVu1sQKV5OJbaJMKPr/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A31%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2t5pS7dgvpuOZU3rSOYOHcnu8lPOl-vc6Q9599hI4006TftONfxsnM1KgPeKVDNxKiyBnKjGp6TKAXBJYGU5iLO3J7KkV-XsJFgQaLjlFrBK3wFis6kxdG9HPXGwVu1sQKV5OJbaJMKPr/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252024%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A31%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180919.4407" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="534"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">No caption required. </font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eWcF1PfURsE/T-ce0DAvX3I/AAAAAAAAB8U/CY_IIlm8auo/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A27%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eWcF1PfURsE/T-ce0DAvX3I/AAAAAAAAB8U/CY_IIlm8auo/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A27%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180969.302" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Fish for sale at Walmart</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">We got back to the hotel around 4:45, got Grizzy and Cooper, and met the rest of the group for an organized dinner at a local restaurant called Macau. Our guides ordered for us and we really enjoyed the food and the company. Ronda's favorite was the Curry Chicken and I really liked the Pan Fried Noodles. Cooper ate everything that we fed him.</font><br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><font class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNq7vlmEuC1CR3ld9zZnO0bMUAHZGjvv66VL4kB9WY_oxVLvKSXclKkXquwlNNQgb3xRkjWXj8PmZTRCY2GZleS-hAc-6XrSHzwXRBEbvfnmDsi8SFkeWvl95-3OMFlILODvDMP3wgjLo/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A41%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNq7vlmEuC1CR3ld9zZnO0bMUAHZGjvv66VL4kB9WY_oxVLvKSXclKkXquwlNNQgb3xRkjWXj8PmZTRCY2GZleS-hAc-6XrSHzwXRBEbvfnmDsi8SFkeWvl95-3OMFlILODvDMP3wgjLo/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A41%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180993.8938" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Curry Chicken with Potatoes</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><font class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8uwl7KQ1rCF2-o5VKrwrKUSh5fKfsA0Gp6-GR0LeFP_lqZVQIzA8dg5YRyW343I4TkKCnXKweHfW204tJWWefALaByDWNoa-ob3QkWUdYRoa5t1D_6nMg3lzeLpgif3lQcoRnSpXIQ36/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A12%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8uwl7KQ1rCF2-o5VKrwrKUSh5fKfsA0Gp6-GR0LeFP_lqZVQIzA8dg5YRyW343I4TkKCnXKweHfW204tJWWefALaByDWNoa-ob3QkWUdYRoa5t1D_6nMg3lzeLpgif3lQcoRnSpXIQ36/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A12%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180961.5693" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Our table at dinner</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">One cool thing about tonight - we realized that Cooper really needs his exercise! We walked with him the entire way to the restaurant and back, which was almost two city blocks one way! He sings and squawks the entire time, but very much enjoys walking. He still does need someone to hold his hand because with his tummy it makes his balance a little off. When we got back to the hotel, we went to the garden area that has a playground and a foam floor. Cooper ran around and bounced up and down. He even did the swing and the slide! He does love to play, that was today's lesson. Tomorrow we have our physical appointment and we are taking a Pearl River Cruise in the evening. Should be fun!</font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcxeel7bYVI9RFDD1euLarjNO2dxYFI9ocBNc4dH6f2RlLjsstxRudCGhymkyZ3ZQreTHUQiijx6lFPWvyQxxN8uHph9t-W-rPjidysDeqBg2OsbFGqlyODaBonVrhzfMUhctv8h-aGbS/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A06%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcxeel7bYVI9RFDD1euLarjNO2dxYFI9ocBNc4dH6f2RlLjsstxRudCGhymkyZ3ZQreTHUQiijx6lFPWvyQxxN8uHph9t-W-rPjidysDeqBg2OsbFGqlyODaBonVrhzfMUhctv8h-aGbS/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A06%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340550180956.4314" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></font></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Until tomorrow, Ryan.</font></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"> </font><br/><br/><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"> </font><br/><br/><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"> </font><br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-24742465500527368472012-06-23T06:49:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.081-07:00Dragon Boat Festival Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDVvrciebc-I_lkF2yHXR6Y4Uxv5Re9n3R8oUry6yi4uh4PYGBBYRYQwgWonUhPQblUvxLvEOu4Uq1XYL0WNmQuSTgeJ8LxHW0puDSZtHqh6D8YKRMYzvDF0kfidJz2X88SJnIL7IojFt/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A03%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDVvrciebc-I_lkF2yHXR6Y4Uxv5Re9n3R8oUry6yi4uh4PYGBBYRYQwgWonUhPQblUvxLvEOu4Uq1XYL0WNmQuSTgeJ8LxHW0puDSZtHqh6D8YKRMYzvDF0kfidJz2X88SJnIL7IojFt/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A03%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340459483712.4612" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div> Today is the national holiday in China called Dragon Boat Festival Day. Unfortunately we didn't get to partake in any of the celebration except eating the Chinese traditional food called "Zongzi." It is a sticky rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves. Ryan and I each had one for breakfast. It was ummmm... Interesting! If we didn't have to fly to antother city, there would have been lots to see and do on this holiday.<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiuiqnqDSkIoPWY7AaOk39egEIGd-3f2NrxMKeZENMtj3aEWfvXYo6wCDLxuWmo-ynOS_3fsdJGorcfuCRJYCnKrSe785_vAGMwwHmCgVcnjIcB_XfQGVoK65eOrZMtKej8-BTh41o8V8S/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A46%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiuiqnqDSkIoPWY7AaOk39egEIGd-3f2NrxMKeZENMtj3aEWfvXYo6wCDLxuWmo-ynOS_3fsdJGorcfuCRJYCnKrSe785_vAGMwwHmCgVcnjIcB_XfQGVoK65eOrZMtKej8-BTh41o8V8S/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A46%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340459483636.7722" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">The traditional "Zongzi" dumpling.</p><p style="text-align: left;">We had to get up early because we had a morning flight to catch and Cooper woke up on the wrong side of the bed. That is not a good way to start a long day of traveling. After breakfast we boarded our bus for the 45 minute trek to the airport. We have 17 adults, 5 kids and 9 babies in our group. So needless to say we make a spectacle of ourselves everywhere we go. At the airport we had quite an audience. People will just walk up to us and stare. I don't know if it's something I would ever get used to. It's pretty funny to experience though. We boarded the plane and thankfully we had three seats together. If you think airplane sets are small on an American plane you should see how tiny they are on a Chinese plane! We were very happy that the flight was only two hours. Cooper slept the majority of the flight. Most of the other babies did great too.</p><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3b5Se-HWLANy-zOWXmgLBs5uHbLMfS_28u-TiDf-Q0FVKotzqkIN4r7S6ids7WiQSbSuNtY5F7DDTeWMMEIPkzVzNcyR7qH4DdjqCkEXxZQ5SHqVhnHY4oDseGY_UEbefUus9f30wVWY/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A27%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3b5Se-HWLANy-zOWXmgLBs5uHbLMfS_28u-TiDf-Q0FVKotzqkIN4r7S6ids7WiQSbSuNtY5F7DDTeWMMEIPkzVzNcyR7qH4DdjqCkEXxZQ5SHqVhnHY4oDseGY_UEbefUus9f30wVWY/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252023%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A27%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340459483720.627" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="533"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Ronda, Grizzy, and Cooper Ready to Board!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6Yl35auWA98/T-XDKs9NpdI/AAAAAAAAB6w/YtXMGBsabV0/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A41%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6Yl35auWA98/T-XDKs9NpdI/AAAAAAAAB6w/YtXMGBsabV0/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A41%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340459483687.8" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="299"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Best way to travel! Asleep!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">When we got off the plane in Guangzhou, the humidity hit us like a freight train. We heard that a typhoon left here a few days ago. It was pouring rain. May and June are the rainy season here in the south of China. </div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQvBh3Tx3kOpUkhPjCxQiouCRdH69f_N1DUIBXSnR28D_yH4pcmGdgqG3Ol_N8R3ZWBoxWmyRUnB9bnK4AxlAjgzmvziXqwWQPf9PjAesPFDYainLWNG_ydEucYTBKWXapiBYaQphYwVy/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%25252012%25253A17%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQvBh3Tx3kOpUkhPjCxQiouCRdH69f_N1DUIBXSnR28D_yH4pcmGdgqG3Ol_N8R3ZWBoxWmyRUnB9bnK4AxlAjgzmvziXqwWQPf9PjAesPFDYainLWNG_ydEucYTBKWXapiBYaQphYwVy/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%25252012%25253A17%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340459483646.2336" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="299"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Hard to tell from this photo, but it was pouring!!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">We met our new guides, Maggie and Kathy. They seem very nice and helpful. We got on another bus to our new hotel. We are staying at The China Hotel by Marriott. It is amazing. When we walked in the front doors we felt like we were in Vegas. The best part about the hotel? Our room is almost freezing! It is so wonderful to escape the heat after our long week in Zhengzhou. We have an adjoining room with Barb and Cooper is loving the ability to run between rooms. His tummy makes his balance off so he has trouble walking for more then a few feet without holding on to something but everyday he gets more confident.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "></div>We went to dinner with another family in our group at a restaurant here in the hotel. They serve local Cantonese food. It was delicious. Dinner was sort of a nightmare for us though. As I said earlier, Cooper woke up on the wrong side of the bed and never recovered. He pretty much whined, screamed and threw things throughout our entire meal. It was miserable. The good news is the restaurant was super noisy so no one noticed. He is definitely feeling very comfortable with us. He has opened up so much in the past five days. I know he is going to have rough days because everything is so new to him. All the parenting classes we have taken say that even at seventeen months he will grieve the loss of everything that he has ever known and kids will react in many different ways. Ryan and I are wondering if he is testing us to see if we really are keeping him. I know he didn't understand us but we both told him that there is nothing he can do to get rid of us now! He is stuck with us! <br/><br/>After dinner, we went into a little shop here in the hotel and each of us got a Haagen Dazs bar. After we paid we realized that each one cost $7! I don't think we will be doing that again! Cooper had another bath and he was very whiney. He had his nightly bottle and fell asleep immediately. Hopefully he will have a better day tomorrow. <br/><br/>We have a full week planned here in Guangzhou. The most important day will be Thursday, our US Consulate appointment. Tomorrow we have a city tour (including a tour of a Buddhist Temple) and a group dinner at a Chinese/Portugese restaurant. Should be interesting! <br/><br/>~ Ronda<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGWZPtIZwiT1P2YNshhsPu4C6uoQ-0GtqzOi_wxo2So0vcXHG1sdTTVHYrsQ6g8sjF3AlGDeClTLCvZsZSw7IVYUMidm5Bi9CiKWPs1VUMr1cVVxgLR0bHl149KzorPWOeAFOMqv2FRDm/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A43%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGWZPtIZwiT1P2YNshhsPu4C6uoQ-0GtqzOi_wxo2So0vcXHG1sdTTVHYrsQ6g8sjF3AlGDeClTLCvZsZSw7IVYUMidm5Bi9CiKWPs1VUMr1cVVxgLR0bHl149KzorPWOeAFOMqv2FRDm/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A43%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340459483638.053" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Part of Our Huge Group at the Airport</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwsOoOAhEsQshtWh9vv0rrjYPGB6bNuLHFVK7_9qPd7zmAlpJtIib4TZ5y6pO6-lN62zGJWxSy1i7eTb-25JS2Q4cq90Wplb-QR-sTPIC4teIeSznyWegprwOMSGUaalT0sPvPVY4nkRl/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A44%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwsOoOAhEsQshtWh9vv0rrjYPGB6bNuLHFVK7_9qPd7zmAlpJtIib4TZ5y6pO6-lN62zGJWxSy1i7eTb-25JS2Q4cq90Wplb-QR-sTPIC4teIeSznyWegprwOMSGUaalT0sPvPVY4nkRl/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A44%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340459483690.5374" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Cooper Checking Out His Passport</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-70082755900508351802012-06-22T06:14:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.117-07:00Last Day in Zhengzhou (Passport Day!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjry_KCcJ2JZNvggmcWM_BqjX2u2ZV5mi2axgqaA_oz9i-tg-_729Vwf5Z5RO9VSGV8Uk5iAPqiRPaHxSe2fGU7gD_w2pwkQGzieFWGvHnJdpUGgwIxnw9ZnqoxFDzfjkv3BZMti6EvPf0G/s781/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525202%25253A05%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjry_KCcJ2JZNvggmcWM_BqjX2u2ZV5mi2axgqaA_oz9i-tg-_729Vwf5Z5RO9VSGV8Uk5iAPqiRPaHxSe2fGU7gD_w2pwkQGzieFWGvHnJdpUGgwIxnw9ZnqoxFDzfjkv3BZMti6EvPf0G/s300/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525202%25253A05%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340370720889.4307" class="aligncenter" width="300" height="425" alt=""></a></div> We had a very lazy day in the hotel. We all slept until 7:00am and then had another wonderful breakfast. It is our favorite part of the day because the food is so wonderful and it is cool in the restaurant. This is a big deal for us because our hotel room is a sauna. We have had the engineers come check out our a/c but they say it is working fine. It is at least 80 degrees in our room at any given moment. Worst part of this trip! Ok enough complaining! After breakfast a few of the families hung out in the hallway and visited while the babies played. (The hallway is about 10 degrees cooler than our room... Oh that's right I was done complaining!) The other families on this adventure have been so wonderful. We really feel so close even though we just met. It will be so neat to watch their children grow along with Cooper. One of the little girls had a fever of 106.2 so they had to take her to the hospital. They gave her an IV and she is doing better. Most of the babies have some sort of upper respiratory thing going on just like Cooper. We have all pitched in where we can. <br/><br/>Before dinner, we met with our agency rep, Yisha one final time before we go to the airport in the morning. She gave us Cooper's Chinese passport, which is a very big deal. The next step is to get an American visa in his passport for our trip home. We will get the visa at our next stop, the US Consulate in Guangzhou. Then, once we land in the US, he will be a US citizen.<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAPf937X7lertKNAK-v3wuj-9Ad3LVOz0OmY7BF2H5hKDS1LzP6lvA262IjXfb1N_FeNWrmndhj8OstEOcYWHdUUnW0sztlB5Ou1eAmRPIxQPzV7d7mxGAs8Wmtl49WNU9H3cEnf-L0Ot/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525202%25253A22%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAPf937X7lertKNAK-v3wuj-9Ad3LVOz0OmY7BF2H5hKDS1LzP6lvA262IjXfb1N_FeNWrmndhj8OstEOcYWHdUUnW0sztlB5Ou1eAmRPIxQPzV7d7mxGAs8Wmtl49WNU9H3cEnf-L0Ot/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525202%25253A22%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340370720932.594" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div>We had dinner with another family at the Holiday Inn Express next door to our hotel. We have been to that restaurant three times now. It is very good and inexpensive! We came to China thinking that everything would be inexpensive. That was the old China. From our viewpoint the economy is booming here and most things are very expensive. Maybe it's just where we are in this city. Anyhow, we are happy to find good food at a good price. Ryan had beef noodles, Barb had noodles with tomatoes and veggies and Cooper and I had braised chicken with mushrooms and rice. It was yummy and he loved the chicken. Truthfully he loves all food! At dinner he started saying "Mama!" I don't know if he knows exactly what it means but it totally made my day!<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iHHFa9azboU/T-RsII3X2sI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/MBV0oq0V2Cc/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A19%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iHHFa9azboU/T-RsII3X2sI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/MBV0oq0V2Cc/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A19%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340370720957.231" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div>Tomorrow we move to Guangzhou. We are all very excited about moving because it means we are one step closer to getting home. I am enjoying my trip to China but I can't wait to introduce Cooper to everyone! We will be in Guangzhou for seven nights then Hong Kong for two nights. Tomorrow will be Coopers first time on an airplane, so wish us luck! ~Ronda<br/><br/> <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIssN_ws3WEYqd35Lovil9quH8Z_lD96eJo6vKhvbBVyo3t64BG7RBnXCHqgdMrp9vfFmWpI9p-UnIPhcKgiuAWeLxyXe2mKzReIxmt6wBET0vOhyVhvRUst5qpIIrvsONii0s9qLcGJ-s/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A30%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIssN_ws3WEYqd35Lovil9quH8Z_lD96eJo6vKhvbBVyo3t64BG7RBnXCHqgdMrp9vfFmWpI9p-UnIPhcKgiuAWeLxyXe2mKzReIxmt6wBET0vOhyVhvRUst5qpIIrvsONii0s9qLcGJ-s/s284/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A30%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340370720909.208" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="284" height="379"></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Blurry Picture but Shows Us Hanging Out in the Hallway</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_1kbuVirxzTj6h-BZsY0GVT0LyfDN6m22mrMlTdKuT41txz_ipnhzpUiWRd191-zOTPZyL1Zock9qg57yvtwR_WuU6172HBAOQ-EbIifzzWnTLdv_W6IICOjrLBH8-2LAHnjJ6Rf69tT/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A03%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_1kbuVirxzTj6h-BZsY0GVT0LyfDN6m22mrMlTdKuT41txz_ipnhzpUiWRd191-zOTPZyL1Zock9qg57yvtwR_WuU6172HBAOQ-EbIifzzWnTLdv_W6IICOjrLBH8-2LAHnjJ6Rf69tT/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A03%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340370720969.3804" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMWL8F96_6v91pa1MayqjBhFT4oBNPVPBc8UmC-30oMgcCAlLfLsPklJV_0IQOexUCa0UroB9KE07W0f9Flt7juip-H4TpK3FX4IvowIocVRmsm9YcdqZdkofuZxrF3xxqQDvUCEP-A5P/s826/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A00%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMWL8F96_6v91pa1MayqjBhFT4oBNPVPBc8UmC-30oMgcCAlLfLsPklJV_0IQOexUCa0UroB9KE07W0f9Flt7juip-H4TpK3FX4IvowIocVRmsm9YcdqZdkofuZxrF3xxqQDvUCEP-A5P/s313/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A00%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340370720944.0313" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="313" height="388"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My Two Boys!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtiAYc7chXJDbzlvulC96bR0IsLR5Aj8uQXNlMHlD-r9JVzcEj2ThEWsgxtdMzAjhv-aciAeJiJrraOCFu4_N7leJjfVkZdzhU9pz0syFa2bHm2XxKh7p38XmbR9HqUp9ygGujhn3bhz07/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A29%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtiAYc7chXJDbzlvulC96bR0IsLR5Aj8uQXNlMHlD-r9JVzcEj2ThEWsgxtdMzAjhv-aciAeJiJrraOCFu4_N7leJjfVkZdzhU9pz0syFa2bHm2XxKh7p38XmbR9HqUp9ygGujhn3bhz07/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252021%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A29%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340370720886.7974" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="336"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> He Now Loves the Bath! Smiles All the Time</p> <br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-30702823348421404902012-06-21T06:05:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.086-07:00Keifeng Orphanage Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Today we went to Cooper's orphanage in Keifeng. We left the hotel around 9:30 in a contracted van with our escort/translator, Vivian. The city of Keifeng is about an hour east of Zhengzhou, and it took us about 90 minutes to reach the orphanage. On our way, we passed several huge construction projects. There are so many new projects here in Henan Province, and none of them are what I would call "small scale," they are all several skyscrapers in a group with shops and parking lots below. So much construction. We learned that there are 9 million people in Zhengzhou. <br/><br/>When we turned off the main interstate onto a dirt road, neither of us knew what to think. We were immediately surrounded by a rural setting - rickshaws and bicycles towing and hauling goods and people everywhere. At the end of the road, we pulled onto a concrete driveway where a young woman was waiting for us. We later figured out that she was the orphanage administrator - the same woman who had handed us Cooper three days ago at the Registration Office in Zhengzhou. She escorted our little group into the orphanage area. It was not what I had thought it would be. It was a small courtyard with plants, some grass, and steps to each room, with bamboo curtains hanging over each doorway. Once we got into the courtyard, the two young girls who we had met in Zhengzhou also greeted us and immediately started kissing and playing with Cooper. He loved them. <br/><br/> The rooms were marked with a plackard at each doorway, and we were led into room number 3. Once we stepped through the bamboo curtain, we instantly knew exactly where we were. It was the same place that had been the backdrop to every photo and video of Cooper that we had ever seen. The floor was covered in a pink and green playroom foam puzzle, and the cribs were lined against the wall. Most of the cribs had smaller babies in them. The orphanage administrator went and found Cooper's nanny and she came out from the kitchen and gave a huge smile when she saw Cooper. He started yelling and kicking (I had him in the baby bjorn on my chest) and was reaching for her. She asked me to take him out of the holder and she took him from me and made a bottle and started feeding him right there! It was awkward, but it seemed like the right thing to do. As that was happening, more girls arrived and they were all whispering and smiling, saying "Aihu" - Cooper's Chinese name. They all loved him very much. That part was very obvious.<br/><br/>We went back to looking at the babies in the cribs. The Keifeng orphanage takes care of hundreds of kids, almost all of which are special needs. And we learned today that most are in foster families. Most of the babies we saw in Cooper's room were either missing a limb, or had cleft palate or cleft lip. We wanted to take all of them home. Also in Cooper's room was a friend of his (they said the two were best friends) that is also being adopted from a family we believe who is from Colorado. Cooper recognized him immediately and the girls made sure they exchanged several kisses and hugs. It was pretty cute to see. We saw the play room and the kitchen area, and they showed us his crib. His was next to his nanny's bed - another sign that he was one of her favorites. The nannies live in the rooms with the children. We bid the nanny an emotional goodbye, and thanked her again for raising our son to be so sweet. We are so lucky!<br/><br/>We toured three more rooms after Cooper's and saw at least fifty more kids waiting to be adopted. The ladies introduced us to each of them and told us their story. This one is going to Holland, that one is going to Italy, that one is going to the USA. Very cool. <br/><br/>After about 45 minutes it was time to go. We said goodbye about four different times to our entourage of girls. Once in the office, once outside the office, another at the front gate, and finally after they followed us to the car, some of them began to cry as we left. We could tell that we had done the right thing to come here and meet these wonderful girls who cared for him so much. Once we were in the van, Cooper waved to them and watched them disappear. Then he turned to us and gave us both a kiss. Pretty cool. He's a keeper.<br/><br/>The ride home was uneventful and we got back to the hotel about 12:30. We are so happy that we chose to visit the orphanage, and we continue to consider ourselves the luckiest people on the planet to have been blessed with Cooper. Now we know the rest of his story. <br/><br/> This afternoon we ordered pizza from room service and went over our final documents that just came back from the notary's office. We are planning to go to the park this evening for a walk with the rest of the families. Tomorrow is Dragon Boat Festival, which doesn't mean much more than the fact that it is a national holiday, and all the offices will be closed. So one last day in the hotel before we leave Zhengzhou for Guangzhou on Saturday. <br/><br/> What a great day. Ryan.<br/><br/> <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LBI4w-0keEY/T-LoS62lPpI/AAAAAAAAB3s/-rpvPS55mDg/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A42%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LBI4w-0keEY/T-LoS62lPpI/AAAAAAAAB3s/-rpvPS55mDg/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A42%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340283948297.7976" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="340"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cooper's Nanny</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDOrVb6VqxbGelfGwen38_z4_LOpO4UQGstYAZHl4NqG4Y28xeNhswt5AzyFrg2I1EBWJoZVgileuf63buJJW7IRMdSS2ViE40nS6L9giR74x9z9U7L0EIgbQQ4arDEhtqfBWuntZxEGV/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A35%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDOrVb6VqxbGelfGwen38_z4_LOpO4UQGstYAZHl4NqG4Y28xeNhswt5AzyFrg2I1EBWJoZVgileuf63buJJW7IRMdSS2ViE40nS6L9giR74x9z9U7L0EIgbQQ4arDEhtqfBWuntZxEGV/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A35%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340283948241.787" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="368"></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Entrance to the Orphanage</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7TTRYetu2FM/T-MVWa4tucI/AAAAAAAAB4I/s7DI2rijDKw/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A36%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7TTRYetu2FM/T-MVWa4tucI/AAAAAAAAB4I/s7DI2rijDKw/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A36%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340283948321.846" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="250"></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Courtyard in the Orphanage</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXhGUPk9rtBqfrZYVsW9WQClkYPc5GkQRVngWd1_3xTpwGePMtAgXha9esKT7iMGRHE0VNqpU8yNMo7Z9BfdGdZAMvvat_aczT_MwphE9eiVouf1fT7opziDyl0G0hIX69IoKxBuaFj5V/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A49%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXhGUPk9rtBqfrZYVsW9WQClkYPc5GkQRVngWd1_3xTpwGePMtAgXha9esKT7iMGRHE0VNqpU8yNMo7Z9BfdGdZAMvvat_aczT_MwphE9eiVouf1fT7opziDyl0G0hIX69IoKxBuaFj5V/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A49%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340283948307.208" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cooper's Room at the Orphanage</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNszCga-7HaAiZkV1DlpysSRzZUlBqM6TtFwX3Cy-LbZjwpbVrMQ6zZnm69LRLK4EXOJDVwPALQlStrM2p4232M0bqRQdnOXnEkZnSIyAP-8I3srfq_LZ1QLsROMa2yF-A0vhcxYKvocI5/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A07%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNszCga-7HaAiZkV1DlpysSRzZUlBqM6TtFwX3Cy-LbZjwpbVrMQ6zZnm69LRLK4EXOJDVwPALQlStrM2p4232M0bqRQdnOXnEkZnSIyAP-8I3srfq_LZ1QLsROMa2yF-A0vhcxYKvocI5/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A07%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340283948304.5146" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cooper's BFF </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04bVfdeJccG0Ak8TwMijA85MEcIdkzQ8SDk3CYTbPrag0rY15yEd1dy3Xvr8chXRf67P04gMXwkbNKGJZ8zRyY_Xg5yDLF-elDFgmilC99ItuXLFsEhs3m35UiDXM3mG_DMaEsykNwdk1/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A25%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04bVfdeJccG0Ak8TwMijA85MEcIdkzQ8SDk3CYTbPrag0rY15yEd1dy3Xvr8chXRf67P04gMXwkbNKGJZ8zRyY_Xg5yDLF-elDFgmilC99ItuXLFsEhs3m35UiDXM3mG_DMaEsykNwdk1/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A25%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340283948325.5298" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="380"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Orphanage Workers Waving Goodbye to Cooper<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-nmhvyOmGXUE/T-MW4Z7c7XI/AAAAAAAAB4o/2ESnHs7C09k/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A50%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-nmhvyOmGXUE/T-MW4Z7c7XI/AAAAAAAAB4o/2ESnHs7C09k/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252020%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A50%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340283948331.0066" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Playing Peek-A-Boo with Grizzy</p> <br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-82610036284403410782012-06-20T17:05:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.125-07:00Free DayYesterday was a free day and we didn't have any appointments. We had a regular breakfast at our hotel restaurant and the had walk around the hotel. There is a great big pool, but we had better luck in the play room. It had a pit-o-balls like at chucky cheese that Cooper had a good time in. All of the other families that we are here with went to their orphanage cities to apply for their children's passports. We were fortunate enough that our orphanage city, Keifeng, submits all that for us prior to our arrival. We went to McDonalds for dinner last night and had a great walk home through a park where we watched people playing ping-pong and doing aerobics. It was pretty cool. <br/><br/>Today we are going to visit Cooper's orphanage in Keifeng. It should be a quick trip. We really don't know what to expect, so we will report more on that later.<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">Now for some photos!~Ryan</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_u3jbKmmzRA/T-Je-vCjJ0I/AAAAAAAAB2U/4AjbcGRLdtk/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%25252012%25253A12%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_u3jbKmmzRA/T-Je-vCjJ0I/AAAAAAAAB2U/4AjbcGRLdtk/s402/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%25252012%25253A12%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340237059065.133" class="alignnone" alt="" width="402" height="536"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Playing in the room with Cooper.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfTqjp8YaJA5krgvoLLi7wrdIv0_D1nDtu3NvjwWq6wyrTQJXnSEQM5qFaGakPPOIp4J5t3-9U88hRkuKmUP_4ijr7GY42AXrBFmfvHWBwluVWZ_Euz1hyphenhyphen2oDftzphkAzUSQy1sq8MYK_/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A05%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfTqjp8YaJA5krgvoLLi7wrdIv0_D1nDtu3NvjwWq6wyrTQJXnSEQM5qFaGakPPOIp4J5t3-9U88hRkuKmUP_4ijr7GY42AXrBFmfvHWBwluVWZ_Euz1hyphenhyphen2oDftzphkAzUSQy1sq8MYK_/s402/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A05%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340237059061.638" class="alignnone" alt="" width="402" height="301"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNKCXcZf84Z8BO_BmvhyphenhyphenxU5eUB7k03F5ookiS7ApzXBgvV-DiQJTlSFzAb52BCyN-HE_zgUNmjWnmsIBz0JKkUWPCzo5Ey0qOP_vlckmW2X5dbB7lnb7vFrkf0pgN_Ag9nfaEJf3QB7b0/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A06%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNKCXcZf84Z8BO_BmvhyphenhyphenxU5eUB7k03F5ookiS7ApzXBgvV-DiQJTlSFzAb52BCyN-HE_zgUNmjWnmsIBz0JKkUWPCzo5Ey0qOP_vlckmW2X5dbB7lnb7vFrkf0pgN_Ag9nfaEJf3QB7b0/s403/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A06%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340237059063.5933" class="alignnone" alt="" width="403" height="302"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">In the ball pit.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RSN9KkOoI1g8ZA0qpfe_vjUb6v-VHf4fjjH7BUWPcE5_oveSK3PoiJ1eDLbT5cFRvcuEjul-4ihRGRNDomR08W0SRPl11IrxkPfSs49V27KQPBxx5raUUNwAysrFcb3zAYW5mw4NNutf/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A15%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RSN9KkOoI1g8ZA0qpfe_vjUb6v-VHf4fjjH7BUWPcE5_oveSK3PoiJ1eDLbT5cFRvcuEjul-4ihRGRNDomR08W0SRPl11IrxkPfSs49V27KQPBxx5raUUNwAysrFcb3zAYW5mw4NNutf/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A15%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340237059047.8672" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">In the playroom with Mommy.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IFh6nVgYU4U/T-Jk7Lug8qI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/BKnv8A0C6Vk/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A48%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IFh6nVgYU4U/T-Jk7Lug8qI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/BKnv8A0C6Vk/s398/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A48%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340237059016.5425" class="alignnone" width="398" height="299" alt=""></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Chinese McDonalds in Zhengzhou.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75cUZdD1PyrL_n914g0ZGPQrOx15QatTmZFG9A05YhW31GbpCMcJFP_XUYVAMwPfevZTMQoCspZQws8cFBPjEjqY_a5UCMYVgQGZaewW8c7dHPI5bXDjHlDWMrqEdHzWKJTQ256WoeXZ-/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A47%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75cUZdD1PyrL_n914g0ZGPQrOx15QatTmZFG9A05YhW31GbpCMcJFP_XUYVAMwPfevZTMQoCspZQws8cFBPjEjqY_a5UCMYVgQGZaewW8c7dHPI5bXDjHlDWMrqEdHzWKJTQ256WoeXZ-/s398/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A47%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340237059035.024" class="alignnone" alt="" width="398" height="299"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Ping-pong in the park!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUq3L3vsQ1z_b8Q39xfV3o9oTd_bySjacIHrxncY7MlcCq7nVT13pxgkeZprCkcCA4TXovOBk9eeB22-pUqcdVMkYxgz7GFFuy50QQp6uZxxruzwaeLKWQO4LnEc05O-RcPMeRVswgb7B8/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A08%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUq3L3vsQ1z_b8Q39xfV3o9oTd_bySjacIHrxncY7MlcCq7nVT13pxgkeZprCkcCA4TXovOBk9eeB22-pUqcdVMkYxgz7GFFuy50QQp6uZxxruzwaeLKWQO4LnEc05O-RcPMeRVswgb7B8/s405/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A08%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340237059040.3252" class="alignnone" alt="" width="405" height="304"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Taking our lives into our own hands crossing the street!</div> <br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-76635543310011458422012-06-19T02:33:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.118-07:00Life is Good<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8D2V1Uh5uA0/T-BCVxeVoGI/AAAAAAAAB1M/vwOfSSKXlb4/s964/Photo%252520Jun%25252018%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A54%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8D2V1Uh5uA0/T-BCVxeVoGI/AAAAAAAAB1M/vwOfSSKXlb4/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252018%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A54%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340097634977.3223" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="431"></a></div> In the eyes of the Chinese government and the rest of the world Cooper is officially our son as of this morning. We went back to the government building and signed paperwork to make it official. After that we went to the notary office for more paperwork and pictures. We are hanging out at the hotel playing and walking the hallways. Life is so good. <br/><br/>Yesterday afternoon he woke up from his nap with tons of smiles and lots of happy baby noises. He loves to hold onto your finger and walk up and down the hallway. Someone has taught him to give kisses and they are so wonderful! He loves to run between us and have us pick him up and give him snuggles. He is so sweet. <br/><br/>At dinner, it started to feel like reality was setting in for us. We each had our first moments of "Oh my gosh what have I gotten myself into!" He is hungry all of the time and if we would let him, he would eat everything! We fed him noodles, cantaloupe, beef, dumplings, & apples and mango baby food. Food makes him very happy. Bedtime went really well. We had a few seconds of panic and tears when I tried to put him in the bath tub. He has never had a bath before. I let him stand and hold on to me for dear life as Ryan used a washcloth to clean him. I hate to say this but he was a little stinky. It is so hot and sticky humid here and he is a sweaty fireball. He was happy to get out of the tub. We gave him a bottle and he was sound asleep by 8:00pm. He had a few coughing fits throughout the night and every time he would make a noise we jumped to check on him. He woke up happy this morning at 6:00am. <br/><br/>Now for what everyone really wants... The pictures! ~Ronda <br/><br/> <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmK4HbKfCnHLU7V_CEA_QknguVgksbWt8U_cpcDhJ4BJc4t76DyY9Qe8ts2zbCc_JHe05yvn8n0gTl_UAjibSl9KqsASvoFhK4HDyngTNCTgO-mu6MBgFb_2Cucb7FP1ss2wnPtaYeCF-/s750/Photo%252520Jun%25252018%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A44%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmK4HbKfCnHLU7V_CEA_QknguVgksbWt8U_cpcDhJ4BJc4t76DyY9Qe8ts2zbCc_JHe05yvn8n0gTl_UAjibSl9KqsASvoFhK4HDyngTNCTgO-mu6MBgFb_2Cucb7FP1ss2wnPtaYeCF-/s325/Photo%252520Jun%25252018%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A44%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340097634930.6897" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="325" height="483"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufFrX5XA_AKCUykrSutPrx3iJkfwZtiximWwIoEaoSw2bcNlgy1P90Sj_3Sg_f_pfPpS2oZZQCLfSvsd_XL31llGhvtHsk254AIFID3JKmvnEnr3d5xlMHjF9hCGthqeJgkylWluhwTBM/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A25%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufFrX5XA_AKCUykrSutPrx3iJkfwZtiximWwIoEaoSw2bcNlgy1P90Sj_3Sg_f_pfPpS2oZZQCLfSvsd_XL31llGhvtHsk254AIFID3JKmvnEnr3d5xlMHjF9hCGthqeJgkylWluhwTBM/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A25%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340097634964.2903" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Grizzy and Cooper </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-LB0L47F37BtpGJeYJzhgLvP7d7HXgA0cuhVhbeDDV3XSeYxmxNSb_W1aXDtzWNoWNh-TRdeQuzUlRsbpkdrJNqhyphenhyphenBkMoTtkJbj6LE1WffAKmbGXuRyODCDklAGp_Or8A0UQATKCdUjhq/s1017/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A29%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-LB0L47F37BtpGJeYJzhgLvP7d7HXgA0cuhVhbeDDV3XSeYxmxNSb_W1aXDtzWNoWNh-TRdeQuzUlRsbpkdrJNqhyphenhyphenBkMoTtkJbj6LE1WffAKmbGXuRyODCDklAGp_Or8A0UQATKCdUjhq/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525205%25253A29%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340097634932.5554" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="403"></a>Not Very Impressed with the Bath</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eFLCwbABSy8/T-BDTHfaCLI/AAAAAAAAB1k/W9rsnwSmdng/s720/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A23%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eFLCwbABSy8/T-BDTHfaCLI/AAAAAAAAB1k/W9rsnwSmdng/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252019%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A23%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340097634960.293" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="567"></a>All Smiles! He has 8 teeth in fully and 6 that are coming in!</div> <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbRRcROXd5JLTMv17MSn5t-EmPlaIeYvm4ofriKB2SX5eN2JMZ6hw6zO-eiE48rBxWblAy0PnhiQXPKRgHB90iDuG1fL2RwUrbYr5OqNjiosBbr3cAn8H9uK9q4OC30SIPHxYM4FDQanf/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252018%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A48%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbRRcROXd5JLTMv17MSn5t-EmPlaIeYvm4ofriKB2SX5eN2JMZ6hw6zO-eiE48rBxWblAy0PnhiQXPKRgHB90iDuG1fL2RwUrbYr5OqNjiosBbr3cAn8H9uK9q4OC30SIPHxYM4FDQanf/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252018%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A48%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340097634948.6165" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="567"></a><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlu-Sz4vr3rszmc-iAdvtgfsOqxHLWpdCprDue35Gmk_XYqGi_n-xIchWj3F9I6a1g6WbEtqAsIB6rDkJx3kCzUitP9ahfY60FZtsvB9yT-aC_Crk0yE-cFRUCVMMBHbppaXIXplgmcXo/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252018%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A32%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlu-Sz4vr3rszmc-iAdvtgfsOqxHLWpdCprDue35Gmk_XYqGi_n-xIchWj3F9I6a1g6WbEtqAsIB6rDkJx3kCzUitP9ahfY60FZtsvB9yT-aC_Crk0yE-cFRUCVMMBHbppaXIXplgmcXo/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252018%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A32%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340097634919.766" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="275"></a></div> Funny story - so only the second time we have seen tears. He kept throwing his toys so Ryan looked and him and said "No Cooper". He looked up at Ryan with the most pathetic face and got big huge tears! Ryan picked him up and Cooper started giving his dady kisses but because of his cold and him crying he had snot everywhere! But all he wanted to do was give kisses! It was so gross but So sweet! <br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-76647797158213036492012-06-17T23:44:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.120-07:00Gotcha Day!I don't want to say this out loud because I don't want to jinx anything but so far this day has been as close to perfect as it can get. <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2UlH5R-NvBufmEcAHZtynyfrs3EB52G7mwukxuziGAlUqJrIXvJOk0gHPCbKzciT628qJeqH_9rSm5Y8SuRwQcNgy2CIhUFf0gQd0MZC0AQLzsPv9LAXZYxB8PWuF5Lab2wSZGC9WktoS/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A59%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2UlH5R-NvBufmEcAHZtynyfrs3EB52G7mwukxuziGAlUqJrIXvJOk0gHPCbKzciT628qJeqH_9rSm5Y8SuRwQcNgy2CIhUFf0gQd0MZC0AQLzsPv9LAXZYxB8PWuF5Lab2wSZGC9WktoS/s500/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A59%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340002203815.156" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>We left the hotel for a 20 minute bus ride to the government office where all the children were going to be dropped off. We got there and went inside. Not 2 minutes later a car drove up and someone yelled "CAR!" we went to the door and 3 ladies got out of a car with 2 little boys. Ryan said it was him but I wasn't sure. But it was! He was first in the building! The Orphanage Director handed him to me. It all happened so fast. It was wonderful. I held him for a minute then passed him to Ryan. He just kept staring at us. We got the whole thing on video thanks to another parent in our group. <br/><br/>We stayed at the office for maybe an hour and a half. We had to sign some paperwork for guardianship for the next 24 hours. We have that long to decide if we want to adopt him or not. I don't need 24 hours. I didn't need 2 seconds. He is a keeper. He is so little and so perfect. We have not seen any tears yet. I know they will come. He has some sort of respiratory thing going on. The ladies from his orphanage said he got sick yesterday but the way his lungs sound I think he has had it for at least a few days. He is very small except for his tummy due to his special need. He is so beautiful. I know I shouldn't call a boy beautiful but that is the only word I can think of right now. <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WSM-1LlmGSY/T97LCDxQukI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/8tFyP4q8AJs/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A06%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WSM-1LlmGSY/T97LCDxQukI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/8tFyP4q8AJs/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A06%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340002203756.8933" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="275"></a></div>We took the bus back to our hotel with 8 new babies. I held him on my lap and he snuggled in and fell asleep. At the hotel he had some yummy baby food carrots and a bottle. Daddy changed his very first diaper ever and did a great job. We were able to Skype with my brother and his family plus my mom and sister. Before we knew it we had tons of smiles! Now he is in his crib for a nap. See what I mean when I say the day has been perfect so far? Also, even though it is Monday here in China it is still Sunday in the US. So we actually got him on Father's Day. Happy first Father's Day Ryan!~Ronda <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8B9eWJma4_w2y4EP9K5Z86sDyvrWkA6DUbFGDgjSNU743y05g-JAPLt-3xZRLvFoIZlEF__cyTyGxeyVNClPGwcXpCr3udognKC3Pgki0-k5_AlF1u5c_R0YroIc9KXtQrsIxeObRnBuN/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A00%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8B9eWJma4_w2y4EP9K5Z86sDyvrWkA6DUbFGDgjSNU743y05g-JAPLt-3xZRLvFoIZlEF__cyTyGxeyVNClPGwcXpCr3udognKC3Pgki0-k5_AlF1u5c_R0YroIc9KXtQrsIxeObRnBuN/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A00%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340002203747.9023" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="500"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Not Sure What to Think of These People</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLlO3hsSFfW-Ck1uUcu_9qBCvSyU0j7vLbbdAEh6iyxoDPdOhgqc9rWNcsRNv_AV-agSg2GnuTYo1kzU20hUG-tFMewonNov5vWU8tOgtLL1t-3fGlXYTdUvdtwPjlmM_uc4sv0Thpgmy/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A04%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLlO3hsSFfW-Ck1uUcu_9qBCvSyU0j7vLbbdAEh6iyxoDPdOhgqc9rWNcsRNv_AV-agSg2GnuTYo1kzU20hUG-tFMewonNov5vWU8tOgtLL1t-3fGlXYTdUvdtwPjlmM_uc4sv0Thpgmy/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525208%25253A04%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340002203769.9465" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="275"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Already Loves His Puppy from Aunt Kearsley</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jvlio8I6KSo/T97LXBNyKAI/AAAAAAAAB0w/AlzEQR2kbNw/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A11%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jvlio8I6KSo/T97LXBNyKAI/AAAAAAAAB0w/AlzEQR2kbNw/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A11%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1340002203761.45" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="275"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">All the Families with Their New Little Ones from Kaifeng Orphanage</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440979583012185723.post-14171593967627825902012-06-17T07:07:00.001-07:002012-10-18T11:06:04.077-07:00Tomorrow is The Day<div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFVIYggQ4IsobJAQQgScEqcM74hVKwyfNP8d4TKJoMm0eXXAMWGnAha2NbHC_NKrr5yU8okDDD2-Utld-TSyGuD2tn4f8d5pYBYUSk6CIaGbm37rxYKqLQrc0WZKCfvDjB7o9NeI1I2pa/s639/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%25252012%25253A05%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFVIYggQ4IsobJAQQgScEqcM74hVKwyfNP8d4TKJoMm0eXXAMWGnAha2NbHC_NKrr5yU8okDDD2-Utld-TSyGuD2tn4f8d5pYBYUSk6CIaGbm37rxYKqLQrc0WZKCfvDjB7o9NeI1I2pa/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%25252012%25253A05%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1339942356286.4343" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="177"></a></div>After another excellent breakfast at the hotel and a 30-minute bus ride to the Beijing Airport, we flew to Zhengzhou with 7 other families. Zhengzhou is the capital city of Henan Province. Cooper's orphanage is about an hour from here in KeiFeng (pronounced kye-fung). Two new guides employed by our agency met us at the airport. We now have Yisha and her assistant Rita to assist us while we are here. I am already impressed. Yisha has worked for CCAI since 1995. Can you imagine how many babies she has seen in all those years? We drove about 45 minutes to get to our hotel. Yisha told us what to expect in the next few days. She also gave us some questions and answers that Cooper's nanny filled out. It says that he:<br/><br/><ul><li>Takes a bottle 2x a day</li><li>Likes steamed stuffed buns to eat as his main meal</li><li>Still drinks sugar water and loves cookies</li><li>Goes to bed at 9:00pm and wakes up at 6:00am</li><li>Is very cute</li><li>Wears diapers</li><li>Gets along well with others (one family in our group got the opposite news!) </li><li>Can walk now but not well</li><li>Has no allergies</li><li>Is very smart </li><li>Is called 'Ai Mei'</li><li>Gets excited when he sees dogs and cats (very good news for George and Tucker)</li></ul><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhricRTkR585MUMMbfdLUcq95Mkixt9ZGmooSkMmtrr_28iT4U381A2lXdL02-sYb38dnqf_dC45zELkk7jX6RdMx6XP8WSVTOOdJHcStEKKZ_BNvAOO-mLXfngQDKbW0Zf7MMjy3AdePSd/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A42%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhricRTkR585MUMMbfdLUcq95Mkixt9ZGmooSkMmtrr_28iT4U381A2lXdL02-sYb38dnqf_dC45zELkk7jX6RdMx6XP8WSVTOOdJHcStEKKZ_BNvAOO-mLXfngQDKbW0Zf7MMjy3AdePSd/s300/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%25252010%25253A42%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1339942356326.3455" class="alignnone" alt="" width="300" height="287"></a></div>We are staying at another Crowne Plaza. I am told this one is a 5 star hotel. It is very nice and everyone seems friendly. Shortly after we checked into the room they brought us a crib. As you can imagine I am an emotional wreck. How am I going to get through tomorrow without being a complete mess? <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzJEA56tpHwdom3qRc9F1cDlGekCTSn5Njcq9oQeQblBCFSVG-91gu7xjX0LcQRPMyUIx_ZUmD8dJytRko9VinSmTaluSKozC7ma10tJ8peYvG_sLszStRBAiCxL-333TXrOhqD4W_vRc/s768/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A23%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzJEA56tpHwdom3qRc9F1cDlGekCTSn5Njcq9oQeQblBCFSVG-91gu7xjX0LcQRPMyUIx_ZUmD8dJytRko9VinSmTaluSKozC7ma10tJ8peYvG_sLszStRBAiCxL-333TXrOhqD4W_vRc/s284/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%2525201%25253A23%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1339942356343.2004" class="alignnone" alt="" width="284" height="412"></a></div>Ryan went with the other men in the group to the bank to get US Dollars changed over to RMB. The banks here are open 7 days a week. After they got back, a bunch of us ventured out to the local Walmart. The Walmart here gives me a new appreciation for the Walmart at home. It is complete chaos and lots and lots of crazy smells. It was quite an experience. People in Beijing are used to seeing foreigners but we are an oddity here and get stared at everywhere we go. We bought formula, baby food, bottles, noodles, rice cereal & water. When you walk here you are taking your life in your own hands. It is crazy! The scooters, motorcycles and bikes all ride on the sidewalks where the people walk. On our way back to the hotel I saw a Golden Retreiver riding on a scooter with 2 people. I wish I would have had my camera out!<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYbxQ46tBBKanUnDVPCfHKK_GfPEyHLBkLmLItmBVeLpRmGq7uDxroyFIuLjP2gUBxdkyPDJ0pg01nfjFw6e7xpDUy1aNC0wI7bkQIXF_8KEIoMzF0t8OdcvDYotJxlgK-kcTS6XSANLX/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYbxQ46tBBKanUnDVPCfHKK_GfPEyHLBkLmLItmBVeLpRmGq7uDxroyFIuLjP2gUBxdkyPDJ0pg01nfjFw6e7xpDUy1aNC0wI7bkQIXF_8KEIoMzF0t8OdcvDYotJxlgK-kcTS6XSANLX/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%2525204%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1339942356348.7412" class="alignnone" alt="" width="400" height="275"></a></div>Right now we are hanging out in our hotel room getting prepared for tomorrow. We are getting our envelopes ready with various amounts of cash in them for various people and fees, unpacking our suitcases, packing the diaper bag, enjoying the air conditioning (it is super hot here), and trying to stay relaxed. Tomorrow is the day our lives will change forever. Tomorrow we will be parents. Tomorrow is the day we have been waiting for for 6+ years. Tomorrow we will meet our son. How am I possibly going to sleep tonight? ~Ryan & Ronda<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyquv-pmMmpNVp-IyeCh5oJ0C7YSkt6qePDHk_lIWP_XLfobokas1wJtQMlvM3Cikv6aQghIFaB_ftgvsygndRoFSGZj06ELtpsyzld6zxzABDa1bIvTigqil4FnHXBbZL67M93E1gmIdh/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%25252012%25253A30%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="" title=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyquv-pmMmpNVp-IyeCh5oJ0C7YSkt6qePDHk_lIWP_XLfobokas1wJtQMlvM3Cikv6aQghIFaB_ftgvsygndRoFSGZj06ELtpsyzld6zxzABDa1bIvTigqil4FnHXBbZL67M93E1gmIdh/s300/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%25252012%25253A30%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1339942356383.105" class="alignnone" alt="" width="300" height="250"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Ryan's Lunch - Beef Noodles</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUrkZ1imLUilwx2yf-ZizcMk-TePlEmM4tlWyjKOlmPKC_F3RFoSKbycTfhMUw-_C48lJWi9kFSX21nh4SKuAfiexldSK9i5VmSVYjDWyqTE5FDTTsq06l2ykaLaaRzkqjTGjqGse6NbI1/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A15%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUrkZ1imLUilwx2yf-ZizcMk-TePlEmM4tlWyjKOlmPKC_F3RFoSKbycTfhMUw-_C48lJWi9kFSX21nh4SKuAfiexldSK9i5VmSVYjDWyqTE5FDTTsq06l2ykaLaaRzkqjTGjqGse6NbI1/s300/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A15%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1339942356314.1426" class="alignnone" alt="" width="300" height="175"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Walmart</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSdqkyVApCm3jThfv0K5_rnkaEkGsM8xIHtePWFdFagsN9x_Rf1otIJ2gDcTRO95hIqJd7O9md6H9Ek2gGGk_Nj8bUmITUFMBXEecVh-tShusqzNZw5-VtlQlFdnPs4JxKlA3lQKsk4YR/s1024/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A27%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSdqkyVApCm3jThfv0K5_rnkaEkGsM8xIHtePWFdFagsN9x_Rf1otIJ2gDcTRO95hIqJd7O9md6H9Ek2gGGk_Nj8bUmITUFMBXEecVh-tShusqzNZw5-VtlQlFdnPs4JxKlA3lQKsk4YR/s300/Photo%252520Jun%25252016%25252C%2525202012%2525203%25253A27%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1339942356336.97" class="alignnone" alt="" width="300" height="200"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; ">Walmart Shopping</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cXIO-Ahr43SLaUIBAoxscc9hlEwDCjQl4KzafsbJiGaZ-31WkRUGgA0gA_pyq2EywyxFDtbJw3SnVKmA2f6B5BjJzuVNZuJ98A_3LhPH2WVRHvVUwAItKPv18tEdDdllkh-0o18zC115/s720/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A30%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cXIO-Ahr43SLaUIBAoxscc9hlEwDCjQl4KzafsbJiGaZ-31WkRUGgA0gA_pyq2EywyxFDtbJw3SnVKmA2f6B5BjJzuVNZuJ98A_3LhPH2WVRHvVUwAItKPv18tEdDdllkh-0o18zC115/s225/Photo%252520Jun%25252017%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A30%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1339942356375.987" class="alignnone" alt="" width="225" height="312"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Diaper Bag Packed!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3