The Guangzhou Zoo

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!!

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.

The Main Entrance to the Zoo

Funny Asian Bear Taking a Dip

Tigers Playing in the Water

Panda Watch

Don't Pet Me!

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.

Cooper's Nap Time

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!!

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!

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.

On the Bus... No, there aren't any car seats.

 

Medical Appointment and Pearl River Dinner Cruise

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Scary Doctor at the Medical Appointment

Walking with Daddy at the Park

Hanging with Mommy on the Boat

Guangzhou City Tour

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)!

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.

The Pagoda at the Buddhist Temple

Inside the Main Hall

Coolers of Fish Ready for the Blessing!

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.

One of the Lions Outside the Chen House

Inside the Chen House

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).

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.

No caption required.

Fish for sale at Walmart

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.

Curry Chicken with Potatoes

Our table at dinner

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!

Until tomorrow, Ryan.

Dragon Boat Festival Day

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.

The traditional "Zongzi" dumpling.

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.

Ronda, Grizzy, and Cooper Ready to Board!

Best way to travel! Asleep!

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.

Hard to tell from this photo, but it was pouring!!

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.

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!

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.

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!

~ Ronda

Part of Our Huge Group at the Airport

Cooper Checking Out His Passport

Last Day in Zhengzhou (Passport Day!)

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.

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.

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!

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

 

 

Blurry Picture but Shows Us Hanging Out in the Hallway

My Two Boys!

He Now Loves the Bath! Smiles All the Time

 

Keifeng Orphanage Trip

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

What a great day. Ryan.

 

Cooper's Nanny

 

Entrance to the Orphanage

 

Courtyard in the Orphanage

Cooper's Room at the Orphanage

Cooper's BFF

Orphanage Workers Waving Goodbye to Cooper

Playing Peek-A-Boo with Grizzy

 

Free Day

Yesterday 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.

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.

Now for some photos!~Ryan

Playing in the room with Cooper.

In the ball pit.

In the playroom with Mommy.

Chinese McDonalds in Zhengzhou.

Ping-pong in the park!

Taking our lives into our own hands crossing the street!