Daly Limit: 2012

Monday, August 6, 2012

Nanchang, Jiangxi Providence China

We arrived at Nanchang around lunch time. We were told that we would get to Nanchang and would be able to go to our hotel and get settled in before meeting our baby girl. I knew better, I packed a carry on bag especially for our baby girl and dressed for the occassion. And I was right, once we got on the bus we were told there was a change of plans and that there were 80 people scheduled to get their babies the same day at the same time, so our guide was told that no one was there at that time and that it was ok for us to go there immediately to get our little ones. So that is what we did. We were so excited we couldn't quit smiling and proud Daddy was snapping pictures right and left to get it all. On the way there he took the picture of the very fascinating window cleaner (I hope he gets paid well, with no restraints and all....). The building was a white building and we had to go up several floors and down a long hall. We immediately met the orphange director. We were the 1st ones in and I could see the nannies holding the babies. I was so excited, I had tears in my eyes. We were then lead to the room where our babies were at. We were called 1st and I took our precious little one and held her and talked to her for awhile before her Daddy took her from me. There was so much paperwork to sign and learn about that it was chaotic. We were trying to get to know our little one and complete a mound of really important paperwork at the same time. Somehow we mananged. We got alot of the stuff back that was sent in the care package. So our baby girl had her own backpack of toys. I also manage to get autographs of the care takers and the Director of the Orphanage. We also got the Director's business card to stay in touch. While there we had our 1st family photo taken. My husband and I were smiling from ear to ear, and our baby girl is not doing so. I am sure she was wondering what was going on, and who are these grinning people. Once we left the building we had to walk accross a extremly busy street. We had just became parents and then we had to walk accross the street with our baby in hand, very crazy. It was like carrying a very rare precious diamond accross a tight line rope. Each night my husband would set near the window with our little one and talk to her about her providence. All the sounds, smells, and bright lights, they would talk about it all. So cute! Each morning at 5:30AM we were woke up to the sound of firecrackers outside our window. Our little one slept through that noise, luckily!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Stinkin Cute!

I am calling this picture stinkin cute, because you can see the diaper pail in the background!

She is pulling up to crawl now, she will get on all fours and rock. I have been working with her on how to move her hand in coordination with her knees. She is very close to getting it! Then I am in trouble! We have came a long way in the short time that we have been home. She wouldn't even lay on her belly for less than a minute without making a fuss about it. And now she loves to play on the floor for hours at a time. It is wonderful to see my baby learn all these new things! She is so stinkin cute!

Beijing

While in Beijing, China we had a tour guide named Sherry, whom I adored. She was so bubbly and so much fun. She took us the Tienamen Square and the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. It is forbidden to tell why it is forbidden.

She took us to Dr. Tea, which we attended a tea ceremony and bought some tea. In China they do not like Dr. Pepper, because it tastes like cough syrup to them. So they have the Dr. Tea. Also China serves Poke, which to me taste like Pepsi and Coke mixed together.

She also took us to the Jade Factory, the Pearl Factory , and the Silk Factory while in Beijing.

In Beijing we attended a Chinese Acrobat show and it was so funny because it was at 8PM and we were all still suffering from jet lag so bad, that everyone in our group that attended fell asleep during the show. Everyone sitting in the complete row was asleep.

Also we learned about the bathrooms in China, they are rated and trust me you do not want to go to bathrooms that are rated less than 4 and a half stars. Because they might not have a toliet, paper or water.

We attended Easter Sunday church there which was great!

The meals were well, lets put it this way, I lost 8 pounds while in China. When attending a restuarant for meals, you did not order your food, the waiter and waitresses would bring to you whatever they had for you and it was family style. There were a few things that were ok to eat.

All the elevators in the hotels required you room key to get from floor to floor. The morning that we were leaving Beijing to go to Nanchang to meet our baby girl, we locked our key in our room and I believe we were on the 14th Floor. We had to meet everyone in the hotel lobby at 5:30AM, so we had to take the stairs while carrying our carry on luggage . We find the stairs and then locked ourselves into empty room which leads to the door to the to the stairs. By this time it is 5:25AM. We pulled and pushed on the door and could not get it open and the door that we came in didn't have a handle to get back out. I think Don and I both had visions of missing our flight to get our baby girl and being stuck in the room until someone finally found us days later, so with that Don was so mad he kicked the door in and it flung open to the stairs. By the time we made it down to the lobby we both needed showers again, because they were not in air condition. But we made it and was able to get on the flight to our baby girl.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Miss Hollywood

Care Package

Here is a picture of the care package that was sent to our sweet little one while she was still at the orphanage. This package has quite the story. It took almost three weeks to get there. I was at my wits end and pulling my hair out, just trying to get it delivered. We used Ann at Red Thread in China. She is wonderful! However, I do not have the same opinion about UPS in Brookside. I do not believe I will ever use UPS ever again. When taking the package to the UPS store I was told that I needed to have a tracking number in order to send anything to China and that I needed to pay the price to ensure that my package would be delivered. So I took there word for it and the package was finally delivered (no thanks to UPS and after screaming on the phone to them for everyday for all the weeks that it took to get there). It got there on a Monday and we got her the following Monday. I stayed up late almost every night working on this package for our daughter, it included a photo album, heirloom questions book, doll, purse teething ring, Baby Einstein musical toy, some Gerber puffs, baby blanket, Twizzler for making the nannies happy, some decorative soaps for the nannies, 2 disposable camera's. We received all of it back except for the photo album and the doll. This turned out to be just fine, because I made a duplicate photo album, just incase this would happen and when we were shopping the other day, my little cutey saw the doll on the rack at the store and just had to have it. So she has everything that was sent!

China Flower Shower

I really wanted to post about this shower before we left to China. However, due to time I was not able to and have ever since regreted it. So here is what I wanted to post. My two very best friends from grade school and two other very dear friends gave me the cutest and most thoughtful baby shower the Sunday, April 1st before we left for China. They made the table decorations with chinese takeout boxes filled with pink tissue and a picture of our sweet baby on the outside with cute little flowers. Attached to the boxes were pink, white and green balloons. On the tables they sprinkled confetti flowers. The invitation said something like April showers bring China flowers. How darling and clever! So the flowers in the confetti went along with the theme. One very dear friend made mints and chocolates in all sort of baby shapes. My other dear friend, who's name I dearly love too, made the cutest cupcakes with flowers on top to go along with the theme. They spent a lot of time and thought preparing for this shower. One of my best friends made the banner on the cake table out of scrapbook paper, how clever! I so enjoyed the day and loved every minute of it!

Going Back

Hopefully someone is still reading my blog. However due to lack of posts, I imagine not. Anyways I am going to try do some more post as time is available. So I would like to go back to where I left off before we left for China. Before we left every second of every minute was completely filled with things to do to prepare for our bundle of love and also the trip. I was so busy I kept forgetting to eat, crazy I know! There was a post that I wanted to do really bad, but didn't have the time. I thought I could post from China before we got our baby girl, but found out my computer didn't even work once we got to China. My husbands computer worked, however he was on it when I wanted to be and well, it just didn't work out, and once we got the baby I had to hold the bottle for her during the night or else she would scream in the hotel room, and that didn't work so well either...and so I couldn't even post after she had gone to bed. Thats all a good part of our past now. :-)