A Wonderful Event!!!

Hi again everyone,

We're coming off a great weekend! Kyle's doing really well and continues to make great progress.

He's learning that he can make different noises and sounds...sometimes however, at inopportune times!!

Kyle's getting stronger every day and is getting more adventurous with his attempts at walking on his own. But it always seems that the last 2 steps into our arms is more of a controlled fall!

The wonderful event that I mentioned earlier was a GREAT party thrown by the families in our neighborhood as a "Welcome Home Party" for Kyle (and us). It was Sunday at 2PM and we'll never forget it.

Lisa, Kyle and I would like to thank everyone who came to welcome us home, and to thank everyone for their very generous gifts! We'd especially like to thank the Pughs for opening their home to us and to everyone. And thanks also to Katie Duffy for all of her work in helping pull it off. The food was great, and the Cake is STILL really good - there's a piece or 2 left on our kitchen counter - which I'll try to polish off later tonight.

Instead of boring everyone with our endless stream of photos, we decided to make a short video montage of some of our most favorite pictures (with a really cute background song). We showed it at the party and I think it went pretty well. The photos follow our progress before, during and after we got the gift of Kyle! (I just wish that I could somehow let everyone else see it - you will NOT see it on YouTube!!)

As I said at the party, after 7 years in Hidden Creek, we truly think of our neighbors as our extended family. We are grateful for having had the chance to get to know all of you and to watch our families grow up together. We thank you for this gift.

When creating entries for this blog while we were in China, we felt a special need to let everyone know what was going on. But, because I knew so many people would be reading along, it was important that the words were not "just the facts" - day, times, activities, etc. The typical prep for blogging went like this:

Lisa: "I'm exhausted, let's get some sleep."

Charlie: "Great idea. Kyle's out like a light. But, we should probably post something. What did we do today anyway...it's a bit of a blur?"

Lisa would then use hotel stationery to list out a page of bullet points for me to use as reference. We'd laugh at all of the great stuff that had happenend that day, and I'd be on my way to the Hotel Business Center or a Net Bar/Cafe to upload.

As I read through Lisa's notes, the day usually came back to me very clearly. As I wrote, I tried to give you all a sense of not just what was happening, but how it affected us; how we felt about things, good and bad... With every word, there was an overwhelming feeling that in a few hours, everyone at home would be reading along - the pressure was actually a great motivator!

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the party:


















Thanks again to everyone!
Good evening...
C

An Quick Update...

Hi all,

I'm not sure who's still reading this or checking in, but if you are please continue...

We'll be posting periodic items about Kyle's progress and his activities.

So keep checking. (This post is an accumulation of recent typings, but I'll post it now...)

Lisa and I were were so happy to hear that so many people had been following along with our travels. Sometimes it was tough to find the time to post something, but since we knew that y'all were waiting on news, we tried to post regularly. We truly hope you enjoyed being there with us, we enjoyed having you along. For those who posted comments - Thanks for the encouragement!

It's been a week and a half or so since our last update, and there's lots to tell.

Kyle's doing really well here in Harleysville, and we hope all of the other kids in our travel group are doing well also.

It's amazing to see how he's really developing his personality. He loves to play alone or with others. He eats ANYTHING - Food, I mean. He's been sleeping really well, and has only had 1 "bad" night in the last 2 weeks.

He's been out and about a lot. He's been to the King of Prussia Mall, Market Fair Mall (in Princeton, NJ) and on numerous neighborhood walks with Mom & Dad and our dog, Murphy. He doesn't seem to mind the cold and loves to ride in the car.

He's also samples the local restaurant cuisine, and seems to like eating (out or in). This past weekend he went to the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA. He had a boatload of fun but was just a bit young for the exhibits and activities - but try them he did! We also visited Grandmom & Pop-Pop Lockhead for Dinner in Philadelphia on Saturday night. Kyle had a lot of fun with Sean Andrew and Alyx, his cousins, and showed off by testing out his walking (with some help still) skills. (It's also comforting to know that just like Dad, Uncle Sean, and Pop-Pop Kyle likes soft pretzels!)

He's gotten a clean bill of health from his new Doctor - all of his tests came back just as they should have.

Last week Kyle also visited his new school (Goddard School) for a test drive. Once again, he came up aces - got along well with the teachers and other kids in the class. We're sure he'll do really well there.

I hope this is not too disjointed, but I hope to post some more photos shortly.
Please, keep checking back.

Thanks.
C

Latest Pictures...

These are not in chronological sequence, and for that I apologize.
It's late, I'm exhausted and I'm going to bed. Right Now.
Good Night.
C

Kyle at the Aquarium



Kyle at the Aquarium



Grandma, Poppa, Mom, Dad & Kyle at the Aquarium



The Welcoming Committee at the Airport
(Aunt Mary, Aunt Rita, Grandmom & Pop-Pop



Kyle, Grandmom Lockhead & Aunt Rita




Mt Fuji, Japan from the Plane



Mom & Kyle ready to leave HK for Tokyo.



Kyle getting ready for the Disney Parade.



Mom & Kyle stake out prime curb space for the Parade



Kyle (Waving as you can see!) & Mom checking out the Racecars



Kyle being Kyle



Kyle being Kyle, again



Pooh Picture (Kyle's in the Green Sweater)



Fun on the Carousel



Kyle & Mom at the Castle

Update for Thursday Night (Part 2)...

Hi again,

Now that we've been home for 2 nights, Kyle's been having a tougher than expected adjustment. In the hotels, he always had a clear view of our bed and seems much more at ease when we put him in his crib. Now here at home he has his own room, so it is much different for him. If we could only know what was going on in that little noggin, we'd be able to help...

Anyway, we've both been up most of the past 2 nights alternating attending to him, changing/feeding him. His normal schedule's pretty much out the window now, so we're really just trying to establish new routines, schedules and environments. Progress is slow but I know he'll be fine. He's made great progress so far, that we're confident he'll overcome this. In the meantime, Lisa and I are both sleep-deprived already!!

His first DAY home for Kyle was fairly simple, lots of playtime, some doctor's appointments and some lab/blood work (This was not pretty, but I'll spare everyone the details.) As I mentioned in a recent post, we had a nice dinner with both of our families - and Kyle was just fine.

Today, Kyle, his Mom & Dad, and Grandma & Pop-Pop went to the Adventure Aquarium (in Camden, NJ - just across the river from Philadelphia). Kyle saw a lot of neat fish, sharks, eels, stingrays and he was the subject of a number of great pictures - soon to come.

That's really all for now - I'll post some pictures shortly.

Good night,
C

Update for Thursday Night...

Hi all,

Thanks for checking in.

I see that the last "real" post was from Monday, the night before we left to come home.

We've been home for 2 full days now.

Our Journey on Tuesday was long, challenging and a little bit unnerving at times.

We left HK for Tokyo just fine, and the Business Class seating made a huge difference. We were able to board much easier (giving more time to settle into our seats), and the service was of course much better. It was more expensive, but wort the investment. I would recommend it to anyone considering a trip like this. We were the only family in BC but there seemed to be a number of families on the rest of the plane.

At this point, I'd like to digress a little bit and take you back to our trip from Guangzhou to HongKong. We had had a long night before and I was pretty tired, and probably not thinking straight. Regardless, I forgot to make allowance for our Breakfast on the morning of our departure. I didn't have ANY Chinese yuan/RMB with which to get even a cup of coffee or tea at the airport for Lisa, who still wasn't feeling well. Thank God for the goodness of strangers (well, sort of strangers). I recalled meeting a really nice couple in Guangzhou, and we shared a really nice conversation about Kyle and about how he came to us. They were very nice and very complimentary to Kyle. I know now that their names are Paul and Dorothy Lacy. How, you ask?

This is where the kindness comes in. We also walked past the Lacys on the way to our gate in the GZ airport. Shortly after reaching our gate, I knew that we both could really benefit from even a small breakfast. I had only $US and there was no place to change money from $US to Chinese RMB. I then remembered again seeing Paul waiting for his flight at a gate near ours. I approached him and asked him if we might borrow enough Chinese money for a small breakfast. I told him that if he could lend us a small hand, I would mail him a check immediately upon our return. I was hardly able to finish my request before Paul was already digging for his wallet. I want to acknowledge Paul and Dorothy for their kindness and say a heartfelt thank you for their gesture. He suggested that we not send a check, which might be difficult to cash at a Chinese bank. However, he did give me his card so that I'd know who he and his wife were. They have a small company that offers hand-made, hand-embroidered, and hand dyed fabrics, batiks and tapestries. Everything is made by the Miao women, a little known minority ethnic group that has its own language and customs dating back thousands of years, yet whose exquisite embroidery skills are relatively unknown outside their own people. They can be found at www.shenaini.com. Please visit their website. We have and we'll be returning the favor in our own way. Again, many thanks to Paul and Dorothy, and all the best from the Lockheads and Kyle.

Back to our story...
Once we hit the ground in Tokyo, for some reason we needed to pass through another security checkpoint. This was an absolute mess. Our flight landed concurrently with 2 other 747s from other originating cities, but this entire mass of people needed to squeeze through only 4 (FOUR!) single-file metal detectors. It took nearly an hour and it clearly didn't matter that we were pushing a 15-month old in a stroller. In fact, it seemed like some of the other people in line used this to THEIR advantage. People were generally well behaved but there was definitely some jockeying and jostling for position. Kyle's head was at about mid-thigh height, so it was on a collision path with every shoulder bag in the line. I spent most of the time shoving bags out of his way so he wouldn't get dinged. Props must go to Kyle at this point for he didn't budge from his stroller - he did not make any fuss or noise, and never came close to losing his cool. (He was a shining example for both of us.) It was one of the worst line/queue management experiences I've ever seen!

We made it through the line and headed to our gate. The flight from Tokyo to Detroit went fine. It was on-time, and comfortable. Kyle was a little challenging toward the end but he finally settled down. He was a bit of a disruption in the BC cabin, but only for a few moments, probably due to ear problems. Again, you can than the Raisins!

In Detroit, the smoothness of our entry into the US (through Homeland Security / Immigration) can be largely attributed to Cathy, our Guide. Hopefully, you remember her? We needed to stand in 3 lines, but all the waits were quite short, and the agents were very professional and even helpful. Thanks to Cathy, all of Kyle's and our documents were in order and correctly filled out. We sailed through. (Unlike the 15 or so "ne'erdowells" we saw sitting on the floor of one of the secondary screening room - clearly, they were having some difficulties and might be there a while. Black cable ties are usually not good news.)

We claimed our bags and got them cleared back onto our LAST FLIGHT from Detroit to Philadelphia. This last flight was pretty much a blur. But I guess it went OK, since we made it home safely, as I said in a recent message. I think Kyle got a little uncomfortable again on this flight, but nothing too unbearable.

Once we landed in Philadelphia, we were met at the Airport by Grandmom & Pop-Pop Lockhead, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Rita. What a great surprise! Everyone was so excited to see Kyle and us and it was great to see such a welcoming committee since we were so exhausted. (Kyle would like to say a big Thank You for the Welcome Home signs to his cousin Alyx - They are really great!!!) They came to bring us our car, outfitted of course with Kyle's new Car Seat for the ride home. So we drove home.

At home, we (and Kyle) got almost as big a surprise when we were welcomed into our home by Grandma & Poppa Wedder!!! Thanks to Grandma for making us dinner so we could eat some real food once we made it home.

We didn't last too long before we all crashed for the night.

More soon...
C

More tomorow...

Hi,

We didn't get a chance to touch up/crop the photos today. Sorry.
We had a nice small dinner & visit with Grandmom & Pop-Pop Lockhead.
Thanks for all the great gifts!!

Please bear with us, we will do the best we can to let everyone know what's going on, and how Kyle's adjusting.

Thanks.
C

We're Home Safely!!

Hi all,

We've made it home safely. We're exhausted so I'll post much more tomorrow.

Good night.
C

Sorry, No Last PICTURES from the Road...

UPLOADING from here at the Business Centre is not working.

I apologize, but I'll try to post some more as soon as I can.

Good night.
C

LAST Update from the Road

Greetings all.

We're safely tucking into the Regal Airport Hotel in HK for the night.

We fly out homeward-bound tomorrow morning. Reveille is at 0500.
Kyle was settling into his crib for the night and Lisa and I just finished pre-packing our 4 suitcases. (If you're following along with the home game, that 100% more than we started with!!)

Anyway, lots to report since my last update. Lisa was kind enough to write up some bullet points for me to go by, so since it's late and I'm tired, I'll just follow alobg with them, as long as no one objects. I didn't hear any objections so here we go...

Yesterday we hit HK Disneyland - and how! We were there form 9:30 AM to 6:15 PM. It was a reasonable taxi ride from our hotel, so we cabbed it. We are very proud to report that Kyle made it through the day with FLYING COLORS! No meltdowns and he seemed to be having fun all day long. We got some great photos which I hope to post shortly. The park has only been open 1 year and we're essentially in the off season, so we had the run of the place. We had ZERO wait on most rides, and suffered our longest wait on the Jungle River Cruise - an excrutiating 10 minutes! There were very few westerners in the Park and even fewer Americans (seemed like lots of Brits & Aussies again.)

Once again the boy was the star of the show, getting compliments at every turn. He rode the kids Pooh ride 3x and seemed to enjoy it (and get it) more each time. We also did Buzz Lightyear 2x (To all of our neices and nephews: Aunt Lisa wanted to ride it again, so she could try to beat Uncle Charlie, sine he smoked her good the first time. But, it made no difference, she got whooped even worse the 2nd time!!!!), Flying Dumbo 3x, The Orbitron 2x, and the Carousel. To give Kyle a break, we saw the Lion KIng Show at around nap time. True to form Kyle stayed awake for all but the last 5 minutes and the Finale (the loudest and most exciting parts). He also got tons of stickers - too many to mention. We was great with all of the characters - this was a bit curious to us, given his anxiety on Gotcha Day. But he did not seem afraid at all, nor did he shy away from any of them, or cringe when then reached out to touch him. We got a lot of great photos of these, too.

Kyle needed some shade from the sun, since it was such a perfect day (warm and comfortable for January). So we got him a little Tigger hat - he looked just super in it - when he left it on!!! Again, got some pictures.

The night before we went to Disney, Kyle and I had a "boys night out". We had a couple of beers, got foot massages and went to a few clubs... - just kidding!!! I did take him (solo) to a Dan Ryan's Steakhouse, where I dined on real meat for the first time in a couple of weeks while Kyle dined on Mixed Vegtebles, crakers, goldfish and of course, Cheerios. Lisa needed the rest to get ready for Disneyland. The meal was so good that I was able to talk Lisa into going there last night, too.

Kyle's getting more engaged in his surroundings, and has taken to entertaining people he sees - he waves, and shakes his head "No" (I think he thinks it means "Yes" so we've got some work to do here...).

Today we went to the other side of HKI (HK Island), and visited Stanley Market. We took a ferry across the harbor and caught the "Number 6" bus (Double-Decker) for the 40 minute ride to the market. Aunt Lisa got a little queasy because the ride was a bit of a thrill, with lots of steep drop-offs on the side of the road. There was never any danger, but we almost had to have Aunt Lisa hand surgically removed from the safety hand grip! Kyle shopped all day with us like a champ. We visited a Buddhist Temple and lit some incense and said a few prayers for our safe passage home. We passed Repulse Bay on the way to Stanlley and the views were breathtaking - they reminded us somewhat of Hawaii.

Kyle is in his last Hotel Room for a while. We had a nice dinner here at the hotel. We're really looking forward to coming home and settling our family into the simple routines of being a family. We're as ready as we can be for the big trip back home to the USA and are really fortunate to be able to have business class seats.

I know that everyone is excited to finally meet Kyle. But I don't think you're as excited as we are to introduce him to you.

It's really hard to believe that our journey has come to an end - it's been the experience of a lifetime and we've been lucky to have all of you along with us for the ride.

Thanks for reading our posts, we hope they've given you a flavor for what we've been doing and where we've been.

That's it for now. I'll post pictures in a moment.

Good night.

(To Grandmom and Pop-Pop Lockhead, we'll call probably call you from Detroit, when we know more about our arrival details - don't forget to put in the car seat!!!)

C

Catching Up - Part 3 - Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised...

Kyle and Dad at the "Last Supper", at the Italian Restaurant in the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou. (No high chairs!!!!)



As reported earlier...Feng Ai Tao has left and Kyle Lockhead has arrived!!
Lisa and Mom sharing tickles and giggles in Guangzhou on the night before we left...
Its great to see how Lisa's broken through to him!!!



Kyle trying on Dad's shoes - and having fun doing it!!!




At the Kowloon Park yesterday.




At the Zoo playground this morning!



At the Zoo this morning...




At the top of Victoria Peak (inside)...today.

The Star Ferry, as take from the Star Ferry.

Gotta run...Lisa and Kyle are probably worried that I'm not back yet...

C

Catching Up - Part 2

OK, so it will be 3 Posts!

Anyway, we were up early this morning. Lisa was feeling even worse, so I went out to Starbucks (where else did you think I would go?) for some coffee and muffins while Lisa fed Kyle. This helped a little, and she suited up like a trooper to head out. I was able to get some maps from the concierge and we set out today to see HK Island.

The MPH is really nice - we have a large room, with lots of floor space for all of our junk and lots of play space for the K-man. He has a great crib - roomy and comfortable. (He did not wake up once.)

I forgot to mention that the night before we left, all the packing, the sight of the suitcases, and all of the commotion must have triggered some thing in Kyle's brain. He woke up screaming and crying 3 times (10PM, 12, and 3AM). He was absolutely inconsolable. We felt so bad, but know he might have nights like this. We did what we could to comfort him, and fed him a little bit (some juice and a biscuit/cracker) each time. It helped a little bit - but we all got very little sleep. Iam certain that this is a cause for Lisa feeling ill as well.

Where was I...oh yeah...the hotel.
Top shelf accomodations, attentive staff (except for the failure to come through with an early - before noon - check-in yesterday), great location - 100 yards from the ferry terminal. I'm sure Bob and Carolyn know where it is.

This morning after breakfast, we took the world-famous Star Ferry over to HKI (Hong Kong Island) to go to the Zoo and to Victoria Peak. Lisa toughed it out, and we covered the zoo after a short taxi ride from the ferry terminal. It was nice - some of it was under construction, and so not available to visitors. It's also on a bit of a hillside - so it was a little challenging. Inside we found a little children's playground, and gave Kyle this first taste of playgrounds. He seemed to like some things - one of the pictures I'll post show Lisa and Kyle on a little rocking seat). He had some throuble on the swings and on the slide - his core strength needs some work so he didn't have the strength (or confidence) for these. We did try them though.

We walked from the Zoo to the Victoria Peak Tram station. This was after we got into a taxi - only to have the driver point out that the terminal was about 2 blocks away!! The tram ride was really cool and gave great views of the harbor skylines all the way up. It's basically a cable car (2 Passenger cars) that rises on railroad tracks up 1200 feet in about 10 minutes. For those of you who've been there - it's a lot like the Incline up to Mount Washington in Pittsburgh.

We got out at the top and toured the shopping areas. There are about 5 floors of shops and an outside observation deck. For those of you keeping track, Kyle does not fancy strong winds in his hair!! The Deck had great views of both sides of HKI, but between Lisa vertigo and Kyles aversion to high wind - unfortunately, we could not stay outside. Lisa and Kyle went inside and I got some shots from the deck. I also snapped (and will post shortly) a shot of L&K safely inside with the skyline in the background.

We had a nice lunch at the Bubba Gump at the Peak, and headed back down shortly after. We grabbed a taxi back to the Ferry and took the Ferry back to Kowloon. On thr trip back, Lisa nearly passed out while Kyle slept in his shiny new stroller. I snapped a few pictures - and will post 1.

All of which brings me back to right now in Kowloon...

Lisa and Kyle are sleeping in the room, and I am in another Internet Cafe (two doors down from the Starbucks). This place is NOTHING like the other "Net Bar" I used in Nanchang. It's actually a nice little well spaced (I'm not rubbing shoulders with some gamer!!) collection of what look to be newer PCs, in a nice well lit well ventillated room with maybe 60 spaces. English seems to be as common as Chinese in here, with lots of Aussies and Brits. There are 2 cruise ships in town so I've seen/overheard passengers and crew catching up with their e-mail / blogs. I'm sure it's much cheaper here than on board.

So that's it - up to the minute.

I'm headed back to the room to wake the rest of the team and head out for chow.

So cheers for now and I'll post pictures right after - provided the connection is quick enough.
C

Catching up from Thursday Night...Hopefully I remember it all!!! (Part 1)

Just some advance warning, I will likely do this in 2 posts - words then pictures.

I'm coming to you from Kowloon, Hong Kong - more on that later...

As of our last post, (I hope...) we were about to get cleaned up to head for for Kyle's Swearing-In Ceremony.
We loaded the Bus for one last-time all together as a travel group under Cathy's leadership. I don't think that the significance of this was lost on anyone. Since our first day in Bejing, we had essentially done almost everything as a group. And here we were, all together for the last time, only two-weeks later, but changed forever.

The trip cross town to the American consulate was a sight for the eyes - apartment high-rise after apartment high-rise, office building after office building. There was so much new construction (due largely I suppose to the rise of private property rights) it looked like a crane farm - they were everywhere! We got to the American consulate offices (on the 5th Floor of an office tower) right on time and rendezvoused (?) with 2 other travel groups of about the same size. We all marched up the escalators to the offices - and I can't really describe the feeling I think we all had seeing the Stars & Stripes for the first time in weeks!!! It was a slice of home - and just at the right time. I had a bit of a lump in my throat as we recited the oath which basically made our son an American. The actual words - essentially that Lisa and I had told the truth on all of our documents - were much less important than the symbolism. It was a small act but, still a very big deal.

Afterward is when Cathy reminded us that this was our last ride, and she thanked us and said we were the best group she'd ever had in all of her years...OK maybe she didn't say that part. Anyway she gave us her heartfelt thanks for all that we'd done with and for here. We didn't lose anyone - and didn't leave anyone behind anywhere!! (Thanks also to Reagan for spotting Mark & Frederica running for the bus as it pulled away - it was close but they made it.) Seriously, Thanks to Cathy our whole experience went better than most had expected. The trips and tours were very informative, and without her help in the restaurants, we'd still be waiting for our meals!! For most of our group meals, she worked much harder that the restaurant wait staff - translating, pushing, and fighting for us while making it all look easy!

After we got back, we met up with several other families (thanks to Rick for organizing this) and had a really enjoyable meal at the hotel's Italian Restaurant. We'd been there for a number of days but didn't even know there was an Italian Restaurant - we all wished we'd found it earlier. And no mice!!!

We toasted our success, enjoyed our dinners, and wished each other safe travels for the last time. (I don't have my cheat sheet with me so I'll have to post the names of the families that we dined with because it was really special.) With the exception of Rob & Shelly, we would not be seeing these families again.

We woke up REALLY early yesterday (Friday) morning for our ride to the airport which was peaceful - if you don't count almost rear ending a car that got in front of our bus on the highway and essentially stopped!!! Big wake-up call - no contact, though (and it was not our driver's fault)! We rode with several other families that also had early morning flights (most left 8AM - 8:30AM). Once again, Cathy came through with Breakfast
Boxes for the ride!

We met up with our luggage and said the rest of our good byes to everyone at the Guangzhou airport. We flew on the same flight to Hong Kong as Frederica and Mark, who were connecting back through to Chicago, then on to Atlanta. Most everyone else was connecting from Guangzhou to Tokyo then stateside. Kyle was sad to say goodbye to Sophia, but we had to - and we made our way to the taxis.

After a 45 minute taxi ride to the Marco... Polo...Marco...Polo... (some jokes just don't translate that well in writing) Hotel from the airport, we couldn't even check in because we'd gotten there so early! Lisa was starting to fell quite sick and Kyle had the sniffles as well, so we found some lunch in the shopping mall attached to the Hotel. Despite her deteriorating health, Lisa also managed to find a TCBY for some desert. News Flash - Kyle likes TCBY!! After lunch, Lisa and "Special K" crashed.

I, on the other hand, ventured out to see if I could find a cheap stroller on the streets, perhaps in a shop or street market- there are lots of these. One would think, that in a city the size of Hong Kong, a cheap stroller would be a gimme. I would venture that I walked 3 miles, all the way up Nathan Road, over to Temple and Shanghai streets, and through at least 4 street markets. I assure you that you can find almost ANYTHING on the streets of Hong Kong (I was stopped by so many guys trying to fit me for suits that I lost count...) , except, that is, a stroller.

I sulked back to the room and woke Lisa and Kyle. We walked for a while up to Kowloon Park, and then searched for dinner. We found the place that USED TO be the home of a California Pizza Kitchen, and then finally settled for a nice meal at the Hard Rock Cafe a few blocks up Canton Road from the hotel. The meal was fine and staff friendly. We ate, and then we crashed...So ended Friday night in HK. I forgot to mention that we had to go back to the Toys-R-U to buy a stroller, some "Biter Biscuits" for the boy (these are like GOLD - I'm glad Lisa found them...) and some food.

More soon...

Thursday afternoon here in Guangzhou

I will try and type fast. We are in the coffee shop and Charlie is feeding Kyle. We are going to the American Consulate in about 1.5 hrs. to get all of the final, final paperwork done (the swearing in). We went to the Pearl Market this a.m. and got "good deal" and then we walked thru the Spice Market where we saw those gross tiger paws, tiger teeth, sea dragons, deer tails and lots of mushrooms and ginseng. Supposedly they are all for "men's health." The man with the tiger paws said "no" when I tried to take his picture; probably because he knew it was illegal. I told another woman "bad" when she held up a tiger tooth for us to buy and she started laughing.

Last night, we had quite the dining experience. It was Fear Factor TV show + a little entertainment. Going into the place, you could pick your own big fat juicy worm from the "dining tank" area. Back in our room, we are eating and someone screams "mouse" so the waiter comes over and stomps it to death behind a tree behind our table and then says "shhhh." He then came back about 10 min. later to check for the final signs of life "none." We were all laughing and screaming. We then told our guide to negotiate for the "mouse dining discount" when we paid, which she did!!!!! On the way out of the restaurant, I saw a man eating a plate of huge beetles. It was so disgusting. We all ran for ice cream shortly afterward!! I think that this will be an American dining evening tonight!!!

Kyle is doing really well each day. Last night, he didn't hit bed until 9 and then he talked for 1/2 hr. until he fell asleep. He does wake up very cranky around 7-7:30 each morning. He needs his morning breakfast of french toast!!

As Chal said, the net is really, really slow so we are working on the pictures and fixing the sideways shots. We'll try and do more before we leave today. We leave for HK at the crack of dawn tomorrow. The off for more sight-seeing.

Must run, cranky is here and he has to get ready for his big debut.

Mom/Dad - okay on visiting -- We'll try and call you later today or from HK tomorrow.

Talk to you all later. Hope that everyone is feeling better and healthier.

More Pictures...

Here are a few more shots...we tried earlier today (see last Post) from a coffee shop but the connection was dreadfully slow. I'm in the business center tonight - here's hoping it's better.

It's NOT - it's taken me nearly 45 minutes to upload these - so this will have to hold you over until next time...
(Sorry about the sideways shot - I forgot to rotate it - and it's taking way too long.)

C

Lisa and Kyle at the Park



Here we are getting our blessing from the Monk at the Buddhist Temple.

Here we are moments after the photos on the famous "Red Couch" at the White Swan Hotel.

(Kyle did the best of all the babies - credit must go to the Raisins - look closely at Kyle's hands!

Here is a shot of Kyle with Ethan and Evan, the othe boys/twins in our travel group.

(Someone in our group called them the 3 Wise Men...it's more like the 3 Wise Guys!!)

Here Kyle entertains a few of his lady-friends (Sophia on your left and Emma on your right), while we were all anxiously awaiting word from Cathy at the consulate. We got the call that our paperwork was all in order at about 11:55AM!!!!

Here's Lisa and Kyle at the Quing Family Academy (I think Lisa may have written about this in another post.)

That's it for now...

C

Today's Picture Fix...

2nd posting of today

Hi there - back again. We are now in the local coffee shop - the internet terminals were open this afternoon. We just finished shopping in a local store that benefits all of the Chinese orphans. They had some beautiful handicrafts, so we found some very nice things. One of the shopkeepers is from the UK and had lived in Hong Kong for several years, so she gave us the low-down on a few sites to see and what to do. We may need to skip the zoo tomorrow; we have a full schedule this afternoon and then everyone wants to re-hit the jade and pearl market that they went to yesterday. We had skipped it yesterday because he was so tired, but it looks like people got some good bargains. We also just want to see the herbal market for the heck of it. People said that is filled w/all kinds of things, including tiger paws. I guess that they don't believe in endangered animals here.

We had a little baby party in the hallway this a.m. All of the babies came out to play. Kyle is getting more and more friendly; however, the word "sharing" is not in his vocabulary yet!! He kept playing tug of war over his toys. He is now looking at his family photo book, too. He seems to look at a few of the pictures but again likes the softness of the book and its handles. We gave him a real paper book last night but he almost ripped it up, so I quickly grabbed it back. (I don't know why the type of this just switched; all of the directions are in Chinese so sorry about that). Slowly, he is starting to play with more and more toys. He likes the other little children too.

I forget to say that when we post the pictures and he is wearing the same green/blue sweater in all shots, that is not because we only have 1 set of clothes. It's a little cool here sometimes and we only have one sweater for him + a winter jacket, so he has to have that over his other clothes. We'll probably look back and wonder why all of the pix look the same, years later. I had to buy Chinese Pampers the other day, as he was blowing thru diapers. They are not as "padded" as the US diapers, so those are his "day" diapers and I save the American ones for night.

Our group all exchanged addresses and emails today, so that we can all keep in touch. There is one little baby that they are concerned about that may have autism. This woman has only been with our group for a few appts., but others say that her baby is acting very strangely. The doctors here supposedly don't even understand what autism is, so she is trying to get an American doctor from the states on the phone. I guess that her mother is an early childhood pyschologist and she definitely thinks that something is just not right. That would be very sad. I am not sure what happens in this case, except that you ultimately try and refuse to take the baby back with you. Our guide is trying to work with her on it now. The family with the boy twins met the foster family that they stayed with and they think that they were quite wealthy. The boys had really nice clothes and electronic motorcycle bikes. I guess that the family also took pictures of the boys and had them laminated for them; they also gave the twins new parents envelopes with small money amts. and a pearl necklace for the new mother. Any of the children that were in the same orphanages are very close; they listen for each others' cries and they will touch each other on the hands. They also seem to have the same mannerisms.

Charlie just ran back to get the camera cable so we can attempt to try and upload a few pictures - you are all only seeing a few. We have taken 300+ so far, so we'll have lots and lots to show when we arrive home. We have snapped pictures of people riding by on bikes with all kinds of stuff on a little bicycle. Last night, a man had an air conditioner and a refrigerator on the back of his bike!!! Another man had coal in Nanchang.

Must run for now. Talk to everyone later................

Love, Lisa & Chal & Kyle

Wednesday morning in Guangzhou

Hi all:

I am using the business center today for my post, as the back room of the little joint wasn't cutting it (besides this is much faster to type!) Our Thai dinner the other night was interesting. Kyle missed his nap, so he went berserk about 15 min. into dinner and then threw his forehead down on the table and started screaming. Charlie then took him outside for the rest of the evening. I wasn't too bummed, as the food was a little beyond my taste - I got a coconut filled with rice, chicken, prawns, curry, peas and carrots. I have been sticking more to the American food since :)

We went to the Chen Family School yesterday. It's a huge museum now, but was the school for the Chen Family in the 20th century. They were one of the wealthier Chinese families here. The museum was filled with all kinds of elaborate sculptures; very neat. They also had a lot of bonsai plants and some gardens. We put Kyle down in the grass for the first time and he loved it. He was picking up the little pieces. Afterward, we went to a Buddist Temple and all of the babies were blessed by a real monk. It was totally cool. They sat in front of these huge buddas with all of this incense. When the blessed water was dropped on Kyle's head, he screamed out (happily); it was really funny. We got some good pictures.

We then spent the afternoon resting; both Charlie and Kyle now have colds. Charlie refused to get his flu shot this year and see what happens!!! He has been dosing up on Zicam several times a day so he is getting better, but now Kyle is sneezing. There's also a ton in bloom here, so I think that many allergies are also starting to kick in. After the boys' naps, we went walking and walking and walking. Kyle was wearing shorts and no shoes (he kept flipping off his squeekies) so he was quite the sight for a few of the elderly Chinese. At least no one scolds us (that we can understand). He loves the outdoors and seeing the flowers and the leaves and just the sights and sounds.

Yesterday was the first day that Charlie could actually go to the buffet line and serve himself (yeah, huge steps!!!) and Kyle didn't even cry. I had to bribe him with food, but it worked. He is getting better and better with me, as long as he is not tired and cranky. He loves bath time w/Daddy too. We have a huge bathtub w/no baby bathtub, so both of them get to go in together. He really likes the bath gel and bubbles.

Last night, he was all wound up while trying to go to sleep so he starts coughing. Charlie thinks he is choking so he rushes to the crib and Kyle is laughing. He did that like 5 times, until we said "enough, time to sleep!" Then he stopped. He is definitely learning how he can get attention very quickly. He is still monitoring all of the other babies; especially when they cry.

Today, our guide is taking our paperwork to the Consulate for the first round of sign offs. Then we'll go tomorrow for the "swearing" in of the babies and the final signoff before they are ready to leave China. This afternoon, we will have a group picture taken on the famous red couches here in the hotel up in the lobby. We will attempt to have Kyle dressed in his finest Chinese outfit; we were in bed by around 8 p.m. on New Year's Eve (how sad is that!) so he didn't dress up. We are also going for a Cantonese dinner tonight.

Due to the holiday and the crush of people here, we skipped the Zoo yesterday but are going to hit it tomorrow a.m. There is a panda bear there. Some say that it is a very good zoo.

The hotel here is very nice; definitely a "resort" type hotel and much nicer than the last few that we have been in. There is even a floor "helper" that rings the elevator bell for you each time you go down. I think that this hotel gets a lot of convention people, too. We ate here last night and we were literally the only Americans in the entire dining room (all Chinese). Charlie had to fight w/the head waiter to get us seated (so they gave us the last table in the back 40!) Kyle is still eating like he will never have another meal -- who knows if this is appropriate baby food, but we don't have a lot of choice. He had french toast and eggs this a.m. Ham, roast beef and some pork last night. He probably thinks that we eat outdoors all of the time and we will be running around in shorts and socks at home in Philadelphia -- who wants to give him the "real news?!"

Thanks for all of the posts that everyone has been sending. Great news to hear on many fronts. The email is still horrible here, so we had stopped trying to send it. I think 6 out of 7 lines are still blown out and they hope to have 70% capacity by mid-January which is probably not even realistic.

We are off to do laundry -- 2 big bags the other day; folded, washed and in little plastic bags for a whopping $8!! That's a bargain.

Charlie will post pix later -- we are going to try and use someone's free computer to do that.

Hope you are all well. We'll keep you posted on everything. (p.s. it was 73 degrees here yesterday -- who is jealous :))

Love, Lisa - Chal - Kyle

More Pictures...

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

It's catch up time, so here without further delay is Lisa (she types much faster than I do)...we are now sitting in a back, dark room of some tiny store (I am serious; it's like something from a movie...); there is one terminal set up in this store room for people to use the internet. It's crazy!!

To catch you all up on the other day, we left Nanchang around Noon on Saturday for Guangzhou. We were all ready to go to warmer weather and American food. I was still feeling very sick. We boarded a China Eastern airlines and you had to board it from the runway (climbing up stairs w/a baby, 2 huge backpacks, another bag and tons of pushing Chinese!) We, of course, were the last row on the flight. I swear that the plane started taxing even before we sat down (just like the U.S., right?) Kyle sat on Charlie's lap for a second and then luckily we had a seat in between us so we plopped him down and strapped him in. He was perfect. He played with the water bottle and wet nap for 1 1/2 hours! He did not seem to mind the flight at all. After our flight, we had a 30-40 min. ride to the White Swan Hotel (on Shamian Island). Guangzhou is very lush and green and very tropical. It's much more modern and wealthier than Nanchang. We checked in around 5 p.m. and then we had to have the baby's visa picture taken at 7 p.m. because China is closed to celebrate the holidays Jan 1-3 (although they were open 12/30 and 12/31). They have all businesses closed now. We didn't end up eating until 8 that night, but Kyle was wide awake and raring to go. We went to Lucy's, the American restaurant where he tasted grilled cheese, french fries, a wrap and apple juice. He didn't really like the fries or grilled cheese. On our way home, we saw a laser light show on the river; all of the hotels are lit up and lasers go all over the river; sort of like Disney. It's pretty neat. We finally got him to bed around 8:45 p.m.

Sorry, for the no paragraphing, but this computer is very antiquated and the keyboard is horrible. Yesterday, we were up and out at 8 a.m. for his medical physical for the US. The facility was very modern and efficient. Each of the babies got weighed (he is now 21.6 lbs.), measured (I can't remember how long); saw the ENT, had a heartbeat and breathing check and just a general once over. Everything was all in order. Yesterday, we met back up with the boy twins, too, and they have the same spots in their eyes like Kyle. Since we were starving post the physical, we hit the breakfast buffet. Now picture that Lisa has been serving Charlie ALL WEEK , all meals, because Kyle screams if Charlie leaves the table....I guess this is payback for the years that I trained Charlie to be on his own! The White Swan is filled with dozens (if not hundreds) of families and adopted children, so the meals are an extravanga of all kinds of children. After breakfast, we took our laundry around the corner and we "borrowed" a stroller, which here, means "you buy something from the store and you borrow for free.." We bought him a Rooster Zodiac hanging (he was born in the Yr of the Rooster) and his first "squeeky" shoes -- they are a riot. It was a whopping $10. We then spent some more of the day shopping around (and being followed from item to item getting the hard sell). We did find a few neat things. The island is very pretty, so we walked around for several hours just strolling and looking at everything. It's about mid - high 60's here (if not in the 70's) so beautiful. People here are really friendly and love to talk to Americans. Kyle loved his stroller (thank goodness, as Charlie's back was breaking carrying him everywhere) so that was a huge hit. We even got him to walk a bit in the playground (as you'll see in the pictures). He also spent alot of time playing with his Itsy Bitsy spider book - he likes all of the textures. Of course, we had to stop for ice cream. The have Haagen Daazs in the deli next to the hotel; so yesterday, he had a dual chocolate and mango and today, he tried chocolate and champagne grape! He is still an eating machine. All of the babies are. I guess that they are playing catchup.

He has started to say "da da" and several other undecipherable words. He still doesn't really play with the other babies, but he spends a lot of time observing them. He likes his crib at the White Swan; the bed has a little pillow (Chinese children sleep with pillows as little babies..very strange) and bumpers. Of course, he had the bumpers all over the place in 2 secs. flat, so I had to rip those off.

Our group is very lucky health wise. Only one of the babies has an ear infection and then a few just have sniffles. We met a woman yesterday whose group adopted from the Guangdong province and the babies were very sick with tonicilitis, head sores, bottom sores and coughs. She said it was very bad. There's a huge playroom here at the hotel sponsored by Mattel of all people filled with Mattel toys, but we haven't gone in there because we are worried he might pick something up so we have stayed away. They did give all of the babies a "Going Home Mattel barbie that is Barbie holding a Chinese little baby girl" - I am sure that he'll keep that as a keepsake, ha.ha.!!!

Today, we went to this huge park here. Now, if you thought that DisneyWorld is crowded on a vacation day when the park is at capacity, multiply that number by 3 and you'll know the amt. of people in this park today. It was out of control!! There are 13 mil people in Guangzhou (and 12.5 mil of them were with us this a.m.) Oh my, then we rode an electric bus to the top of this mountain/hill and had to walk back down about 2-3 miles. It was also broiling. The Chinese are are bundled up in winter wear (including our guide) and we are dying in Tshirts and slacks. They must have a different perception of the heat. They saw one of the little boys with his shirt off and they were all laughing and pointing. Kyle did well in the stroller. He is now getting more open and had to grab some baby's shoe in the elevator and another baby's foot. I am allowed to now push his stroller and occasionally touch him and tickle him; then we get the crocodile tears for daddy (no tears but fake cries). He also roars like a little lion; I don't remember this in his dossier!! Last night, he was so wound up, it took him an hr. to relax (after he does all kinds of aerobics in bed - this baby is Mr. Twisty in and around the crib bars.) He also has given Charlie a few "nips" to keep him in line! Okay, whinny baby is coming now...can't imagine why he doesn't like sitting in this backroom with bags of rice and who knows what!

We are off to a Thai restaurant tonight and then the Chen Family garden and the Zoo tomorrow. Catch you all later......

New Pictures Follow...