Venturing Out

Maelin and i have had a good week :) We've been venturing out in small ways, but it's been good for Mama.

Monday: we went to the grocery store in the morning (who would have thought that i'd ever think going to the grocery store was a special treat?!), and Grandma Pam was there, so we got to do a bit of our shopping with her :)

Tuesday: we stayed home all day, but it was a really nice day, so we played outside a lot. In the evening, Maelin and i buzzed to MSD so that i could pick up some paperwork for an IEP meeting.

Wednesday: in the morning, we drove over to Grandma Pam and Grandpa Les's house and played there for a few hours. Maelin played really well with Adrienne (my sister's youngest; she's 18 months old). In the afternoon, Shelly, Amanda and Sarah visited us from MSD...it was really nice to have visitors!!

Today (Thursday): i had an IEP at MSD in the morning, so Baba stayed home with Maelin for a few hours. In the afternoon, Maelin and i drove to Flint to pick up Leslie from the dorm. She's been wanting to come home one night this week, so i was glad we were able to do it. Baba had sign class tonight, so Leslie and Maelin and i went to Burger King in Lapeer for dinner (yes, i'm still on the french fry ban ... Maelin had chicken tenders, applesauce and milk :) and the playland. I'm pretty sure that she had never been in a playland like that before, and she really enjoyed it. NO FEAR at all, and it was one of those really tall, large play structures. Mama was a bit nervous, but Leslie went up inside with her, and that made me feel better! When it was time to go, she refused to put on her shoes or coat, so i carried her out (crying, of course!) without them.

As you can see from the first picture, the swing set is done...and it didn't take six weeks - ha! When it was done, Maelin and Baba took the tractor to get a couple of bucket-loads of sand for the little sandbox under the play structure. It has rained a lot since Tuesday, so we haven't had much time to play outside. We're looking forward to more sunny days!

Love,

Mama, Baba, Leslie and Maelin

The Future's So Bright...

...I gotta wear shades! (Sorry, i couldn't resist!) We have been loving the beautiful weather these past few days. It feels so good to get outside and run around. Jim bought a swing set on Friday, and he's been tinkering with it for most of the weekend. (There are about six billion pieces to it ... look for pictures of Maelin actually using it about six weeks from now - ha!) Grandpa Les, Grandma Pam, and cousin Lauren came over on Sunday morning to help us work on it. Grandma Pam put together a 'radio flyer' wagon (given to Maelin from Popa and Nana Gleeson), and we girls (Mama, Grandma, Leslie, Lauren and Maelin) went for a long walk and took turns pulling Maelin in it :)

Sunday afternoon, we went over to Uncle Jon and Aunt Laura's house for lasagna dinner. They gave Maelin a few birthday presents -- you can see from the picture above that she really liked the Dora sleeping bag! Maelin and cousin Jacob drove his 'gator' around the yard (it's a battery-powered tractor-looking thing). Maelin looooooved it ... so much that when it was time to go home, she screeeeeeeamed, and continued crying in the truck the entire way home!

Baba got to go golfing yesterday (we won't mention that he was gone five hours...), so Mama and Maelin are officially free to cautiously branch out in our visiting and visitors! I think we'll still wait til next week to visit MSD, since there are soooo many people to meet there, but we're looking forward to having friends over for short visits this week. Call and let me know if you'd like to come :)

Love and sunny days-

Mama, Baba, Leslie and Maelin

The Weekend is Here!

Last night, Popa and Nana Gleeson came over to visit, and they brought a little wagon that holds blocks. Maelin was pretty sure that SHE was supposed to be pulled around in the wagon instead of the blocks :)

Yesterday afternoon, Maelin and i got ready and drove to MSD to pick up Leslie. Maelin was happy to see Leslie again, and Mama is happy that Leslie gets to spend the weekend with us! This morning, Leslie and Baba engaged in a challenging game of chess (we bought her the chess set while we were in China). Baba won, but it was a close match. Leslie is getting better and better the more she plays.

Nana and Popa Gleeson also brought over one of Baba's old toys -- a Fischer Price school house, full of all the goodies that go with it. Maelin has had fun pulling everything out, playing with it, and trying to fit it all back in...over and over and over!

This morning, Baba and Maelin are making a trip to Home Depot so that Mama can post to the blog :) and take a shower (a veritable luxury these days!).

I'm hoping that next week we'll be able to have a few visitors and do some visiting of our own. Baba wants to go golfing tomorrow, but i told him that we needed to talk about Mama and Maelin's house arrest before HE gets to go anywhere!!

xoxox,

Shonda (and Jim, Leslie and Maelin)

Baba's first day back

Today was Baba's first full day back at work -- and when i say 'full,' i mean it! He left this morning at 7am, and arrived home at 8:30 tonight! Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are late nights every week, and Mama is not happy about it :( I felt like i was just getting used to the three of us being home and getting into a routine, and now i'm trying to keep a 3-year-old occupied for 13+ hour days by myself. Yeah, i know ... all of you who are parents out there are saying, "Waaah, waaah..." but this is my blog, and i can bitch if i want to! (Maybe another Lemony Snicket warning was due??) She was whiny and crabby off and on all day because Baba was gone, and she doesn't understand that when he leaves, he'll be back later. He visited at lunch time today, and she was really excited to see him and play with him for a bit, but when he left to go back to work, she was NOT happy. I had to literally peel her away from the door to shut it! We did have a very nice visit from Grandma Pam (see picture above) this morning, and that helped Mama's mental health, for sure :)

This afternoon, Maelin napped for almost two hours, and then we went for a golf cart ride, kicked around the basketball, and pulled weeds for a bit. Baba is getting a swing set this weekend, so hopefully that will help keep us busy during the long days.

Love to all,

Shonda (and Jim and Maelin)

My Two Girls :)

I cannot put into words how incredibly wonderful it has been to have BOTH of my girls home for the afternoon!! Maelin and i picked up Leslie from school today (via clandestine Operation Parking Lot, lest someone see us - gasp! ... sorry, i'm being a bit sarcastic because Jim won't let me show her off at MSD yet!). Maelin was sleeping in the back seat (head flopped to the side - see paragraph below), and when she woke up, there was Leslie, smiling and introducing herself. Maelin looked like she was trying to decide if she was still dreaming, or if this person really had magically appeared in the front seat :) The three of us went grocery shopping, where Mae got to sit in one of those plastic car thingies attached to the front of a regular shopping cart, and she loved it. Leslie was incredibly helpful with both Maelin and the shopping (as always), and we had a smooth and effective shopping trip. Leslie has mentioned how impressed she is that Maelin signs so much...i, for one, took that as a compliment! She also expressed some disappointment that the 'deaf sister' we went to get for her isn't as 'deaf' as we thought! I can't blame her on that one!! The four of us ate dinner together, and the girls played with Leslie's robo-dinosaur and looked at photo albums. It just feels so great to have some semblance of 'normalcy' in our home. Small miracles :)

Is it just me, or does everyone's kids' heads flop over to the side when they're sleeping in a car seat?? It is just me, or does that bug anyone else?? I need to invent something that holds her head up when she sleeps in that darned seat. Unless someone else already has. Anyone know of an effective product out there? (Funny how motherhood has brought out the inner inventor in me - ha!)

That's all for tonight. *sigh*

Shonda (and Jim, Maelin and Leslie)

Some blocks, a box, and noodle soup!

Not much to report today ... i think that's a good thing, because it means we're settling in to a somewhat 'normal' routine (whatever that means with a 3-year-old!). Our night-time routine is going very well: Maelin falls asleep around 9:15pm, and we get up one time during the night to go potty. She goes right back to sleep afterwards, and we wake up around 7am for the day. Yeah!! I never thought i'd be so excited about a sleep schedule as i am now!! She's a bit less cooperative at nap time -- fights sleep, gets cranky -- but we'll get there.

Yesterday Baba went back to work for half a day. Maelin wasn't happy about that at all. I'm not sure if it's because she's gotten used to both of us being here, or because she's worried that one of us will leave and not come back (like when she 'lost' her foster parents), but soon she'll come to understand that he comes back every afternoon.

When we went to the pediatrician on Monday, we were told that Maelin has some fluid in her left ear. We're heading to the local pediatrician (in Lapeer) this afternoon to get it looked at.

I had to laugh at Connie's comment about Mama not being in any of the pictures - haha! I am definitely the photographer in the family -- if it were up to Jim, we wouldn't have any pictures of anything! The other reason is that i look like i've been through hell and back these days, so i'm not posting any of myself! I'll see if i can work on it sometime, Connie :)

Love to all,

Shonda (and Jim and Maelin)

Toppin' the Charts

We headed down to Bingham Farms for Maelin's first pediatric appointment this afternoon. The first thing they did was measure her height and weight. She was 37 inches tall and weighed 35 lbs. When the doctor came in and saw measurements on the chart, she told us that Maelin is in the 50th percentile for height and above the 75th percentile for weight ... on the American growth charts!! The doctor said, "I have never seen a child adopted from China who measured this high on the American growth charts!" And this is a doctor who specializes in internationally adopted children - ha!! We're thinking of changing her middle name to BuddaBelly. HA!

Hmmmm...what else is new? Jim introduced her to both barbeque sauce and ketchup in the last couple of days. She looooves barbeque sauce (probably just because Baba eats it) and dips everything on her plate in it. She also loves helping Mama with the laundry. She especially likes to throw the wet clothes from the washer into the dryer. Hey, i'm all for a little help! Now, if i could only get her to do the cooking...!

As you can see from the pics above, Jim took Maelin fishing in our pond last night. Thankfully, the fish are very hungry, and it doesn't require much patience to snag one! [And for all those wondering the fate of the fish, we set it free :)]

We're looking forward to seeing Leslie some time this week. Not sure when, because we don't want her to catch our colds. Plus, we're going to have to work out a schedule so that Jim can drive her to school the next morning when she stays over. It will take some maneuvering, but we'll figure it out. I can't wait for Maelin to meet her!

Maelin is able to say a few English words (hi, bye-bye, ow, uh-oh), but she's signing many more - milk, water, more, bed, sleep, ball, eat, wash-hands, bath, medicine, golf-cart, Mama, Baba, airplane, flower, bike, clothes, drink, mine, etc. It's so exciting to see her signing emerge. Whether she has a hearing loss or not, we're using it now to 'bridge' the communication gap, and she'll need it to communicate with 'big sister' Leslie, as well!

I really want to say thank you to everyone who has been so supportive since we've been home and not doing so well. It is said that you know who your true friends are when times are tough. We've had a rough last few days, and i really appreciate the comments, phone calls and positive thought. They mean the world to us.

Love to all,
Shonda, Jim and MaeMae

Trip to Meijer Nets New Bike :)

After a visit to Grandpa Les and Grandma Pam's house on Saturday, it was obvious that Maelin loves riding toys ... so we ventured to Meijers yesterday morning and bought a tricycle, and then Maelin and Baba spent some time putting it together. (As you can see, she was very helpful - ha!) She rides is all over the house and really seems to enjoy it. The bottom picture was taken just this morning, still in her jammies (and, if you look closely, with cough medicine spilled down the front of her shirt...).

We're going to get the troops ready for her first trip to the pediatrician this afternoon. It's in Bingham Farms (metro Detroit area), and the pediatrician specializes in internationally adopted children. I'm sure we'll take her to a local pediatrician most of the time, but for this first check-up, we're making the drive. She still isn't too fond of the car seat, so we're hoping that she'll take her nap on the way there!

An update on the sleep situation: we decided that we were done getting kicked and thrashed all night long, so last night we put Maelin on the air matress on the floor next to our bed. She slept straight through from 9:30pm to 4:00am, at which time she woke up to go potty. She went back to sleep in her 'bed' next to us with just a bit of help from Mama, and we all woke up happy at 7am :) The Gleesons just may survive after all! ;)

Take care-

Shonda (and Jim and Maelin)

better days

Fortunately, each day gets a bit better. (I'm still crying at the drop of a hat, though, so if you call to chat, prepare for tears!) We're getting closer to a normal sleep schedule. Not 'there' yet, but it's getting better. Friday night, we went to bed around 10pm, and at 1:30am, Maelin was ready to party. Jim said, "I can't do this..." so i tried something different. I brought her downstairs, but instead of turning on all the lights, making breakfast and playing with her, we kept all the lights off, made some warm milk, and rocked in her bedroom. I kept pointing out the window and saying it was dark and not time to wake up yet. She wasn't happy, but every time she tried to squirm off my lap, we moved to the bed next to the rocker. She soon decided that the rocker was better than laying in bed, so we rocked until she fell asleep. I think she finally fell asleep around 3am, and we slept in her bed until 7am. YEAH!!

Since Jim and i were feeling somewhat better, we decided to make the trip to meet the great-grandparents. First we drove to Grandma Schmidt's house and visited with her for about 30 minutes. Then we drove to my parents house, because Gramps and Gram Minkstein were there. We visited with them for a short time, and then headed home. Just a short trip like that wore us all out completely!

This morning, we need to make a short trip to Meijer (for a non-skid bathmat, a ride-in car, and a couple of other things), and then we're expecting a visit from Uncle Jay and Aunt Tammy (Jim's sister and her husband) before noon. Other than that, we're laying low :)

Love to all,

Shonda, Jim and Maelin

jet lag, mucous, grief and guilt

Jet lag is hell. All three of us are so screwed up on our sleeping schedule, Jim and i are hacking sick, and i'm all post-pardum emotional on top of it. Ugh. Yesterday was not a good day. (This post may not be the happiest one. As Lemony Snicket would say, if you want to read something cheery, you might want to find a book about happy little elves and put this down now.) There. I warned you.

First of all, jet lag. I thought i was so smart. I thought i had it all figured out. Jim and i got less than an hour of sleep the entire 16 hours of flights; we arrived home at 6pm to our wonderful families, and stayed awake until about 9:30pm. I just knew that we were so exhausted that we'd sleep 'til 8am and the jet lag problem would be resolved. HA. We were awake that first morning at 3:30am, then napped from 12noon to 7pm. Oops. Last night, we thought we were smart again - we stayed awake until midnight, thinking we'd sleep most of the night. Not. The three of us were up again at 3:30am. We all went back to sleep around 8am, and Maelin and i slept until Baba made us wake up at 11am. She did NOT want to wake up ... poor thing! I know that the jet lag thing takes time to adjust to, but damn, it sucks.

Jim and i are both sick. I think the jet lag would be bad enough without the sickness. We're using up Kleenex like crazy - Baba had to make a trip to the store today to buy more! He also got some Halls cough drops and Mucinex. We're hoping we won't need a trip to the after-hours clinic tomorrow. Fortunately, Maelin only has a small cough and runny nose. The medicine we bought in China seems to work well for her.

Grief and guilt. Yesterday was ROUGH for Mama and Maelin. Maelin was very whiny and cried for her foster mom several times throughout the day. Each time she cried, i cried. Each time she cried, i doubted myself for taking her away from a loving family (albeit foster), a beautiful language, and an amazing culture. When we thought she was severely/profoundly deaf, i knew that we'd be giving her a language (ASL), a culture (Deaf), and an education at MSD. But she's not deaf. I think she has a hearing loss, but it's certainly not severe/profound. So instead of my logic of giving her everything, we're taking away. It's hard to be responsible for something like that.

Yes, i know things will get better. Today is already better than yesterday. Maelin is less whiny and hasn't cried for her foster mom yet today. It's beautiful and sunny outside, and as you can see from the picture above, she looooooves riding the golf cart with Baba!! I know that there are many things we will have to give her - language, culture, an education. She'll have opportunities as a woman here in this country that she probably would not have in China. And she already has a Mama and a Baba who love her very much.

We're HOME!!

WE MADE IT!! We are very sick of travelling and very happy to be home at last! We woke up at 4:30am (China time) on Wednesday morning (which was 4:30pm on Tuesday afternoon in Michigan) to get ready and meet our guide and driver to head to the airport. Our first flight was from Guangzhou to Tokyo -- only 3 1/2 hours. Our departure was delayed a short time due to fog in Guangzhou, but we were only held up about 30 minutes. Maelin did well on the flight. She looked at books, played with the flight safety cards (haha!), and did a sticker book. We had a 2-hour layover in Tokyo, where Maelin ran off her extra energy with trips up and down (and up and down and up and down...) the escalators. As soon as we boarded the next flight (3pm China time, 3am Michigan time), Maelin was asleep. She took a 1 1/2 hour 'nap' and woke up when the flight attendants started serving food - ha! All things considered, Maelin did very well on the 12-hour flight. We played with toys, ate some snacks, walked up and down (and up and down...) the aisles, and when a flight attendant gave her a deck of cards, Maelin and Mama played 52-card pick-up (well, it was actually about 45-card pick-up ... there were a few still left on the tray table!). She cried a couple of times, very briefly, but truthfully, Jim and i felt like crying after being on that plane for so long!

We arrived in Detroit around 3pm (Michigan time); customs and immigration went smoothly, and once we got our suitcases, we were on our way home! Maelin did NOT like the car seat (i'm pretty sure she'd never been in one before), but she cried for a bit and then fell asleep on the ride home.

We arrived home around 6pm to a lovely welcome from the Framptons, Gleesons, and Greschaws! Maelin got to meet Grandpa Les and Grandma Pam, Nana and Popa Gleeson, Aunt Shelli and Uncle Darrin, Uncle Jon and Aunt Laura, Uncle Lance, and cousins Lauren, Drew, Adrienne, Jacob and Lucas! She was a bit groggy at first, but she warmed up pretty quickly. By the end of the evening, she was let a few people hold her, and she was giving out hugs upon request :) In the pictures above, she's with Grandpa Les (my dad) and Aunt Shelli (my sister).

Baba, Maelin and i stayed awake until 9pm, and then headed for bed. Aaaaand at 3:30am, we were all up for the morning! The picture above is Maelin's first Cheerios breakfast - at 4:15am!! I'm sure it will take a couple of weeks to adjust fully to the time change.

If anyone is still out there and interested, i'll probably keep blogging about Maelin's adventures, at least until i have to go back to work in a few weeks.

Love to all,
Shonda, Jim, and Maelin

crisis averted at the consulate

Okay, i know i said the last post was my last, but i just had to post an update after the consulate appointment this afternoon. We arrived there (by van) around 3:45pm for our 4pm consulate appointment. There were about 40 other families there waiting, as well. When 4pm came and went, we started to wonder what was going on. Finally at about 4:20, a man (American) with a microphone said that he had "some good news and some bad news." Hmmmmm. He said that each child's visa has to be processed throught the computer system in Washington, DC, and the connection between Guangzhou and DC was down. He said they were able to process about half of the visas before the system went down...so about 50% of us would be completing the process and going on our merry way, and the other half would be coming back to the consulate again the next day to try it again. I was on the verge of tears, thinking, "I want to go home!!!" but i held it together. About 10 minutes later, Crystal brought Maelin's visa to us -- we won the visa lottery!! I screamed, i was so happy! So our flight plans remain the same; we board our first plane at 8:20am (China time) and arrive in Detroit at 2:50pm on Wednesday afternoon. YEAH!!

Maelin was too cooped up today -- she sat in the stroller while we shopped, sat in the van to and from the consulate, sat in a high chair at dinner time ... so we had to run laps around the hotel (literally) to burn some of the steam off! She had to just had her bath, and now she's avoiding getting her jammies on. I'm sure she won't be quite as energetic when we wake her up at 5:15 tomorrow morning!

Again, we love you all, and can't wait to introduce you to our little China doll :)

Mama, Baba, and Maelin

Our Last Post from China

Well, here it is ... our post from China! We meet our guide at 5:45 tomorrow morning (EEK!) and our flight leaves at 8:20am. Our first flight is from Guangzhou to Tokyo, which should take about four hours. In Tokyo, we switch planes and head to Detroit. That's the 12-hour one that we're so looking forward to - not!! But we are definitely ready to come home and get settled into the routine of normal life again.

Last night we went out to eat at a Cantonese restaurant with Kejing, Weifen and Vivian. Vivian was using chopsticks, so our monkey Maelin had to follow suit, of course. We left for the river cruise shortly after dinner; it was alright, but a bit on the long side. The lights were beautiful, but Jim and i have both caught Maelin's cold, so we're stuffy and snotty and have sore throats. We didn't enjoy the cruise as much as we should have.

This morning Guangzhou is rainy and very foggy (and in the mid 60's, dad). We ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant buffet and then did some shopping in the shops along the street for a couple of hours. Maelin took a very short nap, and now we need to get ready for our trip to the consulate.

Thanks so much to everyone for following along our journey! We've enjoyed having you here with us!!

Love-love-love,

Shonda, Jim and Maelin

Sticky Kisses

Well, we've got them -- our first sticky kisses from Maelin to Mama and Baba!! She imitates virtually everything (which can be good at times, and not so good at others!), but she hasn't reciprocated on the kisses, until today. Just a while ago, the three of us were laying down for nap time, Maelin in the middle, and Baba kissed her on the cheek. Then Mama kissed her on the cheek. The Maelin puckered up and gave us each several kisses on the cheeks! Sticky banana-and-granola-bar kisses ... the absolute best kind!!

Yesterday afternoon, we walked a few blocks to the outdoor children's playground and let Maelin run off some energy. She had a BLAST! The climbing slide structure was her favorite, and she played and played and played. When it was time to go, she refused to come with us, even after Mama and Baba walked away. But when we went back and made her come with us, she did so without too much fuss.

We came back to the hotel room to clean up and then headed back out to get dinner, just the three of us. We went to Lucy's, which serves American quisine, as well. Baba had pork steak, i had a hamburger (which turned into an Atkins burger, because Maelin at the whole bun for me!), and Maelin ate beef and noodles. She LOVED the corn-on-the-cob that Baba shared with her, so we're looking forward to cashing in on some more of that when Grandpa Les and Grandma Pam have sweet corn season! After dinner, Mama needed some ice cream, so we went to the deli shop next door to the hotel, and Maelin and Mama each got a chocolate cone. Yummmmmm!

Today we ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant buffet, then went back to the play ground again, this time with Kejing, Weifen, and Vivian. Maelin was very excited to share her playground with Vivian! We played until it was time to come back and have a nap.

Tonight we go on an hour-and-a-half river cruise; the river is beautiful at night, with all of the buildings lit up along it. We're looking forward to it!

Thanks for sending positive thoughts our way on the paperwork -- we got a phone call from Crystal at 11am today saying that it was all perfect, and we'll have our final consulate appointment tomorrow at 2:40pm.

Another big THANK YOU to our families for cleaning our house while we're gone! It really took a load off us knowing that we didn't need to get that done before we left. We love you, and we can't wait to share our beautiful daughter with you :)

Much love,

Mama, Baba, and Maelin

Happy Easter from the Gleesons!

Maelin is napping (and so is Baba!), so it's blogging time! Yesterday evening we met Kejing, Weifen, and Vivian and walked a few blocks down the street to a Thai restaurant for dinner. We had curry chicken, something squid, pineapple rice, and a couple of other dishes. Baba really liked the food, but it wasn't my favorite. I think we'll go somewhere different tonight.

This morning at 10am, we met Crystal and the others and hopped into our van for a ride to a Buddist temple. It was very busy because this is the holiday (Ching Ming) where everyone goes to temple to remember family members who have passed away. We each threw one Yuan coin into the 'wishing pot' (Mae with Baba in the picture above), burned some insense, and had a buddist monk say a blessing for Maelin (pictured with us above, after the blessing). Then we went to a store that specializes in ivory and other trinkets so we could do some shopping. Last, we went to the Chen family temple/academy, which is now government property so that people can visit it.

Tomorrow our guide will take all of our paperwork to the American Consulate. We will wait in the hotel room for her call between 10am and 11am. She will either tell us that everything is submitted successfully, or that we need to fix something in our paperwork. Obviously we're rooting for the former! Tomorrow evening, we'll take a river boat tour (one and a half hours) of the Pearl River, which runs through the city of Guangzhou. Our hotel is on the river, and our room faces over it -- beautiful view!

Some people have inquired about Maelin's hearing loss. Truthfully, we're not sure. We watched the ENT do a very basic test on her yesterday -- he got her to look at a colorful toy off to the left, and then he snapped his fingers outside of her view on the left. She did not turn to the noise. When he snapped louder and louder, she finally turned to look. We've done some of the same 'home' testing on her; sometimes she responds, and sometimes she doesn't. We know that her hearing loss is not profound - we're guessing that she has a mild or moderate loss, but we just don't know.

Our communication with her is getting better and better. She doesn't say any words in English yet, but we've learned some Chinese so that we can tell what she's saying ('i want more' and 'that's mine' is what she says about 90% of the time!). We're signing a lot of basic signs with her, and she imitates most of them. She has signed 'brush teeth' on her own, and she signs 'milk,' 'eat,' and 'more' quite often. We're also working on 'bed/sleep,' 'water,' 'no,' 'potty,' etc.

Today is Sunday...Happy Easter!!! We'll be home in a few short days -- yeah! :)

Love,
Jim, Shonda, and Maelin

from Chongqing to Guangzhou

Sheeeesh! I take off one measly day and get flamed for it -- even by my own parents!! Hahaha :) Actually, i'm really happy that so many of you are enjoying our adoption adventure. We feel good knowing we have so much support from home :)

Yesterday (Friday), we had breakfast with Kejing, Weifen and Vivian -- our last at the Hilton Hotel in Chongqing. Then the six of us went for a walk to buy some produce (Maelin loves bananas). We also invested in two bibs; probably the best 25 Yuan we've spent so far!! And, along with the bibs, voila!! A mystery solved . . . if you scroll down to the very first entry here, you'll see a picture of Maelin (at about age 2 years) wearing an apron and some unidentifiable things on her arms. A set of them came in the package with each of the bibs i purchased, and the light bulb came on -- they are to put on each arm during eating so the shirt sleeves stay clean!! Lemme tell ya, it's the best invention we've discovered in a long time!! Mae is a MESSY eater, and the bib and arm thingies are a savior to the clothing! I think i'll market them in the states...!

We spent our last day in Chongqing visiting a park which contains the highest point in the city. I'm not sure of the elevation, but there was an overlook from which we could see much of the beautiful city. Maelin has no fear of heights whatsoever; she wanted us to hold her so that she could stand on the rails and look over! (That probably makes Aunt Shelli sick just thinking about it!) We also visited a shop in Chongqing where they showed us how they make silk from cocoons. It was a lovely shop with some very expensive things, and Maelin was like a bull in a China shop! She was SO wound up ... she and Vivian were literally running around the place. I would've liked to buy something, but i didn't want it to be a 'you-break-it-you-bought-it' kind of purchase, so we left.

Then we came back to our room to pack and organize for the next leg of the journey. Our guide and driver picked us up at 4pm, and we were checked in and ready to go at 5pm. Our flight left at 6:40pm, and Maelin was rare form. She ran around the airport from window to window, from chair to chair, laughing and testing every limit set before her. After not obeying one of the rules (stay on this side of the rail near the window), she had a time-out on mommy's lap. When she realized that struggling to get down wasn't going to work, she tapped me and said, "Mama, mama..." and when i looked at her, she gave me a huge cheesy grin, as if to say, "How can you put THIS face in a time-out?" It was hilarious! Finally we got on the plane; Jim and i were both in awe at how brave and trusting she was to just get on a plane with people she met less than a week ago. She did fairly well (one brief meltdown when we wouldn't let her take off her seat belt, but she got over it), but it was only an hour and a half flight ... we are DREADING the 12-hour marathon from Tokyo to Detroit on Wednesday!!!

We arrived in Guangzhou at 10pm and met our newest guide, Crystal. She and the driver took us directly to the airport so we could get checked in and get to our rooms. This morning we ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant buffet and met our party at 9:30am. We walked about five or ten minutes down the street (where Maelin got her first ride on Baba's shoulders) to the place where they take the children's visa photos. When that was done, we went next door to the place where they do the medical exams. The place was incredibly crowded, but we got through things fairly quickly. One doctor examined Maelin's physical health, and then we went in to a different room to see an ENT. That doctor thinks that Maelin may have some hearing loss, but, in his words, "It's not so bad." Haha :) They reminded us that their exam was very informal, and that we need to take her to get more testing at home. We will. :)

That's all for now. MaeMae is waking up from her nap, so it's time for Mama to go.

Love to you all,

Shonda, Jim and Maelin

Zzzz...!

No time for posting pics today ... we're exhausted!! Scratch that -- JIM AND I are exhausted. Maelin's bedtime came and went, and she's going full steam at 10:30pm! We are now in Guangzhou, with our first flight with Maelin successfully behind us. More details tomorrow. Right now, it's off to bed!!

Good night,
Mama, Baba, and MaeMae

The Chongqing Zoo, sucking fingers, and more

No "tissue alert" for this post! Maelin has tested the limits a few times (come on kid, i teach preschool!), but no grieving meltdowns since Tuesday night. Jim is extra careful not to let her hurt herself, because he doesn't want her to start crying again - ha!!

Isn't the restaurant picture hilarious?!? Now we know why Maelin is off the charts for height and weight for her age -- GIRLFRIEND CAN EAT!!! She was literally shoveling food into her mouth at the restaurant last night. We've got some work to do on manners when we get home, but for now, we're just trying to keep her fed - ha :)

On Wednesday afternoon, we went to the Chongqing Zoo and saw the infamous pandas. I think we saw about six total. They were beautiful ... our guide helped us with saying the names of the animals in Chinese, and panda bear is 'shung mao.' ('Shung mao' literally translates to 'bear cat' - our guide said that when pandas were first discovered in China, the people didn't know if they were in the bear family or cat family, so they named them both.) Maelin really enjoyed seeing all of the animals. We don't know if she's ever been to a zoo or not, but she certainly liked this one. She kept saying a couple of phrases over and over: one was 'wo-pah-ah,' which our guide told us means 'i'm scared' ... but she laughed while saying it, so it was just for drama! The other thing she kept saying was 'locked in!,' referring to the animals all being in cages. At the end of the zoo, there's an art gallery where visitors can buy things. Chongqing's claim to fame in the art world is their "leaf vein paintings." They take large leaves from the Banyan tree (with is the city tree of Chongqing) and soak them in a special acid until all that is left is the veins. Then they apply a lacquer on the veins so they last a long time. After that, they hand-paint a scene or picture on the front of the leaf. Very unique and very interesting!

We have been doing a lot of signing with her. It's hard to tell what she can hear and what she can't. Most times that she doesn't respond, i'm not sure if she's ignoring us (because she can't understand what we're saying) or really can't hear it. She talks a lot in Chinese; sometimes our guide can understand her, and sometimes she can't. We, of course, can't understand much of anything, so i don't know how well she talks or how developed her language is. We will know more when we have her hearing tested at home. Either way, the signing has helped to 'bridge' the communication for us. We sign lots of everyday words as we say them in English, and we've also watched the first Signing Time DVD. She copies many signs, and it is soooo adorable to see her little hands signing!!

We knew that locals would look at us because we are somewhat of an oddity - an American couple with a Chinese daughter. What we did not expect is for people to be upset when they see Maelin sucking her fingers. MANY Chinese people (mostly older women, but not always) come up to us on the street and in stores and tell us not to let her do that. When we just nod and shrug our shoulders, they try telling her to stop. One old woman told us to slap her hand when she sucks her fingers!! Listen, lady...we just got this kid a couple of days ago...we're not going to slap her hand now!!

Well, this is getting long, so i'll stop for now. This afternoon we're going to the tallest point in Chongqing, and tomorrow it's on to Guangzhou!

Oh, before i forget ... could someone at home remember to water the hermit crab at our house?? I put the tank on the kitchen table ... i'm pretty sure that his sponge is dryyyyy by now. Thank you!! :)

Love you all,

Shonda, Jim, and Maelin

Some Highs, Some Lows (tissue alert!)

We've had many 'highs' on this trip -- the transition thus far has been much better than we expected. But last night we had one difficult episode: Maelin was goofing around in the hotel room, wearing the hotel (adult-sized) slippers and her big backpack (full of all of her new treasures), and she tripped on the rise between the hallway and bathroom and fell on her bottom. It scared her, and probably hurt her bottom a little bit, and she started crying. And once she started, she couldn't stop. She cried and cried and called for her foster mama over and over and over. It was sooooo heartbreaking; i can't even write about it without tears... i just held her and rocked her, sitting there on the bathroom floor, and i cried and cried with her. After about five minutes, the tears got less and less, and she finally stopped crying. This has by far been the hardest thing for me so far. I have this huge feeling of guilt for taking her away from the only family she has even known; we were told by the woman from the orphanage that they "loved her like their own child," and i know she loved them, too. They have given her priceless gifts -- the love, attachment, and a family, when she otherwise would have spent her first three years in an orphanage. The fact that she has known love and attachment and spent time in a family means that she will grow to love us and attach to us. It's so much better and healthier for her in the long run, but we know that there will be times when she misses them and grieves for them. That, too, is healthy. But watching our sweet little Maelin in such pain was harder than i thought it would be.

Now for some happier topics!! Yesterday afternoon, we went shopping with our guide and the Chinese American couple (Kejing and Wiefen) and their new daughter (Vivian). Our bus dropped us off at a huge shopping complex, and we spent a couple of hours getting new things for the girls. Our first stop was shoes ... Maelin was SO excited to get new shoes, and she kept telling every passerby that she had new shoes! We got a pink pair with velcro closure that she wore out of the store, and another pair of tennis shoes that light up (about $20 US for both pair). Then we went to the clothing section and spent about $55 US on three pair of pants and four shirts for Maelin. Then we went to a bookstore and bought a few childrens books (which were ridiculously inexpensive -- just over $1 US each!!) that were in both Chinese and English. When we got back to the hotel, we were all hungry, so the six of us walked across the street to a restaurant and had a delicious traditional Chinese dinner. Chongqing is known for it's very spicy cuisine, but our friends were kind enough to order everything 'mild' for us!

Today we meet our guide at 2pm for a trip to the zoo!! We can't wait to see the pandas :)

Love-love-love you all,

Shonda, Jim and MaeMae