A Few Bella Day Pics

 

A Little More About Sweet Cheeks Day

So,we had heard that we might be getting the babies early but it was not a definite thing so as all things with this adoption, we were not sure if it would rally happen. But it did, we got Sweet Cheeks a day early! Cheers to that!

We flew From Beijing to snow covered Nanchang. Cupcake let out a loud squeal of delight over the snow when we were on the plane. We got our bags and headed to the bus for our 45 minute ride to the hotel. We checked in at the Jin Feng... It was just like we remembered. It was around 1pm and the babies would be here at 4pm. We get settled I our rooms and headed downstairs a little early to wait. In fact, we were all standing in the lobby when the babies pulled up (with a driver, the director and nannies). I was searching all of their faces trying to find Sweet Cheeks and at last, I found her. Those were the eyes and cheeks of my dreams for the past four months.

I was standing with Cupcake who instinctively walked up to her. But Sweet Cheeks eyes were on my mine. She was adorable and I could not believe that we were FINALLY going to meet. After confirming paperwork, Sweet Cheeks was finally in my arms. Tears of joy were flowing. She felt so good. We passed her to big sister next, who gave her a quick hug. Have I mentioned yet that she is really cute. She has the longest eyelashes!

Once back in our room, we began unbundling her slowly... She is quite small but appears to be healthy. She has lots of dark hair on her sweet little head. And a tiny little mouth. She is very observant and watches everything going on around her. She has the tiniest little nose, too.

She and big sister played stacking cups and after watching Cupcake, she started clapping them together. They watched a few minutes of JoJo's Circus. I rubbed her little feet and trimmed her toe nails while Cupcake did her hands. She has had and approves of veggie puffs, too.

As I type this, Sweet Cheeks is still sleeping. She has a cough and sounds a little stuffy in her nose. I am trying to encourage Cupcake to go back to sleep but that is not going to happen. I will try to get a few more pics updated in a little while. Love to all! Thanks to everyone for all of the emails.... I have loved reading them. It seems the Internet connection is a little better where we are now.

Betsy
Sent from my iPad

It's Bella Day!

 

Day 2 Beijing Tours (More Pictures)

 

Day 2 Beijing Tours

Yesterday was another day of touring Beijing, but this time with the guide from our agency, Michael. There were seven families total with us, three of which are going to Jiangxi, counting us. It was nice to finally meet one of the families we had met online since receiving our referral. All of the families traveling to Jiangxi are getting babies from Fuzhou.

 

So, after breakfast, we met in the lobby of the Poly Plaza Hotel before hopping on a tour bus, headed for Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City. OMG, it was so cold! It was going to be a long, cold morning of walking so Nana opted to stay on the bus.... it seems she got a little tour of the city:)  We were greeted by some serious vendors, ready to sell their items, and fortunately, it was hats and gloves. We were so cold and we had just gotten off the bus. Cupcake was already complaining about the cold... it was going to be a long morning.

 

Everything looked pretty much the same as the last time we were there.  Areas of the Forbidden City were being renovated and it was not too crowded as many families are preparing for Chinese New Year which starts here on February 2nd. Michael told us that nearly 40% of Beijingers would be leaving the city, headed back to their hometowns. It is still mighty crowded here!

 

We finished our tour of the Forbidden City... I wish I had more to say about it, but when it is as cold as it was, it is truly hard to thoroughly enjoy where you are and what you are seeing. Shame on me!

 

We made it back to the tour bus and Nana where we had an hour drive to a jade store and restaurant. We had a nice family style Chinese lunch. It was good. The sweet and sour pork was really yummy and we had some fried milk? Sort of like a tapioca but smoother as one of the guys in the group said. Cupcake thought it was quite good!

 

Then we were off to the jade store for a little demo on jade and what to look for when purchasing... which we did. I love jade and this time I was thinking lavender jade. We bought Cupcake a jade monkey and Sweet Cheeks, a jade ox. It is interesting to see how many of the Chinese people, try to speak to Cupcake in Mandarin. She is getting good and telling them, "I don't speak Chinese,,," 

 

Next stop and with a little less money in the pocket, was the Great Wall of China. Super Dad and Cupcake climbed to the top of the tower and were HEROES! I was so proud of Cupcake, but more importantly, she was proud of herself! She got her picture at the top and Dad bought her a little plaque. They both made it back down, all in one piece.

 

We had McDonald's for dinner and spent the rest of the evening packing up to leave for Nanchang and Sweet Cheeks... melts my heart that we are now hours from her.

 

It is around 3am Sunday morning... we go to bed around 7pm and wake aroud 3am and we are leaving in a few hours to head to the airport. We will fly to Nanchang and we have been told that we will get the babies this evening around 4pm... epidural time!!!! Stay tuned!!!

Day 1 Beijing Tours

Before leaving from home, I contacted our former guide, IKE, who was able to organize a wonderful day of sightseeing for our free day in Beijing. His friend, Cindy was going to be our guide for the day.

 

3:00am... Kayli is wide awake and can't sleep. That means we are all wide awake... She was needing some midnight munchies! Her mac and chese dinner from the night before was long gone and she was a hungry bear!

 

After a few hours and waiting for things to open, we had some breakfast and met Cindy in the hotel lobby. We had a van and driver for the day. Our first stop was the Olympic Village to see the Bird's Nest and the Ice Cube. The area that became the Olympic Village was farmland back in the 1990's which is hard to imagine after seeing it today. Cindy told us that the Bird's Nest now houses an indoor ski facility... go figure. It was neat to see these amazing structures in person. There were lots of street vendors and Kayli scored a cute panda hat. It's a good thing because it is mighty cold out today. Around 30 degrees for a high and it was still early.

 

Next stop was the Summer Palace. It was rich in history and amazing to see. It encompasses over 100 acres, 75 acres of which are a huge lake. The Palace was built and burned down, rebuilt and burned again and then rebuilt for a third time. They were filming a movie at the Summer Palace today. Cindy was not sure of the details but thought, perhaps it was a funeral scene due to the way the actors were dressed.

 

After that, we headed to a nice Chinese lunch at a former prince's garden.  We had our own separate dining room and enjoyed some very yummy food... Kung Pao Shrimp was excellent along with some beef in a little potato nest. We had a vegetable dish of bamboo shoots and mushrooms... this is worth mentioning because I learned that bamboo shoots and mushrooms come in many different sizes and varieties. It was really good. We also tried this little fruit thing that the translated name means dragon eye. We peeled them and they were sort of clear with a dark pit in the middle... it was very sweet and sort of popped in your mouth when you bit into it.

 

The next stop was to Old Beijing City for a Hutong tour by rickshaw and the Drum Tower. Kayli took a power nap on the way and was then ready to go! We learned that the Hutong area is an old, traditional neigborhood where everyone knows your name. Well, not our name, but you know what I mean. We also got to visit a local families home where the lady of the house served us hot, jasmine tea, sunflower seeds and some candies. I could not believe she let strangers in her house to see how she lived but she does... and gets paid a little for it. She was very nice.

 

The Drum Tower was quite an experience. We climbed up 60+ tall steps to get to the top of the tower. It was some serious climbing... reminds me I need to get back to the gym. Nana chose not to climb with us and it was a good call on her part. The Drum Tower was used back in the day to tell time. We also got to see a drum demo that was amazing.

 

Last stop of the day was an Acrobatic show. It would compare to Cirque de Soleil... it was fantastic!!! So glad we got to see that. Kayli loved it all. It was a crazy busy day and cannot thank IKE enough for planning such an amazing day. We will get to thank him in person once we are in Guangzhou.

 

I am going to try to attach some pics. If someone could let me know via email if the blog is working, that would be great!

 

We are in China!

We arrived safe and sound on time in China. Man, I had totally forgotten how LONG that flight was. At times, it seemed that we were not moving. About 5.5 hrs into the flight, Kayli started not feeling well. I gave her one of the little pills that the pediatrician prescribed but it was too late. She started getting sick... poor baby!  The passenger beside of her quickly got up and he was moved to a new seat. The flight attendant got Kayli some oxygen and she began to feel better. That was not fun.

 

Once we landed in Beijing, we were so ready to get off the plane and walk! I could not believe how quickly the sounds, smells and sights of China came rushing back to me. It was a sensory overload to say the least.

 

Our guide, Michael met us after we had gotten through customs and secured our bags. Then we were off to the van and headed to the hotel. It was pretty funny watching the guys trying to load our large suitcases into the fan... it was touch and go for a while but we were finally able to get all of the bags in the van and be on our way.

 

17 million people reside in Beijing and there are 4.5 million auto's... we were in traffic. It was dark when we arrived but the city was definitely alive... and LOUD! Horns honking, cars swerving but just another day in China. It is cold here, around 30 degrees or so for high's.

 

We made it to our room which was steaming hot. It took some explaining and pointing at a few pics but we were able to secure a fan for our room. Thankful for that! After 25 hours or so of traveling, it felt good to take a shower and just be able to lay down. We attempted to connect to the internet but that was just not happening... Dinner was some snacks from home. The bed was super hard but we didn't care. Nana was settled in her room, we were in ours and it was lights out... I think it was around 7pm local time. A day closer to Bella!!!