More photos

More photos from yesterday...really cute.

Japan here we come..

Hi all, we leave China today and fly to Japan where we will be staying overnight and connecting to our BIG FLIGHT tomorrow. Our flight today will be 4 hours and should be a good test run. Tomorrow's flight will be 11 hours and that is not something we are looking forward to. Hopefully business class will make a difference with little Alison. Yesterday was our last full day and we went to the American Consulate where we took the oath of allegiance for our baby. It was really neat. We took a bunch of group photos before we went and of course the red couch pictures where are a must for all adoptive families. Can't wait to get home and settle in...it seems like we have been in China for a year. See you all soon.

Some more photos

Just a few more photos...

Our last day in Gaungzhou

Hi everyone...the days have been flying by as we wait for our consulate appointment which is today. Things have been pretty restful here and we have felt like we are on a bit of a vacation. The city is very nice and in the last few days the weather has turned tropical and humid.
We have had quite an adventure and Alison has fit in perfectly to our family. She is full of spirit and is always smiling these days...that is what her Chinese name means..happy baby, and now we can see why. She is such a delight and joy to us. We have been sleeping a little bit better but cannot wait to get home and get the little princess on a schedule.
The last few days have been spent enjoying different sights and sampling fantastic Cantonese cuisine. This region is famous for the best seafood but some of the restaurants have some really horrific sights..Snakes, turtles and alligators abound and of course everything is alive until you point out your lunch and it is killed. They really appreciate fresh food, needless to say we are sticking with the lobster and fish.
We are so looking forward to coming home..just a few more days. Take care and see you all soon.

Paradise found in Gaungzhou

Hello Everyone,
Sorry there have been no new posts for a few days..the weather in Nanchang was terrible so there were no good pictures...we left Nanchang yesterday which I will compare to the hills of Appalachia to hit Gaungzhou which I will compare to Manhattan. That is how stark the contrast is between the two cities. It is absolutely beautiful here although the bad weather from the north followed us down here. They are calling for sunny and in the 80s tomorrow, I cannot wait.
The flight from Nanchang was our first test flight for Alison. It was only one hour long but afterwards South declared he will never travel coach with a baby again, for all who know South, that says it all. She really was not bad, just very restless and the seats extremely small. We are praying that she will sleep for some part of the journey back home.
Today we went to the medical examination. It was very short and not very in depth...our little pumpkin was one of the smallest in the group weighing in at 16.4 pounds, but deemed very cute and healthy. The clinic was on Shaiman Island which I have to say is just gorgeous, we can't wait to go tomorrow and walk around and explore. It is almost a combination of Europe and the Islands, very lush.
We are at the Marriott hotel and it is very nice, such a contrast to the last hotel and Alison seems to love it....like mother like daughter.
I am sending some pictures and will post more tomorrow....till then..

Tomorrow Gaungzhou

To say that we are anxious to get to Gaungzhou and begin the final stage of our journey would be an understatement. We collect Alison's passport tomorrow and leave for the airport at 2:00. We had an interesting day today, we went to visit a typical Chinese village to get an idea of what kind of life our child would have come from. It was a true eye opener. Even though the conditions were on a poverty level the people seemed happy and their children loved. Most of the children were boys of course, I was so saddened to think that this would have been the life for Alison if she had been lucky enough to have been kept by her parents.
The weather was cold and rainy with high winds so we were happy to make it back to the hotel and get some lunch. We are dreaming of Cactus Cantina and Houstons...two great restaurants back home. Chinese food in China is completely different than Chinese food back home.
Alison continues to thrive, she is such a true gift and treasure and we love her so much.
I am sending some pictures of the day..till tomorrow..

First Full Day in Nanchang

Yesterday was a pretty light day all in all. Our first appt. was at 2:30 so we had time to enjoy some walking around the hotel in the morning. The weather was really nice, around 75 and sunny with some haze. We had our first official appt. with the notory to prepare Alison's passport for travel out of China. It was very quick, the lady asked us if we were happy with the baby we received....of course we said yes. After that we ventured with the group to Walmart. It was like nothing we had ever experienced. There were tens of thousands of people..I kid you not. It was so packed and everyone in china seems to be in between 20-30. You rarely see elderly people. We were expecting people to be staring at us but we were in for quite a surprise, everyone was looking at Alison. We think she is incredibly beautiful, but the chinese must think so too because they would just stare at her and then grab whoever they were with and point at her. She took everything in stride in her stroller, she loves being around people and activity.
Today we had some sight seeing planned but we opted to hangout in our room. I have had very little sleep the last few nights because Alison has a cold and is waking up every few hours.
All in all, things are good...talk to you all soon.

Our Treasure from China

Hi everyone..sorry we did not get a chance to post yesterday but things were a little hectic to say the least. We left cold and smoggy Beijing from the tropic like temps of the south, Nanchang. We arrived to the hotel at 3:00 and were told that the babies would be here at 4:00. We needed to complete paperwork and prepare our gifts for the nannies so everyone was running around like crazy trying to get everything done before 4:00.
When went down to the conference room we could here the babies crying..Alison was not...at all. She never cried one during the whole Gotcha moment. She is without question the most beautiful little girl anyone could hope for. We brought her upstairs and tried to settle her in..she was a little shellshocked, to be expected, but she adjusted very well. Last night was ok..South slept really well, me not so much..she slept a little and cried a little but all in all we are so blessed. I am sending some pictures...We will post later today about our first afternoon as parents.

7:30pm...last night in Beijing

What a day...the Great Wall was everything we've heard about and so much more. I thought that I was in pretty decent shape, definitely able to hike for miles...well that all changed when your faced with climbing the Great Wall. It was much more steep than either of us imagined and we had our work cut out for us.
We started the day with a tour of the Jade Factory, very cool...some of the carvings were amazing. Then lunch, the amount of food that they have been serving us is really out of control, the platters never stop coming and the dishes have been excellent. We followed lunch with the Great Walk...up the stairs of the Great Wall, great timing, perfect to walk off the huge lunch. The one thing about Beijing that were not really prepared for is the smog..the pollution is really terrible and we cannot imagine spending too much more time here. You will be able to see the smog in the photos..we woke up to it and it never went away.
Well tomorrow is the big day, GOTCHA DAY, and I am so excited and a little bit nervous. We will receive our babies at 4:00pm at the hotel which is great. We will be able to talk to the nannies that have taken care of our baby and get her schedules for feeding and napping. Our flight takes off at 11:10 and we will have a few hours to get situated before Alison joins our lives forever...we are so happy.

Today the Great Wall, tomorrow Alison

Yesterday was a fantastic day...the weather could not have been more perfect and the scenery spectacular. All of the sites we have heard about for so many years were even better in reality. We spent the day touring the Forbidden Palace, the Summer Palace and Tiananmen Square. We had a great lunch and and then off to the Pearl Factory and the Silk Factory. We bought Alison some great outfits and cannot believe that the day we have been waiting for for more than eighteen months is about to come tomorrow. We pray that she is healthy and happy and look so forward to holding her in our arms.
We will update later today with photos of the Great Wall...

Sunny and Clear in Beijing

Hello to all from Beijing....we are just getting ready to head out and explore the city with our group. We will be touring the Forbidden Palace, the Tiananmen Square and the Imperial Palace. It will be a packed day and we will not be back to the hotel until 7:oo tonight.
We have adjusted after the brutally long flight...I will never again think that going to Europe is a long trip, it has become a shuttle flight in my mind...after experiencing the flight yesterday. I will be posting pictures later today so stay tuned..we have met up with some of the people in our group at breakfast this morning and everyone seems to be very nice.
Ok...we are off..

The long flight to Japan

Well, 5 hours into the flight I cannot imagine another 9 hours...So far so good, the flight has been great thus far, the service unbelievable. We are both reading and enjoying some peace and quite, looking forward to the not so quite soon to come.