Changsha Days and Nights Thursday, March 10, 2011

Our last full day in Changsha was a funny one!  Living in the hotel is getting a little old.  the desk is our kitchen, the window sill our playroom/yard, the entryway our garage...you get the picture.  Blythe likes to open the mini bar and take everything out she also likes to play with the remote - I guess that is a universal fascination for children.  Our guide looked at Blythe today and declared that she was ready to go to the USA.  She looks so cute in all of Avery and Claire's clothing.  We have already taught her high five and she is clapping and waving.  She has even been brave enough to take a few steps without holding onto us.  The smile on her face is priceless when we are out, it looks like she is saying - "look at me I have a family that loves me too!  I belong!!"  We couldn't be happier for all of us.

In the morning we headed to the Hunan Provincial Embroidery Museum.  It was a wonderful exhibit of the incredible talents of the local people.  I found the political portraits done during the Cultural Revolution especially interesting.  During that period artists were only allowed to do works depicting the leadership or the 8 approved state operas.  Hunan is the birthplace of the Chairman Mao so his portraits are common.  Christian and I were happy to see a photograph of President Bush 43 at the museum, apparently he received an embroidered family portrait while President.  Blythe slept through the entire tour which  which of course meant she would not sleep the rest of the day!  She was in quite a fussy mood but who can blame her, she has been through a lot in the last week!  I decided to visit a spa at the hotel called Revive! Revive! which is a foot massage parlor which I guess are pretty common here.  They led me into a small smokey room with a TV and a very comfortable chair.  I read while they messaged my feet for 90 minutes for about $25.  The funny part came when she asked me to lie on my stomach...then she hopped on my back and proceeded to dig her knees into my back.  She then cracked both my ankles and all 10 toes...it actually felt really good.  We had dinner with our guide and he gave Christian some good news.  Our driver thinks that Christian is the best looking western man that he has ever seen!  Many of you know that this is not Christian's first time being singled out for his beauty - he was voted Best Looking at Pingry.  Anyway he was happy to hear that he has universal appeal.  We move into Guangzhou tomorrow by high speed train and we are hoping that Blythe will enjoy the ride.  There is no smoking on the train which is nice since most of China is filled with cigarette smoke.

Thank you for all of your kind notes via our blog FB and gmail.  They keep us smiling and enjoying this long time away from all of our family and friends...this time next week we will be HOME with BLYTHE!!!

Hunan Provincial Museum Wednesday March 9,2011

Another early morning in Changsha.  Today I stayed in bed and Christian headed down to look at emails and worked out.  At 7:00 a.m. we enjoyed one of the best parts of our day - Skyping with Avery and Claire!  They look so adorable sitting at the kitchen table eating their dinner.  It is very comforting to see them so happy in their usual routine.  We have no adoption work to do today.  Our next official item on the calendar takes place on Friday when we pick up Blythe's Chinese passport.  Today we met with our guide Ashley and headed over to the Hunan Provincial Museum.  When we arrived we learned that in the last two years the Chinese government has made all museums free to the public.  That is the good news for the locals, the bad news is the country is so populated you have to stand in a line for half the day waiting to get a free ticket.  Fortunately we did not have to stand in line.   While waiting to get in a group of Chinese schoolgirls approached us and asked to be photographed with us!  Now we know what it is like to be famous.  The Museum was excellent.  The main exhibition was the contents of three 2000-year-old tombs that were unearthed in the 1070's in Changsha.  The highlight was the preserved corpse of a woman, skin, wig, and bones still intact.  The whole exhibit was very interesting.  Afterwards we headed to a local restaurant for lunch.  I am a bit shy about the local cuisine but I have tried a few things.  They like their food very spicy here so Christian is enjoying what our guide picks.  Blythe eats everything that we put in front of her - bottles with formula, rice cereal with fruit, bananas, local foods, and cheerios.  She loves to eat and has become fast friends with the waitstaff at the Sheraton. They come by every morning and make a fuss over her.  She took a very restful nap after lunch and played all afternoon in our room.  She will be surprised to learn that at home she will be able to play with something other than a small beach ball and a few small toys.  I wonder what she will make of our playroom?  We are anxious to move on to our next destination - Guangzhou.  We will meet up with three other Gladney families there and we hope to become fast friends.

Please keep all your kind messages coming!  We love to hear from each and everyone of you!  Your support means so much to all of us!

Photos of Blythe

Our beautiful Blythe!

Finalizing the Adoption March 8, 2011

Blythe did a lot of tossing and turning last night and finally woke up around 5:00 a.m.  It's hard to know what she likes for a bedtime routine so we are trying various bedtime rituals to see what works.  I went to the gym around 6:00 a.m. and then we all went to the lobby to Skype with Claire and Avery.  It is obvious that my parents are doing an excellent job, as both girls are so happy!  We miss Avery and Claire so much. We talk about them all day long!

Our first breakfast with Blythe was great although we have to be very careful what we feed her.  She likes doughnuts (just like her mom) but really can't swallow that texture so there was a bit of a choking incident-nothing too serious!

After breakfast we met Ashley our guide in the lobby and drove back to the Hunan Provincial Adoption Office to have the paperwork finalized.  They basically confirmed that we were happy with Blythe and that we could take care of her.  We were thrilled to answer yes to both questions.  The director of Blythe's ward at the orphanage was there.  I was actually a little happy when Blythe immediately cried as she came close. Perhaps for a moment she wondered if we were sending her back - never!

After the appointments were complete we went back to the room and Blythe took a nice nap.  We then fed her lunch and headed down to the lobby for a couple glasses of sparkling water before heading off on a walk to a local park.  The park was amazing - amusement rides, boat rides, aquarium and snake exihibit, go carts, women singing karaoke, games, you name it this huge park had it all.  We were somewhat of an amusement to the locals.  We got a lot of stares, a few young people practicing their English, and even a request for photos.  As well as one gentleman who followed us around for about ten minutes taking our picture from several yards away?? You see very few westerners in Changsha; we were the only ones at the park so I guess we stood out quite a bit.

Back at the hotel it was time to switch rooms for a third time.  The air conditioning in our room would not work so it was becoming quite uncomfortable.  We moved to another room where it is probably one or two degrees colder...

A few observations...

1.  They dress their children very warmly.  It was close to 60 degrees today and children were dressed in snowsuits.  Our guide recommended that we keep Blythe bundled up at all times as Chinese medicine proscribes that your neck be covered to ward off illness.  Most homes, stores, and government buildings are not heated so it makes sense to an extent.  With that said I see a lot of flushed children in snow pants and long johns who look very uncomfortable.

2.  Christian and I are running out of new topics so we find ourselves having the same conversation over and over.  Thank goodness that we have so much fun together or it could be grounds for divorce.

3.  Christian swears that I have confused half of China with my questions and requests.  i will say they don't give up easily and usually get it in the end.

We continue to be in awe of Blythe, without question she is by far the bravest person I know.  At 15 months of age, she has left behind every familiar part of her life with such courage.  She is already laughing and smiling and if you can believe it she call me "Ma" at dinner tonight while trying to get my attention - she wanted more food!  She is beautiful, smart, and a survivor at her core.  I can't wait for her to join forces with her two incredible sisters!

Gotcha Day March 7, 2011

What an incredible day we are having!  We woke up around 5:30 a.m. and of course hit the gym.  It was great to get some exercise and watch the sun come up in Changsha.  We hit the restaurant for breakfast and I caused a great deal of confusion by ordering a diet coke.  Finally it was straightened out and I started the day with some caffeine.  At 9:30 a.m. Ashley, our guide, arrived at our hotel and escorted us to the Hunan Provincial Children's Adoption Center.  As we drove in the parking lot we saw the back of a little girl entering the building and both of us wondered could that be her.  When we entered the room we immediately saw Blythe sitting with her caregiver.  She looked so beautiful!  We answered a few questions and produced some documents and they told me I could hold her.  As soon as I picked her up she started to cry so her caregiver took her back.  Then we tried again with Christian holding her and of course she calmed right down.  Is he great or what??  After a few minutes he handed her to me and she quietly sat in my arms.  It was an incredible feeling.  In the car ride back to the hotel she showed signs of opening up by playing a little game with me.  We finally started to see the first glimpse of a smile.  Back in the room we sat on the ground and started to play and she opened up right away.  Lots of playing, smiles, and a few adorable laughs.  Around 11:30 a.m. we fed Blythe her first meal.  She was incredible and ate and drank everything!  Then if you can believe it she took a two hour nap in her crib!!!  We hope she does as well tonight.  After her nap we went out for a stroll and had a celebratory meal at - Pizza Hut - go figure.  It was delicious!  As we walked down the streets of Changsha we get plenty of looks from the locals, we are not sure if they are surprised to see westerners (there are very few), the bugaboo (you don't really see any strollers), or if they are admiring how beautiful Blythe is.  We think it is the latter!  We came back to the room and are playing before we head to dinner with our guide Ashley.

It has been one of the best days of our lives.  Blythe is everything we imagined and so very much more.  As Christian said, "all this feels so natural".  We are truly blessed!

Changsha

Today we woke up around 5:30 a.m. and decided to get out of bed and hit the gym early.  It was great to watch the sun come up over the hills of Hong Kong.  We had a great breakfast and then strolled around the nicest mall I have ever visited.  Christian was thrilled that all the shops were closed because it was Sunday morning.

We caught the 11:30 a.m. train to Guangzhou.  It was pretty uneventful.  As soon as we stepped off the train in mainland China you could sense the change in culture.  We then met our guide Jack who transferred us to a new high speed train.  The train was amazing - very fast - at one point we were going about 340 KM/hour.  For about two hours we headed west into the heart of China and the scenery was very rural.  Finally we reached Changsha and met our guide Ashley.  Ashley took us to our hotel and gave us a brief overview of what to expect over the next week.  Tomorrow we meet Blythe at 9:30 a.m. at a government building and then she is ours!

I have to admit I was more than a little homesick this afternoon but Christian has been wonderful trying to keep me centered!  Not an easy task!

We learned this evening at dinner that the Chinese government does not allow Facebook, YouTube, or my Blog page so I have to send the updates to my mother to be posted - thanks Mom!  Tomorrow I will share pictures of our little Blythe!

We are in Hong Kong!!!

We departed on Friday at 3:30 p.m. from Newark and just arrived in Hong Kong at 8:35 p.m. on Saturday.  We watched a ton of movies and Christian got some good sleep.  I am a little nervous about the flight back- the only child we saw on the plane was throwing up! We arrived at the W and enjoyed some in-room dining.  Now we are watching American Idol!  Hong Kong is awe inspiring as always.  There is such a vibrant feel to the city.

We brought our stroller and have received several strange looks and questions regarding why a stroller but no baby.  I guess we have to get used to questions from strangers!

Tomorrow we leave by train for Changsha.  We meet Blythe on Monday and it can't come soon enough! I will post some pictures tomorrow! 

This is all so exciting the only difficult aspect has been missing Avery and Claire.