Time Flies

Wow, as of yesterday it is one month since DoT and I left to go to China. And on Sunday, it will be four weeks since we've had A and E. In some ways I can't believe it has been that long, and in other ways it feels like it's been a lot longer.

Our sleep issues continue, and I wish I could see an end in sight, but right now I don't. Oh, sure, I believe that sooner or later they will sleep through the night. It just seems like a long way away right now. Last night was probably the worst night we've had in a long time. They were up approximately every hour until about 3 a.m., and then they slept until about 7 a.m. So, on the good side, we are getting a few hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. And neither DoT nor I are feeling too bad during the day, surprisingly. The girls seem generally quite happy and content during the days. And neither seems inclined to nap, so I'm thinking they are not too affected by their nighttime wakings.

Yesterday we took them for a walk, but instead of using the double stroller (which E hates after about 10 minutes), we took along the snugglies -- and we put them in them facing forwards. After only a couple of seconds of thinking about it, E started to laugh. Really hard. I haven't heard her laugh like that since the first time my nephew demonstrated armpit farts. She just laughed and laughed and flailed her arms and legs around. Poor DoT had to walk and protect the "family jewels" at the same time. :-) A didn't mind it either -- she wasn't as excited as E, but she put her head back and fell asleep. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the girls. Within about 10 minutes, my back was killing me. Looks like I'm going to have to work up to a walk of any distance.


I think I promised more pictures. DoT and I have tried to get pictures of the two of them together, with both of them smiling and both looking at the camera. That's easier said than done. This is about as close as we get. And E has her eyes shut.







Here are a couple of individual shots though, that aren't too bad... (The one on the left is A.)















And finally, here is one of the two of them playing ball together. Okay, so I know they're not really playing together - they're too young for that. But it sure seemed that way since the only thing they did with the ball was whap it, and every time they did it would go to their sibling.

Well, that's it for today. Uncle Preston is coming over for supper, so I better go pick up all the toys strewn throughout the house. Have a great weekend, all.

Freaky Friday

So have you ever seen that movie with Jamie Lee Curtis where she is a mom and somehow she and her daughter get "zapped" and switch bodies? I think it was called Freaky Friday. I've never seen it, but I've seen commercials. Anyhow, I'm beginning to think we have had our very own "Freaky Friday" here. You may recall that at the beginning of our time with the girls E seemed like so much work and good, old A was such an easy baby. Well, they've done a role-reversal. E has really turned into a grinning, good-natured baby - even with not a lot of sleep last night -- and A has reverted to previous E-behaviour. It's a lot of work to get her to smile, and she seems to cry for no reason quite often. I'm sure there is a reason, but we can't seem to figure it out. She doesn't need a diaper change, she's not hungry, she cries when picked up, cries when put down, cries no matter what toy we put before her. I think she is just stressed and tired, and I'm starting to relate. :-) DoT has her out for a car ride right now in an effort to get her to sleep. (She did go down for a nap this afternoon, but it was only about 40 minutes.)

Last night was not a great night for either girl. They both went to sleep at about 8 p.m., but A woke up screaming at about 9:30 and then again at 10:45, and both times was very hard to calm down. They both slept between midnight and 3 a.m., but then E woke up screaming and I never got her back down. Oh, she slept some more, but whenever I tried to put her down the screaming would start again. I finally took her downstairs (figured one of us should get some sleep, and DoT won that one) and I watched the movie 'Ghost' while I held her.

And then today, they've been tag-teaming us again. E went to sleep for her afternoon nap just fine, but A absolutely refused. Just as I put A down in her crib after finally getting her to sleep, E woke up and started to cry. *Sigh* Oh well, hopefully tonight they will both be tired out and we'll have a better night.

Today I made an appointment for the girls at the International Adoption Clinic at the Children's Hospital. They specialize in international adoptions, and so are the perfect place to take the girls to get them checked out. Hopefully they can also answer some of our questions. I also had a call from a pediatrician who we had put our name in with (thanks to C & W for the heads-up on that one!) and he is willing to take on the girls. So it is all falling into place. And this after I've heard for years about how impossible it is to get a pediatrician in Ottawa. We've lucked out. The appointment with the International Adoption Clinic means that we need to get OHIP cards for E and A pronto. We plan to take a trip into the Ministry's offices on Thursday morning.

Well, that's it for now.

Day 1 in Ottawa

The drive back to Ottawa went surprisingly well. Amazingly, both girls fell asleep about 10 minutes into the trip and slept for about 3 hours! So we were half way home by the time they woke up. We then stopped for lunch, and neither one of them made too much of a fuss about getting back into the car seats and driving some more. It wasn't until we were within one hour from home that the whining started. And the last 20 minutes or so were a real challenge with E. DoT was throwing toy after toy at her in an attempt to distract her from a melt-down, and succeeded until we were about 1 minute from home. So, not bad.

Our first day in Ottawa went pretty well. DoT and I both managed to shower! And we went for a walk with the double-stroller this morning, and for the first 20 minutes neither girl cried! Then, true to form, E started crying so we had to cut the walk short. This afternoon I mowed the lawn, and DoT went and picked up a few things at the grocery store. It was a really quick trip to the grocery store because our friends dropped off the essentials when we arrived back in Ottawa the night before. That was great. This morning when I decided to make eggs for the girls, I actually had eggs in the fridge to use. And bananas and watermelon -- both staples for the girls.

Did I mention the A is now eating real food (food other than formula I mean)? When we first got them, A would only take formula, but now is eating pretty much anything we serve.

I think both girls are a bit stressed with the changes in their lives. A has been grinding her teeth, and rolling her head a lot -- which I read are signs of anxiety. And tonight, E woke up about 1.5 hours after she went to bed, screaming. It took me about 45 minutes to calm her down and get her back to bed. And she did some teeth grinding in there too. Hopefully once we've been here for awhile (at least longer than a week which is a record so far with these two girls), they'll start to settle down.

That's it for now. I'll try to post again soon. And I'll try to include at least one picture. I know they've really fallen off since we've gotten back to Canada.

Heading home today

Today we make the trek back to Ottawa. On the one hand, I'm looking forward to settling into our house and having some stability for the girls. On the other hand, I'm going to miss everyone here, and especially miss all those extra hands so ready and willing to take on a cranky baby and make her smile.

This week at the cottage was fabulous in spite of a lack of sleep. E and A took really well to grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins. And my sisters kids, J and M were big hits with the girls. J & M were willing entertainers. It's amazing how much fun 'arm-pit farts' can be for one year-olds. In fact, that's how M was able to tell A and E apart. He would do the arm-pit noises and whichever one smiled was E. (She loved it.)

I'm not looking forward to the drive to Ottawa. So far the girls have been in the car for a total of 4 rides and E, in particular, screamed for most of them. So, what will probably be 8 hours (at least) of driving today, will not likely be a lot of fun. Hopefully they'll fall asleep for at least part of the way. We were thinking about driving at night, to ensure they sleep, but we don't really want them to arrive somewhere new when they're sleeping. Don't want them waking up in a new place. And, of course, since I want them to sleep some on the way, last night they had their best night of sleep ever. A woke up once, but went back to sleep in a matter of minutes. And E woke up only a couple of times and went right back to sleep too. They both slept for about 10 or 11 hours last night. Of course, both were sleeping on the floor, where DoT and I could lie down next to them until they went back to sleep. We still haven't mastered putting them in a crib. Everytime you set them down, they wake just enough to start crying. We'll try the cribs in Ottawa, and hopefully it will come better.

To all of you who are wondering about when it would be an appropriate time to come and see the girls, we don't mind if you want to stop in any time. Just be forewarned.... if they're sleeping when you arrive, we won't be waking them up. You're welcome to tip-toe into their bedrooms and take a look, though. And to those of you who have offered to bring food, yes please! (Q -- any night this week is fine, just come on over.) That's one thing we are finding hard -- finding time to cook. Oh, yeah, and finding time to shower -- but I don't think you can help there. :-)

We expect to leave Shakespeare at about 10:30 a.m. this morning, so hopefully we'll be in Ottawa by about 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. Then we'll be staying put for awhile. (My mom is coming down to help out again next weekend.)

On a completely seperate note -- I meant to mention this earlier in the week, but forgot. One morning this week, DoT and I had the girls in the double-stroller wheeling them around. It was about 6:30 a.m. (we'd been out since about 5:00 a.m.), and E was crying, as she usually does when she's in the stroller. We walked past a woman who actually said, and I quote, "Someone's not happy this morning", and then turning to E she said "Mommy got you up too early." And I didn't hit her. I think I demonstrated remarkable restraint, for someone running on about 3 hours of sleep. :-)

Well, gotta go. See you all soon.

Greetings from Southern Ontario

Hi again,

So, this will be a quick update since we're just back in Shakespeare to check up on the cat and make sure she still has food and water.

Things are going fairly well at the cottage. Thank Heavens for the help of family members. I don't think I'd be surviving if it weren't for them. E and A have reacted quite well to the new people, which is a relief since it makes it possible for someone else to hold one of them so that we can actually take a shower or eat ourselves!

The jet lag is brutal. Right now the days and nights of the girls are all messed up. They don't want to sleep at all during the night. Yesterday we made an effort to keep them awake most of the day (with an afternoon nap) so that they would hopefully sleep last night. By 6 p.m. we could hardly keep them awake. No matter what we did, they were nodding off. So, we gave them baths and they were in bed by 7:00 p.m. It was the first time I can remember them going to sleep without any trouble. They slept for about 3.5 hours. Then they were both up for about an hour and then slept for another 2.5 hours, bringing us to about 2:30 a.m. And then they were up for the "day". Believe it or not, I am somewhat happy with this. I guess it's in comparison to the two nights before that where they slept about 2 hours only. So, we are trying the same approach today. They didn't have a nap this morning, but slept about 45 minutes in the car on the way to Shakespeare from the cottage (after the "mandatory" 10 minutes of screaming after being put in their car seats). And I expect they will sleep another 45 minutes on the way back to the cottage. Then we'll try to keep them up to at least 7 p.m., and hopefully even a bit later.

So, the last three nights in a row one or both of them have had the privilege of a moonlit stroll in their own private chariot (i.e., stroller). We had hoped that the stroller ride would put them out, but no such luck. I guess it's not working its charm like it did those first days in China. They better start sleeping better soon, because we're running out of tricks.

That's it for this post. There might be another one this week -- not sure if we will be making another trip to Shakespeare. Cross your fingers, everyone, that we will soon be getting more sleep -- even 6 uninterrupted hours would be great. On the up side, we didn't have to wait in line at Tim Hortons when we were there this morning at 5 a.m. :-)

We made it.

Well, we made it to southern Ontario in one piece. When we arrived in Vancouver, we were fast-tracked through both Customs and Immigration. I guess they took one look at the six families with babies and decided they'd rather not have us all crying in the line-ups. So, they took us right through. It was a good thing, because even with C and M's help (collecting our luggage, scoping out where we were going, helping transport everything) we still arrived at the gate only just in time to board the flight to Toronto.

Both E and A were great travellers. They both slept a lot on both of our flights, which was great at the time. It meant that we weren't disturbing all the other passengers on the flight. But, it made it really uncomfortable for us, since we couldn't really move. Every time we moved slightly they woke up and started to cry. Also, that much sleeping meant that when we arrived here (last night at about 1 a.m.) both of them were wide awake. E stayed up until about 4 a.m., and A stayed up until about 5 a.m. (Even in spite of a 3 a.m. walk around the block in the strollers - and in the rain, that's how desperate we were.) Then E got me up at 6 a.m. DoT and A are still asleep (it's about 9:30 a.m. now). So, I'm running on about 1.5 hours of sleep during the last several days. When DoT gets up, I think I may need a nap.

I think adjusting to the time change is going to take the girls awhile. I've been told it takes 1 day per hour time change. Which would mean that we will be adjusting to the time change for 12 days. I'm hoping it doesn't take that long, but we shall see, I guess.

My mom, dad, brother and sister-in-law were at the airport to meet us last night. It was really great to see them. And if they hadn't come, there is no way we were going to get all our luggage home. It was never going to fit into the trunk of our car, and the back seat was taken up by the two car seats. Speaking of car seats -- E and A both hate them. I was hoping that they would be like normal kids and fall asleep when in a moving car. Not so much. E screamed a good 40 minutes of the trip home, and A joined her for some of that. Then this morning, E and I took a quick trip into Stratford to pick up diapers, and she screamed some more. Can't wait to drive 6+ hours back to Ottawa. (Although after surviving the 16+ hours of flying yesterday, the drive to Ottawa doesn't seem at all duanting.)

Well, I guess I better go (wake up DoT so I can go to sleep). :-) I doubt I will be updating this blog during the next week, since I won't have a computer at the cottage. Maybe if we come home to check on the cat sometime in there, I'll try to update. But I'm making no promises. (Abby -- the cat -- is fine, by the way.)

Caio, everyone.

Last post from China

Ni hao! This will be my last post from China since we are flying out tomorrow afternoon. Thanks you all for your well wishes for an uneventful trip home and smooth connections in Vancouver. And thanks, Q, for the info re: Vancouver Customs and Immigration. I'm sure it will be a help. And if we still don't make the connection, I think I've accepted the fact that we'll just find a hotel and spend a night in Vancouver. Who knows, it might help with the jetlag.

Mom -- If you want to meet us in Toronto, that's great. But you really don't need to. We are planning to send one of our suitcases with C and M from Vancouver to Ottawa, so we should be able to fit everything else in our car. But, as you said, if you want to help with the luggage in Toronto, and give us a lift to our car, that would be great. I'll call if we miss the flight in Vancouver, so you don't make a wasted trip.

Bonnie -- thanks for the comment. And wow, I'm not sure I've ever been called "feisty" before (at least not to my face). I like it!!

jag -- hmmm, hopelessly in love, eh? Well, I kind of feel that way when they're sleeping. And sometimes when they're laughing and smiling. But I'm not sure I'd say we're 'hopelessly in love' when they're cranky and screaming. So, I guess we fell kinda-sorta-hopelessly-in-love after about 3 or 4 days. For the first 3 or 4 days there was too much screaming, crying, and sleep deprivation to feel anything but shell-shock and fear. :-)

Marion -- ha! My shopping abilities will never compare to yours. If I can't haggle, it's just not worth it to me. :-) (Actually, I'm looking forward to getting back to shopping places where the price actually is the price, and I don't need to wonder afterwards if I've paid too much.)

SP -- fever is gone as of this afternoon. I think it was related to teething. We think A's popped out another tooth (making it 5 now), and E is drooling enough to make me think she's not far behind.

Auntie Em (love that name!) -- I'm glad so many people are lining up to get their hands on the girls. Babysitting will probably be limited for the first little bit (much as I'd like to have a break sometime soon, they do still tend to get quite upset if we are out of sight), but I look forward to the day(s) we can leave the girls with you.

PF -- yeah, I too hope nothing gets passed to A. They both have runny noses this evening, and are somewhat congested. But if that's the worst of it, I'm fine with it. Also, we're anxious to see J & M at the cottage too. (And you guys, too, of course.)

So, today we took a hutong tour. It was very interesting. We drove in rickshaws down very narrow alleyways, which we occasionally shared with a small car. I think the rickshaw drivers, in order to make it more interesting for themselves, like to race each other. It was kind of fun. And today was the first time in my life that we've had someone on a bicycle pedalling along beside us trying to sell us something. As part of the tour we visited in the home of one of the inhabitants in the hutong. This was a wealthier family, and it was amazing to me to enter what looked, from the outside, like a small, somewhat run-down one-room building, only to find a very nice living space inside with many rooms and a gorgeous courtyard in the middle with lots of greenery. And it turns out the couple who lives there (Mr. and Mrs. Jin) have a son who went to university and who is now living in Halifax and runs a bed and breakfast there. Heh.

Here are a couple of pictures from the hutong tour. Many of the photos I took are a bit blurry because there was a lot of bumping along in the rickshaw and I was trying to balance A and the camera at the same time. So, for most of the shots the camera was moving. (In fact, one of the clearest pictures I got was a great close up of the plain blue shirt DoT dad was wearing.)
















Also, as part of the hutong tour, we visited what is called "Opium street". This is a famous street where Cixi (one of the Emporer's concubines) used to come to smoke opium. Cixi is famous in China because she was basically the power behind the Emporer for three generations (through less than law-abiding practices, including poisonings, etc.) Lots has been written in China about Cixi, none of it with anything positive to say about her. Anyhow, we visited Opium street which had a lot of vendors on it selling all kinds of things. Well, as we were going through, two of the vendors got into a fight over something. There was a lot of yelling (and although my Mandarin is a bit rusty, I'm going to say it wasn't the most polite choices of words), and in the end other vendors, or related people, were holding the two vendors apart. It was hilarious -- like something you'd see on a sit-com. And of course, I had to snap some pictures. So, here's one...


(Bonnie -- now there's a feisty woman for you. If that guy hadn't held her back, I'm sure she would have clawed the other guy to within an inch of his life.)

As we passed, our guide told us the two angry vendors were from Tibet. I'm not sure if that was a racist comment - and he was suggesting that as an explanation for their behaviour -- but I was thinking about going up to them and reminding them of the Dali Lama, but then I decided I'd rather stay out of reach of the two of them.

Tonight the group of families went out to dinner for Beijing Duck. It was very good. We had a private room in the restaurant. It was quite hot in the room, though, and both our girls got a bit impatient mid-way through the meal. So, I did a bit of pacing around. After dinner, all the babies were put on a bench together for group shots. (Actually, the bench wasn't long enough for all the babies, so they were split into two groups -- the Wanzai babies and the Leping babies). The Wanzai babies went first and there was a whole lot of crying involved. Then the Leping babies were placed on the bench and none of them cried and people took lots of pictures. But, alas, one of the babies was missing. When her mom placed her in the middle of the group she started to bawl. She was seated next to E, who then got scared and started to bawl. So, turns out the Leping babies weren't all that much better afterall.

I better end here, since I still have a lot of packing to do tonight. (I need to figure out how to pack all our stuff into the suitcases we have, and make sure none of them weigh more than 32 kg.) I want to correct one thing I said earlier though -- I got a photocopy of the medical charts today, and it turns out E is not 5 cm taller than A. She is one centimeter taller. I'm not sure why I had the wrong info to begin with. So, all of you can now stop picturing A as this fat little dwarf child. :-)

Take care, all. See you soon, back in Canada!

A light day today

We did not make it to the silk factory. E developed a fever over night and it wasn't a great night for any of us. So, we just couldn't haul ourselves out of bed in time to catch the bus this morning. Plus, we thought it best not to drag E out with a fever. We've been giving her baby tylenol, which seemed to be working earlier in the day, but less so now. She still has a fever, but with the exception of being cranky when she's tired, she is still in pretty good spirits. And is still drinking lots of formula and apple juice. The baby of another couple in our group had a fever earlier in the week, which lasted 2 days. We're hoping this is the same thing and by tomorrow night all will be back to normal. We'll see.

This afternoon we went shopping (again). We went to the Washow market. It is very much like the Silk Market. Five floors with various articles, and lots of bartering. We bought another piece of luggage -- it says it's Sampsonite, but who knows for sure. Anyhow, it's a large suitcase and only cost us 100 yuan (or about $13 Canadian). Also, this afternoon on the street I bought a mans and ladies "Rolex" watch set. I know they aren't real Rolexes, but DoT had said he was going to buy one while he was here, and he didn't yet. So, I bought this set from a lady on the street. I paid 20 yuan (or about $2.50). She was really not happy about the deal, but I figure I didn't force her to take it. In the end when she finally agreed to 20 yuan, I handed over the bills and then she tried to only give me one of the watches. When I started to chase her down the street and snatch at the money I'd just given her, she then handed over the other watch.

Close to the Washow market was a store that sells jewelery with Chinese characters on it. I bought two pendants for the girls, which each have the Chinese symbol for "double happiness". I figured it was appropriate for them, since they are twins and their Chinese names, when put together, mean happiness.

I have no pictures of anything from today, since there really wasn't much worth taking photos of. So, I figured I'd give you a shot or two from the Forbidden City, which we visited yesterday...
















Tomorrow is our last full day in China -- we fly home on Friday. (Today we received the visas for the girls, and the Canadian immigration paperwork we need.) I'm looking forward to getting back to Canada, but not to the flight home. I have a feeling we're going to miss our connection in Vancouver. I think we only have a couple of hours in Vancouver between flights, and from what I understand about the time needed to clear customs and get through immigration, I'm not holding out a lot of hope. Oh well, what's one more night?

Tomorrow we are going on a hutong tour. We will travel via rickshaw through the small alleyways that tradionally the Chinese people have lived in (many are now, sadly, being torn down), and visit the home of someone living there. Then tomorrow night the whole group will go out for a final dinner together -- for Beijing Duck (previously known as Peking Duck). After that, all that's left is packing.

That's it for tonight. Keep your fingers crossed that we actually get some sleep tonight. Thanks, K.

Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City

Hi again. You probably thought that there wasn't going to be a post today. I'm later than normal because we had some trouble getting the girls to sleep (in fact A is still up). More on that later. I almost didn't bother tonight, but since we're so close to the end of this trip, and I've posted every day, I didn't want to break the streak.

Today was a very busy day. We headed out at about 9:30 a.m. to go to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was really hot today, and we spent about 2.5 hours walking around in the heat, with no shade anywhere. I think most of the group regretted going afterwards, but I'm glad we did. It was nice to see it, and to be able to say we were there. But probably, we didn't need to spend as much time there as we did. I think I would love to go there in January through April, but the summer is just too hot. And with all the school kids on break right now, it was packed with people. So you couldn't really see much except the pack of people you were following. Anyhow, here are a couple of pictures...


















And here is a picture of DoT and I in really goofy looking hats. It was so hot here today that we purchased these hats (for 5 yuan each, which is less than $1) to keep the sun off our heads. They actually helped quite a bit. They are the only straw hats I've ever seen that fold.

We also had a group picture taken in the Square with all the families from our group. It will be a nice keepsake, and something DoT and I can use when we're trying to remember the names of all the people we've travelled with.


I also have pictures from the Forbidden City, but it is taking too long to load them and I'm eating up yuan, so I'm not posting those.

This afternoon, M and I went to the Pearl Market. We left the girls back at the hotel with DoT. I was a bit worried, because I can't imagine how I'd handle it alone with two (quite possibly screaming) babies in a small hotel room for a few hours. Turns out DoT was fine because the two slept for 95 percent of the time I was gone. I guess the heat of the morning had worn them out. Which was fine, until we tried to put them to bed tonight. Neither one was much interested in settling down. It's turning into a bit of a battle at nights to get them to sleep. And last night was the worst yet for them waking up. It wasn't just E, which it typically is, but A also had her moments last night.

However, they both were in fairly good humour today, as evidenced by these pictures taken a various points in the day. Both were hamming it up for the camera, I think...


A close up of E, at Tiananmen Square.














A back at the hotel, playing with one of our hats.













Tomorrow is a free day, although there is some shopping planned. In the morning, it is a visit to a silk manufacturing place where we can see them create the silk. And I think they are also planning to drive by the site where the Beijing Olympics will be in 2008. I wouldn't mind going, but it will depend on what time we all wake up. Given the lateness at which the girls went to sleep, I'm kind of hoping for a late morning too. In the afternoon, there is a shopping trip to another Centre planned. I may go to that, or I may head back to the Silk Market. I need to buy another suitcase to get some of this stuff home.

Thanks again, all, for the comments. I really enjoy reading them. I wish I was able to comment on them from here, but I can't seem to. But I will reply to one of them here... D -- don't worry about the lady and young man in the driveway. It is quite possible that it was our cleaning lady. She sometimes brings her son with her. And it wouldn't surprise me if she did set off the alarm.

That's it for today. Have a great day!

Medical checks and more shopping

So today we headed off to a "western" medical clinic for the medical checks required by Canadian immigration. The check-ups required both kids to be undressed which, of course, started a round of crying. Neither one likes to have clothes (including diapers) put on or taken off. Not sure why. Although, as one woman in our group said... "who is comfortable sitting naked in the doctors office?"

Both girls checked out fine, although both are delayed somewhat developmentally. That was not unexpected. The doctor figures that A is at about a 9 month old stage, and E is maybe one month further ahead. But as we discussed with the doctor, they've made so much progress just in the week we've now had them. So we're all confident they'll catch up quickly. One week ago when we got the two girls, neither one seemed to be able to sit unassisted for more than a minute or two before they fell over. Now, they're both sitting no problem, and are working on standing. (Maybe we'll skip crawling?) E in particular can stand up with all her weight supported as long as you balance her. And A is pretty close behind.

The surprising discovery for me was that while A is definitely heavier than E (8.5 kg vs. 7.4 kg), E is taller by 5 centimetres! I'm not sure if their diets have affected their heights. The doctor told us to keep trying to get A on some solid foods, which we continue to do. But she's still spitting everything out. E on the other hand seems to eat whatever we put in front of her. :-0

This afternoon, a few of us went to the Wangfujing shopping centre. We had been directed there by a friend who has been here a couple of times. We were able to walk from our hotel room, but walking in China is always a bit of an experience. I honestly don't know how they can have such a high population. I would have thought half of them would have been taken out by traffic-pedestrian accidents sometime or another. Basically it seems that the rule for pedestrians is -- go ahead and walk when the walk signal lights up, but watch out for cars which always have the right of way. I don't think I've yet seen a traffic light change without seeing at least a dozen cars and 20 or so bikes come through on the red light. In fact, most people seem to just ride right on through red lights, whether they were recently green or not. Makes it a bit harrowing for us foreigners, but we've learned to just try to stick to the middle of a pack of natives and move when they do.

At the mall DoT and I bought two Chinese "Barbie" dolls for the girls. (I can't remember the names of the doll right now.) I can't believe the blond-haired, blue-eyed dolls for sale here - it was actually a bit of a challenge to find a Chinese doll for them. We also bought nine pairs of shoes! I would have bought more but I have no idea what size their feet will be, when. So, already I may have bought them sandals that will fit them in the middle of winter. Who knows. Also the sales people at this mall were really agressive, and it got to a point where I just had to get out of there.

We weren't exactly sure where we were going when we were trying to find the shop, and after asking a couple of people for directions a very nice young Chinese woman led us to the street. She told us that she wouldn't recommend shopping at the Wangfujing though. Apparently it is very popular with foreigners, but Chinese people don't shop there because it is over-priced. She told us of a better place to go, but it would have required getting on a bus, which was just not going to happen.

I didn't take too many pictures today. There was not a whole lot worth showing you, but I knew you'd want to see something, so here's a picture of the pedestrian mall where the shop was at. Interestingly it was almost all Chinese people there. :-)

Tomorrow we have an early start - so I better quit here and get to bed. (Hopefully E is asleep now - she wasn't when I came down to do this update.) We're going to see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. So I should have pictures for you tomorrow.

The Great Wall

AARRRGGGHH, f#(!%ing Microsoft. I just typed out a great blog -- it was amazing, articulate, even enlightening. And then Internet Explorer exploded on me and I lost it all. I'll never be able to re-create it, so I'm not even going to try. You'll just get a short, to-the-point recounting of our day, instead.

So, today we went to the Great Wall. We stopped at a jade factory on the way. They had a lot of beautiful stuff, but we didn't buy too much. I'm not a huge fan of jade, and much of what I did really like was out of my price range. Like the carved, jade ship shown in the photo on the left.

We did buy a couple of bracelets though for the girls when they get a bit older.





After the jade factory we hit the Wall. DoT and I had brought along a snuggly and a hip carrier that was loaned to us by a friend (thanks MJ!). So we set off on the Wall. We didn't go too far though because the steps were a bit treacherous and in places there were no hand rails. The steps are really steep in places. And none of them are the same height. Some are around 8 inches high and then others are more like 18 inches high. Many of them have slopes to them, and with today's rain they were a bit slippery. I was afraid one of us was going to take a nose dive down the stairs, so we didn't go up the really steep sections.





Here's a picture of the four of us at the place where we basically stopped and turned around.
The rest of the photos I took didn't turn out all that well because it was really foggy. This next photo is about the only one that's worth posting. Too bad. The photo doesn't do it justice.



















On the way home from the Great Wall we stopped and had lunch at a restaurant where we could experience typical Chinese food. It was very good. At least what I got of it. It seems that at meal times I'm not really getting to eat all that much, since I'm too busy trying to get two one year-olds to eat. And then by the time they're finished we need to leave to catch the bus again.

There was a store at the same location as the restaurant and DoT and I bought a beautiful silk wall hanging.

Tomorrow is the day for the medical checks. Last night E and A did not have a good night (again). So we are very tired. Hopefully they will sleep well tonight. Otherwise when we see the doctor tomorrow I may be asking for some tranquilizers for the girls. Just kidding (sort of).

Well, that's it for tonight. Again, I wish you could have read my original post. Oh well, you'll just have to believe me when I say it was a thing of beauty.

No comments on the comments tonight. Too tired. Thanks for commenting, though. I'll try to respond tomorrow. Night, all.

Beijing Zoo

Hi again all. Today, after completing the last (I think) paperwork that we'll be required to do here in China, we headed off to the Beijing Zoo. Actually, while I was with the group doing paperwork, DoT, C, M and E and A went to the Silk Market. DoT and I had been there before, but this was a first for E and A, and C and M. They got back to the hotel room about an hour after I did -- which gave me a bit of time to try to organize things. The hotel room doesn't have any place to put clothes, with the exception of a very small closet. So, with all our clothes, toiletries, what seems like a complete pharmacy of medications, two strollers and two cribs, we're a bit short on space. Everytime I need to find something (usually fast - to stave off a screaming fit) I can never find it. So, today I decided to organize myself. Hopefully I'll have better luck finding stuff in the future.

So, as I was saying, after lunch, we all headed to the Beijing Zoo to see the panda bears.


This really bad picture is the best one I got of a panda bear. They were mostly all inside the "Panda House", which was a bit dark. And if I used my flash, the picture just ended up being a big, bright flash of light on the glass between me and the bear. This photo was taken without a flash. So it's a bit dark. He's laying down, in case you're having trouble making heads or toes of this photo.





This second really bad photo :-) was also taken at the zoo. Surprisingly, what you don't see here is a crowd of people around us. I must admit, I've never really liked zoos all that much because I don't like the idea of the animals being caged up to be gawked at. Well, now that I'm here in China, I think I like it even less. It is unbelievable the attention we draw. If we stop the strollers for one second, it seems inevitable that a crowd gathers. White folk stand out in many places in China, but white folks with Chinese babies are a real novelty it seems. And twins... well don't even get me started. I know it is just a difference in our cultures, but I must admit I'm getting really tired of feeling like the centre of a freak show. And often the Chinese people seem to think that touching the babies is fine. It's all done with a smile and lots of head nodding but it's starting to wear on me. I feel like we can't stop moving. During the first couple of days with the twins we couldn't stop the strollers moving because they'd start yelling (and that occasionally still happpens), but now we can't stop without drawing a crowd.

The Beijing Zoo also had lots of other animals -- not all of which we had time to see. We did however see the monkeys, giraffes, and lots of different kinds of birds (including some Canada geese!). It really is a lovely spot - lots of water, huge trees and nice walkways. In all it was a very pleasant way to pass an afternoon.

Tonight we are hoping for another good night of sleep. We probably had our best night last night. Maybe because we were all exhausted after the trip back to Beijing, but we actually had to wake up the girls this morning. Actually A woke up at 5:30 a.m. and it took about an hour to get her back to sleep, but after that we all slept until about 8:20 a.m. Then we really had to rush to get up, dressed, fed, etc., etc., before we had to be in the lobby to have pictures taken for our immigration paperwork (at least I think that's what the pictures were for). Tonight, we got E down at about 8:30 p.m., and A was well on her way when I came down to do this blog. Tomorrow morning we'll get a wake-up call at 6:30 a.m., since we leave for the Great Wall at 8:30 a.m. It would be nice if we all slept until the call comes.

So, tomorrow the Great Wall and a Jade factory. Then Monday we have our medical checks done in the morning, and we're planning some shopping in the afternoon (the pedestrian mall you referred us to MJ). Oh, and speaking of shopping, today I order Chinese silk dresses for E and A. They will be ready in 3 days. I've asked for them to be about the size I expect they'll need when they're 3 or 4 years old. Don't ask me why this age. It just seemed a waste to get them to fit them now, since they'll have grown out of them so soon. They steamstress who is doing them asked, in Chinese, whether I also needed a dress or a jacket, but Mary (our guide) explained to him that I had twins and they both laughed. I'm not sure whether that means I'll never have need for nice clothes again, or that I won't be able to afford nice clothes for myself. In any case, I didn't really want anything for myself, so I didn't mind.

I'm still having trouble posting comments to this blog, so for now I'm continuing responding in the blog....

Chantal -- Thanks for the comment. Re: the eating -- hopefully it will all sort itself out in Canada. Right now E is surviving on congee, baby mum mums, arrowroot cookies, Nutrios (a Cheerios rip-off), and all kinds of fruit (particularly bananas and apricots). Oh, and tonight she had noodles. A is still sticking to the formula. We're thinking of trying to sneak some rice cereal into it to see if she'll take that. But haven't done it yet.

PF -- Yup. I think that's it for paperwork. At least until we're back in Canada where it will all start again (birth certificates, SIN cards, Canadian citizenships, health cards, etc., etc.)

mom -- Can't wait to get back to Canada (and to the cottage). Although I really am not looking forward to the flight. And the adjustment to the jetlag. Someone told me today to expect the adjustment to take the girls about 12 days (1 day for every hour time change).

MJ -- A is definitely bigger. Her last medical info said she was 8 kg, whereas E was only 7 kg. Don't know now what they weigh. But A is definitely bigger. Medical checks on on Monday. They were supposed to be today, but no doctors were working on a Saturday. We're back in Canada on July 14th, back in Ottawa sometime around the 23rd.

Okay, that's it for today. Have a great day, all!

A quick update

Okay, this is going to be a short post. We just arrived back in Beijing. Our flight from Nanchang was delayed by one hour, but of course we didn't know that until we were sitting in a boiling airport, that had no air conditioning and we had checked all our luggage including strollers. So we were all a bit cranky before we ever got on the plane. However, we made it. A slept about 45 minutes of the (1 hour and 45 minute) flight. E was awake the whole time. They handled it pretty well. However, I'm dreading the 13 hour flight back to Canada.

Tomorrow we do more paperwork in the morning, and then our afternoon is free I think. Maybe we'll try to do a bit of shopping. Tonight when we landed in Beijing (at 9:30ish) the temperature was 29 degrees, but it felt downright cool compared to Nanchang. I think I'm going to be much more inclined to get out and take in the local scene here than I was in Nanchang.

So, we took a photo of DoT, E, A and I today since a number of you were looking for a photo of the four of us. But it was taken in the Nanchang airport before our flight and we are all looking a bit too sweaty for me to be willing to put it up here. From your comments it sounds like many of you have seen photos over at C&M's site anyhow. (Guess I should have checked out their site a bit more thoroughly before I made reference to it here.)

Well, gotta go. I'm in desperate need of sleep. We did not have a good night last night, in spite of the fact that E and A both spent part of the night in our beds. Hmmm, I may need to revise my theory. Oh well, hopefully tonight will be better.

Porcelain!

Hi again, all. Okay, first I must confess, I made a mistake in my blog of yesterday. The internet access costs me 1 yuan per minute (not 70 per minute as I said). So, no need to take up a collection just yet.

And before I forget, I want to direct you all over the C & M's website where they are recounting this trip. It's a great site, with lots more interesting information than I have here. Check it out at http://realtravel.com/china-trips-i1683288.html

So today we visited a porcelain store. As you know, China is known for its porcelain (why do you think we call it china?) -- and Jiangxi is the province is most famous for its porcelain. So, we went to pick up a couple of momentos for the girls. (Even though we were given a gift of a small vase for each girl by the Jiangxi province officials when we adopted them.) Well, we purchased a couple of necklaces (for about Cdn$2 each) for the girls, but I couldn't stop there. I also purchased a tea set and a beautiful vase. Hopefully these things will make it to Canada in one piece. I think I'll be bringing them as carry-on baggage.

After the visit to the porcelain store, we also visited the People's Park in Nanchang. It was beautiful. Full of big trees, beautiful architecture, and lots of things to look at. Here are a couple of pics. I have at least 70 or 80 more.


We also visited a temple that is located close to our hotel. It was nice to get out with the girls, but it was really hot. I don't usually find it too bad when we're out, but the heat really does not agree with me. I can't take too much of it. Luckily this temple is only about a block from our hotel and we were there and back in about an hour. It was nice to see some greenery.

Now, on to discussions of the girls...

DoT and I have two theories when it comes to E. First, we now believe that she may have been sleeping in a family bed in her foster home. Last night, as with all the other nights, we managed to get E down in her crib by about 8:00 p.m. And once again, as with every other night, she woke up after a few hours. When this happens one of us picks her up, walks her around until she is asleep again (or very close to it) and then tries to put her back in her crib. And which point she starts a little meltdown. Well, last night at about 3 a.m., after several unsuccessful attempts at getting her into her crib, I finally just gave up and laid her down next to me on the bed -- between me and a wall. Well, she was quite happy to lay on the bed with me, and went to sleep relatively quickly. And any time after that that she started to fuss I just had to stroke her and she went right back to sleep. And we had to wake her up this morning to avoid being late for the trip to the porcelain factory! So this is now our new approach. To get her to sleep, we lay down on the bed with her. Here's a picture of her going to sleep tonight next to DoT..


DoT had his arm around her (but I made him move it so I could get this pic), and she was stroking his hair. She seems to like his hair. I guess 'cause it stands straight up like hers does. :-) Anyhow, she fell asleep with her arm around his head. How cute is that.

Our second theory is that she has never worn a diaper before this week. Although, we're less sure about this one. The theory is based on the fact that every time we've changed her diaper it is a pretty traumatic event for her. She screams, arches her back, clenches her legs together, etc. Once the diaper is on and we pick her up she is okay again. So, we're thinking that she used to be in split pants. (For those who aren't familiar with split pants, in China lots of babies wear split pants and no diaper. When it's time to go, they are just held over a toilet, or wherever they are meant to go, and let her fly.) The reason we're less convinced of this theory though, is that today I changed her and she was actually okay. So, I don't know what to think. I'd like to think she is just getting used to a diaper now, but I've changed her again since that time, with the same hysterics.


Yesterday, I think I promised a picture of A smiling. Anyhow, I didn't think at the time that I had a shot of her laughing, but DoT informed me that he had taken some pictures. I just wasn't looking in the right place for them. So, here's one of A, in a typical happy moment.








Also, some of you have asked for a picture of the whole family. Unfortunately, up until now, it's always been either DoT or I holding the camera. But tomorrow I'll try to get C or M to take a picture of us all. Until then, here's a couple of shots of E and A interacting. (They're not always this good with each other.)
















Finally, responses to comments to yesterdays blog...

• Wendy -- Yes. The stores are generally air conditioned, as is the bus we use to get everywhere we go. Makes it a lot more enjoyable.
• Auntie Em -- Their ears look a bit different to me, but I can't really tell. They just won't hold still side by side so I can really compare. :-)
• SP -- A has 4 teeth, E has 3 (but we think the 4th may pop out soon). Family pic to come soon (hopefully)
• meg -- Glad to hear from you too. Will pass on the "hi" to DoT. (P.S. We haven't called home because our phone card doesn't work from this hotel. Will call when we get back to Beijing.)
• Cool Cat - ES -- we actually figured out who you were shortly after I ended my session last night. And yes, we have air conditioning in the hotel, bus, etc. It's only the government offices (where we're doing lots of paperwork) and outside that it's so stinking hot.
• PF -- heh. Yeah, time when we're back home. I doubt it.
• Q (T's mom) -- no problem on the Yuan. I've mentioned it to DoT, so hopefully one of us will remember.
• UncleJ -- I don't know.... they can fill a diaper pretty fast. :-) Oh, and I can't check out that link yet. I get a pop-up box when I try and since it's in Chinese I can't see what it's saying. May be able to check it out when we get back to Beijing.

Okay, so that's it for tonight. Tomorrow we pick up the babies' passports, and then later in the day fly back to Beijing. So, there may not be a blog update tomorrow. It depends on what time we get into the hotel and how tired we all are.

Have a great day, all. Blog ya soon. K

Today's events...

So today we went on a ride out to the countryside. Many people in our group had been asking our guide about getting a look at the countryside in Jiangxi province, so they arranged a short bus trip out to a village. It took about an hour to get there, and it was very interesting. Along the way the guide explained to us about the one child policy and how it is enforced, etc. I would have loved to have captured it on video, but just when I started to tape it, the camera indicated that I only had four minutes left on the disk. And of course I didn't have any extras with me. Somehow it seems that these days DoT and I can't actually go anywhere and have everything we need. If we remember the formula, we forget the bibs. If we remember the video camera we forget the CDs, etc., etc., etc. Of course my memory was gone long before I got the kids, so I can't really blame 'baby brain' -- even though some of you have offered me that excuse in the past.

The village we visited had stone walkways which were laid by hand, and while they are impressive given the effort that would have been involved in laying them, they are really, really bumpy. And we, and most of the others in the group, had brought strollers as opposed to snugglies. So, we ended up carrying the strollers, which were carrying the kids, a lot of the time; and lifting them up over door entry ways, etc. It was really difficult. And the heat didn't help. It is unbelievably hot here. Today I think the temperature was only 36 degrees, but it felt so much hotter. What is the humidex temperature of 36 degrees with 100% humidity? Anyhow, we were drenched almost from the moment we stepped out into the sun.

We were told that the babies that were fostered quite likely lived in homes similar to the ones we saw today. It was really amazing. Mostly very small, stone houses, with no floors, electricity, or really anything else. But the kids and people we saw all looked happy. We were quite the spectacle -- all these caucasian parents and their Chinese babies. And twins are always an extra draw.

The hike through the village took us through a "rich person's" house (which is set up to have tourists go through it), and then a hike up a hill (with lots of ruts and sets of stone steps) to a 1000 year old oak at the top (with a courtyard and a plaque, etc.). I've put in some photos of the trek. They really don't do it justice, but I don't really have the time to go through all the pictures I took to find the right ones for this blog.

The first several are of various shots I took on the hike into the village.





























These next ones are from the top of the hill at the 1000 year old tree. We stayed there for about 20 or 30 minutes, I think, mainly because there was finally a breeze and I don't think any of us wanted to leave it for the hike back down.





























This afternoon we had a good time playing with the girls in our room. A is always ready to smile, but today is the first day we actually had some big smiles from E. She still has her moments, but it is getting better every day. Here are a couple of good photos of her, with M, who is flipping her up and down and getting lots of smiles for it....















I wish I also had some great shots of A to put up here, but I guess because she smiles all the time I haven't made as much of an effort to capture it on film. I'll try to rectify that for tomorrows blog entry.

And one last picture for this blog...


The bus stopped on the way back to the hotel after the visit to the village to let us get a picture of this water buffalo and baby water buffalo.











Now, in response to some of the comments on yesterdays blog...

• T's mom -- we can definitely bring back some Yuan for you. (As long as 'mommy brain' doesn't set in and I forget.)
• jag -- hmm, I'm not sure I like that. I think I know which one you're suggesting E's taking after, and I think I resent that. (Just kidding.)
• unclej -- we'll get right on that DNA test... DNA can come from a poopy diaper right?
• MJ -- yes, both are equally comfortable with both of us. I know some of the other families have had problems with the baby not wanting one of the parents near them. But that hasn't been our experience. And DoT is doing great. He's a natural, I think.
• anonymous (who I believe is SP) -- welcome back to work! I'll meet your for lunch on December 11. :-)
• another anonymous entry -- okay, I'm gonna blame this one on 'baby brain' too, but I'm not sure who you are "coolcat ES". And re: the dream -- it maybe wasn't too far from reality when on the second day we had them we had to answer to two different officials, before they would grant us official adoptions, who asked "how do you like having your twins". After our first night, and only a few hours sleep, part of me wanted to say "well...."
• lb -- great advice about us sleeping when they do. If only they'd quit tag-teaming us.
• Auntie Em -- hmm, I'm going to go right back upstairs and check out their ears.
• Jane H -- yeah, it is fun. We're talking about writing down our predictions now to see how close we come. We definitely have our ideas of how they are going to turn out.

Well, that's it for now. These blog entries are going to have to start getting shorter. I've now been on the computer for about 70 minutes. At 70 yuan per minute, this is adding up. Have a great day, all. Blog you soon....

Thanks for the comments, and more details

Hi all -- I want to start off by saying thanks for the lovely comments people have been leaving. I'm not able to comment myself from here, so I can't reply to them in the comments. But I am reading and enjoying them. Thanks for all your support.

Today was the day we were supposed to visit Leping city which is where the girls are from. We didn't end up going though. We had to decide yesterday whether or not we were going, and there was no way we were going to be taking the two girls on a bus for 7 hours. So, one of us had hoped to go and the other stay back with the girls. But given the way things went yesterday we knew there was no way that one of us could manage with the two of them, so we didn't say we were going. C & M told us later last night that M could stay and help me and C could go with DOT to Leping. So, off we went to find our guide to see if we could still go. Well, it turned out that none of the Leping families had signed up to go to the city, so they had made different plans -- one of our guides would go to Wanzai with the one family that did decide to go there, and the other would take whoever wanted to go shopping. Our guide told us that if we really wanted to go, she would take us to Leping, but then the group wouldn't get the shopping trip. I didn't want to be the reason the rest of the group didn't get to this particular mall, so we decided to pass on the trip. I know there are pictures of Leping on the Internet, so at least we'll have those. And we weren't going to be able to go to the orphanage or meet the foster families anyhow. We did get a small photo album when we received the girls which included pics of the orphanage, too. Who knows, maybe when the girls are older we'll make a family trip back to China and will check it out then. I'm also hoping at least one of the foster moms of E and A will send us some pictures.

Last night was a better night for all of us. The two girls were asleep by about 8:00 p.m. At 1 a.m. E woke up, but I had her back to sleep (in her crib!) in about 10 minutes. However, she did wake up again at 5:30 a.m., and we were up for the day then. So, I'm pretty tired now.

Today DoT and I bought a couple of strollers which we will have to use now and in Beijing. They were really cheap and are quite nice. The only problem is that E doesn't seem to fall asleep as easily in them. She's able to hold on to the sides or front of the stroller and therefore doesn't need to lean back. And she pretty much refuses to do that. So, no sleep. Tonight I finally picked her up out of the stroller after I'd been wheeling her around for about 45 minutes, and she put her head right down and fell asleep immediately. She'd been fighting sleep for so long in the stroller, that she fell asleep right away as soon as her head had a bit of support.

So, I've been asked for details about the two girls. Here's a start to what I can tell you...

A:

• the updated papers we got on her say that she is 8 kg (but we haven't weighed her yet)
• she eats her formula easily, but doesn't really want to eat anything else
• she is very good natured -- smiles a lot and is generally very content to do whatever we want
• she's a great sleeper -- usually about 11 or 12 hours a night

E:

• her papers say she's 7 kg (but we haven't weighed her yet either)
• she won't eat formula and for the first day lived on cheerios, baby mum mums, and arrowroot cookies. She's now less thrilled with the crackers and cookies, but today she ate congee and prunes (she had a bit of a problem with constipation -- 'has' being the key word there. The prunes did the trick really quickly.)
• she refuses apple juice when offered it, but if you have a bottle of it around she's likely to take it and start drinking it herself
• she does NOT like taking a bath -- but then again, that assessment is based on one attempt only and she's got a mind of her own. She doesn't much like anything that she herself doesn't want at that exact moment.

We got lots of smiles and even some laughs out of both of them today. We also had a couple more crying fits. But generally they are not lasting long.

Neither one is crawling or walking. In fact, when sitting on the bed, they are likely to fall over after a few minutes if they are not supported. I was a bit concerned about this, but it seems that others of the Leping babies are not crawling either. And today both of them were supporting their weight on their legs when we held them up by their arms. (Yesterday I'm not sure they were doing that.) Both like to babble to themselves and us. And both are facinated by glasses. If DoT and I arrive home with our glasses in one piece it will be a miracle. :-)

Well, that's it for tonight. I'm going to bed early, and hopefully we'll all sleep 12 hours. (Yeah, right.) Here are a couple more pictures of them (this time with them both asleep).

Take care all.

P.S. This posting is getting harder. The buttons and instructions are all in Chinese, and the more sleep deprived I get the harder it is for me to remember which button I hit to publish and which button is for something else (like say delete).

P.P.S. While DoT and I still maintain that these girls are not identical twins - the Chinese people we encounter all seem to think they are. Don't know whether it's a cultural thing, or whether they will actually look much more alike to us when E's suntan fades a bit and they start to share facial expressions, which doesn't happen that often yet. (They're complexions are not nearly as different now as they appeared in the referral photos.)

Day 2

Today was exhausting. We went to the Civil Affairs Office to legalize and finalize our adoptions. Then we went to another office for the Notary. In all, the trip took about 4 hours and it was brutally hot. And we've learned something about E and A -- they are not happy if they are not moving. Particularly E. And today involved a lot of sitting around and waiting. So none of us are in great moods tonight. Add to that the fact that I got about 3 hours of sleep last night and you'll know my state of mind. :-)

The girls slept pretty well last night, but I couldn't fall asleep until about midnight. Then, at 3 a.m., E was up and would only sleep if one of us held her. Everytime we tried to put her in her crib she screamed bloody murder. So, from 3 a.m. on, one of us was awake holding her while she slept. If there was only her we might have tried letting her cry herself to sleep, but I was too worried she'd wake up A who would then join in the screaming. A slept great, by the way. Down by 8:15ish, and slept right through until about 7:30 a.m. And then when she did wake up she was content to just lay in her crib looking around and playing with toys. She is generally much more likely to allow us to put her down, then E is. Which is lucky because E is turning into a high maintainance baby.

Today when my and DoT's backs are ready to give out from all the carrying around we've been doing, we finally decided to try to put them in their strollers. (The hotel in Nanchang provided a crib, stroller and bath for each baby.) We had been avoiding it because we knew they wouldn't like it, which they didn't... for all of about 20 paces. Then they quieted down. So, I know what we'll be doing tonight when they cry -- hitting the road, or at least the hallway.

Here, at last, is a picture of each baby. I just took them a minute ago, and as you can see although they're not crying neither is very happy either...
















The first one is E, and the second one is A.

That's it for today. I'll try to post again tomorrow. I should have more time than today, so I don't really have an excuse (although any number of them may come up).

Where to start...

Well, okay. Where do I start. This is the post everyone was waiting for, I think. Tonight at about 6:00 p.m., we got the girls. We were told to go to a room in the hotel at 6:00 p.m. When we arrived, the chaos had already started. About a half dozen of the babies had already been handed to their parents and several of them were crying pretty hard. They started with the Leping babies (ours were from Leping, but about half the families were getting babies from Wanzai) who had all been fostered. And they weren't happy to be handed to white folks with big noses, I'm guessing. Anyhow, we found E and A in the room, but weren't able to take them until they got to our turn and the orphanage director checked our paperwork and passports. Then the handoff happened. E and A were actually very good. Neither cried... well, okay, not then at least. We took them back to the room and for about 30 minutes everything was fine. Then the meltdown began. :-)

Both are asleep right now, but I have no illusion that it is due to either DoT's or my great skill with them. Instead, I think exhaustion finally took over. Thankfully. I think my arms are ready to fall off. Their paperwork says they are 7 kg (E) and 8 kg (A), but they felt more like 20 kg, after pacing around holding them for about an hour.

Both were wearing good luck talismans put on them by their foster parents. A was wearing the "key of longevity" -- a necklace and bracelets with bells in them -- plus some red thread (lucky) tied around her wrists. E had a Christian cross on red thread around her neck, and red thread around both her wrists.

And yes, it is parents - plural. I was disappointed to learn today that they were fostered out with different families. When they were abandoned they were both very small, and so the orphanage felt they needed individual care -- hence they were each placed with different foster moms. I had hoped they would be a comfort to each other, but I'm not sure that will be the case. Although, A definitely looked upset whenever E started to cry. So who knows.

Neither one ate anything tonight, and A is actually asleep right now in the clothes she was wearing (with the exception of a new diaper). But they are asleep. And right now that's what's important to me. We'll try to get them to eat something tomorrow. (We tried tonight, but neither was much in the mood to eat.)

I know you were all hoping for pictures, but I can't seem to see any right now on my camera flash card. I'll check with C&M to see if they have any pics (they captured a lot on video and I think they took some pictures too), but won't likely have any until at least tomorrow. Sorry. But you'll just have to wait.

The Summer Palace

So, today we ventured out on our own to The Summer Palace. The taxi ride there and back was almost adventure enough, but we're still glad we went.

Here are a few pictures we took....































C & M arrived today. They've been up for basically the last 48 hours. I don't know how they're still standing. We went about a block from our hotel tonight for dinner, and had roast duck. Very tasty.

So, just as a last note -- can someone please leave a comment?! I've posted three days in a row, here, and no comments! Unless they just aren't showing up for me.

Happy Canada Day everyone! Tomorrow we meet E & A!!!