This kid is amazing!!!!

Jet lag stinks. It really does. Jet lag really stinks when you are newly adopted, have travelled to a new home and country and are 2 1/2 years old. Sofie has a few rough nights but last night she slept through the entire night in the pack and play at the end of our bed. Everyone slept the whole night.....what a difference!!!
I wish I could show you what a joy Sofie is. She is the funniest, happiest little girl I have ever met, unless you tell her no and then she sits on the floor and cries. It is the phoniest cry I have ever heard....makes me laugh :)
Today Ainsley went back to school and we decided to take Sofie out into the big wide world in her car seat. Keep in mind that they do not use many seat belts let alone child car seats in China. She is still a little  quiet and shy outside of our yard so we weren't sure how it would go. She did awesome. We went to Trader Joe's to do some grocery shopping and then after nap time we went to Ainsley's dance lesson. Sofie did amazing. No fit in the car seat, she loved the grocery store especially when we put pears in the cart and she LOVED going to Ainsley's dance. No melt downs, no fits, no catatonic state. Just that adorable laugh and smile that everyone loves. She got so excited when she saw Ainsley dancing, she just jumped up and down and squealed!!
There is just no way that I can do justice explaining Sofie's personality in words. You just have to meet her. She is just infectiously happy, unless she is mad but that usually doesn't last for long. Ainsley is wonderful with her and just loves her sister sooooo much that she can't contain herself some times. She just reaches out and hugs Sofie without being invited which doesn't go over so well sometimes.
Saturday was a tough day. Lack of sleep and jet lat took their toll. I went out to the mail and there was the flags that I had ordered. You can order a flag flown over the Capitol in Washington for a small fee and then they send you the flag. Ours arrived with no problem even though I only gave them a week's notice.

I have one that was flown for Sofie and one for Ainsley. The dedication states " This is to certify that the accompanying flag was flown over the United States Capitol on May 14,2012- on the occasion of Sofie Lu Jingjing's Family Day- the first time the Ducharme's met their daughter and sister, the day the adoption was finalized, and the day the Ducharme's were all joined together, forever!" It is amazing and Ainsley was totally in awe of it.
Here are some other pictures from this week. It is hard to believe that Sofie has only been in our home form under a week :)

Mowing the lawn :)

Out for a walk with Daddy!! I had to hide to get this one because as soon as she sees me she runs away from Jim :)

Cruising in my cow car seat......

Shopping at Trader Joe's.......look at the pears over there :)

Doing homework with my big sis!!!! Everything Ainsley does, Sofie has to do too :)

Day 1

Our first day as a family in our home. It went really well. Sofie and I finally rolled out of bed at 10:00 am. She woke up in the middle of the night but I went and brought her into my bed and all was well then. She at least started sleeping in her bed. Ainsley woke up at 8:00 am and slept all night. You can't even tell that she has any jet lag at all. She was so happy to be playing with all the kids in the cul de sac again.
Sofie had a nap today in her own bed and slept for 2 hours. She has again started the night in her bed so hopefully that will last tonight. I felt not too bad today but I am tired now. The jet lag is really taking a toll on Jim...he is tired :(
We have been very lucky so far as this has been a fairly easy transition. I do realize that it could change at any time though. We will keep our fingers crossed.

The flights home were not too bad. We went from Guangzhou to Seoul then to Seattle then Minneapolis. Sofie was happy on the flight from GZ to Seoul but had some issues on the Seoul/Seattle leg. It was a very turbulent flight so they kept making me wake her up to buckle her up......really...and then they would turn the seat belt sign off 5 minutes later. The stewardesses got to hear Sofie's lung capacity up close :) We figured out at the end of the flight that she was afraid of the dark. Every time she would wake up, she would start screaming which would result in several Korean Air stewardesses coming over to help you, in the dark, which would terrify her even more....fun fun fun. As soon as they turned the lights on at the end of the flight for breakfast, she slept soundly and didn't even move. She even slept through landing in Seattle and becoming an instant US Citizen.
 
Ainsley lost a tooth in Seattle as we were waiting to board the flight home!! Something gained something lost :) She came running up to me in tears while we were at the gate waiting to board. A very nice lady in line behind us came up and gave her a dollar for her tooth and told her that the tooth fairy just flew by. I don't know if she bought it but she likes her money so she said thank you and took it.

Day 2
Last night was a rough one. Sofie only slept in her bed for an hour and then she tossed and turned all night with me. Every time she awoke she would begin crying and it would take a while for her to settle so needless to say, I didn't sleep much. For some one so small, she is also a huge bed hog!!!
She is still terrified of the dogs. At least she is curious about them, just as long as they are no where near her!!

Home Again

Home again, home again....jiggity jig :)
We are home!!!!! I will post tomorrow or the next day as I am so tired I cannot even type. Sofie became a US citizen at 2:00 pm in Seattle, Washington. She slept through the whole landing at the airport but we took a picture anyway :)

A fond farewell

We say good bye to China today! When we land in Seattle Sofie is a US citizen. I am filled with mixed emotions today....happy to be heading home sad for all that Sofie has to leave behind!!! I expect the next few days to be difficult and very exhausting so if you don't hear from us for a while don't be worried....we are OK. Talk to yo all soon!!!!!

Our last full day in China

Today is our last full day here. I am so looking forward to going home, yet, at the same time I am sad for Sofie. Sad that she has to say good bye to the land of her birth, her culture, her language and all that she knows. I know that it will all be OK and that this is the best thing for her and for us.....it just makes me sad :)

It has been an amazing trip and I will never forget all that I saw, learned and experienced. There are things about China that I do not like, but, it is such a different land and culture and it is so rich in history and tradition that is leaves you in awe. I cannot even imagine how much this trip will impact Ainsley. What a life lesson to be exposed to so much difference, history and culture at such a young age. I can only imagine one day as she sits in school and they are learning about the Great Wall of China and the thought passes through her head "I remember I climbed that with my Mom and Dad."

Yesterday, Sofie did her first swim in the pool. She had a blast and has NO fear of the water. Swimming lessons are going to have to start soon!!!! We also took a cruise down the Pearl River in the evening. The lights were fantastic. It was just breath taking to see.

Today we wandered down to Shamian Island which is where all the adoption stuff used to happen before the US Consulate moved downtown. It is a beautiful little island within walking distance of our hotel. It used to be used by the French and British a long time ago so the architecture is totally different than anywhere else in Guangzhou. We did some shopping and took a lot of pictures and then had lunch at a Thai place, The Cow and Bridge. It was amazing food!!!!

I don't know if I will have time to blog tomorrow so I will sign off for now. Back to packing :) When we land in Seattle, Sofie will automatically become a US Citizen. So on Thursday May 24 at 11:50 am Pacific time we will be celebrating a new beginning in a new country. See you when we get back to Minnesota :)

Swimming with Daddy

She dried herself off with her own towel....no help required :)

Hanging out with the kids on Shamian Island

The only picture I could get with their dresses on that Trish bought them. The youngest one wouldn't hold still long enough. This is their friend who is 13 and was also just adopted.

 

Family Day....also known as Gotcha Day

I figured that I should finally get around to writing down my thoughts about the day we met Sofie before I forget everything. There are several reasons why I blog.....it is a good way for me to work through my thoughts and feelings, it is a record of out daughter's adoption that I will be able to show her when she is older and it is a way to give back, to help those still in the adoption process the way others have helped me.

In preparation for our "Gotcha Day" we have gone to many classes pertaining to what to expect as well as courses on how to aid in attachment and bonding with your child. I have read books, other people's blogs and their experiences and thought I was ready, not totally prepared but ready. Nothing prepared us for what we saw. I had seen other pictures of children who were emotionally and physically shut down, but, nothing prepares you for seeing your own child like that. I thought when I first saw Sofie that I would crumple into a heap of tears! I didn't shed a single one. I was in shock. It broke my heart to see the child I loved experiencing so much pain and fear that she was almost catatonic. She could barely sit up by herself, couldn't hold her arm up or bring a lollipop up to her mouth. We weren't even sure if she could walk by herself. Her muscle tone was horrible and she was even tinier that I had imagined. I think she was carried everywhere and hardly walked at all. Jim was in shock also. The day we met Sofie she looked like a one year old baby. I took one look at Jim and told him it would be OK, she was just shut down and everything would be OK. He turned to me with tears in his eyes and said " she needs us. No matter what happens she is our daughter and she needs us." It was the biggest leap of faith we have ever taken, also, the best one :)

We tried interacting with her with the toys we brought, the photo album of our family, lollipops and snacks........nothing! Eventually we were able to get her to start walking with us. She would walk up and down the hall with all three of us. She was very wobbly on her feet and we were both very concerned. We both still felt that no matter what the future holds, Sofie is our daughter and we will do whatever it takes and whatever needs to be done to help her.

Writing this post is very difficult but it is something I need to do both for Sofie and for myself. As I write this, all the tears I thought I would shed on Gotcha Day are streaming down my face. This little girl is so amazing, such a fighter. She is small because eating is something that takes a long time for her because her palate still needs to be fixed. Time to eat is not something you are given in an orphanage when there are so many mouths to feed. She was loved and cared for there, I am sure of that as I have seen it with my own two eyes. The day we met Sofie, I looked at her in amazement and wondered what would have happened to her if we had not come along. I later wondered what will happen to all the kids I met at her orphanage who called out her name and said goodbye to her. I wondered what will happen to all the children we had to leave behind there.

Within eight hours of Sofie joining our family, we got the first real Sofie smile. It lite up the room like a lightbulb!!! It was followed closely by a bunch of giggles and then she had to clean up some of the candy wrappers that were on the floor. She is a neat freak :) Her shell was slowly melting away. The key was tickling Ainsley. Ainsley has been wonderful in showing Sofie what to do and what a family is like.

She still has a hard time in public places where there are lots of people. She now gets really quiet and then starts rocking back and forth. She is an amazing little girl though! The girl who looked like baby and could barely walk now refuses to be carried around and tries to walk absolutely everywhere. She is looking more and more like a toddler every day and she is super smart and already understands some of what we are saying to her. She has a long road ahead of her, but I cannot wait to get her home with us!

We are looking at a few more surgeries than we initially thought. In addition to her palate surgery, we are probably also looking at a lip revision and possible a nose redo. Occupational therapy may also be called for to help improve her coordination. She has a small umbilical hernia, which, is very similar to Ainsley's hernia which we just had repaired.

Today we had our US Consulate appointment which was the last official step in the process. Tomorrow we get her US Visa and we leave for home on Thursday. I was dreading this morning! Another big building with lots of people.....another big meltdown imminent. Sofie totally wowed me today. She walked in the building all by herself and rode all the escalators all by herself and in true Sofie fashion, had a huge poop just as we were waiting to go through security. Once she was cleaned up, she flirted with everyone waiting with us and even waved at all the ladies behind the glass counters. She did fantastic :)

So, for all those waiting to travel still, you may never be totally prepared for "gotcha day", just keep the faith and remember.....there is a red thread that connects all those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance. It may stretch or tangle but it will never break........destiny has brought us together, forever!

 

TB test check and shopping

Today was a rough day. We had to back to the medical building to have her TB test read which I knew was going to set Sofie off as she is very smart and doesn't forget anything, even where she left her lollipop :) Only one parent and the child went this morning......yeah....that was me!!! I strapped her into the Ergo carrier I have before we left the hotel and off we went. At least in the carrier, she can't run, lie on a dirty floor and if she removes her shoes it is no big deal. The down side, she is hot when she cries and by the time the 2 min check was over we were both soaked. She had reacted to the TB test so she had a bump and it was dependent on how big the bump was. In the US it is 4mm but in China it is 10mm. If she didn't pass then it was a chest X-ray and if she didn't pass that then you stay in China longer than planned for antibiotic therapy. I was a tad stressed out about this. She passed.......yeah......you guys probably heard my sigh of relief in North America. Visiting the same building set her back about a day though. She is rocking back and forth again when we are in public. I just want to go home :)

So after torturing all the kids first thing in the morning, we then get to take them shopping in a busy mall with lots of loud noises and tons of people. We got some nice souvenirs and Sofie had a total melt down at the mall and again at nap time. Good news is we got two garbage bags of laundry back all nice and clean and it only cost us $25 US :) Now at least I won't smell funny on the plane ride back home. To those waiting to travel. Bring lots of underwear and the kind that will dry quick cause after a day of walking around Guangzhou in the humidity....you stink and so does everything you have on!!!!

Tomorrow is our CA appt, consulate appointment. It is the final US Immigration step and yes, it is in another big building with tons of people and we have to leave the hotel at 7:40am!!!! I am going to need a lot of wine tomorrow night.

My friend Trish and her family leave for Hong Kong on Wed and it is her Internet connection that our VPN hooks up to all the time. It won't hook up to our Internet connection and I have no idea why. If you don't hear from me after Wed, we are fine, I just lost my VPN again. We leave China Thursday at 12:40 in the afternoon China time. I will post as soon as I am on US soil in Seattle :)

 

The pedestrian mall near our hotel

The pearl market.........pearls everywhere as far as the eye can see :)

Jim transacting at the pearl market

The indoor mall we shopped at

Jim and Ainsley cutting a deal at the Jade shop

A really unhappy shopper :)

I think it is Sunday May.....20th....maybe

Today was a free day so, of course, we did tours of things. I have come to the realization that there are no real free days when you are on an adoption trip.

We went to Yuntai Gardens today in the heat and unbelievable humidity. I was nervous about going today as crowds of people really seem to set Sofie off. I think we may have turned a corner today....maybe. She did awesome except for one episode in the greenhouse but that was really packed with people and she wouldn't let me touch her to try to help guide her out of the building. Yuntai Gardens is beautiful and set into a hill. It is a steep walk up one way and then down another. Miss fancy pants walked the entire way up the hill all by herself. She finally let me carry her down the hill as she was exhausted. Ainsley also had a blast walking through the garden shaded by her umbrella, just as the Chinese do :)

We then went to Six Banyan Temple which is a Buddhist temple. The monks perform a blessing ceremony on the children, but, Ainsley had to stand in for Sofie as Sofie was having no part of letting some stranger bless her. We waited outside :) Sofie again was amazing and held my hand and walked along beside me.

We then went to Pizza Hut for lunch and ran into three other families who are here from my Facebook group of families adopting from China. Amazing coincidence :) it was nice to finally put a face with a name!

After nap time we met Jim and Ainsley by the pool. Sofie let me dunk her feet in the pool but I wasn't going to push it any farther today. The child still has not had a proper bath.....baby steps :) She laughed and giggled watching the two of them play in the pool. Later that evening we decided to try a bath. We tricked her into getting undressed by getting out her pj's and then eventually, she got into the tub and then sat down. We even washed her hair with no fuss! I have never seen a child so amazed by bath water and toys in a bath tub! It made me very sad for a moment that this is what is so much fun for her. It is an amazing privilege to watch the world through her eyes. It gives things a whole new meaning and importance. It is also an amazing privilege to watch our eldest daughter blossom into a wonderful big sister and friend. She truly has been a blessing on this trip.

Tomorrow is the TB test check.....cross your fingers that it is negative!!!!! After that we are off shopping :) Without further a do I will try to post some more pictures :)

Ainsley and the Angry Birds

Walking up the path

Yuntai Gardens

Six Banyan Temple

Family Photo at the Temple

Sofie watching all the pool fun

The smile I adore :)

BATH TIME.........finally :)

Thank you

I just wanted to thank everyone for their amazing uplifting comments that they have sent our way while we are in China. You have no idea how uplifting it is to read such lovely thoughts both on Facebook and on our blog. They truly brighten our day and make us feel a little closer to home :)

Thunderstorm in Guangzhou China

Thunder and lightening outside right now. It is just pouring!!!!!

We made it to Guangzhou China yesterday in one piece. Sofie is grieving pretty hard right now. She was completely shut down most of Friday even in our hotel. It was like she knew that she would be leaving Hefei forever :( It broke my heart. When we got to the gate to wait for our flight, she popped right out of it. Back came the happy smiley Sofie....until just before we had to board the plane. TOTAL meltdown. Laying on the floor screaming and she wouldn't let me pick her up. That only made it worse. She calmed down just as we had to go through the gate to board. You have to walk downstairs after the gate and guess what was waiting there....a bus. A bus takes you to the plane. There is standing room only and she won't let me pick her up. Now I have to somehow keep myself and a toddler up right on a bus ride without touching her :) I managed to do it. She walked on the plane by herself and sat down and then I did the seatbelt up. Another 30 minutes of total meltdown but at least she is belted in so she can't lay on the floor. By the time the plane took off she had calmed down and she was a complete happy little angel until Ainsley had to go to the bathroom when we arrived in Guangzhou. I took one step into the bathroom with the two of them and she wants nuts!!!!!! Mean completely nuts!!! She punched me in the face about 4 times. So now we are with our guide waiting for our ride and Sofie is screaming and sitting on the ground and I am crying :) Happy Family :)

Today,Saturday, Sofie had her Medical for US Immigration. There are 4 stops for the medical and they heard you along like cattle. Sofie did great until we got to the building where she refused to be picked up at all and she proceeded to take of her shoes and socks. Now she is walking around the rooms crying, bare foot on a public floor. She cried for every step, except, the TB skin test which is a needle stick.....go figure!! I am off to the executive lounge of the hotel tonight and I hope they have a lot of wine.....Mommy needs some grown ups grape juice.

Thursday May 17

Today was a free day for us. No appointments, no paperwork and no where to be. We were out of the hotel at 9:00 am and off to the indoor park, but first, Walmart!!! We had a blast watching the fish in the tanks at Walmart and no, they are not in the pet department. It is dinner......fresh fish :)

The indoor park was amazing!!! Lots of fun padded toys that swing and bounce. Ainsley and my friend's daughter had a great time. Sofie was very quiet at first and just sat and took it all in. Eventually she started a game where she would lay down and want to be tickled and then she would come and jump on Mommy for a hug!! By the time we left she was playing chase with me, Jim and Ainsley and climbing on top of the toys. It was the first time in public where she hasn't completely shut down.

She has also stopped eating everything in sight as I think she has now figured out that food is always going to be there and she has some control over it. Mealtime is now a game of sorts so she won't always eat when we do. She also has this "game" where she lays down on the floor on her back and cries a soft cry to see if someone will pick her up. She will lay down anywhere at all, she is not picky. Children who have lived in an orphanage have a very limited concept of what a Mom and Dad do and how a Family operates. It changes the way in which you parent the child at least in the beginning. Right now, it is all about showing her that no matter what, Mommy and Daddy will be there for her even when she is faking it and lying on the floor of a Walmart in China!!!

Sofie is truly a joy! She is a very busy little girl and very quick, you can't turn your back on her for an instant or she is gone. She is also fiercely independent and a tad stubborn, just like her Mommy :) She has the best laugh and smile. Her laugh is one that come from deep within her and is truly genuine. She smiles with every fibre of her being and EVERY muscle in her face. Her whole face lights up when she smiles.

Last night we tried a bath for the first time. Most children in orphanages have never had a full bath or shower. Hot water is limited and they do not have any heat in the orphanage so it is usually a sponge bath. Ainsley got in the tub and Sofie watched her very closely. We tried to get her to play in the water or to take her clothes off but she would have none of it. She suddenly grabbed the wash cloth from the tub and started giving herself a sponge bath as if to say "this is how you do it." She was obviously in charge of her own bathing needs. So, we had a bath in the bathroom, not in the tub, and with all of our clothes on!! She was quite proud of herself. She watched Ainsley finish her shower and then promptly walked over to her suitcase took out her pj's and proceeded to get undressed, finally, and get ready for bed :) She also tried to change her own pull up today too! Got out the change pad, wipes and a diaper and then tried to get the one she was wearing off. We think she is totally potty trained, but, she WILL NOT sit on the western toilet so we have decided not to push her about it until we get back home. It is easier too for right now to have her in a pull up:)

Tomorrow we get Sofie's notary ( I still have no idea what that is) and her Chinese Passport and then we fly out to Guangzhou to complete the US part of the adoption. I can hardly wait to get to Guangzhou. There are lots of other adoptive families there and we will meet up with our friends Trish and John!! Talk to you soon.

 

 

 

Different Sofie's

The Sofie we see when we leave the hotel

The Sofie we see in our room

 

Adoption Day and etc.....

This post will cover multiple days as it is really hard to get downstairs by myself to publish the blog

Tuesday May 15, 2012

In the eyes of the People's Republic of China, we are Lu Jing Jing's legal guardians and parents. Her name is now officially Sofie Lu Jingjing Ducharme. Toady we went back to the Civil Affairs office and completed the adoption paperwork and applied for her Chinese passport.

I will sit down and write a long post about the day we met Sofie soon, but, I need somewhere quiet to do it. We are still having Internet issues in the room. I have a great wifi signal now but I cannot hook up to our VPN which is what enables me to get past the Chinese censors and fully access the Internet.

After we were done at the civil affairs office, we came back to the hotel for lunch and a nap. Sofie is an awesome sleeper!!! At nap time and bedtime we bring her up on our bed, she points to her mini crib and we put her in it and she goes to sleep. I have to lay beside her until she is asleep though. We call her my little shadow! Wherever Mommy goes Sofie is following right behind her :) She is a happy, giggly little girl who has already figured out that Jim is messy and she has chastised him on several occasions and then put his things away! She is fascinated with Ainsley,but, she won't yet let Ainsley cuddle with her. Ainsley is doing awesome with her sister and she just adores Sofie. I think the hard part for her right now is that Sofie won't play much with her or snuggle with her yet. Sofie watches every move that Ainsley makes and she is the first thing that Sofie looks for in the morning.

She is getting along great with Jim and will let him feed her and do stuff for her. She likes to tickle him and give him a high five. She doesn't have a problem with me leaving the room just as long as I come back quickly. If I don't, she comes looking for me!

Sofie's entire personality totally changes the second we walk out the hotel doors. She completely "shuts down" and the smiles and the giggles disappear. She can't even lift her hand to her mouth to eat a cracker. She is fine in the lobby and restaurant but not outside. I know that it will pass with time,but, it just breaks my heart! It is like she is almost catatonic or in a trance.

 

Wednesday May 16, 2012

Today we visited the orphanage and Sofie's " finding spot", the place were someone left her to be found so she could get the help she needed. I will not disclose the location as this information is something that belongs solely to Sofie and it is her right to choose who she discloses it to when she is older. It is not fair that the whole world knows about it before she does. Each adoptive family chooses to deal with this information in their own way and do what works best for their family....this is what we have chosen to do :)

The orphanage visit.....wow! I don't even know where to begin or how to explain it. It was the hardest, most difficult emotionally, best, most awesome thing we have ever done!! How's that :) I was a mess before we even left the hotel. I forgot my wedding ring, watch and list of questions for her nanny. It was a difficult thing to do especially for Sofie, but, it provided her with closure and a chance to say goodbye and for us to say thank you! It is as if they know when they leave the orphanage with you that they are never going back and they will be with you forever!! It gave us and Ainsley a chance to see where Sofie grew up and who looked after her.

Sofie did really well at the visit. She was her usual quiet self but she did manage a few smiles for the nannies. All the nannies want to pick her up and love on her. As a Mom, that is a super hard thing to do....hand your child over to their previous caregiver after they have only been with you for two days. I stayed very close to her the whole time so she would know that I was still there. After the fourth nanny picked her up, she had had enough. She reared back started screaming and reached both arms out for me, her Mommy. She wouldn't leave my arms for the rest of the visit and wouldn't go to anyone else. At one point, they took us into the sleeping area so we could see her crib. I took one step into the room and Sofie let out a scream like I had never heard before!!!! I quickly left the room with her and Jim and Ainsley toured her bedroom. They took lots of pictures so I will be able to look at them and see where she slept.

The orphanage was an amazing place. While it is still an orphanage, it is full of love and happy children. The nannies truly love and adore the children. We visited a foster program where a couple who are married are given a apartment on the orphanage grounds and they foster 4-5 children. They are truly a family. There are family photos on the walls and Mom stays home to look after the kids while Dad leaves to go to work during the day. The orphanage grounds are beautiful, well maintained and there are several playgrounds that they children use when they play outside. It is a wonderful place :)

They also gave us a diary of her life in the orphanage since the time she entered until the day she left. It is in Chinese so I have no idea what is says but it is complete with pictures of her throughout her life so far. I have baby pictures of her!!!!! You have no idea what a gift this is. Usually, you are given very little information about your child other than what they presently do and you hardly ever get pictures of them as a baby. She has a history, a background and not blank page in the family album......it is an amazing gift that they have given to her. By they, I mean Half the Sky Foundation. They are an American charity, started by adoptive parents, that works in some Chinese orphanages. Hefei Children's Welfare Institute was the first orphanage that they were allowed in to. They teach the nannies and the orphanage staff what children need to develop and grow into healthy children. They do some amazing work!!!

Tomorrow, our guide is taking us to an indoor children's play area and not to the Temple that we were supposed to go see. She said that we saw enough temples in Beijing and the kids need to play together!!! I love Penny, our guide. She has been awesome!!!

I want to close by telling everyone what an amazing Jie Jie (big sister) Ainsley has been. This kid has been dragged across an ocean on a plane and walked throughout Beijing, hiked up the Great Wall in a rain storm, had her picture taken and her head rubbed by many strangers, eaten strange food and met a new sister who demands a lot of attention from her Mommy and Daddy. She has been nothing short of wonderful. She tries to do whatever she can to help her sister and tells both of us over and over how much she loves her sister. I am SO GLAD that we brought her with us. She will forever remember this trip, this culture and the country where her sister came from :)

 

 

 

More pictures

 

Our first glimpse of our daughter and Christina and Erik's little girl Lia :)

 

 

We are a family........

Sofie is with us and doing well. She is very weak and very small but has the brightest eyes I have ever seen. She has not cried at all but I don't think she has the energy to cry much at all. She has completely shut down and is in shock, but, we have managed to see glimpses of her personality.

It was a total shock seeing how weak and tiny she is. I didn't even cry when we met her as I was blown away by her appearance. You read all the books, yet, reality is totally different. Sofie has not stopped eating since we got back to the hotel. She has stolen all of our hearts :)

 

Leaving in a hour

We leave the hotel in an hour to go to the civil affairs office to meet Lu Jing Jing! I am barely hanging on so this will be a short post. I hope to have pictures posted later but I am still having problems getting them on the blog. Wish us luck!!!!!

 

We are in China

We made it here safe and sound! It was a very long day and some very long flights! Ainsley did a very good job flying! We got her up at 4:00am on Tuesday to go to the airport and she only slept maybe 4 hours total during all three flights. She still did really well.

It will take me awhile to download some pics to the blog. The Internet is super slow and it only works in the lobby bar!!!!

We have been super busy since arriving in Beijing. Thursday we toured the Forbidden City and Tianemen (sp???) Square in 90 degree heat and Friday we froze and got drenched in the rain at the Great Wall!! We also toured Olympic Park today. Ainsley has had her picture taken with strange people just about everywhere we go. They are fascinated with her!!!!

Thursday when I finally was able to get online, I was greeted with 6 new photos on Facebook of Lu Jing Jing from a Mom who is adopting her daughter from Sofie's orphanage. Amanda is a Angel!!! It turns out that Amanda 's daughter and Ours share the same primary Nanny and they are like sisters! She also sent a video of Sofie which I,unfortunately, cannot download at all. Everyone else has seen it but me and it is driving me nuts!!!!! It was still amazing to see new pictures of Sofie and her Nanny!!!

I will try to post some pics tomorrow . We are tired and heading off to bed :)

 

Packed

We are packed and ready to go. I should be sleeping but I cannot. TOO many emotions. I can't even think of a proper blog post right now as I am afraid I will end up in a heap of tears. I am sooooo excited and scared and nervous all at the same time. I will keep in touch and post about our trip as we go along :)

7 days and 32 hours from now!!!

7 days from this moment we will be holding our daughter and Ainsley will meet her sister for the first time!! We leave for China in 32 hours!!!! I just watched a video, from a Mom who is in Hefei right now, meeting her daughter and I am just overcome with emotion. It was amazing!!! I will post more tomorrow when I am a little more together :)

The tale of a stubborn raccoon

Here is what eventually happened with the raccoon.....
Our damper in the fireplace is broken so the raccoon guys, as I like to call them, had to make up something to try to keep the damper closed so they could pull the raccoon up from the top of the chimney. They show up Wednesday afternoon and now there are two of them as one needs to be on the roof and one in the family room. They make a bunch of noise to scare her up into the chimney. We take a peek in the fireplace and no raccoon. The damper gets secured and then they fish a line from the roof down the chimney. They can't see her in the chimney so they thought that she was sitting on the smoke shelf up above the damper. One guys stays on the roof and the other comes into the family room to scare her farther up the chimney so they can grab her. I end up holding the barricade for the guy so I am standing right beside the fireplace. I am looking into the firebox and thinking that all the debris in the back kinda looks like a raccoon face...how funny. While I am laughing to myself, the raccoon peeks her head out from the side of the firebox through a tiny little vent at the side. I scream......and scare her and the raccoon guy!!! She had been hiding the whole time and was NEVER up in the chimney. We put the barricade back and the raccoon guy goes out to the truck to get something. I am holding the barricade!! I is at this point that the raccoon decides to freak out and get out of the fireplace NOW. She starts banging on the barricade and sticking her paws under the wood to try to get out. I am the only one there and I am kicking at the barricade with my feet, I only have flip flops on. Not the recommended footwear for raccoon catching. I have visions of being mauled by a really angry raccoon.

So now we have a damper that is wired shut and a raccoon trapped in the firebox with only one way out, through my house!!  They ended up going in and grabbing her with their gloved hands and a noose and dragging her out. She did manage to bite one one the guys twice but they have Kevlar gloves on so no damage done.  She was very tired and went to sleep in the cage. She was reunited with her babies and after a couple of days together they will be released together way out in the country somewhere far from here. I am glad that they are back together....even more glad that they are not together in my chimney.

The Barricade

 They raccoon guy didn't charge me any more than his original quote, the one where she was supposed to just go into the crate on the chimney. I though that was very nice of him considering all that had to be done to get her out. Both guys said that they have been doing this for a long time and have never run into a raccoon like this one. This stuff only happens to us :)

On the Roof

The Aftermath

Rocky the Raccoon

Now back to packing.....we leave in 4 more sleeps :)

Adoption showers, dolls, raccoons and we leave in one week

It has been a while since I have posted on the blog. I have no idea where to start so I will put up some pictures and then try to explain what is going on in our lives! We leave in exactly one week :)

 

The doll that I ordered for Sofie came in the mail the other day. She is just adorable. I can hardly wait until Sofie sees her. It was hand made by a woman in British Columbia. I love her!!!!

 

Our friends Trish and John hosted a shower in Sofie's honor on Sunday. It was wonderful and we had a lovely time. All our friends were there and it was a beautiful way to celebrate our journey to Sofie. I just want to thank Trish and John and everyone who came by or sent their good wishes to us. We really appreciate all the support and all the lovely things that people gave both Sofie and Ainsley!!!

 

Now on to the fun stuff. Yes, that is a raccoon trap on top of our chimney. What we thought were birds nesting in our chimney turned out to be a Mama raccoon and her two babies. The "raccoon guy" removed the babies without running into any problems with Mama. He then put the trap on top of the chimney and we barricaded the fireplace hearth. All she had to do was climb into the trap at night when she went to go get food. No such luck!!! I am starting to think she likes it in there. She also tried to make a get away via the family room in the middle of the night in between all the times she woke us up . The chimney runs up our bedroom wall:) We now have fort Knox in the family room and a raccoon that won't leave!!! The babies are being looked after by the "raccoon guys" daughter until Mama Raccoon faces up to the responsibility of parenthood and gets into the trap so she can go see her babies. They will then all be released together to live happily ever after somewhere else!!!! So yes, with one week until we travel, I have been pushed over the edge of insanity, not by an adoption or the prospect of lengthy travel with a 6 year old, but, by a raccoon :)

 

Fort Knox!!! Two pieces of plywood, two 2X4's and 8 screws!!