And All Through the House

Our new little doll now walks and talks!
She sings the "pop" in "Pop Goes the Weasel. She calls the tabby, our kid-friendliest cat, by some approximation of her name, Raptor. She is calling JieJie something consistent, and responding when JieJie calls her Yingamalaska or Uncle Jerry. (don't ask, but I hope Uncle Jerry ends before kindergarten.)

She has taken as many as five consecutive lurching steps, to thunderous applause.

The Week in Headlines

MeiMei's Vocabulary Doubles; Adds 'Yeah' and 'Uh-Oh' to Repertoire

Daddy Makes Morning Coffee Sans Basket

TV Audio Dies; Mom Reads Caillou Captions Aloud

First Sister Portrait Ends in Failure: Dueling Sibs Elude Pro

MeiMei Puts Seltzer in Mom's File Cabinet

More Overnight Guests Expected

Cats Pee in Guest Room

Dad Gets Second Warning on Pending Grand Jury Duty

Moral Crisis: JieJie Wears Bracelet Home From Sitter's, Calls Action 'Mistake'

MeiMei Tries Yogurt Painting on Clothing, Cats

What's Better Than Turkey?

Well, lots of things, actually.

But we have something extra to be thankful for this year. Joyce the cat is back a week after she disappeared. JieJie is thrilled, even though Joyce loved to wait around for her to drop scrambled eggs at breakfast. Mei Mei is thrilled, just because five cats are better than four and she is thrilled most of the time when animals are anywhere in the vicinity.

I went out to the garden pick some mint for minted peas, then strolled over to the remains of the tomato plants, wishing I had come out before the frost to get those last few tomatoes.

I heard a tiny meow coming form the storage shed. I opened it. No cat. I called Joyce. The tiny meow became very insistent. I kicked over weeders and cultivators and a trash can and some tomato cages. Still no Joyce.
JieJie came out. I told her to get Daddy. She ran to the door but couldn't open it. She started screaming into the open kitchen window.

Daddy came out into the dusk. JieJie said she was scared. We finally deduced Joyce was in a crawl space that had a hinge but did not seem to have an actual way in.

Daddy said, "I need a screw driver."
Mommy said, with her usual excellent grammar and a few expletives, ' There's a shovel, bust the thing open!"
And there was Joyce. Thinner, quieter, but appparently safe from the elements and the rottweilers and the speeding cars and the rabid raccoons.

Joyce drank lots of water, ate lots of baby food, and tried to hijack the turkey. She's sitting at the side of the keyboard right now, getting in the way.

A Visit to the Poopy Doctor...

...previously known as the lady who helps little girls who worry too much about using the potty, but who prefers to be known as the poopy doctor.

JieJie deftly evaded most of the doctor's questions, and avoided the tiny dollhouse toilet, as she and the doctor played with dolls on the floor. MeiMei made lots of noise enjoying the poopy doctor's kiddie cash register and will not be joining us on future visits. JieJie managed to convey that doing anything in the toilet was abhorrent. Mostly, when the doctor asked questions to get to know her, JieJie's answers began: "My sister..."

JieJie designated one of the little plastic men with the pop-on hats as the evil guy and installed him on the roof of the dollhouse. She never revealed what evil he had done. I hope the poopy doctor doesn't think there is an evil man on our roof. She and JieJie did conspire to put a wall behind the evil guy so he would not fall off the roof. Ahem.

When the sesson was nearly over, MeiMei began to make poopy faces, then poopy fragrances. Always prepared, Mommy had left the diaper bag in the car.

By the time we got to the car, MeiMei, wearing the Brand X diaper Daddy had put on her, was leaking onto her onesie. I changed her in the car, no small feat in a Jetta with two car seats in the back. The onesie had to go, but just a 2-minute drive away, our turkey was waiting for us. Super slacker mom, of course had no change of clothes for MeiMei in either of the fashionable diaper bags, so we zipped up her mini parka over her bare chest. Then JieJie announced she would not sit in her car seat because she had to poop. The meter had run out about 5 minutes before we came out of the poopy suite. Nevertheless, we made it to get the turkey, (with MeiMei gnawing on French bread as we waited in line) then a baking pan (with JieJie sampling mulled cider), then some wine (2 lollipops) and got home by dark. People at all the stores went gaga over the girls. No one knew MeiMei was shirtless. MeiMei did kick JieJie and pull her hair, but it would be fair to say she put herself in harm's way despite repeated instructions to the contrary.

And by the way, the feast at school was a success. JieJie reported that not only did she eat vegetables, but she also peeled some. And she shared this bit of wisdom from the feast: when you bake a chicken it turns into a turkey.

Junella Takes Her Medicine

JieJie was walking around last night in red polka-dot rainboots, with the black bowtie from an old Halloween cat costume on her head, wearing her doll sling with Junella the peeing doll nestled naked inside. Clare had Junella's bottle (empty! yay! no Junella accidents!) and a plastic spoon. JieJie was giving demonstrations on how to administer gripe water to Junella, who apparently gets the hiccups a lot, just like JieJie and MeiMei do. JieJie showed me three times how to spoon out the imaginary liquid shecarried in Junella's bottle. Perhaps she has forgotten who has been spooning it out to her.

She was wearing the rainboots in case it snowed again. We woke up to a surprise snow, much to the delight of both girls, who come from a place where snow rarely if ever is seen.

JieJie is fretting a lot. She does not want to go to the Thanksgiving feast she and her classmates are preparing at school, even though she relishes using the word feast as often as she can. "I'm afraid," she said. "Because there are vegetables.'' She also is worried about our visit tomorrow to the lady who helps girls who worry too much about using the potty. That's my girl.

MeiMei remains serene and hilarious, not quite walking, sleeping better, still eating everything. We did manage to stop the blue play-doh on its way to her mouth.

A Yawn at Dawn

The alarm will be going off at 7. I have been up since 5. Daddy just went to bed (for half an hour) after catching up on some work. The girls are -- blissfully -- sleeping.

MeiMei seems to have taken one or two lunging steps unassisted this weekend. Each day she understands more of what we say and demonstrates that she understands. So far she is saying only "Mama" and "cat,'' although JieJie is sure that when they were watching Dora, MeiMei said "map" and "backpack."

Uhoh. Someone is crying.















The cats peed on the bedrails.

Creeping Toward Normal

MeiMei has such a sweet, warm round head. I love to kiss it. I despair of ever styling her wee bit of hair, though, as its main features are the amazing top cowlick (her peach stem, as we call it) and the little duck tail in back. But now I know the secret of her sparse but significant hair.

JieJie and MeiMei were supposed to spend the parents' meeting in the babysitting room at JieJie'sschool, MeiMei's first time without Mom or Dad. When I arrived atthe meeting half an hour after Daddy, MeiMei's cries could be heard from the next room. I could stand it for about 5 heartbreaking minutes. Daddy brought her out, and she was perfectly behaved through the rest of the meeting, and quite attentive to the poor teacher who had to demonstrate building blocks and making a Montessori maze and walking through the small spaces in stocking feet.

After the meeting a Chinese mom of an adorable little girl came up to us and asked if we knew the meaning of MeiMei's "double whorls." Both her daughters have the twin cowlicks, she said, and Chinese folklore holds them to signify a headstrong personality. No surprises there!

MeiMei is making strides as a communicator, Daddy is feeling a little better but not well enough, JieJie is coming up with some interesting topics of conversation, and the cats, well, they are up to their old tricks, I'm afraid.

The Wheezing House

Everyone is sick! MeiMei has a wretched cold or flu and is whiny but has not lost her appetite and remains ever helpful and independent, trying to put the nasal aspirator into her own tiny nostrils. Talk about cooperative.

Daddy has been home from work for three days, coughing, wheezing, aching and miserable and possibly delirious. I thought he was doing a Bing Crosby impression is his sleep, He said he was awake and singing the Israeli national anthem. Either way, it sounds like the fever was getting to him. I know it's getting to me.

JieJie got a tummy ache and was not well enough for trick-or-treating, possibly because there were too many treats at the school party. She marched in the Halloween parade, around the parking lot of the office building that houses her school. She was the saddest-looking Hershey kiss I have ever seen. Her pointy hat was flopping over her eyes and she was blindly following the partner who was holding her hand. Finally I dodged the video cameras and dashed up to fix her hat, probably embarrassing her completely. She has not revealed any details of the day at school, but I imagine there was some pressure involved in getting her into the line. She said before school that she would be "a little shy" about the parade.

Mommy, as a result of all the sickness, has gotten even less sleep than before. Even when everyone else is asleep, the symphony of snoring and coughing seems deafening.

Since she got sick, MeiMei has been a bit more mommycentric. But aside from a bit of clinginess and buckets of secretions, she continues to be quick, sharp and curious and loves to practice her new skill, kissing (the air, mostly) with great noise and alacrity.

Too Tired to Blog

The good news and the grumpy news, in headline form.

Cats Pee on Baby Sling
MeiMei Endures (Loudly) 4 Vaccinations, 2 Blood Draws; Pronounced Healthy (Yippee!)
Mom Jumps Curb As Roto Rooter Man Blocks Driveway
JieJie Says in Sleep:"Move That Baby Away!
Cats Pee on Mom's Purse
Dad Loses His Cell Phone
MeiMei Points at Buddha, Says "Mama"
Dad Leaves Mommy's Cell Phone at Store 10 Miles Away
Mei Mei Does First Somersault
(Unrelated Story) APB Posted for Missing Highchair Harness
MeiMei Grabs, Opens Stamp Pad
"Breakthrough: JieJie Writes "I Heart Baby"
Cats Pee on Dad's Messenger Bag
Mom Foresees Nap on Friday

Warming Up, Melting Down

MeiMei is crawling boldly into the heart of our family, with her camera-ready grin and her engaging squeals. Her hands are so fast she could be a pickpocket, and perhaps pay for her education. As I carried her in the garden the other day, she reached out and grabbed two cherry tomatoes and had them in her mouth before I even noticed.

She still loves Daddy best of all, and prefers if he puts her to bed and gives her her morning bottle, but she seems quite satisfied with her new Mom, and of course ecstatic over the cats.

JieJie, however, is breaking my heart. She is so unsettled by her sister, that on Thursday and Monday she refused to go to school. On Thursday she cried all the way there and clung to my ankles in the classroom. Her teacher hugged her and I left with MeiMei, quite shaken. JieJie adjusted to her nursery school beautifully last year and only cried the first day, so I'm sure this has more to do with MeiMei than anything else.

Being a horrible slacker mom, and not wanting to stray too far from the school in case they called me to come and get JieJie, I schlepped MeiMei into the nail salon across the street, thinking I could give her the bottle I had prepared, and she would fall asleep on my lap. But no sooner were my legs slathered with a seaweed smelling stuff that made me crave sushi, than MeiMei started to wail. My feet were wrapped in pointy white elf boots that cooked the seaweed. "Twenty minutes,'' I was told. MeiMei screamed. The only other customer was the mother of a 14-month-old, and she said she understood, but she didn't have her poor unhappy child slung over her lap, or even in the salon. The employees were kind and put up with the noise. i felt trapped and self-indulgent.

Eventually, MeiMei fell asleep and forgot all about the indignities of the salon. We went home in a thunderstorm, and played on the bed with a rubber duck and a rubber fish for more than an hour until she knew which was which in English.

JieJie has not bounced back so rapidly. At her request we sent her to the morning school session on Monday as a trial, although, when 8:15 a.m. rolled around she was back in meltdown mode. On Monday night she said she had been very brave at school. No details. She decided that she wanted to go mornings every day. My heart sunk as I realized that mornings may make JieJie happy, but when I return to work, and my night shift, I will have only a few hours with her until the weekend comes. Perhaps that is a selfish way of looking at it, but I thought afternoon school would put the children on my schedule for another year and maybe two, preventing any drastic decisions that might take me away from a job I enjoy. Mostly.

Although the school schedule seems settled, JieJie does not. She broke down a few more times during the evening over seemingly minor concerns. Of course she is mourning the days when she was the one and only. Work-weary Daddy took over MeiMei. I made JieJie a grilled cheese (or girl cheese, as she calls it) with crusts trimmed and fed it to her along with strawberries. We looked at Halloween costume ideas on the computer. She chose a dense, 30-page, Jenny the Cat book for her bedtime story.

i'm bracing for another storm in the morning.

What Would Super Mom Do?

MeiMei was sad to see Dad leave for work today, and was a little subdued all day. JieJie was totally cranked up. She did not want to go to school and said that once she got there,"I thought about you and huggles and home and Dad and Sister and all that." On her first day back at school, yesterday, she burst in the door all excited to say she had counted to 100, but today was different.

She tried everything to slow down the process, including eating two whole lunches and writing all over herself with a red body crayon. (Why did I give her the eye pencil sharpener to use on her fat colored pencils?) It seems she did not want to go for a few reasons, among them the fact that a teacher had mistaken her for a 3-year-old. Another was that as the only student who attended afternoons only, she always arrived at naptime and entered a dark classroom.

We got to school a few minutes late, hoping naptime would be over. Once again, the petite JieJie was mistaken by the woman at the door for a member of a younger class. (And MeiMei was told she was a handsome little boy). From what I could deduce, JieJie had actually attended the younger kids' class for at least one day and possibly more, and the teacher I had met and chatted with in the first week of school was the teacher of the younger kids. That explains why JieJie brought home two different lists of school supplies.

JieJie had been in the new school only a week before we left for China and she wasn't too sure about the place. I was starting to understand why, and tried to make her feel better. At the same time, I tried to engage her teacher while jogging MeiMei on my hip. The teacher backed away with JieJie, saying as she went back top her charges, "It would be so much easier if she was a morning student.'' (We had chose the private pre-K because it offered the option of afternoons only, perfect for a mom who works nights and wants to spend mornings with her kids.) JieJie, pulled along by the hand, disappeared into the classroom.

MeiMei and I went left for the grocery. That's when I realized my t-shirt was on inside out.

We went anyway. I wanted MeiMei to get her official initiation at the store that gives kids a free cookie and balloon. The floral counter was oddly bereft of balloons, however. A sign said that there would be no free balloons until further notice because of the "global shortage of helium." I must be even more out of touch than I thought.

She Called me Mama

She reached out to me and opened and closed her little starfish hands and said, "Mama!"

I was stunned. I thought it would take a very long time for MeiMei to know who was who and even to articulate the sounds, although her repertoire of gurgles and squeals has broadened as she has opened up to us. (Maybe it was just luck that she uttered those two syllables at that moment).

JieJie was very quick to say Mama, in a little babydoll voice, slapping my shoulder to wake me. She was nearly 15 months old when she came home. MeiMei will be 13 months tomorrow. Gradually, we are realizing just how much of a baby she is. For example, this weekend we had had to buy 2 infant car seats once we realized she does not hold up her head well enough to sit in the ones we used for JieJie.

MeiMei likes to experience life, including meals, with her whole body. She likes to pee as soon as her body is free of a diaper. She covered JieJie and me with a paste of sweet potatoes and carrots and tofu last night, occasionally, getting a handful somewhere near her mouth. So far, there seem to be no great skin benefits to root vegetables topically applied. Not the ideal way to feed kids, but we all were laughing and having so much fun it seemed a shame to clean up and consign the girls to the tub.

On Monday JieJie returns to afternoon pre-K and on Tuesday Daddy goes back to work, several days later than he had intended. The sense of being overwhelmed is rising. The house is knee-deep in toys and still-packed suitcases. It's not close to being completely child-proofed. I found a banana peel under the dining room table. The girls slept until nearly 7 today, which was great, but mom has a nasty post-China respiratory infection and Dad woke up with the same symptoms. The neighbors invited us to breakfast, and we never got around to responding properly.

Since we got home we have managed to get the kids out to the park or somewhere each day, but today, they are still not fully dressed. Neither are we, although I did spend a couple of hours wearing baby in a sling. I don't think that counts as dressed.

There is so much we need to do: Laundry, cooking a few things for the week, haircut for JieJie, install new car seats, pick up entire box of tissues MeiMei dismantled. (She likes to pretend to blow her nose). There are baby toys and boxesof books and signing videos to drag out of the attic, other toys to put into the attic so we can move around in the playroom, trash to empty, an ancient double stroller from a yard sale that needs repairing before I can take the two to the park on my own. The list seems endless.

I'm thrilled I will have 5 months at home with MeiMei before I return to work, but right now work seems much less daunting than being home. Moms have taken care of kids since time began. They have also kept their houses clean and cooked food. I know I can do it. I'm just not as organized or prepared as I would like to be. I miss seeing friends, I miss reading, I would love the time to do a crossword puzzle. But for now, I should be happy that adequate sleep is possible.

Last time I stayed home I was totally immersed in baby. I promised myself that this time I would get to the Y, and make time for some mental activity. But there are other things to tackle with 2 kids. JieJie has not been to the OT for a month to deal with her sensory issues, and we have not kept up with body brushing the way we should. We need to work that back into our schedule. We also need to find a way to approach potty training again with JieJie,who is now 4-and-a-half, and precocious in every other way but this one. We'll talk to the occupational therapist again about it and see if it's time to go to the counselor we discovered who has a daughter from China and has dealt with the potty aversion issue among other adjustments. JieJie needs her teeth cleaned, MeiMei needs her antibiotic dose for a skin infection, Daddy needs a shower, Mom needs to pick those tomatoes in the garden.

No wonder we have not gotten around to downloading and uploading photos!

Dragging

The girls slept through until about 4:30 a.m. today.

Lagging

Jet lag has a hold on us. We dragged the kiddies to the playground to try to keep them going until 7:30 p.m. Yesterday they started to fall asleep around 2 p.m. and woke at midnight or so, rarin' to go. MeiMei loved the slide and the baby swings and JieJie delighted in demonstrating the playground equipment. MeiMei has a much different personality than her older sister, but they have some of the same predilections, like an insatiable need to pull first editions off bookshelves and tug the tails of cats.

We're Home

Or, as JieJie put it to a screaming MeiMei trapped in her first car seat, "Ying ying, you're not in China any more."

More later.

Let Them Eat Snake

Those who have an appetite for it, that is.

We went to dinner with another family tonight at a well-known restaurant in Guangzhou, known as Guangzhou. On the menu was congee with water snake. The staff forgot to bring it, as well as our steamed eggplant. But we insisted, as politely as possible, and eventually the snake arrived, in long, slender, chewy, reptilian curls, surrounded by its innocuous rice porridge base. Tammy tried it, Daddy tried it, Jim tried it and Ilse had a "starter piece."

Tomorrow is our last night in Guangzhou. It's been a fun week, but a long one, made brighter today by the reappearance of the sun and a visit to the White Swan pool. JieJie and MeiMei both loved it, and considering the size of the hotel, it was amazingly empty, leaving plenty of opportunities for a cold shower under the waterfall.

Daddy left his Super Glue baby for the first sustained period to go to the electronics market, an amazing haven for the buyer not afraid to take a gamble. MeiMei did not cry at all, but of course she was either in the pool, snacking or napping for the entire 3 hours or so.

Tomorrow we go to the U.S. Consulate to take our oath, and then we are on our way to Hong Kong by train Saturday morning for a weekend of R&R before we bring MeiMei home.

Photo albums

Within the next 24 hours we'll try to upload all the photos to this address http://www.meimeijiejie.shutterfly.com/

There are only a few up now.

A Tribute to Tammy

...who has become a member of our family,
who has sterilized countless bottles,
played lost cat as many times as JieJie asked,
carried snacks and band-aids and workbooks and colored pencils and the best wet wipes in her magic backpack,
has become a master of nonverbal negotiation,
changed poopy diapers,
lugged jugs of water,
spent hours in the playroom,
agreed to be the monster, to the delight of little girls,
administered hugs and kisses,
lent a sympathetic ear to all,
missed out on the night life to take part in family life.
now, if only she will go get the $6 massage!
She deserves some luxury and time to herself and our enduring gratitude for joining us.
Tammy, you're the best.

Fashion and Festivals

Later today we have the traditional photo of the girls on the red couch in the White Swan. This morning, JieJie and Tammy went on a trip with some of the other families to the Chen Family Temple and a Buddhist temple where they were blessed by a monk. Mom, Dad and MeiMei stayed home to play and nap. The night before we were up late having our own observance of Autumn Moon Festival. At the local 7-11 we bought moon fest lanterns complete with candles. We walked out to the Pearl River and lit our lanterns, then wandered over and put our feet into the beautiful swimming pool. The clouds parted last night for the first time in days so that the full moon was visible.

Daddy went to the Olympics store yesterday and got some goodies . We had dinner at a Cantonese restaurant, ordering by pointing at pictures and avoiding the chicken feet and goose intestine and mixed frogs. Fortunately we remembered the word for beer and drew a bottle of water. (Must remember phrase book).

On Monday, Tammy, Mommy and JieJie had a big adventure. We went to the silk market and bought fabric to have some clothes made, including matching dresses for MeiMei and JieJie. The tailors were such nice people. They came with us to help choose fabric. We bought some lovely Guangdong silk, which is made only here, in very subtle patterns and muted colors. Our clothes will be ready on Friday.

Getting home was another adventure. It took nearly 90 minutes to get a cab back, something that has not been a problem before. It was a rainy night at rush hour on the eve of Moon Festival and cabs were full of people going home. We walked from street to street, trying different spots and getting a dose of what tourists in New York must feel. We wondered what we were doing wrong. Ultimately someone walked us across a street and planted us on a spot and voila! We were on our way home.

Guangxi Girls Do Guangzhou

Sorry for the lack of posts! We're having a great time at the White Swan. Mostly. Poor Daddy is still the only parent MeiMei wants anything to do with. She gurgles and squeals and eats like a horse. She is a great mimic. She can clap her hands, wave bye-bye and dance. But she is not bonding with her mom. Yet. So dad is tired and mom is sad. Mom is getting lots of time with JieJie, which is wonderful, but JieJie misses dad's attention.

We know this is common as well as temporary, and we have met other families in the last week who are experiencing the same problem. MeiMei's long period of foster care bodes well for a strong attachment. It also seems to have done her so much good. Developmentally, she seems right on target for a 1-year-old. She has manifested none of the difficulties associated with institutionalization that we struggled so hard to help her beautiful, smart, lovable older sister overcome. We are so grateful to her foster mom for the obviously loving care lavished on this little one.

Tonight the two of them played on the floor for a long time, actually interacting, with no display of hard feelings from JieJie, who is not so sure about this sister thing and wants to be babied. She wants MeiMei's toys and delights in taking things away from her. MeiMei, on the other hand, is obsessed by her sister's hair and loves to grab a handful and yank.

We took them both shopping to the Pearl market today, a perfect rainy day activity. Then mom and Tammy
stayed to shop at the apparel market while dad took the two girls back to the hotel. He boasted upon our return that he had changed two diapers at the same time. Is there a Guinness record for this? And does it matter than 17-lb. MeiMei was wearing a size 5 diaper?

Just another day in the life of Superdad!

MeiMei's still stuck to Dad....The sisters take first bath together....JieJie takes the big sister thing seriously.

The Sun Sets on Day Three

Hi from glamorous Nanning. We've had a tiring couple of days with the two princesses and met a lot of interesting people. MeiMei continues to be bonded to Daddy. They couldn't be closer if there was Super Glue spread on Dad's chest. She's sleeping there now, arms and legs around him.
JieJie fell asleep at the bar where we were toasting Tammy's birthday. We were only there about 15 minutes after dinner when she curled up in her new, white Harley Davidson jumper ($2.50 yesterday at the kids boutique near the hotel. ok, sorry. pure shamelessness).

JieJie and I spent a very long time at the pool today. We had a ladies lunch at poolside and just when we were about to go in, her new friend, a fellow JieJie, came back from the group outing, so we started over. MeiMei got a little pool time today too, in her sweet watermelon bathing suit that was a gift from Tammy. She liked the water as long as her father held her, and splashed and laughed, then promptly fell asleep.

She still wants nothing to do with Mama, who understands that these things happen, but still wishes she could hold the baby without being pushed away.

MeiMei is quite the dynamo. She can crawl very fast if her father decides to put her down to tend to some necessary detail of basic hygiene, but she sat on top of him throughout a haircut today. She ate broccoli and birthday cake and noodles and bread and fruit in addition to her formula and congee. In fact, bread seems to be her favorite, the crustier the better. Perhaps we can have a baguette for her to gnaw on every day at home. So much for only adding a new food every few days. She also tried eat a pad of paper and a crayon. She's definitely getting some new teeth.

We tried a bottle with a liner so we would not have to keep sterilizing our three old-fashioned Chinese bottles every day. She examined it, turned it upside down and shook her head quite resolutely. The formula went back into the old bottle, which she grabbed and sucked down.

Yulin orphanage is very organized. Each family was given a goodie bag containing a CD of photos of the baby dating back to the earliest days and showing her foster family and their home. We have their names, too, so we can correspond. It seems there were two and possibly three babies in the home at the time. There was also a group photo of foster moms. It was comforting to see them.

Tomorrow we are supposed to go to the dreaded monkey park again, and I suppose victims from the audience will be chosen to try the potentially ankle-crushing monkey dance between fast-clacking bamboo poles. JieJie said monkeys are slimy.

We skipped today's outing, and it was lovely to have nothing scheduled. Unless you travel a few hours from Nanning, there is not much to see but the city, which is lively and teeming with people and commerce and traffic. There are huge piles of beautiful fruit, tropical flowers by the armload and thousands of interesting faces. In the three years since we have been here, Nanning seems to have grown and changed a great deal. Last time we saw no Westerners other than those involved with adoptions, but this time we have seen several people who appear to be here on business, and then there are the tobacco company delegations having some sort of convention here. Cigarettes are everywhere, even on the plane, although JieJie told me I must be wrong because smoking is not allowed on the plane. Even a wedding in the hotel had trays of favors and candy mixed with loose cigarettes. An old joke comes to mind... I dunno, I never looked.

5:30 Feeding

MeiMei is right on schedule.

At 5:30 a.m. on the dot she woke up for a bottle, as predicted by the schedule translated and hand-written by Kelly, our exceptionally hard-working guide. MeiMei never went back to sleep, and soon it will be time for her morning congee, so I guess we are up for the day. JieJie opened her eyes soon after.

At 9:15 we head to the Guangxi civil affairs office for a couple of hours to finalize the adoption. Our secind Guangxila (Guangxi girl, according to one of the women at Wal-Mart) is fine and healthy, just like the other girls in our group. They were all well-dressed and well-fed, and some were downright plump!

If MeiMei ever lets go of daddy's neck he might be able to take a shower! Of course we do have the mesgh baby sling that is supposed to go into pool or shower. MeiMei is still calling daddy Mama.

It doesn't sound a bit like Baba and there was no Baba in her foster home. Dad has changed every diaper and carried out every feeding so far.

We will try to post some video and a slideshow soon and start a gallery of other photos from the trip on another site for people who are interested.

Thanks to the families who sent scabies cream for the Yulin orphanages. We passed it on yesterday to orphange officials.

A Full Nest

In Beijing we saw an incredible stadium built for the Olympics—what our guide called the "Nest" of Great Beauty. It was simple, stunning and complete. That's how our nest feels now that we have Davyn, aka YingYing, a perfect little kewpie doll of a baby.

She has totally latched on to her Dad and only cries when she sees Mom. Poor Dad can't even leave the room. JieJie is a distraction, but all her antics can easily be upstaged by Dad's watch or eyeglasses.

We learned that YingYing has a foster brother and sister, both much older. She is afraid of the dark, likes to be rocked to sleep, watches TV while eating and has a sweet tooth. She doesn't like people who wear dark colors, and her favorite animal is a chicken (?) She is said to love playing with the television remote, and when we handed her one in the hotel, she immediately got the TV to work. She loved watching us blow bubbles and seems to have a mean pitching arm. Tonight she ate lots of Cheerios and puffs and rice porridge and formula. Also a little applesauce. She had her bottle and snoozed off on her daddy's chest just as big sister was conking out on the sofa. Next feeding, 5 a.m.

It's "Gotcha" Day

Tomorrow afternoon at 3 we'll bus over to the Municipal Building to welcome Davyn into our family. Everyone in our group of eight families is excited and a little uncertain about what this first day will bring. On Sunday night we got an update on Davyn's growth. She's 26.3 inches long and weights 16.5 pounds. Davi, who just turned 1, has been in foster care since December 2006. She and the other infants will be driven from Yulin accompanied by their caretakers and the director of the orphanage (social welfare institute). Yulin is about three hours away. We will be able to ask her caretakers questions although her foster mother will not be present. Then it's back to the hotel for a bottle, fresh clothes, and a lot of hugs. (Check in Tuesday morning ET for video and pictures of the big event!) Monday began with a shopping-for-baby trip to the Nanning Wal-Mart Superstore. That's certainly not our favorite retail outlet but Davi needed smaller clothes than what we brought, and Mom and Tammy could not resist seeing the Chinese translation of this scary pacesetter of American business.

The Great Wall

Saturday was tour day in Beijing and it was thrilling and exhausting for Mom, Dad, JieJie and our travel pal. There was an early breakfast and then a bus trip to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. The city is all about the 2008 Olympics these days, however. There is construction seemingly everywhere. JieJie had a blast all day, especially with the stuff she picked up around the square: a couple of small Chinese flags to wave incessantly and a colorful parasol along with plenty of treats. The Great Wall is magnificent and as daunting a climb as billed. JieJie and a buddy about her age from the group got up to level 2.5 and had the energy to go on but the climbing was just too steep for toddlers (and parents). On Sunday morning (4:45 a.m.) we will get up for the trek to the airport and the flight to Nanning.

Hello, Beijing

Here we are in Beijing. Actually, we've been here for more than 24 hours. We had a great dinner last night at the home of a colleague. Lots of yummy Chinese food, cooked with a lighter touch, clean water, real ice, wonderful company. The 3 children are completely bilingual. We had a lovely time, and JieJie was kindly asked back for a pirate birthday party today, but we opted for the Hong Qiao market and some commando shopping.

Hong Qiao was amazing. We didn't get past the second floor. We have some cute silk outfits for the girls in different sizes, silk shoes, tablecloths, pillow covers. We should get all our holiday shopping done by the end of this trip. It's a good thing there are no handbag addicts in this crowd. (You know who I mean.)

JieJie was a huge hit. She had her eye on a belly-dancer scarf covered with jingly coins. A vendor tied it on her, she wiggled her hips and it was all over. Everything we bought for JieJie, she carefully found in another color for MeiMei, except the jingly scarf.

We had hoped to walk the old alleyways, or hutong, but it's very rainy today. The city is quite polluted, and the quality of light on a cloudy day like today was about the same at 6:30 a.m. As at 10 a.m. (JieJie got up at % a.m.)

The beds are rock hard, and the "soft mattress" advertised in the hotel guide is unavailable. There are thermostats, but they don't work, and a fridge permanently set on lukewarm. The hotel guide also offers "fanners, for those who do not like Air Conditioner,'' and the closets are equipped with gas masks. That being said, the coffee is not bad, the room is very pretty and we can get a 5-minute Internet connection every few hours.

Seoul Chillin'

We're hanging out in the transit lounge in Seoul, waiting for our flight to Beijing. The first 14-hour flight is behind us, and now the 4-hour layover is nearly over. No one slept much on the first flight. JieJie was fussy and tired and still is. Hope we can get her to nap or we will never make it to our dinner engagement tonight.

Can't wait to meet some of the other families in Beijing. There seems to be another 4-year-old girl in our group, so JieJie will have a playmate. Tammy has been such a great help with Clare and helping to keep us organized. She lost all her shampoos and conditioners to the fluid police at the airport, however.

And the Journey Begins

We live in airport lounges. At least we are lounging! And waiting. After waiting for a referral,now we wait for boarding calls.But how nice to be able to breathe and to have Internet access without something better to do!

I'd love to play some web Boggle right now, but I think some of the business travelers are itching for this seat with the Internet connection, and we're just blogging and trying to keep JieJie quiet. She is pretending to be a golden cat. Tammy is her keeper and vet. This could be a long journey if she meows all the way. JieJie, not Tammy.

We Leave Tonight!!!

Well, the plane is after midnight, so we will probably post from the posh airport lounge! Still.. trying..to.. stuff.. things... into.. suitcases. It will fit, but I think we'll have trouble meeting the intra-china baggage weight limits. Perhaps Daddy's shoes could be tossed to save weight?

Tammy, our loyal aide-de-camp is working today. Don't know how she is handling that. We'llpick her up on the way to the airport.

Thanks to all the well-wishers who contacted us and to all the friends from Rumor Queen's site. We'll be receiving email and trying to post from china. Also, any RQ friends in China now who want to get together for that pizza party or whatever in Guangzhou, just email jackbauer via Rumor Queen. He is back with Mr. Chang again and fielding our messages.

We Leave Tomorrow

There's a lot to report in jiejieandmeimei land. My friends at work threw a phenomenal baby party. It was so elaborate. I knew conference rooms were good for something. We had a lovely "conference" complete with champagne-pomegranate cocktails, mini cupcakes from Crumb, elegant stinky cheeses with mini baguettes.

There was a pile of presents for Davyn and the rest of us, including the diaper bag of my dreams. (Is it possible to dream of diaper bags?). Davyn's picture was projected on the big flat screen we use to view photos. The screen was festooned with chinese red envelopes strung on ribbon and filled with good wishes and lucky money. Another wall held a "clothesline" with the adorable trompettes mary jane sox. I loved them the first time in the tiny size, and now we have them in the larger size, too. With socks like that, who needs shoes? (Except for squeaky shoes, that is).

How lucky we are to have such gracious and loving friends. And classy. Did I mention classy?

Counting Down to Davi

We leave for China in a little more than a week. A few hours more than a week. By the time I stop typing, it will be even closer. We expect to meet Davi on Sept. 16 or 17 in Nanning after a few fleeting nights in Beijing. It will be hard to get in the basic sightseeing, and most importantly, shopping, during that tiny window in Beijing, especially with the jet lag. It would be great to be rested for the baby, as we were last time, but last time we arrived before the rest of the group and explored on our own. This time our trip is nearly as long, but we won't have the easing in and easing out we managed last time.

We will fly from Beijing to Nanning, capital of the Guangxi/Zhuang Autonomous region. When we traveled there to adopt JieJie three years ago, we were amazed at Nanning. That such a big city was unknown to so many people in the West was a surprise, as was the fact that almost no one spoke English at all. In Nanning, more than anywhere else we have traveled in Asia, we were the subject of the most finger-pointing and guffaws and hellos, even before we were carrying JieJie around. (Of course, now that Wal-Mart has arrived, who knows what else has been imported).

When people saw us with JieJie, they told us she was surely a member of the Zhuang ethnic group, although the children's papers all say they are Han. We were told the ethnic minority groups were excepted from the one-child policy and could legally have two registered children. On this journey to Davi, we will try to find out more about JieJie's roots as well and take her to the minorities museum. If that is indeed her heritage, it would be good to expose her to as much as possible while we are in Guangxi.

I can't find much written in English about the Zhuang. Almost all the literature is by missionaries, and nearly every article mentions the Zhuang love for music. JieJie, Zhuang or not, has a pure, sweet singing voice and incredibly accurate pitch, but will she agree to those piano lessons Auntie Yoyo has said it's time to start?

Call Me Davi

After much debate and consternation we have a name for MeiMei: Davyn Augusta Jiying. OK, it's a bit of a mouthful. We'll call her Davi for short.

The name honors the memory of her two grandfathers. Davyn is a form of David, which means "beloved," for Paw Paw Dave, her paternal grandfather. Augusta,which means "great'' or "magnificent," is an attempt to capture, the name of her maternal grandfather or Papou, Gus, in feminine form, although he was a Kostas rather than an August.

We called Grandma Connie first to share the news, then Grandma YiaYia.

Somewhere two grandpas must be smiling.

We Have Consulate Approval!

Ready to Rock and roll!

Full House

This weekend our not too tidy house -- aka the staging area for the voyage to China -- was overflowing with friends.

Tammy came for a playdate with JieJie as we prepare to travel to China with her as our right hand. Ann and Addam came for our last gathering before we leave for China. Sammy, best man at our wedding when all of us were young, was in town too, on his way home to New Orleans after taking his son to college.

So much for packing and organizing.

We did buy some luggage and one baby bottle. We ate some sushi. JieJie had fun. She put the icing on cinnamon rolls, made chalk stencilsonthe sidewalks and went to the pool. She also spent a lot of time playing "Big Sister and Little Sister" in which the elder sister, portrayed inexplicably by a plastic cat, repeatedly shoved the younger, a wooden girl from the multicultural and multidimensional dollhouse family, down the slide of a Little People play set. Each time the wooden or body clattered down the slide, a pressure-sensitive panel would release a rather chilling burst of childish laughter. And JieJie would scream, in the voice of big sister, "You are a baby! You sleep downstairs!" as she let the doll slide down and crash on the floor.

Auntie Ann manipulated the "baby" doll, trying calmly to teach about sharing and kindness, but JieJie, who professes to be nothing but thrilled at the prospect of a meimei, continued her forcible exile of the little sister doll.

So much for Siblings Without Rivalry.

Names for MeiMei

We are narrowing it down. We've received lots of good ideas for an English name for our little "record surplus." We'll keep her Chinese name, Jiying, as her middle name. For a given name we are now focused on derivatives of David, to honor the memory of one of her grandfathers, the amazing Mr. Dave, who passed away two short months ago.

Dava or Davia or Davyn, or maybe even Davan.

One of those will work nicely.

Nursery School Buzz

The news of JieJie's little sister was all over her nursery school this week. Now we know what she really thinks. When the director the school asked JieJie to tell her about the coming new addition, JieJie said, "She's bald."

JieJie cheerfully picked out goodies to send to her little sister's foster family and orphanage workers and to sis herself.
It was hard for her to part with the Jelly Bellies, but she chose a pink blanket, a noise-making toy and a soft book to go in the box along with labeled photos of our family, a pile of instant cameras and video cameras to be returned containing photos of the baby and her foster family and orphanage friends and a toy cell phone with a recording of mama's voice.

It's winging its way to China now, and we won't be far behind.

Name the Baby

Both our girls are from Guangxi Province: Jie Jie is from Laibin City; Mei Mei is from Yulin. (Click on image to enlarge.)

We have three small photos. Four if you include the tiny black and white photocopy that came with MeiMei's medical reports.

She looks impish. Saucy. Strong.

But we can't decide what to call her.

Samantha? Tessa? Lena? Justine? None of the above?
JieJie has suggested Isabella, or, failing that, Silliness Duck.

Have any thoughts? Post them in the comments section. The winner may get a nominal prize. But then again maybe not.

Clue: Her middle name will be JiYing. According to the translated "Growth Report" we received today, that means "record surplus." A bit on the prosaic side.

Doubtless she has some sophistication, as evidenced by this line in the report:
"Her heart rate was 132/min and heart rhythm was normal, while there was no soufflé."

Meet Us in St. Louis

Our last stop on the Midwest road trip was St. Louis, where JieJie got to see the arch, jump with her friends on their trampoline, play with George and Toto the dogs, go to a children's museum called The Magic House, go swimming and get a crash course in anime. She also baked heart-shaped cookies, made a giant strawberry pop tart and got her first Ted Drewe's concrete. Pretty good for less than 48 hours, and the sugar consumption surely set a record.

Our referral documents were sent to our friends' house in St. Louis, but we did not get to photograph the Fedex man, who dropped the package, rang the bell and sprinted. We sent back the documents posthaste to ensure our best chance of travel to China soonest -- before the big Guangzhou trade fair.

It's a good thing we were with Jane, who is a first-class mom to anyone who needs mothering -- and much more besides. She was there to take charge, escort me to the local copy shop, help me copy, count, collate and fax the documents, find credit cards I left in machines, then prepare the precious acceptance package for shipping back to the agency. So many friends have stood beside us through our two adoptions, and all of them are aunts and uncles and cousins to JieJie and now to MeiMei. There is a supportive, loving circle of children and grownups surrounding our girls, and if I teach them nothing else it will be that enduring friendships are matchless treasures.

Laibin Sisters Reunion

On Saturday we had our third annual reunion of the Laibin sisters, 8 lovely girls who are now 4 years old. Everyone had a terrific time sloshing down water slides, playing dress-up, splashing in the pool, dancing, doing crafts, eating too much and exchanging photos. It's such a joy to watch the girls grow. So many could not walk when we first met them in China three years ago in May. In some cases their hair was shaved on the sides. I didn't understand why until I saw a group photo from the orphanage showing a cluster of kids, heads shaved at the sides, apparently to make it easier to insert the IV lines (of antibiotics?) secured to their heads with clean rags tied like headbands. When we became a family, JieJie's hair was short and stood straight up. We called her Spike. She was gorgeous.

Now the China sisters can pirouette, ice skate, write their names and have some pretty interesting conversations. They don't seem to know yet why we travel across the country to bring them together each year, but perhaps someday they will find some comfort in knowing the girls who were their orphanage cribmates from their first days, before we came into their lives.

Tomorrow we gather again for brunch with the families before heading out for the last leg of our trip. On Monday we will receive the detailed information on MeiMei. We took a printout of her photos with us to the reunion, and JieJie ran through our hosts' home waving the paper and yelling, "Guys, guys, look at my sister!" She also performed at least 100 somersaults.

That night, lying in bed, JieJie made a confession. "I think about hugging Solomon." Solomon is the handsome heartbreaker of her nursery school, and lately we have run into him at the park several times. While JieJie can outrun a lot of girls, Solly runs rings around her, and she willingly follows him, chugging around the track.

"Have you ever huggged him?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Have you ever kissed him?"
"No. I'm too afraid."

The next morning when she opened her eyes, she stretched and said, "I'm still thinking about hugging Solomon."

I suppose a lot of the other girls are too. Solomon and JieJie will be headed to different schools for Pre-K in just a few weeks.

It's a girl!

We got the call about our new baby as we pulled out of a gas station on the way to Indianapolis, just moments after leaving her new grandmother's house. (Lucky baby has three grandmas: YiaYia, Grandma Mollyne and Granny Connie.
When the cell phone rang, much earlier than we expected, we were so flustered I forgot the list of questions I had tucked in my overloaded purse, so we don't know MeiMei's size, weight or name!
That's what you get for taking notes on a Kleenex box in a moving car.
Based on that original concersation, we thought MeiMei was from Guilin, but it's actually Yulin. She is in foster care, associated with one of the Yulin City orphanages. Because she is from JieJie's province, we'll get to go back to Nanning and perhaps visit both orphanages, Laibin and Yulin.

I'm not sure what else Heather from the adoption agency said in the first call. I know I told her i loved her several times.

I thought the whole process would be calmer the second time around, and that perhaps the grown-ups would be more prepared and less numb, especially after waiting nearly two years to be matched with this little baby girl, but I was wrong. Clutching the cellphone, I babbled on as the car cruised past the green walls of corn on either side in the August heat. Onward to Indy and a celebratory cocktail with very, very old friends.

Waiting

It was a busy day visiting the chocolate factory and seeing family, with no time for an Internet stop. Connecting to RQ and email via Blackberry was really not fun, especially for those of us who are typing impaired. Tomorrow, Aug. 2, we’ll be on the road to our next stop, traveling through the cornfields, probably with one stop en route for an Internet connection with the laptop and otherwise relying on iffy cell phone connections and the blackberry.

Oh well, we really don’t expect to hear anything on Thursday, anyway, right? Wrong! A little bird is saying tomorrow may be the day. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping much tonight! Will try to get this posted sometime tomorrow. In the meantime, we can think about names…. And where in the world to get the FedEx sent?

No News

We're at a Starbucks for today's on the road post. Jie Jie wants to hit the road and go swimming at the hotel or go to another parking lot and collect rocks. poor kid. This trip has not been the most fun for her, although she did enjoy playing her grandmother's piano with her bottom.

Perhaps tomorrow will bring a rumor to get us excited.
Until then....

False Labor

Today we thought we might be hearing some referral news, and we tried hard to coordinate cell phones, missing chargers and faulty hotel Internet services with glitch after glitch -- and we're not even in China, just in Indiana! This is a good dress rehearsal. The rumors of a referral today did not pan out, alas.

I'm posting from the concierge desk at the hotel because the in-room wireless did not work in our room and the lobby wireless did not work on our laptop and the guest computer in the lobby did not work. What can I say, the rooms are nice and so is the pool.

We're here to visit Jie Jie's grandmother and aunts and uncle, then heading to the third reunion of our China travel group. The kids Jie Jie knew in China will all be four by the time we get there. It would be great to arrive with a new referral photo to share.

This afternoon Jie Jie and her grandmother Yiayia baked brownies together.

Tonight Jie Jie pointed out the evening star. We wished on it. I asked her wish. She said, "I wish a beautiful butterfly would land on my shoulder."
She asked my wish. I said, "I wish I could have happy moments like this one with my daughter forever."

Jie Jie siad, "Ask for some days off."

Waiting for Mei Mei

...At least we think it will be a mei mei, although we did not specify, saying in our letter to the China Center for Adoption Affairs that we would welcome a boy, girl or twins into our family.

Any day now we expect to hear the news we have been awaiting for nearly 2 years, our referral: the name and face and birthplace of Mei Mei, her age, her size, her health, her developmental milestones, whether she has been living with a foster family or in an orphanage.

We can't wait to see her little face. Will she be an 8-month old? A 2-year-old?
Does she live in Kunming (my guess) or Jie Jie's province, Guangxi?
Will the new addition to our family be a singleton or a twin? There have been reports of triplets.
Or perhaps 4-year-old JieJie was right when she drew a picture of herself between her mom and dad and hung it on the wall. The next day a fourth stick figure appeared." Who is that?" we asked her. "Mei Mei," she said.
A day later two more figures appeared. One small and one tall. "Didi and Gugu,'' she said,"big brother and little brother. (As far as we know, China does not refer sibling groups who are not multiples, but anything can happen.)