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.