Sawyer

Hi everyone! I know I've been a horrible blogger, but we've been so crazy-busy! Gotcha Day was Monday, and it was absolutley incredible. Sawyer is the sweetest, cutest baby in the whole world! We are head-over-heels in love with him. He laughs a lot, eats a lot, and keeps us on our toes constantly. We are now officially his parents, and we can't express how much we love this boy. He has a heat rash on his face, but we've been applying cream, and it's improving. Tomorrow we get to visit his orphanage -- we can't wait to see it. I'm borrowing someone's computer, so I can't post photos -- and this will be a short note. Chongqing is the most amazing city -- we like it even better than Beijing -- this place has so much energy and personality, and people, people, people EVERYWHERE. Cooper is adoring his baby brother, and he makes us so proud with how much he helps take care of Sawyer. I will post tons of photos upon our return to the states, but for now it's just going to be shorts notes when I get a chance. Thank you so much for all the warm wishes -- love you guys!! Hugs from Chongqing, Cheryl

LOVING BEIJING!!!!

Hello from China!! We are here, and we're having an amazing time! The flight was smooth, and we got a surprise free upgrade to Business Class, so that was really nice. That was some kind of LONG 12 hour flight to Tokyo and then another 4 hours to Beijing -- we were exhausted by the time we got here. We've been busy exploring Beijing nonstop for the past two days -- we did The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, The Summer Palace, The Lama Temple, a silk factory, a teahouse, and a KungFu show -- it's all been INCREDIBLE so far! Everyone is so friendly, and it's just nonstop fascinating -- the organized chaos of this place is impossible to describe -- the traffic, the bikes, the crowds...! We've had some amazing authentic meals, and lots of people have wanted Cooper to pose with them in photos because of his blonde hair -- of course, he loves it! Tomorrow we do The Great Wall and Hutong Tour and acrobat show. Then, Monday morning we fly to Chongqing and we have Gotcha Day at 3pm on Monday -- we're so excited to finally meet Sawyer!!! I love you guys, and I'll try to post photos , but I'm not sure if I can get it to work. I also think I'm being charged an arm and a leg to use this computer, but I'm trying to post :) Thanks for all the good wishes -- I'll post more soon. Hugs from China -- I still can't believe we're really here!!!!

THIS IS IT -- We're off to China!!!!

We leave for China tomorrow morning -- I can't believe it, after 3+ years of waiting, it's finally happening!!! Our luggage is zipped shut (and overflowing), I paid a bunch of bills today, and left the house key with Shay so she can take good care of Cliff while we're gone :) I've tried to complete all the last minute details -- and we're having Chinese take-out for dinner -- how funny is that? I'm sure I've forgotten something, but we're as ready as we're gonna be -- let's go get Sawyer!!!! Next post: from the other side of the world!!!

Just got our China Itinerary!!!--3 more days 'til China!!!

I'm so excited because we just got our itinerary!!! -- Gotcha Day was pushed back for us by one day at the request of the SWI, so now we have an extra day now to sightsee in Beijing before heading on to Chongqing to meet Sawyer (which is fine with me -- I love sight-seeing! The other thing that jumped out at me is that we're not staying at the White Swan or the Victory, which really shocked me -- in Guangzhou, we'll be in the Holiday Inn ShiFu. At first this Guangzhou hotel thing upset me a lot, but then I read others' accounts of their stay at the Holiday Inn Shifu, and now I'm happy about it -- it's just a 3 block walk to Shamian Island, it's adjacent to an incredible-sounding pedestrian mall full of familiar places such as McDonalds, Papa Johns, etc., and it's fairly new with very large rooms. So, I'm surprised, but happy.

So, here's the basics of our itinerary:

Arrive Beijing Thursday night, Feb. 19th -- Super House International Hotel.

Friday, Feb. 20th: Private sight-seeing tour of the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and Tiananmen Square.
Evening entertainment: The Chinese Kungfu Show.

Saturday, Feb. 21st: Private sight-seeing tour of The Summer Palace, Lama Temple and the Bird's Nest.

Sunday, Feb. 22nd: The Great Wall, Hutong tour.
Evening entertainment: The Chinese Acrobat Show.

Monday, Feb. 23rd: Fly to Chongqing -- Inter-Continental Hotel.
GOTCHA DAY -- 3pm -- HELLO SAWYER!!!!!!

Tuesday, Feb. 24th (3 year LID anniversay!!!): Adoption paperwork.

Wednesday, Feb. 25th: Sightseeing -- Chongqing Panda Zoo.

Thursday, Feb. 26th: Sightseeing -- City Square and Goose Park.

Friday, Feb. 27th: Pick up Sawyer's passport.
Fly to Guangzhou -- Holiday Inn Shifu.

Saturday, Feb. 28th: Photo studio in Guangzhou, medical exam.

Sunday, March 1st: Sightseeing -- Six Banyan Tree Buddism Temple, Dr. Sun-yat sen's Memorial Hall, etc.

Monday, March 2nd: CA

Tuesday, March 3rd: Oath-taking ceremony.
Fly back to Beijing.

Wednesday, March 4th: Fly home!!!


I can't believe we're finally going to China -- almost exactly 3 years to the date of of LID -- WOW!!!

6 MORE DAYS 'TIL CHINA!!!

Still counting down, and still packing... I think all 3 of our suitcases are over the 44-pound weight limit, and I haven't even put our clothes in them yet :( This packing-thing is hard! I can't believe we'll meet Sawyer in 10 days -- finally!!! I just figured out how to work the new hip-carrier -- they recommend that you carry the baby in a carrier instead of using the stroller, to help with the bonding process in China. The new hip-carrier we bought is a VERY cool contraption, much nicer and easier to use than the old baby carrier we had when Cooper was tiny. I also can't believe we're going to see the Great Wall of China -- WOW! No other news, just so ready to fly... tick, tick, tick...

Counting down the days...

Okay, 11 days until we leave for China, and 15 days until we meet Sawyer! I have piles of stuff all over the place to pack for the trip -- somehow I'm supposed to fit all of these items into 3 suitcases -- each of which is required to weigh less than 44 pounds, and 3 backpacks -- hmmm... not sure how this will work out. The baby stuff alone takes up so much room: diapers, bottles, formula, blankies, toys, jammies, Cheerios -- along with the complete pharmacy that I'm carrying with me. I also have 2 large bags of girl-clothes that I'm bringing to donate to the orphanage --these items are courtesy of my super-special nieces, Jacey and Cady -- I think it's so great that their adorable clothes can now be worn by babies in Sawyer's SWI! I'm bringing a very minimum amount of clothing for Clayton, Cooper and myself -- 3 complete outfits each, so we'll be wearing the same clothes over and over and over in our trip photos. We start our trip up in the cold part of China -- Beijing -- it's not really that cold there compared to here in Minnesota, but we'll still need hats, gloves, coats -- I've heard the Great Wall is a very windy place and that we need to bundle up -- according to the internet, it's around 35 degrees in Beijing right now. Then, we travel a bit south to central China to the city of Chongqing in the Sichuan Province -- that's where Sawyer is, and we get to spend 5-6 days there. Right now it looks like the temp there is 55-60 degrees. Finally, we move to far-southern China, to Guangzhou. This is where we remove all our layers of clothing and will be reminded of hot, sticky Houston weather -- it's about 80 degrees in Guangzhou now. We'll be in Guangzhou for 4-5 days before traveling back up to Beijing again to begin the trip back home to Minnesota. So, obviously, I have to think LAYERS as I pack our clothes. I also read about a trick people do -- they bring their old underwear that they hate and no longer want -- they wear this underwear on the trip and simply trash it as it gets dirty, lightening their luggage as they dispose of old undies. I love this plan -- I've already sorted thru my undie-drawer and plan on wearing my ugly old undies throughout the trip, discarding them as I travel through China :) We'll probably do the same thing with socks -- we all have socks that it's definitely time to kiss good-bye! So, back to packing and organizing -- I have to be honest here, I actually love to do this -- I've always been the personality type who loves to organize things -- give me a drawer or a closet to straighten out any day -- it's actually fun for me. Don't hear me wrong here -- I DO NOT like to clean, but I LOVE to organize -- it's like a puzzle :) I'm glad it's the weekend -- travel aisle at Target and Walmart, here I come!

Tickets Booked!!!

I can't believe it, after 3 years of waiting -- our tickets to China are finally booked! Our Consulate Appointment has been confirmed, and we are good to go! We leave on February 18th -- just 2 weeks from today :) We'll spend a couple of days in Beijing, then fly down to Chongqing for Gotcha Day and spend 5 days there, then fly even farther south to Guangzhou for several days. 7 different flights -- thank goodness for Lorazapam!!! We are so excited -- it's FINALLY happening!!

Our wonderful Minnesota Red Thread Group hosted a baby shower for us last weekend. It was so much fun -- they are such nice people, and they have welcomed our family to Minnesota with open arms. Thank you so much Dawn, Lee, Tracy and Adam, and everyone else who gave us such an incredible day!!