Our Trip Home

A happy Ron has our suitcases all packed and ready to go.

One quick obligatory picture on the red couch of the White Swan Hotel.

We say goodbye to Elvin and get on the first of three planes.

Twenty-six hours later we are home! Family was there to greet us.

We got a surprise visit from the Pierce family. Clara just came home a couple of months ago and she and Nathan are the same age.

Family Photograph -- Thanksgiving Day 2006.

Nathan is taking a much needed nap so I will post while I can. It feels so good to be home! Nathan is significantly less enthused about it than we are but the house probably feels enormous to him after being in hotel rooms.

If I never saw another airplane it would be okay with me today but the trip went pretty well considering how long it was. Nathan was good - only minimal crying and no bothering of other passengers.

Nathan enjoyed the reception at the airport. He enjoys meeting people. He and Caleb stared at each other a bit like they didn't know what to do but I'm sure they will be the best of buddies before too long.

He received a rather noisy reception from the dogs when we got home and wasn't too happy about that but since then he doesn't seem too bothered by them as long as they aren't licking his face. He likes to watch them. Kitty cats are walking stuffed animals and he has already gotten his hands full of Mulan's fur so I think the cats might be avoiding him for a while.

So all we have to do today is unpack and get laundry done -- and stock the fridge. Mom had some leftover Thanksgiving dinner for us and it was so good just to eat some American food.

I will post later when we get settled in.

Last Post From China

We went to the American Consulate today and were sworn in. We received the paperwork that will make Nathan a US citizen as soon as he reaches US soil. We have to get up in about five hours to leave and the next two days will be very long. But at the end of it we will have Nathan in our home -- a dream come true.



















We appreciate so much everyone's prayers and good wishes.

Last Day in Chongqing

I should have posted this before the Guangzhou post. By the way if you have emailed us and we have not responded, we are not getting the emails. For some reason there has been a problem with us recovering all of our mail.
These photos are from our last day in Chongqing. We went to a park on the North side of the river that overlooks the point where the two rivers meet. Chongqing is very foggy this time of year.


The park stretches on for miles and is very beautiful. You can see the mountains that surround the city.

For our last dinner Mei took us to a restaurant that served the "hot pot" for which Chongqing is famous for. The pot in front of us has two sauces which they bring to a boil. They then cook a variety of items in the sauce at the table and you spoon out what you like. If you look you can see the eel and squid that we ate as well as the beef and pork. It was a very spicy meal.

Guangzhou

We are in Guangzhou (pronounced Gwong joe) where the American Consulate is located. This is the last leg of journey. Here we have to get Nathan’s visa so he can enter the USA.

We were sad to say goodbye to Mei on Monday morning. We are going to try to keep in touch via email. She made our time in Chongqing very special.

Our trip here went pretty well. Nathan was good for his first plane ride. We kept a steady supply of bottles for him and he didn’t cry much. The flight was only about 90 minutes. I hope the flights home go so well.

When we got off the plane we immediately met Elvin our new guide. He is a sweet young man with and endearing habit of giggling after everything he says. We went immediately to the photo shop to get Nathan’s visa photo. From there we went to a clinic to get the medical examination required for him to get his visa. That took about 20 minutes. There were about a dozen US families with their babies waiting for the exam and there was much screaming. Nathan added his own noise to the melee when the doctor looked at him.


Today we go to pick up his visa and that is the last step. Tomorrow we leave for home! We have to leave the hotel at 0530 tomorrow for the airport. We will be traveling for about 30 hours straight I believe so we are not looking forward to the trip but we will be so glad to get home.

We are now staying at the famous White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou where most of the American couples stay who adopt from China. Breakfast this morning was like a baby convention. We couldn't help but stare at the dozens of babies and families. It is so different from Chongqing where we were the only Americans we encountered.

Pics from Today

We went to Ei Ling Park (Goose Lake) today. It was very interesting. A lot of retired people spend time there and they were fascinated by us so we had an entourage wherever we went. We spent five yuan (approx 70 cents) to get our picture taken with these peacocks.
The ladies are playing a game that looks complicated but Mei says it is like a deck of cards and the games can be simple or complex. We met an artist who paints with his mouth because he lost both his arms. Here he is putting Nathan's Chinese name on a small painting we bought.

At the restaurant where we ate lunch the waitresses went nuts over Nathan. He flirted with about seven ladies and wanted to be held by each of them. In each of the restaurants the waitresses and waiters wear lovely uniforms.

The pictures

This is our first family photo which was taken at The Office of Foreign Affairs about ten minutes after we got Nathan.


Somebody doesn't like bathtime.
Mei, Nathan, and Julie at the zoo.

First swim.


More pictures of us out and about. Read the below post for my account of this week.





Our little cutie gets very happy after he finishes his bottle.

Our week in Chongqing

November 18th, 2006 – I keep getting up at 0400 but at least it gives me time to get things done before Nathan wakes up.

Nathan is relaxing and becoming less clingy. He now wants to be put down so he can play on the floor. He crawls very fast and it’s so cute to see him zipping around the room. He likes to bump things with his head. He doesn’t care much for the toys that make noise but he loves brightly colored objects and especially the Cheerios book.

More than anything, Nathan loves to be outside walking around. He really loves the Baby Bjorn and we use it every day. We go out for just a few hours each day which is fine for us. We have been to the zoo which was wonderful. We loved the panda bears. I have never seen one personally and they have four here. I guess that Mei was worried that we would be disappointed because she kept warning us of how lazy the pandas were. And they are! But they are adorable.

We both love Chongqing. The people here take a lot of pride in their city. There are 15 million people living in this city but when you walk around you will not see a single cigarette butt or a piece of trash. Even their highways are clean. They are always meticulously cleaning their stores and areas.

Whenever we go out we are mobbed by people who want to fuss over Nathan. They are very sweet and seem genuinely happy to see him with us. It’s a little weird to have people come up and touch him and ask to hold him. Having him strapped in the carrier takes care of that issue. Mei says everyone calls him “big eyes”. When they speak some English we mostly hear, “So cute!” “So beautiful!” and “So lucky to have boy!” Nathan starts sucking his thumb when they crowd him but other than that he ignores them.

We went to the pool last night. The hotel has an indoor pool that is very nice. They require us to wear swim caps – I guess so hair won’t get into the filters. Ron did not appreciate that he had to wear one since the hair on his head is shorter than the hair on his legs. Nathan cried when we went into the water. Two ladies who were swimming felt compelled to join us and tried to encourage him to like it. This made him cry more so we did not stay in long. Back in our room we gave him a bath and he threw the biggest fit. I guess he couldn’t understand the need for two baths in one night.

Meanwhile we are working out the issues of being new parents. I have challenges with the bottle. Several times I have not gotten the cap on right and it has leaked all over Nathan. Once I was tiredly spooning formula into the bottle and Ron asked me, “Did you put a liner in that?” The answer was “no” and I had a neat little pile of formula on the counter when I moved the bottle. I’m so glad he noticed before I poured the water in!

The only thing I have to tease Ron about is him being horrified when he first made a bottle for Nathan because the formula “ate all the color off of the spoon!” He didn’t know that I had purchased spoons that change to white when something is hot. Ron also quit laughing at Nathan pulling my hair after the little squirt grabbed a handful of chest hair. Hee hee.

We also went to the Three Gorges Museum which was spectacular. Chongqing was very important during World War II. The movied “The Flying Tigers” is an account of the events that happened here where the allies used this area as a base to fight the Japanese. Chongqing could not be taken by the Japanese so the enemy bombed them constantly. The war memorabilia is fascinating. Around the city are many WW II air raid shelters and they have been converted into stores and restaurants. We had lunch in one the other day and it was pretty cool.

Nathan is wearing a size nine months. He can fit some of the twelve month outfits but they are pretty big on him. If he keeps eating the way he has been, he should fill them out pretty soon.

Time with Nathan

We are getting used to each other. Sometimes Nathan looks at us like he's thinking, "Do you know what you are doing?"

Our hotel is gorgeous! Chongqing is very nice and we are enjoying it here.





It was Mommy's turn to get soaked today.
More pictures in the hotel. Nathan loves this fountain and we visit every day.

Here Are The Pictures!

Nathan and Daddy and Mommy at the Office of Foreign Adoptions.

After his bath.



More pics of Nathan and Daddy.

Together Day!!!

Our Together Day was wonderful! It was very hectic also. We landed in Chongqing (pronounced Chong ching) at 2:30 and met our guide Mei (May). She immediately showed us to a waiting van and said we were in a hurry. It takes several days to get a passport and Nathan’s is due to come back on Monday the same day we leave Chongqing. Mei wanted to get it done early so we can get the passport back on Friday to avoid any delays. So we head to the Office of Foreign Affairs to do the adoption paperwork. She has already filed most of the paperwork for us.

While enroute to the building of Foreign Affairs, Mei tells us that she spoke on the phone with the orphanage and they said Nathan and the orphanage workers should be in Chongqing about 4:00pm. It’s around 3:15 when we get to the office. Mei is rushing us so Ron and I are busily trying to load cameras and gather documents. We go up to the Office of Foreign Affairs and there is total chaos going on. About four couples have just received their daughters and there is much crying and excitement. A couple of other little girls are waiting for their new families. Ron and Mei have started the paperwork and it is too much for me to resist so I start getting video of all the little girls and their families.

As I pan around the room I come to a group of people sitting on the couch. The baby with them is standing on the floor holding onto the coffee table and is hidden behind a large plant. I move so that I can get a better view of the baby and as I look through the camera I recognize him. I say something inane like, “Wait a minute! That’s Nathan!” When I lower the camera and stare at him to be sure the people with him recognize us from our photos. They start nodding and gesturing wildly to us. Ron and Mei turn and see him and I tell him, “That’s Nathan!” Ron says, “Yeah, it is! He was hiding behind a plant!”

Mrs. Wei who is the supervisor of the nannies is the orphanage brings Nathan to me and puts him in my arms. I spring leaks like a sprinkler hose. Nathan immediately grabs a big handful of my hair. He hugs me very tight and hides his face. He is being shy and it’s very sweet. He gnaws on my shoulder and it’s evident he is teething. He also has a ton of hair! I thought he would be bald. Even Mei was surprised by this.

He is avoiding looking at Ron and I which is okay. We were content to let him get used to us. I guess Mrs. Wei and the two men with her were anxious for him to accept us so they get right in his face and start clapping and shouting excitedly “Guang Guang! Guang Guang!” (Guang was his Chinese name.) This makes him turn the other way so they tickle and poke him and keep shouting excitedly to him in Chinese. I am sure Mrs. Wei was telling him that we are his parents. Nathan doesn’t seem to be bothered by this loud, rough, affection and from what I have observed it is a normal interaction between babies and adults here. It was, however, stressing me out so I ask Ron if he wants to hold him.

Ron takes Nathan and within a couple of minutes they are the best of buddies. Nathan gives us a smile. He seems fascinated with Ron’s face. The pictures are a few minutes after they met. He has been a Daddy’s boy since.

We finish the paperwork, and the three of us get thumb printed and have a photo taken together. Then Mei informs us that Nathan is officially ours. That’s it! I thought we would have to go before a judge and do the interviews but she said that was the old way. We had to register his new name and so now even in China he is officially Nathan Kael Weatherly and we are officially parents. Hurray! The Office of Foreign Affairs hands us a Certificate of Adoption in a nice folder with our first family photo in it. They congratulate us and seem very happy. They also gave us a gift which I need to photograph because it is hard to describe.

We leave around 4:30pm and have to go check into our hotel. Nathan is from the country and rarely left the orphanage so he is afraid of the traffic and the honking. He is not at all happy to be back in a van and starts crying but I hold him and he lays his head on my chest. He is asleep by the time we reach the hotel. He wakes up about 45 minutes later when we are trying to get him ready to go meet Mei in the lobby. He cries when he wakes up in the strange room and sees us but settles down when we pick him up.

At dinner he fussed a bit but was pretty quiet. He likes the teething toys we brought for him. After dinner we went back to the room and let him play for a while which he enjoyed. Then we gave him a bath and he did very well. There was minimal crying and he became fascinated by the water and didn’t want to get out. Daddy got soaked!

We then let him play for a while. He crawls very fast and will pull himself up but there is no walking yet. He loves to spin circles on the carpet and laughs like he has invented a great game. He got a little fussy about 9:30 which is his normal bedtime so we put him in his crib and he went right to sleep.

Then an exhausted but happy Mommy and Daddy put themselves to bed about 11:00pm after figuring out how we are going to do his formula in the morning. I woke around 3:00 am and couldn’t go back to sleep again. It’s almost six and I don’t know when he will be waking up. Maybe I should go get a shower now.

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life!