One week home

We've been home for 9 days now, and Benjamin has been part of our family for just over 3 weeks now.  So much has changed in that time, that it's almost hard to believe it's only been 3 weeks.  Benjamin is settling in pretty well, and Christopher is generally doing well with being a big brother.  We've been fairly busy since we got home with various doctor's appointments and such, as well as just trying to get over the jet lag.  Everyones' sleep schedules finally seem to be getting straightened out - this week was the first time Christopher managed to sleep beyond 6:00 :)  Benjamin has gotten better about going to bed, and tonight finally went to bed with me and not Brian!  Kind of a relief for Brian.......

We've had a horrible time with getting him to eat.  Not so much eating, as eating anything relatively nutritious.  He'd eat snack 24/7 if we let him.  He loves noodles and rice, crackers and bread, and most meat.  Fruit can be tolerated, but only certain ones.  Vegetables, in his mind, are roughly akin to rat poison and must be avoided at all costs.  We hid shredded carrots on the pizza we made last night, and can occasionally hide some small amount of corn into fried rice, but otherwise, no luck.  Funny how we've changed from Christopher, who thinks green beans are the best snack ever, to Benjamin, who thinks they might be fatal.

Tomorrow is our first visit with the social worker.  China requires we submit reports to them about Benjamin for the next 5 years, so we'll be good friends with the social worker by the end of this.  They also require we send a boatload of photos, so I'm printing off pictures to send over to them.  Nothing of the past 24 hours, as both boys have managed to fall and clobber their heads.  They have almost matching bruises now.  Benjamin does love to copy Christopher, so I suppose this should come as no surprise!

Benjamin is picking up so many new words now.  I would guess he knows 30 or so words.  The pronunciation can be a bit weird, but he's definitely trying.  Dada and water sound somewhat alike - he might be asking for Brian to pick him up, and he gets a sippy cup instead.  I can only imagine what he must be thinking about this whole thing. 

He's also getting around really well.  He can walk without either of us holding his hands now.  He really wants to run, but his balance isn't quite good enough for that.  He has figured out how to get up and down a stair, so there is no stopping him around the house now.  The bad part is, he's absolutely fearless.  He has no concept of falling and getting hurt (so says the bump on his head....).

He loves the cats, and is warming up to JackJack.  He is OK with Jack being in the room, or near him now.  He hasn't figured out that one way to get rid of food on his plate is to hand it to Jack - I'm sure that's coming soon.  He also loves to have a bunch of toys around.  Legos are quite the hit, as is Christopher's train table.  You can only imagine how Christopher feels about this......  He's generally OK with it, but if Benjamin starts taking the tracks apart, Christopher is all done with sharing. 

The interesting part of the adjustment to being home is trying to explain all of it to Christopher.  Today he wanted to know where we went to bring him home from.  Concord was not an exotic enough answer for him, and I think we're going to spend a lot of time explaining that he was born here, and Benjamin was born in China but his mother couldn't take care of him.  He seemed to get the idea before we went to China, but the reality seems to be a bit confusing for him.

Anyways, I've rambled on for ages here and probably bored most everyone to tears.  Just to leave you all with a cute picture.....

Last day in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and finally home!

We had no internet access in Hong Kong, so I had to wait until we got home to actually finish this.  Sorry it's so late, but I figured better late than never for those people I might not see.

Thursday was our last day in Guangzhou, and we had nothing planned for the day.  Brian and my Dad took a scenic tour of Guangzhou to try and buy a stroller - Benjamin really liked riding in one, and we had borrowed one from the hotel at the beginning of the week.  We figured as long as he liked it, it would be really nice to have one for Disney.  Apparently Brian and Dad roamed about 3-4 miles around, and finally found one about 1/2 a block from the hotel.  While they were doing that, Mom and I got the kids dressed up in their little silk Chinese outfits to get some pictures of them in the gardens.  Christopher loved the outfit, and was so proud of himself for wearing "China clothes".  Benjamin wasn't so sure about the whole process.  We spent about an hour getting pictures of them, until the heat just got to be too much. 

Once we finished with pictures, we headed back to our room to make sure we had actually packed all of our stuff.  We figured we would need an extra suitcase once we had Benjamin, but we didn't have nearly as much stuff as we thought we would.  Brian and I put stuff in suitcases, and Benjamin helped by pulling it out when we weren't watching.  We had to check out of our room by 3:00, but weren't leaving until 4:30 for Hong Kong.  We dragged everything downstairs, and checked out with plenty of time to spare.  We spent the next 90 minutes just hanging out in the lobby with the other families we travelled with.  This was one part of the trip we all felt might have been a bit more organized.  It's tough to take some already overtired and cranky kids, as well as overtired and cranky parents, and ask them to sit quietly in a hotel lobby for 90 minutes.

At 4:30, our guide arrived with the travel visas for all our kids.  They travel to the US on Chinese passports with US visas, and the last step for all of us is to wait for the travel visa.  Once she got all of us and our paperwork straightened out, we got packed up in the vans to head for Hong Kong.  We said goodbye to the other families we were travelling with, as they were both heading for the US on Friday.  We had promised Christopher if he was good for the whole trip, we would take hom to Disneyland on the way home (OK, so really, I wanted to go, but it sounds better if we took the kids for a trip.....)

The van ride to Hong Kong takes about 3 hours, including having to clear customs between Hong Kong and China.  While China may once again own Hong Kong, it's still very different.  Foreigners as well as Chinese citizens need to clear customs to go there, the currency is different, and the feel of the city is different.  While Hong Kong is more Western feeling, I really prefer the cities we visited in China.  I can't put my finger on why, but I felt more comfortable there.

We arrived at Disney around 7:30, got checked in, and settled in the room.  The Hollywood Hotel is decorated in an art deco style, and the themeing for the hotel is similar in the way it's part of everything in the room to WDW.  When we woke in the morning, we discovered the real difference between Hong Kong Disney and the ones at home..... the fact you're on a tropical island :)

The part here is much smaller than either of the ones at home, and has much more of a feel of someplace to stroll around.  There is tons of shade, and paths to wander.  There are fewer rides, and it just has a more relaxed feel to it.  I don't think I prefer one to the other, as they feel completely different.  I do like the Toy Story land they've built - the giant Tinker Toys are really cool, and the 3 new rides are fun.  Christopher was dissappointed he couldn't ride the RC car ride, as it has a 48 inch height limit.  Brian took him for another ride on the Parachute Drop to take his mind off it, and my Mom and I went on the RC car ride.  Very fun, but I'm glad Christopher didn't go.  It would have scared the poop out of him :)  Other than Toy Story, all the rides were similar to the ones at home.  Small World is a bit different, as all of the lands have characters from Disney movies integrated into them.  We all thought it was cool, and had fun looking for them.

So Benjamin enjoyed himself, and really liked the Carousel.  From the second he sat on the horse until we put him in his stroller, he was smiling and laughing.  He wasn't quite so sure about Dumbo, but wasn't scared of it either.

You'll notice that Benjamin loved Woody, but was terrified of Buzz.  We decided to skip the rest of the characters after the Buzz meltdown.  We were really hoping they had some of the characters in Chinese dress, but no such luck. 





Everyone was pooped by late afternoon, so we decided to leave a bit early, as we had to switch hotels to one downtown, and we were planning on sightseeing in Hong Kong in the morning.  We took 2 cabs downtown, and got to see the islands in daylight.  It's amazingly beautiful.  We got checked in to the hotel - the area was in Kowloon, and was very busy.  There were just people everywhere.  Instead of taking the kids out in all that mess, we sent Brian and Dad to go find food while Mom and I got the kids settled in a bit. 

The next morning, we signed up for a bus tour of Hong Kong.  Normally, I wouldn't really care for the bus tour thing, but with only one day, it seemed like the best idea to see a bunch of stuff.  We ended up with a few couples from Australia, some college kids from Boston, and another family with kids the same ages as Christopher and Benjamin.  The tour stopped at one of the temples right in Hong Kong, which was interesting to see.  The tour guide did a great job of explaining the significance of everything we were looking at.  We went from there to the cable car to the top of Victoria Peak.  The cable car goes up so steeply that it's hard to sit up, and the buildings going by almost look like they're tipping over.  The view of the city and the harbor from the top is absolutely amazing.  We went from there to the harbor, and went out on a quick tour of the fishing villages - a lot of the older fishermen and their families live on the fishing boats in giant floating villages.  It was interesting, almost like a Hong Kong variation on redneck :)  We went from there to the floating dim sum restaurant for lunch.  It was OK, but nowhere near as good as the Mom and Pop restaurants we were used to by now.  The tour went from there along the beaches on the south side of Hong Kong, to the Stanley Market.  It was fun to look around, but we only had 30 minutes there, so not much time to see much.  Christopher was really tired by then, so we just waled around the beginning, and then stopped to get the kids drinks and ice cream.  We went from there back to the hotel, and again sent Dad and Brian out for dinner.  This time, they watched where the crowds were eating, and found a Middle Eastern pizza place, and came back with lamb and chicken pizza.  When everyone agrees they liked it, you know a miracle has happened :)  We got the suitcases packed for one last time, and tried to get the kids to bed early for the flight home in the morning.

Both kids did well on the flight, even though it's really long (14 hours from Chicago to Hong Kong, and then another 2 hours from Chicage to Boston).  As soon as we landed in the US, Benjamin automatically became a US citizen.  We expected the paperwork to take a while, but they just took the paperwork and waved us through.  Easy peasy, as Christopher would tell you.

So here are some pictures from around Hong Kong.  Once we're settled in, and not so stinking jetlagged, I'll try to let everyone know how everything is going with Mr. Benjamin.



Consulate Appointment and Shamian Island

Yesterday morning, we were up at the crack of dawn to get everyone dressed and out the door for our appointment with the US Consulate.  There are no cameras allowed in the consulate, so we have no pictures from that.  Benjamin picked the time we were standing in line to decide that he really wanted to walk everywhere we went.  If he has someone holding both hands, he can actually walk pretty quickly.  If he wasn't so short, it would be great, but since he's not even 30 inches tall, whoever is holding him is almost doubled over while he walks.  Makes for an interesting walk down a crowded hallway. 

The Consulate has a small play area, so Benjamin, Christopher, and Grace got to play while the adults all got the paperwork sorted out.  All in all, the Consulate took about an hour.  Benjamin's passport with a US visa will be available Thursday afternoon, and then he's free to head to the US!!!!

We left the Consulate, and went to Shamian Island.  Our guide dropped us off there, and told us how to get to the subway station to get home.  It was nice having the afternoon to ourselves, to walk around at our own pace and just relax a bit.  The guides are wonderful, but a lot of the time, they seem to be running through things to just show us the highlights, and I always feel like we're slowing them down when we stop to take pictures, look at something for a while, or let the kids run around.

Shamian Island used to be French / British protectorate, and the architecture looks very much like New Orleans.  The humidity feels that way too!  It's very pedestrian friendly, which was a nice change of pace.  Christopher loved being able to run at his own pace, rather than having to hold hands with one of us all the time.  Benjamin got to get out and do some walking too. 

We stopped at Lucy's for lunch, which a lot of other adoptive families rave about.  It serves a lot of American style food.  It was OK, but we've really liked the Chinese food (and prices.....)  I can see why people love it though, if you're missing the food from home.  We also got to do some shopping on the island as well, and Mom got to buy some more material.  We also managed to find the last of the presents we haven't found yet (Squeaky shoes for Savannah - payback for Christopher's train whistle :)  )

We came back to the hotel on the subway, and again, it was really simple.  It was a bit busier than the other day, as we were coming home around 3 in the afternoon.  We just put Brian in charge of clearing a path, and the rest of us followed him.

We decided to go to the same restaurant again for supper, as everyone really liked it, and it's air conditioned.  Dinner was delicious, and we finished supper early enough to get the kids home to bed at a reasonable hour.  Dad and I made one last trip to Trust Mart to get water and snacks for Hong Kong, and to try and find a stroller for Benjamin.  The employees on the bottom floor kept telling us they had them upstairs, and the folks upstairs kept telling us they didn't sell them.  An exercise in futility.  We also tried looking at the Friendship Store, but they only sell the high end American and European ones.  I'll be darned if I'm going to pay 4800RMB (about $800) for a stroller!

Today, we're finishing up packing, and getting some pictures of the kids around the hotel.  Brian and Dad are off on a mission to buy a stroller (hotel concierge told them where to find a baby shop), and I'm refereeing the mayhem here.  For 2 kids that don't speak the same language, they've already figured out how to play pretty well.  Right now, Christopher is teaching Benjamin to Hi-ya things.  The words may be wrong, but the tone of voice is exactly the same.

We leave for Hong Kong this afternoon.  It's bittersweet to think that these are Benjamin's last few hours in his home country.  I can't help but wonder if his birth mother has any idea that her little boy is going to America, and how much he is loved. 

And, just because it's funny.....



Pearl River Cruise and the Guangzhou Zoo

This whole plan of posting in the evening after the kids go to bed would be brilliant if Benjamin could figure out the concept of going to bed.  He won't sleep at all if he's not next to Brian, and wants to spend about 1.5-2 hours playing and kicking.  Any attempt to get him to sleep involves screaming at the top of his lungs.  Christopher is so overtired from being kept up til 10 or so every night that it's not funny.  Needless to say, this whole blog thing only gets to happen in spits and spurts.

So last night, we went on the Pearl River cruise.  For anyone coming to Guangzhou, it is totally worth it.  Even if your kids are up late, I would recommend it.  Benjamin spent the whole time just staring, and Christopher was bouncing out of his shoes trying to see everything, and tell us all about it.  It takes about 2 hours - the first 45 minutes or so is a buffet dinner while you cruise up the river.  The lights are starting to come on just as the boat turns around to come down the river.  It's absolutely amazing.  None of our pictures do it any justice at all.

After all the excitement of the cruise, and getting to bed super late, we decided to let the kids sleep in as long as possible in the morning.  No one woke up until about 8:30, which was a miracle (and much needed)

We had a free day from all the planned tours and actual adoption stuff.  The other families we're travelling with and us decided to go to the zoo.  Our guide told us it was very easy to get to, and she was right.  Us country folk managed to figure out the subway system in China, and we all got there without getting lost.

It's actually easier than the Metro in Montreal, and is probably the cleanest one I've ever been on.  We're planning on taking it tomorrow to go to Shamian Island.

The zoo was great, and all the kids had a great time.  The heat was again a killer, and most of the adults faded pretty quick.  For some reason, Christopher was like the Energizer Bunny, and ran all over the place.  If we walked a mile, he probably ran 2 miles.

There are tons of different animals, and a few we don't often see at zoos at home.  The red pandas are interesting - I think they look like funny colored, slightly larger racoons, but they are still interesting.  Benjamin was really excited to see most of the animals, particularly the deer.  Brian was wondering if it means he'll like to hunt.....

Benjamin really wanted to walk today and do everything that Christopher was doing.  It was pretty funny, as he'd try to repeat whatever Christopher told him, using the same tone of voice.  It was like copycat, with 2 kids speaking 2 different languages :)

We headed home just after lunchtime, as it was getting way too hot.  We tried getting both kids down for naps, but as anyone with more than one kid knows, that's a losing battle.  Benjamin actually fell asleep, and Christopher tried to sit quietly (aka - made a lot of noise and fidgeted, but no actual hollering)

Once everyone woke up, we packed up all of us and our bags for another trip to Trust Mart.  We found a shortcut across the main road that made it much easier for Mom.  If you take the bridge over the road, you have to climb about 2 flights of stairs with no railing, cross over the road, and then come down 2 flights of stairs with no railing.  She had a really hard time with it the last time we went.  If you cut through the subway station directly in front of the hotel, you just ride a bunch of escalators and walk across the station.  Brilliant!

Trust Mart is always an adventure - I really like going to see what you would buy in a typical Chinese store.  The prices crack me up as well - things here are so much cheaper than at home.  We started stocking up on food and some snack type things, as we'll be in Hong Kong for 2.5 days, and the prices there are significantly more than here.  We figured if we could bring as much with us as possible, it would probably be easier for us. 

We finished shopping, and headed to find a regular restaurant for supper.  The fast food thing is OK, but as long as I'm in China, I want to have real Chinese food.  The food here is amazing, but a bit different.  The English translations of some of the food is pretty interesting, and some of it you couldn't pay me enough to eat (goose intestine comes to mind, from tonight's menu).  Brian will try anything, and really actually liked the octopus in today's seafood rice.  For anyone coming to Guangzhou, try Nathan's Restaurant (on the right hand side of the road going up the road to Trust Mart).  The food was incredible, and pretty cheap.  For 6 of us for dinner (with 5 Cokes as well) was 172 yuan - not even $30.

Notice that Benjamin is too busy stuffing his face to face the camera :)  That kid eats more than the average adult.  I swear he's gained about 5 pounds since we got him.  He has definitely got more muscle tone, just from playing and walking all the time.

So here are the random cute pictures from yesterday and today.

Tomorrow we have to be up at the bum crack of dawn for Benjamin's consulate appointment, then we're hoping to get to Shamian Island.  Wednesday night will be our last night in Guangzhou, and then Thursday, we have to pack up this disaster of a hotel room.  The poor housekeeping staff will be so glad to see us leave.  I suppose since they have so many adoptive families here, they've probably seen worse, but it's still a horrow show :)