What a difference a day makes!

We woke up before the baby this morning. She had the best night yet and we are still amazed. I guess we have to link a few of these night together before we can declare ourselves successful with bedtime, but we are hopeful.

Yesterday, we went on an outing. We picked up glasses at the optometrist's office and continued down to the San Clemente pier to give Jinji a lot at the Pacific Ocean.

To My Baby Girl

Not flesh of my flesh,

not bone of my bone,

yet still very much my own.

Never forget for one single minute

that you grew not under my heart,

but in it.

We're going where?

Jinji had her first pediatric appointment today. She had a complete physical and was found to be 19 lbs., 1.5 oz (the 50th percentile for her age), 30" long (90th percentile for age), and healthy.

She endured 5 needles sticks. She cried during the first four, which were immunizations, and did not make a sound for the last, which was a blood draw for 10 different test. We were stunned during the blood draw. She sat quickly while the lab tech filled 10 vials of blood. The tech said that she did better than most adults.

Jinji celebrated with a well earned nap and Mommy and Daddy breathed a sign of relief.


Here are other photos from the day:

First Full Day Alone with Baby

We are all struggling with jet lag and allowing ourselves to adjust slowly. We have been enjoying some lengthy midday naps.

Miss Jinji had her first bath in her tub and did quite well. Her history noted that baths were not her favorite and we had a bit of crying when we were in China. But no tears today. She was splashing around and stayed in long enough to have wrinkly toes. Perhaps a generous dose of rubber ducks makes the difference.


Mommy and Daddy spent lots of floor time playing with Jinji.

Meeting Family & Friends and Giving Thanks

Our wonderful family brought the entire Thanksgiving dinner over to our house. Jinji basked in the adoration.

Although we were fighting jet lag, we spent afternoon and early evening feasting on delicious food and drinking in the love.

It was a true day of Thanks.
(Mommy only snapped a few photos. We will post more soon.)

Happy Thanksgiving, We are Home.

Proud Poppa here, Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are safe at home. Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity. After breakfast and a little last minute shopping we checked out of the White Swan at 2:30PM and headed to the US Consulate on the other side of the city. We arrived with the 17 families from Holt and Maybe 20 or 30 other families were already there. Once we were all checked in an official came out and made us swear that we filled out all of the forms truthfully. That was it. We waited another 20 minutes and they came out with all of the kids Chinese passports with the US Immigrant visa inside. We were told that once we touched US Soil she would be a U.S.Citizen. Another family and us went straight to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time to get a bulkhead seat and a bassinet. Jinji is a great traveller. Our flight departed at about 9:30PM, she took a bottle and fell asleep before it was finished. We put her in the bassinet a she slept a good 8 hours or so of our 12 hour flight. Mommy changed her a fed her, she fussed a bit and played in the bassinet for rest of the flight. Both my girls are amazing and great travellers. My sister and her family met us at LAX. THANK YOU!!! It was Thanksgiving Eve. You can imagine what they put up with to bring us home. Our house is decorated with "It's a girl!" banners and balloons. You can tell that Jinji loves her auntie and cousins. Jinji is adjusting well slept pretty much through to night She loves her room and all the toys.

Just a quick shout out to David and Mary, Thank you again for the Diaper Dude. We used it everyday. It was invaluable.

Granma Jan, Jinji loves her blanket she has slept with it every night. She can feel the love. Thank You!

It is going to be a wonderful Thanksgiving. Love To All!!!

Random Thoughts

Daddy Here, Mommy is putting Jinji To bed. More bittersweet thoughts. Tomorrow we go the the US Consulate to get her US Visa and then we go straight to the airport. I don't know if we will have time to post any more from China. If we can we will. Our little girl will be leaving the country of her birth. The people that we have met have been very warm and kind. They all have delighted in our sweet natured girl. This is a country on the move, everywhere we have gone there are massive construction projects. The city skylines are dotted with cranes building skyscrapers. Guiyang the provincial capital of Guizhou Jinji's home province by China standards is considered a small backwater, yet it has a population of 3.5million. Porsches, Mercedes and other luxury cars are common place. We shopped at Walmart and could have visited a Starbucks, KFC, McDonalds and bought a Buick which seems to be the most common American car here. The people here are very proud to host the 2008 Olympics. There are many articles in the paper and news about the projects underway. Mark your calendars they start on 8/8/08.

I cannot say enough good things about our agency Holt International. Our experience with them from the first meeting in San Diego nearly 18 months ago until this evening has been wonderful. The staff in Oregon, California and China are pros. Holt is not just an adoption agency, their primary mission is child welfare. They do work all around the world, even in countries where they do not do adoptions. the staff here works with the welfare institutions to train workers and foster parents. If you have any interest in fostering a child please visit the Holt International website(holtintl.org) for $30.00 per month you can make a huge difference in a childs life.

It will very sad to say goodbye to the other parents. We have had our lovely daughters for 8 days and it is a joy to see them blossom every single day. They are more relaxed happy laughing and enjoying their new parents. They all get cuter every single day. I will miss them. you cannot go through what we have without forming a close bond.

We will be leaving China with our beautiful Chinese girl and we will be arriving home with our beautiful American girl. We will raise her as an All American California Beach Girl. But, we will always honor and respect the place of her birth. We look forward to bringing her back so she can explore her heritage.

Many Chinese people have told us what a lucky girl Jinji is and we tell them "no, no we are the lucky ones" and then they smile and say "Lucky Family" That is what we truly are a "Lucky Family".

Love from China,
Daddy, Mommy and Jinji

Stormy Second to the Last Day

We have a free day until 4 p.m. We continued with what has become our routine, quiet morning wake up, down for a generous buffet breakfast, and then a little play in the Swan Room. After that our little princess is ready for her mid morning nap. Today, mommy and daddy took one with her.

After "our" naps, we ventured out to pick up a few things we had made. As soon as we got out the sky became very dark and the shop keepers began scurrying to cover the tables.
It was just 1:30 in the after noon. Needless to say it began to rain and headed back to the hotel for a late lunch.

We were able to get out after lunch and we got back in before the real storm came on. There was pouring rain, lightening and thunder.

Inside, we decided to try giving Jinji a tub bath again. Bath really upset this usually calm baby. Bill had the brilliant idea to have she and I bathe together since Jinji loves to mimick everything we do.

She cried a bit, but not like before, then settled into it. That was the trick.

Here are some additional photos;




This last photo was from our river dinner cruise last night. It was magical. We cruised past all the city light. Jinji has watched us kiss and has begun to offer mommy kisses.

Busy Day

Daddy Here, Mommy is putting Jinji down for a nap. Another wonderful breakfast. The buffet is amazing. They have items for every culture. Japanese, Chinese, English,American, French and several others that I am not sure I am going to get a chance to try, Two More Days and we are on the way home. The dining room is FULL of new families it is just wonderful. There is a tradition here at The White Swan that all the adopted children get a group photo taken on the "Red Couch" well, it is alot like trying to herd cats. We have 6 in our Guizhou group and it was quite a spectacle. I think the girls were doing OK but with all the parents yelling at them to smile look over here etc etc they all pretty much lost it The one next to Jinji started screaming then Jinji tried to move away and knocked the other girls over like a line of dominoes. It was interesting. The other group from our agency is from Jianxi and they have 11 new babies, you can use your imagination on how well that went. We had a few hours to go shopping and Jinji and mommy had a great time. I think that we have outfits for Jinji until she is 20! At 3pm we took her to a US Immigration approved clinic for Jinji's medical exam. Like most things in China it was very effiicient. We had to go to three stations where Doctors, Weighed, Measured, Took Temperature, Checked Hearing, Vision, Heart and lungs. Jinji cried alot but so were the other 5. She has a clean bill of health. On our way back to the hotel we shopped until we were out of money. Daddy has to cash some more travelers checks. Tonight is a Pearl river Cruise with dinner should be fun.




Jinji is 2nd from the right, The girl to the right of Jinji is about to turn toward her screaming, Jinji then scoots away knocking the other girls over.










This is the front of the medical clinic




















Part Of the Exam











An Unhappy patient

Mommy's Shopping Assistant

Our Sunday morning was spent shopping. Our agency arranged a tour of the pearl and jade wholesale markets. This is a trade city. Individual trades are found in specific markets. The pearl trades, for instance, are all found in one large building; shoes in another; toys in another.

You wind you way through many shops within these buildings. With the exchange rate of about 8 Yuan (RMBs) to US dollars, the shopping is fun.

Jinji was a trouper; a real shopping gal. She takes everything in stride and appears to study all that she sees. Even the Chinese locals say she is so cute.

When we returned, we strolled done to the many shops around the hotel. We picked up our laundry at a shop which, conveniently, sold children's Chinese tradition dress. We purchased an outfit for Jinji in every size they offered.

There was an afternoon paperwork meeting to be sure all the documents that we submit to the US consulate are present and in order. Our documents are in order.

This evening Jinji will have her visa photo taken.

We are enjoying this journey on so many levels.

WOW! I Feel Good!

Daddy Here. Just a quick update. Had the Massage Three new daddies went for massages and we are all new men. Went to a building that almost looked liked a medical facility. We were placed in a room with four massage tables stripped down to our tidy whities. Three little Chinese men came in and went to work, you never heard such pounding, groaning, grunts and sighs. We all opted for the ginger treatment. They came back with buckets of ground up ginger, same as you get at the Sushi Bar. Then they covered our backs with it, it went on icy cold which was unexpected, they put on warm towels and then it got warmer and warmer and warmer pretty soon it felt like our backs were on fire, but in a good way. Supposedly it cleanses your blood, cures everything and makes your feet smell good. I could use all of that. After about 25 minutes they took it off and we all laughed, our backs look like the worst sunburn you have ever had. It feels fine now and I feel great. With tip and the ginger tratment about $25.00. great deal! Sorry no photos.

Adoption Barbie

When Jinji and I returned from our walk around Shamain Park, we found this in our room.


The back of the box reads:
This souvenir is presented by Mattel HK Ltd. to adopting parents of Chinese oprhan children staying at the White Swan Hotel, Guangzhou China.

Guangzhou at Last!

Daddy is writing this post. Mommy has done most of the blogging. Yesterday was Jinji's first flight. It was bittersweet, we took our first step towards her new home, but we were also leaving the place of her birth behind. I am so grateful to her foster parents. They may have modest means but we can tell that our daughter has been well cared for and loved deeply. As we fly over Guizhou I also can't help thinking of Jinji's brave birth mother. She left our beautiful little girl where she was warm and sure to be found. Phoebe, from our adoption agency told Mary and I that the mothers often watch from a distance to make sure that their child is found. They also know that foreigners from all over the world adopt these children. I imagine that Jinji's birth mother was watching our plane and wondering if her daughter was being carried away from her to a life that she can only imagine. I wish there was a way to let her know that her baby is so truly loved and that we will do our very best for her. It feels strange to owe so much to someone we will never know. All we can do is thank her in our prayers.

Jinji is a trooper. We had a little hitch at the airport and were stuck at the security check point until 10 minutes before our flight. daddy and mommy were about to have a melt down but Jinji was as cool as a cucumber. It was an ninty minute flight but Mary was able to change a diaper, make a bottle, burp Jinji and get her to sleep. I lent a hand (mostly holding the dirty diaper) best I could. Mary was wonder to behold. She is an amazing mother and I am completley in awe. Maternal instinct in action is an amazing sight.

All of the Chinese Paperwork is finished and we are in Guangzhou to get Jinji's US Visa. She will be travelling with a Chinese Passport and under her Chinese name. When we arrive in the US Jinji will be a US Citizen and after some more paperwork will have a US Passport as well as an american birthcertificate. We are at the White Swan Hotel it is VERY nice, Several US Presidents as well as many other dignitaries have stayed here. All adoptive parents from the US must come to the US Consulate here in Guangzhou to get their children's Visas. The White Swan is next door to the consulate and is well prepared for us. We have a lovely room with a crib, This morning at breakfast there must have been 50 or 60 families with new babies. I am not exagerating when I say they are ALL cute. (Jinji is still the cutest) After breakfast we did a little shopping in some of the many shops here in the hotel and we visited the playroom. It is a great space, with a CLEAN floor and many many toys all provided by Mattel. (our guide said that they wanted to hook the kids early) Jinji had a blast and we already picked out a few toys to buy once we get home(Hello Mattel, Your plan works.) it was fun watching Jinji do her commando crawl to the different toys and we had a lot of fun.

Rest of the day is free the only thing scheduled is daddy's 1pm massage(YEAH!!!!) about $10.00US for an hour. I see several more in daddy's future. Mommy and daughter are planning a shopping expedition. Daddy needs to go cash some travellers checks. Love to All!

Just one of the reasons why I love Bill

He is already an amazing father-Diaper changing Daddy Style!

We've left Jinji's home province of Guizhou

...and we are now in Guangzhou at the White Swan Hotel. We arrived weary from travel and the effects of the humidity that hit us on arrival. We three are showered, fed, and Jinji and Bill are in bed; I will follow soon. It is Friday 11 p.m.


Here's Jinji and I on the bus to the airport and Jinji helping us to unpack.

Guizhou Spicy Girls

Our guide, Phoebe tells us that the people from this region enjoy spicy foods. It gets the blood going in the cold weather. The houses in the village have no heat. One 22 month old in the red outfit was delivered with a bag of very spicy chips. Her father said they were too spicy for her mom.

Our 6 families here decided to try to photograph our "Spicy Girls" together on the lobby couch. What a challenge. You can see that they are all beautiful here. Phoebe and our tour guide, Simon, arranged a group dinner in the hotel's restaurant so we could sample some dishes. It was delicious!

Cutest Anteater in History

Miao Village Trip

We visited an actual Miao village today. We saw babies that look a lot like Jinji.

Pregnant Daddy

We stayed in the hotel on Wednesday, as Jinji was starting a cold. Late afternoon, we got a bit of cabin fever and took a short walk outside thehotel. It was warmer than the morning but still a bit cool. We were stopped by an elderly Chinese women, who walked right up to us. She began inspecting Jinji's bundling and gave us a grinning approval. The people of this culture see us as a part of their family and she saw herself has Jinji's Chinese grandma, checking to make sure we were be responsible parents. We delighted in her approval.

Jinji's has a bath

Photos from Jinji's foster family

Jinji's foster parents gave us a small photo album. Here are some of the photos that were inside.

What Jinji was wearing when she came to us

We had heard that the children were very bundled here in China. Jinji had almost 4 layers of clothing on. She had on 4 tops and 3 pairs of pant (2 were the split pants)

Like the song says.

"All the beautiful things that I see when your with me, happy Jinji" For me the world has completely changed. How does a person fall so madly, completely and utterly head over heels in love so fast. I can't beleive a man my size can be wrapped so tightly around such a small pinkie finger. She had me at "here is your daughter". What to say about the the last two days other than they have been magic.

Around 3pm on November 13 Phoebe, from our adoption agency Holt International came to our room with Jinji, her foster mother, foster father, some officials from Civil Affairs. Mary and the foster mother sat face to face and Jinji was passed over to Mary. Of course Jinji just lost it. The foster mother was visibly sad but went right down to business, through Phoebe who interpreted for us she told us as much as she could about Jinji's daily routine likes and dislikes. When it was our turn to ask questions our minds were blank I think we asked a few but all I could see and hear was my daughter. We gave some token gifts to the officials and foster family and then they left. There we were Mary, Jinji and me. I cannot describe the the depth of fear and grief in Jinji's cries. All we could do was hold her and tell her that everything was going to be ok. (of course Mary and I were telling each other the same thing through our own tears)

After an hour or so I was cuddling her and telling her that we loved her and were going to take care of her forever. She calmed down and fell asleep in my arms. (the "baby whisper" strikes again) While holding her I realized that my reason for being here on Earth was this precious, beautiful little girl. Later that afternoon we had to fill out some paperwork and get our first family portrait(for the official documents). Jinji was A doll the whole time. We went back to the room and Jinji took her first bottle pretty quickly (we call it a full Eisenhammer, when you meet Linda Eisenhammer you will understand) And aren't we lucky parents she slept all night.
November 14th was a busy day we had breakfast with the other new parents. There are 6 new parents here in Guizhou and 11 others in another province we will be reunited in Guangzhou on Friday. The six here with us range from 7 months to 22 months and they are all beautiful and bonding well with their parents. I can't wait to meet the other 11. Jinji will have 15 sisters. After breakfast we went to the Civil Affairs office. It was two hours of paperwork and signing papers that were all in Chinese. Once again Jinji was a doll. We went back and had lunch later in the afternoon Phoebe brought our official adoption certificate, according to the Civil Affairs department of the City of Guiyang, Province of Guizhou, People's Republic Of China, Chen Fu Jia now know as Jinji Hiroko Fujia Davee is now the daughter of William and Mary Davee of San Clemente California, United States of America. It doesn't get better than that.
Of course we celebrated just like we would at home. We went shopping at Walmart! Here we are in a remote and poor province in Southwestern China and we can walk out of our hotel and go to Starbucks, Pizza hut, MacDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. We did have dinner in a very nice Chinese Restaurant and had some local dishes. Very spicy but good. Jinji was very tired and when we returned to our room she had a little melt down but after a bottle (full eisenhammer) she recovered quite well and slept well.
November 15 The weather was pretty cold today and Jinji sounds like she is a little congested so we opted out of touring and have spent a quiet day playing and napping and getting to know one another. Jinji is such a delight, the photos do not do her justice she is beautiful, her laugh and giggles are the best sounds I have ever heard. She is very strong, can pull her self up in the crib, sits LOVES her toys, and can crawl. She turns to you when you say her name (her nickname in fostercare was Jia Jia Mei sounds like jahjahmay not to far from Jinji) She had her first full bath and while I am typing this she is taking a nice nap.

I love this little girl, she has captured my heart. I feel like the Grinch who stole Christmas when his heart grew 6 times too large. I am so blessed First I meet Mary and she marries me and now this. I get a beautiful daughter who is sweet natured and so far seems to think that I am OK. It is far more than an old crusty bachelor like me deserves. I am so lucky!!! I can't wait to bring my girls home. Thank you all for your love and support. Sorry for the long Post If you made it this far THANKS!

Bliss

First Family Photo

This photo was taken the day we received Jinji. It is a part of our official Chinese document of adoption. They didn't want us to wear glasses. It is a photo of a photo.

Just the good stuff!

We appeared before the Chinese Civil Affairs and it is official.

She is officially ours!

Chen Fu Jia is now Jinji Hiroko Fujia Davee. We sorry it has been awhile; we have had internet issues. We receive Jinji in our room yesterday, Monday. She was brought in by her foster parents, who are an elderly couple from a very rural region of this province. For the first hour our girl was heartbroken and cried so heard that our hearts broke for her too. After the first hour, she was a different baby. She has been laughing and bonding with us; she slept through the night. We are so in love and grateful. It is clear that Jinji was loved and cared for. She has 4 teeth, as you can see; she can sit on her own, crawl, feed herself.

Ying and Yang

Bill and I are both up 2 hours before our scheduled wake up call. He is, as he is saying, "freakin' out". It is in a good way. And, true to our history, I am calm. I'm sure we will switch and perhaps several times.

We don't leave for the airport until 6 a.m. and it is 3:15 a.m. We watching a movie on HBO and sipping instant coffee. I guess we move into action when the wake up call rings.

Here's some interesting photos from yesterday's touring. It was Sunday and the locals were enjoying the park around the Temple of Heaven.

Learning about Jinji's Country

We received an album with an update of Jinji. We were supposed to receive updated photos, but we are told that Jinji's orphanage director wants to give us the updated photos personally. We are not sure what this means.

We spent the morning going over what will happen before, during and after we get Jinji. It was our orientation.

Our afternoon was spent at the Temple of Heaven and Tian' Anmen Square.




We have to put our bags out by 10 p.m. for pick up and we have a 4 a.m. wake up call. We will be heading to Guiyang, which is a city in Jinji's province Guizhou. We will be traveling with 6 other delightful and equally excited families. As soon as we check in to our hotels, the babies will be delivered to our rooms by their foster families. It will be quite and emotional day.

We will post more when we are able.

Dear Family & Friends

We haven't been able to send email out, but we can receive email to Mary's email address or add a comment via this blog. We have received many supportive comments. We feel the love.

Dust on your jacket from the Great Wall-


Bicyle rickshaw ride through an ancient Chinese community-

Knowing we will be holding our daughter in less than 2 days-PRICELESS!

China is wonderful and we are enjoying our time in Beijing. Here are a few more photos from our day of touring:

Bill is thrilled with his purchase of a 1969 poster of Chairman Mao. Here is one of four.

Hello From Beijing!

We made it to Beijing! How can it be so real and surreal at the same time.

We have been in flight for more than 15 hours and we are "road" weary. I am typing this while me eyes can still open.






All along the way, Bill and I kept smiling at and pinching each other. Our 10 pursuit for parenthood is reaching the goal line.

On the drive to the hotel from the Beijing airport, I marveled at the ultra modern multi-storied building just blocks from ancient shops and housing with clothes drying on a clothes line. We traveled next to Lexus, VW, and Fords while dodging bicyles and pedistrians. To us, it appeared that everyone had the right away.

Well, we are one giant step closer to Jinji.

Here's a shot of sunrise as we arrived in Guangzhou.

It is Friday November 10th: 2:52 p.m.

Our Itinerary

FEDEX ARRIVED!!
Tickets are in hand, Yeah!!

Nov 8 we leave at 1150PM on Southern China Airlines Non-stop to Guangzhou.

Nov 10 Arrive 650AM Change Planes and arrive Beijing 1255PM

Nov 11 Day tour to the Great Wall

Nov 12 Morning Orientation and afternoon tour to Tianamen Square

Nov 13 Leave Beijing 825AM Arrive Guiyang 1110AM Transfer to our Hotel.
GET JINJI. Then our lives change forever.

Nov 14-16 Love Jinji, Then do paperwork, then stare at Jinji and love her some more.

Nov 17 Wake up, Hug and kiss Jinji Leave Guiyang at 350pm Arrive Guangzhou 510pm

Nov 18 Free day to Love, hug and Kiss and stare at Jinji.

Nov 19 Paperwork checking Jinji Visa Photo

Nov 20 Medical exam

Nov 21 US Consulate Appointment

Nov 22 Depart Guangzhou 900PM arrive LAX 550PM

Nov 23 HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We will have the best Thanksgiving Ever!!

Today is the day!

It is amazing how calm both Mary and I are today. Just a few last minute chores and waiting for the FEDEX man to deliver our airline tickets, then off to LAX. We are so grateful for all of the love and support from our friends and family. We are truly blessed.

I CAN"T WAIT TO HOLD MY DAUGHTER!!!!

We Leave Tomorrow!

YIKES!

Keep your fingers crossed

We received our TA (travel approval) and a request for a November 21st US consulate appointment has been sent to China. If we get the 11/21 date, we will leave Wednesday. We have been told that there are appointments available.

Our tentative itinerary will put Jinji in our arms on November 13th and all 3 of us home the day before Thanksgiving.

UPDATE

We have been told that there is a chance we will be able to join our travel group, which means we will be leaving Thursday. The chance is slim, but we'll be ready.

Nervous Energy Put to Use

We have been a little nuts around our house. We are just waiting to receive our TA or Travel Approval from the Chinese government. Once our agency receives our TA, they will be able to schedule our appointment with the US Consulate in China.

Bill is ready to bolt to LAX and I have been channeling all my nervous energy into knitting booties for Jinji. My good friend & coworker, Jan, give me a wonderful knitting book. It contained a pattern for knitted Mary Janes.
I have completed several pairs.

We have also been busy-

1. obtaining our Chinese Visas,
2. completing our travel immunizations,
3. securing another USCIS (US immigration office) approval (I171H) to bring Jinji to the US,
4. putting together a mobile pharmacy for us and Jinji,
5. collecting all "keep the baby clothed and alive" kit,
6. meeting with the pediatrician,
7. and trying to remain sane.