Video's From China - Meeting Mia etc...

December 13th was the day we met Mia and she joined our family forever!  Below are a few videos from that day as well as the days to follow...

Please do not judge the messy hotel room.  It was "cleaned" several times a day but we just could not keep up with the 3 of us in a small room!  :)



Meeting Mia - Part 2


A very sad car ride back to the hotel... :(


Bubbles right when we got back to our hotel room


A few more minutes in the hotel...after she ate dumplings! :)


French Fries with Dad


Day 2 - Amazing Changes...

Adoption Day!


Mia with her nanny. She LOVES her nanny VERY much! :)


Playing with a balloon...


Chatting with Dad


Random Days...

At the Airport going to another City in China - Mia's first plane ride...


What are you looking for...LOTION - OF COURSE! :)


Fun with Mia...

One Month!

In the spirit of being fully honest on this blog, I must admit this week has totally kicked my a$$.  It started with work being incredibly busy (it is always busy this time of year and honestly that is a good thing and you all know that I love business and my job), a sick child being sent home from school, a dog that had a medical emergency and had to be rushed to the vet (I will save you the gory details but he is fine now), a snow day which is NEVER good for people who work from home offices, Mia having to get shots and blood taken, preparing for Mike's birthday (no party or anything just dinner reservations and trying to make the day special for him) and ultimately ending with me getting sick myself.

December 13th officially marks the one month anniversary of getting Mia.

Mia is still sleeping through the night but her sleep schedule is still a bit off.  She is liking a later afternoon nap and of course then does not go to sleep until much later in the night.  She wakes up early but just lays in bed and goes back to sleep until mid morning.  She also started to call me into her room in the middle of the night just to cover her back up.  I did it a few times but eventually had to tell her no and make her do it herself.  This stopped her calling me in for that.

We had a bit of food sucess this week.  She is still my carb queen but we found out she really likes meatballs (gotta love this girl).  She also liked an Arby's roast beef sandwich.  She finally ate corn again  and seemed to like it.  Peanut butter crackers also were a hit.  If there was ever mistaking anything she liked before, there is no way now.  Every time she eats something she likes she says "yummy, yumnmy" and occasionally rubs her tummy.  It is pretty cute.

She has started to use a few more English words without being prompted.  When she was watching Olivia, she actually said watermelon and apple when she saw them.  Watermelon is one of her favorite foods so she says that a lot but I have never heard her say apple.  I love hearing her say new words.  It is just like hearing Logan say new words when he was learning to talk.  I will totally miss her Mandarin monologues but will LOVE to be able to understand everything she is saying.  When she gets going she has SO MUCH TO SAY!    

The doctors totally stunk.  We LOVE Dr. Mark Adams.  Both Mike and I went to his dad when we were kids.  That said, this poor girl had to have the full work up.  She had to get two shots this time and have her max amount of blood drawn to test for everything under the sun.  Even with the max blood draw, she may have to go back on Monday and give more.  One thing they are testing for is her level of immunization for certain vaccinations so she does not have to get the shots she already had.  Like every mother, helping hold your child while they are being poked and prodded is NOT fun.   I felt so bad for her and cannot imagine what she is thinking.  I really hope I was a comfort for her with my hugs and kisses.  I also brought one of her favorite candy treats from China so I could give them to her  when the shots and needles were gone.  They seemed to do the trick although it was the saddest sight to see her licking them with HUGE tears dripping down her face. I am not sure if it is the shape of her eyes or just her tears, but they are SO big and just pour down her face when she cries.  Just as we suspected, she is going to need to see a pediatric dentist and we need to make sure she stops sitting in the typical Chinese "W" squat as it can hurt her hips and ultimately make her pigeon toed.

Her interest in "things" are cracking us up.  She loves all her girly things, but this week it was all about dinosaurs, nerf guns, and trains.  I LOVE THAT!  All dressed up in pink and toting her favorite Thomas the Train cars and helicopter.  :)

Mia starts pre-school Monday.  In the beginning either Mike or myself will sit with her, then leave for a bit and come right back.  When she is ready we will eventually leave for the day.  We found out that in her class their are two other Asian children that do not speak English.  This gives us some comfort as the teacher has experience with non-English speaking children.  We are curious to know whether either of the children are Chinese and speak Mandarin.  I KNOW she will love being around the other children as she loved all her friends at the orphanage.  I also think she will love all the activities they do.

Logan is continuing to be a great big brother and at times is REALLY spoiling her.  :)  He was also able to go spend the night at his grandparents again without Mia melting down.  The key was hiding his suitcase in the garage.  I think this was a HUGE relief for Logan as he LOVES his time with his grandparents.  One of their new favorite activites is antiquing and collecting coins.  My parents are the BEST grandparents any kid could wish for.

Something a bit new with Mia is her wanting to cuddle with us and asking for us to come sit and hold her.  Of course we are LOVING this.  :)  There is nothing like the cuddles of a sweet little one and my worries of any attachement issues are slowly fading.

That is all for the update this week.  Hoping for a MUCH easier week next week!  :)

We found Mia crashed out on the sofa mid-day.

Logan and Mia watching a Dora Movie he bought her in her room

Our sweet little baby doll

A Glimpse of Mia's Life Before She Became an Official Member of the Krisher Clan!

As many of you know, each month we sent Mia a care package while we were awaiting our travel clearance to go get her.  In each of the packages we sent a couple of disposable cameras.  In totally they received about 7.  When we got Mia, they gave us 2.  Most of them are taken right before she left the orphanage.  I can tell by the cut next to her eye.  She had that when we first met her.

There really are no good pictures per say, but they are priceless to me.  As some of you know, we were contemplating a trip to Mia's orphanage while we were in her province.  That said, the orphanage was 3 hours away by car.  That meant we would be in the car at least 6 hours with a little one we just met which did not sound like fun.  On top of the drive, we were concerned with how she would feel going back and having to leave all her nannies and friends again.  We were leaning against it but when we found out she had severe car sickness (according to her nannies) the choice was made for us.  That said, these pictures are all I have of her life before she officially became a Krisher.  

A note on the car sickness thing.  I think it was nerves and not car sickness at all.  She got REALLY quiet every time we got in a car and I think it was because she was afraid that we were going to leave her or that she would be taken away again.  The more we were in a car together the less upset she would get and in turn, not get sick.  By day 3 there was no more "incidents" but we still carried a bag with us just in case.

In the pictures below, you will see her friend Jhan, Jhan.  I think Jhan, Jhan and her were BFF's in the orphanage.  They were also adopted at the same time.  JJ is now living in Virgina with her new forever family.  If we look at the pictures with Mia, she gets excited and will talk and talk and talk about them.  I am starting to understand a little of what she is saying about them, but wish I could understand everything.  She does not get sad when she looks at them which both delights and amazes me since she was in such pain and agony crying out for her nanny and friends the first couple of days and especially in the middle of the night while she was sleeping.

I will post another "progress post" soon but all is well and good and we are SOOOOOO enjoying our little diva princess and all the joy she is bringing to our lives!  :)

Enjoy the pictures....  

It appears they occupied one floor of the larger building they were in

She talks about his little one quite a bit.  I can see why.  She is ADORABLE!  Good thing we did not go visit the orphanage or we may have had to take her with us! :)

Another one of her little friend

I am not sure if this was a nanny or not.  She does not call her mama so maybe it was just someone who came in to play them music.  Regardless Mia tells us she liked it when she played the piano for them. 

I guess this is playtime?  Not sure.

Not the most flattering picture, but this kinda cracks me up.  It shows her inner "tough girl".  :)  This is also a picture of her best friend Jhan, Jhan.  She still talks about Jhan Jhan today.  As you can see in pictures below, Jhan Jhan slept next to her in the crib line up.

I love to see that smile!  Notice the grass mats.  They just put blankets on them for the kids to sleep on.  Now I know why she was so uncomfortable for the first few weeks on a mattress.  It was just WAY too soft.  Poor thing.

A more serious pose and btw mama is NOT loving the shoes!  :)

Yes my sweet girl, we love you that much and more!  :)

This does not even look like my sweet, beautiful girl.  I know this was taken right before she came to be with us forever because of the cut by her eye.

This is a picture of her primary nanny.  She called and still calls her mama when she sees these pictures.  Mia LOVED her very much and I am so grateful for this woman for everything she did for Mia while we waited to come get her.  Words cannot express my gratitude for this dear soul.

We are not sure who the woman in the picture is.  Mia calls her I Ayi (pronounced I-E) which means Aunt.  This is what they call people who they know but are not nannies.  As you can see Jhan, Jhan is also in the picture.  Jhan, Jhan was adopted by a family in Virgina at the same time Mia was adopted.

Another nanny

I just had to add these next couple of ones.  They just DO NOT look like my sweet girl, but I cherish having them.  I cannot believe how much she has changed.

The crib line up.  Either she is tired or just not thrilled about having her picture taken again.

Again, the crib line up.

Yummy Yummy!

Just a quick update...

As many of you know Logan went back to school this week and to our surprise Mia has done wonderful!  I think it is because she is sleeping when Logan actually goes to school and has not watched him walk out the door with his backpack.  She asks for him a couple of times but seems to be happy with the answer "Logan is at school and will be home soon."

As I have posted in the past, one of Mia's biggest struggles is food.  Again, I totally understand this as there were plenty of meals in China that nothing that was put in front of me tasted good.  Yes, if I were starving I would have ate it, but who wants to be starving to eat and enjoy food?  Being a total foodie, I completely sympathize with my poor girl.  That said, tonight we went out to Naked Chop Sticks.  This is the third Asian place we have went to since having Mia and we knew it was probably the most authentic.  So, for the third time we ordered her dumplings (which she LOVED in China and has refused after one bite at both places).  She ate the first bite and said she liked them and then she ate another bite and another.  All off the sudden she started dancing in her seat and saying "yummy, yummy" in English and asking for more in Mandarin.  It was adorable.  She was actually dancing in her seat as if to say....THANK YOU...YOU PEOPLE FINALLY GOT IT RIGHT!  She ate, and ate, and ate.  She was so happy.

It appears we will be making a lot more trips out to the Naked Chop Sticks!  :)

Mama Mia!

This week has been so much fun and we are getting used to the chaos of life with two little ones!  We had forgot how much focus a four year old takes.  It seems like they go from one thing to the next every few minutes.  Some of her favorites are playdoh, playing babies, make believe dress up, cooking in her play kitchen, drawing, and stickers.  It is hard to keep up with them let alone the mess that follows.  :)

Mia continues to make huge leaps and bounds as far as adjustment.  She is now sleeping in her own bed!  Yes, I said her OWN BED, as in her OWN BED IN HER OWN ROOM!  WHOOOOOOOOO!  Love the little girl, but am super happy to have her in her own bed.  ;)  We really thought it would take months to make this transition happen but again she surprises us in the most delightful way.

She is understanding virtually everything we say to her.  She does not use her English words very often without being prompted.  I am thinking she is convinced she is going to teach us Mandarin.  In fact sometimes when we tell her the English word for something she will tell us no and tell us the Mandarin word.  Other times she will repeat it happily.  Regardless, we know her speaking English will come in time and are not worried.

She is not loving the transition to her American name Mia.  I fear it is because we mostly called her Jing Jing while we were in China expect for one night when she was taking a bath and she would shout "mama"  I would say back to her "Mia".  Of course I was calling her name like she was calling mine but now when we call her Mia, she says "Mia Mama".  When she says it over and over again, it sounds like Mama Mia.  Ugh.  :)  Sometimes when I just call her Mia she will tell me no Mia...Jing Jing.  The no is in Mandarin but I know what she is saying.  Sometimes she says no, your name is Mia and points to me.  Uh-oh!  Again, all in good time.  We love the name Jing Jing (it just seems to fit her) too but we do want her to have and know her American name as well.

She is such a funny girl.  She likes to joke around all the time.  She likes to mix up names of people and things and giggles.  She also thinks she is so funny when she is getting dressed and puts on her clothes wrong (backwards, on the wrong feet etc.).  When playing she will look at you while pretending to eat playdoh or whatever and just smile and giggle.  She also loves to make silly faces (as you can see below).

She is still very strong willed and I do not expect that to change.  I sincerely believe it is just a part of her personality.  Honestly, I love that side of her.  That said, when she gets into trouble, and I tell her to say sorry Mama, she will say sorry Mama, Baba (which means Dad).  She does it just so she is saying it her way.  Usually asking her if she wants to go to time out curves the behavior and she will say "sorry mama".  I used to do something similar when I was young.  When my dad would spank me I would try my very hardest not to cry, but eventually I did.  I was so mad that he made me cry (not caring about whatever I did that caused me to get a spanking in the first place) that as he was walking out of the room I would shout "didn't hurt".  Of course he would come back and spank me again.  We would go round and round like this until I finally learned to not say anything.  I remember my older brother telling me to just be quiet but I was so strong willed I just did not want anyone else to "win".  All that said, I TOTALLY understand her and would not change a thing about her.  Obviously my goal is to help mold that strong will into something positive and amazing.

Mia LOVES Kai Lan and also seems to really like Sesame Street.  I think both of those are great learning tools for her, especially for the language.  I love it when she repeats what they say and shouts at the TV.  I also love to hear her giggle when they do silly things.

Yesterday as she was going down for a nap, I could hear her sing a sweet little song in Mandarin.  LOVE IT!  :)

Food is continuing to be a challenge for Mia.  Right now she is pretty much living on fruit, noodles, french fries with a TON of ketchup (she uses one fry and licks the ketchup off it over and over again before she finally eats it - YUCK!) , chips and bread.  I know she would like more things if she would just try them but she just will not try most things.  If she does, it entails her sticking her tongue on it for a half a second and shaking her head no.  If she actually puts something in her mouth 90% of the time she spits it right back out.  Regardless she very rarely wants another bite.  NOT MY FAVORITE THING!  

Logan is being such a great big brother and again, I am so proud of his caring, nurturing spirit.  As you can see from one of the pictures below, without being prompted, Mia climbed up on the chair where Logan was playing on the computer and put her arms around him.  Although she practically took up the whole seat and I am sure was quite the distraction he did not seem to mind.  So stinkin' sweet.  We did have a bit of a melt down on New Years Eve.  We had my parents over and they invited him to spend the night.  We said he could go and thought Mia would be okay as he left for a play date the other day and she did great.  Anyway, when she saw his suitcase she LOST IT!  She cried like she did for her friend (and the girl who was in the crib next to hers) in China and that was just seeing his suitcase.  We think seeing the suitcase triggered something because her friends in the orphanage would pack a bag and she would never see them again.  We tried to calm her down but there was no consoling her.  Eventually we told Logan that it was just too early to leave her for the night and he could not go.  Then I had two crying kids.  He felt like it was Mia's fault that he could not go and of course that did not go over well.  We tried to explain it to him but all he was hearing was that he could not go like he was always able to do in the past.  It took about an hour for everyone to calm down.  NOT the way I wanted to spend New Year's Eve, but again, I totally get it and all in all it has been a fantastic transition for everyone.

I cannot say it feels like Mia has been here forever but I can tell you that it feels like she should have been.  Having her has been such a joy and such a blessing.  We love her more than anything and she completes our family in the most beautiful, amazing and fantastic way.

Our First Week Home...

Mia's adjustment continues to amaze us.  Everyday she is doing better and better.  Food still continues to be a challenge for her.  I sympathize with her because I really do remember what it was like in China when I just did not like anything that was put in front of me.  We did find out she liked ice cream cones although she did not know how to eat the cone.  Once I showed her, she had it down and the amazing thing is she did not drip a drop on her.  She is so particular and neat!  WHOOOOOOOOO!  I really hope we do not ruin her.  ;)

She is still sleeping in our room (on a toddler bed) and "waking up" several times in the middle of the night but she just tosses and turns, whines a bit, and goes back to sleep really quick.  I cannot help but wonder what she is dreaming about.  You can tell by her face she is really processing some heavy things.  She also talks in her sleep sometimes and it sounds pretty intense.  Sometimes she sounds like she is telling someone off.  I can only imagine what is going through her head right now.

Logan and Mia are also continuing to do great!  Logan is so nurturing and loving toward Mia.  I am so proud of him I could burst.  That said, Logan did tell me yesterday that he felt like Mia was getting all the attention.  I knew that day was going to come.  I am kinda bummed because I have been trying so hard to make him feel special.  I am sure it is tough going from being the only child to "insta" brother to a 4 year old little girl who speaks Mandarin.  And, the truth is, she IS getting a lot of attention but so is he.  Logan and I sat down and talked about it and he seems to totally understand, I just think he is going to have some tough moments.  I was a middle child (and Logan is so much like me) so I totally understand how he is feeling.

Separation is something we are continuing to work on with Mia.  When Logan went to play at a friends for an hour the other day, she absolutely lost it.  She cried, and cried Logan's name while standing at the window and looking for him.  She did not want to be comforted or distracted (although we tried).  After about 40 minutes we called Logan and when she heard his voice she stopped crying...until we hung up of course.  Logan being the great big brother came home for her.  I cannot blame her.  She has had so many people she loved just walk out the door and never come back.  It was not just her parents, it was also her nannies (who she loved dearly) and many friends who were adopted.  She is okay if she leaves with Mike or myself and telling the other one bye, but if she is the one being left it is not a good thing.  My parents stopped by yesterday to pick her up for a quick hour play date at their house and she had no problems telling us goodbye and going with them.  Apparently she was an angel so that is a relief.  Yesterday, I got my coat and shoes on and told her bye-bye.  She said, no, no, no.  I told her I needed to go bye-bye and that I would be right back.  I was only going to the mail box but wanted her to know that I will leave and come back.  Getting the mail seemed to be a good place to start with that lesson.  While she watched me leave and looked like she was going to cry, she did not.  Small baby steps!  We are getting there.

We have not had to use the time out chair for 2 days!  She is so agreeable and should she start to have a moment with attitude or telling us how it is going to be we just ask her if she wants to go to time out.  She shakes her head no and does whatever it is we need her to do.  I (and Mike) have always been a big believer in kids having boundaries.  We believe kids are much happier when they know what is expected of them and can predict the consequence should they make a bad choice.  I knew we would use time out with her but I did not know we would introduce it so soon.  I also did not know if she would respond to it the way Logan did.  We do use it different with her because she is adopted.  When we would put Logan in time out we would walk away and ignore him until the time out was over.  With Mia, and because being abandoned again is such a fear of hers (the nannies said that the only thing that scared Mia was being alone) we sit next to her but still do not talk or look at her.  Anyway, time out is definitely the thing that works for Mia.  Again, WHOOOOO for the time out chair.

She continues to be SUCH a joy playing with all her girly things and us experiencing all of her "firsts".  She cracks me up all the time.  She also warms my heart with her kisses and hugs and is now saying "I love you too Mama".  MELT!!!  Hearing her little footsteps as she runs here and there is so sweet.  The way she says "hello kitty" to our cat Alexi is too cute.  I just love, love, love this little girl.  

Mike and I are still a bit tired but nothing too major.  I am SO grateful for not getting sick either while we were in China or when we came home.  SO MANY people that I have followed over the years during their trips to China make coming home and getting on a new schedule as well as the adjustment period for the kids sound like a total nightmare.  I am happy to report it has been pretty good for us!  :)  Now it is time to start to introduce Mia to all our friends!  :)

That's all for now.

Happy New Year to all of you and God Bless!

We are home and completely in love!

We are home!  We left China on Christmas Eve (China time) and got home on the morning of Christmas Eve (America time).  The travel schedule home was brutal.  We flew from Guangzhou to Beijing in the evening and with a slight delay did not get into our hotel until 12 midnight.   That gave us 3 hours to sleep before we had to be up and get to the airport.  With all of our luggage (we had to add a couple of pieces with all our shopping) and a 4 year old who wanted to be carried non-stop, it was no small task.  Add that on to a little one (and 2 parents) who had not had any sleep....

I was totally dreading our 13 hour flight home with Mia.  I was so afraid that she was going to have melt downs about having to sit down and being bored.  To my delight and surprise (and I am sure because of the non-stop prayers going up) she did FANTASTIC!  Only one very small and short melt down.  She only slept for 3 hours and of course I would have loved her to sleep a bit more, but as long as she was not crying or upset, I will take it.

We thought the car seat and strapping her in was going to be the next HUGE mountain to climb (they do not use car seats in China and do not use seat belts often either).  Again, to our surprise, she did not mind at all.  After her sugar-free vanilla steamer from Starbucks, she fell asleep for the rest of the drive from Indy to Fort Wayne.  

Once we got home, she met Logan and my parents.  She instantly fell in love with Logan and they have been best friends ever since.  I am sure the newness will wear off, but my heart totally melts to see them together.  

So, as I had previously written, in China we had some pretty horrible melt downs (probably about 5 noteworthy ones) which resulted in her throwing herself on the ground, tearing off her clothes, arching her back (while we were trying to carry her up the elevator) and kicking and screaming at the top of her lungs and saying who knows what to us in Mandarin.  It was great.  Especially when we were in public (which was the case most of the time) when everyone was looking at the only Americans with a Chinese child and wondering if we were kidnapping or abusing the poor child.  I told you she has a very strong will.  :)  Anyway, after being home and forcing her to take a bath (which she absolutely loved) and then trying to get her to brush her teeth (also, not something we had any issue with in China) Mike busted out the time out chair.  She was so upset about being sat in a chair and not allowed to get up.  It appears that is exactly what she needed.  Now, any time we are having issues with her telling us how it is going to be, we simply ask her if she wants to go to time out and voila...instant princess, at least most of the time!  WHOOOOOOO!  So happy for the time out chair.  It has made a world of difference for her (and us).  

Getting back on a normal sleep schedule has been a bit difficult.  By 5-6pm, Mike, Mia and I are completely exhausted and want to do nothing but go to bed.  Of course that is not an option so we are doing our best to push ourselves to stay awake.  Mia is having a bit of a tough time in the middle of the night waking up several times.  For me it is much like having an infant although after helping her eat, potty or whatever, she goes back to sleep pretty quickly.  That said, she also is waking up around 5am - UGH!  She did NOT do that in China.  She really liked to sleep in.  I cannot wait for that to come back.  :)

Communication has been really easy.  We know a few words in Mandarin (enough to raise a four year old) and she can understand most of what we say to her.  It is AMAZING!!!

Food has been a challenge for Mia.  The first couple of days, she hardly ate anything and is reluctant to try new things.  On Christmas we even ordered Chinese and got her dumplings because she loved them in China.  She hated EVERYTHING we ordered and did not eat anything including the dumplings (I guess they were made different in China).   Poor thing had to be hungry.  By the 3rd day she ate her Ramen noodles and some fruit.  The Child LOVES her noodles.  Today she has already had two packs.   She even eats then with chopsticks which is pretty incredible to watch. 

Christmas was super fun.  It was very sweet.  She did not even know what do with the presents.  We had to show her how to open them.  It did not take her long to figure it out though.  She really loved all her girly princess things.  My house looks like a pink flamingo has blown up in it...and I LOVE IT!  :)

She was doing so well adjusting, we took her to the in-laws and although it took her about 15 minutes to warm up, she seemed to have a pretty good time.  

The next day, we went to my parents and she had a great time there as well.  

We could not ask for a better adjustment than we have been given with this sweet girl!

We are so truly blessed and cannot wait for you all to meet our wonderful little Christmas present.

Hot Chocolate on Christmas Morning!

Logan and Mia - First Christmas as a family of 4!

 

The 3 of us

My excited boy!

A mountain of presents!

Loving her princess things!

Relaxing with my little ones

Mike making the peace sign he learned from the hotties in China

Mia and her noodles

Check out all those noodles!

Helping Mom bake while eating

Day 9

Her TB result was good! So she is being sworn in as a US citizen tomorrow (Tuesday 12/20/2010) at 1:30pm. All of the legalities are complete. We start heading back home on Wednesday. We leave late afternoon for Beijing, and after a quick overnight stay we start the 13+ hour flight home. 

We've had a good day today, no real fits or anything. She's been pretty happy all day. She likes riding in a stroller around the island. She's a little too big for it, but we couldn't carry her anymore, she's too big and heavy. Lots of people stop and talk to her. Lots of people ask us what provence she is from because they say she is very beautiful. She has dimples when she smiles and it looks like she has two lines on each of her cheeks. She has a birth mark on her back as well. All of the shop workers like talking to her. An older woman, we are guessing 90 or so, came up to her and Debbie and was telling JingJing how lucky she is and how good Debbie was for taking care of her. At least that is what we are guessing. We've been told a lot of the older generation think the little girls are very lucky for going to America. Some of the younger generation doesn't really agree with Westerners coming over for the girls. But overall people have been really nice to us.

We figured out last night that she has used chopsticks, she understands how they work, but she is not the most efficient with them. We're guessing the orphanage just used spoons for everything.

Mike just uploaded some pictures but apparently China is not happy because we're now being blocked. We are unable to see them or add captions. Mike's guessing he's blocked because he has been tagging the previous photos with "China". It may be a fluke, but he's thinking not because we were able to access Flickr yesterday but not today. Many popular sites are blocked here. I can't edit my blog directly, we have to email in the updates. Hopefully everyone can see see the pics here, we'll add captions when we can:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkrisher/sets/72157625510583409/

Mike woke up this morning not feeling the best and thought for sure he was going to be sick for 24 hours, but it quickly passed. A number of people, including all of the males in our travel group have been sick, including vomiting. We've been lucky so far. We're getting tired though, it's been a long two weeks. Today was back to Shamian Island to get her TB results and then about 4 hours of shopping. The weather was great. Maybe 70 degrees and sunny. We picked up a lot. Prices are pretty good. Hopefully we can get it all back in our luggage. We learned some more about Shamian Island. All of the buildings are protected by the government. Most of the buildings are occupied by Europeans for their consulate offices and businesses. It's really pretty amazing. We've both said numerous times we could move here. The weather is nice, the people are nice. The currency exchange is in our favor. We didn't expect to really like China, but our vision of it was completely wrong. We have a lot more photos and videos that we haven't posted. We'll do more when we get back to the States and have a faster connection.

Tonight we think we are going to just get McDonalds and stay in, we are pretty tired. Hopefully JingJing will be as well, she didn't sleep well last night she kept having dreams and screaming no and yelling at someone (it was probably us). We can't take pictures at the swearing in ceremony unfortunately, but we may have more pics to post tomorrow depending on what we do afterwards.

She has learned some more english. She now says "no" maybe a quarter of the time and still uses the Mandarin word 75 percent of the time. She says "uh oh" now when something spills. She says "ketchup" all the time. She understands what "take a bath" means. She says "hota hota" when something is hot. She adds an a to a lot of words. She says "carry please" when she wants carried. She asks for "help". She says "open". She's working on "on" and "off". She's working on "no thank you". She says "I love you" but doesn't really know what it means. She understands "sit down". She understands what "all done" means, but still says the Mandarin version. She says "hello" and "bye bye" a lot. We expect she will probably speak mostly english within 4 months. She's picking up things pretty quickly.

I have to tell you this...I am completely amazed by this little girl.  She has been through so much in her short little life and at times it shows.  We have had some terrible drag down battles of will a couple of times but they are getting shorter and shorter each time.  She is realizing that we are the boss and that we love her without all the drama.  She is testing us for sure.  That aside, we are so completely in love with this little girl.  When I think of everything she has been through and is still willing to trust and love, it blows my mind.  I simply adore her and am so honored to be her mother.  This truly is the child I have been waiting and praying for.  She is so funny and cracks me up all the time.  She is also VERY STUBBORN and definitely has an opinion.  I can respect that!  :)  Ugh....words simply cannot describe how I feel.  Blessed...I guess blessed is the right thing.  I also feel completed.  I did not realize that I was not completed without her until I met her and that was it.  I cannot imagine breathing without her in my life.  Okay, starting to get all gushy.  I will post again when I can.  Miss you all but LOVING China and this special time with my incredibly amazing, strong, funny, loving, cute, girl.  Mike has also been such a loving and wonderful dad.  So proud of him.  I cannot describe how it feels to see him so smitten with his little girl.

Day 7 & 8

We left Nanjing yesterday and made our way to Ghuangzhou. The morning started out OK, but JingJing decided she didn't really want to pack, she just wanted to go and ended up throwing a fit and crying herself to sleep on the floor. After finally getting around, we took off for the airport hoping she wouldn't be car sick. We got lucky and she fell asleep in the car. Once at the airport we got checked in and said good bye to our guide Michael. He has spoken english for 20 years. He was really good at it. But he can't come to the States for more than 2 weeks, because China won't approve it. They are nervous that anyone over 30 will simply leave the country and never return if they leave for more than 2 weeks, so Visas are only granted for 2 weeks max. Nanjing was nice but we were looking forward to being with the other families in Ghuangzhou.

JingJing seemed pretty excited to see the planes. And was excited to get on ours. Unfortunately we sat there for a half hour after boarding. She grew tired of being strapped in during that time. Once we were moving she settled down some, but started looking like she wasn't feeling good. Luckily, she feel asleep again. After a quick 2 hour flight we landed in Ghuangzhou where it was 57 degrees. We were welcoming the warm up. It was as cold in Nanjing as it is in Fort Wayne. Ghuangzhou became Mike's favorite city to fly into at nighttime. It is a large city and everything is lit up. There is a river running through the middle and the bridges are lined with neon lights. The buildings are lit up like the casinos in Vegas. It was really amazing.

Once we reunited with our guide from Beijing, Allison, we were off to the hotel. JingJing did the car ride like a champ. She talked to us and played games on the iPad. She saw a picture of Logan on Mike's shoulders and decided she wanted to try that as soon as we got to the hotel. And the hotel is really really nice. 5 stars! A number of Americans work here as well. This is probably one of the nicest hotels Mike and I have ever stayed at. It is huge. The Paralympics are here right now as well, so the hotel is full. You have to put your bags through an airport scanner when you get here. That was a little strange. There are 4 restaurants and some shopping. There is a Starbucks downstairs and the McDonalds down the street delivers we've been told. Tomorrow we are doing some local Thai restaurant for lunch with the group and it is supposed to be really good.

Today was her medical exam. All seemed to go well, except at the end when she got her TB test. She was not happy about getting a shot in her forearm. She cried for a good twenty minutes. For some reason she has been all about Mike today. She wanted him to carry her all day. Wanted to sit with him all day. Had to go downstairs with him to get bottled water and soda. Today has been the first day she has chosen Mike over me. We're thinking it is because I woke her up and got her dressed. She can hold a grudge.

After the medical we walked around Shamian Island. It was amazing. Mike and I both feel like we could see ourselves moving to Ghuangzhou. The city is really nice. Shamian Island is really cool. Lots of parks and old english style buildings. Mike posted pictures of people doing Tai Chi in the park. We ate outside. It was mid sixties and completely sunny, that was nice. After getting back to the hotel we did our final set of paperwork and paid our last fee. We should be getting her Visa on Tuesday or Wednesday so we can leave. She threw a fit while we were doing the paperwork. Mike took her back to the room with him to retrieve some papers he had left. She screamed and cried the whole way up to the room. She has some lungs, everyone looks at us, it is quite embarrassing. Once up in the room she learned how dad say no very sternly. Up to this point we've kind of spoiled her but she's testing us now that she realizes we are her parents, so it's time to start correcting her. She's not happy about it. So we've had a couple of meltdowns like we've anticipated with adopting a toddler. She doesn't like being told no, but the screaming afterwards is getting shorter already.

It's been a long two days and we are beat. She hasn't had a nap today at all so we are hoping she'll pass out early and we can get some sleep. Tomorrow should be relatively easy. We have a group photo and then some shopping and leisure. We are learning more and more Mandarin every day. We can't understand every single sentence or understand the songs she sings, but we are able to communicate much better every single day. And this girl loves watermelon. I think she ate a whole melon last night at dinner. That and about three things of Strawberry mousse. And everything she wears has to be pink. Talk about particular!

Unless her TB test comes back bad on Monday (which it looks fine, so we should be fine), we are in the final stretch and should be taking the oath to make her a US citizen, Tuesday at 1:30.

Pics from yesterday: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkrisher/sets/72157625495917105/

Pics from today: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkrisher/sets/72157625622228054/

First post from China

First I am so sorry for the delay in getting this first post up.  

Day 1 -  December 11th - The Great Wall

The flights went pretty good.  Amazingly I slept a good portion of it.  That was a feet in and of itself as I never sleep on planes.  Apparently the mix of a couple of glasses of wine before the flight and a couple of sleeping pills is all you need.  Who knew?  :)  Mike slept some but not as much as me.  Our flight leaving Chicago was delayed so we did not get in until 2:30am.  Our poor guide Alison had to pick us up so late.  We felt really bad.  We got into our room and to bed around 3:30am.  The hotel was clean and nice but the room was SUPER HOT and no air conditioner to cool it down (and the windows did not open)  It also had a pungent smell like roses meets cloves.  CRAZY and not so pleasant.  As I was warned several times, the board, I mean the bed was as hard as it could be.  Temperpedic has some serious work to do over here in China!  :)  

We slept for 3 hours and had to get up to meet our group for breakfast and then we were off to see The Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City and Olympic Park.  Despite the lack of sleep, the day was amazing!  Our guide Alison is THE BEST!!!!  We really scored with her.  Learning about Beijing, all the history and where they are today is fascinating.  It is so interesting to me that we have come half way around the world, but yet they people are the same.  They go to work, they have children to care for, they feel the pressures of the economy and providing.  They are also kind, giving, caring and love to talk on their cell phones just like we do!  Beijing is much like Manhattan although we did not see as many people.  The city has 17 million people living in it today so I kept wondering where everyone was.  

My favorite part of the day was climbing and I do indeed mean climbing the Great Wall.  The climb was very steep and at times very difficult but the view from the top was amazing!  I could not help but reflect that this adoption process has been much like climbing the Great Wall.  At times it has been very difficult and I wondered if I could go on, but one step at a time we kept going and now we are just moments from reaching the top.  

Because I cannot post pictures (my blog is blocked in China) here is a link to Mike's Flickr account where you can see pictures!  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkrisher/sets/72157625580239828/

More than anything, I want to thank all of our amazing friends and family who have sent us countless good wishes and have sincerely held us up in prayer.  Your encouragement and kind words have given me so much strength.

Day 2 - December 12th - Fly to Nanjing

Today we flew to Nanjing.  This is where we will meet Mia tomorrow.  We got up and had breakfast, and got off to the airport pretty quickly.  2 other families in our group got to meet their children today!  Our flight was only a couple of hours long completely uneventful...just the way I like them.  We met our new guide Georgina.  She does not hold a candle to Alison (Georgina is young and pretty quiet and shy) but is very nice.  She took us to the hotel and we checked in and unpacked for the next 5 days.  It is crazy to think that tomorrow by this time, we are going to have our little girl with us!  Anyway, there is a fantastic western mall connected to the hotel.  There is also a small chinese grocery store which is super helpful for picking up water, soda etc.  

The restaurants are pretty cool, but I am having a tough time with the food.  I am such a steak and potatoes (yes I know I do not eat potatoes but I really do love them) kinda girl.  Mike is findig the local cuizine to be more appetizing than myself.  That said, I am trying to be a good sport and am trying lots of new stuff.  At dinner I told mike I was a little frustrated because I was so hungry and nothing tasted good.  It was at that moment when I really realized this is how Mia is probably going to feel about our food.  I need to remember this and how it feels for her.  

I am perplexed by a trend I see here.  Apparently when a little boy needs to go potty, they do not go the the bathroom, they just simply pull their pants all the way down, whip out their little parts and go.  If they are on the street, no problem they just go right there.  If they are indoors, their mom holds a bag for them to go in.  I seriously almost died when I saw this happening, knowing there was a public, nice, clean western restroom right down the hall (we were in the mall).  

The women here are simply stunning.  Not only are they beautiful, they have a wicked sense of style that I could only dream of.  Their petite little bodies rock the fashion with incredible ease.  I LOVE to people watch and here is absolutely no exception.

The little kids are so fun here.  They see us and they just stare and smile.  Some of them wave.  When I say hello to them in English they get all excited and giggle.  It is great.  We found that it seems like saying hello to us in english is fun to the Chinese people.  Many times people just walk up and say hello.  They seem to get a kick out of it.  It is so funny to me.  I cannot imagine going up to someone just because of how they look and speaking to them in another language, but here it is not a melting pot like the US so we definitly stand out.  That said, the chinese people have been so wonderful and nice.  We really love it here.  I honestly did not know what to expect, but the people have far exceeded my expectations.

Tomorrow is the big day!  We FINALLY get to meet our sweet Mia.  We were told today that she is very excited and has been telling anyone who comes to the orphanage that her mommy and daddy are coming for her.  I am SOOOOOO happy to hear that.  I really hope the information is accurate and she indeed is excited for this new adventure.

Day 3 - December 13th - Gottcha Day

Okay, so it is 1am in the morning and I cannot sleep.  I am so excited to get our sweet Mia!  I know I need to sleep but instead I thought I would write a few thoughts.  

1.  I pray that Mia has been prepared as much as she could be.

2.  I pray that God gives me the wisdom to know what do do and say to her to make her comforitable and happy that I am going to be her new mom.

3.  I pray that I have patience and understanding at all times since Mia is going to be going through such change.

4.  I pray for her birth mother and family

5.  I pray that we can be the family she needs and deserves

6.  I pray that I do not do the ugly cry when I meet her :)

Day 3 - December 13th - Gottcha Day Part 2

WOW!  What an experience....

It took about 20 minutes by car to get to the Civil Affair Office where we would meet and take Mia home from.  When we arrived, we immediately saw her nannies and saw our beautiful little girl.  I have played this moment a gaziilion times over the last 5 and a half years and what it would be like.  It was NOTHING like I expected and hoped for.  Mia took one look at me and started crying REALLY HARD!  She would not go near Mike.  Her nannies told us she gets car sick really bad (because she is never in cars) and had gotten pretty sick multiple times on the way to the Civil Affairs Office.  That coupled with the fact that she was scared out of her mind was really tough to go through.  She did not want to come to us but once we busted out the Skittles, we had her...or at least I thought.  When it was time to go, she did not want to get in the car and cried herself to sleep on me on the way back to the hotel.  Once we got up into the room....um....OH MY GOODNESS!  My dear sweet girl has a set of lungs on her.  She was crying for her nannies and telling our guide that she wanted to go back and that she did not like me.  Of course I was CRUSHED but I totally understood and had honestly prepared for the worst.  This was the worst for me.  She told them she was scared of Mike and did not like me.  They told us not to worry and this sometimes happens and just to stay calm and she will come around in a day or two.  I honestly never thought it would happen that soon.  The good news is that when she would cry, she would let me hold her and comfort her.  She told our guide that she wanted to get some dumplings.  I was happy to hear she wanted to eat!  At the restaurant she wanted me to feed her.  Remember, this little girl has been doing EVERYTHING for herself and is completely capable of feeding herself.  Of course I did not pass up this perfect opportunity to bond with her.  WIthin minutes she was smiling and then laughing!  WHOOOOOO!  We continued to laugh and play all afternoon (she loves ALL things girly and her favorite color is pink).  It was WONDERFUL and I could not believe that she could come so far in a matter of hours.  She LOVED her bath and the stickers I put on her nails.  She was also giving us hugs and kisses and telling us she loved us.  SOOOOOO sweet!  It then came time that she should be going to bed.  She was adorable in her new jammies and all of the sudden, her smiles turned to a very serious face.  She cried just a little bit and I held her until she went to sleep.  I then tried to take off her coat (which she would not take off all day) and that was it.  She woke up and SCREAMED a gut wrenching scream for another 10 minutes or so.  Needless to say, I did not fight the coat battle and let her sleep in it.  She woke up off and on all night crying in her sleep but never completely woke up.

The pictures from today are uploaded to Flickr here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkrisher/sets/72157625595597876/

Day 4 - ADOPTION DAY!

It is official. She is ours!  When we woke up she was great.  We skyped with Mom, Dad and Logan, and then we were off to make the adoption legal here in China.  Poor Mia got sick again in the car (wondering how we are going to get through the 14 hour flight home but we will figure that out when we get there). We did not realize her nannies were going to be there and I was really worried about how she would react to seeing them again.  She REALLY loves them.  She ran up and talked and talked to them.  We signed our paperwork, took group pictures.  To our surprise when we were getting ready to leave, she waved to them and said bye, bye and was ready to go.  No tears, nothing!  On the way home she told our guide that she loved her mama and båba but love her mama just a little more than båba (båba is daddy in Chinese).  Success!  Not that she said she loved me a little more than Michael but because she said she loved BOTH of us!  :)  It is truly amazing what can happen in 24 hours.

Once we got home, we went and had lunch at McDonalds and then it was off to get Mia some new clothes and shoes!  She is so funny. She decided to put on a show putting her jacket on backwards and wearing her headband over her eyes. The girl loves her french fries and ketchup. She doesn't like cheeseburgers so much. Chicken nuggets seemed to work though. She loves dipping things. The night before she ate a full bowl of noodles. Just kept eating and eating and eating. Mike couldn't have finished that bowl. And that was after a full day of eating sweets.

After eating her and båba went to play at the indoor playground while Georgina and I went to shop for some clothes for her. She needed a new jacket. We thought it might be a battle switching to a new jacket, but surprisingly she loved her new pink jacket. She is always so cold, so we need to find her some more pants. We were able to find her some Ugg boots. She seems to like them so far. After shopping and playing our guide left and we spent the night do some more shopping and Skyping with Logan back home. We took her out to buy some toys to play with in the hotel room. She wil tell us yes or no if she likes something. More times than not though, she tells us no. She is so innocent and doesn't understand what it means to take something home to keep.

The first half of pics from today are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkrisher/sets/72157625595814818/

There are a few things we have definitely learned about our dear sweet girl in 48 hours.

1) She gets cold. She has to have her hood up when outside.

2) Her things from the orphanage are very important to her

3) She likes sweets!!!!!!!

4) She likes to be out walking around

5) She likes pink and pretty things

6) She can seriously eat

7) She is very self sufficient, she takes care of herself a lot, very mature

8) She is particular, big time, her sleeves have to be done, her sweater buttoned up, her jacket can't be on without being zipped

More to come later, we have to get out and get some breakfast and fill ourselves up. Finding food hasn't been too bad, but a lot of things can't be eaten because of the water. They have a Starbucks here, we may get brave and try that today as well. Americans certainly make their lives hard living how we live and it comes out when traveling abroad.