Blogs from Zhengzhou, Henan, China, Asia - page 5

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Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou September 18th 2010

Greetings All! Yesterday we traveled a couple hours by bus with our adoptive travel group to visit the Shaolin Temple. It was definitely more commercialized than we expected but still a fascinating place. Sweet baby Julia continues to be an amazingly well regulated and content baby. She cries only briefly when she is hungry or upset about being left for a moment but quickly returns to her even-tempered happy disposition. The trip yesterday was exhausting for all the families by the end of the long day and Julia was the one baby still plugging happily along. She continues to bond well, smiling even more often and enjoying our comforting in a variety of situations ranging from stressful to relaxed. She is particularly happy and playful as I write this post this morning. Thanks for everyone well-wishes. ... read more
Baby Julia in the back pack.
Sleeping with Mama on the bus.
Emma feeding Baby J at breakfast.

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou September 17th 2010

Greetings All! We are starting our 3rd day with baby Julia and, in short, it all continues to unfold like a wonderful dream. The little inevitable hurdles which come up in every day are nothing compared to how happy we are to be with Baby Julia! I write to you at 3:30 am local time during Julia’s single night feed. She is a good sleeper and seems to wake up just once a night for feeding. Yesterday we completed her adoption in the eyes of the Chinese Government by signing countless papers written completely in Chinese characters. (One of the most important legal documents we’ve ever signed but we can’t even read the large print much less the fine print. One more example of how much Trust is involved in the adoptive process.) Although we don’t ... read more
Playful Julia.
Julia docked with Mama
Julia gazing at Mama on the bus home from signing the adoptive paperwork.

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou September 16th 2010

We are overjoyed to announce the uniting of Baby Julia Rose An Campbell with her Forever Family! The past 18 hours have been a whirlwind of joy and excitement. We are so happy to let everyone know that “Gotcha Day” went perfect! Baby Julia is a sweet and beautiful little babygirl! The day was filled with intense anticipation and focused connection. It’s all Good! At the government building where we met her, we signed paperwork attesting to be her legal guardians for the coming days while awaiting confirmation next week of her formal adoption into our family. Then we finally got to take her back to the hotel! She is doing well despite a mild fever, ear infection, and an orphanage rash. (These are all typical and expected issues.) She fed vigorously immediately upon receiving her ... read more
Shannon with baby Julia.
PIcture of a picture.
Emma with Julia on the bus to the hotel.

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou September 15th 2010

The Big Day is finally upon us and unfolding before us! In just a few hours we will leave the hotel together here in Zhengzhou and travel to a local government building to unite with Baby Julia. There is nervous excitement and happy anticipation among all the families including ours. Everyone is holding up well though. It is a truly momentous occasion! We’re staying in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Zhengzhou and it is quite nice, the finest hotel in the city it would seem. The agency chose it because it has non-smoking rooms (often difficult to find in China) and because the rooms are larger than most (better to accommodate the baby's crib). Our travel to Zhengzhou was uneventful. As we left Beijing, the baseline air pollution was unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed short of ... read more
Beijing Traffic and Thick Air.
The aircraft control tower from the runway at Beijing International Airport.
The runway at Beijing International Airport

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou August 16th 2010

Hi All, Just a few photos of this weekend. We had it italian style, we found a restaraunt that does foreign food on Saturday and it's only a short bike ride from our flat. Yesterday we went to the park and had a picnic. Enjoy Jah Bless... read more
Me and Spaghetti
Ferragosto Zhengzhou 2010
Ferragosto Zhengzhou 2010 (4)

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou August 13th 2010

Very close to our hotel, just a few blocks really, is a wonderful community park, a world away from the traffic and noise in the rest of the city. We have gone there both mornings that we have had free time, cannot seem to get there early enough to see elderly men and women doing the slow graceful movements of tai chi, but still get there in time to see other activities, such as musicians playing primitive music with ancient instruments, children riding scooter cars, and men engrossed in lengthy games of chinese checkers. Parks are the epicenter of all leisure life, and you cannot truly see another culture until you spend time in one. This park reminds us so of Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, where we would see tai chi at dawn, children ... read more
In the Park
Jin and Dada
Boys Climbing Sans Pants

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou August 11th 2010

Again with the typing in the dark. I wonder if I can do this at home. I feel pretty calm. Jin is, as usual, attached to Allen's hip and they are out for a walk. Bao is sprawled out on the bed. Now he has an eye infection. We are so hopeful that it is isolated from the eye injury as it is in the same eye. Still, he was the first one in the play room both days, and they are notorious for pink eye germs. Luckily, we have eye drops and again will have to wait and see. Bao is deep in sleep after the traumatic cleaning and reapplying of the bandage at the hotel doctor's office that took place earlier today. Fortunately, the doctor has a really big fish in a fishtank and ... read more
Why Do People Think
Henan Provincial Museum
Little Buddha Bookends

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou August 11th 2010

Bao slept for 12 hours last night and it appears to be just what we needed for his injury to start healing. Thanks so much for all of your comments and good wishes. Really appreciate it. He awoke with his bandage off but we just put another one on with more of that powder. As long as we can avoid injury today....We are going to the Henan Provincial Museum today and both boys are going to be strapped into their strollers the entire time. At least, this is my plan....we are going to visit the hotel doctor again today. She has really taken to Bao and he doesn't seem to mind being around a doctor because she has a fishtank in her office with a huge fish. In all of this bedlam, forgot to attach some ... read more
Boys Admiring Cherry Blossoms
The Three Boys
Bao Passed Out

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou August 11th 2010

Okay, am starting to see what people mean when they say that when you have one child, the parents can still control. When you have two, it is really more like twelve. We took the boys downstairs to breakfast this morning, which began in a general atmosphere of peace and calm. How quickly it degenerated. Bao insisted on taking his milk in a coffee cup which means that the chair he was sitting in (because he refused the highchair) got most of the milk. Jin decided today to toddle around the breakfast area and show all of the diners the egg in his mouth. Bao ran between a waiter's legs while he was attempting to balance a number of trays. The entire area dissolved into chaos within, what seemed like, mere seconds. And am so embarrassed ... read more
Bao Swinging From the Counter
Boys on the Lamb
Jin in Full Glory

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou August 10th 2010

Well, the day started off pretty peaceably, actually, pretty well really. We awoke leisurely and went down to have our first breakfast meal together as a family. Jin did great, he ate watermelon, yogurt, egg and cereal and smiled quite a bit at breakfast. We had to do registration and notary paperwork today, so were just preparing to meet everyone in the lobby when Allen said "Bao split his eye open!" Heart in my mouth, I rushed over and he was bleeding heavily and screaming from a pretty steep cut above his eye (thankfully not in his eye). There is a marble sill that runs along the length of our window and Allen said he slipped on it. We cleaned it and bandaged it and raced down to the lobby to go, but it started really ... read more




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