We're Home

Again apologies for posting so late. After three plane rides, leaving late out of Guangzhou, racing to get on our Hong Kong flight for 13 hours and then again lagging through customs, racing to get on our Chicago flight and finally getting into Manchester airport at 8:15pm on Saturday night, it goes without saying, we are glad to be home!

Of course, mom smuggled in a Chinese apple through customs and I was the one that got caught with it. While she was getting the luggage, I was standing by our carry on's and the cutest little beagle dog came up to us, and start scratching at mom's carry on bag (her new large coach bag of course!). The agricultural officer asked if I had any food in the bag. I said of course, bagels, oreos, skittles, potato chips and continued to rattle off our bag of goodies. She asked if we had any fruit or meats, of course not, why would I have any healthy food! Then, she stuck her hand in and pulled out an apple! Big No No! You can't bring fruit into the US because of bugs and disease. So, they made a big mark on our customs forms.

After getting our luggage, we had to go to immigration, which is now a new process. We had to give our paperwork along with everyone else and then take a seat. TAKE A SEAT, I THOUGHT, we have another flight to make. One by one they did everyone's paperwork and we saw them off, about 45 minutes later they finally called my name and let us through.

We then needed to put our luggage through the customs xray machine and go half way around the airport to the domestic flights, which luckily for us was running late due to weather or we would have missed the flight. It was a short 1 hour and 45 minutes later and we touched down in Manchester.

We were greeted by friends and family and were so happy to be home, until we learned not all of our luggage made it. So, we needed to fill out a form to have it delivered.

We got home about 9:30pm or so and stayed up for a few hours. We all had trouble sleeping that night.

On Sunday, Fawn and Skylar, Barbara, Leslie and Aniah came over to see the baby. The rest of us looked horrible as we didn't have much sleep and our makeup was in our lost luggage.

We had a good night's sleep Sunday night and my clock re-set. We went and visited some friends on Sunday for a few hours and are now getting back to life.

Today is Tuesday, Olivia is at school. I am officially back at work and mom is at work as well.

Boy is it good to be home!

Guangzhou Zoo and Hanging Out At The Pool

Not much going on. Today we ventured out to the Guangzhou Zoo to see the Giant Panda. Although, Lee told us that the panda is pretty lazy and doesn't do much. We also saw lions, tigers, monkeys, elephants and all that you would expect to see at the zoo. It was extremely, extremely hot and humid. The group sweated more than we ever had and were glad to leave when we did. It was hotter than Florida in August.

We have also been playing at the pool, which is pretty funny. The pool closes from 10:30am - 3:00pm each day, which is ridiculous since that is prime swimming time. So, at the 3pm the entire group heads down to the pool. There are many many rules at the pool, no playing in the water for one, you can only swim!

The group is very ready to come home. Tomorrow Thursday 5/24 is Lexi's 1st birthday as well as our consulate appointment for her visa to come home. So, Lee submits all paperwork on Thursday and we need to stay in our rooms to see if they have any questions. If all goes well, we go to the swearing in ceremony on Friday and then the visa is issued and were ready to come home.

We will be leaving for the airport Saturday morning at 7am. I will try to post one more time before then, but I hope to see many of you there.

Lexi is doing great, she can walk a few steps and she is much chunkier than Olivia was. Olivia has her moments of jealousy be we were very lucky she has some friends to play with on the trip. She has also said she doesn't want to leave China. But the rest of us do! Wishing we were home sooner, can't wait to see you all on Saturday night!

Until then.

Dong Fang Hotel

We moved over to the Dong Fang Hotel yesterday afternoon and was also able to enjoy some Double Cheeseburgers and Chicken McNuggets at McDonalds. The shopping isn't as good over here on the mainland and the internet access is much more expensive. So, I will only pay for a day here or there this week. Although, we did find more coach bags and will be visiting the shop today for an exclusive look in the warehouse.

All the parents are ready to go home, two weeks here is a lot. Lexi, Livey and me have the cold now with sore throats, not sure if it is the pollution or a virus going around.

Today we get our Visa paperwork ready for the Consulate appt on Thursday 5/24.

It has been raining the last few days, so we haven't been able to do much out of the hotels. We are hoping to go to the zoo this week to see the Giant Panda.

Next report will probably be in a few days, so don't get nervous if you don't hear from us.

Birthday Party and Red Couch Photos

Today we move over to the other hotel, so I hope I have the same internet access when we get over there. We will meet back up with the group that travelled to Chongqing to get their babies.

Last night, we celebrated a Birthday Party for the four girls who either turned one already or our about to turn one. Aleisa purchased a chinese birthday cake and we had some balloons and small gifts for the girls. Special thank you to Aleisa, Christine and Tanya for the birthday gifts.

Also, it is tradition to take pictures of the babies on the red couch at the White Swan Hotel. Here is pic of all the girls.

Lexi is crawling and can stand up by herself. She has even taken one step!

Not much else going on today.

Park Play

Yesterday was pretty uneventful. Olivia didn't feel well in the morning and Nana didn't feel well all day. I think it is motion sickness. The buiding sways ever so slightly and we are over looking the Pearl River, which gives you the feeling of motion. I borrowed some Dramamine from our friends and are now taking some just to keep from feeling like we are swaying.

This morning we did some more shopping as we only have one more day on Shamian Island and then we go over to the mainland. Today we picked up Coach pocketbooks for $20, some clothes for Lexi and Olivia and some trinkets, as well as a $10 suitcase to get everything home in.

Tonight at 7pm we are holding a birthday party for all the babies. I will have pics of that next time.

Here are a few pics from the park this morning.

Big Sister Little Sister

Since I couldn't upload the gotcha moment, I thought this quick video would bring a smile to your face.

Click Here To View:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3xNFvFZS3g

Medical Exam and Chinese Passport Day

Thursday was the day for Lexi's medical exam. The group walked as a group to the medical center. Olivia stayed back at the hotel with Nana just so she didn't catch any weird disease. As we walked to the center, we saw kindergarten children walking in a line with their teacher, each holding a loop of the rope which was tied around their wastes. After passing by the park, we came across military trainees practicing in the park. It was quite odd, walking passed them, stepping over their machine guns and knifes. I can only hope they weren't real. Everything went good, she weighs 19.8 pounds and is chunkier than Olivia was. She also has larger wider feet than Olivia. On the walk home, I stopped to take a picture of the military group, but I guess I was a little to close with the camera. As 20-30 of them at the same time, yelled NO PHOTO!!!, I gestured like "OOPS, am I bad". It was pretty funny, we all started laughing as I was saying I was probably going to Chinese jail. Just after that happened the lucky bird pooped on Olivia's friend Meredith's mom (Shana). We also saw this couple dressed for a wedding, we think it was a photo shoot, but it could have been a bride and groom as they traditionally take their photos a day or two earlier than the wedding.

We played at the pool again for a few hours, and then Lexi and I had to go apply for her chinese passport. We really don't have any other official business until 5/24 which is the American Consulate appointment to get her visa to immigrate into the US.

At night we did a lot of shopping. We purchased some porcelain dolls that represent the provinces that Olivia and Lexi are from. We also purchased one for another Chinese girl we know that has a birthday in May (Guess Who)! We bought some clothes and shoes. We also got Olivia a purple jade necklace that says in chinese characters Big Sister Little Sister. Lexi got a happiness circle necklace for when she is older. We also purchased a pink puppy dog (Dragon Like) puppet for the girls to hang in their bedroom and Olivia can bring it to school to show her friends. We purchased paper lanterns for Olivia's classmates. Some gifts for when the girls are older and the Beijing Friendlies pins (which are the olympic mascots).

Olivia wanted me to mention that she is so very proud of Lexi, as yesterday Lexi did her poop and pee on the toilet when I held her over it and said "Cluck Cluck". I guess this is something that the orphanage does and it worked for us.

Today, some of the group is going sightseeing, but we chose to stay behind at the hotel as it is so hot out and we have already done the city sightseeing last time.

The picture of the waterfall is from inside the hotel. Isn't it beautiful!

Here are a few pics to enjoy!

Guangzhou Day 3

Well today it is official. I have officially adopted Baby Lexi and according to the Chinese Government I can live freely with her. Now, if I want to live back in the United States I still need to get her a chinese passport, medical exam and US visa. All, this will be done over the next few days.

After our official visits this morning, we enjoyed some play time out at the pool. Have I mentioned if you stop rocking, moving or holding Lexi, she cries. I think my mom wished this crying baby on me since Olivia was so good. She is really a good baby and when she isn't crying I can get some giggles out of her. She also likes to suck her thumb, which I find so funny. You hear the sucking noise all night. And to get her to finally all asleep at night, I had to move her crib in front of the tv, so she can watch the movement.

Well that is it for now, here is a pic or two and I will email the rest.

If Debbie or Krystal can email me at sbullock46@verizon.net I need to tell them about their etchings they ordered.

Until tomorrow....

Gotcha Day (Yesterday)

Sorry this post is a day late.

Yesterday at 10:00 am we had our meeting to prepare for getting the babies. At 1:45pm we loaded onto the bus on the way to the Civil Affairs Office. As I was the experienced mom, I told all the new moms and dads to be quiet as we entered and you will hear the babies.

As we got off the elevator and waited for the next group to come up, everyone was silent and in the distance you could hear the littlest cries and goos. Olivia alerted the new families, that the babies were saying I want my mommies and daddies. Of course, that started everyone crying. Everyone was a bundle of emotions. We made our way into the holding room and all the families found a seat. The wooden doors were ajar and you could see a half dozen babies sitting on the floor and couch, just waiting to see their new families. It is hard to tell which baby is ours. But, Nana guessed the little one in the hot pink outfit.

We needed to fil out some paperwork and make sure other paperwork was correct. Then, Lee, said, ok families get your cameras ready. First up, was our friends Tanya and Jason, they were so nervous and excited. One by one the families were called up and greeted their new little one. About half way through it was our turn. I told Olivia I had to go up first. Lexi came to me very cautiously, I then bent down and let her be introduced to Olivia. Olivia was so excited. These babies just arrived after a six hour trip in a hot van up from the orphanage. Many babies were crying, including Lexi and some fell asleep. The room was very hot as well. Lexi only wanted me to stand up and rock her, no sitting, keep moving.

We had a chance to ask the nannies some questions, although we were told that the answers may not be facts but just an answer. The only question I asked was which other baby was her crib mate. The answer was none, they all had there own crib.

Afterwards, we thanked the orphanage director and presented gifts.

We got back to the hotel and Lexi cried all evening. Olivia pushed up and down the hallway in the stroller to try to make it easier for her. Nana had to babysit while I went to fill out some more paperwork for today. For soothing, Lexi reaches out for a blanket or your shirt to hold onto. She will search around the bed until she finds a spot to grab onto.

Olivia fell asleep and we finally got Lexi to take a bottle and some rice cereal. I was eating pizza while holding her and she opened her little mouth to have some. She only has her two top teeth in, so she sucked on the pizza a little.

After everyone fell asleep, I put her in her crib and finally got some smiles out of her.

Today, we go back to the Civil Affairs office to complete the adoption process.

I also took a video of the Gotcha Moment, which I have been trying to upload unsuccessfully. But, I will try again today.

Have I told you how hot it is! UGGHH!!

Let's hope for a happy day with no crying. Here are a few pics from yesterday.

Nice to be in Guangzhou

Aahh, it is so nice to finally be in Guangzhou. We left Beijing in the morning and arrived a short three hours later. Boy is it hot here! After arriving at the hotel, we found our way to Lucy's. Lucy's is an American style eatery. We were so happy to have some grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, french fries and corn on the cob.

After lunch, Olivia got to play around at the pool and made many more friends. Today was pretty much a free afternoon. Tomorrow morning (Tuesday), we have a group meeting at 10:00 am and the babies will arrive in the afternoon.

Not much to report today, enjoying our first day in Guangzhou.

Here is a picture of the great wall from yesterday!

Beijing Tour

Today started with a breakfast in the hotel. I enjoyed some noodles, and a pancake with sugar. Olivia had noodles and Nana had toast. I would have loved a bagel.

We spent the morning touring, Tianamen Square and The Forbidden City. It was about 90degrees out and a long walk that felt like miles. Nana got overheated and had to stop often to rest. Olivia didn't understand what the big deal was over the empty buildings. But, it was quite impressive seeing the palace and how large the entire area really was. After the Forbidden City, we stopped at the Jade Factory and picked up a trinket called the Happiness Ball.

Then, we stopped for lunch and ate 1 tablespoon of boiled rice and really nothing else, although Olivia enjoyed a piece of watermelon. We shopped again at the Friendship Store. The prices in Beijing are quite higher than I remember that they were in Guangzhou, so again we just picked up a few things.

After, the shopping we headed to the Great Wall. Boy was it impressive. We only made it up to the first platform as it was such a hot day and it was too steep to climb.

We then headed to the Pearl Market and for dinner, where they served SPAGHETTI!! We all have a full belly and it is just about time for us to go to bed. We are heading to Guangzhou in the morning and I will report back from them tomorrow.

We will not be getting Lexi until Tuesday.

We Are In China!

Hello All, sorry it has taken so long to post, I had some technical problems but am finally up and runny.

Well, we left Manchester NH on Friday and arrived in Washington, DC twenty minutes early for our 4 hour layover. We had a great breakfast and did a little shopping for Papa. While we waited for our flight to Beijing, Olivia made friends with Shelby and Kate who are travelling to China to get their 18mos old baby sister.



She also met Lauren who was travelling to get an 8 year old big brother and Jessica, who is of Chinese decent travelling with her parents to visit China.

The plane ride from Washington to Beijing was very long, our seats weren't too bad, food was ok. We watched 5 movies if you can believe that. Olivia got ansy the last 5 hours, and then during landing got motion sickness and threw up in the bag!

We got off the plane, with Tanya and Jason Jones and found our way to our Guide Sym and Miranda no problem. We were sent in a Mercedes back to the hotel, where Olivia got sick again during the car ride.

I think she is fine now and it was just motion sickness, as I found out on the later flight 50 people got sick due to the turblence.

Tanya, Jason and I ventured out to the grocery store for some sodas and I also went to KFC for some mashed potatoes, which was pretty funny as I bought two sets and they ended up being the size of a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Didn't fill us up too much.

We fell asleep by 6:30pm on Saturday and at midnight we were up talking to each other. I had to call housekeeping because the toilet got all backed up, he fixed that and then I ended up kicking the door stop with my toe. OUCH!!

It is 5:00 am on Sunday, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! and we are off to do some touring today.

I will post later on our days events.

Leaving On A Jet Plane....

Early tomorrow morning, we are finally leaving on the jet plane..... Here is a pic of us at the Highlander Inn in Manchester, NH. We had a really nice dinner with Grampy Russ and "Other" Nana at TBones and are resting in our hotel room. We will be up at 4am and off to the airport.

Our next post will be from China! You can email us at sbullock46@verizon.net. I should be able to check my verizon account in China. I will post a few pictures here and send the rest through Kodak Gallery.

Here's to safe travels! See you all in China!

Bags Are Packed!

Our bags are packed, Olivia gets out of school at 2:30pm and by 4:00pm we will be on the road up to the hotel at the airport. We are having a small kick off ceremony with a nice big dinner and a good rest before needing to be at the airport at 5:00am in the morning.

Tomorrow we fly from Manchester, NH to Washington, DC and then on to Beijing. We will get to Beijing around 2:00pm on Saturday (their time).

The 3 long years are finally coming to an end. It is funny how filled with emotions I am, you would think the second time would be a breeze!

I will try to post one more time tonight if I can. Otherwise, our next post will be from Beijing!

3 Days Left!

Just 3 days left. I read a post on one of my yahoo groups, which gives us some insight to the hotel we will be staying at for the last week of our trip.

The Dong Fang hotel is large and very beautiful. It has several types of restaurants and an international buffet.

The swimming pool is as big as a lake, and the hotel has a few precious gardens.

Inside the Hotel there is a mall with many shops. Near the hotel there is McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken, and several commercial shops.


Looks like I am all set, shopping and McDonald's!

Hotel Change

We had a hotel change for our stay in Guangzhou. It looks like 5/14-5/20 we will be staying at the White Swan then moving over to the Dong Fang Hotel for the remainder of our visit. Perhaps this will break our adventure up a bit and give us a new view and area to explore.

The hotel lists Chinese rooms and Western rooms. I wonder what the difference is?

One Week From Today!

One week from today, we will meet Baby Lexi for the first time. Just 4 more days left until we are on our way.

6!

Six days to go! This time next week we will be in Beijing seeing the sights. The suitcases are pretty much packed just need to put the final essentials in.

Final Countdown!

One week from today, we will be flying to Beijing. I am almost finished packing and trying to get my work organized before I leave.

9 Days Left and Finally Starting To Pack

With just 9 days left, I thought it would be finally a good idea to start packing. Olivia and Lexi's clothes are in, mine are next. Today was Olivia's last day of dancing school for the season and of course she is missing her recital due to our trip to China. But, she is in happy spirits. Here is a picture of the class giving the dance instructor one final hug!

10 Days and Counting!

Well, today I decided to get my act in gear just a little. Olivia, Papa and me pulled down out of the attic the high chair, portable play pen and some large toys. Olivia sprayed them all down and made sure they are fit for a princess. Today, I also went off to the bank to get my money as well as the vaccination affidavit notarized. Trying to get a little done each day. Oh yeah, I also made Lexi's doctor appt and added her to my insurance. I plan on being packed by Sunday.

Referrals are coming in for the end of the October Group. Congratulations everyone!

11 Days To Go!

11 Days to go! We had an exciting weekend. Sunday was Olivia's last cheerleading competition and it was held at Six Flags. Her tiny team came in 1st place out of 8 other teams. All of us were so proud of the team. All season they kept getting lower scores than they deserved. Finally, they ended the season with style, 1st Place!

She also enjoyed swimming in the pool on Saturday afternoon and getting to ride all the rides on Sunday.

Here is a picture of Olivia with the trophy!

14 Days Left!

14 Days Left, but whose counting. Not much happened today, didn't get any more packing done and didn't get to the bank like I anticipated. No additional news, just counting the days and getting ready for the trip.

Olivia has her last cheerleading competition on Sunday at Six Flags. Go Bravo!

Tickets Arrived Today!

The tickets arrived today and I also booked our hotel room in Manchester, NH for the night prior to us leaving.

It is so cute to see a ticket with Lian Zhi Jie on it, which of course is Baby Lexi's chinese name.

Perhaps now I should start packing!

15 Days Left!

Just 15 days to go! Today we received our in-country itinerary. Here is our schedule.

May 11 Leave for Beijing
May 12 Arrive Beijing
May 13 Great Wall and sight seeing in Beijing
May 14 Fly to Province in the morning; meet Baby Lexi in the afternoon
May 15 Legal Process
May 16 Local Sightseeing
May 17 Tentative Orphanage Visit
May 18 Open
May 19 Open
May 20 Open
May 21 Obtain Legal Documents
May 22 Go To Guangzhou
May 23 Medical Exam
May 24 Consulate Appointment
May 25 Obtain Visa
May 26 Fly Home

I am trying to find out if we are spending the two weeks in Guangzhou as our itinerary says fly to province then on the 22nd go to Guangzhou. Also, the orphanage is a good 6 hours away, which if we are staying in Guangzhou I probably won't be going. I can't imagine leaving Olivia for the day after just receiving Lexi, it is important to me to stay with Olivia and make sure she adjusts well to the change. I could take Olivia with me but I don't want her to have to sit on such along ride with me after just enduring the long flight. Obviously, if we are staying closer to the orphanage then that is different.

That is it for now! Getting Closer!

17 Days Left!

Here we are with 17 days left. Yesterday the temps got up into the high 80's and after school Olivia was able to enjoy a run through the sprinkler. Here is a picture of her cooling herself off.

Also, here is a picture of the big tree that fell down in the rain storm last week. Luckily, it is just outside of our fence and fell away from the house.

Still got to start packing!

18 Days To Go - Some More Travel Arrangements

Just 18 more days to go. Today we received a letter from our in country China coordinators. Stating what to do when we arrive at the Beijing airport and the hotel we will be staying at. Along with, May 12 families arrive in Bejing, May 13 Great Wall and Forbidden City tour, May 14 travel to province.

More to come. Still need to start packing!

And The Countdown Begins!

And the countdown begins, just 19 more days until we leave!

Flights are Booked and Consulate Appt is Confirmed

We finally have confirmation on our travel plans.

Leaving Friday, May 11th at 6:00 am out of Manchester, NH through Washington, DC to Beijing.

Consulate appointment is confirmed for May 24th, which is Lexi and Mom's birthday. We will be celebrating Lexi's 1st birthday in China.

Leaving Guangzhou, May 26th, through Hong Kong and Chicago, arriving home, Saturday, May 26th at 8:00pm in Manchester, NH.

We are still awaiting our inter-country arrangements and touring plans for Beijing.

Got to start packing!

Tentative Consulate Appointment

Today I received an email from our agency that said:

Samantha, A tentative Consulate appointment has been issued for May 24. It has not been confirmed yet, so we suggest you begin researching air flights for arriving in Beijing on May 12 (leaving US on May 11). Your return flight should be from Guangzhou on May 26. Please do not purchase the tickets until we receive confirmation from the Consulate. We will be in touch as soon as we have heard that the date is set.

Unbelievable that once again the red thread is there with a consulate appointment on Lexi's and Mom's birthday.

More news to come soon!

Travel Approval Arrived

Travel approved officially arrived today via Fedex. Now we just wait for our consulate appointment confirmation and then we can book our airfare. I didn't get a chance to see if it was the same Fedex guy who delivered our referral and visas.

Our tentative plans will be:

Flying out of either Manchester NH or Boston.

Preferably flying into Newark or JFK then to Beijing (since there are non stop flights now from the east coast). If we can avoid the LA airport this time, I would love it!

Touring Beijing for 2-4 days, which we will see The Great Wall, Tiannamen Square, The Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. We will also get the chance to try out squatty potties. I am hoping we also get the chance to ride on a rickshaw.

Then we will fly from Beijing to Guangzhou, where we will have our Gotcha Day and then spend almost two weeks shopping, sightseeing and doing the official paperwork before returning home.

Current Beijing weather is 70-80 degrees and mostly sunny.
Current Guangzhou weather is 76-79 degrees and chance of scattered rain storms.

Travel Approval

This news just in from Bonnie at FHSA.

Good news. We expect the travel approval letters in our office tomorrow. We will FedEx them to you upon arrival.

Once we have the TAs in our hands the US Consulate will allow us to fax the Consulate Appt request to them. So that will be done tomorrow. We should receive a reply from them by very early next week. When we get the date from the Consulate we will let you know right away so you can make your flight arrangements.

One step closer!

The Adoption Process

While I wait for travel approval, I have been thinking about just how long of a wait this has been and put together a timeline to give you an idea. It has been over 3 years since I started this process.

Here is the timeline:

Application with FHSA 3/23/04

Adoption Agreement with FHSA 5/9/05
Service Agreement with Leah 5/24/05
Homestudy Complete 7/27/05
INS I-600A 5/17/05
Fingerprinted 6/25/05
INS Approval I171H 8/2/05
Sent Dossier to FHSA 8/30/05
Dossier to China 8/31/05
Log In Date 10/21/05
Updated Homestudy 8/13/06
Refingerprinted 8/26/06
Renewed INS Paperwork I-600A 1/2/07
INS approval I171H (2nd Time)1/22/07
Date of referral 3/07/07
Accepted referral 3/08/07
Acceptance sent to China 3/12/07
Applied for visa 3/14/07

I am just realizing the amazing red thread throughout this process. As March 23 is Olivia's birthday and that was the day I originally signed the application for adoption 3/23/04. May 9, 2005 is my parents wedding anniversary, which is the day I signed the adoption agreement nearly one year later and started the process. May 24 is Lexi's and my moms birthday, which is the day I started the homestudy process with Leah. My dossier was held up for two months before getting a log in date, just 4 days after my birthday 10/17. Which again leaves us with possibly travel at the beginning of May which would put this at a complete life cycle and will most likely fall sometime around 5/9 or 5/24.

Hoping to hear about travel this week.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! Olivia celebrated Good Friday by coloring eggs and baking cookies with her friend Sklyar. Here is a picture of them showing off their artistic talents. Easter morning, Olivia woke to find a great big huge basket, that the Easter Bunny left. We celebrated Easter with Grampy Russ and Nana on Saturday afternoon as mom needed to work on Sunday. So, Easter Sunday will be a quiet and relaxing day. Going to work on setting up the web cam and pulling out the suitcases.

No Travel Approval Yet

Travel approvals have started to come in for other agencies. They are ranging from leaving next week, to the first week in May to the second week i nMay.

So far we haven't heard any news from our agency on travel approval. The agency is closed today for the Easter Holiday.

I am hoping we hear some news next week on when we will be travelling.

Happy 5th Birthday Olivia!

On Friday, Olivia turned 5. I suprised her at school with a bouquet of flowers. On Saturday, she invited all of her friends to a Build-A-Bear for a very special party. Afterwards, her friend Aniah came back to the house for a tea party, we sang Happy Birthday and ate pizza and cake.

Some of her most memorable gifts are: the barbie doll and dog that actually poops and barbie has a pooper scooper to pick it up and throw it away. Also, her baby doll that cries, and says mama, she is practicing to be a big sister and her new barbie car. All her gifts were great and she is in the process of playing with each one.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Love, Mommy

Visas Arrived Today

Today, the ever popular Fedex man delivered our passports with our visas in them. So, we are ready to go. Still waiting to hear on our travel approvals from the CCAA. Once we hear back, then Shanghai Travel will begin arranging the flights and hotel.

Other than that, Olivia turns 5 tomorrow March 23 and is having her birthday party at Build A Bear on Saturday. She has had her first cheerleading competition on Sunday, they came in 4th place out of 6th. Doesn't she look completely different with that hairdo (UGH!).

It is a very busy time of year for us right now. But hopefully, if I can get through this weekend we can start thinking about packing and getting ready to leave.

More news to come soon.

Applied for Visa

On Friday, March 2nd I sent back my acceptance letter of Baby Lexi. We have also sent in our passports to get our visas and are awaiting travel approval from the CCAA before we know our travel dates.

Our coordinator had us put down April 9th on the visa application, but we are not sure if we will be travelling during the trade fair the last two weeks of April in Guangzhou or be held off until the beginning of May.

This weekend Olivia has her first cheerleading competition, so my dad and I will be their to cheer her on. I am feeling a little bad that there is a good chance that Olivia will miss her big competition at Six Flags or her dance recital.

I have washed all of our 6-12 months spring/summer clothes and have them all hanging in the closet or put away in the bureau. Purchased a few more things, but really don't need to much.

Here's hoping our travel approval comes quickly!

Information about Baby Lexi

Here is some information I received from her medical report.

At 8-9 months old, she can sit up with support from one hand, starting to learn to crawl and uses 2 hands for toys. She changes toys from one hand to the other. She fights with the other kids for toys and cries if she can't get them. She has started talking and likes to listen to people talk.

Her favorite activity is playing outside and her favorite toy is a bell.

Fedex Man

Special Delivery! At 10:50, this wonderful Fedex man delivered the famous baby package from Florida Home Studies. Wasn't he surprised when I jumped out of the garage with a camera in my hand to take his picture.

Meaning of Her Name

Baby Lexi's chinese name is:

Lian Zhi Jie

Lian is the surname and means lotus or graceful willow

Zhi is her first name and means will, intention or emotions

Jie means pure

So, she must be a pure, graceful lotus flower with a lot of emotions!

Introducing Alexis Ann Lian Bullock

Here she is!

Alexis Ann Lian Bullock
Chinese Name: Lian Zhi Jie
Date of Birth: 5/24/06
Residing in: Lianjian Welfare Institute
Guangdong, China

More information to come tomorrow with the package. Also, I can't load the pictures because they were sent in PDF rather than JPG files.