Binbin has been home a week and is doing very well. She is rapidly adapting to her new life and is a joy to have around. Her Gramma Melaas has been with us the past week and they have been having many good laughs and cuddles. The Owings side of the family was with us last weekend. Binbin stole everyones heart and found her place in the family quickly. Here are some pictures throughout the week.

Homecoming Pictures

Homecoming!

Yesterday we arrived home from our China adventure safe and sound. We started off the day at 5:00 am. We had to have our bags ready for the bellboy to pick up at 6:00 am. Binbin did not quite agree with this schedule as she stayed up past midnight helping us pack up all of our clothes and souvenirs. She did not wake until the Bellboy arrived so we just picked her up in her pj’s and left for the airport. With Binbin as a paying passenger, we were allowed 5o more pounds of luggage. While in Nanning, we purchased a suitcase for her so that we could fill it with items from her native land. We bought presents for her for Gotcha Days from her home province and in Guangzhou. We plan to give to her a gift a year up to when she is 18. We had heard of other adoptive parents doing the same as a way to keep their internationally adopted children connected to their roots and identity and decided to do the same. We had a very long day. We first had to fly 3 ½ hours to Beijing where we connected to an 11 ¾ hour flight to San Francisco after a 3 hour layover. While in Beijing, we finally had an opportunity to get Binbin out of her pj’s for the final leg of our journey. We arrived in San Francisco and went through new immigrants processing and came out with the newest American citizen. When we emerged from immigrations and customs we were met by a contingent of happy friends and family holding balloons, flowers and welcome signs for our little girl. We were a bit apprehensive as to the reception Binbin would give everyone after such a long flight and the time change. To our delight, she lit up and smiled and greeted everyone with excitement. We went over to Kari’s cousin’s house in Martinez for a meal and rest. Binbin remained in a very good spirits happily playing, laughing and being passed around to everyone. We are amazed how well she has adapted just after just two weeks with us. After our visit, we packed up our daughter along with Kari’s mother who flew in from Illinois the night before and headed home. The only trouble we had was the car seat. She had a fit when we tried to put her in it. She fought it tooth an nail. She settled down after a while and looked out the window to take in the new sights. I think we will have to deal with her protests until she gets used to being buckled in. In China, kids sit on the parents lap or on the seat of the car. Every cab we were in did not even have accessible seat belts in the back seat. When we arrived home, we walked Binbin through the house, introduced her to our cat Bailie and showed her her new room. We believe the room was a hit, she immediately crawled up on the bed and just looked around the room with a smile on her face. She did not want to get off. At the moment it is almost 6:00 am, Kari and Binbin are catching up on badly needed sleep. I have been up since 4:00 am. I just love jet lag!

Guangzhou

It is 5:30 am and the family is sound asleep. It seems the only time that I can find the time to update is early in the morning. We have now been in Guangzhou since Saturday. We are staying at the White Swan Hotel on Shaman Island a very historical former British colony. Most of the architecture is of that era. We have spent our week on appointments to get a visa to bring Binbin home. Saturday was the picture and TB test. She was not a happy camper about the picture and was fussing and crying. They will not accept a picture of a crying baby at the consulate so we had to come back on Sunday and try again. Crying for TB tests must be appropriate because we made it through that one. Saturday afternoon was a meeting for checking visa paperwork and then we had the rest of the day free. Sunday we took a bus ride with our group to the jade and pearl wholesale market. It was in a shopping mall the size of Mall of America. Half of the mall was filled with little shops selling beads, pearls and jade. It was quite overwhelming. Monday we spent the morning at our medical checkup (all is well with Binbin). Tuesday was a free day. Wednesday we went to the US Consulate office to take an oath that we told the truth on Binbin's visa application. In the evening, Holt arranged a boat ride on the river and ordered pizza for the trip. We have been spending time bonding with our daughter walking around the island shopping, trying out the local cuisine and just hanging out at the hotel. It is difficult walking around the island at the moment. Guangzhou is preparing to host the World Games in 2012 and have most of the streets torn up and the buildings under renovation. The sidewalks are torn up with debris, potholes and road blocks everywhere. At the hotel there is a special playroom donated by Mattel for the adopted kids. It is filled with toys and is a great diversion for us to let her run off some energy with the other kids in our group. Thank you for all of your comments. We plan to save them in a journal for Binbin when she is older.

More Pictures From Guangzhou

Catching up

Best intentions are sometimes just that. Our intention was to write on this blog daily. We have found ourselves very busy between the set itinerary with our adoption travel group and the time we spend getting acquainted with Binbin. So I will attempt to catch up.


Wednesday was a free day to wander around Nanning and relax. Behind our hotel was this wonderful public park with a nice lake and an amusement park surrounded by luscious tropical vegetation. Nanning is a city of about six million, which is considered a medium size city in China. Almost everyone either lives in a small hutog or a high rise apartment. Very few have private yards. These parks are very important to the people as a place to hang out and express themselves. We saw groups of people or just individuals dancing, exercising, singing and playing board games. We found that the Chinese people do not have the inhibitions that we process. It was very relaxing to walk along the lake and then spend some time in the amusement park with Binbin watching the people and riding the merry-go-round and train. Actually our group was people watched more than we watched them. Anglos with Chinese babies attract a lot of attention and curiosity. We were videotaped and asked if our picture could be taken by several of the park patrons. They were all very nice and friendly and complimented us on our daughter. It is such a small world as the family we were with from Holt is from Osseo, WI which is about one hour away from where Kari's sister lives.

Thursday we took a bus ride along with the other Holt family up to Yiling, a traditional Chinese village about one hour from our hotel. Yiling is surrounded by beautiful steep and jagged limestone mountains. Poor by our standards yet rich in culture and tradition. The people were very friendly and out and about the village on their daily routines. We saw cows and calves in front yards of the homes. In the afternoon our family took a short cab ride to the flower market which was more of an outdoor bazaar. We walked around and purchased a few small items for Binbin as keepsakes from her home Provence.

Friday was our last day in Nanning and the Guangxi Provence. At around 6 pm, Binbin's Chinese passport was delivered to the hotel which allowed us to leave her home Provence for the Guangdong Provence and Ghounzho. This is the home of the US Embassy that processes Visas to Chinese citizens. With this we will be free to bring Binbin home. Our time in Nanning was all about bonding and getting to know our new daughter and her getting to know us. It is a wonder seeing her get more comfortable with us and open up. But the process is an emotional roller coaster. At times we have her laughing and playing and then she will start crying when she sees or hears something that reminds her of her foster family. We think that the first two days she must have really had her defenses up. She neither cried or laughed. Now she is being more expressive on both ends of the emotions. We see this as very positive and that she is working through this in a healthy way.

The plane descent into Ghounzho was a bit traumatic as Binbin's ears must have hurt and she would not take any sips of water or chew on a cracker. She screamed (and I mean screamed) kicked and clung to Kari.

Our first full day as a family

Yesterday was our first full day with our new daughter. That is the last time I will write "our new daughter." Even though her name is now officially Katelyn (Katie) we cannot yet refer to her as that yet. Her foster family nicknamed her "Bin Bin." We are choosing to keep this nickname at least for the time being since she speaks no English so "Katie would get no response. Mostly we are keeping it because it is so darn cute and fits her perfect.
About our day; we started off the day very well. Bin Bin woke up in seemingly good spirits. She is potty trained for the most part. This part amazes us. She goes potty when we want her to. In China, they train these little kids to go on demand. They hold them over the pot and then whistle in their ear which is rewarded with a little tinkle sound. It works! She is very cooperative with getting dressed and going places. She was obviously well cared for and taught discipline by her foster mother. We were told that the foster mother called the orphanage in the morning because she was so worried about how Bin Bin was doing. After getting dressed and fed, we took a short bus ride back to the Welfare hotel to complete the Chinese adoption paperwork with the welfare department. While there, we were able to talk to Bin Bin's caretaker with her orphanage who has know her since she was found in May of 2008. Bin Bin lit up when she saw her. (see picture) From this meeting, we gathered invaluable background information that we can share with Bin Bin when she is older and curious about her history. Two items that we were not expecting but are grateful to have are; a photo album chronicling her life at Yulin First Social Institute and the clothes and blanket she was found wrapped in when they discovered her alone in the marketplace. We will cherish and preserve these two items for her to have when she is an adult. After the Welfare hotel we took another short bus ride to the notary office. When we left there to go back to the hotel, we held in our laps our officially adopted child. The last step is to get her a Visa through US immigrations then we can bring her home. That process will occur next week in Goungzho. Back at the hotel, we ate some lunch and just hung out with Bin Bin for a couple of hours. At about 3 pm, the bus came back and we took another short ride to Walmart. Yes, I said Walmart. I wanted to go, not necessarily to shop, but to see firsthand what a Chinese Walmart was like. The one in Nanning is in an indoor shopping mall and is three stories tall. It pretty much had anything that you would want. It was extremely busy as we have found most places in China. We were told that one of Bin Bin's favorite activities was to go to the supermarket with her foster mom. At the end of the trip we think that she must have seen something or someone that reminded her of her foster mom because she became withdrawn and started pushing us away. We could tell she was grieving the separation from her foster family, but this was the first time she physically shut us out. We let her have her moment and she came back around. The rest of the day we spent hanging out at the hotel getting to know each other better. However, Bin Bin seemed sad all evening. I think she is tired of playing with us and wants to go to the comfort and security of her own home. We are so grateful to the foster family for loving and caring for her so well yet it breaks our hearts to see this little girl so obviously sad to be away her foster Mamma and Babba. In time we know she will feel the same way about us. We just need to let her work it all out.