A Rainy Day

Well, we had a great first night with Luke. Luke went to bed around 9:00p.m. without a fuss. The rest of the family, except for me, turned in shortly thereafter. I stayed up till the wee hours tinkering with spreadsheets--which for me is a sick kind of therapy. Luke woke up once during the night, cried briefly until I was able to get him situated again with warmer covers, and then slept until 7:00a.m. So, again, a great first night. When he awoke, he was pretty reserved. I think he was just trying to get himself oriented to his new surroundings and new faces. He was pretty snuggly for most of the morning, especially when he had one of his two bottles for the day. The Nicholsons went down for breakfast while the Mortons slept in for a bit. Luke ate lots of food, probably because he did not eat much the first day with us. So, we were glad he had an appetite and shocked to see one of our kids eat vegetables and fruit with glee. We had no formal plans today. Because the weather was rainy and dreary, we just decided to stick close to the hotel and keep things simple. Our one excursion was a trip to the local department store. That is right, it was time to introduce him to our family tradition--SHOPPING! He handled the experience pretty well but never once said "I want this or will you buy me that?" So, unless he was saying it in Mandarin, he has a lot to learn about shopping as a Nicholson. There was lots of neat Olympic items, but we decided to wait awhile before purchasing. Cole did get a new jacket--think urban Chinese chic. That purchase was an experience because we were personally ushered through three different counters and six different staff, to an old mechanical "slide" credit card machine. So, in the end, the jacket will either be free because the purchase will never get recorded or it will cost about $600 USD because it got processed about 20 times. After shopping, we fed Luke lunch and put him down for an almost 3 hour nap. During that time, we all exercised and I watched Tiger win the US Open playoff. Again, because it was rainy out, we spent the afternoon playing cards and playing with Luke once he awoke from his nap. We did get to see more of his personality this afternoon. He can make his feelings known pretty clearly--when he is happy he is all smiles and laughter. Like most of us, he can turn-on-a-dime, cut his eyes, and let you know he is not happy. The best/worst moment of the day was when Melissa took his bottle to fill it with juice. He was deeply wounded by what was meant to be a kind act and promptly closed his eyes, opened up his lungs, and cried for about 10 minutes. So, quite a nice tantrum that was our best reminder of what it is like to have a toddler again. In all seriousness, it was a nice bonding moment for Luke and Melissa.

I do have to say that one of the great blessings and joys in the experience has been how well Cole, Shelby, and Piper are doing with Luke. They really do like Luke and are just doing wonderfully in their interactions with him. They play with him and work with him and hug him and talk to him and just love him more ways than I thought they would. There have even been fights over who would hold him, who would stroll him, who would carry his bag. If it lasts until we get home, I count myself a lucky man to have ever seen it at all. I will remind them of these moments when he is in their rooms destroying something, spilling something, interrupting something, etc.

And lastly, I can tell you we were able to finally get access to your comments from the last two days. For those interested, I will only discuss the problem one-on-one and with no cameras rolling. If you want to know what I know now and how I know it, then simply whisper "nitecruzr" the next time you see me. Otherwise, thank you all for your prayers and love and humor.

Dave

Gotcha Day!

Before I start, please know we cannot, for whatever reason, actually see your comments from the last day or so. We know you are responding, which is great, and we just want you to know we are not ignoring any of you--we just cannot figure out how to view our site or your comments--it just stopped working yesterday.

Well, this has been a great day. We were all awake pretty early just in anticipation of greeting Luke. After a quick breakfast, we went downstairs for a few “before” pictures to parallel some “after” pictures we planned to take at the end of the day. We met our agency rep at 8:30a.m., along with a registry official from the local government. We then drove about 20 minutes or so to get to the offices where we would meet Luke and complete paperwork. Once inside, things started moving pretty quickly. I could see Luke in another room, but had my head down signing a few papers when he was first brought into the room. He was in Melissa’s arms when I finally looked up and saw him. She was crying and he was very quiet but very attentive. I kept signing papers while Melissa visited with Luke and introduced him to all of the family members. Basically, we were to visit with him for about an hour so as to decide if we really intended to make him part of our family. Of course, that decision was made long ago. We were of course very excited to meet Luke. From my perspective, he was pretty neutral to our presence. He was not visibly upset but was instead very observant. Sometimes he would make eye contact and sometimes he would look away. Probably about what you would expect given the moment we were all sharing. As I write this, we are at the end of our day and the atmosphere is completely different. He has just had a light bath and he is playing behind me with all three kids--laughing and “talking” and very happy—it is like he has been with us forever. I am sure the transition and bonding process is not totally complete but it was what we and you all have prayed for.

I will just give you a few more guy-type facts and then will let Melissa share her thoughts. Luke had returned to the orphanage on Friday, so his time there was short, and probably helpful in his overall transition to us. We did get to meet the two nannies from his orphanage that cared for him—one of whom visited him at his foster home each week. He does take a nap each day, still enjoys two bottles per day, is a “smart baby” per the nannies, and warms slowly to people. He has been living about 1.5 hours from the orphanage with a family that had two children of their own (a 5 year old and a 3 year old, one a girl, the other a boy), as well as two (maybe 3) other foster children. So, he was in a great environment. I think it is typical, but they gave us a copy of the ad that was placed in the local paper as part of the process for declaring him abandoned. We also have a better understanding of his name in that the family name Yi was part of the county name where he was found and Duan Lu is a reference to the road where he was abandoned. The ad also includes his infant picture. For those who were betting, he is about 22.5 lbs (heavier than I expected) and has not been circumcised (that will be a rude welcome to America).

Melissa can now give you some girl-type feelings. I share all the same feelings as Dave and honestly he just puts them into words better. I was sooo nervous on the way to the registrars office, really almost sick to my stomach, but with anticipation. I was excited to see him. They cut his hair and he looked older, but it was easy to identify him. There were two other baby boys in the other room being adopted by two families from New Zealand but I could totally tell who he was. He was very cautious of us, you can tell from the pictures. But, as the day has progressed we have seen a huge improvement to the point that he is laughing!!! I’m so grateful he ate a banana and jar of carrot baby food for supper, plus some cookie for dessert. I can’t imagine doing this without Cole, Shelby and Piper they are playing and enjoying him so much. I hope the night goes well, thanks to everyone for your prayers and support.

P.S. His little fingers and toes are darling!!!!! Everything looks great. Love you all.
Missy

Almost Time

Well, this could start to sound like a bit from the movie "Groundhog Day". We all awoke pretty early, some at 3:00, others at 5:00, some later yet and then we all proceeded downstairs for breakfast. For fun, we did watch a bit of the Brewers' game "live" on the web as we prepped for our day--funny what you can remain connected to from half-way-round-the-world. Some of us are growing addicted to table-tennis on the television, although soccer and women's volleyball are also fun because you at least know what is happening even if you cannot understand the play-by-play commentary. Our day moved pretty quickly from breakfast to loading onto the bus for our ride to the airport. The sky was a little lighter and clearer than Friday evening and yesterday, so it was nice to see more of the island and the bay and Hong Kong life. We moved pretty efficiently through the airport, passport checks, immigration, etc. and boarded our plane to Kunming. The flight was uneventful, lasting only about one and one half hours. We were met at the airport by another CCAI representative named Michael. He is actually not from Kunming, but flew in yesterday from another province just to help our seven person "group". Really fun person and very knowledgable about the area. As an aside, I always pronounced it "Coon ming" but it "Kwun ming" sounds more correct. Anyways, our fist question was "When?" and the answer was/is "9:00 a.m." We meet Michael and the registration official at 8:30am, drive to the registry office, and get to meet Luke at 9:00a.m. We think he has been at the orphanage for the last four or five days, with nannies, but no longer with foster parents. He apparently still takes a couple bottles of formula per day, but is otherwise on solid food. Michael also was kind enough to put together a care package of the formula Luke is used to, as well as a few snacks he likes. I was quite pleased to see that one of the snacks looks almost exactly like a Moon Pie. Get that young man an RC and we will Southernify him in nothing flat. No word on whether or not he is walking. Once we have him, we will complete all formal paperwork by noon on Monday. Apparently, this is faster/different than other areas, and means our schedule for remainder of the week is completely open as compared to what other groups may experience. Please pray for a great first meeting and time of transition and bonding.

The picture above is at a very nice Japanese restaurant in our very nice Chinese hotel. Most of the humor of the day was generated by the collision of two factors. Fewer people in Kunming speak English and we were trying to use Chinese words. I am still not certain we have gotten "thank you" down pat. I have heard us say "see see" and "she she" and "si si" and "shay shay"and "say say" and variants I cannot capture. But, everyone is trying, having fun, and trying to connect. In the local dialect, which Luke will apparently know a bit of, "Love you" is "Eye knee". Some suggest that he may key off our emotions when we meet. So, I will probably just run the video camera so he is not confused by the blubbering fool with short hair. Yes, this child will know me as "the rock". We are obviously very excited, although once again, I am awake and everyone else is in bed. Lots of pictures tomorrow, so be ready.

We "eye knee",

The Nicholsons

P.S. I was supposed to tell some of you the Petunia bag has been a big hit.

Touring Hong Kong

Well, Piper and I went to bed this morning at about 2:00 a.m. after finishing our first post and a bit of Nintendo. She is staying with Melissa and I, while Cole is with Bill, and Shelby is with Linda. If I understand correctly, Cole and Shelby are considered adults and you are not allowed to have more than two adults per room—hence the arrangements. We ended up having a bit slower morning than expected. Originally, we were to start our day with an early tour of Hong Kong with all the families adopting through CCAI (our agency). However, there has been a lot of rain so the tour was postponed until the afternoon. So, we had a great breakfast buffet, with both Western-style foods and traditional Chinese breakfast items. For those that remember the quote, like perhaps Neil or Jon, I think I heard someone say, “You have been here four hours, go home!” A few of us tried congee, a rice porridge, because it is something that Luke apparently likes. I suppose we may help maintain that heritage, although Piper and I would prefer that he just learn to love grits. We then just relaxed in our room and checked the blog. Thank you for the comments—it is really comforting and humorous to hear from home. Shelby and I ventured out for a quick tour but hurried back because of the rain, Shelby’s queasiness at some of the local food items out for purchase, and the persistence of a young man who wanted to fit me for a suit. We then had a dim sum lunch with the other families adopting through CCAI. There are 11 other families, a few of whom are here for their second China adoption, and all of whom are adopting girls. These families are all traveling to one of two other provinces than us, so we will not connect with them again until about one week from now in Guangzhou. We had lunch with a neat family from Richmond, who just moved from Denver, and has a son named Cole. Given the Morton/Awtry connections to those areas of the country, and the common “Coles”, we had a lot to talk about with them. Of course, when you travel with Bill and Melissa, the “natural networkers”, you are not going to have a difficult time connecting with people. So, lunch was great and everyone found some one thing that they were able to enjoy. The entire group then loaded onto a bus for the tour of Hong Kong. We went to Sampan to see traditional houseboats and fishing vessels-get Bon Jovi going in your head and envision a Chinese “Deadliest Catch”. From there, it was off to a jewelry factory. From there, a quick trip to an open market for some shopping, a gelato, a tour of a temple, and the kids’ first exposure to how different toilet configurations can be in foreign countries. At this point, we most of our family was really starting to slow down. Our last stop of the day was Victoria Peak, which overlooks the Harbour and Kowloon. Although a little cloudy, it was still an amazing view of Hong Kong. We saw a few pictures from 50 years ago and the growth and change is phenomenal. We loaded back onto the bus and headed back to the hotel. We were so tired that we passed on dinner reservations at Ruth’s Chris—a decision I regret even as I write to you now. Dinner was marked by Piper sleeping at Bill’s side and Cole with his head on the table. He did try to mumble something that sounded like the guttural beginnings of “blah” but was too tired and it just sounded like “bl”. Shelby was in a new restaurant, which brought with it the “What should I get?” conversation. And Bill, ever the optimist and memory-maker, still wanted to try to make it to a laser light show down by the river. We missed the laser light show and I suspect most everyone was asleep shortly after dinner—Piper and Melissa certainly were. I on the other hand have an outlet for my musings and am too excited to sleep. We get Luke in less than 48 hours! If I think too much about it, I will cry, and that is now how I earned my reputation as “the rock”. So, I think I will end here and get some tissues for my allergies.

Dave, on behalf of The Sleepers

The Departure!

Well, we started our day Wednesday probably about 75% ready to leave. This was a good thing given that as much effort went into the remaining 25%. As we finally wound down preparations at around 11:00 pm that evening, Shelby came downstairs crying because her ear was bothering her. After my caring reponse induced more tears, it was time for a precauationary visit to the ER. Good thing, because she was diagnosed with infections in both the outer and middle ear. So, after a trip to Walgreen's, we were in bed by 2:00 a.m. Our travel day Thursday started early and our travel group (Dave, Melissa, Cole, Shelby, Piper, Bill and Linda) all met at the airport for our 9:27 flight. The picture for today was actually taken by Will, who was both driver and photgrapher for the morning. The flight to Chicago was uneventful and our flight to Hong Kong departed on-time. A few members of our group ended up in business class and after visiting with the pilots for awhile, and being otherwise pampered, did manage to wander down to the hull where the rest of us were busy flapping our arms keeping the plane in the air! The flight was uneventful until we got near Beijing, which seemed to stay on our GPS view for quite awhile. This was because our destination, Hong Kong, was having bad weather and we were being re-routed to Beijing to for a "brief stop" to take on fuel. Well, the "brief stop" turned into a four hour "pause" on the tarmac, doors shut, while things ultimately cleared in Hong Kong. I probably snapped at least once, or maybe six times, during the 20.5 hour flight that was supposed to be only 14.5 hrs. As you might guess, given our lack of sleep, things are only looking up at this point. With a scant 10 minutes left in the flight, during a brief moment of rest, I was awoken by the melodious voice of my wife exclaiming "Dave, Piper is puking!". Why I needed to know is still beyond me at this point, but I sacrificed a Barnes & Noble bag full of bike magazines to support the cause. Ultimately, we land, clear customs, get our bags, meet some great representatives from our agency, meet two other neat families using the same agency as we are, and ride the 45 minutes to our very nice hotel. Thankfully, the only thing that marked that bus ride was another round of Piper's dry heaving while Linda dutifully wiped her brow. And so, we are now in our hotel, with everyone slowly falling asleep while I drone on-and-on. Someone needs to give me some blog etiquette or this could become a novel. We really are having a blast and appreciate the prayers and the messages.

P.S. I have not referenced Cole in this note, but when I asked him about his time in business class, he did not say "Blah" but joyfully reported something about filet mignon and two containers of freshly toasted and roasted nuts. I just went back to flapping my arms.

Dave