One journey ends; another begins

The stars were aligned today. Our 16+ hours in flight and 26+ hours in total transit went very smoothly. Darcy was a pro. He slept for most of the Guangzhou-Beijing flight and didn't even fuss when Air China decided it was a good idea to leave us three stranded standing on the tarmac for 20 minutes and then on a bus, idling on the tarmac, for another 45 minutes. He slept all of 10 hours on the flight from Beijing and then was very busy (but very happy) for his 3 hours' awake. Better Half Dave and I were in shock (and as proud as could be). People sitting nearby gave us many a compliment on our adorable and well-behaved baby (and here we were thinking that Emperor Crazy Rooster would appear and that we'd feel so bad for our fellow passengers that we'd be buying drink vouchers out the wazoo for everyone!). He had a minor meltdown in the uber long "foreign visitors" line at Immigration (don't worry - we joined him in line. We didn't expect him to do the immigration process tout seul). But, seemed content to practice his walking, blow snot bubbles, and make googly eyes and giggle at the cuter foreign visitors.

Immigration was a breeze and after some very vocal protests, the little Emperor fell fast asleep on the ride home from the airport. He's currently entranced by the cats (he keeps talking to them -- "ooh ooh, ugh" or something like that); the level of interest is not mutual, sadly, although the cats are lurking on the hall, standing their ground. The battle of the wills and wits has begun.

Tomorrow is first day of true family life (without the 5 star hotel service). Thank you for following our adventure - all the ups and downs were well worth it, and we are relieved to be home. We'll be going underground for a couple of days until Darcy gets accustomed to the house, the noises and the smells, but will be in touch soon.

I've attached some pictures: Darcy and Dave waking up from their naps; Darcy waiting in the airport in Beijing for pre-boarding; Darcy happy to get the 747 moving; Darcy fast asleep; and Darcy already laying waste to the house.

-- Laurelle.

Spelling

Yes, I know. Multiple spelling mistakes in last night's blog post.
Never overestimate the power of a 21-month old to distract one from
proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

-- Laurelle

Farewell Guangzhou

It's time to go home, folks. Finally, our trepidation as to how Darcy
is going to manage the 3 hour flight to Beijing + 3 hour layover + 13
hour flight to DC + immigration + car ride home, not to mention
general adjustment to home life, is far outweighed by our desire to
start family life in earnest. We love the White Swan Hotel, but there
really is such a thing as too much breakfast buffet. Yes, you heard
it here first. No one should have "all you can eat" every morning --
"all you can eat" is not a challenge, after all.

Poor Emperor Darcy is fighting a cold and has been periodically called
"Emperor Snotty Pants" or "Emperor Darcy, Ruler of the Land of
Phlegm.". He has also developed an off-and-on case of hives -- heaven
knows if f he has a food allergy, or an environmental allergy, or if
it's related to the cold virus, or if it's just stress. Thanks to the
wonderful Doctor Jerry, we know that he is not in mortal peril and
have some instructions on what to do if the hives reappear in DC.
Doing his part, Darcy has been a trooper and for the most part has
remained in amazingly good spirits. Even when covered in hives, he
always seems to have energy to give the pretty White Swan staff
members a giggle and a flirtatious smile (Darcy loves the ladies).

On Sunday, we visited the Six Banyon Buddhist Temple, the biggest
Buddhist shrine in Guangdong province. On Monday, we hung out in the
hotel room while our facilitator delivered our paperwork to the
consulate. Getting the word that the consul had no additional
questions, Emperor Snotty Pants turned into Emperor Crazy Rooster,
threatening his subject with his chopsticks due to hi s cold-induced
ill humor. But, we all perservered and enjoyed a stroll around
lovely, tropical Shamian Island. And, of course, there has been lots
stackable cups play and cruising/walking interspersed between outings.

Today, we went to the consulate with 50 other families for the formal
oath (which completes the visa process for Darcy and the other
children - he becomes an American citizen upon having his Chinese
passport stamped at Dulles). It was another perfunctory offical
event, although during the oath I couldn't help but get chocked up,
Darcy in my arms, humming some strange tune and blabbering in my ear.
Today truly marks the end of our adoption paperchase (but don't get me
started on what's required to get him a US passport, birth
certificate, and Canadian citizenship!). At the end of the oath, as I
was doing my utmost to hold back the tears, everyone clapped and Darcy
cried "Mahmah," clapped his hands, and hugged me tight. Needless to
say, I was a goner at that point.

So, off to the airport tomorrow morning. Wish us luck - we will need
it. In just a little over a week, Darcy has settled into something of
an eating and sleeping routine, entirely incompatible with tomorrow's
travel plans. Sigh. When will they invent the Star Trek-esque
teletransporters? To hell with Jetson-esqye flying cars, get me a
teletransporter. I assure any enterprising inventor out there that
there's a huge market for teletransporters among adopting families
leaving China.

-- Laurelle

More pictures of Darcy

Here are some of the additional pictures of an increasingly happy Darcy. Emporer Crazy Rooster still makes an appearance once in a while, but he is much happier.

 

-- David

Smiles and sunshine

Saturday in Guangzhou brought some much needed sunshine, a nice
breakfast and real coffee for the first time in almost a week. Darcy
slept for 10 hours and woke hungry as is his custom.

We had a 9 am appointment with Dr. Nasenbenny, the agency doctor.
Darcy was, ahem, unpleased to be examined, and managed to express his
displeasure by peeing all over Laurelle and one of the double beds in
Dr Nasenbenny's room. Hardly an auspicious start, but Mama handled it
like a pro.

We then had a short break and headed off to have Darcy's visa picture
taken (made possible only by a very quick-triggered photographer),
then for the official visa physical where Darcy gave the strongest
objection to the doctor who dared to touch his "junk" and nearly bit
through the tongue depresser the other doctor was trying to use to
look in his mouth. Overall, however it was far less harrowing than we
thought it was going to be.

We then wandered on beautiful Shamian Island in the 70 plus sunshine
and stopped for lunch at Starbucks.

I feel like today was a breakthrough day for Darcy and Laurelle in
particular. There were a lot of smiles and laughter today. He is quite
the mischevious little scamp. We love him all the more for it.

We will try to post some pictures tomorrow.

-- Dave

Nanchang to Guangzhou

Greetings from Guangzhou, Guandong province, "ancestral" home of the
Lo's. A momentous day for all of us -- beginning with the obligatory
buffet breakfast in the scary hotel lobby. Then, my parents and Dave
took Darcy for a stroll while I hurriedly packed our belongings and
met our guide Jane in the lobby for noon. A happy morning all around
as Emperor Crazy Rooster (Darcy) napped for almost 2 hours in the
stroller, then -- sorry, baby bowel movement comment follows -- pooped
for the first time in 4 days (can you say "stress"?), and Jane
provided us with all the notarized Chinese adoption forms along with
Darcy's Chinese passport even though the offices were backlogged (Jane
is wonderfully pushy and gets fabulous results).

Then, off to the airport. All in all, Darcy was a rockstar. He spent
most of the flight putting cheerios into a glass of water and mushing
them with his pruning fingers. I know, he's a culinary genius in the
making! Other than a medium-sized meltdown upon descent, Darcy was
perfectly behaved. Granted it was a one hour flight -- our 13-hour
flight from Beijing to DC may be an entireley different story.

We arrived at the White Swan Hotel on Shamian Island in Guangzhou
around 5:30. The WSH lives up to its billing - it's lovely and from
what I can tell, the service is unbelievable. For one, there appears
to be a butler posted outside our door. Dinner was very, very nice -
what a change from the dump, I mean, prosperous, people-centric,
strong industrial center that is Nanchang. Darcy ate with abandon
again, pointing wildly at what he wanted served to him, grunting and
howling when we didn't get him food quickly enough. I know, he is a
demure soul. Tomorrow, we have an 11:00 mandatory physical for Darcy
at the US consul (yes, I am bracing myself - Emperor Fussy Pants will
not be amused) and a more informal, but far more useful check-up with
the CAWLI pediatrician, the wonderful Doctor Jerry. Darcy is getting
a cold and is rather snotty. Still adorable but snotty.

So, to recap, lots of smiles today and even a couple fits of giggles,
a big poop, a first flight, and a lovely new hotel and city to
explore. All around a good day.

-- Laurelle

one more

Here is one additional one from yesterday. (Thursday)