Chengdu Panda Base and Sichuan Opera

I have enjoyed watching the kids as they learn to be a family.  Katie is still in awe of the fact that we have Ian.  Every now and then, she will look at me or Tim and say "We have Ian!  This is our Ian!"  It is just adorable.  Ian wants so much to play with Katie but hasn't really figured out how to do that.  She isn't too thrilled with the rough housing like J is and that is the most natural way for Ian to play.  He wants to pick her up but again, she isn't sure about that yet.  I bet before the end of the trip, we'll see that happen though.  Ian is already beginning to learn how to be a part of the family.  He did so much better today at staying close to us.  He is still learning about boundaries.  For never having been in a family, he is learning quick!

Today we went to the Panda Base.  It was interesting experiencing this again this year.  Last year, Katie was still in the "only mama" phase of the adoption and we had a guide that must have had a date planned for the minute we finished and rushed us through at the speed of light.  Even though it was April not June last time it was so much hotter!  (Of course I did have a baby in a Moby the whole time.)  Today really couldn't have been better!  The weather was cloudy and overcast but cool.  The base wasn't crowded at all; perhaps the threat of rain kept locals away.  David, our guide, was excellent and knew the park extremely well.  He had us tour it backward so that we ended with the youngest pandas instead of starting with them, which was great because once you've seen the littles playing, seeing the elders who spent their time napping wasn't as exciting.  We saw the entire park by 12:30 (although we did skip the movie and the museum) and the timing was perfect for an ice cream snack at the park and then lunch upon return to the city.  We went to the same restaurant that we went to yesterday and ordered almost the same things.  It is interesting the price differences home vs here.  Our meal for 7 of us with lots of leftovers, was only about $24.  A bottle of Head and Shoulders shampoo is $10.  Anyway, the pandas were all very active as it was cool today and I think the entire family enjoyed the park immensely; I wish Mitch had been here to enjoy it!


Tonight we go to the other thing that Chengdu is known for, the Sichuan Opera.  It is supposed to be high drama with "face changing" and kung fu.  The area is known for their masks that the ancient Chinese used to "scare away large, dangerous animals" and the masks are used to rapidly "change faces" in the opera.  As VIP ticket holders, we are allowed to chose one of four activities before the play:  shoulder massage, costume photo, make-up and photo, or ear wax removal.  Hmm, which should we chose?
UPDATE:  We went to the Sichuan Opera and had a wonderful time!  Tim and Laura decided on the shoulder massage and said it was very thorough, while the kids all chose the costume experience.  It was really adorable seeing all three in traditional outfits.  Of course, the boys enjoyed the swords more than the clothes.  The opera was really a series of short experiences, some musical, some comedy and the finale was the "face changing" experience.  It really was cool.  I wasn't expecting it to be cool.  The masks changed quicker than you could really see.  The boys thought the fire breather was exciting too!

Tomorrow will be a busy day!  We have to get checked out before noon and we have to go to the notary office and registry office also.  So we will divide and conquer.  Hopefully, I can talked Laura into entertaining the littles while I do the running around with David and Tim is super-packer.  I don't know that we will have time to blog tomorrow.  We continue to feel your prayers!  Tomorrow will be Ian's first time on an airplane; I'm a little nervous about how Mr. Fidget will do.  :)  Then on to the next hotel.

The Newest Sanford!

So it is official!  Today we went back to the civil affairs office for the final adoption signatures.  Yesterday, we just signed papers that said we will keep him safe for 24 hours and today we had to promise that we would not abandon or abuse him and would treat  him equal to our other children.  We spent more time with the women from his orphanage and talked about his schooling and swi behavior.  It turns out he got into trouble at school for the last month because he knew he was coming home and didn't think he needed to study there anymore.  I guess I can see his point.  :)   He is able to read (Chinese) and he had to write a statement saying he wanted to be adopted.  Just for a minute, I sweated a little.  He happily wrote it and signed it!  :)  :)  I always said, and Laura reminded me today,  that I would NEVER adopt a child old enough to say no.  Ha.  God listens (and laughs) doesn't he.  I had also said previously that I would never adopt a heart baby.  Even though it was clearly in her paperwork, I never saw it on Katie's paperwork until after we had already said yes.  I asked Tim if he had seen it and he said, "Sure, its in the file several places."  Very weird that I never saw it.  As it turns out, Katie's heart issue was completely resolved when we got her home.  I don't think I've said never about anything else.  :)  :)

He has been very easy.  He seems to like American food  and I felt a little bad at the meeting when they were talking to Ian before the meeting got started.  They asked him what he had eaten (hamburger, fries, pizza and cookies).  I wanted to say, but thought it might sound a little defensive, that we let him chose.  I hadn't thought about it until then that he made all American food choices.  :)
Maybe that is what drove him to have such a strong opinion about coming to America, the food!  We found out today that he was very serious in wanting to leave China.  Maybe later, he will be able to tell us why.

He needs lots of motion and wants to go, go go.  Earlier today, we walked the river that runs in front of the hotel and also walked to the local Wal-mart.  He loves to be carried but it isn't really about wanting off his feet so much as into someone's arms.  Baba keeps putting him on his shoulders and sister gives piggyback rides.  He also will sometimes climb into a lab like a baby.  I think he just has a need to be held.  He also loves to grab Jay and pick him up.  (Which of course, J loves and squeals about.)  I can't wait to see him at the Safari  park!  Everytime we see a bird or a dog or a cat, he gets excited.
So far it is going almost scarily well.   All three of our adoptions have just been so easy, I think both of us sort of feel like we are waiting for the other shoe to drop.  It may take a little while to simply trust that this is really what it will be like.

Time to get moving here!  It is now 6 am and we have to be down to meet the guide quickly after breakfast for our Panda adventure.  Prayers for strong legs and backs..  :)
I'll try to add some pics later!
Blessings y'all

Gotcha!

Well, we've had Gotcha day!  It has gone surprisingly well so far.  I know this may be the "Honeymoon" but you know what, I'm ok with that for now!  He is adorable in a ten year old boy way.  ;)  He is a lot like Jay in that he wants to touch everything; he and J keep squeezing each other but he is being very gentle with Katie.   One less worry.  He was very sweet and knows that I am mama, Tim is baba etc.  At one point, he went over and got me a cup of water, came over to me and held it out saying "Mama."  So sweet.
In preparing the two littles for Gotcha, we failed to point out that he won't be familiar with the name Ian.  They call him MaoMao.  We are mostly combining the two right now "MaoMaoIan" and he seems cool with it. When Tim told him his American name is Ian, he smiled and tried to say it back to us.  No scowls or worry on his face.  :)  He enjoyed going through his baby book with us, showing his friends and laughing about his various Children's day costumes.  He is active but seems willing to listen.

He came to us with a backpack with a pair of shorts, undies, a shirt and his baby book.  All except the undies, obviously new.   When we took him to the mall to get him a pair of closed toed shoes and a pair of pants, he accepted "no" appropriately when he asked for a new backpacck.  When he asked for a hat, I had the guide tell him that we would be going to see the pandas and would get him either that one or one at the panda place and he chose to wait for a panda hat.  I thought that was also a good sign.  No pout or sad was shown in either case.  :)  None of our other 4 are materialistic at all; I was glad to see that he doesn't appear to be either.  I wondered how that would be for him.  I know that he has been in one of the best orphanages possible but still I doubt he has had much to call his own.  I could see if that made him want THINGS nearly as much as a family.  Things are probably easier to understand that you are missing than a family.

He also accepted no well when he couldn't see Tim at the restaurant and wanted to go find him.  He got up to leave and when I called his name he said "baba!"  To which I resonded "blah, blah blah."  Or the equivalent, since he has no English.  But he understood my point to his chair and smiling "no" and sat back down.  He clearly didn't WANT to sit down, but I love that he did sit.  :)

He has just finished year 2 of school and seems ok with his numbers.  He is playing on the Ipad and seems to enjoy the number games.  Hopefully that is a good sign.

The nannies didn't have a lot of new information for us.  They said he is generally a very obedient little boy that is easy to feed and studies when told to.  I gathered that he doesn't volunteer to study but will when asked.  :) Typical little boy.  They said that other than a tendency to get distracted and wander off, he is easy.  They have been honest about the other kiddos at Gotcha so I have no reason to believe that this isn't true.  Yea!  I drew a blank when it came to questions to ask; I suppose we'll have to try to ask him things.  Hopefully the translator app will help.  It was wonderful to be given a full baby book of pictures.  He enjoed showing us and telling us all about the pictures.  If only I spoke Mandarin.  Tim is doing pretty well with short instructions and Ian seems to understand.    We did let him talk to Naomi on the cell and it was fun to see his face light up when he heard she was only 5 minutes away at home.  I think he is going to be a daddy's boy which is a-ok.  He is way too heavy for me to pick up much.  He is more solid than he looks.  He has clearly spent a lot of time outside.  He has sandal tan lines to prove it.  It makes me happy to know that he has been able to have some normal boy experiences in his first 10 years.
We will go back tomorrow for the finalization of the paperwork  and  official adoption day.  I wonder how he will do when he knows the separation is  permanent?  He did great today.  He told our guide he is excited about his big trip to america.  We allowed him  to chose our first meal and he chose a burger and fries.  At least we know he likes american food!  

Laura and  the boys went to the pool while I helped Katie  nap and he came back with  a big grin on his face.  So far he is showing no fear about anythhing.   He will enjoy time with his Baba, too, because he is a fast walker like his dad.  He wants to get where he is going without delay; even when he doesn't know where he is going.  He is happy to go where we direct but if we donn't direct he is still going to go.  Ok, I may walk  off some of the Maan's Coffee waffles in the next week or so.  ;)

Katie is going to have some adjusting to do.  She is awake from her nap and I offered to put down the Ipad and go down stairs.  To which she responded, "Not yet!" in her adorable sing-song voice.  Those of you that know Jay will be impressed when I say, Ian can out-talk J.  The car ride was at full volume.  :)  I think Katie is enjoying the quiet and thee dark of our napping room.  I'm trying to let her take the lead in how she deals with him.  She is allowing him to hug her and hold her hand but still has some getting used to to do.  (Of course.)

I think he is going to fit in just fine.  He may wish for a more outdoorsy family but with the Nichols just down the road, maybe they can put him to work.  ;)  I think he is going to enjoy the outdoor fort and I'm going to try to get him in swim lessons; I can already tell he is going to have some energy to burn.

Well, Katie and I are going to venture downstairs to see what the boys are doing now.  I'll add pics later!

We are in Chengdu!

It is 6am Monday and we are in Chengdu!  Only one more sleep til we get Ian.  Oh, my.  One of the nice things about being a part of our facebook group from Ian's SWI is having plenty of info available; one of the terrifying things about being a part of  our facebook group is getting plenty of information.  I have to admit to being more nervous about the adoption than before.  Knowing that EVENTUALLY it will be good really helps but it could be a rocky few months at home.  I think part of why China allows the children to chose when they are Ian's age is that they are certainly big enough to understand what they are giving up.  Knowing that Ian could say "No" is terrifying.  We know that he knows about the adoption; we think he is excited about the adoption.  We also know that orphanages don't raise children the way parents do.  There may be a sharp learning curve for all of us.

Anyhoo...
We made it in and due to a wonderful sale I caught, we were upgraded to the penthouse suite in the Sommerset.  It is massive; at the time I thought we may have all 7 of us for this portion.  As it turns out, Mitch won't get to join us until Guangzhou.  We had a guide that was was actually there when we got in to the airport.  Last year, we were sort of left hanging.  The hotel checkin was also easy.  :) Today will be laid back.  We are going to walk to the Chinese version of Wal-mart in a few minutes, hopefully get a massage (amazingly, it looks like they are only about 45 dollars for an hour) and nap. I think that is the extent of our plans for the day.  We still aren't really sure what size Ian will wear and so we don't have a huge amount of clothes for him but we will wait until tomorrow for that.  I expect we may end up at Maans coffee again.  (We ate there once already; I think Tim could eat there every day and be happy.)

Well, it is still June 1st at home but it is now 5am in Chengdu!!  Ian is (hopefully) asleep on a train bulleting this way.  He has been covered in prayer; oh, I hope his little heart has felt it.  We are about 5 hours from Gotcha.  The gifts for the nannies and the director are packed, Ian's simple gift (Uno cards, suckers, and stickers) is ready.  Now I just need time to pass.  We probably won't get to blog until bedtime which may be much later than we are used to.  J and K go to bed at 7:30 but the swim allows,the kids to stay up until 10 or so.  I will try to post a quick note on Facebook at some point but after Gotcha we will shop for Ian and allow him to pick some things to send back to the other kids at the swi.  If all is going well, we will have our guide take us to lunch.  So, sleep well friends.  Hopefully by the time you wake tomorrow, there will be one less.

Thanks for the prayers. Blessings y'all.

Laura's post with random thoughts...

Laura here, with my side of the story. I'm sure mom will write a blog, but by the time she starts I'll be asleep. So here are my thoughts now and she can add what she wants.
I don't even know where to start. My mind is a raging current, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives. So this will just be a stream of consciousness kind of thing and you guys will just have to try to follow the best you can. (It's probably not a good sign when the most eloquent part of the blog is a Blazing Saddles quote.)
Okay, here we go. Things are different in China and in America. Things I'm still trying to get used to:
1. The driving. In America we have traffic laws. In China they have traffic suggestions. Stop lights? One Way signs? Helmet laws? Police cars with their lights flashing behind you? Only foreigners and sissies pay attention to those. Also, no car seats. To be fair, we've only seen one traffic accident the entire time we've been there.
2. The stares. I'm used to people in America staring when I'm with Jaden and Katie. We either get the "you dang noisy kids" glare or the "aw, cute children" smile. Sometimes the confused "what are the family dynamics here" eyebrow raise. In China, we get some of the "aw cute" looks for the kids, but it seems like the adults get more attention. There's the suspicious "did you steal those Asian children?" look, the behind the hand "look, Americans!" whisper, and my personal favorite, the "oops, I was just taking a selfie, I didn't know there was a blonde girl behind me" picture. I wonder how many pictures of us there are floating around China right now.
3. The food. Surprisingly, I don't eat a lot of lotus root at home. David, our guide, did a pretty good job of guessing what we would eat, and the food has been tasty everywhere we've gone, but man, what I wouldn't give for some mashed potatoes and gravy.

On a different topic, I've had the best gig during this trip. I get to play with the littles, but I don't have the parental responsibilities. I can choose what I want to eat, and somebody else pays for it. Mom gets reservations at these amazing hotels, Dad hauls the suitcases, and I just goof around until I get tired, then I go to sleep. It's awesome. I would highly recommend it.
Okay. Mom's ready to write, I think. Peace out, y'all.

The Great Wall, Acrobat show and J's birthday

Today was a busy, busy day!  We got up early and went back to the buffet, to the kids delight.  It isn't my favorite buffet in the world but the littles love it.

After breakfast we met with David, our guide, and headed out to the Great Wall.  I knew the wall was in Beijing and so I assumed it wouldn't be too far away.  Bad parent award, I didn't bring anything for the littles to play with and they got bored on the nearly 2 hour drive.  Toward the end, J got car sick and gave us back all of the buffet breakfast he enjoyed so much.  At least in that regard, we were fully prepared.  Laura taught us that lesson many, many years ago!  When we got to the Great Wall, I also realized that I didn't have hats for either kiddo and it was really, really hot.  So 40 rmb later (about 7.50 usd) we had adorable kid hats.  Obviously we weren't the only parents to miss that step as every little booth had kid hats.  We got on the bus, which thrilled Katie!  (I get to ride a bus to the Great Wall!?)  Normally the ride is a matter of a couple of minutes but we got stuck behind a herd of recently sheared sheep.  The shepherd  had no interest in getting off the road or hurrying.  I found it hilarious that in a country that pedestrians don't have right of way, the bus and about 2 dozen others behind it, allowed 50 sheep the right of way.  Ha, next time I want to cross traffic, I know the secret...bring my sheep.  There's an allegory in there somewhere.  Every brick wall that we saw on that (really slow) ride Katie would ask Laura or me, "is that a Great Wall" to which the ever helpful Laura would reply "no but it is a pretty good one" or "no, that is the sub-par wall" or other equally enlightening responses.  Katie hasn't yet refined the Sanford child sense of humor and would nod and continue watching for the one Laura would agree was great.

Anyway, we finally got to the area of the wall that we were to ascend and got on a ski lift (they called it a cable car but don't let them fool you, ski-lift is what it is!).  Jay rode with me and was not a happy camper.  I think if he'd have seen it before he got in, we would have been walking.  About halfway up (and 150 feet in the air) he started to lift the bar, yikes.  I was able to distract him and we made it to the top.  The guys were yelling something to me in Mandarin to which I smiled and waved.  Jay kept trying to yell back it them, "What?!  I can't hear you!"  As if hearing would have helped.  Whatever it was must not have been life altering, they didn't stop us and we didn't die.  One of them did roll his eyes at me so it was probably something simple.  :) Jay had seen the toboggan ride that would take us down while he was hoping not to die on the lift and wanted to go do that immediately.   He wasn't impressed with the history he was standing on.  We walked up steep stairs of varying sizes until we were at the top.  It was a perfectly clear, "fog" free day!  It looked like you could see forever.  It was very weird to think that 2200 years ago, someone went to work and said "Day one.  Lay the first brick."

It was still early in the day and the other busses that had been stuck behind the sheep didn't have a guide that cracked the whip and kept them moving like we did and so the wall was fairly empty.  Katie of course, had very little interest in the wall and I didn't let her down much as she is tiny and the openings for the arrows were at ankle height and plenty big enough for my tiny baby to crawl through.  In the US, they would have been netted or fenced off but I've never read about any Chinese children falling off the wall, so they must not have a problem with it.  I wasn't going to risk it.

After the requisite pictures, we headed to the toboggans.  Katie made me promise to be the one to take her which pleased this mama's heart, and so she and I got on our little toboggan careening down the mountain together.  Lest you think Disneyesque, I'll say there were no seat belts or safety harness but we lived and had a blast.  

Jay and Laura were just behind us and in true Laura style, she screamed halfway down the mountain.  :) she also had a hard time obeying the keep 35 meters behind the people in front of you and I have the whiplash to prove it!  No really, the collision wasn't THAT hard.

Laura didn't know that I heard her tell Katie, "On the next adoption trip, you can ride with me."

At the end of the toboggan ride we got another bus ride  (we are trying to keep all the transportation promises we've made Katie over the last few months and are succeeding)  and Laura finally got her ice cream that she has wanted the whole trip.  (Oddly enough, it was Burger King). We also got to see an off-brand Mickey Mouse dancing on the sidewalk at the establishment beside ours.  Tim asked David what Pseudo-Mickey was doing there to which David replied, "To attract people to the bar."  Um, because nothing says come into my bar like Mickey Mouse?  Jay stared at e weird dancing Mickey for a while and stage whispered, "I don't think that's the real Mickey Mouse!"

We had a quiet ride back to the city center and went to lunch at a family's house in Hutong.  Laura was worried that her kidneys were going to be harvested and I have to say, I was holding on to Katie tightly in the ride through the back alleys.  I couldn't help but think how much Tami and Felix would have truly loved this part of the trip.  The food was very good and Tim was a wonderful guest.  If you didn't know him, you may not have realized how hard he had to work to get that cabbage down.  I have the sweetest husband.

Next we drove like mad to make our 3:30 showing of the acrobats.  It was crazy.  Jay wanted to know, loudly, if any of the guys were going to be naked.  A family that also looked to be on an adopting trip turned around and gave me the evil eye.  So if you are on one of my adoption fb groups and reading this...we really don't take our 5 yo to strip shows routinely.  (I think he was thinking about the Tarzan show at Disney, really.). :) Katie, in Sanford tradition, fell asleep during the noisiest part of the show ( 8 motor cycles  driving crazy in a circular cage).  She slept through the exit, changing who carried her and the drive back to the hotel.  It is 4:30 am and she still hasn't awoken.  We were all exhausted!  She missed out on the birthday cake that the hotel sent up and the one we had ordered which came shortly thereafter. Jay was very sweet though and said to save her a rose.  :)

I collapsed at 7:30, an hour after Laura, leaving the guys up working in Legos.  :)

Whew!  Was that way more than anyone wanted to know?  Tomorrow should be much quieter.  We will eat, pack up and board the plane for a four hour ride to Chengdu!  Getting closer!

Blessings, y'all.