Homecoming

We are finally getting settled in with our new baby. Zanna is almost sleeping through the night now. She is charming, curious, happy, and loving. Calla adores her and plays with her constantly. Zanna is the best early birthday present we ever got for Calla!

Headed Home

Here are the last photos from China. Sara, Chris, and Zanna leave Guangzhou at 8:30am and arrive in Tokyo at 1:40pm. They leave Tokyo at 3:40pm and then have an 11 hour flight to Detroit. Their last flight leaves Detroit at 3:25 and arrives home at 4:36pm. The Detroit flight is Northwest #1505. We can't wait for the moment when our family is complete at last.

Buddhist Temple

Hi! Here are some photos from today. We started off the morning power shopping. Chris's stomach started to act up, so Zanna and I spent lunch and into the afternoon together. He was feeling better in time to go to the Chen House and the Buddhist Temple.

These are the photos from the Chen House. In the one photo you can see all of Zanna's fans. It is amazing how people will just come up and stare! The architecture was really incredible. I spent most of my time admiring it versus what was inside. There is a detail shot of all the carving.

The next set of photos are of the Buddhist Temple. I videotaped the actual blessing, so I just have the one photo of the group. There is also a picture of the Monk doing another blessing and Buddha behind him. It was a really cool place. There is a pagoda with 7 floors--really 14 because the stair sets are doubled. Chris, Zanna and I made it to the 2nd floor. We were tired!

As for her hair, that is the only do she'll put up with. The barrettes come right out, and we tried a headband, but that was in her mouth within minutes!

She truly has the best personality! She makes friends at breakfast, walking down the street in the shops. Everyone wants to be her friend.

Can't believe we'll see you so soon! Chris confirmed our flights today. They are still working on a seat for Zanna from Detroit, but I'm sure we'll find some
nice person to switch with us.

I think that is all for now! I am battling a cold, so
I am off to sleep. Have a great day!

Village Photos

From Sara:

Here are a few more pics from yesterday. I explored the market off the island. It was a sight to see! They had cats in cages right next to chickens. I guess the motto here is that if it moves, it's edible. It made me so sad!

Medical Exam

This came in Sara's e-mail today:

Chris just got home from Dad's night out. Sounds like they had a great turnout and a good time. Here are a few pics from the medical exam. Zanna weighs 7.9 kilos, which is approx. 17-18 pounds. She slept through most of the exam, then cried the rest. We got all of it on video so I don't have many still shots. She was a trooper.

That is about all for today! She was perfect for me tonight. She basically fell asleep during her bottle and didn't make a sound after that.

Tomorrow we are going to the Buddhist Temple and to the Chin House (?). Chris said people really enjoyed when they blessed the babies at the Buddhist Temple.

First Plane Ride

From Sara:

We had a very big day today. Zanna took her first plane flight! She did a great job. She sat in her own seat during take-off, ate a biscuit, and did not utter a sound. The flight was only about an hour ,and towards the end she started to doze off. But, she didn't cry once! She is a pro. We arrived in Guangzhou right before lunch time and checked into the White Swan Hotel. What a beautiful place! After waiting for our luggage to arrive, Chris, Zanna and I walked down to Lucy's to eat cheeseburgers. Zanna had eggs. After that Jeannie gave us a tour of Shamian Island so we could see where everything is. It is nice to be here. The air was pretty clear today, and we saw blue sky! Around 6pm, Zanna and her Dad started to crash, so we stocked up on groceries and called it a night. Tomorrow we are going to the jade and the pearl factory!

I have included some more photos. The first is of Mary, our Nanchang tour guide. The second is obviously the plane flight. The third is of the Schuetz's who live in Carmel. Their poor baby has bronchitis, and they went to the hospital in Nanchang last night. They wanted to put an IV in her little head! So, they decided against that and had a much better meeting with the doctor in the hotel today. And, the last is, of course, Zanna.

Zanna's New Game

From Sara:

Here are a few more photos. I included some with a close up of her teeth. Today, I watched Zanna in the morning while Chris went to fill out paperwork. We Skyped Greg (Sara's husband) for a bit, which was fun. He was calling all of his family to sign up for Skype so that they could Skype with Zanna. After our Skyping, we took some photos and then went for a long walk. Zanna took a full bottle around lunch time, then she began a new game. She throws her yellow cup so it is out of reaching distance. Then she does everything in her power to get onto her stomach and scoots on her tummy over to the yellow cup. Then she throws it and starts over. I got it on video, and I think she is saving the full crawl for when she gets home! She took a long nap today on the big bed and woke up just in time to get whisked away to dinner. Now we are packing and gearing up for her first airplane ride tomorrow!

Village Trip

Here's the latest from Sara:

We had a good day today. We went to a village on the outskirts of town. They said we will not go to the town with the orphanage because it is a 4 hour trip roundtrip. They said I could go by myself, but I haven't found any interest outside of me. They also said it would be over $100 and I would not be allowed inside the orphanage.

We did tour a different village today to give everyone a feel for the type of place the girls came from. There were chickens and ducks along with a few froo-froo dogs roaming the village. You don't really expect to see a Pomeranian here. Zanna slept through most of it, and Chris got the entire town on video. It is heart-wrenching, yet the people are so happy. Mary, our guide, said she grew up in a similar village and all of her memories are happy. She feels bad for her kids who are growing up in an apartment and don't have the same experience of the village she had.

Zanna took 2 bottles today by lunch time. I am not sure what she has had since. I think he has added some rice cereal to the bottles to get her to eat it. She was in great spirits today. After the village, we went for a walk about town with a couple from Cincinnati. We walked the pedestrian walk, basically a long strip mall, and ate lunch at McDonald's (Zanna did not eat McD's, don't worry!) Then we walked down a road with a lot of porcelain shops and calligraphy.

Zanna Has a Good Day!

I received the following e-mail and photos from Sara today. Thanks, Sara!

Here are some photos from today. Zanna ate a big breakfast this morning of eggs, watermelon, congee and oranges. She really loves the fruit. She wore her dog outfit today. She came over to my room to play and get dressed while Chris showered. She was fine with everything except for the hair clips! Only her Dad can put those in for her. She looks very cute with them in. She has some wild hair, but both barrettes and ponytails work!

She also got along well with the stroller. She cried a bit at first, but once it got moving, she was good. We went to tour a temple today, and she went all the way to the top. I don't know how she did it, but she slept through a singing and dancing performance. Her dad videotaped the whole thing. He was on top of the video today. Also, Zanna was making friends with Kate from Cincinnati today by sticking her finger up her nose.

After we got back from the temple, Jeannie and Mary, our guides, called the orphanage to check on Zanna's eating habits. After a little persuasion, Zanna took most of the bottle. So that is good.

Now Zanna and her Dad are napping and I just had a drink with Pete, April, Ava, and Sienna, from Greenfield. We are going out for a group dinner tonight. Last night's dinner was excellent, so hopefully tonight's will be the same.

Sara & Zanna

Here is what Sara wrote about Zanna today:

Zanna is perfect. She seems to be more mature in a
way than the other girls. She does a winking thing a
lot and I saw a small smile today. She likes to lay
on her Dad and sleep, especially in the bjorn. She
likes simple toys like cups and flashlights. She
tried to get to know piglet today, but that didn't
last too long before she was back to the cup. And,
she loves watermelon!

Chris said that Sara is so helpful, and he can't imagine being in China without her. I hope she is enjoying the trip. We are so grateful for her help. We need to settle on a name for Sara. The nickname I gave her when she was a baby is "Bean". Her nieces, Bella and Lola, call her "Beanie", so we can't use that one. What do you think about "Aunt Bean"?

Gotcha' Day

At 10:30 last night, after waiting 1 year, 11 months, and 11 days I was able to see Zanna for the first time. Chris called me, and I was able to see her live via Sara's computer. I wasn't expecting to be able to see her, so it was an excellent surprise! Sara sat the computer in front of the mirror so Zanna could see herself as I talked to Chris. I woke Calla up, and then we did two-way video so the sisters could see each other for the first time.


There was no ceremony involved in the hand-over of Zanna. The babies came into the room, and Sara spotted Zanna. When the orphanage worker started to hand Zanna to Chris, she tried to go to Sara. While I was watching her on video, she kept Sara in sight the whole time and cried when she left the room. They have agreed that Chris will take care of Zanna for the first few days, so she can bond to him. When Zanna got her passport photo taken, she cried until the woman handed her back to Chris, so it sounds like she is starting to see Chris as her daddy.

Chris says that Zanna hasn't smiled yet, and she seems very serious. Zanna is pretty traumatized by the whole thing. She also has a little congestion and looks like she doesn't feel well. She ate very little yesterday. She can sit without support, but she can't stand. She also pees every time he takes her diaper off. Darn those split pants! He did hear her babble a little bit, and she almost cracked a smile. Chris wants to have some time to just play with her. His goal is to get her to smile tomorrow.

I think she has the sweetest little serious face, and I can't wait to kiss it!

Gotcha' Delay

Chris called to say that their plane to Nanchang was delayed by about 5 hours. The travel group voted to postpone meeting their babies until tomorrow because it would have made their gotcha' time so late in the evening. They spent the day in the airport and got to the hotel at about 7:30pm (there).

Apparently, the hotel, and Nanchang in general, is a little grimy. I was able to talk to both Sara and Chris via Skype, which was cool. It was like having a 4-way conference call between Sara, Chris, Calla and me. Sara and Chris's pizza arrived while we were talking, so we signed off.

They will get Zanna at about 10:00am there and will call me when they get back to the hotel at about 12:30am (here). I will get to say "Mama loves you" to little Kun Kun in just a few more hours. Of course, she will quickly learn to respond to "Pudlet", "P-Dad", "Jo Jo", and all the other names we have already started calling her.

The Wall

Sara and Chris went to the Great Wall today. Look at the cool photo Sara took with the moon in it. They also drove by the new Olympic Stadium. You can see why they call it the "bird's nest".

Happy Birthday, Zanna!

Today is Zanna's first birthday. I wish we could all be together, but Chris and Sara will have her in a few more hours.

I talked to Chris this morning, and he said they took a "forced march" tour to the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. He was glad he had been to both places before on more informative and leisurely tours. Two days to see the sites in Beijing means you don't get to linger much.

When we wake up in the morning, Zanna will be with Chris and Sara.
Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! We love you!

Jet Lag

Chris reports serious jet lag this evening. He sounded exhausted on the phone. He and Sara went to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden city, and ended the day with the acrobat show. He said there is a lot of construction going on everywhere and things looks different in Beijing than they did four years ago.

He received some updated information about Zanna. Her nickname at the orphanage is "Kun Kun", she eats 6 times per day, and she takes two, 2-hour naps each day.

Tomorrow, they will go to the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. I hope it is warmer there tomorrow morning than it was here this morning!

Click on the photos to see them better.