Oct 12 –
Sorry we missed you yesterday – another family needed to borrow our computer. Let me tell you about the last 2 days
Oct 11
was our official adoption day, as I mentioned we were only guardians for the first night. We had filled out most of the paperwork on Monday so I really thought it would quick- NOT! First we had a family photo for the adoption certificate, then we had our interview and everything was
notarized, we handed over the money (which I was so glad to be rid of) and gifts. Then
we were ready to go – so we said our good byes and thank yous to the orphanage director and headed back to the room. We had a quick lunch and then Joy and I went for a massage. I must admit I was very nervous to leave Cassie for with Sean for almost 2 hours but it was FINE!!! I came back and both Dad and Cassie were in one piece.
It was an emotional day for our group yesterday, so about 4ish we decided to go to the market to get out and get some
air. Besides we needed diapers and to see if they had gotten Cassie’s formula
in. Well we wound up not getting back until almost 7pm – we walked through
the park and took some pictures. Cassie is definitely a walking baby- she doesn’t
like the stroller either- she wants to be held all the time—our backs are breaking but it is ok we do not mind! When we got back Cassie was starting to get fussy and the rest of the group had already
headed down to eat dinner so we chose to just order in. Cassie is not keen on
the bath – Monday we did her in the sink but tonight she was really fussing over it – so I thought it would be
safer if I just got in the tub with her- but that was not much better. Needless
to say we survived and fed her and got her off to sleep. Then we ordered room
service - Sean got a burger and I got what I thought was going to be a chicken and rice soup type thing – but I was
wrong. Hey Brea – “the rice was good though!” Then we called it a relatively early night and hit the hay!
Oct 12
– Today Cassie is starting to come out of her shell and we are starting to figure some things out too! This morning we got up and she ate a full bottle and then ate some eggs at breakfast. This morning we were to go to the Lotus Market again but with our guide Yisha to help
us find things we may not be able to find because of everything being in CHINESE. We
were able to find a formula that was the same as what was given to us but just in a different package, we also got some fruit
juices for Cassie on hopes of getting her bowels moving. She had not had any
BM and very little wetting so far either, but today she ate pretty regular finally and drank almost 8 ounces of water- so
we are hoping that works otherwise Aunt Joy is ready to show Cassie her nursing skills!!
After we got back from the market we fed Cassie and then put her down for a nap- which both Sean and I took right along
with her……there is something to be said for this napping thing J After our nap we played
out in the hall with Olivia, Chloe, Jade, Lilly for a little while. Cassie had
her first animal cracker – she was not sure what to do at first but I held it to her mouth and she seemed to like the
taste enough to reach for it when I took it away—so she was willing to try to figure out how to hold onto it, after
she finished it she wanted more water which I am promoting highly. Then we all
left for a walk in the park. It was really nice – they were planting flowers
in the garden and Steve (who speaks some Chinese) told them how pretty the garden looked and they responded it was not as
pretty as our girls! People often stop us wanting to touch Cassie or say hello
and tell us how pretty she is. We got our first grin at the park tonight
– she has the cutest dimple right under her eye—we are hoping to see more of it tomorrow. Then we all took some family photos and came back inside to get ready for dinner. We gave Cassie a bottle and she took the whole thing and then ate some more steamed eggs at our Chinese
dinner. Tonight Sean and I actually got to eat too…. we were going
to try the high chair but they never brought one, but Cassie sat in our lap and ate right along with us. She did not fuss ‘til we got back to the room and wanted to change her. She does not like to be put down and likes even less to have her clothes put on or off. So we figured since she was fussing anyway to go ahead and give her a bath and get her ready for bed. Well her attitude is getting better but her displeasure of baths has not yet changed. You would think we were KILLING her the way she screams! But we got her bathed and then wrapped her in a towel and she had started to fall off to sleep while Sean
was making her last bottle. We tried to feed her but she wanted no part of it
– so we just got her dressed and Sean rocked her to sleep while I cleaned up.
Let me tell you I am really enjoying most of this trip but this having to boil water for everything stinks!!! I can’t wait to get home to safe drinking water, a dishwasher and washing
machine. I must have boiled about 10 pots of water to wash out bottles and a
few clothes. Sean posted the photos while I did that and now he and Cassie are
sleeping and I figure I am next just as soon as I finish here. Well tomorrow
we are going to the department store in Anhui- I am hoping to find some jeans for her and maybe a few other things too! Will let you know how all that goes
Nighty night from the Canaday’s
in CHINA
Oct 13
Well it is about 2pm here and Cassie
is napping so I figure I would start and tell you about our morning. Once again
I had to wake Cassie up- and like Sean and I she is not a good morning person either.
Cassie was much better this morning and playful… even got her dressed without a river of tears. By the way Grandma the cherry outfit fits and looks really cute – but the fashion police did not
approve (will explain more later on). We went down for breakfast and actually
were allowed to eat as well. She went into the high chair with out so much as
a whimper. She had eaten a bottle in our room- but now she was ready for what
they call steamed eggs- to me it tastes like rice pudding without the rice- she LOVES them!
After breakfast our group went to a department store. It was very similar
to like our Macy’s or Dillards except you had to pick out your item get a receipt pay for it and then go back to pick
it up….it was hard to remember where you bought what. Ok so I admit I am
already teaching Cassie about POWER SHOPPING! Lisa get ready I think you have
future shopping competition. We walked by toys and of course they kept showing
us more and she liked them all so I know you know what happened- yup we bought ‘em all!!! I bought her a few clothes since some of what we brought for cooler weather is too big. Got a pair of Levi jeans, a cute pink overalls and a pink sweater.
When we were done we went down to the basement where the grocery store was and created quite a stir! By this time Cassie had passed out and her head was in my shoulder- well apparently that is not good because
this old woman came up and pulled her head out of my shoulder and kept pointing at her nose.
I guess she thought I was going to suffocate her J This same woman also
kept rubbing Cassie’s bare legs – I think she was telling me to put more clothes on her. See maybe I should have put the tights on her but to be honest she is a little sweatbox and I feel bad
putting so many clothes on her. Of course Sean and I are dying because we can
not use the AC for fear of her getting sick- then as we have mentioned she has been refusing to be put down- so you can see
what this means--- we are already hot and then we have this little furnace on the hip.
When we were finished we went outside to wait for our group and Steve Jenny and Jade were already out there with a
crowd around them. They were fascinated by them originally because of the baby
and them being Americans, but the group seemed to get larger once they realized that he spoke Chinese. There was a man there with a little boy that was flirting with Cassie- he has the biggest smile! I think Sean got a picture of them together. Then we came
back to the hotel and played with some of her new toys… we got her to “crawl”. OK I am not sure it qualifies as a crawl but more of a “I want that toy and you keep moving out of
reach Belly Drag” Then we tried to get Cassie to take a bottle with no luck and finally she gave in to a nap so she
and Daddy are sound asleep and having a snoring convention!
Will write more later
Ang
When Cassie and Sean woke up they joined
our hall party. We did finally give Cassie a suppository- Aunt Joy showed me
how, but I hope not to have to do it too often. When she was done word was finally
here about their baby… it was so exciting like referral day all over again. I
am so happy for she and Dwight. Well let me tell you that suppository took over
pretty quick and Cassie was doing the funniest things with her legs and butt. I
changed the first one – Sean took the second one and all I can say is HILARIOUS!
But I am so proud he has not asked for gloves once – not that we have them anyway. Tomorrow we are going to the orphanage – so we have been discussing what we might do as a group gift. It will be a 2 hour bus ride there and 2 hour back and there is no hope of seeing
any of the town – according to Yisha the city is very strict on strangers coming in and we are lucky they even allow
visits for the orphanage because they did not used to.
We went to dinner at the Brazilian place
again- there are only 3 restaurants to choose from – I am so ready for Mexican and I think Sean would like a pizza. Well I think that is all for tonight as I need to get some rest 5 am will come awful
early!!! Sean is downloading photos from today, so take a peak -
Oct 14 Well
today was a stressful day! It started out with our trip to the orphanage…
we had breakfast and then left at 8am. It was over 2 hours to the orphanage and
let me tell you it was the worst ride I have ever taken!!! We were sitting at
the wheel well seat and it was so BUMPY that I had a cut on my leg by the time we got to the orphanage. On the way there I had Cassie in the carrier and that helped keep her from bouncing around. Honestly it was so hard to take pictures because we were driving SO fast and swerving. We nearly hit 2 pedestrians and a bunch of cars, busses and bikes.
The ride there was such an eye opener to me- our slums (projects) look like a resort compared to rural China. The only thing I can compare it to would be a bunch of OLD; abandoned buildings –
but people were obviously living in them. There were chickens, ducks, dogs and
other livestock just off the main road. They were also burning some kind of rice
hulls or something and it was the most AWFUL smell. The fumes were really bad
as well by the time we got there I was really having trouble…. between the fumes and the ride I was bout ready to hurl!
The orphanage was
just like the photos I had seen. There are 2 buildings for the elderly and one
building for babies. We were allowed to go in but only allowed to take pictures
in the conference room nothing in the baby rooms. The nannies were all excited
to see the girls and called each of them by name. That made me feel really good
to know they were really cared for and not just a number on the side of a crib. Cassie
just lit up when they called her Chen Feng and began clucking at her…she definitely knows her Chinese name we use it
when we want her attention for photos ;-) It was very cold there – that
is why I have her so bundled up. You know they like them bundled and I had prepared
by having the jacket and blanket never thinking I would really need them…. I had wished I had a jacket for myself. The duck dress Cassie wore today was lent to us by Laura, it was too small for Olivia. It was adorable, but certainly not the best choice for the weather. The orphanage was smaller than I expected and although there were many babies there were not as many as
I had thought there would be. We got to see the baby rooms and the playroom. There were about 10 babies in the playroom playing and they were listening to music-
one in particular was swaying back and forth and smiling so happy. We asked about
which crib belonged to what baby and we were told they were rotated so there was no one special crib that was theirs. After that we were invited upstairs to the conference room where we were offered fruit
and water – we were happy for the water but passed on the fruit for obvious reasons. They then gave each of us a certificate
(receipt) and a gift for the babies, a tassel with a guardian of some sort on it. We
then were allowed to ask a few questions and take photos with the directors. I
left and went down to change Cassie and feed her but everyone started boarding the bus so I never got her carrier back on – We then headed back home again….
Another heck of a ride!!!!
Once we got back we
were kinda low keyed – Cassie had been having trouble and Mommy was about a half step away from a MELT DOWN!!! 9 days is a really long time to be Heifi…there are only 3 resturaunts ant none
of them have much of a selection. We are going to try and venture out tomorrow
to a place our guide recommended.
We have a new sister
in the group- The Curry's got their baby. Yeah.
Ok am going to have to end now because I am literally falling asleep
as I type - we go to the zoo tomorrow so I will try and finish up about today and tomorrow when we get back from the zoo!
Hugs from the Canaday's in China
Oct 15
Ok let me start by finishing yesterday’s adventures first ……. After we got back from the orphanage I just
really had had it. I am so tired and the food here is the PITS I just want to
go HOME! We got Cassie to sleep and ordered lunch from room service and it was
really bad so I just lost it! I told Sean I want to go HOME NOW- so he asked
if I wanted do you just go home and not finish the adoption I was like NO! She
is really coming out of her shell and that makes it bearable. All the girls are
so precious and it is amazing how they change every day. Cassie was still having
tummy troubles – and finally it got so bad we had to assist her (yuck) it is amazingly true that when it is your child
you do not mind. Even Sean Mr. Germaphob himself helped out- she really felt
much better afterwards you could really see a major change in her. So after my
2nd melt down in front of some of the girls from our group they convinced me to go to dinner and guess what we
had…. CHINESE again. I am not eating Chinese for a while once I get home
so don’t even ask. When we came back to the room we decided to try a bath
in the tub again –and guess what she really liked it – ok until I washed her hair – but she was playing
with the water and giggling before that. Then Sean gave her a bottle and got
her to sleep while I cleaned up – man what a day it was!
Wow I can hardly believe we have been gone so long already. Today was a much better day all around!!! We got Cassie up
and played a bit before getting dressed and heading down to breakfast. Today
we went to the zoo- it was really nice. It was so much more than I expected –
and we were quite the celebrities. We got a lot of thumbs up and hello’s
– but the strangest thing was when they wanted to take photos with Cassie and I.
It was so great to get out and walk but let me tell you my back is killing me.
When we got back the girls decided to go and have a foot massage for I think a whopping $8 ach for 90 minutes. So 4 of us went and it was a lot of fun- Sean took Cassie over to the Lotus center
and got some noodle soup cups and soda. He is really doing great with Cassie-
I came back and he had her stripped down to her onesie and was feeding her Pork, Kelp and Carrots (yum yum). At 4:30 we all met in the hall for the Shower for the Curry’s and their new baby. It was so much fun – they had no idea of our plans! Then
we all played for a while and then agreed to go get dinner. You guessed it CHINESE. But tonight we ventured outside of the hotel and went to a new place we were quite
the spectacle there as well. The food was really good – it was 50 rmb per
couple which comes out to just over $6 USD and I have some photos of all the food on our table and they had the same on the
other so you `can see the feast we had. It is amazing at how inexpensive some
things are here. They even had tanks where you could pick your fish for dinner
and a birdcage of canaries but we were afraid to ask---
Then we came back and played with Cassie again for a while – she is such
a wiggle worm now it was hard to even change her diaper tonight because she wanted to play.
Then we gave her a bottle and she fell asleep pretty quick tonight but I know she was TIRED. She only had a brief nap today on our ride to the zoo. After
she went to sleep I had a covert mission for manicure, pedicure and lip exfoliation… it is much easier while she is
sleeping!
Well that is all to tomorrow we go the Ancient Village
See next page for more Heifi adventures--