Our Last Post from China...

Ok, first scroll down to see the pics I posted. I had to get creative with Blogger today. The first one is the traditional red couch photo. Guess who's kid is being a bully? I think she was just really fascinated with the precious baby next to her! The second picture is us in front of the waterfall in the lobby of the White Swan Hotel.

So, this is our last day in China. It's a little bittersweet for me. Danny and I both love China, but at the same time, we are anxious to get home. We are looking forward to getting into a routine and getting healthy! (Still a little under the weather). And, to say we miss Tanner and Brassie would be an understatement. We miss them so much!

Yesterday, we went to the American Consulate and took an oath to always take care of our girl. No problem! It's crazy that today is our last day here. The day will most likely go as follows: first breakfast, then take a walk, then come back to the room and nap, then go eat lunch, come back to the room and nap again, pack up our luggage, shower, check out, then head to the airport! Our flight on China Southern leaves here at nine p.m. The funny thing is we land in LAX the same day at 6:50! It's nice to gain a little time at the end of this trip. As soon as our plane lands, Landree will be an American citizen!

We want to thank you all again for hangin' with us through this very long journey to our daughter. We will have to think of a new name for this blog, seeing as how we aren't "waiting" anymore! The next time we post will be from home!
Love from China,
Shannon, Dan and Landree

Stewart Trio at Yuntai Park

Mommy & Landree

Cute Pic For Everyone to Enjoy!!

A Happy Girl!

A big, cheesy smile!

Technical difficulties in Guangzhou

I'm going to make this short and sweet. We are having a very hard time with the internet here. And it's not free either! Grr.
So....everything is going fine. I'm still really sick but dealing with it. Danny is doing much better and Landree is great! She had her medical exam yesterday and weighed in at a hefty nineteen and a half pounds! Tonight we are going on a river/dinner cruise. Tonight is the Moon Festival.
Check back soon!
Love,
Shannon, Dan and Landree

Day 2 in Guangzhou

Sorry folks, I can only upload these two photos for now. It's taking forever to upload pics, and it's time for me to take a nap! Today, we visited the Chen Family Temple. We some some amazing art pieces created over many, many years. It was a very beautiful and peaceful place. Later on, I'll upload some pics to Flickr is blogger is still not cooperating.

Anyway, I was also able to upload this adorable picture of Landree taking a bath. She loves it! She keeps trying to "eat" the water. It's a total crack-up. She had a great day today. She made it through all of the touring without too much fussiness. It gets better and better every day. We still can't believe that someone a million miles away was able to match the perfect baby to us! I can't imagine it any other way. Landree is sleeping right now. So is Danny. We both have pretty bad colds, but his is worse today. It just so happens that we have a doctor in the group and she told me to give him Landree's Benadryl. That's what we did and boy, he is sleeping like a log, which is good because he hardly slept last night. He had a horrible headache. Better go for now. I have to try and get some shut-eye while I can as well. Will post again soon!

We Made it to Guangzhou

Yesterday was our last day in Chongqing. We went on a tour of an old architectural street that had some pretty fabulous shopping. The bummer was, we only had one hour there! However, that was all about Landree could handle. She was pretty fussy by the end of that trip. The rest of the day, Danny and I felt pretty terrible. We tried to rest the rest of the day. We are both feeling better today, but by the time we arrived here in Guangzhou, we both had headaches and our stomachs were all upset from the turbulent plane ride. Landree did great on the plane. She started screaming for awhile there, but it was because she was hungry. After she ate, she knocked out and all was well.

Guangzhou is pretty cool so far. We went and ate at Lucy's, which was pretty good. We walked around for a bit, but then came back to our room because Miss Landree needed her nap. She's sleeping pretty hard right now! We'll take some pics and upload soon. We just need some time to adjust. When Landree wakes up, we are going to hit the town I think. It looks like there is some great shopping here! It's also very pretty here. We have a week to enjoy it!
Love,
Shannon, Danny and Landree

Who Thinks I'm Cute?

More Pics From China

E'Ling Park

Today was a nice day. We went to E'ling Park in Chongqing. It was beautiful there. We were quite the attraction ourselves. While walking through the park with Landree, many Chinese women once again, stopped to have a look. I tried uploading some pictures of the crowds gathered around, but once again, I'm having trouble with pics. Anyway, we also went to a traditional tea ceremony here in the park. They taught us the appropriate way to drink tea. It was very interesting.

This afternoon while Landree was napping, I went with a bunch of other moms to get a "wash and dry." We went on down to the local salon. What an experience! I sat down in a chair while a young girl proceeded to put shampoo in my hair. After she had my hair all up in an enormous lather, we went to go rinse it out. Now, this is no regular salon. Instead of sitting in a chair and leaning back with your head hanging over a sink, you lay down on your back so you are even with the sink. While rinsing your hair, you get a massage! It was pure heaven, I tell you. They did this for what seemed like a long time. Afterwards, they comb out your hair. In my case, it was more like ripping it out! Ouch! It was all good though. All of this for only two bucks! It was a great time.

Landree is doing great today. She ate a lot more and also downed a ton of cheerios at dinner. Texture seems to be the issue for her. We are working on it though. Right now she is sitting on my lap trying to get to the computer. Better go!

I'll Let the Pictures Speak for Themselves

Chongqing Zoo and a Poopy Diaper!

When our guide told us we were going to the zoo just so we could see the Pandas we thought, "Big deal-we have those at the San Diego Zoo." I'm so glad we went! The zoo was great. They had A LOT of pandas. They also had Red Pandas but the pics didn't turn out so great because I didn't have the awesome camera lens on that my bro-in-law Rob let us borrow. But we had it for the Giant Pandas! Afterwards, we went to KFC which is right next door to Wal-Mart. It wasn't too bad! Actually, the food here has been pretty good. Although, we haven't really participated in too many authentic meals yet. Wal-Mart was an experience. There are people standing around everywhere! Not to mention the meat counter. Boy oh boy...fresh turtle anyone? Or how about some eel? None for me, thanks. Anyway, we loaded up on some more diapers and beer (yep, they have great beer here called "King's Beer). During the whole Wal-Mart experience, our Landree-girl was very fussy. I was worried because she hadn't done well, you know, the "number 2" thing. Finally, when we got back today, we noticed a very distinct odor coming from our beautiful daughter and whamo! Poopy diaper. A small sigh of relief and a much happier little girl.

Landree is doing great today. She sure sleeps a lot though! We kind of want to wake her up just so we can play with her. It gets kinda boring hanging out in the hotel room for hours on end. Especially when you're hungry. Can you tell it's around dinnertime?

Tomorrow we are heading out to Eling Park. It is supposed to be a beautiful garden with amazing views. We'll let you know tomorrow!

Grieving Day

Since today wasn't the best day, I thought I would just post some pics from yesterday. Landree woke up this morning (after sleeping for eleven hours) in a great mood. We played, then we went down for breakfast. Around twelve thirty, we gave her her second bottle for the day and she knocked out. We had to go back to the Civil Affairs office for a family photo and some final paperwork. She slept the whole bus ride there. As soon as we stepped foot back into that office, all "you-know-what" broke loose. She was not a happy camper. She screamed almost the entire time we were there. When we got back on the bus, she seemed to get back to her happy little self, and then we came back to the hotel room. Once again, not happy. Not only do we believe she is grieving, but she's also teething like nobody's business. We put some orajel on those little gums of hers and she's been sleeping ever since. Poor baby. Danny and I have ordered room service and hopefully it gets here quick because we haven't eaten since breakfast! The good news is: LANDREE IS OFFICIALLY OURS AS OF TODAY! Tomorrow, we are heading out to the Chongqing Zoo and then heading over to Wal-Mart. No kidding! We all need baby supplies.

Thanks to everyone for all of your comments. We can't wait for you all to meet her!

Two Become Three

Oh, how lucky we are. Here she is! A bus picked us up at our hotel at 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday. We made it to the Civil Affairs Office at 2:30 and by 3:00 we had Landree! We were the last couple out of ten to get her! It all happened very fast. Dan showed the official our passports and Landree was being put into my arms. She smiled right away! I cried and cried. This was the best day of our lives! As soon as I held her, she layed her little head down on my shoulder. It was so cute. After I held her for a few minutes, I handed her over to Danny. She was instantly intrigued with his nose! Landree never cried. She was so alert though. Very curious. She was looking around at everything, but it was so cute though, because she would look up at us to see if we were still there. After about twenty minutes, she knocked out and woke up later on the bus. We played with her and she started laughing! The best sound in the world, I tell you. She loved looking out the window on the bus. When we got back to the hotel, we headed straight for our room. We played and played. After a diaper change, a bottle and a fresh pair of pajamas, she was down for the count. About eight o'clock, we put her in her crib and she's been asleep ever since. It's now three thirty in the morning and she's still sleeping!

All of the babies yesterday were beautiful. They were all wearing ladybug outfits! Landree's happened to be pink. The babies were very clean. They smelled like they had just been bathed and all of their little nails had been clipped. (One of the first things I did when Landree fell asleep at the Civil Affairs office was to take off her socks-she has the chubbiest llttle toes)!

Danny and I feel so lucky. We now have this very beautiful baby with the most incredible personality. We feel like we now have our "reason." Anyway, sorry it took so long to post. "Blogger" was not cooperating. I'll post more pics as soon as we can! Thanks everyone for all of your support.
Love,
Danny and Shannon

First Full Day In Chongqing!

Here are a few more pics from Chongqing. It is 5:45am and today is Family Day! The countdown begins. In less than 10 hours we will finally have Landree in our arms. We finished up some paperwork last night which included an updated picture of our girl. Boy is she beautiful!!! She was wearing a red and gold chinese shirt and the picture will also be her passport photo. These pics are from our hotel room and on our trip to the market for supplies. Everyone we meet on the street is extremely friendly and curious at the same time. Our next post will be our family photo!! Stay tuned!!

We are in Chongqing!

We made it! After a two-and-a-half hour plane ride and another hour by bus, Danny and I are now sitting in our hotel room here in Chongqing. We have two hours to rest, then our guide is taking us down the street to a grocery store where we will buy water and snacks. Two hours after that, we will do a ton of paperwork, then we are on our own again. We are trying to decide if we will go with the group tonite for a traditional "Hot Pot" dinner, or if we will hang around here and rest. (I caught myself a cold right before we left and right now it's kicking my butt-so, we are thinking of staying in our room and resting since tomorrow I will be a Mommy and Danny will be a Daddy!

[Flickr] luckybamboo1 has invited you to see a Flickr page

Here are some more pics! Instructions Just follow this link to see the page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/upload/ (If the link doesn't work, try copying and pasting it from this email into your browser's address bar.) Flickr is almost certainly the best photo management and sharing application in the world. If you'd like to see what I use it for you can check out my profile page or browse my photos.

Day 2

What a crazy, busy day! We started out with a busride to Tien An Men Sqare, then walked through to the Forbidden City. The architecture is amazing! It felt like it went on and on forever. There were people everywhere! Danny and I were quite the site everywhere we went. Our whole group was! It is true that many Chinese haven't seen westerners before. After the Forbidden City, we took another long bus ride to a restaurant that was attached to a friendship store. We ate a wonderful lunch (we were adventurous too and lived to tell about it). We did some shopping in the friendship store afterwards. It was awesome. Finally, we ended the day at The Great Wall. Amazing. Danny climbed twice as high as I did. Boy, am I going to be sore! The weather wasn't very clear, but it was still beautiful. Well, in a few hours, we head out to Chongqing. It's a two and a half hour plane ride from Beijing. Tomorrow afternoon, we will meet Landree!

[Flickr] luckybamboo1 wants you to see some photos

Ok, I'm going to try to see if this works. Someone comment and let me know if you can see these pics please! (Comments are sent to my yahoo account which I CAN see). My photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/13544977@N07/ Some of my recent photos (By the way, if the photostream link doesn't work, try copying and pasting it from this email into your browser's address bar.) Flickr is almost certainly the best photo management and sharing application in the world. If you'd like to see what I use it for you can check out my profile page or browse my photos.

We Made It!

Just as I thought, blogger is blocked here in Beijing,
so I'm emailing this post and am hoping you all can
see it. Sorry no pictures, but as soon as we are
somewhere we can get this up and running, we'll post
some pics.

We feel like we've been traveling forever! Everything
went just fine. The fourteen hour flight to Guangzhou
was great. We slept 7-8 hours! We ate a hilarious
breakfast (we took pictures) and then slept a little
more. Our layover in Guangzhou was five hours! It was
so HOT there!

Our connecting flight to Beijing was 2 hours and 45
minutes. We sat next to a twenty five year old Chinese
woman named "Shiny." And she was! She was so nice and
I think she loved that she could practice her English
with us. We had a great conversation about Chinese vs.
American culture, music and education.

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know we are here
and safe. Tomorrow, we head out to The Great Wall,
Tien An Men Square and The Forbidden City. We will
write again soon!

Oh and by the way, everything you hear about the nutso
driving around here is true. The traffic is crazy! If
you aren't almost run over by a car, it's a bicycle!

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Ready to Go!

We are all packed and ready to leave. We're having a car come and pick us up at five o'clock tonite! That should give us plenty of time to make our 11:50 p.m. flight to Guangzhou. Then, we'll have a connecting flight to Beijing. We should arrive at 12:45 p.m. on Friday! (Around ten o'clock in the morning on Thursday for you folks). It's happening... yay!

We'll let you all know as soon as we arrive in Beijing...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAUNYA!

Last night, we went out and celebrated Taunya's birthday. We ate at a delicious Mexican food restaurant. Afterwards, we all went bowling. That's right-I said BOWLING. It was an absolute blast. Anyway, when the night was over and we all started to go our separate ways, someone mentioned something to the fact that, "Next time we see you guys, you will have a baby." Woah. This one hit me like a ton of bricks. It's true. We've spent many, many weekends hanging out with Brad & Taunya. Now, we're going to have a baby.

You see, right when we REALLY started hanging out with Brad & Taunya, Danny and I were trying to get pregnant. Then, when that didn't work, we started fertility treatments. There was many a weekend where we had to excuse ourselves and go upstairs so Dan could give me shots. When that didn't work, we decided to adopt domestically. Another disappointment. So, when we finally decided to adopt from China, they had just about been through it all with us. We waited for 21 months to get Landree's picture and guess what? They waited with us whether they realize it or not.

So, Taunya and Brad, thanks. Thanks for being the great friends that you are and not giving up on us! We know we couldn't have always been fun to be around. We love you guys and Taunya, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL!!!

When We Come Back

Because international adoption has become much more popular over the last few years, there is much to read on attachment and bonding from those who have been there already. It is quite interesting, but makes perfect sense considering the situation...most of what popular theory teaches parents having birth children, doesn't apply to our situation AT ALL. Because Landree will have learned that most of her needs don't get met...we need to re-teach her that we ARE there to meet her needs. This means, at least in the beginning, not to let her "cry it out" at night when she wakes up, but to go to her immediately. It is also recommended that we allow her to sleep in our bed at night, to help promote attachment and bonding. There is also talk of not "passing her around" when we get home, or at the least, only us caring for her (feeding, bathing, changing, etc.) That way, she'll know exactly who her parents are and who she can rely on. Not to worry, though...there will be plenty of time for family and friends to dote over her... when she's ready. There have been few major problems experienced with the child bonding to the adoptive parents, although the amount of time it takes varies. Sometimes it is immediate. Normally, the child warms up to the parents over a couple of days and bonds in a short period of time. There have been instances where it has taken over six months to form a very tight attachment. Landree has been in an orphanage for the first nine months of her life. We don't know how, if or when her needs were met. We don't know if she was able to bond or not to a nanny or caretaker. Even though she may be too young to communicate her feelings, she may grieve for a period of time, either outwardly or through withdrawal. This grieving is actually an important factor in bonding to us. We cannot force this and we have to keep in mind that she didn't choose us, we chose her! Most of the kids travel relatively well, but there is some strain involved with strange new sights, sounds, smells, and all the people who look different. When we return, we'll have to give her all the time she needs to become accustomed to her new surroundings. If she is shy and reluctant to be passed around, please understand. After a short period of adjustment, if everything goes well, she'll quickly transition into being a confident kid. We plan to take as much time as possible to retreat at home and bond as a family, but we promise not to disappear for too long!

I want to thank all of our friends and family for all of your support over the last 22 months. Thanks Gina, for helping me with this post! Your experience has saved me many times! Four days to go!

5 Days Until We Leave!

Five days to go and we finally got an itinerary! Ok, so here it goes...
9/12 Leave LAX and arrive in Beijing on 9/14 (with a connecting flight in Guangzhou)
9/14 Rest (yeah right)
9/15 Tour the Great Wall, Tian An Men Square and the Forbidden City
9/16 Fly to Chongqing
9/17 Landree Day!!!!!!
9/18 Take care of paperwork
9/19 Shopping for babies
9/20 Tour Ciqikou Ancient Architecture Street
9/21 Tour Erling Park and get Landree's passport
9/22 Fly to Guangzhou
9/23 Tour Chen Family Temple
9/24 Shopping
9/25 Landree's medical exam
9/26 Tour Yuntai Park
9/27 Consulate Appointment
9/28 Consulate Interview and get Landree's visa
9/29 Fly Home!!!

We will physically be in China for sixteen days. I only have two more work days to go...my last day is Monday with Back-to-School night that same night. Then I'm off all day Tuesday and we leave on Wednesday! It just now hit me that this will be our last weekend in the US without Landree.

September 17th is the Day

We found out that September 17th will be the day we finally meet Landree! Fourteen more days to go! Nine more days 'til we leave for China. I better stop typing and start packing!