Link to some pictures

https://public.me.com/samantha.h.reid

We have our daughter!

Hi All!
((We are going to post our pics on Flicker because we can't seem to get our pictures on blogger or FB while we are here...coming soon..))

We had the most amazing day. We woke up this morning, had our usual enormous buffet breakfast, and then got on our bus to go to the government building where we would meet our children. There are 16 families adopting in our group -- the kids range in age from 4 to Ellie's age, 14 months (she is the youngest one). When our bus arrived, 2 children were already there with their ayis. It was overwhelming to watch these families unite. One family has an especially amazing story: they had met their son when they adopted their first daughter one year ago. He was in her daughter's orphanage and was her good friend. He has an especially gregarious and flirty personality, so they never forgot him. Then, in all of their daughter's pictures from the orphanage, they found him sitting or standing next to her. They decided to look into adopting him, but they knew it was a long shot. It is very hard to find a specific child in the system. But they found him with the first agency they checked. Then, an even bigger hurdle to jump was getting the agency to allow them to adopt him, because they had not started any paperwork yet. Normally, agencies try to match children with families who can adopt them the soonest. But, due to his severe special needs (dwarfism and spina bifida) there were no other families interested in pursuing his adoption. So, they were matched with him! And when they united today, the little boy and his new sister remembered each other from the orphanage! It was so sweet to see them hug each other and start playing.

We waited for a long time for the group from Ellie's orphanage to arrive. It is a 3 hour drive, and apparently the van broke down on the way and they had to change cars. When she was finally carried out of the van by her caretaker, I recognized her right away. She was handed to me and was quite happy. Amazing! Most of the other kids were screaming and crying. Ellie was bundled up in so many layers and a yellow snowsuit on top -- she looked like a yellow snowman! And it is unusually warm here -- about 65 degrees F. Nicholas was so super excited to see her -- he kept saying "Wow! She is so cute! " and hugging her over and over again. And Ellie was nonplussed. She just kept eating a cracker and looking at us, like "what's up with all of you, oooh-ing and ahh-ing and taking pictures?!" She let John hold her (which is not always the case for some new adoptive dads. These kids are mostly taken care of by women and some have only seen men at the doctor's office). John even got her first smile by making a silly face.

We hung out in the Civil Affairs Office for some time, as other families awaited their children's arrivals. In that time, Ellie was very happy. I got her to laugh by lean her back and then picking her up and kissing her. She has the best smile! She is really so beautiful, even with her pretty severe cleft. She has a big smile and bright eyes. She is not quite as big as the agency told us: I bet they weighed her with her 4 layers of clothing on! She looks more like 9 months rather than 14. She is crawling and standing while holding on to beds and tables etc. She has even taken a few wobbly steps.

This kid is an eater! She loves the Gerber Puffs. I regret that I did not bring more than the 3 containers I packed. She ate half of one on the bus ride home. Then she downed 1 1/2 bottles in the hotel room. We tried to put her down for a nap but she would not sleep. She just stood up and looked over the edge and cooed and giggled. We are suckers -- we tried for an hour and then gave up. Now she is crawling all over the room, playing with stacking cups and Nicholas' little army men (not putting them in her mouth!). She is so happy and content! She loves to be ticked. She has a great laugh and makes terrific eye contact. She also has a temper -- she is not happy with me when I tell her no.

Of course, we are thinking this might just be the honeymoon period and this all might hit her soon. But, for right now , everything is much better than we expected.

Nicholas is a little sick. He threw up on the bus ride home -- I think he might have drunk some water here or perhaps he has a stomach bug. I hope that's not it because I don't want Ellie to start vomiting too.

OK, off to play with Ellie! I promise to post the link to our flicker pics soon. Sorry if any typos -- not time to proofread!

Sam xxoo

Flying South

Hi
Still can't post new pictures but I will work on it. I wish I could show you the pictures of my goofball Nicholas, making silly faces in every shot. And I simply must get this figured out before we meet Ellie tomorrow. I know some of you, my awesome friends, have been waiting to see this little girl as long as I have!

We got up this morning and, after a big buffet breakfast, met up with a group of other Americans adopting, and took a bus to the airport. We left Beijing for the province in which Ellie lives, Henan. We took a domestic 1 1/2 hour flight and I desperately tried to finish "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo" because there might not be any more time for reading after today. As I remember from Nicholas' adoption, the first couple of weeks together are trying. It was nice to get to chat to others adopting. Some other families also had their previously-adopted children (the soon-to-be big brothers and sisters) with them. And three of them are 5 years old, just like Nicholas.

We are now at the hotel where we will bring Ellie "home" for the first time. I think it hit me that Ellie is coming soon when housekeeping delivered the crib to the room! It is so weird but as much as we have been preparing ourselves for her for so long, we just are not prepared! It is just like having a biological child: I don't think it hit me that I was having Olivia or Peter until we headed to the hospital each time.

John is busy preparing gifts for the ayis and orphanage directors and getting money exchanged. Nicholas is busy watching "Dino Dan" on the iPad. I am busy freaking out!!! But in good way...

Love to you all
Sam

Day at Nicholas' Orphanage

Hi Everyone!
We are having computer trouble so we are not able to post pictures (hopefully we will figure this out soon!) but I will still try to keep you in the loop with words. We hired a car to take us the hour drive to Nicholas' group foster home, the House of Joy, in Langfang. He lived in this home from age 5 months until we adopted him at 22 months. There, he lived with about 30 other kids, nannies, and a family originally from the states who started this home. They coordinated his surgeries (repairing his cleft lip and palate) and took great care of him. We simply cannot be more grateful to them.

I was a bit worried about how Nicholas would respond to being back in his old home. We had talked a lot about it and he did not seem worried at all. But I thought maybe being there might trigger something -- some sight, sound, or smell would cause him to relive some old trauma. But, he was perfectly ok. More than that -- he was gleeful! We were greeted by Elisa, the American woman who ran his home, and he hugged her and then almost ran over her to get inside the home. We met a group of younger boys living there now who were playing with blocks at a table with some ayis. After saying hello, Nicholas ran up the stairs towards where his old room is held. I don't know if he remembered or not; perhaps he was just being his usual investigative self. I told Nicholas how I remember walking up those stairs and seeing him for the first time. His ayi was holding him and his eyes were wide open as she told him "mama, mama" while pointing at me. But Nicholas did not remember that -- he just looked into all the rooms and then asked if he could go downstairs again to be with the boys. He was amazingly comfortable and happy.

We spent a really nice morning with Elisa and her husband Mike and the boys in the foster home. Mike and Elisa are amazing people who have truly devoted their lives to helping orphans. They have 4 adult children and one 12 year old adopted from China. As we were talking one little 2 year old sat on my lap and played with my iPhone with incredible savvy. Nicholas helped me hand out lollipops and M&M's. One little boy really held my attention. Some of you have heard me talk about Elijah before. I had seen his picture in one of the newsletters sent from Mike and Elisa and just fell in love. Elijah is not only a beautiful 4 year old boy, but one whose gentle spirit comes across in photos. At one point, John and I tried to find out which agency was representing Elijah so we could adopt him (Mike and Elisa never get that information). But we could not find him to request his file. I believe that that did not work out because we were meant to find our Ellie, but at the same time, I felt a lot of strong emotions upon meeting Elijah face-to-face. I hope he finds a family soon.

Nicholas was so comfortable at the House of Joy that he even went off alone with Elisa for a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich. Then, he went out to play in the yard with the older boys. I don't know for sure, but I got the feeling that Nicholas has good memories -- or at least good feelings -- about his former home. That makes me feel so relieved. And, even though a child can never get the love and care he or she needs from anything other than a family, he has done so well. He has had his share of hurdles to jump, but he never fails to surprise us in his strength and flexibility.

We're in Bejing!

Hi!
After a long trip we arrived in Beijing last night. Nicholas did so well on the trip (thank you, Apple, for inventing the iPad) and he is so excited. It is fun to watch his eager anticipation of "getting [his] baby." He really can't sit still -- right now he is looking out of our hotel window and declaring that "everyone here has black hair...like me and Daddy!" I am also so happy to be back in China. The minute we stepped into the airport (the new one built for the Olympics is impressive, by the way), I was just overwhelmed by memories. I have such love for China.

We are about to set off for a trip to Nicholas' orphanage. It is about an hour away from our hotel in a city called Langfang. We are going to visit with his ayis (nannies) and with the American couple who runs his former home. I am interested in seeing how he will react.

I will try to post pictures tonight -- having a little trouble right now.

Sam

Food and Adoption

As many of you know, I love food. I don't know if I am a foodie exactly, because I wouldn't say my love of food is refined. I like it all. From every part of the world. A few years ago, when I was contemplating adopting from a number of countries (China? India? Ethiopia?), a friend of mine joked that I was choosing my child's country of origin based on my food preferences. Maybe because my own heritage is English, she went on, I felt a desperate need create a family with at least some culinary proficiency. Although I still maintain that some English food is good (Shepherd's Pie is the best comfort food of all time), I admit that I fell in love with my husband partially for his family's Greek cooking. And, I guess I did not hate the idea of simply having to learn to cook Chinese food for my son who still prefers Chinese cuisine over anything else, and who has a huge appetite. Oh, the sacrifices.

So, I was very excited to go to China for the first time -- mostly because of meeting my son, but a distant second was the thrill of exploring the food. Would it be like the Chinese food we get here? How is it different in different parts of China? What would be my favorite meal? (I really spend a lot of time thinking about these kind of things...) But, alas, the irony: I was pregnant with Peter. In my first trimester. And very, very nauseous. I didn't want to eat anything except grilled cheese, the only thing that sounded good to me at the time. I became that American that walks around in a foreign country searching for grilled cheese! I hate those people!

So, watch out, China. I am not pregnant this time, and I am very very hungry. Nicholas and I are going to do some damage.

Packing and Paperwork

We are busy trying to get everything together for the big trip. This is harder than it sounds because we don't know what size Ellie is, nor do we know if she is drinking from a bottle or a cup, or eating solids, etc. We don't know what kinds of toys she likes to play with, or (the bigger question) at what developmental stage she is. We were so lucky with Nicholas' adoption, because he was living in a group foster home run by English-speaking American ex-pats. We were able to email this wonderful couple and get all of our questions answered. Ellie's adoption is more typical of Chinese adoptions: we are going into it a bit blind, and just have to make do. So...I have packed 6-12 months clothes, 12-18 months clothes, a couple of 18-24 months (just in case! she does look chubby from her pictures), bottles, sippy cups, a bunch of toys and books, regular formula and non-dairy-based formula, a bunch of assorted Gerber snacks and baby food, and the kitchen sink (as my mom would say).

And, still, the paperwork never ends. We are compiling all the documents needed for the adoption and the Visa paperwork while we were in China. Busy days, but so exciting!