17 Months later

Our trip ends tomorrow

But the real journey starts when we get home!

Well this will be my last entry from China. It has been the most amazing trip of our lives and obviously one we will tell Keira about one day. We have the best souvenir you could have, a beautiful little girl. Everyone in our group has been wonderful and the Chinese people were so nice to us. Our guide and coordinator were fantastic too and helped with the adjustment issues and medical issues we all ran into as well as showing us some great things around Guangzhou.

Keira is a member of our family now just as if she was our biological child. We want all our family and friends to meet her very soon and know her as she begins her life in the US. If she exhibits 1/10 the charm, personality, intelligence and sweetness she has shown us over the last two weeks, you will fall in love with her just as much as we have. See you soon

Photo session for our adoption group

Keira's US Visa has been approved!!!!

Our little girl's visa has been approved by the US consulate. Tomorrow we take an oath and receive the visa so we can leave with her at 9:00 Friday night!

Keira in her traditional Chinese red silk pajamas

Keira models her red silk pajamas in preparation for our group photo tomorrow.

Baiyun Mountain and Chinese Laundry

Here's a couple pictures from Baiyun Mountain

Here's how you get your laundry back in China. Beautifully folded in air tight plastic bags.

More outings with Keira

Sorry I haven't blogged a lot. With all the activities and trying to keep an eye on Keira, it's hard to use the computer.


Keira is a constant source of entertainment and joy to both of us. As you saw from that video yesterday, she was walking all over the place and laughing when Janet opened the door. Today she finally used a high chair for a whole meal. She is so cute. She smiled like she was so proud of herself.

We went to the Guangzhou museum yesterday and ordered two hand painted Chinese scrolls with her Chinese name painted on them. We're supposed to get them today. We also went to the Jade and Pearl market.

I wound up buying a bunch of DVDs for $2 a piece. Some of them aren't even out on DVD like Blood Diamond, The Departed, Borat, Casino Royale and Babel. I checked them out on my DVD player on the laptop and the quality seems really good but they're obviously bootlegs. Some of them are Russian.

We went to Baiyun Mountain today and went up in a cable car. It was really nice up there. Lots of people playing hacky sack. Hackysack is played everywhere you look... on street corners, in alleys and especially in parks. It's played with a feather with weights on the end. I bought a few. I took a bunch of video.


A lot of old Chinese women are really nice and come up to us and smile and give us a thumbs up when they see Keira bundled up. They get mad if they see a baby in our group that isn't bundled up. Even when it's 72 degrees outside. We also went to an aviary which was reall nice.

From here on, it's just paperwork for the US embassy. We get the visa on Friday!

We fly at 9:00 PM Friday night and arrive at 5:30 PM at LAX. That's when Keira becomes a US citizen!

We've created a Monster

Well today Keira went from just walking a few feet to me to walking all over the hotel room. As you can see from this video we have a little monster on our hands. Wish us luck!

Note: This video takes a while to load. Please be patient, it's worth it!

Keira calls Janet Mama now...

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM JANET CHUCK AND KEIRA


It's already New Year's eve in China!

Today Keira started calling Janet "Mama". Not sure where she picked that up but it seems like she came up with it herself.

We'll see if it sticks. Yesterday we went to the Guangzhou zoo Keira was a good girl. She liked the monkeys the best. She is a really good when she's in the stroller. She turns around and looks at me when I push her and gives me a sly grin.

Today I went shopping in downtown Guangzhou. Janet stayed at the hotel because she has the sniffles and Keira does too and we don't want her to get sick. It is wonderful being around all these adopting families and their new babies but the a lot of them have colds etc so we have to be careful. One couple in our group's baby has bronchitis, fever, ear infection and ringworm! We really want to avoid all of those.

I bought a knock off Burberry purse for Janet and a beautiful Minnie Mouse sweater and hat for Keira as well as some Chinese children's books. We also got Keira a red silk Chinese pajama set.

Tonight we go on the New Year's Eve river cruise. Gotta bundle up Keira good for this. Luckily it's indoors in a heated cabin.

Some nice pics from the Guangzhou zoo

Much better video of Keira walking

I deleted the older entry and replaced it with this. Notice how delighted she is when she walks.She wants to do it 100 times. She is such a joy to be around. She is a little comedian.

IS THERE NO ONE TO HELP ME?

This was the shirt Keira was wearing under her sweater when she was delivered from the orphanage:

Three pieces of Good News!!!!

Keira had 3 major advances today:

1. Her first poop, finally!!!!

2. Her first ride in the stroller. She loves it now.

and finally...

3. She walks!!!

WARNING: ANYONE NOT INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT BABY POOP, SKIP THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH.

Well after 4 days without a poo poo, we had to bring her to the hotel clinic. They gave her an enema and it seems to have opened the flood gate. 2, 3, 4 poops since then. The Chinese call it "good news". I call it a really smelly blessing.

Later on I stuck her in the stroller and just started pushing her up and down the aisles of the hotel. At first she was scared and then she started really loving it. Our backs are very happy for this development. We walked to a restaurant down the street and it was much easier with the stroller.

And for an encore, she took her first steps for us. Janet bought her these squeaky shoes at a shop down the street and she loves to hear the squeak. So sh put her on the marble floor and shr walked about 4 steps to me. She walks so cutely. Something tells me by the end of the week she'll be running all over the place.

We are having such a fun time just playing with her in the hotel. She is really a joy to play with. She is very inquisitive and seems to want to play with everything. She seems to be more interested in things like water bottles and tupperware than toys. She screwes lids on bottles and takes things apart. The down side to this is when we go to a restaurant, she wants to touch everything, knives, forks, cups of coffee etc. So when we sit down we have to move everything away from her. Next step is getting her to use a high chair!!

We went to an electronics and silk market in Guangzhou but didn't find anything and were a little wary to buy things like mp3 players. We took a cab back and the driver seemed to purposely take a long way. He crossed over the same river twice. Even so, the 15 minute cab ride cost about 27 Yuen, which is about $4!!

Keira Passes her Medical with Flying Colors!!!

Hooray! Keira passed her medical. First we had to have her picture taken at the local photographer. She really posed nicely and the picture came out great. Next we went to the local clinic for her adoption medical. She was a real trooper and cried only when we took her clothes off and put them back on. She seems to hate that. They measured her and weighed her and checked her temperature and pulse. She is now 19.5 lbs and 78 cms.

Applying for Keira's Passport

Today we applied for Keira's passport. We went back to the Civil Affairs office and got our "red book" which is an official document saying the adoption is complete and you may apply for a Chinese passport. It has a picture of the three of us and it's going to be a nice souvenir. But first the passport office needs it.

We went to the police station and turned the red book in. We got to drive through downtown Guangzhou which is a mess at rush hour. Our coordinator Lina and guide Simon are really nice and know what they're doing. It has gone so smoothly.

Keira's sniffles seemed to have resided. We gave her the baby Tylenol which she hated. We gave her a secial children's tea for constipation twice today. Hopefully that will loosen her up by tomorrow (the joys of parenthood).

Keira's attraction to me was even more apparent today. She cries if I don't hold her which means I held her about 6 hours today. My upper arms are aching. No complaining, this is what I signed up - for but 20 lbs fells like about 80 after 6 hours! Janet held her too but she always wanted me eventually. She wouldn't even let me put her on the bed to play like she did the first night.

Finally at the end of the day, she began to play on the bed without me holding her. I think the little girl is still getting used to the idea of someone always being there for her. Something she's not familiar with. She still is shy to shows us how she walks which we think is because she fell a few times. We're not rushing her. All in good time.

She's asleep now. We will be soon to. Tomorrow's the day for her medical. Then some fun outings for the weekend. Next week we work on the US administrative part.

P.S. I could not get online for much of the day apparently because the Taiwanese earthquake damages some lines. Didn't take many pictures today. More to follow...

Ahhhhhhhhhh

A better quality video using the video camera. A quiet moment in the hotel.

It's official now. Keira is our daughter

Today began with a trip back to the Civil affairs office. We were interviewed by the registrar and the notary. We gave them each a gift. The questions were

Why do you want to adopt from China?

Do you love this child and will you take care of her?

Will you give her good health care and education?

Will you never abandon her or abuse her?

I think you can guess the answers. Keira needs a LOT OF LOVE. She is very clingy but also very happy and playful. She will not go in the carriage because she wants me to hold her. She has the sweetest little attitude. Like she's saying "please love me". We went to the shopping area to buy her formula and we used the baby carrier. She wants to face me when I carry her. She clings to my shirt like Velcro. It seems like she is bonding equally to both of us which is GREAT . There seems to be no adjustment trauma so far.

It is easy to get her to laugh. Her laugh will make you melt (see YouTube video). She laughs at the froggie. She laughs when I tickle her tummy. She has a cute smile and she nibbled my nose. She has a lot of teeth. She gobbles the formula really well. She has not gone poo poo yet but they are saying that this is normal for the adjustment. In fact none of the babies in our group have pooped yet either.

We are going to need a crib unfortunately since she won't be able to use the toddler bed. She is too rolly polly and young to use that toddler bed. I was thinking about ordering one to deliver online.

Sorry for the blurry pictures. Yesterday was a blur.My hands were literally shaking when I took those pictures. The video is from Janet's still camera so it low res but at least you can see her incredible smile.

We will also need diapers. Forget that thing about Chinese kids being trained at 6 months. I think that's changing too along with everything else in this amazing country.

Keira was restless tonight and would not let go of me. I must have walked her around the hotel room 50 times. We think she is reacting to having people that will hold her all time. Something she probably didn't get in the orphanage. She puts a tight Kung Fu grip on me and won't let go.

We finally got her to sleep but she is a little congested. We go to get her medical review on Thursday so we will tell the doctor.

I better go. The typing on the keyboard might wake her up. Goodnight.

You Tube Video #2

Ummmmm Cheerios...

It really happened!

With the Orphanage Director

After almost 2 years we finally met our daughter Keira. What a day. We will write more about the experience in the next few days but just suffice it to say it was one of the most (if not the most) exciting moments of our lives. When she first came out she was very shy and tired but she let both of us hold her. She did not cry but was very aprehensive. We met the orphanage director and the nanny and found out she is a feisty girl and is naughty sometimes. UH OH.

Daddy

When we got back to the hotel Keira started playing with her new toys. She loves her singing froggie. She laughed and shook her rattle. She has a beautiful laugh as you can see in her You Tube video below. She loves to be tickled in her tummy.

Mama

She ate her special formula. They mix formula and rice cereal until it is like hot cereal and feed it from a bottle with the nipple tip cut off. She loved it. She also likes biscuits.

We signed the final papers and the adoption is finalized tomorrow. We've decided to keep her. A very easy decision.

The day ended with a spectacular laser show in the harbour with lasers shooting off the bridges and the hotels. All for Keira. What a day. What a spectacular day.

You Tube Video #1

Keira is ours. A happy little girl with her new little froggie:

The big day

Going Home Barbie - Doesn't she look like Janet?

We're up early because we're so excited. Janet's playing Christmas music in China. Just 10 hours until the big moment. I slept well but the bed feels like a floor. Hard as a rock. Everyone in the group has mentioned this. I guess this is a Chinese thing. Janet is making milk tea. She was amazed at how fast the water heated up. We are trying to decide what Keira will wear when we get first dress her up.

We got our Going Home Barbie. These are going for $350 on ebay!

Settling in for the long haul

Everything's going great. I'm so glad I brought the laptop. I have instant connectivity to the world. We are just relaxing now. We had a nice lunch. Chinese noodle soup and clear rice noodles. We've met 2 couples in our group. There are shops all around here geared to adoptive parents. We met this girl named Coco in a shop right next to the White Swan who asked Janet if she was Chinese. She was really nice. In fact someone told us before about her. They sell tons of those red chinese silk pajamas. THEY'RE ALSO GOING TO DO OUR LAUNDRY!!!

We went and bought a nice stroller for 20 bucks. We're going to bring it home and give it to my Mom and Dad.It's as good as the $100 one we have at home.



Tonight we're having a Thai dinner with the CHI group. Tomorrow at 4:00 PM at the Center for Civic Affairs in Guangzhou is the big moment.

We had a nice Thai dinner with the group. There are people from St Louis, Chicago, California and Kansas City etc. All very nice. One guy (Rod) from Nashville is an agent in the country music industry. The coordinators are all very nice and speak English well. We bought big water bottles because we don't want to drink the tap water. When we walked home at night there were 6-7 police on every street corner. This is a very safe area.

We're here!!!!

We made it!!! We're in the White Swan relaxing and it is beautiful. Guangzhou is a really clean place. There are adopted babies everywhere at the White Swan. It is baby heaven. We're going to eat lunch. Will have more later.

PS The Chinese people are really nice

Our Itinerary

Friday, Dec 22
We leave for China at 11:50 PM - A 15 hour flight!

Sun, Dec 24
We arrive in Guangzhou - staying at the White Swan Hotel

Mon, Dec 25
We meet Keira. The fun begins. Honey, where's the diapers???

Tue, Dec 26
Do adoption procedure (registration & notary)
The adoption is complete. Keira is ours.

Wed, Dec 27
Receive registration certificate and apply for passport

Thurs, Dec 28
Free day - Shopping

Fri, Dec 29
Sightseeing: Yuexiu Park, Chen Clan Temple

Sat, Dec 30
Sightseeing: Guangzhou Zoo - Keira sees her first Panda!

Sun, Dec 31
Sightseeing: Baiyun Mountain

Mon, Jan 1
Free day

Tue, Jan 2
Get all paperwork and passport back, Do paperwork for ACS

Wed, Jan 3
Medical exam for Keira

Thurs, Jan 4
ACS Appointment , Farewell dinner

Fri, Jan 5
Take Oath ACS and get visa in the afternoon (around 6:00pm)

Leaving at 9:00 PM for California
Arrive 5:50 PM LAX!!!!!!!!

Keira is an American Citizen!!!

Our journey to get Keira (Gang Xia Pin)

This blog is a journal of our trip to pick up our daughter in Guangzhou, China. Her name is Gang Xia Pin and she was found on a road side in Maoming, China on August 24, 2005. She was one day old. We were referred her as our daughter on November 2, 2006 after waiting 14.5 months. We named her Keira Michelle Pin Ungar. We love her very much already.

We are leaving on December 22nd to pick her up. We will meet her on Christmas Day, December 25 and spend two weeks with her in China before returning on January 5th, 2007. We want everyone to meet her and know her when we return!

We'll try to post here often and keep everyone apprised of our journey! Check in often!