Our Day on Lantau Island

Hi Everyone,
We ventured out today. We took the Tung Chung MTR (like the T at home) to Disneyland Hong Kong. We saw a parade where everyone gets wet. Boy, did that feel good in the heat! We walked down Main street USA and felt closer to home. We had dinner in the Royal Castle. It is the castle from Beauty and the Beast. The kids had pizza in the shape of Mickey and Dennis and I had cheeseburgers!
After dinner, we walked around in Fantasyland. All four of us went on the Winnie the Pooh ride. Colin seemed a little scared at first, but really enjoyed it. Tatum held onto Daddy's neck. Next, we went over to Small World. The outside was like a wild castle. We all sat in one row for this one. Colin was mesmerized by all there was to see. Tatum got excited and clapped her hands! They were both so cute. They each got a t-shirt to commemorate the occasion...our first family of four outing!
Disneyland Hong Kong is much smaller than at home, but it is just as clean and well kept. It was the perfect ending for our journey.
We are so looking forward to coming home tomorrow! It will be so nice to see friendly faces and familiar sights. We miss our family and friends! Dunkin' Donuts must have seen it's stock go down while we were away. We'll remedy that quickly!
See you all tomorrow. We look forward to you meeting our little Tatum...she's a trip!

Back in Hong Kong!

It is so nice to be back in civilization! The hotel seems even nicer this time around. We walked around the outlets and had some lunch when we got here. Later, we are heading over to Hong Kong Disney to end this trip on a high note! We can take the train right from the hotel. We plan on having some dinner, riding some rides and watching the fireworks. I will post those photos tonight.

I'm sorry that I couldn't post any photos last night, we had to pack and put the bags out early. We all got up at 4:30 to begin our journey. The flight was very short, only 40 minutes!
I have posted some of the photos from The Red Couch yesterday.
I will update more later when we return from Disney!

Day #10

Hello all, no pictures to show today (sorry!). Today we went to the U.S. Consulate for the so-called "Oath Ceremony". It really wasn't much of a ceremony; we just had to promise that all the information we provided on our various applications and paperwork to the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service was complete, accurate and true. That's it, nothing about the adoption itself, or all the adopted children becoming U.S. citizens. We were not allowed to bring any cameras into the consulate with us. In addition to the "Oath", we were provided with a sealed packet of immigration documents that we must provide to customs upon our arrival in Newark on Saturday. The highlight of the Consulate visit was that we got Tatum's visa to enter the U.S. I guess she's stuck with us now!!! I think the highlight of today was taking all the pictures of the kids and parents on the infamous White Swan Hotel red couch! That was an interesting event...try as we might we were not able to get all the kids to sit still!
We have a busy day tomorrow. We are flying to Hong Kong at 8:30 a.m., which means we must leave the hotel tomorrow around 5:15 a.m.! That means a 4:00 a.m. wakeup call...the kids are going to love that. We had to pack all our stuff tonight (camera included, hence no pictures to add to this post)so that the bell hops can take our bags at 5 in the morning. We will post some pictures tomorrow when we arrive in Hong Kong.
If all goes according to plan after checking in to the Novotel, we hope to make a visit to Hong Kong Disneyland tomorrow afternoon if Tatum and Colin are up for it. After that, early to bed in preparation for our flight home on Saturday.

Day #9

Hi Everyone,
We had another quiet day here. Our visa appointment went off without a hitch. That means that we can come home soon!
We spent quite a bit of time in the play room today. Colin had a great time with the Lego's and the balls. Tatum was exploring and getting into everything. At one point they both got into the playpen and played ball together. It was too cute!
There was a thunderstorm this afternoon with some lightning. The storms come and go so quickly here. It seemed to only last about 10 minutes!
I went to a store today that wrote out the kids' names in Chinese calligraphy. It is so beautiful. It turns out that Tatum means sweet peace and Colin is forgiving forest. Seems to fit a think, especially the forest part!
We walked around the hotel a bit and took some pictures. Afterwards, we went to Lucy's and had dinner with two other families from the agency.
Tomorrow, we are swimming in the morning before the aftrenoon storms hit. We have our group photo at the famous red couch. I'm sure that will be a trip with all the kids! We then travel about 40 minutes to the US Consulate for our oath-taking ceremony. We are not allowed to take any pictures, but I will take some before we leave and after we return.
Then, it's time to pack!!!!!!!

Day #8

Hi Everyone,
Today, Tatum had her medical appointment and visa photo. She is 23 pounds and 30 inches tall. Dennis brought her himself because the room is very small and they said it would be very crowded if everyone went. They had three stations there. The first one checked height and weight. The second was heart, lungs and temperature and the third was an ENT. The doctors didn't speak any English, but all went well.
We spent some time in the playroom again today and Tatum is getting more comfortable going off on her own. It is amazing how far she has come in one week. She smiles and giggles and loves to tease!
It wasn't too hot today, so we went to the pool! Colin was in is glory! He swam away from me and smiled the whole time. Tatum liked the water and played with Dennis in it for some time. The pool area is beautiful and the water is so clean here. So much different from Nanchang.
All the excitement sent the kids into crash mode this afternoon. They both slept for almost two hours!
Tonight for dinner, we had Thai food. It was good for the parents, but not so kid-friendly. Colin spent most of his time playing with his Little People and reading while Tatum played with her toy phone. (thanks Nana!)
Tomorrow is our visa appointment. We actually don't go to the Consulate for this. Our agency goes in our place to file all of our paperwork. We just need to be available in case something is missing or the Consulate has any questions. We plan to hang out at the pool again tomorrow and maybe do some shopping. Rita, I will grab some shoes for you!
We are so looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone!

Day #7

Hi Everyone,
We have had Tatum with us for one week now. She is getting more comfortable everyday. She is still a daddy's girl, but I think she is getting used to both Colin and me. She is smiling and playing with me and lets me touch her. She fed Colin a cracker today and they had some parallel play in the room. :)
We took it very easy today. Breakfast in the hotel was fabulous. They had tons a food with many Western style choices. I was on cloud 9 because they had tater tots! Colin had some toast with real butter and some fresh melon.
We went down to the Mattel playroom and spent 1 1/2 hours there. It was beautiful! The carpet was soft and clean. They have a DVD palyer with many Disney movies available. There are tons of toys! There is a play kitchen, balls of all sizes, and Legos!
For dinner, we went to Lucy's. It is a restaurant on Shamian Island that caters to adoptive families. The menu is full of recognizable dishes. Colin loved his grilled cheese! Dennis had a chicken wrap and I had chicken tenders. Tatum ate a little of everyone's!
Later, Dennis is running down to Starbucks for our coffee fix!
Tomorrow, Tatum has her medical appointment at the Consulate and then photos for the visa. We also have our group photo on the famous Red Couch. We're going to try and hit the pool tomorrow as well. It seems to rain in the afternoon everyday, so we need to time it right.

Greetings from Guangzhou!

We have left Nanchang behind and started the final leg of our journey. We hopped on a plane this morning at 10:15 and landed in Guangzhou a little over an hour later. It took about 40 minutes to get to hotel. Tatum was a bit wiggly on her first plane ride. Colin was a trooper as usual, playing with his stacking cups and giggling all the way.
Guangzhou is very different from Nanchang. It is very tropical and beautiful. It is the 4Th largest city in China. There are high rise apartment buildings as far as the eye can see. It is very humid, but not as scorching hot.
We are staying at the White Swan Hotel on Shamian Island. The hotel itself is very beautiful and it overlooks one of the rivers. The Island is very western with some of the familiarities of home. We can get cheeseburgers and chicken tenders for Colin. We went to a 7-11 and bought Evian water...very comforting! You'll notice a picture of Dennis looking very happy. There is a Starbucks here!
Tomorrow, we are taking it easy as the heat is a bit much on us. We plan to hang out by the pool! Also, there is a very nice play room for the kids filled with Mattel toys. Tomorrow night, we head over to the Cow and Bridge, a Thai restaurant.
I will post pictures of the kids swimming and playing tomorrow, as well as, some of the Island.

Day #6

Hi Everyone,
Today we went to an ancient village. Rustic doesn't even begin to describe it! The buildings in the village were over 300 years old. The amazing thing is that people still call them home! They have no running water, rudimentary electricity, and animals living among them. They were all very friendly and wanted to show off their homes. We were supposed to visit three villages, but only made it through one. The heat was just too much for us!
Tonight for dinner, we had Pizza Hut again. It tasted great and Tatum seemed to really enjoy it. She thought that mine tasted better than Dennis'. I think we are making progress with Mom!
Tomorrow, we fly out to Guangzhou where we will stay at the White Swan Hotel. It is supposed to be beautiful with a nice pool. I know Colin will enjoy that! We even brought his bubble on the trip so that he can swim independently like the fishy he is!
We will blog more after we get there and tell you all about Shamian Island.

Day #5 (A Little Late)

Hi Everyone,
Sorry that I didn't post last night. We were all very tired. Colin fell asleep at dinner and slept all night. I went to bed shortly after the kids. This morning we are all bright eyed and bushy tailed!
Yesterday, we went on the Nanchang Star. It was huge! The pods keep moving and you just jump in. We all fit in one, nice air-conditioned pod. Colin really enjoyed it. His face was plastered to the glass the whole time! Tatum had a stinky in her pants, so she was a little cranky. The views were amazing! It took us one half hour to get around. After, we walked around the little park, but it so so hot.
We stopped to check out some porcelain that the province is known for, but we had no way to carry it back. For lunch, we had McDonald's. That was a treat!
We again went to the children's playroom where Colin went into the ball pit! Tatum wandered from Dennis and has started to laugh and play with us. I still can't hold her, but she comes over to me for food and to play. :)
Today, we are going to an ancient village. We are also going to try to go to the water show this evening again. (Hopefully, Colin will stay awake!)

Day #4

Hi Everyone,
Today started off with two lazy kids lounging in bed! We had a nice breakfast and went to the playroom for awhile. We couldn't go to Tatum's orphanage, so we had the day to relax. We went over to Tiffanie's and picked up Tatum's baptismal dress and shoes. They did such a beautiful job! They trimmed the white dress with silver and added traditionla Chinese buttons. The shoes are too cute!
For lunch, we headed out with Fei from the agency. We walked down to a dumpling place that had the feel of fast food at home. They have franchises of them here. The dumplings were very good. My favorite had chives in them. After lunch, we took in the "walking street". This is like a strip mall where no cars are allowed and there are shops on each side. Colin again drew quite a crowd. People kept wanting to touch him and take his picture. He was a trooper, but got a little freaked when a woman offered him a live beetle as a snack!
When the other family returned from their orphanage visit, we received our notarized documents. We may get Tatum's passport tomorrow!
This evening, we went to People's Park and walked around. The parks here are so beautiful! You would think that with so many people, the parks would be small and few. It is just quite the opposite! It started to thunder, so we hurried to our restaurant for dinner. The meal was again very nice and Colin tried many new things inclding a meat filled donut!
During dinner, some children came over and introduced themselves. They were proud to show off the English that they had learned in school. They gave Colin a card with their names on it for him to keep.
Tatum had a better day today. She wandered from Dennis a little and has started to play with us. She played peekaboo with me and let me nibble her arm. Her smile is infectious! We hope to see more of it in the coming days!
Tomorrow, we are going to the Nanchang Star. It is the largest ferris wheel in the world. It takes one half hour to go around once. It is supposed to have spectacular views of the Province!

Day #3

Hi Everyone! Today started out very rainy. The kids slept from 7:30pm until 6:15 this morning. Tatum is still grieving and will only let Dennis near her. She took her first bath today and it went better than expected. Colin took a shower and was a big help this morning.
After breakfast, we went to the Teng Wang Pavillion. It was really beautiful. It was built over 600 years ago during the Han Dynasty. (according to Mary) We saw a traditional Chinese music and dance performance. We walked around the park and saw tons of beautiful koi fish in the pond. Colin really liked them.
The highlight of the day was having real Pizza Hut pizza for lunch! After lunch, we went to the children's play room. It had a ball pit and some number squares that Colin liked. The change of scenery was good for him.
This evening, we're going to dinner with the group. We are also supposed to pick up Tatum's baptismal gown, shoes and tapestry.
Tomorrow we are going to People's Park and to a water fountain show.

Day #2 with Tatum

Today, Tatum has had moments of smiles and grieving. She is not fully used to us yet. She is still clingy to Daddy, but had let me feed her and give her water. She still pushes Colin away, although, he is not easily deterred.
Breakfast went very well this morning. It is amazing how she eats! She had eggs, potatoes and some croissant. Colin, of course, ate everything they had! After breakfast, we headed out for some sightseeing. We saw a park with a lake. It had some lotus flowers and beautiful willow trees. There was a pagoda in the background that we will go see tomorrow. It was sooo hot! We were all sweating within minutes of getting off the bus. Colin was happy to run around and drew quite a crowd of locals who thought he was cute.
After that, we went to Wal-Mart. That was an adventure in itself! Let me tell you that it is a big, crazy, hectic place! Plus, we couldn't read any signs and people just cut you off or bump into you. We were able to get more milk, water and some shoes for Tatum. (the ones I brought are way too big for her. Her feet are tiny)
Tonight, we are having dinner in a local restaurant with our group. We hope to head over to Tiffanie's to order Tatum's baptismal dress later as well.