Better Late than Never

Yesterday, after putzing around "our" neighborhood a getting the kids' passports, we made our way to the airport 

 (Crossing over the Yangtze River)

only to discover that our flight was delayed by 2+ hours. Then, we got to sit in the plane for 1 hour and 15 min.  Our flight lasted about 2 hours.  After we landed and got our luggage, waited for our bus, and rode to the hotel, it was after midnight.  By the time we got to our room (I'll regale you with room switch saga at another time), it was about 1 a.m. I cannot say enough what a rock star our little man was! He never fussed, got crazy, or whined...anything.  He ran about a bit in the airport but was "reasonable" for lack of a better word (and on 4 hours of sleep, I'm fortunate to forming moderately coherent sentences).  On the plane, he played quietly with the couple of toys we supplied or looked at the in-flight magazines.  

 (Making sure he has all the safety information down pat before take off)

Shortly after take-off, he fell asleep in my arms.  

He slept for about an hour.  Even with the post-flight rigamarole, he was exemplary.  So proud of him! Anyway, Carter zonked out around 1:30-ish.  Troy fell asleep around 2:00.  I started to get homesick and couldn't sleep right away.  It was closer to 2:30 before I gave up the ghost.  My falling asleep (and staying asleep) was in no way aided by the chainsaw in my room.  It was a short night.  Waaaaahhh! We had to be in the lobby by 9:30 to go to our medical check at 10:00.  It's pretty routine,

 (Carter might see it differently, though!)

 but nonetheless, it lasted about 2 1/2 hours because of the sheer volume of people in our group. We came back to the hotel and had (UGH) McDonalds because it's convenient, fast, and it was past nap time.  Carter napped, I homified the room, and Troy went to do paperwork.  Afterwards, it was later than we'd hoped, so we just went down to the OUTDOOR pool to talk with some fellow Holt / Wuhan adoptive families. 

 We decided to just go across the street for supper.  Again.  Ease and convenience.  Let's face it.  We're TIRED today! Hence the short, boring post.  Tomorrow is a free day.  We plan to go to Shamian Island (obligatory) in the a.m., back in the afternoon for a nap, and swimming after Carter gets up.  Then we get to go out for authentic Chinese with the entire Holt crew!  

Can't wait for a day to just relax!  Now, off to bed before I tip over.  Night!

Goodbye Wuhan

Today is our last day in Wuhan, Carter's birth city. Again, the departure is bittersweet. I won't be able to blog at my usual time because we leave the hotel at 3:00 to get Carter's passport, then we head straight to the airport. Our flight leaves at 7ish and is supposed to land in Guangzhou around 9:05 if we have safe travels. Prayers to that end would be appreciated! We're off to play outside right now. Carter had a rough night after seeing foster momma yesterday, woke up sad, and isn't feeling well. 😢 Poor baby. Back to square one for bonding. More from Guangzhou, God willing!

 Last night's delicious supper w/the entire Holt Wuhan crew!

 Carter playing at the desk. He sits there for hours. Literally. 

Orphanage and East Lake

Today we were granted the privilege of visiting Carter’s orphanage.  Although he did not spend a great deal of time there, we decided to visit as this was where our son started his journey to us. As we neared it, it became apparent that Carter recognized the area.  He grew quiet and sat very still.  We got off the bus and were greeted by a few of the staff: the director of foster care and international adoption and a couple of her assistants.  

We immediately went to the sixth floor.  We looked into a couple of rooms and prepared to make our way down to the fifth floor when we heard a shout and the clapping of hands. We turned and a familiar looking lady was smiling and walking at us.  She had been in the videos and pictures sent to us during our wait.  It was confusing and happened quickly. She grabbed for Carter (much to my chagrin), took him from my arms, and hugged and kissed him.  He patted her face and kissed her when she obviously requested it by pointing to her check.  Troy shot a little video; I took a picture.

He did not seem particularly pleased and quickly turned to me with outstretched arms, so we said our thanks and left, assuming she was his teacher or orphanage staff.  We came to find out later that that was his FOSTER MOTHER! Ah, regrets! There were no Madarin speakers with us, so we had no way of knowing. I could CRY! What I would have given to express to her our gratitude.  Carter was very obviously well-cared for.  He is silly, happy, and funny.  He knows how to give and receive hugs and kisses. He seems very well-adjusted and was seemingly well-prepared for this adoption. Now, she probably thinks we’re thoughtless, self-important, ugly Americans.  We did eventually tell the director to express our gratitude and explain we did not know who she was.  Sigh.  The good news?  Carter wanted to come back to US!! In fact, as we left the orphanage, he was very stressed. We had to stop for a group picture out front, and Carter wanted nothing to do with it. He wanted to get on his bus and get outta there!

(Yeah, Carter is pointing at the bus!)

(He REALLY wanted to go. I swear I'm not laughing at him. It's one of those awkward, we want a picture at the same place where we had received other photos of him in but he's freaking out because he really, REALLY wants to leave pictures. And yes. I know that all should have been hyphenated, but it's a blog not academic writing. And I'm on an iPad, so it wasn't gonna happen!)

After the visit to the orphanage, we went to East Lake.  It’s a pretty area.  Carter loved it because he got to run.  Always a highlight!  The best part of his running, at least in our estimation? He always comes back.  Sounds ridiculous and inconsequential, but in international / toddler adoption, it’s huge.  He was happy, we got some fun pictures, and we were ready to come back after the hour and half there.  The most important aspect of that little excursion?  Shorts and t-shirt weather! ;) It’s in the mid-60’s, and the Chinese look at us like we’ve lost our ever-lovin’ minds! They’re in long-sleeves and coats – some of them winter coats! We got a couple of “talkings-to” by a couple of grandmas because Carter is just in pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Cultural differences.  Haha!

 (FYI he's eating a granola bar over Dad's head.)

We’re back at the hotel now.  Carter is napping, Troy’s grabbing a bite here in the room (Ramen – I didn’t have to.  I got fried tofu with some tasty mystery sauce at the lake), and I’m updating the blog and Facebook.  A big day already, and tonight we’re going out with all the families to have a meal together at a local place since tomorrow we leave and head to Gaungzhou.  A bittersweet day.  I miss the boys like crazy and look forward to being one step closer to being back with them.  But with our departure, we leave behind Carter’s home.  We will take him from the only place he’s ever known.  Wuhan is not a particularly inviting place, but I will leave a part of me here as I did in Xi’an and Changchun.

Til later....

Too tired....

.....to do any post justice. So, I'll just post pics and say it was a nice day at the Yellow Crane Tower, the symbol, if you will, of Wuhan. 

Love the juxtaposition of old and new!

And love this face! (snack time at the tower)

Speaking of snacks, Troy found some FABULOUS street food!

Mmmmm!

More tomorrow. We have the privilege of visiting the orphanage, and then we will visit East Lake. We leave the next day, Friday, for Guangzhou---the last half of our trip. 

G'night from China!

What We're Learning

Here's what we've come to know in the first 48 hours.

Carter:

at first prefered Daddy.  Now, Mommy is where it's at, and he cries whenever she walks out of his line of sight. 

does NOT like socks.

is getting a fairly nasty cold. Guess he wants to compete w/Grandpa....

likes his head covered when he sleeps and is a tummy sleeper.

gets into bed easily but messes around for quite some time. (HELLO? ETHAN?!) 

may never have worn underwear even though he's potty-trained.  He giggled when we put a pair on him -- he came to us sans under garments on our Forever Family Day. 

will eat fairly spicy food but makes an adorable little face and sucks in air through clenched teeth before going back for more. 

likes. to. run. (HELLO!?  AIDEN!?) 

he will run away but comes back to "home base". 

plays well by himself. 

didn't know how to blow kisses or give high fives but does now. 

will repeat words if pressed to do so and is in the mood.

is the singularly best ignorer in the world (makes it really hard to ascertain his level of hearing loss!). 

is spicy, just like we were told kids from this province are. We love it. And this kid!!!!

And with a footprint, it is done!

Wu Li Jun became Carter Allen Sturgeon and our son and brother! This a.m. (Nov. 11, 2014) we officially became a family of five.

 Carter in the lobby waiting to go to the Civil Affairs Office.  

 We didn't get a family photo on Gottcha Day, so we took a quick shot once we arrived.  However, we have a lot of (wonderful) families in our group, so it takes awhile to complete the paperwork and interviews.  During which time, a guy's gotta eat, ya know!

When it was our turn, we promised to love, protect, and educate Carter and to never abandon him.  At the end, we signed and put our fingerprint to our signatures.  Carter gave his stamp of approval with his footprint.

 One last photo, and our paperwork was officially over.  Now we wait until Friday for Carter's passport.  After we got "home" to the Poly Hotel, it was time for a little snack and then a nap (turns out, a 2 1/2 hour nap -- this adoption stuff is rough!)

 Carter's red foot that marks him as part of our family! <3

Everything since has been anticlimatic.  Nap, shopping trip for supplies, laundry, supper.  Don't get me wrong, supper great and the company was wonderful, but it really has to take a back seat.  I mean, what can compete with completing your family with a beautiful little boy?

Ok, tubby is done, tonails are clipped, playtime with Daddy is over.  Off to dreamland! (Well for Carter. Big Bang Theory for Mom and Dad! Yay for VPNs and CBS online!) Night!

We Have (Another) Son!

My heart is full as this beautiful, sweet, charming, bright, and dare I say, naughty 3-year-old sits contentedly on my lap as I type this.  I don't have a lot of time to type as we still have tubby time to take care of as well as getting some noodles "cooked" for supper.  The brief version is this:

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. after going to bed at 11:00 p.m. I was simply too worked up to sleep (and our room reeked of smoke) so I talked to people back home.  Troy slept for awhile longer, but we were both up well before our 7:00 a.m. alarm.  We Skyped people back home, got ready for the day, and generally (figurately) paced the floor and chewed our nails.  

At 9:30 we met in the hotel lobby and all seven of our families loaded into the bus.  After an interminable ride, we arrived at the Civil Affairs Office.  For the first time, we did not receive our child first! We were sitting at a table doing paperwork when I happened to glance up, saw Carter walking in with some of the orphanage staff, and gasped.  Troy says I virtually ran to him.  I have no real recollection of this.  I guess I left Troy in the proverbial dust.  He grabbed the video camera, I must have handed our iPad to a girl I did not then nor do not now know (she was an angel for sure!), and both started filming. 

It was a beautiful first meeting.  He was a little shy at first but eventually started playing around us if not with us.  He loved his cars, lollipops, and balls.  All was pretty good, until....his teacher and orphanage staff left.  The grieving started in earnest then.  He hit, he pushed, he screamed, he cried.  But, as we left the building, he calmed down.  Since then, he has played with us and been a fun, outgoing little guy.  He hasn't done a lot of cuddling or looked for a lot of affection, but it's a process.  He did cry for about a minute when Troy left to go get some supplies, but I took him for a walk in the stroller, and he conked out for a bit.  It's been an eventful, stressful day!

A couple of things we've learned.  He talks.  A lot.  And our guide Anson says he speaks well and that he can understand Carter! In the information we got, it says he speaks 5-word sentences. He seems really smart.  And seems to be a smart-aleck.  Sigh.  He is also VERY active but plays well by himself as well.  We have no idea what his hearing level is, but we are really fairly unconcerned.  He is sweet, beautiful, charming, and our SON!  We are grateful beyond anything any mere words could say. Thank you to everybody who has done some much to bring us to this point!

 At the Civil Affairs Office

 Showing us his writing skills back at "home"

 A McDonald's burger.  He didn't actually eat it

 He DID actually eat this (and many other) Oreos

 And Daddy pretty much lets him do whatever he wants (there's chance Carter already has his baba wrapped around his little finger).

 A lot of smiles today!

 A much needed if too late nap

 I couldn't leave him alone -- obviously