Medical exams... yuck!

Hi all,

Yesterday (Saturday) was Olivia’s medical examination day. The U.S. requires a brief medical exam before allowing adopted children to be imported. It was quite the scene. All 12 children in our adoption group were examined, and there were other groups there, as well, making it quite the madhouse. Lots of crying babies! As you can see from the first picture, the halls were lined with families and their children.

Olivia did quite well, with only a few little bouts of crying during the yuckiest parts. There were 3 stations: 1) measurements, 2) ENT (ear, nose, throat) and 3) physical exam.

1) At the measurement station they took Olivia’s temperature, weighed her, and measured her length. She did great during the 1st 2 checks but did not like being forced to lay down in a vice grip that measured her length. Ok, it wasn’t really a vice grip, but it did have a bar at the top, and a moving bar at the bottom.

2) ENT: Olivia did more crying at this station. Sticking something in her ear was not her idea of a fun game… so that set her off. Then the doctor tried to stick a tongue depressor in her mouth, and that wasn’t so fun either. But it was over very quickly and she calmed down in mommy’s arms right away.

3) The last station was where she was checked from head to toe for… well, I’m not sure what the doc was looking for. He examined her arms, legs, stomach and back, and since they are all pretty cute I’m sure there was nothing to report.. other than cute.

The medical report was sealed and sent directly to the American Consulate, so we didn’t actually get to see what it says. I’m sure she got a good bill of health!

On Saturday afternoon Karis filled out Olivia’s US Visa application, the last step before we can bring her home! We’re almost there!

Health report for the rest of us: Karis never did develop this cold I have. Thanks to all who prayed. As for me, my cold is progressing. Thankfully I’m past the fever and sneezy stage… but now I’m in the coughing stage. Your continued prayers are appreciated. Christine is healthy as a horse. I’m sure she appreciates being compared to a horse (sorry Christine).

On that note I’ll close for now. We’re running a little behind on blogging, so hopefully we’ll be able to get caught up tomorrow (Monday)! We have to hang out at the hotel in the morning to be available in case the US consulate has any questions regarding the Visa application. Then Monday afternoon we have a shopping trip planned. I’m trapped in China with 3 women (2 adults and 1 2-year old) who like to shop. They keep me busy carrying the stroller and the camera equipment, though, so that’s enough to keep me entertained… :-)

Signing off for now,

John

Dear Mrs. Ottinger's 3rd Grade Class

I'm so very happy that you are following along and watching our trip in China! I wanted to tell you that Olivia saw some older kids today (probably around your age). We had to go to the doctors office this morning and as we waited to see the doctor she smiled and played peek a boo with some older kids (We'll make sure to write more about the doctors office later). I think Olivia would love to come and visit you in your classroom if Mrs. Ottinger says it is ok.

Do you remember a few days ago I told you she has one word that she says so far? Well, I thought I better tell you what that word is! I'm sure she'll start saying more pretty soon but right now all she says is "ayya"! Now here is how you have to pronounce it. First, you have to pretend that you are about to karate chop a board or something. Next, you have to make sure the second syllable is much louder than the first. OK....now you try it. "AYYYYY YA!!" Nice job!

Olivia can't wait to meet you all someday soon. Thank you for reading about our trip.

Love from Olivia's mommy (Karis)

CheesyGrin

It has been a long and wonderful day that began at 430am. Then a 40 minute van ride to the airport and a 2 ½ hour flight to Guangzhou, topped off with another 20 minute ride to the hotel. The little one was very squirmy and certainly did not want to take a nap despite the fact that she was quite tired. However, thanks to her favorite toys – Charmin travel toilette paper holder, stacking blocks - and treats we made it to sunny, less smoggy warm Guangzhou. They compare it to southern Florida and so far that has been true.



Well, we know we disappointed yesterday with no pictures so we will try to make up for that today. Olivia has been very entertaining and has kept the three of us in stitches. If you’ll remember yesterday’s blog; John described Olivia’s sleep habits. So, here’s a picture of that event we affectionately entitled “sleeping acrobat.” Despite her falling to sleep rituals she has been sleeping through the night and Karis has had to wake her nearly every morning. Even still Olivia wakes up happy - truly incredible.



When in China, you do as the Chinese do…that is you dress them in multiple layers of clothing that don’t match at all. As you can see, Karis has fallen into this pattern. Thankfully there are many wonderful clothes awaiting Olivia once she gets home. The last photo is one of my personal favorites.

Since the beginning Olivia has been known to flash cheesygrins. Sometimes they come out of no where and every time they make us crack up. Karis is blessed to have such a cheerful, happy baby. Even though she is quite happy she still can throw a tantrum and scream and make noise with the best of them. In fact, her grandma has described her as Bam Bam. Thankfully, there have been none so long or as bad as that first one.



And finally, we are including a bonus. Yes, you get to watch another video of dancing baby. This was taken this afternoon while eating at McDonalds. She is the only one I know who can get three adults to dance along and look totally silly in a public setting.



As for tomorrow (Saturday), we will first be going to see the doctor. I mean first thing is we’ll be going to Starbucks :) Then we’ll go to the doctor. This is standard for all of the adopted babies. We are glad, because if we had to guess, we’d say Olivia has an ear infection. She’s constantly pulling on her right ear. She also definitely has a little cold and a pretty deep cough. Hopefully we can get some of that cleared up before we leave on Wednesday.

After that we get to go do some shopping. It is much easier to have food in the room and eat here once in a while. Oh yeah, more peanut butter crackers and Ramin Noodles. We’re not sure what the rest of our time here looks like yet, but we’ll keep you posted as we know. Thanks again for your comments. It is just as fun for us to read those as I’m sure it is for you to read the blog.
With great joy,
Christine

Last stop, Guangzhou

Hi all, It's now Thursday evening and we're getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to begin our last leg of the jouney in China. We will be picked up at 6 am to head to the airport. We fly to Guangzhou where we will spend the rest of our time here! It's hard to believe we have been here a week already, and yet it also feels like we've been here an eternity! Today was our free day, with absolutely nothing on the schedule. It was great to sleep in and not have to worry about meeting our guide to go somewhere. I ended up spending most of the day in bed as my cold has hit its peak. I'm without any NyQuil, so I decided to try to sleep it off today. I'm feeling a little better, but still sneezy and congested (2 of the 7 dwarves I think.. :-). A couple days ago when I started getting a sore throat our guide took us to a pharmacy and we bought some herbal lozenges. I have no idea what I was taking, perhaps some ancient Chinese secret (but it didn't seem to help much).

As I write this Karis and Christine are in bed, and Olivia is praying. I suppose that needs explaining. Olivia has been a bundle of energy this evening and is not going down to bed well. She has a habit of sitting on her knees with her face to the bed, rocking back and forth. The position she is in reminded me of someone laying prostrate on the floor in prayer. She's just getting rid of nervous energy I think, and it's kind of cute. Soon she will fall asleep, which is exactly where I should be going soon.

Sorry no new photos to post with this entry as we've been busy preparing for our final leg of the journey tomorrow (and I've been in bed most of the day). Stay tuned for word on our arrival in Guangzhou! Please pray for safe travels and a well-occupied little girl. This will most likely be Olivia's first plane ride!

John

P.S. Karis says that she is now getting a sore throat. Please pray that she doesn't develop what I have! I'm pretty sure it's just a cold, but it's a bad one, complete with fever and chest congestion.

It’s Thursday morning, Olivia is still sleeping soundly, and I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for all of your prayers, for your amazing words of wisdom and comfort and for being with us every step of the way. The past couple of days I’ve been so tired and there have been moments I’ve wondered if I could really do this. And then I’ve felt your prayers….and I look at this little girl who is now my little girl and I am in awe of her!



Olivia is amazing!! She has so many smiles, she laughs easily, she’s curious and adventurous, and SHE is teaching me so many things! She’s so patient with me as I change her clothes. She smiles and claps when she eats. She loves to be held by her mama and reaches out to me to be picked up. She talks (a one word vocabulary so far!) and sings and we’ve even seen her do a little dance.



Wednesday was her first bath. I was a little apprehensive, not knowing how she would like the water, but what was I thinking? She loved it! She splashed and splashed and when the water got in her eyes she just wiped them and kept splashing! She also had her first shopping experience yesterday. On the way back to the hotel we asked our guide what people thought of seeing Americans with a Chinese baby. Our guide said, “The clerks in the store thought she was cute, they thought she was American!”

We received her passport at the end of the day yesterday so our work in this town is done. Today we have a free day (which we are all very much looking forward to) and then tomorrow we fly early in the morning to Guangzhou. We’re all very much looking forward to reuniting with the other families in our group there. We’ve missed them!

Thank you again….knowing you are all praying and loving us from afar has meant so much to me. Oh there I go again, crying. I’ve done a lot of that the past couple of days. It’s those dang hormones….:)

I love you!
Karis

Three gears: Reverse, and 2 forward

Sorry, about the delay in writing. We’ve been exhausted and some are fighting colds.

Anyhow, yesterday (Tuesday) was a very long and trying day. We drove 2 hours to Olivia’s home town of Baoding City. Then we had to sit in a government office for another couple of hours while applying for her passport. It was here during that long wait that we discovered Olivia can stand and yes walk. It began with her backing away from her mother while playing (thus reverse), and then she walked back to her mom (first forward). This was an incredibly exciting moment at first. Then we discovered she liked to run (second forward) as well and as any parent knows the chasing game had begun.

A second momentous event happened during our time in Baoding. A woman from the orphanage was there as well. She went to pick up Olivia and tried to hold her not once, but twice. Each time Olivia turned her head and clung to her mom. She was not about to go back. I believe God has heard and is answering the prayer of bonding we’ve been praying. AMEN We have seen other small signs of bonding throughout our day and a half with Olivia. It is really special to see Olivia hold her arms for her mom to pick her up.

Next we had lunch at an authentic Chinese Restaurant. It was actually quite good. Then we continued on our long 2 hour journey back to the hotel. We got to stop at a shopping market. It was kind of like a Chinese version of Super Wal-Mart. There were all kinds of food, produce, meat and other food items we could not identify. Then they also had clothes, shoes, bedding, baby items and cosmetics, etc. It was really fascinating.

To top off our day we were in the hotel eating some noodles and crackers with Peanut Butter for supper. Something set Olivia off (we’re still not sure what) and she had her first 20 minute melt down (as my sister likes to call them). This is to be expected with any child, but we figured if anyone deserved a good cry and tantrum it would be from a little girl who was abandoned, raised in an orphanage and now is with very strange looking people. But, when she was done, she raised her hands for mom to hold her. I think that’s how it works with all children.

I could go on and on, and maybe I will later tonight. However for now I leave you with some things you can be praying for:
1) Sleep – believe it or not, Olivia has slept quite well. It is the rest of us. Karis as a nervous new mom is up frequently checking on her little one and John is battling a cold and I, well I am just not sleeping well.
2) Continued bonding and understanding between Olivia and Karis.
3) Peace, strength and confidence for Karis as a new mom.

Thanks for following along. It is fun for us to read all of your comments and know that you are all on this journey with us. If some of you moms would send words of encouragement to this new mom that would be great.
Love Christine AKA Auntie Teen

First laugh!

Hello everyone! It's now Tuesday morning. I'm in my room alone and have not seen Karis, Olivia or Christine yet. We have an early schedule this morning, so I don't have a lot of time to post more pictures... but I thought this would be super fun for you all to see. ~ John

P.S. This is a video, my first time posting on blogspot. When I tried to view it after posting I got a message that said the video is not yet available. If anyone else has ever posted a video on Blogspot please let me know if this is normal and if it just takes time. There was a message in my browser after I posted, but since we're in China web pages default to Chinese... so I couldn't read it! I don't know if I was supposed to click something else to make the video available. Perhaps it just told me that the video would be reviewed before being available, but I don't know. Any Blogspotters our there that can help me?