Friday, September 09, 2005
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
JUST AS SOON AS WE ALL SIGNED ON THE DOTTED LINE...
We woke up today to discover all of the warranties on the good-as-gold-adopted-daughters ran out over night. There was lots of crying today throughout the hotel and all of them seem to be part of the Snot Dynasty.
Our little Empress, however, still remains as good as gold. She may be part of the Snot Dynasty but she’s eating like a college freshman girl and so far her crying is linked to wet diapers and the bottle. (Sort of like her dad).
This morning we went to the largest museum in Changsha in the morning (Michayla fell asleep), then went shopping at the Hypermarket, a sort of Wal-Mart meets odd Chinese food store. Our big purchase was a new suitcase for $10.00. That’s right. $10.00.
This afternoon Michayla made some huge leaps forward. First off, she chugged a bottle of formula that would make most fraternity boys jealous. We’re thinking of getting her one of those hats that holds two beer cans and a straw and putting formula in instead.
She also sat up for the first time all by herself (okay she had to use her hands to support her but it was a huge step). And she almost crawled forward to get the plastic monkeys. (Never in my life did I think I would write a sentence like that nor did I think I would be so happy to write it).
And she’s quite the little talker (takes after her mom). She babbles on and on. (Just like her mother).
We went for a walk, Michayla firmly in her Baby Bjorn, and it was as if we were from Mars. People stopped and stared. Most women smiled and wanted to know more about Michayla. Most men scowled. We felt like part rock stars, part town lepers.
And tonight she had her first bath. We were prepared for loud struggle but she loved it. Go figure.
THE LEGEND CONTINUES
We continue to be guided in all things Chinese by the legendary Mr. Chin. Supposedly he’s here with his daughter, Sharon, and son-in-law, Lawrence, as they adopt their daughter Jessica, but we suspect he’s an elusive man of international mystery and espionage. We heard he once snapped off a man’s head, put it on a skewer, and sold it on the streets of Beijing.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
IT'S OFFICIAL
Well, Michayla did pretty well last night. After rolling around in her crib for awhile, she fell right asleep. She woke up at 3:30am as did Nicki. Mark was fast asleep. At 6:30 Michayla had her first poopy diaper and Nicki got to change said poopy diaper. Mark was fast asleep.
After a brief breakfast we set forth into the rain and unbelievable humidity to the Ministry of Muggles…I mean…the Ministry of Civil Affairs where we officially adopted Michayla. We had to answer several questions, one of which was “are you happy with our baby?” We refrained from any jokes and gave a resounding “yes.”
CHINA TEAM
Michelle, one of the amazing members of the China Team. Nicki wouldn't let Mark adopt her as well.
PLEASE SIR, SOME MORE
We met one of Michayla’s caretakers and the head of the orphanage. We got to ask them some questions, the first being “what up with her hand?” It seems Michayla had bronchitis and she had to go to the hospital and get an IV. So the scab on her left hand is from the IV. We were momentarily concerned about her hearing (She wasn’t responding to finger snaps on either ear) but the old squeaky book did the trick. Phew.
A MUCH NEEDED NAP
We next made a stop at a baby store, where we bought more Chinese formula, diapers, and a few outfits. Then back to the hotel for lunch and a much needed nap. We had a wonderful dinner. The restaurant is teeming with little adopted girls (there’s another group here) and dazed and happy new parents.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Sunday, September 04, 2005
MARTY THE SNAKE HUNTER
We’re finally $9000.00 lighter! After a dim sum brunch and our first official group meeting with Norman and the China Team, we handed over the final bit of our money. Everyone was breathing a collective sigh of relief.
To celebrate we went out with our new found-friends Sharon, Lawrence, and the legendary Mr. Chin to get massages. Lawrence and Mr. Chin got full body massages and we got foot massages. The foot massages, however, start with basically a full body massage. It was heavenly.
We’re now doing some last minute packing in preparation of the 7:00pm luggage pickup. Then it’s off to have dinner and savor the last evening as a child-free couple. Tomorrow morning we’ll rise and shine, eat breakfast, and meet in the lobby at 9:30. Then it’s off to the airport for our flight to Changsha. We’ll check in to the hotel, shower, change, and then at 5:30pm we’ll finally meet Michayla.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
ONE MORE SLEEP 'TIL BOBA
Yesterday we bid Beijing a fond farewell and arrived in steamy Guangzhou last night. The People’s Republic of China evidently knows how much we Westerners like to be pampered and they have gone out of their way to make the entire city of Guangzhou one large steam bath.
We were met at the airport by the China Team, the group that will be holding our hands through this wonderful final journey to our daughter.
We’re staying at the swanky Garden Hotel, right across the street from a Starbucks and a 7-11. Oh thank heaven.
This morning we awoke to a thunder storm, but the storm seems to be subsiding. Nicki is currently braving the elements as she treks across the street to the Starbucks.
In an hour the entire group will convene downstairs and we will be whisked to a famous dim sum restaurant, where we will meet Norman, have brunch, and more importantly, hand over the wad of crisp American dollars we’ve all been nervously clinging to the past week. Then it’s a free afternoon, hopefully a good night’s sleep, and then off to Changsha to meet our daughter.
Friday, September 02, 2005
MMM…FORBIDDEN
Today began with a visit to Tiananmen Square, site of the 1989 “student demonstration” (as our guide Robert described it) and yet another site from 1000 Places to See Before You Die, the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square was the ancient capital of China, and is now the capital of “Hello, you like?” A relentless stream of people hawking postcards, picture books, and Chairman Mao watches. Mao must be rolling over in his glass casket in the gigantic mausoleum in the Square. The Forbidden City is going through an extensive renovation for the 2008 Olympics. The FC -- as the kids call it -- (no, not really, we just said that for comic effect) hasn’t been renovated since 1949 and it looks it. Total disrepair. The last Emperor must be rolling in his grave, as well. So now every inch of it is being restored and it’s going to look phenomenal. It’s amazing what a little bit of paint can do. The Forbidden City has also become a haven for Chinese street urchins straight out of central casting. Lots of missing limb beggars, but no Starbuck’s to be found (the guidebooks said it was by the east Peace gate).
WANNA BUY A RUG?
Next it was off to lunch (Chinese again) and then a visit to the government-run carpet demonstration and sales site. We considered buying the 12 inch by 18 inch silk rug for $18,600.00 but after much debate decided it was best to use that money for Gotcha Day.
KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR
Half of our group mutinied and returned to the hotel while the rest of us went to the Temple of Heaven, where the ancient emperors would perform rituals to Heaven about three times a year to ask for a good harvest, give thanks for a good harvest, and let Heaven know the harvest was going well. There we spent minutes of fun at the Echo Wall where a person can whisper into the 500-year old stone wall and someone all the way around the circle can hear the whisper. Sadly our otherwise bright and sophisticated group could think of nothing clever to say, and was thus reduced to repeating the Verizon commercial tag line over and over (“Can you hear me now?”). Dinner was the regional specialty, Peking Duck. By the way, “Peking” is the ancient name of Beijing, and still the name of the airport.
SCORPION ON A STICK
Early on we determined that our hotel, the TianLun Dynasty, is situated in the Times Square of Beijing. This was most evident after dark on Friday evening, when all the stores and restaurants were open for business. If this really is a Communist country, nobody has bothered to tell the merchants and consumers who were jamming the streets around the hotel. When we returned from dinner, a group of us made our first visit to the Starbucks in a nearby mall; the Green Tea frappucino tastes just like it was made in America, which is kind of ironic since most things in America are made in China. Then we strolled what can only be described as “Stank on a Stick” Alley. A long row of stalls where anything you can think of is grilled on a skewer for you: snake, scorpion, silkworms, grasshoppers, mystery meat items. It was fascinating and repulsive all at once, but all smelled nasty. What made the evening more fun is that one of the other couples brought Grandpa along on the trip. Roger Chin speaks fluent Chinese and is a retired health inspector from San Francisco. Because they too will be traveling to Changsha to get their daughter Jessica, our motto when it comes to food is, If it’s good enough for Roger Chin, it’s good enough for us!! Luckily Nicki did NOT pass out at the sight of little skinned snakes twisted around wooden skewers because their heads had been removed. Once home however, she did develop a belly ache, mostly because of the grande Green Tea frappucino. Ah, America.
The rest of the evening we packed and prepared for our flight back to Guangzhou, where we will meet up with the rest of the group on Sunday morning. Today more than any other day, we were all keenly aware of what will happen soon. “Monday,” the day we think we will get our babies, has become The Day, and periodically conversations turned to ways in which our lives will all change on that day. We are all beginning to sense that this may really happen. All the planning and all the paperwork and shopping has led these 38 families to one day.
As we prepare for bed we said to ourselves: only three more sleeps till baby.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
HELLO!! YOU LIKE?
Thursday was another great day for us. We began with a trip to the government-run jade factory, Beijing Banner Jadeware City. First we were shown a demonstration of how jade is carved and polished, and taught how to identify the three qualities of jade (A being the highest, B, and C, being the lowest in quality). Who knew the more transparent the better the quality of the jade? Armed with this information we were then herded into the government-run jade store, where we were expected to buy many, many pieces of A-quality jade. For a non-capitalist country, the “sales associates” were most “attentive,” (some may say “pushy”) to the point that we were afraid to linger over a bangle for more than a second, for fear we would be greeted with “Hello!! You like?”
From there it was back onto the bus for a short drive through an agricultural region very similar to Napa Valley; here, farmers grow the largest, sweetest peaches in all of China, plus apples and cherries. Too bad our weird bacteria-sensitive Western stomachs have been cautioned not to eat any of the fruits, because the produced displayed at the little stands along the roads certainly looked inviting.
THE BADA-BING DYNASTY
Next we were saw the Ming Tombs (no, not Ming the merciless from Flash Gordan, Emperor Ming, the last of the three great dynasties in China). The weather was terrific, and we were afforded some great photo opportunities of the mountainous region.
Robert, our Chinese tour guide then announced it was time for lunch and we headed toward the Yu Long Restaurant. Oh, but there was a surprise waiting for us! Before we could sit down for lunch, we were given a tour of the government-run cloisonné factory, and shown a demonstration of the steps involved in creating the labour-intensive vases, jewelry and snuff boxes. Armed with this information we were then herded in the government-run “Friendship” store, where we were expected to buy many, many pieces of cloisonné, artwork, silk and chotchkes. Robert said we would eat first and then shop. When we returned to the store we were once again provided with very “personalized” attention, to the point that Nicki perfected her new favourite phrase in Chinese, “Xiexie bu yao,” or “No, thanks!”
THAT WALL IS GOOD…NO, IT’S GREAT!
Finally our merry little band made our way to the Great Wall, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We went to the Badaling region, which is one of the most-visited sections of the wall because of its proximity to Beijing. Robert, however, reasoned that we should go to the Wall in late-afternoon, when most of the tourists have left (it’s popular in the morning when it’s cooler). He was right, it was pretty empty. However climbing straight up uneven steps at 3.30p in the afternoon might not be considered fun for everyone. We are very proud to say that we made it all the way from the government-run snack bar to the very top in under an hour, without heart attack or heat stroke. It was a wonderful experience, made even better by the fabulous weather.
After dinner we returned to the hotel, showered and are now waiting for the hotel Spa & Salon to send the foot massage specialist; after hiking the Great Wall, we deserve it!
Tomorrow, we will take up the students cause and visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City…mmm…forbidden.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
CHINA, CHINA FAR AWAY
We made it to China! The 18-hour flight went surprisingly well, thanks to Xanaax, Tylenol PM, Harry Potter and sitting in Business Class. We’ve discovered that the Guangzhou airport is pretty much dead at 6am, and morning television is as inane in Mandarin as it is in English.
After a short layover, we flew to our pre-trip destination, Beijing, the Chinese capital, in the northern half of the country (along the same latitude as Philadelphia for you cartographers). We will be here until Saturday afternoon.
Beijing is an amazing clash of the very modern and the very old; the bright and shiny and the very decrepit. To put it into Hollywood terms, Beijing is The Grapes of Wrath meets Wall Street. There are clearly no “zoning” laws of any kind, so shacks are found abutting steel and glass sky scrapers. And there is construction everywhere. Mark read in this weekend’s New York Times that there are about 8000 construction projects right now in anticipation of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and we think we’ve seen about 2/3 of them. Evidence of poverty is everywhere. Whenever our group of 22 gets off the bus to see sights, we are mobbed by “vendors” offering everything from postcards and silk purses to “Rolex” watches; all are tenacious, some are aggressive. And the one who spoke the best English was a hooker who approached Mark.
The folks with whom we are traveling are great. Two other families will be with us when we go to Changsha, as their daughters are also in the Chenzhou orphanage.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
Today, Wednesday, we toured the Hutong, visited the Summer Palace, and attended a performance of Chinese acrobats.
The Hutongs, (listed in the book 1000 Places To See Before You Die…I know, not the kind of list you want to blow through), are ancient narrow alleyways where only pedicabs can maneuver. Many were built during the Yuan (1206-1341), Ming(1368-1628) and Qing(1644-1908) dynasties. You don’t want to get lost in there because it’s a maze you’ll never get out of.
After lunch, ironically “Chinese,” we went to the Bang Fu Chun Pearl Store. (Write your own joke for Bang Fu and send them in). The Pearl Store gets its pearls from the Pearl River. This stop was basically a government run infomercial, with what seemed like hundreds of overly helpful girls trying to force you into buying pearls. (Nicki buckled under pressure).
Then it was off to the Summer Palace and the Marble Boat. (Right now we’re both too tired to think up anything clever or funny about either place).
After that we were whisked (okay maybe not whisked) to a Chinese Acrobat show. While not the top acrobat show in Beijing, it was still pretty damn impressive. (The microwaved popcorn, however, was not impressive at all).
Then it was off to dinner. Chinese again. But we did see McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, TGIFriday’s, Schlotzsky’s Deli, and the ever faithful Starbucks. (And China wonders why it’s facing an obesity problem).
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MARTY
Marty the Monkey, given to Michayla by Liz Carlock, has become our favorite stuffed animal. We don’t know if Michayla will like him but we can’t get enough of him. And Marty is trying to give the Traveling Gnome a run for his money.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
One Eyed Greenie
Some of our friends and family have expressed their concern that with all of our attention on Michayla we have neglected One Eyed Greenie. But fear not, OEG is doing quite well.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
AT LONG LAST
We received our THIRD CALL from US Asian Affairs on Monday, August 15, confirming that our group will be leaving LAX on Friday, September 2 for Guangzhou. However, as we’ve mentioned in previous postings and emails, we are taking a pre-trip vacation to Beijing, so we will be leaving one week earlier, on Sunday, August 28. We are scheduled to return to LAX on Sept. 16, China Southern flight #0327, arriving at 6:50pm.
DEVELOPMENT UPDATE REPORT
Tuesday, August 16. An equally thrilling day for us, because in the mail we finally received the Development Update Report from the orphanage, giving us a bit more information about our little girl.
On May 26, 2005, Placement personnel at the Chenzhou City Child Welfare Institute wrote the following about Michayla (as translated by Sherry at USAA):
“CHEN, Chenxi, female, was abandoned at the gate of Beihu Park on January 24, 2005. Police officer received a call from a person and went to pick her up. She wore yellow suit and wrapped in orange coat without birth note. She was placed in our institute on that day because we couldn’t find her parents and relatives.
At the time of placement, her face, heart, lung and limb are normal: height 48cm, weight 3.7kg, head size 35cm, chest size 32cm, feet 7cm; the physician estimated her birthday based on her physical development to be January 17, 2005, and named her Chen, Chenxi. “Chen” is the first word of “Chenzhou City,” “Chenxi” means happy morning sun.
After placed in, she was well cared for by the caretakers and grandmas of “Half the Sky.” She has a regulated daily routine.
One month old – likes watching the light; seldom cries, except wet or hungry. (Just like her dad)
Two months old – can visually follow moving objects; can locate sounds by turning her head; loves us touching her face, holding her hands and talking to her.
Three months old – likes watching toys hanging on the bed; knows her name.
She is almost 4 months old now, has thick black hair; likes holding her hands; when sitting on a chair, she loves to kick her feet to move the chair; if you touch her face, she will smile to you; when close to her, she will wave her hands for a hug. She has a good appetizer and sleeps very well, she is a healthy, outgoing and active baby.
We added Vitamins to her food. Her immunization is updated.”
BEIHU PARK – WHERE MICHAYLA WAS FOUND
We did some research and, according to the Chenzhou City government website, “Beihu park covers an area of 474 mu, of which 206 mu water area. It has tourist attractions as Forking Fish Pavillion, Statue of Chinese Woman Volleyball Team, Beihu lake and moonlight, Outai Eden, etc.
Beihu lake and moonlight was one of Eight Sceneries in Chenzhou in Yuan Dynasty. Hangyu, the famous poet in Song Dynasty once came here and wrote Forking Fish Poem for Beihu Park. Forking Fish Pavillion and a statue of Hangyu was built in memory of Hangyu.”
I have been told I am not allowed to make a Forking Fish joke. –Mark
CHENZHOU CITY ORPHANAGE – WHERE MICHAYLA HAS BEEN LIVING
Once again -- being Mark and Nicki -- we went back to the Internet to do some research, and discovered the following information about the Half the Sky Foundation (www.halfthesky.org), the not-for-profit charitable corporation that was created by American adoptive parents Jenny and Richard Bowen.
Half the Sky Foundation -- named for the Chinese adage, "Women hold up half the sky" – was established in 1998 to provide individual attention, love and nurturing for the many children in China who languish waiting for families -- or those who will never be adopted. All of the Half the Sky centers have been built by volunteers, and almost all of these centers have been funded by adoptive families and friends through individual donations. HTS’s purpose is to establish early childhood education, personalized learning and infant nurture programs in Chinese welfare institutions to provide the children stimulation, individual attention, and an active learning environment.
HTS designed its Baby Sisters Infant Nurture Program to provide the foundation for healthy development. Each HTS "Nanny" is assigned 3-5 babies. Her role is to provide responsive care to her infants, interact with them, talk to them, engage actively in their feeding, touch them and show physical affection, facilitating bonding and attachment. They watch over and guide the babies as they play and safely explore their world. (We’re going to see if we can adopt one of the nannies as well).
The infant center is also painted in soft complimentary colors. The floors are carpeted. Half the room is padded with gymnastics mats; half is furnished with rocking chairs. There are mirrors, pull-up bars, textured pathways and developmental toys everywhere.
The Chenzhou Child Welfare Institute was built in 2002. You can take a look at: http://www.halfthesky.org/02CentersPrograms/centers/chenzhou.html
We are thrilled to know that our little Michayla has been engaged, nurtured and – most importantly -- loved the first seven months of her life. Now we’re ready for our turn!!
Monday, August 01, 2005
SECOND CALL
Thursday morning, July 28 we got the Second Call! Photos of our little girl were ready! And much sought after information. So here goes:
Her Chinese name is Chenxi Chen (Chenxi means “Happy Morning”); she lives in an orphanage in Chenzhou, which is in the Hunan province; she’s healthy; is a moderate sleeper; likes music; and likes to be held.
The biggest, challenging, scary, fun, news is that while we expected that we would bring home a baby girl 12-14 months old, we were surprised and delighted to discover that Chenxi’s birthdate is JANUARY 17, 2005! She is only 6-1/2 months old now, and will be about 8 months old when we pick her up - nearly HALF the age of the baby we thought we’d get -- and we couldn’t be happier!!
PICTURES PICTURES
On Friday, July 29, we made our way to the US Asian Affairs offices in the Monterey Park neighbourhood of Los Angeles, where we were handed a plain manila envelope with “Brown/Genovese” handwritten on the front. We took our deepest collective breath. Nicki opened the envelope ever-so-slightly to peek inside and then began to laugh with joy and emotion as she took out the photos.
We always said that if we had a biological baby, the one thing we knew for certain is that she would be hairy, because we’re both pretty hairy people. So when we looked at the photos, we knew that she was meant to be ours.
According to Chenxi’s Children Medical Examination Record and the State of Growth of Prospective Adoptive Child (0~1 year) forms (printed in Mandarin by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, and translated for us at USAA by a lovely girl named Sherry) all her medical tests were negative, including the HIV test. She wakes up at 6.30a, has a nap at 11.30a and goes to bed at 7.00p. (Just like her paternal grandfather) She drinks cow’s milk and formula several times a day (the formula is a combination of rice powder and bean powder), including a feeding at 10.30p. She enjoys steamed eggs at 8.00a and fruit juice and/or mashed fruit at 2.00p. (Who doesn’t?)
Chenxi (pronounced: chen-SEE) is, in fact, a “moderate” sleeper, who can locate the direction of a sound/voice, can visually follow moving toys with her eyes and can “hold blocks on each hand at the same time” (which is a good skill to have with her multi-tasking mother Nicki!). She “follows you with moving head from one side to the other,” and was described as having a personality that is both “active” and “restless.” We decided that when the staff at the Matching Room saw our photos of us running in races, and going to baseball games and black-tie events, they probably thought, here’s a couple that likes to get up early and pack a lot into a day, let’s give them the restless baby that hardly sleeps (which made Nicki very happy). The report said Chenxi likes to be held (which made Mark very happy) and her favourite toys are “colourful, musical” ones.
In ten days we will receive a Developmental Report that may provide information about where she was found; was there a note; how old was she when she was abandoned; etc.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Michayla Chenxi Griffith Brown
For the record, we never really intended to call our baby Boba, in fact we chose Michayla months ago. It honours the memory of Nicki’s paternal grandfather Michael, her maternal aunt Maureen, and Nicki’s maternal grandmother’s maiden name, which also began with the letter “M.” Chenxi is obviously in recognition of her Chinese name and heritage, and Griffith is a family name on Mark’s maternal side. The “G” in Griffith also honours “Genovese” and Nicki’s paternal grandmother’s maiden name, which begins with a “G.” The Brown was the easy part. We didn’t originally plan to include her Chinese name, however Chenxi was very pretty, and worked well with the other names. Her Hebrew name will also be Michayla.
Mark had never heard Michayla before, and in doing some research, we discovered that most people spell it “Michaela” or “Mikala” so the challenge for us was to come up with a spelling that would be uncommon and yet provide options for nicknames like Mickie, Kaylie, or Kayla. We figure with all the names we’ve given her, our daughter is sure to find one that suits her personality. And, as Mark points it, whatever she chooses, it will no doubt be preceded by “The Honorable”, making her the first Jewish-Irish-Chinese female justice to sit on the Supreme Court (no pressure there!). We are still getting used to saying her name out loud, and we both giggle every time we say “Michayla.”
TAKING THE SLOW BOAT TO CHINA
Now that we’ve seen her adorable little punim, we are anxious to get our baby home as soon as possible. The earliest we will go is Sunday, August 21. The latest: Sunday, September 4.
We mentioned this in previous postings, but it bears repeating: the group will get two-weeks notice, but since we’re also traveling to Beijing for a little sightseeing, we’ll get one week’s notice! The total group consists of 38 families, which could total about 100 people when one factors in other family members like grandparents and children.
We’ll fly from Los Angeles to Guangzhou to Beijing to Guangzhou to Changsha (Where we’ll finally get Michayla. We’re not going to the orphanage. They’ll bring her to us) to Guangzhou to Los Angeles). Phew!
ALL WE NEED NOW IS THE GIRL
We spent the weekend indulging in our own brand of nesting: kvelling about how beautiful our baby is and cleaning the apartment, including Nicki laundering and ironing the drapes, and Mark hanging out of the 3rd floor window with a squeegee cleaning the outside of the glass. We figure we may never have the opportunity to do such a thorough job again. Next week the crib, high-chair, and shelves for Michayla’s toys and books arrive, which means more shuffling of furniture and probably more cleaning.
Knowing that soon our little baby will be crawling around our apartment kept us smiling all weekend; we’ve never been happier to scrub the floors in our entire lives.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? WE’RE EXPECTING!
Last Tuesday morning, July 19, at 10.17a we got the First Call (see the FAQs for more 1st Call info). Yasmine from US Asian Affairs left a message on Nicki’s voicemail at work. Nicki was so excited that she actually fell to her knees and couldn’t play through the whole message because she was hyperventilating. Three paper bags later, she phoned Mark, who was at work at Starbucks. No, not making lattes…writing. It’s Hollywood baby. All writers worth their salt out here write in a coffee shop. Plus, with the unbearable heat wave, why not let Starbucks pick up the air conditioning tab? Upon hearing the news about the 1st Call, Mark performed a near perfect spit-take.
So here’s the news, as per the very supportive and relaxed Yasmine:
We will travel to China sometime between August 19 and September 9. Where, we still don’t know. As we are planning to take a pre-trip to get acclimated and do a little sight-seeing, that departure is actually up to a week in advance of the day the rest of the group leaves. Which means, drum roll please, we could be leaving in less than 3 weeks! Yikes!
So quicker than you can say “China is the new world power,” we FedEx’d our passports and our China Visa application forms to USAA.
So now we await our 2nd Call. The call when we get Boba’s photograph and specifics (her headshot and resume, so to speak!), including where she has been living for the first few months of her life.
We were hoping that we would have the same luck that our friends Chris and Murph had, when their second call came only hours after the first call. But the phone never rang, which is probably a good thing. So now we are waiting again, this time to finally see our little girl’s little face. Any day now, any day …
WHAT A GIRL WANTS, WHAT A GIRL NEEDS
As we get closer to getting our daughter, several friends have asked us what we need. Actually, we need pretty much everything on the registry (the link can be found to the left under Links: Boba Brown’s Registry). Okay, maybe we don’t need the Monkey Halloween costume or the Yankees mobile, but most everything else we do need. In fact, we’re using the registry as a shopping list, to keep everything in one place. So if you would like to get us a gift, that’s the place to find what we need (and what we want, too - like the Monkey Halloween costume!).
And thank you to all of you who have already given us wonderful hand-me-downs (um…certified pre-owned) and gifts. We are storing them out of the house (to ward off the Evil Eye!) until we get a little closer to leaving (like we could get any closer?).
If you would like to get us a gift, but you’re not so keen on purchasing through Felicite.com, most of the items there are also listed at our registries at Target.com (search under 'Nicki Genovese' in the Target Baby Registry) and/or at Pottery Barn for Kids, Potterybarnkids.com (search for 'Little Boba Brown'). If you prefer the old-school method, you can actually go to the stores, (we know: it’s very old-school) if there's a Target or Pottery Barn for Kids near you. If you buy something at Target or Pottery Barn, please let us know and we’ll take it off the Felicite registry.
Should you get a gift for us, please be sure to include your full name and your postal address on the shipping form, or email it to us, as we want to be able to mail you a thank you card.
We’ve also been asked about a shower (Mark usually gets asked several times a day if he’s showered in the past week). We are definitely going to have a Welcome Home Party (date and location TBD). We figure as Boba is the girl of the hour, she should be at her own shower. So shortly after we return, there’s going to be a big bash.
WHERE DO BABIES COME FROM?
In our case, the “Matching Room.” The Matching Room is located in a Chinese government office building in Beijing, the capital of China. There, someone from the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) reviews photos of expectant parents and photos of available babies, and literally matches them up. We’re not kidding. We believe that the officials in the Matching Room usually do a terrific job, because most of the little Chinese girls we’ve met really resemble their adoptive American parents in remarkable ways, like the shape of the face, or the nose or the smile. It’s like if these two Westerners had a biological Asian baby, she would look like this. It’s uncanny. So if she’s a little funny looking, it’s Nicki’s side of the family.
We’ve included a couple of photographs of the matching room so you can see where the magic happens (and you thought it was under a cabbage leaf – save the cabbage for Chinese Chicken Salad, my friend). And to help you imagine what the official saw when he matched us up with our Boba, we’ve included some of the photos we sent with our application; when we get her picture, we’ll see how well our official did in the Matching Room.
So we’re oh so close and we know oh so little. But we are oh so excited!
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