Kai is Officially a Marten!

Today, the China portion of the adoption was finalized which means that ShaoShao is officially our son. I have been referring to him as ShaoShao in the last couple of posts because we found out that this is the name that his foster family used to refer to him. We have been calling him ShaoShao to help ease his transition. Our first stop today was the notary office where we needed to answer a couple of questions and sign some papers. We then headed to the same governement office building as yesterday to meet with the registry official. As we were waiting for our meeting, Shao and Maya had a great time playing in the play room at this building. They rocked on the rocking toys, pushed big balls, and slid down the slide. Afterwards, we were led to a small room where we met with the registry official. Shao's orphange director was also present. We again answered a series of questions and then placed our thumb prints in red ink on multiple papers along with our signatures. Shao also got to leave his right foot print in red ink on some papers. We had our first "official" family picture taken in this room. Shao's orphanage director gave us a gift from his foster family which contained a beautiful photo album with pictures of Shao from the age of 6 months to present. The family also sent some of Shao's outfits, his favorite ball, stuffed animal, and a beautiful note writen from his foster mom. I can only imagine the great loss that they must be feeling right now. We are so grateful to them for all they have done for Shao. He is clearly a well-adjusted 22 month old boy who was very loved and well taken care of.

Shao has really come out of his shell today. He has been imitating everything...especially Maya and has even come up with a few funny facial expressions of his own. He seems to have a wonderful sense of humor and pleasant demeanor. I can't believe how well he is able to communicate with us. He is already singing and saying "more". He also says happy", "papa", "bye-bye" and a couple of chinese words. Our biggest surprise is that he appears to be completely potty trained. He has let me know consistently today when he has needed to go and has gone each time. Now, getting him to go in a "western" toilet was quite the feat considering he has only ever used the "squat" toilet which is basically a hole in the floor. He did not feel comfortable sitting on the toilet or standing in front of it, so after tyring just about everything, he now stands on the toilet seat facing backwards(with assistance of course), squats, and then goes. So far, no accidents and it's been 2 days.

Maya and Shao really hit it off today. They started to hold hands and actually are playing together. We'll see how long this sibling bliss lasts! This morning, I took Maya and Shao down to the hotel store. Shao walked directly to the balls and picked a particular spikey ball. He then pointed to a deck of playing cards and made some unfamiliar sounds. When we looked through his photo album later today, sure enough, there was a picture of him playing with cards. Dom immediately went back to the store to buy him a deck of cards. There was also a ball enclosed in the gift from his foster family that was the same exact kind of ball that we bought at the store this morning. I guess he really knows what he likes!

I'm going to post a couple of pics. The first is our adoption day photo, and the rest are just random photos from the day.

By the way, Maya and Shao were both fast asleep by 8:00 tonight. Let's hope this sleep thing lasts.

We look forward to seeing what tomorrow has to bring as today seemed to be a great breakthrough for Shao.

We're a Family of Four!

Well, we're officially a family of four! At 3:00 this afternoon, we headed to a government office building. We were then guided into a 4th floor conference room where at least 10 or more other families were all anxiously waiting to meet their children. I could tell which families were going to be first time parents because they had the same nautious-deer in the headlights look that I had almost 3 years ago when we adopted Maya.The room was very warm and we were told that our wait would be slightly extended because there was a very important orphanage official present who would be addressing the group with a speech. By the end of his speech, Maya was so anxious and overheated that I really thought she was going to pass out. She was wet with sweat and her eyes were gazing in and out of focus. We were really concerned.

Considering we were the last to arrive in the room, we thought that we would be last to meet our child. WRONG! As soon as the speech was finished, they called out "Hua Chun Shao"...oh my gosh...this was us! We rushed to the other side of the room and in front of all of those people, met our beautiful son for the first time. Wow, how much Shao has changed from his pictures that hang on our refrigerator. He has grown up so much and has a beautiful thick head of hair. He is incredibly handsome and so beautiful, and we can tell that he has received excellent care in his foster home. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for his foster family to say goodbye to a "son" that they have cared for and loved for such a long time. My heart breaks for them.

After the orphanage official handed Shao to us, Shao tried so hard not to cry and to be a brave little boy, but he was so scared and unsure. As soon as Dom and I were holding him and talking to him, Maya immediately felt better and ran to us asking us to put Kai down. She walked up to him, patted and rubbed his head, gave him a hug, and handed him the stuffed animal she had made for him. We were then immediately led out of the room to another room for a family picture. It was here that Shao's bottom lip began to quiver followed by the tears and sobbing. Talk about feeling so helpless. I just held him tight and kept repeating "don't cry" and "it will be ok" and "mommy loves you" in Chinese.

We tried to leave the building as soon as possible as there were crying babies everywhere. Shao just sobbed when we arrived in our hotel room. We were able to distract him with bubbles and stacking blocks and even got the occasional smile which was magical. He seems so smart and on top of things. Within minutes of playing with bubbles, he was already beginning to say "pop" to pop the bubbles. He also really enjoyed stacking the cups and knocking them down.

Maya has been an amazing big sister. She has been so patient and interactive with Shao. She showed him his drawer of new clothes, read him a book, and has been a great playmate. I just can't say enough about this "3 year old going on 15" little girl.

Around 6:00, we decided to venture next door to get some carry out food. According to Shao's information, he currently eats just about everything (even with an open palate). We got fried rice and fried noodles and he loved them both. He also devoured a cookie at the end of dinner. We ended the evening with bathtime. Maya and Shao had a blast in the tub. They spashed, played with cups, and just enjoyed each other's company.

By 8:15, they were both in their jams and ready for bed. Maya fell asleep on the bed within 2 minutes and Shao was asleep after 5-10 minutes of holding him and gently rocking back and fourth. We'll see how long this sleep lasts, but for now, all is peaceful in the Marten hotel room. What a life-changing incredible day!

More pics of Nanning

Here's just a few more pics. One of our hotel (the Majestic) and a few others.

Pictures of Nanning

We decided to pass the time today by visiting the People's Park which sits directly behind the hotel. It was just beautiful. We watched the locals dance, exercise, and play music. Maya loved feeding the fish and walking over the bridges. We'll definately be heading back again this week. I haven't tried posting pics yet from this computer, so I hope it works. It's hard to know since I can't view the blog from here...only post.

Notes from Papa!

Hi I'am Papa (grandpa of Maya). This is my first Blog entry (EVER). I'm still in the 20th centry and most insist I should have been born in the 19th centry. I don't even like the word blog, so if you please I will just communicate with you. Today is the day for Jen and Dom to meet their son, Kai. As one might expect there is a great deal of excitement mixed with trepidation. Maya is ready to take over and make sure Kai is not scared. I have great confidence in her. For Papa it is not so much anticipation as it is reflection. What has transpired results in our memories, both good and bad. Though in Maya's adoption , I only remember the good. This is Papas and Didi's (grandma) second trip to China. We are blessed that our daughter and son-in-law have asked us to share in this wonderful experience both times. I do not know what to expect and really don't care, as I said, the memories of Maya are only good. Last Monday, it was my time to do some day care with Maya. In the afternoon, Maya picked Beauty and the Beast to watch. As she crawled onto the sofa, she asked me to sit beside her. Sucking her thumb and rubbing her ear she leaned her head against me and in total comfort watched the movie. About half way through, she looked up at me and said "PaPa, I wuv you". I said "What sweatie?" and her reply was again simply, "PaPa, I wuv you". And in response I said "Maya, I love you too". And in reflection as I approach 62 I ask what do I want out of my life? Simply, my granddaughter, Maya and grandson Kai to lean against me and say I love you.

We're in Nanning![;'jm

We finally made it to Nanning. Our flight was a piece of cake and actually much more comfortable than our international flight. As we were waiting to board our plane in Hong Kong, there must have been 10 adoptive families waiting at the gate with us. They were from a different agency and were all heading to Nanning to adopt their children. It was great sharing stories, pictures, and just plain chatting. A couple of the families had been to Nanning before and gave us some great tips on local restaurants and shops.
As we flew into Nanning, the view of the Chinese countryside was just beautiful. It's so lush and green here and the topography is extraordinary. We were expecting to arrive at a large airport, considering Nanning is a city of over 2 million people. We were quite surprised to arrive at a tiny airport in a very rural area. Our guide, Hannah, and our driver were waiting for us at the airport. As we drove about 20 minutes to our hotel, we couldn't believe how quickly rural became "hustle and bustle" city life. All of a sudden, we're in traffic surrounded by people, tall buildings, and bikes everywhere. Our hotel, "The Majestic", sits close to the city center and is surrounded by activity. We actually ventured out for dinner tonight at a local place just adjacent to our hotel. Fortunately, our waitress was so patient and knew enough english to help us order (even the picture menu was confusing).
Our hotel seems nice and is equipped with a computer and internet access in our room. What a great convenience! It's a hotel that caters to adoptive families, so were bound to run into many families with their newly adopted children over the next 5 days.
We found out from Hannah that we head out to meet Kai at 3:00p.m. tomorrow. Please think of Kai tomorrow as he is picked up at his foster home by the orphanage director and nanny, taken from the only familiy he has ever known, driven 3 hours to a government building, and pushed into the arms of complete strangers who don't speak the same language or look anything like him. We know that tomorrow will be such a joyous day for us, yet such a day of loss for Kai. Let's hope it goes as smoothly as possible.
By the way, Maya has been an absolute star during this trip. She's been such a trooper and is always ready for anything and everything. Even though she was absolutely exhausted today, she never fuss
ed and always managed to put a smile on her face. We just can't say enough about our favorite girl. She told Hannah today that she was going to share all of her toys with Kai and teach him how to "go potty". As we were discussing how we should refer to Kai (wondering what name his foster family uses to address him), Maya told Hannah that Kai could call her anything he wanted.
Well, I've rambled on long enough. I hope to post tomorrow after our very emotional and exciting day.

Take care...

We Made it to Hong Kong and Happy Birthday to Mum(Nanny) and Uncle Larry!

After a 24 hours of limos, airplanes, and shuttles, we have safely arrived in Hong Kong. It seems so surreal to be here. We're staying at the Novetel Citygate Hotel which is only a 5 minute shuttle ride from the airport. The hotel is so fun and modern and there's a beautiful children's park right outside the hotel's entrance. Maya had a blast running around the park and playing with all the kids after we arrived yesterday evening. She befriended a one year old little girl on the park and followed her around everywhere. She helped her go down the slide, patted her head, and held her hand. It was really sweet to watch...I guess she's ready to be a big sister.

The flight was long and very cramped. We met a lovely couple that was sitting in front of us who were on their way to Vitenam to adopt their 3 year old son and first child. They were so nice to Maya and were constantly giving her candy or just chatting with her. Believe it or not, Maya only sleft 45 minutes up until 2:00 a.m. our time. Even though she didn't sleep much, she was so good on the plane and just kept herself entertained. We only had about 4 hours of battery power on the portable DVD player, so that meant lots of playing and imagination games. She finally dozed off again around 2:00a.m. maybe for another hour. Needless to say, we were all absolutely exhausted when we arrived.

We were in bed by 8:00p.m. hong kong time (which is 13 hours ahead of Central time) but were all wide awake by 2:00a.m. So Dom and Maya watched Cinderella and Mulan in the middle of the night while I tried to get a few extra minutes of shut-eye. Hopefully, we'll get a better night's rest tonight since we get Kai tomorrow! I can't believe I can actually say that we meet Kai tomorrow!

Anyway, we leave for the airport in about an hour to fly to Nanning (the capital city of Kai's province). Fortunately, the flight is just over an hour which will seem like nothing compared to yesterday's 15+ hour flight.

My mom and dad are doing well and have been a huge help already with Maya. It's going to be absolutely necessary to have those extra hands around these two weeks.

We wanted to wish Dom's mum (Maya's Nanny) a very happy birthday. We love and miss you and can't wait to see you on the 27th. We also want to send a birthdy wish to my uncle Larry (my mom's brother). Happy birthday to both of you. We hope you both have a wonderful day.

I'm going to try to upload a coupld of photos. One is of Maya, my mom, and me in the stretch limo that took us to the airport and the other is a pic of the park view from our hotel room. Hope it works.

Take care and I hope I'll be able to post some great pics tomorrow.