Gotcha Day!!!

Sorry it's been a while between postings, but being new parents and all... :) :)

We left Beijing at 8:30 on May 30th. We arrived in Chongqing at 11:30ish and went to a restaurant then to the hotel. When we opened the door to the room, we saw that there was a crib next to our bed. Wow!!! Then we all met at 2:30 to do some paperwork. Then we met at 4pm because our appointment was at 4:30.

We got to the Civil Affairs office and sat anxiously awaiting our daughters arrival. About 5pm a few folks got of the elevator with babies. Then about a minute later more babies arrived and Donna yelled out, "That's Hannah!!!". The woman carried her to us and I asked, "Yu Mei Huai", and she nodded yes and Donna started holding her hand. The woman then gave Hannah to Donna and we sat down to just look at her. She didn't cry in the office. We gave her Cheerios which she loves now. She wouldn't take them on her own, so we put them in her mouth for her.
All in all this was an incredible experience that can't really be conveyed in words but suffice it to say that it was something that none of us will ever forget.

We got back to the room and when Donna went to put her down she started to cry. She was nervous and scared. I would cry too :) :)

We went down to dinner and she ate lots. When we came back upstairs, I ran next door to the dept. store with some folks because we needed smaller clothes. When I got back, Donna had her changed into her night pajamas and was giving her a bottle. She loves getting her bottle and never likes letting go of it.

It's now Tuesday, and she now takes Cheerios on her own. Also today we got our first smile. She doesn't like to be put down. She really likes to be held. She's so cute!!!!!!!!!!!
As the days pass, she will attach to us more. This is just the beginning of our lives together...

p.s. I finally had a chance to post pictures at http://hannahfrank.myphotoalbum.com !!!!

Tomorrow's the day!!!!!!!!!!

Hi There,

Today was a "tour-intensive" day! First we went to the Summer Palace... it was very interesting an beautiful. Our tour guide Helen is quite good and very knowledgable.

After the Summer Palace, we went to the Great Wall. Unfortunately the day was very overcast and it started to lightly rain. As I looked up the wall, I couldn't believe how steep it was. We
started walking up to the first tower. It was an extremely difficult climb up the uneven stairs. But I really wanted to go further so I just held onto the railing as these elderly Chinese gentlemen started passing me. The steps were so steep that it was like walking 2-3 normal steps at a time. It was extremely tiring, but... I did it!!! I made it to the 2nd tower. Then of course I realized that I had to get down.... duhhh. It was much easier walking backwards down the steps (while gripping the railing very tightly) :)

Tomorrow we fly out at 8:30am to Chongqing! We are told that we'll go to the hotel, have lunch, fill out some forms and then get the children at about 4:30pm. This will be my last post for a bit since I have to find out about the business center at the new hotel. Also it will depend on our little girl too. I can't believe this day is finally here. I guess it becomes real very soon :) :)

The Gang's all Here

The group arrived yesterday around 4pm. It was great to see everybody. Our guides are very nice. We all went to dinner at this restaurant which served a Chinese style fondue. Basically it was hot water to dip meats, noodles, etc... into.

Today we're going to the Summer Palace and the Great Wall

The dirt market

This morning we went to the Panjiayan Jiuhuo Shichang, also known as the Dirt Market. It is an outside flea market that occurs only on the weekend. The market is HUGE, you could easily spend a day just looking around. It is also extremely crowded. Sometimes we couldn't even walk down an aisle there were so many people. It was an amazing experience. We bought a few little things. You have to haggle for everything. We then went back near the hotel and Donna got a foot massage (the one I got yesterday was great so I suggested that Donna get one) :)
I walked around and took some pictures.

As I type this, the rest of our group should be landing in Beijing. We are going down to the lobby to wait for them. It will be great to see everyone!!!!!

It's still surreal to think that in just a couple of days we'll have Hannah!!! We're so excited!!! I think this time in Beijing has been great because I think we'd be going nuts just waiting for Monday to get here!!! We just can't wait!!!

Silk Market & Forbidden City

We certainly walked a lot today....

We started the morning with a trip to a beautiful park. We walked around the perimeter of the park and saw many people dancing, singing, exercising, etc...

From here our guide took us to a very good silk factory. They showed us how the cocoons are woven into silk. They told us that they even either eat the silkworm, or it's used for medicinal purposes... no waste here!!

From here, we went to Tianamen Square. This is a very large area in front of the Forbidden City. The only downside to these areas is the extremely large throngs of folks who attack you to buy souveniers that they are selling. Picture throwing a french fry to a bunch of seagulls and watch them all try to get it. Well we felt like the french fry. The people following you and begging for money get old real quick.

Anyway, we walked over to the entrance to the Forbidden city. The place is amazing. To think that emporers from the Ming and Qing dynasties walked (or were most likely carried) in these same passages.

In the evening we went for Peking Duck to one of the oldest restaurants.....It was excellent!!!! The restaurant was started in the Qin dynasty in the early 1800's.

We can't wait for the group to get here. They arrive in the afternoon tomorrow and we REALLY can't wait for Monday to get our little girl!!!!

I posted more pictures from the past few days....
The photos can be viewed at:

http://hnnahfrank.myphotoalbum.com

First day in Beijing

Today was our first full day in Beijing. We took a cab this morning to go to the Temple of Heaven. A cab ride in Beijing is extremely exciting!!! The drivers have the right of way and they use it extensively to ward off pedestrians and bicycles and other trucks, cars, etc..

The park at the Temple of Heaven was beautiful. The first thing we saw was a group of folks dancing and behind them were others doing some exercises with a paddle and ball. We walked through this long covered area and every seat on the outside was taken by older folks playing some type of card game or Chinese chess. We saw folks playing hackeysack with a feather on a metal disk, they even let me try (I couldn't do it though) :) When we got up to the gate for the Temple, we found out that it is being renovated and won't be open for months. Oh well, we could still see it through the gates. It is pretty impressive.

Then we decided to go to the market... Donna wanted to buy some pearls and I went to the electronics area. The prices are amazing!!!

In the evening we had a personal guide who took us to a Hutong (older homes in Beijing), a Chinese acrobat show, and dinner for Peking Duck. The guide was excellent and the tour, show
and food were all great too!!!

I posted some photos and will post more tomorrow.

more tomorrow... :)

I posted some pictures

Ok... so I finally was able to post some pictures...

You can view them at:
http://hannahfrank.myphotoalbum.com/

I only put a few up there so far, since it takes a while to upload them.

We're in Beijing!!!!

Wow!!!!!!!

Our friend Dennis drove us to Manchester Airport in the morning of the 24th. Our flight left at noon and we then went from Detroit to Tokyo. That flight was about 12 hours. The audio system was broken on the plane so we couldn't watch any movies. They kept trying so we watched the first half hour of Spanglish about 6 times. :) We both read, did puzzles (thanks Laurie for the puzzle book!!!) and I had my Gameboy. We decided not to sleep and just be
exhausted when we got to the hotel in Beijing.

We then got on a plane to Beijing. We were sitting next to a woman who had her 3 year old daughter with her who she adopted at 9 months. She was going back to get her a sister. It was great to talk with her.

We finally landed in Beijing and got to the hotel around 10:30pm. We checked into our room, then I tried to get a phone card. I finally figured out how to get one and use it this morning :)

From our room you can see the rooftops of the palaces in the Forbidden City.

I walked around outside the hotel while Donna was still sleeping. It is interesting to see all the folks on their bikes, and other folks cleaning their cars and taxis (lots of dust and pollution in the air).

Today we're going to go to the Temple of Heaven and do some shopping. Tonight we're having
a guide meet us to take us to dinner and an acrobat show.

more updates soon!!! and I'll try to post pictures soon!!!

The Alarm Rings in 3 Hours

It's 3 am...

I woke up and sat down in front of the computer and thought... it's May 24th. This day used to excite me as it was my birthday. Today it takes on a completely different meaning as the day we leave to get our daughter. There's some synergy there, and it makes me happy when I think about it. We get her on Memorial Day and I was also thinking that her Chinese name means "beautiful memory". It's funny how things happen sometimes. Well I guess I should try to get a few more hours sleep...

Getting Close!!!

Well, the day is almost here that we leave!!!

We can't wait to get there and get Hannah!!! We actually get Hannah on May 30th. It's still seems so surreal, but next week it will be a reality. I'll make more updates when I get to Beijing!!!