Aaaaah Sleep....

Horray Horray! We both finally got some sleep last night. Well, sort of.... Instead of screaming last night, Noah decided to get up and look around for Peter all night until Peter got his couch cushions and finally laid down on the floor with him in his room around 1am. Good grief! At least the screaming stopped, but you would think the kid would be exhausted from the lack of sleep and just conk out at some point!
The good news is that days are getting better and he seems pretty happy and content playing all day with his new toys as long as I am next to him. He isn't so sure about playing by himself yet. Noah is also learning to scream less when he wants something, as I have taught him that he gets nothing at all unless he says "please" first. We are still working on "thank you" which he doesn't understand and refuses to say.
This morning we went to the park up the street to play with Mrs. Wendy, my dear friend, and 2 little boys she was watching. Noah was shy at first, but after a while, he warmed up and started to play on the jungle gym without me, which is a good sign that he is getting more secure. Hopefully things will continue to improve as the days go by....

Our little monkey

Thanks to Harris for the picture!  Noah apparently loved to be swung between us like a monkey when we walked around China.

The rest of my post

Ok, got Noah to fall asleep again.  I should set a timer to see when he wakes again.  Maybe there's some pattern.  At least I had time to set up a pillow on the floor.  Hopefully this routine doesn't last too long.  Apparently for one family, it lasted two months before the crying stopped.  Not sure how many weeks I can handle it.  I'm pretty sure Nancy will go bonkers if this continues for months.

I guess the positive side of being exhausted and jet lagged is that I can pretty much fall sleep anywhere at anytime now.  For the short time we've had Noah, I'm really surprised we can be so tired.  I have the utmost respect and appreciation for all those parents with small children!  They truly deserve a break!  I don't know how our friends Jason and Tram do it with newborn twins.  I now understand why parents tend to look exhausted.  Along the same lines, I feel really bad for the people seated around us on the plane ride home.  You know how everyone always looks around to see where the screaming baby is located to give the parents a dirty look?  This time we're the parents!  I kept trying to keep the crying to a minimum since everyone was trying to sleep.  Going to be a long time before we travel anywhere by air...

Our friend Michelle came by tonight to meet Noah.  He had a great time playing with her!  Surprisingly, he was really upset after she left.  We'll have to get more time for Noah with Michelle!

I've noticed the he's generally been pretty good with people in China, especially the other family we traveled with to Jiangxi.  That's probably a good sign.  Noah is really fun like when he was playing peekaboo behind a Red Robin box with Jason the other night.  I wish we could see more of that side of him at night.

Speaking of our Jiangxi companions, I think we were so blessed to travel with them and to share the experience together.  I'm so excited that the live in Davis and have family here in the Bay Area.  I certainly hope we keep in touch and see each other.  Visiting Davis to see friends will make my Dos Coyotes pitstops more frequent!

All quiet on the toddler front (at least for the moment)

Thought I'd make an entry between trying to catch up on email and work.  Noah went to be around 8:30 tonight, but was already screaming by 10.  Nancy got him back to sleep, but I'm guessing I better grab a blanket and make myself comfortable on the floor next to the toddler bed again tonight.  Spoke too soon.  There he goes.

Home at Last...

We are finally home! Yippee!!! After many hours of travel and lots of screaming and crying (by Noah of course), we are finally home. We arrived home on Friday afternoon and spent the last 2 days trying to settle in.

When we first got home and showed Noah around his new house, he was acting like it was Christmas and was jumping around excited and laughing at all the toys and space. It was really cute to see him so excited and happy. We were delighted that he had such a good first impression of his new home. We spent the day trying to stay awake and showing Noah around and playing with his toys. Once it was time for bed however, the trouble began again....

Noah isn't sleeping at night at all as he is very uncertain about his new surroundings. He has spent the last 2 nights screaming at the top of his lungs without ceasing. Please pray for him and for us as we work through this. It feels like he has regressed to the point that we first got him again and Peter and I are very tired. I keep thinking that this has to get better at some point, but am so weary that I'm beginning to loose faith. I know that God does not make mistakes and that as we go through this difficult time that we will grow and learn, but it sure is hard. I've been on my knees in prayer alot but I really am beginning to feel like no one is listening...

Noah has been very attached to Peter the last few days and wants nothing to do with me unless Peter won't give him what he wants and then he just screams at me. It's going to be very difficult for Peter to go back to work as I am so tired of the screaming and fussiness that I am out of patience and really don't want him to leave. Nothing we do calms Noah down when he is screaming and crying and it's really frustrating. The first night home I just laid on the floor of his room while he stared at me and screamed and Peter tried to get some sleep. Last night I finally put earplugs in, closed the door and tried to get a bit of sleep while Peter took a turn lying on the floor in Noah's room while he cried. Instead of screaming for Peter, he screamed for me, but when I would go to him he would just keep screaming..... it's really exhausting. We knew this would be hard, but I had no idea it would be so unending.

Please pray for God to continue to give us patience and for us to get some rest. We will update you all again when we get a chance.

A quiet evening in Guangzhou

Three of the families in our travel group left today after picking up the visas.  We each got the child's Chinese passport and this sealed brown envelope from the US consulate.  I just love how they give this package to you with a warning on the front to not open it.  Kind of like giving someone a present they can't open.  I think it's basically all the paperwork we've filed over the past two years to get to this point and we're bringing it back to US immigration when we land.

I can't really describe it, but it's kind of a strange mixed feeling kind of like after a final exam.  I guess it's sort of like this feeling of relief that we are finally done with this part of the process and we've made it.  But it's not like celebration time because everyone is exhausted from everything and the kids are all starting to test the parents.

After months of paperwork, outrageous amounts of money, thousands of miles traveled and endless bureaucracy, we are at the end of our trip here in China and heading home with Noah.  But just like school, you know that another semester is going to start up soon except in this scenario we've got many more years and miles to travel with this little guy.  The real adventure is just beginning!

So our suitcases are now packed, Noah and Nancy are asleep, and I'm taking a last look at the skyline.  Who know when we'll be back in China again, but one thing is for sure.  We won't be able to recognize anything given the amount of construction and development happening everywhere.

So I bid you goodnight and see everyone soon at home!

I feel a disturbance in the force...

I think I've finally come to the realization that my life has changed.  All through this adoption journey, I had this understanding that Nancy and I are getting a child to love and raise at some point in time.  Even this trip to China has been a blur.  One day you're sightseeing and waiting to travel to the province.  The next day you land and a kid is left in your care as you settle into the hotel room.  Even as the door closed and the caretakers left, the realization that we're now responsible for another human being doesn't really hit us.

But now as I find myself holding up a two year old toddler over the toilet multiple times a day while making faces at him, I know for sure things will never be the same around the house again...  As I look out into the Guangzhou skyline and the lights flickering along the Pearl River, I think that I better enjoy the quietness around me (it's just after midnight here now) as Noah the troublemaker is going to be a real handful!

The paperchase is done...

All the families in our travel group went down to the US consulate today for the swearing ceremony and to sign a piece of paper.  Looks like the paper work is finally done!  Noah gets his visa tomorrow and we're set to go home on Friday!  Yeah!  Well, except for the part about traveling for twenty odd hours before we get home.  That's bound to be another exciting adventure.  Some of the other families are leaving tomorrow as soon as the visas come out.  Our journey together is winding down.  It's been really nice to share this experience as a group with others that are going through the same things and comparing notes, especially with those that have either adopted from China previously or already have kids.  I think it's safe to say that life has certainly changed for everyone.  The biggest reminder I get everyday that something is different is having to hold a squirming two year old over the toilet multiple times a day and making faces at him so we can move on to the next activity.  Can't wait till he learns to us the potty on his own...


Ok, so I've finally migrated pictures to my computer.  It's probably too confusing to inject them back into the earlier posts so I'm going to post some in chronological order here with subtitles.

Noah counting toes with Nancy on the night we got him.

Family picture at Civil Affairs Office for adoption paperwork.

Picture with Orphanage Director Lu and Vice Director.

Noah prepping for Pizza Hut dinner.

The perpetual drooler at the park.

Trying to look tough with his ball.

Somebody's home on top of a building.  Note quite a penthouse.

Everybody's clean laundry.

Sharing the road on the way out to visit Noah's village.

Some random factory along the road.  Look, it was a long ride...

Finally reaching the city where the orphanage is located.

Some of the shops in the city.

Outside Noah's orphanage.

Meeting with the foster family.  That's the foster mother's mom, the foster mother, the foster father, and me.  I look a bit out of place.

The kitchen of their house.

The bed the foster parents shared with Noah.

The extended family.  The daughter in law, the son, the foster mother's mom, the foster father's sister, the foster mother, foster father, and me outside their house.

Director Lu hosting me for lunch at a local restaurant.

The hospital Noah was left.

The local housing facing the orphanage.

The orphanage.

Looks like it was built with donations.

One of the preschool classrooms in the orphanage.

Director Lu, me, and the Vice Director as they were presenting me with a book listing all the kids in the US from their orphanage and a commemorative mask.

Noah chowing down in the morning.

Visiting one of the villages at the outskirts of Nanchang.

Yeah, this is where you buy pork on the street in the village.

Delivering bricks for the construction.

The open sewers between buildings.

Curing meats on the balcony.

Local home in the village.

Some baby's crib.

Looks like somebody's chicken dinner is getting away.

Trash pickup in the village.

Our greedy little kid stuffing his face.

On our way out from Nanchang.  That's our local guide Lisa.

For his first flight, Noah is sure enjoying the first class service.

Out walking in Shamian Park in Guangzhou.

Trying to lug Noah around in this sling to get his TB test.

Nice.  Crying away at the doctor's office while sucking on a lollipop.

At least he cleans up after himself once in a while.

Noah cracking himself up.

Hard at work building some contraption.

The wholesale jade market.

Pineapple street vendor.

Wholesale pearl store.  There were tons of shops with bags and bags.

Future pearl vendor.

Some produce vendors outside the jewel marts.

Noah starving as usual.

Nancy wanted to check out the soofly.

Not really sure about this peanut paste and strawberry paste sandwich.  (And don't bring your own booze.)

Home for us and other adoptive families in Guangzhou.