One Month Later

I cannot believe we adopted Milli a little over a month ago.   Time has really flown by, although she seems like she has been with our family for a very long time. She keeps me very busy from the time she wakes up to the time she finally falls asleep.
She seems to be adjusting to her new life.  We had our one month post adoption visit recently, and our social worker said he thought she was doing very well with us.  Even though I thought she was doing well, it was nice to get validation by a professional.  There are many things she has improved upon and others that are not progressing as fast.  Compared to four weeks ago, she definitely gives and receives affection more readily.  She loves being carried and picked up all day long, which has led to severe back pain for me.  I was finally able to put her in the jogging stroller today for the first time, so hopefully that will help.  She seems to be able to understand English a lot more than she can articulate.  We use our own version of sign language, and she is always so happy when I decipher her gestures.  It's like playing charades every day.  Luckily I love games so it works for me. She doesn't get mad too often and when she does, she only cries and has never had a fit.  Bedtime is still a struggle because she still cries almost every night.  I'm thinking it's her way of soothing herself. We are still figuring out where to sleep.  It went from her bed, to Gus' lower bunk bed, to the floor in her bedroom.  One night last week, she woke up so I laid down there with her.  I fell back asleep only to wake up in the morning with our cat Samantha sleeping on the bed all to herself and looking smugly at us humans sleeping on the floor like she was the superior being.  Luckily, for the last two nights, Milli has decided to sleep on her bed but on top of the comforter with her head toward the foot board.  I'll try anything at this point to make her happy at bedtime.  Because it takes so long to get her to sleep, it cuts into my Gus time which makes us both sad.  He's feeling neglected during this transition, which he has a right to.  I never thought it would be this hard to give attention to two children.  I don't know how my mom did it with six kids, but she was the most amazing mother in the world.
We have taken her to our church the last two weeks, but have kept her with me.  She sits on my lap the whole time without talking.  She is so good.  She has also gotten very good at going shopping and rides in the cart.  She is so funny about her clothes though.  I take her and have her pick out things, but when she gets home, she says she doesn't want to wear them.  She wants to wear dresses all the time.  She is very fussy about her shoes.  Going to Stride Rite was quite the bad experience.  We had to leave and come back because she was so traumatized at getting her feet sized and trying on one pair of shoes.  We ended up going back and buying a cute pair of pink gym shoes, but she won't wear them.  She says no to all the boots.  I don't know how to tell her she can't wear flip flops in the snow in Mandarin.  Hopefully she will figure it out. 
We have had visitors every weekend since we returned, and she has embraced everyone that she has met.  Our families have been amazing welcoming her into their lives and we are truley blessed that she has responded to their love. I think they have all been amazed at her also.  She just soaks it all up like she can't get enough of it. 
Overall, we seem to be adjusting with normal bumps along the way.  She has so much joy in her and we are so blessed that she is part of our lives now.

Back Home!

I'm sorry it's been a few days since I have updated my blog.  My head has been in a fog since coming home on Friday.  Our last day in Guangzhou was uneventful.  It was another rainy day, so we took our time at our last breakfast, knowing we wouldn't eat like that again for a long time.  The buffets were everything that I had read about and lived up to expectations.  We then took a taxi to a mall that had a Walmart in it.  Once again, it was loud and hot so we didn't stay long. We got Milli's visa about 4:30pm, which as we found out later, was very lucky.  The families that had appointments on Thursday, ended up having to stay several extra days due to a computer problem.  I can't even imagine doing that.  We were so ready to leave at that point.  A van picked us up at 4:30 and drove us to Hong Kong.  It was a miracle we made it there in one piece.  Our driver was on some kind of mission to make it in record time, and talk on the phone the entire time too.  I couldn't even watch after a while.  We drove into Hong Kong at sunset.  From what I could tell, it looked amazing.  I'd like to visit there again some day.  Our hotel was very close to the airport, so we were only there 12 hours.  It was Milli's third hotel in the short time we had her.  I can't imagine what was going through her mind.  We had the 11:10 flight the next morning.  Milli was very scared at the airport so I had to carry her the entire time. We arrived 2 1/2 hours before our flight, and we made it to the gate only 20 minutes prior to boarding. There were so many lines and checks and escalators, and a tram ride thrown in there.  We then had to get in yet another long line to board.  It just seemed so chaotic there.  We had pretty good seats in the back, except we were seated by a very loud group of nonAmerican people with a couple of loud children.  We were then told our flight was delayed.  After 2 hours of waiting, we finally took off.  Those 2 extra hours on a 14 1/2 hour flight did us in.  The kids actually did well. John and I couldn't sleep because of the people around us talked loudly and people would just come in the back area and talk like it was happy hour.  It was totally annoying.  I was praying so hard for turbulence so they would be forced to sit in their seats.  We then landed and went through immigration, and Milli became a US citizen.  We arrived home 22 hours after leaving the hotel in Hong Kong.  My sisters were there to greet us with food, gifts, decorations, and love.  Our neighbor/friend also made a big poster and dropped off gifts for Milli.  Milli actually did great and was having so much fun with the balloons, and being her charming self.  She loved opening her gifts and did not appear to be overwhelmed.  She did keep calling my sister Barb, mama, and let her pick her up. She must have sensed we were family.  My nieces came later and Milli loved them too.This past weekend is pretty much a blur. I know I got up with the kids at 1 am on Saturday and started unpacking and doing laundry.  We tried to go back to bed later before sunrise, but was unsuccessful.  Sunday wasn't better for Gus who got up at 1am. I stayed with Milli and we have been getting up around 5 am. Gus then slept 14 hours Sunday night.  John is not doing well with sleep, and now he's back at work.  Hopefully we will  be better by the weekend.
Milli has been doing well overall. She was terrified of the dogs on Friday, but is giving them treats now and gave Gracie the first kiss yesterday. (I didn't get a kiss until today) She loves the cats, more than they love her. She is having unexpected moments of crying and looking far away. She gets this way at bedtime, waking up, when she's scared, and when I pay attention to Gus too much.  It's hard now that John is back at work and there's only one of  me.  I know it will take time to adjust.  I am praying for patience on my part dealing with her mood swings. I am so proud of her to have done as well as she has. Of course, as her mother, I never want her to be sad, but I know she has to grieve. I pray that this won't last long. She has such a joyful nature about her and loves to laugh.  I can't wait to be able to communicate better with her.  She learns more from John than me.  He has taught her how to say her formal name, laughing everytime she says it.  It was hysterical listening to her try to say Hintermeister.  She also does a fist bump with him, wink, and can sing some of Take Me Out to the BallGame.  She definitely shows off for him.  She still doesn't totally trust him to comfort her, but she did give him a kiss today.  She is making progress.  I can't wait to see what she's like in one month from now. I'm just happy to be home.

Last Day!

We are getting ready to leave for Hong Kong.  It's our last full day in China. It's been raining all morning.  We went to Walmart and the adjoining mall, but it was loud and hot.  It's been hard shopping here so I don't have much to bring home with me.  Milli is doing fine.  She wants to be held a lot so it's hard to pack. She's on my lap right now while I'm typing.  She also likes to take things out I have already packed.  She took John's wallet this morning and her shorts that she was supposed to wear today.  She's just like her big brother used to be.  The van is picking us up from the hotel at 4:30pm and it will take 3 hours to get to our hotel in Hong Kong that is by the airport.  The hotel has a shuttle.  We will only  be there 12 hours.  Then it's a 14 1/2 hours flight home.  We are ready to go and start our new life with Milli.  .  The trip went much smoother than expected, but it seemed like a very long time to be away.  Gus  said he wanted to stay longer so I'm assuming he had a good time.  John was ready to leave 5 days ago.  I have mixed feelings since I don't know when or if I'll ever be back.  I'm hoping Milli is looking forward to seeing her new home, her own bedroom and pets, and her new family and friends.

Thanks for all the emails and comments along the way.  Hope you enjoyed the ride!
All our love,
The Hintermeisters

Last Days in Guangzhou

My Birthday and Consulate Appointment

It rained all day yesterday because of the typhoon.  We did not get to go to the zoo, which was disappointing.  I wanted to see Panda Bears and feed the giraffes. I probably would have just felt sorry for the animals anyway.  We ended up just meeting up with people from our group off and on all day.  We are all bored and wanting to go home.  It's been two weeks today that we left, and it feels like an eternity ago.  One of the teenagers from the big group brought her guitar and sang for the kids and they sang Happy Birthday to me. The hotel brought up a cake for us.  The best part of my day was when Milli lifted her hands up to me and gave me a hug.  She did this for the first time outside of swimming and did it multiple times.  It was priceless.  We tried to go to a small market to buy some gifts next to the hotel but the people were very aggressive in trying to get us to buy things.  So we just left empty handed.  You have to take a taxi to other shopping centers, and with the rain, it's not been worth it.  We ended up going to an Irish Pub for dinner with some people in our group.  The food was good except for John's hamburger was raw, even when he sent it back and got a new one. Needless to say, he did not eat it.  . But he was happy with the Heineken and fries.  He has turned into a vegetarian here because he is afraid of the meat.  Milli ate so much I had to unbutton the top snap on her shorts because her belly was so distended. Today was our big day at the American Consulate where we took the oath. It did not take very long and our paperwork was all good.  We will get Milli's visa tomorrow, and she will become an American citizen when we land in Chicago.  I became a little emotional thinking about her becoming an American.  It means so much to me.  I hope she will appreciate it when she is older.  I think life here in China is harder.  If she does chose to come back here for whatever reason, I would never stop her, but at least she will have a choice.
We have group pictures this afternoon. We leave for Hong Kong tomorrow at 4:30pm, and will fly out on Friday morning.  Right now we are trying to pass the time.  Luckily we have the best little girl who is happy and patient and so very easy to take care of.  Gus on the other hand........

Spending Time in Guangzhou

The Homestretch

We have been keeping busy here at the hotel.  The only adoption thing we had to do was to get Milli's TB test read today, which didn't take very long.  So we have had time to relax.  John is getting bored and frustrated at the length of this process.  You would think it could be streamlined a little.  Milli and Gus are enjoying the swimming pool, and we have visited a very large park across from the hotel a couple times.  The kids (mainly Gus) only last about an hour of walking in the heat and humidity.  We also had dinner with our big group last night and were able to see every one's newly adopted children.  It reminded me of the whole reason we are here.  To bring home children to give them a chance at a better life.  It's mostly children with special needs who definitely will benefit from all the therapies and advances in medicine that our country has to offer.  Being here, makes me appreciate things at home even more.  I am also very appreciative of the fact that Milli seems to be fine in mind, body, and spirit.  God really protected her these last 5 years of her life.  I cannot wait for everyone to meet her. 
Milli had her first taste of Mexican food tonight at a place called Tekila's.  She liked the chips and pico like her mom. It was the one food I have been craving. She also was eating the ketchup from the french fries with a spoon, before we took it away from her.  It was in a bowl so I can see why she thought is was soup. She still continues to eat whatever we give her. She has a big belly with skinny little arms and legs, just like her Grandma Dorothy. She also loves to laugh like her too.
We are supposed to visit the local zoo tomorrow, but there is a typhoon hitting the southern part of the province tomorrow, so it is tentative for now.  Only 4 more days until we are home!