Monday

From Ann:
Today went pretty well so far. I'm afraid that Kaleb is going to expect these elaborate buffet breakfasts every day when we get back. David said he wouldn't mind it either. :) Even though Kaleb still enjoys eating, he doesn't seem as intent on eating everything in sight, or to freak out if we take food away. So that's good. We also have heard him use the words bus and car when pointing to the appropriate vehicles, so American words are creeping into his vocabulary. 'Go figure' that they're things with wheels - such a boy.  :)

The open-air medicine market was interesting, but each stall pretty much started to look the same after awhile. There was an altercation at a stall across the street that even had policemen involved and a lot of loud unhappy voices. Kaleb seemed pretty upset by all that. So I handed him off to David, and he seemed to feel more secure. Then we transitioned from open markets to a high fashion european style mall area. Our guide said that one of the stores, Kikikoo, had good clothes for kids. So we headed in to look around. David and I agreed on a pair of pants after searching for the right size - 80/46 (whatever that is). Then we hung out waiting for the other parents to finish shopping. Kaleb was pretty done with shopping - so we rode up and down the escalators until the others were ready. He really liked that. We saw where the Pearl Market was, but it was time for lunch. So we headed to Lucy's on Shamian Island.  Lunch was good, but took quite awhile, so we ended up needing to head back to the hotel shortly after we finished lunch. I think we'll probably go to Shamian's Island again either tomorrow or the next day.

When we got back to the hotel, almost the first thing that happened was that Kaleb wanted to put on his new pants. I asked David if he had shown them to him, but he said he hadn't. I didn't even think Kaleb had paid much attention while we were shopping. They fit him really well since they have a smaller elastic waist than the other pants we have for him here. They are also lined with flannel, which is good, because he loves to stay warm. It's still been pretty chilly and cloudy here. But we haven't had more than a few sprinkles while we've been out and about. I also found a nice little red jacket at the bottom of David's suitcase yesterday that I had forgotten about. When I put it on Kaleb, he LOVED it. He came over a couple of times to give me big hugs right after I put it on him. He still hasn't taken it off from our outing today.

Kaleb & David are currently napping. I'm sure the cold is a big part of his sleeping so much lately. But I'm hoping to have a nap in his schedule for the forseeable future. Good for him and me. :) We'll see how that works out.

From David:
Kaleb had his arm looked at for the TB test this morning and all was good. Then we went to Medicine Street which has a lot of dried plants and animals for medicinal uses. In the same area they also had the live scorpions, fish, snakes, chickens and probably other things. This is where I had the fried ants and it seemed to taste like burnt wood.

Kaleb slept well last night and was more active today although he napped this afternoon and is still fighting the cold/cough.

A few more pictures:
1.  Live scorpions. I didn't have any of these but I did try some fried ants. (Did not taste like chicken.)
2.  I like these two!
3.  Kaleb stretched out during nap time. I think he's comfortable with a big bed.

Guangzhou - Sunday

We attempted to clean the boy again today. Although he enjoys pouring water, he does not seem familiar with or happy with water on him. Mama was again the recipient of his ire, even though David was holding him while I attempted to wash him in the sink. I was wondering if the hotel management was going to come knocking at the sound of loud crying coming from our room. David thought we might be able to wait until we get to St. Louis to clean him again, but I think otherwise since that is a week away.  Before the dreaded washing, he was very happy and content. So much so that dad thought we maybe should wait until tomorrow morning before upsetting him. But who wants to begin the day that way - not me. He promptly fell asleep afterwards.

Kaleb still has the cough, but his fever over all seems better. So we went with the tour group today to the Chen Family 'Temple'. It's one of the oldest forms of Cantonese architecture in Guangzhou. It was the home of a wealthy family at one time. It has ornate carvings, and lots of bonzai trees, and other plants in its gardens. The embroidery was amazing, as were the ivory and bone carvings. Afterwards we went to a 'government store' and an older man made a calligraphy 'chop' of Kaleb's name. This is what is still used for signatures in China. Then we went to a local restaurant and were able to try a variety of different area foods. It was very good. Then some of us went to the local 'Wal-Mart' called Carrefour, so mom's could get formula, diapers, etc. It didn't really remind us of Wal-mart at
all.

Tomorrow we have to check his TB test, then we're heading to a Chinese herbal medicine street (scorpions, etc.) and Shamian Island and the Pearl Market. Hope the weather is better than the forecast. It has rain listed for the next several days, but it didn't rain while we were outside today - so that was good.
Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy seeing China more this week.  It was really nice to get out with the other families today. We think our hotel is really nice too, but it's better to have a mixture of going out and staying in I think.  :)  Have a good day!

Guangzhou - Day One

The airport in Hefei is quite different than what we are used to - no shops, etc.  While we were waiting for our flight the lady beside us offered an orange to Kaleb. We had already found that he loves oranges at our breakfast buffets. Then a lady behind us got into a conversation with him. She asked him where his momma was. He got a big smile on his face and pointed to me and gave me a huge hug. Then she asked him where his baba was and he smiled and patted David. Pretty sweet. We pretty much shock half the population wherever we go :)

We wondered how he would do flying for his first time. He gripped the arm rests on both sides. But that was about it. After all, he's dealt with much scarier stuff, what's the big deal about flying anyway.  He fell asleep during the flight, and only got a bit cranky when we sat him up to tighten his seat belt during turbulence. On the bus to the airport we were the last ones on and had to stand holding on to little things hanging from the ceiling. When they started up we both lurched toward the back. An older lady immediately got up and offered her seat to David and Kaleb. David said they asked him something which he thought meant father and he smiled and said yes - then they all
laughed. So he's not sure what he did to cause all the laughter.

Our flight was delayed to Guangzhou so we ended up getting to our hotel about 11:30 last night and to bed after midnight. This morning we went to the medical exams and to get a picture of Kaleb for his Visa. With shoes, layers, coat and hat, Kaleb weighed in at 27 lbs. and is 35 inches tall. The doctor was very nice and stated that his heart murmur is gone - so that confirmed what we have already been told.  His fever is back to 102 today and he still occasionally has a cough.

The China Hotel in Guangzhou is really nice. For the most part, I'd say he seems much more comfortable with us here. But he doesn't like it if we separate from him for awhile. David walked ahead of us out of one building which distressed him. Then I needed to leave for awhile late this afternoon and he wanted to go too. Then I remembered that giving children your watch, or something else helps them believe you'll come back for that item. I guess it may have helped some, or David's distractions did.

A lot of the other families have had sick kids too. One of the babies in our group is really pudgy. I guess the Chinese people have been pretty 'gaga' about fat babies. They took a really long time at the picture area today because they couldn't see both the baby's ears because of her fat cheeks. I'm not sure why they needed both ears in the picture, but they ended up putting something behind her ears to make them stick out. That will be quite the story for her to live down someday :) Hope you are all well.

Friday morning

Kaleb is 'out' again - which is probably good. Even after all the sleep he got yesterday, he slept through the night pretty well too, he still has the cough though, and we're not sure about a sore throat. I took his temp. once when he got up around 3 a.m. and it was 100.2 then again a little while ago and it was 101.8, so it's down from yesterday. He's also acting more like his happy little self. Praise the Lord! Thanks for the prayers!

Last night I was able to email the doctor at SLU who reviewed his file and prescribed the scabies medication for us, and she was able to give us some helpful information. She thinks we're doing all the right things, which is comforting to hear. I'm thinking this is where having other kids is probably helpful. She also told us what to look for and what to do if we see some other symptoms.

I only brought a limited number of outfits for Kaleb because of our baggage limitations, and the fact that I had no idea what size he was. So we have washed things, but I'm wondering how many layers I need to put on him before we go to the airport later. I guess this is where it helps that almost everything is big on him. He'll end up looking like the little boy in the snowsuit on 'A Christmas Story', where his arms stick out and he can't put them down ;) The outfit that they brought him in the first day is very warm, but I took him to our hotel
restaurant in that yesterday, and we were getting even more looks than normal. I think it maybe screamed 'country bumpkin'; and he seemed a little sad about it. He seems pretty happy when we put him in the 'American' clothes that we brought instead. It's a sad commentary when a 3 year old can feel 'judged' by his clothes. Of course it's just a guess on my part, I could be way off.

The people in the hotel are probably mostly business people, but even most of the people on the streets around here seem to dress very stylishly. David thought the cars look pretty expensive too. I guess we have the same thing in America - quite a jump between the rich and the poor. I don't know if they have much of a middle class or not. We also noticed that some of the people who work in the hotel that speak English, seem to have a distinctive British accent. I even heard one with an Australian accent, which was kind of funny.

I don't remember if I wrote about our going to the wrong Holiday Inn the other day. But while we were walking, one (probably teenage) girl with bright red hair started talking in English to David about Kaleb. When David gave her the card about us adopting him, she disappeared for a minute and came back with some food item that she had bought from a street vendor for Kaleb. It was very sweet of her, and of
course Kaleb liked the food very much.

Well, David is getting all the cuddle time - it's my turn now :)

Thursday

Thursday morning from Ann:

Yesterday Kaleb had the fever and a bit of a cough - but he acted OK. Last night around 3 he woke up with a very croupy cough, 102.7 temp and a messy diaper. He was pretty miserable, but he really doesn't cry much. He's a trooper for sure. Then he laid down on the bed and didn't move for awhile. Which he has not really done - he doesn't nap, he just goes to and fro very happily playing usually. We figured he would perk up a bit when we went up to the buffet breakfast. After all, food is one of his favorite things. But when I brought him food, he just looked at it. Then he lost his cookies. Poor little boy. Now he's cuddling with daddy on the bed. You can tell he's just not feeling well. So no zoo today for us.

While he was acting OK yesterday and David was napping a bit, I took Kaleb to see the swimming pool. He didn't seem to have much of a reaction to it. My guess is that he still wouldn't be too thrilled to get in it since he freaked out a bit about taking a bath. We ended up just cleaned him in the sink with a washcloth. We'll just need to work up to some things gradually.

He's showing his, "I want my own way - side" today. Dad has 'been on his list' for not letting him do a few things. We get quite the looks sometimes, but they are pretty short-lived. David also got out the plane that the Winfield's gave us for Kaleb. Kaleb didn't understand  that David had to help put it together, then he was not happy about David showing him how to use it. Pretty much the life of a 3 year old. The plane is pretty much in shreds right now - it didn't last very long. But he still is having fun trying to put it back together and tying pieces together.

He is very friendly usually, but the last couple of times that our guide has come up, he gets very quiet, and just wants to stay close to me. I wonder if he thinks she's going to take him away from us. Our guide is adorable by the way, and has curly long black hair - obviously her curling iron still works.  :) She's probably in her 20's, very stylish and bubbly. She also has a good mind, and is good with details. We were obviously distracted the day we got Kaleb and she noticed that for my birthdate I wrote 2012 for the year - which anyone could see didn't make sense.

Tomorrow we should get Kaleb's passport around 5 in the afternoon, then head off to the airport for our flight to Guangzhou. Hopefully he will be feeling better by then. We're ready for some warmer weather and sunshine. We are also ready to be back home. I think all of the traffic, smoke, people, etc. is probably pretty strange for a little boy from a poor farm.  Wonder if he'll sleep tonight after all the sleep during the day.

Thursday evening from David:

Tough day for the little guy. He's been pretty brave, but we have seen tears. His temp. at 7:30 p.m. was 103.1. He is pretty determined not to have anymore of the Pediacare, and we decided that we're not going to push it at the moment. He's been sleeping a ton, and his temp. has gone up and down a bit without medicine. At supper we saw a stray tear rolling down his face. But he will do a brave smile for us. We don't know if it's just his sickness, or if he's dealing with some grief as well. Can't imagine how confusing this must all be for him. Please continue to pray for him.

More pictures!

It is about 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. We've had a pretty quiet day. Kaleb had a fever and cough this morning so we cancelled the planned outing to get him rested up. The day has been rather cloudy (maybe a little smog as well) so not real inviting. He has been acting pretty well so we're praying that it doesn't get any worse. We're attaching some pictures we took this afternoon. He seems to ham it up when the camera comes out. He stopped eating for the pictures which is a big deal because he is serious about his eating. If all goes well we'll see the zoo tomorrow. There is a park close that we'd like to go to, I'm going to try to go and get pictures even if Kaleb and Ann can't.  Friday we finish up some paper work and then in the evening we fly south.

For all of the Chinese that Kaleb speaks Ann and I still aren't fluent. (what a surprise) We're pretty happy when we pick out the words for going to the bathroom. He says words a little different than what the books show so it's hard to look them up.

It's Official!

Sent March 7th, 8 am, China-time

This was all I got written yesterday that didn't disappear, but I thought I would send it anyway. Kaleb is now a Wagner! We spent about 3 hours at the Civil Affairs Office finalizing the adoption paperwork, getting things notarized, taking pictures, interviews, and waiting. Now all that is left is getting us home! Which means a passport for Kaleb from his province, then a Visa from the American Consulate in Guangzhou.

 

While we were waiting, Kaleb was pouring on the charm and having fun playing with the two ladies from the orphanage in his city. We love his laugh - it's very contagious. He also seems to have 'attached' to us already. He seemed very quiet and concerned on the trip with our guide to the Civil Affairs Office and didn't want anything to do with anyone but 'momma' (me) and 'babba' (David) at first. Another little girl at the Civil Affairs Office today was really crying - she had been up all night too. She may have had an ear infection. Kaleb was very concerned about her - it was sweet.

 

This morning Kaleb woke up with stuffed nose, congested cough and 102 temp. So we're staying put and cuddling today. Which is great by us - but we hate the reason for it. Please pray for him not to get worse. The ladies at the Civil Affairs Office were concered that we didn't have him bundled well enough since he's been weakened by his 'heart condition'.  We did have him in two shirts and a coat and a hat with a hood. It will be interesting what the doctors here will have to say about his health. I'm pretty sure he just has a mild cold right now, his appetite is still good :) The computer here is wonderful to have, but pretty slow. We also keep 'losing' the things we write you each day. Which is a bit of a bummer. So I really am not sure what you know and what you don't know. Because we did tell you :)

 

The pants that Kaleb was falling out of yesterday were size 2T. I have him in 24 Month sweat pants today and they actually fit him about right. He's extremely tiny obviously. Little feet and hands. He's very smart and has pretty good dexterity - likes to take things apart already and quite the talker! He was singing last night, "Wo mamma", which we think means "My mamma".  Precious words to both of us. David has taken care of all the laundry. He washed it in the tub last night and hung it up to dry. He's also trying to blow dry some of it with the bathroom dryer and iron it the rest of the way dry. We've been getting lots of sleep since he's used to sleeping with it dark, and we lay down with him and fall asleep - at 8 p.m.! He usually gets
up at 7.

 

This email has taken really longer than normal to write with the little guy crawling all over me and trying to type, etc. So I'm going to cut it short here. We'll try to write more later. 

 

P.S.  By 'Doctors here' I meant doctors in the United States. We don't plan to go to doctors in China unless really necessary.