weary traveler's rest

Our driver had a little trouble finding our apartment. More like extended stay hotel. Anyway, we're finally here in Taipei. The little apartment is very nice and in the location we really wanted. Front desk's English leaves a lot to be desired, but is much better than our fistfuls of Mandarin. Kevin's impressed by the security. The bad WiFi is frustrating, but we hope to get Taiwan Mobile sim cards for our iPhones tomorrow and will be able to use that access instead. Has been kind of fun to try and figure out appliances with directions only in Chinese. Thankful we figured out the shower after five minutes of scratching our heads. Hannah said she was hungry at half past midnight and didn't want my cereal bars and crackers. Kevin walked her to a 24 hour McDonalds across the street for a Happy Meal. The cashier thought she was cute and gave her two toys! Not sure what tomorrow will bring. We have a big bucket list!

in flight

The flight was... long. Thankfully the candy supply and iPad battery lasted until we reached Taipei. We're so proud of how Hannah behaved on the flight and have told her this many times. There was only crying once, and I feel so badly about it. On the third flight Kevin and I had fallen asleep and there was some turbulence in the dark. We worke up to her crying that she wanted to go home! She was scared from the bumps and couldn't look to us for reassurance. I picked her up and she fell asleep on me while crying in only about three minutes. Diagnosis: overtired four year old.

Go!

Ready... Set...

My check list is completed. Overdue library books returned. Looked like the dog was getting an eye infection, so I took her to the vet yesterday morning, and my suspicion was confirmed. All of the laundry is done, but not put away. Close enough, right? I woke up a few times in the middle of the night and looked at the alarm clock. Is it time to get up yet? At 7am I couldn't sleep any more, even though I'd planned on getting up at 8am. Let's do this! I can't wait anymore



The whole family was showered, dressed, and had bags packed at the front door before 9am. We hadn't planned on leaving until 11am. Um... what are we going to do for the next two hours?!?! Oh yeah, we're so excited that we forgot to eat. Let's go out for pancakes! I've heard this question a few times this morning. "Mama, are we going to Taiwan yet?!?!?!" Little man, Hudson... we are so overly ready for you. Here we come!

three sleeps!

little miss list maker

Hannah is her mother's daughter. She's walking around the house with pencil and paper asking us over and over, "What else do you want to do in Taiwan?" and making a list. LOL! That's my girl!

Hannah's thoughts from today

Heard from the back seat of the car tonight, "Mama, when we go to Taiwan is it going to be a long way... like going to __________ Lake?" (That's the two hour drive to Grandma and Grandpa's lake house.) Oh boy...
We had a little girl's time together after dinner. I look her to Dairy Queen and we ordered our usual dipped cones. Hannah always manages to get ice cream on the tip of her nose. :)

We had a hard time putting Hannah to bed tonight. Every once in awhile she draws out going to bed in a new way, like by needing new water in her cup, a different blanket, or a different stuffed animal. Tonight she was crying because she wanted to read books in bed. I gave her three books to look at in bed for some quiet time. Five minutes later I returned to her room because she was crying hysterically. "How am I going to read the words!?!?! I can't read the words! I don't know how to read the words!!!" I patted her back and told her "That's why you go to school. You're going to spend lots of time at school learning how to read these words. Books are lot more fun when you know how to read the words. That's why Nana has a job... to help kids learn how to read the words." Hannah requested to be rocked, and fell asleep in her daddy's arms in about 3 minutes.

counting the days

Daddy and Hannah made a paper chain today to count downhow many days until we leave for Taiwan. Just 12 sleeps, baby!

last day of preschool

  Today was your last day of 3-4 year old preschool.Your teachers love you so!You lack in participation in group settingsand don't want to draw attention to yourself.But you work very well one-on-one and are a very good girl. We're very proud of your accomplishments!

sharing Grandmas

One of my grandmas passed away this week.  She was 87, lived a long life, and had been in a nursing home for several years.  She's had hospice care to make her feel more comfortable these last few weeks.  Her burial was Friday.

We explained what was happening the best we could to Hannah in an age appropriate way.  She was present for the calling hours and graveside service.  I'm very proud of how well Hannah listened to what was going on and behaved herself so well.

When getting Hannah ready for bed Friday night she remarked, "You cried today. You are sad because your Grandma died.". I responded, "Yes, I'm going to miss my Grandma.". Hannah thought about it and said, "You can talk to my Florida Grandma. And my other Grandma in Florida Grandma with white hair."  Love to all of the Grandmas that we share in our lives!  Nana, lake house Grandma, Florida Grandma, Grandma with white hair, and Taiwan Grandma are all very special people.

spring training

 It's been a beautiful weekend.
   Daddy and I cleaned out the garage, had a garage sale with what we could sell,gave away and recycled a lot, and threw away the rest.

 Hannah has been very patient with us and Nana and Papahelped us out by having a sleepover Friday night.

 On Sunday Hannah and Daddy went to the toy storeon the way to Chinese school and came home with this Tball set.
  We had a "ball" in the back yard tonight starting our spring training.Tutu and shoes optional.

All we need now is that ball boy. :)

travel dates

We're leaving Sunday, June 3rd, arriving in Taipei on the 4th.  I'm working on where to stay in Taipei that week.  I have several leads on apartments within a 5 minute walk of MRT stations.  We'll head south most likely on Friday.  I have a place picked out to stay on the beach at Kenting.  There's also some places that we want to visit in Ping Tung.  We'll spend the night in Tainan Tuesday and meet Hudson on Wednesday, June 13th.  We'll take the HSR back to Taipei that night.  I'm working on another apartment that has two beds that is close to an MRT stop once again.  AIT appointment Thursday.  Sightseeing in Taipei Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Go home Monday, June 18th.

I was on the phone for a little over an hour with the airline tonight reserving our flights and getting Hudson's one way ticket back.  Complicated stuff!  The representative on the phone apologized over and over that she had to put me on hold so much.  I laughed.  Lady, we've waited a long time to get to this point.  Being on hold with you for an hour is the easiest part!

Hannah said a few really sweet things today.  She told me that Hudson can sleep in her bed if he's scared because he doesn't know us yet.  She also offered to teach him how to ride a tricycle.  I get all teary-eyed thinking about what a great big sister she's going to be.  I'm also relieved that she'll have someone to play with at home.  There's only so much hula-hooping, jump roping, hide-and-seek, and ball throwing that I have patience for.

Update 4/28/12 - Serviced apartment in Taipei secured for beginning and end of trip.  Great location.  Yippie!

Sunday 6/3 - Depart
Monday 6/4 - Arrive in Taipei late, check in to apt and zzzzzzz.
Tuesday 6/5 - Sleep in!
Wednesday 6/6
Thursday 6/7
Friday 6/8 - visit Ping Tung, spend night in Kaoshiung
Saturday 6/9 -Kaoshiung
Sunday 6/10 - Kaohsiung
Monday 6/11 - beach house at Kenting
Tuesday 6/12 - beach house at Kenting, travel back to Tainan for the night
Wednesday 6/13 - Hudson day in Tainan, travel back to Taipei, check into apt again
Thursday 6/14 - AIT appointment
Friday 6/15
Saturday 6/16 - go to Jade and Flower Market in Taipei
Sunday 6/17 - Father's Day
Monday 6/18 - Fly home

Hudson's finished room

Dream, Discover, Grow! I finished Hudson's room last night by hanging up the wall art and applying custom vinyl decals. Christy at Graphic Spaces was wonderful to work with.  I put all of the vinyl decals up in less than two hours. They were very simple to apply in comparison with another product I'd previously purchased at a Target.

Sunday Snaps

 Yes, it's a lot of pink.  Isn't it?
 I've stopped trying to tell her that these are weeds, not flowers.

 

She tells me, "Mama, they're WEED FLOWERS!"

spinning seeds

 simple things  tiny moments  amaze me  and take my breath away  anything but discarded put here for a purpose  new life, renewal, growth

Video: Let's Talk about Taiwan

four year old 我愛你 translation troubles

When I put Hannah to bed I try to keep the same bedtime routine.  We put on jammies, potty, brush teeth, floss, and then get tucked into bed.  I tell her, "Night night.  I love you.  Wo ai ni!"  One night as an afterthought I asked Hannah what wo ai ni means.  She responded, "It means go to sleep!"  I cracked up so hard.  It means "I love you!" not "Go to sleep!"  Hahaha!

Hudson fotopalooza

After waiting for what seemed like forever for meaningful updates on Hudson, here's what we learned about him in March. He was 81cm tall and weighed 13kg. He loves to play with others. Once he sees anyone playing the game, he will jump in right away. Sometimes he wont cry if someone takes the toy away from him. He has a good appetite, he is sweet, and not afraid of strangers. He loves to see himself in pictures and wants to take a look at the camera after shooting. Hudson loves to play ball and is extremely happy when someone plays ball with him.














Still waiting for travel dates. I've got apartments picked out in Taipei that would work if they have availability, learned that airfare prices are pretty stable for mid-week travel in May, have selected a beach house in Kenting to stay at for a a couple of few nights. Hudson's and Hannah's things are packed. I have a list of what clothing I'll be bringing. The kids things will be in my suitcase and Kevin's taking care of everything he needs in a large backpack. We'll bring a duffle bag with us to put clothing in on the way home to make room in my suitcase for things we buy in Taiwan.

breakfast date

  I had a breakfast date this morning   with my BFF before going to story hour at the library.   I love how she wrinkles her nose.  We don't do this enough!

growing up so fast

This photo of Hudson is dated December 29, 2011.
He's twelve months old here.

Every photo is a treasure.

Hudson's final decree is in!

I made the mistake of looking at my cell phone at a red light on my way home from work.  It was a message from our adoption agency.  It wasn't an emergency, but they'd like to share with us some news before the weekend.  Of course, I called it right away!!!  I was blown away to hear that our final decree was in.  That means that the adoption has been finalized in Taiwan!  I was really surprised, and so overjoyed!  I started crying.  It's a good thing that I was almost home and was turning off the state highway.

The adoption facilitator in Taiwan is working on travel dates already.  We might have these as soon as next week.  I'm anticipating leaving for Taiwan in 3-6 weeks, but we'll see what happens when we get this information next week.  We'd like to do some sightseeing in Taiwan before picking up Hudson, like we did before getting Hannah.  I've got a couple of apartment rentals picked out in Taipei, and I'm really excited that airfare costs are at an excellent price in May.  All three of us could fly to Taiwan for less than the price of one of our tickets when we went to bring home Hannah over Christmas and New Year's.  That's a blessing!  There isn't extra money in this adoption budget for super fancy hotels and business class airfare with this adoption like there was for Hannah's.

I'll be starting to post photos shortly.  That's what you're all waiting for, right?  :)

We went out for Chinese food at our neighborhood restaurant to celebrate.  This was Kevin's fortune.

Meet our son! - referral photos

Meet our son!

More photos to follow. Not many, but we have a few more. :)

Redirect: Rethinking Tikki Tikki Tembo

This is an important read from Taiwanese American children's author Grace Lin regarding the book Tikki Tikki Tembo.

seven months

Hudson Ray, It was seven months ago we first heard of you, little man. Thinking of you, every day. Trusting in others that work in your best interests to bring us together. I hope you feel loved tonight. You are from afar. Love, Mama

so loved

We went out to dinner last night with two other adoptive family friends. We met one family online and the other at while shopping at Target. What do we have in common? Little girls that are SO LOVED! By the end of the year we'll add THREE little boys under age 2 to the mix of this group from China and Taiwan.

I'm laughing so hard right now.  Kevin was just talking to Hannah about our upcoming trip to Taiwan and told her all about going to the Hello Kitty Cafe with desserts that look like Hello Kitty.  Hannah asked if they had cupcakes and strawberry cake.  I find this so funny as last time we were at the Hello Kitty Cafe in Taipei Kevin made it known that he was not having a good time and enjoyed stabbing his gelatin Hello Kitty with a fork repeatedly.  This time with a four year old little girl, things are different.  Kevin's looking forward to going there because he knows she'll love it.  That's my man!  :)

Hello Kitty Cafe - January 1, 2009