Christmas Day

We all went to church with Steve’s parents so everyone there could meet her. Again, everyone was so happy to see her and thought she was precious. It’s really great to have so much support and excitement about her finally being home with us. It was a wonderful Christmas!!! We left Missouri at 6:00 Christmas night...stopped in Jackson, TN to pick up a few things we left at my Mom's...then drove through the night to get home. The drive was a bit tough on us but it was so much better for Livie. She pretty much slept the entire way home....about 14 hours. We were so ready to be home when we finally pulled in the driveway...we were exhausted and she was wide awake! The new story of our life... :-)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Open House….a “meet & greet” for friends in Jackson TN to meet Olivia and welcome her to the family. It was freezing cold and rainy but we had a really big turnout….so wonderful that everyone wanted to share in our experience and were so excited to see her. She was wearing the cutest little Christmas outfit (gift from Uncle Steve) and really turned on the charm….love at first site for everyone who met her!

Home for Christmas

First flight with Livie since the long flights home from China….must say I was a bit nervous. I flew to TN by myself with her…Steve was scared for me (he still has nightmares of those flights home). My thought is that if we could survive those flights with a screaming baby, I can survive a 1 hour flight by myself….even if she screams the entire time! She did great! She started to get a bit fussy a few times but the Cheerios were a perfect distraction. We had dinner with my step-sisters and their families on Thursday night (12/22). Olivia went nuts over her new cousin, Matthew (3 yrs old). She gave him a bear-hug every time he came near. Attached is a pic of him trying to escape…

Birthday girl...

Olivia’s 1st birthday!!! We had a party and lots of friends joined us to celebrate (Rina & Annalisa came...China travel buddies). Livie was so proper with her cake….never would dive in and get her hands too messy. She started crawling today! We really thought she would go straight to walking (she’s soooo close) but surprised us today with crawling. It’s so cute to see her scooting across the floor. Attached are a few pics from the party.

A born shopper!

December 1-15 Lots of visits with friends…getting on a schedule….exploring the house, toys, malls, etc. Olivia has done great adjusting to her new home….eating & sleeping very well. We had lots of Christmas shopping to finish so she & Mommy hit the malls often. Livie was a trooper every time we went out (almost daily!!)…so content in her stroller, grabbing lunch, in & out of the car seat, bouncing from store to store…..I think she’s a born shopper!!

Finally home!

November 18-25... It is so great to finally be home! Olivia was welcomed home by lots of friends & family…and spent the first week at home with her grandparents and uncle. Our family is just goo-goo over this baby!!!! Livie & Mommy were both sick the first week after getting home. I had the worst sinus infection of my life…UGH….and Livie had a cold she couldn’t shake. She visited the pediatrician for a quick check and we both started antibiotics…..we were healthy within a few days.

Dreaming of home

Only a few more hours in China...anxious to be home...wish we could just click our heels. But kinda sad this is Livie's last night in her native country...at least for a while...she'll be back for a visit when she's older....maybe when we come get baby sister! :-) We'll touch down in Detroit at 1:20 on Friday afternoon...Livie will be a US citizen at that moment. What an amazing journey!...what an amazing blessing! Maybe I'll stop crying and be able to pull myself together by the time we get to Jacksonville...home at last around 5:15!! (6:00 a.m. on our body clock!) Pray for safe travels and a happy baby during the long flights!

Medical checkup...

A final medical check is required as part of the paperwork process. Here are a few pics of Olivia's checkup....healthy girl!!

Olivia received her passport today!!

Olivia Lanhu Stafford received her passport today....so she has permission to leave the Province! She looks so cute in her passport picture....little pouty lips. On the way to the appt to pick up her passport, we stopped at a porcelain store...Jiangxi province is famous for its porcelain....best in China. We picked up a few little pieces that we can give Livie for future birthdays....something she'll have from her home town. We've been packing all afternoon.....hard to do when she's awake!! She's sleeping now so we're trying to finish...need to have bags outside our door at 6:30 in the morning....leaving hotel at 8:00....stopped packing just long enough to send a quick update and a few pics. She was screaming her head off when we first put her down tonight....then she pooped (diarrhea...right after her bath, of course!)...cleaned her up and then her daddy held her until she fell asleep (pic attached...they sat on the windowsill). Livie's had diarrhea several times last night and today.....today she's only had formula, a few cheerios and pedialite. She doesn't seem to feel bad...getting lots of fluids....still her playful/grouchy-pants self (you'll see!)....maybe tomorrow the diarrhea will be gone....especially since we're flying to Guangzhou.....it's only a 1 hour flight. Tomorrow afternoon we have her medical exam...just a quick check up....and get her visa picture taken. We're really looking forward to getting to Guangzhou....need a change of scenery. Also need a fresh hotel room....our's here smells like poop!! We've been double bagging the poopy diapers and taking them to a trash can by the elevators....but the room STILL smells like poop. And now I think the smell is stuck in our noses....we think we smell like poop everywhere we go. At least we're not alone....all the families say the same thing! Fun, fun! Oh yea....she started holding her bottle today. I snapped a picture of her tonight...she's just drinking some water in the picture. She wouldn't drink plain water over the last couple of days....discovered she likes it warm....so we put a splash of water that's just been boiled in with the bottled water....she gulps it down now! More later....

Visit to Olivia's orphanage -- Yihuang SWI

Today (Sunday, 11/13) we went to visit the babies' orphanage...Yihuang Social Welfare Institute (SWI)....and the nannies & foster mom's (all the babies were in foster care for several months....then came back to the orphanage just a few weeks ago). Steve & I were reluctant to take Livie b/c we've really seen a big change in her in the last couple of days and definitely didn't want her to have a set back after seeing her foster mom or nanny (there was one nanny assigned to her in the orphanage...each nanny has about 4 babies....we also heard that she was very close to her foster mom). We considered only one of us going to the orphanage and the other staying back at the hotel with Livie. We finally decided (literally at the last minute) that we'd all go for the visit. We are so glad we all went! The bus ride was hard....3 hours each way on VERY bumpy roads....but she did great! She started crying when her foster mom held her (as if she didn't remember her...the foster mom was hurt/upset with this) and she didn't want to stay with the nanny very long....she quickly started reaching for me or Steve....we were just beaming!!!! What a feeling to have her reach for us...especially in the environment that we assume was so familiar to her! Veronica said the orphanage was a very good one (clean & organized) relative to many facilities she's seen throughout China. (Not all orphanages are approved for visits...the government has to approve visits....so we knew from the beginning it would be good if it was approved to receive visitors.) Olivia's nanny showed us the crib she slept in....attached is a pic of the nanny holding Livie next to the crib....again, Livie was squirming and reaching out to me! :-) We also took several pics of the current orpanage babies on the playground (several have already been "matched" and are waiting to meet their new parents!). We learned that the orphanage director actually adopted a little girl a few years ago....she's a special needs child. That made us all feel good....feel like he really loves the children and is taking good care of them (there's a pic of him holding his adopted daughter). We left the hotel at 8:00 this morning and got back a little after 4:00....we are all sooooo exhausted. Tomorrow we're going to pick up Livie's passport...so she can leave the Province and we can all fly to Guangzhou Tuesday morning. We are itching for a change of scenery!....REALLY itching to come home! We've all said that this parenting thing will seem like a piece of cake when we finally get home....this first week has just not been normal! Up early every morning, appointments, paperwork, bumpy bus rides, loud horns honking (constant honking!!!), cramped little hotel room, boiling water for every bottle....UGH!!! Oh well....no complaints....so, so happy to be with little Livie!

street outside the gate of the orphanage

playground

orphanage director and his adopted daughter

Steve & Livie outside the front gate where she was found

playroom Olivia's crib

Olivia with her nanny Olivia with her foster mom feeding room crib room

Visit to the countryside in Nanchang

Today we went on a tour to the country side...we actually visited a village and went through a couple of homes. We are all stunned with the standard of living that is considered acceptable....it's truly not like anything we've ever seen. We all felt terrible b/c it was like we were just gawking at their homes...trying not to look shocked b/c we certainly didn't want to insult them. The ladies (2) who let us look inside their homes were so gracious and proud of what they have...it's all they've ever known....it's just their life. One of the ladies is a Christian and she wanted to be sure we all knew this....she was so sweet....she was about 80 years old. I held her hand and tried to talk to her...Veronica interpreted for all of us....I finally had to walk out b/c I was about to explode with tears and I didn't want her to see me cry....didn't want her think I felt sorry for her. Everyday there's something knew that overwhelms us here. Attached are a few pics of the village homes.

City tour in Nanchang

Here are few more pics from last night & this morning. We're all about to lay down for a nap....we took a brief city tour this morning here in Nanchang....only a couple of hours. Learned that Nanchang has 4m people.....didn't know it was so large....that's the size of Houston! Livie eats like she's the bottomless pit! Today she had a bottle at 6:30 am; eggs, noodles & a small bowl of congee (watery rice, basically) at 9:00 am; about a 3/4 bottle, small bowl of steamed eggs, noodles at 12:30 pm.....and she'll have a snack when she gets up from her nap. We finally just have to walk away from the table with her while the other finishes eating....she'll just keep eating & eating! She's not unique.....all the babies are like this....everyone is tripping out over it.....this unlimited supply of food is obviously a new experience for them. But they certainly didn't starve in foster care or the orphanage....Livie has a pot-belly (little Buddha!) so I know she had plenty to eat. Our agency sent a message out yesterday about the US Embassy releasing a warning that Islamic terrorists were planning attacks in China at four & five star hotels....we're at a 5 star hotel!!! Didn't want to mention this yesterday....didn't want anyone at home to freak out. Our guide said we shouldn't worry about it b/c 99% of Nanchang is Han Chinese...no Muslims. Anyway....today the Embassy released another statement that the info they received was not credible and the warning was retracted....no worries! (You may have heard about this warning in the news at home....just wanted you to know that we heard it too....the agency is taking good care of us....there is tons of security and guards everywhere in China....we feel VERY safe!!) More later.... hv yrbunijmovwzev7h9oopokui6fecewwxqxicnm g k ee n bgg6c898 Olivia just typed that!! :-) Sherry