Five months at home

     Wow--Lily Kate has been a part of our family for five months now.  We are amazed at all the changes in her (and us as a family) since we first met her in China in early July.  She is such a sweet, vivacious, lively, happy, and beautiful little girl.  She fits into our family perfectly and we love watching her grow everyday.
     At the end of September, she had surgery to repair her cleft palette.  It was a huge surgery and we were thrilled with how little pain she had in the days after the surgery.  The biggest difficulty we all faced was that she could not eat any solids for three and a half weeks.  She could only eat what could fit into a syringe.  That was a very tough time for all of us but we made it through.  Basically--nobody ate in front of her.  Luckily, all the sacrifice was worth it because the palette healed great and she is beginning to talk, even in short phrases.  Her favorite thing to do is yell at the dog.  It was hard for her to form words prior to surgery because of the hole in the roof of her mouth.
     For Halloween, she was Little Red Riding Hood.  Drew was supposed to be the Wolf but whenever he put on his costume, Lily Kate cried.  It did not go over well.  She did, however, love the concept of Halloween.  She loved getting lots of candy!!!
    For Thanksgiving, we took Lily Kate on her first cruise.  She is beginning to get a little bossy and she thought she was in charge of the entire ship.  Her favorite thing to do was be in charge of the elevator doors, pressing the open and close buttons constantly, in between her six meals a day, of course-LOL.  All joking aside, she had a great time.  She even kissed a dolphin.
     We look forward to our first Christmas as a "party of five."  This past weekend we took her to see Santa.  She was so excited about the candy canes that she "forgot" to cry.  We could not ask for a better gift this year than our new daughter.  We look forward to seeing Christmas through her eyes.   Merry Christmas to all!!!!

New photos of Lily Kate her first month at home

I am finally updating!!!!!

     We have been home for about six weeks now and Lily Kate is definitely an Americanized little girl. She has adjusted extremely well and we definitely know that we got the best little girl China had to offer--LOL.    She is absolutely perfect.  She initially slept in a crib but after a few weeks she wanted to transition into her twin bed.  She had some trouble falling asleep initially and seemed to experience some night terrors.  She is doing much better now although she still is not a fan of going to bed.  She loves to eat and has gained 5 pounds since we got her.  She is beginning to get pickier as she gets more and more used to sugary American junk food.  She is still very tiny for her age--in about the 5th percentile but is beginning to catch up quickly.  She is a very friendly little girl.  She says hi and waves to everyone she sees.  She also loves to give everyone hugs and kisses.  We are afraid of how she may react when she is no longer the center of the universe.  We quickly got back into the routine of life when returning home. Most of you know how we travel so we quickly went on Lily Kate's first vacation.  It was to North Carolina where she met two aunts and uncles.   I went back to teaching at the start of the school year and she started in day care.  She has done great and really enjoys going to daycare.   On September 27th she will have her surgery to repair her cleft palate.  We are nervous about the surgery because she can't eat solids for 2-3 weeks after the surgery.  We are just praying it is a success.  She has a fairly large opening in her palette.  Thank you for all the cards, gifts,  and well wishes that have come our way the past month and a half.  We are so lucky to have all of you in our lives.  

Not easy getting home but we made it

    After we have had challenges on all of our flights this trip, we should have known that getting home would not be any easier.  Going to Beijing, we sat on the plane for over 3 hours before having to get off, switch planes and then finally begin our journey about 6 hours late.  Then our two in-China flights were delayed by several hours. SOOOO---when we took off on time from Hong Kong, I should have known things were too good to be true.  Lily Kate actually did fabulous all 16 hours on the plane, although she only slept for one hour.  There was too much to see and do.  She also kept anxiously waiting for her next meal to arrive.  She loves her food!!!!  We knew we had a 7 hour layover in Detroit but after 6 hours the Delta Representative said the plane was in the hangar and we would be delayed about an hour.  Remember--at this point none of us have slept in 25 hours.  The next announcement says it will be delayed an additional hour.  It is 9:00pm at this point (9:00 am China time) so our patience is shot.  Lily Kate is screaming because she wants to sleep.  We asked about a morning flight and found out a few seats were available on the morning flight.  We rushed to the "help" desk and got some of the last seats on the flight.  We then found a hotel and left the airport.  Thank goodness we did--the flight took off at 2:00AM and arrived in Tampa at 4:30AM.  Long story short, we got home yesterday afternoon and will spend today unwinding and unpacking.  Both sets of parents met us at the airport.  Thank you to those of you who left posters, signs and balloons for our homecoming.  We were SOOOOOO touched.  Now that we are home, I am finally able to read the blog.  China limits media greatly.  Thank you for so much support.   WE are extremely thankful to be home.  Please feel free to come and visit anytime.  We plan to be home a lot this week getting Lily into the swing of being home.  Also, she hates the carseat (stroller too) so we need to avoid it as much as possible right away.

Last China Post

Our journey to China is coming to a close.  We have felt so blessed--the six years of waiting have been so worth it.  We never would have dreamed that Abigail would be a teenager when we actually began our paperwork for this adoption in 2006.  A few years ago we somewhat nixed the idea because the wait was so long.  We now know that we were destined for Lily Kate!!!!!!  She is perfect for our family and we look forward to giving her a bright and happy future.  We do not look forward to the 15 hour plane ride from Hong Kong to Detroit though--yikes.........

      Yesterday, Lily Kate had all of her necessary paperwork in order for her US Consulate appointment (with a little help from mom and dad.)  Today we will get her visa and then she will have clearance to travel to the United States.  We took a group picture yesterday of all the children and their family members in the lobby of the hotel.  It was "great fun" trying to keep all the children focused while our reps tried to take pictures with 20 different cameras.  We then attempted a picture of just the children sitting on the step.  It was hysterical watching them.  Some (like Lily Kate) just sat on the step and watched all the screaming and commotion around them while others tried to run up and down the stairs.  It made for some great and memorable pictures. Several of us bought the authentic Chinese outfits and put them in for the pictures.  She will probably never wear it again but it was very cute.  

 

Last night we took Lily Kate swimming for the first time and she seemed to really enjoy it.  Last night after I brushed her teeth, I told Lily to show daddy her clean teeth.  Instead of walking to the bed where Dave was, she tried to open the hotel room door.  I opened it for her and she pressed the elevator button (we are right by the elevator.)  I laughed because we forget that as many times a day as we drill our names into her head, Chinese is still her language and most of what we say is jibberish to her.  Poor thing--she was pointing to her teeth and wanting to go down the elevator to go show someone her teeth.  She always smiles at us so we hope that  MAYBE she is understanding a word or two here or there.  LOL

  Tonight we take a van to Hong Kong.  It will take 3-5 hours, depending on traffic.  Then tomorrow we will begin our 24 hours of flying home.   Hong Kong is supposed

 to be an awesome city.  I am not sure how much of it we will get to see because we are only there for one night.  No biggie--we have been gone almost a month and are just ready to get home!!!!!!!!!!  Oh, this is funny.  We just checked into our flight and they changed Lily Kate's seat.  She is no longer sitting with the four of us but is several rows behind us.  She is traveling on her Chinese passport so her name is different.  The airline must have thought it was a person traveling alone because her name was different than the four of ours.  We will fix it at the airport but we thought it was funny.  Have a great day everyone!!!!!!!!!

In My Defense..........

According to Lily Kate's blog the other day, she told me to boil the water longer for the noodles.  That is not entirely true.  The pot actually whistled signaling that the water was boiled...apparently it went off prematurely.   I was SOOOOO sick for the past two and a half days but have returned to life now.  With a toddler--it is hard to be sick.  Probably half of those who come to China catch some type of stomach bug.  It is hard to avoid getting sick.

   

     It is really fun here in Guangzhou. Yesterday, we went shopping at a Pearl Market (yes-I just took lots of medicine) and went on a really fun dinner cruise down the Pearl River.  There was a man swimming in the river.  It reminded Dave and me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer goes swimming in the East River.  All the buildings along the river are lit up in beautiful colors at night.   Today we went to the zoo and went shopping on a local island.  Lily Kate loved feeding the giraffes.  It was a great day.

    

  Lily Kate is slowly getting used to us.  She is definitely going to rule the roost.  She is very defiant when she wants to be and will not give in when she does not want to do something.   It is cute to see her throw her little fits.  It is so hard to establish routine while in hotels so we cannot wait to get home and get her on a normal schedule.

    

 

 Speaking of home--tomorrow we have our US Consulate appointment to apply for her visa.  We receive her visa on Thursday and then leave Thursday for Hong Kong.  As long as everything goes as planned, we should be home with our little China doll on Saturday.  

     

As I have said before, I am so sorry we cannot respond to blog comments while here in China due to media restrictions.  Thank you to all of you for keeping our family in your thoughts.  We are enjoying our journey here but are ready to get home.  We cannot wait to sleep in our own beds!!!!!!

 

Lily's Turn To Blog

July 15, 2012
Good morning USA. Today I (Lily) have to write the blog for my mommy. I told her to boil the water longer on the noodles, but she would not listen to me. So somebody has to keep this blog going because she is sick. Today I had to get out of bed (not as easy as it looks) and go to breakfast. After breakfast I found more of these round objects on the counter (m&m's). I put one in my mouth and I had to keep going. Why was my mommy not giving these to me earlier in the week?

After my completion of these round objects I decided these people needed a tour of the town Guangzhou. It was bright out side so I had to put my shades on (picture). 

We started off going to a buddhist temple, not my favorite place to go (as the picture shows). This temple, I was told was very old (about 1450 years old). After the temple, we went to the house of Chen. The house of Chen was very hot. I asked mommy why they spent so much money to build a house without ac? Mommy and Daddy said the house had lots of interesting architecture (like what does that mean?). So after the hot house we finally went to a place with ac. This place with ac had lots of things to buy, So mommy got these slips and gave them to daddy. These slips did not seem to make daddy so happy because he had to stand in line and get this card out that looks like the room key. 

After this place with ac we returned to the hotel were I got my 3 hour nap. When I got up from my nap, I did not see mommy (Daddy tells me she was under the covers). Daddy, Abby, and Drew took me to McD's. I got my second hamburger this week. I am sure going to miss this place when I go to the USA. It is about time for me to go to bed so I hope mommy feels better tomorrow so she can take  over this blog again.

Arrival in Guangzhou

 We have arrived in the beautiful city of Guangzhou-YIPPEE!!!!!  We are thrilled.  This city is much more touristy and we definitely fit in more here than in Lily's province.  The hotel is a Marriott and many employees speak English so it is easy to communicate.  There are also numerous things to do here as a family and group when we are not working on paperwork.  This is where we work on Lily Kate's U.S. paperwork so she can come into the United States and immediately become a citizen.

     Yesterday, the plane ride was EXCITING for all the passengers who got to listen to our 14 screaming babies as we sat on the runway for an hour and a half waiting to take off.  We could tell all the passengers were talking about us in Chinese (we were the only Americans on the plane.)  Our babies were NOT HAPPY. When we finally arrived in Guangzhou we were very relieved.  We will travel from bus to Hong Kong so our last flight will be home to the United States.  We have not had good luck with flights on our trip so far.

     Today Lily Kate was not happy.  Today all the babies went for their medical exams where they were poked and prodded.  She then got a TB test which upset her greatly.  We determined that she weighs almost 20 pounds and seems fairly healthy.  She has a little bit of a runny nose but most of the babies do simply because of all the changes going on in their world this past week (food, environment, etc.)  We went to the hotel playground this afternoon and realized that she does not like slides or swings.  We do not think she has ever been on either one before.  She also put her feet in the swimming pool.  Maybe tomorrow we will take her in.  She got a hold of Abby's M&M's tonight and decided that she could eat them all day. She kept making the "mmmm" sound and wanting more when the package was empty.  It will be so hard not to spoil this baby!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Wearing Shoes Is A Must......

 July 12 , 2012  and  July 12, 2012
We are learning that Lily Kate is all about routine.  Her shoes must be on from the moment she wakes up until the moment she goes to bed, yes even when wearing her pajamas.  If a shoe falls off, it must be put back on immediately.  Also, she has to have everything organized at all times.  Last night we went to the hotel play room and the balls from the ball pit were all over.  She could not go on any of the apparatus until she put every ball back in the pit.  Once her task was completed, she began playing.  She also got water on her pajama top before bed.  I changed her into another top but she would not let it stop there.  She knew the new top did not go with the bottoms so she insisted I change her into the matching bottoms, although they were too big for her.  She is so funny.

Yesterday, we spent the day playing with her new friends at the hotel.  A few families went with us to a local park where she went on a few rides and we went on the paddle boats.  No tears during her bath today--although she still will not sit down in the bathtub.  Our biggest challenge is changing her diaper.  She still gets hysterical and runs away when I go to change it.  We think there were consequences for accidents and she is still nervous.  We have to be careful when changing her because being used to "squat pots", she thinks she is supposed to squat and go when the diaper comes off.  We will keep working on this.  LOL

Today we fly to Guangzhou to begin all our US paperwork.  We will be there for about a week.  Have a great day!!!!

Two more pictures.

A GREAT BONDING DAY

 July 11, 2012
What a long day!!!!  We had to take a train to Lily Kate's small village (AKA home of 6 million people) to apply for her passport.  The 8 hours on the train were not as bad as we thought they would be.  There is another little boy from her orphanage so they made the trip with us, along with an adoption representative.  We were the only non-Chinese in the train stations and on the trains.  It is unbelievable how many stares you get from people.  This part of China does not get tourists so we are a real novelty.
    On the train Lily Kate let Dave play with her which was awesome.  She even smiled at him and shared her toys with him.  It is strange how these orphans choose one person to bond with and then slowly warm up to everyone else.  He even took her out of the crib this morning.   She also really warmed up to Abby and Drew on the train. 
     Temper tantrums--yes, we saw yesterday that she can have them.  Although she is VERY tiny (most clothes I brought are way too big on her) we saw that two year olds are the same everywhere.  Look at the picture with the sour face--that is the "I am not getting what I want" face.  It was so cute. 
     We also realized that a caregiver must have snuck her sips of Coca Cola because when I opened a soda on the train, she threw a "mini" tantrum because she really wanted some.  When the can had about half a sip left I gave it to her and it made her happy.  We also learned that she does not like the Chinese KFC which we went to yesterday.  It was too spicy for all of us.
     She smiles all the time now.  Each day it is so special to see a little more of her sweet personality come out.  On the train, she took such good care of her friend Jake.  She shared all her food and toys then got so worried when Jake got upset and started crying.  She acts like a big sister to him.
     Today is just  relaxing day at the hotel.  Later we complete paperwork and then tomorrow fly out to Guanghou. 

VERY SIGNIFICANT DAY

July10, 2012
     Lily Kate's files have always estimated her birthday as 6/20/10 because she was abandoned on a street corner on 7/10/10.  Well, today on 7/10/12, exactly 2 years to the day after her abandonment, we completed the paperwork and officially got our forms stating that as of today we are Lily Kate's parents.  We thought that was such a coincidence that her abandonment form and adoption papers have the same date.  I could not help but think about her birth mother today--while we feel so blessed I have to wonder if her mother remembered that today was the day she probably had very little choice but to leave her daughter for the system to care for.
     Aside from filling out lots of paperwork, we treated Lily Kate to her first McDonald's Happy Meal followed by a McFlurry.  Of course she loved it.  This little girl loves everything we put in her mouth and is never full.  After lunch, we spent time playing and it was great to see her stacking these Playdoh cups we brought, then unstacking them and putting the cups in bags.  She must have done this for thirty minutes. She refused to actually touch the Playdoh though.  She must have played with it before and not liked how it felt on her hands.  She then did some drawing on an Etch and Sketch and played on a Leap Frog game we bought her.  It was nice to see that she has been worked with.  It was during this playtime that the smiles began to really come out and she began to loosen up with us.  She still will not let anyone but me hold her but by tomorrow I think that will change.  Before bed, we put on a Barney video and before long she stood up on the bed, started dancing, and then laughed at herself repeatedly in the mirror--first laugh!!!!!  It was terrific.  Tomorrow is our 10 hour train trip to apply for her passport so I will not be blogging.  Have a great day.


Photos--sleeping so soundly her first night, walking through the lobby, photo after official adoption paper signing, "Look at me" photo, eating "McFlurry" photo, first laugh

GOTCHA DAY

 Today finally arrived.  We are thrilled to announce the addition of Lillian Kate Campbell.  Of course I could not sleep last night because I was so excited about the big day.  At 9:30, all of the families got on the bus and went to the government center.  We then went into a large room to wait for the arrival of 20 children total.  That number is huge.  There were families from other adoption agencies as well.  We simply went to lend support to all our new friends and be the "official" picture takers.  Abby and Drew have continued to be so helpful whenever needed on the trip.  Lily Kate and another little boy from her orphanage were actually not arriving until 1:00 and were coming directly to our hotel because they were coming 4 hours by train.  It was excitement filled with chaos watching 20 screaming babies not sure why their caregivers just left them with "odd looking" complete strangers.  We all got back to the hotel about noon and then several friends joined us and the other family to welcome our new arrivals when they came shortly after 1:00.  The kids were all hovering around the elevator and then the elevator stopped at our floor.  We all got so excited but then the caregivers got off and walked right past us with Lily Kate and Jake.  We found out later that they had to go to the director's room first but it was funny watching my daughter walk by and simply getting a glimpse at the back of her head.
     When Lily Kate was finally handed to me, I burst into tears.  I just could not believe all these years of waiting truly paid off.  She was beautiful in a blue polka dot dress with adorable pigtails in her hair.  I may be biased BUT I thought she was the most beautiful little girl being adopted.  Moms are allowed to think that way-LOL.  She cried until Abigail got snacks out of the bag for her.  Then she was happy.  As the day progressed, she got upset whenever I tried to put her down because she was both exhausted and wondering when her caregivers were coming back.  Poor thing--she woke up in her bed this morning and had no idea how her world was going to change today.  By tonight, she was doing better.  We even got 3 smiles out of her.  She ate 2 full pieces of pizza, spaghetti, and a piece of garlic bread for dinner.  Yes-we ate Italian food in China.  We are at a very American style hotel.  We learned that she loves apple juice, only drinks out of regular cups, and hates baths.  It is funny what you can learn in just 7 hours.  Tomorrow and Wednesday we spend the day filling out paperwork to make the adoption official.  Wednesday we travel about 8-10 hours on a train to apply for her passport-LONG day.  I will let everyone know how our next few days go.  Love to all!!!!!!!

July 8, 2012
After a four hour delay, we flew to the capital city of Henan province, Zhengzhou.  The main form of transportation here is bicycle.  We walked to Walmart tonight with the other families and had to dodge bikes all the way.  It was funny to see chickens and fish hung up like a butcher shop in the middle of Walmart.  The culture and people in China are amazing.  Tomorrow is the big day.  We cannot wait.  We should get Lily Kate about 1:00.  The director of her orphanage will bring her by train to us and it is about a four hour ride.  Tomorrow night we will "be starting over."  It is hard to believe.

Touring Beijing

July 7, 2012

Today we spent the day touring Beijing.  It is a huge city with so much culture to explore.  We spent time climbing The Great Wall this afternoon which was an amazing experience.  It was funny because several Asians wanted to have their pictures taken with us.  Americans are such a novelty in China.  We then went to an unbelievable Chinese acrobatics show in the evening.  Never again will I complain about traffic in the U.S.  Beijing is such a huge city and there is always a traffic jam everywhere you turn.
     We are still trying to get used to a few differences here in China.  First is the 12 hour time difference.  Second, as a female, is the toilet situation.  Here the toilets are "squat pots" which are toilets built into the ground.  They are also BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper.)  All joking aside, we are sad to be leaving Beijing already.  Third, even when brushing teeth, we must remember to only use bottled water.  It was suggested to put bandaids over our mouths when showering so we do not swallow any water.  We would have loved a few more days to explore all the amazing history surrounding it.
     Tomorrow our group of 17 families will all split up and fly to different parts of China where we will adopt our children from the different provinces.  I think 10 families will travel with us.  All the families traveling to our province are adopting children with special needs.  Some have cleft lips and palettes like Lily Kate, a few are missing limbs, one has a heart defect, one has spina bifida, one is blind, and a few others I cannot remember offhand.  The group we are traveling with are such kindhearted people.  I am extremely excited to continue this journey with them over the next few weeks.  Several families brought their children so  Abigail and Drew have friends to hang out with.
     Thank you for all the sweet comments and prayers being sent our way on the blog.  I am so sorry I cannot respond directly.  Using internet is very hard here in China. 

Less than 100 hours until we meet her

Our adoption agency has been really great about sending us some updated information and a few updated pictures since we were matched with Lily.  These are the most recent pictures.  We laugh because on all the pictures we have of her, she is on the rocking horse.  We know what toy is a must in our house!  When we received this picture we realized that the orphanage caretakers put a bow we had sent in her hair for the picture.  We thought that was very sweet.   On Monday when we meet Lily, the orphanage director will bring her 4 hours to the capital city where we are staying.  That is just how it works.  Then on Wednesday, we go to her home city with her to apply for her passport.  We are still not sure if we will see the orphanage or not.   Thank you so much for all the prayers so many of you are sending our way.  We feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family members.  We cannot wait to meet our precious daughter and bring her home.

It is getting closer......

Here everyone is on our first flight letting Lily Kate know that we are on our way!!!!!!!!!!

We're leaving on a jet plane.......

6/30/12

      Everything has fallen into place.  This week at a chinese restaurant, my fortune was "You will be free of the heavy burdens you have been carrying."  It made me smile.  That same day we received our Chinese Consulate appointment which was huge and the next day our Chinese visas arrived in the mail.  YIPPEE!!!!  That allowed us to finalize flights and get everything packed and ready to go.   We are nervous but thrilled to finally be beginning our journey to bring our new daughter home.  We are on our way and will hopefully be able to update during our time in China.  In just over a week we should have Lily Kate in our arms.  Thank you to our family and friends for all the prayers and support.

6/22/12

     Over the past 7 weeks we have filled out TONS of paperwork and made several calls to U.S. immigration and hope we are close to having everything ready to travel to China very soon.  We are waiting for some appointments in China to be made and then we can make all our final arrangements.  The bags are almost completely packed.  Lily Kate's suitcase is almost full--clothes, toys, etc...  It is funny how long we have waited and in one week everything has happened all at once.  As everyone who knows us well knows, we are planners.  Dave plans our trips at least a year in advance to always get the best deal possible so waiting until the very last minute to get overseas plane tickets is driving him crazy.  As excited as we are to meet our new daughter, we are very nervous and overwhelmed by everything we have had to do this past week. Last night we went to Walmart and felt like first time parents again buying diapers, a car seat, sippie cups, bibs, wipes, and so much more.  Everything is different from when Abigail and Drew were babies.  We know once we get on the plane we can relax and enjoy our adventure to bring Lily Kate home.

Match day

5/4/12
     As many of you know, in 2006 we decided we wanted to adopt a child from China.  We began the paperwork at that time and were officially "logged in" with a dossier in 2007.  That meant we were officially on the list.  Unfortunately, the wait time then was approximately 18-20 months.  Needless to say, things quickly changed and the wait times increased by several years. Every 18 months, we had to do a new home study and complete immigration paperwork.   We were still years away from being matched with a daughter from China, so in March of this year we went on the "waiting child" list.  This list consists of various disabilities you feel you could handle as a parent.  We completed and submitted our list.  Since our dossier had been logged into China for so many years, we received a match quicker than expected.  We were shocked when we got the call just two days ago describing a 22 month old little girl with a cleft palette and asked if we would like to look at her file.  We had read to avoid looking at the pictures in the files because it makes it harder to "objectively" look at the file.  Of course, I accidentally pressed a button and  Ling Yu's (her chinese name) precious pictures appeared on the screen.  That sweet face looking at me made me want to bring her home today.  We had 48 hours to consult with doctors and thoroughly review the file.  Today we officially accepted  Ling Yu and can't wait to bring her home to the United States.

Lily Kate-18 months (we guess????)

Lily Kate- 1 year old