We are HOME!!!!

We got in yesterday afternoon. Reagh was really good and full of energy when meeting everyone. We are going to try to get caught up on some much needed sleep, so we'll post more very soon. Thanks for all the support out there. We so appreciated it all.

China's bathrooms

I got a few people ask me about the bathroom situation here. I have added a photo so you can see that it's basically a toilet in the floor. You have to squat to use the bathroom. It not my cup

of tea but hey it works in a pinch...lol They do have western bathrooms but not a lot of places have them so this is what you have to use if you can't hold it.


Kelly

Pearl Market and Silk Factory

Reagh woke up every 2 hours last night so TJ decided to stay back at the hotel with him so he could rest up. They are both still sick so it was best for them to just relax for the day.


We went to the silk market first and it was so interesting to see the way they make the silk from the cocoons. there's a lot of thread in one of them. I have attached a few pictures of the machines that make the thread and one of the wall hangings they had. They also had so many silk outfits that were amazing. There was so much to choose from and we had very little time. I got Reagh a sign with his name in Calligraphy to hang by his bed.


We then got rushed off to the pearl market that was just above the market to barter at. There were so many pieces that I could have gotten so many to take home but I decided to keep my money for the shops below.


I got Reagh two outfits for the Chinese New year. They are so cute! I didn't haggle them so well at first but as the day went on I became a pro. I had one lady get so upset with me over a purse that she threw her calculator across the area she was in and told me how stupid I was...I couldn't stop by laugh. I just walked away and got the same thing from another worker just down a few shops. There were so many knock off purses that I could have taken so many home. If I have time before we leave I might sneak back to get another one...lol As I was looking for something for TJ I had a worker try to get me to stop and look in her shop by grabbing onto my arm. I dragged her about 15 feet before she finally let go and got the hint. Mind you I was laughing the whole time while she kept calling me her friends and she had a great price just for me....lol There wasn't much for TJ there as you can imagine the size difference. All he wants is slippers and it seems they are even hard to find. Oh well. We ended up having to leave just as things were getting on a roll of bartering. I was just getting so good at it.


We went to supper with another family and their children. We had a great meal with great new friends. It's nice to have such a great couple to spend some down time with. They have been so good to us with figuring out what to feed Reagh. Their little boy didn't want half of the food they took so they handed it over to us for Reagh. Now our little piglet Loves everything you put in front of him. He's grown so much since we got him. his little belly is now starting to round out a little. I think he didn't get much where he was from so he's now just wanting to eat everything in sight.


Reagh is such a delight. It's hard to believe that he's only been with us a short time that it feels like he's been with us forever. He's coming more and more out of his shell. He's still daddy's little boy but lately he's been coming to me more and more. I love him so much. I can't imagine my life without him now. As much as he keeps us up at night I would never trade him for anything in the world. ( I might change my mind after only a few hours sleep tonight...lol) I still can't get over how well this guys fits into our lives. I can't wait for everyone to meet him and see just how lucky we are to have him in our lives. I love being his mom. There is nothing more filling then that.


Well I'm off to bed and try to get a few hours in before he wakes us up again. Oh TJ is going to the forbidden city tomorrow but I'm going to stay behind with Reagh. I might sneek in a shopping trip back the market if I can find my way. Wish me luck!

Sick little boy/Great Wall of China

Sorry that this post is coming to you guys so late. We had a very long night last night.


Now yesterday we went to see the great wall. WOW, what a sight! We couldn't take a stroller as it was mainly all steps. Reagh and I stayed behind and just walked around the base. I helped Reagh take a few of the steps so he can officially say he's a man for climbing the wall. The weather was cold, but there was no real wind so it was a great day there. I met a few of the USA families at the base that adopted their children as well. There was another group from Europe that was there as well and they all seemed to tower in height. I was so hoping to see TJ stand by them to see what the difference would be. Though when TJ got down from his hike he told me that there were a few people asking to take his picture due to his height...lol


We also went to the jade museum where we found out there are so many different types of jade. They has so many colors but my favorite was the purple. I got a charm for my necklace that can be passed down in our family as the value only goes up with Jade. I also got Reagh a charm for when he's older of his zodiac sign in Chinese....he's the tiger! The sales lady said that most fathers like the tiger or the dragon year to have son's as it's the most powerful and one of honor. She also told me that tiger babies are stubborn just as Reagh had enough of the shopping...lol


After that we went for lunch above the porcelain market. They do everything there by hand right in front of you. It was amazing to see. We got a few trinkets to take back home. Though the lunch that was served upstairs was so good. I could have chowed down on that for the rest of the trip. While were were there we ran into Reagh's friend from his orphanage and they waved at each other. I wish that I had our camera on me at the time. We have their email so we hope to keep in touch with pictures for the boys to see as they get older.


As we drove back to the hotel we got to see the birds nest and the cube, but we were all so tired that no one wanted to stop so we just did the old drive by. The babies all seemed to do very well on this trip, even Reagh was making the moves on a older little girl behind him. If he's so into the girls now, what is he going to be like when he's 16????? I'm going to have to beat them all off...lol


After that we stopped in to see the family that is from NS to see how they were doing. It was so nice to just relax and hang out. I think it was one of our better nights. Reagh was loving the kids to play with. We diffidently need to get him into some play groups when we get home. He's full of energy that needs to be burned off for sure!


Now we didnt' get much sleep due to Reagh's chest cold. He ended up waking up every hour on the hour....very upset. We ran on fumes last night for sure. I took my turn at getting up and was so tired that I fell twice trying to get to his crib. My poor little legs were like jello. I woke up TJ in a panic that something happened to me. As I popped up and told him I'm Ok...lol ( a youtube moment for sure) So we didn't go to the tour today due to lack of sleep. After breakfast I let TJ have few hours to himself to get caught up on sleep while I took Reagh to the local market to find an outfit for him. After lunch we put Reagh down so I could have a nap for a few hours. WOW did I need it. We went for supper tonight at a local restaurant...it was ok but not my favorite so far. Our guide asked us if we wanted to try Dog and I nearly gagged myself when she asked. All I could think about is my poor little fur babies back home. The whole group decided against it...lol


Well Reagh is now bathed and off to bed so I will be off to do the same now. We are off to the silk market tomorrow for something to do. We are getting really bored of the hotel. We miss everyone back home and especially our bed. lol Oh I have attached a few photo's of our day. We also got one shot of a worker that we walk by our hotel every day and have yet to see him awake...lol He has a little jade shop just before the elevators and this is what we see every meal time...lol


Night and good morning,


Kelly

Back in Beijing

We thought we would be able to get some rest before the flight to Beijing so we decided to just stay at the hotel before our flight left in the afternoon. Reagh had other plans for us for sure....like getting up at 3 am!!!! Yes, you read it right 3 am. I thought TJ and I were going to die...lol He didn't sleep at all that day prior to the flight so it was a very hard day for all of us. We were so tired. He was up so early the day before that we hoped he would sleep in a little later, but no luck at all. He was great at breakfast, as usual all the ladies love his smile. He's an eating machine. We decided to get outside after breakfast to see if that would make him tired and want to take a nap. We really needed one...lol So we went to the local grocery store and it was crazy busy. They are under ground so we felt almost like we were too closed in with the amount of people in side. We made it a quick visit as so many people were wanting to see Reagh and try to talk to us. We then thought we would try to get something to eat but without our guide it was hard to figure out what was in the noodles...we were trying to stay away from tofu food. We heading to KFC as we seen the sign but the people in side was crazy so we went back to MacDonald's instead. Much easier to order and get out. We ate and packed before heading to the airport. The airport in Chongqing was huge and much easier to get around then when we left Beijing to get here. Everyone was starring at us and after an hour is was getting to be much so we ended up heading to the nursery to veg out for a while prior to our flight. Thinking that Reagh might fall asleep as well. That didn't happen either...lol Reagh was great for the first part of the plane ride as there was another little boy that kept his attention but after 45 mins he was a mess. He wouldn't sleep or settle for either of us. Poor TJ took the most on that flight as when Reagh get's really upset Tj is the only one to calm him. We tried to get the flight attendant to get us some hot water for his bottle but she was only gong to serve us it when they were done serving the meal. I could have killed her with my eyes. It was plan as day that Reagh was so upset and hungry. Once he got the bottle into him he settled for about 10 mins. We felt so bad for him. Hard to see your little boy cry so hard that his face goes so red. Once we got off the flight and heading to the bus to get a ride back to the terminal we needed to get to he started to settle a little. I find that no one here cares if you have a small child or not they will knock you down to get where they need to go, so we decided to stay on the bus till they all go off. Once we met up with the other families flying in to see all the new babies Reagh was in heaven with all the ladies again....lol The three other families had all girls so he was making his move on them...lol Playing the shy at first then hitting them with two tooth smile...lol He fell right to sleep on the bus ride to the hotel. The traffic was horrific tonight as the Chinese new year is coming. Everyone is travelling back home. Once we got back to the hotel we waited over an hour to get out luggage. I finally went down to get it....mama bear was not happy. They told me it would be 2 mins then 20 mins goes by and still no luggage. TJ had enough and headed down to take it himself. The hotel had already taken it to deliver to the rooms when he got back. We waited another 20 mins and finally it got here at 11 pm. At this time we were so tired that we went to bed hungry. We both were hoping that Reagh would sleep in tomorrow....lol


Reagh woke up at 4am this morning.....BUT we changed him and gave him a bottle and off to sleep he went. He then woke up at just a little before 7am. I can't tell you how great that was to have that extra few hours sleep...lol I think if we had another 3am session we would have went bonkers...lol It's just with all the travelling and leaving out of a suitcase is getting to all of us. We so want to be home. It's so nice here but nothing is like home especially when you adopt a little one that really needs to stick to his schedule right now. We went off to get breakfast and meet all the other families with their children. They are all so cute! You could eat them all up. I can't tell you how much each one of them is so fitted for each family personality. Reagh made a few new friends....and I think seeing all the kids walking has made him want to get moving. When we went to do our paperwork for our citizenship he was watching 2 boys running around. When I took him in the hall with them to see if he would walk holding my hands he did. He walked so far too, mind you he looks he had to many beers walking but at least he's trying. This was the most he has shown us so far. This is HUGE for us. He has only wanted to be held and hates crawling. So lets hope that he will keep it up once we get back home. We also got our group photo done today and it was hard seeing all the babies crying as one family was 20 mins late coming. Then the rest of the gang when off to the Zoo. We decided that Reagh really needed to get on a schedule again and stayed back. We went out to get more baby supplies and a stroller. TJ's arms are killing him holding this little guy. We got some pizza and heading back to the hotel where we are all resting. We are heading out to the great wall of China tomorrow so I hope to have some pictures for all you. Well I'm off to take a quick cat nap while Reagh is down for the count. We hope all is well back home. We can't wait for all of you to meet this little guys. We are so in love with him!

At the zoo!

We had a chance to go to the panda zoo today. We had a great time with though Reagh didn’t seem to get much out of it as you can tell by his picture...lol I have included a few photo’s of the animals there and one of a little girl that a local woman offered to us to take back to Canada. I’m thinking she only offered because the little girl was very loud and not paying attention to her mother...lol I have also included one photo of TJ, Reagh and out lovely guide Michael that has been taking us to all our appointments. He’s been teaching us of the history of Chongqing so we can tell Reagh when he gets older.

Reagh was up at 4am this morning and was cranky most of the morning, but over all he’s been a very happy chatty little guy. He’s a daddy’s boy for sure and I must say that I love seeing my boys together. We can’t wait to get back home and on a regular routine for sure. We are just going to take it easy this afternoon. We hope to get out to a local restaurant this evening for supper, but that all depends on the little guys schedule...lol

We miss everyone back home and hope everyone is well. We will be flying back to Beijing tomorrow so I won’t have time to write till we get back in the hotel. I will let you know how Reagh does on the plane, wish us luck!



Kelly

Visit to Reagh's orphanage

Today we got the chance to visit Reagh’s orphanage. It took about 2 hours to get there so it gave us the chance to see how Reagh would be in a car......let’s just say we need some work before heading to the IWK...lol We got to see Reagh’s room and his crib that he was in for the first year of his life. The babies were all sleeping when we got there but by the noise of Reagh’s home coming a few of the children woke up. TJ feel in love with a little boy.....might just get him convinced to do this all over again...lol We could have taken them all home but were glad to hear that most have been placed with families. We did meet a little girl of the age of 3 that came running into the room calling me ma ma thinking I was her mom. She’s waiting for her parents to come and get here and though we might have been them. She wanted to go with us so badly that she kept taking my hand and wanting to leave. Then nannies had to explain that I was Reagh’s mom and that her mom was coming after the Chinese New Year. She wasn’t impressed but still followed us the whole visit holding my hand. Our guide took us around town so we could see where he was from. I liked this city the best, as it seemed more like a place that TJ I would live. Reagh fell asleep the way home after we stopped at a local hotel to get some hot water. I’m still not use to the toilets here. They aren’t the same as ours back home, but either way they do when needed. We went to the mall connected to the hotel to get a bit at the food court. Everyone was coming over to see Reagh. I happened not to put his winter coat back on as it was warm in the mall but the local woman were upset at him and one told me so...lol Let’s just say that I will never leave this room without his winter coat on. No need of the fashion police coming at us. The weather here is like our fall and everyone is in down filled jackets and wonder why TJ and I are just in tshirts and light jackets. We get many people shaking their heads at us but laughing at the same time. One older man just shook like he was cold looking at me. He had to turn his back to me as he got cold looking at me...lol Reagh is doing very well with us. We love him more each and every day. We are still learning how to prepare to leave the room with going out with him. As first time parents I think we are doing just fine. TJ can’t believe that how well prepared I was with my packing. I think now he realizes how hard it was for me to make sure we weren’t over weight in our luggage with all of it. Tomorrow we are going to the Panda zoo that also has Tigers. We can’t wait! We heard that the one of the mother Panda’s had a baby just last year. We will try to get some pictures up of our trip as well. I hope all is well with everyone back home. We are still reading all the comments and emails. I wish we could write everyone back by with this little guy he takes up most of our time. I have included some pictures of our visit today. I have one of where Reagh was found at the gate, the orphanage, Reagh with his nannies and the little girl that wanted to come home with us.

Officially ours as of today!

His first night with us was much better than expected. We got back to the hotel after getting him and gave him is bottle and a few rice crackers before he headed to bed. He played in his crib here for about an hour then drifted off to sleep. We ended up falling asleep our selves. We woke up just before midnight as Reagh was stirring a little but he just fell back to sleep on his own. TJ and I were wide awake but forced ourselves to try to get more sleep as it would be a day of paper work and running around. When Reagh work up this morning he wasn’t scared that we were still with him. We had him up and changed and playing on the bed for a bit before heading down for breakfast. He has an appetite for sure. He had 2 boiled eggs, a bowl of Conge, fruit and his bottle for breakfast.....lol We’ll fatten him up in no time. He’s soooo light and small for his age. He has a hard time sitting up for long and his crawling isn’t much. He does have some strong legs and we believe he’ll be walking before he can crawl. His stomach muscles are a little weak so we have to get him to the gym soon....lol I think once we are home he’ll be walking in no time. We met another family from Australia that adopted a little girl the same age as Reagh. She’s so big compared to him. I say she eats well...lol We are hoping to go to supper with them this week if our schedules will allow it. Well I must be off to go do our formal adoption process, where is officially ours for good! We’ll take a few pictures and once we get back I’ll try to post a picture. I’m getting all your comments and we are thankful that we have so many people supporting us along this journey. I wish that I would write back to everyone that has commented and emailed but like I said the internet is expensive and we want to have money to eat...lol So please keep writing we do read them every night. Oh can someone tell my mom to check her email. I was able to get one in to her last night.



Thanks again for all your support. We will keep posting updates as much as we can.



Kelly

P.S I couldn’t get this sent out before we left so I have added the photo of our family on adoption day! Its official Reagh is ours!!!! We even have a picture to prove it! I also have a few pictures of Reagh’s frist time eating prunes for the first time. You can see how much he likes it...lol We have a photo outside of the building that we had the official adoption done. It’s very foggy/ smog out today. We are going to be going to Reagh orphanage tomorrow with the coordinator of his orphanage. It’s going to be a day trip and we hope Reagh will be okay for the long drive but we are looking forward to seeing where our son lived for his first year. I will try to get pictures up tomorrow after our trip.

We have him!

It's midnight and it's the first time I had a chance to write. It's been a very long day for all three of us. We started the day off by getting up at 4 am to get our flight for 8:50. Our light that should of took us close to 2 hours became over 3 hours do to the winds. It's seemed that the flight was as long as the one it took us to get to China. Once we got here our guide was waiting for us to get us to the hotel and off to Reagh. The traffic is bad here. Not surprising since there are 8 million people in the city. Either way our guide got us back to the hotel and checked in. We then quickly got our passports and were off to get Reagh in just 10 mins. I think we were both in shock over how quickly our lives were about to change. We took one last moment and gave each other a huge hug. I got a little emotional and was chocking back the tears......on came my happy dance. lol We were rushed off to see Reagh at a local govt office building. As soon as I got off the elevator I could hear a baby cry and my heart just melt. I had to stop for a moment as I could no longer keep the tears coming....as I knew just around the corner our son was waiting for us. I looked at TJ and he has a smile from ear to ear. We peeked around the corner and the head nanny had him in his arms. He was laughing and playing with her. I think he was a little confused to why the other boy was so upset. Once we reached him it was just a few mins later they handed Reagh to me for the first time. I can't even tell you how it felt but pure joy. My tears were coming down as Reagh looked at me. He was nervous at first and tried to go back to his Nanny. He was slapping his hands but soon as I kissed his hand he laughed. We then made it a big game and he then didn't want to leave me. He's very light and has a bit of a cold, but other then that he's PERFECT! We had to sign some papers then we took a few pictures and were off to the hotel. He was so good with us the whole evening till he had to let us know he was a bit hungry. After we changed and fed him he as happy and laughing all over again. He's unable to walk yet and his sitting is not the greatest either. He loves loves loves his toys. We had him on the bed for a while with us and he played with them and wanting TJ to get his toy after he would throw it away each time. It was a funny game for him to she his Daddy pick it up each time. His laugh is so cute. I swear he was biologically Tj's son. They have the same laugh....it's so funny. He was so easy to go to bed and was okay of being there playing with is toy looking at us to make sure we were still there. He's fast a sleep right now while TJ can't seem to take his yes off "his boy". I love the look on his face while he watches our son. I think I have fallen deeper in love with this man. My boys are keeper for sure! lol well I'm going to try to get back to sleep we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow to fill out paper work. We are hoping later in the week to go to the orphanage but it seems that it might be took long of a drive. The head Nanny is hoping that we will come so she can show us the facility.


That's all for now. Here are a few pictures that TJ took. He couldn't get the family shot up of us as it was on our video recorder. I'll try to get another one today on our camera to show us as a family. Hope all is well back home.
Kelly

Arriving in Beijing!

We got to Beijing in one piece. We were very lucky to have gotten some great seats for TJ on the flights here. We got the exit seats each and every time!!!! TJ even let out a huge cheer on the one to last flight to Beijing...lol It's been a very long day of flights and we are very tired. We met everyone in our group and they all seem very nice. We are heading out tonight to Pizza Hut to get some food before crashing for the night. We have a free day tomorrow to exchange money and see the park. We will take it easy tomorrow night as we have to leave at 5am to get our next flight to Chongqing. Since I'm not the morning person we will be going to bed really early...lol We'll check in again tomorrow night to touch base.