Brown Bear, Brown Bear

As a young child, my mother instilled the love of reading in me. She took my siblings and I to the library, let us buy books through the book club, had subscriptions to magazines and highly encouraged us to read "Reader's Digest" although I preferred "Teen Beat." Now as an adult, I still enjoy reading.  Lately I have been reading articles about toddlers and adoption but you can also find me reading the "Wall Street Journal" or cooking magazines.

Jackson has taken a liking to books.  His favorite is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. In fact, he is sleeping with the book right now! I am not sure how he came to love this book but I started reading it to him the night we became a family. He taps the book as I read it signaling that he is also reading it with me (he does this with all of this books now). Jackson has had several crying spells and every time I say, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," he stops crying.  I don't know what it is! For an instance, it was nap time today and I know he was really tired. I said, "Jackson, Brown Bear, Brown Bear," he stopped what he was doing, ran into his room, got his book and sat on my lap.  We read the book together and he fell right to sleep.

I hope the love of reading will continue. Books are so powerful and often times they can express what we cannot say. So, if you are having a bad day pick up your favorite book or just read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear."

Finally Home!

We are now at back at home. Yesterday my dear friend Wendy and the Carlsons came to greet us at the airport.  It feels great to be back in my own environment. Jackson and I woke up extremely early (4:30 AM) and had a full morning. We let dad sleep in until 7:00 AM.  The house is almost back in order and the washing machine has been running all morning. Jackson has been exploring the house- opening every door, pushing every button and touching everything. Is this typical of a toddler boy?

Tomorrow Jeff goes back to work so it will just be me and the little guy. Let's see how long I last until I call reinforcements!

I wanted to share some pictures of Guangzhou and Los Angeles. Enjoy!

An eco way of food delivery.

    Steaming is still one of the best ways to cook.


  My parents dragged my all around town.  I am so tired!


Jackson before take off.  Dad says, "Please sleep...please sleep."  He slept for 9 hours straight!


  Angry Birds saved our lives after we landed and waiting on the runway.


      Welcome to the newest citizen!!!!


     Yee Yee Kelley meeting me at the airport.


        I got to play with my fun cousin at Bok Po's house.


          Bok Po helped me build a tower with legos.


        Bok Po and her 3 great grand kids


        My Ng Ng and Yeh Yeh


        My Bok Bok and cousin

       A very tired child...home at last.

Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles, Cousins and Friends

Today was a big day.  First off, we are on China time so our sleep is off.  I know it will take time to get back on US time. Hopefully it will not take too long!  Then Jackson met many relatives and friends today. For the most part, he did well.  He played well with cousin Hannah and they were screaming and chasing each other around Bok Po's (great grandma) house.  He ate his first In and Out burger (part of it) for lunch and Chinese food for dinner.  He just loves soup, rice, meat and veggies. It was a full day! We are so blessed to have so many caring and wonderful relatives and friends.

We're Back!

We arrived safely this evening. I know you have been praying for our journey home.  We took a red eye back to Los Angeles and guess what?  Jackson slept for 9 hours on the plane.  He fell asleep on the take off.  He did pretty well after his sleep but he was getting a bit anxious because he could not run around. We did our best to entertain him and made it to the end! We did realize that he doesn't like seat belts because as you know in China, no one wears seat belts. Jackson met some aunties and uncles and Bok Po (great grandma).

The past few days, Jackson has only wanted daddy.  He wanted daddy on the airplane, daddy at the airport and daddy at bedtime.  This is great because the first week he only wanted mommy.  Jackson would cry if I left the room, now he cries when Jeff is out of the room. I know there have been many changes the past two weeks. Hopefully the one thing Jackson does know is that mommy and daddy are not going anywhere.

Coming to America

We will be leaving for America tonight. I am so excited to be coming home but a little sad that we are leaving China.  This has truly been an incredible experience. I had a good idea how the adoption process works and what is to be expected but it went beyond my expectations. The plane rider to China...the smells of Wuhan....and the first meeting of Jackson will be forever imprinted in my mind. We have come full circle (literally) in the past year. We had many struggles and challenges throughout the way but the Lord has been with us and has guided us. We see how God's grace, love and mercy is bountiful and never ends.  Jackson is our daily reminder.

 

Love, Michelle

A Fun Family Outing

We went to a museum and a park today. It was great to get out and see some of Guangzhou.  Jackson loves  being around other kids and people. For lunch, we had Yum Cha.  I think it was made to order. The food came out so fresh and I have never tasted egg tarts so flaky and light. The restaurant got the green light from our own food critics. I guess you can figure out who they are! In the afternoon, during Jackson's nap, I went shopping.  There's a lot of shops and places to eat around the hotel. There's bakeries, clothing stores, 7-Elvens and Starbucks. I bought a few things but will probably go again in the next few days. We have been in China for one week and we cannot wait to get home.  

Love, Michelle

The Dreaded Airplane Ride and Bottle Caps

The 1.5 hour plane ride seemed like the longest ride ever! First of all, we had some things going against us-no nap and he didn't eat at his regular times. But, it all started when Jackson dropped his sippy cup cap on the floor during take off. It was all he could think about. Food distracted him for awhile but he could only eat so much of it. After he ate, he kept reaching for the cap.  It was the most important thing for him. I really do feel sorry for the people around us. We were in the last row of the plane so maybe only a few people heard him. Jackson tried to sleep but again, wanted the cap! I know Jeff was frustrated and so was I. Jackson settled for an empty water bottle and the cap was on. We made sure he didn't drop the cap this time!!!!   I could tell Jackson was fighting his sleep but he finally fell asleep as we landed only to wake up again when the lights went on in the plane. We got our suitcases, boarded the bus and FINALLY Jackson was able to relax and fell asleep for the rest of the night. At the end of the day, Jeff and I have to remember that he is still a baby, we have only had him since Monday and he has been through a lot of changes. We are officially "those parents" on the airplane. If you have any advice for us for the plane ride back to America, please email me.