Over the hills, through the woods, to Changsha,and to Ellie!

Ok, I know, I know, I am 2 days behind. I promise myself I will catch up every evening, but every evening I get so tired...

So, to sum up (and catch up)...

On Sunday, Dec. 10, the day was all about flying to Changsha from Hong Kong. I slept well for the first time- it was bliss to sleep til 6am!!!- and we packed a little before breakfast. I am addicted to the chicken sausages in Hong Kong! Unfortunately, the omelet guy this time around didn't quite cook the omelet all the way and I am a girl who likes my eggs well cooked, so I couldn't really eat it. I did splurge on two bowls of cocoa krispies with banana and walnuts- yum!- and several cups of hot tea. After breakfast we finished packing and headed downstairs. I had promised Caroline that I would pull HK$100 out and buy Starbuck's for us, so I ran out (it was almost 10am when we had to board the bus) to go to the HSBC atm... and was denied for "exceeding my credit limit." WHAT?!?!?!?!!? How did I do that? I ran into the hotel and begged the concierge to let me make a collect call to BofA, and of course I got to "yes, you are overlimit" with the fraud department when I saw our group boarding, so had to hang up and go. I admit to crying on the bus, I was so upset. After a moment I realized what I had done- I had paid most of the month's bills, even those that I don't pay til after the 15th... I was supposed to have used my credit card in Hong Kong but had forgotten!! Luckily, in the Hong Kong airport we found a computer, and I did the big no-no of logging into my account on a public computer... I transferred some money from my dance account to cover it, plus some to get me through til the 15th. I think what frustrated me was that I had over $500 cash on me, but had overdrawn my account because it's sometimes easier to use the Visa than try to convert money. Ah well! Caroline picked up some MaPo Tofu at this little place called Taiwan Beef Noodle to eat in the plane, and we headed to the gate! Even on the hour long flight, we got a snack box of tomatoes, sweet roll, cake, and dried fruit... and the Ma Po tofu was INCREDIBLE. Both Caroline and I couldn't believe how good it was- it was what she had been looking for and couldn't get folks in the states to make!

In Changsha, the plan did not hook to a jetway, so we proceeded down stairs and into a little tram bus that took us just a skip away to the terminal- it startled me a bit to see a member of the military watching us deplane. Inside though, we turned in the first of our three forms- out health declaration (which pretty much promises in so many words that we have neither SARS nor bird flu), and immediately thereafter we passed through immigration and got the passport stamped... except Mutti, who had filled out one of her forms in metallic purple gel ink which they didn't particularly like, so she had to refill them out. We grabbed our luggage off the teensy carousel (it was a wrestling and shoving match to get to the luggage with all the people), grabbed carts, and headed out to meet Ellen and Joanne, our CCAI guides for the Hunan province. They herded us onto a tour bud and we drove through the streets to our hotel, The Dolton Hotel, one of Changsha's 5-star hotels. It is lovely!!! The kicker: Chinese style beds, so hard that when i sat down on them the first time unawares, I jarred my lower back. It is much like sleeping on the floor on top of a sleeping bag... and my hip joints aren't liking me too much!

We went to the Dim Sum restaurant that night- Jordan was in a bit of a snit, and wasn't on her best behavior. However, we ordered for dishes: Green Beans, Tofu with mutton, Deep Fried Tofu, and chicken with green peppers. The first dish was diving, the second dish turned out to be mutton TRIPE and I really couldn't stomach it (although I tried!), the third dish might be better described as tofu sauteed in hot oil with chilis, and was also spicy and fabulous, and the last dish had great flavor, but the chicken looked like it had been chopped off the backbone- so it was like bite sized pieces of bone that had some meat on it. An experience! We headed back to the room (Jordan and Caroline early since J. wasn't doing too well), and after a bit we went to bed knowing that the next day was ELLIE DAY!!!!!!!!!

I woke up at about 5am and blogged for an hour (that was the Hong Kong Part 3 post), and then we got ready for breakfast and headed downstairs at about 6:45am. The buffet was wonderful, and I had another omelet, some fruit, cocoa krispies, a small butter croissant, and some tea. We were all excited but still a bit tired. Caroline needed to fill out paperwork at a 7:20am meeting, so while she did that I decided to take shower (which involved playing "guess what temperature the water is going to be in the next 5 seconds")... we got ourselves together finally, met downstairs, and loaded on the bus to meet ELLIE!!!!!


We got to the registration office and made it to the 3rd floor... there were a few babies there, but for different families... group 1080 waited patiently, and then it happened- the babies came into the room!!!!!!!! (The nannie in the center back is holding Ellie!!)Caroline was the last of the group to be matched, so we got to watch all of the other families, and watch Ellie in the arms of her nannie for a few minutes... the room was so crazy, babies crying, people talking everywhere, so while it was a very magical moment- it was slightly rushed magical moment. You could tell that DaoXian was a well-off orphanage- they had dressed all the babies in matching outfits- just darling yellow coats and pants with good luck symbols and faux fur trim, with matching hats with fur trim and little white pom pom, and red shoes with kitty faces on them and UFO's on the bottom. The clothes underneath fit well and were also of good quality, and you could tell she had eaten well. This was in stark contrast with the other Hunan group, whose clothing was not as well fitting, and the babies much much thinner. We are VERY lucky- Ellie also seems developmentally on target. Ellie didn't cry very much, although Jordan did have a meltdown, probably from all of the emotion. We piled onto the bus (it was very fast!) and headed back to the hotel.

I got to be the family member that ventured out to the local grocery store "Whacko" (seriously)- very small, and probably quite a hectic experience for the employees as a heard of 18 Americans come charging in to find baby formula, diapers, and the all important snacks! I picked up some chocolate Oreos, coke, coke lite (diet coke), and then ventured in to the world of potato chips: I found American Classic Flavor, Texas Grilled BBQ Flavor (better than any bbq chips I've had in the States), and did try Cucumber chips (not bad)- other flavors available included Italian Meat Sauce! I also grabbed cheetos- chicken flavor- and they are surprisingly good!!!

The rest of the day involved sleeping, eating, and Caroline bonding with Ellie (and having Ellie check out by the doctor- she initially had a small temperature but with a dose of Tylenol, she cleared with flying colors!!!). Dinner was a fun experience, and Caroline discovered that Ellie does indeed like Egg, and rice, and bits of noodles! She takes a bottle like a champ- shotgunning it- definitely does not like a poopy diaper (yes, she pooped on schedule!!!!!), and slept well through the night.

Today we went back to the registration office for a few hours to finalize the Chinese side of the adoption. This involved answering some questions with the notary, paying the notary fees, and giving the gifts to the orphanage director. It was neat, because the Director very clearly recognized Ellie and came over to talk to her before we realized she was the Director!! The Director and other officials from DaoXian seemed very pleased with the crib sized afghans that Meema has crocheted over the last 3.5 years, they unfolded them and felt them and smiled quite alot! Ellen, our guide, helped convey that they were handmade, and that seemed to go over very well- much appreciated. It was so hot in the office this time around that we got punchy (see Jie Jie Jordan trying on Ellie's hat) and by the end of the visit the room was filled with cranky babies, cranky children, and probably some cranky adults. But as soon as we walked outside everyone's temperaments improved- and the deed is done- according to China, Yong Xiao Yu is now Ellison XiaoYu Elizabeth Knight- a member of the Knight family with a wonderful mother and a Big Sister Extraordinaire!!!!!!!

The rest of today has been all about eating a sleeping. We ate a good lunch in the hotel- Ellie tried Dragonfruit, scraped apple, and other items, and then that was followed by a nap for everyone. And then... Bowling!!!!!! The Dolton Hotel has bowling lanes on the 6th floor, and I had promised Jordan we would bowl- she has never been. The smallest ball they had was 8 lbs, and we worked together to find a good method for Jordan to roll that 8 lb ball. She could get the ball out of the return, carried it to the front of the lane, then kneeled down on her knees and pushed the all down the lane. Her first attempt didn't make it all the way down the gutter, so we had a bit of Snooker Bowling: I tried to knock it in with another ball, but then the sweeper only caught the first ball, and we had to fish the second out. However, Jordan got all her other balls down the lane/ gutter: total score- 14!!!! YEA JORDAN!!!!!!!

After bowling we visited the playroom on the 30th floor, and followed that with some playtime- Ellie is finally starting to open up. She is giggling when Mommy plays Feetsies, loves how Mommy honks when an empty water bottle touches Mommy's nose, and boy can Ellie EAT. We just returned from dinner where Ellie demanded (in her adorable half-cry way) to be fed continuously- dragonfruit, a bowl of congee, noodles, meat from Mutti's Spaghetti Bolognese, broth from Mommy's wonton soup. Jordan and i elected to have the buffet again- I am addicted to the braised greens station, where you grab a bowl, fill it yourself with the noodles of your choice (I like the glass noodles, although rice is good too), I add some tofu, and then a selection of greens- they have about 8 or 9 kinds, of which I am partial to the pak-choi, 2 kinds that I don't know the names, and the cilantro. SO YUMMY!!!! They braise them for you and add broth, takes about 5 minutes, and it is divine.

Ellie is having bathtime with Mommy and Jordan (they want family time- especially Jordan, who just wants it to be the 3 of them), so we are flipping channels. We did catch the Duke v. George Mason game- here in China- it was great to catch some ACC action even if it was on tape delay, and a huge surprise since we only have 2 English channels- BBC news, and HBO.

Tomorrow is shopping at the department store and relaxation time- and hopefully, time to discover more of Ellie's personality as she opens up!