We Made It

Well we finally made it to Beijing. It was a long flight and we landed about 3:30 pm Friday afternoon local time. This would be 2:30 am Friday morning in Wisconsin. Both Joe and I maybe got an hour of sleep on the plane. By the time we collected our luggage, cleared customs, found our guide, and checked in at the hotel it was almost 5:00 pm. After checking in and exchanging US $ in the Chinese Yuan, we had to meet in the lobby in 20 minutes so our guide Michael could show us where the nearest grocery store is to purchase bottled water. In China, you are not supposed to drink the tap water as it will make you very ill. We picked up our water and proceeded to the check-out counter. We were absolutly clueless on how to pay for it. Our purchase came to 12.50 yuan and we gave the clerk 100 yuan and she continued to say three (at least that's what I thought she was saying). We then gave her another 5 yuan and she just shook her head and gave us a bunch of change back. Who knows if we got ripped off. I have no idea.

You can tell this city is really gearing up for the Olympics. It is very nice here, lots of flowers and other greenery. There are also TONS of Beijing 2008 signs on every block which is very interesting to see. I will post pictures tomorrow as we have a day of sightseeing. We will be headed to the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall of China. On another note, you should see the people on bikes here. Unreal. It's dangerous to cross any intersection because you might get hit by a bike or a car. They don't yield to pedestrians. it can be very amusing.

Zach's Room

Well we finally finished Zach's room. It took a little longer that we thought it would but it's finished. Just in time for us to leave and bring him home. I hope he likes it.

Getting Closer

I can not believe we leave in 5 days. Things have been so busy around here. We have been trying to get the house baby-proofed and organized for Zach's arrival. In addition, we have been talking to his pediatrician on a daily basis, building a swingset, checking out his day care, getting the dogs ready for their vacation, and packing. Talk about stress.

TA and CA!!!

We received our Travel Approval last week and today we received notice of our Consulate Appointment. Our Consulate Appointment is where Zach becomes recognized as a US citizen and once he lands on US soil he becomes a citizen. We will be leaving for China on July 17, receive Zach on July 20, and come home on July 31. I will post our final itinary once everything is finalized. Wow - we leave in two weeks.

Baby Shower

On Saturday, June 21, 2008, we had a baby shower at my parents house. This was a couples shower so we could invite all of our friends. Zach received some really wonderful gifts and I'm sure he will make good use out of everything. Thank you again to everyone!!!!

Updated Information!!!

We received updated information on Zach! We are so excited. On October 27, 2005, a resident of Haikou named Yu De Bo, found a baby boy on a parkway 50 meters from traffic lights near the Qiong Zhou bridge in Haikou.

Zach likes to suck his thumb before he goes to sleep at night. He sleeps from 8:00 pm until 6:40 am. He takes his nap from 12:00 pm until 2:20 pm. He likes to sleep alone, and gets upset if any other child comes near him while he is in bed.

His favorite activity is to take a walk in the morning. He gets excited when he sees something neat, and he has to run back and tell the nannies what he saw.

Zach is fairly introverted, but according to the orphanage he has been hanging with the older kids in the kindergarten and becoming more and more extroverted.

In addition, the orphanage has a copy of his finding add. They indicated that they will give this to us when we pick him up.

Zach currently is 3 feet tall and weighs 26 lbs and his nickname in the orphanage is Rui Rui.

Zach's Room

Joe and I have been pretty busy trying to put together Zach's bedroom. We decided to do a Thomas the Train theme. Just this past weekend, I went to Target and bought Thomas bed sheets and a Thomas comforter. There is still a lot of work to be done on his room as we still do not have carpeting and his closet needs doors and a clothes rack or something.