The Chongqing Zoo

http://gallery.me.com/jsigmon24#gallery

Our guide, Sophie, took us to the Chongqing Zoo today and as you can see they have a wonderful panda exhibit. The pandas eat 25 kg of bamboo and there is one panda in the exhibit, who is the youngest and most spoiled, her trainer supplements her bamboo with watermelon, ice cream and pepsi! We also saw the red pandas, which have the panda face but are built like a raccoon and red in color. There were many other animals, but Mary Kate's favorite was the panda. When we saw the pandas, she lit up and pointed to them. She loved being outdoors and held close to me, she definitely recognizes and trusts me, but I am not sure that she considers me mama yet. Each morning it takes her some time to get reacquainted with us, but her appetite is increasing and she smiles more each day, though still very stoic most of the time. Her orphanage director said that her name also means brave and she has certainly been that, we cannot imagine what must be going through her mind.

As you may or may not know, I am married to a photographer, who has been nicknamed" The Paparazzi." He is truly a very talented photographer and has taken many pictures on this trip. Attached at the top of the page is the link to his gallery. Click on each album to view photos.

P.S. Thanks for the darling bubble for MK, Jenny, I think it looks perfect!

Mary Kate Day 2

Today was a special day for us because our guide, Sophie, took us to The Civil Affairs office in Chongqing to finalize our adoption. We had to promise to never abandon her and to love her in sickness and in health, which made both of us very teary, especially my husband. We now have an official decree with her English name and less money in our hotel room safe! She is worth every penny!

We also spent time at the Paradise Mall, which is paradise to a Westerner because it had Starbucks, McDonald's, KFC, Haagen Dazs, Nine West, Paul Frank, and a wonderful department store where Mary Kate enjoyed her first shopping experience. She is very smart...she realized that if she points to something, mommy or daddy will buy it for her. Needless to say, she ended up with several new things!

We learned to use Skype before our trip to China, which is computer technology that has allowed us to communicate via camcorders with our children at home. Jack and Lily both smiled when they saw Mary Kate and then asked when we would be home from China. We miss them very much, but know they are in great hands.

What we know about Mary Kate:
-Her Chinese name XueLian means lotus snow flower and is pronounced "Shoe-lee-ann."
-She lived with a foster mom for 11 months, who had a 6 year-old granddaughter that MK adored.
-She did not have air conditioning in her orphanage or foster care and chills very easily. FYI, the climate was hot & humid!
-She loves to be held, enjoys her bottle and seems to be a great sleeper!
-She is 79 cm in height and 9 kg in weight...translation tall and very slim, only 18 pounds!

Thank you all so much for you thoughts, prayers and blog comments. Your support has made this journey much easier for us.

Meeting Mary Kate!

We arrived at the Dianjiang orphanage this morning to find the Orphanage Director outside the door holding a precious baby girl. Apparently, I said, "Is that her, Is that her, Is that her" but I don't remember much about our first minutes there. As you can see, she is PRECIOUS. She fell asleep on my shoulder within ten minutes of meeting her and then napped in my arms through lunch and during part of the car ride back to Chongqing.

The Orphanage Director took us to a wonderful restaurant for lunch. We were in a private room and the director ordered one dish after the next, practically feeding us, especially me since my arms were full. The meal was the the best we have had in China, several dishes reminded me of P.F. Changs! We learned that Dianjiang is know for growing a variety of vegetables including spinach, lima beans, broccoli, green beans, corn, and bell peppers, all of which we enjoyed during our feast.

Mary Kate has been stoic, but has wanted to be held by us constantly. We were told that she has a mild and sweet personality, thank you Lord! She has spent the day staring at us and we have just admired her every move. She seemed a bit lifeless at first, but has really warmed to us during the past few hours. She has smiled, played with her stacking cups, eaten cheerios and is getting ready for her first bottle. We are already crazy about her and cannot wait for you to meet her.

We are in Chongqing...one day from MK!

We landed in Chongqing this morning and were amazed at the size of the city. Our guide told us that by the end of 2008, Chongqing will have a population of 34 million! I think we were with half of them today as we explored the area around our hotel. It was very sad to see the devastation from the earthquake in May and the number of people in the area who are now homeless as a result. This city looks COMPLETELY different from Beijing. It is filthy and the people seem poor and oppressed. Jay said that it reminded him of his trip to Bucharest, Romania 14 years ago.

On a much more positive note, we are so excited to meet our baby girl tomorrow morning. We cannot believe that we will be a family of five by noon tomorrow. For those of you who know me well, you will not be surprised to learn that her outfit (including a pink bow) is set out and her diaper bag is packed and ready to go. Please pray for us and for Mary Kate tomorrow as I know it will be an emotional day for all of us.

Can't wait for you all to meet her too!

Full Day of Beijing

We had a very full day seeing the Old and New sites of Beijing including Tianammen Square, The massive Forbidden City, The Great Wall of China and the Olympic stadium. Our legs are very sore as we thought it looked simple to climb to the top of the Great Wall, but we were mistaken! It was a beautiful day and a very impressive city.

We made it to China!

We made it to China and have been awake for 26 hours so I apologize there are no pictures, but I don't think you want to see me now anyway! We checked into the Poly Plaza hotel, bought bottled water at Wu Mart and ate an interesting meal at Jimmy's. I never realized that chicken could be four different colors, wow! We are heading to bed to rest for our day of tours in Beijing tomorrow and are looking forward to experiencing the Great Wall of China.

Finally Going to China!

Today we received our appointment with the American Consulate in China, which was the very last document needed in this lengthy process. We are flying to Beijing on July 17th, two weeks from today, and will fly home to OKC on August 2nd. Most importantly, we will receive Mary Katherine Xue Lian on Monday, July 21st!!!