More Pictures

Update from Nanchang

Yesterday we completed the adoption paperwork for Lily. It was a long tough day-in spite of the long hours in the registry office and the notary, Lily held up pretty well-Her parents did not. This is why we have no pictures and no videos for the event! Alas-at least we survived and signed in all the right places. When I get home I will put more more pictures and videos online. For now I have included these to give you a taste of Lily Elena BiTao Torres!

She's darling-very sweet. I don't have pictures (again) of the moment she was handed to me, but DH took some video. I'll try to get it uploaded so that you may see the Moment. She didn't cry at all when they handed her over to me-she actually smiled and looked into my eyes. I will tell you that 2 hours later was a completely different story! The first night was a doozy! This is when I had my mini melt down. She wouldn't stop crying...and eventually neither did I! Last night was much better. She went to sleep around 8:30 and didn't wake up until this morning. I can't tell you what a difference getting much needed sleep has made for me. Dad is just in love with her-even though she prefers me to him (very normal for initial attachment) she does allow him to carry her and play with her a little bit. More later

Love to all,

L

Pics...Finally!

Isn't she more beautiful than words?!

First Post from China!

We've arrived in Nanchang and have just been told that we will be receiving the babies today! Wow! Our agency told us we wouldn't be meeting the girls until tomorrow. So far Nanchang seems like a very busy city-but by Chinese standards, I guess it isn't. The weather is very dreary and cold, but our flight was very smooth. I'm going to take a nap right now as I really didn't sleep well last night. We are to go down to the second floor at 4:30pm and be given the baby. I'll update after that-hopefully with a picture.

More soon

L

Almost There

Next stop....Nanchang and Lily!

More later.

L

Last day in Hong Kong

We are out and about trying to fit in everything we love to do here-3 days is certainly not enough time! Yesterday the weather turned cold and dreary, but it is still wonderful to be here-this pic was taken from The Peak. Our apartment (when we lived here) was the one directly behind the two white towers. The water is Victoria Harbor-It was great seeing this again. Tomorrow morning we will be flying to Nanchang and possibly meeting LingLing. Our flight arrives in the province at 12:40 and if everyone from the group arrives on the same day it is a possibility that we are given the babies tomorrow. If not then it will be Monday early in the AM. I'm not sure how easy it will be to get internet access, but will update as soon as I can.

Best breakfast place in Hong Kong-

Getting ready for Chinese New Year in the streets.

Hong Kong

We are here....and safe!

The flight was great, I actually slept. We are going to be exploring our favorite spots in Hong Kong-we are surprised at how much we remembered. I'll be posting pics as soon as I can get a better internet connection.

Love to all,

Four days to LingLing!

L

Ready!

It's close to 1 am and I think I'm finally ready-or as ready as I'm going to be-

Our flight to Newark leaves at 8:35 am and then on to Hong Kong at 3:30.

Can't believe I'm actually typing this....more to come soon,

Pray for us!

xoxo

Lou

Get Set...

Since I last posted I've been very busy with my "labor"....some of it painful-most not! The paper work we needed to get ready sometimes feels like is insurmountable-But I think we have completed this step. I'm now in the process of packing for me and baby-I forgot how cute little girl clothing really is! It has been ridiculously cold here in Florida the past few days-I think it is practice for the kind of weather we are going to encounter while in Nanchang. I'm excited about returning to Hong Kong before picking up Lily-we are going to enjoy a few days there while we adjust to "China time". There are so many places DH and I want to revisit. I'll be sure to post some pics of Lily's room before we go-believe it or not-I have nothing in there. Hopefully the crib will arrive within the next day or so and then I'll put it all together. I continue to work like a maniac to get everything ready....

More soon,

L