Virtual Travelmates

Though Scott and I didn't have other families traveling with us per se, we were not alone in the virtual world. Through the Yahoo group I created we had ourselves a virtual travel group thanks to the cyber world. Before you begin thinking that there wasn't the same feverish excitement, here are some excerpts from the e-mails flying back and forth across the Pacific Ocean.

To kick things off... the virtual lecture and guilt trip provided by sister and then 4 year-old niece:
"Do you remember that saying that mom taught us growing us, "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all." By not telling us anything about the journey there, you have FREAKED me out!!!!! The flight must not of been good... Savannah screamed the entire flight??? She lost her miney? Scott took a sleeping pill and left you alone to take care of Savannah? Oh my gosh....YOU LOST OUR SHOPPING LIST???? See this is where my imagination takes me when you do not give us DETAILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On a different note, I woke to Natalie crying last night around midnight. She was just sobbing. She finally blurted out, "I miss PJ!!! I want her to come home from China. Will Aunt Tassie bring her back home?" It was so sad, yet very sweet. When Savannah (PJ) first came home, Natalie did not want to have anything to do with her for the most part. Now, she adores her cousin and misses her VERY much. - Teresa"

Now, for the day we would take custody of Baden, also known as his "Gotcha Day"

From my sister, Teresa... and as you'll see my nephews and niece too:
"It is now 4:35 pm here in the PNW. It is 7:35 in Guangzhou. What time do you get him? Do you finalize today? Are you going to call? I hope the Panda phone arrived. I can not wait to hear his voice. His cousins are standing over my shoulder as I write. "How much longer?? I get to talk to her first. Is Aunt Tassie in Korea yet?" All these questions.....You can guess who asked about Korea. Yes, that would be the middle child. It is all about Andy!!!Please call us ASAP!!!!! - Teresa"

Here's my response back to them:
"We should be getting him around 2:30 this afternoon.... thank goodness there is no clock in the room because we all know that a watched clock doesn't move. We just finished breakfast and I left Scott and PJ in the play room while I came in here. We're in room 1432 if someone needs that and hoping to be able to bump up to a junior suite. So needless to say until I hear one way or the other this morning, our bags are still packed. Not to worry, the diaper bag is converted over from my traveling back pack to "we're going to get our boy" mode - two containers of bunny crackers pre-packed, the bag of treats for Baden consisting of three Thomas cars, his dog and frog from Bunnies By The Bay and a bag of dried mangoes that I picked up in Hong Kong.

Lori, just as you said the WS hasn't changed, everything is in it's spot... except for the noodle shop outside the first floor lobby.

Let's see what else can I say? I've been seeing a lot of babies... much younger than I remember seeing before. Though as Scott said, our referral group had children that were on the much older end of the baby spectrum going on 2 yo, so my memory could be a bit distorted.

One of the things I'd worried about for Savannah is if she would have any underlying fears about being back in China. She hasn't had one night terror since we arrived, so perhaps coming back and going home might help her with that subconscious fear. She has been a trooper.

Oh, thank goodness no flooding right now. It's great to actually see GZ without rain, a much different experience than our first trip. Today the high is expected to be 35. One family that ate breakfast near us just adopted their daughter from Jiangxi and they said that in Nanchang the temp was 104 with 100 humidity. icky sticky! The headlines today in the China Daily were that China is going to raise their production standards to be more in line with International standards as far as food safety etc. The other good news is that they've quarantined a group of carrier pigeons imported from the US because they were found to be infected and it wasn't caught when they entered the country originally. You learn something new every day, I didn't even know we exported carrier pigeons.

Yes, Teresa we do have our Pandaphone, which is acting as our clock for right now. No Andy, we won't be in Korea until the 11th, sorry bud. I do promise to tell you all about my experience in the airport. Maybe we can all visit Korea together. Nat, PJ found some great coloring books downstairs in the book shop... my guess is you want the Ariel one.

Stay tuned, brew a pot of coffee Teresa and be prepared for a 11 something phone call tonight.

Tassie... who is 5 hours away from leaving for Civil Affairs"

From my friend Bernice, who adopted her daughter at the same time we adopted Savannah (aka PJ):
"Oh, I'm so jealous you guys!!!! Finally an excuse to buy the "boy" lines at Gymboree! Enjoy every minute! - Bernice (Sitting here at work typing through tears!!)"

From my friend Toni:
"WOO HOO!! I am just back in town and checking my email!! I cannot wait for the news! Also, Teresa, the girls and I are planning to be at SeaTac when they arrive, so let us know if anything changes. Tassie was there for us when Ruby came home and our family still talks about her long drive to be there for us! - Toni"

I learned a lesson the first time when we adopted Savannah and I didn't call my sister the moment we got back to the hotel room. Not to make the same mistake twice I made use of the Pandaphone and happily woke my sister up in the middle of the night:
"Hi Everyone, I was awakened this morning at 1:30 am with a telephone call from Tassie and Scott. Tassie was beaming with JOY and DELIGHT!!! They had only been back at the White Swan for about 20 min. when she called. The kids were laughing and playing in the background. After a few minutes, I got to speak with Baden!!!!! He put his ear to the phone and said"Ni Hao! BingBing!" I could not believe it. I got to finally speak to my new "little guy". YEAH!!!! He has a VERY deep voice. In the background, I could hear Scott tickling the two of them and his chuckle is very contagious. He loves to play with balls and apparently, he has quite the arm. I heard some things topple over on the night stand. He discovered the Video Now Jr. and asked Scott to show him how to use it. Scott yelled out, "I think we need to get a Wii!!" I told them about the electronics market up the street when Mike got some great deals on video games. Now back to BingBing. He went potty while I was on the phone. They had him wearing girl panties at the SWI. Scott quickly put a stop to that and BingBing got to pick out his VERY OWN big guys undies. He choose the stars and stripes from this summers Gymboree line. He carefully folded his girl panties and his overalls and put them in the drawer. I told Tassie to encourage this behavior. I know his future wife will LOVE him for this special "gift". BingBing is VERY small. Tassie is guessing that he is wearing a 12-18 month pant and a 18-24 month top. He is about 6 inches shorter than PJ. She mentioned that he probably has not had a lot of protein. I am sure this has changed by now. Those of you that have BTDT can remember the buffet at the White Swan. He loves fruit, bunny crackers and yogurt. I am sure he will discover more yummy things as the weeks and months go by. One more thing that Tassie said BingBing really likes so far and that is books, Curious George to be exact. Oh, and of course his Pottery Barn blanket. PJ and BingBing were playing hide and go seek with it. They sounded so happy together. As many times as I told my sister that she was crazy for taking PJ with her, I need to say, "You were right and I was wrong!" I will only say this once, so I hope you did not skip that line Tassie. It was definitely the right move in this case. It was a great way to build trust. So, Tassie, go and enjoy your new family. Come home with lots of memories and stories to share with the rest of us at home. Give them lots of hugs and kisses. BingBing has a lot of catching up to do. Knowing PJ, I am sure she will help fill in the gap. I love you guys. Enjoy, call if you have a chance and please, have a safe trip home. PLEASE post some pics if you can. - Teresa"

My friend Teresa H. also chimed in after reading my sister's report to the group:
"Adding tears from the Horvet house too! It sounds like he has been well-prepared and is loving his new family.We are thrilled for the whole Kowal family. Thanks for the updates to the rest of us patiently waiting by our computers. Enjoy your son! Boys are great! - Teresa"

And from my friend Sharyn came these celebratory words:
"YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can hear the joy in Tassie's voice, the pride in Scott's and the sounds of the children laughing as you write this, Teresa. Thanks for being our "link to Tassie." Oh, and I could hear the relief in your own written voice. I think you've been more worried than Tassie!! LOL Tassie, Scott, PJ and BingBing: Congratulations to you all! We can't wait to see you guys and meet BingBing. Now...post pictures!!! :-)) Lots of Love, Sharyn, Paul & Joy"


Some people asked why I didn't do a blog for our adoption trip, and for anyone who knows me well... I like to talk. For me the Yahoo group was a much more conversational way of communicating and when you're a world away navigating personally uncharted territory, that kind of dialogue is beyond value. Looking back at the message list makes me chuckle, posting after posting from people in North America and then an onslaught of responses from me.

Stay tuned... Baden's Adoption Day is the next topic.