Up close and gorgeous

OK, so it's going to be a while before we need hair clips! She's slept her way to a hi-and-tight hairdo.

Signing off Happy in Nanchang,
The Leavitts

Introducing the Leavitts

Our first family photo!

Daddy and me

Watch how quickly I steal my Daddy's heart!

Pink Bundle of Joy

The stork really delivered this time! Wen Li and I greet each other for the first time.

On the way up the wall

It's hard to imagine the manpower that went into building even the small section that we climbed. Impossible to imagine the scope of the entire project. This part that you see is on the inner wall that protected Beijing. Another wall mirrors this one further out.

{Note to my friends soon to make the journey: do not pause outside the restrooms near the top to catch your breath. Nuff said.}

Meeting new friends

American and Chinese tourists gathered to snap pictures of this moment. Miles was as big a hit with the Chinese as this little guy was with our group.

At last....an update!!

We have spent the past 24 or so hours being charmed by the most delightful little girl you'd ever hope to love.

We met Wen Li late yesterday afternoon at the Civil Affairs office in Jiangxi. It was absolute pandemonium, with the Norwegian group staggering out dazed and teary, new daughters in arm, the Canadians in the process of receiving their new daughters, and our ten families struggling to climb the narrow stair and navigate the even smaller hallway, video cameras jouncing everywhere to capture the moment.

We practiced hearing and responding to our daughter's Chinese name on the bus ride over, but still had to be called several times before going "Oh! That's our baby!!" We hand the camera to Will, our designated film taker, and after showing our passports for ID, get handed a large pink snowsuit, with little dark eyes and a tiny nose peeking out the collar. She scrunched up her face and began to cry with all her heart. Tiny tears trickled out her distress. She would soothe for a moment as we rocked her, then look up at unfamilar faces and cry again.

This continued for the trip back to the hotel and up to the room. She began to go longer stretches without tears as Kev calmed her down with a bottle. She cried again as we removed each layer of clothing, right down to her split pants and large socks tied on with string. She is so tiny! Only 15 pounds at 9 months. She has room to spare in a size 2 diaper.

After a little while, I head downstairs to fill out paperwork in triplicate, complete with red thumbprints on signature. On the way back to the room I meet a wonderful 9 year old Chinese girl name Suzise, brought there by her mother to meet Americans and practice her English. She asks to come up and meet our baby, then her mother starts scolding her in Chinese. She turns to me and asks if she is impolite to ask to meet her. I laugh and say no. Then more from her mother and she asks if we are imposing on my husband. Again, no. So Suzise and her mother join us for a while on the first night with Wen Li. Miles and Suzise hit it off right away, and her mother turns out to be a big help in soothing Wen Li. I learn some little phrases for baby talk, and find out she likes to be patted to sleep. Kevin has slipped out to sign his share of the paperwork while we visit.

Miles has been great through the whole trip, with only one "episode" late Saturday night. He climbed past 4 towers on the Great Wall, farther than everyone else in our group. What a trooper! He could have cleared the peak with a little more time (and maybe a few more Ritz crackers). Kev was kind enough to let me jog up the rest of the way, just for the satisfaction of finishing off the climb. There was no one at the top to take my picture (bummer) but a special moment none the less. Miles has been very understanding of Wen Li's needs so far, but has only held her once for a photo op. She was thrilled to be held by her big brother and gave him her best two-toothed smile.

Wen Li has had a great day today. After sleeping through the night, she woke up dry then pee'd in the potty! She was much happier this morning, and has been handing out smiles, giggles, and smacking kisses very generously all day. She is very quick to figure things out, and is using her understanding to wrap Daddy around her little finger. He is completely smitten.

She seems to be in very good health overall. She has a bit of diaper rash, and tends to get splotchy when she's hot. She is very fair and delicate, but has an iron grip. She loves her toys. She spent the first evening trying to hold all of them in her hands at the same time!

We completed the paperwork this morning that says she is ours forever, after answering to two different officials "Yes, we want to keep her!" Glad we did.

Lunch at the Lotus by Moonlight

Note Miles' mastery (not) of the chopsticks. The hot pot is filled with a variety of alarmingly realistic-looking meats.

In China, 25-26 November

Hello everyone,

We arrived safely in China yesterday,and have been enjoying the friendly people and wonderful sights since then. After a cramped flight over on the shortest 3-chair row on the plane (second from the last row, don't recommend at all!) we had an easy meet-up with our guide and arrived at the hotel. We explored the local grocery store where we learned interesting facts such as the Pringles are made in Belgium. Then a quick dip in the pool and dining on the local specialty, grilled vegetables on ciabatta bread.

Today we toured the Lama temple, residence to buddhist monks practicing Tibetan buddhism. Miles was impressed with the 55 foot tall Buddha. We bought too much at the gift shop - the store assistants are amazingly pushy and persistent. They need to send the Girl Scouts over for training for the annual cookie drive.

We had a great meal at a vegetarian-only restaurant, tucked away on a quiet side-street. For those of you in the know, tucked away on a quiet little side-street is guidebook-ese for good luck actually finding it. We were looking for number 12, which remained elusive in the sequence of 10, 11, 16, with 21 directly across the street. But we persevered, gesticulated wildly (and unsuccessfully) with the doorman, and were eventually rescued by a kind native who spoke fluent english and who directed us around the block to the back of the building, where our restaurant was plain as day.

Tonight we joined friends to go the Beijing Acrobatic show, where nimble young people performed mind-boggling physical feats. They were mind-boggling in that it would never even occur to us normal folks to even try some of the stuff they did. "Hey, let me balance on one hand, with another guy balanced on my other hand, and I'll hop one-handed down the stairs, AND THEN BACK UP AGAIN!" We going to try that tomorrow, right after we climb the Great Wall of China.

Everyone is very friendly here. A nice gentleman sat next to me at the Acrobatic show, and I greeted him with "Ni hou" for hello. He replied, "Good morning" - even though it was now 7 night! Very cute.

We hit warp speed tomorrow on the group tour to Tiannamen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall, with lunch and shopping squeezed in the middle somehow. Will try to post tomorrow night, and watch for the appearance of the star of this show, Miss Wen Li Leavitt, on Monday's episode.

Lee, Kevin, and Miles, live from Beijing

Where we will go when we get to go

For those of us needing reading glasses, double click on the image to see it larger on your screen. It shows only the Jiangxi province, south of Beijing, west of Shanghai, north of Hong Kong.

So, first we have to receive a travel approval (TA) document, from the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA), the same organization that matched us to Wen Li.

When we receive our TA, then my agency can arrange for our consulate appointment to get her American visa on her chinese passport, so we can bring her to the states and officially paper her American.

Our acceptance document was returned late to the CCAA due to poor delivery by Fedex. So currently we are not scheduled to travel with our referral group, the friends we have waited 7 months with for our babies. If our TA comes tomorrow, and the American Consulate kindly agrees to squeeze us in on December 6th with the rest of our group, then we will leave on the 24th of November.

That's right. We may leave as early as Thanksgiving Day to get our daughter! Cross your fingers, say a prayer, burn incense, or don't step on any cracks tomorrow. Whatever it takes!

New Wen Li Photo

Wow! This is a picture taken at the orphanage about two weeks later than Wen Li's referral pictures. With the different angle it is difficult to be 100% sure, but the hairline, the eyebrows, the ear shape, the nose and mouth, all match to the four other pictures we have of her.

If it's not her, then whoever is still darn cute!

It looks like she may have a bit of eczema on her face. I have totally projected myself on to this poor child already, and I am going to China armed with dry skin treatments, hair handlers, and lots of books! Because of course she is going to read incessantly, just like me.

Seal in Germany

No, not the guy married to Heidi Klum. This little guy washed up at our door in time to go trick-or-treating on Halloween.

He was round even before eating a bag full of treats!