BORED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

China is so boring you don't do anything but sit in a stupid hotel room that is way to small and watch Jadyn cry. The times you do go out is when you are getting dresses or baby food and stuff like that, I can't wait until we get back home. I can't wait to see my family, my friends, my house, my sports and America!
I will be coming home tomorow but i will not go to schoo till Monday because of the time difference, but I can't wait to come back home bye.
Gabe.

Monday at the White Swan

Jadyn is blossoming beautifully. Everyday she seems to be getting more and more comfortable with her surroundings. She loves to play with Gabe and giggles incessantly. She is beginning to trust us and is letting her guard down and having fun. She has been in the pool and loves to play in the water. We filled out all her forms for the American Consulate todayand tomorrow she will be granted her visa for her return to America. The big news is that last night she went down to sleep with no problems, which was a big relief for Nora and me. We actually got some rest. Tonight, she went down easily again, knowing that her mommy and daddy will be there when she wakes up.

Greetings from the White Swan

We arrived yesterday afternoon at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou.
It is the hotel near the American Consulate where all the adoptive families from around the world complete their adoption journeys.
Everywhere you turn there are families with beautiful little girls and boys who have found their families at last. Very moving...

This morning, we went to the photo shop to take pictures of our daughters for their visas.
Then, we went to the clinic where all the babies were examined. Jadyn has already grown a little bit! She has a hemangioma on her right arm which will fade with time.
She is healthy and beautiful!

Right now she is relaxing a little in the hotel room with Mommy and Gabe.
She has fallen in love with Ritz Bits with Cheese!
Adam is in the meeting room, completing paperwork for tomorrow's appointment at the American Consulate!

We are all a bit more relaxed since last night was Jadyn's first night sleeeping through the night...

Hope you all are well.

We will post some pictures later..

Last night in Hefei.....

We hope that you all enjoyed the first few pictures of Jadyn with her new mommy, daddy and big brother. Today we took the babies to the zoo in Hefei and saw a giant panda, as well as lots of other animals. The last few days have been amazing, watching as the babies begin to bond with their new families, and as their personalities begin to come out. Jadyn and two of the other babies have taken a bit longer to open up, smile and do things. They are the older ones and clearly know what is going on. However, in the last 48 hours Jadyn has walked, smiled, played with toys and even given her mommy a kiss. She is still shy and needs lots of time, but we have glimpsed into her soul and know without a doubt she is our baby, to be in our family forever.
She hates to go to sleep so the sleep deprivation has been much more difficult than we anticipated.
We cant wait to bring her home to Larchmont to her friends and family...

On a sad note, we learned that my brother John passed away this week.
He had a heart attack in his sleep.
We will have a memorial service for him on Oct 15...
It has been very difficult for me to be here but obviously, this journey is important to all of us and Jadyn will definitely be a solace to us all.

NOTE: To Gabe and Livy's teachers: Please don't share this last piece of news to the class...



Although this is a hard way to share this news, we know that people checking the blog are people who care about us and this seemed like the only way to let people know...
We care about all of you and look forward to seeing you on Thurs...

FINALLY......PICTURES!!!!!!!

The Breakthrough

It was the day before we went to the orphanage and we were all anxious, mom in particular. We thought that it would be good for us to take our mids off of the baby, so we went to the mall. Now Jadyn has never walked before. When she was crying on my moms shoulder in the mall we put her down for one moment, and to our suprise she put one leg in front of the other and started to walk! It was one of the best and most exciting moments on this trip.

When we got back to the hotel we had lunch, and mom made her a special lunch of peaches, formula, rice cereal, and a little apple juice to sweeten it up. And that was the trick, after that she was happy, cheerful, and fun. So now we give Jadyn that special lunch everyday!

Gabe

Back to the Orphanage

Today we took a journey with Jadyn back to the orphanage to say goodbye and meet the caregivers. Last night was another tough night. Jadyn would fall asleep in my arms, but whenever I tried to lay her down, she would cry. I had to walk with her in my arms for hours. It reminded me of those same walks with Zach, Gabe, and Livy. There were a couple of moments yesterday when Jadyn came out of her shell a little. After lunch she was quite playful, and Nora finally got a smile out of her. She seems to be at her best after a meal, but as I said, by sleepytime, she was quite finicky. This morning, after breakfast, we boarded the bus for the hour and a half drive out to the orphanage. The countryside was a wonder to see with lots of farms, rice paddies, oxen, and field workers. Jadyn pretty much slept the whole way there. When we got there, we were allowed to see the room that she basically grew up in. It was about 15 feet across and 20 feet deep. Five cribs lined up next to each other on each wall. We saw her crib and said a very healthy GOODBYE to it. There were ten little babies in walkers scooting around the room. I had a terrible feeling that the children spent all of there time in that room in their walkers. I saw no toys and I felt that the caregivers were a little rough with the little children. I'm sure that they didn't see it that way. Nora had a chance to ask lots of questions about Jadyn and her habits and held on to her very tightly. At one point, one of the caregivers wanted to grab Jadyn to give her a hug, but Jadyn didn't reach for the caregiver. She reached for Nora, which made both of us feel a little better. After about half an hour of looking at this small room and asking questions, and taking lots of pictures and video, we did say goodbye to that place. And we were very happy to leave. Interestingly, on the way back to the hotel, Jadyn was very happy. She played with Gabe, and laughed and giggled, and was very connected and related to us. It was the first time since we got her that she was acting this way. Nora and I both felt that she was finally able to put that place behind her and begin to see that we were going to be there for her for the rest of her life. Of course, we will see how she goes to bed tonight.
Lots of love to everybody,
Adam

The nights are long....

We had a long night last night, Jadyn was up every few hours...
She is very much like an infant, happy when sleeping, eating and being held.

Yesterday afternoon, we went for a walk in a large park on a lake (China's version of Central Park) and Jadyn actually fell asleep and we were able to put her in a stroller.
Gabe finally found the place to have a catch with Adam!
I think they both needed that..

We are going to take Jadyn down to breakfast in a few minutes and see if she will eat some congee and a scrambled egg.

We are thinking of all of you!
See you soon..

Adoption Day!!!!

Well, Jadyn Jia is officially our daughter as of noon on Sep 12, 2006.
We met her yesterday- seeing her in the room at the Civil Affairs Bureau was one of the most awesome days of our life. Today was probably the longest and most difficult day we've experienced. Nora, Adam and Gabe spent the day holding Jadyn as she cried somewhat inconsolably, almost as if she knew that her life, as she knew it was over. We are her future and yet, she doesn't know us and it will take time for her to trust us and know that we will never leave her. Because of the way the babies are cared for in the orphanage, they remain very babylike for a long time. The babies in the group range from 12 to 19 months and look like 6 to 12 months old. Jadyn in tiny and very very shy. She is the most beautiful baby imaginable, but is having a tough time getting to feel comfortable with us. She has only known us for 24 hours. She never wants to be put down and acts like an infant even though she can walk on her own.
Gabe is an absolutely amazing help- all the babies in the group adore him.
Today was the most incredibly amazing and exhausting day I can remember.
Jadyn belongs to us now and we promised that we would care for her, love her and never abandon or hurt her. We miss Zachary and Olivia so much it hurts!!! Jadyn loves them both and is looking at their pictures!

I just got her to sleep so I am going to sleep.
Unfortunately, we are unable to post pictures...

This is from Gabe

WOW! What a day, this was one of the biggest moments of my life. My parents just signed the adoption forms for J.J (Jadyn Jia). She is officially in the Plesent family, and boy is it tuff.
Taking care of a baby is extremely challenging you have to do whatever you can to make her happy.
There are seven different babies, seven different cries, seven different smiles.
Gotta go. Jadyn's crying again. Will write more later.
Gabe

We have had two fabulous days in Beijing, one with our dear family friend, Li Hong and the second with the group of five families who have all come to adopt babies.

On our first day, we saw the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven and had lunch in the Back Sea area with our friend Li Hong.
It was fascinating to start to learn about our daughter's cultural heritage. We also spent time shopping at the famous Pearl Mart!


Yesterday we climbed the Great Wall- what an awesome accomplishment.
It was a beautiful day and as you can seem from the picture, we had very clear visibility.
It was much more strenous than expected, but well worth it.
Then we went to the Summer Palace, quite amazing! And it only took 20 years to complete....

Today we flew to Hefei and will soon be meeting our babies....
Stay tuned.

We are having a wonderful time here in Beijing.
We are staying at the Grand Hyatt, an exquisite hotel in the center of the city.
Yesterday, we had an amazing day of sightseeing, starting with the Forbidden City.
We had lunch in the Back Sea area, and ended up at the Temple of Heaven.

Gabe will tell you more about it when we get home from today's adventure.

Unfortunately, we are having trouble uploading images so you may have to wait to see pictures!

We miss you all and can't wait to share our adventures with you soon.

Hello Everybody!
We've arrived safely. Arriving in Beijing at 2:00pm on Thursday after a 13 hr flight. We flew over the North Pole so the sun was out for the whole trip. We are staying in a very nice hotel with a pool that is outrageously big and fancy. Looking forward to sightseeing today. We should be seeing Jadyn on Monday or Tuesday.

Olivia is saying goodbye to Nora, Adam and Gabe, holding up the poster of Jadyn's pictures.

Here is Olivia with her Chinese baby, Haydn.

Doesn't she look beautiful in her silk Chinese pajamas?

Soon she will be a real big sister.

Jadyn is such a lucky girl.

Jadyn's siblings are enjoying a few last days of being a threesome, soon to be a foursome.