It's Monday Morning....

We have only two days left in Guangzhou, then we head back home. We are so excited to get home to sleep in our own bed, play with our dogs, see our friends and talk to our families for ten cents a minute (long distance charges). Here is our Itinerary for the rest of the week.

Today we will go to the Guangzhou Zoo to see the Panda Bear. Then tonight, we will be going on the Pearl River Cruise where they will have a buffet dinner (it's all about the buffet, the scenery is a side product). Tomorrow we have our Consulate appointment and swearing in ceremony.

Yesterday we went to a local shopping mall to look at the pearls and clothes. All we got were some sandals for Sawyer, but we did eat at this Cantonese Buffet that was awesome. I highly recommend trying the food here from different restaurants. One our Guides Rebecca told us about the place J.M.Chefs, which is right down the street from the White Swan Hotel. They have the best hum bows and Pigeon. That's right, DEEP FRIED PIGEON. It was like eating a really moist quail or dove. It was very tasty. So, no KFC, Pizza Hut, or McDonald's for us, we have loved the food here in Guangzhou and in Kunming.
Pigeon
Sawyer is doing really well. We took him swimming for the first time, yesterday and he seemed to love being in the water. Then we came back and chilled in the room and went to bed really early. We were all very tired. Now, I leave this post with some more pictures of Sawyer (because I know that is why you all are truly reading our blog).

Lily (one of our Awesome Guides with Sawyer)
Rebecca (Another awesome Guide)

We are in Guangzhou....

Let me get you caught up on what has been happening. Yesterday was our final day in Kunming. We are going to miss Kunming dearly. We are looking forward to the time when we can bring Sawyer back to show him his home town. I know he will love it as much as we did.

Before we left Kunming, we went to the bird and flower market. There they sell puppies, kittens, birds, turtles, hamsters and different flowers. Sawyer is getting heavy. So I carried him on my shoulders to through the market. I swear I heard him say, Ma Ma and Ba Ba are number one.

Near the end of our little trip throught the bird and flower market, Sawyer was getting a little grumpy (he hadn't had a nap and he is teething, oh the fun). So we went back to the van and Susan took us to an indoor flower market. They had so many flowers there. I wish there was a way to get them all home.

On the way to the airport, we were all really hungry. So we stopped by this hole in the wall place that had the best hum bao (steamed bread stuffed with pork). They were selling them for three for one Yuan (about 12.5 cents for all three). I hope Susan adds this place on her list to take people too, because the food was awesome. Sawyer loved the Congee (rice gruel)...of course it probably didn't hurt that it is his favorite food. We finished eating then it was onto the airport.

Our flight to Guangzhou from Kunming was delayed for a half an hour for unknown reasons. When we finally got onto the plane, we sat on the tarmack for another fourty-five minutes and they would not tell us why. We finally got off the ground an hour and a half after we were to leave. Believe it or not, Sawyer actually slept for half the trip and then laughed the other half. HE DID NOT CRY ONCE. We arrived in Guangzhou about 9:30 pm and were picked up by David and Chen. They were so nice to wait for us when our flight was late. I guess we were not the only one arriving late from other Provinces.

We finally got to the White Swan Hotel at about 10:00 pm with two tired parents and one tired baby who had no idea what is going on. After about an hour of Sawyer getting used to the room (i.e. playing), he finally fell asleep about 11:30 pm.

Today was one of the bigger days in Guangzhou. Sawyer had his medical exam. There are nine families in our group and I think the only child that did not cry was the eight year old boy from Beijing. It was like listening to an opera of infants. What a wonferful sound. BTW-Sawyer is a flirt.

Here are Sawyer's facts he is 10.59 kg (23.6 lbs) and 80 cm (2.62 feet).

I will post more pictures of Sawyer later. Now I have to go to a meeting on what is instore for the rest of our five days in China.

The Last Night In Kunming...

This is our last night in Kunming. We had a wonderful time while we were here. Our guide Susan and our driver were AWESOME. To show our appreciation for the hard work they did, we asked them where they wanted to go to dinner. They of course chose Bridge Over Noodles (which is where we wanted to go, but they chose the restaurant). The food there is unbelievable. They fry these little fish in some tampura and spices and you eat them whole. They were so good. The noodle soup and the roasted duck were magnificent. I highly recommend this place to anyone who visits to Kunming.

Today we went to our friend's daughter's finding spot. I will not post those pictures out of respect for their family. All we have to say is that we are so glad, and very lucky, that we met this beautiful girl and this wonderful family. Before we came to Kunming, they said that we would fall in love with the city. Well, they were right. This city is breath taking and full of history. They also said that there is something special about the children who come from Kunming and they are so very right. Now there is two Kunming children in Maple Valley. Thank you Mike, Nancy and little Miss Melanie for all the support and love you have sent our way.

Since we arrived in Kunming, we have only been able to post to our blog. We have not been able to view our blog. Therefore, we have not been able to view our comments. But, being the good friend she is, Holly has been updating us with email copies of the comments. Thank you Holly and thank you to all the nice comments everyone has left.

Well, I thought I would end our Kunming journey with some more pictures of Sawyer. Enjoy and We will be talking to you in Guangzhou.

Mongolian Spots....

Okay people, it's time to get a little education. Sawyer has what is known as Mongolian Spots. So what are Mongolian spots, you ask? According to Dr Greene.com, Mongolian spots are "nothing more than dense collections of melanocytes, the skin cells which contain melanin, the normal pigment of the skin. When the melanocytes are close to the surface, they look deep brown. The deeper they are in the skin, the more bluish they look. Either way, they are not related to bruises or any other medical condition. They do not predispose to skin cancer or any other problem."

The spots are more commonly found in children of darker skin, such as Asians, Native Americans, Hispanic desent, etc... These spots usually will fade away by the time he is two, but they will completely fade away by the time he is five years old.

"These flat birthmarks can be deep brown, slate gray, or blue-black in color. They do sometimes look like bruises. The edges are often, but not always, indistinct. They are most common on the lower back and buttocks, but are often found on the legs, back, sides, and shoulders. They vary from the size of a pinhead to six inches or more across. A child may have one or several"(Dr. Greene.com). Sawyer has several spots on his back and buttocks. The largest is on the top of his buttocks and all the way across his back. It's about the size of Scott's hand. Anyway, nobody needs to worry about these spots, they will fade away over time.

The Finding Spot.....

Yesterday afternoon, Susan took us to Sawyer's Finding spot. He was found on November 28th, 2004 on the west bank of the Panlong River near the sluice (A sluice is a water channel that is controlled at its head by a gate). This is not a good place to be at come nighttime. There are very cheap apartments that surround the area and it is populated with people who come in from the countryside looking for work. There is a large amount of poverty in this area, so it is likely that his parents are farmers from the countryside.

The Sluice.

The West Bank of the River near the Sluice.

As soon as Susan said this is where Sawyer was found, it was like someone switched off the sound. While walking around the area where he was found, we could not help but think of what would of happened to this precious little boy if no one found him. So when was he left? Early morning? During the day while no one was looking? All we will ever know is that he was delivered to the Kunming CWI on November 28th, 2004. We will never know anything about his natural parents. Although we can not ever tell him with absolute certainty what his parents/mother/father/grandparent felt when they left him, we can try to instill in him an understanding of the circumstances surrounding where he was left and compassion for his biological parents.

We were very sad visiting this spot - sad for all the Sawyer has lost by being abandoned, sad for the loss his parents experienced, and sad for Sawyer and his biological parents who will never know about one another. But, like a Phoenix from the ashes, Sawyer's life and fate will be forever changed by this one act. We will be forever grateful to his biological parents for giving us the most amazing gift in the world...this little boy who will bring us happiness and love. Whomever you are, we are eternally grateful to you for bringing this special child into this world and into our lives.

To All!!!!

Thank you all for the great comments that you all have been giving us. Unfortunaely, we do not have all of your email addresses, so we can not tell you all Thank You personally. So, Thank You all from the bottom of our hearts. We can not wait until you all can meet Sawyer in person. He is a wonderful little boy.

Love,
Scott, Shelby and Sawyer

Sawyer's Pictures

I have had a request for more pictures of Sawyer. Today we went for a drive to the Minority Village, which created the perfect photo opportunity for him to show off his stuff. Not to sound like a jerk, but if you want information on the Minority Village, look it up on the web. It can describe the place better than I can. All I can say is, "WOW, these people have a beautiful culture. And the history of this culture that has lasted thousands of years is unbelievable." Something you will not see in the United States, unless you look at the Anasasi Indians of the four corners region, but their civilization is extinct. The Bai, Di, Yi, Hani, Tibetan and the fifty-one other minorities still exist today and have a great influence on the people and culture of the Yunnan Province. Anyway, more pictures of Sawyer.

Sawyer waking up

While we were driving to the Minority Villiage.

His first ride in a stroller (at least by us).

Staring in amazement at the riders on horseback.

The Family in front of the Di Buddhist Temple.

Getting blessed by a Di Buddhist Monk.

Sleeping through the rest of the Minority Village.

The Buddhist Temple In Kunming...

Yuantong Temple (Yuantong Si) has history of more than 1200 years. Located in downtown Kunming, it is a very easy temple to find, about five minute drive from Green Lake Hotel. The web site below said, "In 1956, the temple held a tooth of the Buddha here for a short time." I wish I saw that.
http://www.sinohotelguide.com/kunming/tour/sight/sighty.html

While we were there, the Monks were having a prayer ceremony. There were hundreds of people chanting and singing and praying. It is an awe inspiring sound to hear so many people sing in harmony.

We let Sawyer down to stretch his legs. He loves touching new things, especially plants, windows and, well, anything he can get his hands onto. He is a very curios little boy.

"Hey, where do you think you are going?"

"Oh, over to rub your hands on another monument."

What a curious little one. That might get him into trouble one day.

The Orphanage....(Shelby posting)

What a day! We visited the orphanage today and I am still recovering. The Kunming CWI is incredible. It is clean and well-managed and has a very good feel to it. The Director is a very kind woman who obviously cares about the children in her charge. We toured the orphanage and had the chance to meet a number of children. I met four older cleft-affected and heart children. They ran out of their class room and all wanted to be held. I held each and everyone of them and gave them hugs and love (of course with the permission of the orphanage tour guide). They were so friendly and happy. Next we visited the room that had the children with mental and neurological challenges. I think this room was the hardest because there was a little boy receiving physical therapy and it was very painful for him. Throughout our visit to this room, he cried from the pain of his therapy.

There was one moment that made my day......

Scott was holding Sawyer while I was loving up the cleft/heart children. Sawyer watched the whole thing and when I was done, he cried to be held by me. Well not five minutes later (with Scott totally not paying attention - lol) Sawyer grabbed my face and turned it to him and proceeded to give me a KISS!!!!! Our guide watched the whole thing take place and we both sobbed!!! It was so awesome! After that, all he wanted was Mama.

Next, we went to the Jade Factory. Well, Sawyer took his first digger thanks to me....He grabbed a standing sign that flipped to show a different side....I will let you imagine what happened...Anyways, we bought a beautiful jade buddha for me. As we were paying for it, Sawyer had his first melt down. Well the women at the Jade Factory (there was like 5 of them) knew instantly that he had to go to the bathroom. As background, we were told he was potty trained but have had him in diapers for pee-pee - no poop until today. They showed me how to hold him over the squattie pottie and whistle - once the woman did that, he pee'd bigtime. Scott and I both nearly DIED laughing! Well fast forward to lunchtime and we come back to the hotel room. I was determined to get him to poop, so I held him over the toilet with each leg over each arm and started whistling - Sawyer started grunting and then there was the most god-awful smell imaginable - MY BOY POOPED!!!

Overall, we are bonding incredibly well. We carry him everywhere - not because he can't walk, but because that is a great way to promote bonding. We have yet to perfect the tag-team event that is food, but Sawyer is eating well (the same amount of food that winds up in his tummy, ends up on me and Scott). We always pick up after ourselves - I know I hated parents that were rude enough to leave me a mess, so we always try to be conscientious.

We are visiting a Buddhist Temple this afternoon and the Minority Village tomorrow morning. Will post more later...Scott is watching football with Sawyer and I MUST intervene.....

July 24th 2006

The day that Sawyer changed our lives forever. We arrived at the Kunming Civil Affairs Office at about 8:30 am this morning. Susan, our AWESOME guide, started us in on the paperwork, a lot of paperwork.

At about 9:00 am, the doorbell rang and Sawyer walked through the front door with his caretaker. It was such a surreal moment, I had to watch it again on video because even though I remember it vividly, I needed to see it again to make sure what I saw really happened. The caretaker immediately put Sawyer down on the floor. After exactly one minute of checking us out(yes, I did time it), he came to Shelby with open arms (on his own I will add).
After about 2 1/2 hours at the Civil Affairs office, we went back to the hotel, grabbed some lunch and went up to the room to get to know one another. It was very hot in Kunming today with a lot of humidity. So we stripped him down to his undies and let him do some exploring. He was fascinated with his reflection in the mirror. I bet he was thinking to himself, "who's the man?"
Soon after checking himself out in the mirror, he took his nap (see picture in previous post). He was out for almost two hours. We slept right next to him in the bed, he wasn't the only one exhausted. When he woke up and got his bearings, we went on a walk through Green Lake Park. He was so wide eyed and curious about everything going on around him. He could not keep his focus on one thing, he wanted to see it all.

His favorite thing to watch was the people singing and playing the Ruan (a banjo type instrument) the Erhu (a two stringed fiddle) and the Gugin (which is like a seven string instrument without a bridge). http://www.philmultic.com/home/instruments/

Many of the local people were amazed that we were able to adopt a little boy from China. They gathered around Shelby and asked many questing. Being the proud parents were are, we loved showing him off. BTW-no one tugged at his clothing, they only wanted to grab his big cheeks. Can you blame them?

Sawyer wanted to get down and stretch his legs after being held all day, but he didn't want too be too far away from Daddy. So he grabbed Daddy's hand and walked with him to the exit on the way to find dinner. He loves to eat as much as his Daddy does and when he doesn't get food, he throws a fit like Daddy does. THAT'S MY BOY!!!

At about 9:00 pm, we all were getting tired. We gave Sawyer a bath and then sat on the bed. All he wanted to do is cuddle up with Mommy. In a manner of minutes, he was out. As I rewrite this at 3:00 am, I wrote this blog earlier but it was erased when I went to publish it, he still has not fussed or cried once.

We are so excited to be his parents, we can not wait until the sun comes up and we start another new day with him. Tomorrow we are off to see the orphanage, we can not wait.

WE HAVE SAWYER IN OUR ARMS!!!!!

July 24th, 2006, the day our lives changed forever. Today we finally touched Sawyer for the first time and OH WHAT A FEELING!!!!!!!!!


We will post more in a bit. Sawyer is sleeping right now, ...

...so we are going to take this opportunity to take a nap as well. We will post more this evening.

Pictures

Just after we got off the plane in Gaungzhou.

Landing In Kunming

Where we are staying. The Green Lake Hotel.

The first relaxing moment after a long flight.


Green Lake Park, right accross the street from our Hotel.
The Sunset over the Mountains.

Next post will be about Sawyer. Blog you tommorow!!