Tao Tao at UNC, July 7, 2009

Our dear daughter, Tao Tao, is in surgery as we write this. She was so great this morning during an extended time without fluids or food. She had no food after 6 PM Monday, and no fluids after 8:30AM today. Her pre-op appointment was scheduled for 10:30AM with surgery scheduled for 12 Noon. We waited and waited, and Talia An was wonderful. She didn't fuss, and only once asked for something to eat--she can sign so well now. Talia luckily got in a short 45 minute nap in the Ergo carrier. Finally someone came for us around 1:00PM, and we answered a few questions, took Talia's vital signs--all while she was asleep in mama's lap. Then the anesthesiologist and ENT physician talked with us. Around 2PM, Art took Talia into the OR and held her while she was administered "laughing gas". In three breaths, she was asleep.

The surgery is supposed to take about two and one half hours. So, we're waiting and hoping that all is going well with the surgery, and we can't wait to wrap our arms around our brave little girl.

As for the rest of the family, and recent news . . . we were in New York last week, Thursday through Sunday for an Eccleston family reunion of sorts, as July 4th was the first anniversary of Art's father's death. It was also an opportunity for everyone to meet Talia for the first time. Both girls loved being with the extended family. Talia woke up at her Aunt Theresa's on Friday with a fever of 103, but no other real symptoms. After a dose of Tylenol, she was pretty much her usual self. Lydia especially enjoyed the water balloon fight with her "big cousins"--Annie, Nikki, Kerri, Michael, Thomas and Sam, who were so wonderful and patient with her. Lydia came upstairs with water streaming from her two braids and her dress soaked, but so happy, grinning from ear to ear about how much fun it was. Both girls did well with the long car trip, about 11 hours each way due to slow holiday/construction traffic. Lydia also ran a fever of 103 degrees on Sunday night, with a sore throat, vomiting and general misery. She didn't perk right back up with medicine, so the whole family trooped out to the pediatrician Monday morning. Luckily, it doesn't appear to be strep throat, as they suspected, just a virus. Mama took Lydia to meet Aunt Laura just two hours later than planned on Monday, as Lydia will spend the week at "Camp Aunt Laura" as Talia will need mom and dad's undivided attention for some days after surgery. We're talking with her regularly, and she seems to be having a wonderful time already--a week of morning swim lessons and afternoon activities. We'll try to do better with blog posts!

Yea! The 5 o'clock update is that Talia is through with her surgery, and mama can go in to Recovery in a few minutes. Her surgeon said her cleft was of moderate width and moderate complexity to repair, but feels very good about the outcome. If she's able to drink fluids, we may be discharged late tomorrow morning, if not, in the afternoon if she takes fluids. She'll be on an "applesauce consistency" diet for two weeks, which means Stage 2 baby food, or other food put through the blender. She also has to wear "no nos," which are arm restraints to keep her hands out of her mouth for two weeks, when we have our follow up appointment. I can't wait to see her--I get to go first since Art went in for the anesthesia--we flipped a coin! Keep us in your thoughts as we move in to the Recovery portion of this journey.

First Easter for Talia An

It's hard to believe we've been home for just over three weeks. Talia is an amazing girl, and has made many gains in the short time we've had her. The girl who was not sitting up independently four weeks ago took her first steps on April 9th, Aunt Laura's birthday. Since then there have been many short walks, and she is so proud of herself, she just laughs out loud. She even climbed the first two steps looking for mama, then stood up and held out her arms--mama ran very fast down the stairs and now knows not to turn her back for a moment with this one. Easter was a fun day, with two girls wearing their matching dresses that Lydia Grace chose before Talia An's arrival. Talia's 18 month dress was miles too big, but she managed just fine. In lieu of coconut custard pie, a family tradition, Talia very much enjoyed her own egg custard cups. Lydia is already thinking about next Easter and hoping the Easter Bunny hides enough eggs for two girls to find . . . always a planner, our Lydia Grace. Although it was a shorter night than we would have wished for, Talia slept through the night for the first time in her crib since coming home--7:30 pm to 5:30 am, but we were delighted, and got a better night of sleep ourselves. She has now slept all through the night a total of four times--we're ever hopeful that this trend will continue. Lydia seems to be back in her routine and is doing well, and enjoying her big sister role. Talia makes new achievements every day, and has settled right in to life in North Carolina. More pictures to come, just as soon as a minor glitch with my laptop gets resolved!

We're Home . . . Home, Sweet Home

Well, we're finally home, and settling in. Our flight got in late on Wednesday April 1, 2009, around 9pm. Neither girl slept much on the 13 1/2 hour flight from Beijing to Newark, NJ, so we were hoping that would actually help with their jet lag . . . but it didn't! They were alert and perky when we were met by "Nai Nai and YeYe" at the airport. A million "thank yous" to Nai Nai and Ye Ye for filling our refrigerator with homemade food, mowing our lawn and meeting us at the airport, and to Philip, Judy, Charlotte and Ruby for fresh fruit and balloons waiting for us at home. We got home safely with our considerable luggage and have proceeded to not sleep through the night since then. Well, Lydia has slept through the entire night for the last two nights, lucky girl. Talia, on the other hand, likes to crash early, 6:30 pm or so, sleep a few hours, and is then ready for playtime! Yes, anytime between 10 pm and 2 am, she's up for fun and games, while mom and dad are miserable with lack of a whole night of sleep since Tuesday March 31, 2009 in China. Lydia was back at preschool on Monday April 6th, and actually napped an hour in school, again, lucky girl. Talia likes to eat during her middle of the night awakenings--yogurt, a bowl of oatmeal, and is finally beginning to drink milk from her bottle, after mama was scolded by the pediatrician about even diluted apple juice--but she had to drink something and was refusing milk until home. Oh yeah, about the pediatrician, we were there on Friday April 3rd, as Talia's cold seemed worse, not better. So she's on an antibiotic for some URI and seems better now. Art is also on his 2nd antibiotic for a probable sinus infection. Gotta love that recirculated air on the planes for the three flights and 29 hours total it took us to get home. Lydia mostly loved the "movies on demand" feature offered by Continental, and watched hours and hours of her favorite shows--Dora, Diego, Backyardigans, etc. on the flights. She sat there with her headphones on just cracking up. Talia has her next medical appointment on Thursday April 16th, when she meets the surgeon at UNC-CH who will do her palate surgery. Then her pediatrician appointment on Friday April 17th to get her caught up on immunizations and a good physical. She weighed in at 17 pounds, 12 ounces on April 3rd, the 3rd percentile for her age, and at the 10th percentile for height. We're still rolling up the sleeves and pant legs of 12 month clothes, but hope she catches up some with a good diet here at home. She seemingly loves everything--Nai Nai's bread pudding and Italian Wedding Soup, yogurt, oatmeal, jar food, bananas, you name it. She's also developed much more in motor skills--she is crawling around with much more confidence, pulling up regularly, and will walk while holding onto furniture or our hands. We wish bath time had progressed as much, it's still the one thing that brings on the tears. Art has taught her to "give me five," which she thinks is quite funny, and she signs "more" when eating. She gives kisses to mama and baba, Lydia, and now Nai Nai, Ye Ye and Aunt Laura. She's going in to visit at mama's work, HRC, on Thursday, and baba is looking forward to a Raleigh excursion as well. We've just begun thinking of daycare, for when the day comes that mama and baba can't be home with her full-time :(. Luckily, that's not for awhile, as mama and baba are both going to work part-time and alternate childcare, until we know when her surgery date is and can plan accordingly. This post's pictures are of Lydia kissing her new baby sister, Talia's room at home, the quilt mama made for her room, and our sweet new girl at sleep. We're looking forward to spring here in North Carolina, and Easter in less than a week. The dogwoods and redbuds are in bloom, and our family is in a stage of new beginnings as well.

Finishing up in Guangzhou

Today's our last day in Guangzhou. It's the day the baby pictures are taken on the red couch and we go to the U.S. Consulate for Talia's swearing in as a U.S. citizen. We shopped yesterday and saw the Chen family museum and the Folk Art Center. We had chops made for each of our girls, rubber stamps with their Chinese names. We also bought art for at home. Lydia got some much needed playground time again. Talia played in the baby room at the hotel and had her first bath without tears, thanks to the stacking cups and the fact that only her toes were actally in the water, as she was on mama's lap. We ate at a Thai restaurant last night, and Lydia wanted to show the orchids we put in her hair, and the fancy mango and banana drinks we ordered. There are also pictures of Lydia kneeling at a Buddhist Temple and throwing a coin in a Buddhist wishing well. The whole family kneeled together at the temple and were blessed by a Buddhist monk as well--we can use all the blessing we can get! (Art probably wished for Villanova to beat UNC-CH).

Guangzhou and Baby Kisses

Finally, we're on the 'net again. We didn't get into Guangzhou until late on Friday, and our girls didn't get to bed until almost 11 pm. Then--9am in the lobby to get Talia's Visa picture taken and head to the medical appointment. Talia's Visa picture is of her crying lustily--she did not like being away from mama! The medical appointment did not go much better. She cried at every stop. She weighs a bit over 17 pounds, but is probably putting on weight as she loves to eat--this morning was banana, brown rice cereal (from home), a bit of muffin, some yogurt and hey--how about some of mama's omelet? Breakfast is her biggest meal, as there are so many baby-friendly choices. Lydia needed some playground and running around time yesterday, so found a great playground and got lots of exercise. While going through the protocol of having our computer connection reviewed by a 1/2 dozen people, concluding with "the engineer," we all got some play time with Talia on the bed. Suddenly, she leaned over mama, and planted a big droolie kiss right on mama's mouth! Then laughed and laughed! She has given everyone kisses now, and thinks it's the funniest thing. I wish bath was as happy, alas, it is not to be. While mama gave Talia her bath last night, Lydia got to go out with Baba for a banana split to Lucy's. Talia was asleep by 7 pm, and slept until 6 am, with just a couple of brief wake ups--new hotel and crib, probably. There was a tremendous storm here yesterday afternoon, with thunder, lightening and palm trees swaying wildly. Even some hail in the night. Today looks much clearer, and there is a shopping expedition planned with our group this morning. Hopefully we'll be able to post again later, we're having to use the Business Center computer. Just wanted everyone to know things are going well in warm and balmy Guangzhou. Kisses from Talia!

A New Day and a Visit to Old City

It's Thursday morning, around 6:30 am March 26th. It's the best time to post, the two girls are sleeping peacefully. Lydia had a big day of walking yesterday, and fell sound asleep in Baba's arms at dinner. She was too tired for her usual bath, but then had a hard time falling asleep last night. Lydia woke up in the early morning hours crying--probably a bad dream, climbed in to bed with us and fell fast asleep. Talia was awake around 5:20, played with us a little, had a bottle and is now also sleeping in our bed next to Lydia. Mama and Baba have pretty much been up since around 4:20 am. Today we're supposed to go to the Old City for a tour, and a chance to buy a traditional outfit of clothing for Talia. We were so lucky that Director Wang presented Lydia with a traditional outfit when we visited her orphanage. Both girls have been very easy, Lydia is adjusting to life with a new sister and needing a little more love and attention, but is overall doing great. Talia is like a dream baby--eats, sleeps, laughs and plays, loves to go places and see new things, but can also sit on the bed and play by herself without fussing. She and Lydia both play together and can play side by side doing their own thing. Lydia enjoys helping with Talia's bottle, and feeding her bites at meals. Pictures from the day probably during Talia's nap or this evening. Tomorrow we leave Chongqing for a two-hour flight to Guangzhou, the last stop as we get Talia's paperwork finished up--her visa and her U.S. Citizenship, her passport arrives tomorrow before we leave.

This morning's adventure was to the Old City of Chongqing. We saw bunkers in the mountain side along the highway, where the citizens of Chongqing hid from the Japanese invasion. We arrived at the Old City neighborhood and saw many shops and items for sale, some traditional, like Chinese clothing and foods, some new, like hacky sacks and doggie fashions! We tried many traditional Chinese candies and sweets--Lydia really loved a rice paste with walnut candy, pressed thin, like a stick of chewing gum. There is also a picture of her holding a phoenix on a stick--we watched the man drizzle caramelized sugar on a marble slab and attach her candy to the stick, which he then presented to her. Then, there was the rice with brown sugar wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed in a little package--really wonderful, even Talia wanted more, more and more. She's developed quite the sweet tooth, and loved the grilled bananas drizzled with honey for "lunch dessert." Art took photos of the river, a beach that is viewable only in the spring until the water rises and covers it, and a Buddhist Monastery. The above pictures include glazed sweets for sale, men pounding a tub making sesame paste for candy, and our family with hands rubbing on a ball against a wall, "for good luck." The locals love to ask us questions, and I now answer "hao le" (it's fine!) when the older women worry about the Ergo carrier. Babies are traditionally just carried by hand in China, or papoose style in a bamboo basket on the back, not these new-fangled carrier things. Anita, our guide, has been so wonderful and generous to us. She bought Lydia and Talia each a memento of Chongqing, their names and a special message from Chongqing in a framed certificate. We bought hand painted banyan tree leaves to frame at home, a specialty of Chongqing artists. Both girls got traditional outfits and Anita bought us another cake, since the first one was such a hit! We will be sad to leave Talia's provincial capital, and the wonderful, warm and sweet Anita. But tomorrow is one more tour in the morning before Anita brings us to the airport, and one step closer to home with our new daughter. Probably won't post again or just a small note as we'll be packing, flying out, and getting into Guangzhou late, probably not to the hotel until 8:30 pm or so, assuming the flight is on time.

More About Talia

I know, what's left to tell, with all the updates? Well, some "fun facts" about Talia:

Favorite Food? Hard to tell, eats like there's no tomorrow. Four meat dumplings and about 1/2 cup of broth for dinner again tonight. Loves her steamed egg, too (We're bringing home a recipe). Maybe a new Olympic event--lunge for the spoon!
Favorite Activity? Those colorful stacking cups--they're great! Brief crisis this morning when they couldn't be found, luckily they were somewhere where no one put them!
Size? Best fit so far, 6-9 month outfit of Lydia's that Lydia didn't really get to wear.
Motor Development: Not yet walking, but can stand briefly if held, not yet crawling, can sit with pillow propped behind her, but not independently for long.
Language: Great at babbling! Mamamamama, bababababa, lalalalala--of course we know she means mama, baba and Lydia!
How to make her laugh? Gentle blowing on her face--cracks her up every time.
Preferred conveyance: Really lovin' that Ergo carrier, but likes to GO once we're in there. If we're going to sit, unbuckle me please. Not too crazy about the stroller we bought yet.
Favorite Beverage? Half apple juice, half water in the Pigeon bottle (special bottle for babies with cleft palate), though will take a Playtex bottle with the fast flow nipple. Haven't tried formula, as the orphanage said she drank milk. Doesn't seem too crazy about milk, but she may not want it because she's teething and congested.
Least Favorite Activity? Anything to do with bathing. Haven't found what she'll tolerate without crying yet. Tonight I tried standing in the shower stall with her held close to give her steam for her congestion--cried and cried pathetically. Wasn't happy until we were out of there and bundled into a towel.
Sleep: Great sleeper. A little quiet, a little dark, that apple juice/water combo, a few Chinese children's songs and she sleeps through the night. Wakes up happy and ready to go.
Problem Solving: Cup in one hand, cup in another and someone is trying to hand you another? Hmmm, put one down and grab the new one!
Number of teeth? 2 on top, 4 on the bottom, and it looks like she's working on a couple of molars in the back.
Question we're asked most often? Mei Mei or Didi (boy or girl)? I know her hair is short, it'll grow!
Overall? She's funny, charming, sweet and adaptable. We just love her :)