Visa Day! April 18 - Photos Added
Every family passed their visa application process yesterday, so today at 2:30PM local time we all hop on a ride to the consulate office (about 40 minutes away) to complete our swearing in ceremony and receipt of visa for each baby.
Since we are an afternoon appointment with the consulate and do not expect to return until after 5:30PM, we decided to do the Red Couch ceremony and photo session this morning so the babies are still fresh and perky. For those who have not adopted in China in the past, the Red Couch is a "must do" on visa day to celebrate completion of all the requirements in order to return home with baby. The red couches are actually located in the White Swan Hotel so we made a short walk there this morning at 10:00 AM and turned the kids loose on the couches for about 30 minutes while parents made the most of the photo opportunities. I got some great pictures of Emily and Nancy, and vice versa. We also did some photo shots of all nine little girls on the couch together. We even got most of them without tears which is no small feat when you put 9 little girls on one couch with adults surrounding them and flashing away with cameras. All in all, a fun event, though a bit stressful for the babies.
Hey! ... Don't Take My Picture!!
Emily hates noisy crowded conditions so she got pretty fussy after about 10 minutes of that gig. After the red couch shoot, I took Emily and Nancy to the central Koi pond and waterfall in the White Swan for a few shots near the waterfall. Emily loves to watch the Koi fish in the water so that was smooth sailing except to get her to look to the camera instead of in the pond :)
Emily & Mommy Checking Out The Leaves
Tomorrow morning, most of the families are headed to Hong Kong for connecting flights home. For Nancy, Emily, and I, we will take an afternoon flight to Hefei in Anhui province to spend a week with Nancy's favorite Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. This is probably the only chance for Nancy's Aunt and Uncle to see Emily any time soon, so while we would really rather head home at this point it is an important step for us to detour to Hefei. I am sure that Emily will get lots of love and cuddles in Hefei and we will get a chance to rest a bit more with the family doting on Emily. So I am sure it will all work out fine in the end :)
At this point, I would like to take time to share with everyone what a wonderful mother Nancy is for Emily. Those of you who know Nancy already know that she is a pleasant, compassionate, caring, warm hearted person. Now just imagine how Nancy exudes all of those traits when a little baby girl that she can call her own is in her arms!! It's not just Emily that has blossomed this last week. The mother has too! Nancy is so loving, nurturing, attentive and caring for Emily. Nancy as mommie was very very important to Emily in those first few days when there was trauma, and fear, and uncertainty in her surroundings and what was going on. Nancy took the time to really get to know Emily's little cues an messages, and to respond to them immediately. She took time to talk with Emily in Mandarin for the first important day when she was pretty well shut-down from overload of experiences all in one day. As the days have progressed, Nancy has been very adaptive and responsive in everything she does with and for Emily. I know that this has played a large part in Emily's excellent adjustment and blossoming over the last week. As the daddy, I have had the priviledge to play with Emily and nurture and cuddle and laugh with her each day, and we very much have a loving and bonded relationship now. But I give huge credit to Nancy both for those early crucial hours of nurture, as well as each and every day of loving care and attention to Emily. There is no way I can express strongly enough to Nancy how much I admire and respect what she does for Emily everyday. So I think it is only proper that I take time to share with all of you how wonderful she is as Emily's mom! Kudos for Nancy!!
Once we depart for Hefei tomorrow afternoon, I may once again be in the internet eclipse zone (as was the case in Changsha where we had broadband access, but it was not so broad, nor reliable). So I will endeavor to post one more Blog entry telling everyone about the consulate visit today to get the visas and then will post from Hefei later in the week as opportunity permits. We will be staying at the local "baby hotel" the Novotel in Hefei so I am hopeful to have internet access there, but can make no promises until I get there and try it out :)
Since we are an afternoon appointment with the consulate and do not expect to return until after 5:30PM, we decided to do the Red Couch ceremony and photo session this morning so the babies are still fresh and perky. For those who have not adopted in China in the past, the Red Couch is a "must do" on visa day to celebrate completion of all the requirements in order to return home with baby. The red couches are actually located in the White Swan Hotel so we made a short walk there this morning at 10:00 AM and turned the kids loose on the couches for about 30 minutes while parents made the most of the photo opportunities. I got some great pictures of Emily and Nancy, and vice versa. We also did some photo shots of all nine little girls on the couch together. We even got most of them without tears which is no small feat when you put 9 little girls on one couch with adults surrounding them and flashing away with cameras. All in all, a fun event, though a bit stressful for the babies.
Hey! ... Don't Take My Picture!!
Emily hates noisy crowded conditions so she got pretty fussy after about 10 minutes of that gig. After the red couch shoot, I took Emily and Nancy to the central Koi pond and waterfall in the White Swan for a few shots near the waterfall. Emily loves to watch the Koi fish in the water so that was smooth sailing except to get her to look to the camera instead of in the pond :)
Emily & Mommy Checking Out The Leaves
Tomorrow morning, most of the families are headed to Hong Kong for connecting flights home. For Nancy, Emily, and I, we will take an afternoon flight to Hefei in Anhui province to spend a week with Nancy's favorite Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. This is probably the only chance for Nancy's Aunt and Uncle to see Emily any time soon, so while we would really rather head home at this point it is an important step for us to detour to Hefei. I am sure that Emily will get lots of love and cuddles in Hefei and we will get a chance to rest a bit more with the family doting on Emily. So I am sure it will all work out fine in the end :)
At this point, I would like to take time to share with everyone what a wonderful mother Nancy is for Emily. Those of you who know Nancy already know that she is a pleasant, compassionate, caring, warm hearted person. Now just imagine how Nancy exudes all of those traits when a little baby girl that she can call her own is in her arms!! It's not just Emily that has blossomed this last week. The mother has too! Nancy is so loving, nurturing, attentive and caring for Emily. Nancy as mommie was very very important to Emily in those first few days when there was trauma, and fear, and uncertainty in her surroundings and what was going on. Nancy took the time to really get to know Emily's little cues an messages, and to respond to them immediately. She took time to talk with Emily in Mandarin for the first important day when she was pretty well shut-down from overload of experiences all in one day. As the days have progressed, Nancy has been very adaptive and responsive in everything she does with and for Emily. I know that this has played a large part in Emily's excellent adjustment and blossoming over the last week. As the daddy, I have had the priviledge to play with Emily and nurture and cuddle and laugh with her each day, and we very much have a loving and bonded relationship now. But I give huge credit to Nancy both for those early crucial hours of nurture, as well as each and every day of loving care and attention to Emily. There is no way I can express strongly enough to Nancy how much I admire and respect what she does for Emily everyday. So I think it is only proper that I take time to share with all of you how wonderful she is as Emily's mom! Kudos for Nancy!!
Once we depart for Hefei tomorrow afternoon, I may once again be in the internet eclipse zone (as was the case in Changsha where we had broadband access, but it was not so broad, nor reliable). So I will endeavor to post one more Blog entry telling everyone about the consulate visit today to get the visas and then will post from Hefei later in the week as opportunity permits. We will be staying at the local "baby hotel" the Novotel in Hefei so I am hopeful to have internet access there, but can make no promises until I get there and try it out :)
posted by Emily's Parents at 8:50 PM
3 Comments:
I am so happy to hear that little Emily brought two of you even closer to each other. I admire your love and understanding towards each other, it is hard to find our days a couple that is so much in love and devoted one to another. I just want to thank you for sharing all the excitement that is going on in your life with all of us. See you when you come back home. Elena
Wishing the 3 of you a wonderful trip to Hefei and safe trip home !.
KevinP.
Cutie Patootie! She is gonna be so spoiled with attention when you bring her into the office on Monday..... :) HINT!
We've very proud of our Mama Ji and Papa Williams.
-Kim
Post a Comment
<< Home