Our Journey to Allison

100 Days of Summer

2009-06-14T21:55:00.003-07:00

Summer vacation is finally here, Nick is very excited about it. We put together a list of 100 things to do. Some of these things we have already done. Nick is looking forward to it and even suggested some them plus extras. Hoepfully we will be able to complete the list before the end of summer.

100 THINGS TO DO THIS SUMMER

1. GO TO OAKS PARK
2. NICK MAKE A PHOTO ALBUM
3. GO TO BEACH HOUSE
4. GO TO SPRAY PARK
5. GO TO REGAL FREE SUMMER MOVIES
6. SWIM LESSONS
7. BARTON PARK
8. DECORATE FRONT YARD FOR THE 4TH OF JULY
9. NICK READ 100 BOOKS
10. DAY OUT WITH THOMAS
11. SOCCER CAMP
12. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
13. WATER BALLOON FIGHT
14. CELEBRATE NICK AND ALLISONS GOTCHA DAYS
15. GO TO THE ZOO
16. OMSI
17. GO TO LIBRARY
18. GO TO DRIVE IN
19. TANNER CREEK PARK
20. GO TO THE MOVIE IN THE PARK
21. CHATAKWA PARADE
22. PLAY WITH CHALK
23. READ TO DOG AT LIBRARY
24. HAVE A MAGIC SHOW
25. GO TO ROSE GARDEN
26. GO TO CONCERT IN THE PARK
27. HAVE ICECREAM FOR DINNER
28. ENCHANTED FOREST
29. HAVE A FIRE IN THE BACKYARD
30. HAVE SMORES
31. HAVE A PICNIC DINNER AT THE PARK
32. GO TO CHUCK E CHEESE
33. GO TO BULLWINKLES
34. TIE DYE A T-SHIRT
35. HAVE ICE CREAM SUNDAES AT THE PARK
36. GO TO FIELD DAY AT THE PARK
37. RIDE THE ZOO TRAIN
38. SNOW CONES AT THE PARK
39. WATERMELLON AT THE PARK
40. GO TO PENNY CARNIVAL
41. HAVE A POPSICLE AT THE PARK
42. HAVE ROOTBEER FLOATS AT THE PARK
43. GO TO MAGIC SHOW
44. HAVE A MESSY ART DAY
45. BUILD A SAND CASTLE
46. GO TO FISH AQUARIUM
47. EAT WATERMELLON
48. HAVE DINNER OUTSIDE
49. GROW A GARDEN
50. GO TO FAIR
51. PICK BLUEBERRIES
52. GO TO FARMERS MARKET
53. GET FACE PAINTED
54. HAVE A WATER GUN FIGHT
55. PLAY ON SLIP N SLIDE
56. LEARN TO RIDE A BIKE
57. PLAY WITH PLAYDOH
58. LOOK FOR BUGS
59. STAY UP LATE
60 SLEEP OUTSIDE
61. GO TO WASHINGTON PARK PLAYGROUND
62. PLAY IN THE OCEAN
63. SELL LEMONAID
64. HAVE ROOTBEER FLOATS
65. MAKE HOME MADE ICECREAM
66. GO SWIMMING AT AUNTIE JENS
67. LOOK AT THE STARS
68. WATCH FIREWORKS
69. BUY ICECREAM FROM THE ICECREAM MAN
70. PLAY IN A JUMPY HOUSE
71. GO TO WOODBURN OUTLET MALL
72. GO WIL SONVILLE WATER PARK
73. RIDE ON OREGON CITY TROLLY
74. HAVE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
75. GO TO MULTNOMAH FALLS
76. MOLLALLA TRAIN PARK
77. RHODODENREN GARDEN
78. FAMILY GAME NIGHT
79. GO TO BEACH FOR THE DAY
80. GO TO SONIC FOR DINNER
81. DOZER DAYS
82. PIANO LESSONS
83. AKIDO
84. GO FISHING
85. HAVE FAMILY AND FRIENDS OVER FOR BBQ
86. HAVE PROFESIONAL PICTURES TAKEN
87. NOAHS QUEST
88. SATURDAY MARKET
89. PLAY A GAME OF KICKBALL
90. HOLT PICNIC
91. BUY A BOUQUET OF FLOWERS
92. PAINT ALLISONS FINGERNAILS AND TOENAILS
93. PLAY WITH A CARDBOARD BOX
94. GO TO HOLT PLAYGROUP
95. MAKE GUMMY BUGS
96. ERRUPT A VOLCANO
97. GO TO A CRUISE IN
98. GO TO BEN BIRTHDAY
99. FEED THE DUCKS
100. HAVE A PLAYDATE WITH MEGAN

Memorial Day

2009-06-14T21:49:00.002-07:00

We had a really good time over Memorial Day weekend. We did smore's in the back yard and went to the beach. We weren't sure what Allison was going to think of the beach. She did not want to put her feet in the sand. Towards the end of the day she finally would put her toes in the sand at the edge of the blanket.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Dozer Days

2009-06-14T21:35:00.003-07:00

We took Nick and Allison to Dozer Days which is a really cool event where they let kids drive the diggers and bulldozers. We even got to ride in the back of an earth mover. Nick had a lot of fun. Allison didn't get to drive anything but enjoyed watching it and waited in line very patiently. It was a great event for kids and not as hot as last year but it was more crowded.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Summer 2009

2009-05-23T21:53:00.009-07:00

Well it has been a while since I updated the blog. I am hoping this summer I will be able to keep up with it a little bit more. Scott Graduated from Warner Pacific Collage in May. We are very happy to have him around the house more.
Nick will be graduating from Kindergarten in June. He has grown up so much this last year. He still loves to play with his hot wheels and his reading and writing have improved so much this year Scott says his writing is better than his. He is taking piano lessons and will soon be getting his yellow belt in Akido. We are both really proud of him.
Allison has changed so much this last year. She has quite the personalty and has broughten so much joy to our family. She is definatly a 2 year old. She is speaking so many words and can communicate what she wants very well. Her favorite things to do our to sing and dance and Barney. She will have been home for a year in July. This last year has flown by.

Here are some recent pictures of the kids.

Allsion in her Stroller

2008-08-29T22:31:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of allison cruising a around in her stroller.

Nick's Summer Part Two

2008-08-29T22:19:00.003-07:00

Nick really did do a lot this summer.

Nick's Summer

2008-08-29T21:55:00.005-07:00

Nick was very busy this summer. He played soccer, went to parks. These are photos of some of the things that he did this summer.

Nick and Allison

2008-08-29T21:49:00.003-07:00

Nick was a little bit nervous about meeting her and is trying to figure out the best way to play with her. He wants help as much as he can.

We are so glad to be back home with the both of them.

18 Month Party/Baby Shower

2008-08-14T22:25:00.005-07:00

Angela's sister-in-law Becky through her a Baby Shower on Allison's 18 month birthday. Allison just loves to have all the attention and be around people. She just keeps an eye on Mom or Dad.

Funny Faces

2008-08-14T22:20:00.003-07:00

More of Allison's personality comes out everyday and she seems to think she is very funny.

Welcome Home Party

2008-08-14T22:15:00.002-07:00

We had a short Welcome Home Party for Allison at Scott's Parent's house. It was the first chance for several people to meet her. She loved all of the attention, but always made sure that Mom and Dad were in sight.

Car Ride Home

2008-08-14T21:59:00.005-07:00

Allison rode in her Carseat for the first, and didn't seem to mind at all. Nick was happy to have someone riding in the backseat with him.

Arrival Home

2008-08-14T21:42:00.006-07:00

We were greeted my several family members at the airport. It was great to see all of those familiar faces. We were suprised at how well Allison did meeting everyone. We let everyone know that Allison might not them hold her, boy were we wrong. I put her down and the first thing she did was crawl over to Angela's sister.

It was cloudy and cool when we landed and that felt so good, after all of the humidity in China.

Airplane ride Home

2008-08-14T21:35:00.004-07:00

Sorry about not updating blog recently, but we have been very busy the first month back. Anyway Allison did great on the plane ride considering it was 14 hours of flying. Here are some pictures of us on the plane.

We're Home

2008-07-19T16:21:00.002-07:00

Well we left China on time, but almost missed our flight out of Tokyo. By the time we got through security and got to our gate, they were calling for final boarding. They closed the doors about 10 minutes after we sat down.

Allison did awesome on the flights. However, Allison always decided it was time for her bottle right when we took off or were landing on the runway. When it is bottle time, she definitely lets you know.

Red Couch

2008-07-15T05:54:00.003-07:00

It is a tradition with families adopting from China to have all of the children sit on the Red Couch at the White Swan Hotel. The tradition began because adoptive families always stayed at the White Swan. This was due to the location of the US Consulate being next door. However the US Consulate has moved downtown, but the tradition of staying at the White Swan continues.

There were fourteen families in our group so there was a lot of crying and laughing trying to get fourteen babies and toddlers to look in the same direction. A group photo of all of the families was also taken in front of the waterfall inside the hotel.

Six Banyan Buddhist Temple

2008-07-15T05:40:00.004-07:00

Today we went to a Buddhist Temple. There was a Pagoda that looked like Nine stories on the outside but actually had seventeen inside. Believe it or not Scott actually climbed it. There was a Buddhist ceremonial service while we were there. There were eight matching tubs of fish. each tub contained fish at different levels of maturity. The fish played into the ceremony some how. The head priest went around and sprinkled something in each tub during the service.

Before we left all of the babies were able to receive a blessing from one of the monks. It was really interesting because the ancient temple was in the middle of the city with beggars sitting outside of it.

River Cruise

2008-07-14T07:32:00.005-07:00

Tonight the group went on a river cruise. Our agency bought Pappa John's pizza for everyone on the cruise. It was a really nice experience to see Guangzhou from the river. Allison did really well on it considering her parents forgot her Cheerios.

Medical Exam's

2008-07-14T07:02:00.002-07:00

Today was Allison's medical exam. We went to a building on the island to have it done. All the babies were seen at one time and so it was kind of crazy. First she was weighed and measured and she weighs 18.9 lbs and I can't remember how long she was. Next they checked over her body and heart. They had 2 doctors listen to her heart and nobody mentioned anything bad it must be all of the cheerios she is eating and so we assume the surgery was succesful and will have her looked at again when we get home. Next we had her ears nose and throat looked at which she did not like at all. A lot of the babies have been or are sick but so far she has not caught anything. We feel that Allison is a very healthy little girl who was just waiting to become part of our family. She does have quite the stubburn streak in her and will definatly let us know if she is not happy or something is wrong.

Gotta Love those Cherrios

2008-07-14T06:57:00.004-07:00

Allison's favorite food is cheerios, if all other food fails we can always fall back on Cheerios.

More Pictures of Allison Playing

2008-07-14T06:50:00.004-07:00

Since yesterday was a free day, I thought I would add some more pictures of Allison playing.

At the Group Barbecue Dinner

2008-07-14T06:42:00.002-07:00

Last night the thirteen families with children from the Guangdong Province. The food was very good and it was at an outdoor restaurant along the river. Drinks were a good deal only $10.00 for all the beer and soda you wanted.

Allison's first Spaghetti

2008-07-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

We found an Italian resturant on the island today. It was very good. Allison ate her first bowls of Spaghetti.

End of the Safari Day

2008-07-12T07:02:00.005-07:00

Allison was wore out after a long hot day at the Safari Park.

Panda Bears

2008-07-12T06:54:00.004-07:00

Here are some pictures of the Panda Bear exhibt. They must of have been young panada's becasue they were not as large as I thought they would be.

Safari Park

2008-07-12T06:21:00.005-07:00

Today we went to the Safari Park in Guangzhou and it was very hot and humid. It is a private zoo. It had two sections to it. One where you drove through it and saw the animals. there is a picture of the train we rode through this part. Inside this part were your standard zoo animals, Lions, Tigers, Bears, Deer, Giraffes, and Zebras.

Afterwards we did the part where you walked through it. We were able to see baby white tigers, baby bears, and other baby animals. For 30 Yuan you could have your picture taken feeding the baby white tiger. We also got to see Koala Bears. The best part is that the Panda Bears from the earthquake region were brought down to this zoo for safe keeping. This exhibit opened two days ago to the public.

Allison's Eating

2008-07-11T05:51:00.003-07:00

Since Monday all we could get Allison to eat is Cheerios and her bottles. Last night she ate some mash potatos and then at dinner tonight she ate two bowls of noodles. Yeah.

Jade Market

2008-07-11T05:47:00.003-07:00

All of the booths that you see are selling Jade. We took this picture from the main Jade Market building which is two stories. It totals about two city blocks I couldn't take pictures of the Pearl Market, but it is seven stories of little stalls selling pearls.

Traumatic Night

2008-07-11T05:40:00.001-07:00

Last night Allison decided it was time to poop, but she was unable to since she had held it since Monday. We cried for an hour before the suppository helped to relieve the pain. Unfortunately no poop. So this morning we gave her an enema. Lets just say it was an experience. But all is well in the end.

Warming Up

2008-07-10T21:25:00.004-07:00

Allison is warming up more everyday and is really starting to show some personality.

Chinese Passport

2008-07-09T20:03:00.003-07:00

Today we went to the Chinese version of Wal-mart. Talk about an experience. We then went to a goverment office and Allison had her photo taken for her Chinese Passport. Now we wait until Monday to start the US paperwork.

After that crazy day we took a break at Starbucks.

Finalization

2008-07-08T21:50:00.004-07:00

Today July 8th we finalized Allison's adoption. Hurray Hurray!!! All that is left is to get her Chinese Passport and US Visa.

Gotcha Day July 7th

2008-07-07T22:46:00.008-07:00

Well today was the day and it was an experience we will never forget. There 24 families between all of the agencies receiving their children at the same time. We were able to see Allison come into the building and peaking through the curtain. We could see how attached Allison ws to her caretakers. She has bonded very well with Angela, but Dad can hold her too.

Allison

2008-07-06T02:57:00.004-07:00

Today was the Holt orientation and we received updated pictures of Allison. Tomorrow at 2:00 we go to the local Civl Affairs office and pick her up.

Local Cuisine

2008-07-06T02:50:00.002-07:00

We at lunch at a local Cantonese resteraunt today. Here are some of the different foods available for purchase. The options were silk worms, water beetles, snake, frog and eels to name a few.

White Swan

2008-07-06T02:42:00.005-07:00

Here are some pictures from the hotel we are staying at and the view from our room.

For Jon

2008-07-05T23:36:00.008-07:00

Jon, this post is for you. We took pictures of some of the local plant life for you and ate a fresh chicken at the village restaurant. the pictures are of the plants, chickens and an old chinese chicken coop.

Kaiping Day One

2008-07-05T23:31:00.008-07:00

Today we went a tour provided by Lotus Tours to a village called Kai ping. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Guangzhou. We toured several homes that were built in the 1920's. The homes were built as watch towers to protect the villages from bandits. We were able to have lunch at a small restaurant in the village and taste some of the local dishes. It was very delicious. Afterward we toured a classic chinese garden that was beautiful.

We left at 9:00 AM and retured at 7:30 it was an exhausting trip, but well worth it.

Airport

2008-07-05T16:47:00.007-07:00

Well we go the airport at 11:30 and the flight left right on time. We were luckky enough to have an entire row to ourselves all the way from Portland to Guangzhou. Here are some pictures of waiting and on the plane.

Happy Fourth of July

2008-07-03T08:49:00.003-07:00

Happy Fourth of July from China. We made it and apparently you can not take peanut butter on the plane.

Last Pictue as a family of Three

2008-07-03T08:45:00.003-07:00

This is our last pose and post before leaving for China. Our next family picture will be with four.

Packed and Ready to Go

2008-07-03T08:39:00.006-07:00

Well we did it, we are all packed and waiting to head to the airport this morning. Can you beleive how much stuff we had to take with us.

Itinerary

2008-07-02T22:16:00.002-07:00

July 4th Arrive in China
July 5th Tour
July 6th Orientation
July 7th GOTCHA DAY
July 8th Civil Affairs Office
July 16th Oath Taking Cerimony
July 17th Head for Home

Coincidences

2008-07-02T21:56:00.004-07:00

When we adopted our son from Korea in 2004 our Gotcha Day was July 7th. We couldn't believe it when we looked at our Itinerary and saw that our Gotcha Day with Allison was also going t0 be on July 7th.

It was such a wonderful thing to happen, so July 7th will always be a special day for our family.

Letter of Authority

2008-05-11T09:32:00.003-07:00

We received our Letter of Authority on May 1st and are anxiously waiting for Travel Approval. We are hoping to travel in the middle of June.

We have a Girl!!!!

2008-04-22T18:27:00.005-07:00

On April 15th, 2008 at 1:40 PM we received a call from our Agency.

Our Daughters name is An Ai, which means peace and love. she was born on February 2, 2007 and is currently 14 months old. She is from Shantou City in the Guandong Province.

Her American name will be Allison Anai. We are ecstatic and cannot wait until we can travel.

9/11/06 DTC 1 month

2006-09-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

Happy 1 month DTC. This mean that our paper work has been in China for 1 month. We have not been given a LID (log in date) yet. Other people's who dossier went to China the same time as our have a LID of 9/4/06. When we called the agency to find out if they had heard anything they said that for some reason it takes longer for them to get the dates than other agency but our's should be the same date. I will post when I know for sure but that is what I am thinking it will be. What this means by going by what the timeline is right now is that in 13-14 months from 9/4/06 we will receive our referal. That means instead of being in China for our 10 year anniversary we might be getting our referal instead. I pray that the timeline will change there are rumors that it may go up to 18 months and rumors that it will get shorter nobody really knows. I haven't done anything to get the nursery ready yet I think I will wait until after the first of the year to start on it. I do have a theme picked out and have boughten bedding that I found for $25.oo and all of the assesories (window valances, lamp shade, pillows, diaper stacker) were only $5.00 each I couldn't beat this deal and so even though I wanted to do the room in ladybugs I am going to do a day in the park type theme. I think it will turn out cute I just need to get motivated to do it. I have a lot of time. Nicholas started preschool today. I was worried how he would do but he did great. I will have to post pictures when I get them developed. He is going twice a week for two hours and so I will have a few hours to myself every week. I am not sure if I am ready for that I will miss him. I stayed with him today and probably will again on Wednesday, and after that I think he will be ready to go solo. He has a lot of friends he all ready knew in his class.

2006-09-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

September 4th

Happy Labor Day we had a very quite weekend. We tried to get some needed projects done around the house and put out our fall decorations Nicholas says that there are Pumpkins and Scarecrows everywhere. I have joined a yahoo group of people who have a DTC of August that will be traveling to China around the same time as us. Someone in the group posted about coming up with 10 ways to stay positive during the wait. So here is my Top 10 List.
TOP 10 LIST OF WAYS TO STAY POSITIVE DURING OUR WAIT FOR ALLISON

1. Start working on decorating Allison's bedroom.

2. Create a lifebook for Nicholas. Finish as much scrapbooking as I can for him.

3. Lose 30 pounds.

4. Participate in DTC/LID group activities. I think I am going to become addicted to these groups during the wait.

5. Enjoy every minute I have being a mother of 1 child. He is growing up so fast.

6. Go shopping for girl clothes.

7. Buy a digital camera and learn how to use it.

8. Learn more about the Chinese Culture.

9. Listen to music.

10. Start dreaming about our trip to China.

I just had to add one more cute picture of Nicholas that was taken before we went to the County Fair.

Ladybug Sighting

2006-08-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

August 24th

I saw a lady bug this morning. We are prediting that our LID will be August 24th. We will have to wait in see. I am going to add some fun summer pictures that were taken of Nicholas this summer.

Day at the zoo

Baseball Game

Day out with Thomas

Day out with Thomas

4th of July 2006

Nicholas Gotcha Day Party

Learning to ride a bike.

Fun at the beach

Fun at the Beach

Fun at the Beach

Fun at the beach

We have had such a fun summer. He has grown up so much. It's looking like we may get to spend one more summer being a family of 3 before his sister comes home. He told me today that Allie is his best friend we will have to see what he thinks of her when she comes home.

DOSSIER GOES TO CHINA

2006-08-14T23:02:00.000-07:00

On August 11th our dossier went to China. To celebrate we had Nicholas let Lady bugs go in the front yard. Lady bugs represent good fortune and health and it is a symbol of hope for those waiting for there babies. It looks like the wait time is getting longer and so we are in for a very long wait. Nicholas is very into bugs right now and he enjoyed it a lot. We went out to dinner at a nice Chinese food restaurant and had a delicious meal. We went to a book store afterwards and bought the book I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose Lewis. It is a story about a mother who goes over to China to pick up her daughter. I have been trying to clean out Allison's room so I can start decorating it for her.

Pictures we took the day our Dossier went over to china.

Releasing Ladybugs

Learning to use Chop Sticks at a Chinese Resturant.