Thursday, September 07, 2006

Ready to go with my bows and shoes...

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments. They are very inspiring.

We are having difficulty posting pictures but the link seemed to work fine so we will continue to post links and hope that by the time we get to Guangzhou, we can post them again. I'm a day behind on events but I'm still glad to be able to document them as it is the only journal I will have from this amazing experience.

Yesterday the weather was cold and rainy and our trip to a beautiful park and a zoo complete with Pandas was cancelled. We went to a museum instead. Sean took great pics which we will post later. However the kids were restless, they needed a nap and would not fall asleep in their strollers. I opted to get out of the next trip to a park by the yellow river so that I can get Kylie to lie down for a nap. She is starting to get a runny nose and I didn't want to keep her out. Sean however went on the trip and came back with some great pics despite the weather. He also scored big on the shopping and came back with wonderful gifts for us.

Today we are scheduled to go to a village to visit a family. I believe other Wuwei families have taken this similar trip and based on their pictures, I'm really excited to go. I realized I haven't described Langzhou. When we arrived from the airport, the smog was really thick and visibility was not that great. The bus ride was an hour long and all I saw was landscaped that look like a desert and huge mountains. My first thought as a paranoid mom to be was please don't let there be a typhoon, we can seriously get buried by a mudslide! Anyway, I'm not doing it much justice as the scenery really is quite breathtaking especially when you consider that we live in FL where the scenerey is flat. Once we got into town it looked quite different. It is definitely a busy area as most of China is with its large population. My understanding is that it is not a 'touristy' area and there are little if any western type amenities. So far all of our meals have been covered and arranged before hand by the agency so we haven't seen too many off the charts fear factor style food.

In the past two days our princess has gotten a bit 'clingy'. I'm not complaining but we are beginning to wonder if she is grieving a bit. It breaks my heart when she cries. Whenever we enter our hotel room, she starts crying. We discovered that the other families are experiencing the same thing some have started to leave their doors open. We have not tried this yet. Sean literally put one foot into our room and she started crying and as soon as he took his foot back out into the lobby she stopped. We think she may also be associating the room with her diaper changes. For the most part she has been a happy baby as you can gather from the pictures. Last night we skipped dinner with the group and ate at the hotel restaurant. Kylie was happy and ate Chinese spaghetti, congee, bread she chatted, we walked around the hotel a little and as soon as we came back to the hotel room, she cried. I had to rock her to sleep:-( I welcome any comments from anyone who may have experienced something similar and appreciate any advice. It could be that we just have to let it run it's course. Maybe she'll do alot better at the White Swan. I'm hoping anyway.

Here's a link with Kylie wearing a cute red t-shirt complete with a red bow which I placed on her head while she was sleeping, and her cute tennis shoes and bracelet. She was all the rage that day. It was so cute because at first she was not quite sure how to walk with these shoes on her feet. By the way, all of the children are doing very well, are very happy and adjusting nicely which is quite different from Gotcha day. They are all absolutely beautiful. I have not posted pictures of the other families because I keep forgetting to ask for permission. I know there are family members of people that we are traveling with following this blog. As soon as I get the ok, I will post them so that you can all see how absolutely beautiful the girls are for yourself. Sean has been capturing alot of candid shots.

That's all for now. Thanks for following our journey.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Sean,Judy,and Kylie
I am so glad things are going well. Kylie is adjusting to what she has not yet known. Ellie had a fear of other people taking her (other than Rossy) as did other children. They have to adjust to the change as settled as they seem there are little moments of insecurity. Ellie would sit on the floor directly in front of me and every few minutes she would turn around quickly and place a hand on my leg. Just to make sure I have not left her. This went on for some months. You might consider playing a game like hide and seek to get her to walk into the hotel room on her own instead of holding her as you walk in. Maybe Sean could walk in and take a favorite toy to (with great deliberation in the sight of Kylie and with a big smile on his face) hide a toy beneath a pillow and say, "Where is it?" She might get a giggle and walk in. Or lay a trail of her favorite breakfast cereal on the floor to lure her in! Just an idea! Love love love! The Zanegood's

Anonymous said...

From Sharon&Olivier,
Guys, we are so happy for the three of you, can`t wait next week till you get home. Watching the house so don`t worry.
Keep adding pictures of Kylie.

Life with JJ, Starr and Spice said...

Judy:

We had a similar reaction from Katie Starr. I was told that it is quite common for the child to associate the pain and grief of leaving all that that they have known with that first hotel room. The suggestions mentioned by the first poster sounded great. Time and geographic change to Guangzhou will ease things up a bit I am sure.

Lori

Anonymous said...

Hello Durney Family!
Greetings from your neighbors in Diamond Cove. We finally found the address for the blog. Great Stuff!

Congratulations and best of luck on your journey with Kylie.

John, Vivi, Olivia and Isabella

cmneli said...

My heart goes out to the grieving process your little one is going through. I even tried to "google" for suggestions - found a few links to other bloggers adopting in China! =) I did read one blog that said she decided to put the baby in the crib w/o rocking the baby and that seemed to help b/c the babies arent used to being rocked - I read the suggestion made by the Zanegoods and it sounds great - hang in there and give it time.

All my best! Neli =)

The Film Family said...

Sean and Judy,
Congratulations on your new baby girl. Kylie is beautiful!! I hope you're enjoying the trip. I certainly wish I could be there. Please give Emily a squeeze from me and her big sister:)
Take Care,
Kristen Film

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to see more pictures! I love your blog and once again want to tell you it is much appreciated for us waiting families. Hope you can post group photos as our friends Karyn and Alex are traveling with you and we are anxious to meet Brooke! All the best to the group, hope the trip gets a little easier for everyone, you will all be home before you know it, hang in there! I have to tell you once again that your baby is adorable!

Stacy & John

Anonymous said...

The Durneys,

lots of love to all of you,Just
keep being there for her,she has
the most special loving parents
it will not take long for her to
feel safe and secure , were ever
she is with you.
all our love the Andrews
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lisa said...

Hmmmmm I wonder if we will be crossing paths... we fly to Beijing on Sunday!

Can't see any of the pictures but it sounds like things are going well... except the panda thing...

Anonymous said...

Judy/Sean/Kylie
Now that you are together, I pray God's blessings on each of you. It is so very interesting following your journey, I feel as if I'm there with you all! Kylie is beautiful and I look forward to seeing the pictures as you post them.
God Bless!
Adela Isabel

Anonymous said...

Hi Sean, Judy and Kylie. This is Corey Film's mother-in-law. Your daughter is beautiful and I am so glad you are enjoying the trip. I have been enjoying following your blog. My daughter has one for Emily, but it is so different from yours, as she is not there with you all. Just one more week and all of us at home get to meet our babies. Take care and enjoy your last 7 days.
Barb Hines

Anonymous said...

What wonderful pictures, You are both so very blessed, What a little doll, I see scrapbooking in your furture...... stay safe

Diane