Archive for December, 2007
Although we didn’t have kid photos to post this year, we do still have some amazingly cute holiday pictures. They have Ava’s presents in the background, though – so that should count for something, right?
And I know I’m biased, but I really do think our dog pics are way cuter than some of the kid ones we’ve seen.
Happy New Year to everyone! To say we’re looking forward to 2008 would be, oh – maybe just a teeny bit of an understatement.
So I called our agency today to inquire about our in country travel itinerary (which they still don’t have, by the way) because J needs to provide an itinerary to his security officer at work. Since they’ve obviously had a long, freakin’ time to work on this it didn’t seem an unreasonable request since we’re leaving in 17(!) days.
I called the main office since my social worker is on holiday this week and ended up talking to some gal who really, really wanted to get me off the phone as quickly as possible. However I wasn’t hanging up ’til she gave me something since J needed this info today. I finally managed to pull the names of the hotels we’re staying at out of her.
Apparently their idea of a 5 star hotel differs dramatically from mine since we’re flying halfway around the world to stay at a (you won’t believe this) Days Inn. A Days Inn, people. A hotel chain I wouldn’t even remotely consider staying at in the US but one that I will be forced to patronize for 3 nights in Beijing. And did I mention it’s not located remotely close to ANYthing?
I less-than-gracefully declined their offer to assist with our in country arrangements for our arrival 3 days earlier than the rest of our group and instead made my own hotel arrangements for our personal time in Beijing at a real 5 star hotel. We’ll be spending 3 nights at the Beijing Grand Hyatt located only a few blocks from Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. They will also be picking us up from the airport when we arrive and I’ll likely use them to book a private tour out to the Great Wall at Mutianyu.
Definitely a little pricier (but not that much) than the Days Inn, but I think it will be money well spent for our last big hurrah (the Days Inn interlude notwithstanding) before we finally become parents.
And y’all – check out the pool in this place. I don’t even own a swimsuit but you can bet I’m buying one before I leave.
And one other thing that J is pretty happy about? There’s an Italian restaurant onsite called Da Giorgio – with a real Italian chef running the place. We’re all about trying new foods but it’s nice to know there’s some comfort food close if we need it.
I can’t believe we’re actually going to be in Beijing in less than 3 weeks. Oh my gosh – this is getting exciting!
My mom always says if you can’t say anything nice then don’t say anything at all. I’ve had a hard time the last few days coming up with anything nice so I decided it was best to stay quiet.
In all seriousness, it’s been a pleasant enough couple of days. We went to our friends’ house on Christmas Eve to eat, drink, and hang out and then to our neighbors’ house tonight to do the same. We got gifts – some nice and some not so nice. We gave gifts – some nice and some probably not so nice, as well. The company was good, although we missed our families of course.
It was bittersweet to be with people this year. Naturally they want to talk about Ava, but I found it difficult to do so without tearing up over the unfairness of not having her here or us being there. It was easier and harder being around babies because of this. Easier because holding and playing with babies is always fun, but harder because it really drives home exactly what we’re missing.
We have tons of gifts here for Ava and we weren’t really sure what to do with them initially. J and I came to a unanimous decision that she would have her Christmas when we get back. We’ve saved the mountain of gifts for her to open (well, at least eat the paper and play with the boxes) when we get home.
I do hope everyone had a Merry Christmas even though ours kind of sucked. I can guarantee a much more joyful celebration for New Years as we can start looking forward to getting our girl.
P.S. Just one question though. Why does EVERYONE feel the need to tell us how much our life is going to change when we get her? People, we know this already. Trust us – we’ve done 12 years of the yuppie-DINK lifestyle. We’re ready for and looking forward to the change that’s coming our way.
Conversation #1
The Scene: J and I driving around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights.
A: Look, they have a Grinch outside. We need one of those this year.
J: No need to buy one. You can just stand in front of the house instead.
Conversation #2
The Scene: A is standing in line at the customer service desk at Wal-M*rt, waiting to return a couple of things. Some guy starts chatting at her even though she looks distinctly cranky and unfriendly after shopping for last minute gifts this morning.
Old guy: I can’t believe I’m here to return a .97 cent Matchbox car. Blah, blah, blah.
A: Yeah, lines are long. Traffic sucks. The holidays aren’t what they used to be. Blah, blah. blah.
Old guy: I bet this toy was made in China. Those damn Chinese are trying to take over the world. I know they’re trying to infiltrate the US. Everything that comes from there is inferior quality.
A: My daughter is Chinese.
That pretty much ended the conversation. He looked distinctly uncomfortable and quite embarrassed so maybe it will make him think before speaking next time. And, dude, exactly why are you shopping at W*l-Mart if you don’t want to buy things made in China?
They really do grow fast, don’t they?
We got updated info on Ava today. She now weighs 16 pounds and is 27 inches long. She’s 3 pounds heavier and 3 inches taller since September. Ava, at 8 months and 3 weeks old, is the exact same size as my 7 month old goddaughter.
I’m glad we got the info, but I’m worrying. She’s so tiny and I just want to get hold of her so we can fatten her up just a little bit.
And no new pictures of course. My agency doesn’t do that for non special needs kids. I wish I could say that I was surprised that they couldn’t when other agencies can – but almost nothing they do anymore surprises me. My expectations have been duly lowered.