Flight #1 done!

Well, we are here in Newark, killing time until we get on our gigantic plane that's sitting right outside.
This morning was a little interesting. David's alarm went off at TWO thirty. 2:30. Why he felt like we needed to get up that early, I'll never know. He did not, however, get up at that hour. I rolled over, listened to the thunder and smugly thought, "MY alarm goes off in another hour. I'll get up then." I was then rudely awakened at 3:50 by David telling me we needed to get up. I had indeed set my alarm, however, I had failed to actually turn it on. Whoops. We got up, bustled around (ha!) and left the house around 4:30 or so. We then drove through a DELUGE that you would not believe. It was raining SO hard. We got to Rege and Barb's, rearranged our seating plan and headed off to the airport. We checked in with plenty of time to spare, our flight left a little bit late and we got here about 20 minutes early. Nice. We found a Dunkin' Donuts, checked our email and we were good to go.
Our clothes are all shoved into 1 suitcase. I think David brought more clothes than me. I also realized I forgot my BATHING SUIT! Argh! I'm either going to buy one in China or wear a tank top and shorts in the pool. That will certainly cement anyone's opinion of Klassy Americans. My carryon bag weighs a TON. I do not know why it is so heavy but it's killing me already. Maybe it's the magazines and pajama pants.
I have some lovely pictures for you to enjoy now.

Louie says, "I'm SO glad we get to stay here alone! Look at all this food!" Just kidding. People are coming to check on the kitties.

At the airport, early early. I look really cool with my newspaper, other junk and travel guide. That sort of screams TOURIST. Oh well.

Buh-bye!

David took this for the NYC skyline but our plane is in that picture too.
They are calling people up to check in so I guess I should close. Oh yeah! The XC moms gave me a silver beaded bracelet with Maggie's name on it! I love it. David remembered to give it to me at 4:00 this morning. Next time I post, we'll be in Beijing!!!!!!!!!!

Packed...sorta

Well, I have successfully packed my stuff in 2 space bags and one giant ziploc bag. David can have the rest of the suitcase in which to shove all of his clothes. While today was technically the first day of my maternity leave, it was rather hectic. I went to the bank, went to the post office, went to Walgreens, came home and ate lunch, took Cousy to David's dad's, went to Kinko's to make copies of our dossier and a lot more paperwork and then met Luella and Krystil at school (because I couldn't stay away!). We went for ice cream and watched what I guess was Ernesto rolling in over Independence.

I cannot believe we will be flying towards China this time tomorrow. I have conveniently provided a clock for you so you can see what time it is there while we are gone. China is 12 hours ahead of us. We will meet Maggie on Monday afternoon so probably around 4am on Sunday, if you are awake, think of us!

I am going to make myself write on this each day and share what we have experienced and seen. I hated writing in my journal when I went to Europe but I made myself do it and now I'm so glad I did. David's journal from Australia was like, "Cold. Went running. Roommate snores. Can't wait to go home." Therefore, I will be doing the writing on this thing.

Ooh! Ooh! Dinner has arrived! Chick-fil-A! Last fast food in the USA til we return! See y'all soon!

Whoa. We're getting close.

We received our passports back from AWAA via FedEx on Saturday. We had to send them off to get visas stamped in them so we can enter China. We look like such the world travelers with our stamps from Australia, Paris and the Chunnel in England in our passports. And now visas from China. We got our notice of coming to China with Maggie's little mug shot on it too. So cute!

David and I went shopping today for some last minute stuff at BJ's and Walmart. We still need some cables for our video camera but otherwise, I think we're about set. The carseat is in my car, jammed in as tightly as we could get it. We decided to go ahead and have Maggie sit rearfacing even though she will be a week from her first birthday when we get home. It won't hurt her to sit backwards. I bet she won't weigh 20 pounds when we meet her either. The ride home from the airport will probably be the first time she's ever ridden in a carseat. That ought to be an interesting drive. We're starting to pile stuff up around the house, mostly in Maggie's room, because we keep that door shut. SOME cat thinks the crib is an excellent place to nap.

There's so much still to do and we only have 3 days left until we get up super early and take off halfway around the world. I can't believe we're so close.

Less than a week to go!!!

We received our itinerary last night through email. Here's the run-down of our days in China.

Next Thursday, August 31, after we get up at the ungodly hour of around 3:30, our flight leaves for Newark at 7:15 or something. I can't find our flight information at the moment. Then we have a layover in Newark and leave for Beijing at 12:30, I think. We land in Beijing on Friday at 1:45 in the afternoon. We will be staying at the Radisson hotel in Beijing.
beijing.radissonsas.com if you want to check it out. I guess we will mess around that afternoon, go out for dinner, settle in and try to STAY AWAKE as long as possible!!!

Saturday, September 2-- Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Summer Palace--woo hoo! Lunch and dinner are included that day.
Sunday, September 3--Church service and the Great Wall!! (major woo hoo!!! I cannot wait for this) Lunch and Beijing Duck dinner are included that day. I don't know if I've ever had duck so I'm looking forward to that.
Monday, September 4--Fly to Guangzhou that morning. MEET MAGGIE that afternoon!!!!! (super major woo hoo!!!)
Tuesday, September 5--Civil Affairs Appointment. This is the day we adopt Maggie in China.
Wednesday, September 6-Saturday, September 9--paperwork and sightseeing.
Sunday, September 10--fill out Consulate forms
Monday, September 11--Maggie's medical exam
Tuesday, September 12-Wednesday, September 13--sightseeing and shopping. Guess we're going to be REALLY familiar with Guangzhou at this point!
Thursday, September 14--Consulate Appointment 9am. This is when Maggie will be sworn in as an American citizen and will be one when we touch down on US soil.
Friday, September 15--Pick up Maggie's visa at 4:00 pm
Saturday, September 16--Flight to Hong Kong. We will be spending the night in Hong Kong, partly because I am not a fan of rushing around and we would majorly be rushing to meet the flight to the US. Also, we wanted to do a little more sightseeing because we think we are super-travelers and it will be no big deal with an almost 1 year old. heh.
Sunday, September 17--Flight out of HK at 10:25 am
Arrive in Newark at 2:05 pm
Leave Newark at 6:10 pm
Arrive in Charlotte at 8:13 pm (I found our flight information)
8:14--Collapse

China Trip Journal

This is where we will post journals, pictures and hopefully, video, if we can figure it out, while we are in China. We will be able to read comments and you can email either of us.
Allison--allisonlc@aol.com
David--dsmalady@excite.com

We are so glad you decided to follow along with us!

Growth report for Maggie (originally posted on 7.13.06)

When we received Maggie's referral, there was a 2 page bio of her included (all in Chinese, of course). We were given the option to get it translated so we had that done and received it through email last week. It gives us some more background information about her and some idea of her personality. She sounds so sweet! These are the parts that I really liked:

At one month, she weighed 7.94 pounds and was 20.9 inches long. She was a peanut!

Here's what it said about her physical and intellectual developments:

Lian Si Qi's physical and intellectual developments are normal. At 1 month she loved touching objects with soft materials. When her nanny held her up, she liked to snuggle with her nanny. (awwww!) At 2 months she could raise her head lying on her stomach. She would be surprised if she heard unfamiliar voices. If she heard loud voices she would be so scared that she would cry. (that makes me want to go get her RIGHT NOW!) She njoyed listening to gentle music or songs. At 3 months she could support her body with her arms when she was lying on her stomach. When you prepared to feed her, she would start sucking. Her curiosity and reaction to the outside world increased continuously. She started to talk to you with babbling. At 4 months she could change from lying on back to lying on side. She often moved her eyes following people walking back and forth. She could giggle and pronunce "ah" "yi" sounds. At 5 months she could sit steadily with complete support. If you called her name, she would turn her head toward your voice. She smiled to familiar people. Now she is 6 months old. She rolls freely. She can sit straightly with support. When she is lying on stamch she really wants to crawl forward. But since her belly can't be raised high enough (hee!), her crawling is limited. When she is alone she can pronounce simple sounds like "ma," and "da" loudly.

Since her enrollment at the SWI, she hasn't had any serious diseases. She has had fevers and a stuffy or runny nose. Sometimes she had digestive problems. (ahh, just like mommy!) She has had some vaccinations.

Oh, I cannot wait to go to China and get this sweet baby!!!!!!! I have some pictures to put on here but I only have the video camera/digital camera combo and I don't know how to hook it up to the computer. Oh well, maybe next time. I fell asleep from about 5-7:15 tonight. That was unwise. Good thing I have a whole bunch of library books to keep me company tonight.

HERE SHE IS!!!!!!!! (originally posted 6.27.06)

We are proud to introduce Margaret Christina SiQi.

Here's the info we received with her referral: No teeth, is a deep sleeper (woo hoo!!!), holds her head up while lying on stomach, grasps toy near hand, rolls from supine to prone position by herself. She can locate the direction of a sound or voice, visually follows moving toys and holds blocks in each hand at the same time. She laughs aloud, knows her name and turns when called and responds to the facial expression of adults.
She is active, fond of listening to music and playing games and is quick in reaction. She has a ready smile and is closest to her caretaker.

We think she is beautiful and cannot wait to go get her!!!!!

We have a daughter!!!!!!!!! (originally posted 6.26.06)

No pictures yet but here's the info that we have! Of course, we got the call when we were on the beach, and where was I? IN THE OCEAN. I missed the referral call!!! Thank goodness David was there!

Lian Si Qi is her name (Lian is her surname) pronounced Leian, Si Chi
She is 9 months old, birthday 9-24-05. She is in the Guangdong province at Lianjiang SWI. In March, she weighed 6 kg (about 13 pounds) and was 62.5 cm tall. She has been in the SWI all of her life and has a headful of hair! Our family coordinator said that we would probably travel at the end of August.

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!! Pictures tomorrow!