Thursday, November 20, 2008

We're Home!

It took about 22 hours from the time we left the White Swan in Guangzhou to when we walked through our front door at 7:00 p.m. this evening.

Matthew got to meet his Grandma and Grandpa Buettner, Grandpa Sieling, and Uncle Mike. It is so good to be home.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this process. We are truly blessed to have you all in our lives.

All our love,

Wendy, Rob, Abby, and Matthew

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

We're On Our Way...


A Quote from Matthew: "That's it! I'm done- let's go home!"


We will be heading from our hotel tomorrow morning at 7:15 am. It will be a long day with a flight from Guangzhou to Beijing and then a 5 hour layover. Then the long flight back to Chicago and finally the van ride to Milwaukee. We estimate we should get home around 8:00pm on Thursday! Yea! We are so excited!


Thanks for taking the journey with us. I know it might not make sense, but having the blog actually helped a lot with not being quite so homesick. I also know I got a little wordy, but part of my reasoning is that this is a keepsake for both Matthew and us. So rather than try to do both a journal and a blog - I just did the blog because then the pictures are included.


We will do one final post when we get home just to let you know that we arrived home safely. Then the best is yet to come because we can't wait to see all of you in person. Don't be afraid to call to come visit!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008


Well, I'm letting Rob post tonight - I know I ended up being the bloghog! :) But he still let me choose the pictures. So I have to explain that this big one shows Abby and Matthew's favorite game. It's pretty simple, but LOADS of fun! Matthew takes his socks off and Abby tries to get them back on. The game often ends with lots of giggling!
It is Tuesday evening and we are back in our hotel room. We just got back from dinner at the Italian restaurant we ate at a few nights ago. We are not being very adventurous this time. We’re blaming Abby. She is the one from China and all she wants to eat while we are here is spaghetti.

We had a cool trip today to a Buddhist temple. Abby, Matthew, Wendy, and others in our group were blessed by a Buddhist monk. At first, Abby was hesitant. She said, “I don’t want to be blessed by a monk. I want to be blessed by Pastor Kris.” But once we got there, she really enjoyed it. We all did.

I’m sure you all are getting bored of us saying this, but Matthew continues to show us new things he wasn’t doing eight days ago. He continues to get stronger, more verbal, and more interactive. It’s really hard to explain, but we are all noticing it. Today he figured out how to open and close dresser drawers. As soon as he becomes more mobile, we will have to be more conscious of child proofing our house. Abby was easy. She never (to this day) gets into stuff she is not supposed to. We think our luck has run out with Matthew.

Tomorrow is our last full day. Wendy will go to our exit meeting. In the afternoon, Matthew gets sworn in as a U.S. citizen at the U.S. Consulate’s office which is a few minutes from our hotel.

Just a couple of things for the class at College Park Elementary that is following our blog.

A correction to an earlier post. The city of Guangzhou is not an island. But the part of the city we are in is called Shamian Island. This island is surrounded by the Pearl River and the South China Sea. Guangzhou is the capital city of the province of Guangdong. A province in China is like our states in the United States. If we remember correctly, there are 28 provinces in the People’s Republic of China. The Guangdong province is a major producer for China. Its three largest exports are automobiles, clothing, and consumer electronics. The way that we have been getting around is usually by van or bus if we are going somewhere farther away with a group. Mostly though we are able to walk lots of places. But when we go between provinces then we fly.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Brewer Fan


As you can see, he is an early fan. Thanks CP for such an adorable outfit. I just don't get why the people from Chicago won't talk to us anymore!

We had a pretty uneventful morning. Matthew let us sleep until 7:00 am. That was a nice treat. At breakfast we found out that Matthew could use a straw. They have this special kind of yogurt that is extra runny and you put a straw in it. He drank the whole carton! Well, all this extra eating is really paying off because we had his medical exam today and he weighs 22 lbs. Granted our hotel scale might have been off, but I'm sticking to the fact that he has gained two pounds in one week. He is also 32 inches long. We entered his figures into a website and he is under the 3rd percentile for weight and at the 34th percentile for height. We are encouraged by the fact that he has grown 3 1/2 cm and 6 lbs. since his report in October.

Abby and I finally braved it and tried out the pool (they only have outdoor). We had been told that it was as cold as Lake Michigan. We decided to find out for ourselves. It was cold....but Abby is such a water bug that she didn't mind that much. The area around the pool is really pretty. There are all kinds of flowers and palm trees and the pool has a waterfall. If you didn't know any better, you would think that you were on a tropical island.

One of the big deals in the adoption world is getting group photos on the red couch at the White Swan. It is quite a feat to get a picture with all the children in the photo and with as few tears as possible. We were able to get Matthew without any tears, but he needed his thumb. The other photo shows the whole group. I know I keep mentioning how different this trip was, but last time our whole group was together in Beijing and then Hunan and then Guangzhou, so by the time we did the red couch photos we knew each other pretty well. There are people in this photo who we just met today, so it's just a different experience that way.


All for now.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Abby the Big Helper


As you can see, Abby is such a helper with Matthew. Here she is feeding him pumpkin soup. Right after the picture was taken he grabbed the spoon from her and she realized just how strong he can be! Tonight we had our first meal at an Italian restaurant - it was delicious! The chef is really Italian. Not sure how you end up in China with an Italian restaurant - I am sure there is an interesting story behind it.
We spent the morning at the hotel with quite a bit of time spent in the playroom. Matthew stood on his own for like 4 seconds. Might not seem like very long, but again huge steps for him. It is so exciting to see him getting stronger everyday. Honestly, he eats like a little piggie, but we let him because we know he can use it all.
Our excitement for the day was going to the Jade and Pearl Market. Inside the Jade market there are over 1,000 little shops all selling jade. It was overwhelming to say the least. Raymond , our guide said to bargain down - to start at under 50% and then you can work your way up to 50% of the cost. He said not to be embarassed to say no and leave and then they might call you back and reoffer. I have no problem saying no and walking away, but it is a little harder when you want Abby to pick something she likes and then you end up walking away. We bought her one jade heart to wear on a string for a necklace. I was not interested in pearls so we went to the second floor where they had other kinds of stones - I got a few things, quite cheap in American dollars and I bargained and never paid full price. I was helping Mom bargain and the woman would not go lower so I told Mom to walk away. Then I felt kind of bad because the woman didn't call us back and then we thought about the price and it was like $3. But you get into the bargaining and then you want them to go for your price.
Matthew was so content all day - he went in the stroller and was happy for the 2 + hours that we were at the markets. He woke up this morning in the best mood and it just stayed all day. He took one good nap - we usually have to wake him up after like 2 hours, so that he isn't up all night. He seems to like his new squeaky shoes and did quite a bit of walking in them today.
We were riding the elevator up to our room this morning and we saw a family get on and they were eating ice cream bars, so we asked where we could get some later. We got off the elevator and then Rob said, "Was that boy wearing a Brewer shirt?" I realized he was and it hadn't even occurred to me for it to be weird- not an uncommon sight back in Milwaukee. Luckily we ran into them tonight again and it turns out they live in Elkhorn, but they used to live in Tosa! It's a small world!
3 1/2 days to go!
Sorry for the view - for some reason the posting will not let me put spaces betweent he paragraphs. :(

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Don't Let This Innocent Look Fool You


Happy 39th anniversay to Grandma and Grandpa Buettner!!! We had some ice cream in celebration of your anniversary! Matthew thought it was a little too cold!
I can not tell you how happy we are to be in Guangzhou - for many reasons: it means we are closer to coming home, Abby gets to meet up with some of her friends again, and we are not the only Americans adopting children. It has been good to see the people we met in Beijing and to meet their babies. Then we are also sort of part of this group that arrived last night for events planned together if we want to participate. But one of the families from Beijing (the ones with twins) remembered that we were coming and asked Kathleen (our new guide) to give us the name and room numbers for that group too. Although having our own personal guide and tour guide back in Jiangsu is almost unheard of and we enjoyed it very much, there is just something about being here with other families. Abby was jumping up and down when she saw Maddie at breakfast this morning. They went to a Safari and we were stuck back here to do paperwork. (But it sounds like we got the better end of the deal. Because it was a Saturday, I guess it was so many people that you had to almost just shuffle along.) We now have a "playdate" for Maddie and Abby scheduled for tomorrow.

Today while I was doing paperwork Rob, Grandma, Abby and Matthew went to the Swan room. It is a big playroom that has toys donated by Mattel. We found out something new about Matthew...he can get to where he wants to go. We had noticed that he had no interest in crawling and we had seen him do some rolling and a little bit of scooting. Well at the playroom, he scooted backwards for like 6 feet! And apparently he was fast! Watch out TomTom and Frankie!

We also did some shopping at the local shops. They will give you a umbrella stroller to use for free and all they say is -"please bring it back before you leave." These are things that would not happen in the U.S. These local shops do have things figured out - they lure you in by asking about your baby or complimenting your children. Then they give you something for free, hoping that you will do business with them. We turned the corner and saw a shop called Jordan. Both Rob and I remembered the shop from when we were here 5 years ago. As soon as I saw the shop owner I recognized him and remembered visiting with him. He did both Abby and Matthew's name in calligraphy for free. We did buy a few things from him - such as squeaky shoes (they squeak with each step). They should be an incentive for walking. At other places we also got a Chinese outfit for both Abby and Matthew - we will try to get pictures of the two of them tomorrow. We bought a second outfit for Matthew but he might have to grow into it - but it is very cool with Chinese characters and tigers.

Being back in Guangzhou and at the White Swan has brought back memories for us of our first trip. The White Swan is a 5 star hotel (not a place we would normally be staying!) and the service is outstanding. There is a free breakfast buffet - and let me tell you, the food is incredible. You name it, they have it. They serve both Western and Chinese food. The great thing about the buffet is that there are so many options for trying new foods out on Matthew. He really likes most things we have given him. He is a stinker though - if you put it on the table or in his hands he will throw it to the floor (along with anything else that might be within his reach). But if you feed it to him he will eat it willingly. And if he wants more and you are not feeding him fast enough he will grab your arm with what I refer to as the "pinch death grip" and pull your arm towards him. Rob thinks that since I will be off I should have time to make a buffet every morning when we get back. He's a dreamer, isn't he?

Now promise not to be too jealous, because I have heard that it has been cold and rainy there, but today it was in the 80's and tomorrow it is supposed to be 85. Got to love that - and now it is okay to not have Matthew dressed like the Michelin tireman. He does look a little smaller without all those clothes on. But when we initially weighed him in Nanching he was 20 lbs. We think his cheeks look a little fuller. We will try to weigh him again before we leave. He has also gotten stronger! - his head was a little on the wobbly side that first day, but not anymore. He can also sit up from laying down just by using his stomach muscles, which he could not do. And he can stand and walk (holding on) for longer periods of time. He still loves the glasses game and he is not partial to Daddy - anybody wearing glasses is free game! He also loves my curly hair and luckily does not pull too hard on it. He will imitate things that you do (i.e. he figured out how to undo the velcro on his shoes). And for pat-a-cak he likes to take your hands and make them clap together.

A special thank you to Maddie for taking such good care of TomTom and Frankie! We really appreciate knowing that you are taking care of them and giving them some attention. I think they will be in for a big surpise when we get home.

Someone had asked about the time difference and I believe it is 13 or 14 hours difference so when it is night here it is morning of that same day (i.e. Right now it is 9:15 pm on Saturday, so it would be like maybe 8:15 am on Saturday there).

Okay now to answer the questions from Ms. Koniar's class - quite an inquisitive bunch :)

Yes, there are islands - in fact we are on an island right now - Guangzhou. They do have governors of each province. They also have a president whichis often referred to as the Chairman - the current one is Chairman Hu. I would like to find out more about the schools too, but one thing that I did find out is that education is very important to them - in the elementary schools they go to school from like 7:30 to 4:30 and at the high school level they go to school from 7:00 - 5:15. (Those poor teachers...) Yes, they do have police cars. The cars have the same red and blue lights on the top.

Friday, November 14, 2008

More video

We made it safe to Guangzhou last night. Thanks to Grandpa Jerry for reminding us that our digital cameras have a video option.

We will post more later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_md_t4XkFA