Pierced!

Sharon has been really wanting to get Ginny's ears pierced, but for one reason or another we have not been in a big hurry.  Since we were in Concord most of the day today, Sharon took Ginny to Claire's in Concord Mills to have it done.  Sharon asked her several times if this is something she wanted to do, as to not force it on her, but she kept saying she wanted it done.  So, below is 15 seconds of action-packed footage from the event:

  

Ginny's Choir Good-byes

The other night as I was finishing Sanctuary Choir practice, Sharon brought Ginny to say goodbye to me.  However, after she finished that, she wasn't satisfied with just saying goodbye to me, she had to go around to every individual choir member who stayed for prayer time and give each one of them a hug, each individual person.  It was a very cute moment, so I quickly grabbed my phone to shoot video of the last half of her rounds.

End of School Fun

As the school year comes to a close, Nathan has had some opportunities for some fun activities. Recently, his class took a field trip to Tweetsie Railroad.  This especially warm spring has also given us much opportunities for just hanging around outside and trips to the park for the whole family.

Nathan "in jail"

Sharon also got to go on the "field trip"

GInny "helps" Dad fix his new bike

New splash pad at Hope Park

Nathan buys a vintage Transformer from the Comic book convention

Monkey see, Monkey do.

Happy Happy

Ginny has a new little fixation.  It's cute, but she can be a bit bossy about it.  I figured she may enjoy watching some old home movies of Nathan, so I started letting her watch the digital ones I had in my hard drive on the computer recently.  Her favorites are the ones where Nathan or his cousins are having birthday parties and we sing the birthday song.  She will attempt to sing along, pretty much just singing "happy" over and over.  When the video is over, she will angrily call out "Happy Happy!" until we find another.  So, today I made a little compilation which I uploaded to YouTube and here so I can have quick access to them so to avoid the wrath of "Happy Happy!" demands.  Here's the little compilation:

Yip-PEE

No, I'm not talking about my cat.  For the second night in a row, Ginny has decided she wanted to go pee-pee in the potty.  This in itself is nothing new, as she's been sitting either on her potty seat, or her little kid potty, but it was just that - sitting.  However, last night with Sharon, and tonight with me, there was not the silence that we were accustomed to when she told us she needed to go.  So, it's an early victory, but a victory nonetheless.  Ginny's also been in a very good mood for the last several days, although she's been really belaboring going to bed lately.  We have our first post-placement home-study visit tomorrow evening.  It's hard to believe its been six months already.

Fun with Mommy

Peek-a-boo Bible: Ginny and Mommy play Peekaboo with a little Gideon Bible

A classic:  The gotcha nose game, with some tickles thrown in for good measure.

Small Change

Here's a video I took yesterday while I was watching Ginny for a bit.  After changing her diaper, she wanted to change her dolly's.  I did this more as an experiment to try uploading a video straight to the blog, but it was so cute I decided to leave it posted.  Ginny didn't have much used for stuffed animals and dolls until recently.  I've tried to subvert this new fascination by doing things such as having Transformers 2 playing on TV in the background while I watched her (I knew I should have used TF 1), but even that hasn't appeared to contest this newfound girly-ness that is apparently taking place.  I blame Sharon.  :)  hehe.

Potty time help

Ginny decided that she needed to show her dolly how to go to the potty.

Giggles at Dinner

Here's a video from tonight's dinner.  Ginny decided that it was funny if she kept her mouth closed while Sharon tried to feed her sweet potatoes.  Cute...

Paging Dr. Ginny

I took my last vacation day of the year today so I could share an extra holiday day with my family.  It was well worth it, as we got to truly rest from the busyness of a month of travel, Christmas programs, and a family funeral.     Sharon got out Nathan's old toy doctor kit today, and Ginny was fascinated with the stethoscope.  In fact, she wore it around her neck all day long.  Once she understood what it was for, she was constantly checking our heart, or asking us to check hers.  One time after she checked mine she apparently diagnosed me with something, because she talked to me afterwards for a solid minute.  Unfortunately, since it was all in Chinese, I'm uncertain as to my exact condition.  :)

White Christmas

During the day on Christmas, we got a nice surprise - snow, and I don't mean just a flurry.  By the end of the evening, we had a few inches on the ground, making it officially a white Christmas.  From what I've heard, this part of NC hasn't seen that in over 40 years.  So, not only was this a special Christmas because of Ginny, but this was icing on the cake.  By the day after Christmas, we had about 4-6 inches here.  So, we went over to the Henderson's neighborhood for some sledding, since we have no good sledding hills in ours.  We had a blast.  Ginny loved it as well too, and it seems she's a bit of a daredevil, always wanting to go down again just as soon as the sled was brought back up the hill.  Not sure if she saw much snow in Shanghai (I'm thinking not), so I'm sure this was an interesting experience for her.  

Nathan enjoying the first flakes with neighbor Bonnie

All bundled up

Practice run around the driveway

First snow angel (sort of)

Nathan on the boogie board

Ginny and Dad taking a turn

Christmas Morning 2010

Well, today was Ginny's first Christmas in the Bridges family, and I think she's had a blast.  Ginny got a kitchen set, more baby dolls than I can possibly count (yuck), and her favorite - a doll stroller, which she has marched around the house proudly all morning.  Santa brought Nathan a REAL bass gutar, and amp. He's been playing that thing like a junior rock star all morning.  There were also clothes, games, and stocking stuffers galore, and we all are very thankful, and were happy to spend a simple Christmas together here in Mooresville this year.

It is a bittersweet Christmas in the fact that we lost my Uncle Frank on Christmas Eve to heart failure, a battle he's been fighting for many years.  Services are Monday, so we have a few days in between to enjoy Christmas a bit before we get to the more serious, but still important task of saying our good-byes to him.

Still, we're again blessed this season, and have thankful hearts for the blessings God has given us.

A chat with Ginny

One of the things we've noticed in the past few days is how Ginny tries to mimic adult conversation.  I'm not fully sure if what she is saying is Chinese, baby talk, or perhaps she's speaking in tongues :)  Still, it's quite hilarious, as she will often laugh at her own self doing it (and yes, that's laughing and not screaming you're hearing at times).  I captured this video just after supper (forgive the very poor lighting) to give you a glimpse at just how adorable this is.

Songs in the night

Ginny's internal clock is  a bit messed up.  She was up at 4:00 a.m. or thereabouts this morning.  However, one good thing about it was that she was happy, I mean REALLY happy.  She was singing little songs that were a mixture of baby talk and Chinese.  She was climbing back and forth from our bed to the floor.  The songs she were singing had varying rhythms to them, and it sounded like she was experimenting with all sorts of sounds.  So, although we weren't crazy about the hour, we were tickled that she seemed that happy.

This afternoon she was back to the "Mommy only" mode, not having much to do with anyone else.  Bonnie from next door has been visiting with Nathan, and she has been fascinated with watching these "older kids" at play.

Sharon's stomach is still a bit quirky, and I'm still battling some sort of virus/head cold combo.  Hated to miss church today, but thankful to work at a flexible place with people who can step in when needed.

Welcome Home

We're home!

And very glad for it as well.  I (Chris) picked up some sort of virus on the plane ride back and have done nothing but sleep since I've been home.  I've also I slept until 2 pm until Sharon made me get up.  After all, I do want to be able to sleep tonight.

The long plane ride back actually went very smoothly.  Ginny has had no tantrums or bad spells at all any in the past couple of days, and was generally good-natured the whole flight.  In fact, when she was bored, she would reach her tiny hand between the seats in front of her and gave me, Nathan, or Pepaw a playful pinch, and then laugh.

The only delay we experienced was in the final light from Newark to Charlotte.  The plane had a mechanical problem that delayed our leaving about an hour.  At one point the pilot told us they were waiting on an adhesive to dry before they could take off.  I was thinking "Adhesive?" Hopefully it wasn't something like say,
the wing" that needed to be glued on.  Then, when we landed, all of the lights in the plane went off.  Completely off, no emergency lights, etc, so we' fumbled our way to the exits.

We were glad to have several families from church greeting us with signs and balloons at the airport when we arrived.  That really made our day, and Ginny reacted very well to all of her doting admirers.  We made a fast food stop at Cook-Out on the way back in, but shortly after getting home, we pretty much were all tired, and hit the hay.  We were concerned about how Ginny would react to the cats, and she has been skiddish a bit, especially last night.  Today, she's been better, though, and will tolerate them being in her personal space more.  She's been playing with blocks, toys, and puzzles, and has been copying what Nathan has been doing around the house.

Thanks again for all of your support and prayers.  We'll keep posting to this blog, although perhaps not as frequently as during the trip, obviously.

First Day in Guangzhou

We have arrived on Shamian Isaland in Guangzhou China and are staying at the White Swan Hotel.  It's a pretty ritzy place, but as many have noted before, it's packed with adoptive families just like us.  Today wnet by really fast, but was filled with a lot of highs and lows.  The days started off early (after only 4 hours sleep because of a late plane arrival from Shanghai) which resulted in an exhausted Bridges family and a very grumpy Ginny at breakfast.  First on the agenda was the passport photos and medical tests, a few blocks away from the hotel.  The medical examination place was packed with people.  However, despite a very early morning and very grumpy Ginny, she actually did well during the tests themselves, until the end, when she was just ready to be outside and "lost it" a bit.  She did get good reports on all of her tests, though.  Not long after this when we went out for a bit again, she zonked out and got a 2 hour nap in, the first real nap she's had all trip.  SO, therefore, the rest of the day was pleasant with a cheery Ginny, and therefore happier Mommy, Daddy, and brother as well.  We had a long paperwork filling-out session this afternoon as well to go through, but I believe that may be one of the last big rounds of paperwork we'll need to contend with on the trip.  We had dinner at the famous "Lucy's" which is an American style restaurant a block away from the hotel.  We went with all of the Great Wall China Adoption Families, and had a great time of food & fellowship. 

I'm the computer guy

So far, most mornings Ginny wakes up about 4:30 am (I think the orphanage got them up at 5).  This morning, when I got out of bed, she came over to me and pointed at the chair next to the computer as if to say, "This is your spot.  You need to sit here."  She acutually had me lift her up to sit in the chair a bit as well too, which is a big step not because she let me do it, but because she so far has had no interest in chairs, beds, etc.  She pretty much just sticks to things within her reach, but I think she's starting to have an interest in that.  Maybe this is a step in getting her away from sleeping on the floor.  We're due to have a crib in Guangzhou, so we may have to go backwards a bit since she's enjoying this freedom of no bars and boundaries in the room.

She's also been making the pucker face this morning (like the one we posted from the orphanage a while back).  She knows its funny too, because she smiles when she does it.

Sights and emotions

From what we've percieved, Ginny is experiencing many or the stereotypical behaviors institutionalized children often experience.  The first day she was very friendly and open to everyone, the second not so much, and now the third, she's now focusing all of her attention on Sharon.  The rest of us today she just tolerates unless we are doing something entertaining or interesting.  But we expected some of this, and are treasuring every smile or giggle that comes alternating with the occassional tantrum or whine.  After all, bonding involves expressing the full range or emotion and need, and we've definitely had a sense of her "feeling" us out in the last day or so.  She has realized that she now can enjoy the freedom of walking around in just a diaper while we're in the room.  Now on the flipside, she now HATES wearing clothes when we prepare to go out, and lets us know this very clearly.  She also protests loudly when you take anything from her, not matter what it is.  Toys hold little or no value to her, but her "currency" is snacks.  Her stacking an organizing activities have continued, and she has a weird fascination with shoes.  Even walking around with a diaper, she insists on putting her shoes on, and she likes to take everyone's shoes in the room, puts them in a pile, and even sorts by who they belong to.

Now that you've heard some of the more "bonding" news, here's some of the other activities today.  We started the day seeing YuYuan Gardens and the shops and stores that surrounded it.  Very nice architecture and really neat people watching.  One very odd thing was that we heard a man on a traditional Chinese instrument playing "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder."  Our guide reccommended that we not buy anything in the shops there since Guangzhous will be cheaper, but she did say that the silk in Shanghai would be very good quality compared to anywhere else, so we picked up a scarf and a tie, and I actually haggled.  Not intentionally, mind you, as that's not my style, but I ended up saying no enough that it eventually dropped to half-price. 

We then drove to the riverfront to a beautiful view of the Shanghai skyline.  We took some pictures and enjoyed seeing the Pearl Tower and Bund on a beautiful sunny day.  I felt for Sharon, as since today Ginny wouldn't let anyone else hold her, so she's quite spent from carrying her around.  After that stop, we stopped in a "Belks" style department store to get a few outfits for Ginny (since she's definitely still in 12 mos. outfits still).  However, imagine a Belks with 12 stories.  Yes, I said 12 stories.  They actually had a pretty good toy section there, including Transformers, however, they were much higher than even US prices.  (But yes, we still bought one....or two).  They had a six-foot tall Optimus Prime which was cool.  Sharon didn't have too much luck with outfits, because the clerk wasn't too helpful. 

After this, we drove past the hospital where Wu Jin Jun had been adandoned.  We just stopped to take a few pics.  It's actually not far from our hotel. 

Tonight we're having dinner with a seminary friend of mine, Tammy, who lives in here in Shanghai now. Keep praying for us, as these days of transition have had their share of tough emotinal moments, but some really cool rewards too.

Assembled and ready (well, mostly)

Well, here are our tools for the journey.  Our ambitious plans of going totally by the onebag.com ideals went out the window a bit. but still I believe we've done well for a family of three.  Our biggest fear is weight limits in-country, as by our measurements, we're right at or slightly over what the in-China flights we'll have while there list as the max.  I can see us needing to buy an extra bag while there, "creatively redistributing", or at worst having to pay a weight penalty.  The only bag not packed is the net-book, as it's stuck downloading a movie for the plane ride from Amazon, which is proving to be SLOW.

We did have a panicky afternoon, as we were missing an item that we still have yet to found.  It's nothing crucial for the adoption or travel, but it's something major enough that will most likely worry me until I find it.  Pray it will turn up!  I'd LOVE to have that peace of mind.

Well, we're up at 2am tomorrow, so I'm going to try to get a bit of shut-eye this evening, and hopefully a little more on the plane.

Blessings!

Squatter

Someone's ready to go.

I hate to disappoint him, but I think the airline will frown upon transporting animals this way.