Last post from China

Well this is our last post from China. It makes us sad to leave but was are also very happy to bring Isla to her new home. The last three weeks where amazing to say the least. We went from traveling in rural China as childless climbers to parents!
Today we all went to the US Consulate where Isla received her Chinese passport with a visa for the US! We included a picture of her investigating the passport for correctness.
Sorry but we did not take many pictures today so there are only two for the blog. Isla is sharing the chair with her friend Leanna who is also from the Guangdong province and met her family on the same day.
We have lots of packing up to do now for our early departure! Can't wait to introduce you all to our new daughter! Next post will be from home sweet home!
Love,
The Jones'

Late Pictures from Day9 with Isla

Sorry to not have posted the pictures last night but I was too tired to stay up and do it. We cannot believe that today is our last full day in China. We are sad to leave... but also excited to see everyone on our court and finally have a home cooked meal. It will also be fun to have Isla meet all her new friends. Eventually we will tour the states to see some of the far flung locations with people following the blog... maybe we will even get to meet Ethan and his sister some day.
I will be sure to do one more picture update tonight then I think the next pictures will be posted from home. Sorry to have not responded to any of the comments that have been posted to the blog but we cannot access them from China. We'll get to that when we are home.
Love to everyone, Isla, momma and baba

Visa approved!

We are happy to announce that Isla has been approved for a special Visa that entitles her to become an American citizen upon her arrival to the USA! The only procedural item left for us to do is to pick up her passport and Visa tomorrow. There is also a ceremonial swearing-in for her at the US Consulate.

She continues to delight and amaze her parents (oh, and, wear them out)! Today, Isla decided that soccer is a pretty fun sport. She began kicking a bag as we walked her, and found this quite entertaining!  Her focus has shifted to the gross motor area, but she also enjoys practicing her oral motor skills. Every day, she is making more sounds and trying new foods. Cheerios have become her absolute favorite!

 Mom took a break today and went to get a massage. I opted for the small foot bucket and back/spine massage. What I did not realize was that this would be 2 hours of bliss. Good thing I did not choose the LARGE foot bucket (yes, it was an option). I have had great bodywork, but this was exceptional!! Feet soaking in herbs & salt while neck and back massaged, then feet done, legs done, etc. etc., I thought we were done twice, but there was always more. And then I was led to another room with a massage table and had full body with a combo of shiatsu and Thai massage. I feel like a new person!!

Some of our new friends have begun to leave for home. Today, we said good-bye to the "Scarey" family, including their newest daughter who met her new, ( and not really scary) family, at the same time as we were meeting Isla.  We are sorry to see them go, but we are lucky enough to be meeting new people, some of which have children from the same place that Isla is from!

Sorry, no pictures right now.  We will post them in our morning. Only one more day in China!!!

Love, barb, will, & isla

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Olympic training 101

Today was our eighth day together as a family. Isla is now smiling and laughing often, eating from a spoon like she always knew how, eating bigger portions and trying to walk. Yep squeaky shoes have taken her to another level of delight. For those of you who do not know squeaky shoes you soon will since Isla will not leave home without them.

We knew she could cruise around in the crib a little but when she got new shoes that squeak when she steps on them, she started dancing around the crib. We started to walk with her a little and soon we were off to the races around the room. I think the floors will need polishing and the carpets replacing when we leave the room!

We spent most of the day hanging out with Isla in the hotel room getting over the long journey we had yesterday. She was all fun and games until we attempted her afternoon nap. At that point it was a wiggling struggle to return to walking laps around the room. In the end sleep prevailed but not after a long battle with youth.

Tomorrow is our first appointment at the US consulate. Our guide will go on our behalf to submit the paperwork. For some reason she also thinks she can arrange to have us swore in (a ceremonial thing all families have to do before they give out the visa) so we may complete the process here tomorrow. It is hard for us to believe the time has gone so quickly and that we will be returning home in only three days.

We feel this has been such an amazing trip. Not only have we begun our life as a family we have also met so many wonderful people and seen some beautiful parts of China. It will be sad to leave.

Ok, enough with the text. Here are some more pictures to keep you up-to-date with the athlete training for the Beijing Olympics (marathon walk).

Visit to Isla's hometown

 Visit to Isla's Hometown

Yesterday was a big day for all of us! We traveled over 3 hours each way to YangXi. Around noon, we arrived at the Social Welfare Institute(SWI) or orphanage where Isla spent her first year. The director met us and was very gracious in giving us a tour. We got to see Isla's first crib and meet her friends in the neighboring cribs. We also met the nannies who took great care of Isla! They seem to be very loving and genuine. Isla was slightly interested in them, but we were happy to see that she prefers staying with her parents. Her nannies told us Isla loved their rocking horse, so we put her on it and she actively rocked back and forth. She loved the movement. After our initial tour, we went out for a local feast with the director. YangXi is by the sea and is known for its seafood.  We were served local oysters and fish, along with 5 or 6 other dishes. The soup included some unidentifiable meats and/or organs, but our hosts were polite enough to give us westerners only the broth, which was quite tasty. The local vegetables include taro, a very sweet root vegetable like a sweet potato, but purple in color.  We ate in a private room with a table with a big lazy susan. We also visited a beautiful park in YangXi. We have included pics of the pagoda in the park.

After the outing, we returned to the SWI. I had told the director that I work with special needs children, so she allowed us to go back in to see some of the special needs kiddos. Unfortunately, they seem to spend most of their time in their cribs. We asked what they could use at the SWI and the director mentioned equipment for the special needs kids. Later, we will let everyone now how to contribute if you would like, as we are going to buy some walkers and other equipment to donate. We also saw the medically fragile babies, some with feeding tubes and IVs. They looked well cared for, but the IV poles were rusty and all the medical supplies look ancient. Hopefully, we can donate some equipment that they can really use.

We had a long drive back "home" and we were so happy to be in our room again. Isla looked like she felt so comfortable and began playing hard, laughing and crawling all over us. She wore her first pair of squeaky shoes and loves kicking down her feet to make noise. She shows such joy in practicing all her newly learned skills. Isla is now getting into high kneel and coming to stand. Her favorite is to crawl over our legs while we hang out on the bed. After our big day, Isla slept very soundly!

More to come!

Barb, Will, & Isla

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Today we visited the orphanage where Isla lived for her first year

Today was another amazing day. We visited the Yangxi Social Welfare Institute (SWI) which is where Isla spent her first year. We have included some of the pictures we have from the town and the orphanage. Even though the drive was 3 hours each way, Isla did well and seemed very comfortable with the experience. Before we went we asked our guide about how kids usually react and she described how they would not be comfortable with the nannies holding them after they attach to their new parents. This turned out to be true for Isla too. She did allow the director to hold her during lunch but gladly (with open arms) came back to her parents.

We will try and catch up and write more about the experience tomorrow. When we returned to the hotel Isla was the most playful and talkative we have seen to date. She crawled all over us and laughed aloud as she played. We have included a particularly silly bath picture. Love to all, Isla, Mama and Baba.

No Scheduled Activity Day

We passed on the zoo visit today so that we could have a day off from scheduled activites. It was good to sleep a little later and have a day to enjoy without having to plan for anything. Isla is doing really well sleeping at this point. She has woken up in the middle of the night each of the last two nights but goes back to bed without too much effort and then sleeps through until the morning.
The most difficult thing we are finding is getting her to go to bed before 11pm! She is a night owl! After her bath she takes one more bottle and then is really happy and active (of course her bath is still more of an aerobic activity than a soothing wash).
This afternoon we went to a local market just off of Shamian Island. The street you pass through is dedicated to selling all things for pets... and that is Chinese pets which can be a bit more exotic at times. We included a few of the pictures from the market for you as well.
Tomorrow we are going to visit the Yangxi Social Welfare Institute (SWI) where Zi Shao spent the first 12 months of her life. It will be a long day with 7 hours of travel. We may not have a chance to blog before we go to sleep. We will post more pictures when we can. Love to all, Isla, Mama and Baba.