IT'S A GIRL!

Julianne's first smiles - laughing at daddy

picture with orphange director and the boy who carried Julianne during the ride to the Hotel

first picture after hand over from nannies

mommy and Julianne

We got our precious little girl today. She is beautiful, energetic and loves her Daddy! She already has her daddy wrapped around her little fingers. She attached to Daddy right away and loves to play with him all day long.

I'm am exhausted and will give a more detailed post tomorrow but I wanted to give you a sneak preview of pictures to come..............

WE'RE HERE - in Nanchang

Kit and I arriving at the airport in Hong Kong to fly to Nanchang.

After a short flight, we've made it into Nanchang. When we arrived, they set up Julianne's crib - and it just totally hit me that this is all real! I almost cried!

Here's a picture of our view from Nanchang's room:

We're told that we should meet Julianne around 10:30 a.m. tomorrow. Stay tuned........

Love,

Jen & Kit

Good Morning from Hong Kong! It's 6:50 A.M.

Kit and I made it into HK last night around 6:37 P.M. (which was Saturday morning your you guys in the US). We had a very busy night last night.... after we got our 4 gigantic pieces of luggage, we checked into the hotel (which they upgraded us because, I think, they saw how many pieces of suitcase we had! :)), then we went to Sum Gang to get BBQ Goose (very famous place for goose), and finally we went to visit Kit's Auntie. By the time we made it back to our hotel room it was around midnight.

You would think after a 15 hour flight and 20+ hours of travel, Kit and I would have a great night sleep....and to make sure we get some sleep before we pick up Julianne.... WRONG! The both of us couldn't sleep last night - I think it's a combo of jet lag and excitement...............13 hours to Julianne!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More posts and pictures to come....

Jen & Kit

New pictures of the nursery

I'm getting really excited - things are slowly coming together. August seems to be flying by but at the same time seem to be going so slow! The nursery is just about done... here's what I've done with the nursery so far....

I cannot believe that 2 weeks from today I'll be on an airplane traveling to China, to Julianne! Packing has been a huge challenge because travel within China only allows us 1 luggage per person at 44 lbs. (So I can get to HK with 2 pieces pp but then we'll need to leave a couple of luggages with Kit's auntie!) Typically this should not be a problem, since we can purchase clothes while we're there; but the BIG problem is that I'm not sure if there's a wide selection of clothes in my size! So I need to pack with that in mind.

Michelle had suggested that I pack by rolling all the clothes so I have tried that and it seems to be working. I've taking lots of suggestions from people, like packing with ziploc bags and taking all things out of the box if possible. I hope that I can successfully pack for the occassion!

Pictures of Julianne's Baby Shower

2008 - 08 10 Julianne's Baby Shower

(Click picture to view all the photos)

Thanks to Joyce, Michelle, and Roz for putting together such a great time for all of us in such a short time!

Thanks to all my friends and family for being there and sharing in our special day! Julianne cannot wait to meet mommy and daddy's friends and all of her relatives!

Love,
Julianne, Jen & Kit

More detailed Itinenary

Friday - 5th Day 1: Fly To Hong Kong

Saturday - 6th Day 2: Arrive in Hong Kong. Stay overnight.

Sunday - 7th Day 3: Fly to Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. Check in to Gloria Hotel.

Monday - 8th Day 4: Meet Julianne!!!! Paperwork.

Tuesday - 9th Day 5: Go to Adoption Center, Notary Office, and Public Security Departement.

Wednesday - 10th Day 6: Sightseeing.

Thursday - 11th Day 7: Sightseeing. Receive notary papers.

Friday - 12th Day 8: Do more paperwork. Receive Julianne's passport. Fly to Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and check-in to the White Swan Hotel.

Saturday - 13th Day 9: Physical exam for Julianne.

Sunday - 14th Day 10: Sightseeing. (Maybe visit Kit's Aunt in Shenzhen, China)

Monday - 15th Day 11: More Sightseeing...

Tuesday - 16th Day 12: Visa interview at U.S. Consulate.

Wednesday - 17th Day 13: Take an Oath and receive Visa and drive to Hong Kong

Thursday - 18th - 27th Day 14 - 22: Visit with Kit's friends and family.

Saturday - 28th Day 23: COME HOME!!!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - Travel dates!!!!

We purchased tickets today! So we're leaving Friday, September 5, 2008 and returning to Manchester on Sunday, September 28th. Yeah!!!! It'll be pretty hectic but I'm sure the three of us will manage - here's what our travel looks like:

Friday, September 5th - Manchester to Newark
Friday, September 5th - Newark to Hong Kong (16 hour flight - arriving Sat. Sept 6th - Yikes!)
Sunda, September 7th - we leave for Nanchang, China
Monday, September 8th - GOTCHA DAY!!!!
Friday, September 12th - travel by airplane to Guangzhou, China
Wednesday, September 17th - travel to Hong Kong by train
Sunday, September 28th - return to US (we have a 7 hour layover in Newark on the return trip! . . . . . . . . . . .

I'm hoping that I'll have internet access in all of the above locations so that I can at least post pictures. We just got a camcorder as well so I will try to post some videos of us -

Oh my gosh, it's getting really close! I'm so excited....

Love,

Jen & Kit