Here's our girl!

Lots of paperwork to adopt a baby in China


Just before we met Maya


Maya meets her forever mommy

I see some teeth!


Mommy gets some quality time

Daddy's little girl

There are very few words in the English language that would describe the level of emotion we experienced today. From the time I awoke at 6:00 AM until an orphanage nanny placed Maya into Lori's arms at 3:08 PM there was so much adrenalin running through my body it felt like electricity.

15 couples, some with children, all piled into a bus in 100 degree heat to drive to the Changsha Social Welfare Institue to meet their new children for the first time. There were 16 babies ages from 9 months to 3.5 years being adopted. Everyone was in their own zone but the level of anticipation on that bus was off the charts.

After a short drive we arrived at a very plain looking old three story brick building, drove through some iron gates and we were there. We knew that our babies were already somewhere inside waiting for us. They herded us into a small hot room where we all pulled out cameras and waited.

I can only describe the next scene as somewhat chaotic. They began calling out names one by one. "Strong" came first. Our friends Brad and Kristy came forward, showed their passports to the orphanage director and were handed their beautiful twin daughters. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house after that.

Then came the rest, one by one. Finally I heard someone say "Xiao Jiao", and we saw our little girl for the first time. I will never forget this moment for the rest of my life. Maya looked just like her photo - except shrunk down three sizes. I knew she was small, but she is TINY!! Immediately, the orphanage director lifted up her split pants and showed us that Xiao Jiao has a pretty terrible case of diaper rash (for the uninitiated, split pants have a slot in the back side to allow the baby to poop and pee - diapers are expensive and very labor intensive to use so orphanages in China use split pants and try to potty train the kids very early). So while Lori held Maya for the first time, the orphanage director pulled me aside with a translator to tell us all about her symptoms and what medicines she was receiving. This was initially somewhat concerning to me with the way they were presenting it. It turns out that besides the diaper rash, she also has a head cold - she is sniffling and sneezing - and some sort of skin condition - maybe a small rash. They seemed very apologetic about her condition even though it seems like nothing to worry about. After inspecting her, we weren't too concerned about it and we told them so. We are fortunate to have a doctor and his wife in our group adopting their third daughter from China, so he will try to take a look at Maya tomorrow.

Maya is an amazing little girl! We got her back to the hotel, and just plopped her on the bed to take a quick inventory. Other than being very tiny (she barely fits into 3-6 month olds clothes although she is almost 10 months) she is a very bright, curious, and happy baby. Even though she went through this tramatic event (for the third time in her brief life) and she had all these ailments, we already received some hearty smiles and at least one healthy belly laugh after playing with her for a few hours. Reportedly all the girls from Hunan are "hot and spicy" and we saw a little of that side too! We're in for quite a ride!!

We'll post some more pics in the next few days and maybe even a video or two. The pics take a long time to upload here in the biz center and I haven't had time to troubleshoot why Lori's Mac won't recognize the hotel's network (I just know I'm going to take all kinds of flack from my co-workers on that one! :-). We picked a few of the best pictures to give you something to hold you over another day, enjoy!

Tomorrow is very special, it's Maya's adoption day. We will officially become parents to our Maya at approximately 9:30 AM (7:30 PM - Thursday - Colorado time). We love and miss you all and can't wait to bring Maya home!

Good night for now.

31 Hours

Nihao from Changsha!

Sorry for the late post, we’ve had some problems using the internet access from the room. The hotel we’re staying at has a business center which is where I am now.

From our front door in Colorado to the front door of our hotel in Changsha, China was a 31 hour trip. Thankfully everything went very smoothly. Our 3 flights were all on time and we didn’t lose any luggage, woo hoo!. This is our first full day in China and our bodies are just starting to acclimate to the local time. I awoke at 3:00 this morning, but we are attempting to stay up late tonight so we can get a full night’s sleep.

We are traveling with Brad and Kristi, a couple we befriended through the adoption process. Brad and Kristi are adopting twin girls from Chenzhou. Their names are Stella and Lola. We’re very lucky to have Brad and Kristi as travel mates. This is their first time to China and they are first time parents too so we have a lot in common.

On our 4 hour layover in LAX we took a little side trip to Manhattan Beach and ate dinner at a great little seafood restaurant called Rock n’ Fish. A nice escape from the airport terminals and their predictable fare. We even got an after dinner stroll along the pier and took in some salty Pacific air.



Manhattan Beach Pier

Our flight from LA to Guangzhou followed the “great circle route” basically following the coast all the way from LA to Alaska, down over the coast of Siberia and Korea and then into China. We flew over Beijing and the Great Wall and into Guangzhou but unfortunately it was dark until almost touchdown so we didn’t see much along the way.



Next Stop, China!

Once we cleared customs in Guangzhou we went searching for caffeine to get us through our last flight. With no Starbucks in sight, we came across an inviting coffee bar with couches and easy chairs that was totally empty. We ordered a couple small carafes of coffee and relaxed until it was time to hop on our next flight. When it came time to leave the waitress brought the tab and pointed to the number on it. It said “71”. I replied “71 yuan?” She said “no, US Dollars”. That’s right, 71 dollars for four cups of really good coffee (now we know why it was empty). This was lesson number one of the trip: everything is outrageously expensive in airports no matter where you are, China included. In our jet lagged delirium we forgot to check the price on the menu and do the math.



$71 dollar coffee -- did I mention that it was really good?

Our last flight was on a small regional jet and was completely packed. This is one of those planes you have to duck all the way until you sit down. Luckily it was only an hour flight.

It is verrrry hot here!! Changsha is sub-tropical, I would compare it to Acapulco, Mexico. It must have been close to 100 degrees yesterday with close to 100% humidity. Our shuttle driver from the airport said we were lucky because it was much hotter before we arrived.

On our shuttle to the hotel one of the first things we noticed is that there are multiple modes of transportation that all share the same space. Cars, buses, bikes, foodcarts, mopeds, trucks all navigate the streets with very little or no regards to logic or traffic control. It’s insane but somehow they make it work. It seems that cars don’t have to stop for pedestrians here, just honk your horn and go. There seems to be a natural pecking order based on the size of the vehicle you’re in. Trucks have right-of-way over buses, buses over cars, cars over motorcycles, etc. with pedestrians at the bottom of the food chain. We must have witnessed at least 3 near misses where there would definitely have been fatalities.

Changsha traffic

All the people we have come in contact with so far have been very nice and patient with us. In Changsha there are not too many people who speak English, and those who do are typically not fluent so we have been relying on our Chinese/English translation guide and the kindness of hotel staff.

Today we took a tour to the birthplace and original residence of Mao Tse Tung (sp?). This was about an hour and a half drive west of Changsha. It was fascinating to get out into the surrounding country and see some rural Chinese farms and villages. Besides gazing at the countryside, we spent the driving time getting lessons on Chinese culture and traditions from our local guide Nadine. Very memorable.

Tomorrow is “gothcha day”, when we finally receive our baby!! She will be in our arms by 3:30 PM local time (1:30 AM Colorado time). It’s unbelievable that this is the last night that we will spend by ourselves without this little girl as an integral part of our lives. I can only imagine that this is very similar to the feeling of an expectant father the night before delivery.

Maya's crib

Stay tuned for current pics of Maya!

Now it gets interesting!

Up until today we have had all the little distractions that day-to-day life brings to keep us busy. Now that we are less than 48 hours from lift-off on our trip to China the reality is really hitting home. I can't help wonder what it will feel like to hold Maya for the first time, to hear her cry, to see her smile, to hear her laugh. These are all the little sensations we've been pondering since the referral and by Thursday we'll hopefully know.

My dog and cat know something's up. Skeet (our dog) has been following me around all day. He usually does this for a few hours when I'm home, but he normally gives up and finds a nice corner (usually Lori's closet) to curl up in. Today he won't leave my side. The cat (Jet) has found a small box that one of Maya's gifts came in and he seems to have claimed that as his new digs. They never go for the $30 pillow we buy that says cute things like "kitty's bed time", they always go for the trash.

I've heard kids are like this too. I guess we'll find out soon enough. Grandparents, don't be too disappointed when Maya shuns your beautiful hand-woven receiving blanket or organic stuffed lion and instead opts for the plastic garbage bucket!

The call that forever changed us.

One week ago today our lives were forever changed. In an instant we saw a face that literally took our breath away. We are still walking on cloud nine and having a lot of trouble concentrating on anything but our sweet Maya. Our house is surrounded with her picture and neither one us of can go for more than a minute without looking at her face.

John got the call at home and called me on my way to work. When I left the house he was on his way upstairs to give medicine to our cat Jet. When John called he asked me to pull over. He sounded really weird. My immediate thought was the cat was dead. I asked him if Jet was ok and he replied he was fine. He again asked me if I was pulled over. I then thought it must be our dog Skeeter. He is 12.5 years old.. My heart sank. "is it Skeet?" He again replied no and begged me to stop where I was. I told him he was scaring me. Were my parents ok? In a matter of 10 seconds I had about a million horrible scenarios swirling around in my head. I finally just told him that if he had bad news I needed to know that so I could prepare myself. He then said the words I couldn't believe. "IT'S REALLY GOOD!" My heart sank as I pulled over and asked if the agency called. He then told me "YES, WE HAVE A BABY!"

I really thought I was having a coronary at this point. Instantly I was sobbing beyond control. John told me that the agency was e-mailing a photo. We didn't have any information other then that we had a girl. John stopped them from telling us more until we were together, a decision that we had decided a long time ago when playing out "the call" scenario in our minds. I had to go to work and clear my patient schedule so that I could get back home to see the photo and then we had to go to the agency to sign our acceptance papers. Unfortunately, I was unable to clear my first two patient's from my schedule so I had to clean teeth for 2 hours before heading home. I was sobbing through the appointments. Thank God I wear a mask as I know that I had snot running down my nose. I'm sure neither of these patients will forget these particular appointments.

I raced home and John and I just hugged and cried for about a minute before sitting down to the computer. He video taped us opening our e-mail. I can't explain how overwhelmed with emotion we were when her face appeared on our screen. We couldn't believe how beautiful she was. We had been warned that we might not fall in love with the referral picture from others who had gone through this process before us. We tried to prepare for this possibility. I know that some people have a hard time understanding how you can't fall in love with a picture that you have waited so long to see. But if you think about it, for those who can get pregnant you have nine months of a physical connection with your child. For those in this process your just praying to have a connection when you see that picture. For us this wasn't a problem. It was love at first sight. So now we have memorized every detail of her face. It has to get us through the next few weeks until we can kiss her and then forever change her life.

Yesterday we received an update on our Maya. She now weighs 14.3 lbs, she is 26.4 inches long and she has 6 teeth. Wow that floored me. Being a dental hygienist I know it is possible, but because she is small for her age I wasn't expecting her to be advanced in the tooth department. I better take my hygiene supplies so I can keep those pearly whites clean. I can't wait to see what she looks like smiling. We hope to travel in September. WE'RE COMING MAYA AND WE LOVE YOU!

We're a family!

Chinese Name: Yong Xiao Jiao
-- Xiao means "morning rainbow"
-- Jiao means "beautiful girl" (as told by agency)
or "a Chinese constellation" (according to wikipedia)

American Name: Maya Xiao Jiao Haug
DOB: 11/05/2005
Birthplace: Yongzhou City
Location: Yongzhou, Dao County SWI, Hunan Province, PRC

Other assorted tidbits about our little girl:
- deep sleeper (yea!)
- number of teeth = 3
- rolls from supine to prone position by herself
- holds her head up while lying on stomach (we can see that!)
- stands with her hands holding onto support (see that too!)
- crawls on hands and knees
- laughs aloud
- knows name, turns when called
- imitates sounds
- favorite toy = ball (the next Michelle Wie?)

TODAY'S THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I received a call this morning that I am a father! We have a daughter!!!!! Pictures and details are on the way!

I'm a basketcase right now and its very hard to do anything that requires the minimal amount of motor skills or dexterity such as typing, thinking, and communicating -- so I'll keep it brief.

John