Our Itinerary

5 days and counting until travel! After a lot of working on details for how we are going to get from the airport in Hong Kong to Guangzhou (the city we will be staying for the entire adoption process) we have an intinerary. So here is what our time in China will look like:

Nov 25: Flight from Chicago to Hong Kong departs at 1:15pm
Nov 26: Arrive in Hong Kong at 6:45pm (China time)and stay overnight there
Nov 27: Train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou (arrives 12:30pm), met by our guide Lee, check in Victory Hotel
Nov 28: GOTCHA DAY!!! Meet the child at civil affairs, sign paper
Nov 29: Registration, notary
Nov 30: Go to public security office
Dec 01: Medical test, TB test, Check notary documents
Dec 02: Go to Wuchuan orphanage (this will be 9-10 hours of driving round trip but we really wanted to go see where Chun Le lived before she joined our family)
Dec 03: Go to the clinic to see TB result; fill in visa forms
Dec 04: Visit Chen family Clan Temple; Visit Liuhuahu Lake Park
Dec 05: Guangzhou zoo trip
Dec 06: Visa appointment at US Consulate, family swearing in
Dec 07: Pick up visa and leave for Hong Kong by Train, overnight in Hong Kong hotel near airport
Dec 08: Flight from Hong Kong back to Chicago!(arrive 11:05am Chicago time)

So that is our trip in a nutshell! We also got an update from the orphange on her current measurements. According to the Carter's children's clothes website size chart she is right at the tallest height for size 18 months and the shortest height for 24 months. There is a little guy at our church who is one month younger than her and is alomst exactly the same height and weight and wears 18 months with a few 24 months size clothes his mom said. So we will probably bring a few of both sizes for her and see which fits her best. She has only gained one pound in the last 5 months so we are happy to be finally going to pick her up and transition her diet so that formula is no longer her main source of calories. We think that is the case right now and she is at the age (she will be 2 in January) that we can be feeding her more and more solid foods. The mainly liquid/soup/porridge diet is very typical of kids in an orphanage, so they are taking good care of her, but we think she will be ready to move on to a more varied diet. Having all the travel details figured out is helping us to focus on the excitement of meeting Chun Le and welcoming her to our family. We wish Rachel and Isaac could be in China with us but decided a long time ago that overall it would be best to have them stay at home in the care of Grandma and Grandpa Fitzgerald. They will enjoy that Grandpa and Grandma time! Hopefully we won't have any technical glitches that prevent us from continuing our blog in China. So, in case I don't blog again until we leave, be watching for updates from China! We will be 13 hours ahead of Chicago time while we are there. Please continue to pray for us as we go on this adventure to meet and bring home our little girl! OH--one other thing--we finally decided on her middle name. Her full name will be Chun Le Elizabeth Stowers!