Happier in Guangzhou..... But man is it HOT!!!!!!

All is going well in Guangzhou. (except for the heat!) Yesterday they went to a park near the hotel. The temp was 35 degrees celcius (95 Fahrenheit) with 85% humidity! Look at Joe's shirt in the picture of he and Lili on the Merry Go Round, the top half is soaking wet with sweat! He said that a couple of their guides were giving him a hard time - telling him that he looked like he was melting! Actually... both he and Sonja are melting... Sonja has lost 5 pounds and Joe has lost 13. So - other than the extreme heat, high humidity and wanting to be home really bad-things are going well. Lili already had her medical exam and all checked out fine. They all three took advantage of the pool at the hotel. Lili loves the water! She is going to be such a perfect fit in the Balluff household!

Sonja, Joe and Liliana are FINALLY on the home stretch of this incredible experience..... HOME IN 5 DAYS!!!!

They have arrived safely in Guangzhou!!

As you can see by the above pictures.........

Lili did very well on the plane ride to Guangzhou ( for the most part). They were a little bit nervous about how she would react-but all went well. They are in a very nice hotel now that has a swimming pool and they believe that there is a park near by. Now Lili won't have to run and play in the halls of the hotel-they can actually take her to the park! They are also hoping to take Lili to the zoo.

Moving Star in the making????

I am glad to say that Joe, Sonja and Lili are leaving Guiyang tonight. They will land in Guangzhou at approximately 10 pm Friday night. (9 am Friday for us) They will be there for seven days and then back to the USA!!!! They are very anxious to get to Guangzhou. The hotel where they will be staying has a pool and they will be able to take Lili to the zoo. (There really hasn't been much for them to do in Guiyang-and the air conditioning didn't work well-so they are all very tired of that hotel) Lili has had two really good days in a row with very few "melt downs". Hopefully that will continue. I was texting via Sykpe with Sonja this afternoon and I have to share this with you all. She has been trying to brush Lili's teeth...... Sonja said they were quite "furry" and it doesn't appear that they have been brushed often (if ever). Every time she would attempt to brush them Lili would say "NO". So.... since Lili loves to "repeat" everything that Sonja and Joe do..... Joe suggested that Sonja brush his teeth......... so she did....... (the mental picture in my mind is way too funny!) IT WORKED! Soon after Sonja brushed Joe's teeth- she was brushing Lili's!

They went on a tour today (as Joe put it) "of some old town that was basically a tourist trap". Lili had a very good day with only a couple melt downs. The following picture of Lili is after a 10 minute melt down where she finally plopped herself down on the floor and fell asleep. The other picture is just precious! Joe and Sonja tell me that she loves to color! WHAT A DOLL!!!!

Monkey-ing Around.......

Mother and Daughter

This is a great picture that I took during our last Skype call. Lili is starting to adjust-but still has moments of crying spells. They are all anxious to leave Guiyang and get out of that hotel room!

Each Day Gets a Little Easier.....

Here is a bit of an E-Mail I received from Joe. Their internal alarm clock keeps waking them up at 3 a.m. every morning.............

" Guess what time it is in Guiyang. That's right 3 a.m. Anyway Lili was incredible tonight. After her bath she played for hours. She was laughing and giggling all night. She grabbed Sonja's head and gave her a big kiss on the lips. Sonja was on Skype with Matt so he got to see her skipping and running. She is starting to repeat some English words. I don't know if she has retained any yet, but you can understand what she is saying."

A Note From Sonja on "Gotcha Day"

Hi,

We have Lili, (aka ji ji for now) The first 2 hours were awful, she has quite the lungs on her. Poor baby, she is grieving. Then she came out of it and let me tell you she has quite the personality. She is going in and out of crying spells. This morning at 3 am she woke up and of course we were up as we cant sleep, and she started whimpering. She started telling herself don't cry, (boo coo) she repeated it several times. Well of course that made us cry, she is amazing. I have attached a couple of photos from the good moments we have had, hopefully they get more and more every day. Talk to you all soon!!

Sonja

SHE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just got done with a Skype call from Joe &
Sonja. Liliana is absolutely beautiful and tall! She seemed pretty content during the call feeding french fries to Mommy & Uncle Joe. I guess the first 1-2 hours were pretty heartwrenching with Lili crying & trying to figure out how to get out of the hotel room-but she seems pretty calm right now. She was busy puting the pacifier in Mommy's mouth. She actually came to Joe and sat on his lap for a few minutes. Here are a couple of Skype snapshots that I took during the call. I will post more photos as soon as they have a chance to E-Mail them to me.

Skype call snapshot from today (3am in China)

The next step.....

Sonja and Joe will be flying to Guiyang today...this is where they will meet Liliana. They are scheduled to meet her @ approximately 5:00 pm (China time on Sunday-4:00 am US time). They will be there for 5 days. They will go through the adoption process and some sightseeing. Then they are off to Guangzhou. I will post new pics as soon as they have a chance to E-Mail them to me. :-)

GREAT NEWS!!!!! E-Mails from Sonja and Joe

Ni hoa!!

We just found out that we are meeting Lili tomorrow at 5pm, not Monday. It will be late before you receive word from us tho, I have to get her settled....actually, I have to get myself settled. Very emotional all of a sudden!

Today was a long day, we went to the forbiden city and the great wall. I have seen the great wall a million times on TV but it is amazing. Joe made it a bit farther than I did but I made it to the third level!! I also got my pic taken with a Chinese guy that was fascinated with my blonde hair, so funny.

Went to the 7-11 and drinking my fav Chinese beer, tsingtao.VERY YUMMY. Wont be partaking in that anymore after today...lol. We got 3 packs mrlb lights and 5 beers for 11 US dollars. And yes, I am doing amazing at the no smoking thing Nora, you would be proud of me..........

Love all you guys and will send pics tomorrow!!! Matt I will attempt to call you sometime tomorrow.
Sonja

Hi Everyone!

Please do not expect pictures to early after getting Lili. We will do our best to get pictures out as soon as possible. But saying things might be a little hectic is an understatement. I am sure emotions will be off the charts also. Please be patient.

Love you all,

Joe

First Pics from China

The first days in China. They found their favorite Chinese Beer. (That didn't take long-LOL) Check out the guy hauling a frig on his bike! I would hate to have to move in China! Then you have one of the street vendors- then the police telling the vendor to move. Joe said that minutes after the police left...then vendors were back .

They have arrived.

Sonja and Joe arrived in Beijing @ approximately 9:30 am (our time) which was 10:30 pm (China time) without incident. I received a Skype call from them tonight @ approx. 7:30. They had just gotten back from eating breakfast. They were going to go out exploring today. Tomorrow is a "tour" day. They will see The Forbidden City, TianAnMen Square and the Great Wall (Sonja says Joe has to climb to the top-but she gets the T-Shirt! LOL) They will fly to Guiyang on the 23rd and get to meet Liliana on the 24th! I will post some pics as soon as they E-Mail to me.

THEY ARE OFF!!!

Mommy Sonja and Uncle Joe took off today out of Moline International Airport! YEA!!!!! They fly into Minneapolis, Mn for a brief layover, then to Tokyo, Japan and finally to Beijing, China. They should be arriving in Beijing @ 10:30 pm on Aug. 20. China is 13 hours ahead of us, so Matt should be getting get a call from them sometime Thursday afternoon to let us know that they arrived safely. It is 9:53 pm here... and 10.:53 am 08-20-2009 in Beijing .................. HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY LILI !!

Update

Well, here we are.......they are leaving in 7 days! Anxious, nervous, excited! I (Aunt Shelly) will be trying to post the pics they email to me (from China) to keep everyone updated throughout the whole trip. (If I can figure it out!) Please make sure to wish them safe travels!
Shelly

More Pics of Lili's Room