Goodnight Penelope, tomorrow you're going home.

Our new friend Wayne, the Orkin man.

Farewell party. Let's go home now.

These are from one province. Eight of these girls are from Penelope's orphanage.

The first of many family photos like this.

Penelope and Daddy

I could'nt decide so I put both.

Penelope and Mommy getting ready for the farewell dinner.

We're going home tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

We are finally leaving China and going home to start our new life with our baby girl. We are more than eager to go home. I woke up sick so Joe and I have been trading off while one sleeps the other plays. This afternoon we went to the U.S. Consolate to take an oath and receive Penelope's visa. As soon as she lands in LAX she become a U.S. citizen. I can't believe we finally made it. These past three weeks were very long and we miss you all. Now let me tell you a little about China:

Weather: It sucks. It was always hot and always high humidy. Walking out side was like walking in a sauna, true. In Beijing the weather was nicer and a littler breezier but Guangzhou, sucks. Imagine jumping in the shower and straightening your hair, put make up on and ready to go, then you step outside and you start to sweat, your hair frizzes, and your makeup is melting. That's Guangzhou.

Traffic: It sucks. We went to Yangxi for a 4 hour trip. On our way back it took 7 hours. Enough said. The street lines are just guides, the cars will cram into any space just to get by. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. When one is crossing you must be looking both ways all the time even if it's green you.

Food: It's okay. Some meals were great, some were okay and some were awful. We had more of the okay and awful than great. The chicken would be surved with it's head on the plate, to show "freshness". The shrimp was always cooked whole meaning with eyes, shin and colon intaked. I'm sooo craving a taco.

People: Because there are soooooo many people in China, the mentality is "get out of my way". Us Americans would take that as rude, they're in survival mode. We turned lots of heads when we would walk the streets with Penelope. Some smiles, some dirty looks and some confusions. I would just smile back and kiss Penelope on the cheek, sort of letting them know that she will be loved.

Massages: They're Great!!!! I just returned with the rest of the fathers (Joe was on mom duty tonight) and it was incredible. I had a 1 hour full body massage for $8 and it was better than the States.

So we return tomorrow night and we know that everybody is eager to meet Penelope just as we are eager for her to meet you, but we would like for this weekend only to rest, recover from our jetlag (15 hour flight) and have her get used to her new environment. We will be going to the Dodger game on Saturday the 24th and I plan on taking her to my Nina Esters house on Sunday for everyone to meet her. I know that you will understand. Again thank you all your beautiful comments, I will be printing them for Penelope to have.

We love you!!!!!!
Joe, Pati and Penelope

Thank you Tia Nessa for my Puurrrrfect outfit.

Penelope and Daddy reading the menu.

2 more days!!!!!!!

Today we were quarantined in our room until 11:30 am to be available if there were any questions on our paperwork. We passed!!!! Tomorrow we will take our oath and receive Penelope's visa. Joe is extremely homesick. He misses his home and his other babies. He's also sick with the flu so everything else becomes worse. We went to the electronic district to see how much cameras would cost. According to Joe they're the same, but I did purchase 6 DVD's for 60 yuans (about $7). So far one can't be read, one disc stops alot and the third's quality sucks, but what do you expect for a little over $1 each. Tonight we had our last evening out as a family because tomorrow night there will be a farewell party for us. We ate Italian and it was okay. Tomorrow I will begin to pack.

Someone is coming Ginger who will try to throw you from your thrown.

We miss you Apple! 3 more days.

She also cries when you take her temperature. Penelope weighs 14.8 lbs and is 26 inches long.

We found a new playpen for Penelope, her rubber duck also serves as a tub.

Tia Pepper and mommy holding Penelope taking shots.

3 more days!!!!!!!!

Well Sukie and Pepper left yesterday and we were sad to see them go. They had spent the last 2 weeks with us and they were ready to go home, also because I think they spent all their money on shopping. How many pairs of sunglasses did you get again Pepper? And how many watches do you have Sukie?(hello, hello, watchie? watchie?) Ahh, the sounds of street merchants.

Today I filled out the applications for Penelope's visa. They will be submitted tomorrow (Wednesday) and on Thursday we will go to the U.S. consulate to take an oath and get the visa. We leave Friday and it can't come sooner.These past 2 1/2 weeks have been amazing, exhausting, fun, sad and unforgettable. We can't wait to get home with our new baby girl and start a new life with her. We have been reading your comments and every comment that I read makes me cry, because I feel very lucky to have family and friends that are genuinely happy for us. Family and friends that are ready to welcome Penelope with open arms and lots of love.

The pictures that have been posted of Penelope are not the best just to show her best views, she is adorable. She is always smiling and is a happy little girl. We have a baby carrier that Joe has been using to walk with her and she laughs when she sees him putting it on. She knows that she's going out. While walking everybody that sees her smiles at her and she smiles back. We are very lucky to have her in our lives. I can't imagine my life without her now. Motherhood has come natural. Her crying doesn't bother me and that's amazing, right Virita? She cries when she's hungry and that's only when Joe was not fast enough in making the bottle. She cries when she's sleepy so all I have to do is carry her. Oh, and she cried when she bumped her head on the refrigerator door at 7/11, bad mommy.

Joe is out getting his $8 body massage with the rest of the fathers. Hopefully I will get one before we leave. Tomorrow we are suppose to go on a dinner cruise, hopefully it won't rain.

Buddist monk who performed the blessing ceremony.

Penelope being blessed. Notice where her mouth is.

Penelope and Mommy at the Buddist Temple.

"Why are you taking so many pictures of me Daddy?"

Penelope enjoying her first crawl.

Pepper holding Penelope after her first bath.

Penelope and her Nina Sukie on the bus ride back from Yangxi. It took 4 hours to get there and 7 hours back due to rain and gridlock. The bus would move 25 feet and stop for 20 minutes it was awful. By the way there were 6 babies on the bus.

Downtown Yangxi

Our bus driver.

Penelope's home the first 8 months of her life.

The baby room. There are 65 children and the youngest is 4 days old.

The front gates of the orphanage.

Penelope was left at the steps of this park. The only architecure in the city.

Orphanage Trip

Yesterday was much harder than I expected. We drove to Penelope's orphanage 4 hours south of Guangzhou. The ride to the orphanage was not as bad. The guide spoke most of the way about the agancy and how it began which was very interesting. He also spoke about China's one child law and that's why there are thousands of abandoned girls because the families prefer boys. There is an orphange in every city in China. Imagine how much the need is for every city to have an orphange. We drove up to the orphange and were greeted by the director and caregivers. We sat in the reception and spoke to the director for a few minutes. We asked what the orphanage needed in terms of donations and she mentioned that the children who have Hep B are isolated from the rest of the children so they want a play area for them. We are going to put our resources together and try to make that happen. The caretakers picked up Penelope and she let them but would not stop looking at me, that felt great. We later went upstairs to the baby room and it was heartbreaking. There were 45 steel cribs with a 2 inch plywood as a matress. All of the children's heads had flat bumps behind. Some had bandaids on their heads because of the bleeding on their heads. All 45 beds were occupied and some children were asleep on the floor. They each had washcloths to grabbed to for comfort and to suck on. It was so hard and none of us were able to hold back the tears. I wanted to grab as many as I can and bring home with me. It's hard to imagine that these beautiful babies were abandoned because they were the wrong sex. I walked out of the room onto the balcony and saw down the hall an open door with babies lieing on the floor. There were about three of them and they looked to be about 2-3 months old. A lady was picking one up and moving it down roughly, then wiping it's face down hard as if it was an assembly line, I lost it at that moment. I wanted to run and yell at her for being so inhumane, but I had to turn away and just cry. I'm still crying and I can't get that image out of my mind. We walked to front of the orphange and took pictures in front of the gates. Trying to smile for the camera was practically ridiculous. But I just had to pray that each of those babies would find a home one day and live happily ever after. The director treated us to lunch at a local restaurant and it was okay. Not much of an appetite. After lunch we were all driven the spot where our babies were abandoned. Penelope was abandoned at the steps to a park. The city of Yangxi is old and poor. All of the buildings are concrete boxes. It seems that the park is located at center of the city where all of the shopping is done. The park is the only beauty in the city. I can only imagine what Penelope's mother was thinking when she left her there. What was it about this place? Did she want her to be surrounded by nature? Did she want her be surrounded by beauty? I do know that she left her there so that someone can find her and give her good life. And that's my promise to Penelope to give her the best that we can provide. For her to appreciate her life and what is given to her because after yesterday my perspective has changed. My life has been difficult but I don't think it will ever compare to those babies. For those unlucky children that are not adopted what will happen to them? Who will hug them and tell them that they are loved everyday of their lives? I feel so blessed to have Penelope and to be given the opportunity to hug her and tell her that I love her everyday of her life. Tomorrow we will be going to a Buddist Temple where Penelope will be blessed. I will pray for her to live a healthy and happy life.

Hello

This is the first time in 3 days that I have to myself. Both Penelope AND Joe are asleep. Penelope is not as much work as I thought she would be. She's very happy and loves to smile. It took awhile to keep her on the schedule that she was used to, but all is well now. We were concerned because she had not pooped in 3 days, but when she finally did, it all came out. (I can't believe I just wrote about a baby's poop, oh well that's my life now). BUT, she hates to be messed with, meaning, do not clean her face, do not put clothes on her, and do not try to put anything on her hair. She will scream and once you stop, she smiles. She's talking, well she babbles "da da da da da da", some sort of baby talk. She loves to be kissed and tickled. She wakes up with a beautiful smile and it's always for Joe first. Every morning Penelope and Joe take a walk to the Starbucks down the block and according to him, EVERYBODY loves her. Joe looks so proud when he's carrying his little girl. He addresses her as his "Princess" or "Daddy's Girl". He carries her around with him but I'm the one changing the diapers. I'm letting him get used to the smell before he has to help.
Sukie and Pepper have been great. We try to carry Penelope as much as possible so that we could bond, but they are ready to help as soon as we're tired. They found this wholesale area for knockoff bags and have been there 3 times in 2 days. There is almost a 20 year difference between them but they have found something in common, shopping. Can these girls shop!!! A suitcase has been purchased to bring back all the stuff that they have bought. Please no more orders, Vanessa has been emailing Sukie everyday with a new order.
Tomorrow we will be going to Penelope's orphange. It will be all day. It takes 5 hours to get there. I'm expecting it to be emotional but I will keep in mind that her destiny was to be with us. I try to keep up with the daily journals but some days I'm just tired. Black coffee has been my salvation.

"Hi Tia Virita!" Penelope on the phone with Virita.

Joe and Penelope shopping at Beijing Row in Guangzhou.

Penelope taking a stroll with mommy.

Waterfall at rear of The Garden Hotel

Koi pond at The Garden Hotel.

Penelope exploring the camera.

Penelope in a close-up.

Daddy found the B&W feature on the camera!

You can't get that finger out of her mouth, yes we have tried the pacifier.

Ornelas Family's first dinner.

Tia Pepper crying with the rest of us.

Penelope seeing mommy and daddy for the first time.

Waiting for Penelope.

She's ours!!!!!

Yesterday was sureal and amazing. At 3pm we were taken to civil affairs office to pick up our girls. We were taken to a very hot room where we were able to hear the babies crying down the hall. The whole time I was crying. Some parents were laughing others had terror in their faces. All I wanted was for them to hand her to us. One by one we were called up and a baby would enter the room to be given to her new parents. When our names were called I turned to Joe and his eyes were tearing. Penelope entered the room and was given to us by her caretaker. At that moment everything hit me. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. She looked at me with a bit of confusion and put her head on my chest. Many babies were crying but not our girl. We took her back to the hotel so that we could get aquainted. Last night she slept from 9pm to 6 am. We only slept a few hours. Any noise she made, I was up making sure she was fine.
Today we went to civil affairs office to officially sign the adoption papers. The notary asked if we were satisfied with this child, we answered yes, so he said, "well, then she's yours, have fun". So Penelope is officially ours. With that said she already vomited on her daddy this morning and he just laughed. Parenthood agrees with him.

True Dodger fan.... Penelope can not wait to attend here first game.

Daddy and Penelope.

Mommy and Penelope.

INTRODUCING PENELOPE!!!!

Today we received Penelope at the Civil Affairs Office in Guangzhou. It was a extremely emotional day for all of us, as you can see on the photos. I don't know who was able to conduct themselves more, Pati or myself.

Today is Gotcha Day!

Well we made it! To day is the famous "gotcha day". This is the day all 38 families which are in our group will be receiving their babies. I just can't believe we're here. This is a day Pati and I have been anticipating for more than 16 months.

Last night we went out with a group of new friends for an early Italian dinner as married couples with no children. Of course throughout dinner, all everyone could speak of, were the babies. The pizza I had was amazing. Well, maybe not that good, but after dim sum lunches and dinners for the past 6 days... any other type of food would be spectacular.

Are hearts and prayers go out to four families which just heard that their babies have come down with the measles. One family was sent back home, to Hong Kong. Another family, which was still in LA, was stopped and may not come to China for a few weeks. Two other babies will be quarantine from the others. The two families which are in Guangzhou are hoping to take there little girls home the same time the rest of the group leaves.

After dinner we called it an early night and came back to the rooms. I tried to get some sleep, but kept tossing and turning. Thank god I went to go see my doctor before I left LA. Or perhaps I should be thanking the pharmaceutical industry. Ambien is one hell of a sleeping pill!

All I kept thinking was about was Penelope. Our dreams are now almost a reality. Penelope is about 6 hours away from being in our arms. WOW! From 16 months to only 6 hours away. I wouldn't be able to tell you where all that time went. This little girl does not know what she is about to get herself into. The love and family which is waiting for her back at home will be overwhelming. Including Ginger and Apple.... Penelope's two older sisters.

Veiw from our room at the The Garden Hotel in Guangzhou. And yes, that is a waterfall.

These are some of the gifts that await Penelope's arrival, including her yellow duck bath tub which eyes turn red, if the water is too hot. Pretty cool!

Can you interpret the meaning of these symbols?

One of many "look out" towers at the Great Wall