Sharing

The theme of this post is sharing. We've been preparing Mitch for Tess for so long that he has no problem sharing his parents with Tess. It's the rest of the house that needs to remember how to share, particularly me (Tom) and Baxter!

Tracy's been itching to get back to running but there was always something. When our friend Jerri Lynn told Tracy about the More Womens Half Marathon in March, Tracy decided to sign up. Little did I realize, it would mean thatI'd have to share the road with Tracy! My "regular" Saturday run will now become Tracy's and we'll have to alternate during the week.

Baxter, too must learn to share, since we came home on Friday with another dog, Shampoo, a 4 1/2 year old female, Yellow Labrador Retriever! Shampoo ( we are open to suggestions for a modified evolution of this name--currently in play: Shamu and Shamp) was one of 7 dogs caught in the middle of a divorce. Until Friday night, Shamp lived in Greenwich, but when we answered the phone on Friday morning and heard her story, we decided, Why not?

Shamp, like Tess, is extremely low maintenence! She seems happy to have landed in such a good set up. Shamp, like Tess, also needs so additional TLC and attention, as Shamp is a very chubby dog! Living with Baxter will no doubt help Shamp to lose those unwanted pounds.

So the moral of this post, the boys need to learn how to share with the girls!

Summer In January and The Pats!

So Tess still hasn't experienced the winter we've been preparing her for this year! Kunming's weather was like San Francisco and Guangzhou's weather was even warmer. Mamaroneck, as well, has been unseasonably warm. Yesterday, January 6, 2007 we set a record with a 70 degree high! Today was a bit cooler, but still warm.

Global warming aside, it's been great to be outside. Today we took advantage of the weather and enjoyed an outdoor activity that we all love-- hiking! All of us, including Tess and Baxter, went for a hike in Saxon Woods. It was muddy and wet so Baxter loved the hike.

Yesterday Mitch and I spent the afternoon at the Rock Gym in New Rochelle, an indoor rock climbing gym. While Mitch spent his time climbing with a staff member, I prepared for a test so that I could belay for Mitch anytime we want to go. Yesterday was a great day to golf, but I simply ran out of time.

After our hike today we treated Tess to her first "puppy" from Walter's Hot Dogs. You know what, she likes hot dogs! We went home and did some chores and watched the Patriots/Jets game.

The first half was hard fought, but then we put the Brady jersey on Tess and the Pats began to turn it on and the outcome was never in doubt after the Brady jersey. Thanks for the good karma, Mike Mitchell! It's funny, when Mitch was a baby, he had a Bledsoe jersey--but like Bledsoe, Mitch always puked while wearing it! The Brady jersey is a different animal!

I am also attaching a picture of Mitch from last week on the roof of our house...he was brave enough to go up the ladder and get Baxter's toy off the roof.

Kunming: Cigarettes and Tobacco

Today is a big day for Tracy and Tess as Caroline Alter is hosting a coffee and tea get together this moring for all of the neighbors to meet Tess. Although, I think everyone in Taylors Estates has met Tess at least once.

Now that the holiday's have passed we have settled into a nice little routine that we hope will continue for some time to come.


I was just reading an article in the WSJ this morning about smoking in China and it reminded me of how many people I noticed smoking while we were in China.

The cigarette and tobacco industry in China is state run and maintains a monopoly effectively excluding all foreign brands. According to the article, smoking related deaths and illness are on the rise as 35% of the adult population in China smikes, compared to 21% in the US.

What's more companies are targeting the youth market and as a result China estimates that 1/3 of all Chinese, 29 or younger will die because of a smoking related illness.

On the flip side, tobacco is really fueling development and growth in rural places like Yunnan province and Kunming. Kunming's sports complex, which I remember seeing, was funded entirely by money from Chinese tobacco, and the highway heading south of Kunming was built with tobacco money. 50% of Yunnan Province's tax base comes from tobacco taxes. So it's really hard to criticize the tobacco industry given all it does for development in rural China, but hopefully other less damaging industries will flourish in China. But that's the magic bullet aropund the world. Don't even get me started on the environment....

Baxter and Tess

Here is a great picture of Baxter and Tess getting acquainted. Note the look on Baxter, he's thinking, "Great, now I'm # 3 on the pecking order with Tom and Tracy. At least there's good food coming my way again. Thanks, Tess. Woof."

Mitch and Tess

It seems like there aren't any pictures of our kids together, so I am attaching two, one shortly after Mitch met Tess for the first time and then another when Tess meest Santa Claus for the first time.

Of course, Mitch is a very proud older bother and has enjoyed showing off his sister to anyone who hasn't met her. Friends and neighbors continue to drop by and stop in hoping to meet Tess and hear about our trip. We aren't going anywhere for quite some time so please do drop in--but call first!

Tess met her pediatrician today and everything went well, except the blood test, which didn't happen. The doctor had a hard time finding a vien in little Tess' arm so she decided to wait until Tess fattens up some more. Speaking of fattening up, Tess has gained another 2 lbs. and is perfectly proportioned and in the 25th percentile for children her age--but quickly catching up.

We heard from another family that was in China with us, the Clifford's and they too seem to be experiencing some similar adjustments, most notably the waking up at 3 in the morning.

And the top picture is a picture of Mitch destroying a Buffalo Wing!

Christmas Day

We've been home since Wednesday, 5 days, and readers are having withdrawal so I will do my best to post regular updates and pictures.

Since coming home we've settled into a quasi-routine. Tess sleeps pretty well, but wakes up somewhere between 2 and 4 am so she insures that her parents' sleep is interrupted, which affects Tracy more than Tom.

Tess continues to love the outdoors and gets excited to look at the trees, the sky and and the birds. On Friday when I got home from work there was quite the commotion in front of the driveway, Tracy just arrived home from picking Mitch up at school and as she and Tess and Mitch were getting out of the car all of our neighbors stopped to get a "glimpse" of the famous Tess! It was great to see everyone and to have Tess meet everybody (but she was sleeping).

Then on Saturday we went to the Westchester Mall to get Santa pictures--both Mitch and Tess did great with Santa. Chtistmas Eve we went to the 6 pm mass and Tess really enjoyed the singing and the people watching!

Christmas Day arrived and both Mitch and Tess made away with lots of loot from Santa and their grandparents. Mitch and I especially the like air-hockey game that he got from Nani. After Santa and gift giving Tracy and I began to prepare our Christmas dinner with friends, Dave and Jerri Lynn. Our dinner and the company was terrific and it reminded us of our Holiday dinners when we were on the West Coast.

Every day Tess does a little better, she eats more and she uses her arms and legs more and she will continue to catch up--we have a great activity saucer and a bunch of other stimulant activities.

This week should be quiet for everyone, after tomorrow's visit to the doctor, so Tess will get more love and attention.

Merry Christmas to All!

Home Sweet Home

So it's Thursday and the O'Brien family is home! Tess did amazingly well on the 14 hour flight from Hong Kong to New York. She slept for almost 7 hours so Tracy and I also slept and read and watched some movies- Talledaga Nights twice.

After landing and clearing customs we had a huge welcoming committee-- Mitch, my parents, and Tracy's parents and then arriving home, Skip and his family were also waiting so Tess received a nice treatment from the O'Briens and the Carpenters, and she told me that, in spite of them, she'll stay in New York.

I will try to post more as we go along so everyone can check Tess' progress and adjustment to be a US citizen.

Red Couch, US Consulate and Train to Hong Kong

Today was the day Tess, Tracy and I took our oath at the US Consulate in Guangzhou and the day we would finally leave the White Swan Hotel!

This morning we spent time strolling Shamian Island one last time and packing our bags, giving Tess a bath, and getting ready to leave. Over 50 families were to meet at 2:30 this afternoon for bus rides over to the US consulate in Guangzhou. But before heading to the consulate all the families gathered in the lobby of the White Swan Hotel for the traditional photos on the famous red couches.

The US consulate used to be a few blocks from the hotel, but a few years ago the consulate moved to an area called "new" Guangzhou, a brand new financial and business district approximately 30 minutes from the city center. There was a beautiful park, fountains and open space resembling Freedom Park across the street from the SF Moma.

All the familes entered the consulate through metal detectors and security. Once inside, we were made to wait, but thankfully the consulate deals with more adoptions, 6,500-8,000 per year, than any other consulate in the world so they moved quickly. A nice woman from New Jersey walked us through the oath and answered a few questions and then dismissed the families and sent us all along. One family in our group, ran into a bit of trouble as the wife mispelled her daughters' Chinese name three times and signed a notarized document that was incorrect. Thankfully for her, a senior US official took pity and quickly fixed the type-o.

Returning to the sidewalk we quickly and abruptly said good-bye to the other families and, along with Minhua, hopped a taxi to Guangzhou East train station for our train ride to Hong Kong. Other than having to lug our many bags and Tess up three huge escalators, the train to Hong Kong was delightful, and probably quicker than taking a flight to HK. Tess slept the entire time and caught up on some long overdue naps. About 1:40 minutes later we arrived in Hung Hok Train Station in Kowloon, Hong Kong. A $300 HKD ($27 USD) taxi ride later we now sit in the Regal Airport Hotel where we will stay tonight before boarding Cathay Pacific Airlines flight CX 830 at 10:15 am on Wednesday, December 20, 2006. With good luck and a safe flight we will land at JFK at 12:55 pm on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 where we will excitedly reunite with Mitch.

Our next post will come from Mamaroneck, NY where we will review Sal's Pizza vs. Joe's Pizza and where to find the best cheeseburger!

Tracy and I were talking about our experience these past two weeks and we both agree that everything exceeded all of our expectations and Tess,Tracy and I have all adjusted to one another better than we could have hope for and we all look forward to a bit of the mundane.

Thank you all for reading about our adventure welcoming Tess to the O'Brien family. She is a wonderful little girl that we look forward to watching grow up along side her big brother, Mitch.

Getting Local In Guangzhou

Sorry for the late post we had a busy day of sightseeing.

Tired of the "disney" style atmosphere of the White Swan Hotel, this morning we got up and went to Blenz Coffee, a Canadian coffee chain. The cafe had Wi Fi and good coffee so we were golden. We couldn't venture very far in the morning because we were waiting for the ok from the US Embassy. As a rule, the day before the embassy swearing in our Chinese facilitators bring all of the family paperwork to the US Embassy for final approval. In the event there is a mistake or problem all families have to stay in their hotel rooms so they can be contacted. We didn't receive a phone call so we met two other families in the lobby and decided to have a quick lunch and then explore more of Guangzhou. Steve and Melissa had heard about a jade market so we started to ask around.

A souvenier shop owner, Michael, told us where to go. He wrote down the name of the area in Chinese characters so we could show to people on the streets. Although the market was only a 15 minute walk from our hotel, we were worlds away. Guangzhou is like NYC, pre-Guliani, lots of homeless and cahos!

Along the way we passed by every kind of specialty shop imaginable-- shoes, t-shirts, tea pots, metal parts, button and zipper parts, belt buckle parts, luggage shops etc. After about 15-20 minutes we arrived at the jade market. We weren't really in the market to buy anything, but we've become quite skilled in the art of haggling. In fact, the O'Brien's might be the best hagglers in GZ! After poking around the jade market for an hour or so we decided to visit another Buddhist Temple--Hualin Si. This temple was much more "local" and less touristy, but just like Liurong Si, this temple was also destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. It was restored in 1990 and every artifact was replaced including the 500 golden Buddah statues, including the "Marco Polo" Buddah.

The 2 other families decided to take taxis back to the hotel, but we decided to walk back and we made it to the hotel in less than 15 minutes.

Because, this evening was our last night in Guangzhou and our last under the watchful eye of Minhua, we invited her to join us for dinner. Returning from the jade market we noticed a nice restaurant on the edge of Shamian Island (island where hotel is), that coincidentally is known for its "Shanghai-nese" style food--Minhua's hometown. We let Minhua order for us, and not surprisingly, we enjoyed our best dinner on the whole trip!

Tomorrow morning we all meet for photographs. The girls in our group will be photographed on the "Red Couch" an adoption tradition. Then we go over to the US Embassy where Tess will be sworn in as a US citizen and we get a lecture from the Embassy prefect (Minhua says the head of this office is extremely wordy). Tomorrow afternoon ought to be interesting as we head to Guangzhou East train station for a two hour ride to Kowloon train station in Hong Kong before we begin our long journey home.

Our time in China has been amazing, and certainly worthy of "trip of a lifetime", but we're all anxious for some good old "Western Food", like turkey sandwiches and pizza and of course, hamburgers!!

And if the video upload works, here's Tess moving around!

Guangzhou Sightseeing-- Buddhist Blessing

Today our group met to do a little sightseeing. Minhua escorted us to Liurong Si,The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, a Buddhist temple built in 1097. The temple sits on a quiet street across from a Hofbrau House.

Entering the courtyard of the temple, the atmosphere was serene and peaceful. All around the temple were statues of Buddah and places to burn incense and make offerings--fruit and money ( I guess all religions are the same really). At the far end of the grounds was the main temple altar to where the families were escorted. We were asked to remove our shoes and then enter the altar area where a Buddhist monk was preparing his prayer belssing. We all knelt down and listened while the monk burned some incense, said a few prayers and then turned to wet us with a small Banyan leaf soaked in Buddhist holy water.

After the girls and the parents received a blessing we climbed the Hua Ta, Flower Pagoda, a nine story monument in the middle of the courtyard. On each level there were people kneeling and praying to various Buddahs inside the pagoda. From the top we could see the entire city from old to new. GZ has many, many high buildings mingled with the older homes and apartment.

After visiting Liurong Si we then drove to the Chan Chen Academy Museum, a restored home of a rich nobleman who lived in the latter part of the Qing Dynasty (approx: 1900). The home was surrounded by a high stone wall and inside the stone walls the home sits in a beautiful garden with hundreds of decorative Bonsai Trees (same word in Chinese).

The museum had hundreds of wood, ivory, and stone carvings depicting images of the late Qing Dynasty and atop the peak of the roof was another series of similarly ornate woodwork decorations.

Tess really enjoyed the outing today as she continues to awe at her surroundings. More and more we realize that all she saw for the first 9 months of her life was the inside of the Kunming Children's Center. Every day she smiles more, laughs more and eats more. And we might be biased, but Tess really is the most beautiful girl staying at the White Swan Hotel.

We're really looking forward to coming home with her so she can meet her big brother Mitch and her silly dog Baxter, her grandparents and extended family and friends. Hopefully life in New York will suit her nicely! Everytime we talk to people we point to Tess and say. "Ni Hao, New York" or "Hello New York" everyone is proud that a little Kunming baby will go to live in New York.

Minhua-- Our Chinese facilitator

We didn't want any more time on our trip to pass before we posted a few pictures of Minhua, our facilitator. Minhua has been with our group from the moment we stepped off the plane in Kunming. Without her, we'd be lost!

Minhua, a nurse by trade, has been forced into also serving as our guide and trip director calmly walking us through every application, signature and administrative office. Thankfully, Minhua has been involved with many adoptions so she has really put all the families at ease especially us. When we first met Tess, we were concerned because she was such a small baby at 10 months. Minhua assured us that Tess would be fine, she simply needed some TLC and attention. A week later and she was right!

Hopefully we can keep our promise to Minhua and have Tess graduate from Brown! It's no PC, but it'll do.

Check Up and preparation for Visa application

Today started out with breakfast at the White Swan. It is quite a change from the hotel in Kunming. Since all US families must pass through Guangzhou, this hotel is full of babies and toddlers. Our facilitator, Minhua, definitely knows the system. She had us all meet at 9:30 in the lobby to go get our visa photos and medical exams. When we arrived at the medical clinic there were only a few families. We cruised through the three check up stations. When we were leaving, there were families lined up all the way to the door. As you can see in the bottom two photos, Tess did great at her check up. According to the doctors, she has gained 2 lbs. since we first got her. She's 15.7 lbs. and 68 cm in length.


We did a little shopping after the visit to the clinic. We're getting a bit better at haggling, but most of the women here seem to have Tom figured out. They all look at him to negotiate the price. I've had to drag him away a few times and simply say "No, we don't want it."

We spent a few hours this afternoon filling out more paperwork. This time for the US Consulate. We're all looking forward to tomorrow as it will be a day free of agencies and paperwork. We're going to the Six Banyan Temple and Chan Clen Academy Museum.