The Crawfish Festival

Pam was not feeling well. So instead I took this other girl . It was a great date. Gela Delafose was playing . We arrived and looked at the band for a while . We ate etouffe and sat on the seawall together and looked at the city lights. She was frisky and climbed on my back .. We ran around and chased each other falling to the ground,,laughing . She wanted to dance . We went to the center of the dance floor. Every noticed her and said how beautiful she was . We dance with abadon . The Cajun beat was inspiring. It was getting late and we decided to go back to the car. She said" Let's dance back " We could still hear the music. We laughed and dance on the sidewalk .. " I thought to myself " This is the greatest date I have every had '.This girl is so interesting ..and she is only four years old ..and my daughter"

Lili is now four .. She goes to the Montessori school here on St. Pete Beach. I guess it's good for her.. After one week she announced "The Earth revolves around the Sun"!!! I didn't know she knew what the Earth or the Sun were .. never mind how they revolved. She has been in more school events that I realized there were for three years olds. In December .. just after her forth birthday, she appeared in a a Christmas pagent . ..and in the end she danced on stage.. It was televised on the web.. We couldn't have been more proud..

And so it goes .. LiLi starts school, turns four .. makes many new friends and learns about the world . Our Spanish teacher is Luis .. On the televison she heard Spanish and sad" that's Luis talk ..like Mexico " She loves going to the movies..riding her bike .. she says .. "we're Obamas " and is learning about manners.. she says " Thank you for your present"

We spent Christmas with Luis .. speaking a little Spanish and going to the beach

Life is good

Happy Holdays

John, Pam and Lili

LiLi in Search of A School

I guess all parents think their child is really smart.. Today Pam told LiLi it was too hot to ride her bicycle outside . She said " we could tie an umbrella to the bicycle to cover me ". LiLi the inventor .. she already tells me that I can't flush the wipes and all other sorts of things that it takes a mother or a wife normally to lecture me on ..So we think it's time to find some formal structure to her education .. There seems to be so many schools to choose from all of them hard to get in.. Right now we are leaning towards a Montesorri school near our house.

Time will tell if this is a good decision .. anyway here's our genius

An Old Soul

In the Hindu religion an "old soul" is someone who has been reincarnated many times and has a wisdom beyond their years. There must have been Hindus in Yunnan Province because LiLi is definitely an old soul. She sees things beyond her years. ..Pam's cousin, David, is getting married and LiLi is going to be a flower girl. Today a package arrived from Pam's mom.. LiLi looked at it and said " It must be earrings for the wedding" And you know what ? It was ...How did she know to even think that at 3 years and four months.

Later she started playing with the computer and said she was going to find her favorite song...not really possible . She did however bring up a program with music on it . She said "Mommy, Daddy you dance" We did a little and then we said "Do you want to dance, Lili? "No, you two go ahead" Was that a three year old talking?

One day at the office she looked at a picture of Cesar Chavez on the wall and said "that man is from Mexico"...an old soul.

Someone asked if she was from China..she said " I'm a little bit from China but mostly I'm from here"..an old soul.

Pam had a migrane ..LiLi said 'let me kiss your head and make it feel better" an old soul

We were playing a game thowing the ball to each other on the floor and counting ... One, two, three..then uno, dos, tres (LiLi can count to eleven in Spanish) then LiLi switched to what she said was Chinese to count ..She had the tones down perfectly.

If she wants to stand on a chair or use a pair of blunt scissors..before you say anything she says "I be careful"

The thing that impressed me most was the other day I came home... down, feeling sorry for myself and muttered aloud "no one loves me". LiLi was playing right next to me ..without even looking up she said "I love you BaBa".

You could have knocked me over with a feather...an old soul

Happy "Gotcha Day"

It was one year ago today that our lives changed. LiLi has grown over 5 inches and gained around 7 pounds in the year. In the beginning we thought she had suffered burns on her legs but it turned out to be a rare skin disorder called EB. We were quite scared at first because in serious cases it can be fatal or the child suffers mutiple serious problems. After finding a specialist in Miami we found that LiLi has a very mild case limited to her legs..she quite possibily will grow out of it in puberty.

LiLi is a real talker ..smarter than we are evidenced by the fact that she finishes our sentences when we can't think of a word (remember we're the old couple).. "did you take your aaah(mom)? ..medicine(LiLi). Just now I went to turn on the tv but couldn't find the remote.. Without any discussion of what I was doing or looking for she said "it's over there" and she was right.

Bedtime can be difficult .. lots of stalling ..LiLi wants another story, milk, needs a diaper change anything to delay .. She likes it when I put my hand on her chest and sing "Hush little LiLi don't you cry, PaPa going to sing you a lullaby"... she corrects me if I get the words wrong.

Last night at bedtime though she grabbed Pam's hand then my hand and looked and me and Pam and said "Mommie, Babba"....we waited...what was it ...another story... .milk...Then after a pause she said "I love you ..good night"

Happy Gotcha Day

John, Pam and LiLi

http://johndubrule2.spaces.live.com/

LiLi The Genuis

Today LiLi seemed to leap forward in her ability to communicate. She really seems not only to be able to talk but can remember her whole journey. We asked her if she remembered China. She did ..she said something in Chinese. We spoke our limited words in that language and asked her again to say something in Chinese ..MaMa ..Baba.. we said no in Chinese and then she repeated MaMa Baba .. then we realized indeed that was Chinese.. she said other words, Wei etc. but knowing the difference between the words that were Chinese and English. We talked about our trip to Vermont she

Here she is with coconuts

said "snow!"! She remembered seeing GiGi (Aunt Gale) and Grandmama and when we talked about going to a restaurant with friends she said oh yeah!! and laughed

We asked who lives with us ..MaMa BaBa and who? ( hoping she would say Sammy the cat) she said Elmo!!.. I guess he does..

really stunning

Holiday Time With LiLi

LiLi is enjoying life as an American girl . Each day she get a new present. Some are for Chanukah, other are early Christmas presents or late birthday presents. She must think that america is all about presents (isn't it?).

Her words are coming quickly. Yesterday she said "see BaBa soon". She is in day care with a three year old friend. She love to say her name , " Asssshley"

BaBa asked MaMa for some money for lunch.. Just then LiLi came running up with something in her hand.. a penny!!

Each day a new door is opened.

This will be a wonderful Holiday with LiLi ..she glows with excitment and you can't help but catch it!

Pictures

LiLi loves to watch educational televsion. Every morning we wake up and sit together watching 64 Zoo Lane and Ebb and Flo . There is a giraffe on 64 Zoo Lane and when Lucy slides down her neck she says wheee!!. She is amazing in her ability to learn. She understands so much .. will run to pick up the phone and hand it to you ..helps clean up, holding the dust pan.. Signs and says I love you in the crib at night.

They say each child is meant for you ..you just have to wait for her. I don't know if that is correct but we do know that we couldn't love LiLi more . She is the cutest .nicest child we could ever imagine. If you are hurt she makes a sorry face and ooawh..says more to anything she wants more of.. knows where her treats are in the refrigerator.. grabs your hand and puts it on her clothes to tell you she spilled water on her ... grabs a cane and hangs from it ..feet in air ..she is so strong..so athletic.. loves to step up on a book to practice, can walk up the stairs (with help from her hands) ..and on the scale to weigh her self

She is a gift from God no doubt

Lili at Play

LiLi is doing great at home. She had learned many English expressions.. including cat bird and shoes . She loves 1..2..3 pop up and will hold us down to pop up with her.. where are your shoes LiLi.. she runs to find them .. Came home last night and removed my pants .she was behind me with my shorts.. put the pillow behind my head when I exercise. loves to sit next to us to watch Teletubbies .. pats the couch if we are not there..check out pictures at
http://johndubrule2.spaces.msn.com/

Life At Home

LiLi is settling in to life in America . She likes to see people and asks for the strolller which she calls walk.

We used to watch the Teletubbies and now it's LiLi's favorite show.. She likes the hypnotic windmill and the laughing baby.

She got a present of Mickey Mouse and loved it .She tried feed him Cherrios. A true American girl.

Home

LiLi arrived in her new home last night. We were worried that our rambuncious cat might frighten liLi. He ran under the bed and hide almost immediately when she came in. So much for that problem.

We were lucky on the flight home. The flight attendant asked the person next to us to move and we had three seats across. Charming LiLi made friends with a lady on the flight. She told LiLi in Mandarin to kiss her mommie and daddy and LiLi did. Only our second kiss. Lili also decided tht she was going to feed us and not the other way around. She took her spoon and fed her parents some ice cream. Maybe she can get a job and we can play with toys all day!!

LiLi met her Grandma, Aunt, Uncles and cousins and was given a big welcome to the family in NY.

We are happy to back in Florida now safe and sound.

Life at The White Swan

The White Swan is the hotel where many families stay before they get their visa at theAmerican consulate here in Guanzhou. LiLi passed her medical exam today so everything is going smoothly. In the room LiLi loves to play on the king size bed running from Pam to me and falling down and getting tickled. She rides piggy back on us. She loves to be lifted in the air high and get a wheee from her Ba Ba. Mama lifts her up to the window and night where she can wathch all the colorful boats on the river. The hotel gaved her a Barbie doll with an Asian baby. We found out that dada din't mean Papa but doll.. she missed her doll

In a nearby park there are old couple learning to Salsa, a whole group of ladies praticing a kind of fan dance, snapping their fans. They grabbed Pam to join them.

As fun as it is here we are ready to come home.

Telephones and Bellybuttons

LiLi has learned to use the tv remote. If she doesn't like the channel she pushes buttons until she finds the one that makes the channel change. She has been doing this for a couple of days. This morning she held the remote up to her ear like a phone and said Wai--hello. The she punched a bunch of numbers on the remote and held it to her ear again and started talking.

She likes bellybuttons. She pulled up her shirt and was looking at hers and started giggling. Then she pulled up my shirt to look at my bellybutton.

All the wait staff at the hotel gather and around her and talk to her and giggle when she responds. Our two social workers Echo and Mary seems to love her . They talk to her in Chinese and the three of them giggle and smile

Sometimes LiLi sings a soft song . We don't know what it is. She likes books. She likes to flip the pages like a deck of cards. She found a pen and pretended to write in the book.

Today is our last day in Kunming. Last night we sat in an beautiful outdoor restaurant by the side of a lake and ate dinner. Of course the waitresses loved LiLi. We have enjoyed Kunming but look forward to Guangzhou where buying things for LiLil will be easier. Next blog from the White Swan Hotel.

We Are Parents of LiLi

it Happened we made it to Kunming and found the most wonderful little girle waiting for us . This morning we became her parents. It was a joyous moment. Made even more joyous after the rough first day . She is very smart and so wanted to stay with her care takers whom she slept with and called mother and father .
We thought we had torn her away from them . This mroing though LiLi looked at Pam and said MaMa and gave her a kiss. Pam could have died..

Here We Are in Hong Kong

We arrived last night in Hong Kong after a 16 hour flight. All in all it wasn't that bad. Hong Kong is so modern. We literally were through customs, on the train to Kowloon and in our hotel in one hour. It's all so tomorrrow here. Giant skyscrappers, tons of people speaking all languages. Hong Kong island from Kowloon at night is stunning. Kowloon park near us was muy interesante with lots of people practicing Tai Chi in a totally beautiful setting of trees flowers and birds in an urban oasis

We met our social worker Mary and got a big surprise. ten more pictures of LiLi. She even cuter now and she is walking!!. After we went to the famous bird marker where they sell thousand of bird and people bring their birds for a walk..
it's world cup time here and everyone is so into it... an easy way to start a converstaion

Tomorrow we are going to Hong Kong island to visit Aberdeen and the ' Peak' and maybe taste some dim sum.

Sunday is the big day.. only two more days and its seem so real now.

The Night Before

This is the last night before we leave. Last night a tropical storm blew through our area. There' a storm going on in the house today as we get ready. So much to do and to get ready. Here's LiLi' room the night before we leave

Next stop Hong Kong

Journey Is Set

Our journey to LiLi is now set. We leave for Hong Kong on Tuesday , June 14th. Here's the link to our hotel which was set up by ISS, our Chinese social workers. http://hongkonghotel.marcopolohotels.com/
We thought that we might be in our typical budget hotels but as you can see this will not be the case.
We leave for Kunming on Sunday the 18th and will get LiLi at 4pm.. Father's Day!!!! We are so excited and at the same time a bit nervous about being first time parents.

Looks like the hotel there will be very modern. Antoher red thread . Our friends daughter Lisa is studying in Kunming and will come visit us. http://www.harbour-plaza.com

After a week in Kunming where we will adopt LiLi it's on to Guangzhou and the famous White Swan hotel. http://www.white-swan-hotel.com/eng/Public/index.asp

We leave Hong Kong for NYC on June 30 and LiLi will be home in St. Pete on July 2nd.

Last night we made our final pre-LiLi trip up to BabiesRus. We bought a rocker for reading with LiLi. What stories will be readthere? What moments shared?

Are we ready to be parents.? Yes..Sunday will not come soon enough.

Travel dates Sets

We have made our travels. We go from Tampa to Newark then direct to HGK. We arrive midday the next day. We're to stay there until the 18th when we meet our group in the airport and travel to Kunming, the capital of the province of Hunnan. Maybe we will meet our daughter then which is Farther's day.

We stay there a week to complete the adoption. Then it's off to Guangxou and the embassy where we have a June 27th appoinment and have to wait for our visa. We return to Hong Kong by train.

We visited Hong Kong in 83 and will be happy to see that city again. ..Take the Star ferry

So exiciting a day

Travel Approval

Today was another exciting day. We received our travel approval to go to China. We were caught off guard at how quickly this happened. In fact we were on the telephone with Dr. Dumois, a special doctor who reviews medical records for international referrals, when we got the news. Pam was so excited that she started to hyperventilate. We had to spend much of the rest of the day putting together our application for a visa to China. That involved getting photos, money orders and solving the Fed-Ex puzzle. Along the way we heard many stories, sometimes frightening , of others who had adopted from China. Seems like everyone here knows someone who has done this.

The whole time a bright glow inside us moved us forward. Just three more weeks until we travel.

We are one step close to holding our LiLi.