Lia Anne LuLou Markland

Amy and I would like to introduce to our family and friends our baby girl, Lia Anne LuLou! It is official as of Monday, August 16, 2010.  We thank God for giving her to us!  She is an answer to our prayers!   

It is Tuesday morning, 6:00 a.m. China time as I'm write this.  

Lia has slept soundly all night (better then we have).  Monday was a whirlwind…  We started in Beijing, up at 4:30 a.m. and on the bus at 5:30 a.m. We had a bus ride to the Beijing airport where we and  other six families (twenty one people) checked our luggage, got our boarding passes, then rushed to our separate gates.  We traveled alone on China Air to Nanchang, in the Jiangxi Province.  Several of the other families were traveling in pairs to their respective provinces. 

We arrived in Nanchang Monday mid-morning and walked off the plane into hot and humid weather.  Our guide Helen greeted us and then we loaded our taxi and headed off to the hotel.  Of course the first question we asked was where was our baby and when would we meet her.  We got a quick answer, "Oh, she's waiting for you at the hotel!". (Lia had traveled three and a half hours in from the countryside to get to Nanchang)    I think our mouths dropped open, realizing that this was it!  Helen got on her cell phone and called informing them we were on our way, just moments away.   We arrived at the hotel, walked into the lobby and there was Lia coming down the stairs with her nanny and a few others.  It happened so fast.  We wanted to stop and take it all in, wanted to rush up to her and hold her,  wanted to pull out every camera and video camera so we could catch the moment, etc..  She responded so well and in a few moments was in Amy's arms.  She did not cry one bit.  Introductions were made and we were off up to our hotel room for some getting to know you time.  The start of  us being a family!  A second later there was a knock on the door and in came a crib, stroller and baby bath tub.  We had two hours to bond with Lia, order lunch, unpack and get ourselves settled before we had to be at the Civil Affairs office across the street.  Lia did very well, she had a couple of quick cry's and that was it.   

Two hours later we were at the Civil Affairs office where we processed the Chinese portion of the adoption.  We still have the US process to complete next week.  BTW… traffic and taxi rides in Nanchang are very interesting.  I call it "controlled chaos".   

Monday evening went very well and Lia slept through the night.  Unfortunately Amy and I can't say the same (guess we're two nervous Nellie's). 

I'm sorry our pictures aren't coming through.  We're working on it.  Our stay in Beijing was very busy.  It was incredible to see Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and to walk the Great Wall.  We've dined on Chinese food and have enjoyed the different tastes. Nanchung has spicy food. 

Amy and I are enjoying this whole new experience of being parents and visiting China.  We've been getting smiles and nods from Lia and are getting a kick out of the whole bonding process! She is bonding to both of us very well.  She is a happy baby!