Zach feeding fish

there are tons of gorgeous parks all over China...lots of them have HUGE gold fish that you can feed....when you throw food in, its a feeding frenzy for them.....here Zach feeds some of the fish

For those still reading the blog.....

I am going to post some miscellaneous pictures for those still interested in the blog....will try and provide updates now and then as to how the family is doing, as we sloooooooooowly get back into reality...

Red Sox......

Sunday morning.....5 30 am.....SLOOOOOOOOOOOOWLY getting caught up on sleep...Friday was going through the motions, zombie like....Zach had Flag Football that night, and actually was excited about it....Not a lot of sleep for everyone Friday night, as adjusting.......MISSED the exciting come from behind Sox win.......Saturday, Tee Ball parade for Zach.....then my family came down......Bella was great with everyone...took a while to warm up at first but then did fine......has tendency to gravitate to the men easier.....went to my brother and brother in law, no problem.....Eventually warmed up to the ladies.....Was very excited that she warmed up to my niece, Brittany, as Brittany is so excited to have Bella in our family....She is 12 and a sweetheart, and had fun with Bella.....Even my 6 year old 'rough and tumble, man's man' Spencer, took a shine to Bella....held her and kissed her (and blushed a bit).....was cute........very nice relaxing day.....Bella fell asleep at 5, and didnt wake up until 5 15 this mornin.....Zach fell asleep at 5....woke at up at 12 30 at night, had a snack, and went back to sleep....Yours truly watched the exciting Sox game........was dozing on couch, and called it a night at 8 PM!!!! can't remember going to bed that early, but feel great today, and getting caught up.......Tina's family comes down today, weather is incredible....and all getting situated and adjusted........Nice to be home......nice to have great weather.....friends....and family.....and nice to watch the Sox beat the Yankees.....!

...."what a long, strange, trip its been"......

It is Saturday morning, 5 30 a.m.....Whole Walnista household is wide awake, including Loki.....We are trying to get back on our schedule, which meant that yours truly did NOT stay up and see the Sox come from behind win over the Yanks last night......Bella is having a little difficult time 'adusting' to American time (and her crib)....but, she is doing great.....we are happy to be home.....Loki came home yesterday, and we eagerly anticipated the first 'meeting'.....He came in, walked past her, and plopped down on the floor......hasn't given her much of a thought, except when she eats, and drops food from the high chair....In his mind, he's got a new best friend, who will gladly 'share' table scraps with him.....Bella, on other hand, isn't too sure what to make of him.....she cant take her eyes off of him..needs to know where he is....but, when he comes close, snuggles in a bit....shes not crying, which is good, and we try and have her reach down now and then to pet him.....We are back in our 'normal' routine now....Zach had Flag Football last night; missed the first 2 practices, but had it last night with his buddies AJ and Alex...seemed to have fun.....looked well organized....Today, Tee Ball parade at 9:30....then my family will come down for a bit to meet Isabella.....and Zach has tee ball game at 3 PM.......Tomorrow, Tina's family will be down.......She seems to be doing fine meeting new people....We introduced her to both our neighbors, and last night at Football, seemed to be entrhalled with our friend, Bill......I was kind of a 'zombie' yesterday, going through the motions....both Zach and Bella took great naps, and I should have joined them.....we know Monday will be crazy here....Zach back to school....me back to work.......Will take a little getting used to, but we will all be fine.......Before our trip from Beijing, we were in Guangzho, where Tina definitely primed the Chinese economy.....that Wed before we left, had developed a 'new' strategy.....as ALL of the shops near the White Swan hotel know when Americans are in; and when they are departing....We were leaving that day at 10 30...soooooooooo time for some bargain shopping.....Basically, I would take out some YUAN's and tell them that is all i had left....Example...they were asking 100 YUAN for an item we were looking at (about 12 dollars).....I took out a 50...said it was all i had...they said, sorry, not enough....proceed to walk out...they try to negotiate some more....take 50 out again, say im broke...leaving today...this is it.....sure enough, they take it......granted, we think we get a great deal, getting it for half....but we ALL know that the little Chinese 'heirloom' they just sold me was mass produced, and probably cost them 5 yuan......!!!! anyway, we did get some things for our house.....they did an incredible job of taking a picture of Zach and Bella and 'etching' it in a small piece of slate......we also had their chinese names and american names written on wall hanging.....all and all, was fun to pick up some stuff, but couldnt get too much do to weight limit of suitcases when you travel....If you go over certain weight limit for in China flights, will cost ya $50 dollars....luckily, Tina is a phenomenal packer, and switching items around in suitcases, it was a non issue......I will post some info about the famous 'Red Couch' pictures in Guangzho that all babies get taken.....our flight to Beijing........and getting from Beijing to Newark in a little bit, along with more photos of the family.......

Bella and the Walnistas...are....HOME!!!!!

It is 12 40 AM, EST time...States Time.....We are IN OUR HOME!!!!! LONG LONG LONG trip, but everyone did fantastic....details will follow tomorrow, but flight from Beijing went great.....Bella sleeped for almost the entire flight....we were incredibly lucky.....flight was to depart at 3 45, but was delayed about 45 minutes...no big deal,, made it the time on the other end....We boarded about 3 15...Bella fell asleep at about 4....slept til 630...woke up, had some supper...played with us for an hour or so, got tired again.....around 9, fell back to sleep and i woke her when we got to Newark......we were excited.....no fussing...no crying......no passengers looking at us, in disgust, shaking their heads (come on, we ALL dread when we see babies on our flights, dont we????)......Newark was a nightmare...not customs or anything, but the flight....was supposed to depart at 8 45 pm......got delayed til nine...then, we sat on the runway until 10 15...!!!! so, instead of landing at 10 or so, landed around 11 15.....then, taxi service FORGOT our car seat....yup, Bella's first car ride in states, and it was 'illegal'....Anyway, as our bodies are telling us its 12 45 PM, we are pretty awake now.......but , wanted everyone to know our journey to GET Bella has ended, but our journey as a family of FOUR has just begun.......will post details and catch ups tomorrow...love to all

Might be last post of the trip...???? not sure

Okay, it is about 8 20 PM, Tuesday night.....We just had a big dinner with all of the families......luckily, it was right across the street from the hotel, as it POURED rain....first time the whole trip that it rained......kind of bitter sweet.....we are here for a few more days, but pretty hectic travel schedule....tomorow, we meet in the lobby at 10:30 a.m.....ALL of the families and babies get pictures taken.....then, it is off to a Temple for the Chinese Monks to bless all of the babies....From there, it is lunch, then to the consulate to get sworn in as the babies parents, basically stating that everything we indicated in our documents is true.......we are then off to Guangzho airport, where 27 families and babies fly about 3 hours to Beijing....we get in mid evening to Bejing, and stay at hotel near the airport.....we catch some sleep and have the morning free on Thursday......our flight is at 3 45 out of Beijing on Thursday, but with that many families travelling, we assume we will be at airport fairly early for the flights....right now, Bella is sound asleep, Zach is watching a movie, and we are packing yet again......trip has been great, but getting tiresome living out of suitcases........Today, was a 'free' day; the guides and doctors took all of our paperwork to the consulate, and everything went smoothly....We got up, had a phenomenal breakfast downstairs (American and Chinese fare), and then hit the streets to do some shopping......we mostly bought things for Zach and Bella......we really didn't get much for ourselves, except things that we can hang up at the house, etc....Was nice walking around Shamian Island, which is where we are......had an early lunch, then walked around some more..(and had a nice iced coffee from Starbucks here in the a.m...they warn you about Ice, but I say be damned; dying for iced coffee, and figured it was safe at Starbucks...so far, so good)......in afternoon, Zach, Bella and I went for a swim....Bella loves the water; Tina had some down time to wander about........beautiful here, but we are ready to begin our journey home.......For this hotel, you pay for internet in 24 hour slots, so our time ends tonight at 9:40 PM China; 9 40 EST a.m.........so, will try and post a comment or two when we get to Beijing before we depart......Hopefully, can sneak another one in before we depart...If not, will definitely post sometime on Friday, 4/20 when we are home, safe and sound....Thanks for all who have followed our journey, and shared this incredible experience with us.....We are truly blessed to have great family and friends who took an active interest in our bringing Bella home....It has been over 2 years since we started this, and seeing her every day, it seems like she has always been a part of our family......We know that the 2 years was worth the wait, and that Bella was meant to be with us.....She looks a little like Tina and I (got my chubby cheeks for sure)...idolizes her big brother (and shares similar traits as he does).....So, the reason for the long wait, is that they just hadnt 'matched' a Bella yet for us, and they certainly got her right......And now she is a Walnista for the rest of her life, and we could not be happier......Love to all.....

"gotcha day", April Ninth...

As we have some time now, I thought I'd post some information about 'Gotcha' day......as previously stated, we left Bejing early on Monday, April ninth and flew to Nanning City. There, we were met at the airport by our travel guide, Glen (about 27 years old; incredibly nice guy; great great sense of humor; lots of fun; speaks English well).....Anyway, we load up on a small van to take us to the Majestic hotel in dowtown Nanning....We check in, relax as best we can, knowing that we were getting our babies that day......we try and eat in the hotel restaurant, but no one is really that hungry......At 2:30, we meet in the lobby to head 15 minutes to another hotel....At that hotel, there is a reception area, where the orphanges will bring our babies....As stated, there are 4 families with us: myself and Tina (getting Bella, 11 months); Jackie and John from NH (getting Roma, who turned one on 4/10); Jimmy and Nancy (Vineyard; getting Laina who is 8 months), and Carmen from Long Island, travelling by herself, who is getting Jianna (who is 21 months)....We all go into this room....kids toys, etc...and wait........we are told that 2 of the 4 babies are there, and waiting for the other 2 (come to find out, it is Bella and Laina).....shortly after 3, we are told that all of the babies are there.....they bring in the babies, one by one.....Roma was first...She was in Foster Care, and the Foster mom was there, sobbing...very very close to Roma...Roma was very cute......next baby is Jianna, who did cry at first, but was okay with Carmen...She is the oldest....21 months........next was Laina, the youngest and a cutie....!.....last, but certainly not least, was Bella......Our hearts melted as soon as we saw her...she was handed to Tina; no tears.......just a smile..(only tears were from yours truly)...then to me....again, no tears...little hugs....little hugs for Zach....did not cry ONCE that first day....incredibly emotional day.......we stayed there for about an hour, as the foster care and care givers stayed with us......then, we all went back to our hotel on the van....by then all the kids had quieted down.......we relaxed in our rooms, and eventually met up for dinner....all of us excited, and emotionally drained......On 4/10, we had to go to 2 offices to get paperwork notarized, signed off on, and had interview with the orphange directors.....had to answer personal questions about education; promising never to abandon or abuse our children, etc. We were also able to ask questions about our babies directly to the caregivers......We found out that bella went to everyone, except the director....was very happy baby in the orphange.....Always sucked her thumb (we wanted to make sure it was nt a nervous habit cuz she was with us; when you meet her, u will see that there is either food or thumb in mouth), we found out about eating and sleeping habits.....if there were anything she liked or disliked....that her and Laina were in same orphange at same time.....that she loved playing with other kids...........after all was said and done, 4/10 became the day we officially became Bella's parents.......So, 4/9 is gotcha day; 4/10 is the day we became parents........Best thing is we stayed in Nanning from 4/9 until the following Monday, 4/16....Most families go to Guangzho earlier, but due to trade show, we couldnt....In all honesty, we preferred it this way.....Nanning was extremely relaxing....gorgeous parks, and we only had 4 families/4 kids with us....many groups had 12 to 15 families/kids with them, which makes it difficult to do tours, go out to dinner, etc....We became close with this group, and glad that all worked out......as beautiful as Guangzho is and the 'island', it is also more pricey here, as it caters to a lot of businessmen.......okay, off to spend some money.....post more later