We're Home and She's Awesome!

We are home...Logan LOVES her big brother Parker Bear...he loves her too but is still getting used to the idea of this little baby in the house.

We are really jet lagged...and feel pretty tired and sick but overall we're okay. Logan seems to be turning her schedule around ok...last night was definately better than Saturday night when we got only about 2 hours sleep.

She is amazing as always...happy, laughing, playing, eating well...she is a dream...it all feels like a dream actually.

Wanted to say thanks again for everyones support. I plan on continuing this blog for a bit to discuss her milestones...

We're Coming Home!

Today was our last full day in Beijing...tomorrow it's off to the airport for the 13 hour flight home...wish us luck.

We went to Tiamanen Square today and the Forbidden City...also the Silk Market to shop...and shop we did.

We went out tonight for Beijing's famous Peking Duck...my Dad would have LOVED the food...it was amazing.

We have just tucked Logan into her crib tonight and this is my last entry until we are home...what an adventure. It feels like Bin Bin has been in our lives much longer than 11 days...it's been a challenge but an incredible one...and my heart is filled with love and joy.

I'm so looking forward to getting home to Parker and for all of us to be reunited. And also for all of you who have loved and supported us through this journey. We are so thankful for each and every one of you...we love you all. I'll leave you with a few more pictures of our travels today and of our beautiful daughter. Can you believe she is one year old in 6 days? (Oct 2)

Much love

M

Logan is a Canadian Citizen!!!!!

Today we went to the Summer Palace...it was beautiful but Ken was bored...let's face it he was.

After the tour, it was my group leader responsibility to go to the Canadian Embassy again to get our Children's Visas and letter of immigration/citizenship. So I'll thrilled to say that Bin Bin is now an official Canadian citizen...or should I say Logan Jin Yu Bin Melanson Cuperus is an official Canadian citizen. She has a travel visa for Canada in her Chinese passport and a paper that officially says she is now a citizen...very exciting and really moving...you all know me...of course I cried.

Tomorrow we go to Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City ..oh and out for a special Peking Duck dinner....then we come home on Saturday...hooray! I can't wait to get home....

Much love to everyone.

M

Today we saw the GREAT WALL OF CHINA!

What an exciting day...today we went on a day long tour to the Great Wall of China...what an amazing site to see. Bin Bin as usual was a really good girl today. She was a little bit off last night and didn't sleep well...I think the move to Beijing made her nervous that we were going to leave her...what a hard little life she has already had and she isn't quite one...doesn't seem fair.

She continues to amaze us though...laughing and playing and being the group comedian...much like her Daddy. She has a great ability to make people smile and laugh...she even grabbed the microphone from the tour guide in order to give her own speech...pretty cute.

Ken and I are enjoying our time here but also are anxious to get home to Parker and our life as a foursome. It's really hard to be away from a child this long...our hearts are heavy. But Parker is being such a good boy back home that it makes being here so much easier...and allowing us to focus on Logan's attachment to us has been our number one priority.

Tomorrow we go to the Summer Palace and the Silk Factory...I think Ken is going to go crazy...he would much rather hang out here at the hotel and watch movies and play with Bin Bin...but when in China...right?

All the best to everyone back home.

Much love

M

In Beijing Safe and Sound

We are in Beijing safe and sound and all is well...Logan was as amazing as ever on the flight...what a good girl she is.

The hotel is the most beautiful place I have ever stayed and Ken upgraded us today to a suite so we are living like Emperors and Empresses...it's pretty sweet.

We went to the Canadian Embassy today to do our immigration paperwork but found out it wasn't correct so we have to do it again and go back again...because the process for immigration is new...Logan now comes to Canada as a citizen...our guide was not sure of the paperwork and it looks like some of us didn't fill it out correctly...so we'll get that done and over with today and then tomorrow it's the GREAT WALL!!!! So exciting...

I won't post too many pics today...didn't take too many yesterday as it was a travel day...but wanted you all to know that we are safe and sound and will be home in about 4 days or so...

Much love to all

M

Our Last night in Nanning

So this is our last night in Nanning and it was our best day yet! Logan is now my buddy and comes to me readily. She still needs Daddy when she is really really tired for comfort but she actually let Ken leave the room no problem today as she stayed with me a played...She also has shown us that she knows "No" by shaking her head and also can nod for "Yes"...so so smart. She loves her new pink bus toy that we bought her and it has a telephone on top and she loves to chat on the phone...a typical beautiful smiling child. Her smile lights up the room and she now giggles and laughs all the time. We can't get her to stop eating! She loves everything we have given her. We just got back from a wonderful dinner at a local restaurant and she ate congee rice with chicken, steamed rice, buddha cake...earlier I had given her almost an entire banana and peaches...oh yogurt too! My heart is full of love for this child. I now understand what everyone says that when you have a second child, your heart just opens right up and lets the next one in...I actually felt it physically today...if was like a flood of emotion. She is so easy to love...I'm in tears just thinking how lucky I am to have Ken, Parker and Logan in my life...and then to think we are supported by our family and friends is overwhelming. I think my love for Ken has doubled here as well. As you all know he is an incredibly father and husband...it is amazing to watch Logan and him fall in love with each other...she is the apple of his eye. I cannot wait for you all to meet Bin Bin...she is a special child that will enrich all of our lives...I promise you that.

I miss my Parker Bear so much but spoke with him on the phone today and he is so happy...he said "Only one more row of x's on the calendar" until we are home. I am so proud of him. Tomorrow we fly to Beijing...Great Wall here we come! Wish us well on our first flight with Logan.

Much love to everyone.

M

It's getting Better and Better and Better!

What a great day we had today! Bin Bin (Logan) is doing amazingly well...so smart, funny and beautiful. She comes to me all the time now...as long as she knows Daddy isn't too far away. And today she called Ken BABA (Daddy) so that is amazing. When you say who is Mama she points to me...so sweet. She loves food...all kinds of food. We are letting her try everything. She loves bananas...she is our little monkey. She loves to clap Hooray and waves hello and goodbye...she is so smart. And she points up to the sky when she wants to go for a ride on the hotel elevator...where she likes to vist the water fountain and the fish tank.

We went to the People's Park today...beautiful park and much like Centre Island/Centreville...lots of trees, lake and gardens and then an amusement park for the children. We got lots of smiles and waves from the wonderful citizens of Guiping who seem very supportive that we are taking one of their own to Canada for a new life.

We also went to the bakery and are trying lots of different pastries...and we went swimming again. Our little one loves the pool...

We are so in love with our little Bin Bin...she is the apple of our eye...and we are filled with joy. We cannot wait to get home to Parker Bear so he can meet Mei Mei...she is going to love her brother so much...she loves a good comedian and Daddy has used up most of his good material.

Much love to everyone...only one more day in Nanning tomorrow before we fly to Beijing. We did all of her immigration paperwork for the Canadian Embassy today and get her passport on Monday morning...can't wait until we have to back on Canadian soil.

Thank you to everyone for your warm wishes and comments here and on facebook/email. It fills our heart to know that so many people already love and support Logan and our family...it brings tears to my eyes to read what you are all saying.

Much love

M

She's coming to me today! Hooray!

It's amazing what this wonderful little girl does each day...she is quite an amazing little being...she let me hold her TWICE today to feed her her bottle and then much to my surprise...she let ME take her swimming. She loves to swim...she actually waves her arms and legs in the water. Her Foster family must have taken her swimming. She took to it right away and she knew what to do immediately. She is starting to attempt to feed herself more and more and this morning grabbed Daddy's toast right out of his hands and ate the whole piece herself!

We went on a 1/2 day tour of the city today...to a beautiful waterfall park set to music and then to the Mountain with a temple, 8 storey pagoda and other beautiful views of the city. We fed the fishes...she makes fishy faces...very cute. We then went to the Museum and Ethnic village...we enjoyed it but it was getting so hot we came back to the hotel to rest...like a good little trouper she had a 1 1/2 nap.

She is a really happy baby now...smiles and laughs and chats away...and eats like a little horse...

Things are getting better and better...but I had a little cry today...I miss my Parker Bear like crazy. This is an incredible adventure but I can't wait to get back home to Canada and start our life as a family of four...

Much love to everyone.

M

She's getting more comfortable by the hour...

Well...we made some strides today. She is still Daddy's girl but she let me hold her hand while Daddy held the other and we walked down the hall. That is huge! She still won't let me hold her but she will play with me and continues to let me feed her. I know she will fully attach to me soon...we are just thankful that she is attaching well to Ken at the very least....she LOVES her Daddy. We got lots of giggles and laughs today...Mommy even got the odd smile. It's hard because it's 97 degrees outside and too hot to go out and play so we are stuck in the hotel. Everyone is a little couped up. We did walk to Walmart this evening to get supplies and we managed to get her to go in the stroller for most of the walk...she loved it!

Tomorrow we are attempting a tour of the city...to a mountain village and then to the Nanning museum...wish us luck! Logan is doing amazing developmental things today...she claps when she is happy and is learning to high five. She can also wave bye bye and oh...the most important thing of all today...much to our relief (and hers) she had TWO bowel movements today. That is a good sign. It means she is relaxed enough to let herself go. So we feel much better about her health. She is eating really well...and lots of things now...noodles, veggies and egg today! As well are her rice staple, fruit and her bottles.

We are falling in love more and more each day...she is so easy to love...and so beautiful to look at. Daddy melts when she smiles at him...

We both miss our Parker Bear so much and can't wait to get home to him...I can't wait to him to meet his Mei Mei...

Much love to everyone...

M

It's Official...Logan is legally ours...and guess what? She walks!

So Logan is officially ours! We swore the Oath of Parenthood today with the other families...it was a beautiful moment. She is much happier today with us...and is definately Daddys little girl. She slept 10 hours through the nights last night...what a good little girl and didn't cry at all this morning when she saw us. The babies are all so resilient. She will let me feed her and play with her but will only let Daddy hold her right now. Apparently that is very normal as she may not trust that I would leave her...we also found out something else...she walks! We didn't even know if she could crawl today and then she just got up and started walking! Good thing Papa already put up the baby gates back home. Parker also got to see his sister today via Skype and Grandma and Papa too...thanks to Auntie Margo. That was a really special moment. The best part of the day is that Daddy got her to smile and giggle...that is the pic below...playing the old classic peek a boo. Works everytime.

Introducing our baby girl...

Well she is in our arms! Wow...what a day...this is just a quick post to say we safely have Logan...she is very sad right now...cries quite a bit and asks for her "Nana...Nana"...which is her Nanny at the orphanage. We have gotten her to calm down and play a bit with us so that is good. It will just take some time for her to understand we are her Mama and "Baba" and then we will be fine.

She is absolutely beautiful...very healthy but very tiny. She is almost the oldest of the group but is definately the tiniest...petite and pretty. We love her tons already and can't wait for you all to meet her.

I'll post more when I can but here are a few pics...we'll hopefully have her smiling in no time.

Love to you all.

M

It's Gotcha Day!!!!!

Well everyone the moment is here. We are about 6 hours away from Gotcha Time...I can't believe the time has come.
My heart is filled with so much joy and love right now...I woke up feeling like it was the best Christmas morning ever and then to top it off the computer rings and it's Margo Skyping from my home computer with my Mom, Parker and Nick there to say hi! Parker was so happy to see us and I am over the moon with happiness that I got to see and talk my little guy on Gotcha day. He is doing so well with Grandma, Papa and the Ortolans taking such good care of him...he's a lucky boy! Tim Horton's timbits twice in one day!
I did not realize coming here that I would fall in love with the country like I have. Especially here in Nanning. It's such a beautiful city. It feels like we are in a tropical carribean country without the beach...palm trees, lush plants and flowers and 95 degrees! Everyone is very friendly. Not many people speak English here but we get by with hand gestures and such when we are off on our own and not with our guide. Yesterday we had McDonalds for lunch in Parkers honour...the peach sundae and french fries were the best!
We are off to a meeting now to discuss what will happen in a few hours...I will post pictures as soon as I can...when Logan seems settled...
Wish us luck!
Love you all
M

In Nanning now...almost Gotcha Day!

Well we are in Nanning now and it's almost Gotcha day...about 30 more hours until we see Logan! The Majestic hotel here is great...lots of room and the crib is already set up for us. We are going to go to Walmart today to get some supplies...we were there yesterday for a brief while..it was packed with people because it is the Moon Festival holiday. We bought clothes, toys and books for the orphanage. That felt really good to shop for the kids that we can't take home...I wish we could bring home more than one...we are hoping to relax by the pool this afternoon. It's our last day before we have the baby. It's 95 outside and very tropical and green here in Nanning. I'll take some pics today and post them...meanwhile I'll post more pics here of Shanghai.

All for now.

M

Goodbye Shanghai and Hello Nanning

Today we leave beautiful Shanghai and fly to Nanning where we will receive our girls in two days...we're all pretty excited but I must say...I'm pretty emotional. We went on a tour yesterday and I started to cry at the Jade Buddhist Temple...I just felt so much peace there and such a connection to China...I'm not a religious person but I have always felt connected to Buddism for some reason...weird I know.

Our tour yesterday was great...we went to the ancient town of Zhoujiao and it was incredible. Lots of great pics that I'll post here. Then we went to the Jade Buddhist Temple and the Yuan Gardens. It was very busy because it is Moon Festival time here and many people are on holiday. We then went to the Bund famous for it's European architecture and great pictures of the financial district skyline. There is a really cool Television Tower called the Pearl TV tower...it's really neat.

I'm still not sleeping well but I think it's mostly because I'm excited and not because of the jet lag...and I'm still a bit sick but I'm sure I will be fine soon. I miss my Parker Bear and can't wait for him to meet his Little Mei Mei (sister)

I'll post again soon...

We're in Shanghai!.....and it's awesome!

Hi Everyone:
Well the last couple of days have been a bit of a blur...14 hour flight and we then lost 13 hours of time...so it's Friday morning here and I think we've slept only about 4-5 hours...but the best part is that we are here and it's a beautiful place. What an amazing country. Shanghai is very big and very metropolitan so absolutely no culture shock...all signs are in Chinese and English and everyone speaks English...so we haven't been challenged at all just yet. We are here in Shanghai until Sunday and then we travel to Nanning. We get our girls on Tuesday....we are going out and about around Shanghai for the next couple of days so I'll try and post some pictures when we take them...

Wow...do I have great friends and family or what?

So much to my surprise yesterday...my friends and family threw me a big time baby shower for Logan...with full out Chinese themes and spread...it was unbelievable and once I have pics I will put them up here. Coral, Denise and Margo are the best friends/family anyone could ask for...there were like 30 people there! And I am pleased to announce that I received the car seat I wanted. I was wondering that the heck was going on for a few weeks now...Ken wouldn't let me buy the darn car seat and we need a car seat! Now I know why...
I was pretty overwhelmed when I walked in the door...saw some wonderful friends who I adore and pretty much all of my Aunts, cousins, sister-in-laws and nieces and of course my Mom...
I cried...A LOT!!!! A LOT A LOT!!!!!
Thanks again everyone...we are like 60 hours or so away from being on the plane and we're super excited...the bags are packed...the paperwork is ready to roll...I'm hugging and kissing Parker like 1000 times a day...I'm gonna miss my little guy so much!
Probably the next blog will be from China so stay tuned everyone...here we go!!!!!
Much love
xoxoxoxo

One Week to Go!

I cannot believe that we leave in a week! All of a sudden I don't feel prepared...and I mean that in two different ways. I'm not "physicially" prepared...still have so much to buy/pack/clean/organize and I'm not "emotionally" prepared...I thought I was...and I'm positive I will be on the day...but I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. I cannot wait until she is in our arms but at the same time...can't help worry about "what if she is super upset?"..."what is she is sad?"....I feel excited for her and us that we are starting this wonderful life together but I also worry for her that she is going to go through something in 13 days that for her little person will feel very traumatic.
It was Parkers first day of SK today...my little guy is becoming such a man...off he went, didn't even look back at me! They grow up so fast!
Tomorrow I will try and get more things knocked off my list of "stuff to do" and hopefully will feel better about everything...it hasn't helped that I have this silly nasal cold!
Overall...I know this next month will change my life forever...and for that I'm grateful...