by the way

For those of you who donated, we wanted to let you know that we received a document from the Civil Affairs office in Guangzhou, certifying our donation of 35,000 RMB (at the time, about $5,850 USD) to the orphanage. Very official and all good! While in Guangzhou, we were also able to donate bags of diapers and formula. The orphanage takes in hundreds of new children every year (yes, hundreds every year at this one orphanage), so all of your support is very much appreciated and needed. Thank you, again, to all of you that made this happen.

We're all getting settled in and going to seemingly endless appointments. Yun's given 12 vials of blood so far, and if she liked ice cream (she doesn't!) we'd surely have given her all she wanted after the string of rough appointments she's had in just her first 2 weeks home. We've many more to go, on top of day care tours, which are actually going pretty well! In the meantime, we're still getting wonderful food deliveries and taking lots of walks around the neighborhood. Thankfully, the weather has been absolutely glorious since we returned home, so we've been able to spend lots of time on the deck (no grass, grass is scary) and out and about in the stroller.

Still haven't gone through pictures, but it's still on our list. Hope to share more soon!

settling in

apologies for the radio silence. it was impossible to post in china, and since returning home it's been, well, impossible to post. we've had a rough go of it the past couple weeks. Yun's been sick - sick enough that i (tatsuko) had to take her to the hospital in the middle of the night in Guangzhou. i ended up giving her antibiotics, which seemed to help… until it didn't. by the time we arrived home, things were coming to a head with this sickness. pretty quickly the rest of us caught it and i seemed to get the worst of it. i was bedridden for three days, unable to stand for part of that. thankfully, anthony was able to rally and take care of her nearly round the clock. additionally, we've had some amazing meal deliveries (some with alcoholic beverages included) from incredible friends from the very first day we arrived home, which has been a tremendous help.

there is so much to say about our time in china. it's been the most difficult experience of my life, and it's such a relief to finally be getting settled. one of my goals for this week is to get my pictures uploaded to my computer. it will take me some time to sort through them, but eventually i do hope to share more about our adventure. in the meantime, Yun and Frankie both have doctor's appointments (it's looking like hepatitis for sweet little Frankie, who is absolutely obsessed with Yun), and i'll be looking into day care and doing a hundred other things.

hoping to post more as i continue to get my bearings! oh, and i think we should start a list of the things no one told me about becoming a parent. here's what's at top of mind today:

1. teething isn't just bad. it's absolutely horrible. up yours evolution.
2. when the hell am i supposed to eat?
3. yes, you really do need a high chair. when the hell are they shipping that thing?
4. um, waterproof mattress cover anyone? 2-day shipping please!