Last Entry from Guangzhou

Sorry I did not post anything yesterday, I do believe my daughter gave me the creeping crud. YICK!!

Yesterday was an off day although Chris needed to go downtown with Lifeng to make sure one of our documents we had notarized did not have a raised seal. In NY, a raised seal is not required, all is well. We did a bit of shopping but mostly I stayed in the room and rested. Chris is an excellent Dad, he took charge to make sure his baby girl was taken care of, everything went off without a hitch.

Today we must be checked out of the room and in the lobby before 2pm. We will get on the bus and head to the Consulate for our Oath. Cameras are not allowed in the Consulate so we will not be able to get any pics of this but we have Olivia to show for it. Then we are off to the train station for our 711pm train to Hong Kong. Tomorrow morning we head for Newark!! WOOOHOOOO

Uncle Frank, I have to upload a pic of your truck but of course it has air conditioning, you think I would stear you wrong..... it depends of how fast you get her going and how far you hang your head out the window!! HAHAHAHA

Hugs, Kisses, and blessings to everyone,

We will be home soon!

Chris, Leslea and Olivia Jade

Pictures

Medical Exam

Today we had medical exams and filling out tons of paperwork for the Consulate appt. We arrived at 8am and the tests were underway.

Olivia did not like the Doctor near her ears and began crying. She has not been tugging or pulling at her ears so I hope she does not have an ear infection. She did very well at the hearing test. The Doc started playing this little piano - I assume to distract her - and the started squeaking this toy at her right, she immediately turned her head to the right to look at the toy. He kept squeaking the toy and started snapping his fingers on her left side. She turned to the left. I was beaming with pride! The doc did this about 3 times, gave a hmmmm, and noted something on her file.

The next room was weight and length. Once again Olivia did not like to be taken from her Mama and started crying. Olivia weighs 22 lbs and is 28 inches tall. The ladies handed her back to me and the crying stopped. I think she is a Mama's girl!! I LOVE it!!

The final room was head circumfrence, but we were not given this measurement. Although I can tell you she has a BIG head! Sometimes her head gets stuck in her shirt when taking it off! She does not like it but I think it is funny. Her head is the biggest thing on her. Oh yeah, I also had to undo her diaper to prove she was a girl.

Chris and I took a short walk after lunch but other than that we did not do much today. None of us - Sharon and Marty included - are feeling all that well. In fact while Olivia took a nap I took one with her. I am not sure what I have but it is all in my throat!! IICCKKK Olivia has a little congestion and some green icckies so we started her on amoxicillin the other day. She seems to be doing a little better but she still rattles a little and has the runny nose. Currrently she is sitting on the floor having a little temper tantrum. She wants to touch this huge clay pot and will not take no for an answer. She does NOT like to be told no! So, she has learned some English words, no, eat, more and her name. Though, when she is mad we have better response calling her by her Chinese nickname, Miao Miao. Another bad habit, she has starting biting, WHEW, not good, she has gotten me once and Chris 3 times. The 3rd time with Dada and she was in serious trouble. He gave her a stern talking to and she has not done it since. Very smart girl!

It is 430pm here and we are going to order from Danny's Bagels. This resturant is owned by a guy from NJ, so we are excited!! WESTERN FOOD!!

Take care and see ya soon,

Chris Leslea and Olivia

Shopping, Shopping and More Shopping...

The Colonel has gone international!!


Today was a leisure day for us once again so we hit the streets for some bargains. Our first stop was to get baby girl some shoes. Not just your everyday run of the mill shoes, oh no those will not do, we had to get Miss Olivia some squeaky shoes! Indeed, shoes that squeak when she walks. At first she did not understand what made the shoes squeak but once she learned she would just stand and stomp her feet and giggle! Oh what fun she had in her new shoes.





Chris and I bought some shirts, well I say Chris, I bought some shirts today...hahhaha and an authentic Chinese dress for Olivia. It fits her now so I may be back to get her one that will fit her a little later! It would be cool to have one that would fit her for the Chinese New Year next year.





Just a short post and some pics for now. We have medical exams at 8am tomorrow morning and little miss takes after her Mama so she is not an early bird! Nope Mom, never have been never will be, some things never change! :-)

Good night for now! We love everyone!

The Caschette's

First Plane Ride

We left Hohhot this morning about 740am on our way to Guangzhou. Olivia did very well for her first 3 hour flight. She only had a few moments where she wanted to get off at the next cloud. I had to stand in the aisle for most of the trip and thankfully the rest of the passengers were helping to keep her occupied! Since we needed to get her up at 430am I thought she would soon be asleep, oh boy was I wrong!! She went to sleep the last 5 mins of the flight and promptly awoke when I got out of my seat.





We got to the hotel about 1130, went for a quick walk to get our barrings, had lunch at the Cow and Bridge - this awesome Thai place - Olivia and Mama was asleep at 2pm. Whew, much needed sleep!





Sharon and Marty arrived safely at 4pm, it was nice to see some familiar people! Dinner was at Lucy's, Chris and I had fish and chips and ice tea!! Yes, I said ice tea!! It was heaven in a glass. Since we can not drink the water here we have been drinking bottled water without ice! Not my favorite thing. I am a full glass of ice girl with a little drink :-)....





Mom, Aunt Katsy and Aunt Ann you are going to love this, last night Olivia sang to Mama and Dada. We were trying to get her to go to sleep, after the initial cry fest she laid there for a while twirling her hair. We were laying in bed next to her cuz if you leave she will wake the whole hotel! Anyway, she started bobbing up in the crib to see if we were still there and then back down, she did this 11 times! You bet we counted...HAHAHAHA. Once she was done with the bobbing she started to sing, mamama bababababa lalalala, over and over and over and over and over and over! Mom I was truly re-living nannerleeler!! HAHAHA





IT WAS GREAT!! We were lying there trying our best not to laugh out loud!



Good night for now! Talk to ya'll soon!

Hugs and Kisses,
Olivia

From Olivia

gvbjjhkjkutggyrtfghoujjnjnn nhyhhj.....Olivia's first post!!

Today was a day of leisure so Chris and I took a trip outside by ourselves! YEP, I said by ourselves, we even managed to cross the street without getting killed!! HAHAHA Although we did end up in the middle when the traffic began to move again so we looked like little dots out in the middle of no mans land but we made it! :-)

We went to the grocery store to get some more baby food and diapers! Whew, I felt like we were on parade. At least with Lifeng we have somewhat of a buffer. Nope, we were being stared at, talked about and pointed at.... I know no one wishes us ill but I will still a little on the uncomfortable side. We managed to get all of our goodies and out of the store and on our way to the park. We were only able to take a short stroll as Olivia was getting a little cranky. We also needed to get her down for her nap earlier since we will be leaving Hohhot tomorrow and on our way to Guangzhou on the 740 flight. This will be about 4 hours so this will defiantly be a preview for the flight home. I also am interested to see how she does on the flight.

Aunt Katsy we had lunch at the Jade Vine and whew was it hot!! When we ordered the staff even looked at us as if to say " you can not handle the heat"....they said "this very hot, still want?" You would have loved it, we had chicken curry and chicken with lemon grass! YUMMY

Uncle Frank I am still trying to get a pic of the 3 wheeled truck, those things zoom by and I can not get a clear pic! But boy do you need one! :-)

Aunt Ann thank you for your prayers, I can surely feel them working, Olivia is coming around more and more each day. She still has her moments of blind panic where she will be crying and we can not get her eyes open. I have finally been saying, "Olivia Mama is right here open your eyes", that seems to be working a little better each time.

Nanner (mom), thanks for just being there! You are the BEST!!

Grandma and Grandpa C we love you guys and thanks for sending the chargers! Your the greatest!

Closing for now, Olivia wants to do what she does second best, EAT.....her first best thing....SLEEPING!!

If I have a chance I will post again later, if there is time....gotta go for now!

We love and cherish our ENTIRE family.....we are also a little home sick!! Keep us in your prayers.

Hugs and kisses,

The Caschette's, family of 3

China brain dump

Leslea has been by far the most active on the blog up until this point; I've been snapping pictures here and there. I've had just enough time to be able to absorb and process our surroundings. It's true what I've heard-life is different here. I thought I'd share some thoughts on the past week's happenings. It's in no particular order, just as I think of it so try not to feel too lost.

People here: they are really friendly! I thought that everyone would think that we were intrusive, overassumingly indignant, and deservant Americans. Everyone from common folks you meet outside in the city streets of Beijing or Hohhot or in the clay farm fields of Inner Mongolia are totally cool! Next to none of them speak English, but that's perfectly okay. We're having a blast getting by on minimal amounts of Mandarin that we're learning from cheat sheets and Li Feng, our interpreter.

Gadgets/electronica: people from meager means to upper crust here HAVE to have mp3 players and cell phones. I suspected for a while that there was a 'special place' that people who didn't embrace such technology are banned to. I have since reversed my suspicions

Music: people here are huge into music. The teens 20 and 30 somethings have embraced the

Western flavored pop, rock, ballad, and hip-hop approaches. They are super creative and have excellent musical taste and technical prowess in my humble opinion.

Clothing: again the teens 20 and 30 something crowd take the cake on this. They're really big into clothing with random English words on them. You will commonly see young folks wearing tops or pants/shorts with the following examples stitched/screened on them: 'MASS Memory', 'Sparkling Doll', 'Overly Dogmatic', 'Kiss me, you know it's pretty'... you get the idea-it's great. I find it very entertaining. I also find it comforting that we are the leaders in fashion in these people's eyes that they take so many style cues from us.

Aviation: unless you want to be an airline pilot or agricultural pilot, there isn't any.

Traffic: talk about semi-synchronized ballet! These people consider anything more than 3 inches 'plenty of room'. I don't think a lot of the grandparents in the crowd reading these posts would really groove on the road-based transportation here. But, for lunatics like myself, I'm nothing short of awestruck and impressed. When we get a chance I'll post some video of their (not 'there' Nanner) mastery of vehicular and pedestrian maneuvering. What I/we call close-calls is and every-minute/everday occurance.

Food: bring your eastern appetite; there's no real western food here. There are many impressive attempts at things like uh... pancakes, donuts, steak, spaghetti bolangese, escargot, hotdogs, pizza, and the common like. Somehow the faint traces of curry lemongrass, garlic, and chili paste seem to follow you everywhere and at every meal.

Since the battery power is limited at the moment, I'll get back with you all later.

This truly is an experience of a lifetime (besides having a baby). We are so fortunate!

Well, more later. I hope all is as well as possible with everyone close to us (which would be everyone reading this).

Much love!

Chris Leslea and Olivia

Park Trip

Eating AGAIN!!

Today started with a trip to the electronics store to purchase a camera. We could not hold out any longer. We actually got a pretty nice for one for cheap! And it came with a 1kg card!! WOOHOO









Today we toured a park near the hotel. The park was more like an amusement park, it had a ferris wheel, water park and other rides that you would normally see in a park environment. To get to the park it involved crossing the street. I have come to realize this is a art form, heck driving takes on it own art form but more on that later. Remember the video came frogger, well, my friends that is what we do when we cross the street. Incredible stuff! Driving is a work of art, one that I am not sure I would be able to master. The people here can take 3 lanes of traffic and make 6, and it WORKS!! I have never seen anything like it! Cars, people, bikes, and buses all travel in the same lanes! WOW!! Do you think that would go over in the states?? HAHAHA






Uncle Frank I have found your new truck, it has 3 wheels!! No kidding 3 wheels, as soon as I can get a pic I will post it for you!

Stuffing my face at lunch. I had spaghetti and carrots!! YUM YUM

After a hard day of shopping, I go to sleep!

More to come later we are off to take a nap and then maybe some more eating!

We love you guys! See you soon!!

The Caschette's

Day 2 - Adjustments

Good afternoon all!!

We are doing very well. Olivia has had a few moments of panic adjusting but she is coming around to being a Caschette.

Today we went into town to buy a few groceries and some smaller diapers for Olivia. She is wearing a size 6-9 months dress and it is big on her! She is a little peanut!

It was an adventure getting the food. You pick out your items, get a clip, go pay and then go back for you goodies. Something very new. I was glad to have Lifeng with us on this journey. Even though this is his first trip to Inner Mongolia he knows where to go already.

Tomorrow we may be able to travel to the country to see a farmers house, I believe this is called a Yurt. It will take us about an hour and half to get there, stay for about an hour and then the drive back. We are excited about seeing the country side!

No new pics as of yet since we forgot the chargers for the camera and laptop. Thanks Mom C for sending this to us!! We greatly appreciate it. Once we have this we will loud all kinds of pics of Miss O!!

Hugs and Kisses everyone! We miss you all and can not wait for you to meet our little Cherub!

The Caschette's - family of 3

Day 1 with Olivia

Just a quick short post....

Today was a day of signing papers and more papers and more papers....Olivia did very well until the end when she had her first meltdown...I believe she was getting sleepy and hungry. We got back to the room so she could eat and finally baby girl was off to dream land!

Here are a few pics....

Hugs and kisses from Miss Olivia!!

GOTCHA DAY

We are a family of 3!!!

We do not have any video of the occasion since when we arrived at the hotel Olivia was sitting in the lobby waiting on us!!

More to come as Baby Girl is Hungry!!

Love and kisses to all!!

Chris, Leslea and Olivia

We go walking and walking and walking...

Today we toured Tian En Men Square, Forbidden City, and Summer Palace.

It was a very busy day for us today. We were up and at em early to have some breakfast so that we could meet Lifeng (our guide) in the hotel lobby at 8am.

First stop was the Forbidden City and Tian en Men Square. The size of this complex is staggering!

As you can see from the pictures it was very hazy. I was quite surprised that it was not more humid than it was, just hazy.

I must say that I do not think I will ever complain about the traffic again!! WHOA, this place is nuts, people walking, riding bikes and cars all share the same road....just plain nuts!!

We had lunch at a local Chinese restuarant for lunch that was really yummy, although I was a little nervous to eat but did try a little bit of everything. Really good food. Chris and Marty got the good eater awards for today....lunch and dinner. Dinner was...are you ready for this....make sure your sitting down...well of course you are sitting down, you are on your computer....ok ok ok ...we had dinner at Pizza Hut!! HAHAHAHAHA it was GREAT!!

Chris, Marty and Leslea trying to pull silk....we failed.....HAHAHAHA

Jet lag is setting in so I will sign off for now.

Tommorrow at this time Chris and I will be the proud parents of Olivia Jade!!

Blessings to all,

To be continued...

The gates are open.....and their off....

So we thought!

Chris and I got up at 3am Thursday morning, showered and packed out things in the car for our journey of chasing the sun!! HAHAHA

We got to Rochester International within 10 mins of leaving! Thanks Uncle Lou for the lift!! We were through the gate check and security like a bolt of lightening! Our flight was set to leave on time at 620am. After some coffee the boarding began!

And their off.........smooth beautiful sunrise......better get used to that since from this moment on we are chasing the sun!! WOW....

We are going to be early into Newark!! What luck we will have plenty of time to get something to eat and relax.

HOLD IT

The captain just announced that some fog had rolled into Newark and they were only allowing a few planes every fews mins to land.....ok so we are in a holding pattern! I can deal with this, it is only 700..plenty of time!!

Fast forward an hour and we are sitting on a tarmac in Allentown PA....with about 15 other planes that were holding with us!

Not to worry we are just going to refuel and be on our way!

HAHAHAHA

Fast forward 3 hours, it is now 1030 and we are beginning to worry that we will make our connecting flight out of Newark. I called the airline to see if that plane were taking had arrived!! I did, one of the first planes to land!! HAHAHAHAHA Can you believe it?!?!?

Anywho, we finally made it to Newark at 1110 and the race was on since you know, as with most airports, the connecting gate is always 17 miles away!!!

But have no fear, we made it, and with time to stop and get coffee and some breakfast.....woohooo cuz i was one hungry camper!!

Fast forward 25 hours!!

NiHao from Beijing!!

It was a great, fantastic, awe inspiring trip!! Hard to believe that I was on my way to get my little girl and that we were doing this in China!!

This post is getting long but I just wanted to quickly share our meals while in flight....you are not gonna believe this!!!

First meal - Leslea:

Filet, dinner roll, rice, salad with smoked salmon, and a cookie.

Second meal:

Cheeseburger and haagen das ice cream

Third meal:

scrambled eggs, augratin potatos, and cookie

First meal - Chris

Cod, rice, snap peas, carrots, dinner roll, salad with smoked salmon and a cookie

Second Meal:

Cheeseburger and haagen das ice cream

Third meal:

Dim sum and noodles

All I can say is ....YUMMY

As I finish this post it is 1230, local time, I laid down for a rest and woke up at 1133pm....HAHAHA, do you think I was tired??

Tomorrow we are off to the Forbidden city, Tian En Men square, and Summer Palace.

More to come!!

Love you all

Chris Leslea and soon little Olivia

Twas the night before....

We are coming baby girl!!


Today is the final day of preparations before we travel, I do believe we are all set to go. We just need to throw a few last minute items in the suitcases and we are off!! Oh yeah, I packed the suitcases last night due to the weight restrictions I wanted to have plenty of time to pack and unpack and pack and well, you get the picture! Here, I am upstairs packing my things, chris's things and and putting Olivia's things back in the suitcase since she has been packed for months!! HAHAHA I zip and carry them off to our bathroom so I can weigh them.....drum roll please.......one is 39lbs and one is 42 lbs....weight limit you ask......44lbs for international travel!!



I MADE IT!!! Dont touch those suitcases!!



:-)



Not much has been going on today, I have a dentist appt at 3:45, I think I either cracked part of my filling off or chopped my tooth!! UGHHHH how I loath the dentist!! But I am getting this taken care of since the last thing I need is a toothache in China!!

Well, I am off to the dentist...I will try to post something again tonight or maybe tomorrow morning as we get ready to travel.

As my Mama said this morning, and I have been singing this all day!!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow I love ya tomorrow, your only a day a way!!

Until tomorrow......Love to all!!

The Gift Of Life

"I didn’t give you the gift of life, but in my heart I know
The love I feel is deep and real, as if it had been so.
For us to have each other is like a dream come true!
No, I didn’t give you the gift of life, Life gave me the gift of you!"

Author Unknown

It's the final Countdown!!

Well, today is Monday 7/16 and we leave in 3 days!! It is hard to believe that Chris and I will soon be a family of 3!! It has been a long, sometimes challenging, sweet, and glorious road!!

Yesterday was Chris's birthday so we had dinner at a local steak house! It was very yummy!! But it dawned on us in the middle of our salad that next Sunday we would be having dinner with our little one!! After a few tears and deep breaths it felt good to have "GOTCHA" day so close!!

I need to finish a bit of packing and make sure we have all the paperwork ready! Yes, Mom, I have indeed checked this time and again and know that I have everything but you know me, a little control and neat freak!! HAHAHA LOVE YA MOM!!

I am not sure if I will have a chance to post anymore before we leave so I would like to take this time to THANK my entire family for their unwaiving support, kind words and always an ear to listen to me!! I could not have made it without you!!

My prayer today is this:

"God thank you for allowing us this journey to little Olivia. Grant her peace and strength during this time of change. Grant her Mommy and Daddy the peace and strength she will need! Be with us during our final preparations, moments of panic and moments of bliss. Wrap your loving arms around my new found friends Sharon and Marty who will be traveling with us on Thursday and who are also making their final trip preparations."

Isaiah 43:5 "Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the East and gather you from the West"

Well, I am off like a heard of turtles to finish my last few chores!!

Take Care and love to all,

Chris, Leslea and soon miss Olivia Jade

Itinerary~

Good Evening,

We have the long awaited itinerary!! See below where and when we will be while getting our precious little one!!

Hugs and kisses from
Chris and Leslea

Friday, July 20 Arrive Beijing
Arrive Beijing on your own. Trader’s Hotel for 2 nights.

Flight: CO#89 Newark to Beijing arrives at 1:45pm

Trader’s Hotel Beijing (4 star)

Saturday, July 21 Beijing
Tian An Men Square, Forbidden city in the morning. Summer Palace in the afternoon.
Lunch is included. Dinner on your own.

Sunday, July 22 Beijing
The Great Wall in the morning. After lunch you will be transferred to the airport to catch your flight to Hohhot.

Flight: CA1114 Beijing/Hohhot 4:00/5:10pm

Holiday Inn Hohhot (4 star)

Your child will be brought to your hotel in the late evening. A family photograph will be taken immediately.

Monday, July 23 Hohhot
You will be interviewed by a civil service official and a notary at the hotel. In the afternoon you will go to the Public Security Bureau to apply for your child’s passport.

Tuesday through Thursday, July 24 to 26 Hohhot
While waiting for the paper work to be done, may arrange some outings as you desire.

Friday, July 27 Hohhot
The completed documents and baby’s passport will be done in the afternoon.

Saturday, July 28 Hohhot/Guangzhou
You will be transferred to the airport to catch your flight to Guangzhou. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to Victory Hotel for 5 nights.

Flight: CA1381 Hohhot/Guangzhou 7:40/10:45am

Victory Hotel (4 star)

Sunday, July 29 Guangzhou
Half day city tour.

Monday, July 30 Guangzhou
Child’s visa picture taken in the morning followed by medical examination.


Tuesday, July 31 Guangzhou
Lifeng will submit your documents to the US Consulate in the morning.
Leisure day for you.

Wednesday, August 1 Guangzhou/Hong Kong
You will come to the Consulate to take an oath in the afternoon.
The visa will be ready by 5:00pm.
You then will be transferred to the train station to catch the train to Hong Kong. Stay overnight in Hong Kong (hotel reservation on your own.)

Thursday, August 2 Hong Kong depart
Flight: CO#98 Hong Kong to Newark leaves at 10:25am