Bryce's surgery

Bryce was such a little trooper during his surgery and recovery. We spent two and a half days at Childrens Mercy Hospital. He loved riding (and sleeping) in the wagon. Grandma was with us the entire time which brought him and me much comfort.

We have has a busy but wonderful fall. Here are new photos of handsome Bryce. I love the picture of him and his Aunt Lori sitting on the porch. I wonder what they were talking about?

Halloween 2010

Bryce's first Halloween. We spent it with our friends Andrew, Taylor and Brett.

Bryce is doing great!

It has been a while since I have posted photos. Bryce is adjusting so well. Here are a few new photos.

God bless stay-at-home moms.

I have been lucky to have time at home with Bryce while he eases into daycare. Here are a few photos of him on our days at home.

Our first 2 weeks at home

It has been a while since I posted. I guess you could say I have been busy. Bryce and I are becoming quite a team. He is definately getting settled in. He still hates to go to bed at night or go down for a nap. I dont think it is due to sleeping alone, I think he thinks he will miss something. We settled right in and had his jet lag under control in about 4 days. He now sleeps through the night. He is eating anything and everything. In China he hated carrots, not in the US!

Bryce attended his Clef Clinic at Childrens Mercy this week and is scheduled for pallet surgery on September 15. The will repair the pallet only at this time and any reconstructive surgery will take place when he is older. He has slight hearing loss due to fluid in the ears, he will have tubes put in during the surgery. We will begin speech theropy soon after he heals.

My mom stayed with me until Thursday of this week and really bonded with Bryce, he loves Grandma. I almost through-up when she left thinking about being alone. Bryce and I are doing just fine.

We visited Des Moines where Bryce met his aunts, uncles and cousins. He loved meeting his family and warmed up to everyone quickly.

Bryce helped me put together his new dresser that his aunts and uncles bought for him. He is quite the little helper.

Bryce also loves his dog Sabrina and frequently shares he bed.

We are home!

We arrived at the Kansas City Airport at 9:35 on Thursday night and were greated by my mom, sisters and BFF Shari. Bryce has a long trip but was a real trooper during the long 12 hour flight from Hong Kong and the 7 hour lay over in San Francisco.

We spent a lot of time walking the isles of the plane and showing off to the other passengers. The poor little guy got only 3 hours of sleep in 24 hours.

Bryce loves his room and his dog. Now we are working on getting through the jet lag and on his Kansas schedule.

Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes during this journey. I will continue to add photos as I have not yet has time to upload them.

We made it to Hong Kong!

August 11, 2010
We made it to Hong Kong and to our hotel around 7pm tonight. Slight setback, the hotel didnt have our room reservation. We did get a room and are settled in for the night. Off to the States in the morning.

China Update #3

August 8, 2010
Well, we have died and gone to heaven. We arrived at the White Swan Hotel in Guangjho on Friday night at 1:00 am. It was a rough night for Bryce but he was a real trooper. The hotel is full of families from all over the US who have adopted children in China, it is nice to be with others who know what you are going through.

Yesterday the kids all had their physicals and visa photos taken. Bryce weights 30 pounds and is 32 1/2 inches tall. Big boy! Today we went to a jade shop and the Chin Family Temple. Very beautiful.

Tomorrow is a stay at the hotel day. We will swim and go to the play room. We have purchased Bryce's traditional Chinese outfit and will have a photo taken with the other kids in our group on the famous Red Couch in the lobby of the hotel.

One sad story, one of the families with us in Beigjing went home without their child. After the baby's physical exam, is was determined there was neurological issues and the childs life expectency was short. We were devistated to hear the news and pray for them.

On Tuesday, we go to the American Consulate for the oath taking ceremony. On Wednesday we pick up Bryce's visa and head to Hong Kong for our flight out on Thursday.

Looking forward to getting back home.
Love you all,
Shelley, Bryce and Kim

Hi all

The past two days have been a whirlwind. We started off Tuesday going to back to the Civil Affairs office to complete the adoption registration. The other families had spent the first nights with there new children and seemed to do fine.

We had a miss-communication with our guide Kathy and ended up missing lunch. On thing for sure, you have to keep yourself fed during this process as it is fast moving and draining. I had my first melt down and requested we eat McDonald's. I don't even eat McDonald's in the States but I couldn't eat anymore rice.

After that we made the 5 hour trip by van with our guide Kathy and our driver Tian, to Wenzhou City where Bryce lived to apply for his passport. What a crazy drive. The traffic here is wild. Bryce was pretty restless but made the trip. We rushed to get his photo taken, we rushed to meet with the officials to order his passport then we rushed to visit his orphanage.

It was so great to see where he lived his whole life. The nanny's were very warm and of course hated to see him go. Apparently Bryce is very popular (spoiled) at his orphanage. He is a charmer. When we arrived all of the nanny's and administrators came to see him one last time. We found out that his nick name is "Pounds" which means "Big" in Chinese. The minute we entered the facility, he was off with his nanny's to revisiting his room. They told us that when he moved from the infant room to the toddler room, he would sneak back up to the infant room, he would sneak back up to the infant room for a bottle from his favorite nanny. He was definitely loved.

Bryce slept very little on the ride back, he was very fussy so we stopped to let him walk around. He is a sweet loving child who loves kisses on his cheeks.

Today we rested. We took a walk around a lake and saw the Lotus Flowers in bloom. Very hot but a nice morning for a stroll.

Love you all and thank you for all your prayers.

Shelley & Kim

WE HAVE BRYCE!

Hi everyone,

We met Bryce this morning and he is all boy! He was a bit skiddish when we first met but after a couple of hours, he warmed up to us. He is very quiet at first and prefers to study his surroundings then cry. We took him to the grocery store today and he really started to open up when we bought him a ball (one of his favorite toys.)

We came back to the hotel and he took a 3 hour nap. He had ridden a train all night from his town and had been up since 5 A.M.

After he ate some wonton soup and rice, I gave him a bath, which he liked. He got on his clean clothes and the play began. He really opened up, played peek-a-boo and blew us kisses. He's a ham.

Tomorrow we go to his town of Wenzhou City and complete his visa, we return to Hangzho on Wednesday.

We miss home and american food! It's a long way to go for weight loss program.

I will get some pictures up after we get back home due the fact that I can't download any pictures.

Love to all and thank you for all your prayers.

Shelley and Kim

We survived an excruiatingly hot day of touring yesterday. We flew to Hangzhou, Bryce's home province today and met our guide Kathy. She is great. She got us checked into our hotel and will come back at 5:00 tonight to take us grocery shopping.

Will will pick up Bryce tomorrow, Monday at 9:00 A.M. We will bring him back to the hotel to spend the day with us. We then meet Kathy at 3:00 and drive 5 hours to his town in Wenzhou City to complete his passport and visa. It has to be done in his home town. We will stay overnight and come back to Hangzhou the next day.

More to come!

Lets bring our boy home!

We are at the KC airport and it is a beautiful day to fly. Kim and I are excited for our journey and look forward to whats ahead for us. Got to bed at 1 am, to excited to sleep.

Thanks to Nicholas for helping with the webcam issue. Had to make a latenight run to Walmart for a new one. Hope to be able to Skype so grandma can see Bryce right away.

Take care and we will talk to you soon.

Preparing for our trip to China

Nesting...

Offical travel date has arrived!

I received my travel date from my agency this week. The plan is to leave KC on July 29, arrive Beijing on July 30 and we should get Bryce (Gotcha Day!) on August 2. We have a tentative date for our American Consulate appointment of August 10. Just waiting for final approval on this. I will hopefully have my travel itinerary within the next 5 days. As my friend Karen says "one more step, just one more step".

Time to get serious about packing!

Baby Showers

Some of my dear friends in KC have hosted two showers for me. First was hosted by my Adoption Group. They are a group of wonderful people who have prayed for Bryce's safe journey home to all of us and second was my friends from Russell Stover and DST Output. I am so grateful for such a supportive group of people in my life.

Visa apps and SHOTS!

Submitted our visa applications this past week and headed to the Health Department for our shots. Hep A & B and Typhoid. As Kim calls them...ouch, ouch and ouch!

Travel partners

My sister Kim will be going with me to China. Love her!

(Kimmer pictured here with our mom)

We are getting closer!

Here is the email from Jenny my travel adviser:


Hi Shelley! Hope you’re having a good day!

Your package was sent to China on 6/15/10. Now we wait for your travel approval. The CCAA has been issuing travel approvals a lot later than they have been in the past. I’m estimating that we’ll receive your travel approval in 4-6 weeks, if they are still doing things a little slower than normal. It could be a lot faster. I’ve seen families wait 6 weeks, and then other families 3 weeks. So, I really can’t say, BUT, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s possible you would travel mid to late July. That’s my hope for you!!!

Bryce's orphanage

In case you are wondering where Bryce is from, he lives at the Wen Zhou City Children's Welfare Institute- Zhejiang Provience.


Wenzhou lies in the southeastern coast of Zhejiang Province and is its economic and cultural center. For centuries, the inhabitants of Wenzhou have relied on shipping, trading and fishing for their livelihoods. Its location on the sea has also been crucial to international trades. Wenzhou shoes and electrical appliances are popular both at home and abroad. Wenzhou citizens are progressive and open to western ideas. Millions of merchants have emigrated and started businesses throughout the world. The city is therefore a famous hometown of overseas Chinese.

Wenzhou's long coastline gives rise to many beautiful islands and rich marine life. There are over 370 kinds of fish and over 430 kinds of seashells. It is also rich in mineral resources including alunite, granite and quartzite. The city sometimes claims to be 'World Alunite Capital' due to large deposits of this mineral. There are over 280 kinds of trees.

Wenzhou means a mild and pleasant land. The city gets its name because of its mild climate without extremely cold winters or hot summers. It is an ideal place for vacation. Mountains, plains, islands, long rivers and broad seas coexist in the city, providing various Wenzhou attractions. Mt. Yandang, Nanji Islands, Nanxi River and Wuyanling Natural Reserve are all excellent choices for visitors to explore. Local cuisine features fresh seafood. Delicacies such as 'Fish Boiled with Three Kinds of Shreds', Garlic Seasoned Fishskin and other appetizers such as 'Tall Man' Wonton, 'Lamp' Cake and Fish Balls are all favorites renowned for their fresh taste, enticing aroma and beautiful presentation.

Wenzhou is a modern city with many good hotels and restaurants catering stores along commercial pedestrian streets provide a shopping paradise. Comfortable bars, dancing halls and amusement venues enrich the city's night life.

Final paperwork is now submitted.

The final piece of paper needing to be submitted was my I171-H Orphans Petition. It originally read "Female, 0-18 months." I submitted the updates to the USCIS (immigration office) on Thursday before the Memorial Day Holiday and just got the new form back yesterday! All final papers have now been submitted so I am just waiting for my travel arrangements.

Height, weight and a first look

Height 33.10 inches

Weight 30.14 pounds

Teeth: 10

Foot length 4.73

He can walk steadily. He can run now and build blocks. He can turn book pages on his own. He likes to imitate sounds. He likes to play slides. He likes to ride rocking horse. He has quick reactions and strong energy.

Bryce's room

I had the chance to get the nursery started this weekend. Thanks to my friends Mickey and Lyn, they gave me a crib. Mickey assembled it for me. Here is how the room is looking. Still need to hang the art.

Letter Seeking Confirmation

I put the ladies in the KCP&L mailroom on high alert today. Fed Ex delivered my Letter Seeking Confirmation from China today! This is the form that I sign stating that I accept Xhao Xing Chong as my son! When returning this form I will include the I-171H form. This form is my petition for an orphan which gets Bryce back in to the United States. Unfortunately, my recently updated I171-H states I am adopting a female and not a male. So...off to the USCIS on Thursday to reapply for a new I-171H. The Kansas City office of the USCIS has been so great through all of this, hopefully they can put a rush on this one.

I can anticipate traveling 6 to 8 weeks after returning the form.

Connor