Happy Thanksgiving

There's No Place Like Home, There's No Place Like Home . . . Well, we should be landing in San Diego right now instead we are cramped in a dingey airport hotel in Beijing. To say we are upset is a HUGE understatement! We left our hotel yesterday at 4am but our flight out of Guangzhou was delayed an hour and a half. Despite this we ran - literally with bags and baby to our connecting flight and made it with an hour to spare but the airline would not let us check-in as it closed 20 minutes prior. So we leave today, Friday in China, Thursday in the US, and arrive Friday around 2pm. We keep reminding ourselves of the purpose of this trip and that after almost 3 years we finally have our daughter. What's one more night in China, right?
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The Pictures Speak For Themselves

Hi everyone, sorry I have not posted lately. As I mentioned before our schedules are extremely busy with completing paperwork, running to the store for supplies and oh yeah – taking care of Dani! It is Friday evening and we departed Zhengzhou at 6:00 a.m this morning for the last leg of our journey, obtaining Dani and the rest of the baby’s Visa’s to enter the U.S. Even though it was a short flight (1 ½ hours), we were scared of how Dani would be on the flight. Needless to say, she was awesome. She didn’t cry as long as Dad was holding her and proceeded to flirt with all of the men sitting around her. We are so happy to be in Guangzhou (pronounced Guan-jo) as it represents the last stop of this journey and we are so ready to be home with Dani and our boys, but also because it is about 25 degrees warmer than Zhengzhou! It is closer to the equator and normally has tropical weather similar to Hawaii. Of course now they are experiencing the coldest winter in 12 years, but it is still tremendously warmer than Beijing and Zhengzhou. We are staying at the White Swan Hotel, which is pretty infamous with China adoption. It is on an island called Shamian Island and the architecture of the island is beautiful. It is a very small and quaint little island and very much a “walking” city. It is very touristy, but it is kind of a nice change, and best of all they have a Starbucks within walking distance. We didn’t know where it was but sniffed it out like the coffee addicts we are! Note for Dylan – we are looking for the weirdest thing we can possibly find to bring home to you as you requested!

It is hard to believe that Dani has only been with us for 4 days as it feels like we have had her for weeks. She has gone from only wanting me for the first day and then REALLY only wanting Dad for almost 3 days and today seems to understand that Dad is coming back when he leaves and that I’m not such a bad person after all! Each day she becomes more and more animated and lets her personality be known. She is an extremely easy baby and we truly feel blessed that she is ours. It makes me think that all of that time waiting and the delays we encountered and the paperwork that needed to be done and redone all had a purpose. Our first appointment in Guangzhou was the physical exams and visa photos for the baby’s. Dani was a trooper. They have 3 stations the baby’s have to pass through, Medical/Surgical, ENT, and Height, Weight and Temperature. She did great at the first two stations and only cried at the last when the nurse took her from Chris to get her weight. She is a hefty 21 pounds which is mostly head as she has the tiniest little body! Tomorrow is more paperwork but we do not have to get up early so we are hoping to get a full night’s sleep and our afternoon is free so we are planning on doing some more walking. We purchased a stroller today (only cost 14 USD) and Dani loved it. She of course still wanted to be near Dad as you can see. Well, Dani is bathed, fed and sleeping so Chris and I are going to do the same! Good Night from Guangzhou . . .

Congratulations Dustin on passing your driver's test!!!

Upadate #4

Hi All, here is just a quick update as we have both forgotten how busy a little one keeps you as well as all of the paperwork that needs to be done! We finished all of our paperwork for the Henan province this afternoon and are going on a group shopping trip to Wal-Mart. I have never been so excited to go to a Wal-Mart! Not being able to drink the water makes your daily tasks more cumbersome. It's kinda like camping, but with a baby! Before we head out to Wal-Mart we have to feed Dani, ourselves and try and get her down for a short nap.

The first 24 hours have been wonderful and exhausting at the same time. Dani did not cry when they handed her to me, just stared and analyzed everyone and everything. She let Chris hold her for a little bit, but then cried whenever I tried to hand her over. She woke up about every 3 hours and then threw up and had diarrhea - bad. Our whole room reaked! I was forced to give her a bath because of it and ever since then, she wants nothing to do with me and now only wants Chris. It's pretty funny. She literally has him wrapped around her finger as she walk around pulling him by his finger.

Chris and I can't thank you enough for all of your e-mails and comments on the blog. We look forward to the little free time we have and reading them all. I promise to respond once we are in a bit of a routine. Until then, enjoy the pictures!

Fw: IMG00005.jpg

Sha's here and her lip and cleft were repaired by love without boundaries!

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-----Original Message-----
From: tiffany_bagalini@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:01:03
To: Mom Cell<pbostian@rchsd.org>; Dustin<Dbagalini@yahoo.com>; Karen Richard<treehouse22@gmail.com>; <mernib@yahoo.com>; <bajalaurie@yahoo.com>; Kim Ayoub<kayoub@ucsd.edu>
Subject: IMG00005.jpg

Sha's here and her lip and cleft were repaired by love without boundaries!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Sha's here and her lip and cleft were repaired by love without boundaries!

Another Amazing Day in Beijing

Hi everyone. Sorry I am delayed on my posts, but our days have been so jam-packed that it is hard to find the free time to dedicate to writing and we have been so tired by the time we return to our hotel room. Saturday was yet another amazing day in Beijing. As you can see from the photos, we made our way to the Great Wall of China. It is easy to see why it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. To think that it was constructed over 2 and a half thousand years ago is as mind-boggling as the enormity of the structure itself. Despite the chilly 36 degree weather, almost everyone in the group braved the cold and attempted at least a portion of the hike up the wall. Combine the steep incline, cold, wind gusts, ice and snow on the steps, oh yeah and those steps. One step may be 6” inches in height and the very next one nearly 2 feet! Definitely not up to code. Needless to say, it was an aerobic adventure. Most everyone in our group only climbed to the first lookout tower, but Chris, Glen and myself forged on. I made it to the 4th lookout tower and decided that was enough for me and that I would wait there for Chris and Glen to climb the rest of the way (there are 7 towers on the section we climbed) and join them on the decent for safety reasons. I was so afraid I would slip and fall on the ice on the way down. While waiting there, I became increasingly cold and decided that I would continue to walk at a leisurely pace up the wall until I ran into Chris and Glen. Well, I made it to the 5th tower and no Chris or Glen. I continued on and made it to the 6th tower and still no Chris or Glen. I started on my way to the last tower but quickly stopped when I saw that the incline was such that Chris and Glen on their way down, were having to walk sideways, bent over with both hands on the railing. That was enough for me! Oh yeah, and there are gift shops at almost every tower. I couldn’t imagine having to walk up the wall everyday in that cold for work!

Along with our visit to the Great Wall, we stopped at a government owned Jade Factory. We have now learned that “government owned” = expensive! Supposedly, the authenticity and quality at a government owned factory is guaranteed, where it is not at a local store. They had many beautiful items and we learned how to identify real jade from the fakes. Everyone back home would be so proud of me. I have shown great restraint when it comes to shopping. As Beijing is a major city (14 million people) the prices are quite expensive. The 2 families who have adopted from China previously keep a close eye on me and tell me everything I want I will be able to get in Guangzhou for a fraction of what it costs in Beijing.

Along with the Great Wall and the Jade Factory we had another delicious lunch, went to a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, the Olympic Village (saw the bird’s next and water cube) and then to a Chinese acrobatic show that would have had Mr. Milo saying WHAAAAAT! It was amazing the things they did the positions they contorted their bodies into.

We departed Beijing on Sunday morning and took an hour flight to Zengzhou (pronounced zen-jo) which is the capital city of the Henan province. This is where we and the other 4 families will get our babies. When we landed it was a chilly 32 degrees and snowing. They closed the highway due to fog, so we hung out in the airport for about an hour waiting for our adoption agency rep to arrive. Zengzhou, while not nearly as modern as Beijing is still a large city (8 million people). The plan is that we go to the registration official’s office at 9:30am on Monday morning (that is 5:30pm Sunday in SD) where the orphanage directors and possibly the nannies will deliver our babies to us. The foster families will not come as they prohibit interaction between the foster families and adoptive families. We will have a few minutes to ask questions about our new babies and then the directors and nannies will leave. I am unusually calm right now as I type this a mere 4 hours before we get our daughter, but am sure the nerves will kick in shortly. Good bye for now. The next post will be when we have Dani in our arms!

Wow, What a Day!

Wow is all I can say after our adventure yesterday. Thanks to the Ambien, Chris and I got about 6 solid hours of sleep. Despite this, we were still up at around 4am. After futzing around our hotel room for a bit, we headed down for breakfast, which was surprisingly yummy. We were also fortunate enough to Skype with the boys shortly after returning home from school. How awesome that was to see and talk to them from all the way on the other side of the world – and for free! During the night, snow fell and blanketed the city in a beautiful white dusting. It is gorgeous – but cold. I think it was around 32 degrees yesterday. We met our group at 9:30 am and thus ensued an all day trek to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City (which we can see from our hotel window), the government owned silk factory, Hu-Tong village complete with a rickshaw ride, lunch and dinner. The architecture is simply stunning. Chris and I are the youngest in the group yet somehow managed to be the slowest! We were walking aimlessly with our mouths open taking it all in. We have both always been fascinated with architecture and you could spend endless days looking at the details in the Forbidden City. We did not return to our hotel room until after 6pm so needless to say we were beat! I think I mentioned previously that there are 4 other families in our group, 2 of which brought their kids. The kids did amazing for all of the walking we did and Chris and I were so impressed with them. It is impossible to convey the enormity of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The pictures just do not do it justice. Our guide, Sindy is also amazing. She works for a local travel agency and is extremely knowledgeable but also went to school in the U.S. at the University of Washington. Attached are just a few of the pictures we took. Our lunch and dinner were equally impressive. I had been warned that I would not like the food, but Sindy must know the right places, because it has been nothing less than awesome. We had a traditional lunch with various dishes and then a noodle dinner also with assorted dishes and it was all delicious!

Our schedule today is jam-packed. We leave at 8:30 am for the Great Wall, the Jade Factory, lunch, a brief visit to the Olympic Village, a Tea Ceremony and an acrobatic show followed by a traditional dinner of Peking Duck. Whew! I’m tired just typing it all. The good thing is, it keeps our minds off of the wait until we get Dani. We still cannot believe that in 2 short days we get to meet her. Driving around the bus and looking at the various sites, It feels surreal, like a dream and I am scared I am going to wake up. It is also wonderful to have the opportunity to travel with families who have done this before. They are invaluable resource for what to expect with our little one, how to handle it, etc. In one of the returning families, the wife is a social worker who deals with adoption and attachment. I have been asking her hundreds of questions! Well, we better go eat while we can and we are also going to find a Starbucks. We heard there is one not far from our hotel. Thank you all for your comments on the blog and e-mails, they are wonderful and Chris and I so enjoy reading them at the end of our long days.

We Made It! Arrived at our hotel a little while a go. . Cold, snow on the ground, but so happy to be here! On our way to get a quick bite then bed. Love you Dust and Dylan!

Tonight's Post - An Instructional Lesson

We (and by “we” I mean Tiffany) will be posting as often as we can while we are in China. Please follow along as we document each and every leg of our journey and of course the most important part, the day we are handed our daughter. You literally can have a front-row seat, back stage pass, up close and personal view, as we traverse our way through China in an effort to bring our sweet daughter home and become the Bagalini Party of 5!

We would love to get comments while we are in China. . words of encouragement, support and a link to life back home. When you leave a comment on our blog it comes straight to my Blackberry. For those of you less “techy”, today's post will be a little lesson on how to leave a comment on the blog.

1. Go to the bottom of this post to the word “Comment”. Put your mouse on it and click.

2. A box will come up and on the top it will say, "Post a Comment". Click inside the box and type away. Please remember to leave your name at the end of the comment so we will know who you are.

3. After you have typed your comment, below the Comment box click on the drop down box titled “Comment As” and select “Anonymous”, unless you have registered as a “Follower” of our blog. Then click the box marked “Post Comment”.

4. A word verification box will pop up, simply type the words you see and click the box marked “Post Comment” again. Ta Da, you did it! Now go do a practice run and let us know your coming along for the ride!

This is Really Happening!

This will be a short and sweet post as I still have a few things to do before we depart tomorrow, but it has finally hit me that this is really happening! In less than 12 hours we will wake up to depart for the airport, in less than 24 hours we will be on a plane to Beijing, China and in less than a week we get our daughter and will be a family of 5! Crazy! Needless to say, the excitement, anxiety, fear, happiness, etc. are rapidly building. Despite all of this, I want to make sure that I stay present in the moment. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I want to relax, take it all in and remember it all. I will have to conscientiously make an effort to “go with the flow”, as that is not who I am normally. Despite our happiness that this is finally happening after waiting over 2 ½ years, I am very sad to leave the boys. I know they will be in good hands, but we have never been away from them for more than a couple of days, let alone on the other side of the world.

I have heard that Blogger is blocked in China (so is Facebook) so I will e-mail my posts and pictures to Dustin who will then upload them to the Blog. There may be a day or two lag because of this and after we get Dani, I anticipate not havening a lot of free time to devote to blogging, but I will do my best. Thank you to everyone for your love, support and kind words. They mean so much to both Chris and I and we are forever grateful.

Travel Itinerary

It has been a crazy 48 hours around here and without going into too much detail we were almost not able to travel due to a paperwork snafu thanks to the San Diego Immigration office. BUT - the problem has been corrected and we now have tickets and a confirmed final itinerary! Here's what it looks like . . .

Wednesday, November 11th:
Depart San Diego for Beijing

Thursday, November 12th:
Arrive in Beijing

Friday, November 13th:
Tour Beijing

Saturday, November 14th:
Tour Beijing

Sunday, November 15th:
Depart Beijing for Zhengzhou

Monday, November 16th:
DANI DAY! We meet and take Dani home with us

Tuesday, November 17th:
Adoption Registration Paperwork

Wednesday, November 18th:
Free Day

Thursday, Novmber 19th:
Free Day

Friday, November 20th:
Depart Zhengzhou for Guangzhou

Saturday, November 21st:
Physical and Photo for US Visa

Sunday, November 22nd:
Free Day

Monday, November 23rd:
US Consulate Appointment

Tuesday, November 24th:
Take Oath at US Consulate

Wednesday, November 25th:
Pick up Dani's Travel Visa

Thursday, November 26th:
Depart and Arrive Home!

I can't belive after waiting 2 years and 9 months that we will be in China in 4 days and will get to meet our daughter in less than 10 days! It is truly overwhelming!

On a completely different note, we had visit today with some dear friends of ours who just had a baby girl 3 months ago. It was wonderful to see them and their new beautiful little girl! We are so happy for them and can't wait till our little girl is here and we are able to visit again. Well, I'm pooped. Dylan and I are going to watch Tranformers 2. Good Night All. Good Night Dani, Mommy and Daddy will be there soon!

TRAVEL APPROVAL!

That's us doing the Happy Dance.
Yep, our Travel Approval (TA) arrived today! Our agency has faxed it to the US Consulate in Guangzhou China and once our appointment is confirmed we can purchase our airplane tickets!!! They requested an appointment on November 23rd which would mean we depart the US November 11th and return on November 26th. . . Happy Thanksgiving! The next post will be our confirmed itinerary . . . .Dani, Mommy and Daddy will be there soon!