1 year anniversary of "Referral Day"

Exactly one year ago today we received the amazing news that the Chinese adoption agency had "matched" us to our new daughter. That morning we received an email package with info and pictures of our Addie. Kelly and I were so excited! In honor of that day, we decided to put together a list of top 10 "Addie moments" in the year since we first saw her face. See below in no particular order ...

10. Our first view of Addie in the orphanage pictures, she was cute!
9. Her first smile with us - it took a few days but Daddy finally broke with a game of tickle!
8. When Addie chose a favorite stuffed animal - she loves Piglet (so much so that she sleeps with two of them!)
7. Her first steps - our little fighter went from barely sitting up to walking in 7 months!
6. When Addie first learned how to fight back against her big sister - we heard a "yelp" from Eloise only to look over and see Addie chomping on her big toe! That will teach Eloise to mess with "sissy".
5. Addie's first dance - apparently they played a lot of rap in the orphanage because she's a natural when grooving to the hip-hop music ("get low, get low, get low")
4. When Addie fell in love with her sister - not sure exactly when it happened but it did; they now jump up and down with giddyness every morning when they see each other
3. When we finally found a milk that Addie would drink - our princess won't drink regular milk, only vanilla soy lattes for her
2. When Addie became "cuddly" - again not sure of the exact date, but she has perfected the "back up" move whereby she finds someone sitting on the floor and backs into their lap for a little snuggle time
1. When Addie told Daddy that he was her favorite in the whole wide world (well, it hasn't happened yet but I'm sure the day is coming)

This is just a glimpse of the joy that she has brought to us in the year since we first knew of her existence. The list could go on well beyond 10, please add your favorite moments in the comment section if anything comes to mind ...

Fall 2008

Addie continues to amaze us! She makes every one's day a little bit better. The other day we were at Starbucks....yes, it is necessary with two babies that may as well be twins!! Anyways, this very nice woman was commenting on Addie and giving her lots of attention. Well, she grabbed this nice lady's hands and smiled and laughed at her for about a minute. This woman said that Addie had made her day. She seems to have that effect on everyone around her. She is very friendly and loving to lots of folks. Mainly her family but she can light up a room in a minute! She has a laugh that is infectious... Truly it warms my heart.
Eloise and Addie seem to be more interactive these days with one another. Eloise's favorite word is Sissy... Which she calls Addie. It is a beautiful thing! They attempt to share, but this term is used lightly. Eloise pretty much gives and takes things at her discretion. Addie has figured out that crying, reaching out to me and saying Mama will get her rescued anytime necessary.
She is not so sure about the Halloween costumes but was pretty good about the event until the very end. Addie was a butterfly and Eloise was a bunny. Both were not amused by the outfits!
We are loving our family of FOUR!!! We are very thankful for both of our girls!

Addie's first summer in the USA

It has been a long time but we are finally back on our blog! Addie has adjusted beautifully to our family. We honestly can't remember what it was like before she arrived. Eloise and Addie seem to really adore one another most of the time. Eloise is definitely the big sister and likes to remind Addie of this at times.
We have been down to the coast to see Gramma and Gramps a few times this summer. Addie simply has no fear. She will be our dare devil. She loves the sand, the water, the wind in her hair....She is a beach girl. Eloise is not so sure about the sand but once she hits the waves, she is in heaven.
Eloise turned one on July 12th and Addie turned one Sept 14th. It is hard to believe that they are both ONE!! With two girls only 2 months and 2 days apart, life is pretty buisy with a little bit of drama already!
Addie has been here for 4 months and we have had a few bumps in the road, but we hope we are on the road to working our Addie's health problems. She has been diagnosed with Epilepsy, a seizure disorder, which has kept us on our toes. She is doing very well on her medication and we hope that this will continue.
When we got Addie 4 months ago she could barely sit up. Now she is on the go, crawling everywhere, pulling up on furniture, babbling a bit, and thriving. We are so happy to see her continue to make major strides. She is pretty laid back and has the absolutely best laugh. It is contagious.
All in all, the Mendelson girls are doing well.

Addie goes HOME!!!

We are back in the USA! It is a beautiful day here in Ohio and we are thrilled to have the family all together. We flew from Guangzhou to Tokyo, to Newark, and finally Cleveland. During our layover in Tokyo, I got to enjoy sushi and Sapporo! It was a great distraction from the travel. The grandparents and Eloise welcomed us waving American flags and "welcome home" balloons. We could not have been happier to be home with everyone! The travel was very tiring, especially because Addie decided that sleep was no longer a necessity! Out of our 26 hours of travel, she slept about 3 of those hours!
Eloise and Addie seem to be getting along. Our drive home was interesting with two girls in the back. Addie has never been in a car seat (China doesn't have them) so she starting to cry. Eloise is a sympathy crier so next thing you know they are both screaming in the back. Hopefully the next car trip with be a bit smoother! Eloise gave Addie a kiss when we all finally got to the house. It was very cute. We aren't sure if Eloise realizes Addie is staying for good but I am sure she will figure it out :)
Addie is a bit off with the time change so it was a 3 a.m. wake up this morning. We are all trying to adjust and I am hopeful that tonight will be better.
Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home!
Love,
Brad, Kelly, Eloise and Addie

Addie goes to the US Consulate!

Today was our final full day in China. We started our day with the usual breakfast buffet. We'll forever think of the White Swan hotel any time we eat a tater tot. After breakfast was the traditional "red couch" photo. This event is highly regarded in Chinese adoption lore as a glorious event. Today's version did not disappoint. We had 16 young babies positioned on a red couch for pictures. The photos show the chaos - lots of kids falling over and crying. All in all a great show. We also had a photo with our group from China Adoption with Love.



In the afternoon, we headed to the US Consulate in Guangzhou. This was the last official adoption event. Entering the Consulate is like going through airport security - no electronics and no liquids. You are allowed to snap photos outside the building but if you try to take a shot inside, the security guards will track you down and make you erase it. The Consulate was very exciting. The people at the Consulate were very friendly and excited for us - they have an adoptions congratulatios sign on permanent display. There were 40 families in the waiting area from many different agencies all finalizing their adoptions. Turns out its like that every afternoon - almost 8,000 babies per year at its peak in 2005. We all took an oath to certify the information in our dossiers as correct. When Addie lands on US soil, she will automatically be a US citizen, very cool! As you can see from the photo, Addie was ecstatic as well. She celebrated with a nap on the bus ride home.

This evening we went out for Thai food with a family from our group. Not quite like Pad Thai back in Fairlawn, but I did manage to find the Pad See Ew equivalent (my favorite dish). Great food and great company.

Tomorrow morning, we depart bright and early (5 am wake-up call). We fly from Guangzhou to Japan to Newark to Cleveland. 24 hours in all. Should be a good time. Kelly and I are looking forward to a relaxing ride full of fine wine and movies - hah. Addie can't wait to sample the fine airplane food. We can't wait to see Eloise and our families back home! The next post will be from good old OHIO!

It has been an amazing "journey" and we cannot wait to introduce Addie to you all! She was well worth the wait!

The Mendelson girls will unite soon! I think they are going to be quite the pair!

Love,

Kelly and Brad

Addie cruises the Pearl river!

Another great day in the adventures of Adelaide. The hotel offers a guided run through the island; Kelly and one other woman from our group participated. She reports back that "it was very peaceful, for a while I forgot I was in China."


Today's big adoption-related activity was the submission of our papers to the US Consulate. Thankfully, Addie passed with flying colors. Our guide actually handled the interview at the Consulate. However, Brad had to remain "on call" in the hotel room in case any questions came up. We decided to make it a Daddy and Addie morning - the main activities included sitting up exercises, rattle drills, and paddy-cake practice. We've got her up to 3 sets of 10 rattle repetitions with each hand. In order to be a champion, you have to work for it.


After I (Brad) had thoroughly tired Addie out, I was able to partake in my favorite activity in China - watching random sports on TV. As many of you know, my love for sports knows no bounds. I'm happy to report that in the past two weeks I have watched several exciting contests including - women's bowling, mens and women's badmitton, English rugby, European soccer, men's field hockey, men's and women's ping pong, springboard diving, and finally women's volleyball.


While we were having our fun in the room, Kelly was having her fun out on the town. She decided to sample the local shopping. As direct a result, I'm scheduling a garage sale for the week after we get home to unload the new trinkets we've accumulated. One successful purchase, however, was a new blankie for Addie. Kelly handed it to her in the room and she fell asleep nearly instantly. I have a feeling that blankie is going to be with us everywhere we go.


In the evening, we took a dinner cruise with the adoption group on the Pearl river. Despite the rain, it was a fun trip. The shoreline was lit up with high rise apartment buildings and office towers. It was a pretty view.


Upon returning home, we had a blogging near disaster. The charger for our camera battery broke. Luckily, I was able to enlist the help of the entire front desk to fix it. It was like a game of charades as we used sign language to communicate. Luckily, I was able to figure out the universal sign for screwdriver and the Chinese workers dug out the necessary tools. A miraculous recovery all in the name of blogging.


Tomorrow is our last full day in China. We head to the US Consulate in the afternoon to get Addie sworn in for her US entry visa, very exciting. See you all soon, Addie can't wait to meet her fans!

Addie goes to a Buddhist temple!

Another great day - time flies when you're eating Chinese food every day. Today started like any ordinary day, with a Kelly run and trip to Starbucks. From there however, it veered in a unique direction. We visited a Buddhist temple today which was great. The monks conducted a special ceremony to bless all the children. While at the temple, I tried my hand at the Buddhist version of basketball. Legend has it that if you are able to throw a coin successfully into a large pot, you will be granted extreme wealth. Given that I now have two daughters - which means two weddings, I played until I was successful. We're headed to play the Chinese lottery tomorrow to collect on our promised winnings.

Addie had a great day. Following the temple, we visited a tourist trap jade store. Addie and I napped in the corner while Kelly shopped around. On the way home, we stopped at a Chinese grocery store to stock up on baby formula. One word to describe the experience - crazy. People were everywhere, it felt like the equivalent of a Black Friday shopping day back home. They must have been giving away free chicken feet or something. We had our first ride in a Chinese taxi on the way home. For those of you in the States looking for a good investment, I would not recommend a Chinese taxi company. The 25 minute ride back to the hotel cost a mere $2, best bargain in town.

In the afternoon, we visited the play room at the hotel where Addie brushed up on her play skills. She's getting much better at the "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" song.

This evening, Kelly and I treated ourselves to an anniversary treat. Room service for dinner and a movie in the room. Luckily for us, a classic flick was playing on HBO. We caught an Olsen twins special where they switch places and play matchmaker for Steve Gutenberg and Kirstie Allie. Boy, those twins made some good films in their early days. Ten Chinese Yuan goes to the first person to post the name of the movie on our blog.

Tomorrow we apply for Addie's entry visa to the US - will keep you all posted. Thanks to everybody for all the posts, we love hearing from all our fans back home.