The Owens Family of 3 has Resurfaced!!

Hello All,
So sorry it has been so long since we last posted. We got Bella on Monday and Tuesday we had to take 3 differnt taxi's to 3 different paperwork appointments. Then we where off to Choayang, CHina. The drive was 4 hours by car (nissan sentra). All 5 of us in one car with our luggage,it was very interesting. When we got to Choayang we stayed at a very traditional Chinese hotel, in a not so nice neighborhood (very rural). There was no internet service, so that is why we have not posted more. We haven't eaten in almost 2 days, unless you count the crackers, cherios, and water. We where scared to leave our hotel room, because there were no Chinese to English Translates(signs), and no one spoke English. So we just stayed in the room and eat what we brought with us.

This morning we went to get Bella's passport and we drove 4 hours back to Shenyang. We will be here until Friday and Saturday morning we will fly to Guangzhou. We are now back in Shenyang, and we are so happy to be. I have ordered room service, and all is right again. We are having Cheese Burgers and Fries. The hotel here in Shenyang is very nice. Room service here at the hotel does speak a little English so it is easy to order. The food, although not like in in the US is pretty good. It is fairly expective. In China you can not just leave a credit card or run a tad. You must leave a cash ($1200.00 in Yuan/ $175 US) deposit, and then if you do not spend all of it, they return it at check out.

Now for the fun stuff. Lets talk about Bella Kate.

She is doing really well. When we first got her, it was really hard. She did not want to come to me at all. I gave her a Carebear, and she loved it. She did give me a kiss for giving it to her, but would not let me hold her. I talked with her foster family for a long time, and finally it was time for them to leave. Bella was screaming when they walked away to go to the elevator. I was holding her and she would not let anyone else touch her. I carryed her for the next 40 minutes or so. She would not let me put her down. I think she was afaid I would leave, if I got out of her site. When we got in the car to come back to the hotel, it was really crowded. The foster family and brought several bags for us, with her things, and we did not have room for everything in the small car we were in. Bella had to sit on my lap in the car, because there was no other room. She finally stopped crying once we got in the car. Bryan gave her a stick on gum, and that was all it took for her to fall headover heals in love with him. Once we got to the hotel, it took quite a while to get checked in. I held her the whole time. She would not let me sit with her, or she would scream. So I stood and held her, while Bryan and Coco checked us in.

She calls use Mommy and Daddy, and will answer when we call her Bella Kate. She does speak English, which has been a God sent. She is not potty trained, and I have changed a million diapers, since we are pushing the fluids. It is so humid and hot here. Although the temperature is only 70 degrees it feels much hotter.
She takes a nap at 1PM each day and goes to bed by herself. The first day we had her, she took her blanket that I brought her went over to the floor, layed down on it and took a nap. Just like that. Bryan and I both were completely speachless. We looked at eachother, like what do we do now. The 1st night she slept with Bryan and we worried all night about her falling off the bed. I had to catch her twice from hitting the floor. She moves a lot in her sleep. I was very sick all night, that 1st night, so it was really hard to get any rest. Last night we made her a pallet on the floor and she loved it...Guess we will try that again tonight. She sleeps all through the night. I have had to wake her both mornings. Day one no bath...Day 2 bath was a most. She screamed and cried the whole time. When it was over, I went to take her out, and she cried to stay in. She can wear size 18/24 months. Some of the 24 months clothes are too big. Her waist is tiny. She is really skinny. She is tall but small still. She is very funny, and says things to make us laugh all the time. As I type this, she is chasing Bryan around the room, saying "I got you", I got you". She loves, her babies. LOVES THEM. She is very sweet and loves to share, but also loves to say, that for me? When I gave her, the new shoes I got for her, she got so happy. The first night she had to sleep in them. Flat out refused to take them off. It melted my heart to see how attached she was to new shoes. Last night she took them off and gave them to me. (I hope this means she is starting to really trust me) I had to lay them right beside her. She loves her new clothes, and has a crazy thing with buttons. She looks for them on everyones clothes. She loves to look at all of her new clothes. She smalls really big, when I tell her they are for her. She LOVES gum. Has to have it all the time. Will cry if she can not have it. She is really funny. She is very sensitive and cries a lot. I think she uses this as an attention getter. Sometimes the crying so followed by colasping into the floor, with a fit. It is starting to get some better. She does have a set of lungs on her. Ok..food is here. will post more later tonight, with pics.

We love you all,
Joy Bryan and Bella