6 days...

Well, we're are down to 6. Less than a week. This time next week we will be in Beijing! OMG!

Today was my last day of work for a whole year. I was ambushed in the office with hugs and cards and good wishes. Tears were flowing and noses were running. Thank you to all of my wonderful friends at Zellers. 14 years of friendships. Wow time flies. Although I won't be there slaving away beside you I will come in often to taunt you and of course to show off someone special.
This weekend we will try to get organised and go through our packing lists for the hundredth time it seems.
Today our baby carrier arrived. We decided on the Ergo sport. It has great reviews and although it is not as pretty as some of the carriers I liked it is the most practical. Some times you have to choose function over flash. I might take a picture of it. I guess I will have to forgo my fear of cameras for a little while. Although I don't really see the need of pictures of me I guess other people would like a family pic or two.

One Week Today...Seven days!

Holy Cow. The time has come. One week today and we will be in the air headed to China. It's hard to believe that in just twelve days Ava will be in our arms for the first time. I don't know what to think. I am just overwhelmed with excitement. It has been a long haul for us. When I think back to when Terri and I were sitting in the doctor's office waiting to hear the latest results of the infertility tests. I'll never forget the look on Terri's face that day. Now. In in as little as twelve days I will be able to see a different look on her face. A look of complete joy. That moment in time will be the best moment ever in my life. To see Terri become what she has wanted for such a long time. A MOM. I can hardly stand still thinking about it. Life will be so different from that point on. Up till now I have only had to look out for and protect two females in my life. Terri and my mom. Now Ava. It is going to be awesome. I would like to thank our two families for their support and generosity over that past four and counting years. Your support has meant so much to Terri and I. We can't wait to see all your faces when we come back from China with our little girl. Get ready for some photo's.

Eight days...

Brian, a member of our travel group sent us this link
http://www.melnyks.com/lesson-forty-six-baby-talk-in-mandarin/

I think it will be fun to learn some phrases to make Ava's transition(and ours) a little easier.

Thanks Brian!

SINGLE DIGITS! NINE DAYS!!!!!!!

Well we are now into the single digits. Nine days to go and we are flying to China to meet Ava!

Today we received our paperwork back from CB. It was neat to see the Chinese Visa in our passports. Makes everything so real. So now we can check the paperwork off our list. What a relief. When we first sent the paperwork away our agency said that it may not be back until literally the day before we leave. Thankfully, everything went smoothly because all of our travel group sent in the paperwork to be processed in a timely matter.

This week is my last week of work and have received a couple of really cute hand knitted gifts from a couple of coworkers.

The first is a set of finger puppets knitted by my friend Liz. They are so cute and may be pulled out on the plane ride home. If not for Ava's entertainment, maybe Mike's or mine.

The second was a beautiful pink blanket and some booties and socks knitted by my friend Betty. So thoughtful. I love them.

Killing time and spending money...

We got this in the mail today.

It is the Britax Marathon Carseat. My Mom and Dad, my sister and her partner and my brother and his wife purchased it for us. We love it. Its very highly rated for safety and it is good up until 65lbs.

We also purchased this highchair.

It is the Combi Hero Highchair in Wasabi. It is great. It reclines to three positions( a hint I got from my best friend Kim, so that if Ava falls asleep eating we can just recline the chair and clean up around her without interrupting her sleep) and when Ava is older the seat comes off and we can use it as a booster seat.

We are on holidays this week and next so we have been trying to enjoy this last holiday as a family of two but it is hard not to be thinking of Ava. We did some clothing shopping for our trip to China. Apparently it is going to be HOT! and HUMID! so we were advised to pack light clothing that we can layer. Of course this called for a shopping spree. We went to Toronto to visit my sister and her partner and found a few things for each of us.

We had to take the car to the shop today. It had an engine light come on so we thought we'd better check it out. We were under the impression that we had warranty still left as it only has 19,000 kms on the car but were told that the warranty was only good for 3 years and that expired 2 months ago. And we wonder why GM is going under.... Anyway the light apparently meant that there is a purge cylinoid gone so we have to get that fixed. They will have the car until Tuesday and it will cost us around $300 to fix. Not alot but it makes me nervous. What else can happen on this vehicle if things are breaking after only 19000kms.

That's it for now. Not much to say but this...

IN 3 WEEKS WE WILL BE IN CHINA!!!!!!

Ripped Off And Pissed Off

Here we are all becoming parents. Some new parents and some just expanding their families. My wife and I have been doing some shopping over the Internet for stuff for Ava. We ordered a baby carrier and some other things from an on line store called BABY GURU. We went to their web site called www.babyguru.com. Our total sale came to over $175.00. That was back in March of this year. We have yet to receive our merchandise or get our money back. We have sent over twenty e-mails to this company. We have called the number that shows up on their web site and it is no longer in service. We finally threatened them with going to the Mississauga Police and reporting them for fraud and after about fifteen un-answered e-mails they finally returned that one. They tried telling us that they were changing owners and that is why we haven't received our merchandise. They gave us two options. We could either wait for the ownership change to be completed and they would send us our merchandise or if we send them a copy of the original receipt that they would refund us our money. We of course picked the second option. Surprise Surprise. We sent them what they wanted and we still haven't gotten our money back. Their web site is still up and running and people can still order stuff from them. So we finally contacted the Mississauga Police and they said that they can't do anything about it. The Police suggested that we contact Pay Pal, which we already have and or take them to small claims court. Pay Pal did an investigation and have ruled on our behalf but said that they can't do anything about it because after numerous attempts to contact the company they have realized that the number has been dis-connected. So I thought that I would put this post on our blog to warn any excited new parents or parents who are expanding their families to stay away from this web site and this company. THEY ARE CROOKED AND THEY ARE THIEVES. I still can't get over the fact that their web site is still up and running and that people can still order from them. Through our investigation we have found out that aren't even registered at the Better Business Bureau. So we can't even register a complaint with them. I'm so pissed off now that I'm to the point that if I could find out their business address in Mississauga that I would take a drive and visit their store in person. Although it probably wouldn't do me ant good because I would be willing to bet that the store doesn't even exist. So do your selves a favour and don't buy anything from them.

We have a date!!!

We were emailed our itinerary today. We will meet our beautiful Ava July 27th. My nephews 3rd birthday! Yay!

We will be staying at the Jian Guo Garden Hotel in Beijing and on Sunday the 26th we will fly to Nanning, Guangxi. Apparently Nanning is on the same latitude as Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Havana, Cuba. So it is going to be friggin' HOT!!! HUMID!!!!

We will go to the civil affairs in Nanning on the 27th and meet our daughter for the first time! We have her from that moment on. She is ours!

Tuesday we return to the civil affairs office to apply for Ava's passport.

Wednesday we visit the Quin Xia Shan Park and Flower and Bird Market.

Thursday we have a day to relax. Orphanage visits have not been mentioned but I think if they are allowed this will be the day we go.

Friday we pick up Ava's passport.

Saturday we fly back to Beijing.

Sunday we visit the Great Wall! What an experience that will be.

Monday we have a medical examination and a Canadian Embassy appointment.

Tuesday we will visit Tian'an Men Square and The Forbidden City. Then we will have a Peking Duck dinner that night. That scares me. I am not very adventurous and I have heard that in China if you order chicken you get the whole chicken beak, feet and all so I am sure this is true for the duck as well. Good thing I like rice is all I can say!

Wednesday we pick up our visas.

Thursday we head home to start our new life. Oh what a life it will be!