Preschool!

A huge day today!  Anderson started preschool at McCormick Montessori.  He will go three full days/week.  His teacher is the same teacher that Karina had when she also attended McCormick.  We are so fortunate!

Anderson had a good day.  His teacher described him as helpful and nice.

Autumn in Chicago

We are finally over jet lag!  And for the most part we are sleeping through the night.  Anderson will start preschool the week of October 19th, 3 days a week.  We'll see how it goes!  Celia is enjoying spending time with Anderson before she returns to work later this month.

Here are a few playground shots from this past week.  We had some beautiful autumn days here in Chicago.

Welcome to Chicago!

We arrived safely to Chicago late Monday afternoon and have been getting over jet-lag (gradually).  Here is a picture of some of the welcome crew at the airport, and a picture of our two children here at home.

Overall Anderson is doing well.  We are taking it a day at a time.

Thank you for all your positive thoughts, prayers, wishes while we were in China.  We will continue to keep the blog updated.

Final stage: from Guangzhou to Beijing

We are in the final stage of our journey uniting Anderson with our family.

Climbing the steps of the airplane to leave Guangzhou.

Sightseeing in Beijing: here we are as a family, in front of the Temple of Heaven.

A typical Anderson look (smiley!)

Momma and her two children.

Exploring Guangzhou

We have been exploring Guangzhou as a family, enjoying our time very much.

Chad, Karina, and Anderson walking down a street in Guangzhou.

Here we are, playing in one of the many nice parks we've discovered here.

Lunch with Holly Anderson, Oma and Opa's neighbor in Wheaton, who also lives in Hong Kong.

Karina & Anderson in Guangzhou

We spent a little time visiting a local zoo (we did see a panda but the picture didn't turn out, since the panda was in the distance and behind glass).

Karina feeding a giraffe.

Anderson showing off for the camera.

Karina and Anderson having fun, playing in our hotel room.

Arriving in Guangzhou (Saturday)

Here we were on the high speed (NOT) train to Guangzhou. (We had a 50-minute delay, sitting on the tracks, for no apparent reason.)

However, we arrived at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou without incident, and it is very nice. We all slept very well our first night here.

Early childhood education

The picture of the four of us in the post just before this one, and these two pictures, were taken when we visited the oldest academy in the world, located in Changsha. Chairman Mao studied there at one time.

Karina, in a speculative moment.

And Anderson, taking it all in.

We are headed to Guangzhou today on the bullet train. We have been enjoying the swimming pool so much at our hotel in Changsha, so I truly hope there is a swimming pool at our next hotel, too!

Happy family

All four of us!

Time as a family

Here are a few new photos of us all:

Daddy and Anderson

Karina and Anderson -- these two pictures are from a little amusement park with rides that we went to today (Wednesday).

Mommy with Anderson at the hotel swimming pool; thank goodness for this pool, because we are using it daily!

Second day with Anderson

We are now in our second day with Anderson. Overall things are going well. He does have some habits that we are already trying to break, such as spitting and throwing things when he gets mad, or doesn’t get his way. He responds pretty well when Chad uses his low voice in a stern way. He doesn't respond so much to me, yet. But we'll see. :)

He and Karina are doing well. Karina is being a big helper and a good older sister. She engages with him and he is always trying to copy her, doing what she is doing. He knows that we are his family and uses the Chinese words for Father (Baba), Mother (Mama), and big sister (JieJie). We are using the name Anderson consistently -- and he is starting to respond. He is overall a happy kid and is a teaser (like his big sister).

He is definitely a 3T right now; he is a little guy.

The adoption is complete from the Chinese side of things. We did all the formalities on Monday. We will pick up his Chinese passport later this week before we head to Guangzhou on Friday.

Everyone is napping as I write this. Yay!

(I am having spotty Internet access, so please understand that posts to the blog may be intermittent.)

First meeting!

Our first meeting with Anderson as a family. He ran to me right away (whew!).

Here's Karina giving Anderson his "Little Bro" t-shirt. (He gave her a "Big Sister" shirt, too.)

Karina in Changsha

We have arrived in Changsha, and we are getting settled in. Tomorrow morning we will meet Anderson, and the Bergmans will become 4.

Day of departure

Here we are, leaving Chicago as family of three. The journey begins!

We're going to China!

Some of you may know the children's show Kai Lan about a Chinese American girl and her adventures with her friends.  Well, there is one episode where Kai Lan goes to China to meet some of her relatives.  She sings a song... "We're going to China. We're going to China.  I feel so happy, I just want to sing." 

Guess what song we've been singing in the Bergman home for the past few days?  And today is the day! 

Packing known for the unknown

Here I am, packing my son's suitcase and really not knowing what will fit, what will work, what will connect.  We pack things we know--balls, cars, shirts, shorts, slippers--knowing that some will make it into his daily life while other items will find new homes.  New homes.  We are a family of three packing four suitcases to become a family of four.  All that is familiar will be new again.

Following our China journey

Here is a timeline of what we are to expect once we board that plane on Friday.

Typical basic timeline (11-15 days total)

Friday

Leave U.S. [we are flying into Beijing]

In-Country Facilitator will meet you at airport – s/he will be well experienced, knowledgeable, helpful, and guide you through every step!

Sunday

• Arrive in capital city of province your child lives in. [we will arrive in Changsha]

Monday

• Finally meet Anderson at Adoption Center!

• Complete adoption registration with Chinese government at local Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau (aka “Making it Official!”)

• Short interview with Civil Affairs officials (info from Letter of Intent)

• Take adoption documents to a notary office (will take 5 days to complete)

• Similar short interview with Notary Officer

Tuesday

• Apply for child’s Chinese passport at local Public Security Bureau (police)

• Public Security Officer (police) will issue child’s Chinese passport

Wednesday & Thursday

• Free time to bond with child &/or enjoy light sightseeing with facilitator

Friday

• Pick up child’s notarized adoption documents

• Travel to Guangzhou in the afternoon/evening

Saturday

• Child’s photo taken and medical exam completed for U.S. visa application

Sunday

• Relax and bond!

Thursday

• Child’s visa application appointment at the American Consulate General

Friday

• Day after visa appointment – Pick up child’s U.S. visa at 3:30 pm at the American Consulate General

• Travel to Beijing as a family of 4

Monday

• Return to Chicago - Airport party!

Our letter to Anderson

Here is a copy of the letter that we included in the care package…

Photos from May

Care package

We were able to send a care package to Anderson late July via a wonderful company called Red Thread China.  We sent pictures of our family as well as some hand written notes that were translated and read to Anderson. Here is Karina's letter to her brother.

The Summer timeline

Back on May 7th, Leta White, our Asian Program Casework from Gladney, sent us the following email regarding the timeline for the summer.  At the time it seemed insurmountable, but now we look forward to leaving in a week!

Hi Celia and Chad,

I want to pass along a mini roadmap of our next steps for you to have as a reference.  We can always revisit this as we move through each of our next steps.

We are currently waiting for I800A approval and for CCCWA to issue your Letter Seeking Confirmation.  When your LSC arrives from China, we can move on to filing your I800/I864W application.  The I800 approval process usually takes, 10-14 day after USCIS has receive your application from the lockbox.  

Once you have your I800 approval notice, I will send you the instructions on how to contact the NVC to receive your notice that your information has been ‘cabled’ to Guangzhou.  The NVC letter process usually takes about a week to have this letter issued.  *You will receive this letter in a PDF format and then you will forward this on to me so I file your DS-260 application. 

The DS-260 application can be done on the same day as I receive your NVC letter.  After I have completed your DS-260, I will then forward all of your approval notices to our representative in Guangzhou to submit the request for your Article 5 Letter.  

The Article 5 Letter-from submission to pick-up day usually takes around 2.5-3 weeks.  When your letter is ready for pick up, our representative in Guangzhou will overnight your letter to our representative in Beijing. 

Our Beijing representative will submit your Art 5 letter to CCCWA, then we wait for your Travel Approval.  TAs have been taking around 2-3 weeks. 

When your TA has been received in the NY office, I will make the request for your Consulate Appointment.  *We need at least 2 weeks from TA arrival to travel to give us enough time to prepare your in-country itinerary.  I will work with you to figure out dates closer to travel.

Please let me know if you have any questions about our next steps!

Beginning to fill in the gaps...

These are the first glimpses into his world and immediately we were in it for a "LIFE LONG FRIENDSHIP".