Bla-bla-bla-BLAH!

It is Sunday the 4th of February around noon here in Guangzhou, China. It is a particularly smoggy day with what we assume are sun and clear skies somewhere above. Erin is on her daddy's lap, facing him, her legs straight across his chest toward his chin, leaning back on his crossed legs and having a bottle of her favorite vintage: 2-second old formula with a wee bit of Chinese powder rice cereal. She makes these kinds of noises when she's drinking like a "swallow-and-breath" that sound as if she's never, ever, in her entire short life, tasted anything so amazingly good and wonderful -- ever! Afterwards we get a big smile with the head rolling back and eyes closed tight. It's good to be Erin at noon on a Sunday in Gunagzhou.

We took a little trip yesterday to a big park in the middle of the city. It's like Central Park in the middle of NYC -- you can't believe there is this place with trees and flowers and ponds and birds in the middle of such a big city.

Erin took her first gondola ride to the top of a 1,000-foot mountain, for which she cared little. She did seem to like being strapped to her daddy while he traversed trials and climbed many, many, many steps on a beautiful, sunny day. We were aparently up high enough to see real, blue sky -- which was lovely. This is something we really haven't seen since we've been here due to the city's pollution. It's interesting -- the city is stacked high on top of itself with more people and cars than it has space for, yet it is quite clean. People are always sweeping the streets, sidewalks and parking lots with these very long brooms.

Erin went to her first "tame bird show" at the park yesterday. It was all in Chinese so we think she understood more than we did. The birds were cute -- they bowled and roller-skated and went down slides. At the end they would fly into the audience and take money from people waving it around -- of course everyone wanted a bird to come to them, so the money was flying...pun intended.

We took a trip on Friday afternoon to a large department store about 20 minutes away by taxi. Worth noting -- only ride in the BACK of a taxi if you can help it. The lines on the street and traffic lights are apparently all for show. Both bus and taxi rides have been nail-biters.

The department store was amazing. About 11 floors, with a full grocery store on the 5th floor. Everything you'd want and more -- and not too cheap, either. We did see some great prices on good, leather shoes, but alas -- even China didn't have Sheila's size. Erin was such a trooper in the store -- and we were there quite a long time. She slept in her stroller for awhile, then woke up and chilled and looked around without a peep from her. On the way home, in the back of the taxi, we managed to get a bottle down her. After a quick bowl of cereal in the room, she joined her parental units out for some Thai food and a couple of beers...then home to bed. For being such an amazing kand good child that day, we have decided she gets one "get out of jail free card" when she's about 13 or 14 and really does something she shouldn't. We'll remember this day in China, and will forgive her that one time.

While we think she's a cutie pie, we don't expect others to dote over her -- however, Chinese people are always stopping us and smiling with her. Lots of talking with her -- it all sounds like Chinese to us -- wait -- it is! Anyway, everyone is very sweet with her and we love that they love her.

She has recently discovered her daddy's belt buckle and the little snaps that stick out on the side of his jeans. Keeps her occupied for hours. She also like's mommy's hair and earings and likes to "push" mommy's face around so she can reach these things. As a result, mommy has official Erin wounds (little scratches) all over her face.

We gave her some pizza last night and a little bit of spaghetti and she seemed to really like it. Ha. NOT. Just kidding. :)

When she's happy she still grunts and says, "bla-bla-bla-BLAH." We imitate her all the time and she looks at us like we're from Mars. We're hoping she'll get used to us eventually!! Truly, though, she looks at us and responds when we call her (unless she is licking her toes). She has discovered there is a very cute, little Chinese girl who looks JUST LIKE HER in the mirror! She loves her. She licks her and reaches for her all the time. We think this is her first, real, best friend. We have scheduled a couple of playdates for them before we head home on Friday.

We're including a few more pictures -- the first features Erin on one recent cold night in her little, pink-heart jacket that Grandma gave her. It kept her toasty warm.

More to come!! We love you!

Steve and Sheila and Erin

Erin Adventures!

Erin Adventures!

She has been a busy girl since becoming a little Coghill. With all her adventures out, we are so very proud of her -- she takes all the long bus rides in stride, goes with the flow, never fusses, and seems to be happy all of the time. She amazes us.

Yesterday we went to the zoo with some of the other families and saw pandas, tigers, bears, monkeys and believe it or not...a whole area devoted to r-a-t-s! Big, hairy, ugly, gross, giant RATS!! Not sure of their significance in the zoo...all of the families were completely grossed out. The babies didn't seem to care much. We passed on taking pictures of the rats, but we have included a few others.

Lots of Chinese people come up to Erin and smile and nod and say things to us that we don't understand, but it all seems to point to Erin and we think they think she is cute. She does have a sweet personality and a very sweet disposition.

We are starting to learn when she is hungry and tired and so on. She slept from 9pm last night until 7:30am this morning. She seems to be getting over her cold -- we took her to the hotel doc on Monday and he gave us some medicine to help her along. He also removed some clumps of wax from both her ears -- uh, something we have learned she does NOT like. But, the very second it's over, she's like, "ok, cool. that's done. let's play!"

She gets some rice cereal for dinner each day -- and she has gotten better with being fed by a spoon. She had some congee with formula at breakfast -- and she is used to having it only from a bottle...so it may take a little longer to get her used to that by spoon. We are going to spend a little time teaching her to hold her bottle and the "hand to mouth" routine that she currently has no concept of.

She laughs with us now, smiles, gets so very, very excited about things, remains curious and still licks everything in sight. We have a few down days -- no appointments or meetings or anything official -- so we hope to go to the park, take lots of walks and spend some time in the playroom (the hotel has a big, fully stocked playroom for the babies!).

We'll do our best to keep you posted. Know that her pictures do not even come close to showing how precious and adorable and tiny and cute and sweet and soft she is!

love,
Sheila and Steve

Another couple days

Hello, I'm Erin...
















On Sunday we went to a Buddhist temple in downtown Guangzhou. Erin was excited to see the big brass Buddhas and even sang along as the monks chanted. Sheila and Steve took turns climbing the pagoda - where we and took some pictures and video of the grounds and the city.

On Monday we had to go to the police station - again in downtown Guangzhou so Erin could have her passport photo taken. She squirmed a lot - but gave a big smile.

Monday night we went out for Thai food - and when we got back to the room - Erin was all full of giggles and big toothless smiles. I think she's getting used to us - and realizing we're not going away.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we're planning to go to the zoo. Friends have warned us that it's not a very exciting place to visit - and a little depressing - but it's the daily outings that make the time go by faster.

FIRSTS!!

Friday the 26th was a day of "firsts" for the newly expanded Coghill family.

It was our first full day together as a family. It went very well.

It was Erin's first adventure with a stroller. She does not like to be bound up -- so she was squirmy at first. Once we started moving, she was way into the stroller thing. And there was so much to see!

Erin got her very first pair of shoes. Little, soft, white leather shoes with a pink butterfly attached. She keeps looking down at them, leaning over to them, and trying to bring them back up to her. She thinks they are new toys. But they do look smashing on her!

Erin ate some rice cearal from a spoon. Not much...as she has no concept of the spoon yet...but she is a "go for it" girl, and we managed to get a few bites in over the top of the tongue for about 4-5 small spoonfuls. Good girl.

Erin's first song was, "Pretty Balerina" by The Left Banke (the same group that did "Walk Away Renee" in the 60's). We thought that was appropriate -- and given the rest of the iPod has Zombies, Ramones, Death Cab for Cutie, Beatles, Monkees, Luna, and so on on it, we thought this was a lovely choice for our new baby girl! Her eyes lit up and her head spun around when she first heard the music!

Her first "dance" was to Louden Wainwright III's "Swimming Song." While sitting on her Daddy's lap and listening, she started to rock during that one! Good girl!

She had her first ever, real bath. We plopped her into the tub and she did a little "shimmy and shake" at first. Looked around and gave a little whine when we poured water over the top of her head. But then all was right with the world. The "texture" of the water was of real curiosity to her. She was all sweet and clean in no time!

Erin ventured out and sat in a high chair at a restaurant for the first time. She behaved very well, playing with the lid of the water bottle (it's bright green and looks like a little cup). Her other favorite toy is her tube of diaper rash ointment.

Ta-DA! Erin had her first Cheerio as well. We gave her one. She really doesn't know how to eat or chew, but she seemed interested. She sucked on it and rolled it around a lot -- we helped her keep it in her mouth. Overall, we feel the Cheerio was a success.

Since she was asleep when we got her and brought her home, she seems mostly to just "tolerate" us right now. Like we're the people, but different people, who take care of her. She is slowly learning to look at us, reach for us, and play with us. She does extrordinarily well on her own (not surprising), so we are trying to balance a mix of alone play (which she is used to) and "us" play (so she will get to know us).

She is a great grunter, raspberries a lot with her mouth, squeals when she is excited, and she licks everything. Can anyone tell us if we should be concerned about that?? She scratches everthing she can get her hands on -- like she's exploring the textures of things brand new to her. She kicks her little legs a lot which is fun to watch.

Her nickname at the orphanage is "gua-gua" so we call her that every once in awhile to get her attention. She is adventurous, curious, very sweet, well-tempered, and a sound sleeper through the night. We are working on having her crawl around and stand while we hold her so we can work some of the meat of those chunky thighs of hers!!

More to come...all is well in Cogruehill land.
xo
Sheila and Steve

Here she is!!!

Finally!!!

About 4:30pm (Guangzhou time) on Thursday, January 25th, the director of Erin's orphanage brought her out and handed her to Sheila.

It's hard to see from the picture above - but she was sound asleep when she was brought out. She opened her eyes for just a few seconds as Sheila held her - but dozed off again. In fact, she slept for about the first half hour we had her.










The director answered some questions we had about Erin. Then we drove back to the hotel.

It's now about 9:45pm and mother and daughter are sound asleep.

It's been a long journey - but we finally have her in our arms!!

Almost there!

Just wanted to let everyone we made it to Hong Kong. Got in around 7:45pm Tuesday night. It was a LONG 15 hours on that plane - but we went over the Arctic Circle and got to see what it looks like at the North Pole! Flying into Hong Kong was really neat. I've never seen so many skyscrapers in my life. In the U.S. the skyscrapers usually seem to be situated in city's "downtown" area - but here - they are spread out all over the place. Here's a little history about Hong Kong that I found online - in case you want to know more:

Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years. On July 1, 1997, China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, ending more than 150 years of British colonial rule.

Wish we had time to see more of the city - but we're off to Guangzhou shortly. We'll write again when we find internet access in Guangzhou.

Keep an eye on the blog - where we'll post updates - and pictures!

Steve and Sheila

THIS IS IT!

We just found out this morning that we will have Erin Cassidy in our arms on the 25th of January!! Sorry we haven't sent updates lately -- but there was really no news. Yes. We have been waiting since 30 November to find out our travel dates!

We leave for Hong Kong on Monday 22 January. We arrive Saturday evening the 23rd. We will spend the night in Hong Kong and fly to Guangzhou the next day -- the 24th. We have an appointment to pick her up on Thursday the 25th.

We will have her with us from then on. For two weeks we'll remian in Guangzhou -- where we will have appointments and meetings and interviews so that when we return home, she will be adopted, a U.S. citizen, and officially a Coghill!

We fly home 8 February -- her birthday! She'll be 10 months old that day. We have plenty to keep us busy for the next week, and we'll do our best to keep you updated.

Yes, we are on cloud 9 and I can't imagine coming down anytime soon.

Love to all of you,
Steve and Sheila

WE ARE ON OUR WAY!

We had our "travel meeting" this past Tuesday and we know we will be leaving for China either on the 12th or the 19th of January! The travel date depends on when they can confirm our meetings with different officials and consulats once in China.

We will fly from LAX to Hong Kong. We leave on a Friday and arrive on a Saturday. We spend one night in Hong Kong, then fly to Guangzhou where we will stay for 2 weeks. Our "Erin day" will be our second day in Guangzhou!! That's when we pick her up, and begin the actual adoption process. She will be with us from then on.

We'll have appointments with the US Consulate, family interviews, get her visa, and so on for the next couple of weeks. When we arrive home with her -- wich will be either the 27th of January or the 3rd of February -- she will be ours!!

Several friends and family have asked if we are registered anywhere -- and we are. We have registered at Target -- and hope to do the same at Babies-r-Us and perhaps Penney's (or something similar). If you would like to help out with clothes -- we suggest about 12-months (or older). We need pajama sets, little onesy tops, and everything else babies wear. Little hippie-chick dresses are welcomed! :)

All of her growth and health information has been translated and the pediatrician says she is right on track for her age! She is healthy, normal, and growing. Her paperwork is updated and thorough, so we feel the orphanage has taken very good care of her. Her favorite thing to do is "sit in her walker," and her favorite toys are bright colored balls. She is on a good eating and sleeping schedule and we were shocked to learn she gets up at 6:30 am. That's about 4 hours earlier than we're used to getting up, so there will have to be some changes made. We hope she doesn't mind sleeping in!! :)

More baby room pictures will be loaded up soon -- we've been off-line for about a week (Earthlink problems). We'll keep you updated. THANK YOU so much for your calls and letters and gifts and well wishes. She is a lucky, little girl to come into such a wonderful circle of family and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Have a wonderful Christmas and holiday and we wish you a happy new year...which, of course, will be filled with lots of pictures and updates of Erin Cassidy!!

Much love, Steve and Sheila

Special Pics!

Here's our cat, Bert, as he waits next to "casey" the monkey. As you can see, he is so excited about Erin's arrival. He's been very patient. Erin weighs almost as much as he does now!!

The Baby Room!

Many of you have been asking about "the baby room!" Here are some pictures of her room -- the walls are green and blue, and she will be surrounded by pictures and blankets and toys and stuff and things stuffed -- given to her by loving family and friends as we all waited for her. Enjoy!

Erin Is Healthy!

As if you couldn't already tell by her pictures, Erin is a healthy little girl. We received an update today -- and she is 27.17 inches long; 17.6 pounds. One of our good friends said she thought we'd have to get second jobs b/c "she looks like a healthy eater!"

If you need a reason to celebrate tomorrow (Friday)...other than celebrating the fact it's Friday -- you can celebrate with us! It will be Erin's birthday -- she'll be 8 months old. Woo-HOO!

Pictures of the baby room to come very soon!
love, Steve and Sheila

ERIN IN SCOTLAND! Sheila's brother, Rick, took Erin's "mug" shot and placed her in Scotland! We love this b/c her names (Erin Cassidy) have Scottish roots. Enjoy!
Love Steve and Sheila

WHO IS SHE?

Here's a little about Erin -- based on the information packet we received with her pictures.

She was born 8 April 2006. She currently weighs 17 pounds -- we think much of that must be in those dimply, adorbale thighs!

The literal translation of her Chinese name is: Jiang=River; Cheng=Honesty; Guo=Fruit

She has been well-cared for by the orphanage and her diet consists of baby formula with rice flour porridge, supplemented by vitamins, calcium, cod liver oil, and juice. When in an unfamiliar environment she looks around with curiosity but when strangers approach she is frightened and begins to cry. We hope she won't cry much when we meet her!

The oprhange writes that "she is an adorable baby with a very sweet disposition." We could see that by just looking at those beautiful eyes!

We are already so in love with her and we can't wait for her to meet all of our wonderful and loving family and friends.

We will continue to post -- and let you know when we leave for China!

LOVE,
Steve and Sheila

Introducing Erin Cassidy Coghill

Here are her photos! We'll send more info soon - just wanted you to see her.

SHE FOUND US!

Dear friends and loved ones. WE GOT THE CALL! Thursday morning, 30 November 2006 our adoption agency called and said, "congratulations, we are looking at the picture of a beautiful, little girl -- and she's your daughter!"

She was born 8 April 2006. Her Chinese name is Jiang Cheng Guo. That's all we know so far. We go in tomorrow to pick up her pictures, sign the papers, and learn more about her. We will update the blog then!!

We are thrilled and numb and so very happy right now. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and calls and love through all of this. She'll be home soon!!

Next step -- we sign papers and then head over to China (probably in mid-January) to pick her up and then bring her home.

Love, Steve and Sheila

Welcome!

Welcome to "Where's Erin?" We'll do our best to keep you updated on this final phase of our long journey to bring her into our life...and to bring her home!

Here is the latest news -- and it is good news! Families who have LID's (log-in dates) up through 25 August 2005 have just received their referrals. Our LID is 8 September -- and we were told by Heartsent (our agency) that we "are next!" We don't know when the referral will come in...but the next round will have OUR NAME on it! As Sheila's brother (Kenny) said when he heard the news -- "hey, you're not number one...you're next!!"