Moving on!!!!

Well it looks as if all went as planned in Beijing and the Busters are ready to move on to the second leg of their trip! Again, I was able to FaceTime with Jaelynn & Kelly today! What a difference in just a few days! Really it was Jaelynn and Sophia on FaceTime because they of course needed to be the center of attention! So cute! Here is what Kelly had to say about Days 4 & 5! Take a look!

"Wednesday we went sightseeing and had lunch at a good Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was much better than our first experience. Our guide Jenny took us there. The quality of the meat here is not very good. For example the pork is more fat than meat. Our guide was telling us how Chinese people eat all the meat on animals such as the head and necks of ducks and fish. We only went to local restaurants twice since we have been here. It is too difficult to even order (when you go by yourself) because most people speak very little if any english. Every morning we eat the breakfast buffet at the hotel. It is a huge buffet. They have everything from typical breakfast food to lunch foods as well. They have a good variety of Chinese food such as fried rice, lo mein, spring rolls, veggies, steamed buns, congee, etc. We brought ramen noodles and eat them for lunch or dinner on occasion. We have also ate KFC and Papa Johns. They have Mcdonalds here but we haven't tried it.
We went to a park on Wednesday and Thursday and Jaelynn got to burn off some steam. She needed it. It is tough being in a hotel room with very little to do. They do not have a play area here for kids. So, we have used the halls and lobby of the hotel as our place to go on walks. Her toys have become whatever she can get her hands on in the room such as pull-ups, toilet paper, you name it... At the park she would play with other kids when she would see them. She is very social and active. On the go big time... Our guide works with adopted families while they are here and has been doing this for 10 years so she sees the children all the time. She was surprised how vocal and active Jaelynn is. She said a lot of kids are quiet and reserved at this stage. Not our little peanut!
As far as the adoption process things are right on schedule. This first stop here in Nanchang was to get Jaelynn, finalize her adoption, and get her passport. The adoption was finalized and we applied for her passport. Our guide is going to pick up her passport tomorrow. We ended Thursday by packing our suitcases to head to the 2nd leg of our trip Guangzhou. We board a plane Friday at 6pm China time arriving there at 7:30pm. This will be Jaelynns first plane ride. I am glad it is a short one. We will see how it goes..."

Please keep sending all of your kind words! Kelly is looking forward to reading them and she appreciates them more than you know!

Love,

   Brandy

Baby steps in the right direction!

Hi all! It seems forever since the last update, even though it's been one day! Kelly and Jaelynn are both doing amazing! I had the opportunity to FaceTime with them and Jaelynn was surprisingly interested! She is a completely different baby than just 2 days ago even! When Jaelynn saw my daughter, Sophia, on the iPad she immediately said "baby"! Super cute! You can tell that she is already forming a strong bond with her mommy as she didn't want Kelly to give me any of her attention! Here is what Kelly wrote about her experiences on day 3:

" I am really starting to see Jaelynn's personality com out. We facetime Philip a couple times a day and he commented yesterday that she doesn't even look like the same kid. Philip was sticking his tongue out at her and she would laugh and do it right back.
She is going to be chatty I can tell. She is always singing and making noises. She is starting to understand some basic English words. It is amazing how quick kiddos catch on. For example, when I ask her to sit down she will. So far she has said dada, Devin, bye-bye, hi, Jaelynn, mama, baby, Sophie, and nanny. That is pretty good for only being with me for 48 hours. Now, some of those words i have asked her to say but some she has said on her own.
We ventured out to Walmart yesterday to get a couple things. It was very different from our walmart at home that is for sure. She is going to like to shop when she gets older. That girl wanted everything in the store. I think she was just overwhelmed by all the stuff, colors, etc. She would point to things, try to grab things off the shelves if you got to close, and she would get frustrated if you didn't give her what she wanted. We walked downstairs to get Papa Johns Pizza afterwards (it is in the same building) and she took off running at one point. She is going to be an active kid.
We also got over a huge hurdle with the bath. Last night I put her in a small baby bathtub with bubbles and she went in with no problem. I wont say that she loved it but she did ok. Every time she got bubbles on her hands she wanted them rinsed off. She was guarded but she did it.
She is really good about going on the potty which is awesome. Our guide brought us a kids potty because she was having a hard time going on the actual toilet. The toilets here in China are very different. They are like a toilet placed in the ground that you have to hover over. She is not used to sitting on a toilet. Kids here also wear split pants so they can squat without having to pull down their pants. These obstacles along with her not being able to communicate has created some challenges. However, I would say she is farther along with that than expected.
We are still finding our groove with getting her to sleep. The first night she slept in the bed with me. The problem is that she is ALL over the bed. I am afraid she is going to fall out of the bed and I cant get any sleep worrying about her. So, she has been in the crib the last two nights. First nigh in the crib went fine. However, last night she cried. She did not want to go into the crib. I held her until she went to sleep and then put her in the crib. She has been sleeping good. I just feel bad making her sleep in there but i cant risk her falling out and me getting no sleep.
So, hopefully I am not boring everyone with details. I created this blog for a couple reasons. One reason is to keep everyone updated on my trip and the second one is to have an online type journal to refer back to"

Love,
   Brandy

Starting to see smiles 😄

Hi there! It seems for the most part all is going well for Kelly, her mom, and Jaelynn! Kelly sounds great, says she has been able to get some rest, and is looking forward to her return to the states with her new addition! Here is the most recent post I received from Kelly:

"Jaelynn was brought to me right on time Sunday. She was brought to our hotel room which was nice. She was able to grieve here instead of being in a public place. It only took her about an hour to calm down. Could of been a lot worse. Thankful for that. She has allowed me to hold and comfort her which is good for our bonding. There were a couple occasions today where she became sad and would cry while snuggling with me. I feel very bad for her. I am starting to get a couple smiles out of her which is awesome!
Today we finalized the adoption. So, she is officially a Buster! Overall, she is pretty healthy. A couple minor issues that are pretty normal for living in an orphanage for the past 2.5 years. We went to breakfast today and she did great. She is a great eater! Bathtime was another story. Last night I could not even get her in the tub. Today I put her in the shower and she did ok until I had to wash her hair.
Devin was so excited to see his sister. We facetimed him so he could see her. He is going to be a great big brother. I already miss him a lot and I still have 2 weeks to go :(. I know he is in good hands with his Daddy... That is comforting."

Please continue to share your well wishes with Kelly and they new baby! I will continue to update regularly!

Love,
    Brandy

Forever Family Day ❤️(Part 2)

FINALLY! I recieved a message from Kelly today saying that all went well! Baby Jaelynn was placed into Kelly's arms today around 430pm China time, so approximately 330am EST! Kelly said that Jaelyn cried pretty much the whole first hour, but then was able to calm herself down. The dropped the poor girl off with nothing but the clothes on her back and a bag full of cookies! Kelly also said that everyone was doing well and they were going to try and rest for the day. I have attached some photos of the baby! Introducing The one and only JAELYNN BUSTER!!  Welcome for the family baby girl!

Forever Family Day ❤️ (Day 2)

I just received another update from Kelly! In just a few short hours she will FINALLY be holding her baby girl!!! Kelly is of course full of mixed emotions and the anticipation is crazy! The seven year wait is finally coming to an end. Here is what Kelly had to say today:


"Yesterday mom and I slept most of the day. Recovering from jet lag and adjusting to the time difference is harder than I thought it would be. Today started by waking up at 4am. Yesterday it was 3am so i guess we are making a little progress each day adjusting.
We have only left the hotel once. Last night we went to eat dinner at a local restaurant. That was an interesting experience to say the least. A couple lessons learned there. Don't order anything with meat in it outside the hotel. I ordered a chicken ginger dish and mom ordered sweet and sour pork. The chicken was so full of bones and the pork was all fat. Our guide Jenny will take us some different places this week. I am sure we will have a better experience then since she knows what is good and what is not..
It is about noon here and Jaelynn is scheduled to be here in 4 hours. The anticipation is building. Super excited to meet her and hold her in my arms but realize we may have a tough couple days ahead as she grieves. Sad for her in that regard.
I will do my best to get pictures posted soon.... "

The have the crib ready and waiting! Kelly is of course a little nervous as to how the baby will respond to her. My advice was to "expect the worse, and pray for the best! Everything will be perfect". Jaelynn will soon find out how blessed she is to have such a loving mommy, daddy, and BIG brother!

Much love,

   Brandy

Safe Travels & China (Day 1)

Good morning from Pennsylvania! Unfortunately, Kelly is unable to access her blog or Facebook while in China and therefore I will be updating for her! My name is Brandy and I'm Kelly's niece. Kelly has made it safely to China and is very excited to meet her little girl! This is the message that I received from Kelly today:

"We arrived in Nanchang China Friday evening after 26 hours of traveling. We went from Orlando to Washington Dulles to Beijing to Nanchang. When we arrived at the hotel we were simply exhausted.. I thought I would sleep for a long time but no. I slept for 4 hours and then was wide awake. China is 13 hours ahead of our time so my days and nights are messed up. I am so glad to have 1.5. days to recover before Jaelynn comes to me. She is scheduled to be brought to our hotel on Sunday afternoon at 4pm. I am so excited to meet her but also a bit nervous. Nervous because I don't know how she will respond... I know this is the best thing for her. However, she doesn't understand that yet. ".

I will continue to update the blog as I receive updates from Kelly.  Wishing Kelly, her mother, and the new baby safe travels!

Love,
    Brandy

Happy New Year.....

Today My mom and I have started our journey to pick up Jaelynn.  Our trip started bright and early today. We left the house around 4:30 am.  Devin was so excited to take us to the airport that he woke up before any alarms went off. However, he was very sad when we were pulling into the airport.  He decided at that point he wanted to go to China with me.  I feel bad enough leaving him for 2.5 weeks but that just made it even harder :(

We left Orlando today at 7:20 and arrived in Washington Dulles at 9:30. We depart for Beijing at 12:20. That will be a 14.5 hour flight.  Our final leg of the trip is from Beijing to Nanchang.  We arrive in Nanchang Friday evening at 9:30pm.   We have a long trip ahead but super excited.  Jaelynn will be brought to the hotel on Sunday.

I need to get off here as we are about to start boarding....