Count Down!

We are leaving for China in 7 days. After 4 years of waiting our time has finally come. I feel like I am pretty much in labor right now. This last leg of our journey has some very tough moments in the midst of all of our joy! We have been very busy with nesting, packing, list making, and trying to make travel arrangements.

We finally have permission to purchase our plane tickets as of this morning!!! Our Civil Affairs Bureau appointment on September 7th and our US Consulate appointment is on September 15th. We are planning to leave for a mini-vacation to Beijing on the 2nd! Eeeeek! That's next Wednesday!!! Only 7 days away!

We will get into Beijing on the afternoon of the 3rd. Crash. Then spend the 4th & 5th sight seeing. We should then travel to Changsha on the 6th. What we still do not know is when we will have Hope in our arms, either the 6th or 7th at this point. (Labor Day! that would be funny!)
Update: we are now leaving on the 3rd due to the late notice of purchasing the airfare. so only one day in Beijing, we are a little disappointed but still beyond excited!!!


Some of the most fun I have had was researching and buying my baby gear! Here are a few of my favorites!! By the way... Babies R Us will take Bed Bath & Beyond and Buy Buy Baby 20% off coupons. You can use as many as you want, just each purchase will need to be on a separate transaction. I am not ashamed to say I used one for each big gear purchase.

CAR SEATS:

We chose the Britax Boulevard for Kate at 6 months since she was nearing 20lbs and had outgrown her infant carrier. This is a great seat. Now that Kate is over 25lbs and Hope well... we don't know but we decided to purchase the Graco Nautalus for Kate and put Hope in the Britax when she comes home! The Nautalus grows with your child up to 100lbs and the Britax to 65lbs. We figure they will stay in their respectable seats until Hope is 65 lbs then she can move to the Graco and Kate will be out of them by then!





STROLLERS:

Since we are in Double Trouble I bought the Graco Quattro Tour Duo Double Stroller in January. This stroller is sturdy will last the test of time but it is very heavy and loooooog! I ended up using Kate's hand-me down single stroller most of the time unless we were going to the mall. We call this one "The Mall Stroller"! Lot's of room for packages.

I also wanted a side-by-side so the girls could bond better, I went with something very lightweight for this stroller. Yesterday I picked up the Combi Twin Sport. I'm dying to see my beauties side-by-side in this one!


HIGH CHAIRS:

Since Kate first started eating we have been using Chris' old Playschool high chair. It has seen it's last days. After tons of research I came up with the Chicco Polly High Chair. This chair has a great "Grow with Me" option. The height adjusts to table height when the girls are ready to start eating at the table. So no booster straps ruining my dining room chairs.

It has 2 removable dishwasher safe trays and an extra thick seat pad that will come off when they get a little bigger. They foot rest is also completely adjustable or removable. The buckle is easy to snap and remove but tricky enough for little hands. I love this chair. I can't say enough about it.


BABY CARRIER:

Simply said... I love my Ergo. Quality unmatched. This thing will survive my great grandchildren. It has saved the day so many times! I also bought the backpack and will use it for the first time in China for my carry on and diaperbag! Can't wait!


Last but not least... I have bought a 'few' clothes over the last 4 years... I will NOT share them all as I am a bit embarrassed but I want to share the dress Hope will wear to her U.S. Consulate visit!