Pearl Market and River Cruise

Today we spent the morning at the pearl market and the evening
on a dinner cruise on the Pearl River.  We had a brief appointment
at the clinic to check Q's TB skin test (negative). 

Fun was had by some at the pearl market (meaning mom was the
only one having fun). :-) We were asked by a friend to buy some
pearls for them and S tried on one of the finished necklaces to show
her what she can expect.  We hope you like it, D! :-)

Picking a strand of pearls.

A strand for S (eat your heart out).

Q spied a fun toy to ride on while mama shopped.

The Pearl River cruise was an hour and a half long.  We had dinner on the boat as the sun went down.  Once it was dark, many of the bridges and towers were lit up with multicolored lights.  It was really cool.  Check out the pictures, but they don't do justice.

One lighted bridge on the Pearl River in Guangzhou.

B & Q with the Canton Tower in the background.

Tomorrow is a free day.  We will do some shopping (squeaky shoes, etc.) and Red Couch pictures in the afternoon.

Another Day Closer to Home

Today started out with a tour of a Buddhist Temple and the Old Chen House.
Then lunch in our room followed by a nap for Q and mom. :-)  In the afternoon
paperwork was prepared for our consulate visit on Wednesday.

We enjoyed a group dinner at the local Thai restaurant.  Very good food and
great company.  Q and I ended the evening playing with the other girls and
their moms in the hotel playroom.  Fun was had by all.

Tomorrow we get to sleep in a little. :-)  We get to go to the Pearl Market
in the morning.  In the afternoon we get Q's TB test read.  In the evening,
we will take a dinner cruise on the Pearl River.  We're hoping Q will enjoy
that as she LOVES water. :-)  So far the tours involving cars/buses haven't
been a favorite for her.

As we close for the evening, a few pics from our day.  Enjoy!

5 more days!  We can't wait for our family and friends to meet Q!
We can't wait to see our boys again!  We love you J & D!

In a good mood as the tours begin. ;-)

The Pagoda at the Buddhist Temple, it's leaning too much now to allow people to go into and walk to the top.

The girls just hangin out at the temple. Seriously moms, can we go now?!

Baba and Q. Bonding is going well. :-)

Q having fun at the hotel play room.



Guangzhou, first full day

We arrived in Guangzhou, China yesterday (Friday) evening around 9 p.m. local
time.  By the time we got to the hotel and settled into our room it was after 10 p.m.

Q was ready for bed well before that.  She was D.O.N.E. with travel by the time
we got off the plane.  She wanted nothing to do with yet another bus ride.  She
screamed at the top of her lungs for several mins as our tour guide was trying to
give us instructions on the next days plans.  Thankfully she fell asleep and slept
through the check in process and even the ride up to our room.  I was going to
put her in her pj's, but decided that it was best to let sleeping toddlers sleep. :-)

Our first full day in Guangzhou started with the physical exam and TB test.
She hated every min. of it.  The only part of the morning she enjoyed was the
new ride she scored after breakfast.  She loves the stroller...my arms thank her
for that.  Even though she weighs less than 20 pounds, she gets heavy after
awhile. She weighed in (with clothes,shoes and a belly full of congee) at
8.4 KG and is 77cm long (without shoes).  Thankfully her ENT exam was
negative for an ear infection (we had worried that she was developing one as
she come to us from the orphanage with a nasty cold and was acting as if her
ears were bothering her).

After the doctor visit, we strolled through the streets of the island.  It is very
nice here...quiet...no mopeds whizzing by...just the occasional car.  Next on our
list (after dropping of some laundry) was Starbu*cks.  It's been so long!  It was
SO GOOD! :-)  We strolled some more and let Q walk and burn some toddler
energy.  She is pretty brave and tries to walk in the other direction from where
you're going (one of her favorite games) but when strangers approach, she
comes right back for us.  Good sign.

As far as bonding goes, she goes to both of us now.  Although she prefers me
in the morning, she warms up to S sometime after breakfast.  She still likes to hit
(thanks again to the spoiling from foster grandparents), but it seems to be getting
a little less frequent.  We've learned to say no and no hitting, no kicking, and
no throwing in Mandarin. :-) 

She loves music and loves to sing/babble.  She'll fit right into the family...and no
not the babbling part. :-)

So enjoy the pics.  Tomorrow is a tour of a Buddhist Temple and the Old Chen
House.  We will have some paperwork to do in the afternoon.  Dinner with our
travel group at a local Thai restaurant. 

Good night from Guangzhou!

 Bus ride from hotel in Zhengzhou to the airport.

Discovered the slide at the Zhengzhou airport and loved it.

Wiped out after a long evening of travel.

Like my new ride?

Not so much fun with the nurse...wait till she finds out what mama does for a living.

View from our hotel room in Guangzhou

Q exploring child statue in the park.



Leaving Zhengzhou

A quick post before we leave Zhengzhou (pronounced Jin-joe in case you where wondering). We are packing bags now, but had time this morning to go to the park about 2 blocks away. The weather has been nice while we have been here - 20 to 25C (68 to 77F) and no rain.  As mentioned in the previous post, we are going to Guangzhou (Gwan-joe) tonight.

Here are a few pics from the park and a cute video of Q.

Zhengzhou Park.

What is this green stuff?

Like my hat?

B & Q at the park.

 

Give me the camera.

Q using the remote as a cell phone.

As also promised, some pics from the local Wal-M*art.

We also included some pics of the city.

 Get some 'fresh' chicken....only 80 cents a pound.

 This store was 3 levels.  We only went to two.

To cross the street is taking your life in your own hands. Cars, bikes, and mopeds have the right of way, not pedestrians.

Next post from Guangzhou!  Hugs and love to you J&D!!

Orphanage Visit

Today we traveled about an hour from our hotel to Q's orphanage.
She's not much of a fan of car rides...hope the same isn't true for airplane
rides or we're all going to have a fun ride home! ;-)

We got to the orphanage and it's in a rural part of the outer city of Zhengzhou.
It's a pretty large facility.  Very quiet.  We were taken to a room where she
spent the first couple of months of life as well as the last week prior to us
arriving in China.  She clung to me the entire time.  When the nannies tried
to talk to her or touch her or have her come to them, she would turn her head
away.

I was nervous about bringing her back so soon after her leaving there, but everything worked out.  We then drove to Q's "finding place".  The area had apartment buildings but now it is being cleared to build an industrial factory.  This made it a little difficult to get the "feel" of the area, but it's probably for the best.

We have tried to give you the brighter side of our trip when posting photos.  The pics we took today don't leave us with the same feeling, so we will pass on that for now (sorry).  Words can't describe what we experienced today, but both of us left with great sadness at the situation and conditions that exist at the orphanage.  However, we are more certain than ever as to why God has called us to adopt.  We are greatful for His blessing of Q in our lives.  Our prayer is that He will continue to bless us so we can give her a life she would never have had growing up in the orphanage.

Tomorrow is our last day in Zhengzhou.  We leave the hotel at 3pm for a 6pm flight to Guangzhou in southern China.  The flight is about 3 hours and by the time we get the luggage then to the hotel, it will be late.  Needless to say, there will probably be no post tomorrow, but fear not, we will resume this weekend.  Our time here has gone quickly and the process has been smooth, thanks to our social worker, Rita - She's the best! :-)  We will miss her, but we look forward to the second half of our time here in China.  Stay tuned and God Bless!

Birthday Girl

Today our sweet little peanut turned 2.  We were able to celebrate her
special day with our travel group and their newest additions to their
families.  We ordered a cake from a local bakery and the hotel also
brought Q a special birthday cake and very nice card.  She really didn't
seem to understand what was going on, but our travel guide told Q to
blow out the candles and she tried but the poor little thing didn't have
much in her. :-) 

She loves cake.  She'll fit right in with the rest of our family. :-)

Won't spend anymore time writing cause we really know what you all
want....picutres. :-)  Enjoy!

Tomorrow is the day we get to visit her orphanage and finding place.
Then we will spend the afternoon looking over paperwork in order to
receive her passport on Friday.  We leave Zhengzhou on Friday afternoon
for our last stop, Guangzhou.  There we get to do more paperwork.....
that's right, more paperwork. :-)  But who can complian when the smile
is this sweet! :-)

It's Official.

Today, we made the adoption official.  We went to the same government building that we did yesterday to sign the final papers and receive the official adoption certificate.  Emotions were much more relaxed than they were 24 hours before, but the event was just as important.  Q is now officially ours!!  We thank God for the blessing of Q in our lives.

The start of the first full day as an official family.  What would it bring?  Would it be as good as yesterday or would reality set in and Q regress because this was something more than just an outing?  Would see be a mommy's-girl, a daddy's-girl, or accept or reject us both?  Well she is definitely mommy's girl at this point and makes daddy work for every bit of attention (don't worry, it's what was expected);-)  She woke up at 7:30 this morning, sat up, looked around and stared at us for a few minutes.  After she was fully awake, we skyped home for the boys to see Q again. :-)  Then it was off to
breakfast.  She loves food.  She's been willing to try new things but will shake her
head no and squinches up her cute, little nose when she doesn't want or like
something. :-)

We returned to the hotel at noon having all of the official stuff done.  After lunch we needed to go shopping for some shoes and clothes that fit Q.  She fits in the 12 mo. size, but with the exception of two oufits, we brought 18 - 24 mo. clothes and the shoes we had were too big.  Rita, our social worker, went with us and we were successful in find some pants and shoes to fit.  Still need socks as we forgot to pack some for her.

Tomorrow Q turns 2, so we also ordered a cake while we were out.  We will have a small party tomorrow with the other families in our group.  What an ordeal to order a cake!  The bakery is concerned the cake will not be pretty enough.  Who cares, she's only 2!  I'm sure it will be great.

Nothing scheduled for tomorrow other than the party.  Thursday we will go the orphanage that Q was assigned to and her "finding place".  That will be very interesting to say the least.

Check out some of the photos from today.

The official certificate.

Q wearing mommy's shoes.

Q playing hide & seek.