Guangzhou

We've been in Guangzhou since late Friday night.  The kids did great on the one-hour fllight from Nanchang, but it was quite late when we finally got to the White Swan Hotel.  It is a beautiful hotel, and a lot more to my liking!  There is still cigarette smoke everywhere, but that's just a China thing.  We have a non-smoking room with several other adoptive families in our travel group.  All the babies are beautiful and all the parents are doing well. 

At the medical appointment yesterday, Keira was poked and flipped around and weighed, measured and evaluated.  She is perfect :)  She is 29 lbs and 34 inches tall! 

Guangzhou is like being on vacation compared to Bejing (very rushed) and Nanchang (very emotional).  It is so peaceful here and all we have to do is hang out and wait for Keira's consulate appointment 3/16.  There is a ton of shopping and strolling around and the food is really great, too! 

Connor and Kenna are doing well and Keira gets closer and closer to everyone every day.  She is finally letting Brian hold her, feed her and play with her, which is wonderful.  My back and neck are very thankful!  She is sleeping in her own crib and sleeps through the night with no problems now.  She also eats well and is generally a very easy baby.  She is definitely still more baby than toddler for now.  She still drinks from a bottle, she's not walking, and she has not developed many of the physical skills that you would expect by this age.  I'm pretty sure that is simply from being in institutionalized care.  She certainly had it better than children in the orphanage, but it still seems a little lacking from my Western perspective.  She was raised thus far in typical Chinese fashion, and was clearly loved, which is really the best case scenario, in my opinion.  She knows and understands affection and what it means to be in a family -- such a basic thing, it seems, but lots of children do not have the opporunity to experience family and have their emotional needs met.  I am so thankful that she is attaching well so far.  She really just folded right into our family -- she was definitely meant to be.

Guangzhou reminds me of Savannah - it's got a lot of European charm, lots of squares and everything is green and pretty.  Azaleas and begonias are in bloom everywhere, and the weather is just lovely.  We can spend hours just browsing the shops and walking along the pretty streets.  There are also babies everywhere!  Guangzhou is the exit point for all U.S. adoptive families.  We all have to have an exit interview with our children so that the U.S. government can say that we're suitable parents, and that the baby is legally adoptable.  We went through this process in Hanoi as well, so we are not worried at all.

Today we went to a pearl market and visited the Chan (as in Jackie) Family Temple.  I got lovely pearl earrings, bracelets and necklaces for the girls and myself for a very reasonable price.   The temple was typical, but it was nice to be outside with the kids on such a nice day with room for them to run a little bit.

Yesterday after our medical appointments, we spent the day exploring the island.  Our hotel is located on Shamian Island - a tiny little island just accross the river from downtown.  Have I said it is beautiful and lovely??   Everyone here really caters to adoptive families, and is so helpful.  The Chinese really love children, and I know that they say everybody's children are beautiful, but I can't help thinking that they say it about mine more than most :)

Tomorrow we visit a Buddhist Temple and then we're free for the day.  We have a few open days with no appointments, so we may go into town or to the zoo on the island.  

I'm trying to add pictures here again...since now I can't access Facebook! 

...nope, no luck, folks...I'll just tell you that she gets cuter and cuter every second!!