Walking baby in the stroller

A few more first month pics

Home 1 month

I can't believe we have only been home 1 month! We have been so busy with life. We took Rachel for a well check at the pediatrician. They took blood to test for various diseases, and we started her immunizations. We visited Shriners hospital. They examined her leg and decided to remove her little foot just as we anticipated. We are waiting on a surgery date. She is talking some (mama, daddy, anna, jo-sha, no, stop). She can repeat many words like diaper, pretty, shoe, but she doesn't like to talk on demand. She babbles in what sounds like baby Chinese. It is so cute. She is very mobile. She is pretty sure of herself too. She can climb off the bed and out of chairs. She loves to play with toys and even plays with baby dolls. We have only been around one dog, a Yorkie, and she was terrified. She doesn't like crowds, and she still hides her face in my shoulder if someone new tries to talk to her. She is showing many good signs of bonding and attachment. We are so thankful that she is transitioning well and that she allows us to take care of her.

Learning new things too...

On the iPad already!

Learning to Love...

Rachel has done so well with her transition. She can cry with an ear piercing squeal, and she has the cutest little giggle. Matt and I have spent most of the past two weeks carrying her. When we put her down, she cries pitifully. The only exception was the high chair or if she was sleeping. The cars in China don't have car seats, so we even held her then, usually with full body contact as she was scared of the car movements. So we knew that getting home, a car seat would be terrible for her. She cried leaving the airport until she fell asleep. Going to church, she cried unless I was holding her hand, but this morning, I had to take Joshua to the orthodontist, and she rode in the car seat without a whimper. We even sat in the car while Joshua went in, and she never cried to get out. Woo-hoo! Again, with the booster at home, she cried all through breakfast yesterday morning, but after breakfast was over for everyone else, she quieted down, and ate all her breakfast. Then, she sat in the seat for about an hour while I cleaned up the kitchen. She is pretty good at entertaining herself with small toys. She still doesn't want us to put her down on the floor, so we haven't seen much of her mobility. The first two days, she would let out a low murmur (like a cat's warning), when Joshua got too near. He was so anxious to get his hands on her. Today, she let down her guard and decided that Joshua was better than sitting on the floor. She is so sweet, but very cautious. She has been sleeping 9-6, so that's pretty good for jet lag too!

Home!

So, here is where the fun began...
Our driver picked us up at 3:00 Thursday afternoon. He drove us in stop and go traffic to the consulate where we met our guide who had picked up our documents including Rachel's immigrant visa placed in her Chinese passport. After that, we were in our way to Hong Kong for our late night flight. About 30 minutes into our 3.5 hour trip, Rachel threw up all over herself and me. It also hit the seat and floor of our van. I cringed, the driver rolled down the window and just kept driving. We had to get out of the van at the China/Hong Kong border and walk through customs. I was feeling especially gross now. Finally, we made it to the airport. The driver got out and put all of our stuff on a cart and drove off. I think he was ready to be done with us! After he left, I looked at the cart and asked Matt where my jacket was. In the back of the van, of course. I guess he deserves it, since he has the clean yucky out of his nice van. We headed to the airport restroom and changed clothes into the few remaining clean clothes I could pull out of the luggage. We had a few hours to wait, so we had Starbucks again. It was one of the few pleasures of home during our trip. Once we got to our terminal, Luke crashed. We woke him up to board the plane, and he slept the entire three hour flight to Seoul. We arrived in Seoul at 5:00am and didn't board until 9:00 am for our 13 hour flight home. We played some, Matt and Rachel napped some, and then I got a little nap too. Finally, we boarded our flight and headed home! The flight was pretty uneventful, just long. Anna slept probably the first half of the flight, so she missed the first meal. Luke slept again near the end of the flight, and we had to wake him to get off the plane. The Atlanta skyline was just as good to see as it was three years ago when we landed home with Anna. Once we were through customs and immigration and picked up our luggage, we saw a glorious sight of Joshua, Caleb, and David waiting for us. I would have run to them, but I was carrying Rachel and a backpack, and we had just walked 15 minutes from our terminal to customs. They really should have consulted an industrial engineer when they designed that!

Rachel hated the car seat, just as we knew she would. She cried and screamed until she fell asleep. Mom brought Thomas home, and I was so happy to have all my babies home again. We spent the evening playing games and trying to unpack. David fixed dinner for us, and we all crashed around 9.

Last day in Guangzhou

We got up Thursday morning, had our last yummy breakfast buffet, and finished packing. I wanted to get pictures of the girls in their new dresses we bought, so we headed to the roof top pool and garden area. Matt was able to get some good pictures when Rachel refused to sit with Anna alone. We played a little ping pong too, more like a little fetch the extremely bouncy ball all around the table. But, Anna and Luke seemed to enjoy it. We took a little nap, grabbed lunch, and our driver was there to pick us up!

Consulate Appointment and Pearl Market

Today was the big day that all the past nine months were working towards. We had our appointment at the US Consulate where we submitted Rachel's passport and immigration paperwork to apply for her visa to enter the US. There were several other families with the same appointment. We were all called to the window to make an oath that all our paperwork was true and complete. We will get the visa tomorrow and head to Hong Kong for our trip HOME!

After the appointment, I asked our guide if she would take us to the pearl market. She asked if I knew it was just down from the hotel. In a city this big, I had no idea where it was in relation to our hotel. She had the driver drop us off, and we walked to the pearl market. Many shops will only sell to wholesalers who purchase large quantities, but one shop will sell to adoptive families. We bought a strand of pearls to make a set for Rachel, just like we did for Anna three years ago. We picked a strand, and they knotted the necklace and bracelet while we waited. Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel, and our guide walked to the bus stop. She said she lives in the countryside.

Shopping Day

We spent most of the day shopping at Shamian Island. I picked put what i wanted, and Matt, the master bargainer, closed the deal. We walked away from several shops, and then, we returned after we discussed the deal. I am happy with our purchases, mostly souvenirs to save for the girls when they are older.

Don't forget the baby zebra!

Panda Base

Feeding Giraffes and Riding the Elephant

Dinosaurs, Monkeys, and Snakes

Safari Train Ride

Chimelong Safari Park

Yesterday we decided to venture out to the Safari Park. We visited it in 2011 with a guide, but this time we decided to go on our own. Our hotel got us a taxi, and we paid 75 yuan (~$12) for the 40 min trip.  We got our tickets, 850 yuan (~$140) for 2 adults, and 2 children (over 1 meter tall). We rented a stroller for 50 yuan with a 300 yuan deposit that we got back when we returned the stroller.  Rachel loved the stroller, and she cried at the end when we got her out and let Anna ride for a while. First off, we rode the safari train through the African Savannah. Then we walked through a time tunnel to visit the animatronic dinosaurs. This was Luke's favorite part, but the T-Rex freaked out Rachel. After that, we walked through the tiger/lion exhibit. We watched tiger cubs playing in the cub camp.  Next, we stopped for lunch, and Matt had chicken wings, noodles with beef and shrimp, corn on the cob, and a piece of broccoli while Anna had a hot dog on a stick for about $11.  After lunch, we visited the Panda base.  We had tickets (free to the first 1000 people) to see the three panda babies who were born in August. There were restrooms all over the park, but the only "western toilets" were the handicapped stalls at the beginning of the park. The rest were all squatties.  Anna and I have gotten good at reassuring ourselves that it is just like camping! After the bathroom breaks, we let Luke and Anna ride the elephant. It was 150 yuan for two people, so totally not necessary, but we didn't buy any souvenirs. We finished the park, and our guide had told us that we could get a taxi at the exit.  We walked out, and there were three taxi drivers. The first one showed us his phone with 120 to take us back to the hotel. We shook our heads and told him 75. He shook his head and walked off. We didn't know what to do next. He asked again for 100, and again we said 75.  Then, he said "meter?", and we realized that he was trying to scam us! All taxis are supposed to go by the meter, but these guys knew they had us.  We agreed to 100, and he said he would "go hurry". We hopped in, and I noticed the check engine and the low gas light were on.  He zoomed out of the park, and I wanted to tell him "no go hurry!" Anyway, he flipped down his meter and when we arrived at the hotel, he flipped it up again.  I guess he wanted to look legitimate to the hotel staff. I am not sure how we could have avoided the situation, but I was thankful to make it back safely!

Dancing in Hangzhou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfUqTDr7S1k

Posing at Shamian

There was a photo shoot going on here. Many people had stopped to watch.  The model was very pretty and tall.  

Church

We attended the Mandarin/English service at Shamian Island. It was amazing to be worshipping with fellow believers.

Balloon fun!

Breakfast time

This girl is so sweet.

A room with a view

The view from our hotel window is the apartments next door. We get to see their laundry hanging out to dry and maybe they can see ours drying in the window.

Spice market