We are now in Guangzhou

Well, we are now in southern China in a city called Guangzhou (formerly Canton). The weather is much warmer here than in Jinan. It is more like Texas weather here. We are staying in a beautiful hotel complete with a fish pond with the biggest "goldfish" you will ever see that winds through the bottom floor and a playroom for the babies. The streets outside are lines with little stalls where they sell all kinds of souveniers from traditional Chinese clothing for the children to jade bracelets. Emma and Olivia are having a great time shopping there. So far, Olivia has bought 3 different purses and is very happy about that as she always has a purse with her! Emma is on the look out for anything with jade as she just realized that her Chinese name means "little jade." Celia LOVES shoes and wants to try on every pair that we stroll by. Anyone who gets in the elevator with us is subjected to her demands to "look at her new pink shoes." All of the Chinese people here think that she is so clever because she speaks so much Chinese at such an early age. Many people have said, "She know everything!" She also understands pretty much everything we tell her and she has started trying to repeat what we say.

We went to the Chen Family Academy today. It is a beautiful residence of many rooms around a large courtyard. Later, we took the kids to the playroom at the White Swan Hotel.

Celia is a sweetie! She is happy all of the time and now only cries when she is hungry. She eats like a pig, sleeps all night long, and LOVES to laugh and be silly. She is a born entertainer. Did I mention that on top of being sweet and clever that she is beautiful! Many Chinese people have stopped us to ask which province she is from as her eyes are so big and round and beautiful. She has the longest eyelashes I have ever seen. She is only the 58th baby to be adopted from her province of Shandong in northern China this calendar year.

We have completed all of the paperwork for the Chinese portion of the adoption. The adoption is official and finalized. We are here in Guangzhou because that is where the American embassy is located. Celia will need a visa from the US government to immigrate to the US where she will become a citizen upon arrival. In the morning we will get her visa picture made as well as take her for a medical exam as part of the required paperwork to enter the US. We are also going to take the kids to a park with slides and swings. The big girls are excited about that. They have been good sports about being cooped up in hotel rooms, going to appointments, and just generally being on their best behavior for a week and a half now. They are ready to blow off some steam! Emma and Olivia really love Celia. They look out for her. So sweet to see the 3 of them together. Celia already worships Em and Liv but has also mastered the art of bossing them around-even in Chinese! They, of course, pretty much do anything she tells them to do!

Here are a few pictures from our first day in Guangzhou.

At the White Swan Hotel...


At Starbucks...

In the playroom at the White Swan Hotel...


At the Chen Family Academy...