SATURDAY-DAY 17-February 3

Today, since it was our last in China, we spent the day enjoying the outdoors and having fun together! We woke up about 9:30 and lied around until 10:00 and then got ready to go to breakfast. After that we took some photos by the fountain and fish. We then went for a walk outside. There's a playground not far from our hotel. They have a ton of cute statues of children surrounding the playground. We got some cute photos and then let Flower play. She went down the slide and liked it but didn't ask to do it again. We also found a few more fun things to buy. :)We found two great little dresses for Flower. I'm not sure why we hadn't seen them before but I'm already sick of all the pink and I found one green dress and one orange one so I had to have them. Perhaps we'll save one to use as her Easter dress. We found a lot of really cute fun little things to give Flower throughout her life for different events. We'll keep them in a box and have them on hand for special times. After a few hours Flower was falling asleep on daddy's shoulders so we headed for the deli and took lunch to go. After we ate, on the bed, we cleared it and all laid down and watched The Ant Bully and took a nap together. Earlier that morning as I was getting ready, or rather, just standing by the sink, I was doubled over with a pain in my ribs. Now it feels as though I've pulled something. After I woke up from the nap the pain was even worse and since they were both still asleep, I took a long hot bath and read. Unfortunately it didn't help all that much but by the time I got out they were awake. We got dressed and went out for another walk. We then went to the hotel buffet for dinner. The selection wasn't as good as I'd hoped for the price. The food we had was good but almost everything was seafood which we're not huge fans of. We all found enough to get full though and came back to the room to pack, although as I write this KG is watching a movie and Flower is wandering around so we're not being very productive. Flower is definitely still a daddy's girl but we have our sweet moments and love them when they come. Frankly I'm not sure I mind how things are right now, especially with this long flight approaching. Just the two hour flight to Guangzhou made me happy she wanted him more! Let's just say I got reading time in and he didn't. ;) There's been a couple times though that I don't think I noted. In the mornings she will let me do her hair. She has the hardest head of any kid I know. Its great she doesn't ever cry when doing her hair. The other day I was holding her and I said, 'I love my Flower' and she leaned over and gave me the biggest kiss in response. Then yesterday as I was putting her in her crib for a nap I whispered, 'I love you' and she whispered it right back. She still won't cuddle with me like she does KG but this afternoon while I was still in the bath she picked up my green sweatshirt and said, 'where's mommy?'. KG pointed toward the bathroom and when i got out she was walking around rubbing my sweatshirt on her face, cuddling it like a blanket. :) Just a few minutes ago she wanted up so i picked her up and she cuddled with me for a moment and softly touched my hair and ear and said 'pretty'. They come in small doses but it's these moments I live for and love! I actually don't think I'd handle it well if she was super clingy to me the way she is with KG at times because I'm someone who needs my space. I'm really liking things the way they are and think she has bonded really well with both of us and I'm super excited to go home and see how things progress! At 8:00 p.m. each night there has been a little light show with music. So tonight we walked down to the river to watch the show. Flower was entertaining several people by dancing to the music. We took a few last pictures as we headed back to the hotel. Flower got one last bubble bath as KG started to pack everything up. We put Flower to bed and KG spent the rest of the night packing as I read.

DAY 16-FRIDAY-February 2nd

Today was a really good day. I felt really good. KG's stomach is still bothering him but he doesn't show it. We all slept until 9:20 which was unexpected. We rushed around trying to get ready so we could go to breakfast and meet our guide by 10:00 am. We went to a museum and the Chin home, around 200 years old. We went on the short bus with about 5 other couples and their new kids. It was nice to see other parts of Guangzhou as well as meet other adoptive families. When we got back it was 1:00 p.m. so we went to the deli for lunch. We all like what we got, one of the things was quite similar to my favorite thing at the bakery at the Idanha so I was pleasantly surprised! I then took off from there and went shopping. KG brought Flower back to the room for a nap. I came back with a few bags from one store and then headed back out. I was gone for another couple of hours. the bags were so heavy I wouldn't have made it had I had to walk any further! When I got back I showed KG everything I had purchased. I finally got me something and surprised KG with something as well. Up until then, most everything we had bought was for others. Flower was also awake so they decided to join me on the next spree. We had a few more people to shop for. KG also bought me a really cute bracelet. :) We hit three stores, one of them, Jordon's, was the same as where I had gotten several things just a couple hours earlier. They have things marketed quite low already, they are all a pleasure to deal with and they have a huge selection. We were able to get everyone on our list checked off! :) After a few hours of that we were famished and ready for food. Lucy's was the closest thing to where we were so that's what we had. We all loved our food this time too! We are so impressed with Flower too. She willingly tried and loved the refried beans from my enchilada and a mashed baked potato along with her normal spaghetti and part of KG's fries. When we got back to the room we unloaded our bags and packed them in a suitcase. We then got Flower to bed and asleep by 9:30 pm. We started a movie and then decided to take advantage of the big tub. It's not really long but very deep. We were able to tangle ourselves together in such a way that we were both almost completely covered with water. Once we got out we watched With Six You get Egg Roll. It's an old film that we brought with us. I hadn't seen it in years, probably not since I lived at my parents. I remember sitting around with mom on a Saturday watching old movies like that one and the original Yours, Mine, and Ours. Those are good memories. I can hardly wait to make those memories with Flower. We both fell asleep before the movie was over.

THURSDAY-DAY 15-February 1st

This morning I woke up at 8:30. Flower was still sleeping so I got in the bath and read, telling KG to get me in an hour. I got out at 9:15 to find them both asleep. Flower woke up shortly after she heard me getting ready. We all got dressed and went to the breakfast buffet. I really have come to like buffets here because we can all find something we like! After breakfast we had to go back to the room to wait by the phone in case our coordinator, Chris, had any questions while he was at the embassy with our information. I stopped to take some photos of the waterfall and fish and by the time I got to the room I found KG and Flower sitting outside in the hallway on the floor. Our room was being cleaned. The way they were sitting was so cute. I joined them for the next 15 minutes. Finally our room was done and we got the phone call shortly after. Chris says, 'You cannot take baby, you are not approved for her.' We were a little surprised and he explains that she is special needs and our home-study only approves us for a healthy baby. Well, when we first started this process, that was the case, but when we found out Flower was available, we switched to the special needs program. We weren't sure how he got the original home-study. We told Chris our home-study talks about Flower specifically so he was on his way to the hotel to look at it. Well, turns out we brought the original one rather then the updated one! Grrr. I hurriedly got online to see if our social worker or agency worker were online. They were not but my cousin Kami was and saved the day! I gave her both Jessica and Diana's numbers and she called them for me and asked them to get online. With their help, we soon realized that the INS must have sent the original home-study to the embassy rather then the updated one. Diana was able to get a woman from her agency to fax us the updated one. When Chris arrived Diana called him and then he and KG went to the business center in the hotel and picked up the faxed copy. He said he would be back in two and a half hours to pick us up for our embassy appointment and all should be well. Without that, we would have just been delayed in getting Flower's visa but thankfully Kami was on and Jessica and Diana were available! :) Especially since it was 10:30 p.m. Diana's time and 8:30 p.m. Idaho time! Flower went down for a nap shortly after and I got busy uploading photos and trying to catch up. We haven't gotten online here because it costs $12.50 a day! Ouch. But since we had to get ahold of our agency I will now take advantage and get us caught up. :) I really love the internet and have withdrawals when I can't get us so this made me one happy camper! ;) At 2:30 p.m. we went down to the lobby to meet Chris and all the other families going to the embassy. We all got in a bus, about 16 families, for the half hour bus ride. When we arrived we were all guided to the fifth floor, then sat in chairs and let the kids play. We all had to go to the window, family by family, and just verify our paperwork. We were happy when we were told our updated home-study had the information they needed! We then had a lady stand in front of the entire group and give us instructions and then we all had to stand and take and oath. I got a little choked and was happy to see I wasn't the only one when I turned around to see Michelle Smith full on crying. It was a sweet moment, all there for the same purpose. At that point it was done and then our babies visa's were brought to us. It's all over! She is ours and there's nothing anyone can do about it now! :) As we were standing outside waiting for the bus to arrive i was taking a photo of the building and was reprimanded. Well, the guard stuck his hand in front of the camera to block the photo and said I couldn't do that, but he was too late and I got it anyway! After we got back to the hotel we ordered room service. the prices here are double what they were in Xi'an but we weren't in the mood to go out. We were very happy with our food though! I got fish and chips and KG got gorgonzola and walnut filled ravioli. They were both delicious and it was really nice to have us enjoy our meal for once. We both shared with Flower. We both keep saying things like, "I guess I'll have to get a good steak when I get back to the states" or "I guess I'll have to have a good salad when I get back to the states." We definitely can't wait to eat some good food! KG prefers the Chinese food he had in Beijing the best so far. I had a really good caesar salad several nights in Xi'An but the salads here so far are not good! Anyway, we just played in our room the rest of the night as I uploaded photos. Flower is now sleeping soundly and KG is watching a movie. I also have been able to access all my favorite blogs!! I couldn't access them in Beijing or Xi'An. Finally, after 15 days, I can check up on all the ones I previously stalked! ;) It's has provided me with some good reading the last couple hours as I upload photos. Thanks goodness for fast internet here.
DAY 15 PHOTOS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HH3xJuepv8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmyMNUdHFIA