Soaking it all in

Today is our last full day in China.

It is a free day, for the most part.

The 3 of us spent the morning walking the streets around our hotel once more.

We truly love this place. We love the sights. We love the action. We love the people.

Don't get me wrong, we are definitely ready to have all of our little family together again!

But, we will certainly miss this place!

Consulate Appointment

This morning we had the very important US Consulate Appointment.

This is where all parents take the oath to care for their newly adopted children.

We also turn in our official paperwork and Emma Claire's Chinese passport in order for it to receive a visa to travel to the USA.

Since cameras are not allowed, we took a picture in our hotel room just before going to the consulate appointment.

Emma Claire has been in the most wonderful, happy mood all day long!

She really has settled in quite beautifully so far.

She regularly calls for mama and Jie Jie (big sister) at appropriate times.

We are so thankful for her smooth transition and cannot wait for her to officially meet her daddy and other siblings. She already loves talking to them through skype and FaceTime and calls them by name!

We enjoyed luch at Pizza Hut near our hotel.

We had boring pepperoni pizza, but did you know that you can order a nice big steak at Pizza Hut in Guangzhou?

After lunch, we ventured over to the island again.

Heidi was in need of some Starbucks. :)

Cheesecake, Tiramasu and Mocha Frappuccinos, what more can you ask for?

We are settled back in the hotel room now so Miss Priss can get a nap.

Ta Ta for now....

Adventures

Heidi and I promised each other that we would not be trapped in our hotel room all day, every day when we had a free day in China.

We wanted to make the most of our time in this wonderful place.

Take in the sights, the sounds, the smells.... Okay, maybe not so much of the smells!

Today we had to wait in our hotel room from 1:00-3:30 pm. Our guide would be calling between those times with the result of the TB test for Miss Emma Claire.

Well Miss Becky, our guide, called at exactly 3:30 with the good news.

Emma Claire passed and we were now clear for our Consulate Appiintment, which will take place in the morning.

As soon as I hung up the phone, we were off!

Our biggest adventure of the day was going to a Chinese restaurant for dinner.

No English spoken at all. :)

But, y'all....we did it!

All by ourselves!

And, it was all so good!

After dinner, we ran by McDonalds and had McFlurries for dessert.

We felt we deserved the treat!

Probably going to hit the sack early tonight. We meet our guide at 7:30 in the morning and head to the US Consulate to take our oath that we will care for sweet Emma Claire.  Well, duh! That's a no-brainer!

I will leave you with one more silly picture.

Emma Claire always takes her shoes off as soon as we get back in the hotel room.

But, today we looked over and she had this big, cheesy grin on her face.

She thought that she was so funny!

And, I have to agree!

Sunday

This morning our guide took us to Six Banyan Temple.

It was very beautiful, but made me sad to see so many worshipping other gods.

The three of us ventured over to Shamien Island for lunch.

Lucy's was calling our name. :)

We took a stroll around the island and stopped for a few photo ops along the way.

Heidi was thrilled to find a yummy snack at 7-11.

Sadly, with the decline in Chinese adoption, the island just isn't the sane.

Only a small handful of shops are open and even one of our favorite restaurants, The Cow and Bridge, has closed.

But, it is still a very pretty place to walk and get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

I'll leave you with one more picture of Miss Cutie Patootie. She is so happy and we are forever grateful!

Catching Up...

Our days are filled with a few appointments here and there and A LOT of walking!

So, usually when we are back in the hotel room I am too tired to spend much time on the blog.

But,nonetheless, I will try to do a bit of catching up.

We received Emma Claire's passport on Friday.

This means we could travel to the next province in order to complete the United States side of our adoption.

We boarded a plane on Friday afternoon and took the 2 hour flight to Guangzhou.

Emma Claire is still not a fan of transportation. We tried to preoccupy her with colors and snacks.

It worked for a little while and then the whimpering began.

Upon arrival at the Guangzhou airport, we met up with our guide and another family with our agency.

After a good night's sleep and another wonderful breakfast buffet, we made our way to get Emma Claire's visa photo taken and then the dreaded medical appointment.

All stations went well until it was time for the blood test.

Of course, she cried.

But, she was comforted easily and was so proud of her band aid!

She kept showing me and wanting me to kiss it.

Saturday afternoon we went shopping and had a blast!

We then treated ourselves to some American food.... McDonalds!

Emma Claire loves French fries!

Heidi enjoyed it, as well.

It's funny... Heidi and I really do not care for McDonalds much when we are at home.

But, last night it was so good! :)

Free Day

Today has been a laid back day, as we did not have any appointments.

It was nice to take our time getting ready and leisurely enjoy our breakfast.

This morning we walked down the street a bit to a beautiful park.

Emma Claire loves to get out and be around people. She waved and smiled at everyone we passed.

We kept busy in the hotel room with coloring, reading books and blowing bubbles.

Tomorrow afternoon we will be visiting Swallow's Nest. This is the foster home where Emma Claire has lived. We are looking forward to our visit! It is a wonderful place with incredible people who were instrumental in taking such wonderful care of our girl.

Tuesday

This morning we started our day with the hotel's wonderful breakfast buffet.

Emma Claire enjoyed watermelon, dragon fruit, congee and a little yogurt.

Shortly thereafter, we headed back to the Civil Affairs office to make everything official. Here we were presented with the wonderful adoption certificate.

We have discovered that EC does not enjoy riding in the van. She seems to shut down. So sad! But, the second that we step out of the van her precious smile reappears. 

Emma Claire has quite the personality!

We ventured out to Wal-Mart again before lunch.

EC waived to everyone that we passed on the street and to everyone in Wal-Mart. She would flash her big smile, wave and say, "hey!" until the person would smile and wave back at her.

Later this afternoon we headed to apply for Emma Claire's passport.

All went well and we returned to our room and had noodles for dinner.

After her bath, I painted Emma Claire's nails. She absolutely loved it! Such a girly girl! She and Maylee are going to get along so well.

We enjoyed FaceTime with everybody at home before heading off to bed. 

Tomorrow is a free day, and I think we are going to venture in a different direction to check out a park that is nearby.

I'll leave you with a few pics that show some of the many cute faces of Emma Claire.

Gotcha!

I Wow!

What a day!

We met our guide in the hotel lobby at 9:30 this morning and loaded in the van for the 20 minute ride to the Civil Affairs office.

We were the first ones there and had the honor to witness several families unite with their babies for the first time.

Such emotions fill that room.

Emma Claire was the last to arrive.

She had tears in her eyes, mainly due to the child who was riding with her as they were from the same orphanage. He was quite upset and that seemed to make Emma Claire worried and upset.

After signing some paperwork and putting my red thumbprint and Emma  Claire's red handprint, we headed to the van.

Here we are on the way back to the hotel.

Thankfully, it was just a short 20 minute ride.

Things started to sink in and Emma Claire silently shed a couple of tears.

But, once we got back up to the hotel room, she quickly cheered up and started to show off her sweet, sassy personality!

We skyped with Abby and Mike. Emma Claire pointed to Mike and said, "Daddy!"

This is the first time we had heard her speak!

Sweet girl is taking a nap now, so I'll close with a few more pictures.