It's been a hectic week!! Safely home at 1:30am 9/7, story below...

It's been a crazy yet wonderful last few days. Quick recap, but mostly we'll just post pictures with some captions. In Guangzhou on 9/4, Mia had her physical along with 50 or so other adoptees - quick process, no problems. She weighs about 18 pounds, we'll fatten her up!

On Wednesday 9/5 we went to the US Consulate (no cameras allowed) along with 40 or so kids and families. It was pretty neat, our guide dealt with all our paperwork, all we had to do was show up and get sworn in. Mia properly said the Pledge of Allegiance and that George Washington was our first President.

Mia was great on the flight home. Unfortunately there was a sick passenger (she was convulsing about 6 rows in front of us, very exciting), so it turned a 14 hour flight into a 19 hour deal - just what you want with a 15 month old who doesn't know you well. But I think Tracey and I were crankier than Mia was. The only problem we've had with Mia has been her sleeping, but every day gets better. Yesterday and today she actually took a nap (and so did Mom). Mia has made the rounds - neighbors, friends, relatives, and both Tracey and my workplaces. She is very friendly and outgoing.

We met with the surgeon on 9/14 who we had consulted with prior to leaving for China. We have another appointment with someone else later this week, and then we'll decide what to do.

Ok, I'll just post some pictures with captions now. More pictures later on tonight or tomorrow.

Big sister Mocha and Mia are getting along ok!

First landing on U.S. soil is supposed to be Chicago. Nope, this is Anchorage, Alaska (FYI, Tracey spent a few summers there when her grandparents lived there). Not exactly a detour we wanted en route to Chicago.

Famous red couches at White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou.

We were always on the lookout for these...

Nice tea ceremony, we had 6 different kinds of tea.

Elvin, our guide in Guangzhou, was a great guy. Plus he's the only person I have met who has dated his girlfriend longer than Tracey and I dated, so we had fun with that.

Tessa and Mia did some good head-butting, haven't seen that since my college days a long time ago!

Nice Doctor where Mia and a lot of other children had their physicals.

Outside the clinic prior to the physical.

Instead of joining a gym (and then never going) a lot of the people just go to a park, exercise, dance, whatever.

Future and present Buddha, very impressive in person.

Anything to entertain Mia, nice parakeets at the White Swan Hotel.

Ok, I was there.

Tracey's Post (Eric did some of the pix and captions)

Hi everybody!

I'm getting a chance to post today! Mia is napping and we have some down time so here it goes. Arriving in Guangzhou yesterday was like stepping into an oasis. Even though it is a city of 11 million people it seems a little less crazy than Changsha. We are staying in a beautiful hotel called the White Swan on Shamian Island. It is absolutely gorgeous here. Very tropical, lots of palm trees and flowers. The hotel is right on the Pearl River. There are not a lot of cars on the island so it is easy to walk on foot and push a stroller. The other amazing thing is all of the families here who are also adopting. All of the babies come from different provinces all over China but all of the Americans end up in Guanghzhou to process through US Immigration. So the hotel is filled with many families with their new babies or children. It is quite something. Many, many very happy people here.

Mia continues to amaze us. She is eating well. Today she had her physical (part of the immigration process) and everything went great. We had been a little worried because she has a little wheeze. The doctor said her chest was fine and ears are fine as well. One of the famous souvenirs here is something called "squeaky shoes". They squeak when the children walk. We bought her a little pair of squeaky sandals yesterday and it was hysterical. She loves to walk in them. She is also enjoying her little stroller and the best part is she falls asleep in it! That's been the only really hard thing is that she fights falling asleep at night. Other than that she's smiling, laughing and having a great time.

We have one other CWA family traveling with us, Sean and Abbey Kennedy. They have adopted a little girl who is eight years old. Her name in Jin-Jin and she is adorable. She's been helping keep Mia entertained in the van or when we have to wait in lines. We are all having a good time together.

We want to thank everyone for all of the nice posts to our blog. It's so nice to know people are following our trip and keeping us company. I'll add some of my favorite pictures now and we will post more later!

Tracey



Dinner at Lucy's in Guangzhou

indoctrinating Mia early on who her favorite team is, but she's not too happy about it

Nice playroom at the White Swan Hotel

2 happy dogs at the farm (they were pets as far as we could tell)

sign outside our hotel in Changsha we thought was amusing combination

did you miss us? 9/1 & 9/2 update (we'll post more pix in a little while)

We needed to get out of Changsha to maintain our sanity, so on Saturday our guide Peter took us to the countryside, a little under an hour from the city. It was really cool, we saw the rice paddies and farms, and then we stopped at a farm where people come for lunch. It was a little early for lunch, plus when Tracey saw the farmer carrying a live chicken to the back, lunch there was no longer an option. They had 2 dogs which Mia enjoyed seeing as well as a chicken which was still enjoying life. We sat and had tea with the farmer and 2 policeman who came for lunch. They thanked us for adopting Mia and taking her to a new life.

So that was our last day in Changsha. For the Northerners reading this, picture the amount of traffic and people in NY City and multiply by about 100 - Charlotte multiply by at least 1000. There is no quiet area in the city.

On Sunday we got to the airport about 9am for Mia's first plane ride. She did great (and so did her Mom). We kept her entertained with Post-It Notes and some of her little stuffed animals. We were hoping to get to cut the line and get on first, but that is not Chinese practice - they didn't give a hoot that we were toting a baby and 3 carry-ons.

We arrived in Guangzhou around 11am and our guide and driver had us sit for a while waiting for the other family who we had met in Beijing to arrive on their flight. Abbey, Sean, and Jin-Jin are in a couple of pictures. Jin-Jin is 8 and has been living with a foster family.

Guangzhou is very nice. It is quieter and more touristy. We'll tell you more about it with our next post.

Today we do some official stuff - Mia's physical included. Then some touring.

Speak to y'all soon.

Mia, Tracey and Eric