Kassidy and Mom

Kassidy & Mommy just hang out in bed.....

First Home Video

This is for my little Bobbi in West Virginia that is having very hard time waiting to see Kassidy.

Last Post Until We Get Home

Hello everyone. I know...another day without any post. Well you gotta give me a break. It is the end of the trip and I can barely function any longer and cannot wait to get home. I only have a few pics from yesterday of Kassidy and her friend Merrillee dressed in their Chinese clothes. Everything is so far on schedule for our return home to NC. We should leave here at the hotel around 6 AM and will get to NC Friday night around 7 PM EST. I hope there are no complications for the flights home. Well...we are getting ready to go to the consultate to take an oath and then we will have nothing left to do here except to go to bed so we can get up early in the morning for the flight. Cannot wait to see everyone and be able to sleep in our own beds. Ta Ta for now.

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Pearl Market and Dinner Cruise Boat

Today was a pretty busy day but we did get a little rest in between events. This morning we met to go to the Pearl Market. This is a very well known place all over the world. It is a huge mall that has probably hundreds of stores that sells just pearls from cheap to very expensive. We were able to get several gifts and also get Kassidy a pearl necklace and matching pearl earrings for future special occasions. We also got her a baby jade bracelet to wear now. It is so cute. The pearl market was rather chaotic, hot and hussle bussle type atmosphere so Kassidy did not adapt very well to that trip as she was already tired before we went. We came back and and ordered in Papa Johns Pizza for lunch then took a long nap. We woke up just in time to get ready to go the Dinner Boat Cruise. I was a little hesitant about going because I knew she would be tired but we went anyways and are very glad we did. It was such a nice boat and we were able to have dinner and stand outside and let the breeze (albeit hot breeze) blow on us and take in all the of the beautiful scenery with all the buildings lit up. Kassidy just took her bottle and went to bed. We almost have all of shopping done but need a couple more last minute things tomorrow and we should be done. Tomorrow is a rather slow day as our guides/CCAI representatives have to take all of our paperwork to the consulate appointment and make sure everything gets done and everything is correct. We will need to stay in our room until they call us telling us that all of our paperwork passed and then we can have a free day except for the time we are to take a group picture with all the other babies and families. Not too much longer and we will be on the long journey home. Here our pics from today.

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On-Time Post

Okay...I got raked over the coals by a few for not posting yesterday until late so I am going to post some more pics (the important thing) but few explainations because I am pooped. Today Kassidy had to first get her photo for her visa I think it was done and then she had a physical exam by a few different people at a medical clinic which she was not so happy about. After that, we went shopping and to lunch then back to the room for another nap while Nikki went to a meeting and filled out a pile full more of paperwork. Hopefully most of the paperwork is done in China but we still will have to return to the states and do more to get her social security number, etc. Tonight we all went out to a restaurant for dinner and some more shopping and just got back in the room. Everyone in our group is trying to figure out their plane seating because some of the babies have a seat separate and away from the parents....hmmmm interesting for the people sitting next to the baby who does not even know them. lol....bet they will trade mommy and daddy for the seats but it has really been stressful trying to get the seats situated and still they are not completely situated. Well...will post some pics and try to post again tomorrow.

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Late Post

Sorry I did not post yesterday but we had a somewhat lazy day. We had an optional tour to visit a buddhist temple, the shen house, and a provincial arts and crafts shopping area. Although we heard and figured it would be a great tour, Kassidy became very fussy and tired after she ate breakfast and as soon as we got ready to go out the door she crashed on the bed to what turned out to be the beginning of a 2-1/2 hour long nap. We just could not wake her up as she looked so peaceful laying there and had been so tired before. We did miss out on some sightseeing but it was the right decision I think. Steve went and took pictures so we will use those. After the long naps of all three of us, we got up and went for our first shopping spree. Man was that ever fun. We got Kassidy several sets of kimonos with matching shoes and the famous squeaky shoes that Billy says we will regret getting. They squeak everytime a foot hits the ground with them. They are cute at first but can become very annoying very quickly but oh well...still had to get them. Also got some gifts for a few people to take home. After doing a lot of shopping, we scoped out for a nice restaurant. We saw this restaurant called the Station Restaurant (or something like that). It was a very nice fancy restaurant that also had a part of a train on each side of it set up for dining inside the train. We opted for the restaurant portion as there were steps up to the train and we had Kassidy in the stroller. Like I said, this was a very fancy restaurant and we were the only ones in the whole place (at least the restaurant portion). I'm not sure if they turned the music to American music because we Americans came in or if they always have it on but American songs were playing and then near the end of our dinner the John Denver song about West Virginia started playing (for those of you who don't know, me and Billy are from WV). We both looked at each other and started dying laughing. What are the chances that while in a fancy restaurant by ourselves in China would they play a West Virginia song when we were there. I said they must send out pictures of all people adopting with their information on it because everyone is so nice and acts like they have known you forever. Another thing different here in China than US is that the ratio of service workers and customers are way different. There has seldom been place that there have not been more workers than customers in about everywhere we went. Many waiters just stand distances away from you and watch you eat and as soon as you take your last bite they are there taking away your plate, etc. You usually have 5 or 6 people waiting on you at the same time. It is rather intimidating to have 5 or more people watching you while you eat but you can never complain that you got bad service. Also, Kassidy got a few things done to her yesterday that she did not appreciate but were much needed. After her long fingernails scratched the blood out of us several times and her hair kept getting in her eyes, she got both a trim of her fingernails and her bangs. We think the trim of the bangs made a big difference because they now outline her face instead of cover it all up and get in her eyes. She is definitely a cutie. She can make some of the funniest faces and sometimes when she wakes up she will wake up smiling before she is even fully awake. She will just open her eyes long enough to see us standing over her and she gives a smile and then goes back to sleep for a few more minutes. It is just precious. She also makes this grunting sound and rocks her whole body forward everytime she gets excited or wants something (mainly food). If we are making her a bottle we have learned the best way to do it is to not let her know because once she sees a bottle being made then she screams bloody murder until it is in her mouth. Well...here you go...it might be late but it is a post. Will try to do better later today with a new one so when you wake up you will have it.

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Back at the White Swan in Guangzhou

Hello everyone. We made it back to the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou. This is the last half of the trip. We have what we came for and are ready to come home now but I guess it will have to wait a few more days. I am not complaining though because now is where I get to shop. We left out of Wuhan this morning and flew to Guangzhou. Kassidy was great on the trip. She slept as soon as we got on the flight and stayed asleep the whole 1-1/2 hour and then slept on the bus part ways back to the hotel. She has been so good and hardly even whimpers unless she sees some food and then she will scream until she gets some. We are coming to realize that we will have to be the ones to decide when she is full because she will eat until she makes herself sick. We definitely do not have a picky baby. The only thing we have a problem with is her drinking of fluids. She will only drink milk from a bottle. The only way I can get any juice or water down her is to use the medicine dropper and feed it to her like a little bird. I know people probably think I am crazy when they see me doing it but oh well...gotta do what you gotta do. We got her a few sippy cups but she has not caught onto that yet so we will have to work on it. Our room here at the White Swan does not compare at all to the room in Wuhan. Wuhan room was pure luxury. The White Swan is decent but the other hotel in Wuhan spoiled us but we will manage. I am going to post a few pics of our guides in Wuhan and then try to get Kassidy to bed as we are all very tired. Tomorrow we will tour a Buddhist temple/old Chen house/and provincal art crafts shopping center. I will try and take photos of those places and post them tomorrow.

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