The Great Wall

So we're on the Great Wall and it is a hard walk...I mean a hard walk and all Grace wants to do is walk! I was so amazed by her stamina...I was sure huffing and puffing!

Group Shot on the Great Wall...We were so happy that we got the chance to do it!

I have to tell you...especially my Hyatt pals...The Hyatt here in Beijing is AMAZING! First of all...they gave us an enourmous two room suite...which is awesome. But the service is like nothing I have ever experienced before. We were walked to our room by our front desk clerk to see if the room met our approval. The hotel is beautiful...every detail is perfect. We are ending the trip in style...and the Hyatt branding makes me feel right at home. Go Hyatt!

More cute pictures!

Just had to add these!

Going to Beijing!

We are heading to Beijing today for the last leg of the trip! We finished the adoption formalities yesterday at the United States Consulate here in Guangzhou. It was a wonderful moment for us and I got a little teary. We are so blessed.

Grace is changing at a lightning pace. Yesterday she and Ellie were cracking eachother up as they played and I was just delighted watching them. You can tell how comfortable Grace is now and she is blossoming.

I'm posting some pictures of the consulate day....see you all soon!

Family shots

Grace and Ellie

Here is the latest...we've been a bit crazed...more later!

Guangzhou...Yeah!

And here it is....
The smile!

Here we are at the pool at the White swan...nice enough for feet...but that's it for this wimp!

We Arrived in Guangzhou late last night and have been playing a little catch up today. The weather is warm here; about 80 degrees and humid. Quite a change from Nanjing. The Hotel is just like we remember it and it feels sort of like a reunion of sorts. I can close my eyes and it feels like we were just here getting Ellie.

Grace is making amazing progress this week. She was so shy on Monday; all she wanted to do was be held...slowly she is opening up and every new little thing she does just delights us. Ellie continues to be a great big sister...though she has decided that now is a good time to put Mommy and Daddy to the patience test!

We have a free day tomorrow and plan to roam around the city here and enjoy the weather....hope you are all doing well...we love hearing from you!

Loving the girls and Nanjing

Thursday...tour of Nanjing with the kiddos

We went on a tour of Nanjing today and had a great time at the Brocade Museum and City Wall. We finished the day with a celebration at a local Chinese restaurant. One of my favorite meals of all time...super spicy..Yumm!

Cutie Pies

Grace with her favorite toy...a little Chinese hand drum.

Visiting Grace's Orphanage

The Orphanage Visit

We got the chance to visit Grace's orphanage yesterday. It was very good to see but emotional. We could see that Grace was very loved by her Half the Sky Grandmother and by other nannies as well. We got a chance to ask questions and take pictures. Grace's crib was a part of a large grouping of cribs so she had three friends sleeping close....

I think about how different life is for our little Grace now. She is spending most of her time making sure we are still near her. She loves to be held, but we are working on floor time and walking and she is doing well with that, though it always ends with her back in our arms holding on tighter than you can imagine.

Though we were happy to see where Grace had been cared for, walking her out of there for the last time made my heart leap.

Ellie & Grace with the goldfish...

Ellie and Grace had their first sibling issue yesterday...I bought a little hand drum along with some other little toys but of course they both wanted the drum. Ellie was not pleased and Grace was not giving it up! Hmmm...sounds like this could get interesting!

Here is a video of them being a tad nicer to eachother!

Family

Day Three...I have to stop eating noodles!

Here we are after the official Chinese adoption.

More Pictures!

Ellie loves Grace

Day two will our precious little Grace. She is doing well and so are the rest of the gang...



We finalized the adoption with the Chinese Government today (The United States portion will not happen until next week)



Here is a cute little video of Ellie and Grace....

Grace...the noodle eater!

We found out that we get to go to the orphanage on Wednesday. I am so happy that we get to see where Grace lived for the first part of her life. We will also meet her "Half the Sky Grandmother." Half the Sky is an organization that promotes the care of orphans by trying to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future. We received a Memory book for Grace that has pictures of her throughout her time at the orphanage. In the pictures she is always with her Grandmother. I can tell she loves her very much. There is a lot of writing in the book but I will have to get it translated. I am so moved that they created the book...what a wonderful organization.

More Pictures!

Grace is sleeping now...I can't wait until she gets up! She was warming up to us a bit more before naptime...I think it was the noodles! Ellie is just nutso for her...and so are we.

Grace is Here!

Just a quick note because I have to get back to holding my precious little girl...We got Grace today. She is more wonderful than I could imagine. She is very shy and Ellie is pulling out all of the stops to get her to play! She is letting us hold her...I've held her most because I wouldn't let her go!

I'll send more picture soon...oh...we're just so happy.

Today is the Day!

Finally! In a few hours we will have Grace! It was a bummer not getting her yesterday but we made the most of it. The area around our hotel is great for walking around, shopping and people watching. Our guide, Savor, showed us around yesterday and we had a nice time. They are getting ready for the Plum Blossom festival and the streets are decorated with lanterns. It is beautiful. I am going to post some pictures...they won't be as popular as the pics that will come later today, but at least you know what it looks like here.

Oh...on a side note, Shaun's parents are doing well too. They are loving the experience and just a huge help to us. We were all pretty hilarious trying to keep eachother awake last night...still trying to get used to the time change!

More later...