Summertime

Summertime

School's out and the pool is perfect....must be summertime!

Easter

We've been home for a little over two months now and are feeling like we are getting the hang of the whole two-kid thing. Grace is absolutely blossoming and we couldn't possible love her more. She and Ellie are getting along great and cracking us up with their antics. They are in the same class at Montessori until this summer when Ellie goes to the next class up...They both love it and love their teacher, Mrs. Atwood.

Grace is so mobile now she almost runs...she thinks it is fun to try and get away from us and we think it's fun to chase her!

Here are some Easter pictures. We spent the day at Mark and Lori's house in Camp Verde and the kids all had so much fun...Grace decided the stop and eat the candy in the first egg she found! What can I say, she takes after her Mom!

Hope you are all well...love to hear from you...Cassie

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.