GREETINGS FROM GUANGZHOU!

Howdy Friends and Family:

We had a nice free day with the Thompsons. First, we walked through the park where we saw couples taking dancing lessons; elderly folks playing Chinese instruments and singing (they beamed when we clapped for them); and lots of people playing a version of hacky sack. They tried to get us to play too! We then went to the walking mall via the medicinal and cooking herb market. Wow, very odd smells! The kids were hungry so we went to McDonald's. I accidentally ordered Ericka the Spicy Chicken Wings. Dan, you would have loved them! They also had fried green bean pies. GROSS! Abbie did not like her lunch at all and it all ended up on the floor, piece by piece, where a worker was promptly stationed to immediately clean up the princess's mess. We shopped for lots of treasures, including undies for Abbie and shorts for Ericka, but I quickly learned in the shoe market that they do not make sizes for our big American feet in China. I asked for a size 40 (Chinese measurement) and the worker responded "no big feet." The story of my life. I did find one pair of decent sandals and met the "Chicken Man", as you will see in the picture. Abbie had her first grape flavored ice cream cone and loved every sticky spoonful. We were ALL sticky! On the way back, we passed many men fishing for who knows what in the Pearl River and some people doing their laundry in the river. Abbie is feeling much better now and is more compliant. She is such a ball of energy! A Teochew (again, pronounced Chow Joe) woman taught me to say "Jim Jim" (spelling?), which means "Kiss Kiss." Abbie promptly puckers up and gives me big drooly jim jims. I love it! When we returned to our room, we were all hot and sticky. I decided to take a bath and took a chance by plopping Abbie in the tub with me. After watching me wash my hair, she sat down and washed and conditioned her own! It was so cute. She played with her bath toys and made a big splashy mess. She did really well today! We ate dinner at the Cow and Bridge Thai food restaurant. I had coconut rice with pieces of coconut, shrimp and vegetables. For dessert I had mango pudding in the shape of Hello Kitty. It was so darned cute! Abbie ate most of everyone's dinners. She had baby fruit, congee and beef, Pad Thai, Thai noodles, Hello Kitty's ears, rice, and my entire can of Sprite! I have no idea where that little one puts it all!! Ericka had shrimp cakes and steamed rice. We sat out by the pool for a while and enjoyed a nice tropical breeze. It really was a lovely day from many perspectives. Love and kisses always, Tracie, Ericka and Abbie the Wild Woman. XOXOXO

TIRED!

Hi Everyone!

Everyone is entitled to a day where they are pooped out and out of sorts - this was our day. All three of us were grumpy and tired. Abbie learned how to climb in her stroller and buckle herself in. Unfortunately, she can also unbuckle and climb out. She absolutely did not want shoes on or help with ANYTHING and was generally very crotchety today. Ugh. Do three year olds get PMS?? We went to the indoor pearl and jewelry market, then we spent only a half hour at the outdoor shopping mall on "Up and Down Street." Since tomorrow is a day of rest, we think we will go ahead and head back to the mall when we can take our time and not rush. It's also time to slum it at McDonald's! Mom and Dad, we found a really cute Chinese girlfriend for Itchy! He he! Dinner was a disaster. Abbie would not stay in her chair and covered us ALL with noodles. She is still really itchy and scratchy and generally miserable. I need to figure out what she is allergic to so we can all be happy again! :) Ericka is okay as long as I keep an endless supply of Mentos on hand. Oh well, hopefully, tomorrow will be a perkier day for all! Gracie, Lucy and Kyle - Love you and lots of kisses! XOXOXO

ABBIE THE WILD WOMAN!

Hi Everyone: After a little medicine, Abbie perked right up so we went down to play in the hotel "Swan Room" for kids. She had so much fun and interacted with the other kids very well! Every child in the room had a special need. Four had open cleft palates and it was wonderful to talk with all the parents. You could just feel the love for these children. After hours of play, we went to dinner at 8:00PM with the Wade, Mari, Andrew and Liam Thompson to a Chinese/French/ German/Italian and American restaurant. It was beautiful inside and they played live piano music. I enjoyed warm risotto with tropical fruit in sweet coconut milk. It was delicious! They gave Abbie and Liam balloons on the way in and she was an absolute squealing, jabbering and laughing wild woman!! She must have pooped herself out because she went to sleep on the stoller ride back and I transferred to her crib with no problems (or pajamas. Oh well.) Have a wonderful day everyone! Eight more days in China, then we head home. Love you all and lots of kisses and hugs!

TIME TO COME HOME YET?

Admittedly, it is hard to stay in Guangzhou the entire trip. It's a beautiful hotel in a fabulous setting, but you can only walk around the island in the extreme heat and humidity so many times. On a bummer note, Abbie is sick and I had to take her to the White Swan Medical Clinic. She was seen by a nice older Chinese male doctor and his nurse. He was concerned about her phlegm and I mentioned that it is just the sound she makes from her open palate. But, he was concerned anyway. He gave us a steroid ointment for her eczema, which is what I took her there for, an expectorant, something to decongest her and make the phlegm thinner, a vitamin packet and a powdered antibiotic (Ceclor). I mix it ALL into a cocktail and she drinks it down. She LOVES it! The clinic is open 24 hours and that makes me feel better. Fortunately, Abbie is running around non-stop, so I am not too worried. The entire CHI group went to the 1,000 year old Six Banyan Buddhist Temple today. The babies were blessed by a monk and we were told to hold our hands in prayer. Even Abbie did this and I was able to get a quick picture of her during her reverence. I took a picture of the girls in front of the statue of a famous scholar. He is said to bring good grades to students! I skipped over the statue of the goddess of fertility. As a matter of fact, I ran past that one. Ha ha! We lit incense sticks to send our prayers into the heavens and I learned a lot about the Buddhas of the past, present and future. The Chinese believe life is a big circle and it makes a lot of sense. In one picture, I am rubbing the head of a dragon. That is because I managed to toss a quarter into the opening at the top (very difficult). This guarantees me a life of wealth and prosperity. Hot dog!! After the temple, we went to a government jade market and then I took the girls to lunch at Lucy's Place (again!) We had our laundry done and I am embarrassed to admit I forgot to take out my ratty undies. Oh my, what they must think of me! He he! Tomorrow is a day of rest and I have no idea what we are going to do yet. Tuesday we will go to the pearl market and outdoor shopping mall. Hopefully, it will cool down a bit. Miss you all!! Pray for Abbie's health to improve and that we are home quickly!! Loves and kisses...

I WOKE UP AND BECAME A TYPICAL THREE YEAR OLD!

Okay, who took the real Abbie and left me with a wild woman??!! Ha ha! This little one is a non-stop ball of energy with crazy legs. When she runs, she is all over the place and it is hilarious! Today was our medical examination and she only weighs 20.2 lbs and 85.5 cm long at 33 months old. Teeny tiny, but don't let that fool you! The amazing little Miss Abbie is all about doing it herself and is now climbing on everything and in to everything. Drat! If you even try to help her, you get the evil eye. Ha ha! She babbles and talks non-stop and eats like a horse with bird legs. After passing our medical examination and taking her Visa picture, we went to a traditional Cantonese restaurant with the Thompsons and Connie. We ate squab (pigeon complete with head), green beans with chicken and sauce (delicious!), garlic broccoli, sweet and sour pineapple chicken, jelly fish (yep! jelly fish), a corn and shrimp dish, white rice and buns with sweet, warm evaporated style milk over them for dessert. They were yummy! At the end of every traditional Chinese meal, they serve fruit. We had watermelon (xi gua) and tomatoes. It is a sign that the meal has ended and that the restaurant staff thanks you for your patronage and desires you to return again. We were all amazed by Liam Thompson, who at only 26 months months of age can eat expertly with chopsticks! After lunch we went back to the room. Abbie colored with her crayons and coloring book and it appears we have a "south paw" on our hands. Ericka took the laundry and her homework and headed to Starbucks with Andrew to do some serious homework. I just put Abbie down for a nap, which she was not at all happy with, but eventually passed out. Now I am just enjoying the quiet! Tomorrow, we leave the hotel at 9:00 AM to have the babies blessed by the priest of the Six Banyan Buddhist Temple. The blessing is for a long, healthy and prosperous life. After the temple, we will head to the porcelain markets, then for a dim sum lunch in Guangzhou. On Tuesday, we are going to the pearl market, a long outdoor walking plaza and some of Connie's other favorite shopping areas. Shopping! Music to my ears! :) It is now very hot and humid here, so we will try swimming again tonight. Wish us luck! Here are some more pictures of our day! We love and miss you all very much! Kisses!!

WHAT A KIDDO!

She may be the tiniest kid on the face of the planet, but that certainly doesn't stop her! Did I mention that her personality has really come out? Well, let me tell you, she is little Miss Independent! All afternoon she has been strutting around with that shopping bag on her arm, filling it up with all her treasures. She walks down the hallway and to the elevators like she owns the place. At dinner tonight, she absolutely would not let me feed her. After a valiant attempt with both a spoon and a fork, little Abbie gave up, grabbed her plate and stuck her face in it. She ate every last noodle! We tried the pool. Big emphasis on tried. Obviously, from the picture, we weren't prepared with a swimsuit, but it didn't stop us! Here's the best news of all...I noticed that her diapers are always dry during the day and she has not had a BM in three days. Starting to get worried, I put her on the potty to see what would happen and guess what? YEP! She is 100% potty trained. #1 AND #2! Woo hoo!!! What a kiddo! After going potty, she immediately lies down with a huge grin on her face so I can put on her diaper. Tonight, she put on her pajama pants without any help from me! Unfortunately, she doesn't nap during the day. She is so curious about everything and doesn't want to miss anything. We met a nice Teochew (pronounced Chow Joe) man. This is Abbie's dialect and it sounds very similar to Vietnamese. She responded to many of his questions and I wrote down a few phrases. I now realize what I thought was babble, are actually real Teochew words. She is also starting to understand simple English commands. I can point to something and she will gladly do it. If I give her something and ask her to through it in the garbage, she does. How sad is that - her first English words are "please put this in the garbage." :) She is obviously very smart. Today was very hot and muggy and we had a nice sweaty outdoor dinner at Lucy's Place with the Thompsons to celebrate my "Chinese Birthday." It's interesting to learn about all the places they have lived and traveled! Their little Liam LOVES the pool and is such a happy boy! Well, I am off to bed...enjoy the pictures! As you can see, she is a totally different girl and loves to rub foreheads and give mommy "eskimo nose kisses." With Luvs and Kisses and Sweet Dreams! Kyle, we miss you!!

Little Miss Personality

Hi Everyone:

Today I turn 40 in China, tomorrow I turn 40 in the U.S. - fabulous doing it twice! The shirt I am sporting in the picture was my $2.00 gift to myself from a teeny little shop on the island. I also splurged $5.00 and bought a really cool glass necklace. Melanie, it's 2:30AM and I know you are awake reading my blog. This one is dedicated to you! :) For anyone who has ever adopted a child, you know the first 72 hours is just the "checking you out" period. Your new child gives you the "stink eye" whenever possible and touching is just not allowed. But after the 72 hours are up, watch out! Like magic, they turn into a real kid! Today was Abbie's coming out. Since breakfast, she has had dry diapers and tinkles on the potty immediately upon setting her down. She is dancing, talking in Teochew (her native dialect) and is really, really active. She has been my helper today and assisted me with washing her bottles and collecting lint, fuzz and crumbs off the floor (mostly from the previous occupants) and throws them in the garbage can. I promptly clap my hands and yell "joy xia", which means thank you in her dialect and she just beams with pride. We went to a beautiful traditional tea house and bought some jasmine tea buds and a beautiful porcelain tea cup. One of the xiaojie's (worker girls) started playing a traditional Chinese string instrument, similar to a zither. Abbie was mesmorized! Abbie also LOVES the paperbag from the tea house and carries it with her everywhere! She loves to put things in it including cracker crumbs and drops of milk. At 2:00PM, we went to the local police station to finish the paperwork for Abbie's passport. We are now done with all the provincial paperwork and we received her official adoption certificate today. In the eyes of China, God and our Family, she is ours forever! Six more CHI families arrive tonight, so we will have a larger group soon. Now the fun starts! Tomorrow, we will get Abbie's medical examination. On Sunday, we will go to the Six Banyan Temple, Pearl and Porcelain markets and a walking mall. Shopping - "yaboo!!" :) Our guide Connie has taken a liking to me because we both love to shop! We are about to go swim with the Thompson's. Abbie and I are going to sit it out because water is still kind of scary to her. She REFUSES to sit in the bathtub. Guess she will be a shower girl! Tonight, we are going out for either Thai or Cantonese food with the Thompsons. Tomorrow, Ericka was invited to go to the local Starbucks for coffee and schoolwork time with Andrew, who is in the same grade as her. They both have a ton of homework and can't quite seem to get started on it with all the excitement. Not sure Ericka is ready for a coffee, but cocoa should be good! Here are some pictures to tide you over...more to come! Our love to you all! Stewart Family, have a safe flight to China tomorrow! We love you and can't wait to see you on the 21st! Give Sylvan a huge hug for us! Melanie, I can't wait to read your blog later and follow your journey to Lili.