We're Home

Well we left China on time, but almost missed our flight out of Tokyo. By the time we got through security and got to our gate, they were calling for final boarding. They closed the doors about 10 minutes after we sat down.

Allison did awesome on the flights. However, Allison always decided it was time for her bottle right when we took off or were landing on the runway. When it is bottle time, she definitely lets you know.

Red Couch

It is a tradition with families adopting from China to have all of the children sit on the Red Couch at the White Swan Hotel. The tradition began because adoptive families always stayed at the White Swan. This was due to the location of the US Consulate being next door. However the US Consulate has moved downtown, but the tradition of staying at the White Swan continues.

There were fourteen families in our group so there was a lot of crying and laughing trying to get fourteen babies and toddlers to look in the same direction. A group photo of all of the families was also taken in front of the waterfall inside the hotel.

Six Banyan Buddhist Temple

Today we went to a Buddhist Temple. There was a Pagoda that looked like Nine stories on the outside but actually had seventeen inside. Believe it or not Scott actually climbed it. There was a Buddhist ceremonial service while we were there. There were eight matching tubs of fish. each tub contained fish at different levels of maturity. The fish played into the ceremony some how. The head priest went around and sprinkled something in each tub during the service.

Before we left all of the babies were able to receive a blessing from one of the monks. It was really interesting because the ancient temple was in the middle of the city with beggars sitting outside of it.

River Cruise

Tonight the group went on a river cruise. Our agency bought Pappa John's pizza for everyone on the cruise. It was a really nice experience to see Guangzhou from the river. Allison did really well on it considering her parents forgot her Cheerios.

Medical Exam's

Today was Allison's medical exam. We went to a building on the island to have it done. All the babies were seen at one time and so it was kind of crazy. First she was weighed and measured and she weighs 18.9 lbs and I can't remember how long she was. Next they checked over her body and heart. They had 2 doctors listen to her heart and nobody mentioned anything bad it must be all of the cheerios she is eating and so we assume the surgery was succesful and will have her looked at again when we get home. Next we had her ears nose and throat looked at which she did not like at all. A lot of the babies have been or are sick but so far she has not caught anything. We feel that Allison is a very healthy little girl who was just waiting to become part of our family. She does have quite the stubburn streak in her and will definatly let us know if she is not happy or something is wrong.

Gotta Love those Cherrios

Allison's favorite food is cheerios, if all other food fails we can always fall back on Cheerios.

More Pictures of Allison Playing

Since yesterday was a free day, I thought I would add some more pictures of Allison playing.

At the Group Barbecue Dinner

Last night the thirteen families with children from the Guangdong Province. The food was very good and it was at an outdoor restaurant along the river. Drinks were a good deal only $10.00 for all the beer and soda you wanted.

Allison's first Spaghetti

We found an Italian resturant on the island today. It was very good. Allison ate her first bowls of Spaghetti.

End of the Safari Day

Allison was wore out after a long hot day at the Safari Park.

Panda Bears

Here are some pictures of the Panda Bear exhibt. They must of have been young panada's becasue they were not as large as I thought they would be.

Safari Park

Today we went to the Safari Park in Guangzhou and it was very hot and humid. It is a private zoo. It had two sections to it. One where you drove through it and saw the animals. there is a picture of the train we rode through this part. Inside this part were your standard zoo animals, Lions, Tigers, Bears, Deer, Giraffes, and Zebras.

Afterwards we did the part where you walked through it. We were able to see baby white tigers, baby bears, and other baby animals. For 30 Yuan you could have your picture taken feeding the baby white tiger. We also got to see Koala Bears. The best part is that the Panda Bears from the earthquake region were brought down to this zoo for safe keeping. This exhibit opened two days ago to the public.