In Guangzhou

We are here...all good... Testing Internet and will post later.

If Lori & Jack were bottles of juice...

...this would be them.

This is just wrong!!

I hate Photoshop! But thanks to our friend Phil for giving us a laugh this morning.

Last day in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province

Due to the typhoon, we haven't seen much of the city. We have seen A LOT of our hotel room! We have eaten many of our meals on a blanket (picnic style) on the floor. We even ate on the bathroom floor once while Jack was napping! We no longer have use of our blanket/picnic table because Jack peed all over it last night while waiting to get in the bath!

It has been really nice to have this bonding time together, to get to know Jack and start to form our new family. Avery has been an amazing help. She does have moments of jealousy. Interestingly and unexpectedly, Jack is also having some jealousy issues. He does not like to share me. He gets upset and tries to push or hit Avery if she gets too close to us. This is really hard for everyone. We are working through it day by day.

Tonight we fly to Guangzhou, where we will meet up with a new guide and hopefully some other families. We have felt very isolated and alone here in Nanjing. In Guangzhou we will have Jack's medical exam and some paperwork at the American consulate. Hopefully some shopping too!!!

We are so appreciative of all the emails and blog posts from our amazing family and friends. Our computer and phones are our link to the world back home and we cherish every little bit of communication. Please keep the emails coming!! We are so looking forward to coming home in less than a week. I, unfortunately, might have to purchase a 2nd seat for myself on the plane due to my daily carb intake, consisting of rice, bread, juice, pizza and noodles. Loving my American undies right now :)

Hugs and kisses to all. xoxo

First swim

There's an indoor pool in the hotel so we took Jack for his first swim today. It lasted about 15 seconds. The water was a little chilly and he just wasn't happy so we'll try again another time.

And by the way there's a rule in China...or at least in our hotel. You wanna use the pool...you gotta wear a bathing cap. Avery looked really cute, Lori not bad. Me? Yeah, not so much. See pic below.

Also, there was a pretty interesting sign as you enter the pool that gave a list of things you can't have if you want to use the pool. See below. Fortunately we're clean on most of them.

First poop!

Don't worry, no poop pix...but rest assured...it was impressive!! By the way, I'm talking about Jack here.

Anyway, here are some good shots from hanging around the hotel today...

A little sightseeing

Hi all. Today after breakfast, our guide Jane took us on a tour of the Nanjing Confucious Temple and then to a local market to do a little shopping.

The temple was pretty interesting. Lori got to ring a bell for prosperity and I banged a drum for "no worries." I tried to bang it a couple of extra times for all of you.

Lori also signed a wall of "good wishes for your children." Pic is below. Avery, being the 7 year old that she is, had to touch it so she smeared what Lori wrote. Oh well, let's hope the drum and the bell work.

When we got back to the hotel, Jack took a nap and Avery and I went to the mall and market to get some fruit (finally a healthy meal) which we all ate on the bathroom floor while Jack slept.

Glad we had that time for the three of us. This is starting to get a little hard for Avery because she's used to being the center of our attention and now Jack is constantly attached to Lori.

It's an adjustment we just have to get through. Otherwise all good.

BTW, I can't control the order that the photos appear so you might see some bananas and cherries randomly mixed in with some buildings from the 1600s