More Photos from Nanning

OK Everyone,

Here are the rest of our photos from Nanning, Guangxi, China.

Us holding the adoption completion certificate.



Phuong with Grace before one of our meeting appointments



This was Grace's Nanny at the orphanage. All the Nannies came to see the babies at the hotel.



These next few photos were taken during some site seeing trips in Nanning:

Green Garden Park



Bamboo Bridge



Buddhist Temple



Local students posing with us...Grace was a big hit :)



2 floor Pizza Hut...great service!



McDonald's ice cream stand. I love those Mocha twist ice cream cones. I got one every time we were near a McDonald's.



Back at the hotel...



...and ready for a nap!




CCAI adoption group outside our hotel in Nanning.



Our CCAI reps in Nanning...Hannah and Michael.

First day at Church

No photos on this one...I did not take the camera :(
She wore her blue Chinese dress.

We went to church today with Grace for the first time. On our way in we met a friend who had adopted form China twice. He was interested in meeting Grace too. Everyone loves her at first sight :)

Grace did really well...in the beginning. The first part of the service went well. Grace loved the music from the orchestra and the singing.

Then came the announcements. She still did OK but a wanted to move around.

Then came the sermon. Grace did fine for the first 7 to 10 minutes, then she really wanted to move around. Eventually I got up and walked to the back of the church until the end of the sermon.

After the service we went down to see some friends and Grace did well with them but was ready to go home to have a change.

When Grace was changed and fed we ran around to Wal Mart, Home Depot, and the grocery store...all the time she did well. We are using the stroller more now then the Baby carrier as Grace has gotten a bit heavier after walking around for a few hours. She still cannot sit up in the grocery cart yet.

We tried sweet corn baby food and she ate a bite or two...no more. She was making the face you would make if you were forced to eat it :)

That's all for now. I will post more photos from our trip later as well as updated photos...keep in touch.

Tim, Phuong and Grace

Next set of photos...Nanning, Guangxi - Part 1

Hi Everyone,

Here is the next set of Photos...Nanning, Guangxi, China:

This is the view outside the window of our hotel in Nanning, Guangxi.



We arrived in Nanning at night. The next day we were scheduled to do some paperwork, visit the local store/mall, then go get Grace at 3:00 pm.

Our grouped gathered in the hotel lobby before we were set to leave for the Lottery Hotel...no, seriously, that's what it was called...to finally get our babies.






Nanning was pretty safe. This is what our reps were telling us just as we pulled out of the hotel driveway where we saw this:






Before the babies came in the Chinese government official needed to make an official announcement.



And there she was :)

Just some info today...

Our days are filled...maybe over filled. Grace has so much energy. This is a good thing though, she will keep us fit.
We noticed that she has 2 teeth coming in now.
We tried some giving her some sweet potato baby food yesterday and she actually liked it.

We went to Costco today and Grace did very well. I think we bought the most we ever had from Costco today. We used to see people leaving there with their shopping carts filled and would think why they were buying so much. Well, our cart was not filled but we came close to breaking the $100 mark. Still, Costco is awesome.

Grace is sleeping well but it's hard to get anything dome while she is awake. When she is sleeping we try to get things done but end up sleeping a bit as well. I am sure we will get a routine down soon :)

It was "Back to Work" week

Hi Everyone,

We have been back for almost a week now and Grace is adjusting well. I went back to work this week too. It is difficult to leave for work, both because I like being around Grace and Phuong and also because I am tired.

Well, I promised photos so here they come :)

Here is a photo of us at the LA airport waiting to board our flight to Hong Kong.



That photo was taken by our new friends Joe and Sue Baron who we met at LAX. They too were adopting and traveling with us.



Then it was on to Hong Kong.

This is the view out the window from our Hotel in Hong Kong.



These next few photos were taken on our boat ride around fishing boats. The people on these boats live there and have a smaller boat that they use to go fishing with. Also there are some photos of us and the group in the boat.


















































We went to a mall in Hong Kong and in the baby section they had a "fast food" restaurant just for babies. Here was the menu:




All was well, then I got into a little fight with Bruce Lee :)





Rounding out the Hong Kong photos, here we are at Hong Kong airport with our CCAI rep, Matthew.

Another busy day

Today we went out with Grace for a longer ride. We went to Babies R Us in the valley to get a video monitor for her room so we can see and hear her without disturbing her slumber :)
We also got a baby play gate from Toys R Us which we set up in her "play area." This way she can play safely. Then we hit the Vietnamese restaurant and Boba Loca for lunch...yumm!

When we got home and set up the play area we noticed that the floor in the "play area" might be too hard. This understanding came when Grace tipped over with a thud. We were planning on getting carpet soon but Grace was kind enough to point out that we need to move on this now.
So we all got in the car and drove down to Lowe's and ordered some carpet for her. She will be very happy in 3 to 4 weeks :)

I also scanned many photos from our time in China which I will post in the next day or so.

More later...

More photos

Hi Everyone,

Here are more photos. We developed 7 rolls of film today and I am scanning the photos to post. My scanner does have a film negative option but the device is not working right now so we have to settle for these.


Grace in her Monkey shirt...donated by Kira Cooper


Dad and a sleepy Grace while shopping in Nanning, Guangxi


Mom and Grace waiting for the "Big Red Couch" picture at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou


Grace, all dressed up, happily waits to have her picture taken with the other children


The Happy Family


Big Red Couch photo at the White Swan Hotel