We made it!

After a very long day of traveling for only a 1.5 hr. flight, we finally made it to Guangzhou and the famous White Swan hotel. We left Changsha at 5pm and didn't get to the hotel until 11pm! It was very taxing on the kids. Jia did surprisingly well for her first airplane ride. I think she was so exhausted she just didn't care once she got over the initial shock of it all. She finally fell asleep (sitting up!) after we were in the air for an hour. Needless to say we were exhausted when we got in (which is why I didn't post last night).

The White Swan is just as beautiful as I've been told, and we are wishing we would have been here in Guangzhou the whole time! It's so peaceful around the hotel with very friendly shops that want to sell you any keepsake they can. They do quite a bit of business because pretty much when you become a parent of a Chinese child you get an "I'm a sucker" stamp on your forehead and everyone can see it but you. Truly though there are some wonderful mementos that we will be bringing home with us. I'm not sure they will be as important to Jia as they are to us, but it doesn't matter.

Today we had the medical exam and the funny thing is they have a sign in the room where you wait in line that says "Keep Quiet". Um...how exactly do they propose we keep our child quiet when they are being poked and prodded in a strange room by a strange man with a funny shiny disc on his forehead??? They said she weighs 25 lbs. which I find hard to believe, but I'm sure within a matter of days she will weigh at least that, and probably more. The girl can eat!! She packs it in like a little chipmunk and STILL wants to put more in her mouth! We were warned about this though. Our guide said they will eat and eat if you let them. They are not used to an unlimited supply of food.

My internet connection shuts down in about 5 minutes, so I have to wrap it up for today. Keep praying...she had a hard morning but was doing much better this afternoon. She was a total Daddy's girl today and didn't want much to do with me until this evening. Her parent of choice seems to change daily. :)