Two Days

I feel like I have so much to catch up on! Yesterday was long since we had travel involved. We were tired by the time we arrived here in Guangzhou and I didn't get a blog post written. :)

We spent yesterday morning packing. We were concerned about the weight of our bags but our guide assured us that they would not weigh our carry ons and she was right! She even talked them into letting us check one of our carry ons without paying overage fees - score! The airport was far from my favorite. Oh well. Simply a stop on our journey. We feel so blessed that another family was with us during our whole time in Jiangsu Province - we flew together which was especially nice for the kiddos! They really like each other. Oh and Emmarie did GREAT on the flight. However, we are glad that we have seat for her for the way home! We had originally thought we would keep her as a lap child but the cost difference was not very much at all and we are relieved that we will have the extra space.

We got into our hotel here and it's lovely - far above what we need but very welcome. Our agency makes all of our in country travel arrangments for us. We have been super impressed with our guide. It was hard saying goodbye to Jin in Nanjing! We were welcomed by Elvin (there are 8 families with our agency this week) and he is very nice.

Today we had Emmarie's medical appointment. It went fine. It was a little chaotic and the exam was not particularly thorough which is fine. :) She did really well overall and was little miss social. She LOVED being around all of the other kids! She is under 2 (barely) so that meant she did not have to have a tb test which was great. We came back to the hotel and headed out to lunch with another family. We had a great time with them and their sweet daughter! It's fun seeing so many families here - many of whom are in my DTC groups on fb. It's also such a blessing to see all of the beautiful children being welcomed into families - simply amazing.

This afternoon and evening have been low key (besides filling out some paperwork). It's been fun just spending time with Emmi. She is very funny. She has also completely surprised us with how smart she is - she is already learning some sign and copying english words. She has enjoyed coloring and is being sweet with her dolls (singing them a song, kissing them, and then laying them down - or throwing them - depends :)). She really enjoys changing her clothes and you could tell she was trying to figure out the short sleeve shirt - she just kept looking at her arms. :) The children are bundled nearly always here - she has been completely intrigued by her tummy, feet, and arms. All in all, she is doing so, so well! We love her so much! I cannot believe God chose me to be the mama that gets to teach her how to live life - what a gift. I feel so content and so happy tonight as a mom of 4! I leave you with a couple of pictures of her eating noodles - hilarious!