We're Home

The last few days of our trip were very busy, so we're sorry we haven't posted anything for a bit. On Thursday, we finalized the adoption and Nina's paperwork with the US at the Consulate in Guangzhou (which funny enough is right next to IKEA). That was followed by the traditional picture of the girls on the famous red couch at the White Swan (see below for their reaction to that!). Then, we hurried to pack and organize paperwork we'd need upon arrival...oh, and of course, get ready for a 13-hour flight with a 10-month old baby! It was pretty much as bad as we thought it would be (thank goodness for another family's mother, who happened to be a pediatric nurse--much better at giving Benadryl than we were).
When we finally got home, we sailed through customs and immigration (whew), and only managed to lose one bag (Terri's clothes!) (we think it may arrive in the US on Tuesday). Traci and Gene (Todd's sister and brother-in-law) kindly picked all of us up at Newark airport (our first chance to show off Nina in person!). We made it back to beautiful KOP by about 8:30 pm, showed Nina her room, ordered greasy American food from our favorite deli, and tried to get some sleep.
The weekend was a little tough--Nina's perfect schedule that she had in China went out the window of that plane! It's now Monday night though and fingers crossed that it is worked out by tomorrow.
We've had some visitors--Nina is already taken with her grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, and of course, her cousins! We weren't as careful with picture taking since we've arrived home, but we promise to remember to use the digital more often.
We're so glad to be home, and can't wait for all of you to meet Nina. The postings are all so wonderful to read and we've been printing them to save for our daughter to read some day (she is a genius of course, but not that advanced yet!). Thanks for all of your good wishes.

Some pictures...
(In case any of you is crazy enough to waste your day looking at all of the pictures from our trip, you can find them at the following link: http://www.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=40363255/a=5225021/t_=5225021)

Traditional picture of girls at the White Swan:



IKEA next to the Consulate:


Nina actually looking at the camera for a family photo!:

Nina likes her high chair:


Nina at her new house:


One of our early favorites:

Days 10 & 11...

The big event on Day 10 (Monday) was Nina's physical. She passed with flying colors. She weighed in at 9.5 kg (21 pounds) which seems a little on the light side (she was 21 pounds in January when we received her referral), but she didn't really stay on the scale long. The doctors all seemed to love her pudgy cheeks and legs!

Day 11 (Tuesday) was our trip to the Chinese countryside. We got a peek at what the "real" China outside of the citieslooks like. It was eye-opening to say the least. It really made us appreciate how unbeliveably lucky we are in the U.S. The single family homes are nothing more than shacks, and the newer, "nicer" homes are small, apartment like buildings where at least 3 families lives together. A dirty, mosquito invested stream ran through the village and was used to wash clothes and food, and to empty sewage. We couldn't help but to wonder if this was what Nina's life would have been like if she hadn't ended up with us.

DAY 10 PHOTOS

Outside the exam room:
















Nina with the Doctor:




Another one with the Doctor:



The exam really tired her out!





DAY 11 PHOTOS (from our trip outside the city):

The Village Temple:




Local woman preparing dinner:




Old Man's "single-family" home:



Cleaner "single-family" home:




Woman coming back from the fields:



Local women washing clothes and food in village creek:




We only have a few days left here--can't wait to come home, although it has been a nice trip. We actually started to pack this morning! Here's one last photo of Nina--we know that's all you really want to see.

Nina and dad in the park close to the hotel:

More Nina...

Sorry it took us so long to post more pictures, but we've had some minor technical issues the past few days that prevented us from posting. Things have been going very well here in Guangzhou. Friday was a free day for us, as some of the other families in our group made the 4-hour (each way) trip to the orphanage in Yangchun. Nina's not a big fan of the bus, so we decided to stay back at the hotel -- more time fro us to bond! On Saturday we visited the Guangzhou Zoological Garden (aka, the zoo!) which is the home of Guandong Province's only Panda Bear. After the zoo, we visited a Buddist Temple where we were belessed by a Buddist Monk. We then capped the day off with a nice SNAKE dinner! On Sunday, we took a dinner cruise down the Pearl River in Guanzhou. Some of the pictures below are from the cruise. Today we have some more paperwork, and Nina's official medical exam. She seems perfectly healthy to us, so we don't expect any problems.

So, without further delay, here are the pictures:

Nina's 1st Bath:


Happy Nina:


Nina and Mom at the Zoo:


Guangzhou's Panda:


Bad Hair Day:


Nina and Mom at the Buddhist Temple:


Getting Blessed by a Buddhist Monk:


Snake Dinner Alive:


Snake Dinner Dead!:


Todd Eating Snake Dinner:


Pearl River Cruise Ship:


Dudas Family on the Pearl River Cruise:


Nina and Mom on Cruise:


The White Swan from the Cruise Ship: