June 2, 2007 - Doctor's appointment and pearl market

One year ago today, we had our first full day on Shamian Island in Guangzhou. The island sits in the Pearl River. All the buildings along the river were lit up like Vegas when we got to the hotel the night before. We got into the hotel in early evening, but really weren't hungry. I think we just grabbed some snacks from a little store at the hotel.

In the morning, I accompanied Sophie to her physical while K and EJ decided to explore off the island a bit (they were looking for a McD's!). A physical is required to make sure the babies are healthy before leaving China.




Sophie passed with flying colors and was very happy about that!

After lunch, the ladies and a few of the guys went to the Pearl Market, the largest pearl wholesaler in China. In this photo below, fellow adoptive mom A was placing her order, but notice the displays behind the counter and the BAGS of pearls of all shapes, sizes, and colors piled up on the floor behind her.

These two young ladies strung pearls for me while I watched. I purchased three strands and matching earrings for the girls and myself, as well as a strand for a friend's daughter who was graduating, and a strand for my niece who is getting married next weekend (we gave them to her while we were on vacation a few weeks ago!). I also bought a strand of turquoise and matching earrings from another shop. The market was amazing - six stories high and ALL JEWELRY stores. What fun!

That night, we ate dinner in the Italian Restaurant on the 2nd floor of the White Swan hotel with another family. Their older daughter, F and EJ had a waterfront table and liked watching the boats go by. I have to say that pasta tasted pretty good after 10 days of Chinese food!

June 1, 2007 - Travel to Guangzhou

One year ago today, we left Nanchang and flew to Guangzhou, the city through which all Chinese babies adopted by Americans must pass so that they can become citizens via the American Embassy there. Here we are at the Nanchang airport saying goodbye to our local guide, Shirley. Shirley apparently used to work for the Adoption Affairs office in Nanchang, so she had really good relationships there, as well as an amazing understanding of the adoption process. We really liked her!

Look where they took me today!

Today, Mommy and Daddy took EJ and me to a really cool park called Storyland. EJ says that it's a tradition to go each year, but last year Mommy and Daddy didn't take her...instead, they all came to China to meet me! Anyway, I really, really liked it there and thought I would share some pictures of what I did there.

EJ showed me how to milk a cow. I was surprised when it mooed at me!


Then, I got to drive a tractor through a farm! This was so much fun that I really put up a fuss when it was time to get off.

I also rode horses on the merry-go-round. I laughed all the way through this.

We also rode in a pumpkin coach up to see a princess in a castle, and then Mommy took this picture of her two princesses:



I sat on the princess's throne. She'd better watch out...I want her job!

Then, EJ wanted to ride some water rides that looked like fun, but there's some rule about me not being big enough. So, Mommy took me to kiddy land. There, I sat on this tuffet (what is that anyway?) and this big ugly spider came down to sit beside me. Even though I was very brave, you can see that I made sure I leaned a little out of his way when he came down. I wasn't about to take my eyes off him!

Then, there's this rhyme that ends with "...nine, ten, the big fat hen"?

I also liked this big piano keyboard that made the bells chime:



Peter Pumpkin-Eater and his wife live here:



And then, I even got to meet Mother Goose, who let me pet the goose!



Finally, Sissy and I posed with Humpty Dumpty before we left.

Bye, Humpty! See you next year!

And now, a note from Mommy:

Yeah, I know, I'm like DAYS behind with my one-year-later photos. I was busy packing Thursday night and we left right after work on Friday. I'll try to catch up tomorrow.

May 31, 2007 - Visit to a farming village

One year ago today, we took a tour that was one of the most important things we did while in China. We toured a rural farming village about 20-30 minutes outside of Nanchang. This village, according to our guides, is probably very similar to the area where Sophie was born. It was so interesting to see how the majority of the non-urban population in China lives. It was something that we will never forget.

These ladies and their babies came to greet us as we got off the bus.


Before we walked through the village, we walked down a road and looked out over the land being farmed. This farmer was hard at work in a field.


He left his bike up on the road.

K thought that the brick pattern in the buildings was interesting.

The children in the village were just adorable and were SO curious about us.

This little girl was all dressed up for some sort of pageant at her school that day.


As you can imagine, a busload of caucasian families with Asian babies and a few older siblings attracted a LOT of attention in the village that day. Everyone was so polite and thrilled about the babies. Our guide did a lot of translating for us so that we could talk.


Notice the little bare cheeks in the baby's split pants!


This guy was a character...


And this woman's face had SUCH character. She was THRILLED to see all the babies.


We were permitted to look inside of this residence. It was sparse. EJ turned to me and said, "Gee, they don't have much furniture." To which I replied, "This is a moment to be very thankful for everything that we are fortunate to have." I think it was a good teaching moment for her age - that not everyone on this earth has the resources and the opportunities that we have.


At one home, it was laundry day:

And these little ducklings were roaming the streets...

This woman was making slippers - her needles were clicking along at an amazing speed! Our guide asked if we could buy them, but she politely explained that they were for her family.

These are some new buildings being built in this co-op village:

Every square foot of soil seemed to be growing some sort of crop:

These plans for a new development were across the street.

As we walked back to the bus, the farmer we had seen in the field earlier was biking down the road. I snapped his picture, but didn't realize it was the same guy until I looked at the photos later.

This little open-area market space was at the edge of the village where the bus dropped us off.

After we returned to the bus, the guides announced they would take us to a porcelain shop. The Jiangxi province is known for its porcelain, and we purchased a small tea set for Sophie to have some day. We also bought some porcelain chopsticks and EJ bought a porcelain bead necklace.

Later that afternoon, a few of us walked a few blocks to a huge pedestrian shopping area with fancy boutique stores offering designer goods at amazing prices. At the end of it, if you crossed the road (also known as taking your life into your own hands), there was an underground shopping area. This picture was in the basement of that shopping area. We stayed for a little while, but myself and one other mom left early, as the fumes from the nail salons were making us a little dizzy!

And, here are some cutie shots of Sophie from a year ago:

The custom dresses were returned from the tailor and they fit perfectly!