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After a long and uneventful flight we're trying to settle back into reality. The girls have been terrific. Sophie is such a little mommy. She wants to help in the worse way. Every 10 minutes she'll say, "I think Noey needs his bottle Mommy. Can I feed him now?". She's very cute. Both girls helped spoon feed him yogurt yesterday. Avery loves to take Noah by his little face and say, "I love you Noah!". Unfortunately, both girls are toy-stealers. They are learning it's not nice to take from the baby. This is a difficult lesson to learn when the toys were originally theirs.

We're definately not on a schedule as of yet. Noah likes to scream... a lot. He is fine if he's playing or eating, but bed time is atrocious. He doesn't sleep- ever! He wakes up every 20 minutes and screams. It's like someone turned on the snooze alarm and we can't turn it off. We're hoping for a better night tonight. Say your prayers- I know we have.

Reading New Posts

We recently recieved an email from my "blog devoted mother" asking if there was anything wrong. We hadn't posted a single picture on Friday and Saturday and she was suffering from withdrawl. What a good Nana! In response to her email we have been making a concerted effort to post as much as possible. As a result, some of our new posts are being pushed into the "older post" file. So- to read all of our new posts you need to scroll down to "older posts" and click. You will be able to catch up and then read the newer ones. Enjoy!

Email from School

This morning I got the nicest email from my substitute teacher at school. Jeanne has been kind enough to print out our blog posts and read them to the kids. Here is a copy of the wonderful email that made my morning. I can't wait to visit as soon as we're settled in.

Dear Mrs. Mulholland-Bower:

Have you had fun in China? How are you? I saw the pictures of you and your new baby and he is cute! When are you coming back to school? I miss you and I want you to come back soon. -Carlos Lopez

We miss you. Please bring back chopsticks. -Miguel Diaz

Are you having fun in China because we all miss you. -Kelsey Souza

Hi! Are you having fun in China? How is your son? Is he a good boy? I like the pictures you sent to us. They were great! Please come back soon! We miss you. Have fun in China! -Miranda Terpening

How are you doing? Are you having fun? I’m doing ok. I miss you and you are a great teacher. Have you seen the Great Wall of China? –Jameson

We miss you very much and we hope you are having fun, but we want you to come back! Thank you for all of the good food you gave us before you left. See you soon! -Brandon

Red Couch

It's a tradition that all adopted babies take their picture on the red couch by the golden bird cage at The White Swan. Noah was the first to scream and started a trend. Here are some pictures of The Red Couch Choir.

Time to Play

After nap we headed to a children's park. It has all kinds of exercise equiptment and a little playground. It was really a popular place to hang out. Hugh, Doug, Linda, and I had a lot of fun trying out all the neat torture devices. Doug even made firends with a little boy. Did I mention this park was for kids?

Retire to China

Retired life isn't quite bad in China. Women retire at 50 years and men at 60. There is an awesome retirement community in Guangzhou. People meet at the parks to play cards, play Tai Chi, ballroom dance (Karen Romanski, thinking of you), have group sing-a-longs, and play a game similar to hacky sack- but with a feather birdy. I must admit, this is a pretty nice life. Any takers?

Medical Exam

The Medical Exam is essential for all babies to go through before exiting the country. It's a very general exam- but all the babies hate it!!!! What cracks me up the most is that there is a sign stating "Please Keep Quiet". Mind you, there are about 20 babies screaming at the top of their lungs. Quiet? I don't think so. As you can see by the pictures- poor Noah didn't know what was coming. He started out all smiles and ended up needing to be consoled. Our big guy is 23 pounds and 80 cm tall.

Pearl River Cruise

We took a cruise down the Pearl River. At night everything is lit up so beautifully. Our agency chartered a boat for us, so the seven families had the run of the ship. We ordered Papa John's and partied like toddlers. Noah had a great time. He loved pointing to all the different boats and at the buildings.

The White Swan

A spectacular hotel. Here are a few pictures we took wandering around in the lobby and surrounding halls.

Sophie Goes to the Olympics!!!!!!!

If you read the picture closely, you can see that one of the Olympic mascot's name is Huan Huan. That is Sophie's Chinese name. Pretty cool! We bought a Huan Huan picture for her to frame.

Walking Mall

This morning we took a trip to the walking mall. It was huge! Everywhere you looked it was just shop after shop. Here are some pictures:

Lucy's (Not for TMS Students)

Last night we went out for a fun and relaxing dinner at Lucy's with Bob, Lynne, and Ty. Although there were rumors of rats, we decided to go anyways and sat outside. As you can see by the pictures- the boys had an extra good time. Note to grandparents: no beer for the minors! Bob and Doug wouldn't share.

Smile!

Last day in Fuzhou

This is out of order, yes, but that's how it goes! We spent some time in a small park during the day before we went to the civil affairs office to get the passports on the way to the airport.







Here is the group, just before piling into the bus one more time.