Sleepless in.... Whatever Town We are in Now

We are home!!! Although with all the travel we've had over the last two weeks, we are still somewhat disoriented and often have to pinch ourselves with disbelief. A special thank you to Evan and Courtney Courtney and our neighbor Halle for the beautiful welcome decorations on our door and mailbox!! And a huge thank you to the Byers family for the welcome home pizza!!!

The last two days can only be described with two  words: jet lag. On the first night both kids woke up at 3 am- so we did the only thing any respectable family would do... Eat junk food and watch tv! 

The second night was even worse with Li up at 1 and back to sleep at 3... With Ava up at 3 for the day. On top of jet lag, my orphanage respiratory funk has developed into a full blown sinus infection with horrible headaches- so lack of sleep has been especially hard. But, Chris rallied and let me sleep a few hours this morning. I'm crossing my fingers tonight is better. 

Li loves the bonanza that is the Dinkel residence. He has been so happy playing with his new toys. There hasn't been too much "hey that's mine!!" between siblings yet... But that may be due to exhaustion. 

Chris and I have been holding our breath everytime Li goes up and down the stairs because the stairs' height is up to Li's knees- so he isn't terribly stable on them. But, he is 3... And going to do it....  

Because we didn't want the Home Depot to suffer any longer than it already has in our absence, we took our first ride in the Dodge and bought some plants for the house. Li wasn't at all scared of the engine growl, and even tolerated the seat belt! 

Cross your fingers that everyone sleeps well tonight (you too Henry!!) and that Ava can go back to school Monday- she is really missing her friends!! Hard to believe that this is her last week of preschool!! 

Also- a quick note to our neighbors that we are very aware of the jungle of weeds growing in our mulch bed. We are on it!!! Man!!! Wish our grass grew as easily as the weeds!! Hope Li likes to play in dirt! 

Checking in from Hong Kong!!

Just a quick note to let the family know we are safe and sound in our Hong King hotel room. Tons of Americans staying here- so we feel very safe. 

US Soil... At Least for an Hour!!!

Today we had an appointment with the US Consolate to process Li's citizenship and apply for his visa to enter the US. To Michelle and Eve- you guys did not prepare me for the sheer terror of entering the building! There was a mob of people (Chinese) trying to push their way in. Luckily our guide was able to get the attention of the guards and we got to go directly in the gates (membership has its rewards:)). 

Once inside, the appointment was fairly anticlimactic. They took Chris' fingerprints and we had a simple swearing in ceremony. 

Li wore his first tie for about 5 seconds! 

Now we just wait for the visa to be printed, which takes about 24 hours. 

So here's where the fun begins: on Wednesday morning Chris begins to fly home from Guangzhou (luckily) with layovers in Beijing and Dulles. 

Once we have the visa in hand, Kelly, the kids, and I have a car service that is driving us to Hong Kong (approximately 2 hours we are told). We spend the night at the Marriott by the airport where we will run the children down!! Then we are scheduled to leave Hong Kong around noon and have just 1 layover in Chicago (which Kelly and I now affectionately have dubbed salad land!!) 

In Chicago we say goodbye to Kelly. (Listen for the sigh of relief from Kelly- she's not used to non stop kid noise). Then the kids and I fly home to Nashville. Luckily, if all goes as scheduled Chris will be home and able to pick us up at the airport. And we are already dreading Li's first ride in the baby mobile torture device (aka, the 5 point harness). 

Because China censures internet usage, we have only been able to post to the blog via our 3G connection on Chris' cell phone. Once he leaves, I probably won't be able to post unless Hong Kong has different rules. So, don't worry if you haven't heard from us in awhile. I'll definitely check in from Chicago. 

Now.. What to do with 2 bored kids in a hotel on a rainy day while waiting for a visa to arrive...........

Good News Henry!! He Likes Cats!!

Correction: Run for your life Henry!!! He's obcessed with cats!! We visited the Shamian Island- which is by far the coolest part of town. The man made island was originally built to keep all the foreign businessmen out of China, and somewhere along the way was under British and French rule. So the architecture is beautiful, kind of New Orleans meets Charlestown. 

There wasn't much to do on the island but shop- so Chris resumed his need to bargain with the shop owners. And that is where Li found the kitty. It was love at first sight, and Chris and I were thoroughly relieved that he wasn't allergic ( one of the things that would have been disasterous since we have a 14 year old cat named Henry that we are not interested in giving away). 

Although the kitty tried to get away, Li followed him around for at least 30 minutes, and there were serious tears when we left. 

While shopping we also got the kids some traditional Chinese clothing. 

Oh- and we learned how to say Caramel Frappacchino in Chinese: Caramel Frappacino!! Ha!! 

This was the end of the Chinese Labor Day holiday, so back to business tomorrow (thank god!!). 

City of Brotherly Love!

Top 2 list of best parts of Guangzhou (I tried to make the list longer, but...)

2. Our hotel has free sushi and wine every night!!! When does that happen?!???

1. Wine vending machine in the lobby of the medical clinic!!! 

Li survived the medical exam. He was very cooperative with the doctors and nurses right up till they carried him away to the baby torture chamber for a blood draw. We could hear him screaming down the hall "Mama... Mama!!!"  Luckily Dad was waiting at the door with a lollipop. And further evidence of dad bonding- Li wanted dad to fix the booboo. 

Overall the clinic was much nicer than we expected. They let us hang out in the adoptive families corridor, which helped. 

After the clinic we visited the Pearl Market, where Chris entertained the group by negotiating every purchase. I wouldn't stand next to him... The lady had strings the pearls right in front of you. Pretty cool to watch! 

We got some great deals- and let's just say Nana made out!!! 

After that we had another afternoon at the pool- and this time Li kept his pants on!!! Li dedicated most of his time to chasing and hugging Ava. Really cute! 

The kids were exhausted by the end of the day. 

I'm sharing a bed with darth vader and a streaker!

Chris has developed a respiratory funk and sounds like darth vader when he sleeps..... Awesome. (Yes Sheldon, that was sarcasm). 

Chris and Ava decided to stay in and recovery after our gluten induced exorcism, so Kelly and I took Li on the excursion. We were surprised how uncomfortable Li became without Chris and Ava. He didn't even want to leave the hotel, and during the excursion he insisted on me holding him the entire time. He also clammed up. If I would say "Where's dad" he would perk up and say "yeah!". So even though he isn't cuddling with Chris, he is bonding. 

Our excursion was to the park- which, just like everything else, is bigger and stranger than we expected. My favorite part was the senior citizen Chinese opera karaoke! I'll spare you the video. 

The park had a lake with boats and coy fish. 

And an amusement park! Roller coasters and everything! Li got the ride the kiddie train and the carosel. He loved the train but was over the carosel fairly quickly. 

The park was just fun to walk and take in. It also had its fair share of historical buildings, but those photos are on Kelly's camera. 

Man was it hot there!! Like Tennessee in late July!! And Li got tons of complements! Everyone thinks he is handsome!!

After getting back to the hotel, Li definitely perked up! But I think the combo of everything got to him cause he was a huge SH*T for a remainder of the day. And it seemed like every battle he chose to fight was one that mom and dad couldn't budge on. For example, at the pool he took off his swim shorts and thought he could run around naked. When I tried to put the shorts back on... Major fit. 

But, we cuddled before bed and slept early. Today we have the medical exam and shopping. Kelly is so excited about shopping! And Ava thinks Kelly is going to buy her something... So the only ones dreading today are Li and Chris :) 

Thank you for all the email messages of support! There are no words to describe how helpful they are!!! We are counting the minutes till we return!! 

Also- a shout out to Marion and Hal (our neighbors) who seem to be dealing with our home contractors way too much this week. Thank you for the help!!!! 

I Hate Gluten!!

Yep... It happened last night. Poor Ava! I gave her a scoop of ice cream with m&ms off the buffet, so my best guess is that there was a cross contamination somewhere. Last night was one for the books- but she is doing much better today! 

The gf foods that I packed are getting low- so Ava may live off of eggs and gf bread for the rest of the trip. 

Yesterday we went to a tomb that is 2000+ years old. So it was basically being built the same time Jesus was breaking bread. Similar to Egyptian tombs, they stock piled servants, animals, and valuables in the off chance the emperor came back to life. 

Also cool to see is the pillows erected from the sight. They are made out of porcelain. Made me appreciate the Westin so much more! 

The remainder of the day was spent hanging out. Li and Dad bonded over French fries. Overall- very boring. 

Tomorrow is Li's medical exam! Looking forward to getting this show on the road. 

Splash!!!

Li got to go swimming for the 1st time!! 

As we have quickly learned- Li is VERY accident prone!! We can't take our eyes off of him for a second. For example- when walking into the pool, I stopped walking to look for the pool towels. In that second, Li, who was also looking around, walked directly into the hot tub and fell in!!! Luckily Chris and I were right there to fish him out!!!! (Hearts beating!!!!) 

But in typical Li fashion he never cried and was ready to go back in. 

We took our time getting to know the water. And because he has zero body fat we mainly kept to the hot tub. Fun afternoon!! 

A Celebrity Sighting!!!

Yesterday was a fun day to tour Guangzhou. We went to the Folk Art Museum, which turned out to be this awesome family temple to worship their ancestors. Li was all over the place, so I didn't get to listen to much if the tour, but I could definitely appreciate the level if detail in the building sculptures. It was hand carved over 15 years. 

More exciting was the celebrity sighting!!! Ava was the only thing anyone talked about... And she was more than happy to do some photo opps:

A few other photos, including the other family from our agency that is traveling with us:

The kids are starving.. So more later.