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. 

May Day, May Day... We're going down

Greetings from Guangzhou! This is the city where the US Consulate is located, and where Li will hopefully be sworn in as a US citizen. We flew in later in the evening during a torrential downpour of rain- so don't know much- but first impression made me think we are going to be much happier here. The city stretches on FOREVER, and every building is 50 plus stories high. And there are lights on every building- makes Times Square look boring. There's crazy traffic. But it's also very trendy and happening. We felt very underdressed when we walked into the hotel lobby. And it's humid...ahhhhh. 

The hardest part about Harbin was that we got dirty looks from everyone- they were very suspicious if us. From what I'm told, it shouldn't be as bad here. 

The flight here was around 4 hours.... And Li made every minute of it interesting!! Waiting for the flight, Li discovered the moving walkway, so mama and he rode it over, and over, and over. There was another little boy doing the same and the two boys started playing together. At one point Li was jogging along and turned around to see the other boy when his feet got tangled and he went down HARD!! He actually hit his head and was bleeding a little- and his knee has track marks from the walkway:( Luckily Dad fixed him up and a few moments later he was up and running again. Luckily we have 4 days before his medical exam to heal. 

Then we got on the plane.... Let's just say that Li's intro to seat belts was traumatic at best. During takeoff he SCREAMED and fought with the seatbelt. Everyone on the plane turned around and stared.... Everyone. And of course he's screaming Mama.. No!! Mama... No!! This looks horrible. I was sure that the police would be waiting for me when we landed (they weren't). He sat on my lap the rest of the flight. (Luckily he's so small that the flight attendants thought he was a baby so they didn't give us a hard time about holding him). We tried to put his giraffe lovvie in the seatbelt to show him it's no big deal- and he FREAKED out again. So we are really looking forward to the car ride home when he meets his car seat. 

Ava is ok. She's a little down- we think the reality of sharing mom has set in- so I'm trying to give her some more direct attention. It's nice that we have 4 days of fun ahead- so hopefully we can turn her around a little.  

Li is starting to warm up to Chris, but we aren't fully there yet- so when Ava has my attention Li is a little upset (I took Ava to the bathroom in the plane and Li again screamed for Mama the entire time I was gone). Ava also has a bit of a cold/cough, and of course I did not pack mucinix. So, we are going to the travel clinic this morning to see what they can do. 

Li is sleeping better and better each day. We finally figured out to just put him in bed between us.

Oh!! And cudos to the Westin Hotel!!! They noted our need for gluten free foods and at check in took pics of Ava and I so that the staff will recognize us and be prepared when we go into a restaurant to eat!! How cool is that?!?!

Gotcha!!!

We met Li this morning!! I will have pics to share, but they are all currently on Kelly's camera. 

The agency did prepare Li a little for our arrival, but he understandably still had a rough time. When he first walked into the room, he was smitten with Ava and completely ignored everyone else. He liked me feeding him yummy snacks, but SCREAMED anytime we tried to touch him. Poor buddy.

He reluctantly got into the van with us, and it turns out that he loves buses. So, after a few blocks his mood changed dramatically. By the time we got back to the hotel, he was happy to follow Ava anywhere. 

Thirty minutes into our play time, he was laughing and super excited about all his new stuff. 

By the end of the days he would let me told, bath him etc. he loves the bath! He did a great job of telling me when he had to go potty!! And he is already using some English!! He calls me mama. He can say baby, yeah and wow!! 

Overall he seems to be healthy, but really small...he is swimming in his 2T clothing- definitely needs 18 months for now. 

Chris and I have been up all night with flood warning and school closing phone calls back in Brentwood.. Hopefully we get a chance to take a nap!! 

Half way there!!!

Yesterday we finalized Li's adoption on the China side!! The most interesting part of the paperwork process was that after signing a document, Chris and I had to put our fingerprint over the signature with this red ink that is tough to get off. We also got Li's Chinese passport!! 

Later in the afternoon our guide took us to see Li's "finding spot". It was labeled as a college dormitory, but Chris and I thought otherwise.  This is the building complete with R2D2 like mushroom themed playground:

Li continues to fit in very well with the Dinkel clan! Today he said shoe and tree. We went on a quick walk by the river and all Li wanted to do was run in the grass and touch the trees... Just wait till he gets to Tennessee!! Our walk was cut shirt because Ava, the celebrity, was tired of taking photos with strangers. Can't say I blame her there! 

So what do you do in a hotel room with two bored kids?? TP the room of course!!  They had a blast right up to the point that Ava was accidentally bonked in the nose. She was pretty mad about that and immediately demanded that we take him back:) we worked through it and she likes him again... But it was tough because she was expecting an apology and I don't think Li had any clue what was happening. 

Today we fly to Guangzhou, which is where the US consulate is located. The Chinese Labor Day holiday is starting, so we are doing lots of tourist stuff once we arrive. 

Ava and I are really getting sick of the lack of food options- but luckily the Westin has already told me that they special ordered some gluten free products for us. 

Li, on the other hand, has been eating nonstop. He loves veggies (especially tomatoes!! Isn't that great Doris!!!) One funny tidbit- every time we sit at the table to eat- Li insists on kicking off his shoes:) guess he wants to be comfy!