Happy Birthday Uncle John!

Emilia wanted to be sure to send her birthday wishes to you Johnny! Actually, it is March 4 here in Guangzhou but as long as we're on time there in the U.S., we're good.

We arrived in Guangzhou yesterday afternoon. Emilia's first plane ride and it lasted a little over one hour. She had a little meltdown, but nothing we couldn't handle. Can't say we are looking forward to the 14 hour ride to Chicago, but I'm sure like all the families before us, we will manage.

Guangzhou is a beautiful and welcome change from Changsha! It is extremely warm here and there are actual glimpses of sunshine which we haven't seen for about a week. The streets of the city around the hotel are all cobblestone and overhung with beautiful trees. There are also flowers everywhere ... it actually has a little bit of a European or Quebec feel to it. We love it.

Our hotel is absolutely spectacular and after showers last night, Tom and I agreed it was the first time we've actually felt clean for a week.

Emilia had a great night last night and slept in the crib the entire time. She woke up about 5:15 am and spent another hour on Mommy to finish out the night's rest. Tom wants to me to tell you all that he is the one with the bedtime magic to get Emilia down. I give him a lot of credit since the last couple nights I've had to attend meetings to get our paperwork completed for the American Consulate and when I've returned to the room, Emilia is fast asleep. He definitely is the one with the most experience and it's wonderful to work as a team.

If most of you remember, when we completed our adoption application, we did request twins if they were available. Well, one of the men in our travel group has remarked that we seem to have gotten our twins with Emilia anyway with her 'spicy' personality. And, Mom, she's not even a Gemini! (ha!ha!)

She continues to make progress everyday. She now likes to feed us and yesterday reached out her hand on different occasions to have Tom and I hold it while walking. That was a first. She continues to experiment with different food. She seems to love everything the first time but must sense that there is so much more to try that she wants us to move on to the next dish!
She is all done with porridge and bananas... probably a strong reminder of her days at the orphanage.

A little more about Guangzhou before we wrap it up for today. Our hotel is on the Pearl River and we have a beautiful suite which overlooks this busy waterway. At night, the buildings and the bridges spanning both sides of the river are all lit up and they actually have light shows periodically through the evening.

Today is the Festival of Lanterns here in China. The official mark of the end of 2007 Chinese New Year Celebration. This morning, we were taking our laundry to a local shop and we heard drums and music down the street. Seeing a small crowd gathered, we made our way over and witnessed a wonderful dragon dance. What a treat! Emilia loved it and we were fortunate to be able to witness one of these dances in person while here. (We asked them if they were available for the Winslow July 4th parade; they will get back to us after checking their schedule..ha!ha!)

We then strolled along the river and saw elderly people playing the traditional Chinese game of Mahjong. Also, people all along the way were doing Tai Chi. Men, woman of all ages; it's wonderful to see.

We have received many heartfelt smiles and thumbs up from local people when they see us with Emilia. We cannot communicate with them very well, but the message is clear....through their smiles. We have also had many remarks on how 'healthy' Emilia is. Again, not a petite child!

Emilia has fallen asleep in Tom's arms while I've been typing. We are in a beautiful, cozy coffee shop drinking mocha coffees. Almost feels like home.....