Aloha

We're safely in Hawaii, where Ariel will become a US citizen with US passport before returning to Japan.

Ariel did well on the flights (Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Seoul-Honolulu.) The first flight (25 minutes to Hong Kong) was scariest for her. I think the packing out of our Guangzhou hotel and spending the evening in a chaotic airport made her nervous. We assured her we'd be with her the whole way. I had a feeling she thought we were going to drop her off somewhere. After spending the night at a Hong Kong airport hotel, she was back to her normal self. (Flights from Guangzhou were heavily booked because of the trade show, so most families will fly internationally from Hong Kong.) She continued to wow people throughout the journey.

The theme for today has been people asking, "how old is he? 3 months?" Even if dressed in pink, they'll ask if she's a boy or girl. So she just wears what she wants. We tried the bows on her head, but A) they squash her cute mohawk, and B) she won't wear them. And about her smallness, well, she is guzzling the formula and getting stronger each day. But she is probably just a tiny and cute person.

Hong Kong bound

We're headed out today, and will be in Hawaii by Thursday.
Everything's fine and we've been having fun with Ariel. The internet connection hasn't been good - photo uploading isn't working. So we'll wait until later.

Zai jian, China!

Sunday

eating congee

She'll eat about 5 small spoonfuls of "solid" food a day. She's had congee (plain & pumpkin), prune-apple puree, and Japanese fish-veggie-rice baby food.

I practice filling my plate at the trough (breakfast buffet) while holding her.

at the Guangzhou Zoo
Big Bird was here?!



A tiger!


at the zoo
It's a big zoo, and we walked all around as a group. She napped in our arms through most of it.

Goldfish at 1001 Nights Arabian restaurant near the hotel. Our friends, the Sanders, joined us for the Arabian buffet. The decor was a bit like Aladdin. Guess who really liked these Ponyo-like fish?

Melon girl at Carrefour

Checking out the catfood. We only sat her in the cart for a few minutes (closely supervised.) She did well! We stocked up on diapers, formula, etc. at Carrefour.

This is her precious bottle-feeding face. She gets sleepy looking and snorts a lot. Her hairdo is natural: a mohawk on top, and wings on the side. It's not the result of shaving at the orphanage (sometimes they shave to control lice.) So we have some bows, but prefer to enjoy her cute mohawk while it lasts!

Swearing in tomorrow

Hi Everyone,
Photo uploading isn't working right now, so here's the scoop.

Sunday we went as a group to Guangzhou Zoo. We had a good nap and dinner at an Arabian restaurant near the hotel. Then we took a cab to Carrefour (like Wal-Mart) for supplies.

Monday was our Consulate appointment. Our guides went on our behalf. Everything was fine, and we have her swearing-in ceremony at the US Consulate tomorrow.

In the afternoon, we all went to Shamian Island again for souvenir shopping. This was during Ariel's naptime - uh-oh. She sat with us through part of a foot massage (at a place we tried in 2008 - Chinese Medicine & Foot Massage.) Then she got fussy. Later, we tried her "red couch photo" at the White Swan. She hated the silk dress! Soon after, a bottle and her Snoopy shirt made her feel better. We finished with Thai food at Cow & Bridge, where she was an angel.

Saturday

We only have 3 full days left in China. It's hard to believe. We're really enjoying Guangzhou, and there's so much to see. Hopefully we'll bring Ariel back to visit someday.

We think Ariel is cutting a tooth on top. She has two on bottom. Orajel to the rescue!
She weighs a whopping 13 pounds.

Back at Shamian Island. The other families had to complete medical exams, so we tagged along for a nice walk and lunch at Lucy's.

Ariel at the White Swan again. She's with Jeff in the Ergo carrier (feeling very sleepy!) Sometimes we drape the hood over her for a "Jar Jar Binks" look. From the Ergo, she often gazes up at us with a sweet, loving expression. She dozes often during the day, and takes a substantial afternoon nap.

Lunch at Lucy's. The Sanders (another family in our group), joined us for some pijiu (beer) and baby talk. Ariel fit into this little high chair. We took her socks off, and she exercised her legs by pushing the table (she actually scooted it a few inches.)

Chillaxin' at Lucy's.

Lucy's patio looks out on a park with tropical plants and hacky-sack players.

Sweet raspberry girl

She humors us and gives us wet little kisses.

refreshing Tsing Tao (pronounced "ching dow")

That afternoon, we had a "paperwork party" in Amy & Lineker's room. It felt good to complete the final paperwork after all these years.

Instructions were to send the parent who is best at documents and knows where/what they all are. Notice a gender imbalance? It was work, but fun, and we all ate at the hotel's Japanese resturant afterward.

Playtime before bed

Hugging Dad

That night we discovered loud TV lulls her to sleep. A win-win situation.

Friday at Yue Xiu park

Yue Xiu park is across the street from our hotel. It's huge and lush. We walked all over this park in 2008, but the weather was cloudy and smoggy that day. Today was clear, clean, and beautiful. Many people were out enjoying the sunshine and meeting Ariel.

Many people playing hacky-sack. It looks like such good exercise.

This little boy played with Jeff. They rolled a toy truck.

He liked showing us a flower.

Look, Ariel - dinosaurs!

riding the dinosaur with Dad's help

Everywhere we go, the grandmas (and grandpas) LOVE Ariel.

They want to know "girl or boy? is she Chinese? how old? is she your daughter? big eyes!"
Ariel is in her element being out and socializing.

Great diaper bag from the Ohs. It's a real comfort station with the pink fold-out changing pad.

Dreaming away with her blankie from Grandma Alice.

Friday evening

Sacked again.

How we have waited to put the Easy Life t-shirt on her.

We really have the locals stumped about her gender.

Baby's first subway ride!

The Guangzhou subway is clean and modern.

We had a short ride to Dongshankou neighborhood, recommended in our guidebook as being quaint and tree-lined.

Jeff had noodles at one of the many hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Dongshankou.

I just had a yogurt drink (our daily gut-defense.)


Ariel at the noodle shop.
Anpanman pants from Yoko, and "Snoopy since 1950" shirt was one she came in.
It was layered under her quilted pink Daisy Duck outfit from the orphanage.
She is really herself in the Snoopy shirt.




Relaxing with Dad.

So sweet! She blew us a lot of wet raspberries before bed.

Shamian Island

We went out as a group tonight to Shamian Island, about 10 minutes away from our hotel (the China Hotel Marriott.) Shamian is famous among adoptive families for its special shops, restaurants, and lush scenery.

We dined at La Dolce Vita da Raffaele. I had a big raw salad and ravioli with no ill-effects. Ariel was calm through the whole dinner and chit-chat.

Jeff with Ariel in the Ergo Carrier (thanks, Didi-chan - it's perfect!)

Finally, at the White Swan together!

We stayed here Christmas 2008 for fun.

Great to be back, with a baby this time!

Ariel liked fish-watching in the White Swan lobby.

She likes waterfalls, spraying water, running water, and baths.

This bodes well for the next leg of our journey: Hawaii.

Ariel meets a cat!

The island at night

Medical Exam Day

Sacked out at breakfast once again.

Breakfast buffets are included in the travel package our agency got us.

So we enjoy it. Lots of fruits, veggies, Western, Chinese, and even Japanese food on the buffet.

Ariel is too little to sit in the high chair and eat. This morning she did try a tiny bit of yogurt, though.

Waiting for the medical exam.

This happens in a building on Shamian Island, near the White Swan Hotel.

They put all us families in a waiting room to play around.

Outside was a tropical downpour, so we're all a bit wet.

Cute peanut in the middle, huh?

The doctor listens to her heart and lungs.

Then he made us undress her, and the crying started.



Hate that thermometer under the arm!

All done! Medical checkup complete and results all good.

Big eyes on my behind, too!

That's our friend Mike in the background.

Their new daughter is a lively and beautiful 7-year-old.

The A Report

• nickname (from nanny): Len Lui (pretty girl)
• choo-choo train: moving! (thanks to diluted apple juice and a little prunes)
• likes: panda puppet, her hands, grabbing us, naps, being on the go, being walked (while carried), music (even with a heavy rock beat), Pleasant Goat tissue packs
• sleeps through the night (about 9 or 9:30 PM to 6:30 or 7 AM) - we're not complaining
• working on tummy time and sitting up
• has super-cute facial expressions and likes lots of kissing

Ariel on the town

couldn't make it through breakfast without a nap


This is on the bus leaving the Civil Affairs Office on the first day we met her.
She suddenly got sleepy-eyed, and then just crashed on Jeff's chest.

Leaving the Civil Affairs Office (1st day)

Me and Ariel at Pizza Hut

Amy & Lineker (our guides) took us to Pizza Hut after the kids' passport photos.

It was such a nice treat to celebrate with Tsing Tao beer and seafood supreme pizza (a little bit of Nihon-style pizza hit the spot.)

our little giraffe

(clothes from the Bunny Store)

In the Civil Affairs Office day 2, for our interviews.

This was the room all the kids and nannies waited in before they brought out our kids.

It was a bright and cheerful place.