Holiday fun

 The night before Thanksgiving.  Jeff was on a 3-day shift at work.  The girls and I all slept downstairs, and they stayed up late playing.

 Shari, Tim, and Brandon came over to play on Thanksgiving morning, bearing lots of fruit and matching "Love" shirts for the girls.

 A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving snack

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving dinner (red lentils, spaghetti, chickpea-almond-strawberry mango- cinnamon salad, butternut squash.)  Yes, Barb, they do eat meat, but it's not something we typically photograph.  I (we) work very hard to buy and make healthy food for the family, and they are kind enough to enjoy and appreciate it.  Don't worry, we all get plenty of protein, etc.

 Ever-popular Nene

 In our neighbor's double BOB stroller.  We're dogsitting for them, and they left the double BOB for us to borrow.

They think it's really fun to sit together in the BOB.

the Tooth, and first weekend out of jet lag

 Friday morning, November 21, we took Ariel to Dr. My Tran at Kingstowne Pediatric Dentists.  An X-ray revealed an extra large, pointy baby tooth erupting between her top incisors.  Dr. Tran numbed her and took it out right away.  It had dissolved the root of one top incisor, so that one came out, too.  Despite healing at the extraction site, Ariel feels much better having the pressure of that extra tooth removed.

Both girls rested in the car for a long time after that, and we made a quick stop at Jeff's work Thanksgiving party while Ariel napped in his arms.

 When we got home, we made soft noodles, veggies, and eggs for both girls.  Ariel was famished!

 Nene is very popular with Willow.

 The baby incisor and extra baby tooth.  Imagine how she would've looked if it fully erupted.

 First jog in our neighborhood.

 Horses at Fort Hunt Park

 Vietnamese food at Caphe Banh Mi in Old Town

 Napping with the Willow Pillow and new blanket made by friend Jenny Gaertner, mom of Mae (a China sister)

Sleeping Sisters

First week home

 We spent time resting, playing, and adjusting to the time change.  The weather was very cold.  Willow and Ariel enjoyed soba noodles together.

 Edible arrangement from Shari, Tim, and Brandon was popular at 3 AM (with jet lag.)

 The beds are good places to sit an play.

 monster baby

 at Fort Belvoir watching Jeff get a haircut

 First trip to Target.  We bought a couple comfy pants & shirts for Willow, but later went through Ariel's "outgrown" bin, and realized Willow fits into lots of Ariel's recently outgrown things.  They are similar width-wise, but Ariel is much taller.

 matching Best Sister Ever shirts from Karen, Joey, & Reese (our cat/house-sitting friends.)

 matching linens are overrated

another Edible Arrangement from former teacher & friend, Brittney!

Arrival home

 We arrived home very late on Friday.  Ariel was so happy to be in her own home with her favorite cat siblings.  I put Willow on our bed while I showered.

 Willow and Ariel schmiggled in together.

 Willow didn't take long to discover the abundance of fun toys, books, and wonderful cats.

And she was happy!  We all slept in the big floor bed downstairs.  It's a week later, and we're just now getting over jet lag (worse for adults than for the kids, who adjusted quickly.)

Friday, Nov. 14 - the trip home

 First, we gave away some stuff to Michelle and Sam, who needed to stay 5 more days, and could pass on stuff to the next America World families.  We bought this Xi Yang Yang piano toy on Shamian Island, but the sounds were way too annoying and there was no off button. 

 Helen rode with us to the Guangzhou airport and helped us check in (she was a big help!)  We had a 2-hour flight to Shanghai's Pudong Airport and enjoyed a layover there.  We flew the whole way to Detroit with another adoptive family from New York: Sarah, Brad, and Noel Bi Huan.  I wish we'd taken their picture, but we exchanged contact info.

 Waiting for our flight to Detroit.  The Shanghai airport is spacious, with good restrooms, and not too hot.

 Instead of 4 seats together in the center, we had to sit 3 on the side, and one on the middle-side.  Giving both girls dinners on their trays was a feat, but they did well!  Jeff & I had yummy vegan meals, and the girls' kids' meals were quite big and nutritious.  The flight was overnight, so we slept a lot (except Jeff.)

This peacefulness lasted a couple hours until they woke up and started kicking each other.  Ariel's teeth were really bothering her.  Jeff cuddled and watched Dora with Ariel for a few hours while Hao Yu and I slept.

Thurs., Nov 13 - last full day in China

 Willow shows her stuff by walking up and down the spiral stairs to the hotel's Japanese restaurant.

 We headed to Liu Hua Park, on the other side of the China Hotel and Dong Fang.  It's flat and has big lakes.  Ariel was in her usual running & dancing form.

 The adult exercise park

 Crossing a land bridge over the lake

A nice way to spend our last day.

Wed. Nov 12

Treating ourselves to beer and fries (and curry & sandwiches) at Lucy's on Shamian Island

Ariel loves running and dancing around this riverfront park at Shamian Island

And Willow does some walking on the "slow path."

Our travel group!

 Our Sweet Girls

Our trusty and favorite 7-11 around the corner