D&T's Saturday in Guangzhou

We finally made it to Guangzhou!! We are so happy to be here, I can't even tell you. Marissa did so good on the plane. She's actually done well anytime that she's in something moving...like a van or stroller. As long as it keeps moving, she's content.

There is a night and day difference between Wuhan and Guangzhou. First of all, the weather here is beautiful. Today we were wearing short sleeve shirts and no coats! The warm weather means lots more greenery and flowers everywhere. We even saw some loquat trees today. They were very tall and just beautiful! The air quality is much better here and you can actually see the sun instead of smog. It has a feeling here of being more trendy and modern. We didn't get any granny police on us today either, and Marissa was definitely showing some ankles. Our hotel is right alongside the Pearl River and we can see it from our windows. Again, it's beautiful and as soon as Ladybug wakes from her nap we are going to explore along the riverside. Our view outside the last hotel was all construction and it was going on 24 hours a day. While there is still quite bit of construction here in this city as well, it's in smaller doses.

Today's plan was to go have the babies passport photos taken for the US passport and have the medical examinations done. Jack, our guide, got us in and out of both places pretty fast! We are seeing a lot more Americans here, also adopting babies too. The medical exam office was completely packed with new parents and babies. Thomas even ran into one of my blog readers. (I'm a fan of her blog too.)

After those errands were done we finally went shopping!! We honestly haven't shopped much at all so far. In Beijing we were kind of wavering about spending money on our first stop and then in Wuhan there wasn't any neat places to even do any shopping. I'm excited that our first stop was a big score. The ladies in this little store called A Home of Love were just delightful and spoke very good English. They were good too, they gave Marissa a little rattle to play with and then played/teased with her while Mommy shopped. It was a lot of fun and I found some really cute barrettes for her hair and little shoes that are so cute and they actually fit! They carried them in red too so I bartered a good price in order to buy both pairs. $4.40 each! Wow! After shopping, it was time for another trip to their version of Wal-Mart, called Carrefour. Just needed bottled water and diet cokes for us...and diapers and formula for Marissa. I'm mixing her formula with this Chinese brand and will eventually wean her off onto what I can buy at home.

After Carrefour, we had lunch at a local restaurant. We learned today that we were eating all wrong!! The tables are always set with a small plate, small bowl, cup for tea, and chopsticks. We were placing the items on our small plate to eat them. Our guide, Jack, let us know today that the plate is actually for the "trash" or bones, rinds, etc. Now we know, and it's actually a lot easier to eat with chopsticks using the bowl instead of the plate. Ha, we had a good laugh. I'm sure in those other restaurants we were certainly being giggled at.

Marissa's spirits were really good today. She hasn't smiled very much at all since we've had her. Her expressions tell me that she's content, but I want her to laugh and have fun too. We've been working on that and I believe we've almost turned a corner. Today, she was doing a lot of cooing and these little happy squeals! They're kind of loud, but I love it! Oh, and I'm feeling her more and more laying her head on my shoulder or chest to rest or look around. It just keeps getting better and better! We are so in love with her!

Much love,
Deana