On the Island!

I seriously feel like I've walked into Chinese Adoption Heaven!  Shiaman Island in Guangzhou is amazing.  We're no longer the crazy white people with the asian baby.  There are lots and lots of families adopting babies who stay on this island.  It's an island, but it's part of Guangzhou and it's walking distance into the main city.  We're staying at The Annex Victory hotel and it's very nice and accommodating.  The island is only about 6 blocks by 3 blocks, so everything is within walking distance here and their are fun little shops and restaurants everywhere.  Most of which are set up specifically for adoptive families.  Things like bottled water and children's clothes are very inexpensive here and you can pretty much bargain for anything.   I was even able to drop off our laundry at the little shop next to our hotel.  Tomorrow morning I will have clean, fresh smelling clothes and all I had to do was walk about 20 yards out the front door!  We've had fun bargaining in the little shops and I even received a high compliment from one of the shop keepers that I was good at bargaining.  Emmy's already scored two sets of squeaky shoes for a total of 60 yuen, that's the equivalence of about $7.75 for BOTH pairs.   But, to be fair, another shop keeper did talk me into a few Ge Ge (big brother) shirts and a Mei Mei (little sister) shirt that I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise.  She lured me in because it's kind of fun to banter back and forth just to see how low you can get them.  But, other than the shopping, the island is BEAUTIFUL.  We definitely came the right time of year.  The weather is gorgeous and the tree lined streets are so fun to stroll through.   There are bright colored flowers and pebble lined walking streets everywhere.  The buildings are really neat too. I'm sure the pictures can't even do it justice.  I'll try to get some more pictures tomorrow of the buildings and beautiful streets.  There are lots of trees for shade and the temperature is perfect for walking around without jackets.  It's not too hot and not too cold.

I could walk around this island forever with my little sweetie in my arms.

There's a beautiful park with lots of trees, flowers, statues etc.  Even some restaurants with outdoor eating.  The play equipment there will be a favorite of ours for the next 5 days I'm sure!

I'm fairly certain she has never been on any sort of play equipment as Aaron had to show her to use a slide.  But, she's a quick learner and there was no stopping her after she picked it up!  I wish I had video taped her when she put her first pair of squeaky shoes on.  It was adorable how proud she was to walk around making all the noise.  We had many people in hoots over it.

Emmy had her physical examination today.  It went really well, but I was a bit nervous how she was going to act after the night we had.  She fell asleep in the car on the way to the hotel from the airport.  She's a fairly deep sleeper, so I was able to just put her to bed when we got here.  But, she woke up in the middle of the middle of the night grieving HARD.  The poor little thing was just screaming and thrashing around.  I've never seen her so sad AND mad and she wouldn't let either of us console her.  This lasted for a long time.  So, we just lay with her and let her grieve away without touching her, which would set her off even harder.  Finally she fell into a deep sleep about 2 hours before I needed to wake her up.   But, she was cute and chipper as ever this morning like the night hadn't been one from hell.  The daylight always makes life's woes fade a bit.  But, we would really appreciate some prayers on this subject please.   She's turning into a bit of a pickier eater.  Things she would absolutely love one day are shunned the next.  She also likes to throw food and screech during meals.  We ate at an "American" restaurant today with some families from the China Adopt Talk forum I belong too.  She was definitely the spiciest kiddo there.  But, you have to love her personality.  I fear for what we're in for when she's a teenager :0)  Thanks for all the thoughts and well wishes.  We're loving our time here, but can't wait to get home at the same time!  Hugs to you all!