July 13th

After the animal park yesterday, we ended up sleeping and resting in our hotel. It was nice after sweating and walking so much yesterday.

Julia has been very calm this whole trip. I think she enjoys looking at things and being on the go. The day we got her, I asked her nanny how her personality is. She said she acts normal like all the other kids, is smart and a happy girl.

Julia has been diagnosed with Thalassemia, a blood disorder. So, she was on a special needs adoption list, and that is how we got her so fast.

When I took her file to our pediatrician, he looked at her blood work, and thought they had misdiagnosed her condition. He didn't think there was a serious concern for Thalassemia. We are praying that will still hold true when we get home. The doctor here said she looked good. Eva said, most children with Thalassemia have blue lips but she looks really healthy.

We are so thankful for our miracle baby.

After a trip to the mall for Dairy Queen, we were tired from another day.

July 12th

Before and after breakfast, all went well with Julia. She is really getting to be a pro with the schedule now.

After breakfast, we headed to the Chimelong Xiangjiang Safari Park. A few friends had recommended the park. I also noticed it is rated #1 out of 495 attractions for Guangzhou on tripadvisor.

Just as we had finished purchasing the tickets and excited to start our day at the park, a huge thunderstorm came up. We quickly hurried (as everyone else did too) and took cover under the hut where they take your tickets. Julia seemed a little scared but then was okay.

As we huddled for about 20 minutes in the hut, there was not much to do but stand in line. I think we were all starting to get slap happy. I was distanced from Jake and Grant a person and a stroller behind them. I noticed them watching someone and trying not to laugh. I started wondering who they were looking at. A few aisles across from them was this woman who was eating a full cucumber or zucchini type vegetable. She was aggressively chopping and chewing it with her teeth, mouth open and pieces of the vegetable falling out of her mouth. It was very strange, yet funny. Here is a goofy picture of Jake waiting in this line.

After the rain tapered off we got on the train and started our tour. It was really a site to be seen! Animals of every type, up close. Julia seemed to notice them all. She really looked them over.

After the train ride was over we started walking on a trail through many beautiful animal displays. The trail went on for a few hours with wall to wall people. As we approached the Panda House we felt like we had reached our goal. It was quite a site seeing all the pandas. I noticed these huge blocks of ice in the panda's cages. It was at that moment i dreamed of lying on top of the blocks of ice too, mainly because as the weather had cleared up, the park literally felt like a steam bath the rest of the day.

After the park we had lunch at an even larger mall that was across the street from the two malls connected to our hotel. I cannot explain how many people fill these malls. I know the population in China is huge but to witness it is quite the experience. It usually takes so much walking to get to a specific store, then you have to walk a long time to find your way out. Every restaurant is packed, all the time.

It was another busy day. Julia did great through all of it. She really has been adapting to everything well.

July 11th

July 11th

Julia woke up fine today. I was there waiting with her bottle. I love the bonding time we have in the morning. She stares straight into my eyes. When I dress her she just looks at me with a huge grin. I feel like she has been ours forever!

Today was a "fun" day for us, but not as much fun for Eva. For us, it was a no paperwork, no medical checks, and NO drivers license type photos to be taken. Yeah! Today we could just be tourists. :-) Eva had to do some document running around and then pick up our notary certificate in the afternoon.

This morning Eva took us to the Guangdong Folk Art Museum. The museum really interesting. The museum had displays of intricate carved wood, ivory, concrete bricks, pillars, words to describe the place- detailed beyond belief. The building itself was uniquely beautiful too. We also enjoyed stepping back in another time to hear about the history of the Chen family, who donated this museum.!

There were a few talented artists here. I purchased an ink stamp for Julia with her Chinese name and English name on the stamp. The artist carved it while I was waiting. It will be a keepsake for her. We also purchased a hand painted picture by a local artist as a souvenir, he wrote our last name on the top.

It was a rainy day so after the museum, we went back to our place then headed over to the mall to eat. I wanted a hibachi style meal, so we found a casual one in the mall. As you can see Miss. Julia is getting pretty comfy being out and about with all the people around. She did great the whole day.

During a large part of the day the technology talk was all the chatter with Nick and the boys. We decided in the evening to ALL go to the electrical market. Well, I've never seen anything like it. Levels upon levels upon levels ...of electronics. No words to describe. Stores and more stores. Too bad it wasn't clothes, hair products or shoes! The highlight of that shopping jaunt was a $3.00 watch I got from a guy selling watches on the corner. He even measured it and took the links out in less than 1 minute!! It was another great day!

In my earlier post today, I sounded like I was complaining about the business process for adopting Julia. Thinking back through this week, and really through the whole year of being what they call "paper pregnant", there were a lot of steps to take for adopting Julia. Those steps have become happy memories now. We are so blessed to have Julia in our family. She is a perfect fit.

July 10th

It's great to report that each day gets better with Julia. Waking up today was really good. At breakfast we tried putting her in the stroller and she did fine. She also seems to be feeling better. No fever today.

Today we had to get her medical check and photo for her passport. She did not enjoy this outing. A picture's worth a thousand words.....or screams

After our appointments, Eva told us we were close to Shaimen Island for lunch and shopping.

To explain Shaimen Isand I'll sum up some info from Wikipedia: Shamian Island is a sandbank island that was divided up into 2 concessions and given to the French and United Kingdom from the Quing government in the 19th century. The island is built in a colonial European style.

The island used to be where most of the adoptive families would stay. The American Consulate (if you are American you must finalize all paperwork here) used to be on the island but has moved. The famous White Swan Hotel is here. The White Swan is famous for having your child's photo taken on their red couch. The hotel is closed now for renovations. I am sure when the White Swan reopens it will be a booming area again.

When we arrived, the island looked pretty quiet. Not too many people or shops. We did see some photo shoots going on for clothing ads. It was funny to see a model with a fall jacket and business outfit posing in such hot weather. I wanted to take his picture but sort of felt a little awkward taking it. So here is the picture from a distance.

Eva brought up eating lunch at a popular American restaurant called Lucy's. Since it was American food and we are all still burnt-out from the fast food chains, we all agreed we wanted Chinese. Eva knew of a family owned restaurant on the island and she ordered for us. We all enjoyed the meal so much.

After the appointments, lunch and shopping, Julia and I called it a day. With the exception of her appointments, she really did good having a full day out.

Eva had informed us if we like phones, computers and such we were close to the electrical market. The electrical market sells everything in the electronic world you can think of. In the evening, Nick and the boys went to check it out. Based on all the tech talk chatter going on and several "mom, you gotta see it" phrases, (that's about all i remember from the tech talk chatter) when they came back, it must of been an interesting adventure for them.

Speaking of electronics, I just thought of all the electronic ads that are lit up. Even the buildings have amazing displays. Here are the views from our windows at night in downtown. All the lights change colors on the buildings. It is a stunning sight, to say the least and pictures don't do it justice.

July 9th

When Julia awoke today, she again pouted, whimpered and teared up. But this time she cried. As I went to get her bottle Nick said she felt like she had a fever. I took her temperature and she did have a low-grade fever. I gave her some children's motrin.

After her bath (which she cries at first, but likes after about 20 seconds of crying) we headed to breakfast. I didn't use the carrier, I wanted to see how she would do. She did good, and we even got a few smiles. She took another small bottle, ate some bites of oatmeal, watermelon.

After breakfast we went back to the room, as i was trying to pick up the morning clutter, I noticed Jake and Grant playing with THEIR toys and she was in the middle of them. She ended up falling asleep in their room and napped about 3 hours.

After her nap, i made her some noodles with garlic powder, butter and parmesan cheese. She loved them. She has passed the test of being a true, Cracchiolo.

It was nice to have a laid-back morning and early afternoon. However, there was more business to be done, so it was off to get her passport applied for.

I wanted to mention that the paperwork offices are further from our hotel than other hotels used for adoption. It takes about 40 minutes each way with traffic. From what I heard yesterday from another family, our hotel offers a lot more than other hotels they use for adopting at the same cost per night. I am so thankful that Marilyn, our dossier specialist recommended this hotel. We really enjoy staying here. Even Julia likes it!

After finishing up with the passport office, we came back to the hotel. Eva and our driver (i don't remember his name right now) surprised us with a stroller from his family to borrow while in Guangzhou. We really didn't want to have to haul a stroller with us on this trip. We are here until July 19th, so there is plenty of time and mall walking to try it out.

We needed to get a few more things at the supermarket we couldn't find before, and Eva was kind and offered to go. After shopping we and especially, Julia were wiped out. Her fever was back up again, too. As I was getting her bottle warmed she had fallen asleep on Grant.

With the exception of Julia not feeling good, it was another great day. She fits right in.

I also wanted to share this with you since it keeps happening to us here. Since we are dealing with all this paperwork, her Travel Approval picture is in her folder. Everyone that see's her picture looks at the picure, then Nick and says, "she look just like her daddy!" :-) We all love to hear them say that and Nick has a very proud grin on his face. A match or referral made in Heaven? I'm thinking so.

July 8th

Our first night with Julia went great. We were happy she slept through the night. Her nanny said they did not have a/c in the orphanage. She seemed pretty comfy in our room with a/c.

When she woke up this morning and looked at us, she started to pout, her lips quiverred and she got teary eyed but then she stopped. Having only seen about 2 rooms in her life, and now seeing so many people everywhere, and her silly family staring at her all the time, she must be in shock.

We headed to breakfast in the restaurant of our hotel. As i went to put Julia in the high chair she started crying. So, she just sat on my lap. She eventually ate some watermelon, and noodles.

We had to go back to where we picked her up yesterday at 9:30 am for more paperwork, a sort of drivers license-type family picture and an interview to finalize our adoption.

There were 3 other families before us waiting to be interviewed. It was a long morning. I think the trip really wiped her out and us, too. The only plus to this part of the day was getting to talk with the other families.

After napping, she played with Jake and Grant. I know they are pretty proud of her. They sure make this journey more interesting for her. She is starting to grin more, especially with them.

This evening, I decided to use the front baby carrier, (where she faces me) to tote her around. We wanted to try to go out for dinner in the mall. The front carrier was one of the first things our social worker said to get. I really doubted the idea of a front carrier since Julia is almost 2 but I was wrong. She cried at first but once she got settled in, she loved it. She did great! And so much easier for me. She is so heavy to constantly carry in my arms. So off to dinner we went!

Since we haven't had a guide to take us to dinner in Guangzhou, we have been eating American food to be safe for familiarity. It's been BK, Pizza H, Subway, just because we were scared to venture out. I have to say, I thought all of those meals were so unsatisfying. As we walked around tonight eyeing all the noodle dishes and rice dishes people were eating, we finally ventured out of the American food chains. Our meal that Jake chose for us was So delicious. So fresh. I should just do a whole section on the foods we have had in China. Unlike Jake, I've tried nothing crazy, just delicious noodles, and rice dishes. I doubt we will order American food for the remaining part of our trip.

Back to the dinner...so Julia sat in her carrier still facing me and I fed her noodles. She would eat them like a little bird. We sweated together (she can put off some body heat) and we ate our noodles. She then ended her meal with a few licks of ice cream from Jake's ice cream bar he had bought at the supermarket. Our dinner at the mall was a success.

I'm feeling so much better about our situation with food now and getting around with Julia. I thought by not having a guide to order, and pick out the foods it could be challenging. It's not bad at all. Plus, they have pictures on the menus and a lot are in English, too.

We came back to the hotel, put her pj's on and she drifted off to sleep quickly.

We really enjoyed our first full day with our  little princess empress. We are all crazy about her.