It's Official!!!!

On Tuesday morning we went back to the Civil Affairs Office to complete the adoption paperwork.  They asked us if we were happy with her and we both shouted YES!!!  After we promised not to abuse or abandon her and that we would give her a good life and signed the papers it was official.  She is a Miles.  While we waited for our paperwork Katie chased Julia around the room and Katie got some really good laughs out of her.  After the Civil Affairs office we went to the Carrefour.  It's like a Walmart.  We got some water and snacks for the room.  Then we stopped at Shaman Island to get a stroller.  We went back to the room and had a few snacks and then off to the pool.  Katie was dying to get to the pool.  I put Julia's bathing suit on but she wouldn't go in the pool.  She did have fun standing at the edge squirting Katie and Daddy with her bath toys.  Next stop was the hotel play area.  Julia loved it.  We got lots of laughs and smiles when she went down the slide.  We ventured across the street to The Coffee Club for dinner. They have western food.  We gave Julia a french fry to try and a little ketchup.  She LOVED the ketchup.  She used the french fry to keep dipping and licking off the ketchup.  Aunt Karen she is a double dipper but it was her own ketchup so it was ok.  After dinner we went back to the room and both girls we asleep by 7pm.  Dan and I weren't too far behind.  

DAY 2= SUCCESS. 

 Katie and Julia at the Civil Affairs office

 Carrefour's Oreo selection

 Enjoying some snacks back at the room

Gotcha Day!

We are still partly on US time.  We are ready for bed at 4pm and waking up at 2 or 3 am. Gotcha Day morning Katie and Dan were both up at 2 am.  Well then I was up.  If you know me I am a sleeper but we went to bed at 5 pm the night before and well it was gotcha day!  I was excited.  Since it was 2pm US time we ooVoo'd with Bailey and Karen.  Then we were counting down the minutes until the breakfast buffet opened at 6:30 am.  That gave us something to do and we enjoyed a nice breakfast.  At 10:30 we meet our guide and one other family and went to the bank to exchange some money for Chinese money.  Then we came back to the hotel.  Dan took Katie to the pool and I got things ready in the room.  Finally we met in the lobby at 2pm.  We took a van with one other family and our guide to the Guangdong Civil Affairs Office.   Our guide told us it was going to be very busy and that about 20 families were getting their babies.  We went into this big room..gotcha moments were happening all around us.  We sat down on a couch to wait our turn.  Our guide told us that Yang Cai Yao wasn't there yet.  That they were stuck in traffic and would be about 25 minutes.  The other family with us had there gotcha moment and I took pictures for them.  As we sat there waiting for our baby we probably watched about a dozen gotcha moments.  I wasn't nervous until she wasn't there and I had time to think about it.  I started getting hot and sweaty and sick to my stomach.  What if she didn't like us?  What is she didn't come to us?  Then we saw her arrive....the Nanny brought her in and they went into another room.  Our guide called us up.  They brought her out and I patted my chest and said "Mama" and she came right to me.  Katie was so excited to give her a lollipop.  That was our strategy in case she didn't like us.  LOL.  She loved that lollipop.  They told us that she was quiet, shy, and very serious.  We finished up our paperwork and went back to the hotel room.  She loved the dolly and stuffed doggie we brought with us.  She was very quiet and very serious but after we got back to the room I said "Mama" to her and she repeated it in this sweet little voice.  I got her changed into a new dress and a new headband and off we went to dinner.  It was pouring rain so we went back to the restaurant Food Street in the hotel.  I got sweet cream corn and crab soup and Julia couldn't get enough if it.  She also loved the noodles.  She probably would have just kept on eating.  We had to cut her off at one point.  During dinner her little personality started to come out and we got some smiles.  We were all exhausted and asleep by 8pm.  What a wonderful day!

 Enjoying Starbucks while we wait.

 Off to the Civil Affairs Office

 The Eckers....The family traveling with us.

 Nervously waiting for Julia to come out.

 GOTCHA

 First photo as a family of four.

Katie is being amazing.  She is so in love with her baby sister.

Last day as a family of 3...

We got up and left for the airport at 5:30 am.  We rode to the airport with the other families in our group.  We said goodbye to 3 of the families.  They are all going to other provinces.  One family is staying with us and coming to Guangzhou.  We will spend the whole 2 weeks with them.  The flight from Beijing to Guangzhou was 3 hours.  We arrived at the airport and got our luggage and found our driver.  Our driver took us to the China Hotel.  It is a Marriott Hotel and very beautiful.  Not a bad place to stay for the next 11 days.  We met up with our guide and she toured us around the hotel and around the general area around the hotel.  There is a Starbucks in the hotel.  There is a 7-11 next door.  We also can take the subway over to the Walmart.  We had a late lunch at the hotel.  We ate at one of the restaurants called Food Street.  The food was awesome!  Katie loved the won-ton soup.  Dan and I loved the spicy chili pork noodles.  We toasted with our tea cup as our last day as a family of 3.

 Katie enjoying the soft bed in the new hotel.  Beijing beds were like rocks.

 We went down this street behind our hotel were locals sell food from carts...This made me laugh when I saw the cat's tail under the cart.

 This little girl was running around shooting a cat with a water gun.  The cat ran off through that gate.

Our lunch at Food Street