Day 7

I want to say a BIG Thank You to all of you for your prayers. Olivia is transitioning so well it's amazing! I'm feeling better and have slept good the past 2 nights. And the weather is getting better too! No rain today! Hooray! First time since I got to China. We have had a great day walking around. The Sha Mian Island is incredibly beautiful. It's just a few blocks long an a few blocks wide and is separated from the rest of Guangzhou by a peninsula. There are little shops and restaurants all up and down the streets. I kind of reminds me of Disney. It's very safe and there are lots of adoptive parents walking around.

We went down for breakfast this morning in the hotel. It's so cold that you have to wear at the very least, a sweater. The butter is hard and the syrup won't pour because it's too cold. The food is good though. Olivia's eating habits have changed drastically since I got her. I was told that she eats rice congee twice a day and a bottle twice a day. She has stopped doing both. She eats all table food. Some Chinese and some American. For breakfast she had lots of fruit, which she loves and fried noodles. I didn't plan to change her diet, she just did it on her own. Another family said that their daughter is doing the same thing.

After breakfast, I put in a Dora DVD. I sent a Dora DVD to her while she was still with her foster mother. As soon as she saw the show come on she said "DORA!!" It was too cute!!

On the way to lunch I stopped by a shop to order the chops for the kids. These are stone stamps that the Chinese use in place of signing their name. They carve the persons name into the bottom in English and in the Chinese character. On top is the symbol for the year they were born. You are supposed to barter with the shopkeepers for eveything. This is really hard for me to do. I'd rather just pay it and go. But, I know that there is alot I want to buy so I need to be thrifty! So, the lady said they were 85 yuan each. I said they were cheaper somewhere else. She said 65 yuan. I said no. She said 45 and I said okay! I was pretty proud of myself! I hope I do as well when I go to buy dresses and shoes because I want LOTS of them!

We ate at Lucy's again today. I met Raymond, Christine and Nicole there. Nicole is doing better but is still having a hard time. She was not in foster care so this is a whole new world for her.

I ordered my tea and when I picked the cup up off of the saucer to drink it this is what I found.
Yep, it's a dead roach. Raymond gave it to the waitress, who brought me another cup. I just prayed and tried to put it out of my mind. First ants in the hotel sink, now roaches. What's next?
Here are a few shots from the streets






Different generations of Chinese Women
You KNOW this made me happy!
Next we walked back to the White Swan where Christina and Raymond are staying. They let me and Olivia into the Swan Room to play for a while. Olivia had a lot of fun. At first she didn't really know what to do but it didn't take her long to figure it out. The only thing she didn't like was that she had to take off her shoes!



Isn't she so cute in her little jeans? She's in a 2T for all those who have asked. She's 33" tall and 26 lbs.
Here's a video of her She really enjoyed pushing some of the toys across the room.
Of all the souviners I've bought, this is my favorite. It is a Guangxi Girl who is dancing. Olivia is from the Guangxi province and she LOVES to dance.
So, to sum it up, we've had a really really good day. I've gotten lots of kisses from my girl and she seems to be happy with me. Every day I'm seeing more and more of her personality and it's adorable!
Tomorrow is our consulate appointment. I do not have to go but I do have to stay in the room from 10-11:30 in case our guide has to call for any reason. The rest of the day is free but it's supposed to rain.