A few more::

Sunday phone dump!

UPDATE!!!

I am so very sorry it has taken me so long to do an update on here.  I post something to facebook almost daily but getting here just takes that much more time and thought. 
We are doing AMAZING!!!  Like really, really AMAZING.  There have diffidently been some hard times and adjustments but overall I am really happy with how well everyone has come together in our family.  It really feels like we have always had Charlotte with us and she could not fit in more perfectly. 
We have been spending the vast majority of our time just playing and getting to know each other. 
Here are a ton of photos for you all to look though.  Sorry most of them are just from my iphone so they are not that great but its convenient and always on me so that is what we get. 
Oh, before we get to the photos let me share a few things about Charlotte.
Language::
When we fist met Charlotte she did not have any words....none.  This has been slow coming but right now she can clearly say-
-no :)
-up
-Jack
-uh oh
-mama
-dada
She calls her sisters
-Lala
-Va
she knows several things in sign language and talks in baby chit chat all the time
Her favorite things are to play outside, tease the dog, climb, and eat.
She hates having her face cleaned.

Hong Kong Disney and HOME!!!!!

Getting to the East Coast from Hong Kong China is a little harder then we would have ever expected, we ended up having 29 hours in Hong Kong.  Before we left for China I booked a Disney Hotel at their resort I knew full well that we would need as much "westernization" we could get after being in China for 2.5 weeks.  What we didn't know is if we would go into the park.  And to be honest it was a decision we made at the last second we were a firm "No" the night before.
But, as we woke refreshed and with no where to be for a very very long time we decided that park would be the easiest and a lot of fun.  We were not planning on doing any rides just walking around, eating, and relaxing as much as we could.
Let me tell you this was the right decision!!!  It was great and we even did a couple of calm rides.  We went on the safari boat ride, and Small World several time Charlotte loved it!  We also did the tea cups once. 
After a long day at the park, we were there all day we headed to the airport and headed on the 28 hour journey home.

Our last day in Guangzhou::

November 7th was our last day in Guangzhou and all we had to do was wait until 4:30 to receive Charlotte's passport back with her United States Visa inside.
We decided that we would ride the subway to the zoo we needed to be out of the room for our sanity and the weather was beautiful!

Miss Charlotte with her Dragon. 

The biggest reason we went to the zoo was to see their two Panda Bears.  It was so funny they came out of the inside part and this bear came walking right up to us and looked up in our eyes.  The bear was gorgeous!!

 



The raccoons killed me!  I was sure the sign was going to say "Raccoon, American Pest"

 



 

And of course since you can feed the animals in this zoo the Brown Bear was catching some bread that was being thrown down from the upper viewing area.

 

 

On the subway, on our way back to the hotel I saw a couple who I had seen several times that day.  I first saw them on the subway to the zoo.  Then twice at the zoo, and now again on the subway back.  They were standing just across the isle from us so I  bent down to kiss Charlotte who was being carried by my husband and told him I thought we were being followed.  He mentioned he had remembered them from the subway this morning but had not seen them in the zoo. 

There was something about this couple.  They were probably in their late 30's but you know its hard to tell.  They look sad and their eyes heavy with holding back tears.  The biggest thing that stood out to me and it took me a little while to figure out just what it was, they were holding onto each other and this was not something we had seen at all in China.  They had been staring at us each time we saw them but that was nothing new.  Everyone in China looks at the American holding the Chinese baby.  May even want to take your photo. 

I have no idea what this couples story could be but I got the feeling that seeing this American couple holing tightly onto this Chinese baby spoke deeply to them.  I will carry them close to my heart I feel that this was a look into the eyes and hurt of a couple they may have had to give up a child they could not care for because of the laws their country had put into place.

 

Once we got back to the hotel we only had a couple of hours to pack our bags and start our long journey home!  We received Charlotte's passport and Visa and went straight to the mini van that would drive us to Hong Kong.

I still can not believe we survived the drive to Hong Kong.  It was 3 hours of pure torture!!   The driver was crazy fast and dashing around cars like we were in some kind of high speed chase.  On top of that he was on his cell phone speaking Cantonese to a man who seem to be yelling on the other end.  I wasn't sure if we were going to die in a car crash or going to be kidnapped.  I told my husband we needed an exit plan!  :)

I almost kissed the ground when we finally got to the hotel in Hong Kong in one piece!! 

United States Consulate appointment, pearls, and general report::

First I wanted to share with you all how well Charlotte is doing, she still has her moments of complete breakdowns and some sadness, but for the most part they are becoming fewer and more far between. Bed times and when she is really tired are very hard for her. We have found that swaddling her much like a newborn does wonders for her. She will fall asleep so much faster, deeper, and stays asleep so SO much longer. I was able to train my bio babies to sleep through the night at only a couple weeks old with this swaddling method and I really believe even at almost two Charlotte is really benefitting from feeling so snuggly and safe at night. She is also letting out her fun little personality a little more each day. She LOVES her baby doll that we have named Tao Tao after her best little friend in her orphanage. She has started to say some words to us and her little English vocabulary is growing each day. She also understands a lot of what we say to her and will follow simple instructions in English. It's amazing to reflect back on her just over a week ago when she became our to now, it really is amazing how brave this baby girl is!

But, it is not all rainbows and butterflies. This little girl is a tough nut with a bit of a "my way or the highway" attitude. She tests us a lot, she scratches and bites....it is about survival in her past, and anger and inability to communicate with us now. She can be down right mean. But, we are working on it and have come incredibly far very fast. Living in a hotel room, keeping a crazy schedule, and having few places to play doesn't help the situation we can't wait to get home and see how that alone transforms our girl. She loves playing with some of the older kids in our group so I know she is going to love her siblings.

In other big news we had our consulate appointment today at the US consulate here in Guangzhou. It was amazing in so many ways. Our group walked right past the thousands of Chinese citizens waiting outside for a chance to get in for a visa to the united states. We United States citizens are ushered right into the consulate. The proceedings inside the consulate are very simple but important. However while our group was waiting something happened. It was just the group of the 9 families we are traveling with inside of a nice room and the government workers are at some windows desks behind glass, think DMV but much nicer, more modern looking. Anyway all of a sudden alarms are blaring. An automated voice is saying "move away from the windows, duck and cover" over and over. Like a bunch of Americans we all look at each other with these "are they for real faces" and don't move a muscle. The siren and voice continue we all look at the workers behind the glass, they are working away paying no attention as if they hear nothing and like we aren't even there in the room. We all look back at each other and pick up our babies and run to cover under the window/desk over hangs of the people who work there. The workers still not paying any attention what so ever seem to be unfazed by the Americans hiding right under their work spaces. After a few seconds longer the alarms and voice stop and we all decide it must have been a drill and crawl back out and our appointments are finished not one word spoken about what just happened. It was hilarious, and I would pay BIG money for a copy of the security footage!!

After all the commotion at the consulate we headed to the pearl market. We were able to buy a few things. I got myself a little Christmas gift as well as some pearls I plan to have made and incorporated into other jewelry for my girls down the road. It was a fun little outing.

We are on our final stretch and our time in China is coming to an end. We are ready to be home but we will miss our youngest daughters birth country. We will be back!!
Tomorrow we are hoping to hit the Zoo and then we will pick up Charlotte's visa. That evening we will head to Hong Kong Disney.