"Once our eyes are opened we cannot pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows we know and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12

Today we flew 2 hours from Zhengzhou, the capital of the Henan province, south to Guangzhou, the capital of the Guangdong province.  I was so nervous for Ben's first flight, but our darling boy did AWESOME!  First, I finally figured out how to use the baby carrier my friend Sarah lent us, so I used the carrier to carry Ben in the airport, and I think he preferred it to being carried without it!  He is a heart breaker in his cute cable knit gray vest that his Grandma bought him- people were constantly stopping and waving or smiling at him-and today for the first time, he waved back! We also got quite a few VERY confused stares- I can see that Vivian was right, not many people here know about U.S.- China adoption.  On the plane, he drank his bottle then-did NOT fall asleep. It was his nap time so we were surprised and I began to panic.  In front of me, an older man appeared to being traveling alone with a little girl who was a few months older than Ben.  The planes in China are HOT, and this little girl was bundled like Ben was on gotcha day. Needless to say, she was screaming before we had even taxied on to the runway.  It is so important to people here than babies be warm, I have carried a blanket with us at all times out of cultural respect to wrap around Ben so that no one will see his exposed ankles if his pants ride up while I am holding him.  Even after I changed him the airport bathroom, I picked him up wrapped the blanket around him, and the two women cleaning the bathroom nodded and smiled at me before cooing at Ben!  Anyway, back to the plane- the stewardess came over to the man and it was obvious she was telling him the little girl was too hot- she said "Guangzhou" and I know she was telling him is it 70 degrees in Guangzhou.  Finally he relented and took one layer off, then the stewardess must have said the little girl needed a bottle for take off, because the man pointed to the overhead bin, she reached in a bag and pulled out a bottle, then walked away to fill it with hot water.  I have heard adoptive parents say they were insulted when people stopped them and told them they were doing something wrong (usually their child is in too few clothes) but I can see that you cannot take it personally, because the Chinese have no issues telling each other what to do also.  The little girl pretty much fussed most of the ride, but sweet Ben hung out on my lap, ate some of dad's meal- rice, chicken and veggies, read books with me and finally fell asleep for 40 minutes.  There were many men sitting around us,  and they were waving to Ben, smiling at him, picking up our blanket when it fell, appeasing the crying girl (we also lent her our Pat the Bunny book and Tom did a puppet show for her with our pig puppet) and generally being very different than the U.S. men I would see on plane.

When we landed, our travel group of 4 families got our luggage and met our newest CCAI guide at the gate. And whoa, it is HOT in Guangzhou!  The whether had said 70 degrees, which in Chicago could be a bit breezy and chilly, but the humidity here is like 90% my shirt was sticking to me and my hair was plastered to my face.  But we all loaded on to a nice air conditioned bus and rode 45 minutes to the hotel, while our new guides, Jason and James, told us about the week ahead.

When we arrived at the China Marriott Hotel, we walked though the doors and it was like being HOME.  Tom and I both stay at Marriotts for work when we travel  and for vacations too, and all Marriott hotels smell exactly the same.  The hotel is BIG, has some high end shopping, a Starbucks, a little grocery-type store, and several other little shops, and the best thing of all- The Executive Level!!! We booked for hotel stay here using reward points, and at check in we added the breakfast buffet for 2- we had it at the last 2 hotels, and it is a good price for the convenience of having a variety of food to feed Ben in the morning.  For just $10 more a night, we move to the Executive Floor, which has- Happy Hour!  From 5:30pm-9:30pm, there are snack items like chicken satay, samosas, meatballs, cheese, bread, a small salad station, desserts and drinks, including wine, beer, etc.  HEAVEN! We went by there tonight, and have decided that is where Tom and I will each have dinner, alone, after Ben goes to bed.  Each person will go to have 40 minutes to relax and then other will switch places.

When we first arrived in China, we laughed when the tour guides would immediately tell us where the U.S. restaurant were located.  After a week, you start to say, where was that Pizza Hut?  Two other families from our group walked 4 blocks to the KFC in Zhengzhou- they all admitted they had not been to a KFC in years, but just needed something familiar. In Guangzhou, there is also a McDonald's across from the hotel- I never in a million years thought I would say SURE when Tom said, do you just want to go over to the McDonalds? This is probably the last McDonalds meal this kid will have for a LONG time, but he wasn't completely thrilled with it anyway:

In Ben news, he continues to be so wonderful.  He was so, so happy today- he just loves to be kissed, cuddled and loved by the both of us.  He loves to try to walk. He has learned how to read Pat the Bunny and 2 other "touch and feel" books we have and follow all the instructions.  He loves to sleep with a light blanket in this arms that he can put in his mouth with his thumb.

 Our last night in Zhengzhou- playing with our bi-lingual toy steering wheel bought in Beijing.

Just playing around...

A few hours before we leave Zhengzhou- thank you Aunt Marian for this perfect onesie!!

Tomorrow morning we are going to go on an optional group tour to a Buddist temple- we have decided to rent a stroller from the hotel because it is just too hard to carry Ben that far, and based on how well he is attaching to us, we are feeling OK about doing the stroller thing.

The hardest part about the trip is the time difference back home- we have skyped with both Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) and Babcia and  Dziazia (Tom's parents) twice, and have called a couple of friends once, but other than that, in the early morning, we tend to be busy, and in the evening, we are sleep not too many hours after Ben.

But all the same, words cannot say how humbled we have been to receive so many words of encouragement and love for our families and friends.  Sometimes here it feels like just Tom and I, which we love, but after our Gotcha day, when I finally had a minute to read my e-mail,  I just cried and cried, never expecting so much love from so many people who are so important to us.  Nothing in this word matters to us except our son, our family and our friends who we consider our family too. We love you so, so much, are so humbled by your love, we MISS you and can't wait to see you and talk to you when we get home!!