Guangzhou

Well, we made it to Guangzhou on Saturday.  We used our Marriott points to upgrade to a spacious 1 bedroom suite and it has made a huge difference, giving us all some room to spread out.  We can also eat raw vegetables in the hotel which was not recommended in Zhengzhou.  Our first meal here I ate a BIG delicious Greek salad. :)

The two hour flight was great when the boys were asleep for the first hour.  Then the food came and Evan wanted my bun, Tom's bun, and Ben's (before he made taken more than a bite of one). We had to draw the line at Ben's which resulted in a complete breakdown until the attendant had pity on us (and her own ears) and brought us out another which appeased him.  He also screamed the whole descent, but I think it was in part due to his ears, which broke my heart. He was so upset he wold not drink his bottle or suck on his sucker.  Ben did not need ear tubes, which is unusual for a child with cleft, but I think tubes are in our future here.  I hope our 15 hour flight home goes better...

Evan is coming out on his shell even more here and just loves to smile, laugh and climb! He is really such a gift to our family.  I love looking at the four us and realizing THIS is now our family. He is learning so much, so fast.  He loves brushing his teeth, putting on his own shoes, trying to feed and dress himself, work the I-phone, look at books, play with cars, etc. He also loves to hide anywhere and have us find him. He smiles and holds his arms out to me when we wakes up from sleeping. He gets concerned if one of us is missing.  It's the sweetest.

Out transition has also been smoother than I expected because Evan LOVES Tom. Often he prefers him!  To Tom, this is his life's greatest victory.  He had actually been joking before we left that he was going to make  Evan love him more than me.  (As we know, Ben has a pretty strong attachment to me).  It is so beautiful to see them together.

Yesterday morning we went to do some city touring and our family situation compared to the other families was pretty evident.  While they enjoyed leisurely shopping and sightseeing, we chased and cajoled two toddlers in the blazing heat and humidity and laughed through our exhaustion.  They both have older kids and are adopting slightly younger, calmer, less mobile little girls.

Unfortunately, despite all my Clorox wiping and hand washing and sanitizing, last night Ben and I came down with colds.  So today, Tom is taking Evan to his medical appointment at the U.S. Consulate (requirement for all adoptive kids) and I am giving Ben some extra mom time.  As hard as it was to let them go alone, I do know that I plenty of time to be with Evan for the rest of our lives, and Ben needs quiet and mom.

Here are some pictures:

Throwing money