Loving the Warm Weather!

Just waking up, what a sleepy head!

I know I'm cute!

She loves her Bath and Body lotion!

She loves to pick our her snacks. You should see her eyes!

At the airport

Coloring on the plane ride

This is how I blog!

We are HERE!!

Our flight over was horrible! I have been flying since I was 9 years old and this was the worst flight ever! We got up in the air for about 30 seconds and we hit some major turbulents. The plane was going from side to side and up and down all at the same time. It felt like a roller-coaster. To make matters worse, people on the plane were screaming. I started telling Carlton we were going to die and he told me to "get it together" for Lily's sake. I just had a flat out melt-down. I became that woman that you DONT want to sit by on the plane. All I could think about was Hannah Grace and Noah and I just started bawling. It went on for several minutes and then it got better. Lily clung to me like a monkey for the entire flight. She would take my arms and put them around her waist. It was sweet, but after 2 hours, I needed some breathing room. I finally got her to sit in her own seat for about 30 minutes. She was fine and we colored for a while. The flight was about 3 hours. The landing was just as bad. We bounced so hard, we came out of our seats. Oh, dear, I am so glad to be safe in Guangzhou.

Oh my goodness, I think I am in love! The White Swan is beautiful. Palm trees, hot humid weather, flowers blooming, a waterfall in my hotel!!!!! Thanks Karla for the room! The first thing Carlton and I said when we walked in was," Thanks Karla." Our room is big and has a view of the Pearl River. At night, it looks kinda like Las Vegas.....lots of colorful lights everywhere...its very pretty. There are lots of boats cruising up and down the river. Lily likes to watch them go by. I am happy to report to all of you waiting to travel that the White Swan has updated their bedding! Its nice, white fluffy down comforters!! We have a king size bed and asked housekeeping to take down the crib. We are not going to use that!! We have lots of room, it is bigger than any other hotel we have been at. (Sorry I complained so much Karla, I really like it here...you were right!) When we got here, I scooped Lily up and took her over to the waterfall and fish pond thats inside the lobby! She totally flipped out. I had to remind myself, my sweet baby, has never left the four walls of her orphanage and had never seen a fish!!! She was scared to death! There is so much for us to teach her. I can't wait to get her home and just experience life for the first time with her!
We went and had supper at Cow and Bridge with our awesome guide, Rebecca, and 2 other families. The food was great, it was Thai food. Lily ate until her little belly poked out! We are now back in our room. I just finished giving Lily a bath. We splashed and had lots of fun. I was trying to get her to give me the washcloth and she yelled, "mama!" I almost cried! She is continuing to jabber in Chinese. I think its the cutest thing, I just wish I knew what she was saying. Her little personality is really starting to show. She is so much like Hannah Grace. She is such a perfect match for "our" family. She is also a very determined little girl. She really does not like for me to do things that requires using your hand. She wants to try and open things herself. Her arm does not hold her back in any way that I can see. Honestly, I have to remind myself that her little hand is not there. She just functions so normally without it. I can see in the future when someone might ask me about it and I will have to think to myself, "Oh, is she really missing her hand?" Its really amazing how she just adapts to everyday things. I also noticed her determination today when we were walking up the stairs in the hotel lobby. Lily can still be a little wobbly when she is climbing stairs (just another thing that she has never done). She saw another girl come walking up the stairs beside her (about her same age) and the little girl was going faster than she was and all of the sudden Lily just took off. She was almost running up the stairs to keep up. She is so determined, nothing is going to stop this little girl. What a spunky spirit! (stubborn like her mama!) Another thing that I want to mention is how sometimes I forget that she is Chinese. I know this is weird and maybe its just me....but every now and then, I will just think that she is my biological daughter. I will start thinking things like, "Oh, she must get that from her daddy, or her toes are just like her mommy's" Its just so amazing, the love is no different that a child that is born from you. I am amazed each day at just how special adoption is!

Well, we are off to get some rest. Tomorrow, Rebecca is taking us shopping. :) I can't wait! Thank you for your comments. I took notes. They were very helpful. I can't wait to get started!

Enjoy the pics,

Lots of love,
aimee