Last Monday in China...and Chris's laughing Panda!

The laughing Panda - isn't that funny???


Amy, Matthew, and their Daddy's checking things out!

Brady and Evan LOVE Matthew, but he likes to run away from them...it's a game!

Such a ladies man, he is!!! Two ladies pushing the stroller!

Chinese New Year decorations at the 5 Ram statue park, and Daddy and Matthew outside a Korean garden in the park....

5 Ram Statue in Guangzhou

Well, our last Monday in China.....oh does that sound nice to say???? 4 more nights of sleeping in a REALLY hard bed that makes us feel like we were in a fight the night before....4 more nights of poor Matthew trying to figure his little nighttime routine out for bed. Matthew actually slept all night last night except one wake up at 345am, and that was a first the entire trip!!! And, he is actually taking a nap right now, which we are so happy about! He is not a little guy that likes to miss anything, that is for sure! He is learning so many new things every hour, and it cracks Chris and I up how he imitates us now, and challenges things in different ways! We say bath time now, and in about 2 seconds, his shirt, pants, and diaper are stripped and he is walking in the bathtub ready for his bath shaking the cutest little hiney all around! He gave his Mom-Mom quite a show via Skype last night - we are still laughing about that!

Yesterday, we went to another park with Lucy and saw the 5 Ram Statue which is famous here in Guangzhou. We wandered for a while, and it's so nice to be outside. But, it has gotten EXTREMELY humid here, and you can only tolerate being outside for smaller amounts of time. We are sweating like crazy and Matthew doesn't seem to tolerate the heat the greatest either. His arm seems to really get irritated when we are outside, and he favors it a bit. We then stopped at the leather market, and did a little shopping there. Hello purses, belts, and scarves - wow! I thought Canal St. in New York was interesting! We had lunch after our walk, and then hung out at the hotel yesterday afternoon and did some playing in the playroom. We have met some really nice people who have adopted older little girls and they just adore Matthew. 3 of us families went out for dinner last night together and it was wonderful. The kids were great together, and it was just a lot of fun. I got the opportunity to really talk to one of the other Moms one on one who has done this 3 times now,(adopted from China), and that was a delight. She was very honest and sincere, and made me feel so good about everything.

The exciting part about yesterday was that we received Matthew's passport!!!!! That is just so exciting because we need that to complete the rest of the paperwork and come home! Yeah! Not that we don't like it here, but we are so ready to come home and start our life as a family together and have Matthew meet the rest of the family and friends in Pennsylvania!!!!

So, today was a great day so far. We were at breakfast and one of the families we went to dinner with last night asked if we wanted to go to the Guangzhou Zoo with them, and we were so excited to do something today again! We were going to follow the other family in their van, but they were in a hurry, so Chris and I and Amy and her Dad took Matthew and just caught a cab. Amy's Mama didn't feel well so she stayed back here.

The zoo was nice and the kids really enjoyed it. The smells of the zoo are always rough especially when it's hot and humid - did I say I can't imagine coming here in the dead of summer???? The animals didn't look so healthy, but we got some great pictures and Chris feels as if his trip in China is complete because he finally saw a Panda Bear! He wanted to get in the cage and snuggle with him because he looked so cuddly....said he now met the original Kung Fu Panda! (he's nuts!) He got a great picture of the Panda smiling - too funny! Matthew loved looking at everything and pointing! We would love to know what he was thinking, that's for sure! He is starting to move his mouth more and is trying hard to talk - once he gets started, look out! There are some sounds coming out now, just no words.

Chris and I have just been sitting here thinking about the past 17 days, and the journey we have been on for the past few years waiting to become parents! Who would have ever thought we would actually be here, in China, and have the most precious little delightful boy in the world? We reflected on our first night of parenthood with a sick baby not knowing what to do, and now he is just full of life and so vibrant! His giggle is contagious, he is just so curious and smart, and seems to have bonded with us both very well which we are so thankful for. We also know what to pack in a backpack to survive a day out and about AND keep him happy! Yeah to that! We have watched some families struggle with attachment and behavior issues and we have much to be thankful for in that area too.

We are glad Matthew is napping because we meet Lucy at 3:45pm this afternoon for Matthew's medical exam! They moved it up just in case we can get squeezed into the Consulate tomorrow which would allow us to come home on Thursday night to Philly instead of Friday night! We are praying for that, but are not getting our hopes up yet! But, we are thankful we are getting his medical exam done so we are ready just in case we get the green light for tomorrow. Chris just ran to make some copies of Matthew's passport and get the money ready for medical and for the Consultate. Now, the paperwork stuff starts again :) We are getting good at it now!!!

We hope you all had a great week-end, and that you can enjoy some more pictures of our adventures!!! (and boy is it amazing how much more tired we look now in our pictures compared to our first few days in CHina - yikes!)