Sunday we toured Guangzhou. I will not bore you with all the pictures from that day, but Vivian did pretty good. She is not her best when we are running from one unfamiliar place to another, but she did OK. I will try to post some of those pictures at some point.
Sunday afternoon we had paperwork to complete and while Rob did that, I was able to FINALLY meet my friend Katie and her daughter, Chloe, who are in our travel group. We have 11 other families with us here in GZ, and it is so nice. Katie and I started this process together over a year ago. We met in a Facebook group and spent months waiting together waiting for our referrals, and then months waiting to travel. I know we have set a record for number of text messages sent. I feel so close to her but we had never met in person. It is crazy that we ended up in China together at the same time and we were so excited to meet. Here are Vivian and Chloe on their first play date
That evening Vivian got her hair and her nails done and she loved it!
Yesterday was a free day for us. Vivian was able to sleep in (this girl LOVES to sleep) and she woke up sad, but no tears. We decided to take her to the pool.
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| this girl can rock a bikini |
At first she wasn't sure. She was velcroed to me and any time I tried to lift her or move her she would cling to me
But after about 30 minutes she really started enjoying herself and we had a great little swim
Then last night we went with our group on the Pearl River Cruise. I have been following adoption blogs for over a year and this is something almost everyone does while in China. I have seen so many pictures from it. It was very emotional and surreal to realize it was finally "my turn" and I was actually here on this cruise with Rob and Vivian (and Katie, which made it even more cool). I can't include all of the beautiful pictures but lets just say Guangzhou lit up at night was quite a sight.
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| Dawn (another new friend), me and Katie with our girls |
Vivian loved the cruise!!! As soon as we got on she actually wanted to get down and walk around. She had so much fun and a was a different person. All smiles all night!
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| maybe it is her new hairdo? |
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| Katie and I with our daughters |
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| Beautiful Guangzhou |
The best part of the night is Vivian completely turned a corner with Rob. It had been coming, but all night she played with him, followed him around and wanted him to hold her. It was just ..... awesome!
It is hard to believe that just a week ago we met this child. She is everything we ever could have dreamed of and we so incredibly happy to have her as our daughter.
“A flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most
beautiful of all.” ~Mulan
Wow! Can't believe this is the same child. Her smile is breathtaking. So so happy for you and HER!
ReplyDeleteVivian and her Daddy... OH MY!!!! Love love love! As a mama and a wife, it doesn't get much better than that. Enjoy the last of the journey!
ReplyDelete~nancy
OMG I am crying happy tears for you! I love the pearl river cruise! I am so happy for you. Your journey is helping me prepare for our journey which I expect to be similar in many ways as our girls r same age etc. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteKelly
I am SO happy for how well everything is going for you!! Vivian is just beautiful and looks so happy in these pics!! :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE it! Can't wait to meet her!
ReplyDeleteThe last picture in this post is the BEST! What a happy child - and her happiness is all because of you and Rob. Maureen, we knew each other a bit when we were both very young girls. You look as pretty as ever and are obviously the same kind and family-loving person that I could tell you were, even about 30 years ago!!!! I am so touched by your blog. Thank you for sharing your journey. How nice to follow a blog filled with happy life-changing moments. I keep imagining your reunion with your other beautiful children, and of course their introduction to Vivian. Miracle in the making...
ReplyDeleteLOVE her huge smiles!!
ReplyDeleteI love the updates...Vivian looks so happy now!!!! Okay on a totally unrelated note...I want to know your workout routine!!! Your arms are so gorgeous...they are muscular but not bulky. What do you do to exercise????
ReplyDeleteKim, going through and cleaning up my email and came across your comment. Thanks for the compliment, my arms are my only body part I really like! They are a result of years of gymnastics as a kid. I do Yoga and lift an occasional weight, but it was all those years of uneven bars that I can thank:) Hope the peanuts are all doing well!
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