Nap time!

Well, Fred, Sophia & Alena are all napping right now. For us it's 2:00 in the afternoon.
We went on a sight seeing tour of Qingxiushan park today. Very pretty, but I prefer People's Park!
Alena is teething with a vengence right now!! Her poor gums are so swollen and about four teeth are ready to make their debut. She gets some relief with Motrin, but she's definetely uncomfortable at times. She's also a bottomless pit! For breakfast she eats watermelon, congee and one of these little tiny oranges that they have here. Her foster mom sent her with a bag of them and we had to buy some more. For lunch and dinner she eats noodles, congee and an orange. She has also had rice cereal, prunes, eggs and a croissant which she didn't like. She just eats and eats and eats!! (You should see her thighs!!)
Our guide is meeting me at 3:30 to take Alena and I to her finding spot. Fred and Sophia are going to have some alone time together and walk to the market.
Alena was found at the gate of the Kengmei garden which is a gated neighborhood. In her original translation it said Kengmei park and I couldn't find any info on it. I spoke to our guide and she explained it. Evidently it's not far from here at all. Makes you wonder when you see people on the streets if they are a relative.
The people here have been really curious, but friendly. They walk right up to you, take a look, sometimes gather round, sometimes touch the baby, talk to her, us etc.. If they feel the need to they will pull her pant leg down to cover her (they BUNDLE the babies and don't want anything exposed), etc.. For the most part it's been a good experience interacting with them.
Pictures later, my battery just died!!
Love,
Jenni

Official & Exhausted!

Sorry I didn't post yesterday! We are sooo tired!

We indeed told the officials yesterday that after the 24 hour "Harmonious Period", that "Yes, we would like to keep her."!! So, the adoption was finalized yesterday and then we also visted the most beautiful park I have ever seen here in Nanning. It's called "People's Park" and it's amazing. So serene. There are people all over excersing, singing, playing instruments, reading, playing games, practicing tai chi, etc.. It's pristine. Sophia has been getting mauled by people wanting their picture taken with her, just wanting to take her picture, picking her up, etc. One woman in the grocery store made us wait while she went to get her boyfriend to see her~ It's the long blonde hair. She was creeped out by it in the beginning, but has gotten used to it. I think she's considering charging a fee for the rest of the adventure!

We went shopping in Walmart today and then went back to People's Park for a couple of hours. We decided to eat Pizza Hut in our room and relax a little tonight.

Alena has pretty much been keeping to her sleeping and eating schedule that her foster mom provided. She did a role reversal yesterday and now will not separate from me. It's hard to get things done. Finally this evening Fred took her on the floor with all of her toys and we just let her cry it out for a few minutes while I did some things and eventually she stopped and played just fine. Let me tell you that she is BUSY!! She doesn't sit still! She cracks people up with her hair and her grin~it's priceless.

Thank you Kohler's for taking great care of our pets and thanks to everyone for your posts. We love reading them. I try to get them published as soon as possible. Keep them coming!

Love to all~

Jenni

GOTCHA DAY!

Miss Alena is here and what a character she is!! She looks like a cherub , has the biggest grin and greatest chuckle!

When they brought her in to us she was sound asleep. (The only one~ we are not living it down with some of the group!)

She woke up just before we got on the bus to come back to the hotel. She looked at me, then looked at Fred and reached for him. She layed her head on his shoulder and never looked back. She bonded with him in an instant. He cannot leave her sight. I'm not concerned as the most important thing is that she was able to bond to someone right away and you know i'm next !! LOL

She didn't cry until it was bedtime, she was exhausted and she's teething. She has no teeth yet, but one is ready to poke through. She was laying in her crib chewing on her pacifier. My only concern right now is that we are having no luck with formula. She took one bottle of water at bedtime.

She's still got some crazy hair! It's long and curls into ringlets at the bottom.

Sophia asked that when we go to finalize the adoption today, that we tell them that we would like to keep her! So cute!

Enjoy the pics and love to everyone.

Photos!

Sophia woke up at 2:00AM with the rest of us. We tried to lay back down at 4:00 AM and she was "not tired". So, we get back up and start getting ready for breakfast. I come out of the bathroom and she is SOUND ASLEEP!!

A few pics are the view from our window here in Nanning at sunrise this morning. The river is also here in Nanning, you can see the house boats on the shore. The others are from the Great Wall in the COLD!!