Around town

We stayed close to the hotel today, besides some paperwork Luke ran out for (so I could stay back).  

We went to Starbucks again to get our coffe fix :) then off to the mega store again for more essentials.  Got some interesting pictures while we were there.  Let's just say their deli is not like ours back home (as you will see in the pictures)! 

Then aiden got in some swimming before naps and dinner out at a steakhouse!!! We got a little taste of back home- steak, potato salad, and garlic bread! 

Tomorrow we pack up and fly to Guangzhou in the evening which weare excited  about because there's a lot more to do there within walking distance to the hotel! 

Aynsli update

Aynsli is a sweet girl! We are realizing this is a long road but will be so rewarding to see her progress.  She is currently 19 months old however she acts like a 10 month old with little ability to communicate.  That is because of her palate which hinders her from forming sounds (she says mama- and babbles) and also the language difference.  She plays very well by herself and can be amused for a long time with a few toys.  She willingly comes to either Luke or I but might prefer daddy ;).  She has times of whining and screaming when we don't know what she wants.  She will take a food and bottle one day and the next want nothing to with it.  She can walk and roll but has a hard time crawling or never really did.  She can pick up little things with her fingers, like puffs and put them in her mouth.  Seems laid back until she gets ticked off by something or wants something we are not giving her.  Trying to teach her to wave and give kisses before we get home. Prayers appreciated for this long road ahead of us.  We hope she will progress quickly when we get home and adjusted. But we know that God has placed her with our family for a reason.  The boys are so in love with their baby girl. Which means mommy gets lots of helpers! 

Good day!

I feel much better today! Took some melatonin last night and slept for almost 11 hours! Thank you for your prayers!

Today we had a packed day out and about.  First we got to visit the orphanage where Aynsli spent a few months early on.  It was so neat to be able to see the rooms and how well they love the kids there! There were rooms for physical therapy, sick treatment rooms, playrooms, even a hydro therapy room.  Some kids seemed right on developmentally but most had special needs.  While we were walking down the hall one lady walked past and said Aynsli's chinese name and smiled! Then she quickly walked into another room and told her foster mom that she was here! With that her foster mom came out and said hi and took her from us! She wanted to give her a hug. It all happened so fast but when it was time to take her back she only whined a little bit and was happy to go back to Luke. Thank goodness! That went better than I thought! And it was neat to see her and get a picture of her! 

On our drive there we saw some interesting things! Wild dogs walking through a food market! Eww! Then on the street there was a lady selling birds (to eat) and she would take them out of the cage and kill them by snapping their necks right in front of the person buying it! I guess then you know your meat is fresh?! The traffic is so crazy- I swear we almost hit several people today- who chose to walk right in front of the car as it was moving!

So many people stop and stare at us because we are white and because we have a chinese child with us.  They snap pictures of us all the time. There was a lady with her baby today who wanted a picture with aiden. So she and her friend just stood by him and he smiled at the camera! Haha! 

Then we went to the yellow crane tower for some sight seeing! It was beautiful and gave us a good view of Wuhan from the top.  It's one of the main attractions in wuhan for tourists.  

Then we went to a museum and saw some ancient bells which were 2400 years old! 

Then out to eat and back for showers and bed- whew! What a busy but fun day! 

Official!

Today we signed all the paperwork to make Aynsli our official daughter! What a crazy feeling! 

She has been acting very well! She whines from time to time and has a hard time communicating because of her cleft but she seems very laid back. She sleeps when we put her down and she eats when we feed her. 

I am seriously feeling the jet lag catching up with me today. Dizzy and nauseous so I would appreciate prayers to get over that so Luke doesn't have to be doing most of the entertaining! 

Gotcha day!

What a very overwhelming but joyful day. We met aynsli this morning at 9:30. And she was an angel! She whimpered for a few seconds and then has been pretty happy the rest of the day.  

We had to go to a police station to get her picture taken for her visa and she didn't make a peep.  We were in and out in 5 min. 

When we got back to the hotel she let us give her a bath(I've been told this is a hard step for some children to take), and change her clothes no problem! Then she played with us and aiden for a while before taking a bottle and then sleeping.  I rocked her for a few min then put her down- she talked to herself and fell asleep! I know we have a long road ahead of us but God has blessed us with a beautiful daughter and a joyful first day! 

I am most impressed by aiden today. He has shown such love and excitement for aynsli.  He has stepped up as the big brother and just thinks the world of her. It is so neat to watch! 

Day 1...

Today was a relaxing day around Wuhan.  It's amazing how good you feel after sleep and some food! :) 

We walked around the city and of course had to find a Starbucks for our coffee lover. ;) 

Found a park and a huge grocery/super store like 10 times the size of target! It was overwhelming to say the least but found all the essentials we needed! 

Ate out at an awesome authentic restaurant for dinner! Yum! 

They can smoke anywhere here, so whenever you walk into the hotel (which is very nice) it smells like smoke and also in the restaurants as well.  Glad to at least be on a no smoking floor!! 

We got all ready with paper work and girly stuff to go pick aynsli up tomorrow!! Prayers for a smooth transition would be appreciated!!! 

Here are some pics from the day :)

We made it!

We are in Wuhan after about 28 hours of traveling and little sleep! But the flights and transitions were smooth! Thanks for all the prayers! Tomorrow we get to explore the city and get ready for gotcha day- oh yea and sleep!!! I'll post more later!