Hello from Guangzhou!

We arrived in Guangzhou last night. We didn't get to do a lot in Shanghai; partially due to the fact that our hotel wasn't located conveniently to the nice shopping and museum areas, but also because it was too hard on Raeanna. She did well when we were out, but when she gets really sleepy, she melts down. She still seems afraid to go to sleep. We did some interesting things, such as go up to the 88th floor of the Jin Mal Tower, where you could see most of Shanghai. I've never been to a city that large. It's overwhelming. We went to a silk factory, and that was interesting. We bought Raeanna several of the traditional Chinese silk dresses for now and later. We tried to go shopping in Nanjing Road, but she was really tired, so we rode the subway back to the hotel. Yesterday morning, Raeanna and I stayed at the hotel, while Cade and Bob went to ride the Maglev train. It was the first time that any of us left without her to go somewhere, and she got a little sad. She and I got ready to go to breakfast. I made a critical mistake in not bringing her stroller. The breakfast is a buffet style, and usually, Bob sits with her while I fix her food. She goes nuts for any food, but I get it to her and feed her. This time, I had to hold her to keep her from pulling food down, and she could actually see how much food there was on the counters. She went ballistic! She wanted it all! She pitched and screamed and grabbed, while I tried to fix her plate with all the Chinese people either staring or laughing at her or trying to talk to her. When we sat down, she was still screaming and pointing back at the buffet. I asked the waiter to tell her that we were leaving if she didn't stop. He did, and she settled down, but insisted on feeding herself. She's really a clean eater, especially considering how fast she eats and the state she is in when she's eating. The waiter said, "She is independent girl. Let her feed herself."  I did, and she ate for a while. We went back to the room and skyped for a while with family. We packed up and headed to the airport in a bus. She HATES busses, especially bumpy ones, so she cried all the way to the airport. Once we got there, she was her happy, sweet little self again. She was laughing and issuing orders to "BABA." She loves to say Baba, and tell him to do things or give him candy. She tells Cade "bu-ya!" all the time. I'm pretty sure it means no and she says it just to pick on him. She's quite hilarious!

 She's gotten a lot stronger already. We started letting her walk more and more, and she's sooooooo cute when she walks around! She's also filled out a little bit, it seems. I still can't keep pants or skirts on her without lapping them over and pinning them. The clothes I brought for her fit okay at the top, but fall off of the bottom. I brought mostly 24 months size and some 18 months size.

She was fine when we got on the airplane, but she got really upset on take-off. I gave her skittles and that made her happy after we were in the air. Before we left for the airport, and after her big breakfast, she discovered a rather large container of Chinese noodles that I was throwing away so I wouldn't have to pack it. She demanded to eat it. She ate half of it, and it was a family size, so there was no way she could be hungry on that flight. When the stewardess brought these little boxes with lunches with sandwiches, she started screaming and reaching, so Bob only got 2 for all 3 of us, because he had her in his arms. When we got them open, she grabbed both sandwiches and ate them both really fast. She was so afraid we would take them away from her. She tried to eat everything else in the box, too, but we managed to hide some of it. Then, it was time to land. Oh my! It was a rough landing, but it scared her very much! We got her settled down, and she laughed all the way through the terminal, until we got on the bus to go to the hotel. She screamed the whole way to the hotel. I think it was made worse by the darkness. We have no idea what she is thinking, but it seems to us, and the guide thought so too, that even though she was only 13 months when she was abandoned, it was on a train car, and it could explain why busses and rough planes frighten her so much. The guide says that she clearly remembers a traumatic experience herself from when she was a year old.

 We're staying at the China Hotel(Marriott) in Guangzhou. It's a very nice hotel
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The guide talked to Raeanna at breakfast, and told her that Mama and Baba would always make sure she has enough to eat, and she seemed to settle down and slow down. I knew we would most likely have food issues, but I never dreamed it could be this severe.

Today, we had the medical exam on Shamian Island. Raeanna got 4 shots, plus the tb skin test. She has a little fever this afternoon, even after giving her Motrin. She had gained 1kg, which is about 2lbs, since I got the update in June. She looks healthy, but just very tiny. Shamian Island is beautiful, and Guangzhou doesn't seem nearly as overwhelming as Shanghai. It's a big city, but not as big as Shanghai. All of the adoptive families come here to finalize their adoptions because the American Consulate is here, so the people here cater to adoptive families.

 I'm trying to get a video to upload, but it takes me forever just to upload pictures, so if I don't now, I'll put some up when I get home.

I had to leave her with Cade and Bob today to go take care of some paperwork.  She stood at the door and cried the entire 30 minutes I was gone, and she loves them dearly.  It's going to be sad when she realizes Daddy has to go to work, and Cade must go to school.

Tomorrow, we go to a church service on Shamian Island.