Kaycee has been very busy this past week exploring everything & eating everything in our house! I feel like I am a short order cook & laundry lady! Who would have ever thought that one adding one more person to our house would add so much laundry! Kaycee continues to add more English words to her vocabulary - she can count to 10 and sing the alphabet song in English. Brian's birthday was the 29th, so now she is constantly singing "Happy Birthday to you", but that is the only words that come out. This past Sunday we went swimming and she loved it! No fear in that girls body! She was a little nervous at first, and cried when splashed in the face. But after her cousins got in the water, things were much better, and she was splashing everyone and jumping into the water. We had her visit to the doctor at the International Adoption Clinic at Children's Mercy in Kansas City. The appointment went very well and he saw no visible issues with Kaycee. The nurse drew 4 vials of blood so they can make sure she has had all of her immunization shots and also test her for various other things. Kaycee is triple jointed in her arm and they could not get a vein to draw blood out of, she kept turning her arm around - sounds gross, but it did not look gross. It took two nurses to hold her down, but they ended up getting the blood out of her hand. I think that the entire hospital heard her screaming. But after a vanilla shake and a quick nap she was up running around the house. We have an appointment next with a pediatric cardiologist at Children Mercy to have him examine her for VSD, which is a small hole in heart. We have known about the hole since we got the referral and had several doctors examine her medical information that China gave us.

We got snow this weekend, and this was Kaycee's first snow experience. Emilee initiated Kaycee to the snow very quickly, and Kaycee loved it, but she hated being cold. Kaycee continues to be very girlie, as you can tell from the picture with her and all the barattes. Kaycee also enjoyed her first fingerpainting experience - she hates to get her fingers dirty, so she used a sponge to 'fingerpaint'.

Everyday we are amazed at the progess that Kaycee makes. Kaycee is such a delightful person to be around. She is very caring, thoughtful & funny!

We have been home almost one week! Our trip home ended up lasting about 30hrs, from hotel room to our front door in Olathe, KS. We made all of the connecting flights in China, but then had a delay in Newark. Continental kept delaying the flight and then after Brian raised his voice they told us that a part fell off the brakes of the plane and they were not sure how long the delay would be. We finally made it to Kansas City at 130am and my wonderful sister was at the airport to greet us! By the time that we got home and got to bed it was 300am! We slept in Friday morning, and then finally woke the girls up in the early afternoon. Both of the girls did great on the flight home, they both slept most of the way. Kaycee cried a little on the plane, but I think that it was more that she was so tired and could not get comfortable.

Kaycee has adapted far better than either Brian or I would have anticipated. The language has not really been an issue, we just seem to figure out what the other is saying. She is starting to say some words in English, but not on a consistent basis. She seems to be a very smart girl, so I don't think that it will be long at all before she is speaking English. It is like chasing a 2 year old around our house because everything is new to her, and she wants to get into everything! She is a very girlie girl - which of course I love because Emilee is very much the opposite. Sleep has not been to much of a problem, she has a problem getting to sleep, but then she is ok for the night. Almost off of her congestion is gone, but Brian & I are on antibiotics for sinus infections. Kaycee is eating us out of house & home, and as of right now there is not much that she does not like. Her favorite foods are still corn & watermelon, but she loves yogurt, green beans, chips, french fries and pepperoni - weird stuff huh? Emilee & Kaycee are getting along wonderful - they are attached at the hip. Emilee is really going to miss Kaycee when she goes back to school on Tuesday. We have been going to the park everyday. Today was the first day that Kaycee decided that hugs were ok, so I got my first hug today! Kaycee usually has several melt downs during the day, and is still grieving, but this too could be much worse. I think that I was prepared for the worst and happy with everything so far, not that things couldn't change.

All the bags being packed right now and we are ready to go... Our Consulate appointment went off without a hitch. There were about 30 other parents there that did the oath with us. We did not have to be at the appointment until 330pm today, so this morning we did some shopping and then went to the park. As you can see from the pictures, everyone had fun at the park. Kaycee was able to get a little nap before we left at 245. We had our final supper at Lucy's, which is a restaurant here the we visited about everyday. Both girls are sleeping right now, so Brian is packing the suitcases now. We have to have the luggage ready to go at 645am, and then we are leaving for the airport at 700am, and should arrive in Kansas at 1130pm - only 18 hours of flying - no big deal!

The weather was warm again today and no rain! We met all of our group at 1030am this morning for group photo's. Can you saw...crazy! Try getting 11 babies to stay put on a couch with no tears and stay that way while 11 cameras are shooting pictures - it was wild as you can tell from the picture. Both Kaycee & Emilee looked so pretty in their dresses, and they both enjoyed getting dressed up in the traditional Chinese clothes. Afterwards we went back to the hotel for lunch & nap. Kaycee slept great last night, and then took a 2.5 hour nap. Kaycee still has her cough, but it does not seem to be getting worse. After Kaycee woke up we walk around the island for awhile, and then had supper at an Italian restaurnat - it was an awesome meal! We did some shopping after dinner and then back to the hotel for baths. Kaycee loves the bath now, and we have to pull her out. Kaycee loves soap, so when we showed her how to use soap in the bathtub, she was all about taking a bath. Our group heads back to the USA tomorrow, we have to stay until Thursday because Guangzhou Providence requires an extra day to complete the paperwork. Tomorrow we go to the US Consulate for paperwork and our group oath, and then we are out of here!!!!!

Finally the sun came out this afternoon! It made us feel so much better to feel warmth on our bodies. This morning for breakfast they had fish on the buffet, little betta size fish. This fish was the whole thing (head, tail & gills)- so of course Emilee had to try it, even though I told her that it looked like her pet fish Marley. I had to use a squatty potty today, it is not as bad as it looks, but the smell is not so great. We did some shopping this morning, had lunch, and then met up with our group for a visit to two Temple's. The first temple that we went to is a Buddist Temple. This was very interesting, we all got to throw money into the wishing well and then light inscent and make a wish infront of the Budda. There was also a monk that performed a 'Blessing of the Children' ceremony, that was pretty cool. Kaycee decided to cry during most of the trip at the temple, forunately she did not cry during the ceremony except for when they sprinkled the water on us. Then we went to another temple which is now a Folk Art Museum, this was was interesting and the grounds were beautiful. We did not get back until 5pm, so we went to get some dinner. It was finally warm enough to eat dinner outside! Kaycee was exhausted and feel asleep on the walk back to the hotel. We got both girls Chinese dresses to wear for our group picture tomorrow. Yes, even Emilee wanted to get one of the dresses! Kaycee's cough is much looser today, and her nose does not seem to be running as much. We got her some Benedryl and gave it to her tonight. She had a rough night sleeping last night, many nightmares. I am sure that tonight will be better!

Another dreary day! Not sure if the sun will shine while we are here. Kaycee still has her cold, but it seems that is all that it is. Sunday we gave her some decongestant and she took a great nap, gave her more tonight so hopefully she will sleep well. On Saturday we ate at a German Restaurant - the owner moved here from Berlin and the restaurant has only been open for 3 weeks. Kaycee & I had some awesome chicken vegetable soup - hopefully she will love Campbells just as much! Today we met the other people in our group and went to a Jade market & a pearl market, then to the grocery store. Emilee bought some Chinese candy to bring to her class at school. We were all on a huge bus, we got back to the hotel room about 130pm, and that was plenty for Kaycee - too many people, too many cars driving around. We are counting the days until we leave, it has been an awesome trip, the country is beautiful, the people are wonderful - but there is no place like home!

Hello! It was another dreary day - we need some sunshine! We had another free day today so Helen picked us up at 10am and we went to a tomb of one of the Kings from this providence. They found this tomb 20 years ago, and the museum is located at the exact location that they found the tomb. The tomb was buried 20 meters down on a mountain side. It was very interesting...we all got our history lesson for the day. After the exhibit we went to a commerical area to get Kaycee some warmer clothes. We went inside to a mall that puts the Mall of America to shame. Kaycee & I were both over stimulated. Emilee did score - Helen showed us a place to buy Disney DVD's for 16 yuan - which is about 2 US dollars. We walked out with 8 movies at 2 bucks a piece. We could have bought more, but didn't want to look to crazy. These DVD's will play either English or Chinese. After the store we stopped at McDonalds and then back to the hotel for nap. About 400pm, Helen stopped by the hotel to have us fill out the paperwork for the Consulate appointment next week. The rest of our group will be arriving tonight. Kaycee is not feeling well today, so I feel like we took a step backwards. She was not talking today, and ate hardly anything. She has a pursistant cough, and her nose is starting to run. I wish that she would allow me to comfort her, but we are not to that point yet. She might be constipated, no poopies out of her yet - aren't you all glad to know that. Thank god I brought the Mryalax! Because of an issue with her heart I am reluctant to give her cold medicine. One of the people in our group is a pediatrician and we also have a RN, so I am going to have them take a look at her tomorrow. Good night!

It was an dreary rainy day today, about 70 degrees. We did make it to the zoo, and then as soon as we got there it started raining so we pulled out the umbrellas. We got to see a Panda bear, which I think is one of the highlights of the trip for Emilee. None of us have ever seen a Panda, they are so cute! The zoo was beautiful, I wish that it would not have rained because there would have been lots of wonderful pictures. Everything is so tropical - palm trees, rubber plants, beautiful flowers! After the zoo we went back to the hotel for lunch & nap. After nap we went to the play room again and then out to supper. Kaycee is doing wonderful. She changed her clothes with no problem this morning and no problem with the jamies tonight. The only time that she still crys is when it is bedtime,and then she lays there and whimpers, it is heart breaking - I wish I knew what she was saying. Kaycee is starting to talk to us now - which has presented its own challenges. This morning at breakfast Kaycee & I were carrying on quite the conversation - and neither one of us knew what the other was saying. She could of been telling me what a big silly dork I was, I would never know! She loves dumplings - I told her she better eat them now because mama does not do dumplings!

Hello! Today was full of 'first times'. We got Kaycee in the bathtub, but she would only stand. She screamed until we gave her a handful of liquid soap, then that satisfied her until the body and hair cleaning was over. Then we went to get her passport & visa pictures taken. After the pictures we went to get her medical exam. As soon as we got into the building, she started screaming because of all the doctors. Plus because China has a government run health care system - anybody and everybody was there. She passed the physical, and we went back to the room for lunch & nap. Poor thing, I had to wake her up from nap so that we could apply for her passport. She got gittery at the office becuase of all the government people with uniforms on. I am glad that she is afriad of strangers. The orphanage director told me that she was not afraid of anyone, but I think she just told me that because that is what she thought I would like to hear. Afterwards we played in the Play Room at the hotel, there were several other children - one of which is a couple from Ohio that adopted a 3yr old from Kaycee's orphnage and they remembered each other! We went to dinner and then went for our evening walk. Back at the hotel we once again attempted the pj's - and we got them on, but not without many tears. Once again - mommy is bad! Oh well, I am use to that! Tomorrow if there is no rain we are going to the zoo. Emilee is so excited because there is a Panda Bear. Have a wonderful day!

Hello! Kaycee is with us now! Monday we went to the Civil Affairs office and met her. There were many other families waiting for their children, so it was very noisy. Kaycee was very scared, but warmed up to us once she started playing with my camera. We were at the office for about an hour, then left for the hotel. Kaycee cried from the building to the hotel, was not a fun ride, but we survived. We got out the bubbles & balloon, and she decided that we were ok. She slept well last night, except that we could not get her clothes off of her to put pj's on. Today we had to go back to the Civil Affairs office for some more paperwork. Helen our coordinator explained to Kaycee that we would not be leaving her there. After filling out the paperwork we did some shopping to get Kaycee a few things. Bad mommy - she forgot panties, socks and pajamas. After the shopping, which was waayy to much stimulation - we went back to the room for lunch & naptime. After resting we went to the park, and played in the play room at the hotel. We finally got Kaycee to break out of her shell for a few hours - she has a wonderful laugh. Still can't get her out of her clothes for bedtime, I think she thinks that we won't give her the clothes back. Tomorrow she has to take a bath, which should be traumatic because we tried this morning and she screamed, and then shook the entire time that Emilee was in the bathtub. I am off to bed! Good night!

I thought that all of my co-workers at YRCW would enjoy this picture. We were outside of the Forbidden City in Beijing, and all of these people jumped off of a bus to stand in line, they all have swap holly colored hats on. It looked like they had been at a YRC Job Fair and got free hats.

Hello! We are in Guangzhou now on Shamian Island at the Victory Hotel. Our plane arrive safely and 30 minutes early! We have an awesome room, it is more like an apartment, there are three rooms - bedroom, living room & office area. We even have a computer in our room! The area is wonderful, everything is so close by and easy to walk to. We had supper at Subway tonight - not very cultural is it? Tomorrow we will meet our coordinator at 2pm for our trip to the government office to meet Kaycee. As we were eating our subway sandwich tonight -we wondered what we would be eating for supper on Monday night - Subway might be a little too Western for her right now. I am sure that we will figure something out. They are having a cool front right now, so it is only in the 50's, but suppose to warm up in two days.

Yesterday when we stopped for lunch they brought us sweet & sour fish - as you can tell by the picture we got the WHOLE fish. Emilee was pretty grossed out by that, especially since she has a pet fish at home. But, the adventurer that she is, out of the 9 people at our table, she was the only one to try it. In China they serve the entire fish so that you know what you are getting. Also, when the fish is put on table, the heads is suppose to be pointed towards the guest at your table, and the tail pointed towards the host of the dinner. Just a little pointer for the next time that you serve fish for dinner.

We also had an interesting adventure with a "squatty potty". We were at the Summer Palace, and had to take a bathroom break - Emilee thought that she was walking into a westernize toilet, but it was actually a squatty potty - what a surprise that she had when she opened the stall door. I tried to get her to try it, but she would not, and I did not either. Instead of sitting on a toilet, you squat over this hole in the ground. I posted a picture so that you could see what the look like. I keep telling Emilee that before we leave she is going to have to try one. In all of the women's restrooms that we have been in, most of the stalls are "squatty's", but there have been one or two 'westernized' toilets. When we were at the Forbidden City they had a sign outside of the bathroom that it was a four star bathroom. Not sure what that meant, only one westernize toilet and no toilet paper! What an adventure.