Lots of Pictures Today

Another busy day in Guangzhou - our last full one. The Little Emperor decided to wake at 6:30, and thank Buddha that LaLa and Mama had found a Starbucks by now, so off we went. After that, it was time for breakfast where we met up with Mike and his daughter, Lee Chin, Dawn, Kevin and their daughter, Quinn. It's been amazing to watch how Lee Chin is slowly coming out of her shell. She was interacting with her Dad, grabbing things, and basically being a typical one year old. Very heartwarming for all.

Because Mike and her were leaving today, we decided to take some photos of the children on the Red Couch. There are actually several of them at the White Swan and it is customary for all adoptive families to take pictures of their children on the Red Couch. It was amazing to see the size of some of these groups who are traveling together. The biggest one we heard of has 12 families - that's a lot of people! Our good-bye with Mike included many promises to stay in touch, especially for the sake of Lee Chin and Max, who will hopefully one day understand and value the fact that they come from the same orphanage. We will surely see Mike, Lee Chin and the rest of their family very soon.

After that, we had to stay in our hotel room so that Cordelia could reach us as she was trying to resolve some last minute things at the embassy. An hour in a small hotel room is basically torture for Max, and it took all we had to entertain him. :)

After that, it was free time, and Car and I putzed around the area, shopping and getting foot massages. Aaaahhh... even Max enjoyed one from Mama!

In the afternoon it was more pictures on the Red COuch, this time in his special outfit. He is a little emperor after all. Based on the outfits of all the other adopted kids, people really gussied up for this event!! :)

Now it is time for us to pack our suitcases one more time as we end our time in Guangzhou. Tomorrow we will have a swearing in ceremony at the Embassy, collect our visas, and head off to the airport where we'll fly to Beijing.

We really enjoyed our time here, but we are also really looking forward to coming home.