Homecoming

We are finally getting settled in with our new baby. Zanna is almost sleeping through the night now. She is charming, curious, happy, and loving. Calla adores her and plays with her constantly. Zanna is the best early birthday present we ever got for Calla!

Headed Home

Here are the last photos from China. Sara, Chris, and Zanna leave Guangzhou at 8:30am and arrive in Tokyo at 1:40pm. They leave Tokyo at 3:40pm and then have an 11 hour flight to Detroit. Their last flight leaves Detroit at 3:25 and arrives home at 4:36pm. The Detroit flight is Northwest #1505. We can't wait for the moment when our family is complete at last.

Buddhist Temple

Hi! Here are some photos from today. We started off the morning power shopping. Chris's stomach started to act up, so Zanna and I spent lunch and into the afternoon together. He was feeling better in time to go to the Chen House and the Buddhist Temple.

These are the photos from the Chen House. In the one photo you can see all of Zanna's fans. It is amazing how people will just come up and stare! The architecture was really incredible. I spent most of my time admiring it versus what was inside. There is a detail shot of all the carving.

The next set of photos are of the Buddhist Temple. I videotaped the actual blessing, so I just have the one photo of the group. There is also a picture of the Monk doing another blessing and Buddha behind him. It was a really cool place. There is a pagoda with 7 floors--really 14 because the stair sets are doubled. Chris, Zanna and I made it to the 2nd floor. We were tired!

As for her hair, that is the only do she'll put up with. The barrettes come right out, and we tried a headband, but that was in her mouth within minutes!

She truly has the best personality! She makes friends at breakfast, walking down the street in the shops. Everyone wants to be her friend.

Can't believe we'll see you so soon! Chris confirmed our flights today. They are still working on a seat for Zanna from Detroit, but I'm sure we'll find some
nice person to switch with us.

I think that is all for now! I am battling a cold, so
I am off to sleep. Have a great day!

Village Photos

From Sara:

Here are a few more pics from yesterday. I explored the market off the island. It was a sight to see! They had cats in cages right next to chickens. I guess the motto here is that if it moves, it's edible. It made me so sad!

Medical Exam

This came in Sara's e-mail today:

Chris just got home from Dad's night out. Sounds like they had a great turnout and a good time. Here are a few pics from the medical exam. Zanna weighs 7.9 kilos, which is approx. 17-18 pounds. She slept through most of the exam, then cried the rest. We got all of it on video so I don't have many still shots. She was a trooper.

That is about all for today! She was perfect for me tonight. She basically fell asleep during her bottle and didn't make a sound after that.

Tomorrow we are going to the Buddhist Temple and to the Chin House (?). Chris said people really enjoyed when they blessed the babies at the Buddhist Temple.

First Plane Ride

From Sara:

We had a very big day today. Zanna took her first plane flight! She did a great job. She sat in her own seat during take-off, ate a biscuit, and did not utter a sound. The flight was only about an hour ,and towards the end she started to doze off. But, she didn't cry once! She is a pro. We arrived in Guangzhou right before lunch time and checked into the White Swan Hotel. What a beautiful place! After waiting for our luggage to arrive, Chris, Zanna and I walked down to Lucy's to eat cheeseburgers. Zanna had eggs. After that Jeannie gave us a tour of Shamian Island so we could see where everything is. It is nice to be here. The air was pretty clear today, and we saw blue sky! Around 6pm, Zanna and her Dad started to crash, so we stocked up on groceries and called it a night. Tomorrow we are going to the jade and the pearl factory!

I have included some more photos. The first is of Mary, our Nanchang tour guide. The second is obviously the plane flight. The third is of the Schuetz's who live in Carmel. Their poor baby has bronchitis, and they went to the hospital in Nanchang last night. They wanted to put an IV in her little head! So, they decided against that and had a much better meeting with the doctor in the hotel today. And, the last is, of course, Zanna.

Zanna's New Game

From Sara:

Here are a few more photos. I included some with a close up of her teeth. Today, I watched Zanna in the morning while Chris went to fill out paperwork. We Skyped Greg (Sara's husband) for a bit, which was fun. He was calling all of his family to sign up for Skype so that they could Skype with Zanna. After our Skyping, we took some photos and then went for a long walk. Zanna took a full bottle around lunch time, then she began a new game. She throws her yellow cup so it is out of reaching distance. Then she does everything in her power to get onto her stomach and scoots on her tummy over to the yellow cup. Then she throws it and starts over. I got it on video, and I think she is saving the full crawl for when she gets home! She took a long nap today on the big bed and woke up just in time to get whisked away to dinner. Now we are packing and gearing up for her first airplane ride tomorrow!