Goodbye to Beijing

This pic is from last Sunday, after her first bath with us, still very scared. She is definitely not so timid or scared these days.

Above is our Gotcha moment. I tried not to cry...

We are packing up and heading to the airport shortly. The missing documents finally arrived around 1pm yesterday afternoon just before we were heading out for a shopping trip. Needless to say I was in a much better mood and had tons of fun shopping/bartering at the Pearl Market. Got some squeaky shoes for Lily and a few other keepsakes.

Lily is having a nap at the moment and I was able to switch seats online so now we are all sitting together on the flight from Beijing in Toronto. We are overnighting in Toronto and will be home around 12:30(noonish) on Friday!

I missed saying goodbye to CAM this morning, Lily fell asleep and I was waiting to Dale to return from grocery shopping - sorry CAM. I cannot tell you how grateful we are for your assistance and support during this trip.

We enjoyed China more than we anticipated. It is bittersweet knowing we are taking Lily from her birth country but she has such wonderful friends and family waiting to meet and welcome her to Canada. We hope to be able to take her back for a visit when she is older. Thanks for following along and all your encouraging comments. Love, Noella, Dale and Lily.

Photo shoot with CAM

These photos are so beautiful, I will let them speak for themselves. CAM has a natural talent for photography, she did not use any special lighting, they were taken using her duvet and simply in her hotel room - amazing. Lily had fun.

More random pics

Some random pics. This is the night we were locked in the hotel, while the military practiced, we were in awe by the number of military vehicles and military personnel.

Lily watching the parade practice from CAM's room.

Chowing down on her snackies, we have to fatten up this gal.

The Great Wall

An amazing view from the Great Wall.

Dale had a heavy load to carry.

Dale, Lily and CAM climbing The Great Wall of China.

Travelling Homer enjoying a mini-can of Chinese beer.

Lily sleeping, she looks so peaceful.

OK, seriously why are we up so early every morning. Lily never wants to get up as early as we have had to this past week...

Today we toured a Jade factory and climbed the Great Wall. We did not go very far on the wall the steps are very uneven and steep. It really was amazing, had spectacular views, I really could not believe I was at the Great Wall. Lily had a pretty good day. I cannot believe how soft her hair is now after only a week. It was very coarse when we first met.

Tonight the group went to a restaurant near the hotel for Peking Duck. It was delicious, I passed on on the duck but everything else was great. Actually Lily was sleeping when we were scheduled to meet in the lobby so Dale and Lily stayed behind, I think Dale was relieved not to have to go, probably afraid he would eat some kind of meat organ by mistake. Ha!

So we still have not received the original "Notice of Coming" can you believe it? Apparently it was only received at the hotel in Nanchang on Monday, so they have sent it to us here in Beijing, we should have it tomorrow. Please keep all your fingers and toes crossed it arrives ASAP and our departure is not delayed. N

Below is part of a walking tour of the older area of Beijing.



Lots of little shops like the below to buy trinkets.

This is the procession of rickshaws of folks from our travel group as we made our way through the Hou Tong.

CAM's camera battery died so she had to use our camera, you can see the difference in the quality of the photos. Her shots are normally so clear and professional looking...

Lily had an afternoon snooze in the baby carrier. Nothing can make that little Chinese swirl lay flat, no amount of washing or brushing - Ha!

Saturday in Beijing

Today at Tienamen Square.

This is our hotel in Beijing.

Below is the early morning departure from home last Friday.

We made it to Beijing late last night. This hotel is not as baby friendly as the one in Nanchang but has comfy beds and a great breakfast buffet. We have quickly learned that the days of wearing clean clothing and eat a full meal are over for a while - Ha!

Well Lily is like a different child today, no crying everytime she gets a diaper change, is eating a good variety of foods and does smile and giggle at Silly Baba alot. She is seriously cute. We are working on getting her to spend more one on one time with me because she is so attached to Dale. Her fine motor skills are great, her gross motor skills(walking) are going to need some work. She spends alot of her day trying to feed her snacks to Dale or I, OMG it is just adorable.

Today we went to Tienamen Square and the Forbidden Palace and did a Hou Tong tour, it was a long day for the babies. The Hou Tong tour is on bicycle rickshaws, poor guy that had to take Dale and I and Lily, he worked for his tip.

Tomorrow we are going shopping in the morning and doing paperwork in the afternoon. The guide does not want us out and about Beijing tomorrow afternoon because at 5pm they are practicing for their 60th National Day celebration in the street in front of the hotel. So if you are not safely in the hotel you are out of luck till the next morning. Seriously, kindof scary. When we checked in to the hotel last night in the lobby all our bags had to go through a security scan like at airports and we had to walk through a metal dector. You cannot have your windows open tomorrow evening either.

Anyways, I will post a few pictures. Looking forward to return to the clean fresh air of home!

Today at the Ancient Village.

Lily showing her 4 teeth.

Yesterday at the TengWang Pavillon.