We look forward to being home soon. Thank you all for your prayers while we were traveling. Please say one final, long prayer for the 19 hour adventure on our return flight. We will arrive home this evening around 9 p.m.
Looking out over the city from our hotel room
Today we made the traditional “group picture.” Der should have them ready for us by tomorrow. We also attempted to make the famous “red couch” picture of all the little girls. I guess you can see how well that worked! LOL Desheng Darling was the only one who wasn’t crying! Doodlebug refused to even sit on the couch. At least we were able to get a few good pictures of the girls in their Chinese dresses.
Did I mention that DB’s paperwork stated that she could be obstinate??? LOL This the famous stiff backbend pose exhibited during her tantrums.
See ya soon!I told you that my blogs were going to get shorter and shorter. This is one of those days where the pictures have to do the talking.
Getting ready for the infamous medical exam
Involuntary participation in that infamous medical examination.
Playing in the White Swan play room.
DD found ANOTHER friend in the playroom. It was amazing how well they communicated in spite of not speaking a common language. The friend was a 5 year old adoptee who spoke only Mandarin.
A paparazzi shot of the Hollywood girls on a shopping spree in Guangzhou!
Told you she was smart – already reading the newspapers with Daddy D.
Two sleeping beauties (posted by Daddy D).
Modeling our new Chinese outfits.
I’ve never seen one of these in an American restaurant. This was inconspicuously displayed in the corner of our restaurant.
We ate in the American room and enjoyed a good ole American Hamburger, French Fries and Pizza.
Getting ready to eat breakfast on Tuesday morning.
This, however, was funny! There are several shops in the hotel lobby. As part of the advertising, some of the stores have huge posters of male models like the one in the picture below:
Every time we went by one of these posters, Doodlebug would laugh, say something and point!!! Daddy Darling says that she was saying “Daddy, Daddy,” but I don’t really think that was it. LOL
It happened every time we went by! Too funny.
While I was shopping inside the little stores, DD stayed outside on the sidewalk with Daddy D. When I came out of one store, I found DD with more NEW FRIENDS. The child makes friends everywhere she goes. The girls spoke both Chinese and English. As I got a little closer, I realized why DD was so interested in them:
One of them had just received these two baby chicks. They were quite a novelty.
People around here are so nice about offering to take our picture, without us even asking. ..no matter how we look. This picture was made near the swimming area of the hotel. 
Saturday was our last morning in Hefei. I think we were all ready for a change of scenery. After breakfast we headed to the airport to board the plane to Guangzhou. Today was a major turning point for Doodlebug. I mean MAJOR. She was her quiet sweet little self on the way to airport…even took a short nap. But, when we got on the plane, a totally different Doodlebug emerged!! She began to laugh, kick the seat, jump up and down, and grab everything within her reach as she squealed and threw them. We had what appeared to be a practicing Confucianist who suggested some various acupuncture –type pressure points to calm and control her. Her behavior was so wild, that I ACTUALLY TRIED THEM! Just in case you are wondering…the Benadryl is already packed in my carry-on bag for the trip home and I’m NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!!!!!! When we landed, she became her calm, sweet self again…for the most part. She is actually quite a corker. I’m more concerned about DD’s safety than hers, because I never know when she is going to throw something and just laugh about it! 
Ready for breakfast
On our way to the airport
Waiting for the plane in Hefei
Our Plane (737-300)
Doodlebug’s first airplane boarding pass
In front of the famous waterfall at the White Swan
My post will most likely get shorter and shorter because Doodlebug’s personality is beginning to shine!!! (This is Daddy Darling posting blog for Momma D and editorially, I am not sure that shine it the accurate word, unless used euphemistically).
This is our view early in the morning. There’s always an arm or a leg sticking out somewhere!!! This is the teddy bear that we sent to Doodlebug on her birthday. She is pretty attached to it and has to have it at night when she goes to sleep.
One computer doesn’t stretch very far when it is shared among 3 people. This is how we keep her quiet until Doodlebug decides to wake up. Her DVD player isn’t working. What a bummer. I sure hope it works on the plane ride home.
I’m glad we went to the zoo. It gave us a chance to get out of the hotel, but it was so hot and humid!!!! My guess would be that it was about 115 degrees with 99% humidity. OK, maybe that’s a stretch, but it was HOT!! The strollers were a blessing!!! One of the families in our group had an extra one for DD. I don’t think she would have made it without the stroller. I know we wouldn’t have. It was a good walk, though. We didn’t have a dry thread on us when we got back to the bus. Needless to say, it was time to give Doodlebug her first tub bath! Amazingly, she did great! Maybe it was because DD was with her.
After a bath and a nap we went for a walk. Doodlebug loved the stairs. This may be a big problem when we get home.
Then, we went out on the terrace to blow bubbles with our expert bubble-blower.
Doodlebug really liked the bubbles, but you would never know it by looking at her expression. 
You just have to look REALLY close to see her smile. Lol
I will try to post more tomorrow.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AUNT MUH AND UNCLE BUCK! WE LOVE YOU!
It took a while, but it was worth the wait! She’s a real cutie! Before I move on to today’s events, I want to mention a few things that happened yesterday. As usual, DD ended up in our bed before the end of our first night in Hefei. When I woke up and looked at her, I saw that she had her hands in a “praying” position. Then I heard her say, “Dear God, Thank you for Doodlebug. Thank you for keeping her safe until we could get here for her. We love her and promise to take good care of her. Amen”. It was so sweet. 
(Taken this morning before breakfast) 
Today we visited the Bao’s Memorial. It is located across the street from the hotel. It was soooooooo “hot!” The girls were exhausted! This is a picture of our group before we left the hotel this morning. Boy! Were we ever glad to get back to air conditioning! 
After Doodlebug’s nap, we decided to take a trip to Carrefours, a “Wal-Mart “ type store. It was interesting to say the least. The cab drive alone was enough to make me think that I never needed to shop again. The girls loved it, but I am surprised that we actually made it there and back in one piece. I don’t think the English language has words to describe it, so I won’t even try! LOL 
Inside the store, WE were the ENTERTAINMENT. Everybody stared!!! We couldn’t event shop because the people were crowding around us. It was a little weird. I was ready to leave after getting the few things that we needed.
Inside the taxi…no seat belts, car seats, a door that wouldn’t close properly and a transmission that was losing parts as we traveled down the road..LOL I was so glad to get back to the hotel.
There were several businesses in the same mall-type area as Carrefours, including a McDonald’s, so we decided to take Doodlebug in and let her try some ice cream. This was her response:
When we got back to the hotel, I started playing a game with Doodlebug bouncing her on my knees. That’s when we got the first real smile. We’d had a few straight-liners, but never a real smile until then. Isn’t she precious?
Tomorrow we are planning to go to the zoo. I think the girls will really love it! I’ll try to post about it later.
All of the babies cried when they were taken from their caretakers, but I think Doodlebug won the prize. Every time I reached out to her, she cried. When she cried the caretaker pulled her back. I didn’t think they were ever going to hand her over to me. Once the caretaker left the room, she got better, but it took a while.
I guess you can tell how DD feels about it all!
Finally!
We spent the rest of the evening in the hotel room just getting to our new little one. We tried a lot of different things, but still no smile. ..and yes, this is the same dress!
Maybe “cheese” isn’t pronounced the same way in China.
Still no smile, but at least we were able to wash her up and dress her in a different outfit.
Desheng Darling is just thrilled to have a little sister!
Today was our day to complete the Chinese portion of our adoption. We went back to the Civil Affairs office, had our pictures made, answered a few questions, signed our names a few more times, and left with our little Doodlebug. She’s all ours “according to the Chinese govt.” We still have to complete the American side of things, but we won’t be able to do that until next week.
Here they are in the matching dresses I made for them. Too cute!! 
Doodlebug thinks Daddy Darling is interesting, but she still won’t let him pick her up. She didn’t know that he was behind her in this picture. She let him take her for a stroll without me this afternoon, but he still hasn’t won her heart yet. I’m sure it won’t be long, though.
At the Civil Affairs office 
Well, at least Daddy D and I are smiling. This is the photo taken at the Civil Affairs office for our official adoption document.
This is a picture of our waitress. I’m not sure who was the most talkative…It was a close call.
DD out exploring the airport. She just couldn’t sit still.
The flight to Newark went well. DD entertained herself quite well and took a little nap.
Even with the delay, we had a few extra minutes before our international flight. We had a chance to meet the families that we would travel with…more new friends for DD.
Again, it was very difficult for DD to sit still. If she had really known how long the flight to China was going to be, she might have been standing on her head or swinging from the rafters of the place. LOL
Let me assure those of you who are waiting to travel to China that the ride is just as long the 2nd time as it was the first!!!!! Maybe even longer! DD was very good. She even slept quite a bit, but 15 hours of sitting is long no matter where you are going!!!
When we arrived in Hong Kong, we were greeted by Ben, the same guide that we had when we adopted DD…another new friend for DD.
They instantly became friends! Aren’t they precious? Tomorrow, we will meet Ben at 9:00 and board another plane. We will be on our way to An Hui to meet our little Doodlebug!
Just making sure that she can come back home with us. lolThere were tryouts in our area today for the next American Idol show. I found this on a friend's blog and couldn't resist posting it. It's just too funny!!!
I received an email last night from Adele at www.blessedkids.com telling me that Doodlebug’s birthday cake had arrived on time. She also said that her contact in China had four pictures of Doodlebug that were just recently taken if I would like to purchase them. Of course I would like to purchase them!!!!! At any price!!!! The pictures are not very clear, but they are invaluable to us. I didn’t crop the other children out of the pictures because some members of our travel group may be monitoring this blog. I know that they would be thrilled to see a picture of their child if she just happened to be in one of these. Before we got Desheng Darling, a group of missionaries visited her orphanage and posted several pictures. DD was in a few of them and we are so thankful to have these early pictures of her.
