I'm blogging, I'm blogging!

Well, it's finally come to this. The homebound husband is blogging. Yep, another first on this fortnight of many firsts.

Stefanie has asked me to say that she misses everyone terribly, and she's sorry she hasn't posted or emailed but she's been very busy. Since the last post, the doctor has been seen (nothing untoward found!), documentation has been delivered to the embassy, much tea has been drunk, and the Great Wall has been scaled.

On the medical side of things, little Miss 'Anmei measures 88cm long (in the 50th percentile) and 13kg (in the 75th percentile) and is quite healthy. The doctor told Stefanie that with the type of cleft she has, she can be prone to heart murmurs, but none were heard. We are all very relieved!

And our little girl is just full of surprises. She has started repeating Mama's french ("velo", "auto", for example) and, most amazingly "Kaitlynn 'Anmei"!

Stefanie told me of how when they started climbing the Great Wall, their guide stopped at the first tower, but Mama and 'Anmei kept on going. They were past the second tower and halfway up toward the third when Mama had put on the brakes and make a very determined little girl turn around and head back down. A quick study and strong willed. Are we ever in trouble...

After delivering documentation at the embassy yesterday, they went to a tea ceremony and sampled many, many teas. Unfortunately, as old age creeps up on me, the first thing to go is my memory, so you'll have to forgive me if I can't relate the details of which types of teas they tasted. Let's just say that Stef enjoyed herself immensely.

Now, on to the most important things: photos! Yep, Baba brought home the digital camera card and downloaded the photos from the first week to the computer. So, without further delay, here goes.

The first picture of Mama and daughter:


Mama sure knows how to dress her little girl:


'Anmei and Baba after climbing a long series of stairs up toward Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Memorial in Nanjing. Notice the spring in her step!


Mama, 'Anmei, and our Nanjing guide, Juliette, near the entrance to Confucious' Temple:


And finally a few photos we received from the orphanage director, showing 'Anmei with some of her friends. (Sorry for their blurry nature, but they are photos of photos. The originals are still with Stef in Beijing.)



Well, I think that's about enough for now. I don't want to exert myself too much the first time out. :-) And jetlag still has a firm grip on my sleeping patterns, so I should start thinking about getting some sleep (although thinking about sleeping and actually getting some sleep are two completely different concepts for me right now).

Needless to say, we are all anxiously waiting for a very special homecoming. As we say at home, "juste 4 do-dos" (and actually only 3 more, for those in Beijing and already in the middle of a Wednesday morning).

Greg