This will be a very short post as the internet fees are outrageous here in Guangzhou. We are all doing just great. Brooklyn's cold is almost completely gone and it is helping her sleep better and have her personality come out even more. She is such a joy. We are beginning to figure out her sleeping procedures, so getting her to nap/bed is becoming less painful for all of us.

The White Swan Hotel is amazing. It is beautiful and has wonderful amenities. The breakfast bar is incredible. It has all the western food we have been craving- except Mexican food. Darn!

The flight on Tuesday to GZ was quite the ordeal. If this was a taste of what the 15 hour flight will be like, I can tell you now that I will jump off the plane into the Pacific. She cried the entire 2 hours. I'm hoping it was due to what we think was an ear infection. Either way, we are going to buy medicine to knock her butt out.

Yesterday we had the exit physical exam. She is healthy as can be and actually did weigh in at 21 pounds. She feels much lighter though.

Today we had to wait in our room for 2 hours while our co-ordinator was doing the consulate work. He called about an hour ago and told us we are okay and all of our paperwork is fine. What a relief. So that means that tomorrow we go to the consulate and swear in Brooklyn. She will officially be ours in American eyes and will be a citizen when we pass through the port in Los Angeles.

I will not write again until we get to LA since the internet fees are expensive here. We leave in two days and can't wait to get back home.

A quick post today with no pictures. I know, how boring. :)

We will be leaving the hotel in a couple more hours and going to the airport headed to Guangzhou. There will be hundreds of adopting parents there, since that is where the American Consulate is at. It will be great to meet others. We are excited to be on the last leg of the trip before we head home. We have loved the people, sights and ways of China, and we will miss it, but we are very anxious to get back home.

We started Brooklyn on the Amoxycillan last night. She has had a cough since we got her last week and the Triaminic wasn't doing much good. The cough had gotten worse and was keeping her up at night and we could tell it was painful for her to cough. So last night I called the international adoption clinic but of course it was a holiday and no one was available. I then called Josh's pediatrician, who will also be Brooklyn's doctor. I couldn't believe the run around I got by the operator, all on our expensive phone bill.

First off the operator wouldn't let me leave the hotel phone number because "it will be expensive to make an international call". I told her that if the on-call doctor wouldn't pay for it, we would gladly foot the bill, just let us speak with him for crying out loud! Since I apparently solved that problem, she then said she wouldn't put us through to him because Brooklyn is not a patient of his. I said to her "you've got to be kidding me!? She hasn't even been in America yet, how could she be a patient?!?!?!" I was frustrated and angry that she wouldn't even at least call him for our circumstance, and I told her that I will tell everyone I know about what has happened and to expect a big letter of my disapproval of how they handled this situation.

I had the powdered medicine but didn't know how much water to put in or how much to give her, but thankfully the other family traveling with us had all the instructions and dosages, so we were able to mix it up properly and give her a dose before bed. It worked wonders! She did not cough once last night (wow, a full night's sleep!) and this morning she is much more energetic and happy. I suppose she had never had an antibiotic before and that is why her body responded so quickly. We will continue to give it to her until it is gone.

I must get going and continue to pack our 49 tons. I'll post from Guangzhou tomorrow. Just a few more days and we will be home!

Hello again from Kunming! I apologize for the two days of absence. We are all okay. We've have been so busy that by the time night comes around and we are back in our hotel, I am too wiped out to post.

Brooklyn is 100% attached to both of us now. It was a much easier transition than I had prepared myself for, and that is okay! Nap and bed times are now difficult. The honeymoon stage is over. Two days ago Edward wanted to go to the Stone Forest (picture above). I knew it would be too much for Brooklyn, so I told Edward and Josh to go and we would stay behind (mistake #1). Then I said that Brooklyn had been such a piece of cake, what could go wrong? (mistake #2)

All hell broke loose for her nap. She cried unconsolably for 2 1/2 hours. She was so tired that she just could not get to sleep, and I knew she was tired. After the 2.5 hours, I resigned myself to the fact that she was just not going to sleep so I fed her and we went for a long walk around Kunming. Yesterday and today have been the same. I forsee a very long flight home.

Our co-ordinator, Shulan, has been doing a great job for us and we have really enjoyed her. Tomorrow (Monday) she will finish up the paperwork at the police station so we will be able to leave for Guangzhou on Tuesday. We will miss Kunming, but we are ready for the last leg of our trip before we go home. All of us are craving our favorite foods, and from the picture above, we have acquainted Brooklyn with our fatty, American favorite- pizza. Welcome to our world, Brooke.

We will stay in Guangzhou for 4 days and leave the night of the 9th. It will be a very busy few days in GZ- paperwork, medical exam, passport/visa for Brooklyn, and our Consulate appointment. Tomorrow I will post again. We will be going to the Western Hill (part of the Himalayas) and I will post more pictures.