Shopping, touring, and Dr. Apt's.

Another day down. Only two more full days here until we get to go home. I can't wait to get my hands on Aleia. She was soooo talkative this morning on the phone which was very nice. She kept saying "I love you mom and miss you". It was heartwrenching. She is doing well, but it is about time for this trip to be over. I have done really well up into this point.

We did some more touring today to some places we had not been to on our first trip to Guangzhou. We went to a Buddhist Temple known as the Six Banyan's Temple. It was very pretty, but the smell of incense really starts to get to you after awhile. All of the locals grab these incense sticks and do a blessing type thing with them and then they put them in a incense holder. Very bizarre as far as we believe. From there, we went to a Provincial Folk Art Museum. It is a very preserved Quin Dynasty building that was built over 100 years ago. It was raining very hard when we were there, so my pics didn't turn out real well. Our final stop was a shopping stop at the biggest traditional arts and crafts store run by the Guangdong Provincial government. It contained lots of porcelain, silk, traditional chinese clothes, some pearls, and lots of jade. Bob made a big purchase there. He bought his three girls a teardrop piece of jade to take back home and have it made into necklaces for his girls. They are beautiful. I cannot wait to see the pieces complete. A very special purchase. All three pieces are the same shape and the same color.

Our final activity today was another doctor's appointment. We went to the clinic here on Shamian Island as a group. At the clinic, they checked the girls weight, height, and temperature. This was followed by a general body check up. Finally they performed a ear, nose and throat check. Alexa did real well. She just kept looking at us each time we went to the next step like hey is this alright? They said she weighs 17 pounds. Who knows!?!

Alexa was full of smiles today. She was such a happy girl. She was chewing on a banana at breakfast by herself. She is finally realizing that she can use her hands. So fun to watch. Tonight at dinner, she kept wanting to stand up beside my chair. When we got back to our room, she just wanted to sit by herself on the bed and play. Talk about huge strides. What a blessing. Well, both Daddy and Alexa are sound asleep in their beds. It is 9:18 pm.

Until tomorrow. The Alsept's