Lilymei & her First Doctor Visit

I know many of you are looking for more pictures so here is an assortment of shots taken while we were in Hohhot and Guangzhou, China.  

Jean and Lilymei in the park in Hohhot, China.  It was a beautiful day and the park was very large with lots of shady areas. 

First family photo taken in the lobby of the Phoenix Hotel, Hohhot, China.  Notice the table behind Scott with various Olympic items for sale.  Nate is holding the Crocs bag containing a new pair of Crocs for Lilymei.  They have a little American flag in them which she wore to the American Consulate.  

Nate has taught Lilymei how to hold the TV remote.  

Lilymei looking at her swim diaper.  Too bad she doesn't like being in the water!

The gang with our favorite shop keeper, Jordan, of Jordan's Gifts & Souvenirs.  We visited with him several times.  He allows his customers to shop in peace.  That's one of the reasons we like him so much.  If you are in Guangzhou, check his shop out.  He is very near the Starbucks Coffee Shop.  Notice Nate's yellow rip-stick near him and Drew holding his.  

Our three beautiful children!!!

Here Lilymei is smirking while we are eating our last meal at Lucy's in Guangzhou before leaving the next morning.  We had just come from our American Consulate appointment.  

Here our girl is so glad to be out of that plane from Guangzhou to Tokyo!  She loved relaxing on the chairs in the terminal and proceeded to help Nate eat all of his McDonald's french fries.

Lilymei had her first visit to the pediatrician on base yesterday. Let's just say, from outside the exam room you would have thought we were cutting off her limbs.  She hated it!  We have collaborated with the doctor and it has been determined that Lilymei will have to have a few tests done at the navy hospital.  She will have blood drawn tomorrow (Wednesday), and then she will start the immunization process all over again.  We will keep you all updated once we know the results of her CT scan and x-ray.  It looks like we will be making a trip to Trippler (in Hawaii) for an MRI soon too!  Please keep praying for Lilymei's test results to show exactly what will need to be done for her continued progress in her health and well-being.   

Last morning in China, Finally Home!

Lilymei's last morning in China, 8/7/08. She and Baba are enjoying a fun game of peek-a-boo. We were up by 4:30am China time. Poor Lilymei only slept 30 minutes the whole day. She was ready for bed when we put her down at 10:30pm Guam time.

Just off the plane in Guam, Lilymei is not very happy to put her feet on American soil. Lilymei did not feel well for the first flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo. She really enjoyed stretching out on the chairs waiting for our next flight in the Tokyo airport. We snagged a quick bite of McDonalds before our flight to Guam. Nate doesn't really like plane food so he was glad to get a bite before leaving. Lilymei loves all food so she was grabbing fries right off Nate's lap.

We were pleasantly surprised to see a group of friends waiting for us at the airport Thursday evening. Andrew L is getting his first look at Lilymei. He wasn't very happy when his Mama held Lilymei; he is the baby in his family.

Oatmeal, yogurt, and a blueberry muffin was on the menu for breakfast this morning. It's not the buffet at the White Swan hotel but Lilymei was happy anyway. We are so excited that she is sleeping very well at home, drinking from sippy cups, and scooting around all over the floor.

Yesterday we took Lilymei to the clinic to show her around a little before we go back on Monday for her doctor's appt. She didn't show anyone her big smile at the clinic but later in the evening we had a few friends over for cake and ice cream. She really opened up for them, laughing and smiling and waving bye-bye to them. She is so proud of herself!

We do have video of Lilymei waving and laughing we hope you enjoy it. Time for the boys to start mowing their 5 lawns of the weekend. Ugghh! Vacation is over!!

We have a new American!

We made it home last night without much problem. Thank you to all that prayed and helped make our journey a memorable one. We would also like to thank all of the families we became friends with during our trip. We will continue to post, but first I have to go buy more diapers and milk...

Take care to all and look for more pictures within the next day or so.

One more day and we are heading home!!!

Yesterday was a big  day for paperwork at the American Consulate. All of our paperwork was in-order and we have our oath appointment today. Lilymei will get her Visa to enter the US also today. The group had the famous "red couch" photo taken and of course Lilymei didn't smile until it was all over. We have done some shopping and finding gifts to remember the trip. Lily is really making progress and is finally drinking from a sippy cup on her own. She is also starting to stand a little more on her own while holding onto something.

We are all excited about coming home tomorrow and getting back to a normal routine. Not that eating a gourmet breakfast buffet every morning and having someone clean your room is not routine, but...it is time for reality again. 

Hopefully everyone is enjoying the photos, it has been harder to post from Guangzhou than it was in Hohhot. We seem to be much busier here with the baby. Nate just stated that he is bored "watching a monkey and dog cook a meal on tv, is that what life has come to?" TV is less than quality here.