Sunday 5/31 Guangzhou...

We had an awesome day today, although it started with a stressful Dr's visit for Georgea. We headed to the Chinese medical clinic for her required physical exam (along with the other 20 families in our travel group). Georgea does not care for diaper changes nor any type of dressing and undressing. So, heading to the clinic for people to examine, weigh, measure, poke and prod her was not her cup of tea! We survived the tears though & left the clinic with a happy, smiling, giggling girl. She is truly a joy! James tried to photograph one of her exams. There was a lot going on, so all he was able to get was the back of a nurse and a really fabulous shot of our healthy girl's thighs. Pretty adorable to look at though, I must say, so I've included it in our photos for today.

On the way back to the hotel from the clinic we were stopped (as we often are) by a local who asked if we'd like to chat because he is working on his English. This is so impressive to both of us. So many people in China speak English and broken or not, since we both speak only one language, we think it's really awesome. We chatted for quite awhile with the gentleman whose "English name" is "James." He is a huge NBA fan so he and James talked basketball and we all really enjoyed the interaction. We love the Chinese people and feel blessed to have such experiences. We are also thankful to be so accepted and welcomed by the locals here.

The other photos are of us with our new friends Marissa and Teri. Marissa is 15 mos. old, so you can see how healthy our 12 month old little Georgea is when you see her next to a baby who is 3 months her senior. James was kind enough to include my head in the picture, but my vanity got the best of me and I cropped myself (mostly) out. Some things don't change, even with motherhood! :-)

We took Georgea to her first Starbucks and I love that it was in China. She'll be visiting Starbucks frequently with Mommy, Daddy and Grandpa George in AZ & MD! Can't wait!

Later in the day we did a nail trim. Now that was a treat! We wanted to wait, but Georgea's nails (while what I would consider well manicured) were just long enough for her to do some serious scratching. So, we tackled the nail trim and she was NOT having it!! We managed to get all of her toes and all of her fingers (exhausting!), but I got my hair pulled all out of whack in the process. She grabs and yanks and is stronger than any 12 month old I've ever met. It was funnier than it was painful and James captured the lovely "do" on film so we could remember our first nail trim experience.

We were also able to get a couple of shots in our hotel in front of one of the waterfalls. The White Swan really is beautiful. Then, we headed to lunch at the Thai restaurant that we enjoyed at dinner the night prior. We were finally able to capture some smiles! James is an impressive photographer because it is hard to capture all the different expressions Georgea makes. She is a smiley girl, but catching one of those smiles on "film" is quite a tricky process. I'm so happy to post these few photos of her smiling from ear to ear and to share this sweet expression with our friends and loved ones. Who couldn't fall in love with that precious grin?!!