final posting

Hey all – This may be our final post on the blog. It is Sunday, just after lunch and Jill is feeding Emily. We have had her for almost a week now, and are getting a good feel for what her looks and cries mean. She is very snuggly and active, with arms flailing when she is rolling around or being fed. At 10 months, she likes to sit up on the bed and roll over, but sometimes gets frustrated if she cannot get up. She lets us know when she is frustrated with her cry. She cannot walk, and we haven’t seen her crawl much. We were in the playroom yesterday and she crawled a short distance to a ball. We will let her loose at home and I’m sure she’ll be crawling longer distances and then walking in no time. She is very sweet, and we cannot wait for all of you to see her. As Kristen mentioned, she will soon understand the Gove family hug and kiss requirement! Allie is warming up to her more every day. Allie still doesn’t want to hug or kiss her, but she will watch Emily’s every move when she is on the bed or in the crib and likes to push her in the stroller – that is Allie’s way of showing affection, for now. Allie is doing well. She loves to go swimming and to the playroom. As we wrap things up, this is the schedule for the rest of the week: Sunday night, dinner with friends Dean and Gwen from Iowa, with daughters for Allie to play with, Jordan and Joslyn (4 years old). Monday we are going on a half-day tour with our guide Peter through the Lianhua Mountains, about 30 miles from where we are staying in Guangzhou. We are hoping to go with John, Rose and Madelyn (2 years old), from Rockford MI, our “Michigan friends”. We will drive through the countryside into the mountains (in, what else, a nice air-conditioned van) to see steep cliffs and a well-preserved ruin of an ancient quarry. It should be interesting. Tuesday we have to confirm some information in preparation for our appointment Wednesday at the US Consulate. Then we will do some shopping and meet some friends for dinner at the hotel barbeque. It is a beautiful spread with a view of the outdoor pool on one side and the Pearl River on the other. The food is excellent and the atmosphere is warm. On Wednesday, we have a 3pm appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, where Emily and a number of other babies will be sworn in as US citizens. American parents holding their precious little Chinese babies pack a room and pledge to uphold the writings of the Constitution. You know you are taking your baby from her homeland, away from Communism, to your stable, loving family (thanks to all of you reading this) and that she will forever be raised in the land of liberty. There are tears as we all know what we are doing for our babies – we save their lives, and they save ours. Wednesday night, 9pm, we will fly from Guangzhou to Los Angeles and arrive on (drum roll, please) Wednesday night at about 7pm. We have a layover for three hours in Los Angeles, which, in theory, will be enough time for us to go through customs and re-check our bags. In theory. We fly out of LAX on Wednesday night at 10pm and arrive in Detroit at 519 Thursday morning, ready to start the day with our family of four. On the way to baggage claim we will stop at the Northwest Worldclub to visit the man who made our flight to China possible, Jim Manolakis. Yes, Jim will see Emily before all of the Gove’s and Chafetz’s, but it’s only fitting since he helped us get here. Then we will go to baggage claim, where will be on our way…. Thanks to all of you for your support through this long process. We don’t have to wait any longer, baby Emily is finally here, and I know you will love her. She is precious.