Giving up on keeping Dates!! - We made it to Guangzhou!!!

Hi Everyone! We are so sorry for all of you who are standing by at every word and post. It has been a hectic few days since the Old Town in ChongQing post. I had a NASTY sinus infection as well as congested(it was crippling) and then a day or two after that I passed it over to Joe and then he got sick. Thank GOD we had antibiotics for all of us...don't know what we would have done without them except be miserable and bedridden! Neither of us have experienced any stomach issues at all and we have not been as careful about everything as we have heard. We have eaten some street food, gotten the water in our mouth(by accident and quickly rinsed it out) as well as brushing teeth sometimes with the tap water...we have even had many drinks with ice in them and we have been fine...I guess some are more sensitive to it than others? We are still religious with the pepto dose every day. The two photos under this are a scene from the monument in ChongQing during a fashion show type thing they had outside. If you notice Santa Needs to do a Mc Donalds high fat diet or something as this is the skinniest santa I have ever seen. Also, when we walked over to see what was going on, it was like one person yells to another and before you knew it, we had about 40-60 people around us trying to look at Sydney. This photo obviously did not do this scene justice but it was a quick shot before I got squeezed out of the circle! As for having meds( OTC and Scripts)Trust me...any way you can get them for those traveling...get it...beg borrow or steal...LOL, you won't be sorry. I can barely remember what we did the day after the old town tour from being sick. I do know we did some more shopping and mall cruising, had spaghetti(dry but tasted great). We gave up on Chinese food last week...there is only so much one can take of it, day after day, meal after meal. I must be honest and say I definitely enjoyed the food from Beijing more than the food from ChongQing. Glad there was a Mc Donalds & KFC close by! We also had dinner at the most FABULOUS restaurant in the world located in the JW Marriott down the street...gorgeous hotel. They have a steak house there that was above par with any of New York/Manhattan's finest 5 star restaurants. We had steaks that were like butter done to perfection, REAL baked potatoes with sour cream & bacon, REAL sauteed Broccoli & asparagus(not Chinese cooked in any way at all), french Onion Soup that was to die for and the babies has garlic mashed taters...I think we all died and went to heaven(Compton family and ourselves). It was truly the best dinner I ever had. Heaven though, does not come free, it does have a hefty price tag on it...for 4 adults, 1 child, 2 babies, bottle of wine, 5-7 beers, and 5 meals with soup & salad and a la carte veggies, 3 desserts came to a whopping 250.00... US dollars...NOT Yuan or Mao Money as we like to call it. But no more expensive than a 5 star back in the states. Anywho...Sydney is REALLy a daddy's girl... she will not go to me if he is in the room or really close by, but we have made some mommy progress with attaching and I can actually make her smile and laugh now...a lot! Ok..Guangzhou... took the flight yesterday from Chongqing to Guangzhou and we expected it to be hell with Sydney...we were pleasantly surprised and think she was one of the best babies on the plane...played and ate , had a GREAT time. Crossing fingers that the 12 hour one will be just as happy :) She is a VERY cute little girl and LOVES to eat. She is so tiny though, so she can eat whatever she wants. He butt looks like a little pimple! She has a VERY long torso and short legs. Her head is proportionate which is good, some of the babies have a huge noggin! LOL But I know there is a huge brain in there as well! Back to the original thought...Bottle? What bottle...give me PB& Jelly sandwiches, pasta, broccolli, steak, any thing...she will put those 5 teeth she has to work. She eats Cheerios like a pez dispenser. For all those coming to China...if you are staying at a hotel with a breakfast buffet...no need to tote along Cheerios, EVERYONE has them, just bring a baggie, load up at breakfast and you are good to go. At the hotels - They do have shampoo, lotion, toothbrushes & toothpaste, slippers, hairdryers,robes, free bottled water in your room every day(2 bottles a day), refridgerators, hot pots...in every room, every day, replenished. We made it into Guangzhou and saw sun for the first time in 10-12 days...it was Glorious even if it was from the plane window and was blinding several of the passengers on the sunny side!!! Guanghou is definitely not hot at this time, but compared to what we have been through in the last 2 1/2 weeks... I am soaking it up. It is very similar to Houston weather, cool mornings, lots of palm trees & sago palms, afternoon is warm(60's?). The area around the White Swan( which is fabulous) is very clean & friendly, no one haggles you, the clothing police have all but disappeared, and everyone here KNOWS why you are here...they are so used to Americans(and other countries) adopting babies they don't even give you a second glance(Ahhhhh....)UNLESS, they are a shop owner who wants you to come to their shop to buy stuff, they will ask you questions about your baby and where is she from, how does she feel, etc...tugs at you heart until you hear the same conversation from the next 4 people who "just happen" to pass you by...all planned. Almost everyone speaks very good english here which is a relief, the language barrier wears on you after a while. I am sure this is a cliche saying but I must say, with all the places we have been with people who even spoke a few words of english... thier english will be a thousand times better than our Chinese.
The Breakfast buffet was awesome here this morning. We shopped A LOT and have 3 days left to shop more ...tee hee hee !!! We were able to walk around with just sweatshirts, went to the park, all of the shops will bargain with you on everything...don't ever buy anything at the first shop you go to...the closest ones are right across from the Swan and they know that everyone who stays here is raring to go with shopping. They memorize your name and your baby's name, give you gifts, etc ..we thought wow...cheap prices, friendly people, what could be better?? Well the next 4 shops we went to did the same thing and because I waited, I got a great deal on my laundry( which filled a GIANT duffle bag, third load since we left), 40 % off and because she stuck with me as bargaining as I was, I gave her much of my business for a first day. There are families and babies everywhere here. For once, during the whole trip starting from LAX, we see almost as many Americans as we do Chinese.
We could definitely spend a few days back here again. We bought a lot more gifts today and Sydney did really well shopping. She was not as good as usual today, but still fine. That Zithromax is da bomb!
The White Swan id done to the Hilt with Christmas decor, even the side of this towering hotel is lit up with a different picture either every day or week, can't remember. The Christmas tree is HUGE and is so beautiful next to the waterfall in the middle of the hotel. There are priceless jade & wood carvings and statues all over. Most are for sale if you are thinking about making a purchase that costs more than your house! The room here is smaller than in The Harbor Plaza in ChongQing. The beds are tiny and the pillows are like cement slabs. As far as hard beds go, I have not had one problem as of yet. I am used to my cushy pillowtop queen bed and really thought it was going to be a problem, but in Beijing...too exhausted to care(single quen or king sized bed), in Chongqing - ( two oversized single beds)I didn't think they were that hard plus you got a down comforter and two long big heavenly down pillows...we are going to be investing in these when we get back home. At the White Swan two itty bitty beds in a tiny room. The room has a few little danger areas, such as tile right by the window(Syd is too mobile and unsteady yet to do tile without smeone right there to make sure she doesn't fall and crack her head open(God forbid) and there is also a very sharp ledge by the window, like a step to see the view...if she gets over there and falls...it would be disasterous. So just my thoughts on some of the things we have experienced, as long as you are watchful they should be fine. Syd is way more mobile than we thought. She can crawl JUST fine, and she is constantly pulling herself up to standing and letting go...I give her 2 weeks from the time we get back to start walking. We have several pairs of squeaky shoes now,and 2 chinese silk dresses with shoes. She is very much like a slippery squid right now. She loves taking baths and will splash and play until the water freezes on its own! We will post pics of Guangzhou tomorrow. In the morning is a Blessing at a temple by a buddist monk and then at 11:30 is the red couch picture. We also have our consulate appt. tomorrow( we do not attend this) and then Thursday we have the swearing in ceremony( from what I heard... it is pretty silly and very impersonal) We are also going to the Cow & The Bridge for dinner tomorrow(Thai food) and it is supposed to be VERY good(Kim, I will be thinking about you!!)Oh...Sydney and daddy had their medical exam today and she is fine according to these "doctors". They said she weighs 18.5 lbs, but I think they are a little off, she is heavy, so we will see when we get home. She does fit into 6-9 month clothes, but the 12 month fits better. She wore her first dress today, complete with tights and squeeky shoes...pretty girl!
Well, that is the scoop for right now. Tomorrow is Dec 14th here and then only 2 more days until we leave. We arrive in Los Angeles at about 5-6 pm on the 16th as well. We stay one night and then arrive at the airport at 5 or 5:50 I think...I can't even remember now. This has been an incredible trip, I would come back again in a heartbeat, do Beijing, do ChongQing, Definitely Guangzhou, maybe Guilin too next time? I loved it, the people are so interesting, their culture is a world away, but it is wonderful to experience.I am also VERY ready to come home. I miss all of you, especially the kids... I think about you guys all the time:) Until tomorrow!
Anne Marie, Joe & Sydney!!