Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!!

Naeleigh and I have been singing that song all day long.  She loves music and she was singing along with me (in her mumbling toddler language).

We are missing our church family today!  Happy Easter to our brothers and sisters at New Providence!

Naeleigh is my shadow!  She follows me everywhere I go...even the bathroom.

I had a hard time getting her to smile for pictures today.  Naeleigh is all ready for a full day of shopping on Shamian Island and going to the Jade and Pearl Open Markets.  She has been quite the chatter box today.  She is trying so hard to talk.  She said "car" today on the bus ride back to the hotel.

We are so tired!!  

 It's only 7 pm and we are ready to go to sleep.

We are going to do something tomorrow called "The Safari."  We are going to see the pandas!  It's going to be a long, fun day.

We love you, Jake!!!!

Happy Birthday, Jakey Boy!!  Today is our nephew's 4th birthday and we are missing his party.  We wanted him to know how much we love him!

Naeleigh says "bye bye" at the end if you listen closely.

00035 from Michael Peavy on Vimeo.

This morning, we had the medical check up for Naeleigh's US visa.  It was a 25 min bus ride so, of, course, she fell asleep.

I love this picture!  These pictures are the calm before the storm.  There were 16 families going today for medical check ups.  There were also a lot of people there to begin with.

We did not take any pictures during the medical check up.  Naeleigh screamed anytime a doctor came close.  She clung to Michael and I and would not let go.

A doctor discovered something that we did not know during the general examination.  When we took off her diaper, there was a large mass on her lower right side, close to her diaper line.  I was in shock and immediately cried.  We had never seen this before---but she had also never cried this loud for this long before.  The Chinese doctor said she has a hernia.  She did not seem concerned.  We spoke with four other medical professionals while we were there.  All of them said it was nothing to worry about.  She may need a very minor procedure done to correct the hernia.  BUT, we had no idea this was going on with her and it took us completely by surprise.  I freaked out and thought something was terribly wrong --then I thought we were going to have to have it corrected right now (in China).  Everyone assured us this was a minor procedure and everything would be okay, and it will be corrected at home.  Because she was a preemie, her abdominal wall did not develop completely (this is fairly common in preemies).

So, we have an extra bump in the road but she is okay.  After she calmed down, everything went back to normal.  She was exhausted after all the crying and screaming, so she slept for about an hour afterwards.  I think I am just as tired as she was and I understood everything that was going on.  Poor little thing...they took her from us to do the TB test.  She did not like that at all.  

Then, we had milkshakes...strawberry was her favorite!  Daddy says the princess can have whatever she wants!  (we'll see how long that lasts!)

Friday, Garden & Museum

What a fun and beautiful day!  We went to an amazing garden this morning.  Flowers everywhere!!

Unfortunately, someone slept right through the first half of the tour.  I LOVE this picture.

This is a top view of an emperor's tomb.  We got to go inside and look around.  It was very interesting.  Most of our pictures in the museum did not turn out because of poor lighting and the glass cases.

While Daddy was still napping, we decided to wash bottles and experiment with hair.

This picture is blurry but so cute!!!!  Mommy and daughter time!

Tomorrow is Naeliegh's medical checkup for her visa.  Say a prayer for her.  She has some type of rash on her bottom.  It does not look too bad.  Another mom is a pediatrician and looked at her today.  She said the rash is either atopic dermatitis or a yeast infection.  If it's atopic dermatitis, I have cream for that.  If it's a yeast infection, we will need to get special cream for that.  Pray it clears up soon!  It doesn't seem to bother her.  She was all smiles again today!

Thursday, Shamian Island

Naeliegh woke up on Thursday morning and was in a wonderful mood.  It takes her an incredibly long time to wake up but once she was up, she was all smiles!

She likes to brush her hair and look pretty.

We went to a couple of shops on Shamian Island today, just looking around.  Naeleigh is a typical girl--she loves to shop.

 This is one of the famous statues on Shamian Island.



And, the oasis in the middle of Guangzhou:  Lucy's!!!!  I don't mind Chinese food but this was a welcomed change!!!  I had a grilled cheese and french fries. Yummy!

Naeleigh was laughing and smiling all through lunch.  We took so many pictures!

We were exhausted after shopping.  Just walking, carrying everything around, and keeping up with her tuckered us out.  She had an early bath and bedtime.  This last picture is the adorable squinting thing she does with her eyes.  She does it a lot before I take her picture because of the flash.  Sometimes she does it to flirt! 

She is getting better and better everyday.  We are in love!

00028 from Michael Peavy on Vimeo.

This is a bit long but we changed it up a little for more smiles about every 90 seconds

Tuesday Afternoon & Evening

Sorry we did not post yesterday...we took it easy but we were still so tired.  I haven't went to bed this early since I was in elementary school.  We were all in bed and asleep by 10:00.  Her bedtime is 9:00 and she sticks to it!

 

Here are some pictures from Tuesday night.  There is a Kiddy Land playground at the hotel.  She loved it.

 

This is adorable.  Michael asked Naeleigh where something was.  And he threw his hands up and said, "I don't know"--she copied him.

First ice cream!  Had a little brain freeze but...

I think she likes it!!!

 

Wednesday morning!  I finally got a bow to stay in her hair.  We went to apply for her Chinese passport today.

 

I gave her my baby bracelet...she kept playing with it but she seemed to like it.

 

Naeleigh is reaching for me a lot and calling me "Mama" every now and then!  Mama and Daddy are both getting kisses on the cheeks.  We are working on some bonding activities with her and Michael.  She just took a Cheerio from his hand and now she let him feed her one.

 

 

It is Thursday morning here, our first free day.  We are headed to Shamian Island with another family to shop and do laundry.

 

We love you all!

 

 

 

She is now ours!!! Her first full day as a Peavy.

More to come in this post, this is mainly just a place holder so I can post the video of her sweet sweet smile.

Naeleigh's Smile

Naeleigh Smile from Michael Peavy on Vimeo.

First Night with Naeleigh

We had a wonderful first night with our little girl.  She ate a good dinner...

Had a bath, which she seemed to like.  We read that her caregiver gave her a bath every morning at 8am.  Those of you who know me well, know this made me a very happy mommy.  Naeleigh liked the water, except when I put it on her head.  Other than being cold, she did great.

Not too long after her bath, Naeleigh went right to bed.  She slept soundly from 9:10 until 7:15.  She refused to wake up.  We actually had to wake her up to go eat breakfast.  It took her at least 30 minutes to fully wake up. 

She is such a cuddler!  All she wants to do is be held and snuggle!  I remember someone else who was exactly the same way!  My sweet Brett...Mommy and Daddy miss you so much, Bubby!

Her hair is so fine, the clip I put in this morning slipped right out.

She is incredibly attached to this pink bunny.  It goes with us EVERYWHERE.  If it falls on the floor, she pitches a fit!

We finalized the adoption today at the Civil Affairs office.  She is officially our daughter!!!  Thank you, Lord!



After leaving the office, we went grocery shopping.  Talk about stressful.  I don't think I will complain about Wal-Mart anymore...well, maybe not for a little while at least.  Thank goodness we had a guide with us to interpret all of the labels and translate for us.  I cannot imagine doing all of this without Holt International and Lotus Travel. 

We came back to the room and Naeleigh took a full bottle---she sucked it down-literally.  She fought a nap with everything she had.  We played on the floor and were being silly together.  I got her to laugh and smile! 

I am constantly kissing her cheeks and today, she kissed me back!  I was so surprised!  She is showing a little reluctance towards Daddy today.  She didn't want to go to him this afternoon or give him a kiss.  So, I kept kissing Michael on the cheeks and saying, "Love Daddy!"  Finally, she puckered up for him too!  Yay!!

Of course, again, they are now napping together.  This is my favorite picture from today.

First Bath with Mommy

First Bath with Mommy from Michael Peavy on Vimeo.