Yesterday and Today ;)

 Yesterday was a free day for us so we headed to Shamian Island for a full day of shopping.  This is the area of town that we stayed in last time we were here.  We love this place and were so looking forward to visiting it again.

One of the hard parts of this trip is that whenever we put Levi down, he looks for the closest Asian that he can find and begs them to take him.  

  No doubt about it, this trip to get the little guy has had some hard moments.  The trip itself and all of China has been sooo much fun and really, perfect.  And just about everything with Levi has been really hard.  In his own little way, he is really struggling.  As you can see from many of my smiley shots of him, he has some happy moments.....but mostly, it is hard.  For instance, whenever he has to transition (even just walking back into our hotel room), he starts hitting his head.  Sometimes he grinds his teeth, and sometimes he just goes cross-eyed.  And sometimes he does all of those things at the same time.  That's all hard for me.  No fun to watch your baby so frustrated and so hurting.  Meili never did any of this.  I know its common for these kiddos to really struggle in different ways.  But it's not easy.  And it's hard.  It's emotionally exhausting. 

 Nevertheless, it was nice to have the beautiful sites of Shamian Island to distract us (me) from the tough moments.

 And, as anticipated, the island did not disappoint.

We enjoyed my favorite comfort food, Starbucks......

....... Watching lots of models doing photo shoots all around..... 

(this guy was pretty impressed with himself.)

..... and there was a movie being filmed that was entertaining to watch.

And then today was Levi's medical appointment.

 He had his vitals and measurements taken.

He weighs a whopping 24 pounds.

 This is an ENT doctor.  Levi has had a really bad cold so I tried to get some info. from this guy as to what he thought about his ears, etc.  Let's just say, he didn't have much to say.

 Levi loves all the zippers on Mormor's purse.

 Then we had the "general examination" by this female doctor.  She was a sweet lady.  Ofcourse Levi clinged on to her and wanted her to take him home.  I tried to question her as to Levi's health.  After her 2 minute exam, she told me, "He is okay."  :)  Ah, it will be so nice to hear what our doctors at home have to say..........the little guy has got a lot going on.

 LOVE having Mormor here to share in the adventures.  :)

 Are you aware that rock/paper/scissors can be extremely competitive?  Leave it to these two to bring it to a whole new level.

 We ended his appointment this morning with a TB test that we will get the results of Monday.  Otherwise, he cleared his appointment.  (This medical exam was/is required by the US govt.  We must have it to get his US visa.)

And then after his appointment this morning,  we dropped the boys off at our hotel for nap time and us girls just had to go back to Shamian Island for some more shopping!!!!!!

 This place is sooo pretty that many Chinese brides from all over come to be photographed here.

 I am thinking of getting this sign to go over my front door.  Although it should say, "Laundry AND Kitchen services".

Blessings to all of you back home!

And BIG thanks and hugs to Grandma and Grandpa Skipper who have just about survived their week with Caleb and Mei.  And BIG thanks and hugs to my seester and bro-in-law for taking Caleb and Mei again today for their second stint with them and will have them till we come home!  Soooooo thankful for each of you!