Medical Exam Day

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Medical Exam Day

Our days have been quite full with 2 little girls that need attention. Mia has been a little more observant and a little more needy but nothing unmanageable. I've included her in some helper activities which she seems to enjoy. She's such a trooper and makes us so proud. Little Ms. Lily is acting like a typical 2 year old. She's curious and loves her new independence. She is funny and demanding but I started to try to curve her terrible 2s. We found out from the orphanage director that they would give her whatever she wanted to avoid a meltdown, so my theory was correct, she is one SPOILED little girl. We'll work on that! 

We had to take Lily for her medical exam for her U.S. Visa. Pictures are posted. She behaved better than I expected. Part of the exam is a TB test which includes a blood draw without the parents in the room. Yes, you read correctly. All we could do was stand outside the room and hear her little screams! Painful for both of us. She quickly calmed down after with a lollipop. 

Then we went shopping again. The visit to the grocery store here is an adventure. It's interesting to just pick up stuff and guess what it is. We found some pretty neat stuff, but I have to say, we are not lacking anything from home at all. We can find pretty much anything we need right at the Carrefore. 

Well today we're off to the zoo with our new friends Adriana, George and Sydney.

Medical Exam Day

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Day 4 with Lily

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Day 4 with Lily

We stayed in most of the day today to try and get Lily on a schedule that is comfortable for her. Both girls napped around 12:30 so we could avoid any meltdowns in the afternoon. We ventured out to a German restaurant for an early dinner and so glad we did. It was EXCELLENT!!!! 

Lily is another firecracker!! She is definitely showing signs of the terrible 2s and I'm sure that our language barrier isn't easing her troubles any either. She and Mia had bath time together today and Mia washed her hair. I had to contain myself from squealing over the cuteness of that scene. They pretty much keep to themselves so far but I'm sure the sharing meltdown will happen eventually. We have 1 week left in Guangzhou. Tomorrow we have Lily's medical check-up for her U.S. visa and then off to lunch.

Again, thank you for your prayers, love and support! They are appreciated! :)

Day 3 with Lily!

So we've gotten to know little Ms. Lily a little better today. Here are some things we've seen already. She's very sweet but very stubborn (sounds familiar huh?) When she doesn't get her way, she cries intensely. She's a very good eater with a healthy appetite. She loves to run up and down the hallway in the hotel or at the playground. She giggles when I kiss her neck. She learned to give "high 5s". Doesn't love the stroller yet. She likes to color and Mia's Chinese Legos. She doesn't like the dark. She speaks mandarin but I don't understand her. She repeats what I tell her to. She knows Mia is her big sister and will call her JieJie (Jieh-juh) big sister in Chinese when I say it. She knows Chris as Baba (daddy in Chinese), Nancy is Ayi and of course Mama. She's still not loving her Daddy yet but we all know that too will change. Her nickname is Chuchu and responds to it very well.

We didn't do much today so there aren't many pictures. We did go the Public Safety office where we were granted Lily's passport which we'll receive at the end of the trip. Chris and Nancy ventured out to pick-up Lebanese food for dinner. It was a nice change from the hotel food and the Chinese food.

Overall, we're doing well. Thank you for the love, support and prayers!

Pictures from Susie

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Lily is ours!

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Day 2 with Lily!

It's official, Lily is ours!! We went to the notary office and took an oath to finalize our adoption today. Lily was good all morning but then she started to get mad at Chris and now she doesn't want him to sit next to her but she will happily accept from from him as long as he doesn't linger too long. It's expected so I'm not worried. We all know how things started with Mia and now look, they are 2 peas in a pod. Lily loves to be outside but she had a melt down today at lunch. Again to be expected. It was very hot in the restaurant and she hadn't had a nap yet. Once we returned to the hotel and air conditioning, she was all smiles and happy to be back in the room. After a bath, nap and dinner we ran around the playground and she was once again content. She has a cute little raspy voice.

Mia is doing fantastic! She is such a good girl! She is not showing any signs of jealousy. We bought her a big box of Chinese legos today and she was one happy camper. She earned those and more! She never ceases to amaze me. She is behaving like a big girl well beyond 3 years old. I'm one proud momma bear when I'm even getting compliments from Chinese people.

What a day! 

Guangzhou - Day 2

We had a wonderful 2nd day. We strolled around the neighborhood and enjoyed a little shopping. We met the other family that are also adopting a little girl. We had Dim Sum lunch at Sky 1 Tower and enjoyed a new local park. We found out that we are meeting Lily at 2:30PM on Monday (today) and I don't know how I got any sleep last night. It's 6:30am now and our new life as a family of 4 is about to begin. Can't wait to meet Lily and see her personality and how Mia and her will begin to form this friendship.
We'll post the meeting pictures as soon as we can.
Click on the link to see our pictures from Day 2....

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We're in China!

I'll make it short since I'm not sure this is going to post. We're here!!! The flight was fine. Mia slept 7 hours and again just before we landed. She colored and played with her BFF Titi. She's such a trooper. I'm so thankful we are here and we are safe!!! We're going to Dim Sum lunch tomorrow and then we'll meet Lily on Monday. Our Internet connection is really bad so I'm not sure we'll get as much Skype time as we'd like to. Until tomorrow...

Susie

A Day at the Park

We had a picnic at the park this weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Mia had a great time with her Titi Nancy and Tio Mike along with some other friends. Since it was a beautiful day I took some pictures. Here is my little ham....I remember when she was a little butterball turkey. Now she's grown into this beautiful little girl. I still feel so lucky she calls me Mommy!

Updated pictures of our Lily!!!

We sent Lily a care package through Ann of Red Thread and she sent us these updated pictures of our baby girl. I can't wait to hug and squeeze her. She's a little thing weighing 25 lbs and 34 1/2 inches tall.

Christmas Came Early at the Muñoz home...

God is so good to us....

Our house has been buzzing with activity these last 2 months and a surprise came to us this week.
You're probably not surprised to hear that we have been in the process to adopt again from China. But you will probably be surprised to know that we have accepted a referral of a little girl in Zhanjiang. She is 27 months and adorable. We are thrilled beyond belief and can't wait to meet her soon!

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!!!

Love,
Muñoz Party of 4!! (Soon-to-be)

Mia at the Pumpkin Patch

We visited the local pumpkin patch and had lots of fun taking pictures and picking out little pumpkins.

Family Cruise on the Oasis 9/2012

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Memorial Weekend - Disney Trip

We went away for the weekend to Disney World. As usual we had some fun and relaxation. Mia is such a good traveler. She sits in her car seat without any complaints and wathces her videos on an Ipod Touch. I love that she's happy just to be with us and do whatever we are doing. She got to meet Mickey for the 1st time and Belle, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella too. She hugged and kissed all of them. She had already met Minnie and Pooh on a couple other visits. She's my little trooper. She's also talking all the time now, along with singing and dancing. She is such a funny little girl.

My baby has bloomed into a little girl!

Mia is so much fun! She can act whacky and funny or she can sit quietly playing with her toys. She has grown to love music and singing. We’ve tried ballet too but she’s not a fan so we are going back to swimming this week for the summer. Maybe we’ll try ballet in the fall again. We can’t wait for summer! I think she’ll really enjoy the beach this year. Here she is in her Spring photos.

A little scrapping

These are a couple of scrapbook pages I made for a special album that is being delivered to the Director of Mia's Social Welfare Institute that supervised her Foster family while she was in China. Many other families that also adopted from the same SWI participate and the Director loves pictures.

Our little flower is growing so fast!!!

Christmas 2011 Picture

The day I took Mia for our Christmas card photo she had a royal meltdown and would not even sit anywhere near the backdrop or Christmas tree to take a decent photo. Of course I didn't give up. When we returned home, still in her Christmas outfit, I lured her to the Christmas tree with Cheerios and the result was perfect. She even brought a chair out and modeled for me. I couldn't believe this was the same child that had kicked and screamed her way out of a studio 1 hour prior.

Here she is turning on the charm...