Day 2 in Guangzhou

Today we started our day visiting the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees. In the center the amazing Six Banyan Pagoda. It was a very special time to visit the temple since there is a holiday taking place right now where people come to pay their respects to their ancestors. While we were there we were very fortunate to have a monk give our little girl and our family a blessing. This was a very moving experience for us.


People paying respect to Buddha.


Then we were brought in through the partition for the blessing.






The Smiling Sebster!














The Laughing Buddha


















We can only hope!















Six Banyan Pagoda











In the afternoon we filled out a LOT of paperwork with our guide, Lee, and then spent some time at and around the hotel. Sebbie discovered the game room while Maggie took her nap and had a great time. Before dinner Sebbie talked me into going swimming in the beautiful palatial pool (with a waterfall!) despite the fact that the water is less than 70 degrees right now! Maggie sat on Baba's lap watching and looking very concerned. I ended up swimming a lot more than he did and actually found it quite invigorating. We plan to go back again tomorrow. We have met a lot of other families here at our hotel from all over the United States. Most are here adopting, in many cases older children (6-8 years old), but we also spent some time chatting with a family that is accompanying their nine-year-old who was adopted from China as a toddler and is doing a "homeland tour". It's really fun hearing the stories of these families and learning about their journeys.

We have had some fun "firsts" today. After breakfast we had our first two-year-old tantrum. It wasn't a big one but it was classic, complete with throwing herself on the floor in the hotel lobby and then being pretty angry with me (I carried her up the stairs when she wanted to run through the restaurant instead). We figured this is a good sign that she is feeling secure enough to do this! She had her first orange with us and gobbled it gleefully. Each day we discover more and more about what she loves to eat and do. After watching Sebbie draw for a while, we gave Maggie her own paper and pencil and she drew her first picture. The best "first" today was right before bed where she learned from Sebbie how to give hugs and kisses to Mama and Baba. It was a great moment for all of us!


First Hugs and Kisses