Concert in the Park

Best friendsListening to music under nature's canopy...a beautiful thing...

Family Visit

Eagerly anticipated "girl time"!

"Honey" (Grandma Carol) and Emmaxia

Auntie R.J., Rylee and Delaney with Emmaxia

Playing with Honey...

Emmaxia had so much fun playing "patty cake" and "so big" and loved showing off her impressive gymnastic skills to her guests. (Child proofing is just around the corner!)

Thank you, Honey, Auntie R.J., Rylee and Delaney (and Rascal), for a fantastic visit! We can't wait to see you next week!

Fun In the Sun

Here comes the sun...do-do-do-do Winneconne pool with the Spalding clan......Not her best smile but still cute

Fun Stuff

The Great Protector....

A special relationship...

Italianfest - Milwaukee...

Concert in the park - Neenah...................

She's too Cute to Keep to Ourselves

I think hats on little girls always look great but you have to admit she's working this one.

Here's Emmaxia pushing me along to cut the grass.

Baby Einstein

Daddy honed his hair styling skills while swimming with Emmaxia today--just had to share. (Check out those expressions...who needs words with a face like that?!)

Emmaxia's Week

We haven't posted in a week and are starting to hear about it, so here is the update! : ) First, the medical update... Emmaxia's ear concern evolved into an ear infection, so she's been on antibiotics for 5 days now. No one ever told me that antibiotics caused diarrhea in infants. I won't be graphic, but it's safe to say we've officially experienced the many options a little being has to expel unwanted material as quickly as possible! She is definitely feeling better, though, and we are relieved to know the meds are working. Seeing her sleep soundly again and wake with that "bring on the world" smile is so reassuring. We are also recovering although it's taking me a bit longer than Todd. Our only concern at this point is Emmaxia thinking a cough is a form of communication because she is hearing that as much as she is hearing words from us these days. We have stepped out a few times. Emmaxia visited her first museum and is officially a fan of farmers' markets. She loves the view from the backpack, and I'm fairly certain she's aware of how cute she is in the stylish shades! Thank you for continuing to follow our journey! TTE and G

Happy Father's Day!

Emmaxia would like to wish her daddy a very special Father's Day. We love you, Daddy (BaBa)/Todd!

-Emmaxia and Tara

I'd like to also acknowledge Emmaxia's uncles and her "big brother" cousins (I know they will be such important people to our daughter) and especially Emma's grandpas. We miss our dads so much but know they are still very present in Emma's life. In fact, I'm pretty sure I heard them both laughing when I took this picture of their grandchild this morning! We will share special Grandpa Tom and Grandpa Rocky stories today.

Happy Father's Day, everyone.

TTE and G

Family

I Love My New Family!!!!!

Thank you family for a great "Meet Emmaxia" party. We have great friends and family. Emma, Tara and I loved it.

Meeting the family for the first time. It's been a day filled with special moments.

Bath, book, bottle and bed....I told you it was a day filled with special moments.

We Made it Home!!!

Well we made it home safe and sound. The 3 hour car ride from Chicago (after a 14 hour flight)was grueling but it's over now. You would think from the looks of her first sleep in her new crib all was well..........

Getting used to the new home and the new best friend.

Nice to drive up to our welcome sign.

Emmaxia meets Gruzin for the first time. It was love at first site for both of them.

Well, it's been a tough night and morning so far. We were up for over 30 hours only to finally reach home with all of us having a cold. A baby with a cold means more time up. Hey, just another day in the life. It feels great to be home and thank you Carol, mom and Eric for taking care of the home, Gruzin and the yard for us while we were away. More photos and info to come but first I need some sleep.

TTE and G

Last Full Day In China

7000 miles away and she managed to find one.

I really hope this isn't a coffee drinker in-training. I guess I am an enabler because that is my arm holding the cup for my lovely wife.

We are going to miss this beautiful area.

This is our last full day in Guangzhou and China. Later today we are off to the U.S. Embassy to make the adoption offical in America even though in our hearts its been offical the day we set our eyes on her. Hopefully we are finally done shopping. I am sweaty and exhausted. Again today high heat and high humidity (check further down our blog for the weather). We will be skyping family members tonight (your morning). Looking forward to chatting and seeing you soon.

TTE

One day left

Tara getting a flavor of the area. Today's fresh catch...fresh scorpions!!

A couple of scorps, washed down with some squid and we are good to go.

This is what the trip was all about....one big happy family. Believe me, I am just as happy behind the camera.

Couldn't miss this opportunity. A nice store for dresses, shoes and salt shakers but it was the name that we truly loved.

This may be our last post in China. We have a very early start to the day tomorrow and a long bus ride to Hong Kong for our flight back home. We will continue the blog because so many people are now following it (nearly 1500 visitors a day). Thank you all. It's very special to us to have this connection with you all from around the world.

Tata for now. Perhaps a phone call later.

TTE

The only site-seeing we really need

Here is what a couple of hours of site-seeing will do to a 7 month old. Actually, it has the same effect on a 45 year male as well.

The first experience with bubbles.

The second experience with bubbles.

Happy baby.

This morning was spent site-seeing. Went to a local museum with beautiful landscapes and gifts. We also had the opportunity to sample really good tea which we had to purchase as well. Emmaxia is doing well. We love watching her learn. Today, she maintained a sitting position with both hands in the air for at least 30 seconds before toppling over. She is a fantastic reminder of life's simple joys!

Day 10 - Medical Exam

It's clear from this photo that all is well with our little angel. The medical exam went well and mommy (and daddy) are happy.

She was a true sport for all three exams.

This was her first experience with a hat. No matter how it sat on her head, she always managed to look like a model wearing it (FYI, that's not up for debate).

The day is half done and it's going great so far. Tara is now trying to put her down for a nap because she's had a full day and a full belly but no luck so far. We are excited to walk around a bit because it's beautiful here. I managed to go for a run this morning. The site of older men and women exercising in the park was inspiring.

Later today is more paperwork and then massages tonight. Yea, that's right--the parents need a little TLC as well.

FYI, we both fight over her all the time, but she is already showing signs that she may love us as much as we love her. How cool is that?

Once again, we love getting up in the morning and reading your comments. Please keep them coming.

Tata for now.

PS someone give Gruzin a big sloppy kiss from all three of us. We miss him alot.

TTE

Ah...she's asleep! : )

Day 9 - Guangzhou and Victory Hotel

This was Emmaxia's first experience at a Thai restaurant. Unbelievable food and honestly we think daddy got more food on him than Emmaxia.

Here is the group prior to leaving the hotel in Nanchang.

Here was Emmaxia's first plane ride. Not bad for a first trip but there is plenty of room for improvement. Yea, we are that family with the crying baby in row 14. The later half of the trip she was great.

After about a hour long bus ride we finally reached our destination, the Guangdong Victory Hotel. We have only been here for a couple of hours but so far this place is awesome. The hotel entrance is more than impressive and Zhou made arrangements to get us suites. The hotel rests on an island and is surrounded by a quaint village type setting. A short walk down the block and we found ourselves a Thai restuarant that was more than impressive. We love this place already. More to follow soon right now, however, we need to get Emmaxia to sleep. Her schedule is still a bit off. She is growing each day, just wait until you see how cute she is in person.

TTE

Start of Day 9 - Fly to Guangzhou

Just a quick message before we head to the airport. Last night we got a late start to our sleep because of the dinner and the fountain show but we all slept well. 5:45am start to the day and a full bottle and we are ready to take whatever the world can give us today.

Once again, we love the comments please keep them coming.

Here is an interesting fact, since we have been in Nanchang we have had over 6000 visitors to our site. Scroll down to the bottom portion of the blog and you can see the counter and where the visitors are coming from. Its alot of fun to follow where people all visiting from.