Hello from Guangzhou!

Greetings from the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou! It's not nearly as fabulous as everyone says, and I'm not even that picky. Just sayin'. But the sun was out here and it was 70-some degrees, so that was nice.

Kennedy's first flight was a blast--she was very excited and didn't sleep a wink of the ride. Instead, she played with everything she could get her hands on and kept us quite busy picking up dropped items from the floor of the plane. This flight was an hour and a half...imagine the 19 hours of travel we have ahead of us on Thursday...

We arrived at the White Swan at about 1:00 and checked in. This is a very famous 5 star hotel, so keep this in mind when I start complaining about it. Don't get me wrong; the lobby is lovely, but most everything else is really dated. And I cannot understand how people can stand the smell of mold in this place. Again, 5 star hotel. We had to change rooms because the first room just smelled like mold was everywhere. (We were on the river side.) We got moved to a room facing the city and the smell is better (not gone, though), but the view of the city is amazing. Okay, that complaining above? And my point? My point is that this moldy, spent place is my favorite hotel in the world. Why? Because Kennedy isn't scared to be here. Because she sat ON THE FLOOR with me and played, something that brought screams of terror in our last (non-moldy) hotel. Because this change of venue has given Kennedy some relief from her fears. I don't know why exactly, but it has. And for that reason--for the smiles I saw and coos I heard playing stacking cups, walking drunken sailor style and looking at photos with her today--this moldy, out-of-date White Swan Hotel has a very special place in my heart.

We had a GREAT day. It is soooooo beyond fun to see her little personality emerge more and more every day. She is so fun and adorably stubborn. (I say that now...)

This afternoon after our playing on the floor and walking around the room cooing session, we walked off Shamian Island (this hotel sits on a weird little not-very-China island of English speakers and out-of-place European architecture...) with our guide Molly to buy a stroller, as this hotel does not provide one and the stroller is K's current bed of choice. Molly took the reigns from Chandler upon our arrival in Guangzhou. She was super sweet and took us to a department store in the city to give us more options than were available on the island. Afterward we went to the square to try out her new squeaky shoes. (Squeaky shoes are very common here and squeak when a kiddo steps down. It's supposed to reward proper foot placement as kids learn to walk by only squeaking when stepped on squarely.) Her new shoes (yes, that's 2 pairs in 2 days if you're counting--and tomorrow's another day...) are sooooo adorable and she was so pleased by their squeaking that we spent a half hour in the square walking about having our hearts melted by her little "so proud of myself" grin.

After giving K dinner in the room (sometimes the constant restaurant eating gets to be too overwhelming for her), we headed out to roam the island, as it is full of shops and...a Starbucks. (It's hard to complain that the island doesn't seem an authentic China experience when I jumped for joy at the sight of a Starbucks...I'm such a hypocrite.) Anyway, I will say that there are no traffic issues here and it's very pedestrian friendly, and that is a welcome change at this point in the trip. (It gets harder to negotiate the crazy traffic the more tired you get.)

I am so happy about today. We did well with the flight, kept her schedule relatively intact, and she (and we!) had FUN. She did so much cooing and verbalizing today--we haven't heard but a few peeps out of her prior to today. And did I mention playing on THE FLOOR?! :) We are just so in love with her; her quirky looks, stubborn antics, adorable smile...I just get all goosebumpy thinking about her amazing little self. And I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. :)