The Pool

We thought we would check out the pool. The water was too cold for Andrew and he was afraid. Soon he was asleep in my arms. Must have been nap time.

Here Andrew is sporting his very fashionable(required) bathing cap. It never got wet. when I took it off of him he threw it across the room. :-}

bonding time

While in this carrier Andrew played with my hair, offered to feed me, looked into my eyes and kissed me. The locals really stared because they probably think he is too big for this.??? they probably think we are are crazy foreigners.

Taking a stroll around the hotel area.

The Adoption is final

Today we went back to the civil affairs to finalize the adoption. We were given 24 hours to make sure we wanted to continue on. Andrew was happy to see his nannies again but ran back and forth between us. He was very excited to show them his sunglasses, comb and sippy cup. He did cry a little when they left. I'm glad that he loves them. He seems like a loyal little guy. Later he gave me a great big unsolicited kiss which of course made my day.

Our newest family member

What a day! Andrew was not at all happy about all of this but is quickly warming up to us. We took the train from Shanghai to Nanjing. There were a couple of stops along the way and guess who got on the train? Andrew and his nannies. Tom told me Andrew was on the train and I didn't believe him at first. Sure enough about 10 rows up there he sat. Then we had to watch him get off the train and disappear into the large crowd. A short time later we met up again at the civil affairs office. There were 2 little boys and lots of tears. One of the nannies was very kind and concerned about the boys. We will see them again tomorrow to finish up the paperwork. We just hung around at the hotel for the rest of the day. We are with another family who has a boy from the same orphanage. We let the boys explore the lobby but that is about it for today. Please welcome Andrew Youxuan Porter.

Shanghai Ocean Aguarium

Jelly Fish
Pretty Fish

We enjoyed Shanghai's ocean aquarium today. A scuba diver fed the sharks while we there. The penquins were very cute. They swam around very close to the glass like fish would if they thought you might feed them. We also went to the Bund, Nanjing Walking Street, and The Super Brand Mall. Those are very big shopping areas that attract tourists and locals alike. The Super Brand Mall is very similar to the Mall of America and the Bund & Nanjing Walking Street sort of reminded us of Nicolette Mall. We are not interested in that kind of shopping so little time was spent there. This was a very long day for us and ended with a wild cab ride back to the hotel.

Pearl Tower-Shanghai Lights

A view from The Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai

Pearl Tower Daytime
Pearl Tower at Night
Everything lights up at night including the cruise boats
This mini-McDonalds serves icecream only

At 1,535 ft high, the Pearl Tower is the tallest completed tower in Asia, and the 3rd tallest in the world. For those of you who know Tom well, you know he was not able to enjoy the view from the top of this tower.

Huangpu River Cruise

We have fun looking at signs in China as quite often the translation is a little off. What they meant to say was no swimming according to our guide. We enjoyed a river cruise today. The weather is in the 80's and humid.