Today Ellie had her medical examination to clear her to come home. It was uneventful, and she took it all like a champ. I have discovered she actually LOVES the stroller---loves being able to see everything going on from her "perch." :-) After the medical, we went strolling around the island for about two hours and did a little shopping. Shamian Island, which is part of Guangzhou, is really beautiful, and it was nice to be able to walk around without fearing getting run over! :-) Our group had dinner at an authentic Chinese restaurant, which was very fun; fortunately our guide wrote down in Chinese all of the menu items she thought we might like, so all we had to do was hand the waiter a piece of paper. :-)

Mommy again failed at being a good photographer today :-) but tomorrow we are touring, so I should be able to get some pictures!

Ellie is doing just great! I was getting full belly laughs from her today, and she is now eating just about anything I give her (mostly noodles, eggs, veggies, and fruit). She is only about 16 pounds, according to the scale they weighed her on today---so we'll be trying to give her more solid food when she comes home. She was still only on rice formula at her orphanage, but this girl wants to eat! I gave her some mashed banana this afternoon, and she was practically diving in the bowl! :-)

Ann Marie comes on Monday, and we head to Hong Kong on Wednesday. Then, home on Thursday!! Definitely looking forward to coming home!!