Travel Update - Getting closer now!

Wow. Things are definitely moving along more quickly now. All of our paperwork has been sent to the relevant authorities and our travel arrangements have been finalized.

The Itinerary

Tuesday, July 25th - Depart Ottawa for Toronto - Fly from Toronto to Beijing (direct)
Wednesday, July 26th - Arrive Beijing (we are staying at the Poly Hotel in Beijing:

http://www.polyhotel.com/polyEnglishweb/index.htm

From Wednesday, the 26th to Sunday, the 30th is free time. (Other couples will be arriving in Beijing during this time). It is looking like we may be going to visit an ancient village (Chuan Di Xia
http://users.cableaz.com/~donlarry/china/cdx000.html

on Thursday with some other couples. Friday, Chris has some meeting with clients. On Saturday, we might go to Beijing's "Dirt Market", a huge flea market that sees over 50,000 visitors on busy days.

After lunch on Sunday (30th), we and the other couples in Beijing fly to Guangzhou (Capital of Guangdong province and where we shall be united with Sophie. In Guangzhou we are staying at the Marriott

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/canmc

Monday, July 31st is GOTCHA DAY. We should have Sophie in our arms sometime around 3:00 pm.

The following days, from the 1st to the 4th of August will be filled with some paperwork and sightseeing. We are scheduled to visit the Six Banyan Tree Temple in Guangzhou (a renowned Buddhist site where a blessing ceremony will be done for the babies.



We also found out that we will be able to visit Sophie's orphanage in Yanjiang - just not sure which day we'll be going (it's about a 3 hr drive each way).

From the 4th to the 11th of August, we are back in Beijing where we will be sightseeing (great wall) shopping, getting medical check and Sophie's visa, and most importantly, spending time getting to know Sophie.

Finally, we shall be departing Beijing on the 11th of August, and expect to arrive back in Ottawa at (6:00 pm) on the 11th.

What we've been doing to prepare

We've been hard at work preparing for Sophie's arrival. We've painted, cleaned and decorated her room (Stephanie helped Mommy with the decals). We got the crib set up, moved furniture around and washed, hung up and put away all her clothes. Pictured here is a photo of Sophie's room and Stephanie's room (Stephanie had us put up a "princess" veil over her bed)

Shopping - we've done tons of it. You name it, we've likely bought it. In addition to all the usual baby stuff, we've bought lots of medications (we feel like a travelling pharmacy). Still have some minor shopping to do but will be done soon.

Surprises

Last Thursday, Chris' work had a work party in the evening (as they do every summer). However, this time it was a surprise baby shower (and what a surprise it was). We got lots of stuff for Sophie (including some cute outfits, diapers, wipes, change pad, etc..) and Stephanie even got some clothes and stuffed animals. It was a wonderful surprise and much appreciated.

Stephanie picked out a stuffed animal for Sophie (a turtle). Stephanie got her stuffed animal (a lamb named baba) at birth which she still has and sleeps with (Baba's going to China) and she wanted to pick a special stuffed animal for Sophie to have.

Well, that's about it for now. We'll post another update just before we leave and we hope to continue posting during our trip.

Only 9 more sleeps until we leave!!!!

CCS