Ni Hao from Nanjing!

Thank God for Leapsters!












Ready for bed at the Nanjing Grand.

Delta flight 19

14.5 hours

#1 did not sleep a wink.

We are here! We are here! We are here!

The flight went SO smoothly and we are so proud of the kids who had fun the whole time. There was no whining and not a single tear was shed. Well, until the 2 hour bus trip from the airport to the hotel turned out to be closer to a six hour trip and the kids had officially reached their travel saturation point by then. After a minor meltdown from #1 and a pit stop, they all held it together all the way through check-in and dinner 'til bedtime around 10:30. They even all liked their shrimp wonton soup at dinner. I, on the other hand, requested a noodle dish with NO meat in it and it arrived loaded with shrimp, so my dinner was a Luna bar.

The hotel is beautiful with 5 restaurants, a 4th floor roof top garden with ponds full of gold fish which the kids have already discovered love to come over and nibble on fingers. Maybe we'll try the "western" restaurant tonight even though it looks a bit fancy.

We're meeting our guide, Anna, at 10 this a.m. and then the assistant guide, Grace, is coming at 1pm to take some of us to Walmart for supplies. Jason and Heather are going on that adventure and the kids and I will hopefully take a snooze. #3 and #1 were up for the day at 3:30 and #2 made it til 5a.m.. The breakfast buffet at 6:30 was great! Definitely the best meal of the day just like it was in Changsha 3.5 years ago.

Tomorrow a.m. we all load up with the others in our group to go to the Civil Affairs office and GET CHLOE!!!!! Her clothes are all unpacked. Her little crib is all set up and cozy. We know that b/c big brother #1 slept in it last night after Aunt Heather snored her way to a private room. It is tiny little infant crib on rockers and Caleb was all curled up and happy as a clam in it. At least til 3:30 this morning.

We continue to be utterly amazed by how great our kids are doing with all the travel and jetlag and new foods, etc. They are much better at int'l travel so far than I am. They sleep when tired and eat when hungry and find coolness in the littlest things like the flocks of birds circling in the sky outside the windows at breakfast.

Tomorrow we will have FOUR wonderful, resilient, little people!