Yesterday we went to the Safari Park. It was- amazing! There were so many animals I had never seen in person before- kangaroos, pandas, koalas....and I certainly have never been so up close and personal with most of these animals. Part of the park consists of a driving safari, where you can ride through the park by car or aboard the park's vehicle (kind of like a train, but not on a track). All of our kids even fed the giraffes. They loved it! Disney's Animal Kingdom has nothing on this place. Aside from the really dangerous animals- i.e. bears, hippos, tigers and lions, there were NO barriers. Even the rhinos walk up to the cars. You can even pet the zebras if you want to. What a great day!

Tong enjoyed the park, but wanted nothing to do with being in pictures while we were there. This is why there aren't many pictures of him in this posting. He did like the park, though, and he had a banner afternoon, playing and snuggling with us and with his sibs and watching Ultraman back in our hotel room.

I am also posting a pic of the boys at the computer with their Daddy. They have both taken to starfall.com, a website that teaches the alphabet, words, etc. Many other parents recommended this site and I have to agree. Tong is so smart and already knows so many words. And our little guy, Hujie is so smart too, and has a real affinity for figuring out puzzles.

So that sums up yesterday. Today was a free day for us, so we spent a good amount of time in the pool. I didn't get any photos of our pool time, since both boys love holding the camera (ok, they are camera obsessed), and we were pretty sure that the camera would somehow find its way into the pool. :) Anyway- Hujie is like a little fish, and had such a great time splashing around. Emily and Dylan both loved the water, as they always do, and Abby had a great time relaxing on her Tinkerbell inner tube. Tong seemed to love the water too, though he was a little more careful, as it was his first ever time in a pool (the boys weren't allowed to swim until their TB tests were read, and our last hotel's pool didn't have a shallow end, so this was our first time in). Anyway, it was a great day, and I am sure we will swim again tomorrow.

Overall, things seem to get a little bit easier each day. It will be a while before everyone feels completely secure, but we are getting there. Each day brings more smiles. The boys really seem to like each other a lot and have become good buddies. Emily also gets along great with the boys. I don't think I have ever heard so much giggling. Abby loves Hujie, but absolutely ADORES Tong (he loves to take care of her and feed her- and of course Abby does not object to any of this-haha), and Dylan loves to follow his brothers around and try to copy everything the big kids do. :)

I also am posting a pic of Abby and Dylan. We have two strollers here (one that we purchased, and one that we are borrowing from a local shop). However, Abby prefers to have Dylan sit on her lap, and Dylan prefers it too. Two partners in crime- haha.

Yesterday was a great day. The boys had their visa photos, followed by their medical appointments for their visas- and NO ONE CRIED during the PPD (TB Test)!!!! They were just happy to get their candies. :) Hu Jie became upset about two minutes after the fact when he saw he was bleeding a little bit, but became happy again when I unwrapped his candy for him.

After the medical appointment, we went to a local park here in Guangzhou, which had a beautiful lake, some rides for the kids and a playground. Everyone had a great time.

Hu Jie is doing great with the transition, but he is very fast and we need to keep a constant eye on him. He likes to touch everything that is new to him- EVERYTHING- whether clean or dirty, safe or unsafe. He is a very sweet boy- very affectionate and pretty happy-go-lucky. We just need to watch out for his own safety, as he is self-sufficient and will run off on his own, even when there is traffic- yikes. He is absolutely adorable, and has this really cute raspy little voice which sounds like Charlie Brown's voice. We have been trying to get him to say "good grief". Hahaha. :)Oh, and did I mention- he likes to EAT! A lot!!!

Tong had a banner day yesterday. He is getting along very well with his new brother. They decided that they wanted to sleep next to each other at night, and they are very cute- whispering to each other and giggling until they fall asleep. We put them in the bathtub together and they had a great ol' time, splashing and laughing.

Anyway, as I said, Tong had a great day yesterday. A lot of smiles and very few meltdowns. The only place where he becomes anxious is if we have to go out into large crowds. Otherwise, things have been going great. He is very, very funny and outgoing. Our guide told us that he is always thinking. He has told us that he either wants to be a policeman, a doctor or a movie star. He is so, SO smart that I have no doubt he will be whatever he wants to be. :)