I'm filling in for Cathy tonight because she had a tiring day of shopping (3 times) and a massage. Please don't worry about me--I got to write the blog.

Actually, we all had a wonderful day. It started with Maeve having a great night sleep and then putting on an outfit that our dear friend Cristi gave her and it actually fit (photo). She is such a pip squeak and we are having difficulty finding her clothes. Maeve is doing really well. She is sleeping great, eating more and more, and has such a great disposition.

We didn't have any planned activities today but it turned out to be quite busy. After breakfast, we all went on a trip to the jade market. Maeve and I were actually along for the ride and Cathy and some other ladies got down to business. It was quite interesting but hard to really know if it was authentic. After that adventure and lunch, Maeve and I went back to the hotel. Maeve had a very lengthy nap and I might of dozed off a bit as well. Cathy on the other hand was off shopping with the ladies again. We have a group photo of the girls tomorrow and they all decided to purchase the girls authentic Chinese dresses for them to get their photos in. They were successful and then they were off for massages. Many in our group went to include our friend's 8 year old boy, Pait. They had a wonderful time and it was a very relaxing experience for all. It was so good that I'm going to go tomorrow with some of the men.

After Cathy got back, we decided to go to the pool. The White Swan has an awesome pool and a nice little baby area. Maeve loved swimming and it was fun talking to many of the other adoptive families not in our group. There is a huge group (~20 families) from the Boston area. The pool was very refreshing in the heat of Southern China.

It was now time for dinner. We went with our friends the Bryans from NC. We went to a Thai restaurant that was very good. Carl ate his meal out of a coconut and mine was out of a pineapple. I have been very pleased with the food on the trip. The hotel buffets have been great and the Chinese food has been very good everywhere we have gone. I guess I won't be losing a few pounds on this trip.

At this point it was close to 8pm and we were heading back to the hotel, however, Cathy and Wendy decided we weren't quite done shopping. We poked in and out of a few stores and enjoyed talking to some of the locals. We even bought a few things if you can believe it.

As if we hadn't had a full enough day, we decided to go and get some ice cream. It sure tastes good in the humid air of Guongzhou, just ask Maeve. I had her in the bjourn in front of me and she decided she wanted some ice cream. I had to give her a little taste. Well we found out she REALLY REALLY REALLY likes ice cream. Let's just say that our quiet, easy going Maeve had a legitimate meltdown after daddy was done and mommy was done. Thank goodness for bottles.

If you would like to view more photos about our 10th day in China, please click on the link that says, "More China photos" and then click on "China Day 10."