We travelled to China to meet Elena Lijiao in early August. Isabel came with us, and she did great. She did everything a big sister is supposed to do -- she played with her new mei mei and she helped us take care of Elena. She even did great on the 30 hour trip from our house to our hotel in Guangzhou. Elena was sick for the first week or so, but by the time we flew home she was feeling good and we had made great progress with bonding. And by the time we landed in sunny Minneapolis, we were one, bigger, happy family.

The pictures below are thumbnails. Go ahead and click on them to see bigger pictures. We promise it will be worth it.

This was right after the gotcha' moment. She didn't feel well and she was a bit overwhelmed. Still, she was beautiful.	A very tired girl	Tired in b/w	Newly sisters
At the Chen Family Museum. Izzy missed mom & sister.	At a Buddhist temple	Nearly naked sisters	Nearly naked in color
Yum, yum, take-out noodles	Elena starting to come around.	This girl will eat anything, including cribs!	Again, Elena will eat anything!
Looking for more food!	Out for a walk on Shamian Island	Budding photographer	Sisters