Dim Sum and visits

Tuesday we slept late (results of chocolate cake overload). By the time we finally got ready to venture out of grandpa's house, it was time for lunch. No trip to the DC area for us would be complete without a trip to Fortune for dim sum. Dim sum is the Chinese equivalent of Spanish tapas (or appetizers) and is from the Cantonese area of China... where Kylie is from). We've made a tradition of going there each time we are in the area and having Kylie with us this time made it extra special. We (and by we I mean all three of us!) thoroughly enjoyed our variety of dumplings and vegetables. We had tiny portions of fried crab fritters, shrimp won tons, spinach dumplings, pot stickers, BBQ pork buns, steamed meatballs, and a plate of green beans sauteed in garlic and Hoisin sauce. Can you guess what Kylie's favorite two were? By saying that she had favorites, I'm not saying that she didn't enjoy it all, because she tried multiple bites of each thing. But her outstanding favorites were of course the green beans and the meatballs. We're joking and saying that Kylie could eat her way around the world with meatballs. So far she's proved that she likes them in tomato sauce (Italian), mushroom sauce (sorta Swedish), with Greek seasoning (Greek), and now wrapped in dumpling (Chinese). What nationality meatball can we serve her next?

From there we headed to AWAA to visit with the folks that worked so hard on our behalf in the adoption process. It was so good to be able to bring Kylie in and let her meet our family coordinator (Laurel answered so many questions ~ for those of you that know me you know that I have lots of questions! ~ and provided so much support for us as we waited) and our travel coordinator (Ashley had the job of coordinating the travel arrangements for 42 families ~ and she had about a week to get it all set! She put together a WONDERFUL trip to China). Kylie of course turned on the charm and ran back and forth between us and Ashley, Laurel, and Amy (another family coordinator). We spent about 30 minutes sitting on the office floor talking and then let the staff get back to work.

From there it was time to head to a park to meet John and Joanna and their children. John was Ian's bible study leader at VT. John and Joanna's wedding was one of our first dates and then three years later John served as one of the groomsmen in our wedding. For several years we managed to exchange Christmas cards, but this year we got an exciting note from them, they had traveled to South Korea to adopt the newest member of their family, Sara. Since then we've exchanged many emails and Ian and I decided to make time to see them while we were in the area. We got to the park first and Kylie wanted to show us what a big girl she is becoming...

We let the kids play on the playground which looked a lot like Ryan running around, Kylie toddling slowly after him, and Sara being held alternately by her parents. Next time I'm sure Kylie and Sara will interact more, this time it was nice to be outside... We ate a picnic dinner and then went back to the playground. Ian and John talked about guy stuff (I guess) while Joanna and I discussed figuring out a child who comes to you not as a newborn. All too soon it was time to head to our respective homes ~ or home away from home in our case ~ but we got this adorable picture of all three kids before we left. Don't you think Ryan makes a wonderful big brother? Note Kylie trying to hold Sara's hand...

After letting Kylie capture just a bit more of her grandpa's heart, we put her to bed, said our goodbyes (Grant leaves for work much earlier than we were getting up) and went to bed.

Wednesday can best be summed up by saying that we spent a lot of time on our rears in the car. Oh how I wished for my ruby-red slippers!

Trip summary: Kylie met (in this order) her grandpa, Uncle Josh, Aunt Rachel, Tony; Ian's former coworkers Andy, Jonathan, & Yung; my cousin Melanie and her daughter Ella; VT friends Jim and Anne; "re-met" China friends Jenny, Bob, Elle, Grace, Olivia, Maria, Shannon, SuSu, & Kristin; AWAA staff Laurel, Ashley, & Amy; VT friends John, Joanna, Ryan, & Sara. She was dragged around her grandpa's house and each day went to at least two new places (including our day long jaunt into DC where she proved she does have an adventurous spirit ~ we are so blessed with her temperament!). Despite all the new faces while in unfamiliar territory, she still smiled in the car on the way home.
Sadly this trip we didn't have the time to see my friend Craig and his wife Kiyoung, my Uncle Larry and Aunt Carol, or my cousin Chad and his girlfriend Caroline. Next time guys, we promise!