First Haircut

At the risk of offending the wonderful staff at Kaifeng Children's Center, one of the first things we did once we got home, was take Parker to the Barbershop. As has been the case, he lights up the room wherever we go....

Day of Twelves and more

Today was an early day. We had our last official appointment in China at the American Consulate Office where we did the normal waiting in line, filling out paperwork, waiting more. And then finally taking the oath that all of the paperwork that we have been completing, notarizing, verifying, authenticating, copying, and Fed-Exing over the past 14 months, has indeed been true - to the best of our knowledge, Phew!!
Now the fun stuff!!
Off to the Pearl Market Last time we were here, I spent a lot of time learning about the pearls and the whole process, so this time I wandered off on my own to the bead section and had a great time! Karen, wish you were here with me - found some really interesting and different agates, coral and others (names sounded good in Chinese) that look fantastic! Should be fun to work with, now all I need is the time.....
All of our group met downstairs for family pictures and a group photo on the steps. In years past these photos have always been taken on THE red couch at The White Swan hotel, which of course is undergoing a 2 year renovation. So steps it was! I think we all did pretty well, considering.
We had an early dinner of Manchurian food with Chris, Theresa and Willow and tried to get to bed early. Tomorrow is our last day here and we have some serious re-packing to do, a meeting ( just like work-a meeting everyday)!, and hopefully, a visa for Parker this afternoon!! Yeah!!

Guangzhou-A few things

This is home to almost 13 million people. It is located in the southeastern portion of China mainland and is the capital city of Guangdong province. The Pearl River runs near and is essential to their manufacturing/trade business. There are rolling hills here and even a famous mountain called Baiyan mountain. The roads are very crowded like Beijing, but the sidewalks are so much safer here because there are no motorcycles or scooters allowed!!! Unlike the States, pedestrians do NOT have the right of way in Asia, so you always have to be on your toes and watch your children very carefully. I guess we have been fortunate to have sunshine the past two days...today is very grey and smoggy. A mom in our group from Shanghai has a pollution meter app on her phone and verified that fact this morning at breakfast!
The Chinese people are so beautiful, and for the most part, they are very gracious and friendly, with ONE exception, the buffet line for food. OMG, I have never seen such a sight! The Chinese rush in and crowd you, hoard the food like they have not eaten in a month, and then take enough food for 10 people each! I suppose it might be pretty hysterical from a distance, but when you have a cranky, hungry baby and a whiny 5 year old waiting for food, Mama Bear comes out and you see the ole aggressive Chinese in this mom!! (That is when Eric and Lindsay pretend they don't know me)! Kathy is great, too, she kept bringing us more food right as they brought it out and made sure that Parker got a balloon from the juggler! Guess when there are that many people around, you learn to get what you can get, huh?! Once we get back home we will work on our manners......all of us.
Can't beat the weather, it is mild and subtropical. Supposedly there is a park nearby with an orchid garden. I would like to check that out. I wonder how my orchid is doing in my office??

Medical Clinic and Back to the Island

After a tough morning at the government medical clinic for the mandatory check up and Visa pictures, 8 of us + 3 new little ones taxied out to Shaiman Island for lunch at Lucy's and some familiar shopping. It was nice to be in a quiet area and sit outside to dine on some good ole Americanized comfort food. They even have decent iced tea!
I still can't find any squeaky shoes small enough for Parker that aren't pink...strange how the inventory hasn't caught up with the shift in the baby gender mix yet! Many people think he is a girl, anyway-Kathy says it is because his hair is long. It's true, he is in dire need of a good haircut. The nannies at the orphanage were SO proud of his little mullet and long little sideburns-they kept touching the back of his hair and just beaming. I didn't have the heart to tell them that it was awful!!! I brought little scissors, and keep threatening, but Eric and Lindsay say I have to wait until we get home....
We went on a dinner cruise this evening down the Pearl River. I wasn't really expecting much, but it turned out really nice. The tall colorful building in the picture below is the Canton Tower and it is the tallest structure in China and the 4th tallest free standing structure in the world. Quite impressive! There was a clown/juggler performance after dinner that Parker loved, also. He laughed and clapped and really got into it, it was fun!

Catching Up

It is Sunday night, December 9 and we are in Guangzhou @ the Marriott. It is definitely a nicer hotel than the White Swan, but honestly, I really miss Shamian Island. Great news, our CCAI guide is Kathy!!! She is SO Wonderful, positive and helpful - a great guide. The 2 + hour plane ride went pretty well. Parker and I were stuck in a middle seat next to a Chinese man in a business suit that smelled like an ash tray. He did NOT appreciate babies and that went doubly when Parker cried! Hmmm...interesting!
Anyway, the weather is warm and flowers are in bloom here. There is a lovely park just a few blocks from our hotel that we checked out this morning. Lots of friendly people there-old and young, we will definitely go back. Tomorrow we go to the Medical Clinic, I am not looking forward to that. Lindsay has volunteered to plan another activity with Meredith, thankfully!
Here are some pictures that make me happy - I hope you enjoy them, too! Sometimes it's the little things, ya know?!
( The 6 Banyans Temple shot is for our friends from 1357.... Deja vu )

Last day in Zhengzhou

Nothing was formally scheduled for today. We received our babies' Chinese passports, so we can now leave Zhengzhou and are on to the next step in this unbelievably paper intensive process of International Adoption. IA as commonly known to us APs.
SO, with Parker comfortably able, If not willing to spend several hours with his Baba, Meredith and I headed down the road to the nearest Starbucks for some Mom/Daughter time and a chocolate muffin! We can back, ate lunch together and then several girls headed to the spa for an AWESOME 60+ minutes body massage for ~ $20!! What a nice treat.
We had a daring adventure for dinner at a local spot across the street from our hotel with Scott, Donna and Lucy. The food wasn't great, but we had a lot of fun!
Tomorrow we are off to Guangzhou.