Miscellaneous News

Okay, where did I leave off? Oh yes... the spoon incident, no wait, we were past that... so we arrived in Guangzhou. Our hotel is really nice and most importantly it has a great breakfast buffet. The White Swan sits on the Pearl River. The view out of our room looks like Vegas. All the hotels are lit up with bright flashing lights and party boats go by all night carrying passengers and flashing signs. We are happy to be here and ready to shop. The entire hotel and surrounding area caters to adoptive families. We borrowed a stroller from a local store but we spend more time with her in the hip hammock I brought. (It's easier to keep her calm when she's in the sling.)

  
Lobby waterfall and lights at the White Swan.

---------------------------------------

Medical Exam and Updated Stats

Friday morning we walked to the hospital to have the adoption examination. We were scheduled to go on Saturday with the hoards of other families in Guangzhou, but since we got in town early, our guide took us by and got us in. Our three families were the only ones there. What a relief! So here's how it goes:

First Station - Ears and Throat Ty passed the hearing exam with a minor brow raise at mother for having dirty ears. How do you clean a babies ears? (Never thought about that one!) She opened her mouth on cue to receive a tongue depressor and that was it. The nurse/doctor said "good baby" and on we went to the next station.

Second Station - Weight and Height. This is the one we have been waiting for since we got her. Are you ready? Weight 11.76kg and Height 78cm. That's right... I've been christened into motherhood by carrying around a 26 pound hunk of love. The nurse picked her up and said "good baby" and on to the next station.

Third Station - Doctor Check-up. The doctor checked Ty's chest and checked her skin. I was more than terrified because Ty had developed diaper rash the day before as well as a blister where her pants had rubbed. And if that wasn't enough to make me a horrible mother, she had poo in her diaper when the doctor took it off! :) The doctor took it all in stride and pronounced her a "good baby". And I kid you not, as I was redressing Ty, the doctor said that she looked just like her momma and i think she meant me!

So Ty is officially strong, big and healthy. Oh and a "good baby"! The only thing left for us to do before coming home with Ty in our arms is to get our paperwork through the US Consulate. This should happen on Tuesday or Wednesday, so we have the next few days free for exploring.

  
Exam room at the hospital.


Being such a good baby is tiring!

-------------------------------------

With the medical exam out of the way, we had today clear for unofficial activities. Our three families decided to do a half day tour. We met in the morning and headed out to see the Six Banyon Tree Temple, the Porcelain Factory, the Supermarket(?) and then to a Dim Sum lunch

Six Banyon Tree Temple: This has been my favorite place to visit so far. It has such a magical quality from the second you walk in the gates. The first thing to hit you is the smell of incense. The believers are everywhere burning incense and praying at the alters. Mom and Ty went through a Buddhist monk blessing ceremony. It was a very peaceful experience - not really religious for me, just a unique experience for both of us. Poor dad was stuck with the video camera and missed the actual blessing, but we asked for enough good wishes for the whole family.

  
Pagoda and gold Buddha statues.


I've been blessed!

Porcelain Factory: This was really more like an upscale department store. Not what I expected. I guess I thought we would see lots of little old women painting everything by hand. I will admit that we saw gorgeous pieces of art, but decided against buying any. It was just way too hard to make a decision. I did get some jade finally at a jewelry store downstairs. Looks just like the cheap stuff, but I was assured that it was higher quality. Either way, I like it and I love that the DH wanted to buy it for me. I will pass it down to Ty one day as a memory of the time her parents spent in China with her.

Supermarket: Nothing fancy here. It was exactly that - a supermarket, well no more like a Chinese Super Target. There was a little bit of everything. We got some children's books that are in English, Pinyon, and Chinese. Ty really liked looking at the pictures so i couldn't resist.

Dim Sum Lunch: Long story short... Awesome restaurant, lots of unknown foods, not many adventurous eaters, hungry families looking forward to getting back to the hotel so they can have a snack! It was worth it just to say we did, but I would skip this next time.

  
Dim Sum lunch. Cook at street cafe.


Can you eat fruit puffs with chopsticks?

---------------------------------------------

A few funny side notes then its off to bed. DH and Ty have already been asleep for over an hour. I think being a dad and daughter are really wearing them out - it's only 9:30pm!

• While we were waiting for the medical exams, a young girl came into the room with her grandmother. The doctor was pointing at the wall chart which consisted of hands pointing different directions (see picture above). We all watched quietly while she held a spoon over one eye and proceeded to point her fingers in the direction of the hand on the chart. Once they left the room, one of our travel buddies said that the grandmother had been behind her granddaughter and pushing on her back so that the girl would know which direction to hold her hand. I think this might have been a ploy to get grandma glasses!!


• When we walk down the street or even in the hotel, Chinese people always tell us what a beautiful baby we have. Then they ask how old. Then they make this sound like, how do I describe that sound, it is the sound you make when you hear the words someone says but you think there is absolutely no way that what was said could be true! Then we always get a "big baby" and a smile. They are in disbelief at the pure size of Ty. She is still one of the biggest babies we have seen. Did I mention how buff my arms are going to look by the time I get home?! :)


• Ty was actually twice blessed. While Ty and I were waiting in the hall for DH to do some official hotel reservation business, 3 monks walked into the hall (no this is not a joke, if it were I would have had one monk, one Rabi, and one southern baptist pastor!) anyway the older monk stopped and looked at Ty. He tried to get her to smile and when she did, he touched her cheek and then made a motion over her forehead and up to the sky. Then he nodded at me and resumed walking. She is definitely getting attention and good wishes.

Okay, that's enough for now. I'll leave you with our first "camera held out at arms length" family photo.