Tuesday in Guangzhou: Consulate Appointment

We had our Consulate Appointment this morning.

You aren't allowed to take cameras, phones or watches inside with you, so we snapped this quick pic outside the Consulate.

While we were waiting in line outside of the consulate, we could see the Canton Tower - the 3rd highest building in China.

Our visit to the U.S. Consulate was, thankfully, uneventful; but it was long. We were there the entire morning.

When we returned to the hotel, we ate lunch, had some playtime and then we all took a VERY long nap!

"I'm so glad I'm getting my Visa soon!"

Wednesday, we'll get Lily's Visa around 3:30pm and then head to the train station. We'll travel to Hong Kong and then fly out Thursday morning!!!

Monday in Guangzhou: A Visit to Shamian Island

Shamian Island is a more European area of Guangzhou where a lot of foreign consulates and international businesses used to be located.

There were photo shoots everywhere we looked - mainly of models in tuxes and wedding dresses.

Once the taxi driver dropped us off, we made a bee line for Lucy's - a restaurant that serves American food.

We'd intentionally waited until about 1pm to go to the island since Lily likes to nap between 11am and 1pm.

Not today!

She refused to nap in the hotel room and then bam! As soon as we got to our table at Lucy's she was OUT!

After lunch, we decided to sit outside and people watch. We saw several people practicing martial arts.

When Lily woke up, she was hot and sweaty....

And we know what that means!

Melt down!

I did some quick souvenir shopping while Doug managed the Melting Girl, and then we stopped for a cold frappuccino at Starbucks - Isn't this the cutest Starbucks?!

One of the shop owners where I bought some souvenirs gave me a little clip to pull Lily's sweaty hair out of her face.
I was thankful she kept it in her hair. So far, Mommy has been unsuccessful at getting Lily to wear hair bows.

When we got back to the hotel, Lily got a bath and then we gave her the baby doll we bought her while on Shamian Island - she was most interested in the baby's braids :)

Today we got Lily's TB test result back. It was negative, so we are good to move forward with our appointment at the U.S. Consulate tomorrow!

Sunday in Guangzhou: A Day in the Park

I have no idea what the name of this park was.

But it was huge!

And beautiful!

And busy!

And HOT!

Y'all, Lily-girl sweats like her Mama - just 1 degree over 76 degrees F, and we both start melting.

And Lily literally melts-DOWN.

She HATES being hot!

Um, sorry, sweet girl.

You're moving to Mississippi.

We walked to the highest point in the park where the Zhen Hai Tower was located.

And, Lo and Behold! Look what was also up there:

The Guangzhou Soccer Stadium!  It was a really cool stadium - carved into the side of the mountain hill and overlooking part of Guangzhou City.

When we returned to the hotel, we decided we needed to cool down, so we went for a swim!

Fun in the Sun in China! :)

Saturday in Guangzhou: Medical Appointment

Saturday morning began bright and early with Lily's medical appointment.

All adopted children must pass a medical exam before the U.S. will issue them a Visa.

That band-aid you see on Lily's left arm is where they drew blood for her TB test. It takes 2 days to get the results back.

There are 3 stations to stop at for nurses and doctors to examine the kids.

Mamas and Daddys aren't allowed in the 3rd exam room because that's where they draw the blood for the TB test.

It's so hard to hear your baby crying and not be there to comfort her!

Lily came out of that room one HOT MESS! But when she saw her bottle waiting for her, all was well :)

{I forgot to take my camera to the medical appointment, so enjoy the photo shoot from when we returned to the hotel room:)}

We were told the medical appointment could be a little chaotic with all of the adoptive families there with their little ones.

There are only 2 families here with our adoption agency, so, thankfully, our guide picked us up early and we got there before the throngs of adoptive families arrived.

There was no one in the waiting area when we arrived. But when Lily's exam was over, we walked back through the waiting area, and it was standing room only! SOOOOOO glad we got there early!!!

{Update: Lily's TB test was negative! Yay!}

Friday: So long Zhengzhou! Hello Guangzhou!

Lily's passport was ready to be picked up Friday morning.

Then we were all set to travel to Guangzhou!

Zhengzhou did not disappoint us in our last hours there - the airport was a bit chaotic.

There were hundreds of people crammed into a small space. Then we had to ride a tram from the terminal to our plane that was waaaaaay out on the tarmac.

Then we had to push our way onto the steps leading up to the plane door....I'm not kidding. I had my elbows out trying to protect Lily from all the pushing and shoving. I was wearing her in a baby carrier, and I'm so glad I was because we could have never gotten onto the tram and then the plane with her in the stroller!

Practicing our standing while waiting on our plane at the airport.
The very HOT airport.

People staring at us has been par for the course.

If there are waiting adoptive families out there reading this...

Get ready.

People stare.

A lot.

Sometimes glare....literally they squint their eyes and scowl at us.

In America, we stare at people too.

But when the people we're staring at notice that we're staring at them, 

at least we quickly look away! LOL

Guangzhou is where the U.S. Consulate is located and where we will complete Lily's immigration process.

The view from our room at the China Hotel in Guangzhou

We've gotten to Face Time with Benaiah almost every day that we've been in China.
He's all smiles when we talk. His grandparents are taking such good care of him!
His Papa got to keep him last Friday...
I just MELT at that smile!

We are so glad to finally be in the 2nd half of our trip to China. We are missing Benaiah and the comforts of home so badly.

Guangzhou is much more beautiful than Zhengzhou.  It's an even bigger city than Zhengzhou, but it's more established and is much more green.  And VEEEEEERY humid. I might go as far to say that it's more humid than Mississippi!

There are dozens of adoptive families here, completing the immigration process for their children as well, so it's been a breath of fresh air to meet other families, hear their stories and just talk to someone else who speaks English!

Thursday in Zhengzhou: Free Day!

Thursday was our last full day in Lily's birth province of Henan.

And it was the first day we could REST!!!

Daddy teaching Lily how to hold the bottle by herself. She's almost got it!

I have to be honest: Zhengzhou, China is NOT my favorite place in the world. Over 6 million people live in Zhengzhou.

Now I normally LOVE a big city.

I know, I know.... I live in a town that has the population of about 100; but I really, really love the energy that big cities have to offer.

Zhengzhou, however, wasn't that way.  It's FULL of construction and chaos. There are thousands of people riding their scooters and bicycles on the sidewalk (which is not the case in Beijing or other more orderly cities). We got close to getting hit by scooters numerous times, and I just dreaded getting out of the hotel unless our driver was waiting outside to take us somewhere.

Despite my dislike for the city of Zhengzhou, I can't say enough good things about the Hilton Hotel there.

The staff there treated us like ROYALTY.

Our room was huge!

The rain shower spoiled me.

Chinese hotels have a window between the bathroom and bedroom.
A push of the button would close the shade, but I really appreciated this little "oddity" because I could keep an eye on Lily while I was getting ready in the morning.

The housekeeping staff even organized our toiletries each day!

The General Manager made friends with us, so whenever we had a question or needed something, we could ask him for help.

It was an awesome 1st home for Lily and our family as we got to know each other a little better while the adoption process was being completed.

Since we didn't have anything official to do Thursday, we decided to take a swim in the hotel swimming pool...

With our mandatory swim caps on :)

Miss Lily was tuckered out after a long swim!

We were so very thankful for a day of rest!