Guangzhou update

So we have been having issues with the WiFi Internet, so blogging has become a difficult challenge. That, and the fact that we are missing naps because of tours and shopping all has put the blog on the back burner. So I will catch you up to speed from the past two days.

Yesterday we spent the day shopping at the pearl factory and the embroidery store. We picked up a couple of things at each store. We then headed out as a group for lunch to a great little Chinese dumpling restaurant. It was so delicious! They had the greatest garlic dipping sauce we have ever tasted. It was extra garlicy (if that is a word), but it also had a little bite to it. The sauce complimented our celery and pork dumplings really well! After lunch we headed back to the hotel for a short break, then back on the Tour de Shopping. We joined another couple from Tampa, FL who brought their two biological girls and newly adopted boy, Non, with us to look for some kid clothes. The husband reminds me of my brother-in-law Frank, who also lives in the Tampa area. So I ask the husband, Jeff, where in New York he was originally from, because he had a thick New Yawker's accent...and his voice sounded just like Frank's voice so it made sense in my mind. He looked at me like I was stupid or something. He went on to tell me that he grew up in Michigan and never lived a day of his life in NYC! Although he later admitted that he had friends from NYC that he grew up with in his neighborhood.

Anyways...we found one 3T short-sleeved shirt for Hannah. Turns out she is a lot bigger than we were expecting. She is not fitting into any of the 2T clothes we brought, and we only packed a couple of 3T outfits. I say "we" like I was intricately involved with the packing details of Hannah's outfits. Jen deserves all the credit for that. Actually, I tried to talk her into bringing only 2T outfits based on the measurements we were given, but that motherly instinct wanted to make sure, just in case, she was a little bigger, to pack a few 3T items. Dang she is good!

For dinner last night we ate in the hotel at a Japanese steakhouse with two other couples and their kids. It was an interesting meal to say the least, but well worth the laughs and company around the table. Keith and his wife Amy are from Boulder, Colorado, and they adopted a little girl Zoe (7) from China a number of years ago, I don't remember when. Now they have adopted a 6 year old girl with special needs, hydrocephalus. They are a neat family, and we will be traveling with them by train to Hong Kong on Thursday night. They are going to fly from Hong Kong to San Francisco, so we will be alone on our flight to Tokyo. Oh well, maybe it will be better that way? Keith ordered some Saki for dinner and invited us all to try some. So I obliged and was surprised by how good it was! Sort of a pumpkin, vanilla flavored Saki!!

We had pretty good sleep last night. Although Hannah has been dealing with a cough since we met her. It seems be a post nasal drip which only really affects her at night. We started a Z-pack last week, so hopefully she will kick this thing in the next few days. Most of the kids have some sort of runny nose or cough. At breakfast each morning we see other families from the U.S. and they have all been saying the same thing about the coughing. Maybe it is just the air quality, maybe not?

Today we headed back on more tours to a herbal medicine market, the largest in the city. We quite frankly are getting toured out. It was neat to see the different types of mushrooms, seahorses, scorpions, and other things used in Eastern medicine, but we are ready to relax a little bit. Hannah fell asleep in her stroller about 20 minutes into the tour. Well before her regular nap time. After the herbal market we headed back to Shamian Island to get Hannah's TB skin test result. It was negative. We did some more shopping and ran around to several stores before heading to the White Swan hotel. This was the hotel that ALL adoptive families stay at when staying in Guangzhou. However, it is under renovation this year (began in September and is scheduled to reopen next Fall/Winter) so no families are allowed to stay at the White Swan. It is a long tradition for families staying there to get a picture of their adopted Chinese child on a red velvet sofa. So we heard a rumor yesterday that the lobby was open and you could get a picture on the red velvet sofa. So we specifically made sure we had time today to get this picture as it was going to be our last day on the island. We entered the glass doors of the White Swan expecting to see THE red velvet sofa, but we saw nothing. So we asked a waitress at the cafe if she knew where the sofa was. She said on the second floor. Our bus was scheduled to leave the island at 1:45 pm and it was roughly 1:35 pm. So we abruptly started running back to the set of elevators we saw when we entered. We scrambled around looking for THE red velvet sofa. We saw nothing. Where was this darn sofa? We asked another bell boy, or manager, or whoever he was where the heck this historic sofa sat. He points over to a seating area filled with red velvet sofas, probably a half dozen or so. Jen and I looked at each other and said, okay that will do. We quickly rush over to A red velvet sofa and place Hannah on it, snap a few pics, and run back to the elevators. We made it back to the bus with a few minutes to spare. But we got the photo we always wanted on A red velvet sofa.

While on our adventure, our guide, Kelly, ordered us lunch: fried noodles, green beans, and chicken to go. So we ate back at the hotel this afternoon. Hannah gave us a lesson in using chopsticks today!! Seriously, this little girl is amazing. There is no telling what she will do some day. She has really no limitations with her hands despite missing several fingers. She picked up the chopsticks and started using them like they are supposed to be used. Jen and I just laughed and said "Wow!"

Again we skipped naps today, and headed out the see the outdoor pool and play area with Jen. Hannah and I had spent some time there a couple days ago, but we wanted to show mommy how cool it was. We played on the swings and the slides for a while, then we went for a walk around the paths in the courtyard by the play area. There is a 15 foot waterfall that Hannah really liked looking at the last time we were there. So we showed mommy.

Hannah has really been warming up to me again today. She let me hold her more than all the other days combined. She let me kiss her, feed her and even bathe her without fussing. We are growing deeper in our relationship. She is asking me to pick her up and she wanted to sit on my lap for dinner tonight. She even leaned in for an unsolicited kiss. She is the sweetest little peanut!

Walking with daddy at the herbal market

Dried sea horses spread out on the side walk

We were told this says "Wisconsin Ginseng" so the vendors can sell it for a higher price

Cats riding on the back of a bike, to be sold at the pet market--as pets, not what you were thinking!

Hannah calling it a morning

The oldest part of Guangzhou's business district

Thought this was a funny store name

Not sure the MN State Fair will have these next year...Scorpions and worms on a stick!

Still no sign of Hannah waking up

Our little princess on the red velvet sofa at the White Swan Hotel

The lobby of the White Swan Hotel

Showing us how she uses chopsticks

Like an old pro

Simply amazing!

Mama love

The outdoor pool at our hotel, China Marriott Hotel

The view from the pool

Hannah saw Miriam (a woman from our group) across the pool. She kept telling her in Chinese that her mama is upstairs (even though Jen was right next to us)

Still telling Miriam about her new mama

Playtime!!

She was literally pulling Jen and I into this little gym set like we were playing house.

Trying to touch the waterfall

Riding on daddy's shoulders

Daddy kisses