US Consulate Appointment

Today we went to the US Consulate.  There were lots of adoptive families there.  It’s been sort of interesting because the numbers of international adoptions in China is down.  Our agency only gets a couple of referrals a month.  Here in Guangzhou we seem to run into a lot of people adopting, so I would have liked to see it at the height of adoptions.  It was very nice because our agency/guide had all of our paperwork together and we handed them a packet and a few minutes later we were on our way.  Our guide will pick up her visa and paperwork tomorrow and then we leave on Thursday morning. She officially becomes a US citizen when we hit US soil and land in Los Angeles on Thursday. 

After the consulate meeting we went back to Shamian Island.  We walked around and then ate at a western restaurant named Lucy’s.  We took our first taxi in China back to our hotel which cost about $3.  I was amazed because the trip was very pleasant.  The driver did nothing crazy.

Caleb seems to have developed conjunctivitis.  He swam in the pool two days without goggles and I’m not sure if that had something to do with it.  His eyes are blood red and irritated and draining.  We may try and find a pharmacy to see if we can get him some sort of eye drops. 

Chloe is doing well.  She again did not sleep well last night.  She sort of cries and cries out throughout the night.  Last night she even woke up big brother.  We had to be up early this morning and when I woke her up, she seemed to be in a good mood.  She is taking a long nap now.  As I have said before she eats tons.  We have not found anything yet that she will not eat.  We went for McDonald’s ice cream last night and she inhaled that.  Our guide had told us that they may not like cold things because they are not use to it.  Not for Chloe, she LOVED it!  She also seems fascinated with hair.  I’m not sure if it is because she doesn’t have much or what.  When she is upset she likes to have my hair in her hand.  She also loves to touch Caleb’s hair.  She continues to warm up to Kevin.  She has been interacting more and more with him.  She lets him play more games with her and even let him play a game where he kissed her on the cheek.  It was so cute.  She usually sort of pushes his arm away and is sort of sassy about it.  She does not really let him hold her which has been a little difficult on me since that means I am always the one holding her.  I do know that if the tables were turned, I would be having a hard time dealing with it.  Not Kevin, he takes it all in stride.  I keep telling her that Daddy is a good guy and that he is not going anywhere so she should start warming up to him.  She is still doing well with Caleb.  She is sometimes sassy with him too.  We are trying to teach Caleb to read her body language to know when she wants to play and when she wants him to leave her alone.  I bet when we get home, he will be wishing that she would leave him alone!   

We are anxious to get home.  Tomorrow is a sort of do nothing day with nothing planned on the schedule.  I imagine that we may go back to the park that is near our hotel in the morning and hang out and get packed in the afternoon.