Goodbye Fuzhou...Hello Guangzhou!

We have had another full two days so I have lots of pictures to add! Yesterday was a super long day of traveling, so we crashed when we finally made it to our hotel last night around midnight. This morning started early, so this is the first chance I've had to sit down and blog.

We are so thankful to be in Guangzhou at the Garden hotel now! Yesterday was our last day in Fuzhou, and the day when we were given Xiao Fei's Chinese passport. That is the reason we had to be in her province five days - that's how long it takes to be issued the passport. So, adoption on Monday, passport on Friday.

We tried on a shirt I bought for Calli before we left. We thought she was going to be in 24 month or 2t clothes, but everything has been too big! I brought a few 18 month things so we've been recycling those a lot. This outfit is 2t and we tried it on and it wasn't too big! I love the shirt - it says "Smile" but when I tried to take her picture, she gave me a big scowl! Ha!

Last breakfast at the Lakeside hotel. We loved our window seat each morning looking out to the lake! And Calli has loved their waffles.

 

 We had the rest of the morning to ourselves to get packed and ready to leave. We were able to Skype with the girls who we are missing so so much!
We got everything back in our three suitcases and then checked out. Penny met us and the two other families with us in a meeting room with a police officer who was there to give us our passports.

 She also gave us our certificate of adoption! This is a nice red book with our official paperwork and picture of the three of us in it. So cool!

We loved our guide Penny! She was such a big help and became a great friend this week. We're going to miss her when we're in Guangzhou! She loved Xiao Fei and even bought a Chinese doll to give to her.  

We made the hour long drive to the airport, and then had to wait there for several hours. Our flight was delayed. It is not easy to keep a toddler entertained in the airport - especially one that is still trying to decide if she even likes you. :) By the time we got on the plane it was almost 9:00. Randy put her in the carrier and she fell asleep. She slept for the first thirty minutes and then ate the last half of the flight. She was so good! We were very thankful. We were in two of three seats and there was a very nice man sitting on Randy's other side. He told him at the end of the flight, "You are a good father." I agree, sir. :)

 

And then....when we got to our hotel in GZ, this girl was a new baby! She was laughing so much, babbling more than we've ever heard, smiling, and even happier with me than she's ever been. It really was like someone had flipped a switch. We have heard that sometimes they loosen up a lot when you move from the first hotel - maybe they associate it with a traumatic time and realize that you aren't going to leave them. We loved seeing more of her personality - even though it meant she wasn't ready to go to bed at midnight when we were! I have video of her playing in bed - I'll try to post it if the internet here will let me.

 

Our hotel is very very nice. It is actually a suite, so there is a sitting room and office, and then a separate bedroom. So nice! We're so thankful this is where our agency puts their families - it will be a very comfortable five days here.

 There is a shade that electronically rolls up and down on this big window into the bathroom! And there is a crib in this room again for Calli - not that she'll use it. ;)

The sitting room.

 

 

 The foyer. Crazy!

 

So after too short of a night's sleep, we woke up to eat breakfast and get ready for the consulate medical appointment. This is required by the US embassy before they will give Calli her visa on Tuesday. GZ is where the US embassy is, so it is where any American family adopting from China ends their adoption. So walking into the breakfast buffet this morning was like walking into an adoption oasis - there were tons of American families with Chinese babies! We actually felt normal and loved seeing all these newly created families. Very, very cool.

We have three other families with us specifically in our adoption group. We are already loving them all so much and have a very cool story to share that I will blog about later. The way God connects things is just amazing!

All the American families adopting this week in China were at this medical clinic for their exams. It was a very full room of parents and babies!

The children had to go to three different rooms to be checked - we waited a long time but once we were taken back for the actual three exams, it didn't take long. She didn't love any of them but they were fast.

 

 And look what was in the lobby! I think wine in doctor's offices in the states could really catch on.

 After a short trip to the store for some groceries, all four of our families went to lunch together....at a MEXICAN RESTAURANT! I'm not sure if you can tell how excited we were - it was so good and we just wanted to order one of everything. Randy said we will be eating here several more times. And all God's people said AMEN.

 

Our hearts are full and our bodies are tired. We're heading out to find dinner and explore more of the hotel. Tomorrow we go shopping!