Sunday

Today was basically a free day. We had to give Connie our papers and the money for the consulate but other than that we didn't plan anything. There is a branch around Guangzhou somewhere but we didn't know where. We are just taking it easy and letting the kids play and get into a regular routine, as far as we can. They are doing very well together. Nathan has had only a couple of short instances of jealousy but that is to be expected.

Jie loves to play with play doh and will play by herself, Nathan has to have something a little more challenging. You can tell she hasn't run much or rough housed at all. Yesterday, Glenn was playing with Nathan down the hall and he played with her a little and now she walks kind of like Nathan playfully, going from side to side or whatever. The Baba transition is getting better, I am having him do things like putting on her shoes and reading books to her and so slowly the connection is being made.

The nurse said she was afraid of the bath but we haven't seen that. She and Nathan play and splash and pour water on each other. We had a scare night before last, I had washed both of their hair and had rinsed it with a glass which I put on top of the bathroom counter. After I left to get their pajamas, Nathan got out of the bathtub and decided to play with the glass. He dropped it in the bathtub and so, of course it broke. Nathan was getting out of the bathtub to tell me as I walked back in to the bathroom. Amazingly, Jie didn't get cut at all but Nathan had 4 small cuts. It could have been so much worse.

We are planning on taking the kids swimming this afternoon. There is a large pool here but it is pretty deep and so we will have to hold the kids but we think they will be fine. We brought Nathan's blow up duck for the pool and bought her a dolphin and so they will both have a blow up thing around their waists.

Tomorrow we have to be in our room by 10 am and can't leave until Connie calls us with the ok. She will have to go to the consulate for 4 other families at the same time. At 3:00 we will meet her and the other families and go to the amusement park that I printed off. I think all of the kids will enjoy it, most of the families have had shopping on their minds so this will be something fun for the kids. We did buy Jie a pair of shoes in Urumqi but they are squeaky shoes and are driving us nuts so we are back to the red sandals she came with. We sent back the clothes she came with but she didn't want to part with the shoes. They will be in her box with her other treasures at home.

With the tightened security at the airports we may be in for a hassle getting on the plane in Hong Kong. For sure, we will not be able to bring any water on board. We carry water here everywhere. Last night we forgot and Glenn ordered four waters and the bottles cost almost more than the rest of the meal!

Shelly, we have located the four generation balls. They are very pretty and I hope we can find some that are reasonable. They aren't necklaces they are wooden balls, anywhere from golf ball size to tennis ball size. They have them here at the hotel but they are very expensive so we will continue to look and see if we can find one. This morning, we went walking (before it got too hot) and on the street there were at least three guys that were selling animal skins. Beautiful wolf, fox, tiger and I think the real thing but I convinced Glenn we were not getting one. What would we do with a wolf skin?

We seem to be doing well as I have looked at the other transitions. Most of the kids seem to be very passive at this stage or going nuts. One couple is from Pa. and they are here on their second Chinese adoption. They have three biological children - 9,7, and 5 and then their first Chinese daughter is 3. They are adopting a little boy this time. He is 21 months old and has had surgery for a cleft lip but still needs surgery for his palate. He is quite a handful. When we met them in Urumqi he was very quiet and passive (Civil Affairs) but she said he had just been brought from his foster home and the whole time they were there he was either crying or trying to get out of the room and if they left their room he would grab people, evidently to see if he could see his foster parents. We had told them about the play area here as they are staying in the same hotel and she said it was the first time he had played and relaxed. He is not very nice though and when Nathan would try to help him he would pinch him. So, Nathan learned quickly to stay away. Last night, we saw them come to the restaurant but they didn't stay long as he was hitting and scratching the other kids in their group.

I forgot to tell you, the nurse said that they had brought Jie back to the orphanage a month before we were to come and that she was very homesick for her "grandparents" and so the grandparents had come to the orphanage each weekend to see her. We were afraid we would run into them at the orphanage and so that was another reason not to go. She really is doing so well and we are so proud of Nathan - he seems to have grown up immediately. Hope everyone is ok. I haven't been able to get on the internet, I have been typing and Glenn has gone down to the business office so I don't know about comments. Love, Mamade