Saturday, July 1, 2006
Hello! Today is our first full day in beautiful Guangzhou. You
can see the view from our room at the top of the list of photos.
We had a lot of business to attend to today. We took Visa photos
for Annabel, completed 90% of the paperwork we prepared and
brought with us for the US portion of the adoption process, and
completed her Chinese Medical Exam. The Medical exam is required
prior to her swearing in as an American citizen at the American
Consulate. The exam was very high tech... for example when
checking her hearing they shook a rattle to see if she would
look toward the noise. From the detailed examination the clear
conclusion was that she is a female baby with no temperature and
weighs about 22lbs.
Annabel is certainly no shrinking violet. Since the day she was
placed in our arms she has been clearly letting us know what she
does and does not want. During the first few days she would look
at us and shake her head "no." We knew we were making progress
when after she awoke from her naps she would smile at us rather
than shake her head no as if to say it is not okay that you are
still here.
Fist full of biscuit - an interesting thing about Annabel is
that she is very independent regarding her ability to eat. She
mostly feeds herself, and takes whatever you try and feed her
away from you so she can put it in her mouth. She really loves
to slurp up noodles (and french fries). She is an aggressive
eater (takes after her father of course). A good example is what
she does with her favorite food,steamed pork buns. She grabs
them off the table and smashes them in her fist. She then shoves
as much in her mouth as she can until she can gum them apart.
She will finish the entire steamed bun by the end of the
experience. She spends most of her eating time with one fist
full of some kind of smashed biscuit (and it's hard to get it
out of her hand), thus our Native American name for Annabel is
"fist full of biscuit."
Not sure if you have heard of the squeaky shoe phenomenon here
in China, but it is all the rage with kids under two. We have a
few pairs for Annabel as well, so we might occasionally call her
"walks with squeak."
Eating out is always an adventure in China. They serve all kinds
of foods like eel, snake, pork blood soup and sausages, and a
lot of stir fried spicy foods. If you are an adventurous eater
it is really great. For me the adventure ends when Mia has to go
to the bathroom while we are out. Chinese potties are not the
most conducive for little girls who REALLY have to go. Let's
just say we have been washing our feet alot. (Are we over
sharing?). Interestingly, when Andrea has been waiting in line
for a stall at a public bathroom, the Chinese woman will wait
for a squatty potty even when a western style toilet is
available.
We had a small gathering for Andrea's birthday today. The local
deli was kind enough to bake us a cake for the occasion complete
with "Happy Birthday Andrea." Andrea's Dad set up the entire
thing. Not sure how he explained the cake thing to them but it
tasted as good or better than most birthday cakes I have had.
Much Love,
The Gang
VIDEO!
Click
here for a video clip of Annabel slurping up a
french fry at a western style restaurant. |
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View from our room at the White Swan
Annabel sleeps before her Medical Exam
Dad with a sleeping Annabel
on the way to the Medical Exam
Getting the Medical Exam
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