Trip to China
Itinerary  |  May 8  |  GOTCHA DAY!  |  May 9  |  May 10  |  May 11  |  May 12  |  May 13  |  May 14
|  May 15  |  May 16  |  May 17  |  May 18

Saturday, May 13, 2006 We woke up at around 7:00, actually I woke up about 5:00 and watched a movie, but we got going down to the wonderful breakfast buffet about 7:30. We took our time at breakfast and meandered around Shamian Island for a bit. Things have changed here in the last year, many more shops catering to adoptive parents. The old noodle shop is now a big store filled with all the things we adoptive parents love: toys, traditional Chinese clothes, squeaky shoes. At 10:00 we met our guides and went to the mall. They have better quality shoes and Chinese clothes there, so I indulged myself and my love of little girl shoes, and bought 6 pair (total cost $34 US). We went to a pearl shop and a DVD store as well, we all left with several packages in tow :) We returned to the hotel for Sophie's nap and at 4:00 went over some paperwork for our consulate appointment. We met in the playroom and I was sort of surprised by how Sophie reacted. She didn't interact with any of the other kids, or even explore the room. I brought some toys over to her and she played with them, but she's obviously still adjusting to all the changes in her life. Later we headed to the Cow and Bridge restaurant for dinner and I enjoyed eating with the other family in our group. They are Christians also and adopting a special needs girl, so we had much to talk about. Seems God had a big hand in their adoption, too. After dinner Sophie and I made a quick trip to buy her a sweater and picked up a Barbie cell phone while we were there. We returned to the hotel and spent a while just playing in the room, she is the most outgoing and 'herself' when it is just the two of us. We played with her new cell phone and she imitated 'hello' and 'bye bye' many times. She is also calling me 'mama', if only to get my attention, but I'll take whatever I can get ;) We looked at pictures of her and she calls herself XiaoXiao, the nickname she had at the orphanage. It is so cute to hear her speak in Chinese. She is getting much more comfortable with her bedtime routine. She is beginning to really enjoy her bath, she really loves to be rubbed down with lotion afterward as it always seems to bring out some big belly laughs from her. She has the most engaging laugh, a husky laugh that just lights up her whole face.

Ready for a bath! Sophie in the tub She sleeps

The biggest struggle we are facing now is brushing her teeth. Her teeth are in bad shape, covered with plaque and her gums are red and swollen. I brush her teeth as softly and minimally as I can, but she always cries when I do. This just kills me because she cries so rarely. I know it must really bother her. I am hoping that some light brushing will help to toughen her gums for when she visits the dentist upon our return home. We both hit the hay at about 9:45 and she let me snuggle up next to her as she fell asleep. It was a really good day.

Website by myadoptionwebsite.com