Squeeky shoes, red couches and starting the countdown to come home

We arrived in Guangzhou last night. Sorry I didn't post then, but I was too tired.

After arriving here, I was fairly upset that we had to spend so much time in Zhengzhou--because it meant that much less time in Guangzhou. This place is absolutely beautiful! I don't know about the rest of the city, but Shamian Island is georgeous. Even with the annoying vendors, constantly trying to sell you North Face knock-offs, it's still unbelievable.


This place caters to the adoption crowd. Which is good, since that's what we are now, officially--a crowd of adoptive families. Three different groups from three different provinces have come together here for our "final outprocessing" (to copy a military phrase) in Guangzhou at the US Consulate. There is one family that has adopted a little girl they are naming Addison--small world.

Let me rewind a bit to the flight from Zhengzhou to Guangzhou. We were all a bit concerned about how our kids would handle the flight. One or two didn't care for it one bit. I didn't have much to worry about, once the plane got moving. I'm pretty sure the poor lady sitting next to me was thinking (in Chinese, of course), "Dear God, I have to sit next to the big guy AND the baby at the same time?!" Turns out, Caden hit the snooze button right after take-off and didn't twitch until something startled him about 45 minutes before landing. That's when things got interesting. Thank the good Lord for Kurt and Angie and their loaner cement truck. It kept Caden occupied until we were safely on terra firma. I'm sure the Chinese lady next to me was even happier about that truck than I was.

Once we got to Guangzhou, we were greeted by our friendly CCAI guides, Jason and Maggie.
They are awesome. Daily detailed itineraries, all the gouge on all the places on Shamian Island...they've got this thing down cold.

Once again, I violated my gastronomic travel rule to keep Mom happy: we ordered Papa John's and had it delivered. Note: if you ever have pizza delivered on Shamian Island, show up to accept it WITH EXACT CHANGE. Otherwise, the delivery boy gets a larger-than-deserved tip. Some may wonder, "What does Papa John's taste like in China?" The answer is: "Just like Papa John's in the US." (no snide comments, Jefty). It was nice to get a taste of home, but it was also the first indication that Caden's eating habits are changing: he's not eating nearly as much of the things he normally likes (noodles). Breakfast the next morning was the same: less congee, fewer eggs, less juice. I'm not sure if he's realizing that he's going to get regular meals from now on, or if there's something else going on. I'm not a child psychologist and this isn't the Holiday Inn Express.

Our first day in Guangzhou consisted of visa pictures, a medical exam, and filling out paperwork for our consulate appointment. That was the morning, anyway.

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An interesting development from the medical exam (after much incoherent babbling between the doctor and Maggie), it turns out that the examining doctor thinks Caden never had a cleft palate, but rather a cleft lip and gum. That means either just that, or the palate repair was so good, you can't tell on cursory examination. I suspect the latter, since he's missing his uvula--a common byproduct of palate repair. But then again, I'm not a doctor (or a child psychologist).

After the medical exam, it was time to shop. I had to buy an outfit for Caden's "Red Couch" photo--later on, after the photos, one of the shopkeepers asked me why it's called that; I told her, "because it's a photo that's taken on a red couch". I think she thought I was jerking her chain at first, so I had to break out the camera and show her the pics.

During the shopping, We snapped a few photos that I thought some of you might like:


I don't think these guys are Chinese...

Caden was having none of that standing in line crap.

Then it was time to get dressed up and head down to the Red Couch...



Following all that happy fun togetherness, we did a quick costume change and headed out to a group dinner at the Cow & Bridge Thai Restaurant. Incredible. Too bad Caden didn't agree, but I think he was VERY tired at that point. I got what food I could down his throat before I threw in the towel and headed back to the room.
A quick bath, in the jammies (I'm talking about Caden here), and he only argued for about 15 minutes before he was out like a light. Which is good, because we've all got a very early day tomorrow. Since he was asleep and Mom was back in the room, I was able to do some walking around. I had to pick up a few things from earlier in the day, anyway (some artwork I ordered, laundry, etc). I was able to snap a few photos.


Just a couple more days and we're home!

A final pic of Zhengzhou, our home for a year one week: