Medical Exam Day

Our guide, David, took the families in our group to the medical clinic this morning to get the kids’ medical checkups and shots. We were so glad to see Barry and Susan again. They were in the Henan Province while we were in the Jianxi. We got a few more shots than we were hoping for...six in all.

Then David brought us back to the hotel and into the kids’ playroom to spread out paperwork on the floor and prepare the next round of papers that we will need to take care of. With that done, Susan and I stayed in the playroom with the kids while the men headed to a market with David to get pull-ups and bottled water.

We spent the afternoon exploring shops and looking for just the right goodies to bring home for the kids. Christian and Gracie, we bought you some surprises!! Emma, I got you a pretty pink Chinese dress. Gracie, I got you one too! Christian, I found the neatest Chinese checkers set - I think you'll like, and some other neat stuff. The guys wanted to walk to the electronics market and so we did. Next time they are going without me!!

Tonight Mitchell copied pictures of the Fuzhou orphanage onto another family's computer. Their daughter is from the same orphanage and they were not permitted to visit. They were excited to get some pictures from Mitch's camera.

That's about it for today. It's 10pm and the boys are heading down to the pool, everything's open really late here.

Oh, I almost forgot to say how insane it is that everyone can talk to our daughter but us!! People talk to her on the elevator and in the shops.

Tonight at dinner, the waitress came over and said to me, "Your daughter telling you she needs to toilet."
I said, "What?"
"Toilet."
"What???"
"TOILET, look sign," and she pointed to a restroom sign.

Matthew and I were walking down the street and a couple walked by and said something to Faith. She proceeded to tell them something and they laughed at what she told them. Matthew and I looked at each other and decided she had told them that we are a bunch of dummies.

It's funny and sad. We were in a shop this afternoon and she said something to the girl by the door and the girl said, "Yes". I asked what she said. "She says it is raining outside," the shopkeeper told me... and sure enough, it was.

It's sad because she knows so much and now she has to start over from scratch - like what she already knows doesn't count anymore. In just a few days, no one will ever understand her Chinese again. That's sad. Today at the medical clinic, our guide, David, told us that the doctor told him our baby has a huge amount of language for her age.

We are no longer the minority. This hotel is absolutely full of adoptive families. We have been talking to families from all over the US and the UK - and one we met from Holland. Our guides have been great. They know exactly where we need to be, when we need to be there, and what papers we need to have in hand, and they get us everywhere we need to go. I was joking with David today when I needed a pack of pull-ups, and he said, "She will need large, I know right where to get them." And he doesn't even have a child yet. I told him he'll be good and ready when he does.

Christian and Gracie, my doll babes... only a few more days. I can't wait to get home.

Love to you all.
Miss you like crazy.