We are home...and tired.

C

The time change is getting the best of us. Both boys were up at 1:30 the first night, then Brady was up from midnight to 6 AM the next night and meanwhile Paul was up at 4.  This morning they both slept until 3, which felt like a success.  Add to that I got a nasty cold and brad had to go back to work today. And the final insult ... I got athletes foot somewhere in China.  I am so looking forward to a real night's sleep one of these days!

Here are some pics:

The airport shot. Probably for the best that it's not in focus.

Last Day in GZ

It's our last day in GZ and we're spending it in our room packing.  Brady ended up with an ear infection and our guide was kind enough to go get him some antibiotics.  So we're laying low for now.  In a few hours we take a three hour van ride to Hong Kong.  Not super excited about that prospect :)

Here's some pics from the last few days.

Group dinner.

After the US Consulate appointment to make Paul a US citizen.

Family portrait.

Our travel group.  Well about 90% of our travel group.

The kids in our half of the group.

Pool

Boys

Dinner with friends at the Mexican restaurant.  Because we could.

And finally...Brad thought it was hard carrying Brady around China last time.  He had no idea he'd be carrying two this whole trip.

Santa

Good news folks!  Santa came early to Guangzhou, China!

The Island, Swimming and Dinner With Friends

This morning we went out to Shamien Island, famous with adopting families.  It's our second trip out there and again, we couldn't find anything we were looking for.  Frankly it's hard doing anything with two boys.  Xiao Pang did great this morning, but Brad's had his fill of travel.  So we didn't shop.  And we didn't find Lucy's for lunch ( bummer, a hamburger sounds really good right now).  We also didn't take many pictures.  Here's what we've got for ya.

flat Stanley with exercising school children.

Brady with his bow.

Seriously I took one more picture but I can't find it.  It's sad how few pictures we've taken.  

Tonight we're having dinner out (yay!).  I'll try to take a picture. ;)

Swimming yesterday

Yesterday was Paul's medical exam in the morning.  He has to be free of infectious disease to become an American citizen.  He was good with all of it until the blood draw for the TB test.  Poor kiddo.  

We returned to the hotel for a long nap and an afternoon at the pool.

Most awesome head of hair ever.  This shot would have been cuter with all three boys in their towels, but Brad is no fun and said no.

Quick Poll

Quick poll for you.  Anyone else at the China Hotel making weaponry in their hotel room right now?

Bamboo bow that really works.  Bamboo forged from the fourth floor garden.  And, of course a sword.  

Day Two in Guangzhou

The last st for adopting families is the US Consulate in Guangzhou.  We're in the southern tip of China and it is hot and humid, but not nearly as hot and humid as when we were here in May with Brady.  This time we are at the China Hotel.  It is similar to the Garden hotel we stayed in last time - both are very nice and in both we have a suite, which, after traveling this long is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

Paul did great on his first plane ride here.  He slept through most of it and tolerated his lap belt (I didn't say he liked it.

Today we did a little "city tour" which was touristy.  When wrangling two kids, we don't get much out of the cultural experience.  

Then back for a nap and another long paperwork meeting this afternoon.  We had dinner in the executive lounge (I'm sure the business people up there love us), and back for a bath and bed.

Long exhausting days, and now I'm off to bed.  Brad and Brady haven't adjusted well to the time difference, so one or both of them will be up around 3 AM.

They call him Xiao Pang

So Paul has a nickname we were unaware of.  They call him Xiao Pang (sounds like show as in shower and pong).  It directly translates to Little Fat, but is a term of endearment for chubby babies.  The Chinese like their babies fat - it's a sign of health and prosperity.  And Xiao Pang has tons of health and prosperity :)

It's been a few days

Sorry loyal blog watchers, it's been a few days since I posted.  An adoption trip isn't a vacation.  Grafting a new member into your family takes time and lots of effort.  We've been working hard at it, and we've turned a corner.

Last I posted was our trip to Paul's province to apply for his passport on Wednesday.  Since then we've had two days in Zhengzhou to spend as we wish.  Yesterday we walked a few blocks down the road to a big shopping mall.  The shoes Paul came to us in smelled terrible and needed to go.  So we found him some new kicks and were on our way.  We did not, however, ge them at the BM Party store.

We spent the afternoon exploring the hotel grounds and running around.

This morning we went to a park with our friends.  Check out the women dancing with swords we found there, they were awesome.

We then ventured to the pool.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera.  Paul loved playing in the kiddie pool with Baba and Brady.

We headed back to the room for a nap, and stayed in the rest of the day.  The boys had fun playing with toys, taking a bath and jumping on the beds.

They even enjoyed some American food room service, which was a nice break from noodles and dumplings three meals a day for the last however many days.

In a related story, we won't be invited back to this hotel any time soon.

Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou.