Guangzhou... Under Construction!

This is both literal and metaphorical. Almost every building is surrounded by the bamboo scaffold and green netting. All streets are half blocked and torn apart. They are preparing for the Asia Games next year in Guangzhou, and they are resurfacing almost all of the buildings on Shaumin Island. What a mess...

The White Swan is everything that we had heard it would be. A very nice hotel with great amenities and horribly small rooms for a family of 8. We have 2 rooms with 2 rollaways, 1 crib and 8 large suitcases - TIGHT. We rolled in here about 11:00 pm last night, and it was about 12:30 by the time we were settled in for bed. We woke up this morning, had a great breakfast and then off to the Clinic. What a zoo. There are over one hundred families here this week bringing home babies. So the clinic was packed, although they were incredibly efficient with the check-up portion of the process compared with when we went through it with Libi. However, evidently the new Hague regulations require all immunizations be caught up before the visa can be issued. So poor Haddie had to get 4 shots and a TB test after the check-up. She was terrified, but did not even flinch. She was very brave.

It is interesting how she interacts with the folks that speak Chinese to her. It is almost like she can't stand to hear it. She won't look at them and almost never responds when she is asked a question. She also refuses to use Chop sticks, unless there is nothing else she can use, like when eating fried noodles or something. We think that she is just ready to embrace her new culture. We just found out that she can write at least the first 12 letters of the alphabet (that is all she put on the etch-a sketch before getting bored).

All of you ladies are probably wondering about the bonding between Amy and Haddie. It is getting much better. You know my wife and the incredible amount of love that is bottled up inside of her ready to poor out on this sweet little girl, but just like they way Haddie sucks slowly from a straw because of her cleft, she simply cannot injest very much love in one sitting. She is taking affection on her terms and can only haddle small doses When we are out of the hotel room she is insecure and immediately reaches for my hand. We are slowly weening her off of baba to moma while we are outside. In fact this afternoon, thanks to Irene's strong recommendation (thank you mam), Amy took Haddie out shopping for a doll. She left the room without even looking back at me. She had a great time and through colussion with the shop owner, she managed to increase her wardrobe nicely. (I think that Irene should reimburse us for that one) So, overall I would assess bonding at about a 7 with Amy, but you know my wife is not satisfed with that. It is incredibly hard for her to take rejection.

Papa Johns is coming to the lobby, so that is all for now. Please know we sincerely appreciate your prayers and encouragement. Thanks...