7-28, Day 9 in China

Day 9; July 28, 2012; Guangzhou, China

We can’t believe how impressive this hotel is.  Each hotel has gotten nicer from the one before it.  We have a living area, bedroom and unbelievable bathroom.  There is even a beautiful garden with two waterfalls that can be seen from the restaurant we ate at for breakfast.  Emalie has been sleeping well at night with the exception of the disturbed sleep after the orphanage visit.  We hope she will somehow acclimate to home and sleep well there, too.  This morning Richard picked us up for Emalie’s medical exam.  This was a challenge from the start because we woke her up early from her morning nap.  They took her photo, checker her ears, eyes, stats and skin. The doctor said that the rash on her back is heat rash but the rash on her belly, legs and feet is fungus.  She cried and screamed most of the time-- poor baby.  Richard brought us back to the hotel and went back to wait for the exam results.  Then, he helped us prepare our documents for our consulate appointment on Monday.  We then went with him to a local Chinese ‘fast food’ restaurant.  I’ll be happy to get back home and stop eating at restaurants.  Now Emalie is sleeping, Sven and Nik were rained out at the pool, and we’re all just having some quiet time. . . . .

. . . . . We had a pretty successful evening.  Emalie took a long two and a half hour nap.  I think the trip to the clinic wore her out this morning.  The rain stopped so Sven and Nik were able to go back to the pool again for another hour.  When they returned for the second time, Emalie was still sleeping!  When she finally woke up (with a little prodding from me), I spent about fifteen minutes alone in the bedroom with her.  After this time together, she wasn’t as weary of me and even let me hold her and interact with her more.  We walked, with her adjusting to the stroller a little more, to a nearby Italian restaurant (authentic, as we were told) for Guangzhou’s best pizza.  We weren’t sure it would be true, but decided to give it a try anyway.  The wait for our order was interesting.  It’s hard to keep Emalie occupied.  She’s quite the active and stubborn little girl!  We gave her apple juice, a bottle, snacks, books, etc. to keep her occupied.  Gone (for now) are our leisurely dining days!!  I have to say, the pizza was fantastic.  We each got our own small pizza and the price with drinks was only about $35.  We survived our first successful sit-down restaurant dinner-- no screaming, head-banging or crying like in the Wuhan hotel restaurant that second night we had her.  Part of the time while we waited for our food, Emalie even sat nicely on my lap.  That a first!  

We get our bonding time in bits and pieces.  I hope Richard’s right and that a slow bond for us might turn into a stronger bond.  This adoption has taught me the true importance of patience!!  After dinner, we bought toothpaste at a local store, water at 7-11 and souvenoir mugs at Starbucks.  We walked through the courtyard in the hotel garden.  It was so beautiful and peaceful.  Nikolas loved it and wanted to stay longer.  It was time to end the evening on a positive note though.  With patience and an understanding of the importance of small victories, we ended another day.  

A taste of Italy in China (Nikolas couldn't be happier!).

 The beautiful Garden Hotel in Guangzhou:

A self-portrait in the reflection of the mini-bar mirror.  Why not?!  I was actually trying to capture what high humidity does to my hair.  Not pretty.  There was no salvaging that mess!  Oh well, though, I'm a happy mommy and that's what counts!