Today, I was the brave one...

We had a really great dinner last night at the local Thai restaurant. I would say about 20-25 families were there; we took up the whole restaurant. What a joyous celebration. The menu was like a book, 25 pages or more with some very weird sounding dishes. Like Curry worms, Green Prawns with tomato, Whole fish Thai style. Ughh! I chose a delicious Vegetable Rice with Cashews, Shrimps and Coconut over cabbage mustard! It was yummy! I ordered Fu Mei some garlic chicken wings which were also de-lish. Julee and Tricia split 2 dinners: Fried Rice Thai style and Pad Tai. They weren't as impressed as I was but we all enjoyed the experience. Our chopstick skills have greatly improved. I managed to get all my cashews up and into my mouth!
This morning, we were back to our appointments. Again, we had to wake Fu Mei up and that always starts the day off badly. She really had a hard time this morning. Kicking and screaming. No potty. Nothing! Just finally plopped her in the high chair at breakfast and put some food in front of her. I feed her a meat, veggie, fruit and carb at just about every meal. She eats very well. Loves all the veggies and fruits so far. After breakfast, there was another tantrum. This time she was hitting me. It really bothered Julee but I tried to explain that she is lashing out and feeling so upset and frustrated but it is ok. I just held her and told her no each time she hit me. It took quite some time but she calmed down and most likely learned a little bit about "No!" Baby steps.

The four families from Anhui met to go to the medical exam and photographer for the visa photo. Fu Mei was still crying and visibly upset but as I was pushing her in the stroller on the walk to the appointments, she started to come around. It so sad to witness her struggling to right herself and accept that life as she knew it is over. We all know she is moving on to something better, but she doesn't! This is the hardest part for me. That is until we enter the medical clinic. I got the heebee jeebeez right away. I didn't do well at this part when I had to take Julee to the doctors, let alone in a foreign country! So I had to be brave today and suck it up. I asked our guide, Michael Walker Michael, to talk to Fu Mei. Tell her what is going on so she won't be so scared. It really helped. She cooperated with the doctors and laid down when she was asked to and stuck out her tongue on command. It was a rudementary examination but she was declared healthy! She weighs a whopping 24 lbs now, 2 of which I believe were gained this week since we've had her! At the visa photo room, Michael told her that she was a very pretty girl and they wanted to take her picture. So they placed her on a chair and they told her to look at the camera. When she did, she flashed her bright smile for the camera! It was a pose for sure! Oh shades of my sweet Lydia!! I can't wait for you to meet her, sweetie!

On our walk back to the hotel, I stopped at a souvenir shop and picked up a few more goodies. Sorry Al, but I have spent more money in the 2 days we have been in Guangzhou than I have the entire time in Beijing and Hefei. We came back to the room to find Julee still sorta upset about the temper tantrum and maybe beginning to not feel all that well. I held her for a while. I keep saying this but it's alot for her to absorb too! I hope she is ok. I've got 2 girls to worry about now!

This afternoon, we will take a picture on the famous Red Couch at the White Swan. It is customary for the children to be photographed together for posterity. We hope to keep in touch with all of our new families!

Oh and I forgot to mention 2 stories....1) Back in Hefei, on the day we went to the shopping plaza by ourselves, we stopped in the Nike store to look at sneakers for Julee. You can tell it's a Nike store by the swoosh logo, it does not say Nike. Inside there were some mannequins with soccer balls at their feet. They were modeling the work out suits and equipment. Bold and oblivious to customs, Julee picked up the soccer ball and started juggling it on her knees and feet. Oh my gosh, within 3 seconds, there were about 3 employees gathered around yelling for others to come see! She looked around and she was the center of attention. They all clapped and seemed to ask for more, so she did! Huge smiles all around! That was a very cool moment!

And 2) on the way back from lunch yesterday in Guangzhou, we passed by the local shops and they were kicking around a feathered jingly thing. It looked like hacky sack but with a feathered object. Julee asked them how much and 5 Yuan later, Julee is trying to juggle this new thingy. After a couple of attempts, she was getting it. Garrett and Dominic (a new sibling that hangs around us more than his new brother....hmmm, does it have anything to do with Julee being about the same age?) also got in on the act and in a matter of minutes, the 3 of them were tossing it back and forth on their feet between them. The locals loved it and told them they were very good learners. These are some of the fun little times that continue to happen and just make our trip so wonderful. We really are enjoying ourselves.