In China
All Days  |  Previous Day  |  Next Day

Friday-Saturday, December 3-4, 2010 Friday morning was our last in Taiyuan and we were both moved at the thought of taking Grace away from her home province, we vowed to bring her back when she is older. Our guide took us to a large local park with a beautiful lake in the center. We walked around in the very cold crisp air and watched the locals enjoying the park. As we walked we heard some singing and Grace perked up so we walked over and saw a community sing a long in full swing. Tracy told us they were singing Chairman Mao era songs, Grace loved listening and lots of people came and talked to her. The older ladies seem to love her. Tracy took us for lunch and we ate typical Shanxi noodles and vinegar, Grace loved her noodles and her meat. We had a long wait at the airport and were the only western couple with a Chinese baby so we stood out from the crowd. Grace boarded the plane well, sat in her seat and even let us buckle her in. She did fine until she dropped some candy and couldn’t get it back, then the tears came flooding out. She was talking and we couldn’t understand her and she was quite distressed, however a nice flight attendant came and talked to her and helped her calm down with the promise of candy once we had taken off. We were really hoping she would sleep, no chance, we spent the 2 hour 20 minute fight playing with the China Southern magazine, tearing it into pieces and either throwing them or stuffing them in daddy’s mouth. By the time we landed at 9.45 she was exhausted but fought off sleep until we were on the bus to the hotel in Guangzhou. Once in the hotel it was straight to bed. Once again she slept through the night and we had to wake her at 7.00am to get up and out for breakfast. A quick note on the hotel, we have moved from a nice cozy small room in the Shanxi Grand where we all shared a small space, to a very nice suite at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou where we are enjoying the room to move around. The hotel is amazing and the lobby beats even the hotels in Vegas! This morning was Grace’s medical check and she was none too happy about the whole experience. The clinic is small and crowded and in places very warm. She cried quite a lot but was good for all the doctors. Other than her obvious visual impairment she is in good health. One piece of good news for us is that since we left home President Obama has signed into law the adoption simplification act so Grace did not have to have any shots, we just had to promise to get any she needs within 30 days of getting home. When we got back to the hotel she was tired and fussy and had missed her nap. Cue a minor meltdown where she would not let us console her. Eventually she calmed down and chatted to us and giggled before finally taking her nap. Peace reigns in the hotel room. Bye for now, Mike, Margaret, and Grace P.S. Happy Birthday Mary! We’re thinking of you today!

A walk in the park on out last morning in Taiyuan Waiting at the airport for my first flight. I passed the time stuffing baba with pages ripped from the in-flight magazine Morning bus ride for my medical

The clinic is a crazy, busy place full of adoptive families


This nice doctor calmed me down and listened to my heart.


Website by myadoptionwebsite.com