More Shopping and Missing Ling-Li

I miss my daughter so much.  For any of you who don't know I stay home with my daughter during the day and Teach Jiu-Jitsu in the evening at my Dojo.  Ling-Li and I do everything together.  She is staying with Tracey's sister Missy.  Things at Missy's house have been a little off for the past 2 days, so we haven't Skyped.  I just want to see her before I go to sleep tonight.  I don't know how people go on business trips all the time. I guess if you do travel a lot you might not be as close to your kids as Ling-Li and I are.  That would kill me.  Please hug your kids for me right now.  I hope we finished most of the shopping we are going to do in GZ.  I am sending a large box home tomorrow.  Yes, I bought tons of things for the kids.  Have a great night everyone.

Shopping and StarBucks

Our Adoption Agency set up many touristy things everyday while in China.  We of course opted out of all the things. Our main concern and purpose is to bond with our new child, not to ignore him while we listen to a tour guide for 5 hours. This is funny, because our agency stresses the bonding time so much, but then wants you to see everything on the list. We are at Starbucks right now, drinking BlueEyes and using there WiFi. Much shopping will be had again today and hope to send home a couple of boxes tomorrow. Guangzhou is hot, it's a sub tropical island in the south. It's still much cooler here than in Wuhan. It's a pleasant sweaty hot. Wuhan was knock you in the face can't breath or move hot. We are happy. Kai Chun seems to be doing much better with Tracey. He can be left alone with her and she can even kiss him, just a little. For the most part it's me BaBa he wants. I love it!

Shots, Tears, and Cookies

The first thing we did today after breakfast was to get Lai Chun's picture taken for his visa.  35 RMB and 2 minutes was all it took. Medical also went real good this morning.  There are 4 posts to go to.  First is getting weighed.  Very fast and easy.  Second was ear, nose, and throat (ENT). She looked in his ears and Lai Chun wouldn't open his mouth.  So she rammed a stick in his mouth and pressed so hard down that it snapped.  I wanted to belt her!  After she saw the look on my face, she just let us go and gave my son a pass with flying colors.  Third stop was physical inspection. Feel his head and look at his whole body. Then was the dreaded fourth stop, vaccinations!  My boy needed 4 and a TB test because we are an I800 family.  The total cost was 1900 RMB and some tears.  Actually he was really great.  The crying didn't start till the 4th shot. One on each arm and one on each leg, he didn't like getting poked in the leg.  I gave him my camera to take pictures and a cookie he was happy.  Half hour more wait to make sure there were no reactions and we were off.  Tracey is at the white out party and Lai Chun is napping.  The white out party is filling out all the paperwork for his visa.  They call it that because there are usually so many mistakes that you need to use white out.  We are now free the rest of the day and tomorrow.

The Whit Swan

I couldn't wait to post that title for a long time.  It's a funny thing how we just can't stand how long it takes us to go to China.  I mean we count the months off like days.  Then everyone asks you, when are you going?  Then a couple years go by and we get a call you need to leave in a week.  It's so crazy.  But here we are Guangzhou the last stop before home.  Our guide is picking us up at 8:50am and we walk over for the Medical Exam.  I finally get to meet Allison in person.  Her and her husband Mathew have adopted a little boy to and her and I have been emailing each other for months.  It will be great to see her and her whole family.  More fees to be paid and shots for Lai Chun to get.  I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Last Night in Wuhan

My wife and I are happy this is the last night in Wuhan.  Because of the Heat?  No.  Because of some of the mean people?  No.  It's because this means we are half way home.  You see we miss our daughter Ling-Li very much.  I am starting to tear up right now.  I know, I know, a big strong Jiu-Jitsu Master like me crying?  Yup!  When it comes to my first born I cry every time.  I keep telling myself we are here for Lai Chun and it would have been way too hard having her here.  It still kills me.  You should see Tracey, she's a hot mess.  She knows and loves Guangzhou, so that is a big plus for tomorrow.  We leave for the Wuhan Civil Aff. Office around 9:30am to get Lai Chun's Passport. Back to the Hotel to collect our things and then to the Airport between 12-1 to catch our 3:30 flight and arrive in GZ around 4:50.  Tracey and I will upgrade our room at the White Swan to the upper floors, it is so worth it!  Better everything and much more space.  I will put a new video up once there.  I hear Starbucks calling our names right now! What have we been doing all week without Starbucks? SBucks VIA saved us! There are a lot more adoption things for us to do in GZ, so I will try and keep up with it all day by day. Is anyone even reading this thing?  Do I sound like an idiot?  Anyway one last thing.  On our way up to the room tonight a 6.5foot white guy walked up to the elevator. We both said hi and heard an American accent.  I said where are you from. "A small state in the US" he hesitated to say where as he explained he thought we probably have never been there. Connecticut he said.  Tracey and I both blurted out, "That's where we are from"! Hartford and Manchester he said. Well we live in West Hartford.  He was amazed. The last 8 years of working in China, we were the first people he has met from CT. It was nice to have met him.

Bug Bites and Long Nail

I wanted to share with you the first few seconds of seeing Lai Chun sleeping in the nanny's arms.  The first thing you could see was these large sores on his hand, wrist, and legs.  Also on the base of his neck/upper back. These were bug bites probably from the dirty living conditions at the foster family's house. Lai Chun also had the longest nails I had ever seen on a kid, I mean woman would kill to have these.  With those nails he scratched the hell out of the bites.  It was very scary to say the least.  I'm very happy to have brought Hydrocortisone Plus and a steroid cream.  It's been four days now of applying both creams, I stopped the steroid cream yesterday, and they are mostly cleared up.  The two largest ones on his right hand and wrist are 90% better.  They were dying to get treated.  He is probibly more happy about this than Tracey and I.  When I take the cream out he persists on doing it himself.  I have to say, he is very well behaved and listens to most everything I tell him to do and not to do.  He has been saying Umm Umm Good when he eats and Wu Ba Ba Poopy when he needs to go potty.  It is very cute

Video of Lai Chun

Ok I don't know how, but I did it.  I was able to upload a quick little picture video on Vimeo of the first couple days.  I will try another one soon, so keep checking back! Vimeo.com/masterflyer