Today was adoption and finance day. As always, we started with breakfast. The buffet has a great selection, and Samantha just loves the congee. We actually have substituted some of here cereal with congee. She has a great appetite, if she could only keep it down. During the day she has absolutely no problems. It’s at night when we put her down that the cough causes her to choke, and ultimately throw up. Our evening routine is cereal around 6:00 with a Robitussen chaser, followed shortly thereafter by her bath, and then a bottle and bed. Tonight she fell asleep around 6:45 while she was drinking her bottle. We held her upright for about 15 minutes patting her back hoping that she would get rid of some gas. Nothing happened so we laid her down. Shortly thereafter she started to cough, and you guessed it – all over the bed. She woke up as we were cleaning up and it took another 45 minutes to get her to settle down. Any thoughts from the family geniuses as to what we could adjust?
Anyway, as we said, today was adoption and finance day. We met in the lobby at 10:00 and were taken to the Civil Affairs office. This actually went quite well since we had completed most of the paperwork earlier in the week. What was left was a family picture, signature on the official adoption paperwork which included a fingerprint, and then the Red Book which contains our formal paper. Samantha also received a beautiful little plaque of the government building in a nice wooden box with the words “Mountain city – Chongqing lies in my heart forever”
This was fairly quick and we get back to the hotel well before 12:00. Next on the agenda was the bank at 2:00 so that we could exchange our traveler’s cheques into Chinese RMB, and then transfer the funds to the orphanage. This was the first time that this process was used – previously we would have had to bring pristine $100 USD bills. Any bills that looked the least bit questionable, writing on it, folded corner, worn, would be rejected and we would be forced to provide a substitute. Fortunately we have gotten past that, and there’s still some kinks in it, but certainly it will be a lot better once it gets perfected. Fortunately I went alone and Shirley stayed back in the room with Samantha. The rest of the families brought their babies and I think they somewhat regretted it. After the bank the plan was to stop buy a local supermarket and pick up a few things. I was going to go back to the room and get Shirley but thought better and just did the shopping myself but as it was the group didn’t get back to our rooms until almost 6:00. Shirley was thankful when I finally got back as Samantha had been fussing and wanted to be held and would not let Shirley set her down. We haven’t weighed her yet, but she is certainly a hand full and our, ok my, old muscles aren’t what they used to be. Somehow I’m thinking Samantha’s going to be my training regiment.
So, another night of room service and quite honestly, shortly to bed even though it’s only 8:30.
ps…yes, there are more pictures to post. Unfortunately the Internet access is in the bedroom so I only want to go so far as cutting and pasting the text. I’ll try to post pictures in the morning before tomorrow’s excursion – the Panda Zoo.