Dinner at Cow and Bridge

We enjoyed a group dinner at Cow and Bridge this evening. It is a popular Thai restaurant for adoptive families. My biggest concern was being able to order something that didn't set my mouth on fire. Fortunately there were little chile peppers next to the menu items to indicate the degree of heat in the dish. I chose one with no peppers. :) Funny, Hayden sat down the table from me and ordered the exact same dish and neither of us knew. We have great taste in food because I think ours was one of the most liked. We all shared a little so we could get a good sampling from the menu. Hayden & I had the grilled chicken wings served in a half pineapple. Very good. Sydney had the biggest bowl of soup I've ever seen! Piper, well now, I've thought for a while that she was ordering things she liked because she could read the menu and communicate with the waitresses. As it turns out, I don't think she's eaten out much and she just orders something she "thinks" looks good or will be good. She usually turns her nose up at what she orders and we have to eat her order and she eats with Sydney! Oh well, it works out just fine. She shares quite well and if she smells it (this is the test) and doesn't like it, she's more than happy to turn it over to someone who'll take it. I've included a shot of Robyn & Harley trying to decipher the ticket and Piper up to her usual antics. She's such a ham! I nearly forgot to mention that evidently Harley & Kevin got a somewhat smaller portion than they expected and Harley says as we're leaving, "Okay, now what are we having for dinner?". He and Kevin did a 7-11 raid and brought back a stash of Oreos and some other items which were not disclosed to me. I don't think they were even going to tell us about them at all but I thought I heard a knock at our door and Sydney stuck her head out to see if they were back. As it turns out, they didn't come to our room at all but she just happened to see them get off the elevator and head down the hall to the boys room with an arm full of goodies. Of course, she took off after them and raided the "snack stash". Good work Sydney!

Pictures on the Red Couch

Pictures on the Red Couch. The infamous Red Couch. There are actually many red couches here at the White Swan. We took pictures on two different couches today. One with the whole travel group and one including only the two babies ( & Sydney) from our province. Our guide also snapped a few of the families with the babies. Obviously, we weren't aware of this because you'll notice Kevin & Harley are not in the photos. :)

Medical Exam

Today was the medical exam. It went really well. I think all of my school nurse friends will really enjoy this post. I love the vision screening; hands! She told our guide that she was a big girl and didn't cry like the babies. :) Today it rained most of the day. We had lunch at Lucy's again. On the way there, Piper got upset about something (no one was quite sure) and ran about a block from us back toward the hotel. We watched her and thought she would come back but when she didn't, Kevin went back and scooped her up. She had a little crying fit but seemed to ease back into things as we went on and had lunch. We just try to minimize the drama and carry on with business as usual.

And a few more

More Pics

Breakfast at the White Swan and More

The breakfast was just as we had been told; out of this world! We arrived early as our guide suggested and were seated with a window view of the Pearl River. There were soooo many choices of foods, both Asian and Western. We met a woman seated near us from North Carolina. She was here for her third Chinese adoption. She and her husband have three grown boys and now have adopted their third daughter from China. She told me that the last daughter they had adopted they also named Piper. She was 2 1/2 yrs. old when they got her and she said it was very, very, hard. She told me that she screamed the entire time they were in China as well as hit, bit, spit, etc. She said it took about 9 mo. for her to really settle in with them. I felt somewhat relieved after talking with her to know that our experience has been relatively easy compared to that. She also let me in on a nice word pronounced (sorry I don't know the real spelling) an-jing. She said it means quiet. We have used it sparingly and only when it's been really important for her to be quiet and let me tell you she has responded very well. Today was her birthday and it really was a great day. I can feel her relaxing and really beginning to bond with each of us. Your prayers are truly being answered and I want to thank all of you for your love and care for our family. God is good, that is no doubt. It was a nice surprise to get her "White Swan" barbie today since it was her birthday. For those not in the know, the White Swan barbie is a caucasian barbie with an Asian baby in her arms. She was thrilled. We sang the happy birthday song again. Our day started with a guided tour of the Chen Academy. It was once a private school for only families with the last name of Chen (which is actually the first name in China). It is now a museum displaying art and art history of this area. You'll see one picture of Piper holding the umbrella over little Avery, the Kimberlin's daughter, just outside the academy. You'll notice everyone is getting tired of mom taking pictures! We did a little shopping this afternoon and bought her a birthday dress as well. Lunch was at Lucy's again. Everyone enjoyed some apple pie and ice cream after dinner and Kevin and I enjoyed some coffee. Sydney and I had an interesting experience around dinner time. We decided to do carry out and bring the food back to the hotel. It was a little wet and drizzly today and we thought Piper might be tired and enjoy eating in. Well, we popped in a restaurant across from the hotel that looked very busy. We were surprised to see some of the menu items. We did find some things that sounded good to order and sat down to wait on them to be prepared. As we were seated, we noticed some of the menu items "looking at us". We were waiting right in front of the fresh snakes, eels, frogs, turtles, etc. They were dinner but just didn't know it yet. Sydney turned her back and faced me. She said, "I just can't take it mom, the snakes are just too creepy!". As I was fumbling with the take out sacks and the umbrella, I managed to spill about half the container of our rice right onto the front step of the restaurant on our way out. I thought I was going to die! How embarassing! The ladies at the door were very nice and helped me to "get it back together" so to speak and we were on our way. We had our dinner "around the table" style with everyone sampling a little of everything. We used the chopsticks they sent and even the coffee spoons in the room. It was a good day. Oh, Dad, I included the shot of the snooker parlor for you. We spotted this on our way back to the hotel from our tour this morning. I thought you'd get a kick out of it. I hope you're all doing well. Julie, thanks for the update on Flake. The orphange director told us that Piper loves dogs. Boy, that's a good thing, don't know what we'd have done if she didn't!

more pics of first day in Guangzhou

Here in Guangzhou

We flew into Guangzhou this morning. We were a little nervous about the flight with Piper. She really did well. We gave her the window seat and there were no tears the whole trip! She was very happy with the snacks and drinks they provided. She does love to eat. For such a tiny thing, I don't know where she puts all of the food. Then it was lights out for the rest of the flight. :) The White Swan Hotel truly is as beautiful as we had heard. It was a welcome change from the last hotel in Nanjing. We have much larger rooms. They have two bathrooms and a living area. It's nice to have a little extra room. Guangzhou is much more westernized. There are many, many other families here at the White Swan for adoption as well as many business people staying in the hotel. We are no longer quite so conspicuous. Our new guide, Michelle, is very nice. She gave us a tour of the local area and pointed out some places to take laundry (much needed; we took a load right after the tour - the lady at the laundry said "Large family!"). There is a Starbucks about a block away and of course the famous Lucy's. We had dinner at Lucy's tonight. Piper licked the opening of the ketchup bottle as well as the lid. I'm not sure if she's ever eaten out in a restaurant before or not (I think not). I know she'll come around with some patience and consistency. Please continue your prayers for her and for us. This is a very hard transition for her. I hear the breakfast buffet here at the White Swan is like none other. We'll know more tomorrow!

More Birthday Photos

Birthday Dinner

The birthday dinner went really well. The restaurant was beautiful and the food was fabulous. It was interesting trying to get seated, however, because the table was in a hole so to speak. The tabletop was actually at floor level. It was sitting in a sunken area in the floor. The seats were cushioned with backs but with no legs. I've included some pictures of Kevin trying to get out of the table and they are pretty self descriptive; funny too! Oh, we were either supposed to wear shoe covers or put on slippers when we went into the dining room we had reserved. Well, the shoe covers were much too small for Kevin and Harley's shoes which our waitress thought was very funny. So they had to put on the slippers with their feet hanging off the back. :) Piper actually new the tune and the words to "Happy Birthday" so she sang along with us. She had a great time blowing out the candles and opening her gifts. She was way too excited to even taste one bite of her cake! She gave it to Kevin. The cake was very beautiful and very good. It was a yellow cake very light in texture. The frosting was a dream whip style and it was topped with fresh fruit. The fruit was layered in the cake as well. Very good! I put in a picture of our guide, Grace, reigning in Hayden. She's a very fast learner! We're off to Guangzhou tomorrow. Please pray for our travel. Piper is very high strung and the airports/flying have me concerned a little. She's not much of a sitter. Kevin said today that he wondered how it is that we flew half way around the world to adopt a child that is a Chinese carbon copy of the ones we already have. Not too sure, but I know one thing - she is a live wire!

Fuzi Temple

It looks like we might take three steps forward and two steps back for a while. She cried herself to sleep last night asking for her foster parents. It was pitiful. Then, she woke up with the same mood and continued to cry this morning. She and I stayed in the room for breakfast. By the time 9:30 rolled around, she was ready to go again. Quiet, and solemn, but ready to go. We visited a local temple; kind of. As it turns out, according to our guide, the temple is not so popular but the location is a very popular shopping area. Just as well for us. I'm not so sure I would enjoy visiting a Buddhist temple. We took our picture near a golden leafed tree (it is meant for luck). Piper enjoyed taking turns riding on Harley & Hayden's shoulders. She really preferred Hayden's (I think his proximity to the ground is better for her!). Everyone had fun dancing to some groovy music in a store we were looking in (similar to the Buckle, very hip). We snapped a shot of a local Burger King as we were leaving. Thought you'd get a kick out of it, especially Grandma & Grandpa Downing. We are celebrating her birthday tonight at dinner. It's a couple of days early, but thought it would be easier here than in Guangzhou. Our guide here has only two families and in Guangzhou our guide will have many families. We bought a birthday cake for her at a local bakery (much smaller than the birthday cakes we are accustomed to). We have dinner reservations at a local Korean barbeque restaurant. Our guide wondered if we should have it at McDonald's for Piper, but since she won't eat anything there but the french fries I thought we would eat somewhere she might like. She loves meat so maybe the barbeque place will be a hit. Who knows. I'll post after dinner.