August 18, 2005

Not much to record today. We had originally planned to try again for the park with the monkeys, but Hannah wasn't feeling up to it. She may be coming down with a cold. Whatever the reason, she's gotten a bit cranky lately. It doesn't help that she's bonded very well with Victoria, but doesn't want much to do with me other than to be a play partner while she's playing on the floor. Hannah doesn't want me to pick her up or carry her anywhere, which means that Victoria has to do all of the carrying unless we all want to hear ear-piercing screams. Happily, the Chinese passports for our daughters came in today, so we're one step closer to getting them home.

Abigail and I went to lunch with our group while Victoria and Hannah stayed back in the hotel room. Abigail has definitely broadened her willingness to try new things, but she's still pretty conservative in her tastes. I'm very proud of her for being willing to try new things, though. At the meal, Jophy let us know that the news crews had expressed interest in doing a story about international adoption due to our meeting and interviews yesterday. Hopefully this will encourage more people to look into this option. After lunch I took Abigail to a nearby grocery store to get her a candy bar as a thanks for being so good during the trip and for being such a good big sister. While there we drew a crowd, and a few of the women came up to touch Abigail's hair and to say hello to her. Blonde hair is a true curiosity here.

We returned to the hotel room and Victoria began getting things packed up for tomorrow's trip while I began working on the trip logs. A short while later, Victoria went out with some of the people in the group to do some souvenir shopping in the city. Abigail, Hannah and I stayed back in the hotel while she was out and enjoyed playing some games and getting to know one another better. During this time I was able to teach Hannah her first word, even if she doesn't say it. She now knows how to sign "more" when she wants something, and she's very enthusiastic about letting us know when she wants more food!

We all went to eat dinner after Victoria got back to the room, and have now gotten everyone ready for bed. Hannah has already drained her bottle and is now quietly playing in her crib, Victoria is relaxing in bed and Abigail is enjoying watching her little sister.

We check out of the hotel tomorrow morning and will be staying at the White Swan in Guangzhou for the rest of our trip. Once there we just need to finish a little more paperwork and we can head home. The traveling has been fun, but we really can't wait to get home again. I'll update the logs again as soon as I get a chance.