August 23, 2005

Today had its ups and downs. The oly time we had to set aside was the time to go to the U.S. Consulate for the swearing in ceremony. Since we weren't scheduled to leave until 2:30 we had a good bit of time to spend together and take it easy.

We had a few items that we had commissioned to be made that needed to be picked up, so after breakfast we headed out to get them and to shop for other necessities and souvenirs. Victoria picked up a miniature tea set, a set of soup spoons and some dresses for the girls while I looked over the inventory of a couple of the street dealers who had watches on display. I was surprised to find that I could get a Rolex for only Forty dollars. Oh, sorry, I guess they were Fauxlexes. :) They looked genuine, down to the automatic movement of the sweep hands. I didn't buy a watch, but I did pick up a "Hard Rock Cafe, Guangzhou" ballcap. That'll be my big souvenir for this trip aside from Hannah.

Since we wanted to be well-rested for the trip to the consulate we decided to get room service delivered and then take a nap. It was the only way to guarantee that we'd get some rest time prior to the Consulate visit since it has been moved downtown instead of just a few minutes walk away. Now the adoptive families have to make a 30 minute bus ride to the new facility to go through the swearing in process.

The trip to the Consulate began well enough, but Hannah must have not gotten enough sleep because she ended up having a fit before we managed to get there. We managed to get her calmed down before going into the building. Jophy wisely told us to bring nothing but our passports, the children and ourselves. Other groups of people were coming in with bags, strollers, cameras and such which all had to be scanned and examined before entry. All cameras and electronic equipment had to be surrendered before going to the fifth floor where the ceremony takes place. We all ended up in a large room with 50+ other families who were adopting as well. We had a malfunction with one of Hannah's bottles at this time and had to toss the contents. Victoria ended up covered in formula and we're hoping that the stains will come out of her clothes.

We had to present a copy of Hannah's passport and Hannah to a representative to prove that we had the correct child, then we waited for a while. Eventually the Vice Consul came out to perform the swearing in procedure. He explained about the reason behind the procedure and some statistics behind the adoption program from China. The oath itself probably only took about 30 seconds, then we sat around waiting again while Jophy and the other guides started to get paperwork arranged for us. About 20 minutes later we began to see guides coming out with paperwork and Jophy came out a few minutes later. All of us got packets which will allow us to bring our daughters home, and once they step on American soil they will become U.S. citizens! Just one more day and we're headed home. Hannah managed to have only one other fit during this time and it was rather brief. We're starting to realize that she likes her space and doesn't like being in crowded areas. Guess it's a good thing that we're taking her out of China.

During the bus ride to the hotel it was obvious that all of us felt that a burden had been lifted from us. The last paperwork obstacle had been overcome and we just needed to get home to complete the adoption process. Hannah again got restless on the bus near the end of the trip, so we were grateful to see the hotel come into sight. Victoria got her off the bus quickly and we got her into the air conditioned lobby of the hotel. Once we were in cool air and away from crowds she settled down. All of the families in our group were to have dinner together at a nearby restaurant, but considering what kind of day we are supposed to have tomorrow we decided to pass ahd have a quiet evening in the room. I went out to get some food and drinks for us, then gave the girls baths once we had our dinner.

We played with Hannah and Abigail a bit, then slowly started turning down the lights as we gave Hannah her bottle. She's smart enough to realize what this means and put up a fight when she was placed in her crib. Abigail and I were sitting in the hallway sharing a snack of M&M's while Hannah was resisting sleep, but she eventually gave up and drifted off. However, at around midnight she woke up crying and we couldn't seem to get her settled down. A bottle worked for a bit, but when she was put back in the crib she cried even worse. Victoria gave her a bottle of water which settled her for a short while, but within 15 minutes she was crying again. We've just given her a warm bath which must have done some good since she stopped crying as soon as she got into it. While in the bath she let go of three good bursts from her rear end. I've got to believe that pushing out that much gas must make her feel better. So here we now sit, at 1:15 in the morning, thankful that she's wound down again and now sleeping in her crib. We REALLY hope that this will be the only episode we have until we get back home. We can't give baths on the planes.

Until tomorrow, or later today I guess.