From China 04/05

Apparently this blog post never made it to the blog through Brad. I am adding it now with the text I sent him then plus some pictures now that I can post what I want:

What a fabulous day in Guangzhou! Today we met with the group of families already here and joined them on some touring. The family we had spent time with in Shanghai is here so we were able to reconnect and have some fun together. 

Our first stop was a monument that I can't remember the name of. It is the one in the picture for this post. Nice job, Kim. But it was beautiful and I will ask the guide for the name again tomorrow. The boys were not terribly interested. So we spent most of our time playing with the little kids in our group. 

People, my boys are both so amazingly sweet. They were helpful, mostly respectful in a boring museum, and so playful with the little ones. The family we met in Shanghai adopted a little boy from Nathan's same orphanage and the two of them have  a connection. Nathan stuck to him all day and pushed his stroller. It was very sweet. And Aiden kept tickling the toes of the little ones in strollers. There are three in our group. 

After the memorial we went to a Buddhist temple. This was much bigger than the one Brad and I saw on our last trip. It was very interesting. Because of the holiday (Xing Ming) which is for honoring ancestors the temples are very busy this weekend. One tradition is for family groups to visit the temple to honor the deceased. Offerings of incense, candles, paper money and foods are presented. Aiden could not figure out why there was food everywhere but we could not eat it. There was even bottled water presented as offering. Aiden really wanted to buy more water and some snacks. He couldn't understand why we kept telling him they were not for sale. 

After our touring we enjoyed lunch with our friends. Pizza! Nathan finally ate with gusto. Aiden was not impressed. He only wanted to eat the chicken off the top. He had one slice of cheese pizza. I think his opinion of pizza will change within a couple months home. 

After lunch we played the day away with our friends. All of the kids were eager for some company outside of pesky siblings and parents and had a blast. We played games. We watched a movie. We hit balloons and drove toy cars around the room. It was lovely. 

Then we went out to dinner before returning to our hotel for bath and bed time. 

This was a fantastic day. Tomorrow we intend to give swimming a try. Neither of the boys know how to swim. We'll see if either of them are brave enough to get in...

And now to add photos to this original post about swimming the next day:

I am a day behind. I want so much to record all of these memories. With the trip being so long the details tend to blur together and I want to be able to remember as much as possible. Which is why I am disappointed to not be able to post pictures and videos to my heart's content. 

Yesterday was a 'free' day without any appointments or touring. We met our friends at the other hotel again just to pass the day. We decided that teaming up for our kiddos first swimming experience would be a good idea. Twice as many first-time swimmers, but twice as many adult eyes and ability to juggle kids and rescue if needed. It turned out to be a great time. 

Before swimming we all went out to lunch at an Irish pub. We were the only people in the place. But the food was fantastic! It was a little pricey considering the average Chinese restaurant here only runs about $5-9 US dollars for all three of us to eat. The pub was more comparable to prices at a restaurant at home. But it was a nice treat.

I showed Aiden how to make little houses out of coasters. He was so proud to get his standing. It took a lot of patience and determination. This kid has a lot of the same traits as Ty, without the Taz cloud around him. He does not quit until he gets it. I was starting to really miss Ty at this point.

After lunch the Dad of the other family asked if I thought my boys would swim. I said I doubted Nathan would get in but I knew Aiden would give us a run for our money. We told the kids we intended to go swimming and the first words out of Nathan's mouth were: "I no like." Aiden immediately began signing "swim" with glee. I had them pegged.

To my surprise Nathan did end up getting in eventually. Aiden ran into the water and splashed wildly. He only went under once and since I was right there to grab him it didn't phase him a bit.

This was at least 40 minutes after the rest of us had been in. We were actually already in the hot tub when this happened.

Do you see the blue lips?

The water was not warm by any standard. Aiden was shivering. People, I love my children fiercely. I managed to force myself into the water from the get go and stay until my boys were done. I even endured splashing and feigned a smile and some laughter. It's not that I didn't have fun. Watching my boys experience "firsts" is always thrilling. But it was cold. And there was a cool breeze that made being out of the water even worse until we were completely dry. But we made memories. And both boys laughed, smiled and played freely.

One of the most memorable parts of this experience for me was actually realizing my son was deaf. I know that sound absurd. But with his CI off he couldn't hear a helicopter landing behind him. I kept calling his name to get his attention and then saying to myself: "He can't hear you Kim!" It was a bizarre moment to actually realize I could not get him to respond to me without touching him. Man I love this kid.

The other family had been asking for McDonald's for dinner so we tagged along. McDonald's is never my first choice. But the boys were happy to have burgers and fries. Aiden ate enough fries for all of us. We even enjoyed ice cream as a special treat. Eating McDonald's in other countries is always interesting because it is the same food (burgers and fries) you see at home but something always just tastes a little different about it. And they always have things on the menu that you would never see at home. 

Today has been far less eventful. We began with medical appointments for the boys. They were both wonderful. Both had to have blood drawn. Aiden is so brave and easy going about everything. He winced but didn't cry. Nathan is a bit more dramatic. He didn't cry but he made a big deal about his arms hurting and was sure let the entire room know he had endured poking through his facial expressions and waving his little bandaid for all to see. All in all the medical exams were seamless. Much faster than the last time we were here. Piece of cake.

Aiden is so curious and must know about everything going on around him (sound like Ty? Seriously missing him).

This was the same doctor who examined Ty!

I was not allowed in this room. Last time the blood draw was done behind closed doors with no windows. This time I could watch but I was not allowed in.

We got some lunch with our guide before coming back to the hotel room. We have played games and finished some laundry. Mostly we have laid about and snacked all day. Our friends are coming to join us for dinner. Tomorrow we change hotels so the rest of my evening will be packing. 

Walking to dinner with friends.

The restaurant was fabulous. The boys got a kick out of the tanks of animals awaiting their doom. We saw a turtle outside of one of the tanks hiding behind everything. I wonder if he made it...

 

We got ice cream on our way back to the hotel. Aiden's self-destructed in his hands. It made me think of Ty's ice cream in China. Really missing him.

This stair way in the China Hotel is a common photo op for adopting families. Usually they travel together in big groups with their agency and the whole group will have a picture here. Our friends traveled with a different agency for their previous adoption and have this picture with their group. We decided to make our own group and get our own picture.

Tomorrow is the zoo! We can't wait.