Too Tired To Title (China Day 6)

Today was less hectic than the past two days.  Following breakfast we hailed a taxi to Shamian Island for the morning.  This is where the US Consulate and medical center used to be, but they've since moved inland.  The famous White Swan hotel (where pretty much every adopting family used to stay) is still closed for renovations.  The island has a very different feel from the rest of Guangzhou.  It's much quieter and very peaceful.  There are many local stores for shopping, and we had a nice time there with one of the other adopting families.  We even had lunch at the local Subway.  Protip: don't order any sort of hot chicken subs here; Steve took one bite and threw it away.  We'll likely go back to the island another day to do some more shopping and take pictures.

In the early afternoon we hopped on yet another bus for yet another official appointment.  This time we had to go to a Chinese public security something-or-other building (essentially a big police station).  Helen had her picture taken and we submitted her application for her Chinese passport.  There weren't any other official events today, which was a welcome change.  


The whole day was interspersed with various "firsts" for Helen (in our presence, anyway).  We witnessed her first time waving hello, which was adorable.  She willingly gave Steve kisses upon request, which melted our hearts.  Two little puppies ran up to her on the island today, which we're guessing was her first time seeing any such animals (she seemed to like them).  At dinner tonight she displayed her first true toddler-like behavior for us: being extremely squirmy, putting her feet on the table, grabbing for everything, and eventually plopping herself down on the floor in what we think was her first real fit in our presence.  We are also still seeing little bouts of sadness in her, which don't appear to be brought upon by anything we do.  She also started playing a cute little game today where she lays her head on Heather's chest, looks up and waits until Heather says "hi", and then plops her head back down quickly.  Lots more smiles came about, mostly during dinner.  Everything she does is so darned cute, even when she seems to be acting a little naughty.


We miss Ella and Myles like crazy and think about them all the time.  It sounds like they're doing great back home, which comforts us but doesn't make it any easier to be away from them.  With all of the attention and fun times they're having, maybe we should be worried that they won't want to come back to us!  :-)  Nine more sleeps until we fly home to them with their new sister.


We're pretty dead tired today.  All of the emotions and busyness seem to be catching up with us this evening. We'll bring today's post to a close with a few new pictures of our little blessing from throughout the day: