After breakfast our family, and seven other families from our agency, met to walk to the store where each adopted child’s picture would be taken. These pictures were required for the medical forms, as well as the visa application. Once that was complete, we walked to the building where the medical exam takes place.
We were the first group of the morning and each child has to go to three stations: Weight and Height; Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT); and Medical and Surgical. Zeke was first in line for weight and height. He weighed, on their scales, 29 pounds and we can’t remember the height. Basically, he’s heavy and just a tad bit taller than Hana (i.e., pretty short). Next was the ENT. She was very nice and checked Zeke’s hearing the same way we remember Hana being checked: she’d bang something and note if he looked that way, then clang something and note if he looked that way. He did. She then looked at his throat and eyes and pronounced him “okay” and sent us to medical and surgical. The doctor at the medical and surgical station was also very nice and checked him over from head to toe. He, like the others, basically said, “good,” and Zeke was done. For some reason we don’t feel like we learned anything about Zeke’s medical condition, but then, no one spoke English during the process, other than “good,” or “okay,” and they weren’t “looking” for anything that might be considered “a problem.” Thus, when we get home, we’ll feel much better taking him to our pediatrician to really have a thorough work-up.
After the medical exam, required by the United States, we met back at the hotel for the “red sofa” photos. All 8 families, plus 2 families from our agency who were just about to leave China, met and we attempted to get the kids to sit on the red sofa for the photo. Zeke screamed the whole time, as did several other little ones, and several refused to get in the picture at all. What fun to watch as parents attempted to get 10 newly adopted children, of various ages, to sit on a sofa when clearly none of them wanted to. Then, we got the 10 families together to take a group picture. That went better then the sofa picture, and we’re thrilled to have it behind us.
It had been a long morning. We opted for a quick lunch in our room so Zeke and Hana could take their naps and Steve and the other kids could go swimming. Nap time is going well with Zeke and Hana sleeping 3 or more hours daily and then sleeping about 11 hours at night. Also, at first, Zeke fought going to sleep, but now just goes to sleep without fighting it, crying, or vaulting out of the crib in a single move. It’s worked out well.
At 4:00, one parent from each family met with our guides to complete the remaining paperwork required for the U.S. Consulate appointment on Monday, and pay all remaining fees. We finished by about 5:15 pm and were free to go to dinner and wander around the hotel. We had a great meal, picked up our clean laundry, and went back to our room. Ed and Joe went to the game room while we gave Hana and Zeke their baths. Once bath time was over, we took Emily, Hana and Zeke down to the game room to see what Ed and Joe were doing. Turns out that they were in the midst of a great game of pool so we watched briefly until we decided that it was time that Hana and Zeke rode on a little rocket they had in the corner of the room. If anyone followed our journey to Hana, they might remember that we took her picture on the rocket ride the last time we were here.
Steve bought some tokens and Hana had a great time riding the rocket while Zeke watched. When it came time for Zeke’s turn, Steve lifted him up and he turned into a puddle of mush. There was no way he was getting on the rocket, let alone ride it. This was a first for the Allen family. We’ve never had a kid who was afraid of something like a rocket ride. Maybe if he sees Hana ride it each evening, he’ll decide he’d like to, however, if he doesn’t want to, that’s okay too.
Tomorrow is a free day and we plan on going to church and then do a little shopping. Hopefully, we’ll all get to go swimming and just take it easy. Take care.
Visiting on the sidewalk.
Zeke is not as chatty.
Zeke at his medical exam.
Zeke having his ears checked.
September 17 -- Sunday in Guangzhou
Today was a lazy, shopping day. We opted to skip church this time, although we loved the service the last time we were here, because with our afternoons taken up with naps, and then times we had to set aside for meetings of various kinds, our time to wander the island was limited. Thus, we took the whole morning to just wander the shops and look around the island. What fun we all had and everyone spotted things of interest.
The rest of the day was spent just relaxing and resting. It doesn’t seem like we’ve done all that much since we’ve been in China to require some time to rest, but everyone is tired. Overall, it was a good day.
September 18 -- Consulate Appointment Day
Today was our consulate appointment that we had been waiting for. Actually, it’s a strange appointment since we aren’t there; however, our guides, Shery and Leila, went for us. They took all the required paperwork for the eight families they are “guiding” through this process. Our job was to be in our hotel room from 10:30 – 12:00, in case a question arose that required an answer. In that event, they’d call us to obtain the required information. Well, the time came and went, no call, and finally we were told all families made it through this part of the process successfully.
The rest of the day was free to do as we wished so we spent time making some purchases we had talked about, checking out the sites, and beginning our initial packing to come home. We also rested some since Emily has a fever and wasn’t feeling the best, and Ed also seems under the weather, with a cough and bad sore throat.
After dinner and getting Hana and Zeke through their baths, we all went down to the hotel game room to play for a little while. The boys had gone down ahead of us, and stayed for a while after we left, and had a lot of fun playing pool and air hockey with some other kids traveling with our group. Again, Zeke refused to ride the rocket, but we did get him to play one game. He prefers watching at this point.
Zeke is doing better each day. We are seeing very few tantrums now, and when they do occur, they are short in duration. It seems he’s learning that tantrums don’t work at all in furthering his agenda, at least as far as his new dad and mom are concerned. Also, he is clearly thrilled with his two brothers and two sisters and loves spending time with them, snuggling, playing, and wrestling. He has a ways to go, but considering how short a time he’s been a member of a family, we think he’s come a long way.
Everyone is doing well, although we do have a little bit of illness as mentioned with regards to Ed and Emily. We’re just praying everyone stays healthy until we get home on Wednesday.
We have our next appointment at the U.S. Consulate tomorrow afternoon, at which time we’ll get Zeke’s visa to enter the United States, and will be asked to swear that all we’ve submitted for this adoption is accurate and true. This will be our very last step in this whole process of adoption Zeke. We can’t wait. Once this step is done, we can come home.
Please pray that Emily and Ed feel better and are 100% by the time we leave for home on Wednesday. It’s hard to make such a long trip when you don’t feel very well. Many thanks again for all your support and well-wishes.
