January 12th; Consulate Appointment

Today was our scheduled Consulate appointment. We did not actually have to attend our guide went for us. This meeting reviewed all of our paperwork and made sure that everything was in place for us to bring Maria home. We got the call about 10:30 this morning that we were approved. Now we just wait for the US to issue a Visa for Maria to travel home. It should be issued Thursday afternoon and then we catch the train for Hong Kong.

Today was a beautiful sunny day but it was very windy and was actually the coldest day we have seen in Guangzhou. When we went out to dinner tonight we broke out the winter coats again.

After we were cleared to leave the room we went out and walked along the river, visited a few shops and walked in a local park. There are many statues around Shamian island depicting life on the island including the statue of the American couple with a Chinese baby, ladies walking, children playing etc. They are very interesting to look at as you walk.

We stopped at a local play ground for the girls to play a while. Maria fell asleep in the stroller. We walked back to the hotel and just let her sleep in the stroller since she was comfortable. After about an hour she woke up with a major melt down. She did not want daddy, did not want mommy did not want down, could not tell us what she needed. Finally mommy held her for a bit and then she wanted daddy. Daddy got her calmed down finally and then she was fine. Only thing we can figure is she woke up in a different place than she went to sleep and that must have freaked her out a bit. Otherwise she has had a great day.

Maria is calling Laura and Shiyan by their names now. She loves sharing her food with them at meal time. She is a good eater and tries a lot of different things. If there is something she does not like she will just push it away. She loves talking to her brothers on the SIP phone and really loves the video phone.

We are getting close to coming home. We managed to get a lot of stuff packed today which will make tomorrow easier. Everything is fitting nicely, just hope we are within the airline weight limits. We bubble wrapped breakables and padded things with clothing.

We really enjoyed visiting with a few special shop keepers today. We have learned more about them and really enjoying getting to know more about their lives here in China. The shops are very slow which is bad for the shop keepers but good for us as buyers and provides a chance to visit with them.

Tomorrow we go to the zoo in the morning and then to the Consulate for our oath. Should be a full day.