Guangzhou

On Sunday we took the kids swimming and just hung out.  We were all pretty wiped out from all the traveling.  Sunday afternoon we filled out paperwork for the US visa.  Monday morning I took Jaxon to the medical center for his physical exam.  All the adoptive kids have to go through this medical center to do the exam before applying for the US visa.  The local Chinese people also have to go to this clinic for the exam so it was pretty busy.  Our guides had us fill out all the medical paperwork before we went so it actually didn't take that long as it normally does.  We had a big group though so it still took a few hours.  Jaxon fell asleep on the bus ride, it seems like every single time we get in a bus he conks out, I'm thinking he does this as a coping mechanism because bus rides have disrupted his life quite a bit so far!  He was NOT a fan of the doctors.  The eye and ear doctor just looked at him and he started crying!  He is pretty shy around strangers which is a good thing, he seems to be attaching pretty well.  He likes to run around, but he doesn't go far and he doesn't want strangers holding him, he has to make sure he can still see us.  

 Medical Clinic.  This is relatively new and it is really nice!  The hospitals I have been in are nothing like this!

 Adoption side of the clinic.  One of the guides, Jason, is holding the paper and talking.  He was really great and super organized which helped immensely!

 Wine dispenser on our way out the door, I thought this was hilarious!

 Guangzhou is the 3rd largest city in China with over 18 million people.  The city has also be referred to as Canton.  It reminded us a lot of Hong Kong because it definitely had some British influence.  It was also very tropical.

 US Consulate

 This is the view of our hotel in Guangzhou from McDonald's across the street.

 Jaxon's first McDonald's.  He is a big fan of french fries!

Here are some random pictures from Zhengzhou that I didn't get to put on here, the internet in the hotel was so so slow!

 Some of the siblings who came to China hanging out in the hotel lobby in Zhengzhou

Crazy scooter traffic

 Our representatives in Zhengzhou, Yisha, Rita, and Tina.  They were AWESOME!  My friend Paige and I stayed up late one night and hung out with Yisha and Rita while they ate a late dinner, it was so much fun!  Yisha ordered hot pot and when she took off the lid there was a turtle boiling away...  She quickly put the lid back on and said, I told them you guys were with us so DON'T put the turtle in!  haha!!!   Paige was a little worked up about the turtle, and Yisha tried to convince her it was good for the skin.  So funny!  These ladies were SOOO great!

 Mexican restaurant in Guangzhou, it was decent for Mexican food in China.

 Monday night we took a river boat cruise on the Pearl river.  It was really nice.

 Our friends Veronica and Ty and new little man Enxi.  Enxi and Jaxon were in the same orphanage.  They lived in together in the same room.  Veronica has pictures of them together when they were younger.  Enxi turned 1 the day before he met his mommy and daddy.

 The dinning area of the boat.  We all ordered Papa Johns and brought it with us and had a pizza party.

 After we ate, we went up to the second floor and enjoyed the scenery of Guangzhou along the river.  The Pearl river is the 4th longest in China.  It is the longest river in the southern part of China

 Fun on the boat.  The boy to the right of us is Jonathon, he was the oldest kid adopted in our group.  He was a great kid!

Hanging out in the hotel room.  He is definitely more adventurous now and he gets into everything!  He is super curious and really busy :)  I don't think that he was every exposed to anything in the orphanage so now he is trying to catch up, he definitely acts more like a 13 month old than an 18 month old, but I think that he is changing every single day. His motor skills have already improved a ton and he is tasting and touching everything he can get his hands on.  He is going to keep us all on our toes!!!!