1st Day in Guangzhou - Lucky 7/7/7

This morning in the daylight we were able to see the most stunning views from our room - we are sort of on a corner and overlook the river. The White Swan is on Shamian Island - it's very beautiful here and because of the British colonialism feel to the place, it seems sort of like the Bahamas. Indigo woke up with a snotty nose (not sure if Daddy gave it to her, or the other way around). Melanie took Indigo down to breakfast while I got ready. Breakfast at the White Swan is quite something - our friends Kristi & Eric who were here a month ago had alerted us to that with their enthusiasm in their blog a month ago. There is the most massive array of choices. At breakfast, Indigo sneezed and out came a foot long snot, from each nostril - it was an OMG moment! I hope they sterilize the napkins! However, she still had her usual appetite for eggs, watermelon, banana and today some banana bread. There is no child tub here so after breakfast, Melanie bathed her in the bathtub by taking a bath with her, which she really enjoyed. We had to wake her from her nap to take her to the medical appointment required by the U.S. Consulate. We all walked from the hotel first to have the babies pictures taken, another requirement. Indigo had her worried look for the photo. We then walked about ten minutes to where the medical clinic was located. The clinic was very clean, and there were many American families with babies, along with Chinese as well. We had to visit three separate nursing stations, one where she was weighed and her length measured. Another where we filled in a questionaire with a doctor who checked her chest, measured her head and looked at her with her diaper removed (which she did not enjoy, i.e. cried). The third station involved checking her hearing and her throat. All were normal. She weighs 20.4 lbs. which is the perfect mid-point for her age, but her height at 81 cm is at the highest end for Chinese girls so she may be a future basketball player. This is the post Melanie's Dad has been most keen about because he is responsible for the safe and proper placement of the car seat for our return home so he really wanted to know her accurate weight and length. Thanks Dad!

At the medical clinic we ran into our friends Pam, Robert and Ellen and Rick with their children. We walked back to the hotel with Ellen, Rick and their daughter Sarah. We stopped at a Starbuck's equivalent called Blenz for some much needed cool refreshing mochachino's. The beautiful girl (that is not Indigo) is Sarah, Rick & Ellen's precious daughter who is quite adorable. The walk was very scenic with lots of beautiful trees and park type atmostphere. There is also a huge playground area for children and a place where many people were doing exercises. There are so many stores that cater to foreigners adopting here, so of course we stopped into our first store for some shopping. Indigo has her first pair of squeeky shoes and has added another Chinese style dress to her wardrobe.

Back at the hotel I got some much needed sleep and then played with Indigo after she awoke from her afternoon nap. While playing, I told her to get the ball and she picked up a red ball. Melanie and Indigo went out to a Thai restaurant with the Great Wall families from Anhui Province and they had a lovely time out although Melanie said that Indigo does not care for Thai food as much as she likes Chinese food - could again be the cold or the fact that she had eaten a lot of cheerios before dinner - she has completely mastered her Snack Trap. Melanie brought me back take-out from the Thai restaurant. Indigo was very fussy about bed - either because she was overly tired or perhaps because of the cold, or a combination of both but she settled to sleep about 9:15 p.m. The view from our room is beautiful at night - all the boats are out and are lit up with pretty lights. We hope to do a dinner cruise one evening if we can all be feeling better.

P.S. For the cheetah folks - Tanja, Liz and others, Melanie wants you to be sure to notice that Indigo was wearing her cheetah top today.