Consulate Proceedings - July 9th

Indigo slept really late so Melanie went down to breakfast first. Indigo finally woke up at 8:30 a.m. so we went down for her to have another good breakfast. After breakfast Melanie & Indigo had another bath in the tub together which Indigo just loves. Melanie went with her friend Ellen shopping, Indigo and I stayed in the hotel room. We had to be in the room during the late morning because our guide was at the U.S. Consulate submitting all of the necessary documents and paperwork. If there were any problems she needed to reach one parent of each family. Luckily we received no phone call so all of our paperwork was fine. While in the hotel room, Pam, Robert, Elizabeth and Catherine came to visit. Later Shawn came by as we waiting for Melanie to return from shopping. Indigo had no morning nap which we planned because we wanted her to go down at 1:00 p.m. and wake up before 3:00 for our group photo. We also thought it would be hard to get her to take a nap when she had slept so late. Shawn and I went to get foot massages, which really does not describe the massage. They actually work on your back, neck and arms while your feet are soaking in hot water. Then they work on your feet and legs. So relaxing we wished we could bring the massage workers home to the U.S. with us.

We had our first major tantrum with trying to get Indigo dressed into a Chinese dress. The dress we had actually made for her in Nanchang had a problem zipper, so we had to use another dress. Indigo was likely hungry, still tired from her nap but all she did was scream and cry. She was shrieking and kicking - really a full blown temper tantrum. We went down for our group photo, then photos of all the mom's with their babies and finally the famous picture of the babies on the red couch in the lobby of the White Swan. As you can see from the picture, Indigo led the chorus of screaming babies. Indigo did not want to be put down by mommy onto the couch. Finally after everyone left, we were able to get a few photos of just Indigo sitting next to mommy.

After giving her an afternoon bottle, mom took a rest while I brought Indigo to the hotel play room. Indigo really enjoyed playing with many of the toys, and really did very well after some initial shyness about the other kids.

For dinner all of the families went to a barbecue restaurant here at the hotel and ate outside along the river with a lovely breeze blowing. The food was wonderful, and we ended up having two birthday cakes for one of the father's in the group since today is his birthday. Indigo ate carrots, cauliflower, potato, bread, dragon fruit, watermelon, salmon, rice, and a bit of ice cream too. We stayed to see the laser light show over the river and then it was off to bed. Only two more nights here in Guangzhou. Tomorrow we have a big day with traveling to and from and being at the U.S. Consulate for several hours.