First Day in Guangzhou

After breakfast and Peyton finding a little friend, we headed off for Peyton's visa photo and medical exam. The air here is SO thick, and the humidity is worse than in Shanghai. It was a cloudy, drizzly day, but I was thankful it wasn't sunny or it may have been even more miserable!

The place where her visa photo was taken was also a little gift shop, and the first thing we noticed was that they had Pampers. Yippie! We brought a whole package of Huggies and had almost gone through those in addition to an entire package of really awful ones the orphanage gave us. Who thought diapers could be so exciting?! The first thing Peyton saw was a shelf full of trucks. She pointed to one and then played a little with them until it was time for her photo. She didn't smile, but at least she didn't cry.

Next, it was on to the medical exam, which was an absolute joke in my opinion. It was mass chaos when we got there. People were packed in there like sardines, and we were herded through like cattle. Mostly, it was filled with families adopting, just like us. While we were waiting, Peyton was playing with our water bottle. All of a sudden, it flipped and soaked me, Heather (of the Zinn family we were in Shanghai with), and their baby, who was sleeping in her stroller. It was quite comical. Darren mopped up the floor so no one would fall.

Then, it was time for us to go through 3 different lines... Height, weight, and temperature; ENT; and Medical and surgery. It was mass chaos, and Peyton was getting restless. She did pretty good overall though. I just can't describe how ridiculous it was. She does weigh 27 pounds, and cried when they took her from me to put her on the scale. She didn't like having to hold the thermometer under her arm either. Next was the ENT station. I cried when they did her hearing test. She was oblivious to every sound they made and just smiled and pointed to things she could see in the room. My sweetheart... I hope her hearing loss can be helped. I want her to hear, and she has so much to say! She cried as they examined her. Then it was on to the final station. That line took forever to get through. She smiled when the doctor listened to her heartbeat and fussed when he laid her on the exam table.

Finally, she had to have a TB skin test. We get the results of that on Monday. We walked back to the hotel, and by the time we got back, she was worn out. She downed a bottle and, as she was playing with her neck pillow on my lap, she put her forehead down on the arm of the chair and fell asleep. She and Darren took a 4-hour nap while I straightened up the room and went to our 4:00 paperwork appointment. I got back around 5:30, and she woke up shortly after that. We got her diaper changed and walked around the hotel to find the playroom. She cried when we opened the door. Wonder if it reminded her of the orphanage? She wouldn't go in, so we walked outside for a while and then went to Lucy's for dinner. American food! Yippie!!! We ordered Peyton a bowl of chicken congee. At first, she wouldn't eat it, but later we gave her the spoon, and she fed herself the entire bowl and was a perfect angel through dinner. She even ate a few fries!

After dinner, we walked to the photo place to buy some diapers, and she went over to the same little truck, so we bought it for her. The cute thing eas that when we walked away from them, she put it back and came with us. She doesnt know the concept of getting to buy something. 

We went back to the room and played for the rest of the evening. She loves her new truck! Taylor, hope you bring some of your trucks when you come to meet her!

We then set everything up on the bed. She had so much fun! We tickled and giggled. She even grabbed her red ball and tossed it to Darren! They played catch for a bit, and she has a good arm! Daddy was so proud!

After a while, she was sitting on my lap and stopped and stared at my chest. Then she grabbed and squeezed and then pulled my shirt top down to see. Darren and I laughed pretty hard over that. I showed her that she has a chest too. Silly girl!

Finally, it was time for bed, and she fought it hard. She finally fell asleep between my legs, and I was so tired that I fell asleep with her, in my clothes.

On our way to breakfast now! My angel woke up with a smile on her face and wanted to snuggle, but she didn't want a bottle. That was a first! She us my little shadow and is really starting to attach to me. She likes Darren, but she definitely prefers me. Love my girl!