The White Swan Hotel

We mentioned our hotel the other day. We thought we'd give you a glimpse of the lobby, to show you how beautiful things are here. The White Swan Hotel was built in the early 1980's and was the first 5 star hotel in China. It has subsequently become the hub for international adoptions. The area we are in here in Guangzhou is where the British government established a stronghold many decades ago. As a result, most of the embassies are located here on Shamian Island. The US Consulate is right down the street.
As a result, every family adopting a Chinese child ends up here for the final week of their trip to finalize the child's US visa, etc. We were lucky in that our daughter was born locally. As a result we are able to spend almost 2 weeks at this one location, as opposed to splitting our time between a rural province and The White Swan. The service here is impeccable. They even have a young lady stationed on each of the 28 floors to attend to our every need. When we leave the room to go out, the elevator has already been called by the time we get their... In all seriousness, the service here in China is as probably better than we've experienced anywhere in the world! And with so many children coming through here, the hotel is absolutely geared toward families with young children. Mia loves the big buffet breakfasts almost as much as Daddy does...

Coming out of their shells...

This morning before breakfast we stopped up at Kathy & Kenny's room.
They have a beautiful little girl named Molly, who is shown playing with Mia in the attached picture. Unfortunately, Molly has been giving her parents a very difficult time this week... We are absolutely in love spicy little Molly. However, while she is bonding with her new parents, she's also spending a great deal of time crying, hence the 'spicy' nickname. They have been absolute saints in the way they've responded and the patience they have shown. However, today Kathy was able to take Molly for a walk with Stacy & Mia to one of Stacy's favorite spots, Starbucks! They then got some quality family play time on the bed with no crying, followed by a great Thai dinner tonight for all of us. We were so happy to see Molly turn the corner. To think it's only been 4 days and she's already settling in. The pediatrician and her husband in our group, Wendy & V, adopted twin 14 month old little girls, Katie & Lilly. Unfortunately their children came from a different orphanage than Mia, and were very malnourished, and clearly not well cared for. It was heart breaking to meet them. They cried incessantly for days, and didn't want much to do with Wendy & V. But as Stacy, Mia & I were out walking today through the shops, we saw the four of them out taking a walk and the girls were quietly hanging out in their strollers, smiling a bit, and even gave Stacy a high 5.
I share these stories with you to make you realize that it's not all roses adopting a little girl from China. We've been so incredibly lucky with Mia.
Each child is different. Many of the families are having really difficult times. But all seem to be improving dramatically from day to day. Before we go home next week I would imagine that just about everyone will be settled in before their long flights home. Even little Mia's boils on her head are almost completely gone, and her ear infection seems to be healed as well. These little girls are so resilient it's amazing... A little love goes a long way!

All Clean...

Probably the only time we could say there is any stress at all associated with caring for our little Mia is when it's time for a bath...
Mia doesn't seem to love the bath tub, but that's probably the result of our lack of having a good system for bathing her yet. We've tried a number of different methods and have settled in with Daddy climbing in the tub and holding little Mia, while Mommy scrubs all the important places! It makes it all worth it though when we get to see that sweet little face peeking out of the towel. It's also amazing to watch the intense bond developing as Mommy rubs lotion into little Mia's skin. She absolutely loves it. It's about the only time our little wiggle worm lies perfectly still...

Mia the Tourist...

Today was Friday, and thankfully we had no governmental paperwork to attend to. We rewarded ourselves by taking a tour of a private school from the 1800's. Chun Academy was built in the 1880's to provide superior education to children of local wealthy families, in hopes of achieving a position within the goverment. The building is the last remaining example of old world architecture in Guangzhou, a town with a population of 10 million people... There were whole rooms full of jade & ivory carvings.
Unfortunately the building fell into disrepair during Mao's rule, and was utilized as a printing press for several decades. It has been restored and is now open to the public. While it was absolutely beautiful, I have to admit it was more fun to watch the older Chinese women go nuts over our little girl. They get sucked into her little grin & giggles, just like we did!
After a family nap, we joined a couple we've become very close with, Kenny & Kathy, in a Thai food feast. The food is truly spectacular around here.
Although, as always, it's sad to see the goofy side of some Americans. Late in the afternoon Stacy & I took Mia for a walk in her stroller and stopped into Starbucks. As I ordered a chicken sandwich a woman behind me warned me that I'd get the bird flu by eating the chicken in China! She then told me she hasn't eaten in days and is really struggling with her new child. Go figure...

My First Teeth!

Mia wanted to make sure everyone got to see her first teeth. She's very proud of them! As are we...