Does the Tooth Fairy come to China?

We had a very eventful day. We slept in a little, as we did not have any tour arranged today, just needed to be in our rooms in the morning while our consulate papers were being processed, in case there were any questions. So we got to the breakfast buffet a little later than usual. We were told that there were no more tables available so we should go to the 30th floor and there is another buffet there. Well, who knew!??? So we headed up there. The view was magnificent.

See the pool in the corner on the right side? It's on the fourth floor. The small round one is the kiddie pool.

The building on the right is the one I posted pictures of before, with the scaffolding all around.  Our guide told us that "they" ran out of money and had to stop working on it. I don't know who They are or when They ran out, but it must have been a while ago.

This is a squid-kabob......Gramma ate it for breakfast and shared with Shanna, both seemed to like it. Eww.

After breakfast we took a walk to Trust-mart, sort of like a Wal-mart, but compressed, where you can find everything you need under one roof.

I was quite fascinated by the refrigerator display. They were thin and tall and quite organized inside. I liked this "deluxe" model, with the three doors. I am not sure any of them were freezer compartments.....

I also really liked these little baskets. Shanna pulled it all throughout the store.  We found See Yang Yang DVDs and Eric bought four of them for Shanna!! And a puzzle, and pencils. We bought Megan a small red soccer ball that she really likes. We bought Matthew and Mary Alice a 1000 piece puzzle to keep them busy in their room.

They have these flowers growing on all the bridges in Guangzhou. It is some kind of shrub and it comes in pink and purple. Very pretty.

After a short rest and a snack in the room, we went to the American Consulate, where we had to swear that everything we put in our immigration application for the children was true. We had a group swearing in for 33 children, then we signed our DS230 papers and were done. It was very busy in the room, with children of all ages crying, laughing, playing and running around, and a lot of parents looking proud, dazed, exhausted and happy.

Shanna brought that yellow dress with her from the orphanage, a gift from her nanny and she was so proud to wear it. We decided that we would change her into the dress at the last minute and when she came out wearing it, Megan practically knocked her over rushing back into the room to change into a dress, too. 

More interesting building on the way back to the hotel.

When we got back from the consulate, Shanna had to use the bathroom and I was hurrying to help her with her dress, and I caught my finger in the glass door in the bathroom! It hurt like CRAZY and reduced me to tears immediately. I felt faint from the pain and it took at least 10 mins before I could even stand it. Shanna was so sweet and kept saying Mama, Sorry, Mama ai ni (love you) and Megan got me tissues, Eric got me ice, Mary Alice held my hand. What a wonderful attentive group. But OMG did it hurt. I took some Tylenol and after a few hours it stopped. I am glad to say it is not broken.

After the consulate appointment, we were invited to a birthday party. Another family in our hotel adopted a little girl who turned 3 today and they invited us all to their room for a party. 

It was neat to see the kids and families all interacting together. Lots of parallel play, too.

The birthday girl is on the left, in her mom's arms. She is very tired (no nap today because of the schedule) and a little overwhelmed by all the commotion. We all have felt that way at one point on this trip!

Shanna really liked this Pixter toy that Lily had. Right after we ate the pizza and the cake, Shanna came to me and told me her tooth hurt again. She had been telling me this frequently, and I knew it was very loose but tonight it was on its last thread, so I got a tissue and pulled it out. She was very happy and the new one was already out quite a bit. Megan showed her how to put it under her pillow and we hope the tooth fairy remembers to visit her in China.

They had a beautiful view of the skyline from their room. Eric pointed out how the sun is reflecting off the building in the back on the mid right of the picture.

Yesterday, we received an overnight package from the orphanage with 2 silver bracelets and a clear bracelet that the nanny forgot to bring on the day we met Shanna. She was wearing them on the day she was found. I am so glad we have them to give her when she is older. I showed them to  her and she recognized them and tried to put them on, but they were way too small.

Later on, I looked through the bag of gifts that the nanny had given me on that first day. I found 4 small dvds with photos on them and loaded them onto my computer. This is what I found:

This is a picture of sweet Shanna, the day she was found. See the bracelets she is wearing?

This is a picture of her two weeks later.

This is Shanna with Karen, the Believe in Me Shantou School Coordinator, who advocated for Shanna to be adopted.

This is about 6 months after she entered Shantou.

This is Shanna with her foster mom and foster sister Xiang.

In this picture, Shanna seems to be growing quickly, as she is very thin compared to before. Her thyroid condition was diagnosed and medication seemed to be very effective.

This photo is more recent, as she is wearing the dress I sent her in June. The girl on the left is Emily, adopted to US in September, the girl on the right is Ji Ying, soon to be Gianna-waiting for her family to come and bring her to the US. 

I love this picture.

This is a picture of the cake that I sent Shanna the week before we came for her. She calls this woman in the picture "Mommy", and I think she is the head nanny/caretaker for Shanna. The red dot on her forehead is for good luck. And yes, I think the nannies have put makeup on her face for the special occasion.

I believe she is making a wish. I wonder what it is???

I have to say she is very happy looking.
Brycie, do you see Ji Ying enjoying the party??

This is the whole group. I am sooo glad that they all got to celebrate. I sent the party as a gift from Shanna to her friends and nannies to say thank you for the care and friendship. It looks like they all enjoyed it.

 I am NOT the last one up tonight. Eric is with me, we are using back to back laptops and he is clearing off all of his emails. I better hurry though, he just shut his computer down and if I am not quick, he will beat me to bed. Tomorrow we are going to the Guangzhou zoo, so that should be very fun and interesting.

I forgot to write that I started Megan on antibiotics for her cough a few days ago and she is doing MUCH better, now. Today I started Shanna on one too, because her nose has been so congested. I am hoping that she will feel better soon, too. I have a feeling that she has had a sinus infection for a long time and she is not a great nose blower.

One last note, dear family, I am sorry I have not been a better Skyper. It is so hard with the time difference and being out each morning and putting the girls to bed each evening. I am thinking of you all though and hoping that you understand. I do check to see if you are online, but I can really only call/answer one person each day, and that's it.