The US Consulate

Today was what the adoption world refers to as C.A. or consulate appointment.  This is what all the paperwork that we have been completing for months has been leading toward and the reason all Chinese adoptions have to process through Guangzhou. The US consulate in Guangzhou is the only one that can issue US visas for adoptive parents to bring their children into the US and thereby complete their US citizenship. When we arrived at 9:20 for our 10:00 appointment, we were already the last of the 10:00 appointments to arrive. There were at least 20 families in the room already. That meant we didn't finish the process (which was really just a 5 min interview) until about 11:30. You are not allowed to bring cell phones into the consulate, so our guide took a few pictures of us outside before and after.

  

After naptime, we went to a local store that has a kid play area and let the boys work out some energy. Apollo did pretty well, but was definitely winded very quickly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other than that, not much to report for the day. We are extremely excited to only see 3 links left on the girls' chain at home. That means we will be home in just 3 days!!  For those interested in coming to the airport to meet Apollo, our flight (is scheduled) to arrive at 7:10pm on Saturday night. It is United flight 4478 from Chicago to St.louis. Dana was able to confirm Apollo's appointment in Boston for June 1st so he will only be home a short while before his little world gets rocked again. We plan to cocoon at our house as much as possible so the airport is really going to be the only opportunity for a quick visit. We would be happy for anyone that is interested to come and welcome Apollo on his first day as an American citizen!

Animals!

It has been an extremely long day for everyone as we spent 5 hours at Safari Park, a zoo-like Disney-esque animal park.  We went last year and felt like we only saw about half of it. After 5 hours today, we can honestly say there is still more that we haven't seen. I'm not going to write a lot today because I'm pretty exhausted and we have to get up early for our consulate appointment. I think the pictures speak for themselves.  Apollo was a curious little monkey all day taking in all the excitement of the animals.

Magnus was a cross between a rabid hyena and a prematurely woken grizzly bear.

...until he returned to hibernation...

 

The best part of the day was when Apollo fed the elephants. It is coming quite clear that those are his favorite animals.  

 

Here is the rest of the day via photos:

 

 

 

 

 

No, this is not Magnus and Daddy having a staring contest! 

 

 

 

Wo ai ni - I love you

What a difference a day makes! Today was a fantastic day of behavior by both Magnus and Apollo.  Apollo is really becoming so much more comfortable with us and Magnus.  Dozens of times today unprovoked he would say "Wo ai ni <baba/mama/didi>". After breakfast, we made a trip to the playroom while our room was cleaned.

 

 

 Then it was back to the room for some hide and seek.

 

Next we decided to walk over to wal-mart and get a few more snacks and a few cheap toys for the boys to play with in the room and on the plane (very exciting that we are talking about the flight home soon!).

 

 

 

 

 

Dana had lined up a local personal shopping companion that she had learned about on Facebook. She took her out shopping for a couple hours and got wholesale prices at the toy market, pearl market, and more. She recommended not going to the jade market because it was overpriced. She said that a guy was coming to the hotel later Monday night with a suitcase of jade that he would come to the room and sell. Sounded a bit shady, but it does make sense that he could sell much cheaper without needing a storefront. As I type this, Dana is in the other room looking through the pieces. Only in China, right!  

Our guide had told us about a park that was a few blocks away, so this evening we decided to take a walk over. The boys both wanted Dana to carry them, so we strapped them both into the carriers, and off we walked. 

 

 

Turns out it was about a 15 minute walk. Poor Dana was drenched in a combination of her own and the boy's sweat by the time we arrived.  The boys and Dana were happy to be "unchained".  The parks in China are quite different than in he US. They all seem to be areas meant for a combination of exercise for adults and peaceful meditation. They even had a decibel meter on the walking path to make sure you weren't being too loud. The boys tested out the upper limits of the acceptable range!  We walked around for about 20 minutes to find a place the boys could play, but no luck.

 

 

 

 

 

I put on the carriers and we headed back. I was already sweating even before putting the boys on me, but by the time we arrived at the restaurant back near the hotel, I wasn't sure if I was soaked because of the rain that had started or if it was truly all sweat.  Sorry if that is too graphic!

Tomorrow we have an early departure for Safari Park. We are hopeful for good weather and good behavior!  Consulate appointment the following day and then we are in the home stretch!