Fishing?... Weird Notes by Jackson...Fishing?

The zoo was fun yesterday. But the best part of it was the goldfish place. It was as big as the rest of the zoo. They told us that you could play games for "major prizes". But we didn't try that. We tried this thing where you get into this huge kiddie pool thing with live goldfish everywhere. They handed us nets and plastic bowls so we went to catch fish.

In China they don't really care about privacy as much. So some of the parents assumed that it was a great idea to not get their kids clothes wet. That problem is easy to fix. Just take their clothes off! You could take the fish you caught home if you wanted to but mom wouldn't let me take any.

I finally got some pictures on my blog. Jackson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84aNZwbxHko

In China and the US, Yang Tu Chao is now officially Samuel Todd Tuchao Curtis!

Happy Adoption Day!

This morning we had our consulate appointement scheduled at 8:30. We met our guide at 7:50, and headed to the US Consulate in Guangzhou. When we got there, there were about 7 other families who also had the 8:30 appointment. That is a much smaller group than when we adopted Lily. We went through security and then sat down in the US citizen adoption room. An American consulate employee explained the process, which was exacly the same as last time. All of the parents and adopted children stand and parents raise their right hand and take the oath on behalf of their immigrating children. This is required of all US immigrants. Basically, we say that all the information we submitted to this point and including the visa application is true to the best of our knowledge. The they call each family up one by one- "Parents of Yang Tu Chao" ...so we went to the front, they checked our passorts and Sam's passport and made sure the names matched (WHICH MINE DID, THANK GOODNESS!), and that our faces matched our passports. Then they accepted Sam's medical paperwork to have with his visa application. Normally we would have his visa back tomorrow night, but since tomorrow is a holiday here in China, we will have it back on Thursday night instead. As of today, Sam is legally our child according to the United States. He is still a Chinese citizen until we receive his visa and he plants his foot on US soil.

After the Consulate Appointment, we stopped by a huge local bookstore...and enjoyed looking through the English section. Then we went to the park that has a really neat statue we knew Jackson would want to see. Last time we were here, our group went to the same park and saw the 5 Ram Statue. It is a pretty neat statue, and Jackson loves goats, so we knew we couldn't miss it!

For lunch, we went to a Chinese restaurant across the street from the hotel. It is the same lace that Rebecca took us to our first full day here. We ordered all by ourselves! 7up, chicken fried rice, rice noodles with beef, and beef congee! For those who may not be familiar with congee, it is like a rice soup that has bits of meat in it, and is really popular for babies to eat.

Now we are back at the hotel and Sam is napping. Tonight, our guide is taking us on a little boat down the Pearl River. Should be fun!

Wow, I can't believe Sam is finally ours, and we are officially a family of SIX! In all countries!! YAY!

Blessings-

Meredith

The Zoo

Today we ate breakfast at the hotel and then went to the Guangzhou Zoo. I am excited to announce that Sam is still sleeping all night long! (Just had to add that in!) I really wasn't looking that forward to the zoo, as we visited last time we were in China, and I didn't find it to be all that exciting. However, I was pleasantly suprised to find that today it was much better! It was cooler today, so it was nice to be outside, and we rode in a little golf cart type vehicle around the zoo which was really nice. I actually think that did this so that the Chinese people could point and stare at us as if we were an exhibit as well, but either way, it was nice!

Sam totally enjoying the zoo....

Jackson really liked this white tiger

This is the kind of pants many of the children wear. They are called "split pants", and apparently they make potty training easier!

Then we went by the grocery store to pick up some diapers. Saw this bin where you can choose your own frozen wings.....so sanitary!

Came back to the hotel for Sam to take a nap, and Jackson and John went back across the street to try out the new Burger King. I am not a fan of BK in the states, so I wasn't too sad to miss it in China! However, the report I received from Jackson is that it was "awesome".

Later in the afternoon, we took a walk, and purchased some fresh cherries from this vendor. She had a little scale to weigh them...

Loved this little girl holding on to her mom....She was only about 3 years old...I don't think my Lily would do that!

We decided to try the new "Chinese Mexican" restaurant for dinner. Recommended by our guide. It was really good!

While we were there, Sam decided that he would rather eat with another family....He sat backwards almost the entire meal!

Had to stop by McDonalds on the way back for some Sam's first ice cream experience...

video here: http://youtu.be/6OxyO_YKDQo

(and well worth watching, I might add..)

Jackson made a design in his....so he could see through it.

Blessings-

Meredith

(BACON) More Weird Notes by Jackson (BACON)

Another thing that I think is weird in China is the meat. Sometimes it is great but others it is disgusting. The reason that I have found is that the meat isn't cooked . Yesterday we were hungry for American food so we went to Subway . I ordered a B.L.T. but I suddenly wasn't hungry when I saw the bacon. It looked like they had just cut it right off the pig. The guy picked the bacon up and put it in the microwave. But only for 13 seconds. Then he took it out and it looked even worse. It was really pink and slimy. After we saw that ,while we were still in the line Dad said, "Anybody up for Mexican"?


At breakfast there are two bins for bacon. The first bin is titled "Bacon" and the second one is called "Crispy Bacon" . Really the one called "Bacon" has bacon like the bacon described in the first paragraph, all pink. While the bacon called "Crispy Bacon" is really the regular kind that we normally eat in America .TRANSLATION = In China crispy means cooked while in The United States it means almost burned.


Thanks for reading again , Jackson

Clean Baby
Crazy Hair

Cuteness!

Squeaky clean- although baths are not his favorite!

Sleeping contently.....with that thumb!

Just wanted to add a few of the pictures that I have taken over the last few days that I think are cute. It is sometimes hard to load all of the pictures that I want to share, so this post is just extra ipictures that I don't think I have posted yet. While Sam is napping, I have more time to blog!

Blessings-

Meredith

Shopping Day

SO CUTE!

Outside the restaurant in the mall- Lunch

Jackson and his Watermelon Juice

Jackson ordered well- Steak!

John ordered poorly- Seafood Pasta (And the seafood was octopus tentacles, oysters, shrimp, and something else yet to be determined...) The upside to this restaurant was the coca cola (which, when you ordered, you had to choose if you wanted it served with lemon or ginger)

Today was a pretty laid-back day. We spent a little time at the local mall doing some shopping. Then we ate lunch with our guide and the other family who is here. I am putting up some pictures of our lunch : ) .....We watched at the pearl market as they strung some pearls for us. Pearls are much cheaper here, and so we got a pearl bracelet for Sam to give to his future wife someday...from his birth-country. It is so much fun to watch them string the pearls. I have included 2 video clips below....The whole process is crazy..picking out your pearls, then watching them make your jewelery.

After we returned, Sam took a nap, then we went to pick up the pictures from the disposable camera that the orphanage had returned to us. I was really hoping there would be some pictures on there! And, there were 27 great pictures! So nice to see Sam in the orphanage with his nannies and friends...love having those priceless pictures!

Tonight we are just hanging out at the hotel. Tomorrow we are going to the Guangzhou Zoo...We are in the time period now where we are really just killing time waiting for the US to issue Sam's visa so we can travel home. We should be able to pick that up on Thursday.

Sam has really opened up more yesterday and today. He is still such a good baby...barely even gets fussy at mealtime and bedtime. He has become a little more outgoing and is beginning to crawl around the room more and more. He also laughs at us (or maybe with us?) quite a bit. He does like to eat, though, and we have ventured out a little really giving him lots of new foods. So far, he likes them all except for yogurt and bananas....

He really likes soups, and they are so easy to find here, so that has been nice. He is also a fan of rice, noodles, bread and crackers. It seems that as we have introduced more foods to him, he is less and less interested in the bottle. Understandable, I guess!

Jackson has been a real trooper on this trip as well. I know he is tired, but he has been willing to try new things and not complained too much when we just keep going and going! Although, I will say that he is sleeping and napping more than I have EVER known him to!

Only 3 more full days in Guangzhou, then we will be off to Hong Kong and on our way home to see our girls. I cannot wait to have my whole family together in one room! This trip really seems like it has flown by and I know I am going to miss China when I am gone. It is so different from home, but I really do love so many things about it here. And, it is now the homeland of 2 of my children!

http://youtu.be/QJFl2QyEA2U Video of Sam playing

http://youtu.be/xGlDbOOlTRc Pearl Market 1

http://youtu.be/EvoGTXDZpF4 Pearl Market 2

I hope everyone is doing well at home. Don't forget to read Jackson's first blog post below. He had some tidbits that he wanted to share!

Blessings-

Meredith

Weird notes by Jackson

Eating at Pizza Hut (China)? Need a utensil ? Just ask one of your waitresses Tooby or Wisconsin. Staying at The Dolton Hotel? Need to call room service?Either Drew (girl) or Oliver (girl) will pick up the phone. These are just a few examples of names that we have seen on peoples nametags. Here are the rest.

Lim
Candy
Kajun
Tomato
Anthony (girl)


We were wondering why they have such weird names so I asked our guide and she said that if you are Chinese and want to have an American name you can just pick one. I think that they just open the dictionary to a random spot and choose that word . But I don't know about Tooby because I don't think that is a word.




THANKS FOR READING, Jackson