Day 7 - Jacob's Finding Place Pictures
ALMOND FAMILY ADOPTION... Our Second Adoption Journey...
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Day 9 – Medical Exam & Shopping on Shamian Island 8/27/11
After breakfast (the breakfast buffet here is awesome!)we went for the mandatory medical exam on Shamian Island. This brought back so many memories of staying in the White Swan when we adopted Ellie. It is just so peaceful there and you feel completely relaxed and safe walking around. Our first stop was at the little photo shop to get Jacob’s Visa photo taken. We bought a cheap little stroller there because he was getting really heavy to carry everywhere. From there we walked to the Medical Clinic.
Jacob did really well for the first 3 parts of the medical exam. He had to get weighed and his height measured. He was almost 29 pounds and was 85 cm tall. The next station was the actual physical exam where his clothing was removed. I was praying he wouldn’t pee all over us! But, he did fine. The final station was for ENT. This consisted of shining a light in his eyes and seeing if he would follow it. Then the Dr. ??? looked in his throat using a tongue depressor. Then she looked in his ears and squeaked a toy by them to see if he heard it.
After that was when we had our first issues. We had to wait in this little room for the other families to finish. Jacob let us know he had to go potty. That means we have less than a minute to get him to a bathroom. Unfortunately we didn’t know where one was. So we are thinking oh well he has a pull-up on no big deal. Much to our surprise the pull up leaked and his little outfit was soaked. So Trish had to change his clothes and pull-up right there. Then before she could get the pull-up on Jacob decides to pee on the floor.
From here went for the final thing which was the TB test. Jacob was up first and of course the poor little guy didn’t like getting his skin pricked and he was shedding some big tears. Momma comforted him and got him to settle down finally. It was then while we were waiting for the other families to finish that Jacob pees in his pull-up and it leaks again soaking his clean shorts we had just put on him as well as Momma. That was when I thought Momma was going to shed some big tears. We saw a sign for a bathroom down the hall so Trish took him down there to rinse his shorts out in the sink and clean him up. While she was doing this the ENT doctor came in and she thought Trish was going to put the wet shorts back on Jacob so she scolded Trish in Chinese & pulled his shorts off of him. We just let him go without pants riding in his stroller while his shorts hung on the back drying out.
We spent the next couple of hours shopping in some of the little shops. We got most of our souvenirs and gifts bought and out of the way. We only made it to about 3 shops but one of them the proceeds went to help the children in the orphanages who had medical needs. It was called “A Gift From China” and they had a really cool scrapbook of all the children they helped and their stories. Then it was time to go back to the hotel. When we got to the hotel we went to eat lunch with one of the ladies in our group and her daughter. There was a restaurant in the hotel she had been too which served local Cantonese cuisine and was pretty inexpensive. The food was really good and we had to get to go boxes because we couldn’t finish it all.
After lunch we had to make a journey to the “Trust Mart” to get some more pull-ups and other supplies. We thought this was supposed to be easy to find but it wasn’t. What should have been a 20 minute walk turned out to be about 40 minutes. We finally had to find someone who spoke English who could tell us where it was. We had missed it because the entrance was really small and was right next to the KFC. We had been told it was really big so we were looking for a big building and entrance. Once we got inside we realized how big it really was. It was kind of like a maze and was different levels. We got lost inside a couple of times but managed to find everything we were looking for, except toys to entertain Jacob on the long plane ride home, and make our way back out. The rest of the evening we were just exhausted and didn’t do much before bed. Tomorrow our group has a couple of different places to go in the morning. In the afternoon we finish filling out all of our Visa and Immigration paperwork for our children so that we are ready for our ACS appointment on Tuesday.
Jacob did really well for the first 3 parts of the medical exam. He had to get weighed and his height measured. He was almost 29 pounds and was 85 cm tall. The next station was the actual physical exam where his clothing was removed. I was praying he wouldn’t pee all over us! But, he did fine. The final station was for ENT. This consisted of shining a light in his eyes and seeing if he would follow it. Then the Dr. ??? looked in his throat using a tongue depressor. Then she looked in his ears and squeaked a toy by them to see if he heard it.
After that was when we had our first issues. We had to wait in this little room for the other families to finish. Jacob let us know he had to go potty. That means we have less than a minute to get him to a bathroom. Unfortunately we didn’t know where one was. So we are thinking oh well he has a pull-up on no big deal. Much to our surprise the pull up leaked and his little outfit was soaked. So Trish had to change his clothes and pull-up right there. Then before she could get the pull-up on Jacob decides to pee on the floor.
From here went for the final thing which was the TB test. Jacob was up first and of course the poor little guy didn’t like getting his skin pricked and he was shedding some big tears. Momma comforted him and got him to settle down finally. It was then while we were waiting for the other families to finish that Jacob pees in his pull-up and it leaks again soaking his clean shorts we had just put on him as well as Momma. That was when I thought Momma was going to shed some big tears. We saw a sign for a bathroom down the hall so Trish took him down there to rinse his shorts out in the sink and clean him up. While she was doing this the ENT doctor came in and she thought Trish was going to put the wet shorts back on Jacob so she scolded Trish in Chinese & pulled his shorts off of him. We just let him go without pants riding in his stroller while his shorts hung on the back drying out.
We spent the next couple of hours shopping in some of the little shops. We got most of our souvenirs and gifts bought and out of the way. We only made it to about 3 shops but one of them the proceeds went to help the children in the orphanages who had medical needs. It was called “A Gift From China” and they had a really cool scrapbook of all the children they helped and their stories. Then it was time to go back to the hotel. When we got to the hotel we went to eat lunch with one of the ladies in our group and her daughter. There was a restaurant in the hotel she had been too which served local Cantonese cuisine and was pretty inexpensive. The food was really good and we had to get to go boxes because we couldn’t finish it all.
After lunch we had to make a journey to the “Trust Mart” to get some more pull-ups and other supplies. We thought this was supposed to be easy to find but it wasn’t. What should have been a 20 minute walk turned out to be about 40 minutes. We finally had to find someone who spoke English who could tell us where it was. We had missed it because the entrance was really small and was right next to the KFC. We had been told it was really big so we were looking for a big building and entrance. Once we got inside we realized how big it really was. It was kind of like a maze and was different levels. We got lost inside a couple of times but managed to find everything we were looking for, except toys to entertain Jacob on the long plane ride home, and make our way back out. The rest of the evening we were just exhausted and didn’t do much before bed. Tomorrow our group has a couple of different places to go in the morning. In the afternoon we finish filling out all of our Visa and Immigration paperwork for our children so that we are ready for our ACS appointment on Tuesday.
Day 8 – Pictures (continued)
These pictures are from Day 8 – Passport Day/Depart for Guangzhou 8-26-11.
Day 8 – Passport Day/Depart for Guangzhou 8/26/11
We had been praying that we would get Jacob’s passport on time today so we can have it when we left for Guangzhou. Michael said that it has happened where the families have had to go on and then he had to mail the passport to Guangzhou. When Michael and the driver came to pick us up to take us to the airport Michael called the passport office and praise God the passport was ready. So, we picked it up on the way to the airport.
After checking our bags and making it through security we had a 3 hour wait in the gate area before our plane started boarding. It was fun trying to keep Jacob entertained during that time. Jacob would make Trish and I take turns taking him for a walk. He would grab one of us by the hand to go walk, and then he would switch off and make the other walk with him. Of course when Trish was walking him every time they got close to the bathrooms he would have to go potty. This was really thrilling for Trish (ha ha.) After countless trips of walking up and down the concourse area, and 2 orange juice boxes later, it was finally time to board our plane.
This plane was much better than the one we took from Beijing to Guiyang. It was larger, less crowed, with more leg room. A really nice Chinese lady who spoke English had struck up a conversation with Trish while we were standing in line to board. She carried one of our bags onto the plane for us so Trish just had to carry Jacob. Jacob did really well on the plane until it came time to buckle his seat belt. He did not like having the seat belt on at all and cried the whole time. When we were most of the way up in the air Trish took him out and held him comforting him until he fell asleep. He slept the whole hour and a half flight, even sleeping through the landing.
After arriving and claiming our baggage we were so relieved to see a familiar face waiting for us. It was our CHI coordinator Simon whom we had met when we were here the last time adopting Ellie. Simon is a great guy who knows what he is doing and is very good at what he does. Simon had the driver take us on to the Garden Hotel as he had to wait at the airport for the other 2 families who were flying in on a later flight.
The Garden Hotel is just awesome. The lobby area is just beautiful. Even nicer than the White Swan and 10 times nicer than our hotel in Guiyang. Our living room/office area here is larger than our whole room was in Guiyang. There is lots of area for Jacob to run around and play. We have an extra wide king bed which is wonderful. And, there is a huge walk in shower and bathtub. All of the electrical works here too, yeahhh!!! We have to try and get Jacob to settle down and go to sleep because we have to get up early and go to Shamian Island to the medical clinic for the medical exam. He is just so excited because he can run around and play. It is much hotter here in Guangzhou!
After checking our bags and making it through security we had a 3 hour wait in the gate area before our plane started boarding. It was fun trying to keep Jacob entertained during that time. Jacob would make Trish and I take turns taking him for a walk. He would grab one of us by the hand to go walk, and then he would switch off and make the other walk with him. Of course when Trish was walking him every time they got close to the bathrooms he would have to go potty. This was really thrilling for Trish (ha ha.) After countless trips of walking up and down the concourse area, and 2 orange juice boxes later, it was finally time to board our plane.
This plane was much better than the one we took from Beijing to Guiyang. It was larger, less crowed, with more leg room. A really nice Chinese lady who spoke English had struck up a conversation with Trish while we were standing in line to board. She carried one of our bags onto the plane for us so Trish just had to carry Jacob. Jacob did really well on the plane until it came time to buckle his seat belt. He did not like having the seat belt on at all and cried the whole time. When we were most of the way up in the air Trish took him out and held him comforting him until he fell asleep. He slept the whole hour and a half flight, even sleeping through the landing.
After arriving and claiming our baggage we were so relieved to see a familiar face waiting for us. It was our CHI coordinator Simon whom we had met when we were here the last time adopting Ellie. Simon is a great guy who knows what he is doing and is very good at what he does. Simon had the driver take us on to the Garden Hotel as he had to wait at the airport for the other 2 families who were flying in on a later flight.
The Garden Hotel is just awesome. The lobby area is just beautiful. Even nicer than the White Swan and 10 times nicer than our hotel in Guiyang. Our living room/office area here is larger than our whole room was in Guiyang. There is lots of area for Jacob to run around and play. We have an extra wide king bed which is wonderful. And, there is a huge walk in shower and bathtub. All of the electrical works here too, yeahhh!!! We have to try and get Jacob to settle down and go to sleep because we have to get up early and go to Shamian Island to the medical clinic for the medical exam. He is just so excited because he can run around and play. It is much hotter here in Guangzhou!
Day 7 - Jacob's Finding Place 8/25/11
Today we were fortunate to be able to go by cab to Jacob’s finding place. He was found abandoned in Hebin Park which is in the Nanning District of the city on March 18, 2009 when he was about a month old. It was a beautiful park with many different activities for adults and children. There were amusement rides including a Ferris wheel, a miniature monorail ride, a roller coaster, and several little children’s rides. There was also roller skating and paddle boats in shapes of animals and cars on the small river along the park’s side. There were people doing Tai Chi and group dancing throughout the park. It was just seemed like a fun family place to hang out. I wonder if that’s why Jacob’s birth mother decided to leave him there. It was just such a happy place and maybe she just wanted Jacob to be happy and well taken care of. Jacob slept for most of the time we walked around the park. He is a heavy boy to be carrying around! Ken & I enjoyed being able to walk around a bit ourselves since we knew we would be spending lots more time in the hotel room with little activity. Jacob is doing so well in his new family. He is such a funny little guy. He can crack himself up very easily. He also likes to have things his way. It may take awhile for him to figure out that isn’t going to work. He turns on the tears when he doesn’t get what he wants. He has a bit of a temper. Hopefully that will cease quickly. He loves to run & jump & eat. He loves to be held too. And he seems to like us both, although he likes mommy best in the morning. He seems to have less patience with daddy if he doesn’t get his way. His hugs are awesome! He has also figured out Daddy’s cell phone. He has attempted to make at least 2 calls to a St.Louis # & done a couple of internet searches in addition to taking many photos of the wall & floor on the phone! This could be a problem! So glad we still have some baby proofing things at home-we will need to use it all. And we thought we wasted money since we didn’t need to worry as much with Ellie!
SORRY, THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH UPLOADING THE PHOTOS FOR THIS DAY. IF/WHEN IT CAN BE FIXED, WILL ADD THEM.
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