Day 12 - Big Day in Guangzhou (I miss counted the earlier days - blame it on a lack of sleep)

Today was the busiest day we've had in China so far - nonstop activity.

First we went to get Ivie's visa picture taken. It was so cute - she looked just like a little bird. I wish we could have kept the photo but we could not.

Then we went to get a medical examination which is required for the visa process. Ivie was so brave - our little trooper. She did not cry at all - she only fussed a bit when the put the tounge depresser in to check her throat and really who can blame her. She even laughed when they were trying to hear her heartbeat. She is 16.2 pounds and 68 centimeters (I did not do the conversion on that one - feel free to do it yourselves). She is the smallest in our group. Its funny, the one baby who is younger than her is much bigger and the oldest baby Zoe is almost exactly the same size as Ivie just a few more ounces and one centimeter bigger.

On our way back to the hotel we ran into a military group doing karate like exercises. Of course being tourists we were taking photos. One of the military guys ran up to us shouting "No Pictures! No Pictures!" I guess they are afraid we will leak some sort of state secret. So in the interest of safe passage home, I will not post any of the pictures but they are pretty cool.

We then ran into a group of kindergarten kids walking through the park. They were walking two by two, holding hands. Each one also had a pad of paper with them on which it appears they had drawn some nature scenes. They were so cute. Not one block beyond this, we saw groups of children marching out of the local school. They marched in formation and stood in groups. They waited until all of the groups were out and then began to do some sort of exercises to music. I am not sure if this was recess or gym class. But it was so neat to see. Scott is planning on taking the video camera back tomorrow to film it.

When we got back to the hotel, I along with one parent from each group went to our guide Grace's room to fill out the visa paperwork. Scott had gone to do the last round of paperwork and being a lawyer he read everything and did not pay attention to what they were saying - so he asked questions that had already been answered. They made lots of fun of him for it. I think they were disappointed when I walked in. But it was a good thing because there were about 10 forms and Grace told us what to put in each box. If Scott had gone, he'd still be there.

After this we went and had lunch. I had a tuna sandwich because I am a bit sick of Chinese food. Then we went shopping. I will spare you the gory details but suffice it to say I bought gifts for the folks back home, gifts to give Ivie on the anniversary of Family Day for the next 18 years and of course some things for me (and yes dad, I did buy a purse). All of this was only $100. So there will be another trip tomorrow before we go to the Pearl Market.

Late in the afternoon we had the second most anticipated event on our trip - the Red Couch photo. Almost all of the girls dressed in traditional Chinese clothing and then we put them all on the couch. Imagine 7 babies on one couch. Most of them posed rather well but my little wiggle butt only sat still for about 30 seconds. The photo I have has her leaning back with her legs in the air and her diaper showing - typical Ivie.

To cap off the evening we went with the Johnsons to a local restaraunt. It was lovely - there were tables outside right on the river - on the other bank of the river all of the buildings were lit up in neon - very Vegasy. The courtyard had lots of paper lanterns hanging from the trees and the Spagetti Bolognase was not that bad. We were feeding Ivie baby food carrots and she seemed to like them. To keep her occupied during breaks while we were eating we put some Cherrios on the tray of the high chair. She grabbed two fistfulls and tried to feed herself. This did not work to well because she ends up putting her whole fist in her mouth and does not open it. So she got frustrated with this and decided to bend over and pick them up with her mouth. This worked with varying success - she managed to get some in her mouth but the majority stuck to the baby food on her face and nose. It was hilarious - not exactly behavior I want to encourage but we were all laughing histerically. She would put her face down and come up with two Cherrios stuck to her cheeks. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera to capture the moment for posterity - lesson learned.

Well only two more days here and then we leave the hotel at 5:30 Friday morning or about 3 pm Thursday afternoon Milwaukee time for about 24 hours of travel - fun.

As much as we have enjoyed this trip - we are anxious to get Ivie home where we can be surrounded by friends and family. See you in a few days.