Monday 1/25/16

This morning we started out early. Elijah was required to take a photo for his visa and have a medical exam. The nurses weighed him, measured him, and took his temperature. One physician reviewed his chart, listened to his heart and lungs, and examined his body. Another physician looked at his eyes, ears, and mouth. The doc said Elijah has good vision and hearing, which we were unsure of since past reports solely stated "uncooperative." I asked the physician to review a paper I received during our orphanage visit. (We will hopefully receive all of his orphanage medical records at some point through the mail. I specifically asked about Elijah's surgery so a nurse provided the one paper, written in Chinese, for me.) Based on what the CCAI rep translated, Elijah's hard palate was repaired but the soft palate may require additional surgery. This was disappointing news as no mother wants their child to endure surgery, especially multiple. Looking at what teeth Elijah currently has, I'm sure he will need orthodontics. But hey, Ethan will probably too, based on me and Phillip. 

This afternoon we enjoyed a little time in the kiddie playroom again. That is until several Chinese mothers arrived. Instead of taking off their heavy coats and their kids' multiple layers, they opened the window. One poor child could barely move as he was bundled u like the kid on The Christmas Story movie. It got cold in there really fast so we walked the hotel halls for a while. 

This evening we cruised up and down the Pearl River. We ate (half price Monday!) Papa John's pizza while staring at the brightly lit buildings and bridges go by. It was quite relaxing, until Elijah got down and we chased him everywhere. While on the top of the boat, a photographer started taking pictures of people with the beautiful backgrounds. I've never seen people line up so fast! Pretty much everything we've heard about China is true... Chinese people love getting in line, love taking pictures of foreigners, love criticizing how your baby is dressed, and treat adoptive parents really well. Many people, even middle aged men, smile at us holding Elijah and several people have gotten up to give me their seat while I'm wearing him. Oh, and the smog is terrible but the food is delicious. I didn't expect traffic and driving skills to be so bad here... 

This was a picture I snapped of a lady taking Elijah's picture. She tried to pick him up a couple times throughout the night and we had to keep redirecting. Crazy people, do not pick up someone else's child, even if they look more like you than like their parents.