Visa Physical Day

Today Chloe had a physical to get her visa to come to the USA. It's kind of funny that the minute she touches US soil, she becomes a citizen, but she has to have a visa to get permission to get to that US soil. Anyway, we all went to a clinic just down the street where the babies got measured and a quick once over by a couple of doctors. Chloe got the all clear and we're one step close to coming home. It doesn't quite seem possible that we have nearly finished this journey to China that we have thought about for so long.

Chloe is doing great. She went around to a bunch of shops with us today, just riding in the stroller with her feet up in the air. The weather her is really hot - probably in the 80's with high humidity. It reminds me of OH in August. We picked up a few sun dresses for Chloe to keep her cool. She doesn't seem to like the heat any more than we do. The a/c in our room works great though, so there is always a reprieve to come back to. This is a picture of our room at the Victory Hotel. It's nice, but between us and our luggage, quarters are a little cramped.

We're staying on Shamian Island in Guangzhou. It was created by the British and the French. Most of the buildings have a very colonial feel to them. I think Guangzhou is a pretty dangerous place, but this island is kind of isolated from the rest of town. There are a bunch of shops that cater to adoptive families and they all speak English. I was able to have a custom chinese jacket made today and I should get it back by Wed. It's been nice to see so many other families who are also adopting. We don't feel like the odd-balls here. We said hello to a family across the street today and she said 'Hey, I know you. You're the Beaches. I read your blog.' I think we about fell over. Who would have thought?

Chloe ate her first french fry today. She thought they were pretty good and gave us a birdie mouth for more. I'm looking forward to having a big variety of foods I can feed her. In Chongqing, she really like a steamed egg custard, but we have not been able to find that here in Guangzhou.

Just had to post this picture of Dad and his buddy. Her name is Margo and she just got a new sister this week. She calls him Grandpa Dan.