Many "firsts"...

 

The last two days in Guangzhou have been interesting.  We've been rained in most of the time, which means we have to find our own ways to entertain ourselves.  Here are a few of our adventures, which I will title "firsts".....

 

First time walking through the streets of China.  We got brave and started venturing through some side streets.  From what we've noticed, it seems there are certain streets that have themes.  This street turned out to be "pet" related.  Lots of stores selling fish, turtles, cats, puppies, and all of their supplies.  I'd say we lucked out on this one - total entertainment for the kids.



 

First Chinese Coke.  It tasted exactly the same as an American Coke, but by golly, it had a kickin' can. 



First attempt at a bath.  Happy girl aint so happy anymore.  We started out with looks of panic.  Then, we had tears.  After a while, we figured out how to communicate by playing Charades.  Apparently the "shower" that the nanny told me she takes is really a wet washcloth version of a sponge bath.  This will be a slow battle....... here's Ava afterwards giving me the look of death.

This will be a first for me...allowing my child in a racing car without a car seat or seatbelt.  Seems to be the norm here....which is just crazy to me.  This was after Ava's medical appointment and it totally wiped her out.  Poor thing. 

First time ever seeing a necklace with a huge gold pig on it.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy these for Christmas presents.  My guide informed me this is a customary necklace for wedding ceremonies.  Seriously.  Something about fat pigs symbolizing prosperity and many children?  I'm pretty sure my sisters and in-laws would love to unwrap this doozy.....

First time wearing swim caps.  I was told that you need to wear swim caps into the pools here, so Sophia, who has the thickest hair ever, crammed her locks up into a swim cap yesterday.  It didn't work very well.  Her puffy locks just pushed that swim cap right back off her little head.  Oh well - at least we tried.

First time seeing a squatty potty.  Ava had to go potty while we were at the Police Station today applying for her passport.  It's no wonder she has rock hard abs and thighs.  She performed a master squat like I have never seen.  I would have taken a pic of it, but being we were at a Police Station, and that might look indecent, I chose to take a pic of her flushing instead.  You're welcome.

First time to willingly eat this crap.  Apparently this is a normal food option here.  After finding out how much my hotel dinners were costing (I was calculating the exchange rate wrong for 2 nights), I decided it was time to eat like the locals eat.  Ava was so happy she could barely contain herself. 

 

Unfortunately, that's about all we've done for the last two days.  We had a few short adoption related trips, such as running to the notary, registering her paperwork, medical appointments, and passport applications, but otherwise, it's been a lot of hanging out in the hotel room while it rains.  Ava is really becoming attached to Sophia because they're kids and they are having lots of fun.  She only wants to hang out with me when Sophia is nowhere to be seen.  But that will all come with time.  This girl is so darn sassy too.  When the notary asked her how old she was, she yelled "Check the paperwork!"  I'm thinking it's going to be an interesting journey ahead.......