Today has been very active. We got up this morning and split into two groups. I went with Cameron and Jane to the immunization place to have Cameron’s results checked, while Angie went with the others to the bank (open on Sundays over here) and a local supermarket. When we arrived at the immunization place they took a quick look at his forearm and determined that his test was negative. It really didn’t matter too much, though, because it seems that the US government makes these kids take it again in Guangzhou even with a negative result. Sheesh! Seems they don’t trust the results back in the provinces. The nurses and staff really raved about Cameron…..two things mostly. One was how cute he is, and the other is how “naughty” he is. Don’t worry, that word has a different meaning in China. In China it doesn’t have a negative connotation at all, but rather translates closer to mischievous or rambunctious. He is definitely so…..I would describe him as a bit like an urban contemporary Tom Sawyer with a bit of Dennis the Menace thrown in. He continues to be quite happy and helpful.
After the immunization check, we took a taxi to meet the others at Civil Affairs to complete the Chinese side of the adoption. Everything went just fine for all three families. There also happened to be another Hope Project child there that we got to meet, the Kaden’s new daughter. She is very cute and charming. I videotaped her singing a song that I will be sending the Kaden’s…..I know how anxious they must be to get more information and to travel to bring her home.
After Civil Affairs we had lunch, then we were on our own for the afternoon. Although not intended, all the families went back to their rooms and ended up napping. Difficult to explain to anyone who has not traveled so far, but it was for the first time since being here, the deepest and most restful sleep……we didn’t want to get up to go to dinner!
We’re picking up on some habits of Cameron’s that he has brought from the orphanage. Whenever he awakens, he immediately puts his sandals on and then makes his bed. He has done this every time, like it’s second nature. In fact, this morning he was the last to get up. He immediately donned his sandals, made his bed, then pointed at me and our bed as if to say, “What’s wrong with you? You haven’t made your bed!” I think this is a habit we’ll encourage he keep. ;-)
I must journal at some point about the roads and driving habits in Beijing. However, I don’t think words can do it justice. It’s interesting, to say the least. Controlled chaos might be a good descriptor. I can honestly say that I have never encountered so many vehicles, people on bikes and scooters, as well as pedestrians moving around so closely on the roads without ever actually crashing. Oh, I’m sure it happens, but these folks are so used to the close quarters and “near-misses” as they appear to the untrained observer, that it is second nature to them. It’s quite amazing and amusing (and sometimes scary) to watch.
Cameron likes to go through the pictures I have on the computer………editorial break here……Cameron just came over while I was typing and gestured like he wanted us to listen to his mp3 music over the portable speakers I brought. We had not been able to get it to work yesterday, though, so I wasn’t sure it would work. He finally pointed to the computer, and when I hooked it up through the USB port, it worked. He proceeded to throw his arms up, had a huge smile, said “thank you” in English, and ran up and hugged me. He jumped up on my lap and we’re listening to his music as I type now (he gestured that he wanted me to keep typing).
Today he was playing a bit with one of the Lego sets a friend had gotten us. He followed the given directions to build the car it made, then proceeded to take it apart and rebuild several other machines that were quite creative. One was a bulldozer-type thing, and another was something with guns on the top. They definitely took some creativity, but he made it look really easy as he put it together…..he knew just what he wanted to build, and he built it!
Tomorrow we were going to go to the Great Wall, jade factory, and the Olympic venues. However, we just got a change of plans, as we have to go process his passport and visa tomorrow, so he Great Wall and others will be Wednesday, and the Forbidden City on Thursday.
For my therapy friends reading this…..there was just a commercial on television for the Beijing Qianhai Hospital of the Femoral Head. Three guesses as to what that means!
Angie here for the rest of this entry. Cameron is on my lap and we are listening to the Micheal Jackson song “It is a Better World” that is on his MP3 player. Ok, now Scott and Cameron are wrestling on the bed. What a great day! It was Adoption Day! Ok, he just came up and kissed me on the cheek!!!! It is official we are a family! After the paperwork was completed his whole demeanor changed. He is now more relaxed and we are all getting used to each other. He and I are starting to bond. He was brushing my hair earlier and feeling it. Earlier he was watching t.v. and said “Mother” and motioned for me to come and look at the t.v. It was a Mountain Dew commercial! He recognized my bottles!! That’s my boy! He and I are blowing kisses at each other. Last night he was putting away his clothes and I have him a hug when he was done. He turned around and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He says Father and Mother all the time. Even if he does not want us. He just likes saying it. Scott and I are having a hard time adjusting to the time change. We sleep until 2 as well as the other families. I just watched him sleep last night. He was the only one who got a good nights sleep. After the adoption we came back to the hotel and all of us sleep for 5 hours. Things are going great. There are still things we need to work on, but we will really start that when we get home. Julie, he has on your shirt today!! He does not know how to ride a bike yet. That will change when we get home, as he said he wants to learn. He loves looking at the shower pictures that First Bank of Owasso had for us. He loves looking at his gifts!!! Hey dad, I have a Chinese Pepsi for you! Till later, thanks everyone for your support and prayers. Angie
No comments:
Post a Comment