Day 15 - Wednesday

Erich slept in. He is not up to par today. His equilibrium seems kind of off. He is a trooper and keeps going, bless his heart. I finally had to get him up so we could do breakfast before they closed at 10. Maelynn ate an entire jar of baby food for breakfast! More and more progress.

We picked up the stroller from the room and headed out. Erich took the kids to the park while I got to do some shopping. After checking out several stores, I found one with good chops (stone stamps), good clothing prices, and it wasn’t too busy. Double Happiness got a lot of our business today. After trying on a couple of Chinese dresses, I found one I liked. I also wanted a vest and found one, but they didn’t have it in the right size. They are making it for me and should be ready by Thursday night. I had to track down Erich since he had the money. They were coming back from the park a second time looking for me. I guess I lost track of time shopping. I felt bad, but he didn’t seem mad, just hot. We also found an outfit for Logan there. Now we will be dressed to the hilt for Chinese festival days. They have to fix a snap or two so we’ll pick up the dress later today. Erich and Logan went back to the movie store. Logan is choosing movies over toys. He picked out a couple of classics – Tom and Jerry! He loves it!

After shopping, it was nap time. We did get a call from Genie that we are approved from the American Consulate to take our new baby home. Thursday we take our oath and we are OK to leave on Friday. Genie takes all the paperwork and does that meeting with the Consulate on behalf of all 13 families. She does a lot for us, more than I think we know.

Genie took me shopping this afternoon. I needed silk fabric for my mom. I got carried away with my shopping, but that’s OK. Mom is carried away with my house right now. I hear the floors are done and they (she and my Aunt Phyl) are having a hey day in my yard. I am so thrilled and grateful. I am not a gardener by any means and I know my mom enjoys it.

Once I got back, it was time to check on my dress. We also needed more bottled water from the market. My dress was ready and we bought more stuff while we were there. Erich and Logan went back to the hotel. It is just so hot and looks like it is going to storm. Maelynn and I walked down to the market. One the way back, I stopped by a couple more shops and found another one I liked. Jessica’s. I didn’t have enough cash on me for what I wanted to buy. They wrote me a receipt and took my room number. They let me leave still owing $100 RMB! I’m sure that is the last time Erich lets me go shopping by myself!

We have started packing! We bought a huge suitcase for about $10.

Next is time for the pizza party to celebrate the consulate approval. We ordered from Pizza Hut and all ate in the hallway of the 14th floor. There were all 13 families from the Guangdong province in attendance. It was a lot of fun until we got in trouble for being too loud (twice!).

We took the kids to the pool. It was a little late and getting dark, but we didn’t stay long. Logan loved the wading pool. It was the perfect size for him. Mei Mei didn’t like the water, but walked around the ledge (in the water) if I held her hand. We took the beach ball and Logan had a lot of fun.

I got the kids dressed for bed and Erich went to pay my debt. He came back with more stuff! Our 3 suitcases are going to weigh so much! We settled down for a movie. Well, most of us did. Maelynn was wide awake and ready to go. Neither Erich nor I could settle her down. Finally, I just put her back in the crib. Then she flipped herself out and landed on the floor. I tried to catch her as she came out on the side of the bed, but was too late. She’s fine and didn’t even cry. I put clothes on and went to the floor attendant to ask for a lower crib. Ours was already as low as it would go. After a few minutes, they brought us one where the bottom almost sits on the floor. The top is just as high as a normal crib. She’s not getting out of this one! Finally we all settled in for a good night’s sleep. Erich was asleep first.

Thursday we go for the oath and pack, pack, pack. Yeah! We come home early on Saturday. Our Delta flight 216 should land about 7 AM from Los Angeles. Anyone is more than welcome to meet us there. I am not sure how long it will take us to get off the plane and to the baggage area.

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