guangzhou: rain, rain, go away...

We bagged the garden.

We woke up yesterday to full-on rain and grey skies.

Ugh.

We called Aron and opted to hang low yesterday and have a lazy day.  It actually worked out great because yesterday was the only day we didn't have to get out and be somewhere.

Today we have to take James back to have his TB site checked.  There's no sign of the shot at all.  Yay!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we have our consulate appointment.

Wednesday we pick up his visa and head to Hong Kong by private van.  About a three hour ride.

Thursday...well, I don't have to tell you what Thursday is.  Yee-haw! :)

Yesterday (Sunday) at 4:30 PM, we paused and celebrated that James has been ours for one week!  Oh my, how far he's come in a week!  How far we've all come.

I was so tired yesterday (more on our beat down later) so I crawled into bed (in our semi-detached bedroom) at about 6:30 PM.  About an hour later, I hear James squealing at the top of his lungs.  The boy is cracking up and screaming in delight.  At this point, I realize it's about 8 PM and a) he's not in bed, but b) he's all wound up.  You moms out there may relate to being the bedtime police in your homes.  Well that's pretty much my role in ours, sadly.  And here we are even with James and me being half asleep in the other room and my bedtime police hat comes on.

'JD, what in the world is going on out there?'

(Laughing)  'I don't know.  He's just excited.'

I roll over and go back to sleep and James and JD join me in bed a short time later.

I get up this morning and ask what in the world James was screaming about.

Basketball.


Huh?

They were watching basketball on TV.

Okey-dokey.

Who can resist a photo of a fresh-from-the-tub babe?

Especially this babe?  Delicious.

Breakfast.  Apparently James is a fan.  

He finished the last of the Cheerios we brought him from Fuzhou.  We can't find any here so he's going to miss one of his favorite snack foods for a week or so.  

Patty Cake at breakfast.

JD and James Skyping with Mimi.

We ate dinner on Saturday night at Cow and Bridge.  I'd heard about it from other families that traveled here.  I order this dish.  It was so delicious that...

...I ordered it for lunch on Sunday.  I'll miss you, Fried Broccoli with Thai Sauce.  

Man, it doesn't look as grey and rainy as it was!  

Love how this tree tips across the street between the buildings.  

Cutie-patootie naps.

The video below's pretty long (7 minutes), so don't feel obligated to watch it at all.  But I wanted to include it because it demonstrates not only James' playfulness and how far out of his shell he's come, but also how tidy and orderly he is.  We've watched him organize and straighten and arrange and fix things (often with his feet) so many times that I figured I should try to put a video on here.  Notice how he turns the toys over and puts them upright with his toes.  He likes the pink dinosaur that Payton gave him to be on its feet.  He spent probably ten minutes yesterday moving that dinosaur around the coffee table and placing it on different spots on the bottom surface.  Fascinating to watch, I tell ya!