t has been a wondrous 5 days now since we got Kaylee and each day has revealed something new. Friday, Day 2, we were convinced that we had received the best and sweetest child in all of China. So obedient, so gentle, full of hugs, opening up to us like a flower blossoming. We had the joy of finalizing her adoption papers with 3 different officials who interviewed us and asked her questions we couldn't understand, but each time we were told that she said she loved both of us very much and wanted to be with us. Papers were stamped, money changed hands, and she became legally ours. We are astounded. The process would be over if we lived in China, however the US CDC requires that she receive a medical exam, eye exam, TB test and vaccinations, including influenza and pneumonia, which would have been optional at home. So she was given 2 shots in each arm, one in her right leg, and a TB test just above the inside of her wrist. So difficult to hold her on my lap and hear her cry and protest for the very first time as these were administered, but she did just as she was told by the nurse, who explained to her they were necessary so she could go to the US with us. Afterward she cuddled up in Dave's arms and cried herself to sleep. When everyone was finished there, the group voted for American food, so our guide, Lee, took us to a restaurant called Lucy's. Kaylee was quiet, but much better by the time we arrived. She opened her menu and pointed right to a picture of a very large steak w/several giant prawns(I mean with eyeballs!), "Surf & Turf" it said, and then looked up at me.I showed her several other choices, but she kept turning back to that page and emphatically pointing to the same picture. I'm thinking "Oh No", how can I tell this child "No" for the first time over food. We have received much training over food issues. I actually considered letting her order it, but since it cost twice as much as everything else, and wasn't sure if it would be spoiling her right away or if she would really eat it, or if I could watch if she did... and there were other kids in our group to consider, we finally convinced her to go for a large platter of chicken tenders, fries and onion rings, which she devoured most of quite heartily. Back at the hotel, she and Mattie delighted in more bed jumping then spontaneously started playing hide and go seek, which turned into a 3 day ordeal. Now every time we return to the room she holds her hands in front of her face and begins counting, and Mattie groans because there are no places left to hide. Every nook and cranny was exhausted in the first 15 minutes. But through it we really saw her personality emerge as she would put one hand on her hip and gesture for help getting in a drawer or my suitcase, and "SHHH" us with her finger, then giggle outrageously when she found Mattie or was found. And she has learned to count to ten and the words closet, potty, chair, curtain and suitcase. After several hours of bouncing off the walls, & taking bead bracelets apart and putting them back together, Dave took the girls to the hotel buffet for dinner and Mom crashed early. Sleep came easily for all and I thanked the Lord again for this incredible, miraculous journey.
Day 3 was free...no appointments, so after breakfast we went to a large city park across the street called Lia Hua, hoping to meet up with our group. It was all we had seen in movies and on TV. Elderly folks doing their routines with the grace and strength of 20 year old athletes. We watched one woman who must have been in her mid sixties slowly lunge to the ground on one side then the other in one continuous movement, then back up into her next one-legged pose, effortlessly as she whipped open her fan. (I think the secret of their thigh strength is the squatty potty!) Another group was working it to the 1980's Eddie Rabbit hit, "I love a Rainy night!" We walked all the way around a lake full of swans and paddleboats, admiring strange foliage, parents with their child (always just one) and took lots of pictures on our way to the amusement area, where rides were about 10-15 US cents each. Normally this would have been lovely, but the humidity! I thought I knew humidity, I thought I had conquered humidity, I live in middle TN and grew up in the Southern Ohio Valley. I thought I had lived with humidity. I was wrong. I have just encountered REAL humidity and may I say it is most unpleasant, esp with scarcely any Diet Coke to be found. Besides being a large metro city, Guangzhou is in the South, not far from the South China Sea and it is hot and very humid here! DId I say humid? Feels like the 4th of July at home. Anyway we enjoyed the rides but never found our group, and after about 4 hours of sticky fun, we made it back and dropped in the Dong Fang hotel next door for a couple Tsing Tao's (beer) and Sprite/Juice cocktails for the girls. Did a little shopping for traditional Chinese dresses, was served tiny cups of tea and bought some to bring home from a kind little lady in a tea shop, grabbed some more McDonald's then headed back to the room for more guess what? Hide and go seek! The interesting thing about Day 3 was how our sweet, compliant Kaylee gradually became both funnier and more demanding throughout the day as she grew more comfortable with us. We showed her how to take pictures and she refused to give the camera back, taking funny shots of Dave without his head, crooked shots, and extreme closeups of our faces, then bursting out with that hilarious high pitched giggle of hers. Let me tell you, she is definitely a Tichenor! Dave entertained the kids the day before with his face melter app on his I touch, and so she wants to do that constantly or play the other games on there, which she has caught onto very quickly. After introducing her to the piggy back ride she is always begging to be on Daddy's back, and " one two three Whee " swinging her between us by the hand, when we walk anywhere. We are beginning to think we have a little pistol on our handsl! By bedtime there was definitely some attitude present... and now the real parenting begins!
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