And then we're at ten... Healthy and Happy... :)

We headed out this morning after some showers for a nice breakfast downstairs. Miss Wigglesworth had stuffed in an almost 12 hour sleep, so we were not complaining... :) Met Jennifer at 9:00 in the lobby to go over the paperwork that we would need for the clinic and for the Embassy - All seemed to be in order so we were off. Clinic was about 30 minutes from here, and when we got there we went through the obligatory retinal scan, Mensa exam, sudoku, and skill testing question... Well, not really, but we had to get all of our temperatures taken at the entrance to the clinic (Swine Flu is a B.I.G. deal here right now...) Any fevers?? None shall pass... No fevers here so we were allowed into the facility.

Filled out some required paperwork - name, sex, birth date, blah, blah, blah... Any health issues - yes - History of heart condition... To be quite honest, the Immigration forms were harder to fill out (for the Canadian government - go figure...) than the health questionnaire. In to see the nurse, got her highness weighed and measured and back out to the play area to wait for the doctor. There were a couple of other kids in there, so we got to watch her interact with other little people... A bit reserved at first, but then one boy (about 16 months or so) made his way over to her toys and started to trade with her... Some baby babble and between them (probably some highbrow conversation that we just don't get...) Seemed to go OK. We were told when we received her that she liked to play with the other babies at the orphanage, so we were not REALLY worried about it, but hey, you never know when you kid is going to clock someone... :) Good Girl... Thumb outside the fist if we need to practice that too...

Wait for the doctor took about ten minutes, and we got in to see her. Very nice lady - Canadian, from Montreal - was very polite and knowledgeable - I get the impression that she gets to see quite the laundry list of things... Answered all of our questions... She gave Sylvie a thorough look over and was very pleased (and naturally, so were we...). Sylvie is right on target for height - a little underweight, but that is apparently not unusual... (Like she is not going to get spoiled rotten... There's sure to be a pound or two gained there I am certain...) :) Eyes, ears, lungs, development - all good. She actually mentioned that if we had not written down that she had a heart defect that she probably would not have even heard it... Just the quietest of murmurs if you listened hard enough... YAY! To say we are pleased is an understatement... :):) That visit lasted all of about 20 or 25 minutes and we got the paperwork from the clinic for the Embassy... Jennifer was quite surprised when we told her that we did not need to get any medication or any further tests... We are aparently her first family that required NOTHING... Very nice... :) With that knowledge in hand, we prepared for the Embassy.

Let me sum this up...

- We showed up at the Embassy...
- They met us at the entrance...
- They took our forms...
- They said "See you Wednesday..."
- We left

Now I don't know if that is normal, but that is NOT what we were expecting... This "summary" is really not leaving any details out - the visit with the Embassy agent took like 6 minutes... Jennifer was listed as our representative, so she can collect the Visa on Wednesday for Sylvie and that, as they say, is that... Who knew??? Again, Jennifer had mentioned that in times past, she had to make NUMEROUS trips with families whom had forgotten one form or another or not brought the correct ones... Maybe a good thing we had the "Organizer" in our corner... (I have other names for her - and so do some of you, but we will keep this "G" rated... Her reputation precedes her) :) With that, we headed back to the hotel for a quick pit stop and then off to LiuLiChang Antique Street - One of the local tourist traps... er... markets :)

You can find a whole lotta stuff (read - junk) at the market, but there are some cool things to be had. We were on the lookout for some nice art (scrolls, hangings, that sort of thing) and you can get them EVERYWHERE. "This one was painted by someone with ties to the royal family..." Don't care - The one next door looks EXACTLY the same and is 10% the cost.... The guy in the back over there is a pretty darn good painter and he's hammering them out at 150 and you're trying to charge me 1500... Uhhh... NO I don't think so... Many deals to be had and many Yuan to be haggled... Good fun. Might be Smiling Buddha's for everyone... :)

Finished at the market and had a quiet dinner... Decided to try something a little different... Tracked down a Pizza Hut this evening and tested that out... :) Not too bad if I had to say... The fast food culture is raging here with the youth... Everything is open 24 hours (Rotton Ronnies, The Colonel's, The Hut...) and pretty much EVERYONE delivers! Tested that theory in Nanning with some Mickey D's and two double cheeseburger meals did in fact show up at our hotel room door... :) Walked back to the hotel and got the little one into a bath. The stacking cups are quickly becoming her favourite I think... She certainly loves to play with them... Not just for bath time anymore. :) Anyhow I am off to hit the hay - Tomorrow is a free day, so we might go exploring at the markets some more... Will see what kind of trinkets we can get a good deal on... Hey - everyone loves shiny baubles right? :)

Ciao

C & J & S


- What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?
...An African or Eurpoean swallow???...

:)