What a Difference a Week Makes!

Today was an auspicious day as we marked the one-week anniversary of our Family Day--the day Silas became our son.  Today was also Silas' first plane ride to Guangzhou.  A couple of photos, well, just because he's so darn cute.

 

So far, we're liking Guangzhou very much.  Mostly because the airport and hotel are really nice.  We ate dinner at the hotel tonight.  They had an "around the world buffet," the size and scope of which was truly stunning.  They had chefs at all these different stations,  Everything from roast pigeon and squid, to sushi, escargots, pizza, and lamb chops!  Good thing we were starving!  

Guangzhou is in the southern part of China, which means it is hot here.  Florida hot.  Tomorrow, we begin finalizing the U.S. portion of Silas' adoption.  We have a medical exam, and submit a visa application for Silas to return to the U.S.

Before we left Nanjing, we did a sightseeing tour within walking distance of our hotel.  It was a holiday weekend in China (May Day is Labor Day), so the streets and sights were particularly crowded.  Silas took it all in stride, though.  He loves looking around at all the people.  He rides with his daddy in the Ergo most of the time.  The Ergo is like a "baby backpack" you can carry a baby around in.  The kids can ride either in the front or back.  We weren't sure Silas would ride in an Ergo, but he loves it!  It also comes in handy navigating through airports, as we found out today.

One remarkable thing about Silas is he hasn't favored either one of us more than the other.  We often hear about adopted children bonding initially to one parent to the exclusion of the other, so we were prepared that one of us might be rejected in the beginning, but it didn't happen.  It's almost like Silas goes out of his way to spend equal time with us.  For example, at dinner tonight, Silas was in his high chair at the table.  Brian has taught him how to high five (some of you will appreciate how funny that is to him).  Silas made sure after he high fived Brian, that he high fived me, then Brian, then me....about 10 times.  When he's riding in the Ergo, he makes a point to look for me, then reaches out his hand for me to hold it.  Such a sweet boy he is.  He just melts our hearts every day.

Our tour yesterday took us to the Xuyuan Garden, which is essentially the entire grounds of a 600 year-old mansion in the heart of Nanjing.  We had a nice tour guide who gave us the history of the mansion, and they took our picture (below.)  It was very pretty, very old world.

Then we went to Confucius Temple, and the nearby pedestrian mall.  Again, insanely crowded.  (I think it made Times Square look rural.)  But, from a cultural perspective, it was very neat to take it all in.

We're looking forward to seeing what Guangzhou has to offer, and more than that, to getting home with our boy.  Next week at this time, we'll be sleeping in our own beds.  Ahhhhhh...