Life in a Chinese hotel

On day 2 in Hohhot we competed adoption paperwork for Samuel. The orphanage director was miffed momentarily that Samuel would not come to her, but then realized that it was a good thing that he was happy with us! Many questions were asked by the government officials. Not too many large families come through these parts it seems. They are fascinated by the concept. Also fascinated by the fact that we would voluntarily adopt children with special needs. Hard to explain these things through a translator. One of the officials questioned Sophie about why she was so happy to be with us. She told he very quickly that it was because she loved us both very much! Samuel sat nicely through the proceedings. Sophie interjected her two cents worth every now and then and had the officials laughing! He likes to be clean and thought the red ink was really not a good idea. She wanted to play in the red ink and made some nice hand prints to show little brother that it was actually fun. So now we wait for the papers to be processed and the passport to be ready. Thanks to the four day government holiday it will not be finished until Thursday. Our guide helped us get a taxi and go out for lunch at a hotpot restaurant. That is where the sheep mask came from. The food was very delicious. Samuel ate and ate. He refused to give up his last little fist full of bread and took it with him. We went to a market on the way back to the hotel. The lady in charge tried to take away the bread on our way in. Not a good idea! After a call to security it was cleared that he could come into the store with the bread. The lady commented that "foreign baby" would cry if it was taken away. Several locals have commented that Samuel must be a "foreign baby" because he is so fair. It is odd that his hair is so light brown!

Saturday - free day. Relax.

Okay, we relaxed. Now what? Not easy to navigate the streets here with the wheelchair. Hotel room is lovely, but does grow boring after umpteen hours! We have built towers, stuck stickers, done artwork, taken baths, played peek-a-boo, and snacked. Repeat as needed!

Sunday --Today we are headed out to the orphanage despite the fact that the director thought it might be too much for Samuel since he has been sick. It is about a two and a half hour car trip each way. He is fever free this morning so we are hoping it will go well. Honestly he is a delightfully easy going little fellow. He eats what ever we give him and goes right to sleep when we put him in the bed. He only cries if Mom leaves his sight! It will be interesting to see how he reacts to seeing his nannies at the orphanage. Hopefully, he will come back willingly with us. Otherwise, it could be a long ride back to the hotel!