Day 10

Today has been a really nice day. Silas slept great last night in his own crib. He always holds me to fall asleep. The slats are wide enough that I was able to put my arm through and hold him until he fell asleep. It worked great! Good thing, because I was not doing well last night. I was very nauseous from the plane ride and I think I was a little dehydrated. All is well today though, thank you so much for your prayers.

This morning we had his visa photo and medical exam. He is crying in the photo - he did not want daddy to set him down! The medical exam went fine. He cried, but that is to be expected. He weighs 21.9 lbs! I wondered if his ears would cause any issues during the exam, but there were no problems. It is really nice to see everyone in our group again with their children. It seems like all of the families are doing well.I don't want to have my visa photo made!

Medical exam room

After the exam, we exchanged some money, dropped of our laundry and ate again at Lucy's. Since I didn't get to eat last night, I wanted to try it again! I had a cheeseburger and fries and Jason had fried rice. Silas enjoyed both dishes. We ate lunch with a mom and her son. She has 3 children at home and is traveling alone - I have decided I could not do this alone. No way. It is very tiring, both physically and emotionally. I am so glad Jason & I both came.

My two boys

Right now Silas is resting on our bed. I tried the crib at nap time and it was not good! He can throw the worst tantrums. I ended up getting him out and just holding him really tight so he could not flail around. He finally calmed down and is out. Jason is down with our group filling out paperwork for our consulate appointment. After that we are meeting for a group dinner - I'm guessing it will be Chinese again.

I'm looking forward to walking around more this week. There are tons of little shops with lots of fun things to buy. You can bargain with the shopkeepers for good prices. We'll have to shop around to see who gives the best deals! I'm planning on getting lots of souvenirs for Silas as he grows and things to take back for the girls. If anyone would like me to bring them something back - I'll take orders! : ) Just leave me a comment.

Oh - we bought Silas the coolest souvenir yesterday. It is a tradition in the Shanxi province (where Silas is from) to give your baby a locket necklace either when they are 12 or 100 days old. The locket has the animal from their birth year on it and is to symbolize locking them up to keep them safe since the infant mortality rate is so high. In older times, at age 12 the locket was unlocked and the child was then an adult. Now, since people only have one child, the locket stays locked so the child will always be safe. Silas was born in the year of the dog. Since it is the year of the rat, they only had 1 dog locket to choose from and it was really expensive. We ended up buying a smaller one that had a dragon and a phoenix on it. This symbolizes good fortune and good health. It also means that Silas will have a happy marriage. Our guide took us to a really nice jewelry store to buy it. We wanted him to have the special gift, specific to his province.

Chinese brides having their wedding photo's made - they let us take their picture

I've packed the suitcase & I'm ready to go home!

*Madelyn & Caroline, only a few more days! We love you so much and hopefully we'll have more time to talk to you tomorrow. I've already seen some cute gifts to bring back for you. The best gift is though, is Silas! Love you, Mommy & Daddy