And Here We Go...

Yesterday was a down day for us.  Hannah was on the mend and we were all tired from the loooong day the day before.  So we spent most of the day hanging in the hotel room and walking around Shamian Island doing some shopping for gifts. 

The other thing we did was take Yue Lan swimming in the hotel pool.  The cool thing about the pool is that it is a rooftop pool that overlooks the city.  I bet if there wasn't so much smog, we could see for miles!  Unfortunately, that was not the case, besides, we had better things to watch right there with us.  I'm not sure, but it seemed it was Yue Lan's first time swimming or at least she hasn't gone very much.  She was super excited and after a little while even tried jumping into Baba's arms from the side.

Today was the opposite of yesterday.  It was the Medical Exam Day - a not so popular day among adopted children.  Basically we were bused to a clinic on the other side of town (for those of you have been here before for adoptions, you will be sad to know that the convenient walk to clinic on the island has closed!) and spent several hours in the overcrowded and loud facility. 

Check out all the people at the clinic!  Yikes!

We are happy to say that Yue Lan did fabulously at the clinic and didn't even cry when they gave her the TB test! 

I loved the sight chart...the kids would turn their hand to match the picture...very clever!

She was very brave, wasn't she?

I wish I could say the rest of the day went as well.


On the way back from the clinic, Yue Lan was especially over excited and obnoxious.  It got so bad that Eric decided to give her the Parental 1-2-3 Countdown when she refused to come back to our room.  This led to her first Time Out, which led to her first crying fit, which led to her first time being mad at us.  It was all a bit stressful, but probably needed to be done.

 The orphanage workers told us that Yue Lan was stubborn and they were not kidding!  Not only is she stubborn, but she can be soooo obnoxious - pulling on people, hitting in a playful, yet still painful manner, licking, etc.  You get the picture.  I suppose it is time to set down some boundaries and establish some rules.  I am sure there will be more Time Outs and crying in the days, weeks, months ahead.  But isn't that all part of raising kids?