Day Three - Monkey Park and Buddhist Temple

I feel like I should explain the adoption process a little more. If the adoption is final, then why are we still in China? On Monday, Emma's passport application was submitted. This will be ready on Friday, so we hang out in Guiyang until then. She will receive a Chinese passport with her Chinese name. Next, we will head to Guangzhou where the US consulate is located. This step is so that her visa can be processed. Once we have her visa, then we can fly home. She will fly home under her Chinese name and passport. We will have a special packet of papers that we give to immigration once we arrive in the United States. Once this is processed, then Emma is officially an American citizen and her name is officially Emma Grace Howard.

Day three was also a wonderful day. Emma continues to attach strongly, especially to me. I was in the shower when she woke up, and she became very upset that I wasn't there. Mark brought her into the shower and she was so happy. She hopped in the shower with me, but she still wanted Mark in the room. If he left, she would loudly call for him and bang on the glass until he came back in.







This is the area directly down from our hotel room window.

We ate breakfast again, and Emma actually let me feed her a little. I forgot to mention what we learned the morning before. If your 7-year-old accidentally drops and breaks a plate, then you will be expected to purchase that plate. We then headed out to the monkey park and to a Buddhist temple. Once again, I can't get the vertical pictures to import to my iPad. I will have to try later.




I think Guiyang is a very beautiful area. The weather is also very pleasant.






















Our complete family. I can't describe the joy I feel.







These people are playing tennis by themselves. The ball is attached to a cord. This man skating was fascinated by our family and was asking our guide about us. He wondered how we could have so many children when there is the one-child policy, so she told him that we don't have that in America. I cannot describe the scene we cause everywhere we go. People stare and sometimes try to talk to us. That normally doesn't go well since we only speak English. People also come up to Emma and talk to her. She never responds, and I have no idea what they are saying to her. I've noticed that Emma does really well with engaging with and interacting with children but does not do that with other adults. She is a chatterbox with us now. Of course, we have no clue what she is saying. She is really, really good at clearly communicating her desires :-).





This is a form of exercise in China. They have these whip things and they strike this top to make it spin. It sounds like firecrackers going off and the top also hums as it spins.




Monkeys and temple up next.

- Jenna