Herding Cats

Those in the adoption community are familiar with the tradition of the Red Couch Photo. For those out of the know, the White Swan Hotel has a couple of red couches that every adoption group meets at to have a group photo with the kids. The picture below only shows four of the seven girls in our group, as we were never able to get all of the children on the couch together without a couple of babies having fits. Sarah was a real trooper through it all; though the thumb sucking is not very photogenic.

The gathering also included group photos and pictures of the girls with their mothers. Afterwards, Mikel and Sarah donned their new silk duds for the camera.

Later the families met for a last dinner together at Lucy's, the 'American' restaurant near our hotel. If this restaurant opened in Dallas, it would fail in days, but it does a good business here. As Mikel and Craig were eating their grilled cheese sandwiches, Sarah picked up french fries and started feeding her parents. Earlier in the day, as Craig was dressing to go out, Sarah brought him a shoe and his belt. What a sweet young lady she is becoming. The picture below is not the best of Mikel, but the aim is to get good pictures of Sarah, since we all know what Mikel looks like. Sarah doesn't like ketchup, but enjoyed dipping the fries for mommy. Is she wanted a bite, she would eat from the end without the ketchup and turn the fry around for mommy.

Sarah is just a darling baby, but as she gets comfortable with her parents, she is now starting to test boundaries. Where four days ago she was poker face, now she is at times becomes Little Miss Demanding. She gets very anxious for her formula in the morning and evening. This evening, as Craig waited for the formula to cool down, Sarah lost patience and had a small fit. She got a bit more obstinate later in the evening and was put to bed early. She is starting to hear 'NO' and 'BOO' (Chinese for 'no') a bit more often.

Earlier in the day, Craig and two fellow com padres, Chuck and John, decided to take the subway downtown. CITIC Plaza is home of the seventh tallest building in the world. The building does not have an observation deck so we just jumped into an elevator hoping to get some type of view. A lobby on the 48 floor allowed us some nice views; however, the day was so overcast that visibility was only a mile or two. The Guangzhou subways are very efficient and clean, making for a nice getaway for the guys. That's Craig with Chuck below.