Day 3

Morning:

I normally talk about the events of the morning, afternoon time, and then evening. This is generally because I am normally sleeping at night. Last night was not one of those nights. Yesterday was a terrible day. Camellia was so sick, and I was so worried about her. She was really lethargic and spent the entire day and evening vomiting. She finally crashed at about 9:00 and slept next to me until about 1:00 am. She was burning up again. So I attempted to give her medicine. I don’t know where weak, sickly kids get so much strength when you try to give them medicine. But I felt like I was wrestling with a bear cub instead of a 20 lb 4 year old.  Anyway, I had to wrestle a teaspoon of Ibuprofen into her mouth one drop at a time. I learned from my previous two attempts earlier in the day, that if you give her a mouthful of it, you end up wearing it. So one drop, wait for cry… wait for a swallow, then the next drop. By 1:15 she had consumed all the medicine. Between 1:15 and 1:30 she proceeded to tell me and the people on either side of the hotel room what she thought of me and the situation.  By 1:30 she was out. I remained awake for another hour or so praying for her, for Nicki, and Jack, Ian, and Chloe back home. At about 2 or 2:30 her fever broke and she slept hard throughout the rest of the night. One thing I did notice is that she constantly looks for me or wanted me to touch her last night to make sure I was there.

 

When we awoke this morning it was time for her next dosage of medicine.  As I approached, she started shaking her head no. Not expecting her to respond to me, I tried a second time. She took the cup from me and drank it. I was shocked! We talked with Nicki and Jack, Ian, and Chloe for a few minutes. She calls out Nicki as Momma and says a unique name for Chloe and the boys but I haven’t quite picked up exactly what it is yet.  It was good to see them doing well.

After talking with Nicki, we headed down for breakfast. Since she spent so much time vomiting yesterday and couldn’t eat anything I was cautious this morning, so I settled for some toast and a banana for her. She refused to eat anything. I got just a few bites into my breakfast and noticed she was tearing up (the only indicator I get that she needs to go potty). So we packed up and headed for the room. I grabbed some yummy hard rolls on the way out and finished my breakfast in the room.
We relaxed in the room and Camellia drank about 10 oz of water until about 12:30. She still wasn’t eating anything and I really wanted her to have some Gatorade since she was so weak. So we packed up and headed to the Jusco store.

Jusco is a large multi-floor department store like a super Wal-Mart. We picked up some Gatorade and found a cute little tea pot set for Chloe and Camellia. I have also been in need of containers for snacks when we go out. Found those too.  Made it back to the room and Camellia was now hungry. She ate a bowl of Cheerios.

Everywhere I go in this city people stare at me and Camellia. If they get a chance, they will say something to Camellia in Chinese. Sometimes she responds, other times she doesn’t. I have no idea what they are saying. However, on the way back from Jusco today, a lady approached us and started talking to Camellia. Camellia then tapped her chest, pointed at me and said, “My Ba Ba.”  It was a proud moment for me since “Ba Ba” is Chinese for Daddy.

Afternoon:

We had a 3:00 meeting today with the Chinese government to finalize the adoption paperwork. The paper that I got as a result of the meeting allows me to get her visa and passport for next week. We were in and out in about an hour. While in there we saw all of the new parents with their kids from this week that I’ve been chatting with in the hallways of the hotel. It was a great and exciting moment for all of us. I met a Chinese woman named, Xuhui who had her 2 ½ year old baby with her that she was adopting. Turns out, Xuhui lives in Cleveland!

Evening:

We met up with the All God’s Children group for dinner tonight. They are such wonderful people, and I’m not sure what I would do without them on this trip. They are all heading back over the next 2 days and they will be missed. I told them I was in no hurry to get back now that Obama is still president, so I was happy to be here another next week. J

 

This next picture is for my buddy Ian, I know how much you love Wild Man Hair!!!  Don’t worry, I finally combed it. I miss you, buddy!!

Our first tantrum…. I knew it would come, but didn’t realize over what. Turns out she doesn’t like brushing her teeth at all. I think her gums are so sore and sensitive that the tooth brush may actually hurt. I tried just gently and she threw a fit before the toothbrush even got in her mouth. The brushing was light just to introduce the concept, but she did not like it. The poor thing carried on for a while. I have a feeling it was the tip of the iceberg of emotions for her.  She was shaking and crying for quite a while. Combine this with being sick the last few days, she fell asleep early from exhaustion.