Day 14: Cherry Blossom is sworn in to the U.S.A.

Today was a pretty exciting day for Cherry Blossom with a lot of firsts! First, today was the special day where we go to the American Consulate and we are sworn in on her behalf. Usually this office is full of other adoptive families, but because of Beijing keeping us an extra two days we are behind everyone else. In fact, many of those families left this morning to come home. (jealous!!) It was definitely an eventful swearing in. It was us and one other family and Cherry Blossom actually was playing with their little boy, so cute! The lady sat behind a window and told us our responsibilities about getting her a social security card etc. when we got back into the states. She then asked the parents to stand up and hold up their right hands and repeat after her. She begins and all of sudden I cannot understand what she is saying because she is laughing so hard. I look over and there stands Cherry Blossom standing beside her Baba with her right hand raised. What made it even funnier was that she had her flamingo glasses on. The lady couldn't finish the oath without laughing a few times because Cherry Blossom was being so serious in the glasses. It was a really proud moment for us :) We took a picture next to the American Consulate sign and Cherry Blossom got one by herself where she threw up a peace sign. I have noticed that whenever I see young people taking pictures together as a group over here they are throwing up peace signs, apparently Cherry Blossom is in the "in crowd". Tomorrow we will receive her visa and we can then leave anytime after that. She was one happy camper to be leaving the consulate today. She was holding her Babba's hand and swinging her right arm, still proudly wearing her flamingo glasses.

Cherry Blossom also got to try a Mexican restaurant for her first time last night. She better like mexican food because Mama is always craving it. We both agreed it was ok, but we definitely missed salsa and chips (didn't come with the meal) and cheese dip. She had chicken nuggets and fries, but only ate the fries because she still can't chew up chicken well enough and just spits it out. The restaurant was in walking distance so we got to see the night life of Guangzhou and enjoy the lights of our hotel. I will post some pictures below!

When we got home last night Cherry Blossom got to do her favorite thing, take a bath. She would probably stay in there for an hour if I let her. The hotel room we are in now has a humongous bathtub that she thinks is her private pool. She does not put her face under water yet, but we are working on getting her over her fear of fountains. If we go near a fountain of water she is shaking her head no and then begins screaming. We also found out today that this applies to statues.

We saw the statues on Shaiman Island, which is where adoptive family all used to stay up until the past couple of years. I absolutely loved the island! It was covered in beautiful flowers, gorgeous buildings and was so easy to get around. There were people over there taking wedding pictures, modeling pictures and family pictures. We went with another family that is here from our agency and Cherry Blossom had a blast with their little girl who is 3 almost four. They got to try candied fruit from a street vendor that made me cringe the whole time she was eating the sticky mess. This little girl talked way more then Cherry Blossom but was constantly holding Cherry Blossom's hand or sharing her food with her. It was adorable. We had fun shopping/bartering, walking around the island and eating lunch with this family. We found a playground and I did not think Cherry Blossom would be up for it since she screamed when I took her to the one at the airport. She found one slide that she would go up and down with me or Baba standing around it. She had a blast and then screamed and cried when we had to leave.

The poor thing did not have a nap today so we will see how the rest of the afternoon goes. She has been very grumpy, but mama is happy that she found more squeaker shoes and silk dresses for Cherry Blossom. I really love shopping over here, it is so cheap!

The Rock thinks we should move to China because he could make a lot of money over here with the construction. I told him he was crazy and that it was not going to happen. He then wondered if we could buy a summer home on the island......really?!?! I looked at him like he was crazy! I have loved my time here in China. It is way better then I thought it would be, but I am ready to be home to my soft bed!!! I think my back has finally adjusted to sleeping on bricks every night :)

Tomorrow we have a free day to pack and walk around the city. Two more sleeps in China!