Back From The Registration Office

What a busy morning. We all had a good breakfast, and Merrilee ate more fruit, yogurt, and congee. Then we went to the adoption registration office, which is an hour to 90-minutes away by bus. We were photographed as a family for our adoption certificate (all three of us) and then we were interviewed by an adoption official about why we wanted to adopt. We signed a bunch of papers, sealed each signature with a fingerprint, and then Merrilee got to leave her footprint on the documents.

On the way back, Merrilee fell asleep on both of our laps, and as Mark writes this, the baby is upstairs, in the room asleep on mommy's chest. She really is a smart, sweet, but stubborn child. She didn't like the tub bath...did better in the sink...knows how to pull the hair on Mark's chest...likes playing with a wrist watch...and is a MASTER of the remote control. She knew what it was, how it worked, and how to change channels. It could lead to the first real fight among all of us -- who will control the remote control for the TV. By the way, to answer one burning question -- yes, Mark has already changed his share of dirty diapers. And, some Chinese babies really do urinate on command when you hold them over a toilet and whistle. We're going to wait until we get back home to try that.

In about another hour and a half, we have a group shopping trip to Wal-Mart!!! We all need to get more diapers, and we're all pretty curious about what a Wal-Mart in China is like. For lunch, we had McDonald's (there's one right across the street from the hotel.) A Big Mac meal, Cheeseburger meals, and McNuggets were all less than $10. It is very hot and humid here -- about 95 degrees with high humidity.

The most amazing thing here is the traffic. It makes New York seem mild. There are 8.3 million people in Wuhan, and it seems like all of them are out on the road at the same time. There are no real lanes, no speed limits that you can determine...just total mass confusion. Interestingly enough though, in most places, it is against the law to beep your horn. The fine is 200 yuan, or about $29.

By the way, you have to excuse some of the typos when they occur. The keys on the Blackberry are very tiny and hard to see while typing in the dark when the baby is trying to sleep. We are checking email when we can, and we are reading all of your comments. Thank you all for being so kind and thinking of us.