Medical Exam in Guangzhou and our first day

First stroller ride. Joel B drives fast...
Aren't I cute all soapy?

Hacky Sack (I sure do not know how to spell this game)
An expert block builder...

We arrived in Guangzhou on Friday night at 9:30PM and finally made it to bed by midnight. We were up early this morning eating breakfast. Then we met our travel group and walked to get Ben's Visa picture and his Medical Exam. We were a little nervous since he has a rash on his feet. We called Dr. Steve at home and he thought that we shouldn't worry and gave us advice. It turned out that the doctors didn't see it as a problem...as long as he doesn't have a temperature. The check up took longer than all the other babies since Ben didn't want to leave my arms. He weighs 23.8 pounds, we think. He was crying so hard we had to do plan B. I stood on the scales with him then handed him to Joel to get my weight...then subtracted the difference. He wouldn't sit on the scales by himself...out of my arms.

After the check up, he was happy and gave Daddy, Zachary and Joel B kisses...while still in my arms. He is very affectionate. He played with them and laughed out loud...but in my arms. We walked around to visit the different shops. The Island is very different than last year. Many of the shops have moved to other locations on the Island so it took us most of the day to find them. It was neat to see the store owners again and they all remembered us. We got a good start on our shopping as we knew that our week is going to be very full.
After shopping, we met our travel group for dinner at Lucy's. It was nice as we had not seen them since Beijing. Each family had separated to their child's province when we left Beijing so it was great to spend time with them and see their children in their new families.
After dinner, Joel, the boys and Abby's dad and brothers played "hacky sack" with some local people. Abby's brothers play soccer, too so it was really fun watching them keep the feathery hacky sack thing in the air.
While the boys were playing, Sharla and I were shopping at a nearby store. Ben decides he wanted down out of my arms and actually walked to the door, thinking he was going out to play with the boys. Big progress! He was so cute going towards the door but smiling and looking back at me. Tonight in the room, he played and played with some toys we brought with us. This was the first time he wanted down to play. He jumped on Zachary's back for a ride and wore the hotel's house slippers. Very funny. Oh, and earlier today, he rode in a stroller for he first time. Joel B. made it fun for him..driving fast. He's doing great...just taking a little longer than expected. He's very smart and such a joy to watch as he was playing. He amazes us how well he does with one complete hand. The other hand, we call his 'little hand" since he is basically missing fingers. He does everything just as if he had two complete hands. Nothing is going to stop this little guy!!