Shopping Day and Zoo Day

Thanks to Michael at Sheridan's Shenanigans we were hooked up to shop with Ann of Red Thread China. She acts as a personal shopper, taking you to the best stores and negotiating the best prices for things. It felt so decadent playing with strands and strands of pearls in all colors and sizes. The pearls we selected were strung and knotted on the spot.

We also shopped for jade and for silk clothing for us. The weather took us by surprise and we ran from store to store to get out of the cold. So, no pictures of that part of the trip. Sorry!

We finished up around rush hour and because it was so difficult to find a taxi, Ann took us back on the subway. That was a cool experience. Bruce, of course, is taller than most everyone so he looked over everyone's head in the train.

The subway was really clean and pretty convenient.

Our little shopping trip took more out of us than we expected. We invited Randy, Donna and Lainey over to our "place" for pizza. It was actually a blind date for Lainey and Micah. We have high hopes for this couple (Thanks Randy, for the picture!)

Micah still fights sleep and this night was no exception. He fell asleep mid-cry and then slept until morning. I'm gonna call this progress.

Wednesday morning was our all important Consulate Appointment. Now who knew that you don't actually go to your own Consulate Appointment? Our guide, Grace, attended in our place to turn in our paperwork. We decided to go to the zoo!

Here the moms are pointing out the porcupines (and their accompanying stench) to the little ones.

We saw lots of animals. We enjoyed the lion and the elephant. We had mixed feelings about the pomeranian dog.

Among all the animals, these were the ones Micah likes the best. In the middle of our zoo trip, one of the guides, Kathy, ran up to us and told us Grace had called and our paperwork was accepted by the consulate. We're cleared to take him for swearing in tomorrow! Horray!!!!

We spent the afternoon wandering around Shamian Island. We played on the slides at the playground.

We had dinner at Lucy's again. I had the chicken this time. Micah was enjoying my chicken and the rice we ordered for him. Tonight he had a great appetite. He fussed himself to sleep again. It's taking less time each day (or I'm becoming numb.)