The wall, jade factory and doctor.

June 25, 2007
We have just crossed our last hurdle to bring Ali home. This morning she had a doctors appointment to get clearance for the Canadian gov't. She did just great. She is 71 cm long and weighs 8.29 kg's. She has a cold still and gets a rash on her face that comes and goes but the doctor says that it is just a symptom of the cold.She is eating good and has no trouble unloading a poop. She is the envy of many of the other babies in that department. She is very alert and happy with lots and lots of energy. She has no ear infections or other problems and is right in the norm's for development. Everything looks good and we just have to wait for the paperwork at the embassy to be processed....Yesterday we went to the Jade factory and learned a bit about it and how it's carved and of course picked up a few things. One of the dads in our group is of Chinese heritage and explained to us which items would be good family heirlooms for the babies to have. After the Jade factory we went to the Great Wall. It was quite an experience and an amazing thing to see. We learned a bit about its history and walked along it as families. We were then allowed to tackle it on our own. I (Dave) climbed a path right to the top of one of the high points. The view and feeling from the top is indescribable. There weren't many people who made it to the top so I am quite proud of myself for that as I took a little angel on my shoulder up there with me.The climb down was no picnic either but exhillerating. As I reached the bottom Jen yelled at me loudly for a while but it was all worth it. LOL!! I was the first up and down from our group and she was worried I was holding up the others on the bus who didn't make the trip but not to worry there were a couple others behind me. Ali hung out with mom and played on the grass and watched the people which she loves to do. While we were there we purchased a lock and locked it to a chain on the wall and threw away the key. This is a chinese ritual sympolizing that we are now all bound together as a family forever.We had a nice traditional chinese meal and the waitresses tried to take the babies and just loved them. They made the new moms a little jumpy. We all made out well with the chopsticks. Back to the room to fall into the bed. Glad this afternoon is an off day. Dad and Ali will hang in the room and rest while mom and auntie and some of the other ladies are heading out shopping again.