Day Nine - PENULTIMATE DAY

Getting used to this bath thing...OK a bit small but I will learn to like the real bath one day soon!



So hot today - I had to get this sunhat only 5 yuan all of 35 pence!



Just because she is ....



OFFICIAL - she has a PRC passport






I want get to my new home too - .....


HURRAH ...we love China, loved our time here but BOY are we ready to go home ( as our American friends in the hotel would say! )

Nelly slept OK last night and I slept really well ...apologies for lack of service the last few nights it caught up with me - she had an early night and then woke at 6 and I put her in bed with me for an hour...she kept losing her dummy in the night as it fell out of the cot - so first thing on the list on Saturday on the way home are Cot bumpers.. ( she has also just screamed because her leg was caught in the bars...we now have made makeshift cot bumper out of the duvet.. When we got back from dinner I popped out to collect the final bag of laundry and by the time I got back Rob had got the Wriggle Monster out of her clothes, into her baby gro and asleep in bed - in about 12 minutes!

Today was the day to collect Nelly's passport but also the designated day to get the packing done..so Rob took Nelly out for the morning and did what all proud Dads do and spent money on her - he bought five dresses and a pair of shoes and still got change out of a twenty quid note! I completed the visa application with the guide and swore that she has never been involved in an act of terrorism or a member of a terrorist organisation!!! ( who in their right minds would answer in the affirmative if applying for a British Visa! )

We then took ourselves over the bridge to Sam's shop to see the fakes he had lined up for us...a lovely guy and we bought a few things... all very happy with our purchases - a great Gucci Baby Bag...and few other bits for Rob and I ....sorry for all those who asked us to buy them things but there is only so much space and well you can get flights to HK these days for £299 and the train is only an hour to Guangzhou for all of £18!!!!

We discovered a great little shop today run by a UK charity called Good Rock and all the profits form the shop go to an orphanage in Guangzhou - lovely stuff and we truly stocked up knowing that the money is going to a good cause, had to avoid the numerous shop owners, who purport to being our best friends and our baby the cutest they have ever seen to get there but really worth it, they also have a website
some beautiful things and we managed to add to the pile of things that we are buying for Nelly to give as presents on either adoption day or her birthday _ I think probably the former as this will be January 24th which is the date the adoption became official, we will celebrate her life and also remember her China Mummy and Daddy so seems like a good time to give gifts that we bought during our stay in China.

We had dinner with the other family we have spent time with here who were with us on the day we met Nelly and they met their little girl Isabelle, we went to the local Thai restaurant and had a nice meal, although Nelly tires herself out so much every day by crawling in the room, pulling herself up against the bed, trying to walk and generally laughing, joking and mimicking other people must use up a lot of energy..so she was very grizzly...but still managed to eat a whole bowl of congee..

Anyway Rob is off for the visa tomorrow at 8 so I will finish off the packing and do some last minute shopping before leaving the Victory Hotel at 3 for the airport...

May not get to post tomorrow night as not sure what time we will get to the hotel ...

catch you soon