Day three with Alex

Yesterday afternoon we had Alex's medical appointment. When we met our guide in the lobby he told Alex about it right away, and warned him that he would get one shot (TB test). Alex was not keen on this idea and asked a lot of questions about it, but I think it was good that he was warned. Other people said their kids had no idea until it happened, and were quite upset!

Our first stop at the medical clinic was to check his ears and vision. The doctor had him do a few eye chart tests, which he seemed to do OK at despite the fact that his right eye definitely wanders. The doctor also noted something about "spots in his eye" that had been in his original referral paperwork as well. That description had baffled the international adoption clinic doctor at CHOP who reviewed his file, so we have no idea what it is. He will have it checked out soon after we are home, though.

Then it was a very quick physical exam -- truly, no more than two minutes including getting his clothes off -- and the doctor said "good." Finally it was the dreaded TB test. Alex took it like a man, not even a whimper. He got a high five for that one!

Then we trekked to the Guangzhou police station to apply for his Chinese passport. We were early, so we sat and did a Spiderman puzzle from his backpack while we waited. When it was our turn I just signed a few pieces of paper and we were done.

We looked briefly for an inexpensive camera for Alex (he about gives me a heart attack every time he grabs my Canon T1i although he is actually pretty good handling it). We didn't find one, but later he came out of the bedroom with Leah's supposedly broken little camera -- and he had it working! Probably all it took was putting the batteries in and out a few dozen times; he's good at that. :)

Last night we went out to have dinner with several other adoptive families. We went to a Mexican restaurant called Tekila's, which was actually very good. Alex tried and did not like the somewhat spicy salsa, although he thought the tortilla chips were OK. I ordered chicken nuggets and fries for him, and he ate most of that before rubbing his tummy to indicate that he was, finally, full!

We were all asleep by 9 p.m., and I was wide awake at my usual China wake-up time of 3 a.m. Thank goodness for the internet!

Today we are taking a several-hour trip to visit Alex's orphanage. More on that later!