Qujiang SWI Visit

The happy family outside the entrance to Qujiang SWI.

Mommy and Chloe outside the SWI. The orphanage had a sign outside their door welcoming the girls and their families. Shannon is pointing to Chloe's Chinese name,Qu Le Wen.

Chloe, Mommy & one of Chloe's Nanny's inside the infant room beside Chloe's crib.

Chloe being held by the director of the SWI.

Chloe was up at 5 a.m. this morning and slept through the night. We took her to the local park on Shamian Island, just outside the White Swan Hotel. We watched the people swimming in the Pearl River and doing Tai Chi. At 8:30 a.m. we boarded the bus for the 3 hour drive to Chloe's orphanage, Qujiang. Everthing started well, she fell asleep in Daddy's lap. We stopped at a rest stop and changed her diaper. When we boarded the bus again, Chloe began to cry and cry and cry. Matt tried to calm her down, Shannon tried to calm her down and Ike tried to calm her down. Nothing worked. We finally arrived in the town where Chloe had lived for the first 11 months of her life. We met the orphanage director at a restaurant and had lunch. Shannon tried the local favorite, chicken toes (feet). Yum! Chloe was fussy all during lunch. The director told us she was hungry. After lunch, we went to the orphanage and took a tour. The nannies brought in some congee and milk for the babies. Chloe sucked down two bottles. Ok, maybe she was hungry! We toured the orphanage and saw where Chloe slept. We also learned that Kate (Le Qui) and Katarina (Le Mei) were Chloe's playmates. After the tour of the orphanage, we went to the local grocery and each family bought a case of formula for the orphanage. The director told us it is the necessities that they need most. The drive back from the orphanage to Guangzhou was not better,but worse. Chloe cried and wailed and screamed for the 3 hours back. We discovered that she was teething! We finally made it back to the hotel and took Chloe for a walk. She was calmer. Shannon was not. Matt handled both his girls well and tucked them into bed at 8 p.m.