3.31.09 Baby group pictures and ACS appointment

We got up a little later this morning since our group pictures at the red couch are not until 11:00 am. We had breakfast around 8:00 am and we went back to the hotel room right after to give Maelyne a bath. At first she hated it as usual but she started to like it when both the legs were submerged in the warm water and she started playing with the duckie duck. She also took a nap before we went down to the meeting place on the second floor. The babies were dressed up with Chinese dress or outfit. They were all so cute with their outfits. This is the first time Maelyne had on a Chinese outfit and it shows that she is really a Chinese girl. So anyway, all the babies sat on the red couch for the group photo. Maelyne was very cooperative she did not give the photographers (the parents) a hard time. After the baby group pictures, all the families including the babies took a group photo as well. We separated ways. Maelyne changed her outfit and we headed down to the Lucy's (again) for lunch. Maelyne had her #2 business so we went back to the hotel to get her cleaned up. There was plenty of time before the group farewell dinner at 5:30 pm. Henry stayed with Maelyne in the room because she napped again, so I went out shopping by myself. I bought a few things for Maelyne of course and few souvenirs.
ACS cleared all of our application forms for the babies' visa. We did not need to go physically to the American Consulate because Elsie and David (our guides) took care of the appointment. There was only one minor issue for one family but it was corrected right away. We should get Maelyne's visa tomorrow afternoon. Yes...

Our farewell dinner was at a Cantonese restaurant just across from our hotel. It is the restaurant where we experienced a bad service 2 nights ago. Our guides Elsie and David made a reservation at the restaurant. We had a private room just for the CHI families. There were already three dishes on the table as soon as we arrived there and more dishes came after that. The food choosen for us were delicious. There was no doubt that the service was better this time.

We walked back to the hotel and it was just in time for Maelyne's bed time. She fell asleep shortly after we changed her in her pajamas. We are very thankful that Maelyne is bonding very well with us. It's only been 8 days since we received her and there has been a lot of improvement with her. She talks to us a lot and she makes us laugh. She has been a very good girl.

Gotta check out these cute pictures...

Do you recognize Maelyne?

Maelyne's bestfriend...

Family group pictures...

Farewell dinner...