Introducing.....

JOSEPH LIANG GAO WEAVER   today he officially became a Weaver...it also happens to be our 24th wedding anniversary.
The let down in China is that there really is not much of a ceremony with the adoption. Our adventures today involved going to the registration office and picking up the adoption certificate, then taking it to the Notary office, which is  huge building full of busy people. All the people in that  section of Beijing have to go there for registering a purchase of land or apartment, or any other business.  We left there with 15 booklets....5 abandonment certificates, 5 birth certificates, and 5 adoption certificate books w/ the translations.
Then it was off to the police station to apply for a passport..i never was in a NYPD precinct house but this is a big building. Everyone in this area that wants to apply for a visa or passport need to come here. The orphanage director and our guide took Liang off to get his passport photo and I sort of wondered if they would ask him any last minute questions. After a while they brought him back and the director said something to him (he was smiling) and Liang gave him a gentle shove away as if to say "go on"  He came and actually waited patiently until all the papers were finished. (he doesn't like waiting any better than the rest of them)
I really wonder what the cleaning ladies say to him sometimes, but today I caught that one was asking if we are Americans and then something else...probably about adoption.
He seems to introduce us with ...pride, definitely not hiding behind me.
Today the girls and I went shoe shopping....we spent $25 and got 6 pr, no they are not high quality but they filled the qualification of souvenirs that won't just set on the shelf. Then we spent too much on the fixings for spaghetti, about $14 but I don't think we could go out and buy it for that....spaghetti is not on the cheap food list in Beijing. On the way back I heard " Mamiya!" My mommy ears immediately scanned the sidewalk thinking the troops had come looking for us...but then I looked waaay up the 14 stories and there were 2 heads sticking out the window of the balcony...my new son and hubby! ( BTW safety is "operate at your own risk") 

Someone asked about the weather...it is in the mid-80's and sunny..actually very clear for Beijing
Oh and Liang handled the drive just fine with the Dramamine and gum (?)

New words include..."careful" grandmother, grandfather, OK, let's go,