Ethiopia Day 3

Marley is adjusting to us very well. She wants to be held and currently prefers Mommy. A lot of adoptive children shows that the child tend to bond with one parent at a time. While she shows love and interest in both of us, she does seem to seek me out more. I am so happy, no elated. Don't get me wrong, she loves her Daddy! In fact he makes her laugh hysterically and she says Dada! She's not calling him Dada yet, but she loves to babble Dada! We can't believe it. We have learned that she doesn't like to be changed or undressed. Whoa, boy does she not like that. She does, however, like being held. We are so happy to meet that need!
Our agencies itinerary had us going to the Lion zoo in the morning and the Embassy in the afternoon. We really didn't want to go to the zoo, but figured a trip out would be fun. What a joke! It's crazy how unsecured those lines are. We walked around for about 15 minutes and that was it. Oh, by the way, if you ever go to this zoo, do not plan to take pictures unless you are prepared to pay for that option. And if you pay to take pictures, be warned that still pictures does not mean video. You will be chased down for taking video and demanded to pay an additional fee. It was hilarious and scary to watch this happen to some of our fellow travelers, but a funny story to tell.
We ate lunch at House of hope 2 again. This time the nannies came in and held our babies right outside the dinning room while we ate. I had heard of this and was somewhat prepared. It was difficult to let go, but she was just a matter of feet from me and it was nice to eat. After lunch and a quick siesta, we were off to our visa appointment. We were told to dress up in a long dress and men to be dressed as well. It's an appearance thing, they don't want to have us claiming we can financially support these children and then come to the Embassy appointment dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. I don't own a long skirt, so I wore dress slacks and a blouse. Brandon wore a dress shirt, tie and slacks. We fit in just fine. We did see some adoptive families in jeans and we are glad we chose to dress up slightly. By this time, Sifen was all dolled up with her dress and bow and in the sling. I figured it was a nice opportunity to dress her up too. Any opportunity for me to place one of those pretty big bows on her head!
Walking into the U.S. Embassy was not what I expected. After walking in to a secured gated area, we sat under a canopy with benches. It seemed like adoptive families had priority and were called in first. There were Ethiopians in line as well. We were called to go through security a couple at a time. The Ethiopians also waiting stared with curiosity and smiles. I heard Kongo a lot. Kon-Joe is Amharic for beautiful. We went through security and into a warm room with several other adoptive families from other agencies and Ethiopians. When our turn came up, an American man interviewed us, asking basic questions. Then he pointed out that there was a document missing. My heart sank. She's already in my arms and something else was about to delay her coming home? It turned out, after about 2 hours, that it's some new document that the Embassy is requesting for relinquished children. On our Embassy appointment, it seemed to be new to all the agencies there. They were all scrambling to get them. Our in country representative handled it very well and we were on our way back to Melkam Guest house for our second night with Sifen.