Family Fridays: Train Ride

To get the baby's American Certificate of Birth Abroad and Passport, we had to travel to Guangzhou. Nate, Aaron, and I also needed to have some paperwork stuff done at the consulate as well, so we decided to try to get it all done at once. We choose to take a 26 hour sleeper train ride to keep costs down with taking all three boys. We stayed with friends in Guangzhou who were extremely kind and helpful to us. They said they were impressed that we tried the train with three little kids, but I think maybe that meant they thought we might be a little crazy to try it. We may have thought the same a couple of times, but overall the trip went quite well.

It was a long time on the train. but really all three boys did very well. In fact, Alexander seemed to love it. :) Somebody basically held him the whole time, the train had a nice gently rocking, and because we were so close we were able to take care of his needs even faster than normal. Aaron and Andrew loved going through tunnels, eating special snacks, and a few special activities. Color wonder markers and mini Oreos from doting grandparents are highly recommended for times like these.

After the first train ride there, our friend met at us the station and helped us take the subway back to their house and let us crash. We all slept so well that night, even Alexander slept 7 hours in a row, which is a record for him. The next day our friends made sure we ate well and we all got to catch up a little before heading to the consulate. Having our friend go with us a a big help, not only finding the place, but also keeping an eye on the older two boys while we were there dealing with paperwork. Afterwords we stopped at an Ikea for a hot dog which is a special promotion they run here. My husband says that's the best things they've ever sold. We got to visit a little bit more before heading back on the next train.

We got through the train stations by me wearing Alexander in a carrier on front and a backpack on back, Nate wearing Andrew on his back and a backpack on front, and Aaron holding my hand and wearing a little backpack full of toys and treats on his back. This is the first time we've traveled that he has been carry some of his own things and he was thrilled to be a big boy helper.

I will say we've never been quite so glad to get home to this apartment though.

Anyone know why you can't
take balloons on the subway?