Travel Journal - Day 9
Day 9 was awesome! When it was time for Chris to take his shower I told him to just go and let her scream while she is left with me. After he walked away she started to scream (as usual) but it did not sound like she really meant it. I was able to distract her by singing along with a Chinese karaoke song on the television. It took her about 1 minute to stop screaming. She sat on my lap and played while Chris showered and dressed.
At breakfast she sat in her high chair the entire time. This girl can eat! We have not given her anything that she refuses to eat. After breakfast we met up with the others to get on the bus. We decided that I should try to carry her in the hip hammock. Miraculously, she let me! I carried her all around the hotel lobby. She was a tiny bit fussy at first, but then she was fine. She sat on my lap for the entire bus ride! It was so amazing.
Our first stop was a museum. I do not remember the name but they showed some beautiful Chinese furniture, some bone carving, wood carvings and some very interesting statues. The word work on the roof of the building was very magnificent and ornate. The museum itself was mostly outdoors or inside areas that are open to the outdoors. It is hard to describe. It was almost like a series of courtyards with a variety of rooms. Anyway….
The museum also had many things to purchase. I bargained my way into a jade bangle bracelet. Many of the women in our group purchased theirs at the jade factory, but I wanted to wait to see if I could get a better deal. It is tradition in China that a woman wears a jade bracelet that she gives to her daughter when the daughter turns 16. The daughter then wears the bracelet until she has a daughter who turns 16. I think it is a great custom. I really like my bracelet.
Amazingly, Lucy sat in her stroller with no complaining the entire time. She is becoming more and more chillin' every day. Even though she can be a crazy climbing monkey, she is a very good traveler. She continued to sit on my lap on the way to our next destination, the Tea House.
At the Tea House we saw many beautiful tea pots and learned about Chinese tea and tradition. Then we all sat around a series of large tables and sampled Chinese tea. I was very happy to have hot tea as I have come down with a sore throat and cold. The hot tea was helpful. After that, we shopped. I purchased a pretty Chinese tea pot for Michelle. I hope she is still collecting tea pots!
When we arrived back at the hotel, Chris agreed to hang out with Lucy while I went on a shopping adventure with 2 other mothers and 1 grandmother. Chris' tummy isn't feeling well so he was very happy to stay back and nap with Lucy.
The shopping was great. We took a taxi to Shamian Island which is just 10 minutes away. This is where the Chinese Consulate and the famous White Swan hotel is located. The White Swan is also known as "Baby Hotel" because it hosts many, many adoptive families. AWAA no longer uses that hotel but all of us want to see it because we have heard so much about it from other adoptive families.
The island is filled with shops that clearly know their client! There were tons and tons of baby clothes. Most outfits could be purchased for 4 or 5 dollars. The also had many t-shirts and hats that had the Chinese symbols for mother, father, big sister etc. They had many children's things with lady bugs on them, as well as many baby dolls and squeaky shoes for the babies. The sales people are so motivated. Once again, I would like to bring home a handful and put them to work as SPC's. I'd be rich.
I purchased a couple of outfits and pairs of shoes for Lucy. I also did some souvenir shopping. I made some progress on purchasing gifts to give Lucy every year on gotcha day. One thing that I am thinking about buying is a porcelain doll that is made in the style of Jinagxi. (The Province where she if from.) They have a different porcelain doll for each Province which depicts a typical costume or activity from that area. I think I might wait and see where I can get the best deal. We head back there tomorrow as a group. Today's trip was just a warm up!
When I got back to the hotel I found that Lucy and Chris had both been napping for over 3 hours. I hope those 2 sleep tonight! I woke them up so that we could join the other families for dinner in the Japanese restaurant. The food was so good!! Chris and I had the best steak I have ever eaten. Even Lucy got in on the steak eating. She sat on my lap for almost the entire meal and let me feed her with chopsticks. She did really well.
One other thing that Lucy does a lot of is talk. She is very verbal. He like to say "yayayayaya," "bababa," "dadadadada" and "ararararara" I'm not sure what she is saying but she says it with a strong sense of purpose. When she is tired she sucks on her bottom lip. She uses her lip like most kids use a pacifier. It seams to calm her. Even though we do have a pacifier, we have not given it to her. She did not have one when we got her so we figure that there is no reason to start.
Right now she is playing with her Daddy on the bed. She still seems to prefer Daddy a bit, but she is giving me lots of Mommy time. I am loving every minute of it.
I am going to call it an early night. I hope to kick this sore throat/cold so that I will be in good shape for more shopping tomorrow. I think I will need to purchase another suitcase.
Please keep the e-mails coming. We are loving them!
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