Well, Saturday found us (ALL of us – there are 66 people in our travel group in total, not counting guides and drivers and such…) safely at our hotel in Beijing. What do new families do for fun? How ‘bout a trip to the zoo?? (Not all of the families went, but let’s just say the bus was very full…) We did the obligatory tourist things like buy panda hats (well, some of us did) and all of the zoo-like memorabilia, but aside from the Pandas and Big (really BIG) tigers and Lions – it was pretty much a zoo tour. The girls loved it – don’t get me wrong…
When we returned, we decided to attempt another run at a bath for Mary Dan Dan… The first go-around was not so successful – A lot of tears and hollering – Not the piercing shriek she has been doing with the crib, but a close second. We loaded Sylvie into the tub first (hoping that she being the water-baby will rub off on Mary) and it actually was a success… :) She even cracked a few smiles in there, which was very nice to see… One step at a time…
Over the past few days we have noticed that Mary is a much more calmer baby, still cries frequently – but are getting smiles and cuddles from her. She is becoming more confident and will now walk around the hotel room picking up toys and playing with them. Sylvie and Dan Dan have been very good playing together. Mary Dan Dan usually likes to pick up toys, rattle them a bit and then pass them off to Mama, Baba or Jie Jie. So, perhaps she is a good sharer, or Dan Dan does not have the sense of personal ownership yet, as we are thinking there were only group toys at the orphanage.
We are also seeing Mary Dan Dan communicate a bit more with us; she is humming and speaking baby babble when we are out and about. We are seeing many more frequent smiles out of her, and hearing her infectious giggle. She is snuggling into our arms when we hold her, rather than using her death grip, and gives us the toothiest grin when we kiss her cheeks. She is beginning to point to the types of food she would like on her plate, and when she wants you to pass her something. Every little piece opens up a little more of her personality and sheds away some of the seriousness that she has shown us so far – It doesn’t completely disappear, but it is nice to see her drop her guard a little more each time to let us in.
Tomorrow we revisit the giant stair-master, so must do some resting up before a long day. Until then…
C & J & S & M
Bundled up and ready to go!
This one is for Miah... Can you find the panda bear in this picture?? :)
Of course, one of the stars of the show here...
A big white kitty...
A big orange kitty...
A few of the dad's in front of a big rock tiger for a photo op
Kisses for one while the other tries to escape...
A successful bathtime...
and a little playtime in pajamas :)
Oh Miah will love that photo! She is in bed but I will show her in the morning. She will want to go back to China for sure to visit that store! She looks like she is a good size next to Sylvie. Have fun at the great wall!
ReplyDeleteWay to go guys - I'm green with envy - so wish I was back in China! It's worse for me this time of year - both our trips were in the Nov / Dec time frame!
ReplyDeletehugs - aus and co.