A New Blog

Check out the latest happenings with Sam and my helper, Katie!

www.athomewithSamandKatie.blogspot.com

She's on the go!!!!

I think it's over...Katie is doing more walking than crawling now. Everything is getting pushed back further and put up higher. The cats are more nervous as well they should be. I wonder how much longer until she finds the stairs? I've got that gate ready!

A Rooster Could Sit on those Lips!

I have nothing to say...

Asian baby dolls

Katie has taken a real interest in a doll that I had when I was younger. The poor thing has got to be 30+ years old but she's still in good shape and has several years left in her. We put the baby to bed, cover her with a doll blanket that my mom made for me and then turn right around and get the baby up! (Seems a lot like the real thing...no need for a nap!)

Katie laughs when the baby "cries".

So we decided that she needed her own "Asian" baby doll for her upcoming birthday. Unfortunately I haven't seen any in my local stores, so I had to turn to the internet. Cute Asian baby dolls are difficult to find, and at this age, I refuse to pay big bucks. I finally located one that reminded me of one of the little girls, Holly, whom we traveled home with and ordered her.

She arrived today and much to my disappointment, was dressed in blue. I have nothing against baby boy dolls but the first doll I buy for our daughter has to at least be dressed like a little girl! So he or she, whatever it is, is headed back to wherever he or she came from!

I lucked into two other dolls and could actually specify the clothing color, the smaller one, which is 11", I ordered with lavender clothes, I think she'll get this one for her birthday this year. And the second which is a 20" will be dressed in pink and Katie will get that one later when she's a little bigger to handle that size.

I guess Asian baby dolls are about as hard to come by as Asian babies!

Update on "Katie-Bug"

Katie has earned the nickname "Katie-Bug". I used to and still do call Sam "Pumpkin" so Katie needed her own nickname so a play on "ladybug" seemed to fit.

She continues to do well. She squeals with delight when Sam comes home from school and again when Daniel gets home from work...it's such a wonderful noise by the end of the day for me!

We bought her a pair of little black patent Mary Jane's which she wore to church today complete with ruffled socks and a dress from her Great Aunt Dorothy...she looked very sweet.

Friday we took her to the State Fair. She really seemed to like the goats and even tried to get out of her stroller to get a closer look, we've seen her hiking her leg like she might be climbin' like goats do before long...I'm hoping not. She saw her first tractor parade and waved to all of the drivers, had her first apple dumpling and overall seemed to enjoy herself.

She is a very determined young lady. Feeding herself with a fork is her new thing. She can't "poke" her food yet but she can get the fork and food into her mouth without much problem. It appears she might be a "southpaw" (as my dad would call it--left handed) and we're not going to try to fight that. :)

The only food that she won't eat so far are real sweet potatoes yet she'll gobble them down from the baby food jar--the only baby food she'll eat. She's had mushy broccoli, tomatoes and even cottage cheese--something neither of my boys will even touch. Sam always was and still is pretty picky so this is a nice change. I made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for desert this evening and she turned up her nose at them...somehow I think that will change with time.

Sam started school last week and seems to be enjoying it overall. It again meant a new transition for Katie and me. He's such a huge help with her and I do miss him carrying the diaper bag for me and all of the other little things he does to help out during the day. He's a great big brother!

Reminiscing--Day 1 in Beijing

Ok, I guess enough time has passed and I'm feeling pretty normal again that I've started looking at 700+ pictures we took in China. So I thought I'd share...plus I'm planning the long-awaited scrapbook in the process!

This is one of our first glimpses of Beijing. We arrived after our own very stressful trip of "The Amazing Race" filled with flight delays and missed flights, 8 hours later than planned. But we were thankful to finally be there. It was hot and very humid at about 7am. Other than the air, everything seems very clean, there is no litter, the bushes and all trimmed perfectly and the flowers are abundant and well cared for (unlike mine right now...it helps when you actually remember to water them--they looked good when we came home but not so much now).



Since we had missed our first night in our hotel, our guide had suggested that we not eat breakfast in the hotel. She told us about a KFC down the street where we could get breakfast. So with our "yuan" in hand, we headed off. Obviously KFC is a big deal in China as we would figure out the longer we were there. Here, a row of KFC delivery bicycles waits. The breakfast we thought was ham was actually shrimp with eggs. :0






After breakfast, we had some time to wander, we found this little bakery. This would be the last time we would see desserts in two weeks! People in China don't eat a lot of sweets, so I'm assuming that this is an influence from the West. We bought a few little treats for later which weren't bad, just different and not super sweet like we were craving.








Here we are walking to Tienanmen Square.
It's a very hot day and this is how people get around in Beijing. Never mind that you get poked by umbrellas and it's quite crowded and pushing seems to just be the way to get where you are going. This was a Saturday so there were a lot of people there. They come to pay their respects to Chairman Mao...he is revered as their greatest leader. They will spend hours in the hot sun just to walk by him...eerily similar to Russians visiting Lenin's tomb in Red Square seven years ago.



A light in Tienemen Square...note the cameras...they are everywhere. At this point, I'm very thankful to be an American and am feeling a little anxious to get home! :)

Once again, I am amazed!

I remember when we brought Sam home at 6 months, he couldn't yet sit up by himself...within three days, he could and I was amazed.

Now I watch this little girl who has completely transformed into a little butterfly! While in China, we could hardly get her to smile, let alone laugh, now she laughs at herself and smiles at everyone. This little girl who has been home 19 days has learned to wave hi and bye, shakes her head yes and no, knows the word "no" and does everything that she should to test it, claps and is taking several steps at a time. She's no longer afraid of the dog and squeals when she sees him and she has become very fond of all of the attention she's getting.

This little girl, that just a couple of months ago, had little hope, nothing to call her own, no one to hold her, encourage her, or really love her, without a family, has truly become a blessing to us!

A week later

We've been home a week, I think we're over the jetlag, finally. Katie seems to be doing better with her nights and days. She's only getting up once during the night for a bottle and then goes back to sleep. In the orphanage they were feeding her twice through the night so I figure this is progress.

She is sick this weekend with a cough and a lot of congestion. Overall she's fairly happy, she sounds awful though. Sam has had a sore throat and Daniel hasn't felt well either. I'm chugging the vitamins and we're laying low!

The garden waited for us to get home to come on strong. We put green beans in the freezer last week and 35 quarts of sweet corn this afternoon. The tomatoes aren't far from turning and I haven't even touched the cucumbers or zucchini. Daniel harvested 5 head of cabbage that I'm not sure what he's planning on doing with.

It rained hard on Tuesday and after coming home from Katie's doctor visit, we were greeted by water dripping from one of the can lights in the kitchen. Daniel put a tarp over the roof. The contractor comes next week to give us an estimate. We think the microwave is on it's last leg too as it only works part of the time. The joys of homeownership! :)

I think pearls are the business to get into. I bought 4 strands all of good quality in Guangzhou. I took one of the strands to the jewelers to have it appraised...it's valued at 20x what I paid for it!
I should have bought more! Of course they didn't compare to the Mikimoto ones at the store. But if you go to China...check out the pearls--the shinier, the better!

Hopefully everyone will be healthy for our last week before school starts!

Making progress?

Katie has slept all night, until 4am, she's had a bottle and now she's back in bed and screaming. Hopefully that won't last too long!

She spent over an hour with Daniel this evening without Mommy, it was good. She loves to swing and to ride in the stroller with Sam behind the wheel. The dogs and cats still scare her but she loves the chickens and will sit out by their pen "talking" to them. She's very comfortable outdoors.

Sam is still fond of her. He picks out her clothes every morning and helps keep her entertained during diaper changes. He's quite the doting big brother!

It's quiet upstairs once again! :)

Days vs. Nights

This is the first time I've actually had the energy to sit down and blog since we've been home. It's 4:45AM. Yes, I'm messed up, Daniel is messed up and Katie is really messed up. We're still dealing with the jetlag and Katie seems to have her days and nights confused. The only one who has it together around here is Sam. Poor Sam!

Thankfully the ladies at our church have provided enough food to last a few more days--I don't know what we would have done without that! I haven't even given any thought to fixing a meal...I don't think about food until I'm hungry.

I keep forgetting to water the flowers and gather the eggs. I think I'm in zombie mode.

It's so good to be home. One of the babies got very sick while boarding the plane to go back to the U.S., they ended up hospitalizing her in Hong Kong with a severe respiratory infection. Hopefully they will be headed home soon. Her first birthday is tomorrow.

Hopefully things here will return to somewhat normal soon. Daniel is planning on returning to work on Wednesday and Sam goes back to school in just two weeks.

Katie appears to be back to sleep, I know I should be back in bed too, I'll get there soon!

We're Home

[Daniel]

Just a quick note.  We had more flight delays on the trip home... arrived at 10pm Thursday.  Slept a little Thursday night.  I felt not too bad this morning.  However, this afternoon has been more difficult.  Debbie, Katie and I are still trying to adjust.  Sam is doing well and being very helpful... Katie really likes Sam.

The women of our church provided a great home cooked all American meal and delivered to our house.  What a blessing; simple things make a big difference.

10 1/2 hours...and counting down!

We only have 10 1/2 hours left until we get outta here!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we finished all of the requirements set forth by both the Chinese and U.S. governments, we have Katie's visa, we're ready to come home!

We traveled to the U.S. Consulate this afternoon and took an oath for the U.S. government that basically stated that everything we've told them is true and accurate.  The room was full of Americans and their newly adopted children.  An American Woman did the ceremony and it truly was incredible.  We are so lucky to have been able to have this experience and to be bringing home this beautiful little girl!

I'll attach photos taken at our hotel.  One, obviously is of the four baby girls (all dressed in traditional Chinese attire) that the four families in our group are bringing home.  From left to right:  Sasha (OH), Holly (MO), Abby (CA) and of course Katie!  The other are the four new families.  We have a special bond and friendship with each family and hope to keep the girls acquainted!  We're thinking a vacation in CA may be in order!!!!!  :)

We have been instructed to have our luggage ready to be picked up at 6am, we are to be in the van at 6:30!  I hope the night goes quickly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We love you all and we'll see you soon!

passing the time...

Whatever it takes to pass the time and keep everyone happy!

Almost there!

Wow!!!  We are so excited that we only have one more day here in China!!!!!!!!!!!!  We got the phone call today that Katie's visa will be ready for us to pick up tomorrow afternoon and then we will be free!   We fly out on Thursday morning at 10:20 to Tokyo, then to Minneapolis and onto Indy.  We should arrive in Indy at 6:02pm Thursday evening.  Sam, Grandpa and Grandma will be meeting Katie for the first time at the airport!  We can hardly wait to see Sam and for he and Katie to meet!

It's been a bit of a rough day, Daniel hasn't been feeling well so he's stayed in the hotel most of the day, he is feeling better this evening.  Katie and I went shopping.  She's a good shopper!

I'm trying to decide if she's a princess or a tomboy...she likes to stand on the bed with help and then fall straight backwards onto the bed and laugh...she's a little rough and tumble...I think we've got ourselves a little tomboy.  That's ok, she's wonderful!

Squeaky Shoes and Buddhist Blessings

We visited a Buddhist Temple today and asked the monks to bless the babies.  This is a traditional ceremony that many people do before leaving China.  It was interesting.  In the photo, we are the second couple from the left, Katie is in the snugli that I'm wearing.

In China, there are shoes made here called Squeaky Shoes.  Basically they're a decent shoe with a squeaker in the heel of the shoe so when the baby walks, her shoes squeak.  They are all the rage and come in all styles and colors!  We've purchased two pair so far for Katie.  They are very reasonably priced as fast as little feet grow.  If anyone needs a pair of these, let me know in the next two days--seriously they're like $4 a pair!

Sight seeing

[Daniel]

The last few days we've just been sight seeing.  The purpose of our stay in Guangzhou is to get a US travel visa for Katie so we can travel home.  The turn around is slow.  On Saturday morning she had a medical checkup required by the US and in the afternoon we completed some finial visa application paperwork.  Tuesday the 28th is our visa appointment at the US Consulate just a few blocks away.

Otherwise, we have had free time.  So our guide has arranged for morning sight seeing activities and then we're back for the babies afternoon naps.  Yesterday was shopping at the official government store and the to a big mall.  There were many interested items both traditional and modern.  Today we visited two Buddhist Temples, one is "active" and the other a museum.  It was very interesting seeing those worship and the detail on the structures was amazing.  They performed a blessing for the babies.... We could not understand what they said and we aren't Buddhist... but I guess it's the thought that counts.  The museum was undergoing a repainting and our guide said it took 3-5 years to paint all the multi-colored detail wood carvings.  Many of the walls and ceilings were hand carved wood at an unbelievable level of detail.  Like most days it was hot and humid (heat index of 105) and all were getting spent after a few hours.

Since all US parents adopting must pass through Guangzhou for the US visa, many stay in the White Swan hotel where we are.  The area has developed many businesses that cater to US families.  The breakfast is great with many Chinese items and many American items.  My usual is french toast, bacon cooked right, chocolate bread, tater tots and OJ.  The eggs are still under cooked, both scrambled and hard boiled.  I had been considering a hard boiled egg until today when I saw a lady at the next table crack her egg.  The look on her face was all the info I needed.

There is a restaurant called Lucy's that has more American style food.  We when there last night and ordered Mexican... yes, I know.  I got the chicken burritos and Debbie the chicken quesadillas.  Our meals were OK .... it sounded so good, but really, what are the odds of getting Mexican food in China.  They have an "All American Hamburger" ... oh, how I want it to be so.

Katie has been taking two naps a day.  One in the morning when we're out and one in the afternoon.  She has been preferring Debbie lately so she will fall asleep in the baby carrier (snugly).  Katie will fall asleep against Debbie while we are out... with a 105 heat index it gets very hot.

Katie on the go!

Katie is getting better and much faster at crawling!  She stood up by herself without pulling herself up today...Sam has been warned.  The cats will be traumatized by this time next week!  We can hardly wait to come home!

Things are going well here.  Katie has heat rash so staying in the A/C has been good for her.  The heat index is 107 degrees today.  It thundershowered for a little while but seems to be clearing off now.  We visited the jade and pearl markets this morning.  That was a really fun shopping experience.  Even Daniel and Katie enjoyed it.  We purchased a porcelain tea set for Katie, a jade necklace for myself that someday I will give to Katie, a beautiful satin quilt for Katie and four strands of pearls.  One for Katie when she's maybe 5 or 6 (or a little older), a couple for me and one for Katie when she's grown up.  It's a Chinese tradition to give your daughter pearls to wear in her wedding, so we're set.  They are very nice quality pearls from this area and very reasonably priced!

We are free for the rest of the day.  Katie is napping.  There's a restaurant around the corner called "Lucy's" that serves American cuisine so I think we'll try that for dinner this evening.  The Chinese food here is good but the American food is better!  :)  And it's all very inexpensive!

Computer issues?

I just wanted to put it out there that our laptop seems to be not working correctly.  So in case the blog entries or emails come to a stop, don't be alarmed!  There is an internet cafe in the hotel and the other families all have laptops which I'm sure we could check once a day. 

Not much else is new.  Katie is asleep and Daniel and I are winding down.  We're going touring tomorrow, first to the jade factory and then to the pearl factory!  I can hardly wait!

The hotel has a really nice playroom.  This hotel is the one that most adoptive families stay in so they really cater to us.  We played there this evening and Katie loved it.  We were the only ones in the room and she was perfectly content to play by herself as long as she could see us.  She's practicing her walking by pushing a walk-behind toy...it won't be long!  And she's so proud of herself when she does something new!  She just squeals!  It's great!

Happenings in China

This is our first full day in Guangzhou.  Katie started crawling this morning!  It's amazing what a lot of love, attention and healthy American formula can do for a baby!  She's pulling herself up and stands without holding on to anything for a few seconds and then sits down on her bottom.  She loves playing peek a boo and we think is starting to know her American name--she's definitely a smart baby!

She had her medical exam this morning.  It was really hard for her, she's very wary of strangers and of course, everyone in the clinic wears a mask like we were wearing when we got her, I'm sure that's very scary for her.  She's 27 inches long and 18 pounds.  Many of the clothes that we brought just fit...I guess we'll be going shopping!

This part of Guangzhou really caters to adoptive families.  One the way back from the clinic, one of the shop owners gave Katie a little doll which she really latched onto.  The shops are full of baby clothes with ladybugs and baby silk outfits and squeaky shoes.  We plan on doing some shopping later.  The heat index is 107 today.

Katie is becoming a happier baby, she still has her rash and what I believe is heat rash on her face.  When she gets upset or sleepy, she buries her head in my chest and it's very hot!

The view outside our window is amazing.  I'll attach a photo.  China is sure a lot different than we expected, there's a garden on top of a roof, the cities here certainly are not third world.  China could certainly be a super-power.

Guangzhou

We safely arrived in Guangzhou last evening at 9pm, the temperature then was 90 degrees.  The flight was only an hour, Katie did fine on ascent and descent but screamed while we were at altitude.  I'm sure she has an ear infection.  We had given her a bottle while taking off so she wouldn't take one such a short time later.  We'll try waiting a little longer on the next flight.  Traveling with a sick baby in a foreign country is really tough.

Guangzhou is a port city and is absolutely huge.  I'm sure it's the size of New York.  Every city we've been in has been huge, so much larger than Indianapolis.  We are staying in the White Swan Hotel which is on the Pearl River.  It was very pretty last night with all of the lights, we're anxious to see it in the daytime.
 
When we arrived at the airport last night, we were greeted by a familiar sight from home...Mcdonald's!  We were hungry as we'd missed dinner and it tasted pretty darn good!

Today we go to the clinic where Katie has her medical exam that will hopefully allow her to travel to the U.S.  Then we will have more paperwork to do this afternoon.

We saw on the news last evening that Beijing is now encouraging people to have  more than one child in an effort to balance out the aging population.  One of the families had a young (early 20's) Chinese woman come up to them at the Nanning airport last evening and asked why we were taking the babies away.  Shannon explained that these girls had all been abandoned and that they had no families and so we adopted them and are giving them families.  The girl seemed to understand and thanked us for taking these babies.  Shannon told her that we thank China for allowing us to be here and giving us this opportunity. 

One thing that we weren't prepared for was that we are quite a spectacle.  In Beijing, before we had the babies, we blended in with all of the other tourists.  In Nanning, we stood out, as there aren't many Caucasians and even fewer with Chinese babies.  It will be interesting to see how we are perceived here in Guangzhou.  All adoptive families have to come through Guangzhou so I would imagine that the people are used to it. 

Yesterday while waiting to go the airport, I met three European ladies, they were asking about Katie and I told them she was from Guiping.  They got really excited as they were on their "Heritage Trip", bringing back three Chinese girls to Guiping, their birthplace too.  The girls aged from 11 to 14.  They were really sweet!

Breakfast is calling!   And so is Katie!

to Guangzhou today!

We will be headed out to Guangzhou this evening, can hardly wait!  Today we are headed to a local park to wander and then will pick up the babies passports after 3pm.  Then it's off to the airport for a 45 minute flight.

We are eager to head out.  Nanning is a beautiful city but it's time to move on!  We will be staying at the White Swan, I think that's where all of the adoptive families stay while in Guangzhou.  We've run into a couple of other families from the U.S. who will be heading there today too.  One of the families said that they are actually a group of 18 other families all of which we will meet later today! 

They say that there is more Americanized food there, even Chinese-American!  We're getting tired of Pizza Hut, our frequent diner's card got us a 15% discount last evening!  But it has sustained us!

Katie has a cold, thankfully we do have antibiotics.  The other babies are all starting to get colds as well, two of them do not have antibiotics so hopefully they'll do ok on the flights, etc. 

She is one stubborn little girl!  She's only had formula in the orphanage and it's been very obvious that she's never been introduced to a spoon or any sort of foods.  We brought applesauce, bananas and prunes.  We tried the applesauce, she hated it.  The bananas were even worse.  We definitely have our work cut out for us when we get home.  Maybe seeing Sam eat from a spoon will get her motivated to try it.  She just screams when we try and gets incredibly mad.

I got bit by something in the village yesterday,  I would imagine it was a mosquito, thank goodness we're taking anti-malarial medication! 

Next time--from Guangzhou!!!

a few more photos

A few more photos...

more village photos

More photos...

A new perspective

All I can say about today was Wow!  I have a whole new perspective on China and her people.  This morning we boarded our comfortable, air conditioned bus and drove about 50 minutes outside Nanning to the countryside.  As we left the city, the scenery quickly changed and became what we'd been seeing in the coffee table books, a world so different from anything we had ever seen before.  I will put several pictures on but since we can't see the blog I won't be able to label them.  Some of the photos need no explanation.

Imagine the heat index near 100 degrees, it's an overcast muggy day, everywhere you look things are very tropical and green.  Karsts, as the mountains are called, seem to just erupt from the earth in sporadic places unlike the mountain ranges that we have in the U.S.  They are very green, some thickly covered with trees, others more sparse.  Our guide points out a field of short plants, about 3 foot high, tapioca, used here to make ethanol.  Rows of corn here and there, not huge fields of it, just enough to sustain livestock, perhaps.  And rice paddies.  The rice is harvested twice a year, July and November so much of the rice paddies are now just standing water. 

Our bus slows down and we take a left turn.  We come to a stop next to an awning under which are two large cages, one with ducks, the other with chickens.  There is a large pot over a fire and a woman plucking the white feathers off of a duck.  We are told that this is a village market and we can walk around here and will then walk to the village.  As we exit the bus, we are greeted by a woman, probably in her late 30's holding a baby boy who appears to be about the age of our girls.  She is waving his arm and smiling.  We all wave back.  These people are part of the Zhuang ethnic group of China.  Most of the people in Guangxi Province are of this descent. 

The market runs along two streets, there are meat vendors in the center and vegetable vendors along the sides.  The meats are lying on tables under a roof (remember the heat index is near 100).  The vegetables are stunning; the carrots are huge!  They sell celery, eggplant, corn, tomatoes and a few other things we'd never seen before.  Everyone is very friendly even though they know we are not there to buy from them, we're just there to experience.

The smells remind us of manure.  We see more cages of chickens, there are eggs and small pigs.  We hear a rooster but don't actually see him. 

We follow our guide to the village where these people live.  Along the less than one lane road, we see the rice paddies...this is the China we had been longing to see...this is potentially like the place where Katie was born.  There are areas where the rice plants are about 6-8 inches tall.  These plants are being transplanted, painstakingly (back breakingly), a handful at a time.  They are plucked out of the mud in one spot and transplanted into the mud in another spot, allowing them more space to grow.  (Daniel and I are thinking there has to be an easier, more automated way...John Deere could help out here but I doubt that they'd make a fortune.)   Are there rice futures like there are corn futures?

Anyway there are several people working up to their knees in the different rice patties.  We can see a water buffalo pulling something that we couldn't see as it was in the water.  It was turning up the mud, preparing for the next planting of rice.  There are elderly ladies with long pieces of wood, carrying buckets on either end, they nod and smile as we pass by. 

We come to a small pond where there are a few ladies scrubbing clothes.  This area is fed by an underground spring where they also get their drinking water.  It too looks like backbreaking work.  The scenery is beautiful, the sun is hot, the work is hard. 

We enter into the village, first we come to their village meeting place, this is where they gather to discuss village matters.  There are several people sitting around, all seem very friendly and ok that we are here to see where they live.  Our guide tells us that they are welcoming, they know who we are and why we are here and they are glad that we have come.  We wander down the main road, again it is less than one lane wide.  Occasionally we are met by someone on a mo-ped. 

Their homes are very modest, made from brick.  There are piles of building materials in several places.  These materials are waiting to be used.  Each family has their own tiny piece of land on which their house stands, there is no room to expand outwards so they expand upwards.  They save their money and build as they can, many homes have second and third stories, many of which have the holes for windows but no actual windows.  Our guide tells us that they do live in those parts of their homes even without windows.  Several generations will live together.  Men and their wives take care of his parents. This is why having a son is so important in rural China as any daughter is going to marry, leave and will be expected to care for her husband's parents and not her own.

We have been told that the one child policy in the villages is not really observed much by the government for a few different reasons.  When China initiated this policy, part of the incentive to not have more than one child was to avoid the disciplinary action set forth by the government.  This could either be a fine or one could lose his job.  In rural China, farmers own their land so the government can't take that away.  Plus farmers need more than one child to help do the farming.  They are actually allowed two children here. Interestingly enough, many villagers still take the one child policy seriously and will still follow it.

We go to the end of the road and then turn back towards the bus.  Our guide wants to show us a nearby garden.  This garden is dedicated to the Zhuang people.  There are girls dressed in traditional dress, they are just lovely.  We are greeted by a small band, if you will.  And then on to some people with long bamboo poles who are using them in rhythm.  It is a tradition to hop through the bamboo poles without messing up the rhythm.  Next we are greeted by young ladies who offer us sticky rice wine.  It's very sweet and very tasty!  We enter a large covered area where we sit to have a traditional Zhuang snack including hot tea made from bamboo, ginger and brown sugar...it's wonderful!  Although it would be more satisfying cold on such a warm day.

We learn how they make sticky rice wine and then head back to the bus.  On the way, we see the white monkeys that live here in Guangxi.  We had been warned not to have any food in our hands as the monkeys would swoop down and take the food away.  Yes, they are wild and not in cages.  Somewhere a few of them have found apples and they sit and eat and watch us as we watch them.

Back on the bus, headed back to Nanning.  Wow.  This experience was exactly what we had really wanted, what we had needed to see for Katie.

I wish I could label these photos as I put them up but the government is not allowing blogging...we're getting around it somewhat. 

Enjoy!!

--the original post had 18 photos attached, that didn't work so I'll try to post the rest later

The Zoo, Wal-Mart and food

[Daniel]

Transformation
We went to the zoo today in Nanning.  It was hot and the babies were hot also so we only stayed a few hours.  It was an interesting place.  On the drive to the zoo the neighborhoods were a mixture of what I would consider old and run-down to new modern apartment complexes.  It's not that there was a neighborhood with newer buildings and then one with older -- many of the neighborhoods were being transformed.  Like you could almost see the new apartment buildings standing 10-20 (maybe more) stories ready to consume the adjacent 1-3 level buildings.

The zoo was the same.  There were sections with structures being torn down... Many of them just had a single rope keeping the visitors out.  Some of the demolition seems to have been halted -- no workers, no tools; like they just stopped one day.  An amusement and water parks were activity be built next to the zoo.  The track for some of the roller coasters were up, excavating equipment and workers where busy.  We saw a lion show and a seal and dolphin show...much like any you may see in the US.  The aged show arenas were packed with people and everyone seemed to enjoy.  With the transformation underway I would expect those arenas to be replaced in a few years.

Wal-Mart
There is a Wal Mart a few blocks from our hotel.  It's in the basement of a shopping mall.  One of the first things I wanted to do was read the labels for ... "Made in...".  I don't know why I though I'd be able to read the labels.  :)  It has a look and feel of a Wal Mart... many busy shoppers, same colors, smiley face.  A few differences...

- All four wheels of the shopping cars caster.  If you are meeting someone... No need to pick the back of the cart up; just push it to the side.

- Many people to assist and providing product demonstrations.  In some sections there are Wal Mart employees just standing watching and waiting to help.  Standing relaxed but straight, not leaning on anything with arms at side or hands cupped in front.

- Food.  Eggs not refrigerated.  Bulk rice.  Large selection of sea food -- displayed to be appealing but has the opposite effect on me.

- Benches in the book section like in Borders and people using them.  Benches in front of the wall of TVs for sale and people watching TV.


Food
I've enjoyed the food.  I've tried items I would never had the opportunity otherwise.  But I miss American food.  We've ordered room service a few times as they have western items.  Ordered cheese burger, got a dry triple bread grilled cheese.  Ordered a club sandwich, got a club with turkey, heavily spiced meat.  Debbie ordered just a plain hamburger, the texture just wasn't right... stringy??  The hotel has a western cafe and breakfast is included in our room.  It's just a few hours until breakfast.  I'll get my usual.  Fried noddles, rice with eggs, bread and OJ.  There is much more but breakfast is not the time for adventure for me.  I don't like floppy bacon, half cooked eggs/omelets, an anemic sausage labeled "bowel".

The point of this trip is not dinning enjoyment.  I got my Pizza Hut card yesterday... So, I'm going to rack up the points now so I can get some free bread stix when we're back home.

Nanning

Our days continue here in Nanning.  Today we visited the local zoo.  It was interesting as all of the animals are from south China.  So now when we go to the zoos in the U.S., we can relate to where these animals are from.  We saw a tiger show, they appeared to be some very frisky tigers and the heat index was 100 degrees, so I can imagine that they are a bit moody.   I know I was--as was Katie!

We also watched the seal and dolphin show.  We seemed to be as much of a spectacle as the dolphins themselves.  We were by far the only white people there.  Some people would smile at the babies.  One little girl even came up to one of the mom's and asked if she could have her picture taken with her, of course, she was very willing.  I would by lying if I said that we were completely comfortable there.

It was amazing how close we could get to the animals.  You could, if you were stupid, literally reach your arm out and touch the cages of tigers!!!!  I've never been so close so wild animals!

Katie has latched on to me and will not let Daniel hold her anywhere but in the hotel.  I'm not sure what's up with that but she just screams!  It's hard to know at this stage how much to let her get away with.  She has had so many changes this week and has been incredibly stressed.  Learning to trust us has got to be overwhelming for her.  Finally we are getting some smiles out of her and an occasional laugh.  One of the other families little girls is having a really hard time, she is very afraid of strangers, they even opted to stay at the hotel today.  I know it's been rough on them.  The other two little girls are definitely more attached to their mommy's as well.  Daniel seems to be ok with it, I offered to leave the room for a little while so he could have some time with Katie by himself and he told me that they would both be in tears if I did that! 

Katie sleeps very well.   She still isn't eating super great.  At the orphanage she was only getting bottles of formula with rice cereal added.  I have tried many times to get her to eat rice cereal or applesauce and she seems to not know what to do with the food once it's in her mouth.  I don't believe she's ever been fed with a spoon.  She did eat a couple of tiny bites of Daniel's banana bread this morning at breakfast. 

Crawling doesn't seem to be in her future either.  Sam never crawled, he just scooted and then started walking.  I have a feeling we're headed down the same path.  She doesn' t like to be on the floor at all.  I had her on the bed with me this afternoon and she was using me as a jungle gym, it was the most active she's been and she seemed to love it.  She figured out she could stand up while holding onto my hands.  We could see the excitement on her face when she realized what she had done.  She's definitely progressing developmentally already.  It's amazing what a lot of love and attention can do for a child who has not had what she's needed.

Katie and Daniel are both sleeping.  We're meeting the rest of our group in a little while for dinner.  Along with our guide who is going to help us order some foods that aren't pigeon or dog (did I mention they do eat the latter here?)  I hope that we haven't had any!

I'll attach some photos of our day.

One of God's Blessings...

There's nothing else to say...we are blessed!

Getting attached

Apparently we are getting attached, which is a great thing!!  Katie is ok with either one of us but will get upset if she can't see me, which is good but a little tiring.  She is starting to smile at us and has even laughed a couple of times.  She's so cute in the clothes that we brought.  We chose wisely on the sizes, mostly 6-9 months but they fit now so they won't last long!

We completed her adoption this morning, so it is official, she is ours forever!!

We went to Wal-Mart this afternoon which was incredibly fascinating.  I'll attach some photos. We were the only Caucasians in the store.  We got a few glances but no one seemed to mind that we were there.  Our guide told us that the locals here are very curious about us but once they know why we're here, they understand and are glad that we can give the babies their own families.

I noted that eggs are not refrigerated here.  We haven't been eating the eggs because we weren't sure plus they don't typically cook them completely.  The same with milk, I would give a lot for a glass of milk but the sign on the milk dispenser in the restaurant states "fresh milk" what exactly does this mean?  We don't know plus it's not very cold.  I'll wait until we get home!

We're both craving salads but wouldn't dare eat uncooked vegetables.  There's a Pizza Hut nearby, we've been there twice in two days, it's very good.  They gave a frequent diner's card!!!!!!! 

The hotel provides new toothbrushes and toothpaste everyday if you need it.  While I was giving Katie her bath in the sink this morning, she latched on to one of the new toothbrushes.  If we would let her, I'm sure she would carry it around all day!  She puts the handle part in her mouth and chews on it; she's trying to cut some new teeth!

Overall things are going well.  We're here until Friday when the girl's passports should be ready.  Then we fly to Guangzhou, our final stop before heading home.