We had no plans today, and that was beautiful. Because someone named Kennedy An An (we are combining names now to work her into hearing Kennedy at home) was up late last night, she slept in until 8:00am. She slept in the hotel-provided stroller. Are we bad parents, or what?! She finally decided yesterday that the stroller seemed fun and tried it out. Big hit. (And a nice break for our aching backs.) And the great thing about her sleeping in it is when she stirs, I just rock it back and forth a bit and she's back to sleep. That doesn't happen when she sleeps on us! So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that she's sleeping in it again tonight. Sleep is good.
Anyway, the tailor came to our room with Chandler at 10:00am and dropped off our custom silk jackets. They are pretty much the bees knees. After that, I discovered that little miss likes to walk around holding my fingers, or me holding her wrists while she holds a staking cup in each hand. She LOVES it. Loves it so much that she walked around that way several times today, one time for 45 minutes straight. Often as she passed the mirror on the wall she would look at herself and bust into this big smile. Dan and I were so proud of her--proud of her tiny little self's determination. She is indeed strong-willed as the orphanage caregivers told me. She has very little balance, so she hangs on tight and looks a bit like a drunken sailor, but it is soooooo good to see that effort and determination. When I think about her start in life, I am so thankful for that will--remind me of that later, okay? :)
We decided to stroll down the street here today. It was sunny for the first time since we have been in Nanchang and it felt so good to be outside. K loves being outside; she takes in all the people and just chills out. (Part of me thinks this is because she is glad for a chance to be distracted from the hard work of trusting us, but I am glad she can give herself that break. It is intense.)
The streets here are packed with people. And the traffic is CRAZY. (I sound like my Mom talking about traffic so much, but it is seriously CRAZY.) Cars don't stop for pedestrians, so it is actually pretty dangerous to get across streets. The other thing is that we are a complete novelty. All adoptive families are. First, we're white. In a place as mono-ethnic in appearance as China, and in a place as non-touristy as Nanchang, we are of great interest. Add to that walking down the street with our Chinese baby and suddenly people are gathering around, touching K and "clicking" at her with their tongues, smiling hugely, taking our photo with their cell phone, etc. It is not possible to be just another person here. Even the men walk past us and turn around to catch a glimpse. And what's really funny is when they talk to each other about you in Chinese. Sometimes it gets quite animated and it leaves you wondering if there's toilet paper hanging out of your pants or something. :)
Anyway, we hung out in the square for a while. It's huge, full of people playing and flying kites and has a big monument to Communism. (Apparently Communism in China began in Jiangxi province. Who knew?) At the square we got interviewed by some camera and microphone-clad individuals who asked us about happness. (Odd. No idea what that was about. I hope we wind up on some Chinese documentary.) After that, we headed to a department store. In the jewelry department I bought K a jade pig necklace (she was born in the year of the golden pig). It is super cool. And then we went to the children's department and bought K some shoes. Cute little shoes. And I do mean little. The ladies selling the shoes were very surprised by how tiny her feet are. Have I mentioned how itty bitty she is?
When we got back to the hotel, I put the shoes on K and could not believe her reaction. You know the Paolo Nutini song 'New Shoes'? It's as though that song belonged to her. She was sooooooooo excited. She insisted on doing her drunken sailor walking act for another 45 minutes in her new little shoes, only this time she cooed and giggled as she went. It was such a blast. She's amazing. (And a pistol. But amazing.) And I know, where are the pics of this? Dan grabbed a movie instead, but I can't figure out how to post it and he is sleeping (like I should be) right now. I'll try to get it downloaded tomorrow.
We tried to eat dinner in the hotel restaurant, but all little miss wanted to do was walk around in her new shoes. Attempts to get more food in her were useless. It was all about the walking around. I can't even describe the 'proud of myself' look on her face. It makes her stubbornness much more tolerable. :)
It's so exciting to watch her little person emerge. Oh, and just in case you're keeping track, she pooped twice today. Yep, TWICE. (And nicely formed poop, at that.) And I think she's teething, as she's normally a big eater and wasn't today and was drooling and playing with her tongue--and then there's those white bumps on her gums and the crankiness...Tylenol to the rescue. :)
Anyway, a few images from today are below. Tomorrow morning we're off to Guangzhou for the U.S. Consulate/CIS part of this process. I'll do my best to post from the White Swan, but I'm not yet sure about the internet capabilities yet. But I do know there's a Starbucks nearby. (Sorry, had to get that in.)
3 comments:
Soooo happy she got some more rest! I hope that means more rest for you too; I remember a few times I'd be so thrilled that sleep finally came that I'd find myself staring off into space in amazement...for a little too long. you know, zombie like.
I can't see the photos from this post yet, but I have a crystal clear image of you two strolling about breaking in the new kicks.
I'll be out of touch for a couple days; have to head to GB. I'll be missing your updates and catch up in a couple days.
Yay sleep!
So...I'm sorta dying to know...is she potty trained like the adoptive mom commenter suggested she might be? I have some friends that have used elimination communication with their kids, and it sounds awesome. I just never seemed to have the time or dedication to do it with our kiddos! Bonus if An An is already there!
The shoes...that sounds adorable! You'll have to check out squeaker shoes when she gets back...they're little toddler shoes with a squeaker in the heel, so that when new walkers walk it makes a little noise at each correct step. Both N and E think they're hilarious, though E's feet are still too small to wear them around.
I hope you're getting more sleep and that the stroller keeps working!
I am SO happy for all three of you! Reading your posts brought back so many memories of when Oliver came home to us, it was incredible (and maybe a bit teary-eyed too!).
Mwah!
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