We had to rush through breakfast this morning because we wanted to get at least 1 red couch photo with the Nanjing girls before we left for today's siteseeing adventure. Catherine HATES being the center of attention (a good thing for a 4th child) so posing with a bunch of people with cameras calling her name was not her idea of fun. We made her sit for a few photos and then we got her out of there. It really stressed her out and it took a while to calm her down. But, once we did she was good to go for our next adventure.
Our outing for today was to Liuhuahu Park. It has a big lake and is a little oasis in the city. It is also where the elderly hang out and do whatever it is that they do... be it ballroom dancing, open-mic opera singing (BAD opera singing!), working out on exercise machines, badminton, ping-pong, or playing with grandkids. It was funny to walk through all the activity... we kept joking to our guide that he will have to hang out here in a few years :)
Catherine's most favorite part of the park was the playground. She used to go to the playground nearly every day with her ayi so she totally knew what to do... she literally pulled us from activity to activity. She likes the slides alot but her true love is the swings. I think she could have sat there all day. We had her try climbing up different pieces of equipment to test her climbing abilities. She handled them all with no problem whatsover... amazing for a child who has only been walking on her own since September. There is a little amusement park for kids attached to the park and she rode the merry-go-round. She did not cry but there was a panicked look on her face and she had a death grip on the horse the whole time :) I rescued her from the horse at the end so she just transferred the death grip onto me!
We ended our outing with a trip to Starbucks (aka Catherine's new hangout... such a posh little girl!) and a walkaround/shoparound here on the island. The weather was nice and sunny today and there was not nearly as much construction noise as there as been during the past few days. It was actually quite pleasant. Catherine was walking around in her squeaky shoes and laughing while Jay chased her. And, I think she might have been turned upside down by Daddy once or twice! She has been so wonderful today and it has been a joy to see her play and have fun. She has changed so much in just a week and Jay and I both noticed that she was acting like such a big girl today... sniff, sniff!
Great day for all! Glad to see you all enjoyed the park (and the playground and the river cruise...). I could see the TB test from the red couch, looked just like Juni's! Glad those xrays were fine, and you are nearing the time when you can bring Catherine H-O-M-E.
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Awwww---too many favorite pictures in this post---Love the one of you to the side of Catherine Swinging---and the one of her with the statues of children---too cute! Of course, running from Daddy is always adorable, too.
ReplyDeleteLove the statues of the children as Catherine is the same size (too cute). It is fun seeing all the photos and hearing about your days as I know we'll be doing the same very soon :o)
ReplyDeleteCatherine is beautiful!!