Pictures=Bad But Park=Fun!

I am posting a little bit early today because we have the afternoon free and we thought that Miss C deserved a proper nap after a few days of go, go, go. She is currently crashed out in the murder outline position and snoring :) So ladylike!

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.



(Mama and Papa-razzi!)


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!









(more pictures on our photo album)

Um, Jay... I'm gonna need your wallet..

Today started off with a big sleep-in and an even bigger breakfast. It was just what we needed :) Lots of playing, book reading, tickling, and overall goofing around! We had a walk around the island and did the purchasing of necessities (you know... necessities like silk outfits for the red couch photos!).



Our guide picked us up at 1:30 and we headed out to the medical clinic to get Catherine's TB test read. It was .1mm too big (ugh!) so she had to get 2 x-rays done. The doctor declared her to be TB free before he even read the films (just looked at the digital image on the computer while he was taking the pictures) and we were outta there quickly. From what I heard almost all of the kids who were there for their exams on Saturday were positive and needed x-rays. All of them were given the all-clear to come to get their visas to come home. No pictures from this... Catherine clearly remembered the scene of the crime from Saturday and freaked out... I think rightfully so!

After the clinic we visited the Six Banyan Temple. It is a working temple (so there are many monks around) and it has a very tall and beautiful pagoda. This is something we did with Ben and it was really the only thing in Guangzhou that we really wanted to do this time around. We did not spend alot of time looking around (even though it is beautiful we had been there before 2 years ago) so we went straight to the monks for a blessing. There, underneath the Buddha statues representing the past, present, and future, Catherine was giving a blessing of good wishes by a Buddhist monk. Jay and I both feel like it is a proper and important send-off from one culture to another... Catherine's way (though she obviously does not understand it right now) of saying goodbye to China.








After we left the Banyan Temple we headed over to a shopping street with a special mall just for jewelry. When I say mall, I mean mall... it is just hundreds of stores selling the same things. Think of your local mall with 100 Gap stores and nothing else :) We had a pearl necklace made for Catherine from pearls harvested from her province. We picked out the string that we wanted and then watched them hand tie the pearls into place... cool! The clasp of the necklace is the Chinese symbol for longevity and happiness. We wanted her to have an heirloom piece that she could hand down to her daughter someday. We are so excited to give it to her... when she is older :)

These are the Jiangsu freshwater pearls we were choosing from


She is stringing the pearls that we chose


She is hand knotting the pearls into place... she doesn't even look down because her hands know what to do


After we shopped we grabbed some ice cream for Catherine. As far as we know this was her first time to try it. She tried a bite and had a huge look of pain on her face. I thought at first that she was going to cry (like Ben did) but instead she grabbed my wrist to shove the spoon back into her mouth... it was so cute! She downed the whole cup and then whined when it was all gone :) That's my girl!







We were able to come back to the hotel for about an hour before we headed out to our dinner cruise on the Pearl River. It was actually pretty nice (though Gluten Free Girl could only eat the squid dish which I normally like but it was a little much for a whole dinner!) and exceeded my expectations. I do not have such a high opinion of the beauty of Guangzhou (in case you have not noticed... wink!) but I will say that from the perspective of the boat at night the city really is quite beautiful. They light up all the buildings along the river and it is a spectacular scene. I was not really looking forward to the cruise but I am so glad that I went.





Catherine just loved it... can you tell????


Catherine had another excellent day. She is highly opinionated (especially when it comes to food or walking... she either wants it or she DOESN'T!) and not afraid to share her views but she is also so sweet and loveable... you just want to eat her up. She reveals more and more to us everyday and while there are definite delays, she is also very smart and tries to figure things out by herself. She still hates being indoors (especially in the elevator which we have nicknamed "The Tiny Room") and having her picture taken (she is so stubborn she will NOT turn her head around if she sees a camera... we have had to get really good at snapping the pic right when she looks up to see what is going on). She loves to play and she will go up to Jay and try to egg him on in the hopes that she will be picked up and tickled. She is still eating like a horse (I cannot keep up... she is an animal!). Before we came to China we were afraid that we would have to cut back our touring schedule because of her delays and dislike of crowds. Much to our delight and surprise she LOVES to tour around, see new things, and experience new people. She just soaks it all in. She is so adaptable and easy going that she just goes with the flow. We have thoroughly enjoyed touring China with her (if only we could get her to turn around for the pictures!).

(more photos on www.bringingcatherinehome.shutterfly.com)

Happy in Guangzhou (say what??????)

Okay... I had a good day. Well, actually, I had a great day. It did involve a little escape to about 60 miles south of here but it definitely pleased me. We met the other family from our agency and our guide after breakfast and we headed off to Lotus Mountain. I will have to give all the credit to the other family as it was totally their idea to go. I had never even heard of it before and I don't think many other Americans know it is there either (we were the only foreigners there). It was EXACTLY what I needed :)

Lotus Mountain has 2 main attractions. The first is an ancient rock quarry from which the King (who was actually the general that the emperor ordered to rule this part of the country) ordered rocks cut and sent downriver to Guangzhou to built his tomb. It was so interesting because you could see exactly where the rocks had been cut by hand centuries ago. There were sheer cliffs that just dropped down where the mountain used to stand. We walked around the very high part along the top (while I tried not to wet myself- Jay still can't believe I went up there!) and then we walked along the bottom where the rainwater has gathered over time to form beautiful ponds. It was very relaxing (except for the climb back up!) and beautiful.







The second big attraction on Lotus Mountain is the giant, golden female Buddha. It was really SO cool. Like I said before, we were the only foreigners around. The rest of the people were there to worship and it was so interesting to watch them pray, young and old. The air was full of incense and there was loud but peaceful music playing (think yoga class) which created a magical atmosphere. The whole area where the Buddha stands is huge and it sits on top of giant stairs to the bottom of the mountain. Off to the side is a giant building which houses another fairly large Buddha statue (a very early example in a form I would usually identify as Indian rather than of the Far East). It was a serene, surreal, beautiful experience and I am SOOOOO glad we did it!









Catherine had a nap in the van on the way back (I love it when she gets all snuggly on me!) so before dinner we decided to check out the playroom here at the hotel. She was a little shy and nervous about it at first but then she got into the groove of things. It was funny to see her next to the toys because you can really see how hugely tall she is. She was playing with age appropriate toys but she had to stoop down to play. Nobody believes us when we say she is only 2! She was having fun pushing the buttons on the little tables but nothing compared to having Daddy pull us up over the big red ball. She was all giggles!





Catherine was still testing us but she has been listening and responding to our "no's" alot better than yesterday. We are able to read her so much better than we could a few days ago so that is easing alot of her communication frustration and helping her relax. She was really very playful today and she was very smiley. She loves to explore things with her eyes and hands and she had a great time looking around and touching things on Lotus Mountain. She had a very contented look on her face the whole time... she was just soaking it all in. I cannot wait until she starts talking so we can hear about all the things going on in that pretty head of hers.

We will be headed back to the medical clinic tomorrow for chest x-rays (just a formality since her TB test came back positive... we know that it is a false positive since she just had a negative TB test in Shanghai a few weeks ago) and then we are off to sitesee, shop, and a dinner cruise tomorrow. I better rest up.

(more pictures on our photo album)

Today Totally Sucked and I Am Cranky :(

I hate Guangzhou. There, I said it... I just cannot stand it here. I get on the plane in province kicking and screaming. There is nothing China about this place... it is all so fake. The only thing I really enjoy about is is the lovely architecture and the peacefulness. Well, ALL of the buildings are covered in scaffolding and green netting and the place is full of construction noise and they are trying to spruce the place up for the Asian Games next year. No beauty or peacefulness for me. Furthermore, the White Swan is a total zoo and there are like a zillion people here because they are hosting some kind of car show. There are booths and crowded hallways everywhere and you cannot get an elevator to save your life. I heard that the show is over tomorrow... I hope so! I told you I was cranky...

This morning was the dreaded medical exam. We were late getting over there so we were really far back in line (this ended up being a nearly 3 hour mistake!). It was hot, stinky, and miserable. Catherine totally freaked out during her examination... not pleasant. I thought she was all caught up on her vaccinations but I was informed that she needed 4... I went through the roof. Because of some stupid US law (that they are going to fix but not in time for us) the adopted children must be fully vaccinated before their visa's are issued... FULLY. They even have to get a flu shot. No one else in America has mandatory vaccinations... just adopted children. I am NOT okay with this policy... it is heartbreaking that our rights as parents have been stripped by our own government. This is not China's policy, this is ours. Catherine got off easy because she only had 4 shots. The 2 year old we are here with had 7. Yes... SEVEN vaccinations in one day for a 2 year old or she cannot go home to America, unreal! Again, I am cranky! Catherine did pretty well during her shots (I don't know who cried harder... baby or mommy????). She also had a mandatory TB test. This is currently red and huge... GREAT! We know that she does not have TB because she just had a negative test about a month ago. This is false positive but it doesn't matter... we will be headed to get mandatory x-rays in the next few days. Yeah!

The line in front of us at the clinic


Not happy about this at all


Mommy and baby cry together... so sad


She recovered quickly... Mommy still working on it


To make matters even FUNNER, Catherine has started to test our authority big time. On one hand it is great that she is so comfortable with us. On the other hand... UGH! She was one naughty little rascal this afternoon and she knew it too! She was really testing her boundaries and our resolve to stop her from doing things she shouldn't be doing. We had to stand our ground and not let her win which of course enraged her more. I have not encountered enraged 2 year old girl in a couple of years but it is all coming back to me now :) By the end of a long day of fighting (and after a long snuggle nap- that was the bright spot of my day!) she finally started responding to our no's. Is the war over... FAR FROM IT! Did we win a small battle... YOU BETCHA!

I HAD to post this... kinda sums up our day!


I could not end today's depressing post without mentioning that after her nap Catherine was pure joy. We had the best dinner that we have had with her (ate like a champion!) and then she put some serious miles on her pink sparkly tennies. She was all over the place and exploring everything. For the first time ever she actually fought us when we tried to pick her up... she wanted walk by herself. There was music playing outside by the river and she was dancing up a storm (forgot the video camera... will bring it next time). She met some other kids and followed them around for a while. She had an absolute ball and it was so funny watching her be a "big kid"! It was a perfect end to an otherwise awful day. I don't have any pictures though... we were too busy playing to stop and snap!

(more pictures on our photo album)

Last Day in Nanjing

Today we had to say goodbye to Nanjing. We have really grown to love this city and it was very hard to say goodbye. It was a cold, rainy, foggy day but we could not stay inside (little Missy cannot take being inside for long... she will grab your hand and pull you towards the door with a heartbreaking, pitiful look that you just cannot say no to!) so we ventured out anyway. We were on our way to the old gate of the city when we were distracted by an old neighborhood that was just so cool. It reminded me of the Nanjing equivalent to a Beijing Hutong (if you have been to Beijing you will know what I am talking about) and as this was off the beaten path and definitely away from tourists we were looked at like we had grown second heads! The wind was blowing rain into our faces and Catherine was making all of these strange sounds. We thought at first that she was upset about it so we were trying to cover her up. Suddenly a huge burst of wind blew into her face and she laughed and laughed :) She LOVED it! It was hilarious!





We headed back to the hotel, packed up all of our many pounds of STUFF, and our guide picked us up at 2:00. Our flight was not until 7:00 so we did a little touring at the Nanjing Brocade Institute. If you are going to Nanjing I HIGHLY recommend going to see this. It is like the university of weaving in the ancient way and it is absolutely incredible. The training that you have to go through to do this is unreal and the way they do it is like a dance... synchronized and choreographed. It takes 2 people to work each loom (they are HUGE) with one person holding the big long lines at the top and one person doing the individual knots at the bottom. They do not talk to eachother at all... they both know exactly what they need to do and they work in perfect harmony. If they are really good the can do 5cm in a day... yes FIVE! It can take 10-13 years to make one garment... CRAZY! We really enjoyed watching this, especially since it is the only place in the world where you can see this kind of intricate weaving (it is a World Heritage Site).

The weaver making his knots from memory (he actually does this on the back of the fabric)


The underside as he is weaving(which is actually the top of the fabric)


A whole room of working looms (you can kind of make out the 2nd weaver on top of the loom)


The ride to the airport was long (why so far out of the city???) but the airport is "nice" by Chinese standards and our flight was uneventful (none of this like last time thank goodness!). Catherine got really excited on takeoff and she watched out the window saying, "Oh!". I was afraid her ears might bother her but she did okay. She held it together pretty well for most of the flight (2 year old on cramped plane is HARD!) and just like ALL of our children have she fell asleep about 5 minutes before landing :(

Catherine's first flight


This is what traveling can do to a 2 year old...


We are all settled in at the White Swan now and we are looking forward to a good night's sleep.

(you can see more pictures from today at www.bringingcatherinehome.shutterfly.com)