Beijing to Xi'an - February 18th Thursday

We left very eary to catch our flight from Beijing to Xi'an - we left at 6:30 for a 8:30 flight and arrived in Xi'an around 10:30ish.   We were met by our guide Penny.  It was a glorious day - sunny and much warmer than Beijing.   We headed to our hotel which is considered to be a five-star Sofitel.  The lobby was gorgeous - see later photos with rose flower arrangements.   However, the room bookings appeared to be a disaster.   We must have spent close to 1 1/2 hours trying to sort out the mess of our rooms for the two families.  David and I were put in one room but it had no crib and no bed for Indigo but a crib was brought in and we thought we would either put Indigo in one of the beds with us (they had two wide single beds) and get a crib for Isaac or have Indigo sleep on this chaise piece in the room.  However, we were then moved to another room which had the right beds, and they moved a crib in but it was so smoky.   Granddad and Grandma had a right room set up but the other family did not and so then Granddad and Grandma had to move - we needed to leave to start our touring so everyone just left bags in whatever room they had and we left but now this made us much later than we should had been.   Anyway, we went to the City Wall which is fantastic - apparently you can go 9 miles with it all intact.   We were supposed to bike ride on there (not sure what the plan would have been for Grandma and the kiddos) but we did not do that.   It was glorious up there and the wall was so decorated for new years - it was just stunning.   We walked a while but all along were different scenes reflecting different countries scenery - we just mostly saw the Chinese decorations.   After that we went to an "art gallery" showing local artwork and the history of painting in China - we saw beautiful farmer/peasant paintings that are lovely and bright, also puppets made out of cow hide that are so intricate and then the start of water color painting.    Then there was a demonstration of the calligraphy strokes - there are just eight that make up all the characters.   Folks got to practice doing calligraphy.  However, as this was a government "exhibit" of course it ended with paintings that you could purchase.  David really liked one and so he bought that with birthday money from his mom.   We went back to the hotel where we were supposed to be ready in about 30 minutes to go to the dinner show but we were still dealing with room issues - it was really a big pain.   Also, I had put our stuff in the safe and then could not open it so I was panicked about that and did not want to leave for the show without dealing with that.  After enough calls to the front desk someone came and helped.  I should have insisted at that point that we move rooms because of the smoke in our room but exhaustion prevented that.   Granddad felt so poorly that he stayed back and we went to the Tang Dynasty Dinner show which was super and we had a wonderful time.   The kids were really good considering how tired they were and the show - Isaac really seemed entranced.  The show was very much music and dance so translation not an issue.  The food was good too.    When we came back there was some more hotel issues - particularly with the other family basically sitting on the floor with sleeping kids waiting for a hotel room - just not satisfactory.   I was just dying from the smoke and it was not a great night especially since I was getting the sore throat etc. that many had been suffering from.    Also, we could see that Xi'an is just incredible and knew that we wanted more time there.   Okay - so this is all I can manage for updates before the states - hopefully these last four posts are enough to keep you reading and looking at photos until I can wrap up the Isaac China tour.  We are checking out of the hotel, the driver and guide are waiting downstairs and we're on our way to Shanghai airport, to Chicago, where Isaac will become a US citizen and onward home to Dulles - should arrive 9 pm Monday February 22 - we cross the date line so we arrive the same day we leave.  
Oh, one last thing - at the beginning you will see a lot of photos of Indigo with Drew - she was in love with him this day and he was so sweet with her.   Everything was "Drew, Drew, come with me Drew, sit with me Drew" so he sat at our table with us at lunch - so very cute.    Photos from Thursday the 18th here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623358838325/

Beijing - Final day - village tour Wednesday February 18th

We were really looking forward to our village tour which had been planned as a village tour, lunch with a local family where we would make dumplings and perhaps see some local dancing - Ha!   On the way there, which was a significant drive from Beijing, Doyle told us that we were going to this village because it was a prosperous village - started to not sound like quite the "quaintness" that we were seeking.   As it turns out we felt we were in the middle of one big propaganda movement.   The "village" was actually more a model town - very nice, where there were multiple homes all in the exact same style, some very large and then sort of in rows and grids, differing models in different styles, probably according to people's status in the village.   We pulled up at a huge house - see photo (which is actually the house next door but looks the same) and entered the court yard where there was a poor dog in a cage barking its head off.    The family greeted us very warmly and we all squeezed around a small table in a room to have lunch (given the size of the house the dining room seemed small).   We were served course after course.   The very last photo of the food is what was left at the end of the meal and this was after we had our guide and driver take two of the dishes that none of us were eating.    Most everything was delicious and felt like real country food.    We left there and went to a museum of hte village - basically a whole place dedicated to how this village had become so wealthy, models of the village before and after etc.   It was quite interesting after we got over our disappointment from what we had expected.    Basically people in the village had become involved in construction, I guess at the start of the building boom in China and they have built just hundreds of huge sky rises, there was one whole case of model buildings they have done that have won prizes.  Additionally, they are involved in some water transport effort to get water to drier areas.     You will see photos of people in front of their old homes and then their new homes - it's quite impressive.    The best thing about the whole place was that it was an enclosed place where the kids all just ran and ran and played.   The lady giving the tour probably thought we were horribly disrepectful letting the kids run wild but we were happy to let them run about where it was relatively safe.    After that we went to the greenhouses - there are about 50 of them but we toured the "one for the public".  I think we would all love such a green house - the variety of things growing and the layout of the greenhouse was just stunning.    It was also lovely and warm - the other building had been really cold.   We drove back to Beijing for our last night.   I think several people napped on the return.   Adam, Drew and Ben went to a Kung Fu show and David, Laura Beth and I took the kids to the playground at the hotel.    We had a great time although it was very cold.  It was wonderful to see the kids playing together and Indigo, Maya Mei and Eliana loved piling up on the curly slide.   We also met a Chinese man with his 18 month old son (Laura Beth had met the mother before).    He and his wife adopted their son domestically so that was very interesting as we have not met (or at least talked to) any Chinese people who have adopted.   Apparently in China, the couple has to be over 40 and cannot have any children.  He told us they waited two years for their son who is a gorgeous healthy boy from Jiangxi - Indigo's province.    That evening we ate stuff we had in the apartment and got all our packing done as we had a 6:30 a.m. departure on Thursday.   See photos from Wednesday:   http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623482856116/

Whoo Hoo - it's a second post in the same day - catching up. Beijing February 16th

Everyone is going to have a LOT of photos to look at.   I am catching up on posting so check below if you did not see the February 15th post yet.   I have no idea how terrible we'll feel when we get home so I am in a marathon to try and get caught up before the return flight home - and back to real life of laundry etc.   Tuesday the 16th was another insanely hectic day (Amy, I'll await the smart aleck comments from the peanut gallery poking fun at our schedule... :-P - at least you are a most loyal commenter and non-stalker. 
At breakfast in the morning Adam had a difficult time with Maya Mei and after returning to the room, before setting out, he and Laura Beth made the decision to stay at the apartment with Maya Mei.   So, we set off with our family group and with Lisa, Laura Beth's sister, her mom Bonnie, Ben their son and Drew, Lisa's son and little Eliana.   Our first stop was a park - I do forget the name or actually don't know if I ever knew it.  Anyway, they were holding something called a Miao Hui at the park (pronounced something like Meow Way).   I don't think any of us have ever been in such a throng of people in all our lives.   It was pretty much impossible to all stay together so Granddad, Grandma, David, me and the kids went our way - we had the stroller too which we pretty much used like a tank and as a safe place so the children would not be crushed.  You did not walk so much as move in a wave.   Hopefully the photos will do it justice.  Shelli - you're probably done by now with CNY presentations but this one about tops it - you said you were using some of the photos.  We got to one stall where we bought a few little decorations and after that made no attempt at any more shopping - it was so exciting and such a fervor.  We made our way to a courtyard area where there was entertainment at different corners and people playing fair type games to win stuffed animals etc.   There were also people who are buddhists paying homage to ancestors, lighting incense and bowing etc.   To top it off, there was a Michael Jackson impersonator.   We met up at the designated spot and walked away from the park - you can see photos of street scene stuff such as food vendors selling their food from the back of bike carts and all the bicycles lined up.   The temple photos you see are of temple in the Tibet style.  We walked quite a while - our guide was trying to find a place for lunch.  We actually ended up in one of the Hutongs and around a Confucious temple area.   You can tell some of the wealthy Hutong homes by the lavish door posts, and one even had a double garage.   After no success of a lunch place we rejoined our bus and driver and Doyle would pop off at places to see if he could find a place to eat - despite the fact that we were seeing places to eat everywhere, but probably not that could handle our large crowd. 

Doyle found a place in what appeared to be a hotel and after lunch we walked again and found a Hutong tour (in a different Hutong from where we had been before).   Indigo loved the Hutong tour - the part where we were in the rickshaw.   We also stopped at a Hutong home and saw the traditional set-up - walk through the doorway into a courtyard and then into the house.  The house we saw was owned by the Wu family and we had a delightful visit.  Mrs. Wu spoke to us - she and her husband are retired.  She had worked at a rubber factory and he was an archeologist for the government.  Their two sons with their wives shared the home with them although she said they each had their own kitchens - thank goodness, when you see the size of one kitchen.    
After the Hutong we were already tired but we went on to Beihai Park which was an Imperial Park close to the Forbidden City so you see some photos passing the walls and gates of the Forbidden City and the moats.   We were not at Beihai Park long - too tired, and it was getting cold as the wind had kicked up and sun was going down.    Really, it's a place to return to because you can tell it would be lovely especially in spring/summer when the weeping willows are in leaf.   The park is known for the large white pagoda - which looks like a liquor bottle.  We also saw a white budda carved out of a single piece of flawless white jade and a huge jade vessel that apparently used to be filled with liquor that the generals drank from.    We did not cross the bridge to go further into the park - just exhausted.   Came back to the hotel for one hour - both Isaac and Indigo went to sleep.  Granddad was feeling exhausted and starting to get sick (sore throat) and he said he would stay at the apartment.    We decided there was absolutely no point in getting the children up and so we left them with Granddad and went out with the group to dinner before going to the Laoshe Tea House.   We were happy that LB, Adam and Maya Mei joined us although poor Bonnie was also sick and did not come out.   A day at the apartment together had really been good for Maya Mei and seems to have been a turning point.   Dinner was good although we were not that hungry - my favorite was a lamb - I think there are some dinner photos.    The tea house was all the way back near the City Gate to the Forbidden City and everything was beautifully lit up at night.   The tea house was lovely but so hot that we all were roasting the whole time - most unpleasant.  Also, we were packed in there like sardines - David and I were together at a tiny square table that had two other couples!   The best part of the whole evening was seeing Maya Mei laughing so much at the two man act.  We could not understand a word of it - most of the show had no interpretation which gave us a good inkling of what this poor 8 year old was experiencing all the time - everything being said that you don't understand.   However, the two man act had her laughing so much and we loved to see that.   There several tea demonstrations throughout the show which represented tea for winter, spring, summer and fall.  We had jasmine tea served to us and some little tasty goodies.   The last three acts were super as they required no translation - a magical act, a great acrobatic act and the Sichuan  Changing faces performance which is just incredible.   We enjoyed ourselves but were so glad that we did not have the kids - thanks to Granddad who watched them.  Isaac was so tired that he never woke up the whole time until the next morning - slept in his clothes.  Indigo woke up and was crying but Granddad got her and read her the note we had left her saying that she had been sleeping and Granddad was going to watch her and would give her food and treats and so she was happy as a clam when we returned home.   What a pace...
Photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623354999655/

February 15th - Beijing Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Duck Dinner and David's 40th!

So many days behind on the blog now.   We are in Shanghai and leave for the states tomorrow.   This is the first time I have been on the internet since Beijing, not for lack of access, but lack of time (and expense of internet at our final hotel here in Shanghai).   We resume with February 15th - a most auspicious day!   David turned 40!  We had another active day and were driven to Tiananmen Square.  On the way there Indigo taught Maya Mei how to play rock, paper, scizzors which is one of Indigo's favorites right now.    We did the fair walk through the square to the entrance of the Forbidden City.  There were some delays going in as we needed restroom breaks and the restrooms were packed full - Laura Beth said there was so much pushing and shoving she could not believe it.   We made our way through the each of the courtyards of the Forbidden City - we were blessed with a glorious day.  I had Isaac in the stroller so a lot of the time I took the stroller route so was separated from my dad, Grandma, David and Indigo.  Poor David carried Indigo through much of the Forbidden City which is no easy feat.   Indigo seems to require a lot more carrying lately, hmmm.   I was walking with Laura Beth, Adam, Maya Mei and Eliana a lot of the time as they also had the stroller.  In a way it was nice as we saw some side corridor areas that apparently were for retired emporers - it would be wonderful to have a whole day without kids to explore more.   Apparently a lot of those areas now exhibit art and jade and other items.   Granddad rejoined us as we came close to our meeting point but we had no idea how far along David, Grandma and Indigo were.   Maya Mei, who had been really super, and was by now probably very tired from all the walking, got quite upset, which drew a Chinese crowd and so in order to reduce the level of attention, our guide took Laura Beth, Adam and their family back to the bus while we waited for our family.   One can only imagine how if we, as westerners were in a huge crowd and saw a Chinese or other ethnic family taking a caucasian child who was screaming, might think there was an abduction or something taking place so it's not unreasonable that a huge gathering of Chinese people happens when a caucasian family is trying to deal with an eight year old screaming child who cannot communicate with them in the same language, but it is still not pleasant and obviously hard for our friends who are dealing with this situation.  We cannot convey how wonderful of a job they are doing and we have seen the change in Maya Mei just over the few days we have been together with them in Beijing.   We were all very exhausted after the long trek and so proud of Grandma who made it all that way - we practically fell onto the bus.   We had a short rest, perhaps an hour at the hotel, I can't remember now and then met Doyle to go to Duck Dinner.    Fortunately, the place we were going was just a short walk from the hotel and so we walked over.  We had a wonderful private room and a superb dinner.  Our only complaint was that too much great food was served before the two platters of duck and so we were quite full already (a frequent occurrence on this trip) and not able to indulge in as much of the delicious duck, sauce, spring onions and pancakes as we might have liked.    Also, David and I are of the opinion that the duck place we go to near our house (renowned for its duck) is exceptionally good and definitely ranks up there with this duck place, which was better than any other duck we have had in China, this trip or our last.   Laura Beth gave the children red envelopes for Chinese New Year (LB - Indigo has since bought a Hai Baio - the Shanghai expo mascot with her money - it's the only thing she has wanted and is sleeping with it now as I type).   Of course, February 15th was David's 40th birthday and I was able to arrange for a cake which our guide brought to the restaurant and which was served there.  David was very happy as it was a chocolate cake (perhaps not traditional American chocolate cake) but no cake with fruit for him so he was ecstatic and of course it was a very memorable birthday to be in China with our two children, grandparents and friends.   Photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623354369493/

Beijing, Sunday February 14th - Temple of Heaven, Noodles, Summer Palace and Acrobat show

So far behind on posting - the schedule in Beijing has been crazy and we have had little down time and we are just exhausted by the time we go to bed.   Thanks for all the birthday wishes to David in the comments - also appreciated the laughs about the dentures which we had forgotten to mention - fortunately, David is not quite yet ready for dentures :-)  We saw those just sitting like that on the wall and it just cracked us up - obviously left by someone although hopefully they took their photos while the dentures were still being worn!   Do keep the comments coming - as you can see it's a struggle to keep up with the blog and knowing people are following along, is a motivating factor.   On Sunday we bundled up and went to the Temple of Heaven - it was very cold, although clear, but bitterly cold wind.   On the way we passed this burned out building you see in the first photos - this was the result from fireworks from last year's new year!  There was quite a crowd at the Temple of Heaven as there was a ceremony of some sorts to represent the wish for a good harvest that would have been held during the time of the emporer.   We watched a while and then watched some people playing hacky sack - they are very skilled at it.   We were so excited to go for a hot lunch.   Lunch was in a huge mall that had a lot of restaurants.   We had a delicious lunch with some sort of fried sweet tarot root that you dipped in garlic sauce, a delicious green bean dish and some other good dishes.   The main things was the huge bowl of noodles that we mixed with a bean and pork sauce and ate - they were super long.  It's traditional to eat long uncut noodles on new year so that you have a long life and don't "cut" it short.   After lunch we hit the Starbucks - just like home.   We got back on the bus and headed to the Summer Palace.  The sun had come out and although cold, it was more pleasant.   We had a good time at the summer palace although the vendors there were extremely aggressive.  It was crazy to see Kunming lake frozen after we had been on the boat ride on it when here in July 2007.  This time people were out walking on it - including Ben, Drew and Adam from our crowd.   Everyone was impressed by the long corridor with all its beautiful paintings - the summer palace was built to be a cool residence for the emporer during the summer months.   We had the Acrobat show that night and it was already really late in the day.  We were supposed to have duck dinner this night but we asked if it could be switched as we would have basically gone straight from the summer palace to dinner, to the acrobat show.   Doyle, our wonderful and amazing guide said okay and so we got a very short break, perhaps an hour or so at the hotel before leaving again for the acrobat show.  We just noshed on some of the food we had bought from our grocery store expedition.   The kids got to have a sleep which was terrific.   We headed out to the Acrobat show and all had the most fantastic time.   We had worried that Isaac would not sit or would screech but he was transfixed, apart from occasionally trying to wack the head of the guy in front of us - who was a very nice Israeli who was on vacation without his kids so he said it made him feel good to see the kids.   Indigo was transfixed by the whole show - we all loved it - and the Magnum chocolate ice cream sticks we got to eat while watching the show.  The show had also been changed from when we were here in 2007 so that  was nice.  It was really a lovely night and both families had a great time.   We had not realized that the fireworks would be a nightly event in Beijing during new year but indeed, even now, I am listening to the exploding sounds of crackers and fireworks going off - it's been every night into the wee hours of the morning - we have had some spectacular firework shows although the noise can become a little tiresome when trying to sleep - although not for Granddad!  Isaac has started to say what sounds like "boom, boom" when he hears them - it's so funny, even coming back from the acrobat show, we basically had the drive the bus around people setting of fireworks in the street - there is nothing like it.  Photos from the 14th here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623453532232/

Beijing - Saturday February 13th The Great Wall of China and Chinese New Year Eve - FIREWORKS

 It was rough getting up and getting going after so little sleep - we felt bad waking the children.   However, we all rallied, dressed, had breakfast and were on the  bus by 9:30 a.m.   Met up with Laura Beth and her family which now also included her sister Lisa and son Drew - so we were a party of 14.   They had arrived in Beijing earlier than us so we did not see them untll morning and it's so fun to be traveling together.  Destination the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China.   The Great Wall of China stretches 5000 km from east to west in northern China (that is about 3000 miles).  It goes across desert, grasslands and mountains.  It was started in the seventh century BC and took two millennia to complete.  The wall that we see today was mostly completed during hte Ming Dynasty.  It's really very cold in Beijing but we were blessed with the most glorious day -  blue sky and sunshine so the cold was okay.   Also, it meant that the views and ability to see the extent of the wall were spectacular!  David and I were in Beijing and at the Great Wall in 2007 and it was a rainy day and almost zero visibility and this was so amazing.   We were at the section that has the cable car so you walk a good bit up, all the while being pushed to buy souveniers - kept saying we would come back on the way down.   These ladies would tell you their name and "store" number and write it on a card to give to you and then would want your name so they would say "Melanie, I will wait for you, you will come back to my store"  We climbed up to where you take the cable car - Grandma did a superb job.   We took the cable car up and the views of the wall from there were just to incredible for words and again we could not get over the amazing visibility.  [insert facts on great wall - when built, length etc]  We had a great time.  Indigo was very clingy and fussy - obviously suffering from far too little sleep.   Isaac slept a bit on the 1 1/2 hour ride there so he was more perky.  Our guide Doyle is superb!  He seems to really like children and was wonderful helping with them and with Grandma on some of the steep steps up to the wall itself - some are 2 feet high steps.  Indigo's mood got a little better - perhaps with the bribery of a pop and we all had a great time up there.  Of course, Granddad went as far as you're able to walk - we just sort of went to each closest tower - not far apart and no stairs involved.   He said that just that visit to the Great Wall made the whole trip to China worth it.   It was late when we left and the restaurant where we might have had lunch was closed for the start of New Year.    We said we would work something out and came back to the hotel where the kids crashed and slept for a long time.   During this time, Laura Beth and I walked to the grocery store as we needed to feed ourselves  because everything was closing for New Year's eve when it's tradition for families to dine together.   Granddad ended up being at the grocery store which was awesome because we needed help carrying back bags.  The grocery store is 4 floors and we did the lower two - rushing around getting provisions because we knew it was going to close.   Laura Beth's Ben loves Mexican so she decided to do tacos (from a more westernized grocery store she was able to order on-line and have delivered, tortilla chips, salsa, queso dip, ground beef, taco seasoning etc.  She bought rice as Lisa had brought some packets of black beans from home and then we got about 4 boxes of KFC chicken to have with meal to ensure enough for all.   A New Year Feast!  All afternoon we had been hearing little cracks and explosings of firecrackers but by now it was really starting to pick up - it must have been around 6 p.m.  From our 17th floor we were just having a beautiful fireworks display so some of the LB's family came over and the kids played and watched the show - it's incredible to see fireworks exploding right outside your window.   Then we moved to their apartment and had our feast.  Everything came together so well and we had such a great time.   We came back around 9ish to get the kids to bed.   Trying to explain the noise and the fireworks is just beyond description but I will do my best.  None of us have ever experienced anything like it.  It seems that all 14 odd million people in Beijing over the new year must all light their own personal arsenol of fireworks - we're not talking about planned fireworks in a park - we're talking, every person just lighting big rockets - the bursting type like we see at the national mall on fourth of July, from the middle of every street, in front of every apartment etc.   It's incredible.   The fireworks did not stop and just seemed to gain in their intensity.  Looking out our bedroom, the living room, Grandma's bedroom, as far as you could see and right in front of us - anywhere you looked their were fireworks exploding.  The kids fell asleep - no idea how.   Granddad, with the curtains open and the non-stop boom and explosions and the room lighting up, fell asleep.   Grandma was transfixed and could not tear herself away from the window watching.   Finally, she fell asleep on her bed.  Around 12:40, they seemed to get even louder, as if yet another grand finale was beginning.  Around 1 am they mostly stopped - we think that might be a city ordinance.   Grandma thought that the constant barrage of explosions and pops and booms must have sounded like the London blitz or war, but this was so happy and joyful.   I can't find the words to describe what we were experiencing -  who knew you could make so many fireworks.   At 12:30 I was trying to video out the windows just to get some of the sound and explosions because nobody would believe it unless you were here in Beijing on New Year's Eve.   I will never feel the same way ever again about our July 4th fireworks - they are just going to seem so very puny.   Finally managed to sleep although there was still the occasional pop.   Feeling very sleep deprived after the past two nights.    We don't have the camera or ability to get good fire work shots but took a few token ones for the memory.  The ones looking down on the street below were outside the front of a restaurant where first we had seen all the cooks with sparklers and then these guys kept scurrying back and forth lighting fire crackers and then running off - they had Grandma and I cracking up.   Photos from Day 1 in Beijing here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623439739496/

Friday February 12th - Guangzhou to Beijing

Finally, back to getting a post done.  We have been on the go and have had no computer time.   The first two photos are from Fridya night - Isaac was in his pjs playing with David's belt while David read to Indigo.   On Friday morning our group was going to the Chen Family Temple.  David and I had been there before in 2007 and it's an incredible place, not to be missed.  However, since we had been before, we thought a park might be more fun for the children.  Grandma and Granddad went with the group to the Chen Family Temple - really a learning and art center - very beautiful.  They had a wonderful time with Grandma's big complaint being that I had not told her not to take her wallet - yes, I was blamed for this round of shopping.  David, the kids and I took a taxi to the park - Yuexiu Park.   Entry for the day was free - we assume because of new year starting.    We had a great time and it was so beautiful with all the red lanterns hanging from the trees.   We also bought 4 bags of koi food and had great fun feeding the wide open gaping mouths of the fish.   We had a downpour while there but managed to find shelter.   We then let the kids have a ride on the carousel and also they went together on the other ride where they were on the train.   We left there and went back to the one shopping plaza we had been to.  It was a crazy frenzy of people shopping although one whole wing of the "department" store was locked up - to David's relief it was the one with all the pearls.   We caught a taxi back to the hotel (lest you think we suddenly became proficient in Chinese, our hotel concierge had a written card to give the taxi driver to show where we wanted to go first and then second and then the hotel address in Chinese for our return.    We only got back around 2ish and had to have the luggage ready for the porters by 4:30 so we were able to get the kids to sleep in our room - Indigo on our bed and Isaac in his crib while we dragged all our luggage and baggage into the living room and packed there.   Grandma popped round to see which of her items we could take in our baggage...  We and two other families were going to the airport - them to return home and us to head to Beijing.   Things went pretty smoothly and we boarded the plane for our 8ish flight.   We thought for sure that Isaac would crash but oh no - he was awake the entire flight and some of it was bit rough.   He was not keen on being restrained by the seat belt - oooh, 14 plus hours is going to be so fun.   Indigo was mostly quite good for the flight.  We arrived past 11 and after getting our luggage, met our guide Doyle who took us with the bus (necessary for our luggage) to our hotel.   It's very nice - we are in a two bedroom/two bathroom apartment.   Unfortunately, both bedrooms have double beds so grandma is in one room, David, the kids and me are in another and granddad is on a rollaway in the living room but that is very spacious and means that we can all be in living room while children go to sleep in our room or nap there (not that we have been here a whole lot).   There was no crib so we had to wait for that to be delivered.  When it was carried in it was definitely some IKEA special and must be on some recall list somewhere because the side spindles were all falling out!  It was almost 2 by the time we got to bed.  Since Isaac had not slept he was near comatose state and fell apart when we changed him but he fell asleep really fast.   Safe arrival in Beijing!  More later about our great day on Saturday.   Photos for Friday here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623432559438/

Guangzhou - Thursday, February 11th - botanical gardens and consulate appointment!

We have had a really super day despite a rough night (not enough sleep).   Isaac slept like a log the whole night but Indigo was up just before 4 a.m. with bad coughing.   We gave her a little benedryl - really all that I have at my disposal since she did not need tylenol or advil but she did not stop coughing so I took my huge pillow and plopped it under the upper part of her mattress and that seemed to really help as she stopped coughing.  However, I really struggle with sleep so after all that I had a rough time going to sleep - I let my mind run.  However, I must have fallen back asleep eventually because I was awoken by the alarm at 7.  We all dressed and went to breakfast and then at 9:30 am we left for the Botanical gardens - beautiful, stunning etc.  Some of the cutest photos of Indigo being a big sister and wanting to hold Isaac's hand and him letting her.  I love the close up one of them from behind, hand in hand.  We only had about 1 1/2 hours there which was not enough.   We raced up the pathway to the top of the hill and were first at the start of the rock garden but then we went right, met up with David, Grandma and Isaac who had made it up the hill - go Grandma (it was one steep hill and we went up fast) and we went into the beautiful greenhouse which was filled with orchids and then also had some cacti.   It was so beautiful.  It was also the sunniest and hottest day here so far - about 30 degrees celcius.  We went back to the rock garden but bought some waters first and Granddad bought lollipops for the kids.   We worked our way through the rock garden and then to the rose garden - gorgeous and then back down the hill towards the entrance, passing some beautiful sculpted trees.   Granddad took a diversion and power walked up a higher pathway  - you can see him waving part way up the path in one of the photos.  The kids sat on some tiger figures which I guess are up for Chinese New year - the year of the tiger.    Back to the bottom and meeting up with our group and onto the bus back to the hotel - on the way back I took some shots of buildings with the laundry hanging out.  This barely catches the flavor but we see this over and over, passing building after building.  It's hard to capture shots from the bus and you're never sure what side or when something is coming up but this is very typical scenery.  Guangzhou is incredibly built up and more buildings seem to be going  up everywhere.     The good thing about getting back early was that Isaac fell asleep immediately for a nap and Indigo fell asleep shortly after him - yeah.   We got them both up by two o'clock and gave them something to eat - these little hot dog things wrapped in a bun that David had found at a pastry shop (along with some desserts - no surprise to those who know him well).  David took some photos from out our hotel window so those are the tall buildings you see - it is definitely the clearest day we have had.  We were down at the lobby before 2:30 for our trip to the US Consulate for our swearing in ceremony.   There were 16 families, with 17 children being adopted.  One family was adopting two girls, one of whom would have aged out when she turned 14 on February 18th so it was really special that she got her forever family just in time.  I think there were three families who were first time parents and almost every single family raised their hand when asked who was here for a second (or more) adoption.   They also said that the for the first time last year, adoption of "special needs, waiting children" exceeded those of non-special needs.    We were there for a really long time because they said that as a new year gift to us they would get the visas (allowing the children into the states) today instead of having to wait tomorrow.   So, we all started to leave and then they said we would just wait as they were doing them right them.  So, we left the consulate with our brown packet envelopes and our children's passports with their visas.   Yippee!   Means we could have taken the earlier flight to Beijing tomorrow but Granddad said he'll appreciate another warm day.   After a 10 minute clean up we all headed out to the Banana Leaf restaurant in the Toshiba building across the way.   It's Thai food and we had a delicious meal and ate too much (except for Indigo).  Indigo was far more interested in dancing with the waiter singing Day Oh, Day Oh, Daylight come and I wanna go home...)  She actually got down from her chair, held his hands and danced, until all of a sudden she said "I have to go pee pee" so off we ran.  You never have video and camera when you need them - we'll just remember that.   We came back and the children had another bath.   Yes, by the way, when you see Isaac's filthy shirt in the close ups and in the cute ones from the garden - that shirt was put on clean this morning and he ate breakfast in his coverall bib!   You can see that bathtime was again a fun affair.   So, I mentioned that our weather here was hot and sunny and back home we're having blizzards and record amounts of snow and apparently our road is impassable etc.   Our good neighbors sent us a few shots of the front of our house, the side view of our house and one from their house (with their cute dog Fred) looking down to the road - where you can see someone cross country skiing!   We appreciate our neighbors watching out for our house and for helping us to organize some plowing!  We'll be back to cold ourselves tomorrow night!
Photos from today:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623407666530/

Guangzhou Wednesday February 10th

Wednesday was a nice relaxing and quiet day.   We were told that from 10 a.m. at least one parent needed to be available in the room to ensure that all US consulate paperwork was in good order.   We had a great night and we let the children sleep until htey woke up which was nice.   We bathed them in the morning and Isaac loved the bath - did not get photos but we had a not a single tear and he seemed reluctant to come out.  He really enjoyed it.   After breakfast, because it was a nice day, Grandma, David, Isaac, Indigo and me all took a walk around the hotel garden which is very pretty so you see the photos out there.  We went back to the room and basically the children just played.   We put Isaac down for a nap and he crashed for two hours but Indigo, although she laid down for a long time, was unable to sleep - at least she rested.   While the kids were down, I stayed in the room and David, Granddad and Grandma just went out walking to see the shops etc.   They walked poor Grandma off her feet.   She bought a small digital camera as she has been fussing at me for not taking every photo that she thinks I ought to take so now she can snap away.   When David came back he and I took the kids out to the "playground" on the fourth floor - but outside.  It's one tiny slide set but the kids had fun and Indigo climbed the climbing thing on the side - be still my heart...  We found the squash courts and so we set them free to run in that enclosed space which was fun and then back to the room.   I was able to talk to Laura Beth on the phone for a bit which was a treat - you forget how nice it is to just be able to talk on the phone with a friend in English.   Laura Beth and family decided that they would join us for our Pearl River cruise so our guide Rebecca made arrrangements with them to do that.   you can see some cute photos of Indigo playing in her dad's shoes and in her ladybug t-shirt - thanks Shelli, she loves it and I am so glad I popped it in because we have had a major shortage of short sleeves here in Guangzhou and they have been pretty impossible to find for children.   You can also see some cute photos of Indigo and Isaac sharing a snack of cheetos (more spicy here) and some Lays potato chips.  Our group met at 5:30 and our bus took us to the boat.   We had a very enjoyable evening cruising down the Pearl River.   Everything is lit up beautifully, even though it is probably an environmental nightmare.  We passed the White Swan where we stayed before.   There was a small magic show which Indigo enjoyed and she wanted to get right up front to see it.    It was wonderful to see Laura Beth, Adam and their family and Indigo and Eliana enjoyed jumping around.   Their daughter Maya Mei, who they have just adopted from Wuhan, Hubei, did very well on the cruise.  Adopting an eight year old has been challenging and we think they are doing the most incredible job.   Thanks to Laura Beth, Granddad also got to have his first red wine of the entire trip!   We had to take a photo of the label.   Dad pronounced that he already really likes Laura Beth :-).   We saw their family off in the taxi to their hotel and we all boarded our bus - it was hot and we could not wait for the engine to go and the air conditioning to start - well, we waited and waited.   The engine would not turn over.   Everyone started to get off the bus and just as most people were off, the driver got the bus to start, but it did not sound good and we were grateful that it made it to the hotel.   We were off to bed shortly after returning home.   One aside, the past two days Indigo has had 3 little hive outbreaks which we can't connect to anything.  The first one was at the zoo and little bumps appeared on the side of her face, then again later that afternoon and then again yesterday afternoon.   I am very grateful for the big bottle of Benedryl I have with me - we just wish we could figure out the source - it could even be heat as our furnace girl is burning up here and her whole head just gets wet.   Photos from Wednesday here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623274726999/

Guangzhou Tuesday February 9th

Starting to lose track of days here.   I did not post yesterday as I could not get my pictures uploaded but today I have been able to get them up.   We had a great day on Tuesday.   Children woke up happy, dressed beautifully and caused no commotions at breakfast - always terrific.   When we came down to the lobby this morning, it had been transformed overnight - decorations for new year in full swing.   You can see the beautiful flowers, red lanterns, the pink blossoming plum flowers with red envelopes hanging from it and the bushes with small oranges/clementines everywhere.   We just think it is so beautiful.   Also, the mural of the horses which I could not fit in a single shot is behind the concierge desk in the first part of the lobby - Tricie, Robyne - could you not just die to have this in your homes.   On the opposite end is the other beautiful mural.   There is so much for the eye to take in here.  So, after breakfast some families went to visit the orphanages of their children from Guangdong province (Guangzhou is in this province) and the rest of us went to the Guangzhou zoo.   We had a wonderful time there - first all going on the little tram around the zoo and then being let out - but only were given just over an hour once we were let out.  Parts of the zoo were very nice and some parts were very difficult for me.   The animals all appeared to be in good health, well fed etc. but some enclosures were just so tiny and when we went past the big cats in the tram we knew we could not even go back there to see them when we could walk.   They were in cages that were so small and so much like old-fashioned zoos it was just very difficult.   There were several lions, a leopard that I just caught out of the corner of my eye running frantic circles and next to the leopard was a cheetah which should never be kept anywhere near leopards or lions - it was just rough.   However, when we walked around we had great fun watching two big brown bears who were having a lot of fun splashing and chasing each other in the water.   Also, there was an Asiatic mamma bear with three cubs who were a lot of fun.    Also, the gibbons were doing their whooping and hollering and that is a good sign.  It was good to be outdoors and Isaac walked just about everywhere, although he took a few tumbles, none that induced tears.   From there we went to a version of a mall/department store called Jesco.  We had an hour, twenty minutes and our efforts to find things were futile except for a couple of new year directions and Granddad and I finally found three short sleeve t-shirts - one for Granddad and two for David who has been so hot here.   Thanks so much for all the well wishes for David - he seems to be doing much better and has bounced back pretty tremendously although not quite back to normal yet.   We were back at the hotel just after 2ish and hoped the kids would rest - NOPE!  Isaac had caught a few zzs walking around the mall and that was the end of that.   David took them to the outdoor "playground" on the 4th floor and I went with Granddad to walk to the supermarket which is quite a hike.  If only I could photograph or video that experience, it is indescribable.  I fear though that if we were to record we might suddenly be surrounded by police and carted off to Chinese jail.   We found a couple of t-shirts for Grandma Lee in pink, turquoise and burnt orange as she has also been too hot and only had one short sleeve with her - although it's just in the 70s the humidity is high here - oh well, back to cold and snow in Beijing on Friday but nothing like home!  We trekked back with our goods and were hungry as Granddad and I had skipped lunch trying to find things at Jesco.   Also, the kids were so tired from the active day and not sleeping and I knew we were on a short rope with them.   We went to one place but did not see anything very exciting on the menu and the prices were very high so we went to another place where we were seated at probably the nicest table, round, surrounded by gauzy curtains, beautifully set table and a huge glass lazy Susan in the middle which Indigo could not keep her hands off - not difficult to understand really, for a 3 1/2 year old but we were trying to get her to stop playing with it.   The waiter brought the children melamine bowls that have this sheep/ram character that is on everything for Chinese children - from some tv or movie, I know Shelli and Laura Beth know all about it - sheep and the bad wolf of something but I don't know the sheep's name.  Anyway, besides the point.   It was pretty impossible to get Indigo to stop fiddling with things and spinning the table etc.   It was hard because she had really been a super angel all day, is very caring of her brother etc.  However, when she is overly tired, like most children at her young age, she just loses her self control and her ability to self-regulate and listen well and it's difficult.   It's not always easy for everyone to remember that she is just 3 1/2, is in completely unfamiliar surroundings, is experiencing a major life change, is exhausted by the evening and that dining out is just not ideal in these circumstances.  Ultimately, although not while spinning the lazy Susan, she was putting chicken on my plate that she did not want, she knocked her glass of apple juice over which made a big mess.  The staff was very sweet about it and it's not as if none of us adults have never knocked a glass of wine, drink etc.  She ate just a little bit of some delicious Shanghai noodles and this really amazing special Shanghai soup and she fell asleep on her chair with her head on my lap.  Her dad carried her back to the hotel the whole way and she stayed asleep and slept this morning until past 7:30.   In the meantime, Isaac, who had been on the verge of sleeping when arriving at the restaurant, pounded down a fair bit of food and walked the whole way back to the hotel.   We had planned baths because the kids were awfully dirty and had sweated so much but we were not going to wake Indigo for that so Isaac went to bed too and was gone in an instant.   I have to say that Isaac is all boy!   He gets filthy beyond comprehension even though every meal is eaten with the super bib!  At the zoo he was wearing this white sea turtle t-shirt and he took some tumbles and at one point also crawled up a set of stairs and then lay on the ground on the top crawling a long.   He found all the puddles to step in and did have an orange, sans super bib and that ended up all down the right side of the t-shirt - I could not resist a photo at the end of the day to show the carnage.   Ellen - I think he has done even worse damage to the "baby brother white t-shirt" - I can't wait to see the laundry results from the laundry we sent off today.    Okay - so may post for the 10th (today) later as well, but in the meantime, here are a lot of photos for the 9th.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623396552730/

Guangzhou Sunday evening of February 7 and Monday February 8th

Hmmm, someone said that we look elated!   Perhaps I have been a bit too rosey in my postings :-)   There is no doubt that we are happy and that things with Isaac are progressing so I guess overall we are elated but we're also coping with a lot.   We had a group dinner last night although I think we were at about 3 tables so we really just could chat with the people at our table.   The kids would not nap earlier in the day and were overly tired when we arrived at the restaurant.   The restaurant was Malaysian and we really enjoyed the meal, although for being in China, it's incredibly hard to get plain white rice.   Anyway, we sat down and Indigo was waving her chopsticks, almost poking Grandma and not stopping when she was told.  Grandma had to shout "no"; at her which then made her fall apart.  Isaac was shrieking and throwing a massive tantrum.  I walked him a bit until he calmed down and brought him back to the table and he had another massive melt down.  This time I just held him because I actually felt that it rewarded his awful behaviour to walk him and the families at the table were understanding.   Things got better after that - as you can see Grandma and Indigo played the hand stacking game - note the huge pearl ring Grandma is sporting from her bit of shopping!  The food starting arriving and at first Isaac was still so mad that he would just turn his head but food won out and he ended up eating a lot and became very happy and jovial.   Indigo barely touched a thing which is becoming sort of par for the course on this trip although most days she gets a good breakfast in her and she had the McDonalds twice and grilled cheese sandwich twice.   We bought apples in Nanjing and she eats those and a daily fruit snack etc.   She is not starving and we are weary of getting her to try things.   So, dinner ended well and we walked back to the hotel - it was sweet as Isaac walked with Granddad the whole way back.   David had started to feel the effects of a cold going on so we got the kids to bed and went to bed fairly early ourselves.   I then woke up in the night because Isaac was coughing (he has had a cold since we got him) and then I lay there worrying about him - what if it was in his chest and I have no antibiotics and we still have a whole long trip left, should I give him some benedryl, but he seemed to be sleeping so I did not want to wake him etc. etc.  So I was up for ages, decided that perhaps I had heartburn so took some tums, decided to suck on a throat lozenge, read for a while and finally fell back to sleep.   We overslept until 7:30 after all that.   When Indigo came in I told her it was still night time because the clock at our bed said 5:30 and said "but it's light outside" - she gets up and looks behind the curtains right away.   That got us moving and we jumped out of bed and got ready - I think we made it to breakfast by shortly passed 8.  At first, Indigo's behavior was terrible - she was so grumpy.  I think she had really low blood sugar from not eating well last night.   I went to get plates of food for both the children and when I returned David had left with Indigo.  They returned in due course and she ate the minimal amount we asked her to eat before she could have a glass of juice.   She did end up liking the cheese and so she even had more of that.  Then it was Isaac's turn to melt down and David, who has little patience when he feels bad, took him to the room.   Then Indigo had a massive fit about putting her shoes on before we left - wanted us to put them on for her - some fair amount of regression going on.   Elated right!!   We met the group at 9:30 and headed back to Shamian Island for the TB check.   Granddad elected to stay at the hotel and watch the Super Bowl.   I think David would have liked to stay too.   This time we were in and out of the medical building in five minutes and that included a squatty potty visit.   The result was negative which was obviously a relief - we thought it would be as we had seen no reaction on Isaac's arm.  Things turned better with some time spent on the playground at the island - both kids had a great time.   This young guy James came up to us and said he wanted to practice his English and we had a delightful talk with him so that is who is in the picture you see.   He told us that he has learned his English from American movies and he is a huge fan of American sports and knew all the football teams and NBA.   Grandma and I "needed" to do some shopping and so David hung out a bit and the returned to Lucy's again - the burgers were calling.    The one photo is of this awesome guy Jordan who is one of the shop owners who just has such a great personality.  He did the Chinese characters of Isaac and Indigo's name gratis.   I guess the time it takes to do that keeps you looking in the shop!  Grandma and I literally shopped until we dropped, skipped lunch in favor of shopping, and have both ordered tops which we hope will be delivered to the hotel by Thursday.   We staggered back to the White Swan where we were to meet, but not without stopping at the ATM.   I left Grandma on the red couch and went to find David and children.   David was having a painting made of Isaac's name and I ended up also getting him a chop.   David took a photo of the Pearl River which you see and also Indigo with some of the many beautiful sculptures on the island - you can see she found a hopscotch amongst the sculptures of the children playing - so cute.  David has been dying of heat and I had seen a place with some t-shirts so he got one and then we rushed to meet the bus.   We were given the option of going back to the mall from yesterday but at this point we thought we would all return to the hotel.   Isaac fell asleep on the bus - which is turning out to be bad because then we can't get hiim back to sleep at hotel.   I ended up getting off the bus at the mall just to get a carry-on suitcase because I have to have something to help with our purchases and I think we can get away with an additional carry-on.   Got back to the hotel and the kids had not slept at all!   I thought I would find all three fast asleep but it was not so.    Apparently Isaac had practicaly been jumping up and down in the crib - this is a kid who could barely get himself stood up in the crib when we first got him.   David is in full blown cold mode (translation - he is miserable and of course, sicker than any person with a cold could ever be).  So, we're ready to get some dinner before the children completely crash - Isaac appears ready to fall asleep at the little table so we have to go before things head way far south.    Have now since gone to dinner - went to a delicious Italian restaurant for a change.   Indigo ate like she had never been fed - had multiple rolls and then about 5 helpings of my pasta.   Isaac ate well too.  When we first walked in he started to cry and I thought "here we go again" but I asked them to bring some bread right away - some things are reliable with Italian and he was soon really happy.  He loves tomatoes and we had a sort of crushed tomatoe dipping sauce which he devoured.   Indigo loved the guy who we think must be the owner, a young cute Italian guy.   He did some high five with her and then when we left he shook her hand and kissed it and she gave him a huge hug - we can barely get her to hug family members but she fell hard for his swarthy good looks and charm.   After being back about 30 minutes Isaac was already sleeping and Indigo is in bed too - it has since taken her at least an hour to go to sleep!   Photos from evening yesterday and today below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623253944125/

Guangzhou night of Saturday February 6 and Sunday, February 7th

Well, we're pleased to report that things got better later on Saturday.   After the kids had napped we got ready to go out to dinner. Before leaving we let the children play in the hallways.   There is a playground on the 4th floor but the weather here has been raining and the playground is outdoors and so the hallways are the best we got.   After a lot of tears in the day, I was thrilled to see these smiling faces and to see Indigo and Isaac holding hands and having fun.   We went to dinner at a very local place - just crossing the street is a serious adventure.   We had been told by our guides that this place had English translations on the menu.   Dinner was very enjoyable - we had delicious pan fried noodles with beef, some other rice noodles in a broth with ox brisket, some chicken congee for Isaac, some green garlickly vegetables, a Guangzhou fried rice and steamed chicken with rice - the chicken was not you average rotisserie!   We were the only westerners in there and were obviously a source of great interest - everyone seemed to be watching us.   We walked back to the hotel, narrowly missing being hit by a taxi and up to the hotel.  The lit up child on the fish is part of the new year decorations at the hotel.  In the hotel, there is also some photos in the lobby and Indigo sitting on a big chair - Isaac would not sit on it last night.    We were in need of another bath - as you can see by Isaac's spider shirt - he gets filthy!   This was bath number three and we ran the tub and Indigo popped in.   We put Isaac in and he cried and cried - David tried jumping up and down on the other side of the window from the bedroom and it sleemed to slow the sobbing.  We also had all the arsonel of cups and bath toys.   I had to do his hair which contained major food particles and he just hated that and sobbed terribly.   However, things got better.  I had the cups with the holes on the bottom and got him watching the water coming out and then held his hand on the cup and held it up so he could watch.  Indigo was a great big sister trying to make him happy.   He finally started to play with the toys but he still had shampoo in his hair so he had to cry again a bit while I got a rinse and then we just let him play and as you can see from the pictures we made huge progress.   By the end I thought he was going to pitch a fit when we took him out but he was just very good.   Both kids into jammies, he was not interested in the bedtime story.   Neither child would fall asleep and David fell asleep in the room first and then I had help Indigo and then she fell asleep and I lay wide awake listening to the awful slurping of Isaac's thumb sucking.  I ended up stuffing tissue paper in my ears and did fall asleep.   At about 3 a.m.  I woke and David was up trying to turn this light out between our room and the bathroom.  Nothing would make it go off and one was also on in the foyer of the suite so we were both awake awhile and I worried about the kids waking up.    We both fell back asleep and fortunately were woken by Isaac as we had not reset the alarm - had never needed it so far.   It was 7:!5.   It turns out that there was a time power outage from something like 1-4 am and there was a notice about it on the desk but we had not paid it much attention.   I guess the light that was on perhaps was a battery or generated light.   Had another wonderful breakfast and then back to the room to change the children into Chinese dress.   The hotel has a beautiful garden off the breakfast room and we went out there to take some photos.  Unfortunately the weather was horrible and it was drizzling so we just took a few photos but you can tell it's beautiful.   We can't wait to go out there again if/when the weather improves.  Then we met in the lobby with all the families for a group photo - you can see it came out pretty well and the magnificent gold papercut as the backdrop.
We ran back to the room to change again and then out to the bus for a trip to the mall - there some serious shopping ensued for jade, pearls, some hand embroidered goods and some music and movie cds/dvds.    We did not have enough time although it was more than enough for the kids.   I need to go back...   You can see a photo (not great) of a woman in the pearl shop tying knots between each pearl as the necklace was being strung.   On to the bus and back to the hotel - quite a lot of traffic.  Isaac fell asleep and Indigo fell asleep for about 5 minutes before arriving back at the hotel.   Tried to follow up with a nap and both actually lay in respective beds for a while but no napping.   Daddy went out and got our first round of McDonalds (second for the kids) and we had that in the room.   Now, Indigo has watched, only for the second time since being in China, some Kailan on her dvd and Isaac is playing with some small cars/tractor/trucks and a mini travel train set Grandma gave him which Indigo is playing with too and they are both munching on apples.   Also, a major challenge for us with him is to stop him from throwing everything.   Tonight we're going to be having a group family dinner so that should be fun.   Hopefully the children will behave like decent beings after their light nap schedule.    We're loving and appreciating the comments we're receiving.   It keeps us connected to home and helps to motivate us with journaling our journey - we're not missing the snow storm and just hope everyone is safe and having fun playing in the snow and that it all melts before we have to try and negotiate our driveway.   Becky - you may have to send me a few jpegs of snow pictures as I could not get to your blog - well, I got to the blog but could not see anything at all.   Hope all the football fans enjoy the Super Bowl.   Love, Melanie, David, Indigo and Isaac
Photos from evening of February 6 and morning of February 7 here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623369434816

Nanjing to Guangzhou

Greetings,
Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday.   It was a hectic day and we were all exhausted at the end and did not feel like hooking up the electronics, nor did we have many pictures.
Friday was mostly about packing - I looked around the shambles of our room and our purchases from the Thursday night and was not sure how it was all going to come together.  I started getting packed early in the morning and then we got the children dressed and off with David to breakfast.  After breakfast, David, Granddad, Grandma and the children went out - just to walk around the shops again and to go to the department store for some specific items - all a strike out.   Our one big suitcase had gone overweight so Granddad took a few items that he stuck in his bag.   While they were gone I got all the packing finished and then waited for Denise to call to say she had Isaac's passport.    I needed to send that passport number to OCDF who we are doing our next portion of travels with after Guangzhou so that they could book all of Isaac's flights.   The family arrived back and Granddad weighed my suitcase which just made the 44lb internal flight limit.   Whew.   Denise came up to the room and we gave her a gift.  She also had a gift for Isaac which was very special.  It is the "mascot or symbol" for lack of a better word for the city of Najing.  It's the baby dragon - it's name is Bixie (sounds like bishi) and it is known as the evil dispeller - it eats up evil and just gets fatter and fatter - does not poop.  Denise gave Isaac a little charm of this Bixie made of Rain Flower Stone which is also unique to Nanjing.   It was very sweet of her and something that will be special to him.   We took the bus to the airport and Isaac fell asleep on the way.   We did all the checking in and went through security and made our way to our gate.   David was starving so he left me with the children and he went off with Granddad and Grandma to figure out something to eat - they were gone for ages.   Indigo was chatting away to the mom from another adoptive family and Isaac was eating bagel and peanut butter.  We read the flea sneezes because Indigo had told this mom about that book and so she got it out for me to read and then she coerced this other mum to read her another book.   We finally got some food, including the kids having some verson of a hotdog on a stick, but I can promise you that it was no Hebrew National!  After waiting and waiting, everyone from our gate started moving and it turns out they switched gates so we started to follow but also stopped to check the departure information and then headed to the new gate and waited, and waited.   Isaac wanted to be moving and would just pitch a fit when restrained so we chased him around a bit - he loves to be chased.   Finally, at least an hour late, we boarded.  I sat with Indigo and Isaac and David sat between Grandma and Granddad.  Isaac really did incredibly well on the flight.   We really hoped both kids would sleep but Indigo was wide awake and every time Isaac would seem to be starting to dose off they would bring a drink or a snack.   He ate a whole mochi - Rick, he is a little guy after your own heart.  It made me think of you and all the mochi Ellen bought you in Hong Kong.   For some reason Indigo was obsessed with the bread on the sandwiches they gave us - with very suspect contents, so I was happy to let her have all the bread she wanted.   It was just a two hour flight and pretty smooth.  As said before, Isaac was pretty good considering it was his first flight - he did try a few times to slide down under the seat belt and would angry when he was stuck but pretty much resigned himself to the situation.  I dread the return flight home!   Safe arrival at Guangzhou and all luggage arrived safely and we met our guide Rebecca.  She put us on the bus with the driver but then stayed at the airport as another family was arriving.   We drove to the city and both children fell asleep on the way, Isaac in David's lap and Indigo leaning against me.   We arrived at the Garden Hotel - it is magnificent!   The only two pictures from the whole day Friday are how the children were when we arrived - Isaac transferred asleep to stroller and Indigo on her daddy's shoulder all through check in.   We came up to our rooms which are awesome.    Slight mix-up with Granddad and Grandma's as they were given a single king bed.   However, that seemed to be resolved lickety split and they are right across from us.   We have an awesome suite which we should have photographed before walking in because it will never be the same again.    We have a living room area with a flat screen, desk, table, couch and chairs and Indigo's rollaway bed in this room and then separated by a pocket door is our king bed and Isaac's crib and the bathroom which is quite superb.   The bedroom also has a flat screen, not that there is much tv watching to be done - just enough of the news this morning to know about the snow expected in our home area!  Granddad says they are calling it "Snowmagedden" and that there could be 30 inches - please let it melt before we get home!  There is a glass wall between the bathroom (the walk in shower and tub) and the bedroom.  When Grandma and Granddad went in their room the screen was up so anyone in the bedroom would be able to see the person showering/bathing!   However, there is a remote control which lowers the screen so everyone's modesty is preserved.    I know Granddad would have liked that feature if Granny was sharing a room with him!    Isaac woke up completely shocked by his new surroundings and crying.  David quickly changed him into his pajamas and he settled down.   Indigo woke up and was very excited by her "private room bed" which is along a mirror so she can see herself (jumping on the bed...).   David went out with Granddad to check out hotel and for Vicky (assistant guide) to show them surrounding restaurants, grocery store etc. and they had a beer.   After feeding the children the snacks we had on hand, I put Isaac to bed and he was out like a light.  Indigo was boing, boing for a while and then fell asleep.   Off to bed for us.  This morning we gave the children some snacks in the room as they were hungry and then all dressed and went to breakfast.   Isaac threw his first tantrum when we were leaving the room as he wanted to go out in the stroller and we were not takiing that.   He was shrieking but calmed down by the time we made a public appearance in the restaurant.    I got them food and he really was mostly interested in the chicken congee but then ate some other things too.   David brought the kids to the room while Grandma and I finished up.  When I arrived in the room it was to great excitement - Isaac pooped on the potty!   I guess in the clean up process from that, he also peed on the floor!   Oh well.   We met the group - five families and traveled to Shamian Island to the dreaded medical appointment.  We parked at the White Swan - what a flood of memories that brought back from our adoption of Indigo - it was where we stayed while in Guangzhou.   The whole island is under an amazing amount of construction and all the buildings are covered in scaffolding - the street that had our favorite shops is all covered by scaffolding, sidewalks are dug up etc. - it's quite crazy.   We trekked to the medical building and it was just packed to the gills with adoptive families - so many - families everywhere.    It seems chaotic but they really process you through.  Isaac's first stop was the examination with the doctor - he screamed and cried the whole time.  We had to take off his shoes, socks, pants, diaper.  The doctor asked questions about and asked if we knew his special need, poked and prodded him.   He wanted to see him walk so we put the shoes and socks back on and he walked towards me, away from the doctor.   When we wanted him to walk back towards the doctor he would have none of that.    Indigo wanted to be involved and she amused herself playing with the examining room curtain - you can see her hiding herself and then the big reveal.   I was then holding Isaac as he still cried and then his next ordeal was to have his ears looked at and his throat looked at.    They did not do an eye test on him.   We were then told to go to the cashier to pay 1437 Yuen for his needed vaccinations (new under the Hague, all the kids need these vaccines before going home - no choice) so they look at the provincial medical record and determine what they need.  While at the cashier I saw our friends Adam and Laura Beth and their new daughter Maya Mei - it gave me goose bumps and a lump in my throat to see someone we knew and to meet their daughter.  Maya Mei was very sweet and wanted to pick up Indigo but Indigo wanted none of that.   We then waited and waited and waited for these shots.   David at least got Isaac happy again with snacks and swinging him.  While we waited, Indigo went with her Granddad to a nearby playground area and had a good time there with him.   Finally it was our turn and he absolutely knew what was going to happen and he cried and cried.  A TB test on the underside of the left arm, a vaccine in each arm and a vaccine in each thigh.    He was fairly quickly consoled by the lollipop we gave him.   At this point we were so shattered and he was so exhausted from so much crying, it already being lunch and nap time and the shear trauma.   We decided just to go to Lucys - an American style restaurant.  However, David had said I needed to find some pants for Isaac as his were smelly and I wanted to grab a drink.  I got the drinks right away and headed to meet them at Lucys.   On the way I saw our guide and asked her where I could find pants so I ended up having to head back the same way I had just come from.   I got some pants really fast and headed to Lucys.   When I got there David met me at the door - basically with "Thank G you're here!).  Apparently Isaac had just had a complete and utter melt down - shrieking and screaming to the point of David having to remove him from the scene - he had been hitting and throwing his body.   Granddad told me that his lollipop stick had broken so that the small ball of lollipop and short bit of stick were in his mouth.   Well, of course, not really desirable so David took it out - it just set him off - probably more than normal because he was tired and hungry, but he just lost it.   It sounded truly awful - I missed the worst of it.   We had lunch - cheeseburgers and fries!    This seemed to help everyone.   Indigo and Isaac shared grilled cheese and fries and Isaac ate a bunch of pieces of my burger.  I had also got him and Indigo a bottle of water and you just cannot take the open bottle from him although of course it tips and spills etc.   I personally felt like I got hit by a Mack truck and then run over with the steam roller, and perhaps everyone else felt much the same.    We went back to White Swan were we were meeting the group at 2 p.m.  Isaac fell asleep in the stroller but we did enjoy the koi pond and fountains at the White Swan where we had taken a family picture of Indigo as a baby - we took a couple of pictures of her there today.   Unfortunately Isaac woke up when we boarded the bus but he lay quietly on my lap the whole way back to the hotel and then went down for a nap - Indigo feel asleep first.  I was lying in the room with Isaac but he would not sleep - chucked everything out the crib, so I decided to motivate myself to get on the computer and then he fell asleep.  David went out to the supermarket and took some of the photos of the street scenes and then the sign for the hotel and the hotel itself.  Also, some photos in the lobby - that black background is marble and the gold is paper cut!   It's gold paper cut and is the largest paper cut in the world.  Also, the lobby of this hotel is the largest in Asia.   Apparently we're taking photos of the families tomorrow in the lobby.  
The two photos from yesterday and then so far for today (Saturday February 6th in the link below):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623238739501/

Last full day in Nanjing February 4, 2010

We have had a pretty good day today but I am really tired.    Both children slept well and we did pretty well getting ready and down to breakfast.   Isaac is now completely in love with the elevator and drags us to it.   You can see from the photo how he is pulling to get to the elevator - he loves going out and about.   Isaac again plowed through one enormous breakfast, whereas his big sister ate two yogurts (they are very tiny and really liquid - you can drink through a tiny straw) and I think she had some sausage and some required bites of watermelon - she gets blocked tummy issues so we do push the fruit.   Isaac had a steamed pork bun, sausage, egg, watermelon, pear, a spring roll, and part of a muffin and possibly more that I can't remember.   Our outing today was to the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge which is quite an impressive structure.  However, the drive there (and really any time we go out) is as interesting as the destination.    I just wish I had the words to convey the scenery we pass, the craziness of the traffic, the seeming complete lack of any road rules, the electric mopeds, the bicycles, the shops and the whole vibe - it's just like nothing else.   We saw a couple of pretty spots where you're just dying to jump out and be able to explore but on to the bridge we went.   The bridge was the first bridge to built across the Yangtze river in Nanjing - before that, everyone had to cross by boat.  It was completed in 1968 and was the first double-decker, double-track highway and railway bridge designed and constructed by Chinese without outside engineering experience.   It's 22,212 feet in length and has a span of 525 feet - it takes 15 minutes to cross in normal traffic.   The guide shared all this with us, including the fact that 50,000 cars cross every day, but I had to check wikipedia to remind me of all the stats - love the internet!   So, we took photos of the model so that you can see the section that we went up and all the photos of the views taken from there.   What is also interesting and you can kind of see from the one photo of the model is that as much as the bridge, if not more of it, is under the river, as is above the river - with regards to the footings etc. (I am no engineer so probably an inadequate description).   Isaac loved looking at the boats down on the river and was shouting something which Denise told us was "come" as in he wanted the boats to come to him, and he was furious that they were not.  He has a temper when things are not going his way.   There are fishing boats, you can see the railroad tracks on the lower part of the double-decker and also photos of what appear to be community gardens and also the boat yard.   There is a lot of smog so visibility is not terrific.   Inside, we went to see this "teacher" who is an artist who paints inside these crystal balls, bottles, teapots etc.   Completely amazing!   He hand paints these entire scenes in this tiny space, which he is pretty much doing upside down to get the brush up into the inside of the crystal ball.   The paint brush is so fine.   When the painting is done within the inner circle of the crystal ball, it looks quite large, but they showed us a ball cut in half and the center is really quite small, so how he creates these entire scenes is beyond incredible.   Had to take pictures without a flash and wish I had taken some more of the finished products but we were all impressed.   When we came down there were a bunch of hawkers selling wares and we bought a few things and there was a little carousel set up so Indigo was very keen to do that.  Isaac seemed to want to go too so David held him on a horse.  The ride went on and on - definitely had our money's worth (less than $2 for both kids).  It was hard to tell if Isaac liked it because he did not smile during the ride, however, I guess he did, because he had a big fit when the ride was over and he could not go again.    While we had been having our ride, our driver was purchasing fresh caught fish and so his purchases were flopping about in a bag in the van - hence the photo.  Indigo was fascinated and kept wanting to know what the fish were doing and she had seen a bit of Nemo on the flight over so she was saying how the pelican had saved the fish by putting water in it's mouth and carrying them - she said the driver's fish needed water.  Isaac conked out next to me and slept the rest of the time in the van - which included some stops so that I could hop out with Denise to try and find this bib overall (you'll see my purcase in the last picture on this upload - the greatest idea!).  
When we got back to the hotel we should have just put Isaac down in the crib, even though he had woken up, but we went to lunch and then he would not go back to sleep.   Indigo crashed so Isaac was up and playing and David took him in the hallway to do some running and then he went with David to get our laundry which we had left to be done yesterday and then he went down the grassy park area in the front of the hotel - he is all go-go-go.   We met Denise at 5 and went to do some shopping.   This area around our hotel, around the Confucius Temple is just a vibrant mecca of shops and people - David took a few shots to capture some scenes but really we should take some more and some video - perhaps we can fit it in before leaving tomorrow.  I had been telling Denise about a few specific type things I was looking for which is why she came along to help.  We did a fair bit of damage tonight - between Grandma and myself - I depleted David of all cash and had to have Grandma settle my last purchase.   A shop keeper had two bikes out from their kids and so Isaac and Indigo played on those.   When Isaac was taken off, he really lost it!    David has advised me that shopping when we have the kids is not working out and I will have to shop by myself - hmmm, sounds like free rein...  Indigo has not been eating at all well at lunch and dinner and so we caved and bought her and Isaac McDonalds nuggets and fries which we took with us to the restaurant where we had dinner.   Isaac seemed fascinated with the fries - wanted to suck them.   We had happy children.   We enjoyed a delicious meal and then returned to the hotel and put Isaac straight to bed.  David is fast asleep.  Indigo was up for a long time but has now fallen asleep - I think she was not ready to sleep yet after her long afternoon nap.  I am looking around the complete and utter chaos of our room and the packages we have bought and have no clue how we'll be packed and ready to leave here tomorrow - next stop, Guangzhou.    Photos for today:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623225003927/

Nanging February 3rd - keeping busy!

Isaac was up late last night but did eventually fall asleep and slept until past 7 a.m.    When Indigo woke up this morning she climbed in our bed and said "you are my best mommy" - made my heart sing.   I told her "you are my best girl" to which she responded "and Isaac is our best boy."  We met up with Grandma and Granddad for breakfast and both children put away a lot of food.  I think Indigo had 3 small sausages and a lot of watermelon and two yogurts and a bit of egg.   Isaac had sausage, dumpling, egg, watermelon, muffin and congee - he did not fuss so much when we left the table.   We saw two other adoptive families with their two young girls.   We met Denise and the driver and went to the Nanjing Cloud Brocade Museum.   This is filled with examples of Emporer robes made of silk brocade with intricate embroidered patterns - apparently it takes 5 years to make a robe.   We saw the people on the looms working which was just amazing and mind boggling.   We all agreed that we could watch for days and have no idea how they know what they are doing.  Two people work the looms as you will see in the photos - the top person is responsible for the design, the lower person does the color and you just see a whir of spools of silk and pressing of these bamboo peddles and it's really unbelievable.   Working an eight hour day produces 6 inches of brocade.   We also saw the silk worm cocoons - one cocoon produces one strand of silk - I think that they said the strand was 500 meters - that's very long.   Of course we finished in the gift shop which resulted in a slight bit of damage to the bank account but overall I felt we were quite restrained.   We got some nice family photos outside the silk brocade museum in front of one of the beautiful gates.   It was still earliesh - around 11:15 and so too early for lunch and nap and we did not really want to go back to the hotel - it was the nicest day yet.   We did stop at the hotel to grab our laundry and Denise took David and Granddad to drop it off.   We then went to a park - Egret Isle Park.   It was beautiful - although there was just a ton of activity going on with workers preparing decorations for Chinese New Year - it is going to look stunning.   The plum blossom is heavily featured and is the flower of Nanjing - you can see decorative plum blossoms on the pillars - Indigo is standing by one - so very pretty.   all You can see from the pictures all the work going on - decorating the boats and the building of the huge dragon.    The border of the park is the giant city wall.   We loved being out and Isaac wanted to walk and walk and walk.    Indigo spent a long time in the stroller - I think wanting to be babied a bit again but she loves to be out and running too much to stay there and so they both got a lot of exercise.   Like Indigo, Isaac seems to also like to pick up twigs and play with them.    It's wonderful to have Granddad and Grandma along to be sharing this experience.    Both seem to be really enjoying the experience and it's really great for both the children and for us to have the extra hands and team effort.   Granddad is a wonderful help with negotiating the stroller up and down stairs and over fences where pedestrians can do a walk through but strollers can't fit.   It's really terrific to have them experience something that we could never adequately describe and to see them be interested in the history and culture of the land of our children's birth.   Lunch was another exciting experience as we tried another new spot.   It was basically a whole line of food options where you could both look at pictures and walk the line choosing what you wanted to have brought to your table.   I was tasked with doing the choosing.  I kept thinking of our friend Robert and how he would have been in heaven and how much more adventurous he would have been in his choices.    We did pretty well and ended up with a beef over lettuce - it was spicy which I had not realized when I ordered but Granddad and I both loved that dish.   We also had some small sort of custard tarts which were well received by Grandma, Indigo and Isaac, we had noodles, dumplings and a steamed bun (Isaac ate a whole one of those).  We had some other kind of steamed dumpling that was a disaster - the three of us who tried it, could not stand it.    We also had a delicious pork dish with a green vegetable.    We also had a black sticky rice sweet dish - I think sweetened with red bean paste - Isaac polished off one of those too.   We had a lovely walk back to the hotel through the  Confucious temple area and passing all the street vendors  - Isaac fell fast asleep in the stroller.  I have said before and I will say again, we are a complete walking spectacle and so many people come up and just stare at the children - particularly the older Chinese ladies.   Isaac had his little hat on and this one lady leaned into the stroller to lift his hat to see his face - I presume to see if he was Chinese.   I scolded her that no, he was sleeping and Granddad made a motion of sleeping child.  Also, Granddad and I had walked a little ahead but then were waiting to get the stroller over the fence and apparently David was scolded by an older lady because Isaac's pant leg had ridden up and his bare leg was showing.   She pulled his pant leg down and David said he could just tell that she was shocked that we did not have the second layer of pants on him.   Isaac transitioned to the crib and stayed sleeping and Indigo just crashed.  David was hungry and he went and got KFC - chicken nuggets and fries and a chocolate shake but he said that was not good.  Isaac was upset when he first woke from him nap but then he was playing in the room.   Grandma and Granddad had slept for about 2 1/2 hours; we wanted an earlier night and also wanted to bath the kids so we went with Grandma to give the kids some food in the hotel.   Indigo wanted to sit next to Isaac but then wanted us to feed her.  I was feeding Isaac and so she said "my tummy wants Mommy to feed me" so you can see some of that competition kicking in.  I asked her if I was going to have to call Mrs. Goldberg (her teacher) and tell her that Indigo could no longer feed herself and would have to feed Indigo her snack.   That made Indigo laugh and she told me I was silly.   We coaxed her to eat some supper with bribes of sips of her apple juice after "x" number of bites.  In the meantime, Isaac polished off three fried dumplings, and a small bowl of noodles with "meatballs" and some fried egg.  The story of the knife is that we kept getting these bowls of noodles and it's almost impossible to get them out the big bowl into the smaller bowl and then to get them into a bite size for the children, so we asked for a knife to cut and this is what we got!   I think I might have to purchase a knife to carry around - but better remember to put it in checked baggage on the flights - other that, or quit getting the noodles, and that's unlikely.   We got the kids vanilla and strawberry icecream and Indigo wanted to feed her brother.   That was so sweet.   We then went to see the fish in the lobby pond and to see the indoor pool - no swimming there - it's beautiful but FREEZING.  We had a fun game out in the hall way having both kids run back and forth to mama and baba and that was a lot of fun.   Isaac is now loving the elevator!   David made it a game of counting the floors as we go up or down and then getting excited when we hear the "ding" at the end so now the whole family counts and Isaac watches and tonight he was saying stuff too as we did the numbers.   Also, when we heard music he wants to bounce up and down "dancing".   Well, the fun ended at tub time - I can't wait to have a photo of both kids laughing in the tub but that is not yet to be.   We made some progress in that Isaac sat down this time and perhaps cried a little less vigorously but he was not happy and we had the toys and the cups and big sister trying to show him how fun it is.    I cuddled him in his towel afterwards and he settled down and we put on jammies - he was near comatose with tiredness - I think he had more walking and exercise today than he is probably used to - but he is keen to be moving.   In fact, before we went "out" for the evening we stopped at Granddad's room and Isaac was pitching a fit because he wanted to be out and on the go.   Sweet photo of David reading to them before bedtime - Isaac was almost already completely gone, thumb in mouth, bless his heart, his thumb is raw and calloused with peeling skin from the sucking.   Kristi M. - no shots yet of them asleep on a bed together - our room has a king and a roll away and the crib.  Also, he is not as keen on Indigo's affections which makes me feel bad - she wanted to hold his hand walking in the lobby and he completely blew her off, not to mention when he clocked her on the head chucking a board book because he wanted us to get him out and go adventuring!   Tomorrow is our last full day in Nanjing - I have got to find some time to fit in a little shopping!  Here is the link to the photos from today:  
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/sets/72157623342112502/

The adoption is official, and the rest of the saga...

What a day it has been today, day 2 of having Isaac.   I already feel as if we have had him longer and I feel that so many things have happened in a day that it can't possibly just be the second day.   I think emotions today were probably even more heightened than yesterday and we are definitely going through all the things that you deal with when suddenly having two children.   Our morning started well.  Isaac slept through the night although he moves around a bit and I have to confess that the sound of the thumb sucking is just awful - it's like listening to someone slurping tea for hours.   Indigo woke up in the night but not with any problems, I think still just from time change and she did fall back asleep but we were awake again by 5:30 am but Isaac slept passed 7 and might have slept longer but we all started moving around.   He woke up all smiles.  I was working on getting all the gift bags ready to hand out today and we were getting the children dressed and off to breakfast - it actually went relatively smoothly with David, Grandma and Granddad taking the kids down a few minutes earlier to get breakfast while I wrapped up.   Isaac ate and ate at breakfast.   He had congee, yogurt, sausage, egg and watermelon. and a glass of pineapple juice.   He was angry when we left breakfast and actually had a bit of a tantrum (short) when David lifted him away from the table.  We left at 9 for the civil affairs office and things got a bit rough.   We had to sign papers, give thumb prints, answer questions etc.   Isaac was on my lap and Indigo was next to David.   Indigo started whining about wanting a snack - this is 30 minutes after breakfast and we're trying to be responsive to the official and are telling her that we are not having a snack now and she needs to wait.  Isaac sees the nannies who had brought him and he was just crying and crying.   Indigo started behaving dreadfully and when the official gave us the actual adoption document she snatched the paper and would not pass it over.  We obviously did not want to pull it from her for fear it would be torn - she did end up giving it back but it was a hairy moment and she was obviously acting out - her whole 3 1/2 year old self has had her life of the past 2 1/2 years turned completely upside down in the past 24 hours.  Also, as it turns out, she was incredibly sad and upset that Isaac was crying so much and was so very unhappy.   As we finished the business and Isaac was on my lap (at this point he wanted David but he had me instead) and Indigo was crying, where tears were welling up in her eyes and her little lip was quivering and she was trying so hard not to cry - that was my moment, of "what have I done"?   We had told Indigo before getting Isaac that he might be very sad and that he did not know us and how much we loved him and that he would miss people he loved and who had cared for him, but obviously that is just way too much to comprehend for a little girl and she wanted to know when he would not be sad.    It was such a relief to leave there.    We really thought it would be a great idea to get the kids outside and after some discussions of what might be best to do, Denise took us to the Zhonghua Gate.    Nanging has the longest city wall in the WORLD!    The Zhonghua Gate was the largest and it's incredible.   Lots of photos included in the link and we all had a terrific time there.    Where you see the characters on the bricks, each person who made a brick put their name and town and province on the brick - amazing.   Anyway, you can look up Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing, Jiangsu on the internet if you're interested.  We enjoyed the fresh air and the climbing around.  Grandma Lee did super and we managed pretty well with the stroller too.   Isaac was very happy when we let him walk around - he does sort of a bouncy/dancing walk.    The kids had more snacks, both had already devoured fruit snacks and granola bars and at this point Isaac polished off a mini bagel with peanut butter.   We had the driver drop us off at the great market area all around the Confutious Temple which is walking distance from the hotel.   Denise walked us to a great lunch place and we all had a fantastic lunch of noodles, steamed buns, chicken on a stick, some sticky rice covered pork balls, and spring rolls.   Indigo and Isaac both ate really well.  Isaac had two whole spring rolls and again kept eating after we were all satiated.   I also had the pleasure of having to change him there - on the floor of the restroom upstairs.   I needed to bring a travel changing pad.   We walked back to the hotel and both children napped for a long time and after a while I had a nap too.   After naps we hung out in the room and played.   Grandma Lee had brought a blow up ball and David was playing with the kids with it and Isaac was laughing - the first time we have really heard him giggle and it's a sweet, sweet sound.   Grandma and Grandad came over and then we went out again - it must have been already 5:30.  There was light mist but nothing too serious.   It is fun being out at night - lots of activity in the area.  We walked to the supermarket, taken care not to be mowed down as we walked.  The supermarket is awesome - I could spend hours there just checking stuff out.   So much selection - I think there were two aisles of just cookies and crackers.    We bought some apple juice, crackers, cookies, and fresh apples and some coke zero.   Then we walked through the pedestrian area of the Confutious Temple which was wonderful.   Everything is completely lit up and pretty.  I think also, because it is Chinese New Year, there are extra decorations and red lanterns are hanging everywhere and were reflecting in the water.   So many people are out and it's very lively - there is really just no way to describe the vibe.    We were able to get a photo of all us taken on a bridge with lights in the background and they printed the copies right there for us.   We decided to find a spot for dinner and walked around until we saw one that seemed to have a good number of people in it.    We had a delicious dinner!   We were very lucky that the restaurant had an English menu (and a picture menu, but those things did not look as good).   We had shredded ginger pork with pancakes, some duck, some fried rice which was awesome, some cashew chicken, some spicy rice noodles,  and some vegetables.    It was super.   Indigo was very whiny and we also saw some first signs of either sibling rivalry or reverting to a younger age.  David was feeding Isaac and Indigo said she wanted us to feed her too - normally she is all about doing everything herself.   She had also been saying she was so hungry but then did not want to eat anything and that her tummy hurt.  Also, she said she did not want the noodles.   I committed the cardinal sin of not listening to her and putting noodles in her bowl - she usually loves noodles, but she was very unhappy I did that because she had said she did not want noodles.   Anyway, things improved after that and she ate some rice and some cashew chicken and she reverted to her normal perky and happy self.  She was very excited about going to the squatty potty in the restaurant.   She did have some gas (TMI I know) but I think perhaps because of that, that her belly had been hurting.   She also started talking about Isaac again and how he now was not so sad and that he loved us and would know we loved him - she is very concerned for him.   Isaac again ate and ate and ate.  Poor David barely got to each much dinner because Isaac was like an insatiable vacuum.   We so enjoyed our dinner and our walk back to the hotel.     We got the children ready for bed and I had Isaac down and pretty much asleep and David read to Indigo.    Once Isaac was down I popped over to Granddad and Grandma's room as they were skyping with Granny and Sage so I chatted with Mom.  When I came back Indigo was completely sacked out but Isaac had woken up again and he is still awake!   However, if I go to try and settle him, he thinks it's all a big joke and starts laughing and then I could not help but laugh and was doing some raspberries on his cheeks which had him cracking up and then he started going "pppfff" and so I have essentially already taught my new son to spit.   I don't really know what to do at this point to have him fall asleep.   he seems happy but we may have some ill effects tomorrow.   One other bit of news.  After dinner, we took off his diaper to put on a fresh one for bed and David said it was dry so I said, let's take him to the potty.  Indigo demoed for him and then we sat him down and said what sounds like "shoe shoe" but obviously is something different and are the words for going pee pee and he did!   That was exciting.     Signing off for today - I am sure there will be more action tomorrow.     Here is the link for the photos from today:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7322989@N05/