Progress!!!

Friday
As I said previously, Friday and Saturday were two more very good days for us. Firstly, we saw some cool things, and secondly, Amelia Belle opened up even a little bit more to us. She has gotten even more “spicy.” She is going to be able to hold her own against her big brother.

On Friday morning, as usual we got up for breakfast. It was nasty and rainy outside, again, but we met anyway to take the subway two stops to go to a museum. Our group took off and it was a really nice outing. The museum was a 200-year-old or so meetinghouse that was very ornately carved, now used as a place to preserve traditional forms of artworks. There were jade carvings, ivory and bone, woodcarvings, carvings of petrified wood among others. The most fascinating thing that I saw was the very ornate ivory and bone carvings. There were carvings with amazing, fine detail. There was a ball, carved out of a single piece of Ivory, with 43 separate, independently moving layers. There was a carving of a boat, made of ivory or bone that had 11 layers. You could look through the windows of the boat and see people carved on the inside. I have no idea how that is done, but it is amazing.

After the museum, we decided to eat at McDonald’s. You would not think so, but we needed help ordering at McDonald’s--it was not as intuitive as you would think. Kristi had chicken--spicy chicken wings on the bone--, which she could barely eat because they were so spicy, Thatcher had a McNugget Happy Meal with a Spider-man toy, and I had a Big Mac meal. Kristi’s was different, but mine and Thatcher’s tasted exactly like it would have in Bossier City. I picked a Big Mac because it was the only sandwich that looked like one I was familiar with. The Quarter Pounder had cucumbers and lettuce, which do not belong on the Big Mac.

The rest of the day was uneventful, except for little breakthroughs for me with Amelia Belle. We went back to the room and Amelia Belle and I took a nap, and Kristi left us after getting her to sleep. When Amelia Belle woke up, she was very reserved and looked for Kristi. However, I was able to change her diaper and she came to me after she started fussing.

We went to dinner with our friends Jackie and Keith and Tracy and Harris. It was Tracy’s birthday the day before, so she chose the Italian restaurant and we sang Happy Birthday to her over Tiramisu lit with a candle. This is the second time that we have eaten at the Italian restaurant--the food is amazing.

Next we came back to the room and played. During the day, Amelia Belle really started to show us how she can defend herself and how load she can get. When anyone touched her (Thatcher, or me mostly) or when anyone tried to take something of hers, she would get loud, pull away and yell, “BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”. She also waved her arms and even swatted us away at times. She is just a little, bitty thing, but she can be loud. I imagine these are coping or defense mechanisms that she developed in the orphanage. It is cute now, but obviously, we will have to teach her differently.

In addition, while playing at night, she once again pretended to put something on her face, as well as Kristi’s face and even mine. In addition, she did a lot of gibbering. She said, “MA, MA, MA, MA, MA!” “DA, DA, DA, DA, DA, DA!” And “BA, BA, BA, BA, BA, BA!” She does this very loudly, and repeatedly. I do not think she is saying Momma or Daddy, but there are several of the children that are calling their new parents momma and daddy already. We tried putting her in her bed tonight, but she got upset. We let her go to sleep in ours and then I moved her to hers.

Saturday
Saturday, we got up for breakfast and went down to see all the families from our original group that got their babies in other provinces. It was good to see everyone doing pretty well, although there are a few families that are having problems--some similar to ours in that the baby does not care for a parent.

After breakfast we met downstairs (was raining, now stopped. Nasty weather now, for like three days.) For a trip to the Jade market and a temple. Because our group was so big, Zhou divided us into two groups--he took the families that just got here and his assistant Jason (he was born in China and lives in Guangzhou, so I am guessing that is not what his momma named him) took us.

The jade market was unremarkable. Jade jewelry from street vendors and shops inside buildings for wholesale prices. If you do not like the price, you walk away sort t of haggling. Then we went to the Buddhist temple. Very interesting and I tried to use it as a learning experience for Thatcher. We walked around the temple and I tried to explain to him about different religions and compare it to our faith. Outside, there were vendors selling incense and a parent gave Thatcher incense to light and stick on a cart. It is used for prayers and Thatcher told me you were supposed to pray for your grandparents. Therefore, we used it as an opportunity for him and me to pray for his grandparents. We prayed to God and thanked him for Amelia Belle and thanked him and prayed for Mimi, Pawpaw John, Douda, Papa Ed, and Maw maw Glenda and Grammy.

Next, we went with our friends Cindy and Bob Stemple for lunch at Lucy’s. Kristi and I both had fried chicken, and Thatcher had spaghetti and meat sauce for about the 47th time since we have been in China. Mimi had Orange Chicken. I have not had Chinese food since we have been in Guangzhou.

After lunch, we ran into our friends from Haughton, LA Tiffany and Marty Kent. They were finishing up some paperwork in the lobby of our hotel. We got a chance to see their new little boy Kaegan--he is 2-½ and very sweet (should have named the kid Clark, though...get it? Clark Kent?). We made plans to get together later for dinner and it was off to get a nap again. Thatcher went with Mimi somewhere while Kristi got the baby to sleep. Then, while I worked to upload some video, Kristi took Thatcher to get something at Starbucks. Then Kristi had to take care of adoption paperwork downstairs.

When the baby awoke, she was ok for a few minutes--reserved and looking for Kristi. It was not long before she was fussing…very loudly. We decided to visit next door, and she went right to Kristi’s mom. She kept fussing, so I took her back and opened a can of Pringles and she got quiet to eat. She let me feed her and for the next hour she played with Thatcher, Mimi and me until Kristi got back When Kristi returned, her eyes lit up and she started laughing and carrying on. It is obvious she is connecting and probably worried at some level of being left again.

Not long after that Tiffany and Marty called from downstairs. They came upstairs and visited for a while, and then we all went to eat. We went to Lucy’s again, because the Kent’s have been far in the North of China and really needed food that was more American. Dinner was fun. We got a chance to compare notes and it was a real encouragement. I look at these beautiful kids and it breaks my heart to think about parents that could not take care of them.

Today was a big day for Amelia Belle and I (well, mostly me). She has been very playful with Kristi and Thatcher, but not so much me. Today we laughed more, she kissed me, she let me hold her at times (not for very long, and NEVER without food) and we played a lot. At bedtime, while Kristi was taking a bath, she lay next to me in bed and she repeatedly stuck her feet in my face and laughed, she put her hand out for me to kiss, and most importantly, she kept eye contact with me. Might sound ridiculous, but I am ecstatic. It was a good day.

One other funny thing that she does is she yells to get your attention. While we were playing at bedtime, she decided she had enough of me and wanted Kristi’s attention. So she started yelling for her…not words, just sounds. It is funny. In addition, we think she is pretty smart. Kristi changed her diaper tonight, and she must not have been finished. She stayed lying down in front of Kristi, and when she was finished, she started tugging on her pants, indicating to Kristi that it was time to change her again. And right before bed, she watched Kristi put cream on her face, and then acted as if she put it on herself, and acted as if she was putting lipstick on. It was funny.
This was a good day. Tomorrow we are really off to the zoo.