Party Girl

Lots of running around last weekend as Wynn had two kids' parties to attend! First was her friend Tessa's birthday Saturday night - at the Too Cool Cooking School with a bunch of her classmates ... great concept; the kids make their own dinner during a 2-hour party (while the parents can sneak off to the coffee shop)

Sunday night we continued our annual Chinese New Year tradition of having a dinner and playtime with the other Twin Cities families we were in China with for our kids' adoptions. Wynn and Jenna, the Guanxi Girls, continue to be smart, outgoing, and a bit wacky. Josh, from Anhui, loves to talk and have fun too - just not as rambunctious as the girls...

Book recommendation: Home is a Roof Over a Pig

I recently finished reading an interesting new book, Home is a Roof Over a Pig, by Aminta Arrington.  She's also a blogger, a teacher, and an adoptive parent of a girl from China.

Instead of raising her youngest child through a "normal American life", however, she and her husband and their other two school-age siblings moved to China not long after the adoption.  It's an interesting twist on addressing the desire by adoptive parents to not let a child's birth culture slip away, and pretty gutsy.  The book is a fascinating read - I've posted a full review at weninchina.com -  and do recommend it especially for other families who are in the China adoption track.

Will we eventually move overseas?  Wynn's in a great school, and is getting lots of Chinese acculturation there.  (She doesn't even notice anymore when we're around Chinese families speaking Mandarin in places like IKEA ... it's completely normal to her.  Also, this happens a lot more now that we're living in the city...)  But, Yinghua only goes to 8th grade.  And Ann and I may want to do new things with our careers, too. (And jinkies, we just moved into this new house!) So, not today and not for a while. But it may happen, and this book gives us some insights into what that kind of transition might look like.

Catching up: Chinese New Year & Kids Reunion!

For Chinese New Year weekend, we had our now-traditional get-together / celebration potluck with the other Twin Cities families we traveled with back in 2007, plus a few new families who've adopted since then.

Wynn and Jenna, the Guangxi Girls, are back in action! As we compare developmental notes with her parents, both girls still have that South China spark of confidence, intelligence, and charisma. With every opportunity we present them, they take it and run.

Check out Josh's pro chopsticks skills!

A bowl of tangerines / oranges is a traditional Chinese New Year centerpiece which symbolizes long health and many children. Learn more about CNY at my weninchina.com article...

All the kids work on an art project to create their own dragons.

Group shot of all our beautiful kids!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Year of the Tiger, of course

The full moon tonight marks the Lantern Festival and end to the 15-day Chinese New Year holiday season. This year, Wynn celebrated with a couple different activities.

A week ago Monday, we got together with the other family who traveled with us in Guangxi province, another family from our trip who went through Anhui province, and a third family who adopted through Sichuan last year. The kids colored dragons, listened to stories, and we all had a fine feast.

The Guangxi Girls - Wynn and Jenna - masters of The Force! Jenna is about a half-year older than Wynn. They both enjoy being in charge - they know the family routines; the rules of the games; what the pets should be doing; where we should sit. No need for whining or temper, as Guangxi Girls know how to get their point across matter-of-factly, using just enough charm or cool logic to convince you.

Last weekend, I took Wynn to Como Zoo. She specifically wanted to see the tiger (that's him in the first photo) and we wished him a Happy New Year. We also checked out the tropical plants in the Conservatory, noting which kinds grew in China; looked at the golden carp and talked about why they're considered lucky; and shared some stories about when we came to adopt her.

Quite a few other Asian families were at the zoo, too, doing the same things we were. I worry sometimes that we're not giving her enough exposure to her birth culture, but over the past two weeks of watching what other families are doing and seeing how Wynn interacts with other kids - Asian and everyone else - it feels like we're doing a good job.

Yes, I Remember

We make a point of frequently talking to Wynn about China, adoption, and the day we became a family. These things have been part of the conversation at our house from the moment we got home two and a half years ago, so Wynn's familiar with the story and the terms. (She hasn't reached the age yet where she realizes that most of her friends' first moments with their families were different than hers, but that will come.)

Here's tonight's bedtime conversation between the two of us. (Picture her with a snotty nose and watery eyes from having a cold.)

Wynn: Remember when I was a tiny little baby? (Holds her fingers up to emphasize tiny, as if she were the size of spool of thread.)

Me: Yes, I remember. You were so tiny.

Wynn: Remember when I was in China?

Me: Yes, you were in China, and Baba and I were here.

Wynn: And you said, "That's our girl. Let's go get her!"

Me: Yes, we saw your picture and knew you were our daughter. We came as fast as we could.

Wynn: And when Baba picked me up -

Me: Yes, Baba carried you back to the hotel room in China.

Wynn: And I cried on Baba.

Me: You did cry.

Wynn: It was 'cause I didn't know who you was yet.

Me: Yep, we knew you were our daughter, but you didn't know who we were.

Wynn: I didn't know yet, but now I know. You Mom and Baba. (big smile)

Past and Present

On this date, two years ago, we became a family.

Last night I read through our blog posts from that time; I smiled (and teared up a little) as I remembered those first few days of discovering one another.

As is our custom, we had pizza and Cheerios for dinner tonight - just as we did for our first family meal together in China. As she sat there slurping down her chocolate milk and making goofy faces at me - the latest of which I call her "great Norma Desmond" look - I couldn't help but think about how far we've come. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that there was a time when she wouldn't even let me hold her, even though I know it's true.

Today was also what Wynn calls a "girl day" - when I'm home for the summer, and she stays home from daycare. The big excitement on this day was that it was Wynn's first time going to music class at the MacPhail Center.

Now, I happen to be sick as a proverbial dog this week - we've been taking turns with the stuffy nose, low-grade fever thing, and it's my turn at bat. But I managed to take enough Tylenol and decongestant to get us over to Minneapolis and through our first class.

Wynn was oddly shy for much of it. Maybe it was the unfamiliar people and surroundings. Or that she wasn't quite sure whether I was staying or leaving. In any case, instead of pretending to fly around like a woodpecker, Wynn wanted to be held by Mom. So I held her, and we flew like a woodpecker together. And it was fun.

Near the end of the class, the teacher brought out a parachute to play with. Wynn got one look at it and started jumping up and down, "Oh, I like THAT!" And any hint of shyness disappeared.

March Madness

March started off with stomach flu for the whole family - Grandma and Grandpa too! That was our "in like a lion" part, and we hope today's sunny weather, warmer temperatures, and cheerful disposition from the toddler indicate that it will be going "out like a lamb". We went out for a trike ride around the neighborhood after lunch (chicken nuggets dipped in lingonberry preserves - very Minnesotan), and she squealed with glee most of the way.

We had the honor of being guest speakers on a panel at Children's Home Society, our adoption agency. The panel was made up of several families who have adopted, and the audience was comprised of families who are considering adoption. We talked about our experiences and answered questions, and Wynn behaved FABULOUSLY - she didn't poop or pitch a fit or anything. Seriously, she was a great representative of what a special needs child can be. When we started the process of adoption, we did not intend to go through the special needs program, but during our home study we found that we were actually very open to it. That path led us to Wynn, so we're so glad that - even though the home study process is long and entails a shocking amount of work - we did it.

We've had some struggles with getting Wynn to sleep lately. We don't know if she's been getting over-tired or if the longer hours of daylight are throwing her off, but we've had a few evenings of screaming and fidgeting before she finally falls asleep. We do all the bedtime rituals - taking the bath, putting away the toys, talking about how Mama has her pajamas on too, reading books, listening to quiet music ..., but some nights, it just doesn't work. (On the worst night of it this week, I woke up on her bedroom floor, drooling on my arm, wondering where I was and how long I'd been there.)


She looked adorable on Easter Sunday, but we learned that two celebrations at two locations on the same day is way too much for a two year-old. We really didn't push the Easter Bunny thing; maybe we'll mention him next year when she's a little more likely to understand what we're talking about. Since she's such a big fan of healthy snacks (tomatoes, celery, bananas, spinach), we went with a no candy policy for Easter. She really doesn't know what candy is yet, and we figure she has her whole life to learn about the joy of peanut butter cups.

- Ann

She Loves Her Dishwasher Box Fort

Wonder Woman!

Imperfection

This weekend we went to the Children's Home Society China Reunion, which was lots of fun. Scott and I both commented on how nice it was to be at a gathering filled with families that look like ours and to know that everyone in that room had made their own personal journey through "the process". We saw a few familes we'd seen in China back in June, lots of the CHSFS people we've worked with along the way, Molly - our amazing representative from Guangzhou, and a former student of mine - one of my absolute favorites ever - and her family. We took the long way home, so Wynn got her daily nap while riding in the car, and my parents came over to visit at dinner time. It was a good day.

Recently, a comment that an acquaintance who reads our blog made got me thinking. She said, "You're such a perfect family." I know that she meant that we fit so well together and things do seem to be moving along swimmingly, but I got a little hung up on the word perfect. Scott and I talked a lot before we left for China, and we came up with our mantra as new parents: "Mistakes will be made."

I think our experiences may come across to people as having been relatively easy because we have both approached the adoption process and our first fumbling steps as parents with a sense of humor and the attitude that we're going to try our best not to sweat the small stuff. Sure, there are days when Scott comes home worn out from work and just wants to eat a nice meal and watch "The Daily Show", while I've been taking care of Wynn all day and feel ready to just hand her over and say, "She's all yours, Buddy." Yes, we do get frustrated when Wynn doesn't understand the concept of Saturday and wakes us up at 6 AM. And the stains... a LOT of things have gotten stained since she showed up. We acknowledge the fatigue and frustrations to one another, but we also know that they're so insignificant compared to seeing Wynn smile when she wakes up in the morning, hearing her squeal with delight when she sees a moth flying around in the yard, or trying to keep track of every time she learns something new.

In honor of imperfections everywhere, I present to you our own blooper reel of pictures of Wynn. They may not be perfect pictures, but, when you're working with a toddler, perfection isn't a realistic goal now, is it? :-)

1-1/2 years old! Thank you, neighbors.

Today Wynn is 18 months old. Here she is attempting to play with everything in her room, all at once.

Tonight we joined our neighbors for our annual cookout and get-together. One of the reasons why we felt that adoption was the right thing to do is because we live on a street where people do routinely chat with their neighbors, that we all know each others' dogs and stop to pet them and give them treats, and that the kids who live here are genuinely welcome to play in each others' yards, go swimming and fishing, ride their bikes and such, knowing that all the adults here care about them and are watching out for them.

Whether at work or on the road, when we tell other people about the place we live, inevitably we hear, "that's the way it was when I was a kid." But often said with a sense of loss. And to be sure, we've both lived in places where we didn't know our next-door neighbors and probably just as well... mega apartment complexes as well as typical suburban plats. But those weren't places where we would have wanted to raise a child. Nor, live, for any extended amount of time.

As I looked at the apartment towers in China I wondered what kind of social atmosphere could exist there. Would the sense of community break down? But Wynn and her foster mother lived in such a place, and our little girl has consistently shown empathy toward other people, and has no problem joining other kids in play. So that gives me hope.

As far as our neighborhood, it is this way because we collectively want it to be this way, and we make the effort. It is pleasant work. And while I could certainly see our family in the future spending an extended period in China living the expat experience, I know I could never leave our home - we love this place too much.

What we didn't expect tonight at the cookout was that everyone came explicitly to see Wynn. She was the star of the party, got to meet all the neighbors she hadn't seen since arriving here, including a couple of boys her age - one adopted from Guatemala, the other from Ethiopia. She even got presents! She also got to steal most of the dinner from my plate (and after we fed her full of mac'n'cheese before coming over...)

Thank you, Bald Eagle neighbors. Not just for the gifts tonight, but for the bigger gift of creating and maintaining this wonderful, nurturing, and supportive place where Wynn can grow strong and confident and loved.

--Scott

Adjusting to Normal

We're still having trouble convincing Wynn to fall asleep at night, but we think that might have something to do with her being a toddler...

We've set a appointment for Wynn to see the cleft palate specialist in early-August. It'll be nice to hear what he has to say and get some specifics on what kind of surgical schedule we're looking at. While we're not looking forward to major medical procedures for her, we're happy to be in a place where quality medical care is available. Once her palate repair is underway, getting liquids in her should be easier, and it will help with her speech also. (Although, she did very clearly say, "banana" this morning as I was slicing one up for her.)

This morning she figured out the difference between the REAL remote that actually turns to TV on and off and the FAKE remote that has no batteries; she prefers the real one. She managed to turn the TV on by herself. When Elmo came on, she looked a little perplexed, so she hit another button; Darth Vader appeared on on the screen, and she started to smile and laugh.

Today's pictures show Wynn playing with Nick and Megan, who visited her yesterday - and brought a sandbox and a McDonald's Happy Meal luncheon to enjoy at the mini picnic table. Very much appreciated.

You can also see how she's bonding with Ranger; it's FUN to delicately drop your rice on the floor and watch the dog eat it.

Ann

Where'd She Learn That?

As we've been spending more and more time with our daughter, Scott and I are finding ourselves wondering about some of the things Wynn does. We're so happy to have her with us now, but we're very aware of the fact that she had a history before us. When she puts up her arms and sticks her hands through the armholes of her shirt to help get herself dressed, we wonder how old she was when she learned that. When she's having trouble falling asleep and starts humming "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", we wonder who first sang that tune to her. And where in the world did she learn that weird tiger cub humming thing she does when she's happy?!

We sent a disposable camera to her foster mom several weeks before we went to China. We got the film developed once we were home, and it's interesting for us to see the contrast between the home she had there and the one she has with us. I'm glad we didn't see the pictures before we went; if we'd seen them then, we'd be more apt to be judgmental as we see her in a crib with wooden slats instead of a mattress and riding on back of a bike with no safety equipment visible. Having been to China, and having truly fallen in love with the place and the people we met there, we now look at these pictures knowing that it's simply a different culture with different ways of doing things. What matters most is that she was so obviously loved and cared for. Her foster mom guided her into becoming the strong, funny, and opinionated little girl we're so lucky to have as our daughter.

Ann

More Pictures

Wynn's feeling better.
Scott's feeling better.
The whole family went to IKEA today in search of a picnic table for Wynn. (She inhaled a plate of macaroni and cheese while we were there. Good "fatten up the toddler" food.)
Here are some pictures we took this afternoon of Wynn playing in her kiddie pool and telling Baba how to put together her picnic table.

- Ann

Back to the Doctor

Today was Wynn's wellness appoitnment at the doctor's office - to follow-up on her pneumonia and start getting data for her medical record. They did the weights and measures; here's how she fared: head circumference in the 50th percentile, height in the 5th percentile, and weight below the 5th percentile for her age - told you she's tiny. The doctor did remind us that the percentiles are based on all American babies, regardless of ethnic backgound. Being Asian, Wynn's going to tend to be smaller; still, we've been instructed to fatten her up. (That's why we stopped at McD's for dinner after the appointment; she REALLY likes chocolate shakes!)

Part of the visit today was a pretty hefty blood draw - five vials. She didn't like getting stuck; she wailed and cried the entire time. To her credit, though, she did stop crying within about two minutes of the blood draw. The tech's comment on working with her was, "Wow, she's strong!" Because of her size, I think people tend to expect her to be either much younger or much more frail than she actually is. There were three of us working to keep her arm straight and to stop her from wiggling too much - three of us vs. one tiny little her.

Another aspect of establishing medical records for Wynn involves collecting stool samples. We got the "equipment" on Monday and hoped (if that's the right word) to get the four required samples in time for today's appointment. We laughed out loud as we read the instructions: Do NOT get urine on the stool. Do NOT let the stool go in the toilet. Do NOT get the stool wet. (Wasn't that one of the warnings in "Gremlins"?) Wynn somehow sensed that we wanted those samples, so she and her colon promptly went on strike. So, we've had a ridiculous amount of fuss these past few days trying to coax our toddler into producing four pristine poops for us to bring in. She's never seen a potty chair before, so that just made her scream. All manner of wrestling holds, distractions, and bribes were used in our attempts to get the coveted samples, all the while we were telling her, "No, you can't just go in your diaper, Honey. You might pee too, and that would skew the data!" Anyhow, we're four days into the process and have only collected two viable samples, which Scott quickly mixed with the formulas and test tubes provided by the clinic. It's very CSI around here. (A few possible test subjects were lost in the bathtub tonight. What a waste.)

While all this has been going on, Scott's been coming down with the same crud Wynn's got. He's all congested, has a scratchy throat and fever, and feels like someone's punched him the ribs. The doctor told him to wait a few days since it's a virus; his grown-up immune system should be able to knock it out on its own. Fingers crossed!

Ann

Tossing and Turning

Wynn had a follow-up appointment with the doctor yesterday, which went very well. He listened to her lungs; there's still something in there, but it's not too bad. She's having more productive (i.e., disgusting) coughs since she started on the medicine. It's hard to wrap your mind around seeing a big green blob of snot on her face and thinking, "Well, that's a good sign." Luckily, it's easy to get her to take the medicine; they flavor it up real nice, so she opens her mouth like a little bird the second she sees the medicine dropper.

Speaking of the medicine dropper ... we finally found a way to get more liquids into her. The spoon method took FOREVER, and she (and we!) were getting bored and frustrated having to get out the spoon every time she needed a drink. I saw how eagerly she took the medicine, so last night I sat her down with a cup of apple juice and the dropper. Voila! She loved the juice so much she smacked her lips between "sips". We will need to get her drinking independently eventually (I'm not going along to kindergarten, afterall.), but at least we've got a faster way to pump the liquids in her now.

The doctor's advice yesterday was to fatten her up - in his words, "Butter up that bread!", so we're working on introducing more fats into her diet. As we thought about what she'd been eating, we realized that her diet was almost fat free. No wonder she's so skinny; she's been on the ZONE diet for the last year and a half! (We keep having to buy new clothes for her; everything we have is WAY too big. She fits in a twelve-month top and needs size SIX months on the bottom. All those lovely 18 month and 2T sundresses we have will be worn next summer, I guess. Or this winter with tights and a turtleneck.) After a quest for "fatten up the toddler" food at the grocery store last night, we discovered that she very much enjoys the Eggo mini pancake. She polished off the first two and then brought us the empty bowl to say, "I'll have a few more of those please."

The biggest fight we're having with her (other than getting her to wear shoes) is getting her to go to sleep at night. Once we've got her out, we don't hear a peep from her for eight hours, but she resists falling asleep with such fury! It took over an hour of watching her flop around, kick her feet, talk to her stuffed dog, hum songs to herself, etc. before she finally dropped off. We're working on the going to bed rituals - snack time, bath time, put on lotion, put on pajamas, turn down the lights, etc., but she's just not playing along yet.

Meanwhile, enjoy some pictures from the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Ann

Welcome to Parenthood!

The family spent its first Saturday afternoon in America hanging out in our local emergency room.

Wynn had a cough on and off while we were in China, and we'd given her Triaminic, which worked quite well. She was doing better, so we didn't give it much thought. Then last night a about 3 AM she woke up and made this "I can't breathe" sound and proceeded to throw up in the bed. She slept most of the morning, and by the time afternoon rolled around, she was getting feverish and couldn't even keep down a couple teaspoons of water. She didn't act like she felt bad at all, but we decided to risk being labeled as the first time parents who over-react every time their child sniffles. We took her to the ER and are so glad we did.

After being looked over by two nurses and the doctor and enduring a throat culture and a couple x-rays, Wynn was diagnosed with pneumonia. She took the whole medical exam thing in stride, but refused to open her mouth for the throat culture. We have this game we play with her where I say the Chinese word for nose and she points to hers. Then I say the word for tongue, and she sticks hers out. We tried to get her to play this to help the doctor look in her mouth, but Wynn was totally on to the fact that we were trying to trick her. She gave me this look like "No dice, Mama" and kept her mouth closed.

The doctor gave her a shot of antibiotics and a prescription for more to take for the next seven days. Two hours after she got the shot, she was up and active as ever - and BEGGING for food. We were supposed to start her slowly with clear fluids, but, again, no dice. She would not stop until she was presented with a bowl of extremely watered-down Cream of Wheat that I'd kindly stirred some strawberry syrup into. When that was gone, she wanted more, so we moved on to banana.

We coaxed her away from the food long enough to give her a bath and brush her teeth to get the vomit smell out of her mouth. Then she stood pointing at the kitchen and CRIED until I ponied up with some more Cream of Wheat.

She slept most of the day, so what are the odds that she'll sleep at all tonight?

Ann

As you mull over the night we're going to have with our newly-energized toddler, enjoy the lovely pictures of Renmin Park, Nanning, China. (It was about a block from our hotel.)

On the Red Couch

Now that we're home, we can actually take some time and post pictures and more details about some of the things that we did while we were in China.

One of the big adoption moments in China is the group photo of the kids, taken on the red couch at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou. I'd never heard of it until we got into the process, but, apparently, this is the big tradition - a moment that so many families who've adopted a child from China have in common.

Typically, the parents get their child a traditional Chinese style outfit (We got ours at Cute Baby, a shop on the north end of Shamian.), and all the kids get their picture taken together on one of these big velvet couches on the second floor of the hotel.

The day the pictures were taken, we were pleasently surprised at how well the kids reacted to having 20+ adults with cameras snapping photos of them. Getting a group of toddlers to sit still together on a sofa is hard enough, but add the chaos of all those flash bulbs and things could get dicey. Anyhow, the kids were all reasonably calm throughout.

This was the day that Wynn showed us how empathetic and kind she is by feeding her friend Jenna some Cheerios. Jenna was NOT digging the flashbulbs and chaos, so her mom put some Cheerios in front of her. Jenna kept crying, so Wynn picked up the cereal piece by piece and gently fed them to her. I was shocked that at no point did Wynn try to eat the cereal herself; we all know what an enthusiastic little eater she is. (Jenna and Wynn were the two kids adopted from Guangxi Provence; the other kids all came from farther north. They'd been together for over a week at this point, so they'd formed kind of special bond.)

Wynn's the one in the navy blue outfit who actually cooperated and kept her shoes on for the entire picture taking session. Good girl! ;-)

Ann

Final Day in Guangzhou

It is 11:00 in the morning presently - our bus leaves for the US Consulate at 2:45, at which time Wynn's papers are reviewed one last time and the oath of citizenship is administered.

Our alarm is set for 4:15 am - bags out in the hall at 5:00 and the bus for the airport leaves at 5:30. Again, precious little time to scope out the airport hunting, alas...

We took the group photos yesterday at lunchtime (the famous "red couch" here at the White Swan) and Wynn stole the show through her show of kindness to one of the other children -- Jenna was having a hard time, so Wynn fed her Cheerios and patted her on the hand.

Last night we took a Pearl River dinner cruise - the food was what you'd get at a local Chinese buffet, nothing remarkable; but what they have done with the riverfront is truly breathtaking. Wynn was very well behaved and the three of us had a great time. Ann called it "one of the best nights in my entire life."

We know we will be back - not if, but when.

It appears this computer (hotel @ 40 yuan per 15 minutes!!) will NOT allow us to load photos... Next posting will be back in the States, with many many pictures! See you soon!

--Scott

Life is Good on Shamian Island

Yes! We finally got our hands on a computer again, so here we are checking in from Shamian Island, Guangzhou, China ...

Wynn's first plane ride was a breeze. She took all the checking in and waiting in lines completely in stride and slept through the entire flight. When the wheels touched down as we landed, she didn't even open her eyes. We realize that she's not going to sleep all the way from Guangzhou to Tokyo to Minneapolis, but we were relieved to learn that air travel doesn't turn her into a howling beast.

Scott had a couple rough days as we left Nanning. Whatever attacked his stomach was quickly killed by the antibiotics we brought with. Both Wynn and I escaped unscathed. He's back on track now and enjoying every minute of the breakfast buffet - they have tater tots! :-)

Wynn is showing more and more personality every day. She's very outgoing - waving bye-bye to the doorman when we leave and charming the girls who work at the elevator bay on our floor. Though she's warm and friendly to others, she shakes her head NO whenever they want to pick her up or touch her face. We take this as a very good sign, because she's figured out that we're her family and has bonded herself to us.

We had her medical exam today. She has only gained one pound since the last update we got in March; at 17 months, she only weighs 18 pounds. She is, however, strong and vigorous. The way we describe her is as "underfed" rather than "malnourished". She is passionate about eating, and we've figured out a system for getting the whole family through a restaurant meal. We order something for Wynn (congee, oatmeal, noodles, a soft scrambled egg, etc.) and feed it to her. When she's polished her food off, we give her a small plate of her own; that's for what she can beg off our plates. (I can't think of ANYTHING she's said no to; today she insisted on eating all the tomatoes off my sandwich at Starbuck's.) She feeds herself what we give her on the "begging plate" while we eat. Tonight at dinner we noticed that she's made a leap in her trust of us: instead of shoving every morsel of food we give her into her mouth immediately, she let food pile up on her plate and ate at a more leisurely pace. She trusts that when we give her food, it's hers - we're not going to take it away. That's a big deal.

I don't know where to begin in describing her personality. She's a bit of a clown and has the most amazing giggle, which she unleashed on us as she and Scott played slow-speed "chase" around the hotel room. She figured out that she can cruise from one end of our room to the other, so she stands inside the door and stamps her feet (like she's revving up her engine) and then todddles the full length of the room with this enormous grin on her face. She still LOVES to take things out of boxes and put them back in, and she figured out that it was easier to get her sorting blocks off their pegs by turning the whole toy upsidedown rather than lifting the blocks off one by one.

The one thing we've found that she hates is wearing shoes. She kicks her feet and fights us when we try to put them on her. We'll catch her later taking them off in her stroller. She even went so far as to ditch one of them in front of the 7-11 this afternoon; luckily, another family from our group recognized the shoe and brought it back to us. What she does love about shoes is bringing ours to us. She'll carry my slippers across the room and hand them to me; then she'll go get Scott's and bring them to him. What amazes us is that she KNOWS which shoes belong to whom. How'd she figure that out so fast?

Tomorrow we're going to have our group picture taken on the world famous red couch here at the White Swan. In the evening our whole group in going to go on a dinner cruise on the Pearl River. It should be cool to see the view from the river; the parks along the banks are lit up different colors, and a few of the hotels have laser light shows in the sky every night. (On our walk last night we discovered that they also play patriotic anthems and "The Beer Barrel Polka" over a PA system outside. I can actually hear it outside our window right now.)

I'm not sure if we'll be able to post again before we leave, but that's just a few days away anyway. :-) We've had a great time, and we especially love how accessible things are here on Shamian, but we're homesick. We miss our house, family, friends, dog, and COOL AIR. Please arrange for highs in the mid-70's for the first week we're home; we're cookin' over here.

See you soon!
Ann

Last Day in Nanning

We were glad to have very little that had to be done today since both of us are feeling a little under the weather. We don't know if it was something we ate yesterday or the cumulative effect of ten days of buffet breakfasts, extreme heat, and a whole bunch of stress. Scott's borne the brunt of the sickness so far, but my turn may still come.

Hannah took us to a street market in Nanning this morning. It was kind of like a permanent flea market, but most of the stalls were selling fresh flowers and plants (lots of bamboo, lots of beautiful orchids). The other stalls sold small trinkets and knick knacks - wood carvings, tea pots, five foot tall statues of Chairman Mao (which would be kinda cool to have out in the front yard ...). We only made one purchase: a pair of lucky fish to hang up at our house.

Wynn is getting even more relaxed and playful around us. She still has her moments, but things are going so much more smoothly than they were two days ago. Scott has noticed that she's interested in ALL of her toys now instead of focusing on just one. She's also playing much more independently; she can entertain herself longer knowing that we're nearby. (She used to need to be touching one of us ALL the time.)

I know, everyone thinks their own child is brilliant, but we truly are surprised to see how quickly she catches on to things and how much she remembers from one day to the next. She was very good this morning at breakfast about complying when we told her that she couldn't have any more bun with jelly until she sat down in the highchair - no standing allowed. When I told her to give her puppy toy a kiss, she brought him up to her face and planted a big smooch on him. Then she laughed. As she saw us starting to pack this afternoon, she put all her blocks in a gift bag and carried them over to me; she set the bag inside my suitcase and looked at me as if to say, "We're going to want to take these along."

Wynn has figured out that we're "hers". She gives Hannah and other people that same skeptical look she used to give us. When someone comes over at breakfast to tell her how beautiful she is, she leans over closer to us. She also doesn't like to have other people - even Hannah - touch her face. She gently puts her hand up and brushes them aside. Sometimes she tightens up her mouth and gives them a quick shake of the head that is a definite "no". We take these as good signs that she is starting to bond to us and that we're not going to have the issue of her being indiscriminately affectionate - wanting complete strangers to pick her up and hug her. Scott and I would both decribe ourselves as being slightly aloof when we first meet people, but we form strong bonds with the people we choose to ally oursleves with; it appears that Wynn's very much like us.

We had sent a set of questions to the orphanage before we left, and today Hannah translated their answers for us. Much of what they said we'd already figured out by spending a few days with her (she cries a lot before she falls asleep, taking her outside to play cheers her up, etc.). What we didn't know is that for her to drink, she needs to be given her formula in a spoon. Well, no wonder we couldn't get her to drink the darn formula! We were giving it to her the wrong way! They also wrote that she loves music, which we had figured out from the way she started dancing to the Mandopop musak in the department store and how she started rocking and tapping to "Shanghai Idol", which is on TV every night. They also told us that she loves the Teletubbies, so I guess we'll need to get her some DVD's at Target so she can watch something familiar when we get back to Minnesota.

We're off to Guangzhou tomorrow, where we SHOULD have the ability to download pictures again, so you can all see such classic images as "smearing her jelly-covered fingers on mama's lap" and "running around the hotel room with her hands in the air making airplane noises". It's a good show.

Ann

Out and About

Last night after dinner we went for a walk in nearby Renmin Park with the other CHSFS family. The park's only a couple blocks from our hotel, and it's absolutely lovely: lots of shade trees, a lake, all kinds of exotic plants and flowers. We both said that it was like walking in the Como Park Conservatory - without the glass dome. The people of Nanning go to this park to relax and escape the traffic and crowds. There were young couples sitting together in the pavillion, families out for a stroll, and some older folks practicing their tai chi. We tried putting Wynn in the baby carrier for the first time - success! She rode along cooperatively, and Scott's arms got a much needed break.

We got back from our walk at about 7:15 last night, and Wynn promptly passed out on the bed. She slept straight through until 5 AM. Scott changed her diaper around 10 o'clock, and she slept right through it. Ahh.

Since she has no interest in the crib and is a heavy duty "roller" in the bed, we finally came up with a system where we can ALL relax and sleep through the night. It involves all three of us sleeping in a twin bed together, but it works! Scott sleeps in the normal position, my pillow and head go down by his feet, and Wynn is tucked safely in the "nest" between us. (We're REALLY hoping the hotel in Guangzhou has bigger beds.)

Hannah took us on a tour of the countryside today. It was like nothing we've ever seen. Lush green farmlands are punctuated with massive slices of mountain that suddenly shoot up from the ground. (We keep saying, "I feel like I'm on location for a James Bond movie," to each other.) When we got to Guangzhou we should be able to download pictures again, so check back to see them.

Hannah took us to a small farming village. She knew the villagers there and took us on a walking tour so we could take pictures of the people, their homes, their farms, and the scenery that surrounds them. Everyone there was friendly and smiling at us, cooing at the little girls being carried around by their big American fathers. It was definitely exotic, but strangely familiar since, even though we're city folks, we've spent enough time near farmlands at home to be able to tell the difference between the pig barn and the cow barn based on smell alone. The temperature today was ninety-eight degrees with a dewpoint around eighty, and we Westerners were certainly feeling it. Hannah looked at our beet red faces and innocently asked, "Oh, is it too hot?" (We have discovered that, even though she comes from the tropics, Wynn is a Minnesotan at heart. She's happiest when we're riding in the van with the air conditioning cranked, and she kicks all the covers off of her at night. This girl likes to be COOL - just like Mama.)

Wynn has decided that riding in her stroller is okay by her - another break for Daddy's arms. :-)

We can't get her to drink the formula the orphanage sent with her, but she'll definitely have a bite of whatever we're having. She ate an ENORMOUS bowl of congee at noon today. We were both amazed that such a tiny person could pack away so much food. She's also figured out that I'm the one who's packing snacks, so we're doing a lot of our initial bonding by her asking me for food and me giving it to her. She still wants to sit on Scott's lap when she's eating, but she figured out that I'm the one holding the spoon.

Tomorrow we're going with Hannah to buy some souvenirs of Guangxi in the morning; then we'll just relax for the afternoon. We're getting tired of hotel food - there's no grocery store or Western food near our hotel - so we're looking forward to moving on to life on Shamian Island in Guangzhou starting Saturday. Word on the street is they have a place where you can get real burgers and fries. :-)

One week from today we'll be home.
With a fridge full of food.
And a queen-sized bed.
And tap water we can drink.
And our friends and family around us.

Ann