Day 5

Yesterday seemed like a pretty long day for us. The only thing on the agenda was going to a mall with the group. I wasn’t really in a shopping mood (did I say that out loud???) but we still managed to get a few things. We bought a few things for JiJi, like a bottle as the ones I brought aren’t working so well. First of all, I made the holes in the nipples a little too big and she’s practically choking on the milk and then the extra nipples I bought don’t fit the bottle very well. Oh, and we bought her some shoes because all of the shoes I brought are way too big. She’s a short little thing but we’re told that she’s a little chunky. We think she’s just right. Most of the 6-12 month clothes seem to fit her okay, just maybe a little long.

On our way back to the hotel, she fell asleep so when we got to our room, she ended up having a 2 hour nap. Gary and I played crib (thank goodness for the crib board). Then when she woke up, we went back to the local grocery store with another travel mate and hung out there for a while. The orphanage gave the Wanzai families each a bag of milk and rice formula. I was able to buy the milk formula but they didn’t sell the rice one so I’ll have to try to get it in Beijing. Then we stopped at Tiffany’s, a little shop just across the street from out hotel and bought JiJi a white silk dress with matching shoes and hat. This will be perfect for her baptism. This is when we were told out baby is big because I wanted to get a size one and the lady said “No, size 2, baby too big”. Then on our way into the hotel, she fell asleep again. She’s running a low grade fever so I gave her a half a dose of Tylenol in the morning and before bed. Her thighs are peeling very badly and she started scratching the crap out of them yesterday. She also has this wicked bite from something on her tummy. If it doesn’t heal by the time we get back to Beijing, we will see a doctor.

Our experience with the local people is always very interesting. They are either just standing right in front of staring at you, or calling over all their friends so that they can all stare at you as a group. It’s quite comical. Gary, I think, has gotten use to this and plays right along. It’s not uncommon for ladies to just grab JiJi and pick her up. It startles me sometimes when we’re out somewhere and Gary is standing without my baby. When we were at the grocery store, I went up to the second floor and Gary took a good 20 minutes to make his way up with the baby. I couldn’t figure out why it was taking him so long…it’s not like he can strike up a conversation with anyone. It turns out that a lady with her son was playing with Jenna and she wouldn’t let him leave. For someone who has a very big personal space, Gary is doing so well with all the attention. I’m actually starting to think he likes it…..but he better soak it in while he can.

JiJi disposition still seems to be very happy go lucky. We keep saying how lucky we’ve been with her. I can tell that she’s bonding quite well with us because our guide tried to hold her and she started crying and reaching for us. She fussed a little more yesterday but all in all, she’s an absolute joy to have around. Gary is trying to teach her how to walk by holding her hands. When he first started doing this, she could barely stand. Now she’s starting to move her legs. She also loves to play this game with Gary where she grabs his hat and throws it on the floor. She just laughs so hard, it’s the cutest thing. And Daddy can play this with her for hours. She’s making such great strides…..it makes you believe more and more that the power of love is the strongest of all. I love to watch her sleep right before she’s ready to wake up because she gets very restless and thrashes from one side to another, back and forth and lets out a little whimper. I also love rocking her to sleep as she sucks her thumb and just stares at me while I whisper to her…….how can it get any better than that!

Today we are touring the countryside to see the rice farms and a little more of the Jiangxi. It should be an interesting day with lots of pictures. My baby is waking up so I better go…..







The locals crowed around Gary at the mall entrance (those are his arms)















Jenna being so happy at breakfast.