Just Hanging Out

Today we had a very lazy day of just hanging out at the hotel. Addie just didn't want to go to bed last night. She wasn't fussy, but refused to rest. She just lounged in her pajamas playing with her toys. The only problem was I was so ready for bed. Additionally Bayley and I have had some pretty bad belly aches. The only think that seems to help is tea . Addie's health reports indicate she relies too heavily on the bottle and battles attempts to feed her solid food. Bayley and I found that to be true as well, but we kept trying the rice congee and rice noodles that babies in China eat. Today there was a serious breakthrough in the eating of solid food. A couple Bayley and I met from Montreal gave us some peanut butter they had brought with them, as there is no such thing in China. Bayley and I wolfed down peanut butter and jelly on toast. From the corner of my eye I saw Addie's little mouth going up and down as if to say, "let me try." Worried about a peanut allergy, I decided to let her try bread and blackberry jelly. Wow!! She loved it, and kept smacking her lips for more. It was great to know her belly was getting something other than liquids. Later in the aftenoon, Bayley was craving chocolate ice cream. She ordered some down in the hotel restaurant and brought it back to the room. Once again, the little mouth started to move, and Bayley let Addie take a taste. That one taste turned into many more. She was so serious looking when eating this food, but upset when Bayley slowed down on feeding her. Tell Lawrence it looks like Joshy's has another new customer.

Bayley and I are very excited to fly out of Nanchang in the morning and head to Guangzhou. In Guangzhou we will stay at the White Swan hotel which is famous for catering to adoptive families. There they have a large playroom for children, many shops within the hotel, and access to American style food. That may sound trivial but I am really craving something familiar. I had a dream about a BLT last night, and Bayley has talked a good deal about french fries today. I think a new setting will be good for Addie as well. She seems to learn a great deal by exploring her surroundings, and this hotel room is getting pretty boring. When she came to us on Tuesday she could not roll from her belly to her back, but now she can go both ways with ease. On Tuesday she couldn't stabilize herself well for sitting in the bathtub, and today was a huge improvement. We practice a great deal putting her in a crawling position, but she still doesn't have the strength for this. I think I may have said before how we were worried about her being all grown up at 18 months, but truly she is so like a 7- 8 month old. Her big brothers have lots to teach her. Speaking of those brothers, Bayley misses them, and I cannot put in to words how much I miss them.

Today when I was sharing stories with the couple from Montreal I heard a sad one. I explained how when we went out yesterday, crowds would gather to ask about the baby. Their experience was a bit different. Their daughter has a repaired cleft lip and will need palate surgery when she arrives home. The doctors did a beautiful job, yet yesterday on the street they were stopped by people who made faces at the little girl and mocked her lip. Their guide explained that a cleft lip is seen as bad luck to many here in China. Bayley wonders if Addie's weak muscles made people have an "I don't care attitude" for her in the orphanage. I too wonder if anything but perfection in children elicits such an attitude from many here.

P.S. Bayley wants Tommy to know that he must watch out for his books, because Addie likes to eat books. Bayley's novel looks quite rough around the edges now.