For Uncle PJ

I know I've already blogged today, but I just had to send a shout out to my little brother the Chef! I say little, he's 29 years old! But I got a message from my mom today and he told her that he couldn't believe that we came all the way to China and ate McDonald's!

Now, you have to understand where he is coming from! This is a guy who grew up making macaroni in the microwave as a child to being an award winning Chef in San Antonio! I get him! But you also need to understand that I am not adventurous! I don't try new things...though, I have several times on this trip! But for the sake of this sweet face....


I have ventured out of my comfort zone many times!!! Let's take tonight for example. I have to say that tonight's meal was by far the best we have eaten since we got to China. Well, I did like the chicken and rice I had on the plane last night...but that doesn't count.

Tonight, we had a group dinner. Almost every family in our group went. The way they eat meals here is "family style." Have you ever been to PF Changs? Not comparing, PJ, just using as an example. What they do is, you sit at a big round table with a huge "lazy susan" in the middle and they bring out many dishes for you to eat. You get one small plate and nothing to serve the food with except your fork...I mean chop sticks! (I tried...I really did...I just can't use them!) Anyway, you all share and usually you get to eat things that you aren't sure what they are!

Tonight's restaurant gave you a sneak peak when we walked in!

I'm sorry, did you say you couldn't see...you want a closer look?

Um...that's what I said! Yes, that's a duck!

If you look closer at these guys, I'm sure you will see that some of them are actually hiding their heads under their wings. They are probably embarrassed because we can see them naked! Don't worry...our food wasn't hanging in the window...at least not while we were there. We got cool dishes like this one...

That was chicken with egg plant.

This was sweet and sour pork...and if you look to the left, you will see an empty plate. It used to have bbq pork on it but that went pretty fast! I liked it and I'm a bbq snob (Thanks Dad!)

Food here is all about the experience and when we eat in big groups, we get the family feel they are going for! I love hanging out with the other families. I have learned that we have been very blessed during our trip! Some families had very traumatic experiences with their kids this week! I know that the power of prayer isn't something to be taken lightly! This little girl right here...

has blown us away this week and we couldn't ask for a better experience! So, I bid you good night, America...and PJ...I got you a Happy Meal toy for your souvenir!

Another Day....Another...What Day Is It?

It's me again! I hope you liked Tony's perspective! I was so glad that he blogged!!! It was fun reading this trip through his eyes! Well, it's a new day and a new city for us! I think today is Saturday but it's all starting to run together now so I'm not sure!
Yesterday, we left Xi'an for the sunny, warm Guangzhou. Before we left, we spent a day and a half hold up in our hotel room just hanging out with Miss Thang! She really blossomed just being with us and I think it was great for us to slow down a bit!

We did venture out for necessities....



You should have seen me trying to find her size with a lady who only spoke Chinese! We ended up getting one of our diapers out and just measuring! We let Lynleigh pick out a toy and of course she picked out a giraffe.


Boy is she going to be disappointed in all the pandas waiting for her at home!!
Today, we met up with the other families from our agency. Most everyone traveled alone to their baby's province and then meet up again here. We were lucky to get to travel with another family. On today's agenda, medical check up!



All I can say is that one of the dad's said this is what he imagines Obama Care is like! It was more like the free clinic to me and it was just as stressful! Have you ever taken your kids to the health dept for shots? Well, this was the same thing with out the shots!
They had to be weighed, measured, checked by an ent (by the way I thought she might be getting an ear infection but she is all clear!), and then checked by a general doctor. The worst part was the TB test but she only cried for a few minutes!


Then we got about an hour and a half to shop! We plan on going back to the island so we didn't load up like some of the parents but we did find Jordan's store. The Pinnow's said just look for Jordan...he will find you! No joke! This guy was waiting outside the clinic with a map! He's a great marketer!!

Miss Thang scored some squeakers!



$5 each!!!! I know you are jealous! I'm sure I will buy a few more before we leave! We also got an adoption Barbie and bought her a stamp with her name in Chinese! We just walked around taking pictures of this beautiful place for the rest of our time.


The White Swan is still open, sort of, we we took a few pictures! It's really nice and I'm kinda sad that we aren't staying on Shamian Island where the hotel is located but I'm more than happy to sleep in an amazing FREE room at a 5 star hotel instead!!



Lynleigh is taking a big nap and so I had to take a picture of her legs because they are so cute! Plus, I knew you'd just love that Sherry Pruitt! Tony is headed to the "one parent" meeting...which usually means the dads have to go!


I will leave you with this story! Yesterday in the airport, we realized that we packed the baby soap and lotion in the carry on when they told us we would have to throw it away! I was super bummed because who doesn't like a baby to smell like a baby, right? Well, when we got to the hotel, God knew that I needed a pick me up and so we walked into the hotel to find this....

I know!! My heart smiled a lot!

Room 622

Alright, Tobie has been telling me that I need to blog so here ya go. Since Tobie has been keeping you up to date on our sweet girl I wanted to tell you about a few other aspects about our journey. Room 622 in the Grand Metro Park Hotel in Xi'an is what we have called home for the past five nights. Xi'an is "much smaller" than Beijing..."only" a population of 15 million! The people here for the most part are quite pleasant...only a few stray dirty looks because we don't have Lynleigh wrapped up in 18 layers of clothes.


One of our favorite ways to pass the time is just looking out of the hotel window and watching traffic. We will have times where me, Tobie, and Lynleigh just watch and wait for someone to get run over! Driver's here are both defensive and offensive at the same time, scooters and bicycles are everywhere, and buses seem to speed up when they see people crossing the street. Speaking of crossing the street, it was very intimidating the first day or two but I think I have the hang of it now. You see, they have traffic signals here but evidentally they are treated as mere suggestions. So when crossing the street, you either walk in a dense group of people or just play real life Frogger!


Our favorite dining establishment has become a place called Dico's. The way I see it is that we have Panda Express as our version of Chinese fast food and Dico's is China's version of American fried chicken. Nontheless, it's not bad and REAL cheap. How about two combo meals of a fried chicken sandwich, fries, and a drink for less than 8 bucks!?! Even McD's is cheaper here.


Tobie thinks it's funny that I am obsessed with the car's, bikes, and scooters here. But I get a kick out of seeing what we call a Jetta being called something completely different here. And scooters?...I've noticed that a lot of them are electric. They look like something you would see at home but when they drive by they don't make a sound. As for the bikes, I have seen some common names...just not common bikes.



And with all of the people on bike's and scooters, I have only seen one person wearing a helmut! In fact, at night the people riding the scooters don't even turn their lights on...our guide said they do that so their battery lasts longer...my thought is "yeah, but their lives won't last much longer". But as many people as there are in the streets, you never see traffic jams. As crazy as everyone's driving habits seem, they are forced to pay attention to what they are doing and don't get angry when they get cut off...it's just the way it is.

So today we will say goodbye to another Chinese city and begin our journey to the next. Xi'an is quite different than Beijing and I'm sure Guangzhou will be different still. So, until we get to our next stop, see ya!

The View From McDonald's

Today has been amazing and awful all at the same time! Each night Lynleigh sleeps less and less. Last night, she woke up the first time around 11:30 and I had just fallen asleep. Needless to say, I had no idea where I was or what was going on. Tony had to fix her more milk and we finally got her back to sleep. She woke up two more times during the night.
There was nothing on the agenda today, so, we decided to lay low and just hang out at the hotel for most of the day. Lynleigh was pretty grouchy this morning, so we saw a lot of this.



She also cried if I wasn't holding her which made for a very frustrating morning. The information we got on her said that she took one nap each day. Maybe it's the craziness of everything, but she seems to do much better with two naps. She slept about an hour this morning and is currently working on nap number two!
We finally decided to venture out this afternoon for lunch. When I say venture, it is an adventure! Our plan was to eat at this American establishment.


However, we missed it as we rushed down the side walk. (You must "rush" because if you don't you will get run over by a car, bus or scooter. They drive cars and scooters on the side walk around here! It's crazy!)



Instead, we ended up at the golden arches again. I didn't mind. Lynleigh likes it and it's not Chinese food so we were all happy. Miss Thang ended up eating 1/3 of my double cheese burger plus fries. She was so funny at lunch...she dumped out all the fires and then while cleaning them up (you know she must clean) she would take a bite off of each one before putting it back in the box. She also used up about 10 napkins wiping off her tray and trying to clean the ketchup off my burger wrapper!



The dining area of this McDonald's is up stairs so Tony and I had a good time people watching! Tony has a new obsession....


He has been trying to get a picture of the Chinese "Truck" for days now. I suggested that he actually wear the camera on the street so that he could get a good shot of one. How many pictures did he take? About 10! He cracks me up! I hope that he will actually blog something tonight.



I have really enjoyed our day of nothing! After our rough morning, Lynleigh seems to be doing really well. She likes going out side and I can't wait for her to be able to play outside with her brothers when we get home! We leave tomorrow evening for Guangzhou. I will be glad for the change of scenery. Xi'an (pronounced "she-on") is cool but it's too busy for my taste and it will be nice to be around more people who speak English.
BTW...we have big plans tonight! One of our favorite shows "Wipeout" will be on tv at 8pm! Wahoo! This will be much better than our only English speaking option of CNN!

The Question Is...

There's not really a question! That's just the funny thing our guide always starts his thoughts out with! This week, we have had the pleasure to spend our time with David from Lotus travels. He was out tour guide for the week and also helped with all of the paper work for the adoption. David was with us on Gotcha Day and has been such a big help getting us around town and even talking to Lynleigh and helping get her to stop crying! But I would crack up almost every time he would say things like, "The question is, we want to eat pizza for lunch." Or, "The question is we will park close to the door like VIP." As an English teacher it took everything in me not to laugh and then correct him. I didn't though, because I just loved hearing him say those things! The question is, we are doing well with Lynleigh. We have had a couple of set backs, though. I'm noticing that she wants to be held like a baby. That's fine with me because I didn't get to hold her like that so I will cradle her all she wants. She had fewer melt downs today...that was a good thing! However, She is struggling with Chinese women. They all want to pick her up and hold her and she loves that. They speak Chinese to her and she loves that. Once they pick her up, she doesn't want to come back to me or Tony. Unfortunately, this culture isn't the kind that you can just say "Hey lady don't touch my baby!" I'm trying not to let it hurt my feelings that she likes them better some times but it seems like we get to a really good place and then she back peddles a little! Please pray for Lynleigh that she won't lose the attachment she has gained with us! One of the sweet things she does do is when ever I say, "mama," she will run over to me and give me a big hug and kiss! She loves that! She will also do that to Tony when I say, "Baba!" She trusts us completely and since tomorrow is our free day, we are going to spend most of it in the hotel room just giving her attention! I think that will be a big help for her! Today, we went to the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum. It was really cool. Basically, one of the Emperors build this huge...and I mean huge tomb for him self and his many women, friends, and enemies. These warriors were made from clay and put outside to guard the tomb. These were unearthed about 40 something years ago by a farmer and have been in the process of restoration ever since. Tony loved this tour and plans to blog more about it. But for now, here are a few pictures of what we saw today. This is the mountain range that separates Xi'an into north and south! It's very smoggy here so sometimes it's hard to get a good picture of things far away. We took the opportunity to see what it was like to actually be a Terra Cotta Warrior. They didn't have a pip squeak one so she's a giant!
I will upload the video I had heretomorrow! I don't have much battery left and it's getting late! Stay tuned for the cutest thing ever!

Mama and Lee Lee

Day number three had some major ups and downs! We survived but I'm going to need some paxil when I get home for sure!!
Our day started at 12:30 am when Lynleigh woke up screaming! We put her in our bed and she slept restlessly the rest of the night! We are staying in a super nice hotel but our bed is way too hard to sleep on. Needless to say, Tony and I aren't sleeping very well. Like I mentioned yesterday, Lynleigh likes Tony but perfers me. So, I'm hurting all over from carrying her everywhere. We bought a stroller yesterday but she will only ride in it for about 5 minutes before major melt downs begin!
As for little miss Lynleigh, we are starting to really see her personality! She loves to hug and give kisses so that's what she and I seem to spend most of our time doing! Today, she started mimicing my facial expressions by sticking her toung out and smiling when I would. She also handed me the camer and played peek a boo so that I would take pictures of her!


Here are some pictures of our little game. She got mad at when the battery died and I stopped taking her picture. She's super fun when she's had a good nap and a big meal!






She is also really into playing with her stacking cups.



On the flip side, she really started showing some grieving today! Well, at least I think it was part of her grieving. Today, she was really clingly. She had about 4 melt downs before we left the hotel at 9 am. Her melt downs go a little like this...she drops what ever is in her hand, then she arches her bak and holds her breath for about a minute. Then when she takes a breath, she starts crying. She wants to do this on the floor and if we are some where that she can lay on the floor I will let her. But today at the city wall she flipped out because I wouldn't lay her on the muddy ground and let her cry! Tony ended up holding her until she fell asleep and after a good 45 minute nap, she was a lot happier!
Today I started finding myself very frustrated with some of the people here! For the most part they are super nice but some of them are driving me crazy worrying over Lynleigh. I've been told several times in the past two days that I'm not dressing her warm enough while she is visably sweating and screaming because she is hot! Also, they give the babies warm/hot water to drink and our guide keeps fussing because we aren't keeping her water warm enough! He tried to get me to buy a thermos to hold hot water! Then today at the Wild Goose Bagoda, she started her melt down thing again and I let her lay on the ground and this lady kept giving me a dirty look and wouldn't stop following our group! I'm trying to just smile and be nice, but you know that is not my nature!
On the up side of the day, she called me "Mama"! Well, at least she said mama when I said it to her! She also mimiced me when I pointed to her and said "Lynleigh" she pointed to herself and said "lee lee"! She has yet to say "Baba" but we are working on it!
Today, we went to several tourist sites including the wall around the city of Xi'an. Here are a few pics.






We also went to an art museum and got to write in Chinese characters.




And then we finished our day at the Wild Goose Pagoda. This is where the Buddest Monks live and people come here to pray several times per day.


This was my favorite place we've visited so far on this trip! Tomorrow we will visit the Terra Cotta Warrior museum. I'm excited about that and can't wait to see what it's all about! Let's pray that Miss Thang will ride in her stroller!
I'm really loving seeing her sweet personality some out! She's very smart and loves to play with her toys! She still likes things clean and orderly and will always wipe the table when she is eating. She doesn't want her hands dirty and will actually let you wipe her face! I know!!! She likes to have her shoes on at all times but when she isn't wearing them, they are placed neatly next to BaBa's by the bed! (She keeps organizing their shoes but doesn't seem to care about mine!)