Yesterday was a free day and we went by bus with the other families to Shamia Island-where the famous White Swan Hotel is. We went inside the hotel and saw several other families who were also in the adoption process and it seems high season for chinese tourists as well. The streets are very pretty around this area and there were bronze statues and fountains and tourist shops everywhere. We spent about 2 hours shopping and getting interesting little gifts for our kids. We had lunch at Lucy's with a few other families and then headed back to the hotel for Belles nap time. She will either nap once or twice a day.
Tim and I took turns hitting the gym (we are in a Marriott now and the facilities are much nicer than the previous hotels) and then we spent the early evening at the pool. It is an outdoor large pool that feels really nice. The second day she truly seems to love it. We enjoyed seeing two of the families who are adopting 7 year olds-have their daughters get in the pool for the very first time in their lives-it was a happy moment for sure and lots of squeals! It has been a real joy getting to know the other families these past 2 days... why they adopted... how long they have been in the process... their heartaches and challenges... how they are attaching, etc. Two of the families had older children that they brought along and the other 3 families were like us and left their kids behind. It has been a lot of fun for us to be able to Skype back home with our family and at least be able to see our kids. I think cece and papa chuck are surviving and having fun! Luke is at Daystar's Hopetown Camp right now and we know he is "in his element." My parents will go pick him up on Tuesday in Kentucky.
We had dinner last night at the hotel at their casual Chinese restaurant with a family from Maryland-we hit it off great with them and they have kids the same age. They are adopting a little girl named Cami, who has Spina Bifida. She loves baby belle and loves to smile. You guessed it...fried rice and noodles! I am trying to stay away from the fruits and raw veggies since they are washed in tap water so I am dying to dive into fruits and veggies when I get home!
At night-Baby Belle has her fussy time right before bed. She is usually really sweet all day and then screams at night for awhile. This is a joyful time for Tim as you can imagine-he loves loud noises!:) We did have a break through in food yesterday with her-she liked the chocolate pediasure we mixed in her bottle. She still does not care for baby food or soft cereal bars. So-right now we are sticking to rice cereal and formula mixed in her bottle and she will try an occasional soft egg or play with her noodles. She looks really funny at her hands when they rice or noodle gets stuck to her hand and she cannot get it off. She does not seem to put her hands in her mouth so much or like to suck on her fingers. She definitely prefers taking her bottle on her back versus sitting us as this is the way they did it at the orphanage.
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