A day late, sorry....

Hello, hello. Yes, I realize that I did not update yesterday. I apologize. I was too tired. And we'll blame it on the heat. So, now I am up at 5:55 am writing on this. It is currently thunderstorming here in Guangzhou. David has gone to the gym. Maggie is sleeping, which she darn well better be, because she most certainly did NOT want to go to sleep last night!

I'll tell you what we did yesterday first and then I'll give you some info on Margaret. We went to breakfast as usual and then because Maggie hates the hotel room with the white hot fire of a thousand suns, I took her down to the lobby which is her most favorite place ever! We played and people stared at the cute Chinese baby and the pasty white lady with no make up on! Then, I smelled something and we had to return to the pit of hell to get a diaper change. Afterwards, it was about time for us to meet everyone in the lobby again so down we went. We went to Yuntai Garden yesterday which is this big park here in Guangzhou. There was an entry gate but I'm not sure if we had to pay to get in or not. It was absolutely one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been. Disney has nothing on the topiaries and manicured gardens we saw there. It had also recently rained so it was rather humid. Just a little bit, you know.




We walked around the park and there was a large greenhouse up at the top of a hill so we headed in that direction. Maggie was not having anything to do with the stroller at that point, so David carried her in the Hip Hammock. Inside the greenhouse were many beautiful plants and flowers including phalaenopsis (I know I spelled that wrong) orchids, little ponds and waterfalls and pathways. Kind of like the Sibley Center at Callaway Gardens but on a smaller scale. There were also fans inside which was maybe the best part!






As you can see, David and I decided to get a little artsy with our picture taking. We also discovered a sundial (I think) with the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac so there we are with our respective zodiac signs. Maggie is rooster, David is monkey and I am rabbit.



We walked through an extremely large rose garden but not much was blooming. I think they were too hot. There was also a large lake in the center of the park with Roman columns and a fountain. Also very beautiful.

The majority of our group was ready to go before our set time so we went and sat on the bus. The heat really is like nothing I've ever felt in my life. Then we headed for Pizza Hut to eat lunch. On the way, we got in an accident! How exciting! Nothing much happened since we were, you know, on a huge bus. But apparently the bus driver got out and gave the van driver some money and we were underway once again.

Lunch tasted very good but Maggie was having none of the "sit quietly in the highchair while Mommy and Daddy eat" so we took shifts. I ate lunch while David walked her around and then we traded. I do not know how single moms do it. It is difficult enough when you have another pair of hands to help. It had started to rain again when we were done so we waited under a little shelter until the bus driver came back. We got back to the hotel and Maggie took a nap. I took a shower, put on my pajamas and also took a nap. I was SO tired. David and I tried a few things with Maggie yesterday like putting her on the floor between us to see if she would play if we were nearby. No. She cried and crawled between the two of us. Poor baby. I gave Maggie a bath in the sink yesterday to see if she would like that better. No. I will not be doing that again because there is less chance of her hitting herself on the bathtub faucet and I stay a lot drier when she's in the tub. She kept trying to crawl out of the sink and up my body. I think the sunscreen we put on her on Thursday gave her a rash because her head was all broken out. It may have been heat rash though. While Maggie does not like the bath, she does enjoy being scrubbed with a towel (much like Cousy) and she enjoys being lubed up with lotion afterwards too.

Mayhem in the bathroom.



Then she got dressed and we laid on the bed for a while. I wrapped her up in her blanket and she and I looked at each other and she touched my face and held my nose and felt around inside my mouth a little bit. I heard the beginnings of a giggle and saw her smile a few times which about made my heart burst. This is the majority of what happened yesterday afternoon. David and I took turns holding her and loving on her. She ate really well yesterday which was the first time that had happened so I felt a little better about that.

Then I had to go to a brief paperwork meeting where I had to check over all of the translations of our adoption stuff. We also got a copy of Maggie's finding ad which will probably be the youngest picture we'll ever have of her. She is about 3 months old in the picture and she looks exactly the same. Just smaller. We have decided to keep Maggie's finding information private because we feel like it is her business and her story. So when she's old enough to decide what she wants to share, she may do that. I will show you her picture though because it is SO CUTE. I might order the actual newspaper from this internet site because it would be bigger. Also, Maggie and Emma's pictures were right next to each other in the paper.

Since Maggie was such a crank for most of the day yesterday, we decided against going out to eat and ordered Danny's Bagels for dinner. While David waited for that, I decided to break Maggie of her aversion to the stroller. We walked around and around and around the main floor of the hotel and an hour later, she was actually sitting back relaxed and just looking around. Thank GOODNESS. She started fussing when we got back to the room.

Brooke and Jeff took Emma to the doctor yesterday because she has a lot of crud in her throat. I went over and visited with them for a while because David and Maggie were strolling around downstairs. Then we ate dinner (in shifts again) and tried and tried to get her to go to sleep. She was not having any of that!! I actually fell asleep while David was holding her. We were both very frustrated by the time she finally fell asleep (sitting up at the end of her crib, holding on to one of the bars). We laid her down so she would not sleep all night like that! Yesterday I took the opportunity to poke around in Maggie's mouth and I can see her 2 bottom teeth right below the surface of her gums. I'm sure that's why she's been so grouchy. Thank goodness for Hyland's Teething Tablets. Those things are magic. I gave her some baby Motrin yesterday too because I think her mouth is really hurting her. Her fingers are always in her mouth and she's started drooling a lot. She is also a fan of having her teeth (gums) brushed.

Well, today we have a free day so we are going to take a cab over to Shamian Island to go shopping with Brooke, Jeff and Emma! I am excited about that. We will also visit the White Swan and eat lunch. Then tonight, we have to get Maggie's picture made for her visa. Tomorrow we are going to the Chen Clan Temple (a folk art museum) and to a teahouse. Then Monday is the dreaded physical examination for the babies. I imagine that Maggie is going to scream bloody murder at that.

Even though we will be out and about today, we are going to try to stick to a schedule for Maggie. I think part of the problem yesterday was that she got all messed up with her schedule. I must say one of the most fun parts of the day is picking out Maggie's clothes! And of course, she always gets dirty (or we get her dirty) so she requires at least 2 outfits per day! Some of her stuff is WAY too big though. Her cutoffs practically fell off when I put them on her. And sadly, the hated Gymboree pajamas are the ones that fit her the best.

I will do my best to update again this evening so you can hear about our day of shopping!!!