Day 8 Wednesday April 18
A big lightning and thunderstorm last night really cleared things up today, and the temperature has dipped into the 60s....we're feeling much better (and I'm not sweating as much!). I (Blair) also found the Starbucks this morning, yea!!...and it was like walking into any other Starbucks.....same layout, same menu. Even my extra hot rasberry mocha tasted the same....I had a nice chuckle knowing that this might be my only little slice of home.
The Chinese still seem very fascinated by my big belly. Everywhere I go, I'm stopping traffic, and everyone points, laughs and waves. It was cute the first 100 times, but now I'm beginning to think I'm part of a freak show. Another motivator I guess for me to keep losing weight once I get back home...
People are also coming up to me all the time to try out their English. For the most part, it's very good, and I'm eager to stop and chat. I find the Chinese to be very gracious people.
We had another good night with the little one, although she was very squirmy (sp) with Tami in bed. Upon direction from the wives, Ralph and I walked the three blocks in the rain to a Thai restaurant, ate there, ordered a few extra dishes, and then brought back the leftovers to the room around 9 pm. Service was much quicker there...at the Victory, a typical dinner takes about 2 hours+, as they bring only one person's order out separately every 15 minutes or so....and this is after spending 10 minutes confirming your order back to you. It can get a little frustrating, but once again, we are so happy to be here it doesn't really matter that much.
We did some exploring around the island this morning. We borrowed a stroller from one of the shops and found some shoes and chinese dresses for Allie. Everyone was checking out Allie's pink hat, red sweater, and red shoe ensemble. I got some good shots that Tami will hopefully upload later. The shoes actually do squeek when Allie walks, its too funny. Can't wait to show people at home. (Hope they're not too obnoxious).
Regarding the pictures, we had much better luck last night uploading to the internet. I was hoping that we could post 4-5 pictures in each blog each day, but we think it's better to just try 6-10 pictures on flickr.com and then have you all double-click the link (e.g. one of the pics below---on the right-hand side, scroll all the way down).
We are also finding that the laundry service is very inexpensive. The two full bags we off-loaded yesterday only cost us 50 Yuan (about $6). I think we'll just keep taking a bag to the local baby shop each day if it's going to be that cheap.
Tami seems to be getting Allie's schedule down pretty well, at least in the morning. She usually has a bottle of formula around 6:00, then the daily poop, a bath (where she likes to splash a lot), then wants to cuddle with Mom. Around 9:00 am, we go down for breakfast, where Allie loves to eat a bowl of congee (the rice cereal). Then some playtime, then a nap around 11 am or 12 noon. We're still trying to figure out afternoons and evenings still, since our appointments will be in the afternoon from here on out, and the restaurant thing is such a dramatic enterprise at night.
I have to tell you that I'm just loving this little girl. She is a handful though....Watch out Joy, she's a busy one~~She only lets me hold her for about 30 seconds, then squirms to get down, walk to someone else, and the pattern continues again. Sometimes, she'll plop down on the floor and play with her toys. She's constantly moving it seems, and she seems to have only two speeds: maximum and off. Haven't seen much down-time with her when she has been awake. And her attention span is fairly typical for a 16 month old.....Help me Lord! :) But when she's tired, she really crashes, which is good.
But she's sooo cute, and we've had lots of compliments. She's really into holding bottles of all shapes and sizes (and throwing them on the floor of course). She also loves to pat your hand or object held in front of her. She smiles easily, and also makes these cute "clicking" noises, which we found out yesterday were taught to her by the nannies in the orphanage.
We have one official appointment today at 2:30 pm, and then back to the hotel for more bonding and island shopping! There are so many cute shops to explore and it's very quiet on the island, very conducive to walking. We're still very much enjoying the Gonsoulin's company, they are such a terrific family, and we feel very blessed to have them with us.
Keep praying for us, especially for me in this transition time. Tami seems to be a real natural at this, and it's cute to see her go into Mom mode~~ :)
I'm sure Tami will post later and upload pics. We miss you all very much and think about you guys often.....
The Chinese still seem very fascinated by my big belly. Everywhere I go, I'm stopping traffic, and everyone points, laughs and waves. It was cute the first 100 times, but now I'm beginning to think I'm part of a freak show. Another motivator I guess for me to keep losing weight once I get back home...
People are also coming up to me all the time to try out their English. For the most part, it's very good, and I'm eager to stop and chat. I find the Chinese to be very gracious people.
We had another good night with the little one, although she was very squirmy (sp) with Tami in bed. Upon direction from the wives, Ralph and I walked the three blocks in the rain to a Thai restaurant, ate there, ordered a few extra dishes, and then brought back the leftovers to the room around 9 pm. Service was much quicker there...at the Victory, a typical dinner takes about 2 hours+, as they bring only one person's order out separately every 15 minutes or so....and this is after spending 10 minutes confirming your order back to you. It can get a little frustrating, but once again, we are so happy to be here it doesn't really matter that much.
We did some exploring around the island this morning. We borrowed a stroller from one of the shops and found some shoes and chinese dresses for Allie. Everyone was checking out Allie's pink hat, red sweater, and red shoe ensemble. I got some good shots that Tami will hopefully upload later. The shoes actually do squeek when Allie walks, its too funny. Can't wait to show people at home. (Hope they're not too obnoxious).
Regarding the pictures, we had much better luck last night uploading to the internet. I was hoping that we could post 4-5 pictures in each blog each day, but we think it's better to just try 6-10 pictures on flickr.com and then have you all double-click the link (e.g. one of the pics below---on the right-hand side, scroll all the way down).
We are also finding that the laundry service is very inexpensive. The two full bags we off-loaded yesterday only cost us 50 Yuan (about $6). I think we'll just keep taking a bag to the local baby shop each day if it's going to be that cheap.
Tami seems to be getting Allie's schedule down pretty well, at least in the morning. She usually has a bottle of formula around 6:00, then the daily poop, a bath (where she likes to splash a lot), then wants to cuddle with Mom. Around 9:00 am, we go down for breakfast, where Allie loves to eat a bowl of congee (the rice cereal). Then some playtime, then a nap around 11 am or 12 noon. We're still trying to figure out afternoons and evenings still, since our appointments will be in the afternoon from here on out, and the restaurant thing is such a dramatic enterprise at night.
I have to tell you that I'm just loving this little girl. She is a handful though....Watch out Joy, she's a busy one~~She only lets me hold her for about 30 seconds, then squirms to get down, walk to someone else, and the pattern continues again. Sometimes, she'll plop down on the floor and play with her toys. She's constantly moving it seems, and she seems to have only two speeds: maximum and off. Haven't seen much down-time with her when she has been awake. And her attention span is fairly typical for a 16 month old.....Help me Lord! :) But when she's tired, she really crashes, which is good.
But she's sooo cute, and we've had lots of compliments. She's really into holding bottles of all shapes and sizes (and throwing them on the floor of course). She also loves to pat your hand or object held in front of her. She smiles easily, and also makes these cute "clicking" noises, which we found out yesterday were taught to her by the nannies in the orphanage.
We have one official appointment today at 2:30 pm, and then back to the hotel for more bonding and island shopping! There are so many cute shops to explore and it's very quiet on the island, very conducive to walking. We're still very much enjoying the Gonsoulin's company, they are such a terrific family, and we feel very blessed to have them with us.
Keep praying for us, especially for me in this transition time. Tami seems to be a real natural at this, and it's cute to see her go into Mom mode~~ :)
I'm sure Tami will post later and upload pics. We miss you all very much and think about you guys often.....
posted by Tami and Blair Masenhimer @ 8:26 PM
2 Comments:
At 10:03 PM,
the acoustic revolution said…
she is so super cute im so jeallous im not the little baby any more :(guess i have to suck it up and be a big brother just like my brothers showed me. i love you three !!!! guys so much and cant wait for you to get home dont worrie your cars are only a little damaged and im making you a sun roof in the kitchen lol jk.
At 3:18 AM,
Tami and Blair Masenhimer said…
Oh kiddo, I don't care about the Jetta anymore. I have an Allie. By the way there are tons of Jetta in China with the name on the trunk in Chinese. If I was braver I would try to grab the characters to stick on Gretta. I always wanted a skylight in the kitchen. As long as you clean up the mess and get rid of the dog hair!!!
Moms
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