Thursday, September
20, 2007
Louisa is really becoming accustomed to life in our family.
Last night she sleep through the night and, today, she took
three bottles and ate like a maniac – rice congee,
watermelon, mashed potatoes and gravy and about 10 pounds of
Cheerios. We also got “the good news” today. Without adding
the details, let’s just say that her little system is
finally back on track and she is feeling like herself again.
It finally stopped raining, so we spent most of the day
touring and shopping in Hefei. We started at a local museum
featuring relics from the Anhui province. The museum
featured ancient metal works, a beautiful porcelain
collection and many incredibly intricate wooden carvings.
Next we headed to Memorial Temple of Lord Bao. Lord Bao was
a judge during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), who was
known for his fair-minded judgments, loyalty to the emperor
and strong family values. The main palace of temple features
a courtyard and 5 houses. In the center of the courtyard
lies an incense burner and a nine foot statue of Lord Bao.
Surrounding the main temple are many gardens and other
tributes to Lord Bao.
After the temple, we headed to a nearby plaza for lunch and
shopping. The Parkson is an upscale department store here in
Hefei, similar to Macy’s (the selection in the Men’s
department isn’t nearly as well planned out, I’m sure!).
Again, the amount of staff in the stores here is
unbelievable. We checked out the Olympic boutique and then
headed to the 4th floor for the children’s clothes. With the
weather being unexpectedly cooler, we needed to get some
long pants and a sweater for Louisa. We have not been
approached yet, but we’ve been warned to keep the babies
dressed warmly or the “clothing police” (aka well-meaning
Chinese women) will pull you over and give you a tongue
lashing for not knowing how to properly dress a child.
Yikes!
We got back to the hotel and just hung out in the room.
Hotel life is starting to make us a little batty, so we
cracked open a bottle of “Great Wall Red Wine” (desperate
times call for desperate measures…) and watched as Avery –
to the delight of our hotel neighbors - practiced her soccer
kicks with a beach ball. Over and over and over and over
again. Louisa just tried to keep up. Or maybe it’s more like
we’re trying to keep up with her. She’s definitely got more
get-up-an-go after the “good news” got up and went, so our
little hotel home away from home is one happening spot. Stop
by if you can.
Tomorrow will be a big day. We’re visiting Louisa’s
orphanage in the morning. It may be difficult for her to go
back. It might be the closure she needs. We won’t know until
we’re there. Our guide tells us that the staff wants to meet
us because they love Louisa so much, so we hope we make a
good impression. Wish us luck!
J, C, A & L
|
Louisa is up and ready to go.
All snuggled up with her Mom.
Local delivery man.
Lord Bao on his throne.
Avery makes friends everywhere. |
