Thursday, November 30, 2006

First of all I want to apologize for not having our updates ready for you when you get up! We have read and appreciate how so many of you like to start your day with our updates, but after dinner and getting the princess to bed, time seems to slip away. Technology has been terrific for us with email, websites and the ability to talk to Andrew & Davis each day, I think that our trip has been much easier on everyone! I guess that the technology comes with a price tag here, we originally thought that the sky was just hazy due to the weather, but after seeing the same thing day after day, we found that it is always like this and we were asked, “Isn’t it like this in the US?” We said – “No, ours is fog, at it burns off after a few hours on the mornings that we have it.” They were also surprised that we saw blue skies most of the time. Theirs – smog…caused by air pollution.

I wanted to start you with another picture of our daughter, can’t seem to get enough of these. Our day was rather uneventful though. It started with me giving the baby a bath while mommy was taking a shower. It was almost ok because she could look up through the glass wall and see that mama was still there. It is not that she dislikes me, but she just REALLY likes the mama – and really, who could blame her! Then downstairs for a late breakfast buffet – that has been great because we have tried several different foods on Kristen and in true Thompson fashion, she is not a picky eater. We have to figure out how to make this “congee” soup stuff, because she really likes it. It is like a thin rice soup or something. After that, it was back to the room for some play time and a nap.

Genie, our guide, spent time with the adults preparing all of the necessary paperwork that we will need for our next appointments and she checked over it for completion. At 2:00 we all went to the Nanjing museum (which is right next door to the hotel) and got to see some amazing artifacts from early China history. This province, Jiangsu, is known for its jade and they had some AMAZING carvings and etchings. We learned that Jade is very hard and can cut glass like diamonds without being damaged. That is also one way to tell the real jade from fake – they gave us a lesson on that as well. We also saw some cloth that takes literally years to weave because it is so intricate. The best part of the museum tour was that Kristen sat in a stroller during the whole thing and hardly fussed at all. Usually she wants to be right next to the mama.

After the museum, we did what every American in china wants to do – go to Wal-Mart! We pick up a few things and then went by Pizza Hut for some pizzas to go. Life is Good! While waiting for the families to regroup, we caught Kristen and Daniel, the other boy from her orphanage, holding hands and smiling at each other. I had found out yesterday that their cribs were right beside each other, so they probably did have a lot of interaction in the past! The last photo is us enjoying our pizza back at the hotel. And as you might be able to tell by the caption, Kristen is indeed a good eater. She started first, and was the last one to finish.

Just a warning, tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou in the afternoon, so again, the update may come late.

Much Love,

Monte, Suzanne & the New Princess