Friday, November 23, 2012
For the 3rd night in a row our little miss slept 9 hours
straight through the night. She has started popping up when I
put her down, but I just let her be and in minutes she sits down
and puts herself right to sleep. I guess being in a foster
family with so many othes, the kids learn to do a bit more for
themselves, which is not always a bad thing!
Before we got her, one of my sweet girlfriends said a prayer
that the baby would slip into the perfect Mei Mei shaped spaced
in our hearts. Not only was that the perfect prayer, it has been
answered for all of us. I wouldn't be honest if if I said I
never had any doubts throughout this process. As I talk to other
adoptive families, I know that this is completely normal. I
never once doubted that this was God's plan for our family, the
signs were way too clear for that, but I doubted myself
sometimes. I hoped I would love her just like the others, and
that I would feel that she were genuinely part of our family.
With all of the foster kids we had, they always seemed like
guests. I mean, I know they were, but there was always a nagging
feeling in the back of my mind the Mei Mei might be too. John
had this way talking with our foster kids, super nice, but
detached at the same time. I don't mean this in a bad way at
all, but I worried he might be like that.
Well, my worries were for absolutely nothing! She has slipped
right in to being a Pritz kid without even a second glance. It's
like she's always been with us. I love her just as much as
everyone else. And as for John? This little girl has him wrapped
around his little finger! Papa can do no wrong and she always
needs to be holding his hand, or is putting her arms up for him
to pick her up. We thought she might be afraid of the pool, but
not with daddy holding her!
I am trying to take as many pictures as possible and take in all
China has to offer so we can all share our experiences with her
and celebrate where she came from. But at the same time she
already fits in so well and has adapted so well to English. She
puts on her little Keds, her (Target brand) “Northface” and her
baby gap outfit (which by the way she is busting out of, the
little chub :0) and she looks like any other kids in Geneva. She
says “hi”, well it's more just like heavy breathing, but it's
kind of understandable, she says “mama” and when we say I love
you, she makes a la la la sound with like she is trying to say
it back. It's the sweetest thing.
I know I told you she was an eating machine after the first day
and I couldn't have been more right. This kid eats it all
(except for the Cocoa puffs)! When I was getting ready today she
found a stash of Pringles, opened them and had the can half
eaten before I could stop her. Connor better look out, he's got
a rival eater in the Pritz family!
We didn't have to meet our guide until early afternoon so we
took a walk to the local park. On our way there we saw so many
little markets. The buildings are pretty run down, and all
around people have set up tables to sell mostly fruit and
vegetables, but there was also some clothes and even toilet
paper. From a distance, the playground equipment looks just like
any in the states. But, as we walked up closer, we saw only one
or two kids, and the rest were elderly people. The equipment was
more for exercising than playing onThey were all over the
equipment stretching their legs and chatting. Within minutes
there was a swarm of people around us. They were trying to
figure out how many kids we had and kept talking in Chinese.
They were giving us thumbs up, so I'm assuming they were happy
with us. What I thought was so great was how many elderly people
were out and about getting fresh air, exercising and just being
together. Too bad the elderly at home don't do more of that! The
park was so beautiful. Just past the the playground area was a
little lake with a stepping stone bridge leading out to a small
island. The kids had so much fun jumping from rock to rock.
On our way back from the park, Shy and I decided that we were
going to have more of the meat pastries we had yesterday. She
has taken to calling them meat pies. :) Today's were even
better. When we walked up they had just started making them, so
we got to see the whole process. One guy rolled out the dough,
seasoned it and spread it with meat, then rolled it like a
cinnamon roll and flattened it again. Then he passed it to the
woman and she fried it on a big walk and then placed them around
and oven that was under the wok to get them all crispy. All the
while we waited we tried our best to talk with them. It was so
fun! And the best part, we got a delicious meal for less than
$2!
We had a great flight from Taiyuan to Guangzhou. Taytum did
great on her first flight. She ate the whole time. We met a
woman who just adopted her 8th daughter from China last week,
and was on her way to Guangzhou to get her 9th! Imagine that,
two kids in one trip! And, most of them have special needs! The
8th little girl was sitting behind us and kept putting crackers
between the seats for Tay to eat. She was in heaven!
We are staying at the Victory Hotel on Shamian Island (in
Guangzhou), which is a really tiny island over the Pearl River.
We'll have some time to walk around tomorrow, but on our way in
it looks really great. The weather is nice and warm, and the
area has a Florida feel. The Victory is pretty old, but very
quaint. Not nearly as nice as the last hotel, or some that are
in Guangzhou, but from what some say, the location makes up for
it. Bonus.... there is filtered water here! We don't have to
boil it to brush our teeth!
First thing tomorrow we have to take Taytum to the doctor, then
we'll have the day to relax and explore. |
Pritz Kids
Into the Pringles
Street market in Taiyuan
The park
On the island at the park
"Meat Pies" |
