Short version: Our guides took us to a porcelain shop and then to a small community on the outskirts of town so we could see what kind of conditions our children might have lived in with their foster parents. Alexis had a long nap in the afternoon, and we enjoyed a walk with her on the streets of Nanchang after dinner. Friday we have no agenda until 3:00 pm when we leave for the airport to fly to Guangzhou.
Long version: Today was fairly relaxed. We got an early start with a 9:30 departure to a porcelain store near the hotel, which had many beautiful items. The province here (where Alexis is from) is famous for its porcelain. When it was exported many years ago overseas it became known as "China" - thus the name we use back in the U.S. for our Chinaware. We picked up a tea set that we will give to Alexis some day as a memento from her home province.
We then drove to a part of town on the border of the city and the countryside. The bus parked at the entrance to a small neighborhood that bordered agricultural fields, where the homeowners did their farming. Some of the older homes there might be representative of the homes where our children were in foster care. Of course, the landscape is totally different, as our children came from a mountanous region and not the outskirts of Nanchang. But the living conditions may have been similar. There were chickens running around on the streets, and people sitting in the doorways to their homes looking at us walk by. We had a number of interactions with the residents and it was a very good experience. We saw the different generations of a family all living together as is the norm here.
Alexis did some new things today. She is starting to support her weight on her legs when we hold her up, and she's taking hold of toys more confidently. She continues to charm us with her laughter and confuse us with her bedtime routine, as she seems to fight going to sleep at all costs. She's extremely curious (just like Mom), and likes to keep moving and see interesting sights and sounds. Alexis started letting Mom hold her hands, which for some reason she had been resistant to before. She continues to babble a lot in her happy moments. She weighed in at just under 16 pounds on the hotel scale.
Alexis' passport will be ready for our guides to pick up tomorrow morning. We will spend the day packing and preparing for our travel later in the afternoon. We need to be ready to for our bags to be picked up at 3:00 pm, and then we'll be off to the airport at 3:30 for a one hour flight to Guangzhou. This will be a good test run of flying with Alexis before the long trip home next week.
Please pray for safe travel Friday and that we will be able to help Alexis cope with the cabin air pressure changes during the flight, as she doesn't like to use a pacifier. Please continue to pray for wisdom as we learn how to understand Alexis' needs.
Long version: Today was fairly relaxed. We got an early start with a 9:30 departure to a porcelain store near the hotel, which had many beautiful items. The province here (where Alexis is from) is famous for its porcelain. When it was exported many years ago overseas it became known as "China" - thus the name we use back in the U.S. for our Chinaware. We picked up a tea set that we will give to Alexis some day as a memento from her home province.
We then drove to a part of town on the border of the city and the countryside. The bus parked at the entrance to a small neighborhood that bordered agricultural fields, where the homeowners did their farming. Some of the older homes there might be representative of the homes where our children were in foster care. Of course, the landscape is totally different, as our children came from a mountanous region and not the outskirts of Nanchang. But the living conditions may have been similar. There were chickens running around on the streets, and people sitting in the doorways to their homes looking at us walk by. We had a number of interactions with the residents and it was a very good experience. We saw the different generations of a family all living together as is the norm here.
Alexis did some new things today. She is starting to support her weight on her legs when we hold her up, and she's taking hold of toys more confidently. She continues to charm us with her laughter and confuse us with her bedtime routine, as she seems to fight going to sleep at all costs. She's extremely curious (just like Mom), and likes to keep moving and see interesting sights and sounds. Alexis started letting Mom hold her hands, which for some reason she had been resistant to before. She continues to babble a lot in her happy moments. She weighed in at just under 16 pounds on the hotel scale.
Alexis' passport will be ready for our guides to pick up tomorrow morning. We will spend the day packing and preparing for our travel later in the afternoon. We need to be ready to for our bags to be picked up at 3:00 pm, and then we'll be off to the airport at 3:30 for a one hour flight to Guangzhou. This will be a good test run of flying with Alexis before the long trip home next week.
Please pray for safe travel Friday and that we will be able to help Alexis cope with the cabin air pressure changes during the flight, as she doesn't like to use a pacifier. Please continue to pray for wisdom as we learn how to understand Alexis' needs.
Oh, my Marilyn and Malcolm - you sound like you are both giving Alexis such wonderful care and loving her just the way GOD intended this to be. How simply amazing - so glad to follow your precious experience and the gift of Alexis. Can't wait to meet her!!! blessings and hugs, nancy
ReplyDeleteAwww, she is so adorable (did I already write that about 50 times already? lol). Love, love, LOVE the one of her smiling! Evie said to tell you that Alexis is SO cute, and that she can't wait to see you all in a month!
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing! So wonderful to read that she is adjusting so beautifully! God is so good! I LOVE her eyes! WOW! They are so expressive and sooo beautiful! She is a treasure! Her sleeping will get better eventually. She is still getting used to sleeping in a new environment. Since she was in foster care, she may have either slept with her foster mother or I think you said the foster mother had two babies, so she may have even slept with the other baby. Chances are good that she did not sleep alone, and she may just be getting used to not being held to sleep or not having someone right beside her. Or she may have been giving a bottle to fall asleep with - which of course is not the best, but I know sometimes that's what happens. If that makes sense? The great news is that she is eventually falling to sleep on her own and that's AWESOME! You are both GREAT parents and are doing such an AMAZING job loving her and providing for her needs already! What a JOY!
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