In a Land Far, Far Away...

It is amazing what a nice refreshing day at the park can do for your spirits. After an amazing breakfast buffet at the hotel, we met our guide and headed to Yuntai Garden. While it was a little cool (around 60 degrees), it was so nice to go outside without being bundled up. The Garden was beautiful; full of flowers and greenery…so nice to see after the wintery urban streets of Beijing. While I don’t know a lot about landscape architecture, the Garden was pretty amazing. It was also so much fun to have another family with whom to share our day. Although it drizzled a bit, it turned into a really nice morning. It was Pudding’s first adventure in a stroller but he did really well as long as it was moving. The second it stopped he tried to climb out; definitely kept Stu busy.

We had lunch a Lucy’s…yummy! Pudding has his first Western meal: chicken strip, sausage (hot dog), French fries and fruit. He devoured the French fries before he even touched anything else on his plate. He did end up eating everything though. He has already gained a bit of weight and his face is definitely filling out; we can understand why since he eats like this at every meal. The kid’s meal also came with an ice cream sundae at the end. He wasn’t quite sure what to think of it at first – he is not used to cold food/drinks. He took a few bites but wasn’t too interested in it. I’m sure that will change once we get home.

Today was a day of firsts for Pudding. He actually took a nap in the crib today. Yahoo!! While this may not seem like a big deal, this is the first time he has slept anywhere other than in bed on our chest. I am starting to think the problem in Beijing was that it was a pack-n-play. Here we have a traditional (as in from the 1950s) crib and he seems much more comfortable in that. I sure hope so because the beds here are just a bit bigger than a twin and it is NOT fun to sleep in that with a squirming two-year-old. No wonder I look so tired in all of the pictures.

Another big deal was that he watched about ten minutes of a Baby Einstein video (HD’s favorite). Of course I don’t encourage my children to watch a ton of TV but it is nice to have a little break for the continuous destruction of our hotel room.

After today we are feeling so much better and feel like we can power through these last five days. I don’t think Stu and I realized how on edge we were by the end of our Beijing stay. Being able to leisurely stroll outside, having a big play room for Pudding to play, not to mention having clean laundry has helped our attitudes tremendously. And, of course, it is wonderful to be surrounded by so many other adoptive families. The bonds that form during an adoption journey are special; I’ve made some of my best friendships on our adoption trips. You can form instant connections with people with whom you would otherwise have little in common.

So another day winding down….only five more to go. I cannot wait to have all four of my babies together at last!!