Getting to know you (day 5)

Is it really our 5th day in China already?!  Wow, the time is just flying by!  I feel like we haven't seen very much and soon we'll be leaving Shanghai for Guangzhou.  The days fill up faster than you imagine before you come.  You look at your itinerary and see "Free day" so much, you just imagine you'll have all the time in the world to see the things you want to see and do the things you want to do.  But then your son falls out of a chair and ends up needing stitches and more time is spent at the hospital than you ever imagined.  Oh wait, that's not everyone?  Speaking of the hospital, that ate up our morning as Erik had to take Ethan back to the hospital to have his stitches checked.  Oh Ethan, how I love that crazy, crazy child!  He's doing just fine by the way and will get his stitches out in Guangzhou on Monday.

I lucked out and got to have my first "girl day" with my two daughters!  We had a good time.  I stuck Liana in my carrier and we went to Starbucks.  Ella and I enjoyed some drinks and Liana drank a yogurt that we swiped from the hotel's breakfast buffet.  The yogurt here is really good.  It's thin and you just pop a straw in the top and drink it.  Erik was drinking one at our first breakfast with Liana and she just about jumped out of the high chair as she ripped it from his hands and claimed it for herself.  So we sat at a table outside, watching people and this woman next to us says hello to Ella.  Ella says, "Ni hao!" which tricked the woman into thinking Ella knows some Chinese so she says a whole bunch of other stuff to her.  Ella looks at me and shrugs.  Then, the woman smiles and points at Liana and says, "Mei mei (little sister)?"  I nod and point to Liana saying "mei mei" and point to Ella saying "jie jie" (big sister).  It was so nice to have my daughter with big, blue eyes and blonde hair and my daughter with almond-shaped dark brown eyes and dark brown hair recognized as sisters!  After Starbucks, we did a little shopping at the children's mall next to our hotel.  It has floor after floor of just children's stuff.  If we thought we were getting looked at and having pictures taken a lot before, you should see us now!  Nothing gets you stared at more in China than being white parents with blonde kids and one Chinese child.  This is pretty far out of my comfort zone but I'm learning to just pretend I don't notice and walk on.  Ella and Ethan, however, love attention and will say, "Ni hao!" or wave.  I wonder what they think of us! 

I gave Liana her first bath today.  I didn't think it would go well as I've heard other adoptive parents call the early baths of their Chinese children "Chinese water torture".  Add to that the fact that Liana had to have her diaper changed and her clothes taken off beforehand, two things that she hates the most.  So, she was crying when I took her into the bathroom but when I stuck her in the tub, she just sat there all calm.  Then she grabbed up a couple of rubber duckies and started splashing them around.  She didn't even mind me washing her hair.  Granted, I did it very carefully with a washcloth but water was dripping down her face and she didn't mind at all.  After her bath, I slathered her with lotion and she just smelled like Johnson and Johnson heaven.  Mmm, I love that smell!  I've been dreaming of getting her all washed and lotioned up for months. 

After nap today, we walked to The Bund, which is an area down by the Huangpu River.  It was too long of a walk with way, way too many people.  Everyone was staring at us and taking pictures and grabbing Ella for more pictures.  I did not like it.  It was a really cool area though and I'm glad we saw it but I was also glad to leave.  On the way back, we ate at Pizza Hut while listening to Christmas music.  You've gotta love Christmas music in China in September!

Here are some things that I've learned about Liana, so far

She loves to eat but she's slow at it and always saves some food in her mouth
She loves to make faces at herself in the mirror
She loves books
She loves to color
She hates having her diaper or her clothes changed
She loves her pair of shoes from the orphanage so much that they're the only ones she'll wear and slept in them at nap time
When she gets irritated with her siblings, she slaps her knee and juts out her chin
She can be a little sassy with Ethan and rip things out of his hands...although, she might have learned it from him
She has a very pitiful cry
She can be very cuddly
She loves wearing bows.  When I took one off today for her nap, she tried to put it back on
She likes to always be holding something in her hand, even it's just a cap from a water bottle
She could spend forever just walking back and forth from one table to another transferring her toys
She can sit on a bed with a few toys and be quite content
She needs a little light on to sleep
She's a great sleeper and easy to put to bed (knock on wood)
She's a beautiful and wonderful daughter and I have so much more to learn about her!

Cuddling with Baba after nap

 Bathy time!

 All dressed up for our "girl day"...no, I wasn't in a matching outfit :-)

On The Bund

Ella and another adoring fan

  Sleepy sweeties watching Caillou