Each day gets better - plus cultural experiences

Katie is settling into a pattern, which is nice. She tends to be cranky in the morning. We have found that putting her in the sling and going for walks really helps her when she is cranky. We have put a lot of miles on around the local area here just walking out the crankies. She progressively gets better up through lunch. After lunch she takes a nap and then is pretty active and pleasant the rest of the afternoon and evening. Bed time is also getting much better. Last night took 30 minutes...a new record.

Despite the patterns that are developing, yesterday was not without adventure. The morning started with a trip to the zoo. Katie loved all the animals. This was the most animated we had seen her yet. Her favorite seemed to be the giraffes.

Look at this adorable little girl

The day before yesterday Katie had taken a three hour nap. So, when Katie went down yesterday Heather decided to go do some shopping at the local shops. Forty minutes later...she woke up. Katie is still not fond of daddy. I stayed calm, changed her diaper, offered her food, and then decided we needed to find mommy. After a screaming elevator ride and walk through the hotel, we went out onto the main street still screaming. As we started down the street Heather came running out of a shop. She had recognized Katie's cry/scream. All was well with the world.

After that we continued to shop. We went into a shop and bought a few items. The shop owner invited us to have tea. We sat down around a makeshift table as he prepared the tea. He spoke relatively good English. We had tea and talked about a variety of subjects from his home town, which was the same as Katie's, to politics to history. We probably conversed for a half an hour. By the way, Katie loved tea. She drank several small cup fulls of black decaf.

At dinner time we decided that KFC sounded good. We have grown weary of the local restaurants. We asked the reception desk if there was one within walking distance. The answer was no. She gave us written direction for a taxi driver instead. Without thinking it through we hopped in the taxi and off we went...FAST. Chinease driving is kinda like bumper car racing that comes just short of bumping. It's every car for itself and the taxi drivers seem to take pride in moving as quickly through the traffic using the tightest spaces available. 10 minutes later we arrived at a huge outdoor mall. I think all 1 billion Chinese people were there. We were the only white people in sight. We found KFC, but the menu was all in Chinese. We navigated ordering through pointing at the pictures. The chicken was good, but much more spicy than at home. After that we did some shopping at some of the stores. We bought two pairs of shoes for 250 Yuan which is about $40. It was then time to catch a taxi to go back. This was like a street hockey game. Their were 20 people fighting for every cab that showed up. After a few failed attempts because of being polite, the big American man took over. I fought my way through to the next taxi, knocking people out of the way (slightly embellished). I put my hand on the roof of the taxi and jogged beside it until it stopped. As soon as it stopped I jumped in the back seat before the people that were in it were able to get out. I got that cab!

Lastly, Katie is making great progress. We have been able to coax a few slight smiles and even one little, tiny giggle. Each day we see something new in her. It is truly an awesome experience.

Heather's moments

• In the elevator a man said, "cute baby, you wait a long time?" Heather replied, "Yes, a long time." He replied, "Worth the wait?" Heather replied while tearing up, "Yes, worth the wait."