With our free day in Guangzhou today, a handful of families got together and rented a bus to take us out to Safari Park about 45 minutes from the city. We took a tram (a mercedes tram–I didn’t seem to think this was an important detail. But, Mark has mentioned it several times, so I thought it must be blogworthy.) through the park to see the animals. It’s sorta like the safari ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom but we saw about 10x as many animals in a much smaller place. Rather than ride the tram, people can pay to drive through the park in their own cars. People were standing up out of their sunroofs trying to get the animals to come right over to their car. We saw one van full of people with their side door open feeding the gazelles right out of the van. PETA would be all over this place. But, we enjoyed it, and all the adopted kids (as well as siblings who were there) really enjoyed the day. The highlights were (1) me feeding a baby white tiger (it cost 30 yuan, about $4) and, of course, (2) admiring the pandas. This was a must do in my opinion, especially since Ashlyn adores pandas and believes that they rome the streets of China. I just couldn’t come to China and not see pandas! Lydia’s favorites were the parrots and the monkeys.
We thought it was time to give you a little Lydia 101 so you wouldn’t be illyderate (get it?) since we are coming home soon. Of course, this is coming from people who have been with her for only 9 days, and one of those days we were so sick that I thought I might die in China (okay, a bit of an exaggeration there). Still, here is what we have learned thus far.
1. She’s got a few tricks–smacking her lips, hitting her hand to her mouth while making an “ah” noise, and shaking her head no for no reason.
2. She can say da, ba, and mama.
3. She has a big freckle on her tummy.
4. Although she hated her first bath and then wouldn’t sit in the water her second bath, by her third bath, she realized this was sorta fun. Now, she loves it.
5. Her favorite foods are bread and crackers–who are we kidding, she eats everything we give to her. Tonight that was tomatoes and cucumbers even.
6. She loves her little blanket (we have named Ren Ren) and sucking her first two fingers on her left hand.
7. She smiles at everybody who talks to her and doesn’t cry often.
8. When she fell down today, she called out for “Mama” which clearly was not me. But, we are working on her understanding that I’m Mama and can comfort her.
9. She loves walking holding onto one of our hands.
10. She doesn’t like her hands touched unless you are holding her hand to walk with her.
11. She sweats like crazy when she takes her bottle and when she sleeps.
12. She has had a little bit of hard time falling asleep at night. I hold her until she’s asleep and then Daddy puts her in the crib. Although she sleeps restlessly, she sleeps through the night until about 7am.
13. She has the smallest behind you have ever seen. It’s about the size of my fist. We think she should be nicknamed Tiny Hiney or Bitty Bum. Any other ideas?
14. She likes being upside down and being thrown up into the air. When Daddy does it and then stops, she says “da” very clearly. We think it’s Chinese for “again.”
I’m looking forward to learning more about her as the days go on and having our other three learn too. We have a big day tomorrow–our oath at the U.S. consulate. After that, we just pick up her visa on Thursday and then we are finished here and have permission to bring this little girl home. Can’t believe it.
Dear Evan, Ashlyn, and Drew – Daddy and I talked about you guys a lot today as we went to the safari park. We took tons of pictures and lots of video of the pandas and the other animals. Be good for Grammy these last few days. And, Ashlyn, clean up your room and get it ready for Lydia!
Kelly,
It sounds like you are having a great time in China. Isn’t it great to take in all of the Chinese culture of Lydia’s birth place!! I am glad you are having a great time!!!
Tricia
Great post! Was fun to learn more about precious Lydia- looking forward to seeing ALL your kiddos together- I bet you are too! :)
What a fun day! I am impressed that you fed that baby tiger! I loved the 101 on Lydia. I can’t wait to meet her! I can understand why all the caretakers in the orphanage loved Lydia- she has a smile that lights up a room! And I love that she sucks her first two fingers. Micah does, too, and it is just so stinkin’ cute! :)
Looking forward to seeing all of you soon– as a family of six! Yippee!
Love that outfit! :) How fun to see her in it!
She’s as beautiful as ever–and oh YOU feeding a baby white tiger with Lydia strapped on you–multi-tasking at it’s best!
Sounds like a wonderful time!
It is such a treat to learn a few facts about Lydia! Thank you for sharing those with all of us. Today’s pictures are such fun! In regards to her precious little backside…how about Demi-Derriere? :)
What fun! I wish we had known about the park. We found Guangzhou rather boring. So glad you guys are bonding. It will take time, but it will be like you never were apart. Loved the Lydia 101. Enjoy the rest of your stay. Bet you can’t wait to get home, even though you probably will miss China once you are.
Kevin, Violet, Jake
The safari sounds really cool. I would have loved to see that baby tiger and feed it. Lucky you! Lydia sounds like such a sweet baby. Can’t wait to meet her!
What a fun day! praying she will recognize you as mama very soon!