Friday:

 

THANK GOD FOR POOP!  Yes, I know I talked about poop the last time but you just don't understand how exciting this is!  She is a different kid!  A different kid I tell ya!  I mean no more pain, laughing when we crossed the street, smiling freely kind of kid!  So we are thankful today for poop (and modern medicine)! 

 

The day didn't start out like that though.  She was grumpy while waking up and we thought, "ok..not a morning person."  But it didn't get better from there.  We were on our way to the Botanical Gardens this morning & she just cried.  And not the just, "I'm whiny unhappy" kind of cry but the painful type of cry.  I tried to move her legs, I tried to rub her belly but even looking at her caused her to go into a tizzy.  As a parent, you know that when your kids are hurting, you are hurting.  And when there is nothing you can do to help them, it's even worse.  I was in tears by the time we got out of the van.

 

Randy put her in the Ergo & we walked around a little.  She started to settle down.  She even said, "fa fa" which is flower in Cantonese.  I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful the Botanical Gardens are!  And they are decorating for Chinese New Year (year of the horse by the way) so everything is vibrant and colorful.  To those of you that know my dad, you will understand this.  I am trying to take it all in for him.  I know how much he would appreciate the culture, the different surroundings, the tidbits of information.  So I am trying to soak it in more for him.  And pay attention to those little tidbits of information that I know he would appreciate.  Like which cities are sister cities in the friendship garden at the Botanical Gardens (I'll tell you later dad).  ;)

 

We came back and tried to put Alina down for a nap.  They told us at the orphanage that she takes a 2 1/2 hour nap per day and plus she sleeps from 9:00 pm - 7:00 am.  Um...let's just say that we are a little off schedule to say the least.  But when you try to give her a nap and think about how much her life has changed in just 5 days, sometimes you have to say heck with the schedule and go with what works.  Also being in a hotel room with others so close can make a difference.  No one needs to hear the cries of a baby for any length of time.  It is quite stressful.  Randy took Caylee out for a walk for that reason.  It's a lot at 10 to have to listen to the cries of a little one that just doesn't understand that she needs to sleep.

 

And then after the nap time is when the magic happened but I won't go into details about that. I think you might have heard all the poop stories that you need to hear for this time of day.  ;) 

 

We took Caylee to the swimming pool.  Can I just say how nice it is to be in the pool in the middle of January?  Again, just trying to soak it all in!  Caylee is always so happy when she is in the water! 

 

We went for dinner across the street at a coffee house.  It was so nice! We walked in and sat down & heard Justin Bieber singing, "Baby Baby Baby."  Caylee could not wait to tell her cousin Anika about that.  They had sandwiches & coffee/hot cocoa!  Alina was laughing as we crossed the street!  And can I tell you that she loves the camera!  Loves looking at the pictures of all of us on the camera.  Loves seeing herself on camera/video.  She was one happy girl! 

 

We got back to the hotel and saw some other Bethany families (they all flew in today)!  Yay!!  We liked the coffee house so much that we recommended it to them.  Uh..of course we had no idea that one of them was going to get robbed.  The dad chased the guy down & he eventually dropped the diaper bag that he took from them.  Always an adventure.  I told them that was part of the dinner and a show. 

 

We got back to the hotel room and were looking at pictures on the bed.  Alina was laughing so hard that she fell backward on the bed!  LAUGHING!!  I can not tell you how happy I am to hear this little laugh!  And such a hearty laugh too!  I can't wait for you guys to hear it!!  Apparently the sound, "Bee bee ba ba boo boo" is hilarious!  (you are trying to do that sound in your head now, aren't you?!  Admit it!  It's funny!).

 

We had a little trouble getting her to sleep again but I have to say that when she is asleep, she stays asleep.  Hooray!! 

 

I just wanted to add that I am not trying to expose Alina by telling you these stories about her.  I am honestly trying to just tell the story about our trip.  This is real life that we are experiencing right now and it has been challenging and wonderful and difficult and amazing all at the same time.  Thanks for walking this road with us!