October 28, 2006 - Luoyang, Henan

It's Saturday! We are just one week from coming home..and we cannot wait! Here's a chronicle of our day:

5:45am - I am WIDE awake. Maya has a cough..and I had my first night of waking frequently to listen to the coughing spell and then for the sound of her breath. The worry thing comes naturally for me!

6:45am - Maya wakes up - pretty happy, too! She greeted me with a huge smile upon waking, which I absolutely adored! I gave her one of her new favorite treats (a rice cracker) while I finished up getting ready and then we started her primping! Maya enjoys bathtime..so she had a bath this morning and was raring to go. We actually had to wait for Grandpa this morning..he's turning into a late sleeper here in China!

So..while we waited..we walked the halls. Here's Maya practicing her walking with our new stroller. She's doing very well!

9:00am - after breakfast, we boarded the bus for a 1/2 day of touring. We were supposed to go to two places, but only had time for one. We arrived at the Longmen Grottoes by 10:00am. It was a beautiful day outside..and the grottos were nice. I can't tell you much about them because I am still very consumed with all things Maya, so if you are interested, just click here

Here are a few pictures from the Grottoes...

Maya's doing the "I can't see you" thing for Grandpa! She's a smart one...she quickly figured out that if I was in front of her...then I could not be pushing the stroller...therefore, someone ELSE must be touching the stroller! Picky...picky!!

One of the grotto carvings....HUGE!

Here we are...enjoying the day outside!

12:30pm - We went to an authentic Luoyang chinese lunch. They called it the "water banquet" because the food just kept on flowing! Tons of food...but it sure is hard to get your fill when you're eating with two sticks and feeding the tiny little mouth sitting on your lap! I am very proud of my chopstick skills, though....I even fed Maya a Cheerio with chopsticks. Impressed? Maya decided to flip out on me half way through lunch, though...so no cutesy photos of that experience, sorry!

What was cool about this place where we ate lunch was that everything they served was grown in their own gardens..and raised (I suppose) on their land. I was ok with this until I saw a cute little kitty cat roaming the gardens after lunch...Hmmmmmm.....I wonder! :)

2:30pm - Back on the bus with some cranky kids....and then back to the hotel. Upon our return, we saw that the Cardinals had indeed won the World Series! Way to go Cardinals! So...for you viewing pleasure, I present our newest Cardinal fan...can you SEE the look of excitement on her face?

The rest of the day is a blur...and a bit boring. Being in this hotel, day after day, is getting on everyone's nerves...but we'll survive. We have two more full days here until we move onto Guangzhou...then just 3 days there until we fly back home. Yipppeeeee!

We'll be spending most of the day tomorrow hanging out here at the hotel...so hopefully, I'll get some great candid shots!

Have a great Saturday, everyone!