October 29, 2006 - Luoyang, Henan

Let's see....we decided not to take the tour to the orphanage today. I didn't want to terrify Maya by leaving her with anyone while I went in to visit, take photos, and such...so...we skipped it. I was able to get lots of photos and information from other families who went, and another parent will be sharing the video of the Director of the Luoyang SWI talking to all of the parents. I do not regret my decision...I feel it was the right thing to do.

So, instead, we took a walk to a local park. It was a little scary, venturing off on our own for the first time, but it wasn't that far and it became less and less scary as I realized that although it feels a bit like being on parade, the local people here are very friendly...but also very curious!

The funniest thing is when a chinese man came up to us and started asking questions in Mandarin. I know all of two things in Mandarin....and neither were applicable in this case. So...we showed him our name tags that indicate why we are here in hopes that this would answer his questions...but it didn't. We finally had to shrug our shoulders and just walk away. Frustrating, for sure!

Maya loves her rice crackers....and she also enjoys feeding them to me!

This was the coolest thing....they put you into this uninflated plastic ball...blow it up with air...and zip you up in it. Then...they push you out onto the lake and you play inside the plastic bubble....this little girl was falling all over the place and laughing VERY hard....we should try to get this at Forest Park...what a blast it appears to be!

I have finally gotten over my shyness of taking pictures of the people in China. They have NO problem coming right up to us and touching Maya and talking to her.....turnabout is fair play, I say!

Here's Grandpa pretending like he and Maya are just having the best of times...you can see that Maya is still ignoring Grandpa for the most part. We're trying...we're really trying! He did get the slightest upturn of her mouth today....almost a full-fledged smile directed his way! Babysteps...babysteps!

On our way back from the park, we saw a wedding. We heard the band, first and then realized that there was a bride and groom standing on the steps to a restaurant having their pictures taken...very cool!

The park was gorgeous! And very fun! It was a very leisurely Sunday afternoon and there were many families out playing. We saw a ton of girls, amazingly! They were very insterested in us..and many came up to look at Maya a little closer. Who knows what they were saying...but Maya didn't fuss, so it was all good! There are two things that this American mommy are doing wrong in the eyes of the Chinese mommies. One - I do not dress her warm enough (I only have one layer of clothing instead of enough to make her look like the Michelan man), and two - I let her suck on her fingers. Both have been brought to my attention, a few times! Oh well...different cultures, I guess!

We came back to the hotel to have a noodle picnic! Maya was having fun trying to use the plastic fork that came with the ramen style noodles. She didn't get many in her mouth, but had fun in her attempts!

Nap time was up next...she is really an easy baby to put down...a few minutes of fussing in my arms and then I can just lay her down in her crib and off she goes! She also enjoys sleeping right now. Close to 12 hours per night plus a 2 hour nap during the day. I have little faith that these sleeping habits will stay with us back home, but a girl can hope!

Later this afternoon we had a bit of a hall-party. No kegs, just gobs of kids running around and playing, chasing, screaming, giggling! Maya was SUPER content to sit and watch this going on. It seems as if she prefers to be in the thick of things...surrounded by people and kids. Just as long as the "big people" don't attempt to touch her or pick her up, she's happy as a clam!

Tomorrow will be an almost full day of touring and then we will pack up and be ready to travel to our next destination, Guangzhou, on Tuesday! Yay! 5 more days until we come home...we're almost there!

A note for my family.....Grandpa is indeed in China with me...I know that he's not in alot of photos, but that's because he ends up behind the camera most of the time! Sorry - we'll try to be better!!