More Sightseeing and a Daddy Breakthrough

The days are now really starting to blur together a bit.  Breakfast buffet was a ghost town of adoptive families.  Most everyone with CA’s this week have left, and the next batch don’t arrive until this afternoon and this evening.  This morning’s activity (Friday, Dec. 7) was a trip to the tomb of the emperor Nanyue followed by a short excursion to Linhua hu Park.  The girls were pretty well behaved at the tomb, which Hailie really found to be intriguing.  They also had a fabulous kids playroom that Hailie especially loved and was able to get some excess energy out of her system.

What's a firehouse pole doing in a boat???

The archaelogical dig section

Of course, there was the obligatory gift shop at the end and one salesperson there was very, very good.  Hailie was showing interest in the jade jewelry and the salesperson pounced on her by opening the drawer and asking H what she was interested in.  H was reeled in hook, line, and sinker and before we knew it we were buying her a keepsake of this trip, far and away the most expensive piece of jewelry she owns, a jade pendant of happiness on a very fine chain.  Of course, to be fair we offered Juliana the same opportunity, and she picked a larger version of the same pendant.  They are both beautiful pieces for two very beautiful girls.  Special times call for unplanned special expenditures.

The park was beautiful as was the weather.  It is a ring park around a lake, and the most interesting sight at this stop was the playscape for adults.  All of these gizmos are various workout and stretching machines.  Two minutes on each one and you won’t need Bowflex, a gym membership or anything else to keep you toned up.  And the place was packed; the kids often had to wait to try out the apparatus they wanted.

What a look of concentration (or else it's potty time)

Nordic Trak has nothing on us

The adult play scape

Dad and the girls went to the playroom again so Mom could get our stuff organized and wash some more clothes in the sink.  Juliana was ready to go after about 15 minutes, but with no second parent on hand Dad was stuck taking both back which was not in Hailie’s plan at all.  So, Juliana and Daddy started playing cards (a version of War with Clifford Uno Cards, you have to watch to understand.)  Daddy started playing using card shark stare downs with her which she thoroughly enjoyed and created a huge amount of eye contact between the two of us.  We got goofy by pretend crying when we lost and gloating when we won, and this went on for 45 minutes.

We ran into Sean and Kara (part of our Beijing contingent) checking in so we managed to hook up for dinner right in the hotel at the Lai Wan Market Restaurant.  Ron and Randall, was this the sight of the great pigeon head feast?  Anyway, this was the lower key Cantonese restaurant in the hotel (we will not be going to the “Premier” Cantonese restaurant on the 3^rd floor) and it was still maybe a bit more refined than our family needs.  The girls were pretty good, and we ended up having a nice evening with our new friends from Memphis.  Then came the breakthrough; on the way out Steve and Juliana ended up in front of the group and she grabbed Ba Ba’s hand and led him out of the restaurant .   Later on at bedtime while Hailie was occupied in the bathroom she let Daddy rub her feet for a little bit, then she jumped across onto what is now Hailie’s bed and made like she wanted to sleep with Daddy (of course probably to get a dig in with Hailie) but she actually snuggled up against Dad for a few seconds.  That was quickly it though for Daddy time, but the breakthrough is duly noted by the parental units.

Tomorrow is the medical exam for Juliana.  Nothing else is on tap for the moment, so until then that’s it from 13 hours in the future.