Friday, September 25, 2009

Hot at the Zoo, and Time to Chill





Our only 'official' activity today was to go to the Guangzhou Zoo. Thankfully, we went in the morning so it wasn't quite as hot....but trust me...it was plenty hot outside today - 93 degrees.  We opted to pay for a 'golf cart' type vehicle and a driver that took us to all of the major exhibits of the zoo.  Boy are we glad that we did that!  It was a nice morning and the zoo was beautiful.   We came back to the hotel, ate a snack, then it was nap time....for all of us.   It takes several days to get adjusted to the 12-hour time difference and we are not quite there yet.    
 At dinner tonight we sat next to a couple from South Africa.  They were such a nice couple and were taken with Caroline.  They have been traveling for a month to different countries and are in China for potential business interests.  They asked question after question about the adoption process and by the end of the conversation they have pretty much decided to adopt from China, even after I told them about the long wait.     
Today Caroline was more relaxed, more animated, and seemed stronger physically.  She is still somewhat withdrawn, but continues to come out of her shell day by day.  She still won't walk, but I'm not stressing over it.  We think that this is just a coping mechanism.   I know that she can walk.  She has definitely been potty trained....so getting the potty chair was a good idea.  She still wears diapers, but I'm guessing that they trained her to go potty at certain times of the day.  We are still trying to figure out when those times are  :)   We are not pushing it, but are giving her 'opportunities' to go.  (This is a whole new experience for me to be writing about 'potty' training!!!).    
Tomorrow we meet the rest of the Children's Hope agency travel group. There are a total of 14 families who have traveled to several provinces in China and are now gathering in Guangzhou for the last part of the process.  I'm anxious to meet them because several of us have corresponded via email as we prepared to travel. 

7 comments:

Sierra said...

I just love those smiles!! Glad Caroline is getting more comfortable.

McMary said...

Wow--do you ever have a gorgeous daughter. It is fun reading about her milestones with you.
glad to hear you are enjoying your trip.

Kendra said...

There are smiles behind that bottle! That's great to see!

Deven said...

Loving these updates. Keep those smiles coming!

Hines4602 said...

Look at that smile! She is changing so much every day!! I can't believe she is potty training and not even two. I just can't get over it.

Jennifer said...

Love, Love, LOVE that smile in the first picture! What a blessing that she is coming out of her shell day by day.

So, what does Grandma think of her little Caroline?

Unknown said...

There is some spunkiness in her eyes in that first pic. LOVE it! She's just gorgeous!