Only Two More Nights in Tiajin!

Just amazing. Each day shows such obvious progress that it's easy to lose track of just how short a time it's been. Baby J slept through the night last night (for the most part) with just one brief episode. His crying is no longer the grieving wail of the first day or the angry frustration of the second day. We still have a few frustrated reactions but they are getting shorter and less frequent. We are figuring each other out and I think a little of it is him testing some limits to figure things out. He is a quick study though and since he's pretty clearly demonstrative it's helping me figure out what he wants. I can't wait for him to be verbal and get past the grunting and pointing though! What I do know for sure is noodles and dumplings make for a happy boy. And a happy mama for that matter, too!

Today we started off at Renmin Park - another peaceful oasis right in the middle of downtown. They had a few animals like a white tiger (sad to see such a big beautiful animal in such a small enclosure, but WOW were we ever up close!) and what pretty much amounted to a petting zoo without being able to enter the pens to pet them. There are grandparents with young children EVERYWHERE! Our guide in Beijing told us that people retire at 55 or 60 and then start pestering for grandkids. It's very sweet to see such doting and loving relationships everywhere we look. Everyone wants to stop and get a close look at Baby J and today it was also the Ergo that was the center of attention. Three women came in for a closeup and were chattering away at me (smiling) before I broke out my one phrase that I keep seem to be using - sorry, I don't speak Chinese well - but through pantomime I could see they were looking at the design of the Ergo and loved how the hood attaches to cover the baby. And my little showboat had to delight the audience with a sweet little "byebye!" and wave when they left. He didn't stay awake long though - the Ergo has some magical lull-baby-to-sleep powers. We took our time strolling through the park and taking in the gardens. I am loving all these peaceful little places right in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the city...just feet from the insanity of the stress-inducing traffic there are all of these people just sitting and being. Seriously, if someone strolled down the pathway singing out loud back home, people would think he was a little bit loony. But here, it was a pleasant surprise (that Baby J was enthralled with, by the way). It's so pleasant to just sit and watch people reading, playing with the grandchildren or practicing their tai chi in the square - I'm just soaking it all in.

This afternoon we got to visit the orphanage for a tour. I was worried about him having an memory-triggered reaction to the sights or sounds or smells that might remind him of his traumatic day earlier this week. But he was asleep when we arrived so we were able to go in without a problem. He was cranky for a minute after he woke up but settled down pretty quickly. After a short visit with the orphanage director, they gave each family a gift bag for the children. I haven't had a chance to look through it yet but I know there was a red flag with the orphanage name on it ... because "someone" grabbed it and was trying to wear it on his head. Silly boy, always trying to entertain the audience! The first little side room we passed was a mini-workout room with child-sized treadmills. So cute! The first couple of classrooms were kindergarten aged and the next rooms were slightly older. They were so bright eyed and smiley...the chorus of "Hello!" when we walked in was too adorable! They gave the OK to hand out the candy we'd brought so Uncle and Auntie got to go around and pass out some Starbursts to each kiddo. Oh, the smiles! It was beautiful to see the spirit they all had. One child pulled out chairs and gestured for us to sit with them...one child was intent on showing Uncle M their puppet show setup...they were all just such bright spirits and we were torn between being happy for the level of care they are receiving and longing for them all to find loving families. It was so nice to see their interactions with their teachers and how engaged they all were in the activities they were working on. I got choked up (for the eight thousandth time on this trip, I'm sure) when I thought of the children I've sponsored through Half the Sky...here I was standing in a classroom seeing the products of their efforts. They were and organization close to my heart before, but now it's something even more.

Well I haven't had a chance to upload the pictures from today yet - thought I'd take advantage of naptime to write what I could. I'll try to get to that later this evening. He'll be waking up soon and probably starving. All I have to do is start putting on the Ergo and he'll start singing his "byebye" song. It's just a little bit cute. :)