Day 3 Part II

Hello,

We seemed to have turned a big corner with Kate!! After our traumatic afternoon with the screaming and the spectacle at the lunch hour (mind you the other families thanked John for sticking up for them- Xiulan is difficult on everyone) I decided something had to be done to get Kate accepting me. So after our two hour nap I asked John to leave us alone. I knew Kate would be hungry after the nap. when she woke up she was screaming looking all over for John. I showead her a banana and she stopped crying immediately. She tried to eat the banana with the peel on it So we sat down peeled the banana and I fed the first half to her whlie she sat on my lap, the second while she sat on the bed. She actually started smiling. Next I changed her, which has been a struggle since Sunday. But I got her changed by myself it took two of us previously to hold her down. She's really strong!!!

Next we got down on the floor and played. She loves Patty cake and a few other items in the room that act as toys. We were really enjoying ech other so we then went down to the restaurant for dinner(John was hiding out in the lobby waiting for my signal). I was able to coax Kate, well more like force her into a high chairwith the help of two waitstaff. Kate just really likes to be held all the time. It's ironic because I remember working so hard with Jack to avoid this exact behaviour. So this need to be held make high chairs and strollers next to impossible without a total meltdown.

Finally Kate settled into the chair distracted by the food I had brought over from the buffet. She was eating up a storm. Mind you this feisty girl eats like a champ AND feeds herself. So even though I realize that food should not be a reward I was so elated that we were having such a nice time and Kate was not looking around in a panic for John that I brought over a piece of lemon cake layered with whipped cream. I cut the cake into small pieces and fed her a piece and she grunted for more. So I moved the plate in front of and she proceeded to put her whole face into the cake. The people next to us (the chinese stare at us constantly) laughed outloud and Kate relished the attention.

Down below in the lobby John was able to watch us and I signaled that I thought it was OK to come up and join us. When he came up Kate was elated and of course with some crying and outstretched arms indicated that she wanted up and out and in his arms. But John gave her a firm no, and a few of his noodles and she seemed to be OK. After dinner we really needed to get to Walmart for a few things which meant the stroller!! Ugh - after the days experience with the stroller we almost bagged the idea. But We forged ahead and forced he in kicking and screaming.

She yelled and cried for about 50 yards and then stopped. We made sure that only I interacted with her. John stayed behind the stroller at all times. She was great at wal-mart no crying just smiling. When we got back to the hotel I stayed in the lobby and john went to the room and picked up his computer and then headed to the busines center to catch up on work. Kate and I went up to the room to prepare for bed and she was delighful. I actually had her laughing while changing her diaper. After playing for a while and feeding Kate some milk I turned out all the lights. I lied down with her for less than 10 minutes and she was out and I moved her to the crib. Phew!!

I think we MAY have turned the corner and John can get some rest. Tomorrow John plans to get out of the room ahead of and Kate and I and we'll meet him for breakfast and see how she does.

It was a difficult day today, so John's earlier commentary was a justifiably tarnished. He really did have it tough and was my usual superhero to the rescue. So on a positive note the park we went to was actually very beautiful and in between all the crying from Kate and bossing from Xiulan I tried to enjoy the Thai and Tibet temples, the gorgeous gardens, mountainous backdrop, and the serene lake. It was a beautiful place and my new friend Celine (one of the adopting parents)and I road on a zip line across a huge lake to get to the Tibetan Temple. We laughed a lot. We sort of can't believe we have FINALLY come to China and what a crazy experience this truly is!