Much Better!

Today went SOOOOOO much better! I just pray that this was a sign of things to come and not just an anomaly!

First of all, although Caitlin woke up crying again at 11:45 last night, she calmed much quicker and fell back asleep. She slept until almost 7:30, so she got basically 11 hours of sleep. And Paul and I slept later, too! We all felt much better after a good night's sleep.

We ate breakfast (and Caitlin ate very well- she ate pretty much anything I put in her mouth!), then we headed to Panda World. It was much smaller than I expected, but the bears were all so cute! We saw a bunch of pandas, including the oldest panda. She is almost 30 years old; since one panda year equals about 4 human years, that makes her almost 120 human years! Helen said that on her birthday this year they have planned a huge celebration because she is basically a national symbol. We saw her being fed; they have to mush up her bamboo and hand-feed her because she doesn't have many teeth left. She was very beautiful!

Then we saw the red pandas. Helen says they are not very smart, but they sure were cute! They looked like a cross between a panda and a raccoon. Caitlin enjoyed watching them!

Afterwards was a bear show. I have never seen one in real life before! The bears were so cute! They did gymnastics, balanced on a ball, rode a bike and a rocking horse... all kinds of tricks!

After Panda World, Helen asked us if we wanted to go back to the hotel, or if we wanted to see some more of Fuzhou. I immediately jumped in and answered for everyone, saying that I was going stir crazy and did NOT want to go back to the hotel (I am running out of ideas of things to do to pass the time when we're not allowed to stay in the room). Everyone agreed, so Helen took us to Old Town Fuzhou. It was fascinating! Lots of old-style buildings, cool shops, and even an apothecary that is still used. We bought Caitlin a necklace with an Ox (she was born in 2009, the year of the ox) that was carved out of a stone that is only found here in Fujian province. We also bought her some baby chopsticks with Minnie Mouse on them! Too cute!

At one point I looked around and couldn't see Paul anywhere. Then I noticed a group of young woman with Paul in the middle. They were taking their picture with him! I think we could get used to the celebrity treatment here!

It was well past lunchtime by then, and the babies were getting cranky so Helen asked us if we wanted to eat lunch out or go back to the hotel. We've eaten in the hotel restaurant for literally every meal since we got here Sunday afternoon. We have the entire menu memorized. The servers don't even ask us if we want smoking or non-smoking, or what we want to drink, or if we want the buffet or a-la-carte, because they know us too well. It was time to eat somewhere else! So Helen took us to Pizza Hut! It was fun!

After lunch, we came back to the hotel. Caitlin took a decent nap, and when she woke up we decided to go out for another walk. We explored the area behind the hotel for a change, but then wound up walking back to the park. It has lanterns and lights and we have not gotten to see them lit, so we decided to hang out until they turned the lights on after dark. Caitlin was most content in her Mei Tai, and was smiling and giggling and just being silly. She even let me sit for awhile! And she is starting to smile a little at Paul, although she still cries when he holds her. But he was just thrilled to get some smiles today!

We came back to the hotel, ate dinner, then I had to give Caitlin a bath because she didn't have one yesterday and won't get one tomorrow. She screamed, but not as badly. Then she went right to sleep with only a short screaming fit.

Caitlin still cried a lot today, but she calmed quicker and didn't have a single tantrum (which I was MOST grateful for!). Diaper changes are going better as well! Another family gave us some medicated cream to try, and the horrible rash is already looking so much better. It must have really hurt the poor kid because she does not fuss as much now when I change her. She still cries, but not the all-out fits that she had before. She's still very moody; she smiles one minute, then cries the next for no apparent reason. Still, things are definitely looking up!

Tomorrow afternoon we have a ceremony where the officials will give out the babies' passports, then we are free to go so we will head to the airport. Our flight to Guangzhou doesn't leave until after 7 PM, and gets in after 9. I figure we won't get to the hotel until almost midnight, so that should work nicely for poor Catlin. Then we have to get up bright and early Saturday morning for our medical appointment, where Caitlin will be poked and prodded, and will probably get some shots. I'm really not looking forward to that. But it will be nice to see everyone again, and meet all the new babies!

I will not be able to post tomorrow, but I will update (hopefully) on Saturday from Guangzhou. Now, I'm off to bed!