Zoo Day!

We had such a good day yesterday! Peyton was up with a smile on her face by 5:30 and wanted a bottle, but didn't drink all of it. She didn't ask for another one for the rest of the day!

We had our usual breakfast, but Peyton didn't eat all of her congee because I think we let her eat too many Teddy Grahams when she woke up. She did try a few bites if yummy chocolate bread and loved it.

We didn't shower since we were going to the Zoo, and it was a hot, "sunny" day. Even when it's sunny here, there is still a haze and clouds in the sky. At least it wasn't pouring rain. We wanted to make Peyton brush her teeth, which she hasn't let me do since we were in Shanghai. She will try to do it herself, but she doesn't do a good enough job. She didn't like it, and she cried when I finally got the toothbrush in her mouth, but we got it done. It was a team effort! When we were done, we clapped and told her, "Good girl!" She smiled and wanted to brush her teeth and then wanted to brush our teeth. So, as much as we didn't want her toothbrush in our mouths, we let her do it and then rinsed our mouths and then sanitized her toothbrush with water we can boil in our room.

Then it was off to the zoo! She was so excited to get on the bus she could hardly run fast enough, so she asked me to carry her. She loves being on the bus or in a vehicle. I can't wait for her to visit her Grandpa Taylor and see the tractors and other farm vehicles! She will love it!

We bought her another pair of squeaky shoes before we left that were sandals because the shoes we got her the other day are still a little big, and she is still wanting to be carried rather than walking on her own. Lori, we should have taken your advice and gotten a sling; although, she probably would have hated that because she would have felt restrained! When we got inside of the zoo, she was off! She was so.happy and was such a good girl! We had a few moments, but overall, she did great. She just stared at the animals and pointed at them. So many new things to see!

It was a hot day, and she wanted to be carried 75% of the time. Darren, bless his heart, was trying to take the burden of carrying her as much as he could, but she inevitably wanted me to carry her. I am thrilled she is bonding with me, but I think my muscles are exhausted from carrying her everywhere. Even in our hotel room, she wants me to carry her or hold her. I do love it. I'm just a wimp when it comes to that stuff.

We saw your typical Zoo animals...monkeys (there was an itty bitty baby that was so freakin adorable!), hippos, lions, tigers, bears, giraffes,etc., but the one thing we don't have or don't get to see back home is the Panda Bear! He was in a cage, so we didn't get to see him very well, but he was pretty with a sweet face.

I could tell Peyton was getting tired. She was starting to get whiney and couldn't get comfortable in my arms, but didn't want to walk. She started playing with her hair (which she does when she goes to sleep) and closing her eyes. I tried to put her head down on my shoulder, but she insisted on sitting up. Darren snapped a few pictures as she closed her eyes and started to fall asleep sitting up in my arms. Finally, she laid down on my shoulder and went to sleep. We were both dripping sweat. So gross. I could feel the beads of sweat running down my back and lines of sweat running down my arm where my elbows were bent as I held her.

Finally, it was time to get on the bus. Thank goodness! I felt like my arms could give out at any moment! And can I tell you how thankful I am for air conditioning? Crank that baby up! Our bus driver had it cooled down by the time we got on the bus, and we had our own vents. Peyton's little dress was soaked, and I knew there was no way I was going to get a 2nd day out of my pants. Thank goodness Wednesday would be a day in! I'd wear my lounging capris so both pairs could be washed.

Peyton slept all the way back to the hotel and all the way back to our room. I was so excited to lay her down and hoped she'd sleep for a while longer. Wouldn't you know it...our room was being cleaned, and they had stripped the bed down. Dang it! I felt so bad, and so did the cute little gal cleaning our room. She apologized and worked as fast as she could to finish up in our room. Poor thing was in a uniform with hose and dress shoes. I could see the sweat rolling down her hairline. She was so sweet. She even dusted and vacuumed. I was trying to keep Peyton asleep, and we tried laying her on a blanket on top of our clothes in a suitcase, but she woke up. She thought it was pretty cool watching our room getting cleaned. She smiled as she watched and grinned at the housekeeper. When she was finished, Peyton waved bye bye to her.

The first things I did after she and Darren sat and drank water together was strip Peyton down to gave her a bath. We also had sunscreen and bug spray on in addition to a few hours of sweating like pigs, so we were all nasty. While I bathed Peyton, Darren ordered Papa John's. Then I took a shower. It felt so good to be clean!

We grubbed on pizza and didn't know if Peyton would like it or not, but she did! It didn't quite taste like home, but it was still pretty good.
After we ate, Darren took his shower and then took our laundry down and browsed a few shoppes while Peyton and I played in the room. 

Darren cane back and found something he thought I would really like to have for Peyton. It was a flat quartz-like piece of stone that someone would make by hand with her picture, province, birth date, adoption date, and a short message from us on it. So, we got a bag together and decided to go for a walk, which was good because while Darren was gone, Peyton put her sandals on, came up to me and waved "bye bye" and headed for the door. When she saw that I was putting my shoes on, she got all excited!

We stopped in to drop off her picture for the plaque first. There's a cute little gal who works there named Stella. That's also where we bought Peyton's squeaky shoes and where we had our laundry done. It has become our favorite store on the island. Stella just loves Peyton and is so cute with her. Peyton will wave and blow kisses to her when we leave.

Then it was on to the park. This would be our first time taking her to the playground. Poor little girl had no clue what to do once we got there. I went down one of the slides with her, and she wasn't too sure what to think. Then Darren climbed some bars to show her what to do, and she copied him. Other than that, she was happy climbing up and down the stairs to the slide. We need to get her to a park with other kids so she can learn what to do. Ashley, Brooke, and Sydney, get ready to go to the park with Peyton to teach her what to do!

While we were in the park, the skies were darkening, and we could hear quite a bit of thunder. Peyton was ready to go, and I told Darren I felt like we should get out of there before it started raining. Too late! As we were leaving, it started to pour. We stopped under an umbrella to bring out the rain cover for the camera bag. Darren had Peyton, and we ran as fast as we could back to the hotel. By the time we got back, it was pouring rain. We were wet, but luckily we found cover to walk under as we got closer to the hotel, or we would have been soaked! We were laughing, and Peyton didn't quite know what to think! It was good to have something to laugh about!

We went back to our room and played. Darren took a little cat nap. Peyton put her shoes in the drawer of the night stand, her ball in the closet, and who knows what else she stuffed in books and cranny's in our room! I told Darren we would have to search everywhere when we pack to leave to make sure we have everything! Funny girl!

After a while, I could tell she was bored, and I was hungry, so I told Darren I thought we should try the playroom again and then go to Lucy's for dinner because they have congee for Peyton. When Peyton saw me putting my shoes on, she put her snack cup under her arm, did the sign for shoes, and then picked up Darren's shoes and took them to him. I am so thankful for the few signs we have been able to teach her! Can't wait for her to learn even more!

When we got to the playroom, she was in my arms and began to whimper and drew herself into my body and wrapped her legs around me. She then started to cry. She did the same thing with Darren the day before. We left and won't go back. I think it reminds her of the orphanage, and she might think we are going to leave her there. That made me sad.

So, it was on to Lucy's for dinner! We passed Stella on our way, and she went out of her way to come say hi to Peyton. Peyton waved and blew kisses.

We were seated, and Peyton wanted to sit in her own chair for the first time, and she fed herself from her own chair. Such a big girl! Her congee came WAY before our Chicken A La King that we shared, so she was finished well before we got our meal, but she was a good girl and sat on my lap while we ate.

Then it was back to our room. We played for a while and then put pajamas on and brushed her teeth (a struggle again, but we praised her when we were finished, and she smiled). We let her play some more, but her eyes were getting heavy. She handed me her truck and asked me to drive it up and down her legs and back while we sat on the bed. Her head bobbed but she fought sleep, so we cleaned up her toys, gave her kisses, and turned out the lights. She laid in between us and didn't cry at all. She fidgeted for a bit and finally fell asleep snuggled up to me.

She slept with her blankie on her all night for the first time. She was wide awake at 4:30, so I rubbed her leg, and she went back to sleep. I think she was pooping when she woke up earlier. Darren said he smelled something in her diaper and that it was that or a stinky fart! It is almost 7:00 and she is still sleeping. I love the sounds she makes while she sleeps. So sweet. She also hums when she plays sometimes, which surprised me, and it is so cute!

No activities planned today. Today is our consulate appointment, so we have to stay in our room while Jason goes to our interview on our behalf in case there are any questions. Only 2 more nights here! Can't wait!