Thursday, March 08, 2007

 

another day

FIRST AND FOREMOST: yesterday trace called mama 'MAMA'!!!
QUESTIONS: (1) beds. we have 2... they are full size (not the twins like in guangzhou). i slept with trace the first nite, but i am so conjested that i sniffle and cough all nite... so now i sleep on this mat that goes on the rollaway (the frame has a bar that runs down it so we ditched that and just use the mat on the floor). i lay down with him till he goes to sleep and then i move to the floor (or i fall asleep before he does and move to the floor in the middle of the night: when i wake up to blow my nose :)...)
(2) did someone ask about the weather? it is chilly (although not nearly as freezing as home) and wet- hence he hoodie AND track jacket look i've been sporting.
(3) actually, we're doing pretty good for space in the suitcases. guns are light, what can i say :)? we're giving some of trace's stuff to another family here who's son is younger (stuff like pullups which trace is well beyond). we actually haven't bought that much, and we'll be fine for weight. plus we have 3 of us, so that = 6 bags. my math isn't good, but 6 bags at 44 lbs each is a lot of stuff :).
(4) leigh: we havent weighed him (although we could since there is a scale in our bathroom...) he's fitting ok into his 3t clothes- some are almost too big, though. he is definately bigger (taller and thicker) than jade. i am beginning to wish i had more in the hips department b/c there is nothing for him to rest on when i carry him around. that is why there are 2 of us: we can take turns lugging him around town :).
onto the saga:
every evening we go out in search of the essentials: water, fruit and exercise. we always go to the same 2 places, right next door to each other. last nite we were buying our water when this american guy stopped and said hi: he teaches english and was excited to see western faces... he is from chicago, go figure. so we talked to him while purchasing a pineapple. if you think purchasing a pineapple takes under 15 minutes, you'd be mistaken. you see, they peel it and get all the 'eyes' out of it for you. which was great b/c they dont supply hotel rooms with knives (the boyonette on the end of trace's gun wasn't going to 'cut it'- ha ha ha). so we were waiting and talking and trace tells me he has to go potty. not quite the ideal place for this... so i asked the employee of the water store... a younger guy with a knack for getting his hair to stand perfectly on end. he also knows a little english which is always a plus. so i told him and he and trace go running off into some dark alleyway... mother following behind... i stayed behind with the pineapple and our newest friend. evetunally the bathroom group returned from who knows where and the pinapple was done and mr. chicago (maybe his name was matt? i cant remember) took us back a block or so to where the premium shopping is. we immediately vowed to return. he took us to try and find a knife, but all we could find were ginormous meat cleavers. fortunately, our room service pizza came with a knife. i wonder what the cleaning man/woman thought when the found the towel that i had used for a cutting board... it was definately a little sticky... this is the same poor cleaning person that has to clean a bathtub where a myriad of american womens underwear hangs from the shower curtain bar thingie... :) no wonder we're popular around here...
today was visit the orphanage day. as orphanages go, it is nice. we got to see some kids who are in foster care first. then they took us upstairs to where the baby-babies are. there were only maybe 10 or 12... they all had tags so we knew their ages- i think the oldest was born in september, the youngest around march 1 (found on march 6- i think that was tuesday?) all were cleft lip/pallate babies except for one albino, one with liver issues and one with arm/hand issues. (there are basically zero healthy children abandoned in fuzhou.) they all looked good except for one who had a cold... but i think the apperance of a cold on a cleft child is magnified since they can't snuffle or anything and their nostrils are such a mess. that room was the only heated room... the other playrooms had a few (5-8?) toddlers in it... bundled up. the orphanage here only has 260 or so kids- 1/2 in foster care. the oldest are around 20, and stay to help take care of the orphanage, as their needs prohibit them from being able to make it without the orphanage's assistance.
trace had a few tearful moments in the orphanage... our guide got us in and out pretty fast. personally, i think it brought him some closure since mama carried him out, b/c he's been very happy since.
after leaving the orphanage we went shopping... picked up a few things to give trace in the future, plus mother and i each got a piece of jewelery (shock! surprise!). then we came back to the hotel and ate some left over room service (we have a frigerator in our room) and layed down for the nap. and of course we watched automan- the powerranger-esque dvd trace loves.
i dont know if i'll be updating tomarrow as we are set to leave the hotel between 230 and 3 to go to the airport to fly to guangzhou. we are excited for the warmer weather and that there will be literally hundereds of other families there which means kids for trace to play with. we know that another ftia family will be there with their 3 year old son, so trace has a guranteed playmate.
i think that's about it for today... as father would say, my typing finger (although for me it's fingerS!) is beginning to get callused :).
best wishes.

Comments:
That is wonderful news!! I'm so happy that he is finally feeling comfortable enough to call Lorenna "Mamma".
My question this time is How on earth are you going to get all of those Guns through customs? LOL
I hope Jade likes to play with guns.
Is he a rough player or not so?
I can't wait to see you in Guangzhou.
I bet you will be eating at Lucy's quite a bit! We loved Lucy's.
I'm happy that Trace did so well with returning to his orphanage.
I think Wendy had that closer when she saw her Nanny for the last time.
Take care and safe flight.

Lesa
 
Enjoy the warmer weather!

Sue
 
Mama! Yeah! Sounds like you all are surviving quite nicely! THe sun is out today, and around 30. All of this crazy snow is going to melt now. hopefully, not all in the next 4 days! Yesterday we had the "opportunity" to shovel the roof! There was nearly 3 feet on it in most places. Today, my body is VERY tired! I think I will be taking a nap. Hope your flight is smooth sailing. Trace should love the big airplane! Have a great travel day, and can't wait to read the next page of your story! Love CArol
 
Well it looks like trace will fit in here well. He and his gun could be the answer to our cat problem! Infact Trevor and wade are going to dicks tonite so mabey we will have to pick him up an airsoft gun for when he comes home.

Here it is sunny and beautiful, more like 35ish but not bad. It is supposed to be 55 by the time you get home. Well feel free to call whenever. Talk to you Later
 
Hi--just wondering about Trace's chinese name. Did it come from his birth parents, the orphanage, or the foster parents. Has he picked up any english words yet? Maybe drink, go, bye, NO (ha), anything like that? How 'bout you guys--has he taught you any new chinese words? Hope you get a comfy bed, yummy food, and warm climate when you het to Guangzhou. Love you all. Carol
 
Looks like you've all bonded well. I fell a bit behind the last few days, so it was good to catch up on your trip. Travel home safely.
 
Congratulations on the "Mama". I've enjoyed following your posts. I was so thrilled to get the pictures of Wa yesterday from Maury! thank you so much for that! I hope the rest of your trip is wonderful and Trace continues to bond with you.
thanks again,
Carolyn Tinsley
 
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