Wednesday September 10

Arrival at 5 Springs Park - the swarm

Kira handing out Canadian flags to other children

Exercising in the park

This is MY water

Monks preparing for Moon Festival

Silly faces

Yes, I can eat this whole thing all by myself!

Children wearing split pants instead of diapers

a cracker or 2...

an apple a day...

Cell Phone girls


Today, we had to wake Aurora and Kira to head off to breakfast. Aurora again was very sleepy, even after 12 hours sleep, she is exhausted. She was interested in some food at breakfast, but more interested in showing us that when she wants to do it herself, she is very strong willed!  She will reach and grab for anything within her reach, and especially glasses or bottles of water. We offered her a new cup to try to drink from, but she obviously is not used to that, but determined to try, very erratically, with the contents flying everywhere, as she dodges our attempts to control the direction of the cup to her mouth, along with flailing arms and legs, and cries, tears, and closed mouth screams (mouth full of food). She has the cutest little chipmunk cheeks and she has perfected the art of storing food for several hours…. No kidding.

Anyways, we started off the day with a tour of the local ‘5 Springs Park’, a beautiful day, with lots of locals out doing their exercise, singing, playing games and just enjoying the sunshine. As soon as we got off the bus, many older people gathered around Tom as he was carrying Aurora in the hip sling. Finally, I showed them the translation card that explains we have adopted her, are Canadian, and very happy. They were very happy for us, and kept giving me the thumbs up sign.
We then walked around the park, including a Buddhist Temple, where the monks were busy preparing for the upcoming Moon Festival, hanging red lanterns. Then we went into the Lanzhou Zoo, located inside the park, but separate admission. Kind of a sad zoo, lots of animals in bare concrete pens, but clean. It is the oldest zoo in China.
For lunch, we went to a “Pizza” restaurant that was tasty. Then, home for naps for some, and more shopping for others. Our guide, Steed, took us to a local shopping market, 5 stories high, where you barter for everything. It is not a tourist market, but the locals shop here. Nice quality for some things; some good deals, and other things not any cheaper than at home. Mainly, it was a run for suitcases for some, baby clothes for others. No souvenirs here; can’t even find t-shirts from Gansu. There were lots of souvenirs at the park, and other tourist stops.

While I was out shopping, Kira napped, and Aurora didn’t until after I got back. Then we had a quiet supper in our room. Kira had fun visiting in Susan’s room before bed, while Aurora had a nice bath, peaceful and was soon off to sleep.

I look at the photos we have taken of her, and they often involve her holding onto food. I can already see this child is going to be one with some food challenges, as she can store a lot of food for a long time. Any of you who have been there/done that, I’ll be looking for some suggestions!! We have decided to stick with soft foods, easy to swallow, and to show that there is always lots of food.
We gave the girls 2 cheap cell phones from a dollar store, and they both love them, in their own little way. There is this really loud annoying music, which Kira immediately starts dancing to like a ballet dancer; funny to watch them.

Well, that's a bit of what we've been up to; hope you enjoy the photos…
I'll soon post for Thurs! :)
Norma