Aquatic Fun

We had quite a full day today. Thankfully, it started out with Hannah having slept 12 hours last night! Unfortunately, her mommy and daddy didn't (but we all know who is most important, so who cares about us). Today she only took a couple of 20 minute power naps (it was the same yesterday), so hopefully, she'll sleep through the night again.

We started out the day at the zoo in Changsha. It is in a beautiful park. We wandered through the zoo and then into the park. We spent a couple of hours there. People constantly stopped and played with the babies. One older women commented on how much our babies look like girls from China (I don't think she realized that they ARE Chinese) and Anli, our extremely patient guide, just smiled and nodded patiently. In the park there is a replica of what a "minority" house looks like. There are 52 minorities in China and their houses are different than the Han Chinese houses. They are also different than the utilitarian housing built by the communists and seen throughout all the cities here. There is a fairly sizable minority population in Huai Hua, the city where Hannah was found. Anli thinks Hannah looks Han (the majority in China) but one of the girls in our group may be Dong.

After our outing, we came back to the hotel and headed straight for the pool. The attendant at the pool was very concerned that the water was too cold for a baby. I told him not to worry, that she likes to be cool. About 15 minutes later, he came back and told me the water temperature was only 27 degrees Celsius and she will get cold. Meanwhile, Hannah was having a great time splashing and kicking her feet. She didn't want get out. She is a little hot pot- I am convinced that the air conditioning in my house will be on in the winter to keep she and Andrew comfortable. I have resigned myself to wearing 5 layers of clothes instead of the 2-3 I normally wear from October till May.

We spent much of the afternoon at a photo studio- think Sears but with Chinese props and costumes for the kids. Anli had heard about the place from a local guide and we all decided to participate. Hannah was a ham. When she smiles really big, you can't see her eyes because her cheeks are so big they scrunch them up. It is really adorable! We get the pictures tomorrow. Everything here is a little kitschy and this album will prove to be no different (but that is part of the fun). While being posed for the pictures by the photographer, we saw Hannah roll over for the first time. We let out quite a cheer!

We are so blessed by her and this whole experience. She loves the water, eats everything, only cries if she is hungry, tired or has a dirty diaper. Her favorite toys so far are the wrapper from the ice cream Andrew shared with her and her ziploc full of cheerios. And did I mention that she has the cutest tushie ever?

Michelle