Our Anniversary - July 5, 2007 - Fifteen Years!

We forgot that it was our anniversary until reading an email congratulating us on our 15th anniversary. We are so preoccupied with Indigo and her needs of eating, sleeping and potty schedule, not to mention wanting to play with her all the time! Indigo really enjoyed her bath today, although she does not like to have water on her face. At breakfast in the hotel we were told to be ready by 9:30 am. We went to the Tengwang Pavilion which is considered one of the three famous towers south of the Yantze River. The original pavilion was built in 653 A.D., but it has been rebuilt as many as 29 times. The latest structure was rebuilt in 1989. The pavilion sits at the bank of the Ganjiang River and the main tower is nine stories high. It is a popular tourist site for Chinese, and the pavilion showcases Chinese art, poetry, song and dance. We saw a short show featuring Chinese dance and song. The walls of the theater had all this gorgeous hand painted porcelain. I am attaching a photo of a crane that was just one tiny portion of the porcelain tiled walls. It was extremely hot, but outside on the terraces of the tower there was a nice breeze. It was all so beautiful with lovely weeping willows everywhere and at the end we sat by a large koi pond and enjoyed the breeze while Indigo had a snack and some water.



Indigo received many compliments on her stylish outfit (Cindy, if you're stalking the blog notice she is wearing an outfit you gave her). I had to go to a mandatory meeting dealing with the paperwork we will need for the U.S. Consulate. Before the meeting, our friend Shawn was in the room, hanging out with us and using the computer and we were starting to get Indigo settled for her nap. She was bubbly and giggly and active as she tends to be right before crashing. Anyway, she was standing in the crib and I had just stepped away and she loudly and distinctly said "Ba Ba", the Chinese for Daddy! Just a few moments later, she said "Mama" which of course had Melanie dissolved into tears. Shawn and I left for the meeting and Melanie said that after about another 1/2 hour Indigo finally settled into a sleep. Later in the afternoon we took Indigo to a common play area, which became increasing more crowded with the other families. Indigo becomes shy in new environments or with new people. However towards the end of our stay at the play area she was becoming more comfortable. We ended up going to dinner with the other Jiangxi families in Ray's group since they were leaving earlier. We had a five minute walk to the restaurant which involved going through the obstacle course of Chinese sidewalks (uneven walkways, debris, people, mopeds and cars parked across the sidewalk so you have to go into the street). Ray, the other guide, ordered nine different dishes. Great noodles, but also some new dishes we had never seen. One dish looked like eyeballs (black sesame seeds, sugar, and peanuts) and another was steamed buns you dipped into sweetened condensed milk which was the closest we have had to dessert here. We enjoyed sharing a few cold beers as well - it seems you just sweat them out without even absorbing any alcohol - that was the theory anyway. On our way back from the restaurant, we were the center of attention with all of the Chinese looking at us. Indigo enjoys being outside.

Back in our room Karen and Shawn brought Ava and we put them on the bed with some toys. Indigo did not want to share her toys with Ava, and would grab them from around her. A little while later Indigo offered her ball to Ava and we all clapped. After we did that then she would keep handing her cup to David so that we would clap for her. Since Shawn and Karen have been over in our room a lot they have really seen Indigo's goofy silly side and she'll walk all around the room with them here. Both girls were enjoying being hoisted into the air by David and Karen. We all then went back to the common play area. Indigo loves being held up in the air, and perhaps we over stimulated her before her nighttime bottle and being put down for sleep. She did not want to go to bed, constantly giggling and standing up, but after approximately half an hour she went down to sleep (about 9:10 p.m.) and we were not up a whole lot longer ourselves.

P.S. It was a two poop day for the curious moms out there.