Our First Night in Guangzhou

Sunday Morning March 26,2006 7:44am
Hannah Joy did NOT take a nap yesterday afternoon, but she did decide to start playing with her toys some. I got down on the floor with her and played a little while but I eventually did something she didn't like and she started fussing. I then decided to take her for a walk, but wanted her to actually walk herself rather than me carrying her. Of course, this led to a huge meltdown. After about 10 min of trying, I eventually gave up and carried her down to the play room. We met a number of other adoptive families there and Hannah Joy sat in my lap watching everything. She finally decided that she wanted a rattle type of toy and we got it. She was very content to put it back when it was time to go. We went for a short walk around the hotel and found Susan's Place where they offered us a stroller. We told them that she likes to be carried and that she screamed the one other time we tried one. They insisted and we tried. Miracle of Miracles, She LIKED it! We went to the deli shop next to the White Swan where we discoved Hannah Joy LOVES ice cream (what kid doesn't?) We snacked for dinner and then came back to the room. We gave her a bath which went better than the last time. She stood in the tub with us holding her, but she didn't scramble to get out. She didn't like getting her hair washed, but most 2yr olds don't. After getting wrapped up in the towel, she settled down. She really likes getting the lotion rubbed on her and asked for some on her own hands which she rubbed around. After getting ready for bed, I handed her a cracker with chocolate in it. Well, you can guess where the chocolate ended up! On her face (dumb mom, giving a kid chocolate after a bath!) It wasn't too bad. Then she got to playing with daddy again. Boy did she have fun. However, she wasn't exactly ready for bed when it was time and it was a bit of a struggle to get her to calm down. The beds are VERY narrow here (can you say Single?) and I figured if I started with her in bed with me that I would end up on the floor. We have a crib for her, but that is REALLY a non-starter. So, I decided that she would sleep on the floor between the two beds. (If mama don't get a good night's sleep, ain't nobody happy) She woke up a few times and I got down on the floor with her and she went back to sleep pretty easily.