July 12, 2010 So, today we found out that Ruthie has no fear of water. We already knew that she loved her bath, but we weren’t sure about the big pool. No problem! She was jumping in off the side and going under then coming up laughing. There were two or three other families in the baby pool with us with their newly adopted children, and their children were sitting very calmly and sweetly in the pool playing…not Ruthie! Nope, she was squealing and splashing the whole time. I guess it really wouldn’t do for me to have a sweet, dainty little girl! Today we left our hotel and 9:30 to go shopping and didn’t return until 2pm! We were very successful again, and as you can see from the picture below, Ruthie has new shoes!! I think I just have a few more things to buy before the end of the week, and then I am done. Hopefully, I will be able to get all of my loot in my suitcases, or I will be purchasing another one to get everything home. Once back at the hotel, we opted for a late lunch at Pizza Hut where Ruthie fell asleep in her high chair, and we didn’t have the camera…this is the story of my life. I never have it when I need it most. After Ruthie finished her nap at the hotel, I went down to the pool with Jon Milledge and Ruthie for a couple of hours. I was so hoping that it would wear Ruthie out so she would go to bed early, no such luck…I just spent over an hour trying to get her down. Bedtime is awful! She grieves and fights sleep so badly. It is frustrating to me, but it also makes me so sad for her. I can’t imagine how scary all of this is to her, so I try to just hold her, sing to her and tell her how much we love her. Sometimes I do better than others. Please continue to pray that we can work this nighttime ritual out…soon! I think about the poor people on our 13 hour flight on Saturday…they don’t have a clue what they might hear. This girl has got a set of lungs for sure! Ok…I’m very tired tonight so I’m going to keep this short, but I will leave you with another funny thing about China. It seems that just because you go into a restaurant and are actually seated by a hostess doesn’t necessarily mean you want to eat, or so they think. We have been to several restaurants this week where they sit you down and then leave you forever. Finally, at our first dinner, we saw other people waving down the waitress to order, so we tried waving her down to just get a menu. We ended up having to wave her down for ordering, more napkins, and finally to pay our bill. I would think that China has a severe Dine and Dash problem. They would never know you had left until hours later. They don’t check on you before, during, or after you eat. It is the craziest thing. Good thing that they don’t expect you to tip at most places! At first we wondered if it was because we are Americans, but I don’t think so, I just think they don’t worry about you until you let them know you need something. Also, since we are talking about eating out, let’s talk about Ruthie eating with her fingers off a plate, but lots of times off the high chair tray. Ugghhh! Chinese people do not like for this to happen. They want her to eat with chopsticks or at least a spoon, and they won’t it in a bowl. I had a grandmother fuss at me yesterday for letting her do that and when I finally put whatever it was in a bowl…she clapped for me. Really? Was that necessary? However, we did find out last night that Ruthie can use chopsticks. It is more of a scooping with the sticks instead of grabbing, but she definitely knew what they were and how to use them. Guess what? I didn’t have my camera that time either! Tomorrow we are going with our group to the Guangzhou Zoo. Should be fun! Sweet dreams from China! Angie   Me exchanging US currency for Chinese so that I can shop!     Have money, will shop! And I did!   Madeline, Eli, JMW and Josh...Eli loves Jon Milledge and wants to talk to him all the time! So sweet!     Military police marching on Shamian Island     I do NOT want to walk in a single file line!!!!   The legs usually end up hanging out of the rails.     I mean really...can a girl ever have too many shoes??     Our pool in Guangzhou   Window washers...the makeshift thing that they were on was very scary to me...not sure how they stayed up all day!     Priceless!         This page hosted by