Hi again! Well today was a pretty good day - I attempted bed time, but Billy has definitely been designated the bed time man. Whenever I go close to her at sleep time, she has a fit.
Forgive me, but I am totally exhausted, so this might be very brief... Today we went to the people's park, where people came up to us and photographed us from all over. They told us that many locals, actually most, have never seen a foreigner. I think they thought we were movie stars or something. Then all the older people came up to the babies and said who knows what, smiling, pinching cheeks, etc. I didn't get yelled at by any of them - many of times they scold us Americans because we don't have enough layers on the babies.
I learned something so funny today. Whenever Lexie met a child at the park, she walked up to them and grabbed his or her hand and shook it. No joke. She doesn't do it to the adults, but she does do it to other children. Later tonight after dinner we went down the hall, and there are these twin babies who were standing with their parents. Lexie walked up to them and shook hands - everyone was cracking up.
Remember before when we had worried about her not eating? Well, today Billy and I bought a silverware set at this department store, and we decided we would just put food in front of her and see what happened. Ok, she totally fed herself, silverware and all - again, everyone was shocked. She is extremely independent, obviously. Whoever trained this baby did an incredible job. No wonder she didn't eat before... she was probably thinking, what are you doing crazy lady? She ate all kinds of stuff too - pork, some veges, rice, congee (again), eggs - Billy and I were so relieved. Actually Billy was more relieved when she pooped, but that's another whole story.
Sad as it is, 3 out of 5 of the foster moms have shown up here. Thankfully we aren't one of them, because I don't think I can handle that. The lady from yesterday came back again today and it broke my heart. Evidently this was her first time as a foster mom and she just wants to make sure the baby is ok. We were all scared to go out in the park this morning for fear that we might bump into them. The guides are doing their best to keep us away from them, for the sake of the babies, but this is a big place - and they all know where we are evidently. The formula Lexie was on is impossible to find here in Nanchang, so I'm hoping that means that her foster family lived far away. That sounds so awful - I will always be indebted to that precious woman, but I don't think I can handle seeing Lexie melt down like these other girls have done.
Tomorrow we're off to the village to see how the locals live here. I'm pretty ready to leave this city and move on to Guangzhou. This is a very industrial city, and there are too many connections here. Sorry for the dry writing - I hope this made half sense to yall. I miss you all so very much and love you lots lots!
K
