JenningsJourneys

We are still here! Sorry for not posting over the weekend. We have had a few busy days and I have had a little tummy bug the past 24 hours... and Mia has had a fever... and, well, that means no blog post. :)

But, things are looking better! We have 2 more fun filled days left and then we are homeward bound! And I can't tell you how happy that makes me. We are so ready to be home!!

So, what have we been up to? Well, a trip to China, no matter what the purpose, wouldn't be complete without a little history lesson. One of our excursions with our guide last week took us to the tomb of the Nanyue King. Back in 1983 it was stumbled upon and has now been completely excavated. The actual tomb has been perserved and you can walk inside the different chambers. All of the items found within the tomb are on exhibit in the museum. Very cool. And super neat that we have studied ancient Egypt and could relate this info back to that, as this king was buried in similar fashion as the pharaohs of similar time. Check one day off of school for the year. :)

Then yesterday, we headed over to a very large park that holds many historical items. Ok y'all. I LOVE history. But it was HOT! I have never sweated so much in my life! And little bit does not want to walk, not even one step, so Keith and I carried her the entire day. In the middle of our adventure, Mia started feeling bad and so I either had 23 lbs. on my front, or 40 lbs. on my back. Talk about a workout... and did I mention the steps! Wow!

Anyway, we saw the very large memorial to the "father of modern China", Sun Yat-sen. Very pretty. Then we hiked it up a bazillion steps and around to the "5 Story Temple"- from the Ming Dynasty in the 1300s. From there we walked to the monument for Sun Yat-sen and walked along parts of an original city wall of the Ming Dynasty. And last, but not least, we headed over to the 5 Rams Statue. I have to be honest. By this point, I just said, "let's look at the goats and be done". :) It was neat too and was built to honor the legend of how Guangzhou started.

So, that was our Sunday. Add to that a couple of fevers and upset tummies and it's a full day!

Lynli is doing great! She picks up routines quickly so we have kept bath and bedtime exactly the same each night for her. She now LOVES taking a bath, I think the pool helped with that. We finally got her to open her mouth for a teeth brushing and she likes to help with that also. She hasn't screamed or cried for bedtime since the second night. I lay beside her and she eventually falls asleep. It does take awhile though since she fights so hard to stay awake. I can only imagine how terrifying it must be to fall asleep.

We are also seeing some anxiety in her at different times throughout the day. Multiple times she has gone to stand at the window and just stare. She is very quiet during this time and we just give her a little space to take it all in. Keith heard her whispering to herself in her dialect the other day. Don't you wonder what she was saying? What her little mind is thinking?

She also wants to be carried at all times if we are out of our room. The first day or so, she would walk holding our hands, but not anymore. She wants to be super close when we are out with lots of people. I can understand that, so we just carry her everywhere. :)

She is starting to mimic some english. Very little though. She has said "Mama" and "bye-bye" once or twice and "Mia" about the same. She will copy more words from Tucker and he somehow got her to say Batman. Go figure. :) She also speaks a little in her dialect, a version of Cantonese. It is super cute. Most of the time, if she wants me or Keith, she just yells, "Da". I think it is her version of "hey, you". :)

We are getting there! Counting down to home!! Today is our Consulate appointment and our last shopping day. Wednesday we are going to try out the local zoo since we had to miss the Safari Park yesterday.

2 more sleeps until my soft bed! :)