Guangzhou-11/11

Today was a turning point for Halle I think. She is really starting to open up to us, even to those lower on the totem pole. She would run to us and give us hugs. She is starting to give kisses. She is also getting much more vocal. She babbles a lot in Chinese. I wish I knew what she was saying, maybe it is just baby talk, we'll never know. She also sings at times. She is starting to mimic English words now too. She has said Mama, Daddy, I see, thank you and goodbye (after hearing it when we sign off from AOL :)

Today we had Halle's physical exam. Nothing too complicated. The ENT doctor played a note on a toy keyboard. She turned her head to see it so that means her hearing is fine. They tried to look into her mouth but I don't think they got a good look because she just bit down - hard - on the tongue depressor. The doctor even laughed. They also weighed her, measured her height and looked at her body. As I said, nothing too advanced. We'll save all the fun stuff for home.

We also went to the pearl market. We took taxis. That was an adventure. Paul tipped the driver $5 US for getting us there alive. To get to the market we had to walk through a 6 story mall. It was huge. I would have liked to spend more time there but we just headed for the pearls. The area was very busy with lots of people around. When we first got to the square there were 3 other families in our group. People stood around us and were just staring. They sort of circled us. It was a weird feeling. Now I know what the zoo animals feel like! Our guide said we were starting to cause too much attention and moved us on.

After shopping we went to McDonald's. Jacob was very excited to get a quarter-pounder. Halle & I shared an ice cream cone. As you can see she enjoyed it. When we got home we took Halle to the play room again. She is opening up more with the other babies too, although it looks like she is going to be the brute. She is much bigger than all the other babies in our group. She will give another baby a block and then another one and then want the first one back :)

We went for a walk around the island at night. It is so beautiful here. The weather has been perfect. Halle fell asleep while we were walking so I was afraid she would be up all night but she did fine. She even let me put her to bed when Sami was in the same room. As I said earlier, it was a good day!