Beijing

We've been very busy since I last updated the blog.  Oliver continues to do well with us.  He's very silly and plays hard all day and sleeps 12 hrs every night.  The orphanage director told me he was a very active baby ~ she wasn't kidding! 

Sydney is still very happy about her trip to Guangxi...she says her favourite part of the trip was getting Oliver and her second favourite was going to her orphanage.  Beihai was much different than I had pictured it would be...it's the smallest city I've seen in China with only 500, 000 people.  Everything we visited was within a short drive.  The roads were full of motorcycles like I remember Nanning 8 yrs ago.  We see very few motorcycles in Guangzhou and Beijing.

Friday we flew back to Guangzhou and enjoyed our last day at the hotel.  There's a nice outdoor play area for the kids that both Oliver and Sydney loved going to.  Yesterday, we flew to Beijing where we will stay until Friday.  We switched hotels as our group was very disappointed with the Poly Plaza on our stay the first night in China last week.  The hotel we are at now is Renaissance, Beijing Capital Hotel by Marriott.  The hotel is in a new area of Beijing with lots of high rise buildings...it is very North Americanized.

Today we went on our first sight-seeing adventure in Beijing.  We went to a pearl factory, to the Great Wall and then out to lunch and shopping.  Oliver wore his snowsuit for the first time and wasn't impressed!  He found it hard to cope as his hands were covered by the attached mittens...oh the poor little dude!    We toured around the Great Wall but only Scott was brave enough to climb far...the stairs are very uneven and it's not the best place to trek on a very windy day with a baby.  Even without venturing too far on the wall, Oliver managed to trip and scrape his forehead and nose.  It's taking me a bit of time to get into this boy mode!  Did I mention the orphanage director told me that Oliver is a very active baby?  Busy but very cute and happy! 

Just now Oliver and I went with our travel group to have the babies' pictures taken for their Canadian Visas.  Oliver fell asleep in the stroller on the way there and cried when it was his turn to have his picture taken.  I really wish I had had a video of this...the other parents from the travel group all sang If You're Happy and You Know It to Oliver and they calmed him down enough to have his picture taken.

I'll finish this update by thanking my travel companions again...countless ways each day they help me with Oliver and all the baby equipment that comes along with an 18 month old.  They have made what can be a very stressful time, fun and full of laughter.  And, a special thanks to Sydney for understanding that Oliver is just a baby and has lots to learn. She is especially understanding when Oliver reaches for a hug and slaps her, several times each day!  My humorous travel companions find this very funny!

Take care!
Linda