Wednesday, September 12, 2007

9-12 Temple and Bath


September 12, 2007

Today was a free day as we did not have anything scheduled. We started the day off with a very upset Ms. Olivia. It just happens she is teething and it is not good. We are doing all we can to comfort her, but it is not enough. We have some “baby Orajel” that we brought from home and that helps, but Olivia doe not like having it applied. On top of that she has a little bit of a cold, which is hard to believe as this is one of the hottest places in China. Thomas told us we need to leave the room tempature around 28 Celsius, which is just above sweat level 1, we had to drop it to 22 and it is almost comfortable, but still warm.

Today I got introduced to fatherhood; actually last nite was my christening as we went to dinner to a really nice restaurant downtown. Ms. Olivia insisted I hold her as she did not want to sit in the high chair, during which when I was not paying attention…Olivia decided she wanted to play with my chopsticks as I was about to take a bite. She grabbed the chopsticks and the fish with red sauce landed on my chest and made its way to my lap, leaving a trial of red sauce all the way. No big deal. This morning we changed her diaper and since she gets so upset when we do that I decided I would hold her for a couple minutes, well she proceeded to pee all over me. No big deal. Then to top that she decided to spit up all the cough medicine we gave her for the cold she has. No big deal. Not a good day for me, great day for the in house laundry service. That is a big deal! Cost a lot to have laundry service in hotel!

This afternoon we decided to walk to the Buddhist Temple up the street about 20 blocks. We strapped on Ms. Olivia and off we went. We got to the temple and after about 2 minutes of attempting to get in we discovered we had to pay for a ticket. I have decided it is easiest to open my wallet and just hand Yuan (money) over until they indicate it is enough. Once in the temple we were amazed at the 600 year old artifacts and copper / gold structures. The entire complex was filled with incense where locals had come to pray and light incense. Of course we made our way to the top where there was a tower, another wallet presentation to determine cost of entry and then into the tower we went. Of course they failed to mention, not that we would have understood, the passage ways were designed for 4’ tall individuals and the steps matched those of the Great Wall. Olivia in tow I made my way to the top, if nothing else I am going to leave China with a daughter and hopefully 15 pounds lighter. By the time we got to the top I was soaking wet and Ms. Olivia was equally unhappy. The view was worth the climb.

Back to the hotel we decided no matter how much she hated it, Olivia was to get a bath. We made one attempt already and we just could not go through with it as she was screaming her head off. This time the screaming was still there, but we just ignored it and let the soap do the work. She was a pretty smelly baby before the bath, now she is just a pretty baby!

Tomorrow Christy will have to stay behind as the orphanage Olivia came from does not allow the baby to come back. So Thomas and I will be making the 2 hour journey to the country side where Olivia was abandoned. We want to take a lot of pictures of the orphanage and the place at the gate where Olivia was discovered. This way we will have them later on when and if she ever inquires.

5 comments:

The Blaszczynski Family said...

Welcome to parenthood, which is full of spills on the clothes, spit up, poop, pee, and many other wonderful and smelly things! Bathtime will probably get better, I've heard others say that their little ones had a hard time with that at first. Madison has always loved bathtime, even still as a 7 year old she'd rather take a bath, it will be interesting to see how our Zoey does when we get to China. Keep the posts coming, it's getting us more and more excited!
Love,
Amanda B.

Harpst said...

Yes, you have now been officially christened a father Marty. I have a pic.just like this of Danny holding Danna Faith in China after her first bath, which she also screamed all the way through. Olivia is just absolutely beautiful and our family is having the best time following your journey. We laughed so hard at the 9-11 video where you told Christy to grab the baby. That is priceless. We are so ready to go back, looks like it will be in the spring with things so slow.

Keep the pics coming and enjoy every minute....

Anna

Kathy Hunter said...

I have to join the others in saying "welcome to parenthood". Isn't it wonderful? Have you ever thought about writing a book? You have had me in stitches with your descriptions of everything. (Beginning with the car seat)! I can't for each new posting to see what new "adventures" you've had. You have a beautiful daughter and I can't wait to see her in person. I hope when you return (and when you think Olivia is ready)that you, Christy and Olivia can stop by for a visit. We would like to meet Christy, too!

Steve and Jan said...

Loved your post! Olivia will learn to love bathtime. Both my girls screamed through bathtime initially, but they soon learned to love it. They still aren't crazy about water in their face though.

And, as everyone else has said, "Welcome to parenthood!" I guess we've all been initiated into that group in the same way :-)

Olivia is just beautiful! She looks like she's going to be a real Daddy's Girl!

Hugs from Alabama!
Jan

The Victory's said...

There is something about your own baby that makes pee, poop, and throw up ok =). Welcome to the club! We are truly enjoying following you and Christy through China and seeing "Little Miss O". She is adorable!

Owanna & Tim