July 11

The basic pattern of our days here in Changsha goes something like this: wake up, eat at the hotel buffet, meet our guide at 9:30, visit two different tourist attractions, return to the hotel, eat lunch, nap, play in the room, eat dinner, Julie watches videos, we all sleep. Today’s attractions were the Hunan Embroidery Museum of China and a baby/child supply store. The embroidery was quite beautiful and so intricate. Many of the pieces look like photographs, they are so lifelike. This piece really caught our attention. At first glance it appears to be a panda, but it is not just a panda. If you spin the hoop around, it becomes a tiger, embroidered point for point opposite the panda.





Melody fell asleep during the shopping portion of our embroidery tour, so I sat down to wait for the others to finish. In characteristic fashion, Julie wanted to be on my lap too, so I pulled her onto my other knee. Here are my two sleeping beauties, one real and one faking it (the sleeping part, not the beauty part!).



After naptime we had lots of fun playing. Julie found the pacifier I brought and decided to play baby while Melody played with her favorite wrapper.



I actually find this pretty interesting since Julie never used a pacifier when she was a baby. Getting a sister has roused her interest in being a baby though, which I think is just fine for a little while. My mother-in-law pointed out that she can see Julie adjusting in just the 2 days we’ve had Melody. Her jealousy is not as frequent or intense as it was at the start. We’re working on having her help with Melody whenever possible and we’re also working on basic sharing. Julie often wants to be with the parent who is holding Melody. If that is me, I pick her up in my free arm and hold them both together until Julie is ready to get down and keep playing, which is usually only a matter of seconds. This trip is really pushing Julie to mature and communicate, which is really good for all of us. I can see her growing before my eyes. She is also becoming more comfortable being with Grandma without one of us along, yay! Julie even told Grandma “I yuv you” before bed tonight.

Speaking of bed, we gave the girls baths in preparation for sleep this evening. The hotel provides baby tubs, presumably since our rooms only have showers. Melody enjoyed her bath and didn’t seem scared by the water at all. The only part she didn’t like was getting dressed afterward.





Good night from Changsha, China!