Day 5: Finally, a ma-ma bond

Photos from Tuesday (one from Monday):
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=f0o3yyn.9burb4hj&x=0&y=-kfl1oo

Isabel's breathing is slightly better, but still strained. I wish we had brought Jackson's nebulizer and albuterol. But had we planned for every contingency we would've had 100lbs of extra baggage.

This morning we all went down to the restaurant in the hotel for breakfast. We asked for a baby seat, but Miss Isabel wanted nothing to do with it, so she sat on my lap as Leslie got a plate of food and then we switched. When I got back to the table Les was shoveling rice with scrambled eggs into Isabel. The cutest moment of the morning was when Leslie took a bite of a donut and set it down on her plate. Isabel immediately reached across the plate (past the sausage, potatoes, and other generally less appealing foods) and grabbed the donut. She wouldn't let go of it and ate the whole thing. She then sat on my lap and we shared some toast with butter and strawberry preserves. I actually think Isabel ate more for breakfast than Leslie. We were relieved, because up to this point she hasn't eaten well.

Her personality is slowly emerging. She is sassy. When she doesn't want something, she puts all of her effort into letting us know. If we try to stand her up, not only will her legs turn to noodles, but she'll fall to her back as well. If we try to hand her a toy she isn't interested in, she'll grab it and chuck it as far as she can. And if we try to feed her a food she doesn't want, she'll turn her head away, shut her lips tightly, and look up to the ceiling. She does it all in such dramatic fashion, and we love it.

We're SO glad we got the suite. We rolled her crib into the living room for her mid-morning nap. We were both then able to shower. Yesterday was dirty...it was nice to get cleaned up.

We needed some staples...bottled water, coke, beer, diapers, and powdered milk. I decided that I needed to go to the grocery. Les was nervous, as Isabel has attached more to me up to this point. She doesn't think Isabel likes her. I disagree and reassured her she'd do just fine as I walked out the door.

Wow it was nice to be out and alone for a bit. There was a slight drizzle but I didn't care. After yesterday some alone time just walking in the rain (and dodging traffic) was just what I needed. At the store I was approached by a young pudgy Chinese man with some fantastically thick glasses. He said, "Excuse me sir, what country you come from?". The most pleasant smile spanned his face. I told him "I'm from the U.S.", and I didn't believe it was possible, but his smile grew wider. I chatted for a minute about beer and asked if they carried Tsingtao. Either it doesn't translate well or he didn't know what it was, surprising either way since it's a Chinese beer. To keep our pleasant chat going I asked him what was the best beer they sold. In an amazing revelation, but equally not surprising, he pointed to the Budweiser (Bud heavy, as my mom calls it). I humored him and grabbed two (sold by the can). I thanked him and told him his English was really good. He graciously thanked me and asked me to come back soon. I think I will. He did his best to make me feel at home. It sure beat the silent stares I got from the other workers peeking at me around each aisle, not that I mind terribly.

When I came back to the room the sight upon entering was amazing. Isabel was sitting on Leslie's lap holding a Cheerios container. Leslie had her hand out full of Cheerios and Isabel was daintily picking them up one by on and dropping them back in the container. When they were all gone, they'd start again. It was very reassuring to see this first bond between mother and daughter. I got a few photos of her in the chair by herself playing with the container and cereal. Any time she spends more than 2 feet away from us is worth capturing in pictures.

Notes from Leslie:
I also had a fun solo excursion today. I was dying to hit the brand new Xi'an Wal-Mart. Well, unfortunately it wasn't as robust as a US Wal-Mart. The store was 95% fresh meat, seafood (think live, in tanks and bins) and produce and 5% everything else. Nevertheless it was fun to check it out and I'm impressed that I made it there in one piece (it was a 20 minute walk from the hotel).

It is really nice to see Isabel opening up. There is a really sweet and cute personality in there just waiting to come out. I heard her voice for the first time today - she said something to me in the cutest, daintiest voice I've ever heard. Can't wait for more of that.

While Leslie was at Wal-Mart, I put Isabel down for a nap. About 45 minutes later I heard a noise in the bedroom (the doors were slid closed), and then a non-emergency like cry. I opened the doors and Isabel was standing on the floor between her crib and her bed. How I would've loved to see her climb out of that crib...it's something Jackson never did. She was just standing there staring at me, as if to say, "I'm done with my nap...surprised I can get up myself?"

Tonight Isabel got her first bath. We weren't sure how to tackle this task. Both of us just assumed she'd hate it, and since she won't let Daddy out of her sight I was the one to bathe her. The only downside to having the nicest room in the hotel is that the tub is big and high, sandwiched between glass shower walls and glass walls surrounding the toilet along with a 12 inch edge. The only place to reach over into the tub is almost entirely blocked by the high arched faucet. So leaning over the edge to bathe her like we would at home was impossible, so I got in with her. I braced myself for the worst and was pleasantly surprised that she LOVED her bath. She played mostly with a plastic cup and loved the travel container of baby bath soap we brought. It was so nice to see her really enjoy something. She didn't fuss a bit except when I had to get out of the tub first in order to pick her up with warm towels. She was so cute all bundled up. I sat her on the bed and put baby lotion all over. She loved the pink travel container for the lotion and loved getting pampered by "ba-ba" (daddy) even more. Not only is she sassy, but she's a little diva too. She then played with the brush and lotion for twenty minutes while laying in our bed.

Before bed tonight instead of books we "read" her our photo album with pictures of us along with Jackson, Grandma & Grandpa Vesper, & the dogs, Zoe & Charlie. We went through it twice. The second time around she picked the pages and pointed to different people until I said their name. The little things are huge now...that was huge for us.

Tonight is our third round of room service. At $10 a plate it isn't such the rip-off we expected. The food is good too!

All for now. We canceled the Terracotta Warrior tour today and rescheduled for tomorrow.