More about Louis!

We are spending our last evening in Changsha before we head to Ghangzhou tomorrow for a week. As wonderful as these days have been--and we would never ever trade them--the weather has left us hotelbound and we are looking forward to the warmer (maybe sunnier?) climate. Louis will take his first airplane flight tomorrow night, but it will be a short one, only about 45 minutes.

I type this with our awesome son sitting on one knee. We have had a terrific few days and Louis already calls his dad "Baba" and me "Mama," which melts us even further--as if he didn't have us wrapped around his finger in January when we got our referral! He says "hi" and "buh-bye" and he flirts with people on the elevators. While we and our friends and their new daughter were waiting for an elevator yesterday, a woman approached us to give the children fresh mandarin oranges, some with the leaves still on them. Before I could stop him, Louis bit the peel and started peeling and sectioning the oranges. He was halfway through before I realized what he had done. He loves fruit--watermelon and mandarin oranges, especially--and fried noodles and steamed egg and mango juice (apple has no appeal, unfortunately). Tonight he downed most of a plate of fried rice and half a pear. He loves to eat and he turns on the charm to get snacks from the other adoptive parents. We don't know where all the food goes, but he is clearly happy. He is sleeping well and eating well and he is so much fun!


He continues to love the playroom on our floor--and he continues to adore the slide. Tonight he got into a conversation with a Chinese man and his son, and John and I sat there wondering what they were saying. It was interesting to listen to. Our guide who brought some of our paperwork tonight translated some of his phrases for us and it was fun to hear her explain some of his common phrases--"Is that OK?" "I want that," and "I want to go out." He keeps up a constant stream of talk, so it's fun to know what some of it means!


Last night we went for dinner in a different hotel restaurant with the two other adoptive couples in our group and their children. It was terrific, and we had a blast, but the service and food were absolutely horrible! But we had a wonderful time, and the girls were patient and we walked Louis around to look at the chefs cooking the food (they smiled and waved at Louis) and to show him the Christmas decorations, which are everywhere!


The Chinese people really love children. They come up to us and tell us to make sure Louis is bundled up, pulling down his pant legs and reminding us to put on his coat. They do it affectionately, of course, though we feel a little pressured to be good parents. ;) But they love to talk to him and make noises. It's really sweet to see, and Louis just eats it up.


Confession of the day: We ordered Pizza Hut for lunch and ate with our friends, Scott and Cherie and their daughter Melanie. We had a picnic lunch in the hallway of our hotel. We were lucky to get roomed next to them, and we are also lucky that they packed everything we needed for the trip--including the laptop I'm using right now. ;)

Louis beckons, so I am off! We'll try to be in touch again soon! It's harder to take time from Louis than I thought, and that's a good thing!