Surprises

Studying
The real deal, beautiful and not Epcot!
Sinkers and Floaters (This one's for you Rossie!!)
Goofy little Grin, open that mouth baby!
Juicy Juicy Raspberries!

Thanks again to everyone who has sent us emails, and offers to ship Enfamil for us. We continue to be humbled by everyone's compassion for a tiny little boy they haven't even met.


We had lots of surprises yesterday, another really good day. Here's some of the ways our little Jun Bug surprised us today...





1) He drank a half an ounce of apple juice out of a bottle that had not been cut open (this required major sucking on his part which will help him with speech in the long run). He was surprisingly willing. He also tasted 1/4 teaspoon of broth. Don't panic everyone, we promise not to push too much on the new stuff, the last thing we want is some kind of negative reaction. Most importantly he has has 2 days of formula with an "Enfamil boost."





2) He studied his father's face for over 5 minutes. Sounds small, it's not. Usually we get a minute or two, then it's back to looking at his hands. He also looked at a book about 5 times through. Absolute bliss!





3) He reached out and touched a book, then moved it around with his hand. He also has started whacking toys with his hands on purpose.





4) He pushed up with his feet. Up to this point, any effort to put weight on his legs was met with limp noodles. Today he briefly, and with help, supported his own weight with his legs. What a superstar!





A less pleasant surprise took place at bathtime. We had been told that he has a hernia that you can only see when he cries...hard. We have never had a child who didn't like to take a bath. We do now. He hates it. It's really hard on us, and if, when you meet him you find him to be a little ripe, you'll know we didn't have the heart to do it the night before. Well this time we got to see the hernia, and it was shocking. It seems huge because he's so thin, and popped out like a little alien. One more thing our boys going to need fixed when he gets to the states. Can't this child get a break?





We were able yesterday to visit the Pagoda, or as our guide Evelyn calls it.. the only interesting thing about Nanchang. She's pretty self effacing when it comes to her home town. It's massive. Ancient. Breathtaking. The pictures we post will no do it justice. On the top floor there was a stage. Luke did not care for the Chinese music performance and asked to be excused immediately. He did however, enjoy looking at the Koi in the pond below. We did get a spectacular view of Nanchang.





Not sure what to make of Nanchang. It is massive. Evelyn said it was pretty small for a capital city, only 2.5 million people. The view from our hotel is a mixed bag. Initially, it looks rather like the rooftop slums of New York circa 1910. Laundry hanging out everywhere, everything kind of dirty looking. But at street level it is strangely beautiful, the shops are neat, the people are friendly, and the traffic is crazy like something out of Where's Waldo ?, or Richard Scarry's Very Busy and Wildly Overpopulated Town. Last night when we were getting ready for bed, another surprise. Fireworks. Not wimpy American Fireworks, but an hours worth, all over the city, people shooting them from rooftops, in the streets, into traffic, at our hotel. Glorious. Beauty is everywhere.





Under the category of careful what you wish for, the first several days he refused to open his mouth, except to take a bottle, and laugh. Well the more comfortable he has gotten with us the more relaxed his face has become. We are delighted to report he frequentl has his mouth open now, sadly, he now drools like a leaky faucet (teething you know) and he spent several minutes surprising us with some of the most succulent raspberries China has ever seen, completely soaking his shirt. It was one the best gifts of all yesterday in a day full of surprises.





Love to all from China