Making Progress

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post, but just thought I'd throw the idea out there. I know that there are a lot of people reading the blog at this point and I wanted to mention that one of Terra's best friends from the orphanage will soon be available for adoption. She looked to be about the same age as Terra and has the most beautiful little face. I thought it would be pretty neat if someone we knew were to adopt her, then the girls could grow up together. Just thought I'd mention it...We started our day today by riding this ferris wheel! It is the tallest ferris in the world! It took us 30 minutes to go around once. We went on with the other two families in our travel group. I think that our family was the only one that truly enjoyed the experience. Jeff and I thought it was incredible. Jorie kept saying, "This is so exciting!" Terra kept pointing out the window and smiling. The other two girls in our group were less than thrilled with the ride and clearly wanted to get off about halfway through - not that that was an option!
This is the view from the top of the ferris wheel. As you can see, we were far above even the tallest skyscrapers in the city - very cool!! After the ferris wheel, we stopped by the porcelain market to do a little shopping. We're in Jiangxi province and this province is known for its porcelain.
Here is a picture of Jeff holding his little girl for the first time. At least, the first time where she's not screaming. Terra was playing on the floor with me and I got up to make her a bottle. To my surprise, she didn't start crying immediately. So, I decided to wait a little while and see how long she was content without me. After about five minutes, I suggested to Jeff that he sit down next to her and start playing too. The two of them played together for about an hour, which was the first time he was able to get near her without her being in my lap or arms. After the hour was done, we could tell she was getting sleepy, so Jeff decided to try giving her a bottle. He picked her up and she cried a little, until she saw the bottle. Once she saw the bottle, she relaxed in his arms and eventually fell asleep. It was so sweet.
During Terra's nap, Jeff took Jorie to these paddle boats which were set up on a "walking street" - a street closed to car traffic. She had a wonderful time, though it did take a while for her to figure out how to use the paddles. She was the only one in the boats while they were there, but she drew quite a crowd. Jeff said that, by the end, the entire pool was surrounded by people just watching her. We discovered yesterday that if we put Jorie's hair in a bun, we attract much less attention - I think the curls are what people are really intrigued by. So, she'll be wearing a bun for the rest of the trip, as she's already said she's much happier when we're out and about. Although we have been told twice in the past 24 hours that she looks like a Barbie doll!
Here are our girls in their sister t-shirts. Jorie's shirt says jie jie (big sister) and Terra's says mei mei (little sister). Jorie asked to wear them today and she proudly told everyone what the shirts said. Terra's was pretty big, but looked cute anyway. I was trying to get both girls to look at the camera, so I said, "Where is Baba (Daddy)?" They both pointed to Jeff as he took the picture - too cute!
Jeff talked me into ordering another dress for Terra - as if I needed any persuading. He suggested that we get another white one made in a larger size that she could wear for her First Communion. I thought that was a fantastic idea, so we picked out another white fabric - slightly different, but just as gorgeous - and told the store we would like a dress that would fit a 7-year-old. We figure if it's a little too long or too short, that won't really matter, she'll still be beautiful.
We didn't make it out to dinner tonight. The girls were both so worn out and not what we call "restaurant appropriate". We opted for a pizza in our room and early bedtime - if only the early bedtime had worked as planned! I don't think either of them were actually asleep early tonight. Oh well, perhaps they'll sleep a little later in the morning. One can dream, right?