Last day in Nanchang

Disclaimer: We have had to use a portable keyboard, which is really nice, however it is very fickle. It will miss keys and sometimes jump to other lines in your text. If is looks like we are losing our English skills, it is probably just this keyboard. If my middle school English teacher is reading this, I know I should be proofing, but with a sleeping baby, time is money.Today, we will get Gabe's passport and the rest of the paperwork here. We fly to Guangzhou (thank goodness) this evening. GZ is more westernized, but not as much as Beijing. I am just praying for a cup of coffee that has been brewed. Even Gabe is getting bored of this room. It is hard to get any kind of schedule or routine when we are all on top of each other like this. My bed (we are living like Lucy and Desi here) is pushed against a wall and we line it with pillows. This has become the play area. It was a huge upgrade from a crib, but I think Gabe has outgrown it. He can see himself in the mirror at the end of the bed and it has become his favorite thing. This kid cracks himself up. As soon as we hit the mirror, it starts with the tongue and it goes from there. (Dad- kind of like me with the microwave...remember???) We went to the People's Park yesterday, which was a lot like Central Park in NYC. It was raining, which was a bummer. I was trying to stay under trees so we would stay dry. Brian went off to take some pictures and I was by myself and about 10 Chinese people gathered around me, which has happened often. They were making over Gabe and trying to ask me questions, which I couldn't understand. The guide came over and was talking to them. She was telling me some of what they were saying, which proved my theory about the looks we were getting. They mentioned that there are so many girls to be adopted out in the country, which translates to, "why are you taking one of our boys?" We have had several younger people (always female) stop us and tell us that he is lucky. The older people and men give us dirty looks. It ticks me off, but I try to be polite, which is not something that I see much of here. People are very pushy and they cut in line and they are down right rude. The good news is that when the Chinese people approach us and they want to pinch Gabe's cheeks or play with him, he usually reaches for us. I think he is really favoring us to everyone at this point, which is awesome. We won't leave the hotel today until around 3 and the word on the street is that they have a Pizza Hut. Another American told us that the salad bar stinks, but the pizza is as good or better than ours at home. I am so excited to go today. I miss pizza, cheddar cheese, and real coffee the most! We found oreos here, but they taste a little off. Brian did get some food poisoning, but it wasn't from the 1000 year old eggs. He got sick right before he was going to try one. He is finally feeling better. We took Gabe to the playroom last night and there were many other families there. He is the only boy in the group we are with now. It was funny to see the difference between little boys and little girls. The girls were just sitting quietly on their parent's laps watching everything and Gabe is squealing and tearing around in his saucer, while Brian and I are on the floor and chasing after him. I thought he would be this little timid thing, but he is all boy. I think he may even give my nephew Dylan a run for his money. All of the people familar with his heart condition tell us that these kids will self regulate because they tire quickly. We are still trying to set some limits on him, but that is really hard with a toddler. Last night, Brian and I sat on the floor and would help him walk between the two of us. He can get a couple steps in. I really think he will be walking by the time we get home. He thinks it is a blast. This has been a long one, but I am up in the middle of the night and can't sleep. I think I am going to start packing. I better go check on Gabe. I am just as paranoid a mother as I ever thought I would be! We will post more tomorrow.

Brian, Ang and Gabe