Day 5 - Suzhou - October 15

I forgot to mention that last night before bedtime, we had a dance party in our room. Tim put music on his phone, and Kate NaNa carried it around doing some fancy footwork. The rest of us joined in and laughed til we cried.


This morning, we were in a huge rush to pack up and get to the train station in time to go to Suzhou. We made it with about 8 minutes to spare, and jumped onto a very nice, comfortable train. Kate didn't have a seat of her own, but she wanted my seat. So I gently picked her up and put her in the seat with Will - she didn't cry! She sat there for about 5 minutes, occasionally touching my hand. Then, enough of that. Kate wanted Baba.
The ride to Suzhou only took about 1.5 hours, and when we arrived the station was packed. Since Tim was carrying luggage, I got to push the stroller. When we came to a set of stairs, I picked up Kate and mom picked up the stroller. Guess what? She didn't cry or push me away!!! Then, when we had to go back up the stairs, we did it again!! Yay, me!! Several times she let me lift her in and out of the stroller today.


Anyway, the guide first took us to the Suzhou Social Welfare Institute to see where she spent the first seven months of her life (and the last week or so). We had been a bit nervous about this part of our journey, because we didn't know how she would react to going back there. Tim got off the van first and had his hands full, so it was up to me to pick her up again and take her off the bus. One of the SWI workers met us as we got off, and she tried to get Kate to come to her, but she clung to me!! Then another one tried and the same thing happened! I was a happy mommy! After a minute or so, I handed her to Tim, and she wanted to walk in beside him. I noticed a couple of nannies walk past and point to her and say "Na Na". So people knew her. That made me happy too.


We got to walk around the grounds some, and then we ate a wonderful lunch there, provided by the SWI. Kate never really seemed upset or anything, but it was clear she wasn't really attached to that place. She did eventually let the woman who brought her to us pick her up, but when she got down she went back to Tim.


After the SWI, we visited the Humble Administrator's Garden. This was a private garden that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a beautiful place with many ponds, bridges, and all sorts of plants. And I am pretty sure that part of Big Bird in China was filmed there. (Yes, I know I spend too much time watching children's programming.) Anyway, at one point a crowd surrounded the kids talking about how cute they were. One girl started talking with me with limited English and asked me if I spoke Chinese. In Mandarin, I replied that that I spoke a little Chinese, which made everyone howl with laughter. Then Tim said, she doesn't speak well (in Mandarin), which made them laugh harder. I had to agree.
At that point, Will was passed out in the stroller, so the guide decided to call it a day and we checked into the hotel. It is the Jasmine Suzhou Holiday Inn. It is very new and modern and beautiful. We have adjoining rooms which is nice. Anyway, everyone was tired, so we just laid around the room for a few hours. At one point, Kate pointed to her water, and then she let ME give it too her. She drinks with a spoon, and we did some serious bonding. At first she wanted me to make the Mmmmm noise every time, but after awhile she would look at me in the eyes and smile. And sometimes I could get away with touching her cheek as I put the spoon in her mouth. It was great! She also fed me part of her cookie. Once, she drooled on my pants, so she got a tissue and wiped it off - so cute! And she was climbing on and off of a pillow, and she would hold my hand to get up and down. Yay!


Of course, it didn't last forever. After maybe 30 minutes she was done with me and wanted Daddy again, but it was so nice while it lasted!


For dinner tonight we went to a hot pot restaurant, which is kind of the Chinese version of fondue. You cook your food at your table. Only, no one spoke English, and we had no idea how long to cook the food. Our ordering wasn't great either. We accidentally got a spicy dish. It was not a mouth watering experience, but it was an interesting experience. We came back and had PB and crackers! While we were out, everyone went into a grocery store except for Kate and I. She did great. She kept trying to run off, but she didn't cry!


Of course, tonight she doesn't like mommy again. Mommy gave her a bath, which she hates. I had to stay far away while Daddy dressed her and put her to sleep. But hey, we made tons of progress today, so I am NOT complaining.