Livi's first full day with us

Family shot at the Entrance to the Zoo

Mama and Livi at the Zoo


Olivia is doing well. Yesterday, after a good night's sleep, her personality really started to come out. We are seeing many smiles and she loves to play games with Mama and Baba. We sit on the bed with her for about an hour each night before she goes to sleep just playing with her toys and playing peek and tickle and copy. We are also seeing her stubborn side and that she is testing us alot. She does not like to be told "bu" (no in chinese) or have anything taken away from her. She is starting to show a preference for mama, especially when she is crying. She did cry a little more today, as I think she is still grieving her loss of her caregivers.

She is a very active little girl and will tell us if she is tired of sitting still by saying "go" and pointing. She speaks many words in Chinese and frequently our guide will translate for us. So far he has heard her say "very good", "I don't want that", "I want down", etc. She also tells us when she needs to go potty (niaou) and poopy (bian).

When we received her, a woman who said she was her teacher gave us a book of photos from the last 6 months or so. Also, she gave us a CD-ROM with more pictures and the disposable cameras we sent in Livi's care package. They also gave us the clothes she was found in and all of the other items we sent in the care package except the picturebook.

Yesterday, we had a much easier day than the day before. We got to see some of the sights in Fuzhou. Fujian is a very beautiful province, with very lush green vegetation. It is also, VERY humid here so we were sweating all day yesterday.

First, we went to the Fuzhou Zoo, also known as Panda World. The zoo was very small and has only a few animals. There were 5 Giant Panda's and a group of the "Lesser Pandas" or Red Pandas. It was very cool to see these amazing animals in person.

Giant Panda half out of its cage


Family Shot on a Banyan Tree at the Temple


After Panda World we went to vist a Buddhist temple here in Fuzhou. This temple was built in 867 AD so it is over 1000 years old. It was a very beautiful and peaceful place and we enjoyed seeing the exquisite buildings and even a 900 year-old tree.

Daddy and his little girl napping



The rest of the afternoon was free and we were able to take a good nap. After the nap we played in the room for a couple of hours before going to dinner in a restaurant in the hotel. Olivia really enjoyed some rice and a steamed egg dish that she devoured. We are still figuring out the things she likes and doesn't like.

After dinner we borrowed a stroller from the hotel and got to take a walk in the Hot Springs Park next to the hotel. She really enjoyed riding in the stroller. The park was full of people just walking around or doing synchronized dance. We got many stares and a few people stopped to talk to us. Most of them only spoke Chinese, but one couple asked us in English how old she was. Many people smiled at us and one lady said she was beautiful.

After the park, we retired to the hotel. After her first bath Livi again needed both of us on the bed to go to sleep. She tossed and turned for about an hour before finally going to sleep. She is a very restless sleeper and she rolls all over the bed flopping around like a fish sometimes.

Olivia in the tub