I have to say that mommy was way more excited about the zoo then Cherry Blossom was. She was all about watching all of the other kids then she was looking at the animals. I noticed that not a lot of kids rode in strollers and Tom told me that many of the kids just run around and like to be free. Cherry Blossom is the first almost 3 year old that loves the sight of her stroller. That's ok with us, because thanks to her squeaky shoes she loves to run everywhere and the stroller keeps her contained.
The panda bears were not really photogenic today, apparently all day at any time it is either eating or sleeping time for them. As we began walking around this giant zoo to look at other animals the wind picked up and the dirt/sand from the animal areas filled the air. It was like being in a sandstorm. So now we have yucky smog and a sandstorm all around us....Yuck!!! Needless to say, we did not stay at the zoo all day. Cherry Blossom was done as soon as we got to the reptile house and she now knows how to shake her head "no" and knows what it means. Every time we got near one of the small aquariums holding the turtles she would start shaking her head and we would move. She also learned what bribery was today. I wanted her to keep her cute panda hat on and she wanted to let the wind blow threw her hair. A gummy would convince her to keep it on for a little while, or at least until I gave her another gummy.
Last night we went to the McDonalds by the hotel. Here in Beijing you can only go up or down, but not out when creating new building and businesses. This is because of the size of the population compared to the amount of land left. This McDonalds happened to be down in a basement of a building and it was a pain to move around in. Everyone sits at these long tables and you just have to find a spot and sit. This is difficult when you have a toddler in a stroller. The Rock stopped to order our food and I went to go find us a spot to eat. People were constantly staring at me and/or Cherry Blossom. I went to go get a high chair on the other side of the restaurant and no one would move to let me scoot it to my table. They all just sat there and looked at me holding the wriggling toddler. Finally, some guy from Europe that was there with a sports team got up and came over and lifted the chair over everyone's heads. I was very thankful that 1) he could speak English and 2) he could climb over all of the people sitting in there. Once the Rock got to our table he informed me that apparently McDonalds does not sell bottled water. Here in Beijing you are not allowed to drink their water because it can make you sick. You can shower in it, just don't open your mouth. So, I had no water to drink and he had a coke with no ice. I would have tried a coke with no ice but had given it up for Lent. We then began the process of feeding Cherry Blossom her first McDonald's meal. She loved the french fries as you can see down in the pictures! She had a couple chicken nuggets, but because her body does not process grease really well we limited her intake of greasy foods. I was more than ready to get out of McDonalds!
Tonight and tomorrow the plans are to hang around the hotel. We may go for a walk tomorrow, but if the smog is anything like today we may just stay in. I've included some pictures of our hotel and the smog below. Hope you enjoy them :)
Your pictures and updates are wonderful and so informative. You will love being able to look back one day and remember all the details you've included in them all. Continuing to pray for you all as you adjust to each other. She just couldn't be any CUTER!
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