The Last Day of Spring Festival

Another day passes bonding with our little one.  She is
eating everything she can get her hands on and does not
seem to react (so far) to anything she has been given.
We went to the Teng Wang Pavilion today and then for
some Jiangxi Pottery shopping.  We have decided to
chance China Post to send it home rather than their
shipping as the shipping would have cost over double the
cost of the items again.  We will wrap things well in
bubble wrap, and see what arrives unscathed.  I was
recently discussing that broken pottery could make a
nice outdoor garden mosaic, so that will be our worst
case.
We also went to a department store and bought some nice
clothes for Jade for now and this coming winter (marked
down, as it is spring now in China) including the
requisite down jacket.  She looks so cute in it.  I
shouldn’t mention that we also bought a sippy cup and
some grape juice as we left for the shopping in a hurry
and left the baby bag at the hotel.  I got the boys to
join us and bring the bag, and they turned up after the
1km walk also without the bag.  So it was off for a
rushed dinner and taxi ride home to get Jade her nappy
change and bottle that were way overdue.  Such a good
baby though, she only got a little grizzly.
The boys have been a godsend, and I am so thrilled to
share this journey with them.  They are always ready to
pick up the video camera, or still camera or share the
load of the backpacks or shopping, as well as playing
with Jade, and taking over the feeding when needed.  I
really don’t think we would cope as well without them.
She recognises and adores them.  Unless, like she is
with me, when she is cranky, then she wants only Dad.
Today Taylor 14 has been our biggest worry.  Firstly he
also had a bout(thankfully mild) of upset tummy, with
vomiting etcetera, and he stayed home and missed out on
the Pavilion. (Sadly, as they do family snapshots in
full Chinese regalia, but it did not feel right getting
one without him).  Secondly, when the boys stayed back
at the hotel when Alex, I and Jade went to the department
store for baby clothes, I get a call from Josh saying
Taylor had cut himself with John’s leatherman that he
had borrowed for the screwdriver for his models, and
bled a lot, and although it had stopped he had nearly
passed out on the bathroom floor.  We got him to call
reception for first aid, and dashed for a taxi (we were
only a few minutes away).  On our way down the
escalators Irang Josh for an update, and he said they
were not going to call downstairs, Taylor was fine now,
it was a surface cut, and had stopped completely. Taylor
had just reacted to the blood on an already weakened
stomach.  Only one of the hotel towels had really
suffered.  Whew.  Not a nice feeling to be even a few
minutes away when needed.
Today is the last day of the Spring Festival.  What a
time to be in China.  There are literally thousands of
fireworks exploding across the skyline.  We even had
them being lit from the building right next to us.  The
boys had earlier tried to talk us into letting them buy
some for tonight, but after todays accident, I know we
made the right decision to stay firm on that one.
Alex and Josh are walking the street at the moment,
soaking it all up and videoing.  Although we were very
saddened not to spend it with Meng and her family, our
thoughts are with them and her ailing Mother in Law.
May there be better news for you just around the corner.
Tomorrow is a free day for us with shopping and a trip
to China Post, before we start packing ready for our
early Saturday morning flight to Shanghai.
It will be sad to leave Jade’s province but it will be
great to catch up with all the other batch mates from
Victoria.  So with sounds of exploding fireworks filling
the room, and the soft sounds of a sleeping baby, I
will sign off.
Cheers,
Cindy…