Last week Alexa had her first experience in the snow. We only went out for a few minutes but she got to walk in the snow and touch it. She liked it but thought it was cold! I pulled her around on her sled for a couple minutes but I need to put a longer rope on it. I had to lean over to pull her around. She has had a little cold so we did not stay out long.

Alexa has started to play with pots and pans more and will pretend to stir things in a bowl so tonight when I made some biscuits I had her help stir them together. I think she will be a great little cook!

We had a great Thanksgiving. Alexa was a great traveler. I couldn't have asked her to be any better. We got to Grandma and Grandpa's house in time to help put dinner on the table. Alexa actually put a piece of turkey in her mouth. When she realized her error it came right back out but I was encouraged that it actually made it in for a second.

The day after Thanksgiving was our annual Christmas Cookie Baking Day. It was a lot of fun. Alexa helped a little. Next year she will be a pro like her cousins! She has enjoyed eating them. Her favorite so far are the Peanut Blossoms - she likes to eat the chocolate kiss off the top.

Sunday we stopped at a store and met Jane and Shelby and let Alexa look over the toy selection. We needed to get some ideas for toys to ask Santa for. Check out the video and see what you think.

We had a great day on Saturday with Aunt Sandy and Uncle Mark. The shopping trip was fun. Alexa did very well - only had a couple meltdowns when we tried to take her out of a shop when she wasn't done playing with the jewelry.

Uncle Mark was ready with the M&M's when we arrived so he was a big hit.

Aunt Sandy and Alexa did stroller races while mama tried on some clothes.

Alexa was so exhausted at the end of the day she slept almost the entire way home.

Now I am preparing for Thanksgiving weekend. Friday is the annual Christmas Cookie Bake-a-Thon. I have three kinds of dough stirred up and my cookie sheets are packed. I am ready.

The weather was perfect this afternoon. After Alexa woke up from her nap we headed outside and raked some leaves. Alexa even helped after she emptied the first bag of leaves I had filled! Just click on the arrow to see the video. (So are you impressed I was able to include video in this blog?) Alexa had fun stomping around in the crunchy leaves.

On Saturday we are heading up to Minnesota to do some Christmas shopping with Aunt Sandy. I am really looking forward to it. Alexa is going to love spending some time with her aunt and meeting Uncle Mark.

Sunday Alexa is going to a birthday party - the first she has been invited to. I have a feeling she is going to have a busier social schedule than her mom!

I am getting behind in sharing pictures of my little one. She is constantly amazing me. She has changed so much in just four months.

I introduced Alexa to BowWow.

Alexa decided that BowWow should give Bunny a kiss.

Someone got out a package of macaroni when I was not looking and dumped it out on the floor. I got her a bowl and told her she need to pick it up and she picked up every single piece!

On Tuesday morning we went for her first haircut. Alexa did very well. I think the sucker helped!

And here she is afterward.

We also went and got her flu shot on Thursday. She did very well. As soon as it was over I gave her some M&M's and she was fine. She even used the public toilet before her appointment. Like I said at the beginning she has changed a lot in four months.

No new pictures to show today but I have to share a few things. Yesterday my little girl ate a peanut butter sandwich - not a lot of it but some. I was so excited. Her food selections are so limited that it is hard to figure out what to fix her to eat. I don't want to give her yogurt and cereal bars and tater tots for every meal! And fruit has been pretty much limited to bananas but tonight Alexa ate an eighth of an apple. I had to cut it into very small pieces for her but she liked it. I knew if she would just put some in her mouth she would like it but the hard part is getting her to try it. She also loves orange juice mixed with 7Up.


Her vocabulary is growing. She will now say "dog" when she sees or hears one. She will say "up" when she wants to be picked up. She will point to her eye and say "eye". There are many words she can repeat after someone says it - Twinkle, car, duck, cheek, cow, ball, grandma, grandpa, and cat. She will also point out her nose, eye, cheek, mouth, hair, ear, knee, toes, and fingers if you ask her where they are. And if you ask for a kiss she will give you one.

Alexa picked up a doll the other day and started to rock it like a baby. I started to sing a lullaby and then she "sang a song" to her baby. She then decided to throw herself in my lap so I could rock her like a baby. She did the same thing tonight. I even got her to give the baby doll a kiss before she threw it on the ground!

My little girl is changing so fast. What a difference in four short months!

Tonight was Trick-or-Treat night here. Alexa was a ladybug. She loved her costume. We only went to two houses but it was such a nice evening that we sat on the front step as the children came to the house. She was not scared of the costumes at all. And of course she loved the candy!

My sister gave me a book titled "31 Uses for a Mom" for Mother's Day. It left out one - handkerchief! Alexa had a runny nose and a little cough over the weekend. We still made it to Grandma and Grandpa's house and had a great time but at one point I was holding her and she very sweetly put her face up to my cheek. I though it was so cute that she was kissing my cheek until I realized that what she was doing was wiping her nose on my cheek!

Last week we got some Chinese food from a local restaurant. Alexa did actually touch a vegetable with her finger but it didn't make it anywhere near her mouth. She did however love the fortune cookie!

Here she is modeling a pair of pajamas I brought back from China. I should have gotten more in larger sizes. They are just so cute on her.

Here is Alexa with Grandpa on our walk to find some pretty leaves. Alexa loves collecting leaves and crabapples on our walks. She gets so excited about them. I have to stop at every tree if there is a low hanging branch so she can reach up and touch the leaves or grab a crabapple off a branch. We found several really pretty leaves on our walk. We took them back and showed them to Grandma.

Alexa went to Sunday School and was in Jane and Shelby's class. Here Shelby is helping Alexa with her sticker project. That was another first for Alexa. She hadn't put stickers on paper before.

Before we left for home Grandpa gave Alexa her pumpkins. I think it was the best crop ever. The orange pumpkins are perfect and the blue pumpkins are so unusual. I am sure we will get lots of comments on them! Now we need to start carving!

Alexa has not been herself this week. She wasn't eating or drinking much and we had our first nights where mama had to get up with a crying child. I can't figure out what the problem is so I just keep offering her food and drink. Today she seems much better and she has eaten more. At the park this morning she drank most of her juice box and when we got home she ate half a carton of yogurt (one of her favorite foods that she has refused for the last couple days).

Maybe her mood had to do with the weather. It has been very rainy and gray. One afternoon when we got home from work it was raining a little but Alexa still wanted to go for her daily ride on her little tricycle. She didn't mind the rain - she loved it. I was wearing shoes that let the water soak through so I was glad when that ride was over!

After lunch today I put Alexa down for a nap. She talked to herself for a while and then everything was quiet so I peeked in on her. She was standing up in the crib totally naked (I had put her down with just a diaper on) holding her diaper and looking down at the crib with this oops look on her face. Yes she had pooped in the crib - from the look of things it was after the diaper came off! So I told her she could call for mama when she needs help and I changed the sheet and put her back to bed. She was not too happy about being put back in the crib but now she is fast asleep - so I have an hour or so to get a day's work done. I had better hurry!

This morning at breakfast we worked on drinking from a glass and using a spoon for cherrios. We have tried drinking from a glass before and she is getting better and better. The milk stays in her mouth now instead of running right back out. The only problem is after she is finished drinking she doesn't think about keeping the glass upright!

Today was the first time I showed her that you could use a spoon to eat cherrios. They have always been a finger food. She thought it was a lot of fun but the cherrios don't stick to the spoon when you move it upside down like yogurt will! Last night I had showed her how you can eat banana chunks with a fork by stabbing it and she tried that with her spoon and cherrios. She couldn't figure out why it didn't work! We finally got down the scooping motion instead of stabbing.

Alexa loves to give mommy kisses now. I think she has figured out that if you give mommy a kiss she just can't say no, or make you go to bed, or maybe she will give you another M&M!!!!

Alexa and I had a busy day today. We started the day out with story time at the library. This was our second week. I think Alexa will really enjoy it once she gets used to it. She behaves very well but I can tell she isn't quite sure what is going on. She loves to play in the library afterwards though. There is a train set that she likes to play with and she enjoys having mom chase her around the library. She loves the globe too. I point out Iowa and then we find China on the other side of the world.

After the library we came home for a snack then went to the Federal Building to apply for a Social Security card for Alexa. We already have her certificate of citizenship and her Iowa certificate of foreign birth. She made friends with everyone in the waiting room before our number was called. We showed them all our paperwork and then when they were done with us we headed to the mall. Alexa just loves the play area. It was the first time she has played in it.

This evening I gave her an Oreo after she used the potty chair. It was her first Oreo. I think they will be a favorite of hers! Of course I could not let her eat alone. When she signed for "more" I let her have a second - then I had a second one also!

I decided two was enough so we played with a puzzle and then got out some paper and crayons. She loves her new little desk. She is just starting to figure out what to do with the crayons. Now my exhausted little girl is asleep and mommy will be soon too.

Last weekend Alexa and I headed out to the country and did some exploring. She is just so curious about everything. It was a lot of fun. I wish I had not cut the top of her head off in this photo but I had to share this one. Alexa found a feather and a rock that she was facinated with on our walk. We would tickle her with the feather and then she would tickle us. She had a great time. We even rode on a tractor. She loves being outdoors.

I remembered I had purchased these pajamas in China and got them out the other evening. Isn't she adorable in them? Of course she is adorable in everything but these are especially cute.

A friend a work had an extra child's desk and is letting us borrow it for a while. Alexa just loves it. When she first saw it she ran over and sat down on the seat and started clapping. Last night I got out the markers and a coloring book and let her try it out. Boo decided it was safe to check it out too. Twinkle and Boo are gradually starting to get closer to Alexa. I think they will be great friends soon.

This afternoon Alexa and I went to the Chinese Autumn Festival in Des Moines. I tried a mooncake - it was very good. Next year I will try to make some. I bought the molds to make them in this year but never got around to trying them. Next year I will get it done. Then we can have mooncakes after we blow kisses to the moon!

Three months ago tonight we boarded the plane to return from China. Alexa has changed so much in that time. Tonight she ate waffles and yogurt and a banana for supper. And she drank her milk out of a sippy cup. During that long flight from China all she had was formula with rice cereal in her bottle.

During the flight she stood still while I changed her diaper while she was standing up in the tiny restroom on the plane and once I changed her on my lap during the flight. She was so good she didn't squirm or anything. She made it so easy. Tonight after her bath I wanted to put a diaper on her and she ran around the whole upstairs naked. It is now quite a game to get a diaper back on her. We have used the potty chair successfully a few times too.

Alexa is starting to say a few words. Her day care provider told me Alexa said "thank you" when she gave her a sippy cup this afternoon. We are doing some signing along with the words and I think that helps. She can sign "sit" and say it. I realized tonight when she was signing and saying "sit" over and over again that when she says "sit" it comes out like a command. Her tone is completely different. Chinese is a tonal language. The same word pronounced with a different tone will mean something completely different. When I am telling her to sit I am probably using a lower voice - because she is jumping on the couch or bed. So she uses a lower voice when she says sit.

She has shown no interest in her dolls -in fact a couple times I have thought she might be afraid of them. But tonight she grabbed a doll and brought it over to me and started pointing to the eyes. I said "eye" and pointed to the doll's eyes. She put her finger up to her own face and pointed to her eye and said "eye". She is starting to get it. I think she will gain more words quickly now.

Tonight we met another single mother with a daughter from China when we were at the store. This little girl is just a couple months younger than Alexa and was adopted in January. She is from Guangdong province also. We exchanged names and phone numbers and hopefully we will get together. It is so nice to run in to others who have had similar experiences.

I will try to get some more pictures this weekend and post them. I am pretty proud of my girl.

It is time for the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in China. Tonight before I took Alexa upstairs for her bath I saw the bright moon and I took her outside to see it. I told her that her birth mother and father in China could see the same moon. I explained that in China the women and girls would bow to the moon on the night of the Moon Festival. Then I bowed to the moon. She laughed then started blowing kisses to the moon. I blew kisses to the moon too. I said we could blow kisses to the people in China. I told her I hoped her birth parents knew she was very loved.

No new pictures to share right now but I had a couple things I had to share.

Last night I decided to try scrambled eggs again. Alexa didn't touch them last time but at some point I know she will love them. I didn't have any success until I put some on her fork then put some banana on too so she thought it was banana. It worked. She ate a little. I just cheated. After the first bite she did look at the banana kind of strange. Weird tasting banana!

This morning I decided to take Alexa to Sunday School instead of having her sit in church with me. She has been very good in church but she likes the music a lot better than the sermon - and the sermons are pretty good. They are just kind of hard to set through when you don't understand and I don't get as much out of them when I am trying to keep her entertained and quiet. So we tried Sunday School. Our church has a class for kids 20 months to 2 1/2 years old. It is basically a nursery with a story time. She saw the toys and I don't think she even noticed I left. I think it was harder for me to leave her at Sunday School than at daycare but they gave me a beeper so if Alexa needed me they could page me. They said she did really well - she just didn't understand cherrios in a cup (treat time). We will have to work on that. At home she dumps the cherrios out of a bowl or cup if I put them in anything. After naptime today we will try eating our treat out of a cup.

After church we went to Kohl's and Target. A couple stopped me and asked if I had adopted Alexa. They are very proud parents of a little baby girl who they adopted domestically. We talked for a few minutes on how special it is to be parents through adoption. She said our children are very special gifts from the Lord. I couldn't agree more. I almost cried again right there in Target. What a lucky mother I am to have such a wonderful little daughter.

This morning I took Alexa back to have her blood drawn again. It actually went much better than I thought it might. Of course she cried but less than the first time - maybe because instead of being on the exam table I held her on my lap. After the bandage was on I gave her a couple M&M's and the lab tech gave her a little toy and we were on our way. We went to McDonalds for lunch where I bought her a happy meal - the first I have bought her and she happily ate her fries.

I was told by her daycare provider that she will eat a few bites of chicken nugget when it is in pieces. She wouldn't touch the pieces but she took a couple bites out of the whole nuggets. One bite was very big - and it all stayed in her mouth! All the chicken stayed in her mouth. I had to take pictures of course. I was the only parent at McDonalds taking pictures of their child eating but I don't care.

Then we were off to the zoo. Our first time there. It was a beautiful day for it. I decided not to let her feed the animals this time. I will wait until I have some help with me. She had a good time looking at the animals and the people.

Now I am hoping she will fall asleep for a little nap and then we can head to the park. It is a great day to be outside!

I was reminded the other day that I have not updated this for a while. So here is an update.

I took Alexa to the doctor on Thursday for some lab work and yesterday I got a call that they spilled her blood and we have to go back. Oh, I was mad. Her poor little arm is still black and blue from Thursday. I don't want to take her back but I know I must. The good news is that she has gained almost two pounds! Her twelve month clothes are still plenty big on her but they are no longer falling off.

This was my rocking chair when I was small and Alexa has just discovered it in her room. She loves climbing into it and rocking. She was just so cute I had to take some pictures!

Today is our three month anniversary. I was off work so we started the day with a trip to the park. Alexa still loves the swing. After about a half hour Mama gets a little tired of the swing and we try the slide then of course she wants back on the swing. I finally had to take her kicking and screaming from the park. Once I was headed to the car she was fine.

Last night I gave her half a banana with the peeling to see if she would eat it that way. It disappeared. She liked it better than in the chunks I usually cut it in. Today at noon she ate a whole banana! I gave her the first half and she ate it right down. So I gave her the other half. I had given her a toddler fork with lunch also to see if she would use it to eat any green beans - no luck there - but she decided to use the fork on the banana. It is the first time I have seen someone eat a banana in the peeling with a fork!

I am trying to get Alexa to say more. I think she has tried to say "dog", "upstairs", "quack" and "duck". I have a speech therapist coming next week to see if she can give me any pointers.

This evening it started raining so I let her run around in the driveway in the rain. She loves the rain. She ran around and stomped around in the water and put her hands down in it then held her hands up to the sky and looked up and laughed and laughed. It was so cute. I ran around with her for a while too. The neighbors will think we are nuts!

Time is flying by - and over night it feels like the seasons changed. Yesterday and today have been a lot cooler. I got out a long sleeved shirt for Alexa yesterday and long pants. I wish had had a video of it. I was helping her on with her top and when the sleeve kept going and going she had this quizical look on her face. Then when she was dressed she started picking on the sleeves. "Where are my arms?" her look said. Tonight I was going to take her out on a walk so I decided we needed our jackets. She did not want her jacket put on! I finally put mine on and then she decided it was ok and allowed me to put it on her. Then we went for our walk.

Alexa's birthday was a couple weeks ago. Here she is eating some birthday cupcake. She loved it. We had several nice celebrations. She is a very lucky girl to have so many people care about her.

She is eating more and more. She will eat a couple bites of chicken nuggets now. That is the only meat I have seen her eat. She loves tater tots. They have to be whole and perfect for her to eat them though. And she stuffs the whole thing in her mouth in one bite. So I found the perfect solution to that problem (one tater tot is a lot for her little mouth). They now make mini tater tots. Great! That will work! Only now since they are smaller she can stuff two in at one time!

She has learned to use a straw. Yes she figured that out with my mocha frappacino. She liked it. She was not supposed to like it. I will never have a frappacino to myself now. But since she figured out the straw I got out a juice box and she will drink apple juice. She wouldn't drink it out of a sippy cup. I guess it is better with a straw!

It is hard to believe but it has been two months already. What an amazing two months. The quiet scared little girl that was placed in my arms has been replaced by a toddler that does not stop. She just goes and goes and goes. She loves to laugh. And her laughter is wonderful to hear. She has started to grab a book and come over and sit on my lap and open the pages for me to read. She won't sit still for very long but she wants me to read. Her favorite right now is Toddler Two. I can recite it from memory. It is not difficult. "Toddler, toddler, toddler two, Two is the number just for you. Two hands, one, two. Two feet, one, two. Two eyes, one, two...." you get the idea. She also likes one about farm animals. She doesn't stop at each page long enough for me to read it - just long enough to tell her the animal and what sound they make. Once she tried to say "cock-a-doodle-do" I think. She will make the sign for "more". I think she thinks it means she wants a snack but she is communicating.

She is eating more and more. This weekend she discovered cinnamon bread and she loved it. She will eat yogurt now too. I just wish I could get some meat and vegetables into her but considering that it was only two months ago that she wouldn't eat anything she is doing great.

I am a very lucky woman to be the mother of such an amazing little girl.

Today is my day off so we have been running errands and as soon as Alexa gets to sleep I can start to clean. I have tried cleaning while she is awake and she wants to help. She likes to dust as you can see in the picture but she does not consistantly get all the dust. She also likes to dust her face with the dirty swiffer!

The baby gate at the top of the stairs has worked very well until the day after I took this picture. Twinkle and Boo were both sitting on the stairs and Alexa and I were upstairs. When Alexa saw them she decided she wanted to get to them so she started to climb up the gate. I got her when she was about half way up! I haven't used the gate since.

Yesterday I introduced her to a new food. M&M's. I had a couple and she wanted one so I handed one to her and she popped it in her mouth and chewed. She gave me a strange look and I handed her another. She decided to carry the second one around with her for a minute then it went into her mouth too. This morning I offered her another and she didn't hesitate to take it and stick it in her mouth.

We are working on showing two fingers so she can tell people how old she will be in a week and a half. She thinks it is hilarious when I do it but she hasn't grasped how to put up just two fingers yet. We still have a little time to work on it.

Twinkle and Boo have settled into being home. They still run when Alexa tries to get close to them and that is best for now. They stay out of her way for the most part. When they know she is occupied with a toy or eating they will come and watch her. They are still trying to figure out what kind of creature has invaded their home!

Well we made it through the first week of work. This picture was taken on our first day of daycare/back to work. Alexa is doing great at daycare. She isn't mad at me anymore when I pick her up. In fact she smiles and starts to laugh and runs into my arms. It is a wonderful feeling! She is gradually trying some of the foods the other kids eat and she is using her sippy cup. In fact she only uses a sippy cup at daycare. (On Friday when I picked her up she still had some milk in her sippy cup so we brought it home. Once we were here she wanted a drink so she turned her back to me and took a few steps away before she started to drink! I don't think she wanted me to know that she could use the sippy cup!) At home she still prefers a bottle and that is ok. When I get her home the first thing I have to do is make her a bottle. After that is done I can make a little supper and we both sit down to eat. (Or I eat and she throws her food on the floor!)

It has been very hot here (upper 90's and very humid) - much like Guangzhou - so Saturday evening we went to the mall so Alexa could run around. I stopped in the food court and bought some French fries and she ate about five or six of them! I may be the only mother in the world that is thrilled when her child eats junk food but I am so happy with every different food she tries. After the french fries we looked for invitations for her birthday party. We found some frog ones that she loved. Tonight I tried to teach her how to put up two fingers and say " I'm two!". I would put up her two fingers and she would laugh and laugh. Over and over. I don't think I will get her to say it but maybe I can get her to show people in two weeks.

Several times tonight she was saying something that sounded like "tickle, tickle". So I tickled her under her chin -where she is the most ticklish - and she giggled and giggled. She is making a couple signs also. At least I think she is. We watched a video on signs for baby over the weekend and I have been showing her a few. She has made the sign for "milk" and "more". Tonight I think she made the sign for "mommy". I am not sure if she really knows what they mean yet but she is learning.

Ok - I think you were all right. Alexa handled this morning better than I did. I didn't actually cry but I was really close. Alexa was so busy checking things out she didn't even know I left. I think she was a little upset with me tonight though. She did not want to look me in the eyes for a while but after she checked out her toys to make sure they were still here she wanted to be held. After I gave her a bottle and played with her for a while I got a few big smiles and everything was ok.

And I can add a new food to the list. She likes Colorado peaches (but only if they are mashed up and mixed with pudding). So we are up to four fruits now. I talked to the dietitian at work today and she was really impressed at how well Alexa is eating considering that seven weeks ago she had only had a bottle. Yes it has been seven weeks since I held her for the first time. Time is flying by. I need to start planning a birthday party too!

Tomorrow I go back to work. I am getting very nervous about it. I dread the thought of dropping her off at daycare. I know she will be fine but ..... This weekend I am trying to get everything done that I wanted to get done during the last month at home. I might be able to check one thing off the list by the time I go to bed tonight! The important thing is that I have had some quality time with Alexa. We have had a good month.

I had to take this picture. She loves to play with the phone and in this case it is the TV remote - doesn't matter - it is a phone to her. Other things that work as a phone include the mouse for my computer! I wish you could hear her "talk". It is so funny. It is not real words but she has a conversation. She talks then waits then talks some more.

She has been a little clingy the last few days and had a runny nose but yesterday when she openned her mouth wide I saw part of a new molar so I believe she is teething. The dentist said she had one more set of molars to come in. I haven't been able to see if it is more than one. She won't open her mouth for me very often. I think she is afraid I will put some food in it! She did eat part of a french fry the other day so we are still making progress and she also took a few sips from a sippy cup. Well I think I hear her waking up so I had better go check on her. Wish me luck tomorrow. Who do you think will cry more when I drop her off?

This weekend Alexa and I attended our family reunion. Alexa received a lot of attention. She had so many relatives to play with. We both had a great time.

We shared a cabin with Grandma and Grandpa. It was a fun time. The cabin only had a shower though so Alexa and I took a shower together. The first time she was happy standing next to me but the next day she wanted me to hold her. Any one know how challenging it is to wash one's hair while holding a toddler?




Once home she was up to her same old tricks. Only this time with larger things. She has discovered the cat door in the basement door. It is a great hole to throw things through or if they are too big - just try to shove them in.


We had a few more successes while we were at the reunion. When I asked "Where is Alexa's nose?" she pointed to her nose. She doesn't do it all the time but if she is in the mood she will point to her nose. She is now eating mashed banana without any pudding. This morning I tricked her and added a couple small pieces of pear in the banana. She made a strange face but she ate it. Pasta - even if mashed up - still gets spit out. But we are making progress.

This morning Alexa grabbed my hand and led me into the kitchen and made the sign for milk. She was thirsty and let me know it. That was so much better than throwing her head back and screaming and leaving me guessing.

I decided it was time for an update on Alexa. She is doing great. We had a good checkup with the dentist - all well and Tuesday we went back to the doctor. Alexa didn't cry for the doctor at all - she waited until the nurses came in to draw blood and give her shots. Then she screamed. And I mean screamed. And I can't blame her. The poor thing had to have about three vials of blood drawn for blood tests and a TB test in her left arm then four shots to get caught up in her immunizations. Two in each leg. No wonder she screamed. I wanted to too just thinking about it. The nurses - and there were three- all kept telling me she was doing great and they were suprised by how strong she is. I keep telling people she is tiny but all muscle!

Today we went to my store to say hello and have some photos developed. She showed me around the produce department. She thought it was great fun to lead me around - now if we could just get her to eat some of the

fruits and vegetables she showed me!

She is loving her Cherrios, little graham crackers, and hard cookies. I am working on adding things to her pudding which is the only other thing she will eat. Right now we can do 2/3 applesauce, 1/3 pudding and yesterday we added a little chopped up banana and that worked too. She refuses plain applesauce and chopped up banana though, and if a Cherrio is contaminated by touching a banana slice it is immediately thrown on the floor! She prefers to feed herself and when she is tired of the spoon she has found that fingers work well. Of couse she still must do the gesture while she eats so she ends up with pudding all over her face. Isn't she cute?

At the silk factory we saw this woman working with the double cocoons of the silk worms. Single cocoons are used for making cloth and the double cocoons are stretched out and made into quilts. She soaks them then stretches them out over the smaller frame. Then they are stretched out over the larger frame. Finally four people stretch it out to the size of a quilt. Layers and layers are added until there are about 150 layers (I think that is what they said. Then a cover is put on. These silk quilts are supposed to be wonderful. They should never be washed - just air them out outside.

The Li River Cruise was beautiful. The landscape is amazing. Three hundred million years ago the area was under the sea. Two hundred million years ago it re-emerged and the exposed limestone was sculpted by rain and wind. Over the last two million years the karst peaks were sliced apart and the result is scenery that looks like it was taken directly off a Chinese scroll painting. That is the scientific explanation.

The myth is a little different. Long ago when the South China Sea threatened to engulf Guilin the gods decided to act. They would move the northern hills as a floodgate. The gods transformed the hills into goats in order to herd them south, but a fierce wind scattered the goats willy-nilly down the river where they were changed back into the unruly peaks we now see along the river.

The local people still paddle up and down the river on bamboo rafts. The rafts don't look like very much but we saw several loaded down. Some even

had three people on them - some sitting on chairs.

There are groves of bamboo along the river banks. These trees in the lower right photo are bamboo. They are beautiful trees. I don't know how many photos I took of them. I was amazed that I was seeing real bamboo trees. They just look so different.

The river cruise alone was worth the trip to China. We had taken photo after photo and ooohhed and aahhed over the scenery when our guide Lily came up to us and told us to get our cameras ready because the beautiful part was coming up!

I am finally getting around to posting some more pictures from our trip. Of course the best part of the trip was getting Alexa but China is an amazing country. I wanted to share some pictures from our experiences there. These are Budda carvings in a cave wall at Fubo Hill in Guilin.

Here are some rice paddies in Guilin. We saw some people out working in some of them. Besides rice paddies we saw lotus fields, corn fields and other crops - some I didn't recognize and I have forgotten others already. Fields are much smaller than we are used to here and they use every available space for crops. Later I will post some pictures of fields up on hillsides. Here in the states we would never try to plant on those hills. They are very steep.

This is a photo from Reed Flute Cave. Pictures cannot really convey the beauty of the place. I liked this photo because of the reflection on the water. We also liked the cave because it was cool. Guilin was hot and humid - Guangzhou would be worse - but the cave provided a litte relief for an hour.

These are the gold and silver pavillions that we could see right across the street from our hotel in Guilin. They were beautiful lit up at night. They were impressive during the day also. Jane and I did not get out to explore as much as I would have liked. We kept busy though and I rested as much as possible. I was exhausted after the flight over and I was trying to get rested before I got Alexa. Beds in China are hard - and I mean hard. I slept on top of the comforter just to have that little bit extra of cushioning.

I have many more photos I would like to share. I will try to add some once in a while.