Baby's First......Bite!!!

Tonight we reached another HUGE milestone in the Jiji saga!  We were at dinner with a few of the other adoptive families and one family from Minnesota has a little boy Jiji's same age.  He was tearing into these Ritz Bitz crackers and they asked us if Jiji wanted any.  We said she might play with them, so we took two and set them on the table in front of her.  About an hour later, we were talking and I was holding her.  I started nibbling on the cracker and showing her how much I liked it.  A few minutes later she took the cracker from my hand and started imitating me.  Next thing I know she puts it in her mouth and takes a little bite!  She did the same sour face when she got some of it, but this time she kept on going.   Andrea started snapping pictures and Jiji just kept on eating.  We really feel like this is a huge break through as we have had her almost a full week now.  Earlier today we tried to give her some apple juice in her bottle.  She felt completely betrayed and was not subtle about letting us know it!  So the cracker eating was a welcome relief.  We tracked down a 7-11 and bought a $7 box of imported Ritz crackers to have at the hotel.

So, on to the trivial things….like the fact that our bathroom has blinds in the window.  Not only do you have to remember to close the door for privacy, but you need to make sure the blinds are closed.  :)

I also included a few pictures of the surroundings right outside our hotel.  We have the herbal medicine outdoor market and the pet market right here.  That is a picture of Connor walking by sacks of dried seahorses….not sure what those are used for.  Oh, by the way, does anybody need a pet chipmunk or possibly a pink frog?  I have a connection here now!

Connor and I are also adapting to the local culture nicely.  After a week of watching people play badminton in the parks, we decided to go get our own racquets and play in one of the parks on Shamian Island.  Not sure why I didn't think to slip into some shorts before hand though.  Judging by the stares by the onlookers, I don't think many other adoptive families have played badminton out there.  Tomorrow we may go back looking for challengers.

Tomorrow (Monday) we will be filling out some more visa paperwork and I'm sure that will include some additional disbursements of cash from the Heid Family!