Our Adoption Journal: Day 11: The Park and Family Dumpling Lesson

Thursday:

We met Celine in the Citadines lobby and she had the van waiting for us to go to the park. It was very chilly. This is so like WI.

When we got to the park, another dream come true - I got to see a performance!

The ladies were signing and putting on a play and the musicians were accompanying them.

Then we walked over to the most amazing park!

It was like Physical Therapy for Sammy and Jemma on steroids!

It was like American Ninja Warrior including imaginary "buttons" to hit.

Jemma was fully committed, all-in, and having a blast!

Ian skinned his knee flying off a slide and the momentum took him forward too fast. Mommy washed his knee off and told him we'd get a bandaid when we got to the apartment.

Most parks are for adults. Many residential areas have adult parks where the people can come and use all the equipment. There is something for everything! It's fascinating! There was even a thing where you stand against it and turn your body against a back massager!

Jemma liked going high up - just to Ian's left is a big hole that you can climb down using a spiral ladder. He's keeping her from attempting that. I have given him some directions that he has followed - this being one of them. I said, "Ian, please go keep Jemma from going down the hole" and he raced up there to keep her safe.

There was no way up into this "treehouse" except through a center hole. Phil hoisted himself up. Each of the kids one by one tried to get up and then once they realized there was no way they could even jump to reach the hole, Phil reached down and pulled them up. (I lifted Sammy and Jemma up to him.) I told Ian to go up but he was embarrassed. I told him to go up again and that Daddy would help him. But he shook his head. I motioned for Phil to come down and help Ian join the rest of them. Phil hopped down through the opening and kneeled down on one knee and patted his leg so that Ian would know what to do. Ian hesitated only for a moment and then he put one foot on Phil and stepped up. Phil then stood up with Ian in his arms and hoisted him up into the treehouse. I was SO happy that Phil got him up there.

Then to get him down, Phil kind of had to catch him and bring him down slowly. Such a good dad! I'm so very proud of him. At the park, Ian was able to experience a Mom with his skinned knee and a Dad with the treehouse.

Sammy and Jemma are so similar and so different. Sammy is way more timid and not a risk taker and very much a follower. Jemma marches to the beat of her own drum, takes risks, but generally knows she can do it and it's worth the risk, and is a leader. However, physically, they both put forth so much effort and want to accomplish whatever it is they've set their minds to and do not seem to comprehend that they have any physical "limitations".

Jemma is starting to appreciate having a new family member. She's become more secure in her relationship with us and has let down her guard to let Ian into her family. It's great to see these little improvements each day.

After the park, we went back to our hotel to change everyone. I think I've written about the water trucks that drive around and spray water into the air to "wash the air" and play It's a Small World. Well all that filth from the air falls to the ground and everything is covered in dirt - so the kids were covered in dirt. Once we got everyone cleaned up, we walked over to the Drum Tower Hotel restaurant to have a family dumpling making lesson. We specifically asked to do something like this because we weren't interested in going to the Wild Goose Pagoda with the kids and had researched other things to do in Xi'an (actually we saw the idea listed for Beijing, but asked our guide to help us arrange to do it in Xi'an). She took us to a place that is famous for its dumplings - as you can see by these pictures!

One of the chefs brought the supplies out into the restaurant to a table and set everything up so we could have our lesson out there. First, she showed us all the shapes we'd learn: a flower, a duck, a chicken, and a frog. She made them so fast that she had to show us a few times just for us to see what she was even doing to create each dumpling!!!

She laughed at some of our attempts. She took apart some of our attempts and redid them herself. And sometimes she said good job.

Jemma NEVER wants to be left out. She wadded her dumpling up into a ball. The chef was not impressed - we thought it was cute.

When it came time to make our own dumplings, Ian said he wasn't going to. I said to him that we were all doing this as a family and he was part of it and was going to participate. Celine quickly translated. He participated. I felt good about that. We were told a few days ago to help Ian understand what being part of a family means and I thought this was a good example. (I could have been offended that he wanted to blow it off when we were doing this to show him we appreciated his culture and were trying to learn, but instead I just decided to see it as his age and the fact that when we are out in public, Ian gets very self-conscious.) I'm very proud of the duck he made!

The dumplings were DELICIOUS! Our family gobbled them up - I'm surprised at what the kids have and have not liked while we've been here. If you look closely, you can see that they made Jemma's wadded up dumpling even though the chef didn't like it.

A giant golden dumpling (that Ian and Titus felt the need to bang on - surprisingly it is not anchored down by anything really - it's just kind of sitting there so I'm glad they didn't knock it over).

Titus asked if he could jump up and touch the tops of their heads... reminded me of my desire to touch to top of my grandparents' Ruth statue when I was very little. All I saw in my mind was Titus shattering one of these China boy statues... I told him NO. We don't touch the tops of statues. That is how they get knocked over and broken. (I know from personal experience. LOL)