Bo is starting (not fully) to adjust his body clock to this part of the world. On both of the past two mornings, the same routine: he woke at approximately 3:30 AM (October 24 and 25) after sleeping since suppertime the evening before. When he awoke, he was full of energy and laughter. Maylee was still asleep, so Rick took Bo to see if any of the grandparents happened to be awake; he tried Marj first, and she was. They visited in her room for about an hour.
Shortly after 4:30 AM each morning, Rick and Bo tapped lightly on the door of David's and Brenda's door. David was up, and Brenda was awake. Bo wasn't showing any signs of drowsiness; after all, he had slept for more than 10 hours each night. Rick fetched the supplies that we needed (diapers, stroller, etc.), and he went off to bed.
Bo enjoys "drawing". He signs a desire for paper and pencil, shaping his hand as if holding a pencil and moving it in a circular fashion. Drawing is one of his favorite quiet activities. Some casual observers might call it sustained scribbling, but grandparents understand that there is an important artistic component. :-)
5:30 AM drawing time in Grammy's and Grampy's room
After semi-quiet activity in our room, prior to 6:00 AM each morning, Brenda and I took him in the stroller for walks around this part of the city. He loves sightseeing or window shopping anywhere new, carefully observing while riding in the stroller.
For much of October 24 (yesterday), Maylee's first full day with Christine and Rick without any contact with the orphanage, Maylee was refusing most food and drink - a source of concern. By sometime in the afternoon however, Christine had discovered that Maylee had a hankering for bananas, warm raisin buns (which Grampy had found at a nearby bakery) and a pork dumpling bun from a stall very nearby. Additionally, on our long walk today (October 25), we stopped for lunch at a small restaurant, and Maylee consumed a good portion of the tuna from Christine's sandwich. She has taken to guiding Christine's hand toward things that she is interested in tasting. Her eating has turned a corner; her lack of drinking is still a concern.
On Tuesday, October 24, Christine, Rick, Bo and Maylee went to the Chung Yi agency head office (here in Taipei) where they were given all of the official documents related to Maylee and her adoption.
Maylee is making progress in feeling at ease with new people and new settings, On her first evening with us, she hid her face much of the time. Not so now. She observes family members and has a smile for them when warranted. There are times when she cries (infrequently), not always for obvious reasons.
Today (October 25), all of our group went on a long walk -- first to the Peace Park,
on toward the Presidential Office Building,
a stop at a restaurant for lunch, and then on to the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. The magnitude of this complex (grounds and building) is impressive!
National Theatre (also known as the National Opera House)
"Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness"
Immense central pedestrian throughfare; Bo sees a wide open space
and wants to run. He ran the full length of this.
The Memorial Hall (front covered with grey scaffolding).
National Concert Hall (on the other side of throughfare from the National Theatre)
Ahhhhh--this is all so wonderful! So grateful Maylee is starting to bond--I think she is making amazing progress considering the huge transition that has happened so quickly! Thank you for all the great pictures--so interesting!
ReplyDelete