Here Comes the Sun!

Finally, a sunny day in Nanjing!! We had a great day touring today!

Last night with Wen went pretty much the same as the night before. He's pretty easy going and is basically happy as long as he naps and eats! I had mentioned that when we first met him we initially thought that he may have a problem with his eyes because he was holding things very close to his face when he looked at them. He really hasn't done that since. I think we'll have it checked out anyway, but we not really too concerned about that any more. We were also concerned about his gross motor skills when we first met him. He seemed to be a little unsteady on his feet. We have now figured out that it was probably because he couldn't bend his knees with all the layers on pants he had on! His walking seems to be fine too. Again, last night he didn't want anything to do with the crib. For those of you who know us, all of our children have always ended up in our bed, so it's really not something we mind! We layed him down on the bed in between us and he stayed there for a couple of minutes......then he climbed right on top of Brian, put his head on his chest and fell asleep! Just too cute! He did come over to me again last night, look at me, and say "mama" so at least I'm getting a little attention! He also asked me to carry him at one point today instead of Brian (poor Brian was lugging him around all day! We finally went and bought a stroller because we knew that he would need to nap while we were out today--he's still sleeping in it as I write!) The only problem we may face when we get home is feeding him. He LOVES his Chinese food! He has rejected every American food we have offered him without even taking a bite! And...we're gonna have to get some chopsticks! Today at lunch he refused to use a spoon to eat his dumplings (all 6 of them!) and instead used chopsticks! He did quite well with them. I finally slept better last night, only waking up twice! I was also able to stay up last night until about 10:30--wooohoooo! Needless to say I felt better today than I have the entire trip.

Today we had an absolutely wonderful day of touring. The sun was out and it was a little bit warmer because of it. We visited Ming Tomb Park, Dr. Sun Yet-sen's Mausoleum, Dr.Sun Yet-sen's office, and the Old City Town area. Ming Tomb Park is where the first emperor of the Ming dynasty is burried. It just happens to be the Plum Festival here so there was a lot of celebration going on at the park. It was extrodinarly beautiful there. I don't know if I've ever seen so much beauty in one place. The pictures will speak for themselves.

From there we went to Dr. Sun's tomb. It was atop 392 steps which represent the 392 million people in China in the 1920's. The mausoleum was built from 1926-1929. It is constructed with 8 platforms. There are three doors at the entrance. The middle door is only for very important people, and has only been opened three times. Looking from the bottom you cannot see the platforms. Once you get to the top, and look down you only see the platforms and not the steps. The view from the top is breathtaking! When you are walking back out of the mosuleum you cannot see the first platform from inside the building and all you see in haze. It looks like you are going to walk right out into the sky!

Next we went to the Old City Town. In the middle of the town is a Confusious temple. All around it are streets of stores and alleys with small storefronts. It was very crowded and busy. We did make one purchase there-some rain flower stones. Our guide told us that we probably couldn't get them anywhere else.

Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou! The last leg of this trip. We have really enjoyed our time here in Nanjing, but look forward to having the company of a travel group in Guanghzou! We also look forward to being able to get some St*rbucks! There isn't one anywhere around our hotel here in Nanjing.

Thank you to everyone who is leaving comments, and emailing us. We love you read your comments. Please keep them coming! I've been spending most of Wen's daily nap blogging and like to know you're all reading and enjoying!!

*B, J, and El-we must have walked 10 miles today! Poor dad had to carry Owen about 7 of those 10! B and J-Make sure you get rested over the weekend for back to school on Monday! J- I hope you feel better today :) El- We took a picture of a sign for Disney Princess on Ice in Chinese! Only 6 more days until "little brother" comes home!!!