Friday, November 04, 2005
Lanzhou - Day 5

Hello all,

Here we are on our last day in Lanzhou. I am not feeling 100% but I am better. I was able to leave the room and walk to the park and eat a full lunch.

This is our last day here. Tomorrow we leave for Guanzhou where we will get Katie-Beth's Visa and have a swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Consulate. I guess this is where she officially becomes a US citizen.

Mike and Katie-Beth have come down with colds. She had a very grumpy night last night, woke up screaming at about 3:30 am and only slept fitfully after that. Mike thinks the pollution has made them both sick. The smog here is incredible. L.A. just doesn't come close. You can't see the skyline at all. I have included a picture of the view outside our window so you can see what I mean.

Katie-Beth is a handful! She is so smart and so stubborn. This afternoon we were trying to put her down for a nap and she kept taking the blanket up from her crib and trying to tear up the plastic that was on top of the mattress. Mike would pull her back and tell her "no" and she would crawl right back over and lift the blanket again. And then she would look around to see if he was noticing her doing it. This went on about 5 times. I told Mike it was a little strange to be having a battle of will with a 10 month old!!

She pays attention to everything and is a great mimic. She tries to put her own clothes on and wants to eat with the spoon herself. She doesn't quite crawl yet, but if you put all her toys at one end of the bed and her at the other she will scooch over to them in no time at all! And she can't pull herself up, but if you stand her up she can hold onto things and keep herself up with no problem. But she starts to think she doesn't need to hang on so she lets herself go and plop!

I just can't believe she is mine and that I got so lucky to get such an amazing little girl!

I have to admit though, I am very ready to be home. I guess I am not a traveler. I want to be in my own house, with my own things and able to eat American food.