Oh Happy Day!!

What a great day we have had!  Each day gets better and better, and today was daddy’s first day to really get to play and spend time with Sarah.  Before today she would cry if he even looked at her, get too close or talk to her!  But he shaved his facial hair this morning and then gave her a piece of pizza today for lunch – not sure what it was, but she was ready to play after that.  She has been so full of herself.  She has been down running around, laughing as the kids chase her.  She even played for a while with dad letting him pick her up and swing her around.  I know his heart has just melted today with each smile she gave him. 

We visited the zoo today and let while it was great and the animals were cool – it was HOT!  I think the “real feel” temp was over 100 (expected to be 107 today).  It’s the humidity that makes it so bad.  Sarah did not care too much for the animals, but Mitchell and Allie enjoyed it.  Allie is already thinking of how she can use the pictures in her Animal Notebook next year!  After the zoo we did some grocery shopping (diapers, cereal, drinks, crayons and coloring book for Sarah!).  Pizza Hut for lunch, Jerry said it was the best he had ever had – do you think it’s the week in China or that they really can make pizza better than the US??  LOL!!  Here are some pictures from the zoo, the kids took all of them.  Mitchell is turning into a little photographer here!

Sarah continues to try new things, and usually LOVES it.  She is rejecting the bottle and just wants a cup, we have learned that she can drink out of a straw.  After the zoo and lunch we came back to the hotel and Sarah took a short nap.  She has been so much fun today.  We spent about an hour on the playground and just ran and laughed.  She is really opening up.  Mitchell has got her to say a few words (No, Yes, baba, and maybe a couple others).  Still no mama L   The only issue we continue to have is that Sarah hates to go to sleep.  She cries (and I mean screams) for about 45 minutes to an hour.  It is so hard,  I walk the floor, bounce, rock, sitting up, laying down – nothing seems to work.  She does it at both nap time and bed time.  We are continuing to try things, but pray that we can figure it out prior to the 17 hrs. on a plane next week.

When she runs for a while we have to keep an eye on her because she will play hard.  We noticed today with all the activity that she was breathing a little heavy.  It’s funny how now she always wants down – a true toddler on the go!  So much fun.  We just hung out at the hotel and had dinner here (the buffet was around $150 for our family).  We won’t be doing that again!  

Tomorrow we have a free day so we are going to do some shopping and maybe walk to the park nearby.  I think they have amusement type rides so that should be fun!  It will be our first day completely on our own navigating taxi’s and vendors will be interesting.

We thank God for the blessings he has given us!  Mitchell & Allie have been so good on the trip, Sarah just loves them and I really feel that are part of the reason she has opened up as much as she has.  They have times they are bored and they don’t like it when we make them spend time on school work – but they have stepped up each and every time.  We have such a good set of kidos!!

Sarah trying to blow bubbles.