Red pandas and other wonders

Yesterday Ava finally got her wish to see the elusive red or lesser panda. I have to say they are quite cute. Ella enjoyed the animals, too! When Ava and I were talking about our trip last year, she said that all she wanted to see was the red panda, which she saw in a book at her school. Chad and I were like yeah but what about the Great Wall that's one of the seven wonders?! She matter-of-factly said "I don't really care about a wall, I care about animals more". Well maybe one day she will appreciate her Great Wall experience as I am pretty sure when I was 7, I appreciated animals more than strategically placed stones!

We have meet some amazing families here that are adopting along with us. There are 2 other families with the same agency as ours that have adopted more than once from China. So we are quite blessed to have so much experience surrounding us as the "newbies".

One couple lives about 45 minutes from us and the other couple is from NYC. We hung out with the couple from NYC and their 1st adopted son (they adopted him 2 years ago) in Beijing and Zhengzhou quite a bit and have dubbed them our "comic relief". We have witnessed some pretty amusing things in their company and it helps to have someone to laugh with when things are stressful. The little boy they adopted on thus trip fits right in with them. He is a character, singing and smiling all the time even when he is misbehaving.  He call me and his mom nanny in Chinese.

The first day we hung out with them I almost puked on "V", the NYC wife. Let me explain myself. Oh yes, more details of the bathroom habits and rituals of the Chinese or "China people" according to Ava. You see here in China many places don't have Western toliets, they have "squatty potties". Yes, it is true to it's name just visualize a hole in the floor. Now talk about a hard stance for a pregnant woman! Well, I had my experience with one or two, and it wasn't so bad until we went to the Great Wall. I really would have preferred not to go but was in dire straits as baby girl is kind of one with the bladder these days. We as the Great Wall is primitive so are the bathrooms. I go in and immediately run out as the smell somehow almost knocked me out! Dear God in heaven, help me if I ever have to use one again. Port-a-potties ain't got nothing on these bad boys in China. So, I serious debated finding a quiet spot outside in the woods, but thought there might be a law against public peeing and my window of opportunity was quickly closing. (I had yet to find out about the split-pants at this point and the public peeing habits of toddlers or seriously might have hopped on the bandwagon) Ok, so I decided to woman-up and go in a stall and I just couldn't handle it. Simple as that. I am a wimp at sites and smells of bodily fluids with the huge exception of the stuff I dig out of people's gums. Go figure! When I run out of the stall, I run right into "V", who asks if I am ok. At this point I was afraid to speak for fear I would vomit on my new friend and have to face/avoid her for 2 more weeks. So, I shake my head "no" and run to the corner of the sink area where I find a less smelly area to take a deep breath. The deep breath I took was still so vile that I literally ran to the stall, did my business, and ran out in about 10 seconds flat. The 2 hours we were there touring, I had not one sip of water. So, it might seem trivial to some, but this girl is proud to be an American if for no other reason than our Western toliets and modern plumbing! ;)

It really has been nice to have other families to ask questions and  talk with about what is normal that have already been through the process. We have already been asked to babysit "V" & "A"'s 2 boys if we need a boy fix!

I have added some pictures below of our visit to the zoo and our noodle-loving Ella.