Things Are Looking Up!

Today has gone so much better. The major crying fits have finally subsided and a much more pleasant baby is emerging. She has been playing today and smiling a lot. She is still a little fussy, but nothing like the last few days. She is finally eating and taking her bottles. And the big news today was that she finally POOPED!

This morning the skies were so bright and blue, so we decided to take a trip to the South China Sea beach. I had a tourist map that showed a photo of it and it looked great. So we hailed a taxi from our hotel and took the 30 minute trek to Cinjin Island. The cabby dropped us off and we took short walk to the beach front. Only to realize that it wasn’t a swimming beach, in fact the waves were so big, it was a little scary just being near the water. So we walked back to the park entrance and realized our taxi had left (which was no surprise). The problem was that there wasn’t another taxi in sight. We were so hot and Aiden was whining and wanting carried. We were the only people at the park. So we just started walking hoping to find a taxi. What we found was a marina and fish market. We browsed through the market which was a nice retreat from the hot sun…except for the fishy smell. The boys seemed to enjoy seeing all the fish (dead and dried), and Aiden’s attitude was improving. We hoped that someone at the market could tell us where to find a taxi…but no such luck. None of them spoke even a word of English. After walking for a while, we ended up finding a bus stop. I figured that a bus could get us to a subway stations and that there would be cabs there. I was enjoying the challenge, unfortunately Chaunta didn’t have the same perspective. Fortunately, we saw a taxi drive by and he saved the day.

We returned to the hotel and re-showered for lunch. It is so hot and humid here, you just walk outside and you are drenched with sweat within 2-3 minutes (not an exaggeration). So you need a couple of showers a day.

And after lunch the boys and I took naps. Chaunta and Hadley played. It was the first day with no screaming! This evening we went for a walk to find a place to buy formula and check out a small night market. Taiwan is famous for night markets…I can only assume that the reasons is that it is too hot during the daytime for people to shop. We bought a few small things and headed back to the hotel.

Hadley is now officially asleep for the night. One full day with no fireworks or temper tantrums. Overall, it was a great day. Hadley smiled a lot and laughed with us for the first time.

Tomorrow, we are supposed to pick up all of our immigration paperwork at 3:00pm from our agency. From there we head for the bullet train back to Taipei. We have the weekend free to sightsee. Monday is Hadley’s immigration/visa interview at the American Institute (mini-consulate).

Quotes of the Day:
Aiden told me, “Dad I kinda feel jealous when Hadley gets held all the time.”
Liam said, “When we get home and Hadley sleeps in her room, I will sleep on the floor so she don’t be scared.”
Chaunta said, “I can’t believe you let us take a cab out here and didn’t have a plan to get back to the hotel” after walking in the miserable heat for about 30 minutes carying kids while looking for a cab.
I replied, "Honey, I have everything under control. We will be fine."

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