Christmas Eve Safari

Merry Christmas Eve from Danny in Guangzhou! We are closing out our Christmas Eve after an adventurous day in the city. We took a big step today outside of our normal routine of being cooped up in the hotel or doing official paperwork. We were invited by our new friends Brandon, Laurie and Avery (YaYa) to join them and some other families at the Safari Zoo. We knew it would be a stretch to take Lia Kate out all day, considering she won't let me hold her more than 5 minutes at a time, but we didn't let that stop us. We took almost an hour bus ride to the outskirts of town to the safari zoo (by the way, this city we're in -- Guangzhou -- is 7 million people big!). Imagine the entrance to Animal Kingdom at Disney World. We were not expecting much but it really took us by surprise. All 4 of the families we were with and their adopted children (ages 16 mos, 23 mos, 4 yrs. old & 7 yrs. old) boarded the train that took us into the open safari. I reminded everyone of the show "When Animals go Wild"-- you know the ones where the baboons jump in the car and claw everything. Thankfully the electric fences kept the predators at bay. But we were pleasantly surprised by how close they let you get and how many animals there were -- white tigers, camels, lions, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, elephants, cape buffalo, gazelle, ostrich, red deer, white-tipped dear, and brown & black bears. We got tons of great videos & pictures. After the ride, we ventured around the rest of the zoo...the petting zoo area, and played with elephants, giraffes, and Emily even held a baby tiger. The highlight was all the giant pandas! Probably about 15 of them playing around. We got there right in time for feeding which was just like watching a bunch of old men sitting on the couch watching a football game. They'd lean back with their guts pooched out and chew on the bamboo. The zoo trip lasted almost 5 hours and we were beat by the time we got back to the hotel. Our days usually mess up Lia Kate's nap schedule or lack thereof (meaning Lia Kate is not getting much of one--and we wonder why she gets fussy at night!?!?). For dinner we headed back to Lucy's with our friends for the third time...but lo and behold they had a new menu for Christmas dinner! It was a great surprise (an expensive one, but great nonetheless). It is strange how big of a deal Christmas is here in China, but our guides say it is all for the consumerism rather than the significance of the day. It was a delightful evening with the temperature in the mid-70s and we were able to sit outside again. Lia Kate actually did wonderful tonight almost eating a whole bowl of chicken congee and actually making eyes at Emily and people at the tables around us. She even started happily kicking her legs and waving her arms around -- a far cry from the death grip she usually has around Emily's neck. She really enjoys being outside, so much so that we did not want to come "home" to the hotel room. Lia Kate has gotten into this routine where as soon as we enter the hotel room she loses it. The only thing that consoles her is Emily holding her tight and rocking her in the bed. It's sweet but exhausting for Emily. And I just try to do little things around the room and not get in the way...it's still all Emily and Lia Kate 99% of the time. The other 1% is our friend Laurie who Lia Kate totally adores. In other Lia Kate news ... she actually slept really well last night and slept in her crib! We decided that sleeping in our bed the night before didn't go so well, so we'd try the crib again and she only woke up once in the middle of the night ... she just whimpered so Emily rubbed her head and she went right back down. Hoping for a repeat tonight because we all need the sleep. Tomorrow is Christmas Day here. Not sure what the day will hold, but we'll write about it tomorrow. We wish we were all home and celebrating the holiday with you, but we still have lots of important tasks to finish here. Can't wait to be back. Merry Christmas!!!