Shamian Island

A day off while we wait for the visa to be processed at the consulate.  This morning we went to Shamian Island - a delightful place to stroll around with beautiful walkways, lots of trees, cute statues and historical buildings. And a few places to shop for souvenirs.

It was a mostly relaxing day.

Here's a few things Valerie can say:

Mama

Baba (Chinese for daddy)

Car

Ball

Susu (for Susan)

Valerie (it doesn't sound at all like that but she tries and it does have three syllables)

She understands me when I tell her to put her shoes on.  And she's been with us for only 10 days! Honestly, I was a little worried at first that she wouldn't be able to talk at all.  Her first 24 hours with us were completely silent.  Even the tears were silent.  Boy has that ever changed!

Fun fact about Valerie.  She'll always take one more bite of something than she wants to eat.  So that last bite gets spit back out of her mouth.  Totally took us by surprise at first but now we eat every meal with extra napkins at the ready.  Obviously that'll be something that we have to work on when we get home!

Shamian Island

Notice the napkins!