Shopping

(As I write this blog, David is giving Nevin his bath, with me out of sight. Big step!)

Nevin woke up cuddly and snugly with Mummy as we Skyped our family. He enjoyed some bottle and off to breakfast we went.  He ate all of his green bean con gee and whatever else I put in his mouth.  Not once has he turned his nose up on anything I have given him.

Barbara, our guide, met us in the lobby with our driver and off we went to SHOP!  She brought us to the Inner Mongolian Mengsheng Cashmere Products Mill-- where all of the products are made by hand. They even have a food processing plant.  We had a tour of the factory and met some of the factory workers-- mostly women.  They were very friendly and were paying much of their attention to Nevin, offering smiles, coos and compliments.  The factory produces many of the products representing the culture of the Inner Mongolian people.  Surprisingly, both David and I have found the culture to be similar to our natives in the prairies.  We bought jewelry, clothing, and a few traditional keepsakes David and I picked for Nevin's treasure box.

After touring the main factory we toured the grocery outlet.  Now I must declare at this time that neither David nor I have felt the ill effects of weird food or bacterial mysteries-- without thinking I had a cocktail with ice cubes...no problem, and I have wet my toothbrush nearly every time with the tap water and I have not died. So, when there were samples of the Hohhot cheese, comprised of mutton and goat milk, we decided to be daring and stand on the ledge of digestive recklessness.  It was a lovely tasting cheese, a little sweet and salty and the texture was very dry.  One sample was brown, and I was deeply curious why. Apparently it was mixed with chocolate of all things.  It was actually quite lovely.  I chose not to buy a package as I could not be sure it was pasteurized, and I wasn't sure if my iron gut would be so iron-like had it been infected with listeria. I had Barbara translate all the other foods that I could not identify-- plant or animal?  We really felt like we were in a different world....

I did come away with several purchases, one of them being a popular drink they refer to as tea milk.  Its comparable to our Chi latte but only milder and sort of ovalteen like, but not so geriatric tasting. I think it might be nice cold.

Nevin fell fast asleep in my arms in the van, and we put him down in his crib when we got back to our room.  He slept soundly for two hours, and when he woke, he reached for me and fell asleep on my chest for another 15 minutes.  Then, the wild child awoke from within and he played like he was our son his entire life.  His delightful, deep belly laugh erupted when David tickled his tummy-- I managed to capture that laugh on video.  He played and played and sought David's attention for two solid hours.  He came to me in between to be picked up, but always went back to David.  It was assuring that he allowed his Daddy to feed him a bottle, and they hung out on the bed together like two old pals watching television.

I'm sure it won't take long to fall asleep tonight after being so active all afternoon.

Tomorrow is a free day for us, nothing planned.  The weather is very windy, rainy and cool. So everything will depend on the weather. If we end up staying in, I may go to the spa on the third floor for a back massage while Nevin has a nap.  Dude!  He's 33 pounds!  So glad he loves his stroller as it has given my back some rest.  In fact, he loves it so much, he white knuckles the safety bar with a death grip when the wait staff brings the high chair. He's eaten his last three meals in his stroller, right next to his Mummy.

And now, the count down is on for Canada!  Seven more days! Yay!  Can't wait to squeeze my kids, smell their skin and hair, and hear their voices.  My little goofy cherubs....I think Nevin is going to fit in with them just fine.