Busy Days

Yesterday we went to Temple of Heaven.  It was very crowded.  Grace told us in Beijing it is crowded everywhere because it is so heavily populated.

We went to the market to check out where the locals shop.  It is basically a flea market type of mall.  You can find just about anything and Zhou Duo picked out this Sponge Bob watch.  He loves it and wears it all the time.  You will notice he will pose it in the pictures.  Zhou Duo loves a particular Chinese cartoon, not sure what it is called but the characters are cute fluffy goats. I did not realized how much he liked it until we were at the toy store and he got real excited, we purchased a kite with the character on it so we can take it flying when we get back to Austin.  We also got him a Chinese Silk outfit with a hat, we will put it on him and get a photo.

Here is the pendant we purchased for Duo to give to his future wife.  It is a traditional Jadeite pendant with gold trim.  I didn't know Jade came in different grade like diamond.  Jadeite is graded in Color, Clarity, and Character.  This pendant is clear if it is held up to the light, really beautiful.

We meet our guide at 9 am each morning for our outing.  Mark and Zhou Duo watch little bit of cartoons while they wait to go downstairs.

Zhou Duo likes to wear his hat, medal, sunglasses, watch and all his toys in his backpack.  We try to tell him he can't wear his backpack because it is too heavy.  I am sure he is frustrated because he cannot understand us.  He loves Grace our guide, he calls her Auntie.  He like her because they can communicate.

We went to Zhou Duo's finding place.  In Beijing, Hu Tong is a residential area and he was found in Deng Long Ku Hu Tong.

 There are little alleys by busy street where people live.  It is pretty clean and once you go pass the alley there are more distinct looking homes. However, the houses are all connected by concrete walls.

 Here is the Police Station where Zhou Duo was brought in.  We couldn't get a photo of the inside of the Police Station and were not cooperative in answering any of our questions.

We found a cute little play area for Zhou Duo and he had a blast.

He has so much energy, we are worn out!

We had hotpot for lunch.  Hotpot is very big here in Beijing....it is like fondue Asian style.  It was good but not very kid friendly.  We want to try it again but this time we will get something Zhou Duo can eat and take it with us. I will try to get a picture to post.

Zhou Duo fell asleep on our way back to the Hotel and woke once we put him in bed.  He is not willing to nap anymore and fights us.  Today he stared to cry.  It was the saddest thing, he cries quietly with the biggest tears.  I rocked and sang to him until he fell asleep. He is going through so much and who knows what he is thinking.  He is brave to call perfect strangers Mom and Dad and put on a happy face.  He already has had so much loses in his life.  I pray he can feel safe soon.