The Highway of Death -- All for Clean Laundry!

Well...Mark survived crossing the highway of death and walking the several blocks to reclaim our clean laundry.

The smells along the way were indescribable, except to say that pleasant isn't among the words you would use.

There was one woman along the way scrubbing a piece of meat in a pot. It looked a little like corned beef but smelled like something completely different. She was scrubbing it with a piece of steel wool.

There were groups of men all along the way playing cards and a game that looked like checkers. One woman was scrubbing her clothes in a big metal pot and hanging them above her on a clothes line using a long pole.

On the way back he stopped in a corner grocery and re-supplied us with more Chips Ahoy and Oreos.

The heat and humidity are oppressive. It's like a bad July day in Baltimore.

Today for lunch we ate in one of the restaurants at the hotel. We were joined by Billy, Nikki and their new daughter Kassidy. We had a private room and a great meal. Beth had BBQ ribs and said they were delicious. There was plenty of food and the tab for all of us was only $60.

Merrilee is really only going to Beth when Mark is not around. So right now Mark is at the bar having a "Snow" beer while Beth is in the room trying to get Merrilee down for a nap. Tonight many in our group are ordering out for pizza from Pizza Hut. Pizza Hit here doesn't deliver (but McDonald's does) so we are paying a cab to pick up our pizzas for us.

Merrilee saw the pediatrician again today. She has a bit of congestion and we are giving her Benydryl three times a day. The doc also saw her on Monday and says she is improving.

She is a delightful but very stubborn child. She puts her fingers in her nose to get a rise out of us. She knows when she is doing it that she is being bad. She has learned how to kiss her stuffed animal and play patty cake. She laughs a lot with a wide grin but she likes to push us to see what her limit is to be. She is drinking bottled water from the bottle and she loves lo mein noodles. She likes to feed herself. Cheerios are already a favorite snack.

Mark had to change TWO poopy diapers today. Our baby knows how to light up a room. It was like she unleashed some weapons of mass destruction designed to gag daddy to death. The two poops were just moments apart so the first cloud hadn't even had the chance to dissipate.

Will try to write more tomorrow as the adventure continues.

Please keep Beth in your thoughts. It is very hard on her that the baby is gravitating toward Mark. Again though, with most Chinese babies, they usually go to just one adoptive parent. Almost every couple in our group is having the same issue. Still it's hard to believe we've only had her two days. It already seems like longer...much longer.