Day Twenty-Four

It was a little more difficult to wake up today. I really need to learn to trust God during the night or I am going to get seriously sleep deprived. I cannot seem to relax because I'm listening to his noises or lack thereof. He did actually cry some during the night and I got up with him. It was a curious thing because he wiggled down, grabbed my hands, and led me straight to the door. When I pulled my hands away to look at his face he wobbled and hit his head on the door. Then he startled a little, so I picked him up. We walked around the room. I sang to him and prayed for him. When I laid him down he was out. I'm still not sure if that was sleep walking or just a desire for activity, or what it was. It shook me up a little which added to my lack of sleep. J.J. is still not feeling 100%. We thought it was something he ate, but since it is persisting it might actually be an illness. He is hanging in there though and doing a great job. Breakfast went really well. The waitress we angered with our lack of patience on Tuesday seemed super cheerful and helpful today. She was not working yesterday. Our new friends joined us near the end of our meal. Xavier fed himself with a spoon for the first time since he's come to us! He ate this rice porridge stuff all by himself. J.J. fell asleep again this morning, so Xavier and I hung out. We played a game of make the Minion spin. We checked things on the computer. Xavier was tired from his restless night, but I thought it was best if we stayed active until nap time if at all possible. We decided to try a nearby playground. Our friend and his son joined us. It was a gorgeous day. In fact, it was almost hot. The play area was a big ship with ladders, slides, and a path to walk around the top.

Xavier showed no fear! I actually think if J.J. would have let go Xavier would have gone right down one of the big slides. Oh, we found some cheap sunglasses on the way to the playground. Yeah! I have been regretting not packing sunglasses most of the trip, but I could never bring myself to pay what the stores were asking. Xavier was a pretty cool dude in his shades. We tried to take a short cut through a nearby amusement park, but it actually was a dead end. It was fun anyway. They had so many rides and most of then were geared toward younger children.

Not quite as young as our little guy, but it all looked very fun! Xavier fell asleep in the stroller on the walk back. So much for staying on schedule. He slept right through lunch. J.J. got us lunch at a grill stand on the river front. It was so reasonably priced and tasty. We watched our last Sherlock Holmes episode while Xavier slept. I was sad to see it end. I've come to enjoy that crazy detective. =) I gave Xavier a bigger snack when he woke up and we played for awhile in the room. I bought these adorable 9 month outfits on clearance before we left and I had to pack them. He needs to wear them fast before he grows. Look at that cute monkey bum!

We enjoyed the grill so much that we all walked there for supper. Xavier had a special "to go" supper from our hotel room of baby cereal mixed with apple juice and mixed veggies baby food. On top of that he ate two small slices of the brown bread from J.J. and I's meal! A thunderstorm rolled up while we were eating so we had dinner and a show. Once again Xavier showed no fear. He didn't even jump at a loud thunder clap, but I sure did. We came back for bath time and wind down quiet play time. Now he is sound asleep. We have one and a half more days here and then off to Moscow for the last of our in-country paperwork. I have actually enjoyed our quiet time here as a new family. No laundry to wash, no meals to cook, no house to clean, no demands from work. We just eat and play and enjoy each other. I am ready to be home, don't get me wrong, but maybe this hotel room thing is not so bad after all.