Day 5: Beijing

Jade factory
It took 3 years to make this jade boat. And that cabbage was ginormous...you can see the size comparison to the person standing next to it.


The Great Wall
There are 3 sections you can climb. We went to the Badaling section which most Chinese citizens go to because Chairman Mao climbed that one and said "You are not a hero until you climb the Great Wall." In hindsight, we should've just gone to one of the others because they are less crowded.


It was my second time climbing the Great Wall, but YSB's first. This and the terracotta warriors were the 2 things he wanted to see most on the trip. We walked from the starting point to all 8 towers in the Badaling section. I forgot how STEEP and exhausting the climb could be, but the view was amazing and humbling. I still can't believe that it's manmade. And it was such a workout. My thighs were burning and I was sooo out of breath...gotta work out more!



My sneakers were boring compared to some of the other interesting footwear choices. I'm most impressed with the lady in a sari wearing sandals in 50 degree weather.
 



At the end - so crowded!
     
Our Descent - we walked through the Olympics One World, One Dream sign.
 
Ming Tombs...I forget which one.


And our tourguide today...
Aside from arriving 30 minutes late, it seemed like his English speaking skills deteriorated overnight. For the whole day, he hardly said anything. Then on the way to the Great Wall, I hear him say to the driver (in Mandarin and in a lowered tone), "let's go someplace nice for lunch. I'm in the mood for good food today." I should mention here that since it's a private tour, we pay for our tourguide/driver's lunches. I thought it was weird that he was determining where he'd recommend for lunch based on the fact that he wanted to eat someplace nice that day.

At the jade factory, we finished looking around in 25 minutes but when we said we were done, he told us we had to stay another 15-20 minutes bc we were required to stay for at least 40 minutes. Um...kickback obviously. On the way back to the hotel, he said we were going to a tea house or silk factory but since we needed to meet my cousins, we said we'd pass. He looked SO annoyed but had no choice because he couldn't force us to go.

Then, at the Ming Tombs, I tried to make conversation since he was so quiet. We told him that this was an anniversary trip and unfortunately I asked..

Me: So, are you married?
Guide: No. My girlfriend just broke up with me.
YSB/Me: Oh, sorry. (YSB is shooting me looks like don't be a therapist, move on!)
**walking...walking...**
Guide: Yes, my heart is empty *fist to chest* (i'm not joking about the fist)
Me: I'm so sorry
YSB: Man, that's rough...
**walking...walking...**
Guide: It was very depressing. I thought she was very special
Me: Oh...I know it's not easy
**walking...walking**
Guide: Yeah...well she was very young...20. So when I see the both of you, I am quite jealous, you look very happy
YSB/Me: Oh....
*awkward silence for the rest of the walk to the car**

And at the end of the day....though it's not customary to tip in China, we were still planning to tip the driver & guide. But out of the blue, the guide says, "the agency doesn't pay us that much so we work off tips and commission." YSB hates it when people assume that we won't be fair or appreciative of service. The driver didn't speak any English but was so happy with what we gave him. The guide, however, hovered over YSB as he counted out money and looked as though he was entitled to it. So annoying.

Okay, that's it for Day 5. Aside from the guide awkwardness, we had an awesome time. At night, we hung out with my cousin who is the most spunky, hilarious 20 something in Beijing. More eating, shopping and eating again

Lila's jet lag going to China took 2 nights to get over, but coming back seems to be a lot worse...5 nights of:

7pm - down for the night
9pm - up and wanting to play
11pm - down again
1am - up again and bringing me books to read
3am - down again
10/11am - up for the day

So we decided to sleep train using cry it out. In addition to the jetlag, we wanted her to get used to falling asleep in her crib instead of transferring her from our bed. We co-slept in China bc there was no crib where we were staying.

The first night, I went in every 15 minutes for the first hour, but she just got more upset when she saw me. We decided that we have to stay out of the room. Nights 2 and 3 (today) we're sleeping in the living room so there is no chance of her waking or seeing us since we share the bedroom.

This morning, she woke at her usual 6am, took 2 good naps (9-11am and 3-4pm), then back down at 7pm. It was great! But as soon as we finished reading Goodnight Moon, she started crying because she knew what was coming next. She hugged me so tight that it made me wonder if we should continue. She cried on/off for a little over an hour but hasn't woken since.

We're trying it for another 3-4 days for a total of 1 week. For anyone that went through this, is 1 week enough? I miss the days when she would sleep 12 hours at night without any sleep training. Not to mention when she used to like her crib...this picture seems like sooo long ago.

We just got back from China on Thurs night and it feels so good to be back in the US. I meant to post these dol pics before we left, but as usual my procrastination got the better of me and I spent every spare minute packing.

Lila's birthday banner
Luckily there was just enough patterned/color paper left over from the globes to put this together.


We taped this photo in the elevators to greet guests. It says "Oh! You made it. I'm on the 4th floor!" I love her expression. The Hello Kitty is a balloon holder that I got from Party City.


Petitemandoo's friend printed out/mounted photos of Lila in 3 different sizes from different months. Then sue_shi's hubby was kind enough to help us hang them like a gallery wall using the 3M removeable mini hooks before the party started.


"Hanbok Cake" baked by Ruth (our friend's sis) of brooklyncake.com


We played one game/raffle - What Will Lila Pick? Everyone wrote their name on a ballot and dropped it into the pocket they predicted Lila would pick. From those pockets, we picked 2 winners.


And the globes that I already posted about.


To package the dduk, my Uncle brought empty take out boxes from his restaurant and we attached these labels printed from avery.com
 

And our birthday girl~


 

With Grandma
  
 

Playing with the balloons
 

The doljabee
Lila picked the abacus first, but YSB's family didn't count it, so they made her do it twice more.  My family counts the abacus, and my in-laws count the rice and pen. Here's a video of her grabbing the abacus.


And the pen

Lila Doljabee 1 from angie bae on Vimeo.

Sue_shi & Sandelion23 - thanks so much for all your help!


Lila handing a prize to her Uncle D.


And finally, eating cake for the first time