We had a free day today so we took a taxi to the zoo...

Sydney finally got to see a real live panda bear. They have it pretty protected from the public so we weren't able to get too close. She was excited, though.

The zoo was very pretty and the weather was ideal. The animals were pretty active. There were "Do Not Feed the Animals" signs everywhere but I think it is common for people to feed the animals. We saw some people feeding bread to some bears. The bears put on a pretty good show for the food.

They caught it in their mouths and laid on their backs and caught bread.

Along with all the regular zoo animals, they had two different exhibits of Pomeranian dogs and an exhibit of potbellied pigs!

When Lydia was awake she seemed to enjoy her first zoo trip. I think we were the only Caucasians at the zoo so we got quite a bit of attention. People were taking pictures of us along with the animals. Some were very friendly and some kept looking at the three of us and then at Lydia and back and forth. I always wonder if they have had to give up babies and if they are looking at us to see if Lydia is happy and if we are doing a good job.

The taxi ride went smooth. They drive crazy but it seems to work for them. I decided today that it's kind of like go-kart rides without any rules.

The rest of the day we just took it easy in the room while Lydia napped, and walked around the shops a little.

We met a family here from Ozark, Mo. They are adopting a little girl around 7-years-old. The mom works at MSU and had on an MSU t-shirt which Kyle recognized. It was great to talk to someone from home.

Lydia let Kyle feed her a bottle today so she is slowly warming up.

She is laughing and smiling more each day. It's hard to catch her smiling with the camera. She always stops when she sees the camera. She has a great laugh. Today Sydney bought a hat - one of those Chinese farming hats. Lydia looked over at her and laughed and laughed. It was so funny.

'Til tomorrow,
Carmen, Kyle, Sydney and Lydia