Motherhood is a never-ending exam

I have been a Mother for half a year now. It really does require complete patience. Being a Mother is the most unselfish thing I have ever done in my life. I am constantly thinking of someone else. Not just someone else. Someone who kind of resembles me!

 Before Samantha was born, Peyton and I would take naps when we wanted, stayed out until we got tired, and didn't have to feed anyone but ourselves. I had gotten pretty used to just taking care of only one person. I was great at it. I had ME down to a T!

After Peyton and I got married and after loads of discussion and prayer we decided we wanted to do something mind-blowing. We desired a baby. We felt good about our decision and went forward with design. The day I found out I was with a child was a day I will never forget. In two minutes time I was a transformed lady. Was I really ready to feed, bathe, and comfort a tiny human 24 hours a day? Good thing you have 9 months to organize yourself, Catherine. Get going.

And I did. I read the books. I watched the birthing videos. I cried after watching the birthing videos. I found a doctor I liked and visited her routinely. I ate good foods. (And too much ice cream). I did prenatal yoga. I packed my hospital bag 2 months before I needed to. I typed up a birth plan. I downloaded an app that timed contractions. I worried. I cried. I was ecstatic and prepared. 

Or so I thought…labor was a mind trip. The thoughts running through my mind were comparable to that of a schizophrenic. “This is incredible.” “I am doing this.” “Why did I do this?” “I want to go back.” “That hurts.” “That feels good.” “I am a freaking rockstar right now.” “I want to die.” Why, oh why, don’t people tell you these things?

 Labor is outrageous, stunning, ridiculous, delightful and downright natural.

I remember (vividly) Peyton running around calmly asking the Doctor questions only an engineer would think to ask. What are the advantages of breaking her water? How many heartbeats a minute are we at? At what level are the contractions? What are our alternatives at this moment? Is that instrument there for a precaution or application? I literally thought my Husband was going to excuse himself to the restroom and come back in full doctor uniform. He had done his coursework and he was set!

In all honesty, the birth was faster than we anticipated. I didn’t even have time to think about turning back before she was lying on my chest. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to turn back, anyways.

Fast-forward to the next few days, which are extremely tough to remember. What I DO recall was that there were many diapers, cries (not just Samantha’s) numerous smiles and nights where Peyton and I just stood looking at this petite screaming human thinking, what the heck do we do here?!

The days turned into weeks and little by little I was getting the hang of it. I was as surprised as anyone when I realized the difference between a hunger cry versus a tired cry. One day I put an extra pair of clothes in the diaper bag. That was also a day where she decided to have a major blowout. Coincidence? I think not. That’s noble training, right there.

The thing is, Samantha was teaching me things I had never learned in any of my college courses. I felt almost as if she were giving me the lengthiest, toughest final exam of my life. I don’t think I am going to get straight A’s. But, when I rock this pint-size sweetie to sleep and she smiles up at me with her pudgy cheeks, I realize I am completely passing this test. 

Zhangjiajie Mountains (Avatar mountains)

When we found out we would be moving to China we realized we would have great opportunities to do some traveling thanks to location and frequent flier miles. We decided that we wanted to visit some surrounding areas close to China, but we also wanted to explore China itself to see what it has to offer. 

Besides the Beijing and Xian, we went investigating other China destinations that we could see in a weekend. We came up with Zhangjiajie mountains (In the Hunan Province); which inspired the movie Avatar. My Husband is pretty much an amazing travel planner and decided to do the research needed to make this a success. I am not even joking, this guy should be a personal travel agent. The kid listens to podcasts, reads blogs, scours trip advisor, and is a frequent caller to United airlines. We have been to some amazing destinations and I really have my wonderful Husband to thank for his travel preparation. Okay, enough gushiness... 

We got on a flight and flew in and met our tour guide who took us to our hotel. He was amazed at how small our baby was, and he could not believe we were bringing her into nature. She was about 2 months old at this point. Looking back, we were pretty adventurous for our first vacation with our baby. No wonder we drew so much attention! 

The next day we woke up and climbed up Tianmen Mountain with the help of a gondola ride, also. It was so steep and partially cloudy. It was cool to see the top of the peaks, and the clouds actually added to the scene. It was a pretty crazy view. We walked around, and the tour guide took us to multiple locations where he had "secret" look out views that tourists don't see. He was such a fun guide and spoke good English. He loved interacting with Samantha. He was our translator for the trip and had to tell everyone how old she was and that she was a girl. I think the fellow Chinese tourists were more impressed with this little white baby than they were with the mountains. 

There is a part on the mountain where the two points meet making a natural bridge and there are a million locks that people put on the gate. There is a small store where you can buy one and have it engraved. Obviously we had to take part in this tradition. Our names are forever left somewhere in China. 

We also spotted wild monkeys. These were not friendly and cute monkies. They would steal your food and go after you. It was so interesting to see the fellow Chinese people feed them and want to shake their hands. I hope they got their Rabie shots. 

The views were just amazing. It is crazy to think that we had no idea this place even existed. Especially in China! 

The next day we got up early to head to Zhangjiajie National Park. We took a gondola ride up to the top and it is actually the longest gondola ride in China. 30 minutes! It was fun to see the city below and the countryside. When we got there we got to walk around the mountains on a pathway that seemed to never end. At one point there was a glass bottom section where you could look down. It was pretty scary. Peyton is a bit scared of heights so he was really brave! :) The Chinese people push a lot so I think I was overly defensive when walking on this part. DO NOT PUSH ME. 

The weather wasn't perfect but walking through the trees and seeing all the greenery was picturesque. Living in this Shanghai concrete jungle I end up missing a lot of nature, so I am glad we were able to get a little dose of it. 

There was a section of the mountain where you could buy a strand of red fabric and write a wish on it and tie it to the tree. It was cool to see all the ribbons that were littered through the trees. We read a couple and there were lots of different languages. I loved it! 

 Samantha was such a good little traveler. She hardly complained and she slept almost every time we put her in the wrap. Gosh, she loves that thing.

That night we went to a show they had at the base of the mountain and then in the morning we headed back to Shanghai. It was such a fast trip, but well worth it. It is our new favorite destination to recommend to people while living here. Zhangjiajie Mountains. Put it on your list! 

Being tourists in China

While my parents were visiting Shanghai we decided that we wanted to take a few side trips in China to see the sights. You can't come all the way to China and not see the Great Wall, right?! We flew on a discount airline where the seats are made for small Chinese people bodies. We were packed like sardines but we were excited to go on our little vacation. 

                

 We flew to Xian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. Need a quick history lesson? Let me provide.  The Terra Cotta army is a collection of warriors that are depicting the armies of the First Emperor in China. These were buried with him in belief that they would protect them in the afterlife. I wonder if it worked. The army was discovered in 1974 by local farmers (One of which we met while there!) and the project has been digging to find more soldiers and to preserve them since then. There are 3 pits of soldiers that have been discovered and there are about 8,000 individual life sized army men. What is so amazing of this site is that pure vastness of these discoveries. Can you imagine digging and finding that there are thousands of terra cotta people beneath the surface? Scientists and archeologists have been working on preserving these sculptures for years. There has only been ONE that was uncovered that was already in one piece. It is truly one of the greatest discoveries. 

We really enjoyed looking at all of the warriors and learning more about its history. We took many pictures and many people took pictures of Samantha. I have learned that we cannot go anywhere without someone stopping us to snap one. It has become our new normal. When we move back to the states this poor girl will either trust every stranger in the world or she will have complete social anxiety from them. Only time will tell! 

We were also able to go visit the Chinese City wall of Xian. Pictures don't show how incredibly hot this place was. I don't think I have ever felt heat like this before. It was about 95 degrees with 90% humidity. We were drenched in sweat, tired, hot and crabby. Doesn't this sound fun?! 

After we visited Xian for about a day we hopped on a 5 hour train to go to Beijing. Taking a train there was fun because we got to see the countryside and travel in a different way than by plane. When we got to Beijing we were able to go see the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Once again it was uncomfortably hot and Samantha was a celebrity. The forbidden City is the Chinese Imperial palace from the Ming dynasty. It housed emperors and their families and it is now used as a museum. (Cool fact- Building Started in the 1400's. It took 14 years to build and used about a million workers!) Crazy!!! 

One of these days we will teach my Mom to look at the camera. 

Peyton and my Dad also acquired quite the fan base, also. Two tall white males!!!! My child! Get with them, I will take your picture!

The next day we were able to go see the Great Wall. This was high on my bucket list and I was so glad I was able to go with my Family. The walk (hike) up to the wall is quite difficult and the heat and humidity didn't help matters. We took it slow and finally made it! Samantha was such a good traveler. It is crazy to think about all the places she is experiencing and will never remember. It makes me a little sad. She'll have to go back when she's older. Without us. I can't handle that heat again. 

I can't believe we crammed this all in one extended weekend. It was definitely a go go go vacation and my parents were great sports. I feel fortunate that we are able to see such amazing things in China while we live here. I am also so grateful that I was able to see them with my Family. It was a great time!