Respite from summer heat

Today, it was almost 37 degrees, hot and humid. When we brought Rosabelle out for her morning walk, there was zilch wind, and we were all getting sticky and sweaty. So with a few other mummies, we headed for the minimart in our apartment area to escape from the sweltering heat, enjoying the aircon whilst strolling around, heh! We even had to close the windows in the house to prevent hot winds from coming in, and I resorted to switching the aircon on when she was eating lunch (I don't normally do that as I'm afraid she'd catch a cold - I'd normally turn the aircon on in another room, or switch it off before she enters the room.)

Yesterday, we also did something similar by escaping to Shin King Place again after Rosabelle woke up from her afternoon nap - it was way too hot to go out into the sun, so Wayne drove us there and we headed directly to the kids' level where Rosabelle sat on the various rocking toys again.
However, she did not really seem to enjoy it, being more attracted to the bouncer ball that Wayne was playing with.

After that, we brought her into the colored balls section where she sat on the mattress and scooped the balls up. She seemed to enjoy this section more, but we met a naughty older girl who waded through the balls, kicking her way through, and even threw a ball at Rosabelle (it would have hit her if I did not slap the ball the other way). I told her off and we whisked Rosabelle out.

We then continued around the section, looking at Thomas the Train displays...

And ended up with me at Paris Baguette eating an evening donut. Rosabelle also had her dose of bun biscuits, which she enjoys throughly. These few days, I've been feeding her abit of what I'm eating - this morning, she eyed my donut twist even after she'd finished a whole steamed egg, so I offered her the bread (not the fried part), and she enjoyed it, asking for more. Similarly, when she saw me eating fried vermicelli for dinner just now, she indicated she wanted some and when I gave her a few strands, she was hooked! She kept asking for more - must be the salt and oil used - items which do not normally appear in her foods. Well, hopefully she will continue taking her usual bland foods tomorrow!

But tomorrow I will be giving her Heinz bottled foods - fish/vegetable puree and chicken/mushroom puree - which I will be bringing along on our Zhengzhou trip. We confirmed our trip today - we'll be away from August 18 to 20 (Wayne's staying on a few days more as he wants to catch up with his family/friends, and also renew his passport). Luckily Wayne and I have enough air miles to exchange for return tickets for the nanny and I, and a Beijing-Zhengzhou ticket for Wayne. He only needs to pay for a return flight to Beijing, which is heavily discounted as it's late at 8:40pm at night (only RMB330 as compared to full price ticket of RMB680 for one-way). Rosabelle's infant ticket is 10% - RMB140, so cute. So we managed to save about RMB3,500 just by using our air miles. Sweet.

Rosabelle will stay with the nanny and I at Sofitel Zhengzhou - we've already asked for a baby cot, and hopefully they have a kettle, and I can request for a baby chair, or the various instant purees/cereals/porridge I'm bringing will need to be brought to Wayne's home. Bringing the nanny along, though an added cost, will also mean we have less to deal with on Rosabelle's maiden trip away from home (though it's the nanny's first time on an airplane - hope she copes fine!).

I'm looking forward to having Rosabelle meet Wayne's parents again, and of course meet her great-grandparents for the first time before they leave for Xinjiang at the end of the month. The last she saw her Ye Ye and Nai Nai was in April, when they came to Beijing, so it's been awhile - they are all really excited too.

I have some major packing to get down to!