Sunday - Chen Family Temple and Shopping

On Sunday (8/14), we took the bus to the "Chen Family Temple" and then stopped at a store that specializes in porcelain, silk, and other local art items. I bought several items to give Sonia over the years (including a couple silk traditional dresses for Chinese New Year's Celebrations, a tiny tea set, a jade "mother/daughter" necklace, and a silk baby blanket).

In the afternoon, we did a bit of shopping in the little shops on Shamian Island where our hotel is and I found a few outfits and squeaky shoes very reasonably priced.

Sonia really turned a corner in opening up later in the day. We had a group dinner with lots of wonderful dishes family style. Sonia has typically been very reserved during these types of events. But, this evening, she was in rare form amusing the table and trying to grab the dishes. On the way home, I playfully tipped her back (which I've done before to only scared looks) and she giggled and laughed and smiled all the way back to the hotel where she played for quite a while before falling asleep.

It was clear that while she hadn't really participated in the little songs and games we'd been doing the last week, she'd been watching. She proceeded to do all the little tricks of ball rolling, flying the little penguin puppet we brought, "reading" books, playing with cups, smiling and laughing. It was incredibly special and warmed my heart to see her relax and enjoy playing with us!