Day Two: Gotcha Day (Part Three)

After visiting the birthing home where Camille was born, we headed back to the hotel. Darren brought and assembled Camille's crib in our room. This is done so that Camille could more easily adjust to the new surroundings. When Darren left, the moment had arrived: we were actually alone with Camille! By this point, Camille was totally comfortable with us and we spent the next 1 1/2 to 2 hours bonding with her. We played, we danced. She had a blast grabbed scribbling away with a pen on my notepad. She'll fit right in at home because Kyle and Daniel absolutely LOVE to draw and color. I could see the three of them already, sitting at our dinner table with paper, crayons and pencils everywhere.

We walked around the hotel grounds and hung out by the pool. Beautiful weather. Just a tad humid, but nothing like we'd anticipated.

After a while, we started getting hungry, so we all decided to go out for dinner. But first, Reg wanted to buy some tsinelas (slippers) for Camille. She's got big feet! So get this ...

We all hopped onto two "tricyles" which took us to the Antipolo church. If you haven't been to the PI, let me explain what a tricycle is. It's not the thing you rode on when you were four. It's either a motorcyle or a bicycle with a buggy attached on the side. In our case, it was a motorcyle. Two people can fit in the buggy, and there's a seating space for another one or two outside the buggy. Reg and I crammed into the buggy with Camile on Reg lap. No seatbelts. No carseats. If we were in the United States, we'd be investigated by Children's Services for taking Camille on this ride. Here is a picture of a typical tricyle:
It took less than ten minutes to get to our destination. The traffic was wild and crazy, and our tricycle driver was was going in orchestrating between moving cars and jeepneys like a symphony. Fun times, indeed. Camille sat there enjoying the breeze in her face.

Have you noticed that Camille still hadn't cried the entire day! She'll pout and squeal if she doesn't want something, but she literally has not cried yet.

When we got to the area near the church, there were street vendors and little shopping stores lined up everywhere you turned. It was a lot like downtown LA, minus the crackheads. Reg and I were LOVING it. We don't travel much, but when we do, we like to do the non-touristy stuff much more than the touristy stuff. Sure, we make an effort to see all the stuff tourists are supposed to see, but we also strive to go where the locals go, eat what the locals eat. When we went to Hawaii, we intentionally went out of our way to eat at the local dives rather than the popular one filled with tourists and honeymooners.

The shopping was fun. Lots of super cheap stuff -- clothes, fruit, illegal DVDs with all the latest movies. We visited the Church where we said some very heartfelt prayers, thanking God for giving us our wonderful daughter. We bought some imitation crocs for a little over a dollar. We also got some cheap pajamas for kids. Sucky quality but ridiculously cheap.

We ate a food stand serving typical Filipino food. We had sotanghon, arroz caldo, rice and calderetta. Yummy!! Then Reg's mom when on a mini-shopping spree at this one tiny vendor who sold candies, peanuts, etc. She LOVES haggling, and she's quite good at it. She was having such a good time with the vendor, that it became somewhat of a spectacle. After a while, Reg's mom was surrounded by people trying to sell her rosaries, sampaguita, etc. She was having a BLAST. She probably felt like a millionaire. I had a great time just observing because I could tell that she was really getting a kick out of being there, haggling away.
By this time, the sun was setting, so was took our tricycle rides back to the hotel. We nearly crashed about five times, but our driver expertly avoided each one. Reg gave Camille a bath (tabo-tabo style) in the bathtub. She's a lot chubbier than my other kids. She still has that bloated, toddler tummy. So adorable.

After her bath, I put her sleep. Or should I say, she put me to sleep. She didn't want to lie in her crib, so she laid down with me on the bed. I tried to soothe her to sleep, but (as usual -- this happens ALL THE TIME) I fell asleep first. I was awoken in the middle of the night by Reg carrying the sleeping baby to her crib.

Our first day as Camille's parents was over. Pure happiness fills my heart as I type this blog.

Some observations: Camille is really bright. She knew how to pretend read with book, and she was able to figure out how to manipulate all the new toys and gadgets in front of her. She has excellent fine motor skills -- she can open zippers, unlatch and latch tiny latches, etc. She eats A LOT. With our other kids, it's a struggle getting them to eat ("Kyle, take three more bites or you can't play outside!"). We're definitely not going to have that problem with Camille. Also, she doesn't cry a lot. I know it's waaaaaayyyyy to early to come to this conclusion, but given the whirlwind day she just had, I'd expect her to cry at least once. But nope. She hasn't cried yet. I'm amazed.

That's our first day with Camille. Hope you enjoyed reading it!