Bird and Flower Market

Today we went to the Bird and Flower Market near our hotel.  The actual market is being rebuilt so we walked through a bunch of scattered groupings of stalls.  You could buy flowers and birds, of course, as well as bunnies, puppies, turtles, squirrels, and kittens.  There were some handcrafts and art for sale. Actually, you could really find a little bit of everything, but small pets seemed to be the main theme.  We bartered for a few items and walked to McDonalds for lunch.  I can't wait to be back in the states and go to Panda Express for lunch instead.

All of this was done in a drizzly rain that bothered the locals much more than it did us.  The slightest mist around here makes people bust out umbrellas like torrential rains are pouring from the sky.  I tried to tell our guide, who was conscientiously holding an umbrella over me, that the drizzle didn't bother me.  However, not covering the baby with an umbrella was not an option.  He continued to follow me around with an umbrella flung in my face.  Since he is shorter that I am, I had to duck to see where I was going. This would have been fine except people on scooters share the sidewalks with us. It is hard to dodge a scooter while hunched over and pushing a stroller at the same time.  I am sure it was quite a sight and I regret I have no pictures to share of this event.  On the positive side, I couldn't see anyone staring at us, though I'm sure we got more stares than ever.

Declan is turning into quite the older brother.  He gets toys for Reagan, even keeping track of where Reagan has thrown them and retrieves them for him.  He is wanting to be held by Billy now and even let Grandma take him in her lap for a little while.  Declan is a big cuddler first thing in the morning.  He isn't talking much, but is understanding a few English words now.  He is also starting to want to please us and we are making a big deal of this!

We ordered our dinner in the hotel room tonight.  The boys have a hard time being out so much and the room service here is pretty good and comparable to restaurant prices.  We had already noticed that Reagan has a pretty advanced sense of humor for a child that is not yet 2 years old.  Still, tonight he surprised us.  Cameron, who was enjoying his meal and Sprite, let a huge burp fly.  Reagan burst into giggles.  You know how small children laugh half through their noses when they are really tickled about something?  Well, he laughed and laughed like that.  Next, he started mimicking the burp.  "Braaap!" giggle, giggle, "Braaap!" more giggles.  Cameron managed to produce a small encore for Reagan and he laughed all over again and then gave Cameron a look of complete and utter adoration.  So there you have it, Folks! We're bonding over belches in Kunming.  It ain't pretty, but it's getting the job done.