Shaolin Temple

Mr. Milo had an AWFUL night's sleep last night. He kept us up from 2:00-6:00 am off and on. We are all so tired today! I just can't figure out what's wrong with him. He cries in his sleep and it's heartbreaking! I don't know if it's because he doesn't breathe well, or if he's in pain, or if there's another possibility we haven't thought of yet. Here he is at 8:30 finally fast asleep...right as we're supposed to go down to meet our guide. Darn!

The Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Chinese Buddhism and Kung Fu. It is in Milo's province, so of course we wanted to go for a visit! It was a long car ride up the mountain, but very beautiful. There are thousands of Kung Fu students studying in nearby towns. It was awesome to drive by and see some of them out practicing!

Outside the front gates of the temple

 

We started out by going to a Kung Fu show. It was seriously AMAZING, but no photography was allowed. We really loved it, though!
This is the entrance to the actual temple. The temple was first built in 450 AD! SO old!

One of the guardians of the temple

 

The backside of Pagoda Forest. This is where Buddhist Masters were buried.

The front of Pagoda Forest. There are 228 stone pagodas. Very impressive!

While we had fun at the Shaolin Temple, it was also very stressful. Sightseeing with a baby is not as carefree as sightseeing as a couple. Plus, the Chinese people can be quite critical of everything about the way we parent, particularly the clothing issue. They dress kids VERY warmly in China. Much more than we do in the U.S.  The first few days I took it in stride, but as Milo blew out a diaper today amidst other chaos, I could have done without the criticism.
 

Little man is continuing to do so, so well! Other than weird sleeping at night, everything is going great! He is making more and more eye contact and gives smiles freely! Two huge milestones for today are that he got fussy while awake wanting food and he also rejected a few ounces of a bottle when he was full! WAHOO!! Little man is starting to trust that he'll get fed when he needs it! 

 

Here are some pictures during today's exercise time! I took all his clothes off just to spite all the people at the temple telling me he was too cold. Ha!

I was trying to take a picture of him sucking on his toes, but he was too busy smiling at me :)

The next pictures are of our skinny little Chinese acrobat hard at work! 

 

It's such an amazing joy to watch this little guy come out of his shell and start to experience life!!