100 Days
The morning of Amanda's 98th day, I met Yang and Lydia in south Beijing at the secondhand car market to transfer our small car title from Yang to Lydia. This is probably worthy of a post on its own. Let's just say it's been a 2.5 year process to do the transfer so that I can eventually get a new car. With the transfer, we had to give up the car's iconic black plate. Foreigner registered cars prior to 2008 had them and made us feel a bit "special".
In the late afternoon, we took Amanda to a photo studio for the official 100 day photos. In the studio room next to ours, another 100 day baby was crying. Amanda was doing so well, until she wasn't, and then we had a chorus of cries. We got through three of the five sets and then booked another appointment a week out.
Today, Amanda actually turned 100 days and here that's a milestone day. The tradition is some kind of feast with family and friends. We went to the Taco Bar. Taco Bar used to be a regular weekend lunch spot for us but turns out we haven't been there since pre-covid times. It's claim to fame is having the most authentic taco truck style tacos in town. It used to be hard to get a table on the weekend however this weekend wasn't crowded. Kids speculated that it was because of a popular video on bilibili where a man did a tear down on how expensive and unauthentic it was. Or maybe fewer foreigners are around. Who knows.
We had a small party. Yang, Aidan, Lydia, Elisa, Sabrina, and me. And of course Amanda. We all got a three taco plate and it tasted as good as I remember it. Amanda was passed from sibling to sibling. Yang, Aidan, and Lydia leave for Toronto in a week. These moments of siblingness will decrease. We topped off the lunch with cupcakes.
As I reflect on 100 days, what comes to mind is how hard the first 10 days are and how at 57 I don't have the same energy I had at 37 (when Aidan was born). I am grateful Amanda is doing so well, sleeps well at night, and is active when she's awake. That she is getting so strong. She cries a fair amount but no more. It's as if she has a quota. I am grateful Sabrina has been doing so well as the primary care giver. I'm grateful that I could take the first month off to bond and help. I wish I could have taken more time off.
At 100 days, Amanda spends most of her time at home with Sabrina. We all walk together every night and there seems to be a vaccine appointment every other weekend. Amanda's awareness is growing. She looks for Sabrina. She engages in baby talk with me. She likes music and movement.
Most of all, she is loved and learning to love.