Feb 3rd: Poppy and CC arrival day

2.3.2012

Instead of having them navigate China at midnight with no Chinese, David went to the provincial capital to greet Poppy and CC, spend the night, and then fly here on the third. We are so glad he did this to help things go smoothly, because there was a big hiccup with the tickets that took some maneuvering. But it all worked out in the end.






The first time we let Sophia help feed Tobin. She wants to help do EVERYTHING. Which is good, but sometimes I have to say no.




reading to CC.


Giving gifts to Poppy and CC.


And they SHOWERED us with gifts. So generous.


some of the faves were these incredible dress up dresses.


sweetness


I LOVE this pic.



David and mini-David.


we are a wolfpack family. Go NC State.



CC started helping out right away.


We went outside and showed them how Sophia could ride, and Bella could ride her car.



bedtime. So glad Poppy and CC arrived safely!

Random pics: piano, hands, strawberries

These are random from the end of January:


He likes to play the piano..


stronger and stronger he stands.


But his hands!
These and his eyes are his most talked about features. His hands are big and meaty.

apparently in this pic he had a cold/runny nose.


Bella draws while Sophia helps me take the leaves off of the strawberries. Strawberry season will end soon. I need to buy a ton and freeze for our green smoothies.

Brain dump

I cannot wait to post pics and happenings from Poppy and CC's trip, but it may be awhile and may take awhile. Until them, I will offer a little brain dump...

1. Bella took to Poppy and CC way better than I expected. She LOVED their visit. Sophia was the one who talked it up the most, we knew she would enjoy them (and she did). Tobin, the chill baby, was also thankful for lots of attention, during their visit his babbling increased, he really started waving 'bye bye', his babbling increased to real mimics of sounds, and he got a new tooth for a total of 2.
   
2. I planned long ago to do a post on our growth (coming full circle somewhat) in figuring out nutritional health and exercise for me personally and our family as a whole, we are still growing and learning here, and loving the process. It involves Kettle bells and Kefir, and lots more. Hopefully the post will come soon?!!!
   
3. David and I both are doing a new (to us) Bib reading plan this year. It seems like a ton but we are loving it. We read in 9 different places (9 chapters a day), the original 'Horner plan' is ten, but David tweaked it a little. I thought this would overwhelm me, but what it has done is made me know 'I need' to read before I do anything else (computer, etc.). This may seem a little like doing it because 'I need to' instead of 'want to' but it is both. It makes me choose better. I am reading the word more and it is feeding the desire too. It also is refreshing, I don't get bogged down by reading 3-4 chapters in Leviticus at one time. I usually don't get it all done in one sitting, it is great to start and end the day with the word, something I was rarely doing. I hope I stick with it, but if not, it has served me well so far this year. I really am LOVING it.
   
4. I am laughing out loud nightly as I read Anne of Green Gables, I forgot how truly funny these books are. Incredible writing.
5. We introduced Poppy and CC to Blokus, and we all became addicted. CC won in the end even though she claimed to have no strategy. Poppy got into his grove by the end and would have walloped us all had he started that way...when we meet again I predict he takes us all to task. By the last night my exhaustion set in (my excuse)...I started strong and got worse at the game each night. David held steady and strong for a good second place finish.
6. This will be the first year in all 7+ of us being here that I will have stayed in China for a full year. We always would have meetings, visa runs, children to birth, that kept us in and out a lot. Thankfully we are settled in. Next trip out of country for the whole family is in July. We are so thankful for this.
7. However, we will travel within country to renew Sophia's passport and hopefully visit some friends. Sophia turns 5 in June, you are supposed to renew it six months in advance (already passed), we hope to do this in the next few weeks.
   
8. Our intended destination for the passport renewal has starbucks, subway, and best of all IKEA!!!
   
9. This year David and I will have been married 9 years!!! Married life just gets better and better.
   

Eager Anticipation

I really wanted to blog this before Poppy and CC arrive. The girls have been SO excited about their coming. They tell everyone they know (and even a few people they don't) that their 'yeye and nainai' are coming! Even Bella has spoken with eagerness about them coming. People then ask 'what will you do with them?' The girls reply: 'we will play with them'. Sophia even prayed one night that they would not forget their swimsuits! It has been so fun to see their excitement every day as they count them down. Thank you Poppy and CC for traveling so far to see us!!! We cannot wait to see you!

On the plane going to Beijing!

Chinese New Year's Eve

1.22.2012

We had a good 36 hours of reprieve from sickness. This was really perfect timing. On New Year's Eve we were able to go out to our friends' house in the village and spend time with them. We then returned and did our own fireworks. We put the kids to bed by 8 p.m. (party poopers). But we knew the night would be a loud one. Thankfully all of the neighbors in our building were away, so the tradition of lighting a gazillion fireworks outside your door at midnight (in the stairwell), did not rock our building like last year. But it was still loud. The girls woke up and we let them get up and went and watched the fireworks show from our windows. It was lots of fun, they loved it. After they were back in bed, about an hour later, Bella started getting sick and it lasted all night. The next day Tobin followed suit, and I too was not immune though it affected me in a different and longer-lasting way (fever, chills, aches). David nursed our family for four+ days. This too was perfect timing. And we were so thankful David did not get sick!
Almost everyone is completely well, and we eagerly anticipate the arrival of Poppy and CC, in less than two days!!!

Meanwhile, our pics from New Year's Eve day and evening:


helping sweep the porch.


David and mini David chat it up in the kitchen with the dad and mom while they cook us dinner.


It was yummy food. Bella ate some from every dish. At first we thought maybe this is what made her sick, but since everyone got sick (and we all did not eat the food, Tobin for example), we knew it was the virus that started with Sophia.


The window into their house.


hanging the gordes out to dry


playing with all the stools


The goat is a favorite...

He really is kind of cute



Mommy and son.






we went across the street to play a game. This involves money. Also known as gambling. The big bro from the house we were at kept giving them money to play...they won him some too.








when we started fireworks, Bella started serious whines. She does not like the loudness.


She let the Mama put her on her back and Bella was fine, covering her ears the whole time.


These were loud and David had fun figuring out how much damage they would do to bottles and other things.



we went home and continued to light our fireworks, sparklers, etc. Everyone was out and about so it was fun.



too cute to pass up...


Happy New Year!
Hoping yours was a lot quieter and less eventful than ours!

Chinese New Year: around town

1.21.2012
David touched down to one sick child. Sophia was better the next day, just not eating, and so we rode around town to see everyone out preparing for the New Year. This was New Year's Eve Eve. We bought our share of big, loud fireworks, and some pretty ones too.


The center of town, people going in every direction, it does make driving any type of vehicle here a little difficult and scary.


This boy is a charmer.


Soph with her Roman Candles.


On the verge of a tantrum.


We found an open restaurant and the waitresses immediately took our kids...normal.



they went and showed them some puppy dogs.


the bamboo motorcycle is always a hit.


'mommy, you drive the moto'


these people brought their dog to the restaurant, also very normal. This one just happened to be a big dog.




the girls loved playing the various drums and cymbals around the restaurant.


these girls used their phones to take lots of pictures of the kids.
We had a good day. Sophia still wasn't eating, but she was feeling better.