Yea Taipei!

At the beginning of the month we got the chance to return to Taipei, Will's birth city. Before we went we talked up the trip a lot to Will- we taught him to say "Yea Taipei and put his hands in the air" (we have been back a month and he still says it). We were so looking forward to the trip and getting to do lots of things with Will there that we weren't able to do when we were there a year and a half ago meeting Will for the first time.  (Basically we were sleep deprived and overwhelmed and didn't get out that much).  So I planned some jam packed days of sight seeing and culture learning. Here are a few pics from our time there.  

This is Taipei 101 the world's tallest standing building (for now). And it is by far the tallest building in Taipei- I think by some 50 0r 60 stories.

This is Will flying high at the Chiang Kai Shek memorial. 

Taipei has an amazing zoo- I think that was Will's favorite part. 

These paintings were done by a local artist- so pretty- we bought a few.
This is will eating Taiwanese beef noodle soup. These noodle shops are everywhere!
Taipei is famous for their night markets which have all kinds of food and drinks to sample and shopping. They are all over the city. This is at the Shilin night market, probably the most famous one in Taipei. Here we are with our friend Grace (she was in Taipei at the same time too).  Will is drinking a watermelon shake (barely put it down). I have stinky tofu in my chopsticks (another Taiwanese specialty)- Will and I both tried it- and lets just say the name really says it all- so stinky we could both only eat one bite. But hey we tried it right?
It got so crowded at the market so this was the best way to move Will through the crowds.

It was a great trip (we have plenty more pictures- but I'll spare you).  Will sometimes still points out the window and says questioningly "Taipei? I think he had a great time. :)

Look at my big boy :)

Will is getting so big I can't believe it! 

But he will still always be my little boy..............

This is How Will prefers to be carried these days...

even if he is just going to the bathroom to get his teeth brushed he says up pe de (upside down)

GO Heels!

Well this is a little late to post- but the excitement of winning the national championship has still not worn off here.  We were so excited that we got to watch the game live streamed through the internet. Thank you March Madness on Demand!  We had our fellow Carolina family here, the Swems, over all of us dressed in our Carolina blue. It was a great! Not sure the kids understood what was going on but they loved the excitement, and the cake.

I made this cake the last time we played and won the national championship so the carolina cake has become a tradition now.  
Jenny and Vera with Will and I.  Aren't they cute carolina kids ? :)
Family pic  (a rarity it seems for us to take a picture together). Will too busy with the cake.
Cake for breakfast... he loved it! (remember the game aired at 9am our time).

Dennis had the idea to proudly hang our carolina flag (blanket) - we were hoping that people might ask- hey what's with the blanket and we could boast of our tarheels, but......
Here is what the blanket looks like from the ground. Doesn't have the same affect when you live in a 30 story apartment building that is one of many.  Further complicating our plan is that everyone hangs laundry to dry- so it didn't look like anything special- but we knew the real reason. :) 

Hope you Carolina fans all had a great time!

Happy Easter

A little late in posting but hope you had a great Easter celebration. Here are a couple of pictures from our Easter weekend festivities.

On Saturday night we our good friends over- Robert and Jane and their son Richard. I wanted to cook a traditional Easter dinner which I believe is ham, but after scouring the city we decided that steak was in fact more traditional (and available). They loved the food- esp the green bean casserole.  

Robert has always wanted to try apple pie because he has heard the phrase "As american as apple pie" and it piqued his interest. Here he is digging into the apple pie I made. This is the first pie I have made in our 5+ years of marriage- it may be another 5 before I attempt it again- it takes a long time to make!
On Sunday we gathered with other families and did an easter egg hunt. It was really fun to see all the kids running around.  Will kinda got it- we had to point out the eggs to him but once he figured out there was candy inside he caught on.


Most of the kid crew for the easter egg hunt- there are a few wanderers that didn't make the picture. After the hunt we all had dinner together- papa john's pizza- a real treat here- how's that for traditional. 
This Easter we are thankful for so many good gifts. Hope you had a wonderful day!

P.S. I have a ton of pictures to post- so I promise to post more frequently- ok I said it now I am committed.

Making Pizza

We love pizza and have tried many different pizza restaurants in the city. Papa John's is here but too expensive. And this little pizza place hello pizza was decent but we were outraged to learn they one day up and doubled the cost of their little pepperoni pizza. How could they? So we have been making our own at home- a lot easier than I would have thought and its great fun. Here are a few shots from out last pizza making. As you can see Will's favorite part by far is eating the toppings as he goes. I could hardly get him to look up at the camera.  

This is the face he gave me when I asked him to smile. 

The latest on Will

Hi all, so as usual its been awhile since I've posted so I wanted to give you the latest on Will (cause I assume that's mostly why you check this blog :) ).  Anyway, he is doing great- and growing quite the sense of humor (I love seeing what 2 year old find funny).  A couple of recent shots of him below.  

Will is still in his crib but I am thinking of moving him to a toddler bed- so I have been trying him out with a pillow and comforter in his crib and he loves it! (se pics below)- or course this is really just play time- during the night he is all over the place. I guess we all at one point learned to stay put while sleeping- how does that happen when we are unconscious? 

Also- Will loves to eat vegetables! I know this is a lucky thing that I am sure will not last his whole childhood so that is why I am documenting him eating green veggies. So, when he is 8 and complaining I can show him the pictures of how much he loved them. (note. I am not really expecting this will work with an 8 year old but its worth a try)

Also, I am trying to do more arts and crafts projects with Will. But it seems his favorite part is not the actual creation of the art but showing everyone over and over his completed works. His attention span for art is like 5-15 minutes and then he's done. But he can show Daddy, me and anyone else who comes over his artwork- he points proudly to everything we have displayed. Our little narcissist. :)