Christmas Music Class

Every week Will and I go to a music class for toddlers. I love it and so does Will- its our special mommy and Will outing. It so cute they play instruments, sing songs with motions, read a story, and play with a parachute. Around Christmas the teacher did a special Christmas music class and Dads were able to come because it was on a Saturday. Here are a couple shots from the morning.

                          Running from the bubble "snowflakes" and having a great time. 
Dads were enlisted to be reindeer for the sleigh ride. It was so funny. This room with like 15 Dads with antlers pulling kids in plastic tubs.

Fun with instruments.

Merry Christmas!

Lots of pictures to update from the last couple weeks but for now we will leave you with a Merry Christmas greeting from Will. :)

Our favorite blue guy

This might look like blue gumby to you but to us here this is HaiBao (Hi-bow (like bow wow) ). He is the mascot for the upcoming world expo and he is EVERYWHERE.  We see him on subways, tv, parks, supermarkets, elevators, you get the idea. Well they must have done some market research because the kids love this guy- and our Will is included- every time he sees him he excitedly says "Rai Row!" (that's Haibao in his language) One time we were having some friends over for dinner and when they rang up from downstairs I looked at Will and asked "Who do you think is here?"- "Rai Row" was his answer. Not sure this guy makes house calls, but there will be a miniature version of him under the tree this year, so Will can play with him anytime. :)

Will is doing much better!...so we put up the tree.

I realize that I need to update from my last post lest you think Will is still sitting on the couch all lethargic like my last post. He recovered in a few days but was still contagious so we had to keep him quarantined (he did pass it to a few friends I'm afraid- sorry Monica and Gina). SO Will was feeling much better but we were stuck inside so... we put up the Christmas tree! Before Thanksgiving I know I know but let's be honest its a little depressing on Dec 26 after Christmas and so this way we can enjoy it longer. Here are a few shots from the event. :)

When we took the tree out Will was really not into the tree at all. This shot was taken by me telling Will- "Will just touch the tree. Touch the tree." So definitely posed.

This is what Will asked to do for most of the time the tree was going up- "uh uh" he says as he makes the sign for eating.

This was taken to show you how very far from the tree action he was- he even had his back turned- ha ha.

However.... as the  ornaments started to go up he suddenly got very interested and wanted to help.  So cute.... and lasted for about 9 minutes before returning to snacks, but here are some shots from that brief window of interest.
So we have the apartment all decorated and haven't even made my Thanksgiving dishes yet- its great! You should all try it. :)

Here We Go Again....

Many of you may know that our family has had a surprising number of random medical issues this past year.  (Seriously two of us have met our deductible). But anyway, as you can see from the picture- it is Will who has fallen ill with hand, foot, mouth disease- yes that's correct you read it right. I thought that this was common everywhere but I think maybe only those of us who live in asia are more familiar with it. I'll spare you the details but it involves painful blisters in the mouth, hand, and yes feet you guessed it.  Today he seems to have turned a corner so we're hoping that it won't be long until he's feeling like this again.............................

(sorry Will- your father thinks I'm horrible for posting this picture- but I couldn't help it)

A Quick Getaway

Last weekend we went for a quick getaway to our favorite city in China- Hangzhou. It has this beautiful Lake in the middle and that's where we spend most of our time. There aren't many places here that I would say oh I love being outside- but Hangzhou is definitely one of them. We rented bikes and rode around the lake and paid the equivalent of 25 cents to rent them- crazy!  Anyway- we aren't the best picture takers- I often defer to others with cameras when I'm in groups and say- oh send me a copy (like that ever happens)- or I just don't want to stop what I'm doing to take a picture- however this time we were really good about taking pictures. So here a bunch of pictures from the weekend (too many maybe?). :)

Halloween

Ok, can anyone seriously deny that this is the cutest Lion they've ever seen?

Ok, so just incase you're not convinced yet, here is compelling evidence: a video, where he roars the cutest lion roar you've ever heard. Sadly, I (Den), like an idiot, filmed the video sideways (I had just been taking several vertical photos to try to get his whole costume). So please either flip your computer screen on it's side, or kindly tilt your head 90 degrees to the left, and enjoy the show...

Happy 1 Year Homecoming Will!

We celebrated one year with our precious little boy. (We are a little late posting it but better late than never). On October 1st 2007 we first met Will in a little conference room in an orphanage in TaiPei Taiwan. I can still remember so clearly how nervous I was when I saw his little face. I had read lots about adoption but didn't know anything about being a mom (I think I called my mother that first week and asked how much should a nine month old be eating!) The start of our time together was many sleepless nights (lots of night wakings) but slowly he trusted us more, slept better, and smiled and laughed with greater frequency.  I can't believe how much he has changed in just a year.  He loves life, laughing, giving snuggles and kisses, playing with his friends, jumping, dancing(well rocking side to side), roaring like lion, whew.. he keeps us moving. We are so thankful for the amazing gift of him- we simply cannot imagine life without him.  So Will- happy 1st Homecoming Day- we love you!

The first moment meeting Will.

  So little!

Now here is our little string bean today- look at those long legs!
We had a little homecoming day celebration with some friends at our favorite Taiwanese restaurant here- so yummy and yes a little crazy as the picture looks. Can you find Will?

New Raincoat (well first one ever) Isn't he cute?!

My Minivan

As a mom living here I can sometimes lament that I don't have a minivan where I can strap Will in and he will just sit contentedly as I travel to lets say the grocery store then afterwards strap him in again while I load the groceries in the trunk.  Now I know in reality its probably not as simple as that but when you are traveling home on the subway or the bus or a taxi with squiggly kid and tons of groceries the idea of having a minivan sounds SO nice.  Well, when I set out to buy a new bike I had this in mind- let me introduce you to my china minivan. Will actually sits very contentedly in his bike seat pointing out the cranes he sees (he's very into these and with all the construction going on in this city- they are everywhere).  And I bought the biggest basket I could find to load my groceries in my front "trunk".  Seriously compared to other regular bikes on the street mine looks like a minivan- its huge. :) 

Doesn't Will look cute in his chicken coop helmet. He HATED the helmet at first- would scream whenever I put it on him. (People would look at me like "What are you doing to that child!" mind you most kids here don't wear helmets) But I am happy to say Will has made his peace with the helmet and will wear it without tears.

Day at the Park

A couple weekends ago we rode our bikes to a nearby park and spent the morning there. It was so so fun! The weather was beautiful. There is something about the seasons changing from summer to fall that just puts me in the best mood. This is definitely my favorite time of year- we get to be outside a lot and use our bikes, the bugs are leaving (so tired of finding them in my food in my cabinets!), and the holidays are just around the corner.  Here are some pictures from our day out.

Bubbles- usually a hit with the kids- as you can see here Will is asking for another cracker and ignoring the bubble. Basically these days his world revolves around the consumption of crackers and baby einstein videos. He starts asking as soon as he gets up in the morning.

They had these little motor boats (without an once of power steering- it was like bumper boats out there) you could rent in the park. Here is Will and Den driving the boat. 

GRASS!! I love when we get to be in the grass- living in a big concrete city this can be a rare occurrence.

Of course this park has its share of little kid rides. Will really wanted to go on this merry go round but of course once on it we couldn't get a good smile picture (the constant revolutions

adds a degree of difficulty)

 .

We weren't sure how Will would do with a picnic- he usually needs to be in a high chair to focus on eating- but he LOVED it. He loved the variety of food and loved getting to run off between bites and then come back for more.

Believe it or not this is actually Will smiling. He thinks smiling is synonimous with squinting his eyes.  (sorry couldn't rotate picture)

Me and my cutie!

Grandparents!

We certainly have been blessed to have both sets of grandparents visit in the last couple of months. Will is sooo spoiled now (thanks a lot :) hee hee) Den's parents left last friday and he is still asking us to pick things up for him that are 6 inches in front of him (this is a common thing that grandparents will do for a grandchild).  Thanks again to Grandma and Bampa, Grandmama and Granddaddy who traveled so far to see little ole us- we love you guys and so does the Will! We miss you. Here are some more recent pics.

This picture may seem random but Will is very into sitting on everything- be it a toy or your face- seriously consider it love if he walks up to you and sits on your face while you are reclining.

Baby Yoda. 

Some new additions

Lately we have some new additions around here- with the grandparents in town- here are a few pictures.

The rocking horse (Den's parents bought this for Will and he loves it!) - he rocks so hard the horse moves backwards as he goes.

Another thing is as he rocks he like to have his milk and blankets- but this does impede the rocking a little.

FISH! We went to the aquarium and Will loved it- everything on his level. We didn't bring any fish home though- as many of you know me and pets don't mix well together.

This may be difficult to see- but the scar on his nose is a new addition- Will had a nasty fall and so has his first scar at 19 months- sniff sniff.
Will's blankets: All of a sudden Will has decided to bond with two blankets- he carries them around all day- dragging them behind him. Its so cute but of course he gets upset when they can't go outside or in the high chair or in the bath with him. I know life is tough for a one year old :).