keeping warm

Ok, so I have one more picture to post before we leave tomorrow morning. It's gotten colder here, so of course, it's colder in our refrigerator-of-a-house, too. We try to layer Grace up as much as possible and still allow her to move! Here she is bundled up with her dollies. She was very concerned that they be covered up with the blanket, too, of course.

Unfortunately, Kevin somehow got strep throat for the second time in a month, but the antibiotics are working. Grace seems to be feeling better today, too. We'll start taking off all our layers as we land in Bangkok tomorrow!

perhaps my most random post ever

It seems I'm quite the slacker at blogging lately. Probably because there hasn't been too much worth blogging. We've been dealing with the normal winter sicknesses and are ready to head south on Tuesday for warmer weather! Our winter is not really all that cold (we've been in the low 40's), but with no central heating and with our little concrete-block apartment, it feels like we live in a refrigerator! I've been living in my bathrobe at home (for warmth!), and tonight I could see my breath in my kitchen.

But, our highlight over the past week definitely was getting to see Uncle Larry and Aunt Jeanette! They came to visit their son (Kevin's cousin) Jeff and his wife Amy. The other day, Kevin went traveling with them all, and they ended up at a "monkey park" of sorts. Apparently, these monkeys are CRAZY and will come and steal anything out of your pockets. Everyone had to make sure they didn't put their hands in their pockets or there would be trouble from a hyper monkey. Here's Kevin feeding some of them.

The tour guide gave her speech, then in English would declare herself, "monkey mommy." She apparently was quite the personality, giving all sorts of karaoke presentations while on the boat ride. Who couldn't use a little karaoke with their monkey tour?
Very random, but aren't these countryside girls too cute?
The other morning, Grace woke up but didn't want to get out of bed. She just wanted me to bring each and every baby doll/stuffed animal she owned so she could put them in her bed! I really am amazed every day at what's coming out of her mouth. She can count and put sentences together now in both languages.
And lastly, yesterday we had a surprise party for Amy's 24th birthday! It was girls' night out, and I had more fun than I've had in a long time. It included Japanese food, pedicures, chocolate cake, and hot coffee WHILE we were having our pedicures. It was quite fun!
I think that concludes the random tour through our week. I hope to be blogging next from sunny Thailand!!

make-over gone bad

As you can tell, we supervise her very closely. :) She managed to do this in 2 minutes flat.

Yes, I've been scrubbing lipstick out of her coat for quite a while today.

reality

So I just have to vent something... I've had a head-knowledge about some of the injustices that happen where I live. Today, it hit me in the heart. As I was waiting for a repairman to come by today to fix our never-ending leaks, a friend was at my house. Suddenly, two additional women were at the door. I had no idea who they were and thought they came to fix my leaks, but my friend quickly told me they were part of another office within our apartment complex. In essence, it's an office concerned with p0pulation contr0l. (You might be wondering what these ladies were doing here; in essence, they heard we were home and came to gawk at the foreigner baby.) Anyhow, when they left, I asked my friend a few more questions, just out of curiosity. My friend wears her heart on her sleeve, and I could tell something was eating at her. Next thing I knew, she was tearing up and sharing with me about how her sister-in-law, at 7 months pregnant, was forced to have an abortion because she already had 2 girls. I know this happens here, but her story still made me absolutely furious. This happened a few years back, but to my friend, the wound was obviously still pretty fresh. She said, "it's just the way things are here." My friend is a C, and the only thing I knew to say was I was so sorry and that one day we'd be able to meet that baby. One of these days, the Ancient of Days will make things right.

family trip

We had a great time on our latest family trip. It's getting much easier to travel with Grace. For that, I am thankful!!

In the countryside, no problem getting a taxi. Just hop into one of these 3 wheeled-vehicles for 1 rmb (about 13 cents), and you can get anywhere in town. Grace LOVES riding in these.
One of the nice things about the open-seating is you can wave to anyone driving behind you.
Meat for sale!!
Grace's interpretation of the Asian squat. The locals here laugh when they see her doing it.

afternoon porch play

We have a very girly-girl on our hands. Every afternoon now, we have a little ritual. We have to drag Grace's table and chair out to the porch and play with her newest dolly from Granna and Papa. She calls all dolls "mei mei" which means little sister. I didn't think she would get this enthralled with dolls at 18 months, but there you have it. Thanks to Aunt Angela, we now have the complete kitchen set with which to feed said doll each afternoon!


Stirring to prepare the food for dolly...
Being ever so careful as to get it properly in her mouth...

more fun with Papa and Granna

Well, my parents left today to head back to America. I was sad to see them go, but we had such a blast while they were here! We are blessed to have parents who will endure countless plane rides, jet lag, and sore backs from carrying so much luggage for us. My dad really did hurt his back, but thankfully he got some great (and cheap) massages over here to help his sore muscles.

My parents also kept Grace while I travelled with Kevin and had my first ever night apart from Grace. I think it went pretty well! At least they were still smiling when we got home.

I've attached some (out of order) pictures of our time together.


Grace really enjoyed snuggling with Granna and Papa.
One of the many great things about my dad is he loves to try any kind of new food! We have this little tradition of going to Asian Wal-Mart together and picking out the weird snacks. This time my dad really enjoyed aloe-flavored milk, unusual chips including lychee-flavored, candied jujubees, and of course all the fun fresh fruit! Here my dad is peeling a dragon fruit, one of his new favorites. Too bad that although fruit here is so cheap, this would cost an arm and a leg in the US.
Here's our Christmas Day meal. Thanks to many imported items and food Mom and Dad brought, we had ham, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, jello salad, cheese ball, and pecan pie.
Grace hamming it up on the back porch...
Happy 2008!

It's been fun to watch Grace learn to pretend play. She loves feeding and changing her dolls. Lately, she's also enjoyed dressing up. The other day, she kept bringing clothes to my mom to put on her. Then she had to look in the mirror at the ensemble. She's quite a nut!
This morning, Grace looked in the mirror and said "Gwace" and then pointed to herself and told me her nickname in Asianese: "Hui hui." I didn't know she knew her Asian name yet. She's picking up Asianese fast and learning new words every day.
On New Year's Day, we had lunch with some local friends who also have a daughter around Grace's age. They had her all dressed up in traditional clothing for the New Year! We ate a traditional New Year's Day feast, hot pot.

Mom and Dad also went to Grace's little preschool class. They are really good sports!