Baiyun Mountain with Daddy

I wasn't there. I had a doctor's appointment. But it looked like fun. It looked pretty. I'm not jealous that I spent the whole time at the hospital where they essentially told me to wear a coat and come back tomorrow for more tests. Lame. But what a fun day for them!

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New Digs

Because this week was not crazy enough, we moved. To keep it brief; we love it here.

The place is bigger.

The area is SO QUIET!

I have a bigger kitchen.

We have a second bathroom.

We are closer to the hospital.

It is a lot less formal and so feels like an apartment instead of a hotel that I don't belong in.

And for those of you who are concerned that I lost my amazing view, don;t worry. In this place we face a big hill that is covered in trees. It's not a lake, but the swaying trees are very relaxing.

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Nook

One of my presents deserves it's own post. Joe bought me a Nook for Christmas! I have been completely negligent of all my duties since. I love my Nook! How have I been living without books for these last 4 months? I have a new sense of life and excitement. The best part is that several of my friends also go them so now we share books and actually have things to talk about that aren't "how much I miss ___ from home." I LOVE IT!

Christmas Day

What can I say, it was awesome. Stacie stayed the night and we filled the stockings and ate treats and made sure that everything was ready for when Avery came out Christmas morning. She did not disappoint; she walked out, came straight to me and asked for a nummie. No interest in the shiny packages, no worries about what was filling her stocking, just wanted a treat. When I showed her that her stocking did indeed have treats in it, well she grabbed the first sugary snack she could and then lost interest in anything else we wanted to do. She eventually realized that the shiny packages frequently were new toys for her and so she warmed to the idea of opening presents after a while. We saved her rocking elephant to the very end because we knew, and were right, that after that all else would disappear for her.

The day was spent enjoying our new toys and watching movies. We went to a friend;s house that evening for a crepe party and sadly I forgot to take any photos. But I can not tell you how wonderful it was to have crepes filled with berries and ice cream. It was truly a wonderful holiday.

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Snickerdoodles and the Cookie-Dough Monster

Do have any treats that you love that you never make yourself? I don't know why we do this, but I think everyone does have one of these. It's like we save it for only special occasions when someone else makes it for us. For me this is snicker doodles. However, moving to the other side of the world and trying to create a Christmas feeling in a country that does not even know why we have Christmas makes you do things you do not normally do. So, I made snicker doodles for the first time. Oh, my, were they yummy! I don't know why I avoided it for so many years. Avery was kind enough to help me roll them into balls and sugar coat them, and it was at this time that I discovered something about Avery; while she does not love cookies, she LOVES cookie dough. I could not keep her hands out of the bowl! I finally had to banish her from the kitchen because every ball she was supposed to roll went straight into her mouth. Where does she get this? I don't particularly care for raw dough, and I don't know that Joe has ever had it. Where do kids learn this stuff?

ChimeLong With Daddy

What is it about a day with Dad that suddenly makes kids act on their best behavior? When I have taken Avery to the amusement park it has been a trial. I've tried twice and both times she cried as we approached almost every ride, she wanted to be held the whole time, and she would not get on anything by herself.

So

Joe has a day off and we decide to go as a family and see how she does. She does great. It's not that she was never scared, there we a few rides she would not go on. But for the most part she was happy to sit on the rides and wave and smile like the big girl that she is. She wanted to run around and snack on the popcorn, she was good when strangers took her pictures, it was a totally new experience. Why do they save all these good days for Dad?

We're Moving

Not back to the States, but we are moving none the less. The apartments that the school rents here for teachers will not be available after the new year, their new year. It seems that the Clifford group sold off this entire complex of buildings to a company that wants to use them for office buildings. So in January we get to pack up all of our belongings and move over to another complex on the other side of the Clifford compound. Joe is excited because it means that we are getting away from the park and all of its noise. I am sad because I will be beyond huge at that point and packing up our meager belongings and moving up the block just seems annoying and there is no park by our new digs. Good because there will be less noise, bad because I will soon have two kids to entertain and Avery LOVES the park. It's a mixed bag, whatever. We have to move.

What I love about cooking

The smells. Whether I'm baking dessert or cooking up dinner, I love the smells when I cook. I made soup last night. We had a rare chilly day and I was feeling like I needed something a little toasty warm so I improvised a tomato-potato soup. While I was chopping the onion and the garlic and breaking open the green pepper for its turn I was overwhelmed by how good my kitchen smelled. I just sat there for a minute breathing in really deeply and letting it soak in. I am accosted daily by smells that I would prefer to never smell again and so cooking always brings me to a happy and familiar place. And it is always even more satisfying when the food turns out well.

The soup was SUPER easy. I chopped:
1 clove of garlic
2 Tb. of red onion
1 small green pepper
1 large potato
1 large carrot
and sauteed that in a tablespoon of butter to make it all start smelling good. Then I dumped in one can of Campbell's tomato soup, plus its water, and then added another cup of water and a cup of milk. I decided I wanted the soup to be a little thicker so I added some flour paste while it all simmered and cooked the veggies until tender. Then just salt and pepper.

Once it was done Joe and I decided that it would have been even better with chicken or pasta added to it so I will do that the next time. I probably would substitute some chicken stock for some of the water, but I had none on hand.

After dinner my friend, Katie, came down and we made cookies. MORE good smells. We made Honey Spice Snaps (my Mom's favorite!) and started off eating them almost as fast as we baked them. The longer I am here the more I learn about how to make this apartment really feel like a home, my home, and cooking might be the biggest part of that.

Christmas is in the air

Or at least I am trying really hard to make it feel that way. In order to bring the Christmas spirit into our home we had a decorating party last night. Stacie and I started by heading into the city to collect the necessary items; a tree, ornaments, a wreath, a stocking, etc. It was many hours but our search was satisfactory.

Once we got home I made a new dessert for me, a plum cake tatin. When I said 'plum cake' to Joe I thought he would throw up. I don't know why the idea was so abhorrent to him, but he was not excited. Well, he should have been because it turned out DELICIOUS! It made the house smell yummy and gave us a treat to look forward to after our work.




After that we unloaded the tree, the first artificial one I have ever had, and got to sprucing it up. Avery thought it was fun until she found out that she wasn't supposed to pull all of the little green pieces off of the tree. But she was all over the decorations. She hoarded all of the pine cones so that we had to search through three rooms to find them all. We debated a lot on the type of ornaments to get, but we decided on pine cones and a lot of stuffed snowmen, Santas, reindeer, and bears. Nothing breakable this year because none of us trust Avery. We bought a long string of red beads to put around the tree and Avery was wrapped up in it about 3 minutes into decorating. I think she thought it was the worlds greatest necklace.


Stacie was a pro at lights and the like so that I didn't have to squat and lean and reach to terrible much. My stomach is feeling a mite heavy these days. She even got the wreath hung on the door so that anyone approaching our door can prepare for the festive feeling within.


We had Christmas music playing the whole time and hot chocolate to end the night. It was probably my favorite night so far in China.

HELP!

How do you keep a two year old clothed when she has learned to remove her clothes herself? I fight everyday to get Avery into her clothes and it takes more energy than I would like to admit to accomplish this small task. But now she knows how to take her clothes off without any assistance and I am left with the dilemma of constantly finding her like this throughout the day! The other day we literally did not leave the house to go ANYWHERE, even though I had many errands to run, because I could not keep clothes on her long enough to get out the door. What do you do at this stage? She hasn't learned shyness or modesty yet so she has no qualms about stripping off the offending items at the bus stop! Seriously, what do I do?

Harry Potter, Harry Potter!

We went to the movies! This is the first time we have made such a venture in China because it tends to be really expensive. Just the tickets are pricey, mind you, the food is dirt cheap. What a change from the U.S. If you want to buy the large popcorn and 2 large drinks combo then it will cost you 22 yuan. That is like three bucks. AWESOME! Anyway, the theatrer right next to us is actually quite cheap compared to the bigger places in the city, but it is kind of like a dollar theater. It plays much older movies and they are not often in English. But I guess Harry Potter is as big a deal here as it is in the states because it was here the same week as it was back home. Stacie kindly offered to babysit and Joe and I went out for a real date night. She even let us borrow her scooter so we could ride together like a cute couple. It was so great!

The movie was exciting, the company was fun, and I had no idea how much I missed the whole movie experience. It was a good night for all.

Thanksgiving Bust

There is no Thanksgiving in China, obviously. But I live in a place with enough westerners that some of the restaraunts provide a Thanksgiving dinner for a price. Joe and I were willing to pay the price to have a nice traditional turkey dinner, so last night we made our way to the restaraunt all giggly and excited. Okay, that was just me. Joe doesn't get excited over food.
They had the whole spread. There was turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, salad, corn bread, veggies, gravy, and pie. I have been here long enough that I should have known that just because something looks good and yummy doesn't mean that it is. The turkey was completely unseasoned, but it was nice and moist. The mashed potatoes had no salt, pepper or butter; and they were cold. The gravy was the WEIRDEST tasting gravy I have ever encountered. After 10 bites or so I still could not figure out what they had made it out of. After that I gave up on the potatoes. And for the bread, no butter. Hmph.
The only thing about the evening that made it even sort of worth it was the pie. Oh, the pie. It was pumpkin pie made from cooked down and processed pumpkin. There is no canned stuff here. It made the pie grittier than I am used too, a little stringy. But the flavor was so much richer than the pies at home. I am suddenly VERY inclined to make some myself. I may try to do the whole meal over myself. It will be quite the challenge with my tiny oven and limited materials, but I think that for the price we paid I could come up with a better spread. I'll let you know.

Working Girl

I have no photos, but Avery had her first modeling job yesterday. She was called in to do a shoot for a Chinese clothing line called Xiayidao and got to spend nearly 6 hours changing into almost 20 outfits. It was about as fun as it sounds. The saving grace of the day was when they turned on "Finding Nemo." After that they could change her clothes all they wanted and shoot photos all day. She watched the movie 3 times before the end of day. I think that it may have been harder on me physically then it was on her. My big and pregnant self spent the day sitting on prop chairs from kiddies and squatting down trying to get Avery changed as fast as possible, sitting in the right spot, facing the right way, etc. I feel like I've been hit by a car. Avery left the place happy and ready to ride the bus home while I left thinking that I may never go back. We'll see.

Relaxin'

This is one of Avery's new favorite things; watching movies in bed with Mommy and Daddy with some yummy popcorn. But you better let her hold the bowl or you are in for it. Unfortunately we have gotten into this little habit because Avery will not go to bed at night. We want to be resting so we just put her in bed with us so that we can lay down and relax. This is a phase that I am anxious to close.

Avery's New Best Friend

Her name is Axin (pronounced Ash-en). And she gives Avery pretty much anything she wants. Avery likes the Minnie toy in Axin's car, well, she can have it. Avery wants more frosting, no problem. Avery wants to pick flowers from a display that has guards all around it, that's fine. When I commented to Axin that she would give Avery anything she wanted, meaning that maybe she should NOT, she just said "I will! I love kids!" How could Avery not love her back?

What the heck?

It is 2:30 in the morning and I am awake because Avery is awake. This makes the 5th night in a row that she has woken up and decided that she either can't sleep in her own bed or she just can't sleep at all. What is going on? She has gone through phases like this before, where she just needs a couple of nights in Mom's bed and then she goes back to hers no problem. But this waking up at 10 and staying up past 3 is a little too much for me to handle right now. All this extra awake time just makes me realize that I actually do get hungry in the middle of the night. I guess most of the time I am too tired to be woken by the sensation.

AN OVEN!

I own one now!! It is not very big but it works! The same day that I bought it I made cookies. The next day I baked some chicken. And today I'm thinking apple crisp! I just might make it through the holidays now!

Swollen Feet=New Shoes

One of the perks of swollen feet (due to pregnancy) is the need to buy new shoes. I'll take any legit excuse! So my feet recently grew out of my only black dress shoes so I HAD to go and find a new pair. Not as easy as it sounds I am afraid. Luckily my feet have gone up to about a size 8, any bigger and there simply would not be any shoes for me to buy. Chinese women, and men for that matter, have tiny feet. There are more shoe stores here than I think I have ever seen in a city, but finding ones with out glitter, jewels, feathers, chains, or ruffles was nearly impossible. There is no such thing as a plain ans sensible shoe here. They all have some kind of bling. It is not a fashion trend I am really into. Luckily I finally found these little shoes with a simple flower detail. I LOVE them. Finding them was a relief on multiple levels. Better for my feet, more appropriate for my wardrobe, and affordable. Not everything in China a actually cheap.

Big Night Out

Joe took me out the other night. We took the bus into the city, saw some awesome lights, and then we went to dinner. Being here in China you may wonder where we chose to go on our big evening out on the town. Well let me tell you it was just about the yummiest dinner I have had in a month. We went to PAPA JOHN'S! Surprised? You should not be. Let me tell you why Papa John's is such a wonderful place. The pizza tastes just like it does in the states! Incredible! Good pizza is hard to come by here and it is never cheap. I realize that back home this might not be considered "good pizza" but when you are used to frozen crusts topped with tomato paste and toppings that vary from mushrooms to shrimp, clams and tuna, Papa John's becomes your new favorite place.

The American pizza chains that make it here to China look a little different than they do in the states. When you walk into a Pizza Hut or P.J.'s you see big stuffed chairs and wood tables, or nice booths and artwork making it feel like a real nice Italian place. Pizza is not something you just order up and have delivered here. It is a nice, sit-down-and-take-it-easy type of meal. The menu is a little different too. Along with pizza and cheesy bread you can order calamari and fried shrimp. As well as some skewers that looked a little too scary for me to try.

But the most important thing is that I could get REAL pepperoni pizza! Oh, the things I miss.

Halloween, Twice

We had two celebrations this year. The first was the ward party, the second was a bunch of western teachers that signed up to be part of a tick-or-treat list so the children here could actually go door to door begging for candy. Both turned out to be fun. No, not really. Avery didn't like wearing a costume all that much. She decided that she would tolerate it when I told her she could wear makeup. She hated the pinata at the ward party. All she would say when we got near it was "NO BOO!" She loved the candy people had, but she didn't want strangers putting it in her bucket. And she HATED, HATED, HATED people who opened their doors and yelled BOO! Honestly, she wanted to stop trick-or-treating after two doors. But like all parents eager for fun experiences and great photo ops, I made her continue. Not for long mind you, but just long enough for her to consume three suckers and then tell me she wanted her dad, who was at home passing out candy. Maybe next year she will get the hang of it. Or maybe I'll just have a child who never really wants to go trick-or-treating. Wouldn't that make you jealous Jenn?

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"Boops"

Have you ever walked into a store and seen something you just had to have? I don't mean that it was to-die-for cute, I see stuff like that all the time but I don't have to have it. But every now and then you see something that is so perfectly you, so perfectly priced, that you just must take it home. I wish I could say that this has happened to me lately; it has not. But it happened to Avery this week.

We went to the children's market to search out some winter clothing for Avery. I had a very specific list of pants and long-sleeve t's, and sensible shoes. I was not supposed to deviate from this list. I had a plan. Then we walked into the 4th, 5th, or 10th store of the day and Avery found these:

And that was that. She sat down, took off her shoes, and then she put on the "boops." Yes, that is what she calls boots. She was so excited that she just walked around the store pointing and her feet and laughing and saying, "Mommy, boops!" I know, it sound a little bad.

I tried to dissuade her. I tried to get her to try on some good tennis shoes in bright colors, some polka-dot Maryjane's for church, even boots in another color just to see how set she really was on these particular boots. She was dead set. To every option I offered she held up her feet and whimpered: "No mommy, my boops." So sensible "tennis shoes" was crossed off of my list and replaced with "boots." Does that count as sticking to the plan?

My little Pixie

Avery got her first REAL haircut. I have has to trim it here and there, in fact I did so just three weeks ago, but now it is CUT. Joe came home from work and told me he saw the cutest haircut on one of his students. Honestly, what guy notices that stuff. Anyway, it led to Avery sitting in front of a Mickey Mouse show while I chopped and layered her hair. It actually turned out to be a cute little pixie cut. Perfect since she is going to be one for Halloween.

I realize that this photo does not give a great close-up of the cut, but a profile shot is better than a full-face one if you want to see the full effect. That woman is Sam, my ayi. Avery is "helping" her make dumplings for lunch. Avery would take the completed ones off of the green tray and put them in the pan while sneaking bites of the yummy chicken filling from the bowl. Luckily Sam is patient.

Back to School

Joe and I started Chinese lessons last night. All I can say is AAAAAAAAAAAH! Chinese is hard. It is even harder when the whole language is about tone and Joe is completely tone deaf. REALLY tone deaf. It is funny and sad all at the same time.

Terrible Twos

Avery has them, or it, whatever word describes the fits she has been giving me lately. Her latest form of torture is her inexplicable inability to walk anywhere. I take her to the grocery, the zoo, the park, or even the hallway to take out the trash, whatever, and she has to be carried the whole time. I put her down because I feel like the baby in my belly is about to drop right out, and Avery stands there crying like I just left her alone on a desert island. If she does walk she does so like she is barefoot on glass. WHAT IS HER DEAL? If I thought going to the store or running errands was hard before I was so wrong. It is literally almost impossible to take her places if it is just the two of us. I need a back-up person to carry my toddler. It is a good thing she only weighs about 25 lbs.

Accident Prone

I don't know what it is about China, but Avery can not seem to make it through 2 days without getting injured. There was the three days in a row where she tripped and skinned her knees so that they had bloody scabs the size of silver dollars. Even now, three or four weeks later, her knees look like they have been zested. Then the other day she face planted into the pavement from the top of a bike rack and skinned her whole forehead and nose. Then a few days after that she pitched an almighty fit and sustained injuries to her nose. Just some scratches, but they are taking some time to heal. I'm still not even sure how she got them. I think she scratched herself or hit herself with the toy she had. I don't know. Then just yesterday, before any of the afore mentioned face injuries have healed properly, she slid off the couch and whacked her forehead into the coffee table. Now she has a big old lump, a purple bruise, and a gash right in the middle of her head. So much for her modeling career!

What a photo can't tell you

What you can see: A totally cute toddler in a Minnie Mouse backpack.

What you can't see: The backpack is full of all of the other purses she got for her birthday. She could not pick just one to take out for the day so Derek came up with the idea of putting all of the others into the backpack. Avery loves it. She can't leave home with out her pack of purses.

What you can see: Avery trying to climb up the bike rack like she always does.

What you can't see: The NASTY face plant she took into the pavement about 1.5 seconds after I snapped this picture. She was a trooper though. Almost no crying, but some bad scratches.

The Dessert

Joe mentioned in a post on facebook that he had the best dessert ever at this really terrible Japanese restaurant we went to. I could not verify his claim since I had to leave early with a screaming toddler so that the rest of the people could enjoy their dinner. I would also like to note that Joe never orders dessert when I am there. Rude. Anyway, we went back to the restaurant so that I could try this tasty treat.It was awesome. Let me describe: a hollowed out dragon fruit with chunks of Asian pear and dragon fruit in the bottom, top that with multiple flavors of ice cream top that with cream, then top it with golden raisins, and then cover the whole thing in strawberry sauce. YUM! I don't know if it was the best dessert ever, but it was dang good to me.

How could I forget?!

There is one gift that I forgot to put in the slide show of Avery's birthday and I can't believe I skipped it since it is her FAVORITE thing. I only forgot because we actually gave it to Avery a few days before her birthday since it was too hard to hide and she was SO EXCITED when she saw it. It is her very own...

COUCH! Given her by Grandma Texas and never was there a happier girl. First thing in the morning she wakes up and tells me she wants to sit with her babies in her "seat." When she takes a bottle she lays on her couch. When she watches shows she sits on her couch. When she is being silly she hides under the folding cushions. It is the ideal toy for her. Thanks, Grandma!

Chimelong Zoo

So I want to post about the zoo, I do. But my proxy server is being weird again and I can not post the slide show I made. Maybe later. Let me just say that it was the coolest zoo I have ever been to. It is BANANAS how close you get to the animals. We were there for 4 hours and saw one third of the park. We still have to go back and do the drive-through safari, the petting zoo (with baby tigers, I kid you not), and see the elephant and bird shows. There also are a bunch of rides for the kids that we totally skipped over. SO MUCH TO DO!

Avery's favorite things of the day included the meerkats, which she meowed at the whole time, anything that was a baby, which almost every animal had one of, and the giraffes. She has been asking for her "raffs" ever since we got back. It was awesome. And the elephants were so active and funny. They kept spraying water on people going by.

I can post again! Here is the slideshow!

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Avery's Birthday here in China

This slideshow is just of presents and candles. The fact is she spent the morning at the play place (like a Chuck E. Cheese) and then the evening was her party. And then the next day we took her to the zoo, but that is another slideshow.

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Yuixieu Park

We headed out to Yuixieu Park today for some fun and to enjoy the cooler weather while we can. Avery, being all girl, would not leave the house until she had her bow in her hair, her necklace on, and her purse on her arm. Needless to say she had me carrying nearly all of those things before we even left the subway. 2-year olds! P.S. This hair prompted a haircut that has left Avery with a much more manageable bob. It looks like it is windy, but it is not. Her hair was just that out of control.

The park was BEAUTIFUL. It was laid out much like the San Diego Zoo. Lots of lush greenery, sights to see and activities to do around each bend, and full of hills and staircases. I missed the memo about all of the climbing we were going to have to do at the park, but it was still so worth it.

There we so many little trails that veered off into quiet sitting areas, and then there was a kids amusement park with a water slide and a carousel. There were peddle boats and a sculpture garden. Our camera died nearly at the beginning, but we got what pictures we could. Avery had such a blast hiking up the stairs and then running down the hills. Joe and I just kept saying how we wished there were parks like this in the States. If there were, there is no way they would be free like they are here.

This statue is the 5 Ram Statue that is the symbol of the Asia Games this year. It was probably the biggest attraction at the park. It is a cool piece of work, but the climb to get to it was pretty intense, especially since I had to keep shoving people out of my way so that I could keep up with Joe who had Avery on his shoulders. All of the people kept pushing me so that they could get a picture of the tall white guy with the blond girl on his shoulders.

If you think that I have been bragging or exaggerating the amount of attention that Avery gets here in China, here is proof. I sat Avery and myself on a rock so that Joe could take our picture and we quickly attracted a whole crowd of photographers. Joe still took a picture, but it is of all of the people taking pictures of us. People were stopping us all day to ask to take photos with us and if Avery sat still for more than 30 seconds then this is what would happen. It got really bananas when people started sitting their babies next to Avery so that they could get a snapshot of them together. It was like she was the Pope. CRAZY! I finally had to just pick Avery up and say BYE! really obnoxiously and force my way through the crowd because they were not going to move or stop taking pictures. It's funny when it isn't scary.

The Festival

There is a holiday going on right now. I'm not actually sure what it is called, but they take it very seriously here. Joe gets a whole week off for it and there are vendors and little carnival rides here at Clifford like it's Viking Fest (for those of you who are lucky enough to know what that is). We took Avery down last night to run around and ride some of the rides. She had a blast riding in the bumblebee on the carousel.

Joe tried to get a picture of a common snack served at these types of festivals, baby chickens. Literally, whole. baby. chickens. I guess you are supposed to just pop them in your mouth and crunch them up. I'm not that adventurous.

The downside to the festivities is the singing in the park. Normally I don't mind the singers at night. It is actually pretty nice to here them sing together for an hour or so. But for the holiday, there are SO MANY MORE PEOPLE! And they sing for hours. And they sing LOUD! Even on the ninth floor it is nearly impossible to watch a movie because the singing comes through like I've got surround sound in my house. It is nuts.

A taste of home

Avery and I were walking down the streets of GuangZhou when she suddenly veered off course and ran into a store. I don't know why she picked that particular spot or if she really recognized it, but it was in fact a Starbucks. A very western, yummy smelling, over-priced beverage serving Starbucks. She ran right past the line of customers and around the corner to find herself a seat at an empty table. She climbed up and then demanded a treat. We had just eaten and I don't know how she knew that a Starbucks would even have treats for her. But she was so happy in her chair and seemed like she just wanted to have a nice little rest, so I bought a marble pound cake and an orange juice. It is just as overpriced here in China as it is in the States. Avery was delighted, ate her treat, drank her juice, and then we headed for the bus stop. It was as if she had been making Starbucks stops her whole life. Weird.

3 in 1

One photo for three things I want to post about. I love efficiency.

1. My dress. It is the one I had made at the tailor's from the fabric I bought at the fabric market. I love it. It is comfortable and fits in pregnancy even though it is not maternity. And I love the colors. I'm so happy with it.

2. My belly. I am half-way there people. I should note that I look especially big in that photo because we had just come out of...

3. My favorite restaurant! This is the Turkish place that is to die for. The bread, the garlic dip, the kebabs, the chicken and sheppard roasts, and the pudding! It is a good thing that it takes an hour to get there or I might eat there every day.

I would like to note that even though my stomach is considerably larger than when I left Arizona, I have lost 6 pounds in the 6 weeks that I have been here.

When in Rome

Avery owns swimsuits. She really does. This one is one of my favorites. We were heading out to play in the play pond and I told her that she had to put shoes on first. I went into the back room to get dressed and left her to herself to find her shoes. When I came back out she had MY shoes on and was waiting patiently by the door. She was pretty upset that I would not let her wear them out that day. So, yes, Avery does have swimsuits.

But sometimes we are caught off guard and the water spout play area will suddenly be working and Avery will want to play. We could walk all the way back to the apartment, it's not really that far. But when you see all of the othe little kids stripping down and running wild it just seems so much easier. This is one of those photos she is going to hate us for later, but it is just so cute to see her get so excited about running around naked.

What is amazing is the number of people who will stop to watch her play in the water. People watch her anyway because there just aren't many western children here so they eye her a lot. But when she frolicks in the water she is like the coolest thing some of these people have ever seen.

About that baby thing...

You may recall that I am having a baby. I am just shy of half-way at this point. I went to the hospital here this week and got a basic check up. All is well. In two weeks I will be getting the big ultrasound done and I asked them if they would be able to tell me the gender of the baby at that time. The translator looked shocked and said, "No! Can they do that in your country?"

So, I guess it will be a surprise after all.

Up until now...

I thought about doing a bunch of posts to catch you all up on the last 6 weeks here in China. Then I sat down to actually do it and realized that there was no way I was going to be able to do that in the time it will take Avery to nap, so I am doing one big one.

We are in China! Hooray! We live in a really nice apartment in Panyu, which is the city that Clifford Estates is technically in. We tell people GuangZhou because it is 30 minutes away and much bigger. It is also where we do most of our weekend activities, like eating.The apartment is a little fancy for my tastes, all this marble flooring! But it is clean and bug free so I love it. And have I mentioned the view? Our view is bananas!

Clifford is a nice little oasis in busy, crowded China. We have parks and rec. centers, we have our own grocery, wet market, shops for random items, salons, etc. If you didn't want to, you would never have to leave Clifford the whole time you were here. But we want to.

Inside Clifford and out we depend on public transportation. Avery LOVES the bus. When she hears one or sees one it is all she can say. She will even ask if it is specific buses like "Daddy's bus?" or "Stacie's bus?" or "Bus for juice?" It is hysterical.

I don't have a photo, but, yes, I have a maid here. Her name is Sam and she comes in twice a week to clean my whole house, do any laundry there may be, cook dinner, and drop off any groceries I asked for. It is awesome. I think of all the things she does I appreciate the shopping the most. It is nice to have someone go pick up my fruits, veggies, meats, juices, eggs, and so on so that I don't have to take Avery down to the market and then lug back 4 big bags of groceries and a tired Avery. I hesitated having her shop for me at first because I figured it would not be so bad for me to just do it, but I got over that after three weeks. And she can get stuff cheaper because she shops out of Clifford. She is a gem.

There is a lot to cover so let's just do a plus/minus list that I have come to mentally tally as I have been living here.

+ The maid. I mean, come on.

- The laundry. The maid may come twice a week but I have to do laundry everyday in a washer that is 1/2 the size of one in the states and I hang dry everything.

+ The food. THE BEST TURKISH RESTAURANT EVER! Other good places too, like Hunan, Muslim noodles, Japanese food, and NO TIPPING! Dinners are cheap and the food can be great!

- The food. I don't love Chinese food. And I don't have an oven so that seriously limits my cooking abilities. Also, they have no right to call ANYTHING here 'cake'. They call a lot of things cake and none of them are sweet enough or flavorful enough. And you know why? They use little to no sugar, no vanilla, almond, or lemon extracts. It is nearly impossible to find cinnamon, oregano, basil, and other common seasonings we use in the states. And don't bother trying to find mexican food or a good burger. Just don't

+ The park filled with dancers, chanters, clappers, and Tai Chi masters. It is so bustling and full of life at night and in the mornings. I love it.

- The park filled with dancers, chanters, and clappers until 10 p.m. Avery loves them too and that is a problem at bed time.

+ Joe's schedule. I get to see him in the morning, he comes home for lunch and a nap in the afternoon, and he is home in time to have dinner and play games or go out. It is a great change from the states.

- Avery's schedule. What schedule?

+ Public transportation. It is cheap or free and can get us anywhere. It means that we don't have to buy a car, pay for insurance, or pay for gas. It is great.

- Public transportation. It takes an hour to get to church if you don't miss either of the buses you hope to catch. I can't tell you how many times Avery has fallen asleep on a bus ride back to Clifford and ruined her nap because of it.

Are you seeing a trend here?

+ The fabric market. It means I can have clothes made cheap.

- The fabric market. I MISS MY SEWING MACHINE! Jax, I hope you are putting it to good use.

+ Friends. We have awesome friends here who make the stay enjoyable and much easier to adapt to. If not for Kimi and Andrew I may have turned around and gone home in the first month.

- Family. How far away you all are. I can't even write about it.

All in all we are really liking it here. It rains a lot and the humidity is crazy, but the weather is cooling and I look forward to the fall. Though I will have to do without trick-or-treating, pumpkin pie, turkey dinner, and so many other things I love about this time of year at home. But I will get to put money away in my savings account every month which I never could do in the states so we are sitting pretty over here.

Love you all and miss you much.