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.