Sweet Potatoes

Keeping Busy

I've started to build out a little space for Chase in the kitchen - complete with pots and pans. I've also given her a kitchen cabinet, which will keep her little toy fruits and veggies, as well as real snacks so she can munch when she gets hungry.

The other day she went to the cabinet, took out a small plastic cup and a tea bag. She opened the tea bag and pulled out the sachet. She then proceeded to put the sachet into the plastic cup and pretended to drink it. Amazing.




















I've also created a music corner...














A reading nook...














A sports/rec center (she really likes golf)...














A place for putting stickers (decals for the window, stickers for the book)...

































And I've started designing clothes for her...














(Too bad she doesn't like to wear it)

Chinese Doctor

This is Hubs after going to see the Chinese doctor about lower back pain.

Walmart Servant Leadership

This is posted prominently at Walmart.
Be sure to read the fine print at the bottom - it's the best part.

Good Morning

The morning Chase turned 14-months-old, she woke up at 7 a.m. She opened her bedroom door, walked down the hall to our bedroom, opened our bedroom door - and then made her way over to our bed.

Hubs and I were both surprised and delighted to see her.
Chase acted like it was no big deal.

Only the day before, Chase had showed me that if she stood on her little tippy toes and stretched each finger up, up, up - one could eventually catch the nob. I was so happy and so excited for her - and then suddenly so worried about what this new achievement actually means for me (in the wild world of baby proofing).

Chase's latest achievement struck me as particularly interesting because most children at this age are (1) still in cribs or (2) too short to reach the door nob.

I think I've got about a month before I have to worry about the front door ...

Birthdays

We went to a great birthday party for two boys this afternoon. All went well until the end, when I sat in apple juice (my bum got wet and my pants became a bit, well, see-through) and Chase filled her diaper up with such gusto (she had a lot to drink), it ended up all over my shirt.

We excused ourselves very quickly.

Going To America

Happy to report Chase and I are heading back to America for the month of June. I can't bring myself to think about the mega plane rides without Brian (one from Dalian to PDX - then another from PDX to Jackson, MS). Just thinking about taking the walking, willfull, little Miss Lolly on a super long plane trip makes my eye twitch. It's not that I don't want to spend every hour of the day with her - I do. It's just that I'd rather spend that time in a place where she can walk around and play.

I asked one of the teachers at Gymboree if she had any suggestions (I was thinking playdough, decals, stickers). She said many parents give their kids something to make them sleep. For better or for worse, I am not one of "those" parents. So I will arrive in Portland with bags under my eyes, totally frazzled and strung out - or, in my dad's words, "like the sleepy man is standing on my face."

All this just in time for my 15-year high school reunion. Is it too late to start a diet and excercize regime? (I'm sure most of my classmates have been fasting since January to make sure they are a size -0 for the reunion.)

Should be interesting - it better be! Otherwise I will have a hard time staying awake.

Newest Playgroup

This morning we went to the most organized playgroup I've ever been to - it was awesome. It is from 9-11 a.m. The group meets four times per week (too often for me) and is run by a preschool teacher and a gal who works at Gymboree. The kids range in age between 18-24 months. Of course they are all Chinese. The hostess and the gal from Gymboree are the only folks that speak English. The hostess is the same woman who invited us to go strawberry picking.

I get the feeling she thinks Chase is too young (c'mon, she's 14 months today!) for her playgroup and is trying nicely to revoke the playgourp invitation. She keeps saying, "maybe the kids are too old for Chase." And I keep saying, "it is so great to let Chase have an opportunity to play with older kids."

I think we've said this to each other four times already.

Maybe I should take the hint (although I must admit I got the hint the first time. Whether or not I decide to take the hint is another subject entirely, as I think it is extremely important for Chase to interact with slightly older children).

Maybe we'll just rely on three days of Gymboree and our playdates with Ho Di, Joshua (when he returns from Beijing), and Nicholas (when he returns from Germany).

Bird Is The Word

Last night Chase signed "bird." Talk about super cute. She can now sign fish, hat, more and bath. She could probably do more, but I must admit I am slacking on the whole sign language thing (bad Mommy, bad).

Word Of The Day And Other Updates

Chase's word of the day is ... bubble. Pronounced "buhba."

With this new English word comes a new Chinese word, "baba," which means Dad.

She also knows the Chinese word for horse - "ma." At first I thought she was saying "ma" for "mama," (as in 'hey mom, check out this horse') but then I realized - after she did it three different times in three different situations on three different days - that she wasn't actually saying "mama," she was saying "ma." Clever girl.

She also knows the word milk (pronounced "mil") and she recognizes, but can't pronounce sticker, dog, ear, eye, nose, toes, and belly button. Sometimes she knows the word 'hair.' And of course I have no idea how many words she knows in Chinese, but she seems to understand Flora pretty well (she actually does what Flora asks).

She's learned to blow kisses, but likes to do it on her own (unprompted). As if to tell me "I'm going to decide when and where I give away kisses, Mama."

I have also been surprised by how easily she gives things to other children. She's quite good at it and doesn't seem to miss the item after she's given it away - which should put her in good stead for dealing with others in the future.

She's decided she doesn't like to sit and splash in the bath anymore. She prefers to stand (perhaps because she sees Mommy and Daddy standing in the shower). It doesn't matter how many toys we introduce - she just wants to chew on her little toothbrush and be done with the bath as quickly as possible.

Chase is growing so quickly we decided to purchase a new bed for her. A real mattress, made for a big person. I debated over queen vs full/double for quite some time and finally settled on a full/double. It is currently "airing out" in our sun room. It smelled a little toxic when it arrived. I'm prepared to keep it in the sun room as long as it takes to remove the smell (think nail polish).

My poor darling Chase has been in pain over the last week or so - she has her first molar (bottom left) and three others are forcing their way through the gum as we speak. So I was up last night from 2-3:30. She was wide awake - so I changed her, gave her some milk, and sang her a couple tunes.

Eventually she fell asleep - as did I - and must mention here that I had a strange dream about trying to get somewhere in China and being stuck on a boat and finding out it was going to take me 22 days to get there.

The funny part is I remember thinking, "oh this is just g-r-e-a-t, I just know Hubs is going to ask me why I didn't ask how long it would take to get there before I got on the boat." Weird.

Anyway ...

Today we went over to Ho Di's home and he didn't cry at all, so I think he and Chase will be friends afterall. He was sans diaper (as they all are here), which still makes me laugh - only because it is so different from how things are done in the US.

Tomorrow we pick up Chase's Chinese glamour shots. Should be seriously hilarious. I was so tempted to dress her up like a pineapple, but then I realized that not only would she never forgive me - I would never forgive myself. So I settled for one picture of Chase in a red, Chinese outfit (with a red lantern and funny food on a stick as props), one picture of Chase dressed like an angel (with a strange outdoor backdrop and a carriage and dove used as props) and a picture of her in a pink tutu (with shoes that were too small).

Should be interesting!

Root Canal: Update

So I mustered up all my courage and went to the dentist, resigned to the fact that I was going to have to have to have a root canal in my front tooth. As Hubs is out of town, I kept talking to myself (no, not out loud), saying over and over again, "it's going to be okay; deep breaths, deep breaths."

I plunked myself down and prepared for the worst. So I was surprised when my dentist said, "We don't have to drill today. I am going to put a 'protective coating' on your tooth. Don't worry, it will be fine." I like my dentist very much; I liked her even more after she told me this.

Seriously though, a 'protective coating,' - is that like a force field? How come I've never had a 'protective coating' put on when in the US? And why did she wait until now to use this 'protective coating?' And why didn't she put it on all my teeth?

But sure enough, it feels better. No root canal this week (knock wood).

Should I Be Worried?

That this DOLE label reads "plant quarantine?"
Why couldn't it read "fruity and delicious, grown by organic farmers in Oregon?"
Seriously. What in the heck does a plant quarantine sticker mean?
And why are they selling them?
Just one more thing to put on my 'do not eat' list.

Other items include: anything red (they like using Sudan red here), fish from anywhere but the deep ocean, anything that can't be peeled or cooked and anything that looks like it has MSG, which basically leaves me with my tub of Skippy Peanut butter (from the US) and raspberry jam (from Switzerland) - which is exactly what I had for dinner as Hubs is away this week.

Happy Mothers' Day

Thanks to my darling little girl (and my dashing husband), I get to celebrate Mothers' Day (hard to believe it is my second one!) - so what did we do?

Well, first we woke up at the break of dawn (thanks to Chase's new tooth) - no problem, we had to be up early anyway as we were being picked up at 8:30 a.m. for a China-tastic berry picking excursion with 9 other families.

En route to berry picking, we passed a truck filled with seaweed. One word - YUM.













We finally arrived at the strawberry fields (greenhouse)...














Inside the greenhouse...














Chase found a little spot all her own and started playing in the dirt...














She would look up occasionally to ensure we were still there...













And then it was back to the dirt...














She did, however, manage to find a couple (pre-selected) berries...














And then the paparazzi found Chase...













From there, we had to cool off a little. Luckily, there was a little driving range nearby. Good thing Chase already has her own set of small, brightly colored plastic clubs of her own.

She knew just what to do; yeah, she pretty much schooled her peers.














Our little pro...



















The competition...













Chase found time between shots to show off her squatting skills...



















And inspect the golf balls...














And then there was the group photo - complete with a custom banner...













And then it was off to lunch (it was at a Chinese hillside village turned restaurant)...














And after lunch, we found out it was actually a birthday party (note the ritz crackers on top of the cake)...














One word: YUM

So what did we learn? One can never be too overdressed for strawberry picking in China.

Ho Di Play Date

So we quite enjoyed our time at little Ho Di's home, although he did cry every time Chase tried to play with him. He's a little shy and I think Chase is the-only-white-child he has ever encountered.

I was thinking about it today - how strange it must be for a child to see a white person for the first time. We must be downright scary looking.

We're going to try it again next week - if he keeps crying, I may elect to remove him from our playdate schedule.

Token White Girl

Gymboree was crazy today; there were 12 kids in Chase's music class.
I must admit, I really have a hard time telling the kids apart.

The good news: we have been asked to join an arts and crafts playgroup; the founder wants it to be more "international," so we will be the token white people.

I am actually elated, as I am finding that Chase needs more activity. The Hello Kitty window decals will only keep her busy for so long. When we're at home, she keeps looking at me as if to say, "when are we going to 'Go Dog Go,' Mama?" But I guess I deserve this, after all we did so much movin' and shakin' last year.

I fear I might even be putting on weight as we have not been travelling as much as we used to. Forget about Jenny Craig, the best way to keep slim is to travel with a small child. Our trip to Beijing, scheduled for the end of the month, can't come soon enough (Great Wall here we come!).

All for now. I hear my sleeping beauty waking. Time to visit her little friend, Ho Di.

A Few Of Your Favorite Things...

My little darling, Chase, we just wanted to tell you (for the zillionth time) how much we love you.








































At nearly 14-months of age, you most enjoy playing your xylophone, reading, drawing, painting and playing with stickers. Your Hello Kitty window decals, we've found, keep you busy for at least 10 minutes; you love patting them on and pealing them off windows.

You love all things shiny. I even put small pink, glittery bobbles on my phone, just for you (Dada doesn't believe me, he thinks I did it because I wanted a pink, glittery phone).

This morning, I caught you sucking one of the glittery sparkles off my phone; you opened your mouth and the pink sparkle winked at me.

I wonder if it tasted pink and sparkly to you - I can't really blame you for wanting to see what pink and sparkly tasted like - you used to try to taste the notes from your xylophone - as well as taste the color that came off your crayon.

Speaking of things that taste good ... you still love banana (as well as just about any fruit), as well as eggplant parm, lasagne, pumpkin bread, and Chinese food. You recently started devouring zucchini with basil and olive oil.

You are really cruising now. You love walking on your own. You also love getting your own way (shocking) and you are already letting us know when you are not happy - you find the nearest flat surface and put your head down onto your hands, looking up only briefly to make sure we are taking note of your displeasure.

I have started counting (with you) to 5, because you want everything yesterday. Counting to 5 seems to help. Curiously, you don't forget what you wanted, you hold onto the idea - I find this interesting, because I was quite sure that by the time I got to 5, you would be on to something else. Clever girl.

We love you.

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

The wind was up.
It was a "must fly" kite day.
And so we headed to Xinghai Square.
Chase was darling (as always).
Dada let her fly the kite, which made her squeal with delight.
She waved her arms up and down (any faster and she would have been airborne).
The kite, meanwhile, dipped and soared accordingly.

Dada remarked "now I remember why kite flying is fun."

But before we actually got to the kite flying part - we posed with a complete stranger (we actually pose with so many of these people that we've decided to just hand them our camera and get a picture while they're at it).














And, of course, Chase got a lot of attention (as usual).















What's a girl to do with so much attention?







































Let's not forget about the kite ...

Trip: Chinese Countryside (Spa Weekend)

We just returned from a Spa weekend in the Chinese countryside; a serious cultural experience.

First, I must say that for some reason it is really hard to get a clear understanding of what one will be doing when one goes on a group excursion here (for example: the time when Hubs thought he was going skating, he ended up snowboarding).

So when the opportunity to go on a Spa weekend with friends arose, I couldn't help but feel like I might just be happier (and more relaxed) at home.

But of course, curiosity makes it impossible for us to decline such invitations. So we packed our bags, jumped on a bus and headed for the Chinese countryside.

When we arrived (2.5 hours later), we were shown to our room (small but clean with communal shower and bathroom facilities). Our host was kind enough to try to upgrade us to another room so we could have a little more room for Chase to crawl about.

The view from our window ... (note police facility at entrance)















Chase, ready for the spa ... Only later did we find out the water would be too hot! Hubs couldn't make it in past his knee.




















Chase decided to try to store some of her valuables ...















We were given welcome packages when we arrived. Part of the welcome package was this tiny pair of swim trunks (not sure why because no one uses them)...














Well, except Chase!




















After we got settled in, we headed to lunch.
And then Dada hit the Spa, while we "rested."
Around 4 pm there was a knock on the door.
Time for fruit picking!
So we jumped in the bus, drove for 5 minutes and then set off by foot into the countryside.

































It didn't take us long to realize that fruit picking here was going to be totally different from any fruit picking we'd done before - what gave it away? We were heading for a greenhouse.















Just ouside the greenhouse was a chicken coup.
Chase loved the chickens.














And the guard dog...














Inside the greenhouse we found nectarines!












































And then we were off to "pick apples," but we had to wait for the manager of the cold storage unit to open the doors. Chase decided it was high time for a nap...














When the manager finally arrived, we were informed the apples were 6 months old, but they were green apples (no pesticide). As they were kept in a cold storage unit they would be good to eat anytime within the year (hmmm... very different from my fruit picking experience where one actually picks fruit from the tree and eats it on the day it is picked).















Here is Dada picking apples...














The next morning, most of the group headed off to a hike. As we didn't have a proper baby backpack, we decided to go for a small walk into the hills behind the Spa.




























Here's a view from the top. It was really lovely.














And then we went to lunch, jumped into the bus and headed home.