Our first two weeks

I am taking a few minutes to write this while Sayde is having an afternoon nap and the older two are at the table making log cabins on paper out of popsicle sticks and painting them… I thought the best way to share what our life has been like is to describe one day…we woke up this morning for quiet time before the kids woke up. After breakfast, Jeremy went down to the eight floor to start his workday at the office. Hudson finally got dressed after keeping the bed dry for the first time all week (yay, no washing and hanging sheets to dry today, I’m thankful we have a nice little washing machine that works well :) He had taken some pink ribbons off of a lion gift bag someone had given the kids that had crafts in it. I was going to use the ribbons to fix Annalise’s hair and he stole them away and flushed them down the toilet. The toilet was fine but we had to have a talk about not flushing objects down it. Next, I had to find some cloth to cut up into new ribbons for Annalise. I saw my yellow t-shirt hanging out on the sun porch and decided to cut it up into ribbons since it had gotten stains on it already. Then I fixed Annalise’s hair. 

Jeremy came home for lunch today and that was nice. Yesterday, he was here for lunch also and I was able to go out with a female co-worker from his office. Her English name is Taylor and we went to a Korean food restaurant. It was so nice to have a break from talking to the kids all day long. One of the things we have in common is that we have no female friends during the day to talk to since their office has all males and I am with my kids all day. We also both like to run and stay healthy.  Sayde just woke up crying so I have to go for now...

Today, a friend we met from the international fellowship stopped by. She has a baby a few months younger than Sayde. We are still hoping for new friends for Annalise and Hudson. They are still shy about speaking to other chinese children and afraid they won’t know what to say when they speak chinese. I am hoping they don’t feel too pressured and can relax enough to start conversations if even just to say hello or ni hao. We did begin some family language tutoring in our home with a teacher and Jeremy and I are picking up a lot and remembering all the words we used to know.

Another typical day happened this way…we went to the large park across the street that is very pretty and busy. There are grandmas dancing and doing tai chi exercises in groups with boom box music, parents or grandparents strolling their babies, and little boys waving sticks under martial arts instructors. It was a very hot day and I was reprimanded many times by the Chinese ladies for bringing my baby out in the hot sun, too hot for her! The park has a little amusement park and a playground for kids. 

Another event that happened was Sayde’s actual birthdate on August 1st when she turned 1 year old. Jeremy’s work took our family out for pizza and spoiled the kids :) Chinese people love and appreciate children. Sayde has been eating and running around like crazy! She is climbing on top of the couch and on beds. Hudson is also acting up. A plumber has already been to our apartment to check the sink drain after he dropped his toothbrush down it.  Here is some pictures of where we live and the kids..