Parent Teacher Conference

Today we had parent teacher conferences and we are so proud of Brycen.  His teacher had nothing but good things to say.  She was very complimentary of how well behaved he is at circle time and with his friends.  He knows almost all the sounds of the alphabet and can write his name.  The only thing we/he has to work on is not being shy when called on.  We could not be happier with his teacher, Ms. Alisa and his school.  Probably the best decision we have made in Shanghai.

Hong Kong

Les and I were very lucky to be able to get away for a few days to Hong Kong.  I have to admit that I was very reluctant to go to Hong Kong as it didn't sound very "exotic" to me...and we had our choice of anywhere in Asia, but most of the places we wanted to go were in the middle of their rainy time and flooding...also not very "exotic".  So Hong Kong it was!

I am so glad we went.  I probably would have been happy anywhere...I mean just Les and I, no kids, beautiful weather and sleeping in, but I loved Hong Kong.  It reminded me of San Francisco and New York with a small amount of China thrown in.  We saw all the touristy things and took the metro or walked everywhere which is also a great way to see a city.  

A week earlier Les had given me a new Canon camera that I LOVE.  I am in the middle of taking a class that teaches me all about my new camera and so it was fun to do my homework assignment in a new city. 

Tian Tan Buddah



pigs feet anyone?



fishing village  (notice the guy getting his undies out of his butt)

night view of Hong Kong from The Peak

"Dawn King" and 9 month stats

Here is my adorable, as Les calls her, Dawn King.  Her hair is sooo crazy until I do something to it.  I love it and her boingy curls. 

This little girl is getting such a fun and funny personality.  She is into EVERYTHING and if we leave her alone she is climbing onto everything.  She LOVES to eat and will smack her lips until you give her food off your plate.  Saria and Brycen play really well together and I love when I can hear them playing together in his room.  She is already saying Mama, Baba (Dad in Chinese), Dada, Nigh Night and No No No.

9 month stats:
28" (over 75th percentile)
20.5 lbs (75th percentile)

Hiatus...over!

I think I can finally say that my blogging hiatus is over.  I have to admit that it got to the point where there was soooo much that I wanted to post and then got overwhelmed with it all:)  So this post should really be titled "the last 2 months in a nutshell".  I will make it short and sweet.  I did add lots of pictures so you could see that we are alive and all doing well.

Our summer started out with a wonderful visit from Les's mom, Linda, and his sister, Cissy.  This was a great feat as Linda hates to fly.  We had a great time, despite June being the rainy season in China.  We still managed to get out and see alot.

We had a very busy summer in the States visiting and seeing as much family and friends as we possibly could.  We spent 3 weeks in Utah and 3 weeks in Indiana with a few days in Toledo at the end.   We did sooo much and had so much fun.  It is amazing how fast 7 weeks can go. Thank you to eveyone for making our summer so special. 

I love this picture of us



Cissy lovin' on Brycen and Saria



Betsy and Saria swimming...something we did alot:)



Brycen rode his first big roller coaster.  I was so proud.

Hiking to the last patch of snow on Baldy in SV with Papa.

Brycen and Saria have both been busy since we have been back in China.  Brycen started school and LOVES it and his new teacher, Ms. Alisa. 

Saria got her first job as the model for a baby carrier.  She was such a good girl.  Les was very proud that he is no longer the only one making money in this family now.

Fist day of school.



Saria's fist modeling gig.



The next few pictures are just ones that I love from the past couple of weeks.  Brycen and Saria are at really fun ages right now...most of the time. They play together really well and have so much fun.

Front row seats to the fireworks

Pixar exhibit at the Shanghai MoCA.

Best friends...best view

my skinny swimmer

My honey with an awesome view of the Oriental Pearl Tower