the kids have been sleeping for almost TWO HOURS!

at the Museum of Natural History - there was an awesome dinosaur exhibit!

I can’t believe it’s almost February and that the volleyball season is almost over (in February). The guys are in the finals, and those start next Tuesday (the 29th); game two is Saturday (Feb 2nd), and if a third is necessary they’ll play it the following day, on Sunday, in Suzhou. There’s a team function on the 6th and then… we’re free to GO! Crazy, crazy, crazy. We’re trying to decide what to do - how to plan and what to plan for the next few months before national team obligations call us to Gatineau. We may vacation here (I’m thinking Club Med) but because Chinese New Year (the biggest holiday by far here in China) immediately follows the volleyball season, we may have to wait a week - everything is booked solid. But the plan is this: wait and see how the season wraps up and see if there's any chance we may come back in the fall (because if not we have to deal with all of our stuff and sell it or move it all out somewhere – crib, purifier, baby stuff, appliances, kitchen things), and look into when Hendrik’s eye surgery could be. If there are still a few months for him on the waiting list then we might take our time here and stick around for a few weeks. There are pluses and minuses to both staying here and to jetting home to Canada: it’s polluted here, but cold cold there; our apartment in Gatineau is occupied until the end of April, and this one – complete with five-star-hotel-pool and workout room – is booked until the end of March; we have family and friends at home, but precious few here. Anyways, I could go on. We have to wait and see and make a game time decision after the finals. We hit up a playgym yesterday and Hendrik was IN HEAVEN. I’m thinking we need something like this at home, you know, for when it’s MINUS 40. Or whatever, whenever, wherever (malls, exercise facilities, community centres)…



Updates: It’s been a while, so I’ll blast through a family update.

with Alana AND Steve and Hendrik in the background

ME
I’ve been busy with kids. And poop. Hendrik has more or less figured out the pee thing (except when he’s sitting on Steve’s lap), but the other bodily function makes him gag (actually), and he’s not into doing it on the pot. I know this is kind of how it goes… but for how long? In the past week I’ve cleaned up some serious messes, and I’d love to know when the sun will set on this mess-bomb stink-bomb stage. I’ve found some kid-free time in the evenings, and have made it down to the gym numerous times in the past week, and that’s been ah-mazing. We went for sushi on Tuesday night and that was also amazing; it was as if we stepped into an oasis in the middle of this bustling busy stinky commotion-ridden city, and it was a bit of a shocker stepping back out. I ate dinner with chopsticks in one hand and a baby in the other, and both kids kept it all together – no messes, pukes, poops, pees or tantrums – and we were able to find a cab almost immediately afterwards and get home and get both kids in bed by 10:00. I got a haircut at a very nice salon for next to nothing ($20). The stylist schlopped a ton of hair off, and when he (no English) took me up to the counter to pay, he said something to the manager who translated: “You have A LOT of hair.” Yes, yes I do. It’s a good thing too, because it feels like it’s all falling out in this four-months-after-delivery phase. Ummmm what else… I cook meals. I feed people. I do laundry. I miss my friends and family. But my kids are amazing and I love my husband and the air outside has been better so I’m happy. I must say that I do look forward to the day when I fit in my clothes and I can get out of these perma-wear lulu pants. This is my update – how mom is it? But, c’est moi. I’m a mom.

Alana (closing in on five months old)
Alana is a dream, and we are so in love. She has herself on a nice little schedule, which involves eating every three hours during the day, and sleeping right on through the night (knock on wood please may it continue). She naps after most feeds, and those last anywhere between 20 minutes and 2 hours (!), and in between she’s one happy little chile. She loves smiling and watching Hendrik rip around, and is getting more comfortable on her tummy. She’s rolled over a few times, back to front and front to back, though she isn’t traveling on her own yet (as in roll, roll, roll). She’s babbling a bit, but not too too much – maybe she’s letting Hendrik do all the talking? She's a gem!

Hendrik (2 years + 2 months)
The in-potty-training-progress update is, for some reason, included in MY update, so yeah, you can read that part there. He’s doing really well, and is still excited about his potty charts and chocolate milk treats, so we’ll keep that rolling. He loves playing volleyball and running around the house; he makes forts with the couch cushions and plays hide and seek. He uses his imagination to pretend-talk to Mickey (Mouse) on the phone, to talk to Mommy on Skype on his computer (Steve’s alarm clock) and to shave his beard with a shaver (a post-it note). He still loves books and reading and is learning to etch out a few letters in our colouring sessions (he can do a V, an H and an O). “That’s Chinese… I can’t read that,” he’ll say, when we’re out. Ummmm I have to think of more quotable quotes here.. oh, he says “Excuse You” when he farts (hilarious) and tells Alana that it’s okay when she cries. He is still sleeping in the crib, though he could so so SO easily get out of there on his own. He currently has a very snotty nose and a bit of a nasty cough that thankfully hasn’t gotten any worse in the past few days; here’s to hoping it gets better soon. Oh, and he loves swimming:

Steve
Plays lots of volleyball. And has the best job ever. In the above pic he's about to enjoy some miso soup - and Hendrik has his face in his bowl of rice. The kids are sleeping and I have computer eyes (part of Steve's update?) so I'm going to go. Adioooooos!