Bu Yao, Xie Xie

Yesterday we went to a very fun wedding of a local friend and a Canadian friend. Bennett went to the ceremony, while Xiao Ji kept Austin and my neighbor's kids and then we switched. I took Bennett back (the hotel was a block from our apartment!) and Xiao Ji put him to bed and Austin came to the dinner/reception.

At the reception I think Austin had a real breakthrough moment in his defensive stance to all Chinese strangers. Lately he has been especially sensitive to all the attention and screaming and running away whenever anyone comes near him. He keeps saying "Mommy, I can't be kind all the time." I have been teaching him that its ok to not want them to hold him or talk a lot, but it is not polite or ok to just scream. So I have been encouraging him to say "Bu yao, xie xie" which means, "I don't want (whatever they are trying to do...hold him, touch him etc.), thank you". He has refused to say it (and most Chinese phrases) up until yesterday. But then at the reception a waitress was actually trying to help him down a step (which he of course wants to do by himself) but he looked at me, then at the waitress, then with a little coy smile said "Bu yao, xie xie!" I was so proud of him and Chris and I heaped on the praise.

Well, then he kept running up to her and smiling and saying "bu yao xie xie" even when she wasn't trying to talk to him. He ended up hugging her. THEN he started running around and going up to random Asians and just saying "Bu yao xie xie" to people who were not paying any attention to him, including the pastor who officiated the wedding. Most people thought he was cute and a lot of them couldn't understand him because he wouldn't say it very loudly or look at them. BUT I was thankful he took this step and hope it is the beginning of him feeling less stressed by the culture. And it was pretty funny too.

Crab Island and the last days of summer

Today Chris took the day off and we did a very fun family outing. We went to Crab Island, a hotel-waterpark complex out near the airport. It was a great day- we had sun and blue skies with GREAT temperature - not too hot. They had a "beach" with sand, a wave pool, a playground in a shallow pool, waterslides and more. You could grill your own meat skewers at a poolside grill area so we did for lunch (with some plain white rice too, that I waited in line for a LONG time for, but that is another story). It was not terribly crowded by China standards and we all had a good time. Austin still had his defensive moments with strangers, but had fun. He even went completely underwater after going down a slide and I had to rescue him, but he seemed pretty unphased and went again, as long as I caught him at the bottom. Bennett took a nice afternoon nap in the stroller, which helped a lot.

It was great to have a nice, relaxing day as a family.

Hanging out in the wave pool...it was very shallow, which made it so fun for Austin. He could go out far and be safe.

Austin was so brave and really wanted to go down this big, inflatable frog slide. The problem was no adults were allowed in and it was a really tall climb. He gave it several good tries, but eventually gave up (at our coaxing. He might have tried all day, but there was a line). The workers were shocked that someone so little even wanted to try.

More fun in the wave pool...well, for two out of three. Bennett was getting pretty tired at this point and was still mad from us removing some paper we found in his mouth. He also really liked playing in the sand...and eating it.

We bought this little floatie and Bennett had lots of fun. It was also a good distraction from eating sand. Doesn't he look like a cute little surfer?

After Austin recovered from sliding all the way under water, he wanted to go down all the slides. It was basically exactly like the playground in our apartment complex, only in water. Fun!

The Big Wall

Today Austin wanted to make the wall around Jericho with pillows...his pillow creations continue to show lots of creativity. So we made a wall around "Jericho" with couch cushions. We also read about Joshua and the Wall twice today, his choice for our Bible story.

The Wall with Austin inside Jericho.

Blowing his horn.

And his favorite part...knocking the wall down.

Another funny comment of his today was this conversation:

Austin "Mommy, look it's an airplane"
Mommy "Yes look at that plane in the sky"
Austin "Where is it going?"
Mommy "I don't know"
Austin "It's probably going to someone's grandparents' house. I think it is going to Will Gege's (our neighbor Will, age 3 1/2, who just returned from America) grandparents' house."

I guess Austin associates plane rides with grandparents! Any grandparents that want to get on a plane to come here are welcome :) .

11 months

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Bennett will be 11 months tomorrow! I can't believe he is almost one year. He continues to be such a fun, happy little (or not so little) guy. He is now pulling up to stand a lot, learning to hold a cup and drink it himself and starting to say "dada" or "daddy". I think he is also saying "mama" ...at least, that is what he says when he is not happy. He loves his big brother and follows him around the house. All day Saturday we were away from home. He only slept about half an hour and we got home past bedtime, he was held by tons of people and didn't eat great... and he hardly cried. He was really still mostly happy all day - he is our smiley guy.

Austin's day -from his perspective (with Mommy's comments in parentheses)

Today I got to go to a really far away place (actually a 1 hour plus drive) to help some kids who don't have many things or a nice house. We have a very nice house. At first I did not want to go and I did not like all the aiyis and shushus and big kids who wanted to hold me and play with me. But then I got used to the place and had more fun. It was a really long day, but i was very patient (well, overall he was really patient. He had his moments though) and sometimes I was kind to other people. But sometimes I screamed when the aiyis came over to talk to me (a direct quote as we walked home from the bus tonight, "Sometimes I can be kind and sometimes I can't be kind Mommy". Well, I can relate to that!).

I got to listen to Daddy and our other friends play music. I even found a stick and pretended that it was a flute (I found him with a stick in his mouth at one point). I helped paint walls and I got paint all over my hands and face and even in my hair. I got to wash my hands in water in a big red bucket. I saw a puppy and a cat and was very gentle with them and played with them a lot. And one shushu spun me around and around and it was very fun. And on the ride in the bus I saw LOTS of cement mixer trucks and excavators and dump trucks and cranes. It was a long day but it was pretty fun. And I got to put a star on my love and peace plates because I helped show love to kids and Daddy said I was bringing shalom, which means peace (he has colored paper plates- one for each fruit of the spirit - on his door. He gets to put a star sticker on the plate when he displays a fruit like patience or self-control). Here are some pictures.

Bennett likes it when aiyis and shushus want to baobao (hold) him. I don't like it.

I LOVED this little doggie. I gave him a grape to eat, but he didn't eat it.

I stuck my hands in the paint and made my handprints on the wall. I wanted to do that over and over. But then I always wanted to wash my hands after.

I made a new friend (actually, not really. He was mostly NOT into making friends here, but I can hardly blame him. He did play ball with this little boy for awhile).

All these little didis (little brothers) wanted to take their picture with me. So Mommy bribed me to smile with some fruit :).

More on Mommy and Daddy's perspective of our day next time. Night Night.

The Liberry

During our recent trip to the US I was lamenting the lack of libraries here, as we thoroughly enjoyed our few trips there in June. However, I am SO excited to report that we have a library (or liberry, as Austin calls it) within a block of our home! It is called Peekabook (the English name anyway) and was started by some local moms who had lived overseas and wanted their children to have a library experience here.

It is not public (and therefore not free) but you pay a very reasonable annual fee to join and then you can check out two English books and two Chinese books per visit. They also have story time every morning, craft time at 5 pm (not really a good time for us, but...) and other random activities. They really have a BIG selection of English books...everything from board books to some longer classics. I am very impressed. They also have lots of little tables, mats on the floor and a few toys, so Bennett has fun crawling around while I read some books to Austin.

Today we went for storytime...but we were the only ones there. So one of the women that works there read an English book to Austin in a rather thick accent. My hope for story time was that we would go to the Chinese one, to help Austin's language. They supposedly do one language one day and the other the next day. Unfortunately, there are almost no children under age 2.5 that are not in school all day. So I am not sure if there is much of a gathering for story time, but if it is just us I can ask them to read it in Chinese.

Anyway, I am really excited and think this will be a weekly activity, if not more frequently.

Here is Austin with 2 English books we picked today and his own library card. He is making quite a sad face in his ID picture because he did not want them taking his picture, but now he likes it and is proud to have his own card.

Energetic

Energetic is definitely a word I would use to describe Bennett. When he is done eating now, this is often what he does at his tray. He is also always crawling around now, NOT content in the swing and isn't quite pulling up to stand, but will get up on his knees and reach for things. I tried to buy a baby gate from our magazine-delivery service (yes, i order diapers, wipes, toys and other things from a service that delivers for free! I love it) but they no longer have them. Hmmm, containing him or entertaining him is my new, constant job. He is napping, but they are getting shorter (about 1-1.5 hours twice a day). He also continues to "head-butt" the side of his bed over and over again when he is unhappy in bed. Yesterday he moved the pack-n-play all the way across the room to the door this way. So, any suggestions for what a low-key, not high-energy mom is to do with a boy like this? Just try to keep up I guess. He is sweet and snuggly and smiley too though and I sure do love him. :)

Broccoli

My boys love broccoli. It is amazing but they both really do. Austin has liked it for a long time, especially Chinese broccoli. It is his favorite dish that Xiao Ji (my helper) makes. Dinnertime conversations often go like this:

"Austin, if you want to have more broccoli, you need to eat all your chicken."

or "Austin, if you want some more broccoli, you need to drink some milk"

Maybe we have a budding vegetarian, because it is hard to get him to eat meat sometimes, but he loves fruit, bread and many vegetables. He even likes salad (pronounced "sa-yed"). Plain lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, he loves it and often asks for more.

Bennett was just recently introduced to broccoli and he loves it too! He seems to like most things I have given him, however I think he is partial to broccoli. We have (thankfully) mostly moved past all his meals being pureed or blended and he is onto table food. He now eats pieces of bread and pasta, rice, steamed pieces of vegetables, egg yolk and often still rice or oatmeal cereal. I recently steamed some broccoli and gave it to him in little bite-sized chunks and he ate it all. Most of the time now, half of his meal ends up on the floor and half in his mouth. But not the broccoli. Just today I gave him some steamed broccoli as part of his lunch, and guess how much ended up on the floor? One little piece. He somehow knows to be very careful with broccoli so he can eat as much of it as he can. I guess I am lucky that my children like vegetables. Now if I could just get Chris to like broccoli, we would be set. (They did NOT get their love of broccoli from their dad, though he will eat it raw).

(In case you think we are always super healthy, Austin also loves McDonalds, pizza, ice cream and just about any dessert. We don't just eat vegetables, but I am glad it is not usually a battle to eat them!)

Singin' in the Rain

We have had a lot of rainy afternoons here lately. Yesterday, it started raining and Austin wanted to go out in the rain. I decided, well, why not? It's summer and it wasn't lightening. So here are the highlights.

There were a few Chinese ayis (aunts) standing around several of the entrance doors, watching. Most of them watched in horror I think, that I would let him run around in the rain and risk "gan mao" (getting a cold). One of them asked me if he would get a cold. I boldly proclaimed he would not. But one of them watched with great amusement and -maybe I was imagining it- but even envy. He did have a great time and 24 hours later, does not have a cold. :)

Austin convinced me to join in with him after awhile, b/c he wanted help looking for snails. Most of the time Bennett was in the stroller and we watched Austin from the door. No snails though- they sure like it after it rains, but I guess they don't like a downpour. After we went in, Austin wanted to "take a shower by myself". I turned on the water and let him hold the shower head and spray himself. He stayed in for 10 or 15 minutes. He definitely likes to play with water!

Happy Birthday, Nai Nai!

Today is Nai Nai (otherwise known as Jean or Chris' mom)'s birthday. We wish we could be there to celebrate with you. But since we cannot, here is a little song for you from Austin.



Thank you Nai Nai for sending great packages, giving great hugs, being silly on SKYPE, for all your acting with Doogan and Spike and for all your love. Have a great day celebrating you.

Love, Austin, Bennett, Chris and Leah

Quotes of the Day

These are all things that Austin said today...it is amazing what can come out of a toddler's mouth all in a day.

"Mommy, you don't put gas in the potty" (so he did not have to poop, that time)

Austin "Mommy, I like playing with these little cats. And Bennett"
Me "Bennett likes playing with cats too?
Austin "No, I like playing with real animals and Bennett and doggies" (I guess Bennett is sort of like a pet to Austin at times)

"I pee peed Mommy" (in his pants, quite a few times of both kinds of accidents today. I guess some days are better than others)

"Hen in a hat. Hooray! Hooray!" (anyone know which book this is a direct quote from?)

"Mommy, I have a snowblower in my bed" (apparently this was what he was pretending during nap (or lack thereof) time).

Recent happenings

We took a "celebrate Austin's potty success" trip to the donut shop. It was a big hit, except that it scarred Austin from wanting to use the public potties...not the intention of the trip. He was scared of both the hand dryer noise and the squatty toilet and the squatty flushing and refused to use it. WE then tried a tree outside, but that didn't work either. He stayed dry till we got home, but I guess slowly exposing Austin to public bathrooms will be our next potty training goal.

An escaped snail. It has rained a lot lately - which means lots of snails. This one crawled out of our box.

Thank you Nai Nai and Grandpa! We got a fun package today that included this Thomas outfit. Austin has been taking it on and off all day. Bennett enjoyed pulling things out of the box.

More play...Austin built a mountain and "climbed it" and then wanted Bennett inside the mountain too.

Are we having fun or what?

Living in the zoo

I have felt a little like we live in a zoo lately. We have a guest staying with us for three weeks (who is working with Chris for a short time and is very nice and helpful and babysits), Bennett sleeps in our bathroom which means the rest of us use the guest bathroom, we are potty training Austin, Bennett crawls around and gets into everything and we have had quite a few dinner guests and a music practice here. BUT, this reference to the zoo is about Austin's new favorite past time.



Both he and Bennett get in Austin's crib and Austin pours all of his stuffed animals in with them (plus a sleeping bag and his animal container) and says that they are in the zoo. One day he went fishing in the zoo for fish and cake (he got this idea from a Curious George book), he often pretends he is "Mr. Noodle" of his Elmo video and does silly things like stand on his head and pretend that he and Bennett are animals. Bennett mostly goes along with it and laughs at Austin (and sometimes cries when Austin is a tad too affectionate or yells when he is frustrated). But it is fun to see them playing together and it even allows me to leave them (for very short periods) to chop vegetables or put away laundry. I am looking forward to the day they entertain each other for hours. :)

Here is an action shot - Austin likes to somersault off the red container or sit on it to "fish"

In potty training news, it is going GREAT! I am so surprised and impressed. It is Saturday and Austin's last accident was on Wednesday. He now pees in the potty (or the grass outside) every time, except for sleeping times when he still has a diaper. Still no poop, that seems to always happen at nap, but it is really going well. We have barely left the house though so I don't know if we are ready to go out in public yet when the nearest bathroom may be hard to find or non-existent. I don't know how long he can hold it yet. But a great week still.

I could not resist this photo - Austin stripped completely down for this potty break and then went to wash his hands, which he now likes to do "all by myself".