Blogerrific!

Kyle thinks he's behind on blogging because he hasn't finished documenting last week's Xi'an trip or Ellie's new haircut, but my blogging "to do" list dates back to the kids' bouts of sickness in mid-Jan. Submitting to my characteristically lengthy style of posting would only perpetuate this vicious cycle of accumulating blogworthy pictures and experiences much faster than I find time to post them. Therefore, this post will be mostly devoid of my commentary that is only sometimes interesting and almost always irritatingly child-obsessive (if I can tell my obsession is annoying, what you all must be going through!). I am a mother; I cannot promise my comments on my children's good looks and funny behaviors to be any more objective, but at least there will be less of it. This time. =)

Probably the majority of strangers here exclaim "shuang bao tai!" (twins) when they see our kids cruising in a double stroller. Yes, they unfortunately both managed to inherit my nose instead of Kyle's adorable, petite schnoz, and they both seem to have an unwillingness to grow hair. Do you note any other strong resemblance?



After five months, Kyle finally installed the child seat on the back of his two-wheeler, and I finally consented to letting my small child ride in it unrestrained to the super market. As far as transportation is concerned, there has been precious little constraint these months in China. I can only dream of how much my children will love the carseat experience when we're back to abiding US laws...



We are proud to announce that 1.) Ellie's hair is officially long enough to become fiercely tangled into dreadlocks (yes, she still needs to twirl it to fall asleep) and 2.) Ellie has entered that stage of life in which she spends just as much time being hilarious as adorable. Along with pirated dvds, she remains a primary source of quality entertainment.



I really rejoice when Ellie offers to feed Erik for me--one less task on my list! Am I just getting spoiled, or is it really possible that even with an ayi cleaning my house three times a week, I am still justifiably overwhelmed by household responsibilities?



Ellie's Chinese is about as good as mine. Here she's deciphering the public bus route signs, all geared up with "shu bao" (backpack) and ready for school! Most kids her age (if grandparents aren't with them) are enrolled in full-time (40 hours a week) preschools.





I was trying to capture the misery of a baby who'd dry-heaved seven times in one hour and the need to keep him naked to avoid soiling clothes yet warm enough to fall asleep, but I guess he wasn't all that miserable. Erik will literally smile through tears at anyone who points a camera at him.



Have you ever shared a twin-sized mattress with a fat baby and a rolling toddler? I think I would've slept better standing up.



One reason I love putting my babies in footie-pajamas is to avoid the nuisance and frustrating ineffectiveness of socks on restless, chubby baby feet. They just plain don't stay on! Okay, so wearing the footie-jammies out to this extent may defeat that purpose, but everybody's got to love those hobo toes. Hobo toes! Hahaha.



We finally took the shuttle train to Tanggu, Tianjin's clean and modern neighbor city, in late January with Chris and Emily. Our day trip was filled with great food, shopping, and homemade ice cream (!) at the home of friends who live in Tanggu.



At a glance it may appear that Erik has gone native in terms of crotchless infant apparel. Have no fear--we are staunch supporters of 24-7 diapers! Even now that Ellie is potty-trained at home, she still experiences the outside world diaper-clad-- no child of mine will be found squatting at trees and on sidewalks, or even squatting over Chinese public "toilets!"



P.S. I also want to express appreciation to everyone who takes the time and interest to view our blog. When Kyle first started this in 2006, I was convinced it was an utter waste of time, and indeed during the beginning months, his parents and I were likely the only viewers. Our newly-installed "hit counter" happily confirmed our hope that our audience has since multiplied. Thank you also for your comments, and please believe me that if the Great Firewall would permit it, we'd be leaving comments on your blogs, too. It seems that instead of directly corresponding with several of our family members and friends, we read your blogs and when we find something funny or enjoyable, since we can't comment on your blog, we just create our own unrelated post instead. Less than ideal communication, I know. Anyway, I just wanted to recognize our fan base: we love you, we love your blogs, we love your comments. (Kyle checks for blog comments more frequently than I'll admit for him. Then again, he probably accounts for half of the visits sited on our "hit counter"...)