Back to School for Sofie

Sofie at 3 yrs 5 mos

Sofie has been thrilled to be back in Hong Kong, mostly to be reunited with her toys and beloved stuffed things. Oh and yes, her friends. We let her enjoy the last few weeks of summer with no schedule or studies to speak of, and just pure play and, arguably, too much Playhouse Disney. Nonetheless, she transitioned very easily back into school every day, despite new teachers and new friends. She is a serious drama queen these days, and is still very very into Princesses.

We have put a moratorium on buying toys, since we're bursting out of this place as it is, and Santa Claus is one of our favorite friends in this house right now. If she wants something, it either goes straight on the list we have posted on the wall to be mailed to Santa, or we give him (Daddy, at work) a call to give him a heads up when we find something desirable. So far her list
consists of a Hello Kitty Fishing Set, a Mulan costume, a Jasmine costume, and a Hello Kitty Sparkle Princess Jewelry set. Do we see a somewhat scary theme here? What happens if Santa brings her a train set?


Sofie's Progress Report - 3 yrs 5 mos:

• Eating: D => It's pretty bad. Every meal is a battle.
  
• Sleeping A => Would have been an A+ if she didn't fight her naps so fiercely
  
• Pooping A => Aside from pooping in her underwear on the first day of school, all good
  
• Talking A+ => Too funny for words (ha.) Will have to create another post just for that.
  
• Smiling A => Fantastic... if only we could get her to look at the camera...
  
• Sharing A- => Has her moments where she just cannot share, but overall quite generous
  
• Princessing A++ => Who could be better?

Cuddly bears (that get de-dust-mite-ified regularly)

Creative use for leftover pizza stickers

From her Mr. Potatohead Pirate Set

Workin' the trainer chopsticks

Her Sparkle Princess pose

Winding down after lunch with a Bambinoccino

"The doctor said I'm not allergic to dogs anymore!!"

Sasha at 13 months

Sasha at 13 months! What can we say. She's loud and proud, to say the least. She's constantly vying for attention and isn't afraid to ask for it. Did I mention she's loud? We somehow survived the looong journey back with her splayed out between 2 laps; she made it up to us by being fairly good with her jetlag, as far as babies with jetlag can be.

Sasha's Progress Report - 13 months:

• Eating A- => The "-" because there's a tendency for everything to be thrown on the floor
• Sleeping A => That's a relative "A". She's still a light sleeper, but the progress is more than we had hoped for
  
• Pooping C => Iron supplements (she was anemic) = constipated babies, did you know?
• Talking B => Finally saying Mama, though it's prompted by food/sleep needs only
• Smiling A+ => That infectious, ear-to-ear grin is priceless
• Sharing C => Ummm... of course she'll share... if she doesn't want it
  
• Crawling A+ => Got that one down pat!
• Walking A => At age 14 months, 2 weeks and 2 days, she took her first steps!

Notes: She's promoted herself to full-time walker... and a fast one. She will walk walk walk - esp when carrying handbags. Or anything with a handle. Starting to get the hang of dancing while standing, which often results in landing on her bum. Likes pretend play (deep breaths with the stethoscope), love to blow horns and kazoos, and finally is (kinda) into books. She prefers to read them at her own, amazingly fast pace and can't sit still in my lap to finish many a single book. Starting to learn animal noises, with the octopus being her best impression so far, and the cat falling closely behind. Loves the water, unlike her big sister - has taken a number of brave dunks with Daddy and will jump into the pool unprompted.

She does all her poo-poos in the potty

Yes, it IS important to clean very well in there...

Monkey, squirrel or Sasha?

Uncle Craig taught her to whistle!

Brunching at Lucy's

Obliviously enjoying herself at the doctor's office before her shots

Yep, still checkin' the junk in her trunk

Walking!

We're Headed to the Land Down Under

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Take two Frontier 6 Berth Campervans, add four adults & four children (ages 15 months - 5.5 yrs). Drive up coast of eastern Australia for two weeks. Generously mix in several bottles of wine, a handful of dinners, a few nights in a hotel, and let's see what gets served up!

Uncle John's Super Special Day

Happy Birthday, John!!!

http://unclejohn41.blogspot.com/

We love you!
S/S/s/s

Stanley Waterfront

Stanley Waterfront

Sofie & Mia

Reunited after the summer apart, Sof and Mia played together an entire afternoon and even lasted until bedtime...

Another Beach Day with AhGong

We can't deny that it's pretty convenient having the beach right in front of you...

 

A Very Happy (Official) 5 Years

Su-Ting was really sick on our anniversary, but nonetheless we did get out to celebrate our official 5 years together. It was our first trip together to the Peak, despite living here for almost a year (and multiple visits)! It was hot and humid, and that tram ride is incredibly overrated. Maybe it was the looooooooooong line and the really loud and pushy mainland Chinese tourists who gasped at even the slightest view between the trees. I say skip it and taxi it up to the top and enjoy a drink while you take in a full, air-conditioned, panoramic view.

Dinner was at Kyo Hachi, which was "good", but we are way too spoiled by the quality of Japanese food from Japan, so we're a tough pair to please. I was trying to surprise Su-Ting with a alcohol-fueled, fun-filled evening of video games at the EA entertainment area of the Peak Tower... but it could not have been more of a dud! The place was deserted and there wasn't a single person playing a game, despite the plethora of flat screen TVs promising good times. Instead, we wandered our way into the EA shop and did a double, then a triple take... Wii games for HK$50 EACH (that's US$6.50)?! All apparel was 5 for HK$50 (comes down to US$1.30 a piece)?! We loaded up for ourselves and gifts galore. It ended up being one of the funniest anniversary celebrations so far...

The Peak with AhGong

Ahgong made the trek with us to HK and we had a fantabulous time hanging out. Since it was typhoon season, it wasn't exactly the best time for sightseeing, what with the nonstop rain, intense humidity and of course, or jetlag. We took the Victoria Peak tram to the highest point in HK where the views are best. We didn't quite get the views, since it was so foggy. But we tried! And had fun doing it.

 

The South Side Waterfronts

Had dim sum at a really good ("different") place we like to frequent on Sundays and then a stroll along the Stanley Waterfront. May I mention it was so hot it was like wading through the fog.

The mascots for the Asia Games (or something like that). They're kind of like Shanghai's Blue Guy, and Sofie was excited to see them

"Mommy there's a real pirate handing out fans!"

The Repulse Bay Waterfront - we went down for an early morning stroll, only to realize that the seafront promenade was blocked off for a triatholon. Quite common here, although I can't imagine why people voluntarily swim in the water here. But... they're alive, I guess.