Saturday, December 16, 2006
Chistmas in Shanghai 2006
Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family. We will be traveling to the US tomorrow to spend a few weeks with our family. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We have been very blessed to have a safe and healthy 2006 and we pray that the new year brings the same to all of you.
We had a small Shanghai celebration with Shou Ju and the kids this afternoon. You can see the photo and video links above.
love kath, kirk, elizabeth and alex
Lizzy at the Beauty Shop
Elizabeth made her first trip to the Beauty Shop today to get her hair trimmed. Her hairdresser's name is Farhana and she is from India. She also does her friend Orla's hair. She has a nice time being pampered so much so she was falling asleep.
Xintiandi Christmas
http://www.xintiandi.com/site/Default.aspx?tabid=101
Merry Christmas!!! This is our official Christmas picture taken at Xintiandi. Click on the link above to learn more about this area of Shanghai. Since we just took this last night, the picture didn't make the Christmas cards, sorry.
Concordia Christmas Program
Elizabeth had a school Christmas program. The preschool classes sang the "Friendy Beasts" song. The ladybug class were the Doves. They were very cute. Afterwards, we went to Haagen Daz.
Christmas Brunch at the JW Marriott
One of the favorite things to do on Sundays in Shanghai is to go to brunch at one of the 5 star hotels. These places have the most amazing spreads of food I have ever seen. We've tried the Shangri La and these pictures are from the JW Marriott. Alex and Elizabeth both ate really good and of course afterward, they polished off some homemade chocolate ice cream! They were cooked after that.
Lizzy & Daddy Go Shopping
Kirk and Elizabeth went to the Superbrand Mall by the Oriental Pearl Tower to do some Christmas shopping. They were gone all day and they had a lot of fun together. She had a choice to eat lunch at Blue Frog or McDonalds. Surprisingly, she chose McDonalds.
There is a video of her dancing!
Making M&M Cookies
My helpers! Elizabeth had a cookie exchange with school so we made M&M cookies. Not only because they are her favorite, but I couldn't find any chocolate chips. Have to remember to try to pick some of those up. Now that Alex is walking, he wants to be everywhere we are, even in a dinky kitchen!
Shanghai Toys R Us Grand Opening
There is now a ToysRUs in Shanghai. It is in the Superbrand Mall. Alex and I went with his friend Chloe and her mom, my friend, Sophia. This was the grand opening. It wasn't what we had expected. It was more dignitaries giving speeches. Chloe passed out and Alex was trying his new walking skills.
Alex & his "Cars"
Okay, I have to tell the story about the cars. Alex is a little bit of a Cars fan (the Disney movie). We had Mater (the tow truck with the funny teeth) from the States out of a Happy Meal. I never got more of them because he wasn't that interested in cars then. But now he is.
Now China McDonalds has them in their happy meals. So Kirk goes to every McDonalds he can find so that he can get Alex Cars. We are missing McQueen. I think we'll have to find that one on Ebay.
Alex's favorite is Mater. He feeds Mater his french fries or what ever else he's eating. It's pretty cute.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
phone isn't working
Our Vonage isn't working now, so if you are trying to call, I'm not ignoring you.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Coconut
Elizabeth's imagination is at it again. Today she told me that there is a monster that lives in her room. His name is Coconut. I asked her what he looked like. She said that he was big and round and had orange eyes and no hair. I told her to draw him. She did. He doesn't have feet or hands, she said. He has sticks. Then she told me he was sad, so she drew over his eyes and made them cry. She asked Kirk to write "No Coconuts Allowed" on her picture and hang it up on her door. Tonight she used him as an excuse to goof off before bed. So we told her that Coconut will sleep in our room tonight.
View at Night from our Apartment
Tonight was a pretty clear night so we set-up the tripod to take a photo. It turned out pretty good. Not all of the lights on the buildings are on, but this gives you a pretty good idea what our view is every night.
Trip to Yu Yuan Garden
Wow....what an adventure this was. It was a beautiful, chilly, sunny day on Saturday so we took a trip to the Yu Yuan Garden and bazaar. It's only about a 30 minute drive from our house and it's just over the river so if we took the subway, we could have made it in about 20 minutes maybe. Of course, there were about a bazillion people. And of course, Alex wanted nothing to do with being in the stroller, her wanted to walk. There is a ton of shopping that can be done here and there is a beautiful, traditional Chinese garden from the Ming Dinasty ( i think). It is supposed to be beautiful in the spring, just in time for when our parents visit. Elizabeth got a new purse here. It is reddish-pink. (her description). There is supposedly a restaurant that has the best jiaozi (dumplings) in Shanghai. But of course, I'm the only one who likes dumplings, so we had lunch at McDonald's. Great place to go, but next time will go in the morning without the haizen (children).
Christmas Chapel at Elizabeth's School
Elizabeth's preschool led the monthly chapel. They did the nativity scene and sang lots of songs. Elizabeth did a very good job and loves singing the songs. Her favorite is "Away in a Manger".
Elizabeth's friend Orla's 3rd Birthday Party
Elizabeth has a friend, Orla, who lives in Building 3 of our complex. Orla just turned 3 on Nov. 29 (same day as Jake's birthday). Orla and Elizabeth love to play dress up together and draw and do crafts. They are very similar creatures and usually fight for the 1st half hour of their play dates. Usually on Saturday or Sundays, Orla's mom, Kim, and I swap having play dates so that we each get to share in the joy of breaking up the fights. Kim is usually much smarter than me and has two of everything so that they don't fight. After the first 30 minutes, they play wonderfully together.
Kim planned a "little chef's" party for Orla's birthday. That lady is brave (or insane)! She had about 10 - 15 preschoolers making pancakes, rolling out and decorating cookies, and frosting and decorating cakes. As you can see, all the kids had a blast.
Orla's sister is Ciara (key-ra). She is Alex's friend. Whenever we are going to see her, Alex starts saying her name and gets very excited. It's pretty cute. I'll have to try to get that one on video.
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