It's so fun to watch the lion develop. Judah has always loved to smile and passes grins out generously to anyone that looks kindly his way, but this week we had the joy of hearing his first real laugh. We're looking forward to more! He's starting to get a little less fragile, and already enjoys more rough, boyish playing. Justin's having fun with that.
We've been getting out even more this month - on days when the pollution reading is justifiable. Trying to get Beijing taxi drivers to stop for a woman with a stroller isn't the easiest feat in the world. Most of them have never seen a car seat before, and more than once I've had an argument with a cabbie that tried to convince me it needed to go - with Judah - into the trunk. As far as I know, there are no laws regarding car seats or even seat belts, for children in China. When I go to strap on my seat belt the driver tries to convince me that it's unnecessary because he's so experienced. I tell him my mom would yell at me if she knew I'd been in a car without my seat belt - and that's the truth.
In an attempt to be fun and festive, and because we had a pumpkin hat given to us by my friend Debbie, I attempted a photo session with Mr. Judah in a pumpkin. The inspiration came from an adorable image I saw on Pinterest. Unfortunately, it's cold in Beijing, and apparently really cold inside of a pumpkin. Needless to say the shoot didn't go very well. It took me thirty minutes to calm the freezing lion and probably a lifetime to live down the photos and what a mean mother the little cub has. Our helper/housekeeper/nanny - Xiao Liu - thought I had gone completely mad. I was tempted to lie and tell her that it's a Halloween custom for all new babies in America - that they have to sit in a pumpkin and scream bloody murder to scare away the evil spirits. This is something that a Chinese person would believe, but I just went with the truth, and her judging looks.
Since that attempt was a complete disaster, I tried a second time with Judah in a bucket, and that went much better. His expressions are really starting to be very animated, which is so much fun to watch.
We had a fun time with Judah this year for Halloween. A few of our friends with kids invited us to a brunch at one of the Hilton hotels. The hotel did an amazing job of creating a spooky Halloween experience for the kids - including trick-or-treating to various hotel rooms. Before Judah was born Nana Knapp gave him a football outfit - complete with "Lil' 45" on the front (Justin's number when he played) and "KNAPP" on the back. So Justin dressed up as a football player and I was a cheerleader - Team Knapp. Luckily no one fumbled!
oh.so.cute!!
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