Blue Zoo

Since Judah can't get enough of our fish at home, Justin and I thought he would enjoy a trip to the small aquarium in our neighborhood called Blue Zoo.  It was a nice day out so we walked over and joined the Chinese masses in looking at all kids of fish and sea life.  My favorite moment in the trip came when a "wai di ren" (rural, non-Beijinger), prompted by the young girls dressed up with bikini tops and tails on swimming in the shark tank, asked his tour guide if mermaids were real.  The guide's smooth answer made me think it may not have been the first time she'd fielded that question.  Wow.  Judah loved the aquarium, the sharks, the starfish, the turtles...and the mermaids.

Our Easter Bunny

Easter Sunday was the day after our return from Thailand, so Judah donned his Sunday Best as we headed to church.  Outside of the Christian community Easter is totally unknown in Chinese society, different from many (more profitable) holidays that have leaked over from Western culture, albeit without much of the religious/cultural meaning.  As a case in point, one necessary part of celebrating Christmas in China is texting everyone in your phone book - using emoticons is an absolute requirement.

So, we thanked God for Jesus' life, death and resurrection in the morning, and then one lucky little lion got a visit from the Easter Bunny before he went to bed.  Happy Easter from Beijing!

To Daddy's excitement he even got a football player chocolate bunny.

***no chocolate was consumed by Judah....can't say the same for his parents***

Thailand Trip

We took our first real family vacation for Tomb Sweeping Festival in early April this year.  It was quite different from the way Justin and I have spent the holiday in the past - one memorable year we went hot air ballooning (we crashed and could have died), biking through rural China, and rode to our destination on a bus with 16 of our closest friends and two kegs of beer.  We didn't think Judah would be up for a keg party, so this year we decided to take a week off and head down to the beaches of Thailand.  A bit of a compromise from our normal holidays, but the super-nice resort and "lagoon-access" room were pretty easy to get used to.  Judah had a blast swimming in the pool and I had the opportunity to walk down the beach for a Thai massage overlooking the ocean each morning during nap time while Justin laid beside the pool on our patio.  We also had the chance to spend some time in Bangkok on our way back and ride a riverboat on the Chao Phraya river, which he loved.  Best part of the trip - the entire thing was booked on miles.  The Scottish in me LOVES a free vacation!

Our patio, with direct access to the pool....AWESOME!

The "lagoon" pool, which looped all the way around the resort

Grabbing a beer at the local brewery

Eating seafood on the pier

"Stink face"

Bangkok skyline and the Chao Phraya river

Riverboat ride

8 months and counting

Everyone said it, but no one could have fully prepared us for just how quickly time flies when you have a child.  Judah is growing and changing every day!  He's now crawling, clapping, signing "all done", doing "so big", saying "mama" when he's sad or tired, and "dada" when he's happy or excited.  (How did that happen??)  He's taking a bath in the big tub and starting to consider pulling up.  He's standing on flat feet (instead of tippy toes) with little support and knows the difference between "cat" and "fish" when we ask him where they are.  He's eating regular food like a pro and getting bratty when he gets a toy (or whatever else) taken away.  But most of the time he's one happy lion.  

A few pictures of our 8-month-old.

Crawling with our good friend Silke

Riding in a taxi with Daddy (Grandmas look away...that's the safest we can do.)

Mr. Good Eater

Strollin'

Soooooo Big!!

Winter Waning

Thankfully winter in Beijing is finally over and spring winds (and the sandstorms that accompany them) are blowing the smell of coal away and some warmer weather in our direction.  Having grown up in South Florida, prior to moving to Beijing I had no personal experience with seasons.  They are definitely something I have grown to love - the little neon green leaves starting to peek out do wonders for my soul.

But, having had no experience as a child with winter, I was very nervous about raising Judah in the frigid temperatures.  I never knew you're supposed to eat tomato soup when you come in from sledding or that coats sleeves had buttons to attach gloves.  I had no idea you could tie a scarf in the back to keep it secure despite fidgety little hands.  But we're learning, slowly but surely, and the Lion made it through the winter without losing any limbs to frostbite or even catching a cold.  Phew.

Our Judah Buddha all bundled up

South Florida - Round Two

After three weeks back in China following our six week US Tour, Judah and I packed up again and flew back to South Florida for my cousin, Anne's, wedding.  We figured we'd take our time and stay for over two weeks.  It was a long time to be away from Justin, but a nice long time to be with Gammy and Papa - who moved to a beachside condo during our stay.  

Judah got the chance to do a lot of really American things for the first time on this trip, like:

Ride in a grocery cart

Watch the Super Bowl (with Papa)

 and...

 Go to the DMV

We also got the chance to spend the night at our friends, The Hyatt's, house.  Judah got to hang out with the lovely Gracie, who wore a special purple flower just for him.  It was really nice to relax and spend time with my dear friends.

 The littlest Lion also got a taste of Florida living - pool and park in the middle of January...I think he liked it.

I missed Valentine's Day with Justin, but my awesome husband didn't let the day slip by unnoticed.  xoxo  These beauties arrived in the afternoon.  xoxo

Next Stop: Mema's

Every five years, foreigners are required to leave China's borders for 31 consecutive days in order to avoid having their worldwide income taxed.  If you had your own business, this might be frustrating.  But if not, it can be a nice forced vacation.  Justin's was timed perfectly with going home for the holidays, so when Judah was 5 months old we had a nice six week holiday in America which encompassed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.  Our first stop was Michigan for Thanksgiving, then a drive to Chicago to stay with Corey and Deb for a few days then down to Florida for the first half of December.  During our two weeks in Florida the Lion was baptized, we celebrated Justin's birthday, Justin went on Andy's bachelor weekend with the guys, I had foot surgery, and my brother got married.  It was a busy time to say the least, but Judah did great with everything.  After the wedding we headed back up to Michigan to celebrate Christmas, then out to Arizona for our friend Dan's wedding, and finally we drove up to Prescott, Arizona to visit my grandmother - Mema.  We had such a great time getting a chance to spend time with Mema and Judah's Great Uncle Mark, who came up to Prescott the majority of the time we were there.  Judah also loved meeting my cousin Brittany and her fiancee Tim, as well as my Uncle Michael.  The newlyweds, Andy and Kristen, also joined us.  It was wonderful to get to spend more time with them before they left for Africa to do missions work for a year.  

After a few days we drove over to see the Grand Canyon - a first for Kristen, Justin, and Judah. 

Mema and Uncle Mark

My grandfather, Jesse, owned Dairy Queen franchises.  He opened the first one in Prescott and this is a light post dedicated to him.