Sweet Home Chicago

After a whirlwind week with my Dad in Hong Kong, the kids and I are back in Chicago!  We had a good visit with Grandpa Bill, and got to show him the sights while he enjoyed a break from Chicago weather.  I'm so grateful he timed his visit so that he could help us on the flight back home - a baby and a toddler would have been impossible to handle on my own.  And then we landed and went to my mom's.  It's been an exhausting few days - we're so happy to see our family, but the lack of sleep makes me feel like a prisoner of war.  I may or may not have shed tears today as a result of sleep deprivation!  Side note...shout-out to my mom who helped me do the night shift the past few nights. =)

Sunday morning, Finley suckered my mom into playing in the snow with her.  She was SO excited for it and absolutely loved it!

If you can't tell from the poor picture quality, I stayed inside and took this picture through the window.  The jet lag card got me out of playing in the snow and pretty much everything else.

Bringing in a snow snack.

For lack of any place to set Nolan down, we bought him a Johnny Jump Up, which he loves!

Mommy's Little Thug



I'd write more, but lack of sleep is compromising my ability to do so.  More soon!

Christmas Pageant

On Wednesday, we went right from Socatots to the Christmas pageant being put on by Finley's preschool class and the other room for her age group.  It was intended to be 30 minutes of watching the kids sing Western and Mandarin Christmas songs....but really, it was more like watching kids listen to someone playing piano to these songs while every third kid cried for their mom.  Fun times!!!

Finley got the best seat in the house.  She's the one in the middle who looks like she has no hair (special thanks to her teacher, Miss Mary, for putting on her hat like that).

Here she is mid-song, telling her entire class in a very loud voice exactly where "Mommy, Grandpa Bill and Baby Nolan" are sitting.

Hurry Miss Cherry, better get that hat back on before anyone mistakes Finley for a cute kid.

Socatots!

Fin had her last soccer class this week!  Here she is, getting ready for a zig-zag drill with her BFF, Zoe.

Watch out, David Beckham.

Watching 2 year olds do backwards zig-zags is one of the funniest parts of my Wednesday morning.

Random Birthday

A while ago, my friend Krissy and I discovered her husband Ryan and I have the same birthday.  So off we went to a restaurant too cool for us and enjoyed a great meal and fun night celebrating....we called it Krisapalooza.  Here's Krissy and I cleansing our palettes before our 39 ounce steak arrived.  We're so sophisticated.  (Hi Chen Ma!!!)

Then I proceeded to spend my acual birthday at a place  I probably would have killed to spend it about 25 years ago.  We took the kids to Ocean Park this morning and enjoyed great weather and watching Fin have a blast on the rides.

I had no idea HK went so crazy over Christmas....

And now Dec 4 is almost over here in Asia, and Dad/Grandpa Bill should be knocking on the door any minute!

Six Months!

Nolan is six months (and one day) old!!  He wasn't very cooperative during this month's "photo shoot", but here he was on Dec 3.

And here's Finley, back when she was six months old.

Phuket

We've just returned from a great trip to Phuket, Thailand.  It was a wonderful place to visit with the kids - we had great weather, loved our accommodations, got in lots of relaxing and sunning, rode elephants and enjoyed each other's company.  Here's some pics from our vacation.

Happy Nolan in the pool.

Mai Khao Beach

Finley really is such a great big sister...here she is, enjoying some cuddle time on our terrace.

We all went elephant trekking.  I was hesitant to take Nolan, but he did great and we had lots of fun!

Never did I think she'd be fearless in this situation, but Finley LOVED feeding the elephants.

"Trekking" through the jungle with Carmelita.

He's sporting a mohawk these days.

This is giving me a glimpse into the future and what she'll look like as a sassy teenager.

Nolan and I at dinner.  We were so embarrassed when we realized we dressed alike, but then made the best of it with a photo opp.

Daddy's girl.

We loved Phuket so much and it was so easy to get to that we really hope to make it back again.  Next up?  Grandpa Bill arrives Saturday for a week-long visit, and then the kids and I fly back to Chicago with him on the 11th for three COLD weeks.  Dave will join us in Chicago on the 22nd, and then we fly back to HK on the 31st.  We can't wait to see our family and friends!  Fin is especially excited to be reunited with AJ and Emma!

Pretty in Pink?

Sometimes living on the south side of the island can be a bit much, and I find myself dying for a little noise, a little diversity and a change of scenery....so last Friday Finley and I went to Victoria Park with my friend Jessica her daughter Paige.  It was a gorgeous day for walking around the grounds and exploring the three playgrounds there.

This was in front of me on my taxi ride home from the market last week.....a Lamborghini with the license plate "HI DUDE". I wish I could see what the driver looked like.

Poor Nolan - sometimes it stinks to be surrounded by women and all things pink and princess.  Fortunately, he's a good sport most of the time and he actually really likes this boa.

But then Fin and I may have crossed the line by adding the sequined hair band.  Nolan no likey.

And this week.....Fin has a chest infection (poor kid), I'm doing my best to keep Nolan healthy and we're counting down the days to Phuket, Thailand!  We leave on the 24th!

Nolan

Nolan is still the sweetest thing EVER.  He's just a genuinely happy guy....he's all smiles all the time, and spends about five minutes (maybe less?) crying in any given week.  It's so easy to make him laugh, and now he's starting to look at me so intently when I speak to him that I'm convinced he knows exactly what I'm saying.  Hopefully he doesn't spill all my deep, dark secrets.... 

Night-waking aside, he's perfection.

This afternoon Finley and Carmelita went to a playdate, so Nolan and I spent some time chatting on my bed while he practiced rolling from front to back and back to front. 

And that's about all I've got - I've been a major slacker with taking pictures this past week.

Five Months!!!

Happy five month birthday to the boy who makes each day happier (and each night longer...he's back to night waking).  As Finley would say - "I love you so much, Little Buddy!!!!".

And you know, might as well start comparing the kids at a young age.  Here's Finley at 5 months.

This picture from Nolan's "photo shoot" today reminded me of one of Finley (attached below).  Crazy kids.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween weekend!  The weather was beautiful (even cool!) and we had lots to do.  Saturday evening we went to the American Club for a Halloween Barbeque.  They had an amazing spread for dinner, and tons of Halloween-themed desserts.  For the kids, there was a bouncy house, a haunted house and a parade.  Fin loved it...and Nolan was his usual happy-go-lucky self.

Fin is going through a big-time princess phase, so after much debating over whether to be Cinderella or Belle, she finally selected Cinderella. 

This is the only family shot where we're all looking in the direction of the camera.

Since it's the year of the tiger, it was a no-brainer that this would be Nolan's costume.  Surprisingly, he was the only tiger we saw all weekend!

On Sunday, our building had a (lame) magic show for all of the kids.  I have no clue why, but the kids seemed amused by it and it killed some time before trick-or-treating.

Then Dave and I took turns manning our door and taking Fin to do a bit of trick-or treating.  Nolan hung out at home to welcome all the kids who came by for treats.

This picture was taken shortly before the biggest sugar high kicked in.

Then Dave and I decided we needed some Singapore Noodles as our Halloween treat, so we dragged the kids to Stanley for dinner and some boat-watching.

Green Stuff

I decided to do something completely out of character and actually make Nolan's baby food. I went all domestic one afternoon and whipped up some pea, apple and green bean purees. Luckily, Nolan has LOVED everything so far - his smiles have made it worth my effort!

Saturday it was a gorgeous day, so Dave and I went for an afternoon hike.  It's wonderful to have lots of trails just a few minutes from our flat!