90 Minutes of Lame

Earlier this year, Dave and I bought tickets to Sesame Street Live, thinking Finley would appreciate some one-on-one time with us while getting to watch her buddies on stage.  Fortunately, Fin thought it was way more fun than Dave and I did.  The things we do for our kids...

This is what we watched for 90 LONG minutes.  SPOILER ALERT: Big Bird was undecided about his future career path, the SS gang rallied around him and got him out of his "I don't know what I want to be when I grow up" funk, and there was a happy ending.  You'd think they could have done that in a little less time, right?

Dave and Fin before the show.

Rehydrating after running some laps during intermission.

Fin

Here are some pics of Fin taken since Nana and Papa arrived on the 15th.

Hanging out in the guest room, where she often says, "Let's go through Nana and Papa's suitcases."

At Ocean Park with Dave, Nana and Papa (Nolan and I decided to beat the heat and stay home).

Playing with her new weapon umbrella from Nana and Papa.

Where to?

Guess who received his passport in the mail today?  Nolan!  As you can see below, he is dreaming sweet dreams of all the stamps we're going to make sure he gets in that book.  Nolan, we promise you're going to be a very well-traveled kid.  First stop.....Phuket, Thailand!

And the fun didn't end there - Finley turned the packaging into a party hat.  Crazy times here in HK.

Hiking

Dave's parents arrived last Thursday, so we've been trying to get out a bit and show them around HK.  So far they've seen Stanley, Central and Kowloon.  Yesterday morning, Dave and Tom went for a hike in our 'hood.  After climbing 1,000 steps (seriously folks, that's no exaggeration) they reached the trail and began one of the most strenuous hikes either one of them has ever been on.  As you can see below, the climb was worth it when they were rewarded with some gorgeous views.

Stanley

More Stanley

There's our building (the one on the left).  Seriously, isn't Hong Kong beautiful?

And now for more beautiful sights....sweet little Nolan.  I love how newborns sleep, it's too cute!  And yes, Nolan is every bit as big as he looks.  At one month he was 11.5 pounds.  Now that he's over 6 weeks old, I'm guessing he's tipping the scales at somewhere around 13 pounds.  As Finley would say, "holy cow!!!".

Sleeping peacefully, as usual.

Oh, and it's not a post without a pic of my girl.  However, this was the only shot I had of her on my camera.  I promise, I'm not playing favorites...it's just that Fin is rarely in one place long enough to photograph!  Nana and Papa have seen that Finley is not the shy girl she appears to be on Skype.  She's constantly on the move, asking questions, talking and singing songs!

Finley and Nolabar

Last weekend Dave and I were able to spend some time alone with Finley, so we headed to Big Wave Bay Beach.  I don't think she noticed us once she saw the sand and water, but we had a great time watching her so happy!

Digging a hole to China....

This was our view while playing in the sand.

Nolan's reflection was kind enough to entertain him while I gave Finley a bath the other night.

He makes my heart melt.

Top/Bottom Five

All of us expats tend to talk a lot about what we like/dislike about Hong Kong.  We've been here almost 5 months, and it got me thinking about my own list.  Sorry for all the words in this post, Jana....

My 5 Favorite Things About Hong Kong

1. It's "easy living".  People here throw around these two words like people on The Bachelor throw around the phrase "here for the right reasons" - but they're right.  China is one of the few places in the world where live-in help is affordable which means no dishes, laundry, ironing or errands I don't feel like doing.  On another note, everything you buy is delivered to your door for free - whether it's clothes from a department store, groceries or dry-cleaning.  Oh, and cab doors even open and close automatically.  Really, it would be more accurate to call it "lazy living". 
2. The view.  I never understood the value of a good view (obviously - our sunroom in Chicago overlooks an alley), but I have yet to get tired of our sea view.  It's way better than your view.

3. The people.  The friends I've made are so great.  Because everyone is out here on their own, you become close quickly.  And even though I only knew two of the girls for a few months before they moved away, I know they'll be in our lives forever.   

4. The experience.  Even if they don't remember it clearly, I'm excited that Finley and Nolan get to live here.  And although it isn't always easy, it's been a good test for me.  I had NO clue I could survive so far out of my comfort zone (remember, I'm the girl who couldn't last a year in Denver).  The good news is, I'm doing pretty darn well.  We're having lots of fun together as a family, and it's interesting to experience life in a different culture - although I'll admit Hong Kong has a much more international feel to it than you'd guess when you think of China.

5. The travel.  We're planning our first vacation (Phuket, Thailand) and hope to see lots of places we never thought we'd make it to.  Too bad we have these darn kids slowing us down.  Kidding, only kidding.

The Five Crappiest Things About HK

1. The 8,000 miles and very long (15 hours), expensive flights between here and home.
2. Being so disconnected.  People are getting engaged, having babies (even twins!) and just living life and I'm missing it all.  I hate not being there for the little and big things going on in my family and friend's lives.  This is when I wish I could hop in my pod, push a button and be home in an hour.  Or less.
3. Food is effing expensive here.  I could cite countless examples, but it's damn pricey to live here because EVERYTHING is imported.  The grocery stores here make Whole Foods look like a bargain.
4. The shopping.  Okay, if I was a tourist I'd probably love all the swanky stores, fancy labels and fun things I could buy myself as a vacation "souvenir".  But I just want a Target.  Or an Anthropologie.  Or just a Gap.  Thank goodness my mom has graciously accepted the job of being my personal shopper and thank goodness all of our visitors have agreed to cart out all of my online purchases as well as Finley's favorite Jewel brand fruit snacks.
5. Guess what?  I can't think of anything else about life in HK that stinks.  That's good, right??

Okay, I promise no more wordy posts for a long, long time.

Smiles

It's been a slow week - no visitors right now, but we're getting ready for Nana and Papa (Dave's parents) to arrive on the 15th.  Since all of my Hong Kong friends have either moved away for good or have gone back to their "real" home for the summer, I'm ridiculously excited for my in-law's company. =)  Seriously, it's to the point where my three best friends in this country are my dry cleaner (I give him business so he has to be nice to me), my helper (I pay her so she has to be nice to me) and my doorman (my building association pays him to be nice to me).  Notice a theme?  Yikes. 

In other news, Nolan woke up super happy this morning and was all smiles and coos.  Watching him was so addictive that most of the pics I took ended up way off-centered.  Typical.

Here he is hanging out in his bouncy seat, wearing an adorable sleep sack from his future best buddy AJ and future wife Julia.

  For real, doesn't Finley's morning hair look like a bad "mom hairstyle"?

Almost Forgot + The Beach

Almost forgot to post Nolan's one month old picture....though truth be told, he was kind of a pain in the butt and not so into taking these pictures!

Here is Finley's one month old picture...ignore her raging case of baby acne.  See the resemblance?

Today we took the kids to Shek O.  Once you get to the beach, you're bombarded by these little old ladies who try to rent you an umbrella and beach chairs.  The women look like they're about 100 years old, but are somehow strong enough to haul an umbrella and two chairs down the stairs and over to our little plot of sand.

Fin and Dave playing

Fin

Waking up from a snooze.

One Month Old!

It's definitely summer here - soooo hot and humid.  Unless you're in the water, it's pretty tough to be outside.

At the same time, we've had beautiful blue skies every day - it's impossible to get used to our views.

Sweet Nolan is one month old!  He's still such a good baby and only fusses when he's hungry.  However, he eats like he's a 13-year old boy so we definitely hear some screams from time to time. =)

Having trouble imagining how hot it gets here?  Take a look at Fin after 10 minutes of running around in Stanley.

First stop when we get home....the tub.