I heart Sick Days

Wednesday morning Chloe woke up with a fever and a runny nose. Yesterday, I took Ava to get her Polio, Hib and DTaP shots. Today I woke up with a headache and a stomache.  After the girls naps today, we all felt blah.  Ava has a runny nose and a little fever from her shots.  My headache just won't give in and Chloe was still complaining of an upset stomach.  So we did the best thing in the world:

We stayed inside all afternoon and evening watching princess movies and eating popcorn with lots of butter.  Now, I know health nuts and the doctor will tell me that butter only makes runny noses and upset stomachs and headaches feel worse. But they are wrong.  There is nothing more comforting than eating a handful of popcorn soggy with butter (as long as you don't wipe it on the couch).

I just put snotty-nosed Ava to bed and Chloe just drew a beautiful picture of a yellow, mommy princess.  She is now prancing around the living room saying "I a princess.  A beautiful, beautiful princess."

I love sick days.

She's going to be a STAR!

The local clothing manufacturers like to show a little diversity in their children's clothing catalogs to attract more attention to their brand.  Since there are very few foreign little girls just hanging around over here, Chloe and Ava have become favorites for clothing catalog photo shoots.  Today they did a session together.  Chloe thought it was great fun dressing up and wearing makeup and getting her hair all curled.  I think Ava had different plans for her day.  She just wasn't into it.

Here are a few pics from Ava and Chloe's first modeling gig together.

(p.s. If you double-click on the pics they open a bit larger in a new window)

9 years - but whose counting?

Nine years ago today, Jeff and I stood at the altar and nervously repeated vows that we only vaguely understood. Contrary to the ordinary, our first year of marriage was not marked with strife.  In those first few years we rarely argued or even became irritated with each other.  Our first five years were like a honeymoon that never ended and just got better each year.
On September 1, 2006 we had children.  An "adjustment" period began that I am told will last the next 18 years.

Before children, every evening was a date-night: I didn't have to share my food, no one wiped sticky little hands on my new white blouse and there was seldom any spilled milk to clean up.  We were always able to finish a sentence and I never forgot what I was saying after yet another urgent interruption.  I had energy to spare at the end of the day. I never lost my keys or forgot my wallet.  My check-list before leaving the house only consisted of three things: wallet, cell phone, keys.  Today's checklist: wallet, cell phone, keys, diapers, wipes, snacks, extra clothes, sippy cups, activities ....

Our house was never littered with toys stepped on in the middle of the night as we fumble down the hall to comfort a sick or scared child.  I used to say I had a bad night's sleep if I awoke once during the night. Now, if it is only once then it's the best night of sleep that month. 

Before children, we weathered illnesses by missing a day of work. We didn't know the intense fear of taking a deathly ill child to the hospital in the middle of the night. 

Before children, we romantically strolled through the park on a whim. We didn't understand the thrill of watching a child care-freely run through the waves at the beach.

Before children, we saw each other as a guy and a girl. We didn't know the sweet sound a child makes when gleefully yelling "mommy" and "daddy" when we walk in the door from work.

Before children, we quietly read a book or watched TV before going to bed. We didn't know the warmth a child gives when rocked to sleep in our arms.

Before children, every want was selfish and usually became a need that was met. We didn't understand the joy of giving up our time, money and energy to enure two little girls "are trained up in the way that they would go".

Before we were married, our personage was one dimensional. Nine years ago we became two-dimensional when we decided to share our lives with each other. Almost four years ago, Jeff and I became three-dimensional and get to share the greatest joy, sadness, fear and love imaginable.  We could have kept the honeymoon going but living life is so much richer.  I feel honored to watch my best friend be "Daddy" 'til death do us part.

Funny Friday

Tonight we dined at a Mexican restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan owned by a Cambodian who grew up in America.  Now there's a new twist on the idea of international eating. 

The food was good.

June Update

It's hard to believe we have passed the 6 month mark in our new home across the big pond.  The weeks keep ticking off and we enjoy Taipei more every week.  We stay busy with language study, our day jobs, the girls as well as building relationships with new friends.  Life is becoming more normal and routine and I find fewer things of great fascination like when we first arrived. 

Here are a few little updates from each of our lives:

Ava's new favorite pasttimes are climbing on the furniture and pestering Chloe. I cannot count the number of times I have to rescue her from bookcases, ladders, tops of furniture or the table.  She can get up but she can't get down.  She also tries to get Chloe's attention by stealing whatever book, game or toy Chloe is quietly playing with.  Ava then runs away and when Chloe catches her, Ava dogpiles Chloe. Both are laughing hysterically the whole time.

Chloe is enrolled in the local school to begin attending half-days in August.  She will go to school while Jeff and I are in language study.  Chloe is becoming such a sweet little girl who is extremely concerned when one of us doesn't feel well or if Ava gets hurt (usually falling off something she has just climbed).  As I write this Chloe has just misplaced a little toy McDonald's credit card thing she calls her "ticket."  She is yelling from her room "Ticket! Where are you? Ticket! Ticket! You Okay?"

Jeff's job, school and language study is coming along.  He really enjoys Taipei and loves going on exploratory adventures on the weekends.  We got tired of getting lost all the time so for his birthday present he got a new iphone with GPS. A major perk of Asia is that the iphone is WAAYY cheaper here.  He is also doing well conversing in Chinese and I am really proud of his progress.

As for me (Heather) I have been having some medical problems lately that the docs originally thought were linked with kidney stones.  However, tests have shown that I don't have kidney stones and so more tests are needed.  Please remember me and the docs during your quiet times.  Please ask that the docs have wisdom to know where the problem lies and that it will be a quick and easy fix.

What's your chop?

A chop is a stamp of someone's name and is used in China similarly to a signature or social security number in America.  With someone's chop (stamp) you can open and close bank accounts, buy property and complete most business or legal transactions.  It's akin to the King's seal used long ago.

Recently, a friend of ours gave Jeff and I new Chinese names.  With the help of my language tutor, Chloe and Ava have also received Chinese names and I have learned to write them all in chinese characters as well as understand most of the meanings.  Which means that we can now each get a chop and be real Taiwanese people. 

I'm not sure how to type Chinese characters on an English Language Keyboard so you can't see what they look like in Chinese.  But, here is what they are translated into English phonetics:

Jeff: Wei Jei-Fu (I think it means something like "great man." It was a little difficult to follow the meaning)
Heather: Wei Hai-Le (Sea of Happiness)
Chloe: Wei Ke-Yi (Happy and Comfortable)
Ava: Wei E-Wan (Hope for tender mercy)

Our last name is "Wei" and always come before the first name when saying both last and given names.  And of course, Chinese is a tonal language so you have to say our names with the proper tone or it won't mean anything near the same thing.

Gone Fishin'

Last week, we took a little vacation around the island. It was great Chinese practice because once we left Taipei there were very few English speakers and even fewer people who had seen little blonde-haired girls. We had the opportunity to talk to many, many new people and got to know our surroundings quite a bit better.

The entire length of Taiwan is only about 250 miles. Taipei is the largest city and is located in the very North of the island. The southern tip is a tropical paradise with white sand beaches and the east coast is a mountainous wonderland rising straight up from the ocean. We drove from Taipei down the east coast exploring the vast mountain wilderness and then spent a few days dancing through tide pools and picnicing on the sunny southern beaches. There was also a wicked awesome aquarium that consumed one day. In total it took us two days to drive down the winding east coast where we learned the hard way that Ava gets car sick. Four days adventuring in the southern tip and one day's return journey up the road well-traveled along the densely-populated west coast. We arrived home yesterday refreshed with a new understanding of Taiwan and a ton of language practice.

Here are our pics: