A Glimpse Of Things To Come (I hope...)

One of our neighbors, an incredibly generous man, lent us his Canon EOS 500 to test out since I am thinking about perhaps maybe possibly looking into getting a new SLR for myself. Wow... we don't even know his name (we've seen his daughter around more than him) but we got to chatting at the Halloween party here in the building and so he left it at the front desk for me to 'borrow' for 'a few days'... can you even imagine leaving such a precious possession without hand delivery and a few extra words/looks of caution! Phew - I can really learn something from this guy, you know. Of course if you want to lend something of significant value to somebody else they are going to treat it respectfully and to remind them of that with some trite comment like "please be extra careful with it" is only going to make them more nervous and regret 'borrowing' or using the item in the first place. And besides, it's borderline disrespectful to assume that they won't treat it well - so it's best to not even say anything. But I can barely imagine handing over such a possession without that feeling of "please be extra careful with it"... what an attitude adjustment this man has unknowingly given me - may I be a bit more like him. Anyway - all philosophizing aside - here are the photos from my 'test' with a fabulous 'big' camera. I took the kids outside twice to have a go... they turned out pretty good for not reminding myself how to actually use a manual camera and all its features.

We did bump into another neighbor who got to play with us for a bit too... that was fun to see him out and about.

Thumbellina

These two like to play around with the guard post - but I'm not sure the guards like them coming in and out of their office space...

So much for the old "two feet on the ground" rule.

During Helena's 1st nap Hunter and I tested the camera's inside ability...

Inside with a flash is where I feel my camera is weakest - but I think it's mostly my own technique as these inside shots aren't all that great either... I need to re-read my manual! On another note - Hunter loves doing this big puzzle he got from Cynthia & Hilo... I'm on the lookout for more puzzles!

This one has nothing to do with the flash - this is a picture of the TV Hunter bashed... oh yes, I didn't mention that one yet?!? He used the remote control to hit the little bouncing dvd circle as it flittered around the screen - you know the one when the dvd is over and you've left the TV on longer - like the screen saver!?! Yes, he got a big spank for that and no TV for over 2 weeks! Thankfully it's fixed so we can see our pilates instruction again.

Full moon fever

I like this - looks like they're dancing in fire...

Claire was over for dinner and some time of catching up and prayer - but we took the kids outside for some energy release and a test of night settings... all in all, I like it (the camera)... I guess when you've got such easy subjects to photograph, though, how could you not!?!

This and That...

Our building management put in some new floor tiles and leveled off the playground recently. The kids actually enjoyed playing with these items before they were installed, but since then I really notice a difference... it's so nice to have this facility and even nicer now that the kids aren't tripping over the uneven tiles (she's still just tripping over her own feet... but it's only been a month of walking)!
Last weekend we celebrated Isabelle's 2nd birthday downstairs in the lobby... great idea Eugene and Jenny!!! Here are the dads enjoying a bit of face time with the kids while they were watching the balloon man do his thing...

Hunter got the dragonfly balloon... pretty cool, I must say...

Isabelle's birthday is only a few days before Halloween so they decided to have the party the week before and still let the kids dress up. Here's the birthday puppy...


and her little side-kick. My kids were dressed like monkeys... hard to tell the difference from their regular clothes, but there was a theme to it.

We've made a few trips to the doctor's office for frinkly things - Hunter's strange toenails, Helena's skin allergies, a persistent cough in Helena, blood tests for mama (not pregnancy kind - don't get excited... still working on that blood stuff)... anyway... Hunter always wants to take a mask but seldom actually wears the mask... this day Jing did well to get it to stay on him! Good times.

We finally got to meet Benny Lee... Andy & Celia's little guy! What an absolute doll!!! He is sooooooooooooo cute!!! I can't believe it's taken us almost 8 months to meet up, but we had a fun evening together with them and the little guy. And yes, Hunter is a nose picker... we're working on that.

Inspired by this advert in the window of the Nike shop at Neo 19, I signed up for the 10k run and started diligently training just after our lake swim. I was totally on track and was actually enjoying my training until I strained a tendon in my left calf/lower leg that threw me off my already tight training schedule and in the end I didn't even go to the race (though I did cheer for my friend Claire from afar who did her own PR on the event!!!)... a bit disappointing, but... I'll be back!!! There's another event in December that I'll start working toward - a bit slower this time.

Fun Outside

The kids and I had a lovely day out at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall park the other day... just when you think it's autumn and cooling off - phew - it's not... it's still a beautiful 22-27 degrees (which means it's actually a perfect NZ summer day)!

Helena hanging out in her hometown. What a cool place to be "from"... we really like it here.

There was an art class/ group painting around the lake - Hunter was right into it so we stopped by everyone's spots to have a look. It's fun to see what he's interested in. Helena at this time is still mostly interested in her thumb (see previous photo).

Bubble boy - he's finally caught on how to blow instead of suck - now it's fun to give him bubbles to play with.

A very generous Taiwanese mom shared her time and bubbles with Hunter who was right into trying to blow them himself... thankfully her child was also pretty gracious. This bubble wand made really big bubbles... I'll have to figure out where to get one of those for us too.

Meanwhile, Helena's having fun exploring the surrounding area and is drawn to the vending machine...

She was supposed to be feeding the birds but decided to eat the crusts instead - good thing I wasn't offering moldy bread - just the parts that nobody else in the house wants to eat.

I saw her playing with the vending machine change slot earlier... but then I figured out what she was doing...

She was making deposits of her own...

or rather - withdrawls... She's too cute (and unhygenic, I'm sure)! Sorry birds, no lunch for you today!!!

Tony's New Baby...

After years of thinking, wanting, waiting - now was the right time for Tony to make a major purchase and get back into something he enjoys doing... CYCLING!!! Though we've been having fun on our bikes taking trips with the kids down to the river, Tony was after something a bit more racy... and he got it! Much of our trip to the US was spent purchasing (thanks, Jason) this bicycle and all the gear that goes with it... but Tony's been putting it all to good use!!! He's been out with a cycle group a few times now, he's got a biking buddy (actually 2) during the week and now he's registered for a race in December!!! YAHOO!!! He's loving it! Though if you ask him today he may tell you differently - over 100km up 2 mountains - he's in bed now sleeping!!!

This front line beaute is his... the carbon fiber Felt number... it's pretty cool. Cool enough to hang in our bedroom.

His first trip with the bike group from Howard's Bike Shop saw them up Yangminshan on a rainy day with a very long rest period... I bet he was missing that today!

For all that professional gear he's got, he had to buy himself a humidity suit because he forgot to take his rain jacket... I think this is classic!

I'm glad he's got bike buddies... I'm not ready to join the crowd... though he's got his sights on me doing a triathalon at some stage in my life. Let's just try to let me get the run part down for now.

Oh... and when he can't make it out on the bike and he wants to do a bit of exercise he pulls out his e-motion trainer and gets to work in the bedroom... he's figured out the best system is to put the fan on in front of him so at least it feels more like being on the open road!!! Actually... it's to keep him cool... The kids love it of course!!!

Artistic Expression? OR Just a Big Mess???

For our Playgroup a couple of weeks ago we did another fingerpainting session at our place... we moved it up to the table this time since we've got more babies around, but still - only a few of the kids lasted longer than the color-mixing session. The rest of them went back to the balls and toys! My friend Karen took most of these photos with her phone so they too are quite an artistic impression of our time together! I love this kind of stuff!!! Thanks everybody for a fun morning!!!

Last Week... This Week...

Tony's at a dinner function tonight, the kids have been asleep since 7.15, the house is tidied, I've finished my Bible study and now I'm going to do a bit of catching up... so here you go...

Toward the end of last week when the rain stopped we ventured out by bus to Daan Park to meet Cynthia, Hilo & Hannah! Though a brief trip (how brief can you get when you're include commuting time?), we had fun a) meeting up with friends b) outside.

Helena is little miss Intrepid Explorer... she is pretty confident and just charged up the stairs to the top of the swirly slide! My goodness, I can not turn my head for a moment with these two!!! But she loves it! And I love that she's not afraid!

I don't think Hilo's sad... look a little closer! All the kids have been like this lately and Hunter has been enjoying the 'fruits' of his cold too!

Hunter was drawn to this kid's bike like a moth to a flame... I had tried to tell him to leave the kid alone, but his mom insisted that her son wanted to share his bike with the little foreigner (she didn't actually say it like that but sometimes I wonder why Taiwanese parents are so nice to my kids?)

Of course Hunter was not satisfied being a passenger and it wasn't long before the big kid gave in enough to let Hunter ride around on his own... here he is trucking around the playground like a 3-4 year old!!! Yep, so we've just got to decide if a bike will make a better gift for Christmas or for his 3rd birthday. Any suggestions?!?

Seeing her big brother work his charm, Helena follows suit and barges in on another little girl's bike - I embarrassingly try to pry her off but the girl's grandma insists the girl shares! What's wrong with these people?!? Shouldn't there be some sense of 'this is mine!!'?!? Or is that just a totally Western thought process? Are we going to be in for a super huge shock when we return to NZ?!? For now I'm thankful for the generosity of the Taiwanese parents in the parks - it gives my kids a chance to test out different toys - if I was truly smart, I'd be asking for the specs on each with price comparisons!

We haven't seen baby Hannah for a while - she's getting more and more alert! What a cutie! Lucky for Cynthia that Hannah's still content to stay in the stroller while Hilo runs around the playground like a wild man!

Last Saturday we had a special cellgroup meeting at our place... our Belarusian brother, Vladimir, has acquired a permanent position at a university in Spain so he's heading over to Europe soon and this was his last group meeting with us! It was also special because our pastors came to share with us the history and vision of our church. We had a great meal, some good insight into the church and good prayer time for Vladimir - really it was a great night.

I had been prepping Hunter for a few days that Pastor Young would be coming over to our house - well, Hunter absolutely LOVES Pastor Young - so even when he woke up from his nap earlier in the day he was asking about him... you should've seen him bouncing around as soon as Younger arrived!!! Hunter was surrounded by some of his favorite adults and he let it show!! When it was finally bedtime, the only way I could get Hunter to brush his teeth was to tell him the sooner it happened the sooner Pastor Young could read a story to him... well he bolted to the bathroom for that one!!! It is so precious!!!

We really appreciate Younger & Ann!!!

Hunter's got some cool duds that finally got pulled out of the closet... he's digging this new shirt from Grandad (good choice) and he's stuck on his 'skateboarding shoes' we brought back from Travis!!! This is his Sunday best for this week!!! In order to get in & out of church we've got to go through a series of elevators in the underground subway system... I should document the whole process one of these weeks! It's a miracle we find our way to church each week!!

We've set up the screen saver to do a random slide show using any/all photos in our files... it's actually been really fun and at any given time you may find one or two of us just taking a trip down memory lane. Hunter is one of the biggest fans - but one morning I was passing by and found two more fans - Preppy & Pinky!! Honestly, I did not put them there.. the little man did... and look he even put them in front of some water! No, Hunter, you're not going to get a dog when we move back to NZ... not for a really long time!!!

Because it started raining again early in the week, I decided to give the kids a bit of outside time with a picnic on the balcony! Why haven't I done this more often!?! No packing, not much room to run around - perfect combination of familiar and novelty - Hunter's been talking about it all week!! There is a drawback - the balcony is FILTHY!!! And we ended up having baths after this lunch to get rid of the black dirt all over their feet, hands (from playing with the screen doors) and foodie faces!!! But heck, it was fun!

Oh, now this is truly monumental!! We've been working slowly and not so steadily on the potty training thing with Hunter! The past week or so has seen a bit of progress in that he's more willing to use it and he's got better control when he's not wearing a diaper... but that said - he just hasn't wanted to do the bigger business there. A few weeks ago I finally succumbed to the bribe approach and told him he could have Emily (one of Thomas' friends - as in Thomas the Tank Engine) if he poo-pooed on the potty. At first it was going to be a sticker system - you go - you get a sticker - 5 stickers = half of the train... 5 more and you get the other half (yes, it's a two-part train). Well... after a whole lot of attempts, encouragement, dirty diapers when he finally did it the first time in the potty I just gave him the darn half! I figured he'd be super keen to get the front half of Emily so he'd just jump back on the toilet the next day to work toward it... but oh was I wrong!!! THREE WEEKS LATER - he finally decided (on his own accord) to get down from the dinner table, go to the toilet and do his business! I was so proud of him he got Emily right then and there - plus a sticker!!! Now we've got no other bribes, but he's been at least once since then on his own again!!! WOW - just like I thought/heard -when he's ready he'll be ready (but I'm still not ready to take him out in public, are you kidding!?!).

Another evening this week Baba and Hunter created a helicopter with the Legos... not your most conventional, but Hunter recognized it and played with it into the next day! I especially like the horse in the front!

And this one is just because they still are just so darn cute!

I'll have to do a proper entry on Tony's newest love - his road bike! But this morning he only had a short window for exercise so he pulled out the trainer and got to riding! He's getting more comfortable on it... and hey, he doesn't have to change into all his bike gear when he's here at home!

I'm still trying to get some wear out of some beautiful things Helena's been given... this is a top from the Vanderspuy's that I mistakenly thought was too small... so she'll be wearing it until the temp drops dramatically!

A good thing about going to the same fruit market stalls is that these guys really like the kids - so they score themselves a pre-lunch snack with an audience of course!!!