Happy Year Of The Tiger...

One thing I really enjoy about living here in Taipei is multiple holidays to celebrate!!! So we've been through the Christmas month, the NZ vacation in the new year, Hunter's birthday... and now...................... CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! Tony got a few days off which resulted in a 5-day weekend and some time to relax, catch up with friends and just hang out together! It always creeps up on us so we're never organized to do anything particularly local, but we did have a good time...

To start the festivities, our dear friend Yichi came over with some colored paper and an "activity" to do with Hunter... what a sweetie! She taught him how to make a tiger mask for the new year! He thought that was pretty cool!

I think his new scissors contributed to that 'coolness' factor... but new scissors or not - I was impressed by Yichi's patience and determination to get the tiger right!

On Saturday, we ventured out into the rain for a Wild Rumpus Where the Wild Things were loitering for our friend Ellie's 3rd birthday!!! It was a really fun party - Kristie went all out with following the theme. You can see more photos and read more about it at: http://www.fareaststreet.com/
I took most of the photos on her blog using her camera... it was fun for me and a chance for them to just enjoy the party... but it's worth taking a look.

Hunter was "helping" Ellie open the present he gave her.

Some of the Wild Things

Ellie is a real chocolate girl so Kristie made this delicious chocolate cake... boy was I glad my 'junk food fast' had ended that day... it was a good way to start back into chocoloate for myself!

Jason is studying at the local seminary so their family lives in campus housing. Thankfully the halls were empty due to the Chinese New Year holiday so Kristie's forest could take over the foyer (I don't think anyone would've objected had they been there, but she probably would've had to make a bigger cake to accommodate). It really was cool!

On the actual New Year's Day (Sunday, February 14th this year) we took a walk to church on a beautiful sunny day (keep in mind it had been raining the previous few days). We decided to dress the kids in their Chinese New Year costumes (what would you wait for, eh?) and let them enjoy the holiday too. Because the tradition is to go to your parents house for new year's eve - most of our church congregation was not around, so we had services at the church office.

Along our walk we had to stop at a McD's for a toilet break... I thought it was pretty funny to see the kids in their traditional clothes in such a non-Chinese place.

Helena looked so cute, but a bit too boyish in her costume so we added the headband - and I must say - that thing stayed in her hair ALL day with no arguments!!!

After church as we we're walking toward the park to take advantage of the stunning weather when I decided to check my phone's messages (as if I usually get messages on a Sunday morning)... good thing I did... our friends were on their way to the zoo and asked if we wanted to join them... are you kidding... why not!?!? So we hopped on the MRT and 20 minutes later we were there!!! Not at all prepared as usual, but hey, you gotta live a little right?!? Hunter & the Kohler boys get along pretty well so he was in paradise running around like a headless chicken chasing after the boys who look like they could all be cousins.

Part of our unpreparedness included the kids wearing those ridiculously hot Chinese clothes... thankfully for Hunter I had some spare pants, but Helena wasn't as lucky... but it was a good thing she had a onesie so at least she could strip a layer... Jane Fonda, look out!!! With her little headband and sport socks she was a totally 80's aerobics instructor look-alike!!! What a cutie!

Thanks, Kohlers, for a fun afternoon!

On the 2nd day of the new year, we decided to take a bike ride... up a hill... a couple of kilometers... with kids on the back... in the cold... Tony rides this hill often as part of his interval training and usually speeds up it in 10-12 minutes... 30 minutes later we were at the top... but hey, I did it... on my bike the whole time!!! We then had to get somewhere to eat lunch and drink coffee to warm up since it was downright chilly out there!!! Tony took Hunter on to Daan Park (since we skipped it for the zoo the day before) and I took Helena home for a nap (and a hot shower for me). It was a fun morning out as a family playing together.

On Tuesday we celebrated our friend's 1st birthday... Helena & Hunter were thrilled to have cake two times in one week!!! (Truth be known, so was I).

So now Eries is one and she's a real walker too... it gives Helena someone else to push around, I mean play with...


Tony had to go back to work on Thursday... bummer for him... but while he was at work he made a plan with our friends Dan & Jennifer to go out for a farewell dinner. Thankfully we were able to get a babysitter on such short notice...

Dan is not only a great cyclist - he's a pretty good cook too!!!

Hunter's Zoo Party

Hunter celebrated his birthday in style a few days after the fact on Saturday, January 30th with a group of friends at the Taipei Zoo!!! We love it! A few of us met to look at animals at 10.30am while the rest of the group met us for a picnic at noon... all in all it was a pretty smooth transition and Hunter had a great day!!!

Yep, he can finally get those 3 fingers up... we'd been practicing for a while before his birthday but he just couldn't get that third finger to stay up... looks like he's got it now!

Helena is riding in style with Isabelle... a totally different outlook from her regular stroller ride.

Here's something you don't see everyday - the Taiwanese Black Bear!

When we got to Bird World (our designated picnic spot) a friendly lion came over to wish Hunter a happy birthday! The other local children thought this was a great time for a photo op, little did they know it was our friend Edu dressed up just for Hunter!!!

A lot of the kids were frightened by the lion - I didn't think of that - it looked so harmless in the shop... but Ellie & Abram were fearless...

And it was funny how some of the little siblings were a lot less fearful than the 2-3 year olds... as demonstrated by little David here.

We had to carry the cake in a huge box to get it safely to the zoo... thankfully it all came out okay for the big song, etc. I love that this little boy just stood there watching longingly from within the aviary... and I love that we're blowing out candles right next to a sign that says "no smoking". The cake was a standard chocolate cake with Tony's special icing job... he is pretty good at all this cake stuff.

The birthday crew!

Tony's checking up on Edu - but hey kids, don't try this at home!!!

Hunter... what did I just tell you!?! (a common saying, eh?)

Poor Edu was sweating up a storm... but Hunter was really happy... and I thought it was a really fun way to celebrate.

Most of the other families took their kids home for naps while we walked around the zoo with some of our dear Taiwanese friends. I realized on the day that all of these guys met Hunter just 2-3 days after he was born and have been at all of his birthdays since... pretty special friends!

Ellie & Hunter waited patiently to see if the giraffes would come any closer, but they were too busy eating to notice their spectators.

Tony thought I over catered for the party, but look... all those oranges and pears and bananas got eaten up at some stage.

Little Miss Helena missed her nap so it was all she could do to stay awake by running around like a wild woman trying to push buttons on displays...

Edu & Annie had to head out to another appointment but they left Hunter a key to a locker containing his birthday present... what a fun thrill... though Hunter was more interested in trying to re-open/close the locker... until he saw the opened gift was a car with a tool set... very cool!!!

Check out the cheeky monkey peeking through her tray...

Potty-training kids find anything to do with poop so funny....

Yes... we stayed at the zoo till 4pm!!! I think that's a family record! Thanks everybody for making it such a memorable birthday for Hunter... he talked about it for the following week!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Hunter!!!

Look who turned 3 on Tuesday, January 26!!!

He's such a big boy now... he's wearing new jeans from dad & Aunty Sasha, a new shirt and his new Thomas the Tank Engine backpack (thanks, Janet) while speeding along on his bike! He really is a good bike rider... and he LOVES it!!!

As part of his special day, Hunter got to go out to lunch with daddy & Edu - just the guys!!! You can tell by that cheesy grin of his he thought this was pretty cool!!!

Not only did he get to eat a cheeseburger and some shake, but they ordered a waffle too!!! WOW.. Hunter was living it up!!!

When I asked him last week what he wanted to do for his birthday, all he said was "eat cake with candles and sing happy birthday Hunter" - so I had a few of his friends come over to do just that in the afternoon (fat chance for a nap after all the preivous excitement). It was perfect timing - 4-5pm... singing, cake eating, opening presents, hugging & thanking, playing with new toys, saying good-bye!!!

He ripped into his presents - our friends are so generous... thanks everyone for the books, coloring book, puzzles and this airport!!! He's been reading and playing with all of it all week.

Hugs for his buddies

And it was a regular Tuna Noodle Casserole Tuesday night dinner, but he was so excited from the day's activities that he didn't eat as much as usual... but we told him he had to eat before he could open the big box of presents that came from California...

These two have plenty to fight over... I mean practice sharing... now...

And to finish off the night, he listened to "Twas the Night Before Christmas" as read by his Grandpa in CA (cool book, mom & dad!!!)... Phew... what a day! What a boy! We really are so grateful for this gift of Hunter!!! He is a joy! He has a great sense of humor and his laugh is contagious... he loves people and tries to make them feel welcome in his home... he's our little man and we love him so much! Happy birthday, Hunter!!!!