Halloween - Part II

Maddie was giddy most of the day and the squeals of delight did not stop until she crashed at bed time. Leading the parade was a highlight and Trick-or-Treating around the the community was a highlight. I love living out here because it's just so... down home. Go figure - in China of all places.

The kids and parents all met up together around 6:00 and then went Trick-or-Treating for over an hour. They say that there aren't that many houses out at the Links but I think an hour and 17 houses is plenty of fun! I was so happy to see the parents dressed up too... we didn't even plan it that way. And of course, because we were dressed up we were able to partake in a few treats along the way. Leave it to Todd Parham, our resident, "keep it real" father to bring out the beverages for the walk around the Links. Everyone was laughing and having a great time!!








Even mom dressed up for Halloween!!!












Maddie, Rigel and Annika...









One of my students, Sam, always decorates his house and hands out presents like Santa at Halloween time. And then he has something special for his teachers... but I didn't fall for it this year!!











Lucinda, Preeti, Michele, me, and Carolyn prepare for our treats!!!

Halloween Day - Part One!

I just got back from a full morning at school and so much has happened to the girls today that I thought I would do TWO entries. Both will be full of pictures!

Maddie decided that she was going to be a fairy princess for Halloween and Maddie also decided that Amelia would be a kitty cat for her first Halloween debut. I've gotta give Maddie full credit as she was seriously thinking ahead when we walked past Halloween costumes at Babies R Us over the summer - it was all her idea!





Running into Maddie's VP, a.k.a Super Sacha, in the school library is always a great way to start the day! Here's the deal with walking through the hallways with two beautiful children..... it takes FOREVER to get anywhere!!! :)










Maddie, Malin and Ms. Preeti found themselves leading the entire elementary school for the parade. Thank goodness I gave tours of my university campus - walking backwards while holding a baby, talking, and taking pictures/video can't be done by just anybody ya know!











Taking a break on the parade route for a partial family photo! We sure miss you dad!!!!!










Snoozing Kitties....Carol had some quality snuggle time with a sleeping Amelia while I had some quality one on one time with Ms. Maddie during the assembly!











I had to include the picture of art teacher extraordinaire, Robert Davis.... the man has got style! That and he makes Maddie laugh really, really hard!!!











We ended the morning with a PreK party where Maddie actually got down and dirty while searching for spiders in a glob of goo!!

Happy Halloween Punka-doodles!!!

The Great Pumpkin

Andy bought a pumpkin before he left for Thailand so that Maddie and I could have our traditional pumpkin carving time! This was Amelia's first halloween and Maddie was eager to share her years of experience with her little sister. Amelia hung on for about... oh.... 10 seconds so I put her down for a nap and Maddie continued on our merry little way on our own. This year definitely brought a twist to the traditional pumpkin carving event. Let's just say that the twist involved nail polish!!






Maddie decided to use nail polish as a glue for glitter hair!











Digging the seeds out with a spoon so that our nails don't get "too yucky!"












Check out the eyebrows on that pumpkin!!!

Moments from class...

Maddie's teacher just sent this video out of the kiddos attempting a Halloween song and it was something I just had to share! I love being a mom!!!!

Halloween Parties!

Andy and I rushed home after our Puxi meeting today so that we could go with Maddie to the Halloween Party!! I'm glad we did because when I saw Preeti (her teacher) at the party, she came and threw her arms around both Andy and I with a big thank you! Maddie had a "tough" day at school and just needed some straight Maddie Time. Apparently, she had even taken her blanket to school to help make her feel better...

Halloween parties are just the ticket though! It's just so America out here sometimes - it's a good thing around the holidays! Maddie may be a Third Culture Kid but she knows her holidays!!! I think this picture shows the third pumpkin she has carved this year... and there is more to come!!!








Maybe they are still a bit too young for Harry Potter!!
















Some Night Jumpin' on the trampoline with Rigel!

















Waiting to get into the Spooky Haunted House!

Maddie's Day at Home

You've gotta give the girl credit...

Our house has been sick this week. No fevers - just asthmatic coughing that can be exhausting! Maddie stayed home on Monday, came home from school on Tuesday and stayed home on Wednesday. I was feeling under the weather so I had no problem "plugging" Maddie in for a Pixar marathon session. She's the one that turned the TV off - it wasn't my idea! She REALLY misses going to school when she is not there!!!!

You've gotta give the girl credit!

Lessons Learned... from a four year old

"Maddie, Amelia is four weeks old today!"
"Mommy, we're the SAME! I'm four too!"
"You're right Maddie, shall we go wake her up together?"
"I can do it Mommy..."

So she walked into Amelia's room and stood on stool so she could see in and then I heard it.

"Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning... I love you... Good morning to you... hey... Good Morning." Just then, Amelia opened her eyes, turned to her sister and gave the BIGGEST smile I have seen so far.

This is the simple song I sang to Maddie when she was little. It has definitely been awhile since I've woken Maddie up with that song, but she pulled it from her memory bank and has started to sing it to Amelia. My four year old daughter has taught me yet another lesson and I've embraced this one. You see, I've struggled with keeping Maddie's identity Maddie's. Do I create another blog for Amelia? Do I write in Maddie's blog? I've been thinking about this for weeks and I feel like all of the clouds of doubt have disappeared now thanks to the peanut.

Maddie and Amelia are not the same, but....
they have the same parents that love them both very much and they will share similar memories their entire lives. They are both sisters to each other and they are connected. Rather than fiercely hold onto their individual identities, I'll go with the flow, take my daughter's lead, and celebrate their identity as sisters and our identity as a family.

Thank you Maddie Anna... we love you!

Wonderful Weekends - Sunny Days

It's hard to believe that it's almost the end of October here! The air and skies have been clear in Pudong, the temps have been warm during the day and cool at night, workers are still mowing lawns and I'm still cutting roses off the rosebush! Maddie loves to be outside right now.... she's such a homebody these days too. Anytime we suggest going someplace in town, she' simple says, "no thanks!"

Feeding the fish in Jinqiao is a sure fire way to get the peanut out of the house though. The fish are now huge since it's the end of summer feedings by children begging to feed them just a little bit more!

Heading to Decathalon with the hope of buying a new ball or golf club is a sure fire way to get her out of the house as well. Ever since Andy bought her a golf club over the summer, she's convinced that she's the next Anika. They practice putting it the garage in the evenings... I wish I could say it was a cute father/daughter bonding moment in the traditional sense, but it's usually filled with screams of "I CAN DO IT BY MYSELF!" Maybe she'll be interested in learning later - for now, it's all for fun!

In the end, she's a home body though. She wants to come home to play with her things - to play with her friends. The fact that we live across the street from the playground gives her a birds eye view of who is there and who is not. This time it was Cooper. So, we came home and they played on the tire swing for what seemed like hours...

Shoot - it felt like I just of glass of lemonade for the this lazy afternoon in Shanghai Summer!!!

Happy Birthday Roqueya!

Birthday parties are just downright fun when you're a little girl! Maddie wanted to wear pink, pink, pink, and then on top of that, she wanted to ride her pink scooter over to Roqueya's house!

She wanted to wear the puppy dog pink shoes that Allison bought her which made the scooter an "interesting" choice, but she was determined. (Note: she starts off
riding the scooter and a half a block later resorts to walking the scooter!!!)

The girls made princess crowns, colored, made candy bracelets, and genuinely had a great time! Amelia came along to observe proper etiquette at a party as well. Maddie wanted to show her how to act... please, thank yous and all!

Happy 5th Birthday Roqueya and a big thanks Roqueya, Rory, Carolyn, and Mike for throwing such a great party for the girls!!!!

Things you need for a passport...

A big sister to gently wake you up...
A white background... a towel will do.










Open eyes... facing forward....
One hundred plus attempts... ergo, patience.













A Chinese birth certificate.... how cool is that?

Eureka!

Dooms Day - FLU SHOTS

Oh boy.... this is one for the record books.

• During my pregnancy, Maddie saw my blood drawn numerous times and she always watched with great interest and commented on how brave I was. She said she was brave too....
• Maddie is definitely older and is absolutely capable of reason...
• I promised her ice cream after her flu shot and she even held the money so that I couldn't change my mind...
• We met up with Ri-Ri who before the flu shot and the two had quite the conversation about bravery... Ri-Ri said that he was three and Maddie was four so Maddie had to be brave because he was brave...

If only things went as planned...

The following sequence looks peaceful enough... notice there are no pictures after the nurse cleaned off Maddie arm to prepare for the shot. In Maddie's words,

I DON'T WANT TO BE BRAVE ANYMORE!!!

Big Sister Duties

Part of the responsibilities of a big sister is to look out for one's little sister. The few weeks after Amelia was born, the neighbors organized a Meals on Wheels where they made us home cooked meals for two straight weeks. Every night at 6:00 a new meal would arrive and usually a present or two.

Our neighbors genuinely have hearts of gold. I have been curious about how Maddie would handle not being the first one recognized in the family. Would she be jealous of the attention that Amelia was receiving? Every parent out at the Links must have thought the exact same thing because most of them arrived with a present for Amelia AND a present for Maddie!

The is where the big sisterly duty comes in... Amelia obviously can't open presents yet so Maddie is more than willing and able to assist by opening presents and storing them for future use. Tonight she opened a present for our superintendent and his wife. Dennis and Lois brought crotchet booties for Amelia and a nature cotton sweater. Maddie received a flying butterfly to add to her collection. She loved it and LOVED getting on Andy's shoulders to hang it from her light in her room. Check out the grin on that face!!!!

After School

Maddie always wants to play after school.... I just can't see why. She simply doesn't have any fun and NEVER laughs!!! ;o)

Baby Day

Friday was Baby Day in Ms. Preeti's class at school. Maddie had been counting down the days until she could bring Amelia to school to show her off to her classmates. She had been showing pictures online and her friends may have seen me pass briefly in the hallway, but this was the big show!

We met all of the children first. Amelia was the smallest at two weeks, Bauer was six weeks old, Trinity was four months old and Eva was nine months old.


The children brainstormed questions beforehand and had most of them answered by the time we all left. Maddie's questions was, "why do babies cry?" which I thinks he asked because she knew the answer!!! The children wrapped up the day by singing a song to the babies. BUT Maddie wasn't done...

We had taken Amelia to the doctor the day before and had pictures. Andy had printed them off for Maddie to share and she sat right next to Ms. Preeti and acted as a teacher herself by holding the pictures in front of each child's eyes. She was soooooo proud and we were so proud of her!!!

Amelia's First Doctor Visit

We picked up Maddie from school early today because she wanted to go to the doctor with Amelia to show her how to be brave... hmmm. On the way to the doctor's office, I realized that this would be the first time that Maddie saw a male doctor. Maddie's doctor in the States is a girl... my doctor is a girl... so I thought I would mention that Amelia was going to have a male doctor. Andy and I then listened to Maddie's reasoning for why Amelia needed a girl doctor for the hour ride down to Xiantiandi. At least she knows that girls can be doctors - it's the norm in her life!

One reason we took Maddie with us was because tomorrow is baby day at school. The children are very interested in why babies go to the doctor. So we took pictures of Dr. Jenkins checking out her soft spot and over Amelia being weighed. Incidentally, we must be doing something right because she was 2.7 kg when we left the hospital and now she's 3.6!! Maddie was brave today and played the big sister role proudly! The doctor was wonderful and had Maddie hold onto instruments for him... she was an excellent assistant! Maybe a doctor someday? We'll see if this bravery thing holds!!!!!!!!!

Alicia Visits!!

As time goes by, we are realizing more and more just how special Maddie's Saudi experience truly was. The friendships we developed there will last a life time as the bonds that were formed are unbreakable. Common joys and common sorrows in a place that is so completely different from one's own base have cemented friendships for which we are extremely thankful.

Alicia and Andy Lewis came to Saudi our last year there and are quite simply, the best of the bestest people. Alicia was a music teacher extraordinaire with talent and personality! Maddie loved going to Alicia's room to play instruments... piano, bongos, whistles... you name it, Maddie loved it. One of my favorite memories was of Alicia and Maddie sitting at the piano at Alicia's house and Maddie trying so very hard to play just like Alicia. Alicia has patience and joy in her heart and Maddie's responds well to her because of it.

We are in different places now, but we were lucky enough to have Alicia come to Shanghai as part of an Atlas Rubicon visit to Maddie's school. Alicia stayed with us and Maddie, of course, remembered her. When we saw Alicia and Andy this summer, Maddie remembered the lady with the piano and when Maddie saw Alicia this time in Shanghai, she again asked where her piano was... I had to explain that it didn't fit in the suitcase!

Why am I not surprised that Maddie jumped up on Alicia's lap to snuggle before bedtime? Why am I not surprised that Alicia let Maddie work on her computer in her lap? Why am I not surprised that Maddie let Alicia carry her up the stairs and put her to bed? It's wonderful to see such acceptance and joy in Maddie's heart! She's a special girl who was able to spend more time with a special lady. Thanks for being here Alicia!!

Maddie's Pink Light

Pictures like this from the Japan Meteorological Agency make Maddie wake up at 2 a.m. screaming SCARY at the top of her lungs! Unfortunately, Maddie lives on the weathered side of the house. All of the wind and all of the rain that comes in from White Dragon Bay slams against Maddie's outer wall and makes the siding on the house simply shake. She ran out of her room refusing to go back inside and was in downright hysterics, but I convinced her to show me the "scary" stuff. She pointed to the monster in the wall and I explained that it was just the wind, but honestly, I wouldn't have believed me either at her age. So... we decided the monster was really tap dancing! After a few giggles... we turned on all of Maddie's favorite lights.



We pulled out this lovely pink light from Ikea - Maddie's favorite color seemed to make her consider the thought of staying in her bedroom.









Her second favorite night light is the hello kitty plug-in that I bought in Jingdezhen last May. Now she pondered staying in her room for the night.







The clincher was the sparkly night light. Between the tap dancing monster and her favorite three night lights - she said her thanks and told me to go to bed!! Not bad for a mere 20 minutes of considering and pondering!!!!

Maddie and Ri-Ri

I really like living across the street from the playground. Maddie looks out the window to see if anybody is out there and then decides that she must go play with her friends right then and there. She opens the front door and yells, "Hi friends" at the top of her lungs. She gets to the street and then announces to them that she must wait a minute to cross the street because she has to look for cars!

I just love watching Ri-Ri and Maddie together... in a way they are like an old married couple. They love each other most of the time and then every once in awhile, Maddie does her Maddie "thang" and Ri-Ri just looks at her as if to say, "oh, get over yourself!" I LOVE IT!

Maddie always has the biggest smile on her face when she plays with Ri-Ri. They love to do everything kids should be doing together. They chase each other, they play hide and seek. Ri-Ri even has pretend tea parties with her (for short moments) and she even sometimes let's him put sand on her head. I had to laugh really hard the other day though when he had done this and she insisted on coming in and changing her clothes because she was too dirty. As I said, the "get over yourself" look came out fast!

Thanks for playing with us Ri-Ri! You are one cool kid and Maddie loves you tons... just wait until she asks for that first kiss! Can you imagine???!!!!