Angela isn't yet walking on her own but is getting really good at moving around while holding our hands. Tonight, we realized she can run. I'm so afraid of her being able to do this on her own!!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
sunny days
We finally had a weekend of nice weather - bright sunny skies and a nice breeze - so we spent lots of time outside exploring our neighborhood. Nana is here visiting from CT now so we're having lots of fun with her!
We also had our first pony tail!!
happy spring!
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Bund is open!
In preparation for the World Expo which opens in May, the entire city has been cleaned up and revitalized. Our streets have been paved, sidewalks cleaned, trash bins replaced and fresh flowers have been planted everywhere. At times it is entertaining to see just how much effort is being spent on making the city look nice.
One of the key projects that was to be completed in time for the Expo is the Bund. This is one of the top tourist stops in Shanghai and had been closed for over a year as they renovated the entire area. A few weeks ago on a gorgeous Sunny day, the Bund was opened up for visitors. We made our way over on the ferry to catch a glimpse of the new walkway. Although parts of it were still closed off it was obvious that they had done a pretty good job of refreshing the area. As usual, Angela got lots of attention and loved every minute of it.
I was feeding her a banana and these guys thought it was a riot - they cheered and laughed every time she took a bite.
One old building in view of the bund - I have a feeling this won't be standing much longer
Rich and I were out for dinner over the weekend and realized that many of the local apartment buildings now have facades and new lights. A friend of ours recently told us that one of his local Chinese friends received a letter from the government about the Expo. They have assigned 'wardens' for each of the local blocks that will help to enforce some rules that are meant to help enhance the image of Shanghai. These rules include not walking outside in pajamas, not spitting in the street and not hanging your laundry from the window. It will be interesting to see how much of this is actually followed. I don't mind seeing the laundry drying and people in their pajamas. The spitting, that I could definitely live without!!
One of the key projects that was to be completed in time for the Expo is the Bund. This is one of the top tourist stops in Shanghai and had been closed for over a year as they renovated the entire area. A few weeks ago on a gorgeous Sunny day, the Bund was opened up for visitors. We made our way over on the ferry to catch a glimpse of the new walkway. Although parts of it were still closed off it was obvious that they had done a pretty good job of refreshing the area. As usual, Angela got lots of attention and loved every minute of it.
I was feeding her a banana and these guys thought it was a riot - they cheered and laughed every time she took a bite.
One old building in view of the bund - I have a feeling this won't be standing much longerRich and I were out for dinner over the weekend and realized that many of the local apartment buildings now have facades and new lights. A friend of ours recently told us that one of his local Chinese friends received a letter from the government about the Expo. They have assigned 'wardens' for each of the local blocks that will help to enforce some rules that are meant to help enhance the image of Shanghai. These rules include not walking outside in pajamas, not spitting in the street and not hanging your laundry from the window. It will be interesting to see how much of this is actually followed. I don't mind seeing the laundry drying and people in their pajamas. The spitting, that I could definitely live without!!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
We've got SEOUL
We all have one more stamp in our passports - South Korea. This proved to be one of the more challenging trips we've taken, even though its only a 90 minute flight from Shanghai. Now that Angela is a bit more mobile, she really doesn't want to be stuck in the stroller when we are out. She also has a very hard time sleeping when she isn't in her own bed so we had some rough nights in the hotel room.
Rich worked the first three days that we were in Seoul so Angela and I were on our own to explore. Exploring a new city alone with a 1 year old proved to be too intimidating for me so we stuck close to the hotel. Fortunately, the hotel was connected to a massive shopping center so there was plenty of browsing to do. There was an aquarium in the shopping center which provided enough entertainment for an afternoon. Angela loved seeing all of the fish - and would point and get excited whenever she saw bright colored ones. She actually has the same reaction when she sees the fish in the tanks at our local supermarket.
On Saturday we did some real sightseeing since Rich was with us and this was our only day to explore the city. The day started with a trip to Dunkin' Donuts (there were a surprisingly large number of these in Seoul) followed by a visit to the Bongeunsa temple which was very close to our hotel. The temple was quite busy with people coming and going to pray but was also very open to visitors just looking to tour the grounds. The buildings were all incredibly carved and painted and there was a giant Buddha statue tucked away in one corner of the grounds. I took a video of one of the areas so that you can hear the music that was playing the entire time we walked around. When you watch the video below, be prepared for a special ending.
After the temple we headed to the central part of the city to do some more sightseeing. Of course, at this point the sky had turned black, the wind was howling and it was starting to rain, but we didn't let that deter us. We made our way to the National Museum by taxi and spent about an hour walking around the museum. From there we purchased tickets on a city tour bus that stopped at various landmarks around Seoul. We made it to the War Memorial which turned out to be a giant museum full of information about many wars (we were expecting it to be just the Korean War). We took some time to walk through the section about the Korean War and then made our way back onto our bus. At this point Angela decided to sleep so we chose to stay on the bus for about an hour as it moved through the city. It was getting late enough in the day that we probably could only fit in one or two more stops and we wanted to check out some of the markets that were towards the end of the bus tour. We got off at Insadong which is a very artsy market. We walked around here for a bit but by this time it was pretty cold so we ended up stopping for a quick snack and then decided it was time to head back to the hotel.
Rich worked the first three days that we were in Seoul so Angela and I were on our own to explore. Exploring a new city alone with a 1 year old proved to be too intimidating for me so we stuck close to the hotel. Fortunately, the hotel was connected to a massive shopping center so there was plenty of browsing to do. There was an aquarium in the shopping center which provided enough entertainment for an afternoon. Angela loved seeing all of the fish - and would point and get excited whenever she saw bright colored ones. She actually has the same reaction when she sees the fish in the tanks at our local supermarket.
On Saturday we did some real sightseeing since Rich was with us and this was our only day to explore the city. The day started with a trip to Dunkin' Donuts (there were a surprisingly large number of these in Seoul) followed by a visit to the Bongeunsa temple which was very close to our hotel. The temple was quite busy with people coming and going to pray but was also very open to visitors just looking to tour the grounds. The buildings were all incredibly carved and painted and there was a giant Buddha statue tucked away in one corner of the grounds. I took a video of one of the areas so that you can hear the music that was playing the entire time we walked around. When you watch the video below, be prepared for a special ending.
After the temple we headed to the central part of the city to do some more sightseeing. Of course, at this point the sky had turned black, the wind was howling and it was starting to rain, but we didn't let that deter us. We made our way to the National Museum by taxi and spent about an hour walking around the museum. From there we purchased tickets on a city tour bus that stopped at various landmarks around Seoul. We made it to the War Memorial which turned out to be a giant museum full of information about many wars (we were expecting it to be just the Korean War). We took some time to walk through the section about the Korean War and then made our way back onto our bus. At this point Angela decided to sleep so we chose to stay on the bus for about an hour as it moved through the city. It was getting late enough in the day that we probably could only fit in one or two more stops and we wanted to check out some of the markets that were towards the end of the bus tour. We got off at Insadong which is a very artsy market. We walked around here for a bit but by this time it was pretty cold so we ended up stopping for a quick snack and then decided it was time to head back to the hotel.
At the COEX Aquarium
Bongeunsa Temple
the little purple dot towards the bottom left is Ang & I - this statue was huge!
Courtyard full of lanterns
Meg & Ang exploring the Machu Pichu Exhibit at the National Museum
Checking out the grounds of the War Memorial
DUNKIN' DONUTS!!
and, it seems we cannot escape Haibao. This is the mascot for the 2010 World Expo which is being held in Shanghai this year. There are Haibao statues and pictures all over the place in China, and we even managed to find a few of them in Seoul!
the little purple dot towards the bottom left is Ang & I - this statue was huge!
Courtyard full of lanterns
Meg & Ang exploring the Machu Pichu Exhibit at the National MuseumChecking out the grounds of the War Memorial
DUNKIN' DONUTS!!
and, it seems we cannot escape Haibao. This is the mascot for the 2010 World Expo which is being held in Shanghai this year. There are Haibao statues and pictures all over the place in China, and we even managed to find a few of them in Seoul!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Angela is one!
It is hard to believe that Angela is already a year old.
To celebrate, we invited all of our Shanghai friends over for brunch the Sunday before her birthday. It was rainy and gross outside so a great day to stay inside. We were thrilled that we also had some family there to help celebrate - Aunt Chris and Erin were visiting from CT.
Her recent stats:
Weight - 20.15 lbs (30th percentile)
Height - 28 inches (25th percentile)
Head circumference - ?? (85th percentile)
I didn't write down the number for her head and now can't remember it. We saw a new pediatrician - its the same facility that we've used in the past but I decided to try the other doctor. I think we will stick with this one, I really liked her. She declared Angela a healthy one year old and was very happy to see that her weight has increased dramatically.
The only thing that concerned the doctor was that Angela hadn't been pulling herself up to her feet on her own. Well, one week later she is pulling up on everything she can get her little hands onto. She seems so proud of her new ability and has been enjoying being able to explore new areas of the house.
Angela is a pretty chatty and I think we've decided that her first word was da da. Whenever daddy walks into the room she points at him and yells da da. Unfortunately, she also refers to me as da da. She can say ma ma but seems to use it only when she really wants something (she will point at whatever it is that she wants and scream ma ma). She can claps her hands, blow kisses and wave bye bye (which is sometimes accompanied with her saying bye bye - although is comes out more as bah bah).
I have tons of photo's from her party and from the past couple of weeks but am having a really hard time uploading to blogger. Since I can easily (and quickly) upload to Picasa albums online, I am inserting a link to my album instead of putting pictures in this post. Sorry you will have to go there to view photos, but this way you will get to see many more of them!!
http://picasaweb.google.com/MegBozz/AngS1stBirthday?authkey=Gv1sRgCIDO_7Drgq3VpQE
To celebrate, we invited all of our Shanghai friends over for brunch the Sunday before her birthday. It was rainy and gross outside so a great day to stay inside. We were thrilled that we also had some family there to help celebrate - Aunt Chris and Erin were visiting from CT.
Her recent stats:
Weight - 20.15 lbs (30th percentile)
Height - 28 inches (25th percentile)
Head circumference - ?? (85th percentile)
I didn't write down the number for her head and now can't remember it. We saw a new pediatrician - its the same facility that we've used in the past but I decided to try the other doctor. I think we will stick with this one, I really liked her. She declared Angela a healthy one year old and was very happy to see that her weight has increased dramatically.
The only thing that concerned the doctor was that Angela hadn't been pulling herself up to her feet on her own. Well, one week later she is pulling up on everything she can get her little hands onto. She seems so proud of her new ability and has been enjoying being able to explore new areas of the house.
Angela is a pretty chatty and I think we've decided that her first word was da da. Whenever daddy walks into the room she points at him and yells da da. Unfortunately, she also refers to me as da da. She can say ma ma but seems to use it only when she really wants something (she will point at whatever it is that she wants and scream ma ma). She can claps her hands, blow kisses and wave bye bye (which is sometimes accompanied with her saying bye bye - although is comes out more as bah bah).
I have tons of photo's from her party and from the past couple of weeks but am having a really hard time uploading to blogger. Since I can easily (and quickly) upload to Picasa albums online, I am inserting a link to my album instead of putting pictures in this post. Sorry you will have to go there to view photos, but this way you will get to see many more of them!!
http://picasaweb.google.com/MegBozz/AngS1stBirthday?authkey=Gv1sRgCIDO_7Drgq3VpQE
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Little Miss Piggy
I swear, some days I think this child eats more food than I do. We have started letting her try the food that Bonnie cooks for us (depending on the spices that are used) and so far she has loved everything. Chinese noodles, pork dumplings, fried rice....who doesn't love these things?
Unfortunately, she has developed some bad habits when it comes to food. When she is done eating, she picks up any food that is left on her tray and throws it to the floor. I guess we need to work on signing 'all done'. If she doesn't like something that we have given her, she will spit it out and throw it on the floor. If only we had a dog to help clean up her mess!!
grilled cheese - yum!
string beans stuck to her nose
she does like to share - and loves feeding other people
I think she needs a new shirt that says 'I love noodles'
I guess all that food is helping - we finally see some chubby rolls on her!! We don't go for a weight check until her one year birthday (which is coming up so quickly!) but the last we checked on our scale she was almost up to 20 pounds.
Unfortunately, she has developed some bad habits when it comes to food. When she is done eating, she picks up any food that is left on her tray and throws it to the floor. I guess we need to work on signing 'all done'. If she doesn't like something that we have given her, she will spit it out and throw it on the floor. If only we had a dog to help clean up her mess!!
grilled cheese - yum!
string beans stuck to her nose
she does like to share - and loves feeding other people
I think she needs a new shirt that says 'I love noodles'I guess all that food is helping - we finally see some chubby rolls on her!! We don't go for a weight check until her one year birthday (which is coming up so quickly!) but the last we checked on our scale she was almost up to 20 pounds.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Dumplings & the Aquarium
After spending one too many weekends at home with no plans, we decided that we would get out to do something new this weekend. Since its still a little cold (and rainy) here, we thought we would go for a nice brunch and then visit the Urban Planning Museum. Well, plans are great to have but we learned once again that when you have a baby around, plans don't really mean anything.
It took longer than usual for Ang to go down for her morning nap which meant she slept later than we expected. By the time she woke up we were starving and decided that we would go somewhere close for lunch - we chose dumplings at Din Tai Fung - a very popular chain in China. Ang has gotten very good at going out for lunch and will usually sit in her high chair and eat her food or nibble on food from our plates. Not today. She wanted nothing to do with the high chair and had no interest in sitting still at lunch. We figured this meant that she wasn't up for a trek on the subway to Puxi and decided to instead check out the Aquarium which is only a ten minute walk from our house instead of the Urban Planning Museum.
We spent about an hour wandering around the aquarium, looking at all the fish. It was pretty impressive and much nicer than I had anticipated. We ended up purchasing annual passes and look forward to returning someday when Ang is a little happier.
Mommy trying to point out the big shark, Ang doesn't look so impressed
Ang checking out the fish!
Loving the giant walkway under water
Maybe next time we will get to see the penguins eat!
All bundled up and ready to go home with a new friend (stuffed seal)
It took longer than usual for Ang to go down for her morning nap which meant she slept later than we expected. By the time she woke up we were starving and decided that we would go somewhere close for lunch - we chose dumplings at Din Tai Fung - a very popular chain in China. Ang has gotten very good at going out for lunch and will usually sit in her high chair and eat her food or nibble on food from our plates. Not today. She wanted nothing to do with the high chair and had no interest in sitting still at lunch. We figured this meant that she wasn't up for a trek on the subway to Puxi and decided to instead check out the Aquarium which is only a ten minute walk from our house instead of the Urban Planning Museum.
We spent about an hour wandering around the aquarium, looking at all the fish. It was pretty impressive and much nicer than I had anticipated. We ended up purchasing annual passes and look forward to returning someday when Ang is a little happier.
Mommy trying to point out the big shark, Ang doesn't look so impressed
Ang checking out the fish!
Loving the giant walkway under water
Maybe next time we will get to see the penguins eat!
All bundled up and ready to go home with a new friend (stuffed seal)
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