Noise from New Year's, Nebulizers and Nozzles

It is now officially the new year in China. Welcome, 2009! So far this year hasn't been a quite one!

a fun new years lunch at our friend's grandparents' housekids being "spoiled" with sweets and loving it

can't celebrate the new year without making jiaozi

→ → → [→ → ]
This is an example of how Chinese characters have transformed over the years. Our friend's grandpa studied the earliest form and can read and write with characters some Chinese have never seen before. He gave us this beautiful scroll (not his original story) he inscribed himself years ago.
(from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Ancient_Chinese_characters)

"Mom, come and take a picture! We're babysitting Hadassah!" -Lily

Noise #1 (the most blatant): Some aftermath of the 5 days (so far) of fireworks.

The 15 day designated area to set off fireworks in our complex. The fireworks still manage to "bounce off" the windows of our friends' 17th floor apartment.

This year I am delightfully surprised how much the kids have enjoyed watching the fireworks out the window. The previous two years, at least one child was crying often during the constant displays.

Dass is 7 months!

Dassah found her shadow!

Cade, Abby, Hadassah, Lil & Hudson sitting on the "airplane."

She's a mover! Hadassah can now find us in any room we're in! As I typed the previous sentence she crawled across the whole living room. I suppose that doesn't say much about my typing skills ;).

always has one leg up

In the middle of everyone's colds we made it outside one day to play.

Noise #2 (sympathetically speaking): Cade's nebulizer. Buds has a touch of asthma and it's been acting up again. He used the mask for a few days and got cleared up well.

"Are they twins?" is what I've gotten asked a couple times if just the three of us are out. "Well, close, they're only 42 months apart."

This was the end of our 6 day stint without Josh. He met us at this retreat center the next morning. But until then, Cade threw up twice, Hadassah once and...

Noise #3 (along with a forceful spray of water): the shower nozzle "blew." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so Lil, Cade and I just stood in the door way after getting soaked and laughed and laughed.

And then we went for a walk to see the horses after we met up with Josh full of thanksgiving (that he was back!).

Things that are allowed when dad's around :)...

We also got to check out the inside of one of the many greenhouses on the land. They are individually owned and very welcoming. Here they grow organic tomatoes. Cade didn't eat anything all weekend except for an ecceptional big red tomato. (On a normal day he won't even touch one).

Back at home...
Lily & Abby playing ballerinas during school time. They danced out a tune on the keyboard.

And the most beautiful noise of all: three wildly loved kids.