Sickness and Sydney

Well I’m writing this post while we are in the midst of some of our most difficult times in China. We have all been sick or sickish for the past week or so and it is really wearing us down. But I will try and update you as best as I can.

Sydney about a week ago got the flu or a variation of it and for a couple nights or so was throwing up. It was really hard on all of us, because we weren’t getting out of the house much as we took care of Sydney indoors mostly. As well as not sleeping that great. Then Aubrey started to get cold symptoms and now Heather and I both have cold/flu sickness. It’s no good at the Peterson home. Outside of that though, each time we have gotten outside it’s been a blast. We are pretty familiar with a lot of our neighbors and enjoy getting out and chatting with them in Chinese. So many people in our community love our daughters… I swear our daughters are so spoiled by all our neighbors. We rarely return to our house without a new toy or some candy. I know what a lot of you are thinking, “Is it the Swine Flu?”…the answer is “No”. There have yet to be cases in China so I highly doubt that it's the Swine Flu.

So Sydney and I (Matt) have recently developed a new game to play. For the record, Heather doesn’t think it’s a good game to play with her and she disapproves. That being said, Sydney from time to time will tell Heather and I secrets, but usually it’s just a mumbled incoherent sentence or two. Well a few days ago Sydney told me she had a secret to tell me and she leaned over and rambled a few sentences off that was just her mumbling. I leaned away from her and gave her a serious look and calling her by her first and middle name to show the degree of my seriousness said, “Sydney Joy we don’t talk like that”. She looked at me with confusion and not a second later I smiled big and said “Just kidding”. Well she burst out laughing and wanted me to do it over and over. We played it one more time and this time I whispered my own incoherent phrase of nonsense into her ear and she sat back and tilted her forehead towards me and in a stern voice said “Daddy Joy, we don’t talk like that”. I almost died of laughter… I tried to explain to her that my middle name was John, but that lesson will have to come later. Don’t worry the game will die off and not be played anymore and I know it’s terrible of me to joke around about discipline, but hey, we had some good times.

I have more to share, but I will wait till the next post. Till then, keep it real.

The Petersons

Our Girls Lately

Our little girls have been growing up so much lately. Aubrey has started pulling herself up to a standing position from the ground which has been exciting. We hope that she can start walking soon as of now she enjoys walking along the couch. Also, when Aubrey reaches for something that she shouldn’t, we (Heather and I) will slap our own hand as we tell her “no, no”, so that she knows we will slap her hand if she continues. Anyways, the other day Aubrey was reaching for something she shouldn’t and Heather said “No, no Aubrey”, and after she said that Aubrey slapped her own hand. Kids are seriously so smart. She has started trying to imitate blowing kisses and that is also too cute to watch.

Sydney had her first day of Pre-school today. Sorry if I didn’t mention this before. Heather went with her for her first day which started at 9 and went till 11:30. Sydney liked it, but we want to see how much she likes it as well as if there are any other options out there we should try. So we will keep you posted. But I will say this, she loved her first day and told me all about it when I got home (which made me really happy). Lately, she has been using more Chinese as well which is a treat to see. When you raise your children you get excited when they start speaking and go from not saying a word one day to saying it all the time, each day is a surprise. Well teaching your child another language makes you go through that same excitement twice. One example is that we as a family were coming home from a picnic at the park and this Chinese guy offered Sydney some bread, to which she said “Bu yao”, which means “I don’t want it”. We tell her to say it to us when we ask her something, but we’ve never heard her say it on her own to someone else, so that was cool. She’s had other cool times using her language, but I don’t want this to go to long. Talk to you soon.

Goodbye for now,
The Petersons

I’m back! And Tales Of The Metro Dump

Well this past weekend brought me to Shanghai to catch up with a friend of mine and I’m now back in lovely Xi’an. Shanghai was a great time, like I mentioned earlier I haven’t seen my friend in quite a while so it was a treat. His company put him up in a great hotel, which I on my own would never even get to see the bathroom of and staying there was unreal. Each time I walked through the lobby in my jeans and t-shirt I was sure each hotel employ was thinking “What’s the number for security again…” Our room was on the 32nd floor overlooking the tallest building in Shanghai and was absolutely gorgeous. As well we went to the pool, sauna and steam room on a couple of occasions. Shanghai is the largest city in China and in so many ways is a totally different world from Xi’an. On the last day of my trip I badly missed my family and when I got back I was happy to be home. Thanks again Leo, I appreciate the time we got to have!

Tales of the Metro Dump…. That’s right we’ve heard from some foreigners here that you can get great furniture from a dump that is nearby. We had only heard rumors of it, but finally about a month ago discovered it tucked behind the local import store, named Metro. It really is just an organized dump and/or junk yard (I don’t know the difference), but all the people are really nice and the stuff they have has some life left in it if you can dream. My wife, our kids and I have gone a couple of times and Heather recently found a hutch (or hutchish thing), a chair and a stool. We painted the hutch and it looks great and also we are planning to paint the chair and stool. When you go you not only find really cheap furniture, but they also have these bikes with an attached trailer that guys deliver stuff in to make a living. So when we buy stuff they just load it up and ride it over. Our apartment is coming together more and more all the time, even if it takes a junk yard to do it.

Shanghai Here I Come!

That's right I (Matt) am going to Shanghai. About a week ago an old friend of mine that I haven't seen in years told me that he would be in Shanghai from the 6th to the 12th for business. He asked if I could come and that if I could come he would help with my ticket and also that I could stay in his hotel room. When I told my wife she was excited for me and supportive of me going. I'm really excited about the opportunity to see my friend and to catch up with him, it's sweet as well that it will be in Shanghai. I leave tomorrow morning and will return this Sunday. I hope to have pictures and stories to share with you. Thanks agian Heather! What a wife!

That's it for now, hope all of you are well!

The Petersons

NEW VIDEOS!!!

So I just posted 3 new videos! The first is going back to our Chinese New Year with some footage from our apartment roof of the incredible fireworks display. The second is from our trip to the Carrefore play place, with Heather getting in on the action a bit. And finally Aubrey's 1st Birthday... I hope that you enjoy them!

The Petersons