So here I am again waiting far too long to post. I wouldn’t say that I’ve been on my death bed, but I was definitely on the bed next to it as I was sick the past few days. Before I continue I should say that it’s been a pretty difficult past month and a half as; Aubrey, Heather and I have all dealt with multiple sicknesses. When you’re overseas or live overseas it’s when you’re sick that you most miss home. Just the simple comforts that you grow up with that you don’t have can make being sick very discouraging. But luckily I’m feeling good this morning and so I’m happy to get all of you caught up on our lives and throw in a few funny stories at the end.
Sydney started pre-school a couple weeks ago! We are very happy to have found an amazing setup that is almost too good to be true. Just outside the gate of our apartment complex is a Kids bookstore. We’ve gotten to know the owners and some of the workers and Sydney really enjoys going there. Well a couple of weeks ago a handful of us families living here (also foreigners) approached the management of this bookstore to see if they would be interested in putting on a pre-school for our kids. They happily agreed and we have now been sending Sydney for 2 weeks. The schedule is; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, from 9:30-11:30, so it’s a very relaxed schedule for both Sydney and us. The best part is that it’s all in Chinese (with an English translator standing by if the kids need help)! This will be great for Sydney’s language. So far Sydney has really enjoyed it; she loves people and desperately needs times to interact with others, so again, we’re super glad to have found a place that’s a one minute walk from our home to do this. YAY!
Our little Aubrey has hit that stage of discovery. She will literally walk around all day going through cupboards, pulling out toys, clothes, kitchenware, and whatever else she can (for example yesterday I pulled out a piece of Tupperware and a plastic piece of chicken out of our dryer… that was put there by her). She’s a handful… of love. So chasing after her all day can be pretty tiring. And after this realization set in that it’s not just a today thing or a yesterday thing but a season of life thing, I turned to Heather and asked “How long did Sydney go through this phase?” to which she responded “A year”. I don’t know if Heather was playing some cruel joke on me with that answer, if she was, then good work Heather. I should also add an observation that Heather made (and that I have since confirmed) that I would say started with this new season of Aubrey’s life. When Aubrey gets mad she protests by walking backwards and most of the time running into things. She’s so crazy.
Kid stories and quotes:
Heather had the privilege of experiencing this one first hand (which I wish I could have been there for). Sydney was ratting out her little sister Aubrey and what she did was come storming into the living room to find Heather and when she did she said this to her “COME SEE WHAT YOUR DAUGHTER DID!”, when Heather went back to the girls’ room she discovered a mild mess and again Sydney said “LOOK AT WHAT YOUR DAUGHTER DID!” It’s nice to know that we have a spy on Aubrey at all times.
Lately Sydney has gotten into the habit of eating cinnamon sugar toast from time to time. Well one day Heather was in class and our Chinese friend was watching Sydney. Heather’s class time was interrupted when Sydney came to Heather and said “Mommy look” while holding a piece of toast. Then Sydney said “this isn’t sprinkly toast” (which is what she calls cinnamon sugar toast), but what Heather discovered was that it was a piece of toast dusted with black pepper. Our Chinese friend was trying to make her a piece of “sprinkly toast” but our cinnamon and pepper bottles seem to look the same. This undoubtedly left Sydney disappointed.
