Finley's 1st Day of R1

Getting ready in the morning.  The kids can wear red or white polos, but of course Finley chose his favorite color red for the first day.

Here comes the bus, bringing our big R1 student home after his first day!

Din Tai Fung

Before Finley started school at HKIS, we needed a trip to Din Tai Fung to celebrate!  We filled our bellies with dumplings, string beans, noodles, and more. Elise kept calling it "Din Tai Phone".  :)

Elise 22 Months

I better get a 22 month update posted before this little lady gets any older!  At 22 months, Elise is full of spirit and has very specific wants and ideas.  She is talking up a storm, often in complete sentences.  She can sing all the words of many songs, such as Twinkle Twinkle, Great Big Stars, Go to Sleep, Rock-a-bye Baby, etc.  Elise has been daytime potty trained since about 20 months old.  She still gets fevers at the drop of a hat.  Elise takes one nap a day from about 12:30-2:30pm, but it can be difficult to keep her awake until nap time if she wakes up too early in the morning.  Elise wears size 18-24 months in bottoms but 2T in tops/dresses.  

Tea Party

A piece of pasta Elise stuck in her nose.  Fortunately we got it out and didn't need a trip to the hospital.

OP

Just a few iPhone photos from a morning trip to Ocean Park.

Last night Nate and I went out to dinner. People were burning offerings (including plenty of fake money) all along the streets for the Hungry Ghost Festival.  This is a time when restless spirits are believed to roam the earth. Sometimes we forget we're living in such a faraway part of the world, but then something like this reminds us how different it can be here. 

Back in the Saddle Again

Sorry no blog posts for a bit, but this mama's been busy! I'm now splitting my time between (paid) work and the munchkins. Here are a couple of photos of what I've been working on at school. Still a long way to go, but making progress!

My room-- only a few boxes left now!

R1 shared space-- construction still going on and lots of boxes. 

Say a little prayer for the kiddos during this time of adjustment. They are having a hard time with me working, and their behavior reflects it...