Illegal Abig'alien'

Today we tried to make Abigail legal by visiting the Chinese Visa Authorities and applying for her residency.

Not only are we going to be charged an exorbitant fee for filing more than 30 days beyond her birth date, but they also refused to accept the application at all.

It seems that our very efficient hospital produced a birth certificate that identified both Jason and myself as Chinese nationals. Obviously wrong, but china being china (a country that has turned british bureaucracy into an art form) they refused to file the application even though they were looking at our very US/UK passports.

Not to worry. A quick visit to the hospital and we are holding a new birth certificate. Just another trip to Pudong.

Jason and Christy Day

Yesterday marks the first annual 'Jason and Christy Day'. With our trusty ayi at home with Abigail, we embarked on a day out without a stroller.

We decided that we were overdue some decadence. So we started with a paper over breakfast, followed by a full body massage at our local 'Three Moon Spa' where small chinese women broke our bodies and put us back together again.

Then a nice walk led us to lunch at our favorite Sichuan place (Sichuan Citizen on Donghu Lu, highly recommend it), followed by a nice long session of foot reflexology to top it off.

Sounds great, right? These are the days that I love China.

'Spring' Festival

Everyone keeps talking about the 'Spring Festival' which is pretty ironic since it was absolutely freezing throughout the week-long holiday.

As we explained, it all kicked off with the fireworks extravaganza on Saturday night, followed by a morning of snow on the ground (see below).

This was followed by a few days of intermittent fireworks, and eventually culminated in Wednesday nights firecracker (very different thing) barrage which we assume marked the end of the official festival.

Much to our suprise, the very next day heralded the beginning of spring. It was a beautiful day and has gotten warmer ever since! I'll never again doubt these chinese proverbs....

Six Weeks On

Yesterday, Abigail turned six weeks old. Not a huge achievement except that everyone keeps telling me that the first six weeks are the hardest. So we're really looking forward to a much easier ride from here on.

As you can see from the video below, we're at the very least rewarded with smiles these days when things are going right.

At the moment, we're enjoying a week at home together, just the three of us. With the Spring Festival, most businesses are closed for business and a majority of people have left town for the holidays. This definitely makes finding dinner a feat but also makes for quiet walks through the city.

welcoming in the Year of the Tiger

Saturday night was new year's eve in the Lunar calender. We had been told what to expect (a barage of non-stop fireworks) but nothing prepared us for the reality of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

It started as the sun was going down. As we walked home along our local streets, young children were setting off major fireworks in the streets and on the sidewalks. Yes, that's right. Children as young as the age of maybe 6 (!!) were personally wielding cigarette lighters and rolls of firecrackers.

As the night continued the fireworks continued all around our apartment building (and even from within our courtyard). What we couldn't see, we could hear or watch reflected in the buildings around us.

And as midnight fell, the city exploded (literally!!). The closest i can come to describe it is that it reminded me of the videos that the war correspondents used to air during the first Gulf War. Explosions from every direction, with smoke filling the air and reflecting the light and sound of the thousands of people setting of fireworks.

We were speechless! We ran between the living room terrace on what side of our building and the dining room windows on the other...didn't want to miss anything. We couldn't even hear each other speak, but we put together this video just to give you an idea. Without being here and experiencing it for yourselves, we figured that no one would ever believe us without proof.

Coming from the US and Europe, a 'show spectacular' on these proportions could only be organised by the city. What made this all the more shocking for us was that there was nothing 'organised' about it. These were all private families setting off their own (commercial grade) fireworks in the streets. We reckon that the local eye hospital must be very busy....

Wishing you and your families good fortune for the new year!

Hanging Out

Along with her newfound interest in everything, Abigail looks to have a good kick when she wakes up. She 'talks' and looks all around, waving her arms and kicking. Which makes it very hard to keep her still long enough for a good picture...but means she's definitely becoming more entertaining.

Enjoying her Swing

Finally...Abigail has decided that she likes her swing!
Instead of screaming her head off while she's in it, she's now completely fascinated by everything around her. She also seems to be a big fan of 'speed'

Thank goodness because we went to a LOT of effort to get it up and running. When it arrived in the container at the end of December, we put it together to test it...and it didn't work! So we all took turns taking it apart (well, Jason, Dad and I anyway) and finally found a loose wire. So we carried the swing down to the first of many moped repair shops and managed to mime that we needed some soldering done. So a very nice young man soldered the thing back together for a sum total of 50 cents. I do love this country sometimes.

Ladies that Lunch

Abigail was four weeks old yesterday and celebrated with her first 'ladies lunch' with dumplings at Din Tai Fang in Xintiandi.

Unfortunately for her (but happily for her mother), she slept through the entire lunch so didn't get to enjoy the whole experience. We even managed the taxi journey on our own (phew!) which was a big hurdle for one of us (and not the smaller one).

Small Smiles

Abigail finally gave us a little smile and is learning to enjoy the sound of her own laugh

The video above is Abigail in her 'happy place' (otherwise known as her changing table), which is ironically the place she hated the most during her first three weeks of life. Now, she's become fascinated with the bamboo dragonflies flying up her wall and the Harrods puppy and elephant that keep her company.