A Social Life of Food

Life in Shanghai is similar to most major cities, but it definitely has a pace of its own. But what we've mostly realised is that the social life of Shanghai revolves nearly (if not entirely) around FOOD.

So as an example of a weekend of food dates. We began our Sunday at Jay's apartment for the 'family' pancake breakfast. Then home for naps (all three of us of course!).

Abi may not really care about food so much but she loves our pancake morning at Jay's apartment. There's lots of new things for her to play with and a whole new apartment to 'destroy'.

Once Jay's apartment is effectively destroyed, it's back to ours for a much-needed nap for Abi and a well-deserved nap for her parents.

So after naps and playtime it was back out to brave the rains for early dinner with friends at one of our favorite restaurants. We met Jay and Eduardo and Shane at Boxing Cat Brewery for a 'home-cooked' southern meal.

Shane and Eduardo, our new friends from LA.

Jay and Abi. Jay has become a big favorite of Abi's. He is one of the few people i've seen rock her to sleep in his arms in the midst of chaos, and he cooks a very mean pancake!

Shanghai Sculpture Park

Spring has arrived in Shanghai, bringing with it some much warmer weather and the 'Plum Rains'. So we have been making the most of sunny (or at least dry) days in the nearby parks.

We spent a gorgeous day at the Shanghai Sculpture Park with Amy and Eve. The girls ran around in the grass before, during and after a picnic.

Come on Eve. Let's get out of here!!

Laughing and running

Hello Kitty smiles. (thanks Aunt Jacq for the trendy shirt!)

No seriously, come back! I haven't finished my story yet!!

When we were ALL baking hot and full from lunch we stripped the girls down to swim diapers and they enjoyed time splashing around in the water fountain which was a welcome relief in the very hot sun.

After splashing around in the fountains and pool, a fresh change of clothes awaited the two tired girls.

Loving time with Daddy

But i just can't stop running!

As you can see, a great time was had by all.

Easter in Shanghai

We spent this Easter in Shanghai, enjoying the fog of pollution and the grey haze as the sun fought through it to give us a nearly sunny day. We sure missed being at home with our families, but we spent the day with our Shanghai family instead which was really very nice.

Abi wore the lovely easter dress that her Grammy mailed her all the way from Florida. She acted like the Princess that she looked like, and loved her big-girl dress and shoes.

She played all day long and loved the attention she got from our friends Korrie and Brian and our new friend Shane who is over from LA for awhile.

Abi loves to sit and 'read' her books. It's fantastic that she can entertain herself relatively quietly for awhile...such a nice treat for us sometimes.

Abi spins in the living room. Abi has started music classes on Saturday mornings and has become obsessed with dancing.

As soon as as the music starts she starts shaking her little bottom and wiggling her hips. So funny!

After a long search for a ham, we gave up and Jason cooked us an 8lb pork loin. Despite the lack of ham there is no lack of pork available.

Abi got completely spoiled with a bag of goodies from Korrie and we all enjoyed the custom-made Easter eggs. The ladies' had bling!

But every Princess has their dark side and Abi definitely has her moments. We just laugh at her and keep on going. :)

Year of the Rabbit

After the beginning of the 'Gregorian' new year, we had high hopes for the start of the Year of the Rabbit. The Rabbit is supposed to be a time of peace and calm, and we were really looking forward to that.

Unfortunately, that has not been the case. We found out that Jason's mother was losing her battle with lung cancer in February. Mel had been through chemotherapy at the end of 2010 and although she seemed well over the holidays, had since taken a quick turn for the worst.

Jason flew to Florida at the end of February. Merise passed away quietly with Jason and Tracey by her side on a sunny morning in Florida. They celebrated her life a week later in a quiet service in a lovely garden. It was attended by family and a few close friends.

Jason has spent the past four weeks in Florida with his family. He will arrive home tomorrow and Abigail and I are really looking forward to seeing him!!

2011 Begins with a Rocky Start

2011 got off to a very rocky start for us. We returned from the States (and the UK) just after the new year and a few days later, Christy's Grandad went into the hospital. He spent five days in Lakeland Regional Hospital before he passed away on Saturday the 8th of January, surrounded by nearly his entire family.

He was eighty eight years old and had enjoyed an incredible Christmas with his three one-year old great-grandchildren; Greyson, Michael and Abigail. Everyone had spent Christmas together, and it was one that we won't forget for a long time.

I flew back to Florida for the service. Those of you who know us well, know that we're a very close family, so it felt right that we all be together for such a passing.

Throughout January and into February the three of us have all been battling bronchitis. It seems that a combination of Shanghai pollution and winter are taking their toll on us. We have really been looking forward to spring.

Last Quarter, 2010

It is ridiculous that I haven't posted in six months. The only excuse that I can possibly offer is that Abigail started walking at the beginning of October and we have been chasing after her ever since.

As you can imagine, a lot has happened in the last six months. In September, we went to Chicago to attend Alex Philips and Alice Ockleshaw's wedding (such a blast!). It was a great time with friends and the Wright family travelled from Florida and San Francisco to meet us and it was the first time the two cousins were together.

It was a busy few days. Morgan drove up from Louisville with her mother and we were able to spend some time together. She got to see Abi again and we all toured the Institute of Art in the city center.

In October, Abi took her first steps and shortly after began terrorizing the house...and everything in it! We still take Abi everywhere, but she has become more and more challenging. She just wants to be up and around all the time!

Abi has found a new friend since the Litts moved upstairs. Arin is about 8 months older than Abi and I entirely credit her with Abi's early walking skills. She just wanted to be able to chase Arin around!

As you can see, now that she's on two feet Abigail is climbing on everything. She has stopped getting into her walker and stands on it instead. She's completely attracted to the most dangerous item in any room.

We began in earnest the 'food fight'. Abigail has decided to be a difficult eater...basically is completely ambivalent about food and will do whatever she can to not eat food. Luckily for us, the few foods she will eat is plain boiled veggies. Good grief.

In early November, Abigail got to meet her new friend Eve Xing Wilson. She is the adopted daughter of our friends David and Amy Wilson and she and Abi have become fast friends with lots of playdates.

In later November, we travelled to Moganshan to spend Thanksgiving in a mountainside bamboo forest with friends. We rented a cabin with two other couples and the 6 1/2 of us spent the weekend lazing around in front of fires and hiking across the hillsides.

It all started with an afternoon nap for the girls. Christy, Abi and Korrie all cuddled up on the sofa and sacked out for awhile after the long drive. Sort of set the town for our entire weekend.

We went for a great hike through the bamboo forest. We walked into the next village for lunch and then back again through the tea plantation.

Abi was only just walking so to save us all a very painful experience, we strapped her onto Jason's back and headed off. She enjoyed it as long as she had a view...so she loved the downhill bits when she could look over Jason's head. She just peered around him all afternoon. Such a funny girl.

the Ambrose family after the long day of hiking.

The nightly bonfire provided evening entertainment. After a long day of walking it was the perfect relaxing night with friends.

We ALL enjoyed the evening by the fire. Abi enjoyed the entertainment before bedtime in her grotto upstairs. A crib filled with down blankets...she nearly disappeared when we laid her down in it.

Thanksgiving dinner. A guy from the US came in and deep fried a turkey in our back yard and made all of the trimmings and fixings in our kitchen. Such luxury!

Christmas found us in Florida once again. First we spent a week with the Ambrose family in Stuart where Abi got to enjoy her first visit to Santa (such trauma and tears!), enjoyed watching basketball for the first time and bravely chased various animals all over the house.

Abi was confidently running around by this time. She played with the dogs, the cats, her Nana and cousins, and a very funny stool that amused her for a very long time.

Abi and her cousins Nicole, Mark and Gaby

We were back in Auburndale for Christmas day where Abi met up with her two cousins, and the other 20-odd members of her Central Florida family.

Daddy and Abi playing in the yard. Such a nice sunny Christmas in Florida!

Abi discovered the wonders of swings. Sadly, China doesn't have much in the way out playground equipment and parks in the way we expect to find parks all over the US. So it wasn't until Christmas that she really got to try it all out.

Grandad Wright bought the kids a trailor. They LOVED it. We all took turns dragging them up and down the street, down to the lake, or just around the driveway. They just did not tire of this.

We'd let them out once we got to the lake, but they just wanted to jump in and mess around in the wet sand. What a mess! So we'd strap them back into their trailor and off we'd go back up the hill to Grammy's house.

Christmas Day was at the Wright family house in Auburndale. The entire Kersey/Wright family attended...23 in all! We only seem to keep multiplying, as my cousin Alex had recently gotten engaged and my cousin Christopher has since gotten engaged. The family gatherings will only get bigger and we're really looking forward to it.

Mom threw a birthday party for the two babies since Christmas falls in-between Michael's December 1st birthday and Abigail's January 6th. It was great and the three cousins enjoyed the Auburndale City Park with all of their friends and family.

Abi loved the balloons best of all. She ran all over the park when she wasn't in a swing wearing us all out.

Grandad braved the cold and donned three jackets to spend the afternoon with his three great-grandbabies. Grandad and Abi are playing with her birthday balloons.

Grandad and great-grandson no1, Greyson. Such a doll. As the oldest great-baby he's leading the way for the other two!

Abi finally got a taste of cake for the first time. A bit sweet for her taste (she can't be mine!) but she did a pretty good job. Her cousin finished off his without pause, but he'd already had a practice birthday at home in San Fran in December. What a pair!

the Ambrose family has visitors!

At the beginning of this month, our friends Amanda, Rod and little Mae came through Shanghai on the last leg of their very ambitious global tour which saw them in London, Copenhagen, Madrid, and Shanghai, in no particular order. We all had a great time! We haven't seen each other since Rod and a pregnant Amanda moved home to Australia from London, just before Jason and I got married. So it was a fantastic catch-up.



Mae is nineteen months old now and was great fun. She and Abi definitely enjoyed each other. We even treated Mae to a trip to the 5-storey Shanghai Barbie super-store...so much pink and so little time!

We also managed to work in some good time at the Shanghai world Expo. Something I haven't really been interested in but was completely bowled over by. A lot of the pavilions were AMAZING and the whole experience was definitely not to be missed. These are some photos of the UK pavilion which was definitely the most impressive of all.

The outside is very cool. It looks like a dandelion or spore of some kind. Which is of course what it's meant to be because the whole thing is based on the millenium seed bank that the UK has been building up in Kew Gardens.

This is a shot from inside the pavillion. The spines are poured acrylic and each go from outside straight through the facade to let in light. It's very dramatic.

and at the base of each spine is a seed or cluster of seeds, from each of the species represented in the seed bank back in the UK. It really is amazing.

So...we went through a few of the pavillions, or at least as many that would let us to the front of the line with the kids (hehehe). It made such a difference, i'm tempted to rent out Abi to expo visitors. :)

Here are the 'family portraits' in front of the China pavillion.

As you can imagine, despite Mae's seeming lack of interest, these two girls were very very popular with the chinese visitors. They were photographed by countless people and will probably feature in thousands of holiday picture albums. As you can see by this picture, people weren't shy about getting in for a shot!

And despite the two very tired babies and four tired adults, a good time was had by all!