The Cousins Finally Meet

Abigail was born exactly five weeks and one day after her cousin Michael (aka Mikey) who was born in San Francisco, on the first of December. And this Friday (5th of April) they finally met face to face instead of just over skype (a very modern pair, the two of them).

It has to be said that Mikey is the cutest and funniest little boy EVER. I may be biased, as his aunt, but nevertheless, the kid is HILARIOUS!! Abigail was a little worried but Mikey was very amused by her. There were a few minor scuffles (a kick to the head from Abigail and some onesie-grabbing from Mikey) but all in all it was pretty successful.

They even shared a cot...until Abigail woke up screaming. It seems she thought the big kid beside her was a little scary while he just thought she was very very funny.

Abigail's World Tour: Stage One

Abigail and Christy embarked on the first stage of their world tour this week. It was as simple as a thirteen hour flight from Shanghai to Chicago, a sprint between terminals at Chicago O'Hare, followed by a three hour flight to Orlando, 'et voila'!

I was incredibly relieved to discover that Abigail travels well (phew!!). I was so nervous doing this flight on my own with her but she slept in her car seat in the empty seat beside me the entire way to Chicago, waking only when the captain announced the approach.

We nearly missed our connection but a very fast sprint through customs, immigration and into the domestic terminal got us to the flight just on time. There we found ourselves seated beside a very nice grandmother who offered to hold Abigail while i put the bags overhead and she never gave her back! It was a very nice rest for me and I think she loved it since Abigail is still very cuddly and sweet. So thank goodness for the fact that you can still find nice people in this world.

Grammy and Papa were very excited to see us (although I suspect they were mainly excited to see her). She's grown a lot in the five weeks since they left us in Shanghai.

So we're back in Auburndale and settling in. We're both trying to get back on schedule, but a 13 hour time difference is a lot for a little girl to deal with. However, her new toys here are helping a lot....

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!