A Fun Sunday in Kennedy Town

I slaved over this post for two hours last night and then realized that it never got saved or published.  UGH.  So I'll try to recreate the same blog post.

To take advantage of my parents being here with us until Wednesday, on Sunday we decided to go for a family brunch at Catch in Kennedy Town, stroll the promenade, then go for a little bit of play time with Lola at the Smithfield Sports Centre.

Before we left, Lola had to take down every book from the bookshelf, and unfurl the playmat, and generally cause a bit of a mess.  This kid isn't happy unless the living room is in shambles.



Do not be fooled by this look of innocence. 

At Catch, Lola got to try the lobster high chair for the first time.  I think she really liked it, because it allowed her to be at the table with the adults.  For us, though, it meant that we had to be careful to keep a broad swath around her - silverware, hot coffee and our food were all very attractive, which required extra vigilance from us to ensure that it was off limits.

Lola was super curious about the food menu.

She was convinced that whatever I had was something delicious and amazing.  Can you say fomo?

 

Here I am, working hard for a bite of sweet potato and banana cracker.  I can't say that I was ever deemed worthy of a bite.

 I love this little one!

She had a delicious meal of lamb, spinach, tomato and noodles, along with sweet potato, that kept her occupied.

 

After brunch, we went for a walk along the water.

 

We happened upon a doggie cafe where Lola got to observe her new favorite four legged creatures.

Then we headed to the kids' playroom in the Smithfield Sports Centre.  Lola had a great time, look at that smile!

 We had a blast chasing her around the playroom and generally fooling around.

 

She became so enamored with opening and closing these doors to the little house that she refused to go home, even though she was clearly exhausted!

On our return home via MTR, Lola was very well behaved and super curious about everyone around her.   She also loves my wallet, and once she got it into her grasp she refused to let it go.

Lola has had a new ritual for roughly the past month, month and a half, which is to swipe the card to our building when she is in the elevator.  Whenever she gets strapped into her carrier, she knows to go and grab the key card from the shoe cabinet near our front door.  She also insists on pushing the buttons to call the elevator.  It's her absolute favorite thing to do.  Look at how happy she is here after getting to use the card!

Comeback!

My deal signed!  I am alive and back in Hong Kong!  I am still reeling from that experience and my body is definitely still in recovery, but it's brilliant and wonderful.  The sun is out and shining and there is a nice breeze blowing through my living room. 

I had no time to see much of Sydney, but over the weekend we did go to the Park Hyatt by the water for a nice brunch and some views.  I caught a glimpse of the underside of the bridge, the cruise ship in the harbor, and the opera house in the distance.

In the last days before signing, I essentially pulled two all-nighters back to back, working 20 hours each day at least.  After the deal signed and was announced, the team went out for breakfast (at which point I was so tired I barely had an appetite) and then, after everyone had a quick nap, a long, long lunch.  It was a great team that I had the privilege and pleasure to work with on this deal, and it made so much of it so much more bearable.

This was our view from the Cafe Sydney during lunch:

We went out for a celebratory drink after that, at the Opera Bar, which is right at the foot of the Opera house:

To say we were delirious by the time signing rolled around would be an understatement.  The funny thing about doing this is that at the time, while I was running on fumes, I managed to make it through on pure adrenaline.  It's after the deal is done that the trouble starts popping up.  On the flight home, my head hurt so much, likely from a combination of residual tension and caffeine deprivation, that I thought it was going to split.  On the car ride home, I was shaking and feeling so sick that I was worried I would hurl all over the backseat.  I had a very tearful reunion with Lola just as she got home from playgroup.  It felt so nice to hold her little body in my arms again, and give her smooth cheeks big juicy kisses.

These are pictures that my mom and dad captured when I was away from Lola.  She kept touching my face on the screen.  The  picture of her leaning forward to stare at my face on the screen breaks my heart.  Michael showed me a video of Lola pointing to my picture on the bookshelf whenever he asked her, "where's Mama?"  Heartbreaking.

 Now that I've returned, all I want to do is hang out with my parents before they leave (in a rather ironic twist) for their cruise in Australia and New Zealand, and with my dear, darling Lola.

We celebrated my return (second lease on life, baby) by going to the dim sum buffet at China Club, and then going to a little Halloween party in our building.  It was a pretty action packed day, to be honest.

Nice views over Central

 
 They had a nice spread, with a ton of dishes, as well as a Peking duck station, a noodle station, a congee station...

 Lola had a blast, eating a ton of food - her noodles and beans, plus steamed fish, plus fruit (mango, watermelon, grapes).  She ate so much that I was worried her little belly would explode.  She also liked the fresh flowers on the table, and kept fingering the gerber daisies and pink roses.  She loves flowers. After our meal, we took a tour of China Club.

 

 

 

In other fun news, we had to take Lola to the doctor to give her the second booster to her flu shot.  Poor thing, she didn't know yet what was coming.  She was having a great time playing on the way to the doctor, and also giggling like crazy in the doctor's waiting room.  She was decidedly less happy after enduring a shot in her leg!