If you can't already tell from the post title, this one is going to be a long and rambling one to help me catch up on what has been happening since we returned from Taiwan, oh... 13 days ago?! Where does the time go?!
So, firstly, compounding the difficulties is that I have been fighting a bad cold and a bit of an eye infection (air quality, it's so important), and have generally felt very tired, sluggish and slow. The building next to my office has been shut down for a massive renovation (real estate, especially prime retail space in Central, is so profitable in Hong Kong that all the developers are knocking down their buildings or adding more floors) which means the loss of my beloved yoga studio. I had found so many good teachers that I liked there over these past four-five years and the ability to go from being at my desk in a suit to being in the studio in yoga clothes in 10 minutes or less was a luxury of the highest order. So I felt that loss keenly, which also probably led to my complete lack of energy and feelings of malaise.
Last weekend, I took Lola to try a music class at Spring, one of the (many) playgroups and classes around Hong Kong island. She made a really cute frog, sang some songs, shook some maracas, but mostly was obsessed with the little mini slide that they had in the classroom. As I mentioned, she has discovered a new love for slides since our Taiwan trip. Having attended quite a few classes with her now, I have to admit, she is not a particularly obedient or attentive child. She is very much drawn toward what interests her and good luck to you if you're trying to make her focus on something that's not the same thing. It is not at all unusual (in fact, it's probably the norm) for Lola to be doing her own thing far, far from the teacher or the designated activity.
Last Sunday, Michael, Lola and I went to brunch at Little Creatures in Kennedy Town where we met up with some friends and enjoyed big brunch together before the holidays. My friend was super generous and gifted me with a class Longchamp bag in a beautiful burgundy, and Lola with a soft and pretty pink Hello Kitty book bag (which we now use to stuff full of her books and little toys when we go on trips).
Following brunch, I took Lola to the birthday party of our next door neighbor's daughter, who had her third birthday party at the Maggie and Rose club in Causeway Bay. There was a magician who performed tricks and made Lola a little balloon dog and balloon flower corsage. She also got to try grape juice for the first time (I caved) and she promptly sucked down the entire juice carton in nearly one go. I hid it when she wasn't looking and her recourse was to steal the juice box of the little girl next to her...
So that was a pretty action packed weekend.
Because I am a glutton for punishment, I also booked our travel to the Shangri-la at Cebu in the Philippines over the Chinese New Year holidays and finalized our Taichung vacation (yep, again!) for Easter next year. They are both short trips (only 4-5 days each) but it takes hours to arrange and plan nonetheless.
This past Tuesday, Lola went in for her one-year check up and vaccinations (chicken pox and measles). The poor thing got stuck twice and wailed inconsolably until she was allowed to watch Peppa the Pig on TV. Our doctor is very thorough and I like that, beyond just administering shots or listening for coughs/looking at issues, she spends some time checking how Lola is progressing on height, weight and general milestones. While I firmly believe that every baby is different and advances at her own pace, I also find it helpful to hear from a professional what she thinks Lola needs to improve, or what we need to look out for, if anything.
Her pediatrician says she is doing fantastically - meeting or well exceeding all milestones. Lola started walking unassisted this past week (woohoo, go Lola!!), and also impressed our doctor with her ability to kick a little ball as she was walking (though it's something she's been doing for a while now); she is grabbing food very well (our doctor offered Lola a puff to see how she would react and to gauge her hand/eye coordination and finger dexterity); and also got our doctor to cheer at how quickly Lola was able to take blocks and put them into a little box, as well as fit circles and squares and triangles into puzzles. What I find perhaps most adorable is how Lola claps her hands together when she's done, giving herself (well deserved) applause.
This past Thursday, my office threw a holiday party for everyone (all lawyers and staff) and required formal dress (though it really was optional - except I really felt like I needed to dress up, if that makes sense). The party was held in the main room at restaurant called Statement, held in the former Central Police Station Compound (nicknamed CPS for short) and it was really beautiful.
My wardrobe, however, is in an even worse state than I thought, because I had not one long, formal dress to wear. Seriously! My outfits in college were fancier than what I have now, sigh. I have the opposite problem of a hoarder - I throw everything away before I have a chance to replenish it. It's also a bad combination of having gotten much busier and also having become much more picky about what I wear. I panicked when I realized at the last minute that I needed to procure a formal dress that was still reasonably priced at the very, very last minute. It's not like we have rent-the-runway in Hong Kong. And I do mean very last minute - it ended up being Net-a-Porter for the win when I finally found a dress on their website on Wednesday evening, which was delivered by hand to my office on Thursday at noon (!) I ordered two sizes in case and thank goodness one worked. It was festive, simple, classy and elegant, and amazingly comfortable. I slipped into it gratefully just 4 short hours later and paired it with my gold Jimmy Choo's.
In my continued efforts to keep Lola occupied, I arranged a trial class for her on Wednesday at Mulberry House, a one hour mandarin immersion class, and a trial class for her on Friday at Maggie and Rose, a half hour (taster) art class.
These are in addition to the regularly scheduled 1 hour or 2 hour playgroups that Lola attends. I am careful not to pack her schedule with too much, although there has been a lot going on recently. But Lola also absolutely adores being outdoors or in new environments. She likes meeting different people and being in the mix. She is a social butterfly! And I really enjoy seeing her enjoy herself so much. We will tone it down when we return to Hong Kong in the new year.
Oh, yeah, I also figured out Lola's new schedule for 2019 because she is moving into a different age group in most of her classes. Part of the reason for all of these trial classes is that I have been shopping around to try to find another playgroup for her. In addition to Baby Buddies and Woodlands, I just made the decision to enroll Lola in Wilderness in the new year. I think that gives her a good mix of different languages and styles of instruction.
After the Friday art class, my friend and I went with our babies to get some brunch at A Happy Pancake, a Japanese restaurant in Lee Garden Three. Their pancakes are pretty phenomenal and I see why there is constantly a line. I ordered the one with fresh fruit so that I could share it with Lola, and evidencing how quickly she gobbled down everything I cut up for her, she concurs. They are probably nearly 2 inches thick but so, so fluffy and soft and just... magical. No wonder it's called a Happy Pancake and no wonder it's Japanese. Apparently they employ an incredibly technical and precise cooking method involving infrared thermometers and induction baking sheets.
In anticipation of the mayhem and insanity of next week and the Christmas festivities the following week, my to-do list, usually pretty impressively long already, has been epic as of late.
Yes, that's right, mayhem and insanity next week because we leave for the U.S. (New York, first) on Monday evening and I. am. terrified. I am thinking about that 17 hour non stop flight as akin to labor: something that I know has to happen and will happen, come what may. The weeks and weeks of jetlag thereafter though... I guess that's like the traveling equivalent of the fourth trimester. Screen time rules be damned, Michael is loading up that iPad with hours' worth of Moana, Peppa the Pig and nursery songs and shows (although we are drawing the line at drugs, do not worry).
For Christmas, we will be headed to Cleveland (poor Lola, 17 hours worth of travel on Monday night and not even a week later she will be struggling with us through the US domestic airports) which is very exciting because sh will get to meet all of her aunts and uncles and cousins on Michael's side of the family! Plus there will be dogs!
After Christmas in Cleveland, we return to New York where we will have another week with my family. This trip will be Lola's first meeting with all of my extended relatives as well, including both of my grandmothers (her great grandmothers) and her cousins. And then we have to brace ourselves because before we know it we will be back on another 17 hour flight - and this time, we won't even have the luxury of a night flight when she will be sleepy and ready for bed.
There are so many people for her to meet on this trip, and places to see and things to do, it will be an absolute whirlwind! It is kind of amazing for me to realize that my baby, despite holding an American passport and clearly being an American, has never set foot in the country! And this will be her sixth trip since she was born! Gosh, how different her childhood is shaping up to be from mine and Michael's!
So, firstly, compounding the difficulties is that I have been fighting a bad cold and a bit of an eye infection (air quality, it's so important), and have generally felt very tired, sluggish and slow. The building next to my office has been shut down for a massive renovation (real estate, especially prime retail space in Central, is so profitable in Hong Kong that all the developers are knocking down their buildings or adding more floors) which means the loss of my beloved yoga studio. I had found so many good teachers that I liked there over these past four-five years and the ability to go from being at my desk in a suit to being in the studio in yoga clothes in 10 minutes or less was a luxury of the highest order. So I felt that loss keenly, which also probably led to my complete lack of energy and feelings of malaise.
Last weekend, I took Lola to try a music class at Spring, one of the (many) playgroups and classes around Hong Kong island. She made a really cute frog, sang some songs, shook some maracas, but mostly was obsessed with the little mini slide that they had in the classroom. As I mentioned, she has discovered a new love for slides since our Taiwan trip. Having attended quite a few classes with her now, I have to admit, she is not a particularly obedient or attentive child. She is very much drawn toward what interests her and good luck to you if you're trying to make her focus on something that's not the same thing. It is not at all unusual (in fact, it's probably the norm) for Lola to be doing her own thing far, far from the teacher or the designated activity.
 |
| One of the few times she is paying attention (bubbles!) |
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| Getting ready to go down the slide! |
Last Saturday afternoon, I also went to a holiday party (which coincided with the grand opening of the offices) of one of my clients. Coincidentally, their new offices were just one floor below where I used to work (before my firm moved), so I knew the building well. Stepping into the lobby of that building always brings back a flood of memories from when I first started living and working in Hong Kong - but at the same time, that all feels like so long ago (which it was)!
Last Sunday, Michael, Lola and I went to brunch at Little Creatures in Kennedy Town where we met up with some friends and enjoyed big brunch together before the holidays. My friend was super generous and gifted me with a class Longchamp bag in a beautiful burgundy, and Lola with a soft and pretty pink Hello Kitty book bag (which we now use to stuff full of her books and little toys when we go on trips).
Following brunch, I took Lola to the birthday party of our next door neighbor's daughter, who had her third birthday party at the Maggie and Rose club in Causeway Bay. There was a magician who performed tricks and made Lola a little balloon dog and balloon flower corsage. She also got to try grape juice for the first time (I caved) and she promptly sucked down the entire juice carton in nearly one go. I hid it when she wasn't looking and her recourse was to steal the juice box of the little girl next to her...
So that was a pretty action packed weekend.
Because I am a glutton for punishment, I also booked our travel to the Shangri-la at Cebu in the Philippines over the Chinese New Year holidays and finalized our Taichung vacation (yep, again!) for Easter next year. They are both short trips (only 4-5 days each) but it takes hours to arrange and plan nonetheless.
This past Tuesday, Lola went in for her one-year check up and vaccinations (chicken pox and measles). The poor thing got stuck twice and wailed inconsolably until she was allowed to watch Peppa the Pig on TV. Our doctor is very thorough and I like that, beyond just administering shots or listening for coughs/looking at issues, she spends some time checking how Lola is progressing on height, weight and general milestones. While I firmly believe that every baby is different and advances at her own pace, I also find it helpful to hear from a professional what she thinks Lola needs to improve, or what we need to look out for, if anything.
Her pediatrician says she is doing fantastically - meeting or well exceeding all milestones. Lola started walking unassisted this past week (woohoo, go Lola!!), and also impressed our doctor with her ability to kick a little ball as she was walking (though it's something she's been doing for a while now); she is grabbing food very well (our doctor offered Lola a puff to see how she would react and to gauge her hand/eye coordination and finger dexterity); and also got our doctor to cheer at how quickly Lola was able to take blocks and put them into a little box, as well as fit circles and squares and triangles into puzzles. What I find perhaps most adorable is how Lola claps her hands together when she's done, giving herself (well deserved) applause.
This past Thursday, my office threw a holiday party for everyone (all lawyers and staff) and required formal dress (though it really was optional - except I really felt like I needed to dress up, if that makes sense). The party was held in the main room at restaurant called Statement, held in the former Central Police Station Compound (nicknamed CPS for short) and it was really beautiful.
 |
| This is the large central courtyard - they have done a really great job with this restoration |
My wardrobe, however, is in an even worse state than I thought, because I had not one long, formal dress to wear. Seriously! My outfits in college were fancier than what I have now, sigh. I have the opposite problem of a hoarder - I throw everything away before I have a chance to replenish it. It's also a bad combination of having gotten much busier and also having become much more picky about what I wear. I panicked when I realized at the last minute that I needed to procure a formal dress that was still reasonably priced at the very, very last minute. It's not like we have rent-the-runway in Hong Kong. And I do mean very last minute - it ended up being Net-a-Porter for the win when I finally found a dress on their website on Wednesday evening, which was delivered by hand to my office on Thursday at noon (!) I ordered two sizes in case and thank goodness one worked. It was festive, simple, classy and elegant, and amazingly comfortable. I slipped into it gratefully just 4 short hours later and paired it with my gold Jimmy Choo's.
In my continued efforts to keep Lola occupied, I arranged a trial class for her on Wednesday at Mulberry House, a one hour mandarin immersion class, and a trial class for her on Friday at Maggie and Rose, a half hour (taster) art class.
These are in addition to the regularly scheduled 1 hour or 2 hour playgroups that Lola attends. I am careful not to pack her schedule with too much, although there has been a lot going on recently. But Lola also absolutely adores being outdoors or in new environments. She likes meeting different people and being in the mix. She is a social butterfly! And I really enjoy seeing her enjoy herself so much. We will tone it down when we return to Hong Kong in the new year.
Oh, yeah, I also figured out Lola's new schedule for 2019 because she is moving into a different age group in most of her classes. Part of the reason for all of these trial classes is that I have been shopping around to try to find another playgroup for her. In addition to Baby Buddies and Woodlands, I just made the decision to enroll Lola in Wilderness in the new year. I think that gives her a good mix of different languages and styles of instruction.
After the Friday art class, my friend and I went with our babies to get some brunch at A Happy Pancake, a Japanese restaurant in Lee Garden Three. Their pancakes are pretty phenomenal and I see why there is constantly a line. I ordered the one with fresh fruit so that I could share it with Lola, and evidencing how quickly she gobbled down everything I cut up for her, she concurs. They are probably nearly 2 inches thick but so, so fluffy and soft and just... magical. No wonder it's called a Happy Pancake and no wonder it's Japanese. Apparently they employ an incredibly technical and precise cooking method involving infrared thermometers and induction baking sheets.
In anticipation of the mayhem and insanity of next week and the Christmas festivities the following week, my to-do list, usually pretty impressively long already, has been epic as of late.
Yes, that's right, mayhem and insanity next week because we leave for the U.S. (New York, first) on Monday evening and I. am. terrified. I am thinking about that 17 hour non stop flight as akin to labor: something that I know has to happen and will happen, come what may. The weeks and weeks of jetlag thereafter though... I guess that's like the traveling equivalent of the fourth trimester. Screen time rules be damned, Michael is loading up that iPad with hours' worth of Moana, Peppa the Pig and nursery songs and shows (although we are drawing the line at drugs, do not worry).
For Christmas, we will be headed to Cleveland (poor Lola, 17 hours worth of travel on Monday night and not even a week later she will be struggling with us through the US domestic airports) which is very exciting because sh will get to meet all of her aunts and uncles and cousins on Michael's side of the family! Plus there will be dogs!
After Christmas in Cleveland, we return to New York where we will have another week with my family. This trip will be Lola's first meeting with all of my extended relatives as well, including both of my grandmothers (her great grandmothers) and her cousins. And then we have to brace ourselves because before we know it we will be back on another 17 hour flight - and this time, we won't even have the luxury of a night flight when she will be sleepy and ready for bed.
There are so many people for her to meet on this trip, and places to see and things to do, it will be an absolute whirlwind! It is kind of amazing for me to realize that my baby, despite holding an American passport and clearly being an American, has never set foot in the country! And this will be her sixth trip since she was born! Gosh, how different her childhood is shaping up to be from mine and Michael's!
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