Wrapping up August

As we wrap up yet another month (where has the time gone!!!) here are some fun pictures of the kids during August.  A lot of these pictures are from Sun Yat Sen Park (probably still the overall favorite in our household), although we also hit up Cyberport, Mt. Austin Playground, Victoria Park, Bowen Park, Quarry Bay Park and Hong Kong Park...

Temperatures in Hong Kong have been so unforgiving - highs of 31 or 32 but feel like 36 or 38 with the humidity.  The kids run hot and do not do so well with the heat.  Lola's whole head gets wet like she has just taken a shower (especially if she's wearing her helmet) and the boys get pretty red and cranky.  Our electricity bill is through the roof (ouch).  

Things are starting to relax a little bit again on the pandemic front, although every single parent that I know is in despair about the Education Bureau's passivity and lack of formal protocol, and people are still restricted to gatherings of 2 people in public places.  We've been without use of the gym or the pool at the American Club for nearly 2 months now.  Public beaches have also been closed since July 15. 

 

 

Last week we took Al and Teo to Fairchild to drop Lola off, and they got to play outside in the common area.  They were a little bit of a hit - they're already well known by Lola's teachers and everyone there was quite drawn to this dynamic duo.  When we marched in there, Lola's teachers exclaimed, "Wow Lola you brought your whole family!"  Apparently she talks a lot about her brothers.  It's very sweet.

We also peered at Lola in her classroom through the school's large aquarium.

Lola has gone to Hong Kong park a couple of times to see the turtles and the fish.

She continues to love taking along her little dolls on adventures.

 

Other times we are just being silly at home, which can be great fun also.

 

Here the boys are enjoying their time at Maggie & Rose.  The sprinklers have been such a relief during the hot muggy afternoons.

 

  

The boys have upped their bathing game since my post at the beginning of the month.  The rubber bath seats are so much less fun and exciting compared to these swim floats!  The boys love water so much as it is that this only adds to the appeal.  May I just add that this picture also captures their personalities so well - of course Teo loves the swimtrainer float because he can do froggy kicks, and Al loves the car float because he can just lean back. What does it mean that Lola loves the blue car float also?  So much so that she has taken two baths in one day a couple of times, just to play!

Lola has been a lot more receptive to her brothers as of late.  She often asks me what they are doing, or why they are crying, or whether they are sleeping (to check if she can pound on her drums or play the piano).  She is a great older sister.  Here are a few of them enjoying their time together.

 

Teo, naturally super curious of his sister's every move, made more so here by the fact that she is eating something...

Teo and Lola side by side.

Al and Lola side by side.

All three together - Teo couldn't stay away!

In other exciting news, our kitchen continues to be a leaky mess! 

I bought some flowers from the wet market recently on a whim. I forget how happy it makes me!

 

Here is a beautiful double rainbow that my parents sent me from their yard in New York, to show Lola, Al and Teo.  We really really miss everyone, everywhere!

Eight Months Today!

Al and Teo are 8 months today! Closer and closer to one, and walking and talking and running around!  It's going to get hectic around here, as if it isn't hectic enough already. 

Al is a huge sweetheart.  He is capable of spontaneously flashing the most mega-watt grin at anyone at a moment's notice (it's particularly amusing when he goes from flat out howling to uncontrollably giggling despite himself) and it's heart-melting.  He is the giggliest and coo-iest baby in that he really tries to charm anyone that approaches him.  I don't think he is particularly discerning (he will grin at anyone who looks at him) but that also makes him so sweet.  

However, Al is very quick to lose it.  I like to say that he smiles easily but riles easily.   Al has a lot of grunting and groaning in his repertoire - it sounds remarkably like complaining even though he isn't speaking words... He gets hungry very quickly and cannot wait at all - he loses his mind in his hangriness.  I have seen him start scratching at his face as he thrusts his head back and howls.  He is also the one who gets annoyed at being in his car seat (often also due to uncontrollable hunger).  Lest you think we're starving the poor guy... he eats. all. the. time.

Al loves food wholeheartedly.  He has a healthy appetite for milk, so far has tried and enjoyed every type of food we have given him, and will often go ahead and suck down the rest of Teo's milk.  In fact, Al even loves the preparation of food because he knows that it means there are good things in store!  His eyes light up and he drools and his mouth starts moving when he sees his cup, bowl or spoon.  Before the boys were pretty evenly matched in size, but between them now I think there is a more discernible weight difference.  Al's back is remarkably broad - I think he's the same width as Lola!  And his arms and thighs are just... chunky and thunderous and delicious.  He feels like a kettlebell when you pick him up.

Al loves books - while it often translates to loving the taste of books (something about that cardboard, mmmm), he does like being read to as well.  And he likes to flip through pages and look at pictures.  He enjoys drumming and stroking things with his hands (as well as putting things in his mouth - that is constant and steadfast)!  Al isn't as physically nimble as Teo, but he is a terrific sitter - he is solid and sits upright and very well. 

 

Al is pretty good at getting what he wants.  He doesn't like to expend energy unless it's absolutely mandatory - he is the one who prefers to lie back on his car float in the bath and let the water roll over him.  He has figured out that because he cannot crawl, the best way to get to something he wants is to - wait for it - roll toward it!  Least amount of effort for most amount of payoff.  Brilliant boy.

Teo is a pretty quiet and easygoing guy, but he is not out to please anyone.  When you get a smile from him, it feels extra special because you know it isn't given easily (unless you are in his select inner circle, in which case he has smiles and coos for you all the time).  Teo seems like the classic third baby even though he and Al are only two minutes apart.  You can bring him anywhere and he is usually pretty game to go anywhere and try anything.  Sometimes he is very excited and his little feet churn like he is running, and he flings his whole body and flails both of his arms forward like he wants to pitch himself out of his chair, but overall he maintains a pretty even keel.  I'm glad out of my three kids I've finally gotten a chance to see what laid back looks like!

Teo is very observant.  He likes looking up at the bright lights and especially at the suitcase above the closet in his room, directly over his crib.  He recognizes people and is slow to warm up to strangers.  In the car, he is always quiet because he is completely focused on the view outside the window.  His lower lip drops open a little bit, he puts his feet up against the cool leather car seat, and it couldn't be more clear that he is maxing and relaxing as he watches the world whiz by.

Teo "gets" things pretty quickly.  We got him a little Vtech driving toy with a steering wheel, blinker, and stickshift that has all kinds of lights, music and sounds. He immediately figured out how to press the buttons and click the blinker and press the buttons.  When he can't reach a toy or book but I give him a boost by putting my hands against his feet, he knows to push against my hands and propel himself forward by sticking his butt up in the air like a little worm or caterpillar.  He will hold the basketball and understands to dunk it into the hoop when we lift him up toward it.  He is very smart.

Teo is a sensitive soul.  You get the sense he understands what's happening.  He got sick two weeks ago, probably as a result of overeating (oatmeal, egg yolk, water plus milk) and threw up a couple of times.  (Al got sick also).  That night, while Al snored sleepily through the night, Teo would not sleep well and kept sobbing in his sleep as he had nightmares.  It was like he was traumatized from throwing up and kept reliving it!

Finally, you can tell that Teo loves his sister Lola so much.  He somehow senses that she is different from the adults in the room, and tracks her every movement and speech.  He tries to touch her hair and likes to play with her.  You can just see his fascination with her.  A couple of months ago, Lola had her hair done beautifully with bows and flowers and Teo, upon catching sight of it, went into raptures cooing and kicking excitedly.  It was very clear that he had noticed her hair and liked it! 

We are so lucky to have such healthy, happy boys.  We love you Teo and Al!

Our Five Year Anniversary: Love, Marriage, Babies' Carriages!

 Michael and I celebrated our five year anniversary this past Saturday.  

 It was a really great celebration - not because of any flashy presents (in fact, there were none), or fancy dining experiences (we had dinner at home, eating filet mignon that accidentally got mashed into hamburgers- details below), or even anything special (we went to Maggie and Rose with the kids and hung out by the sprinklers for an hour).  

But it was a nice pocket of time that Michael and I carved out for ourselves, where he respected the occasion by not doing any (or much) work at all, and I allowed myself to relax and not get caught up in any spiraling thoughts about dissatisfaction or malaise.  And there was a bottle of champagne - a nice bottle of Perrier Jouet which never fails to buoy things, let's be honest.  And a lemon meringue tart as well - freaking fantastic, let's be honest.

The day was off to a great start because Lola and I went over to a playdate at her friend's house in Sai Wan Ho.  We were there for about 3 hours and Lola had an amazing time.  I was a bit horrified at how rough the boys played, the other two mamas sighed over how polite and precocious Lola was, and we all had a blast.  This was an apartment at which I had discovered a previously unknown (to me) variant of passion fruit, so clearly I had a connection with this woman!  

While Lola and I were on a playdate, Al and Teo had an amazing time playing and enjoying a little picnic in Quarry Bay park, where they got to sit in the shade but watched and listened to large boats that passed by.  (Side note: I know this sounds SO ignorant, but it's only recently come to my attention that there are actually a ton of ferry piers all over Hong Kong and Kowloon.  I have only ever been on the Star Ferry, which is the iconic boat that criss crosses Victoria Harbor between Central and TST, and ferry boats between Central and Cheng Chau, Lantau and Lamma, as well as the boats that go to Macau, but there are actually a lot of other ferries that go between Wan Chai and TST, Central and Hung Hom, and Sai Wan Ho and Kwun Tong, just to name a few.  Lola's insatiable love for public transportation makes me want to explore all of these routes, especially as a lot of them are going extinct!)

Then we came home, enjoyed a wonderful lunch, after which the kids all retired after lunch for a nap.  Ah, the hours of 1:30 to 3:30 PM - the quietest time in our household.  

The afternoon passed quickly with a lot of fun at Maggie and Rose - this club has been a savior during the pandemic.  Because it's a private club, it can be a lot more controlled than a public restaurant or play space.  While it's still subject to the social distancing measures in place, it feels a lot more controlled because the number of people permitted entry are already limited in the first instance.  And while there have been busy moments (particularly rainy weekend afternoons) at the club, for the most part it has been a really empty and wonderful oasis for us.  We often head there on weekday afternoons to discover that the entire club is ours, and I take a lot of pleasure just soaking up having the space to ourselves and not having to worry about interactions and crowding and all the other stuff that we worry about nowadays.  It's also just really lovely.  I love the roof and the oasis that they created.

There is something so nice about being outside with space but also still surrounded by huge, tall buildings and knowing you're in the midst of some of the busiest stretches of Causeway Bay?  It appeals to me deeply.  Or maybe it's just because we can't get out of Hong Kong and with beaches closed and parks packed, there's nowhere else to go!

The boys love water and they can sit there and play non stop with the sprinklers.  It's a win-win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we finished at the club, we leisurely paid a visit to one of my favorite stores in the same building, Book Castle.  It's a toy store and book store wrapped in one, packed to the gills from floor to ceiling with all kinds of, well, toys and books!  And we managed to find Lola a really pretty rhyming Curious George Happy Birthday book which was great.

Then we returned home to enjoy a dinner of steak and salad.  Michael, Lola and I ate at the dining table while the boys retired to their rooms for their pre-bedtime milk and bedtime. We have an amazing helper that is a great cook but she has worked many, many years for a vegetarian family.  Asking her to prepare steaks without any further detailed instructions may not have been my best move.  She pounded our filet mignons and it appears she marinated it with garlic, rosemary and other assorted herbs. Then she cut the meat in half and fried them until they resembled chewy, well done hamburger patties.  Ah well.  Lesson learned and we enjoyed our very expensive hamburger meat in good humor.  I am still constantly grateful for all of the help that we have.  

I ordered a handmade lemon meringue tart from a French baker, picked up fresh that morning, and we all enjoyed that after our dinner.  Michael inhaled his slice in, I kid you not, about ten seconds.  Lola and I looked up and we were both agog at how quickly he finished it.  She even asked him what happened to his slice... haha.

Five candles for five years.

To round out the post, here are some recent pictures of the kids playing around and enjoying hanging out with each other.  

Lola loves being a doctor.  Good thing Al and Teo have her around because she is really keeping on top of their blood pressure, temperature and cholesterol....

The boys.  Ahhhh, they are so cute. Here they are in sweet hats that were gifted to us by a dear friend.  They look... a lot alike don't they?  Michael and I are preeeetty certain the boys don't need DNA tests.

Lola likes her brother's hat.

Her brother is less certain how he feels about it.

Here are Al and I, chilling alone together in a rare opportunity one early morning.

I feel like this is a Michael face if there ever was one.  Teo isn't so sure about grass.

The boys love to drink water.  They really love to drink water out of straws.

Brothers.  It's too early to tell if they like each other.  I'm going to go with (if their fights over toys are any indication)... not really.  But they're still super smiley.