So, 20 days later, I come back to you with some pictures of the presents that we've gotten through at the beginning of the month, and presents that we have to look forward to. Christmas is in 2 days! I don't know how that happened.
I just finished up a round of Christmas presents shopping (it gets
intense when you have so many people in your family!) and what makes it
incredibly tough is that the boys' birthdays are three days after
Christmas. I mean, c'mon!! I totally get why kids with birthdays
around Christmas feel like it's feast or famine. In our household
especially, given in the span of 3.5 months we have five birthdays and
Christmas, it feels pretty intense.
Jumping back a month, I went to a lovely coffee date with my friend in my neighborhood and she gifted me some fragrant and beautiful lilies for my birthday. She is such a thoughtful friend. I'm burning a delicious pine-y dyptique candle from her as I type. I feel so blessed to have friends like these despite the trying year this has been.
Michael treated me to a pair of Onitsuka Tigers, which he remembers that I was wearing when we first met. (It's crazy to look back on those moments when you first meet a stranger - and then it turns out to be the encounter that alters the course of your entire life... isn't it? I don't know if it's because that encounter becomes something so important and vital that the details get encapsulated so clearly in your mind, or if it's because it is so life-altering as it is happening that you remember the details so clearly after?)
I got some incredibly lovely and thoughtful presents, including a warm gray blanket for my cozy reading nights, some amazing face serum, rose hip oil, an Everlane bag and dopp kit. I also got the incredible hit that was Sichuan hot pot. Yum.
I managed also to meet up with some friends, before Covid's fourth wave really had hit Hong Kong, to have teppanyaki together (our birthdays are each a day or so apart) and it was lovely. The restaurant, Crown Super Deluxe, is super gaudy with lots of gold and purple tones. It's like a disco bar in 1970s Macau?
But given the tastiness of the beef, I'll take it. I loved it so much I went back the following week for a client lunch.
This had nothing to do with my birthday, but we had a client wine
tasting over Zoom in late November. This was my view and I got to taste some pretty
incredible bordeaux. Not bad for a (Thurs)day's work! It was a nice lead-up to my actual birthday.
The big gift for Lola was her bike! We got her a purple Pony BMX bike with a basket and a very robust bell (she was most keen on the bell and basket, and purple is her favorite color). Unfortunately she never took to her balance bike so she relies heavily on her training wheels here. But she really likes the bike. In addition to the big bike, we also got Lola some puzzles (which she requested so she could do them when she is in her bedroom for two minute "time outs" for her temper tantrums), two pretty dresses, and some paints because she loves painting and coloring.
To fight the pandemic doldrums, I ordered and had our Christmas tree delivered as soon as possible after Thanksgiving this year, so we have been enjoying the scent of pine and the flickering of Christmas lights for almost a month already. We have a good amount of presents under the tree already, but there will be a big buildup in these last few days. I'll be sure to post a final picture.
Finally, quick update on the kids. The boys are so freaking cute. They're each other's worst enemies but then they can't stay away from each other. They love their daddy and their older sister their most frequent words currently are probably "mama" and "dada." They're both crawling and curious and pulling themselves up and generally turning into little sprightly monkeys, God help us.
Lola is just... out of this world precocious and adorable and challenging and difficult, as per usual.
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