Dino-Dino Dream Park

The name alone should have warned us about the cheese-factor that was going to ensue... but this SUPER lame and expensive experience is what us "lawai" (foreigner) would consider a "China experience." It seems like it would be cool but it ends up being disappointing and it reminds you how stupid things are in China... I have nothing more to say because it was so bad, except that at least it was a nice day. Look at those blue skies!

Mid-Autumn Festival

Today we had a day off because it was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Yay! The day before, I helped Gabby in her classroom and we made GF moon-cakes, which was basically a sugar cookie recipe. I was happy with the recipe but it called for too much nutmeg, so I would change that for next time. In China, you give these special cakes as gifts. They aren't very good (dry and pasty, the Chinese are not known for good desserts) so when I get them as a gift, I usually give them to my ayi. Apparently, Starbucks sells "the best" ones, according to some students. We had some leftover batter, so Travis and I made the rest with her at home. She's really into helping us cook now, which is great.

Below is the story Gabby learned in school about the Mid-Autumn Festival...

STORY: The time of this story is around 2170 B.C. The earth once had ten suns circling over it, each took its turn to illuminate to the earth. But one day all ten suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved by a strong and tyrannical archer Hou Yi. He succeeded in shooting down nine of the suns. One day, Hou Yi stole the elixir of life from a goddess. However his beautiful wife Chang Er drank the elixir of life in order to save the people from her husband's tyrannical rule. After drinking it, she found herself floating and flew to the moon. Hou Yi loved his divinely beautiful wife so much, he didn't shoot down the moon

Dinner w/ Jane Goodall

Travis and I have wanted to attend the annual charity dinner with Jane Goodall, and were so bummed the last two years when she didn't make it... In fact, we thought, since she is getting older, that she wouldn't make the trip out to Asia anymore. Apparently, we were wrong. It took us over an hour in the pouring rain, but we finally got to the hotel. It was nice but the microphone wasn't working so we couldn't hear and food was... eh. So-so. Plus, we had to wait awhile to finally meet her... I INSISTED on getting a picture with her, much to Travis's annoyance. We waited in line and pushed our way to the front (which is not considered rude in China) and finally got our "no flash" picture. Travis told Ms. Goodall how inspirational she was and she could care less, I'm sure she heard it a thousand times before... she did make sure to spell Gabriella correct. She wrote "follow your dreams," in the book she signed which Gabby really liked and still talks about.

Gabby and Her EC-3 Buddies

Jack, Kellan, Kya, Hannah, and Gabriella

Another mother in the class sent these to us... Gabby and her class-mates eating Gluten Free cupcakes. Unfortunately, they were a bit crumbly but Gabby seems to like them!

Celiac Support Group

Travis and I attended our first Celiac support group and it was really helpful! Plus, we met other parents of children diagnosed with this disease and were able to help each other out and share our stories... I found it quite therapeutic... it's always nice to know that you're not alone. I especially liked hearing from others living with Celiac and how they deal with it, what they eat, etc. This is a group that meets once a month and I think we're going to get a lot out of it. We're already creating a database of where to buy foods and what restaurants will cater to gluten free diets. Yay!

Fundazzle

Where's Gabby? Look for her in the turquoise dress

Going down the slide... you can see how sweaty she is!

BFF's Gabriella and Emelia (Emily). They came over to play after nap time.

A couple of families got together and went downtown to an indoor play area, called "Fundazzle." I think we were all surprised but how great it was... It was originally a pool, that they remodeled into a play place. The deep end of the pool was an ENORMOUS vat full of balls and underneath was a trampoline so the kids could bounce in the balls. I've never seen that little twist before. There was also a hugo climbing area and closed off place for babies one meter and smaller. Of course, it was still Chinese... squatty, nasty toilets and everything was a tiny bit weird looking and grungy- but the price was right. We're all looking forward to going back again, especially during the cold winter months. Gabby had an absolute blast, she was so sweaty and tired afterwards... and still fought off sleep. Oy vey.

Daddy/Daughter Bonding

Luckily for Miss Gabriella, she has two parents in education which means that if there is going to be a teachable moment- it'll happen. Travis put together an Ikea bookshelf for her playroom and had Gabby help him... lots of good stuff to learn... sorting objects, shapes, reading directions, fine motor skills (hammering), and the feeling of accomplishment by a job well done! She is at that age where she loves to help (just in time for a little sibling- yes!) and has also been helping me make food... She is so proud of herself after she helps us out!

Western Wedding w/ Chinese Characteristics

This weekend we went to a friend from work's wedding, which we don't do much in China. He's American and his wife is Chinese and they did a really cool mix of Western and Eastern wedding traditions. I wasn't able to enjoy the champagne and beer, but the food was yummy and we all had a blast. Our friend is known for his sense-of-humor. He bought a van and had it decorated as the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, although he wanted it spelled "Mistery" just so that it was more Chinese-like. Here's a picture of table #12 with the happy couple as cardboard cut-outs...

Gabby Update

This morning, while I was taking a shower, Travis was sleeping, and Gabby was supposedly watching TV, she went downstairs to her room and picked out an outfit for school and dressed herself. I was quite impressed by how it was color-coordinated and appropriate for school. In the past, she'd put on her dress-up clothes or want to wear winter clothes in the summer, etc. She was very proud of herself and reminded me that she made sure the tags were in the back. Lately, without us reminding her, she asks to be excused from the dinner table and puts her dirty dishes in the sink. Woohoo! It's quite gratifying as a parent to watch your child gain independence.

Yesterday morning, we were watching  a show with singing and it mentioned "family." She put her arms around Travis and I and said, "This is my family!" Awww, it melted my heart!

Her new favorite food right now is tacos- YAY! Can you feel my relief? As everyone knows, Mexican is my favorite type of food. So far, this is the only gluten free meal that we all eat together.

I should knock on wood right now because she is being SO AWESOME lately.

Joey Tebo or Sally Tebo?

Gabby's "sibling-gender-preference" of the moment is a girl, all last summer she wanted a baby brother, so I'm not sure of the change... What can I say? She's fickle. Anyway, I asked her what we should call the baby, if it was a girl, and she said "Joey!" I have no idea where that came from... we do have a friend named Joey, who is a boy- so maybe that was it? She also likes the name, Sally. What's REALLY weird about that name, is that when I was little I used to name my dolls that. I don't know why I liked that name... I didn't know any Sally's and I wasn't particularly keen on the name... Anyway, I just think it's weird that she busted out with that random name. Surely it is not genetic?