Halloween Night

Capital Paradise is the place to go for trick-or-treating... our compound is full of expats and people who love to celebrate western customs, so we made the most of this and got together with some friends and enjoyed the night. Gabby had the choice of being a bumblebee, ladybug, or kitty cat this year, and she chose the kitty cat and did a great job (meow!). She really hates people in masks or anyone dressed-up (especially Santa Claus), so she did have a mini freak-out when she saw a girl dressed as a ghost (see picture above). We stopped-off at some friends who were having a party and warmed-up with some hot apple cider, then headed over to Alex and Stephen's house (a couple we hang-out w/ a lot) who had another family over... we ordered pizza and talked while the kids played until about 9 pm. All in all, a successful Halloween!

United Nation's Day

Whoa! Busy weekend. On Friday, Travis and I had Parent-Teacher conferences until 5:00. That night, we celebrated our birthdays, with some other friends, at King's Bar. We decided to have an "80's Party" theme. Travis turned his collar up and rolled-up his jeans. I couldn't find anything to wear so I didn't dress up. I know, totally lame, but I've been so busy lately... it's insane. We had so much fun, though! We didn't get home until 1 am. Trav's band also played that night. I'll be sure to get some video of that and post it on our blog. On Saturday morning, Gabby had a birthday party. Afterwards, her school hosted a "United Nation's Day," where all the kids dress-up in their national costume and bring a dish from their country. I had no idea what to put Gabby in... there really is no national costume of America. I could only think of a cowboy hat and boots, but that's not the American culture we relate too... Thank goodness my awesome friend Beth made Gabby a red, white, and blue dress for the Fourth of July this summer. She saved me! It's super cute and says "Democrat" all over it (my mom is rolling her eyes now). I put it over a white shirt and blue jeans (that's pretty American, right?) and placed a red, white, and blue garland over her head. I had it left over from when we went to the Olympics. The school set-up some arts and crafts activities, jack-o-latern cutting, and other things. We also participated in the "Wrapping your Mummy" game- which we won! Gabby got her face painted and we enjoyed some yummy international food. I made pumpkin pie to represent the U.S.

Gabby's School Newsletter 10/19-10/23

Group Activity "My World"
This week the children made the map of the world for group activity. They painted and decorated the country/continent that they are from.

Hannah, You You, Yuan Yuan, Barbara & Gabby work together to finish the North American continent.

Arts and Crafts
The children made their papier-mache globe, Chinese map and the flag of their home country.

Happy Birthday Travis!

Travis had a fabulous birthday, thanks in part to our wonderful friends (who are like family) and Chef Song with his amazing food. I love this guy! He has a website that has pictures of all the food he makes, then you email him what you want and how many people, then he shows up at your house and does all the cooking and cleaning. It's awesome and pretty reasonably priced. As you can see, Gabby is wearing her ballerina outfit. She loves this thing and wears it all the time.... She dances around and twirls... I love it! In the last picture, is Chen. We love this woman and is one of the reasons we love China... she is so kind and loves Gabby as if she were her own daughter... For Trav's birthday, we threw him a pretty big party (over 40 people) and had a blast! I was having so much fun that I didn't take many pictures. Oops. I'm surprised we fit all those people in our place but it worked out okay. Of course, everyone has fun at the Tebo's house! Ha!

Look below for jack-o-lantern pictures!

Gabby's Understanding Gluten... Sort Of...

As a mother of a Celiac kid, I am insanely curious about the process that Gabby will go through as she learns about her disease... I have daydreams of her rebelling against her diet as a teenager and getting really sick, but so far things are going well and she listens. Anyway, this weekend she was eating some gluten free animal crackers (which are like gold here so she eats them sparingly) and her friend, Emily, asked for some. She told Emily, "No, because it will make your tummy icky." This is exactly what I say to Gabby when she wants to eat my Subway sandwich or something else that's gluteny (adjective that explains food that contains gluten and is commonly used among Celiac people). This was the first thing she's said that let's me know she's getting it... in other words, that some foods make your tummy feel bad. I didn't have the heart to say that Emily could eat it too and that she's the one with the tummy issues... I'll leave that conversation for later, when it's more developmentally appropriate. This is a first step, though.

Gabby's First Jack-O-Lantern

Keeping the American traditions alive, we went over to a friend's house for dinner and had the kids do some jack-o-lantern cutting. As with most things in China, the pumpkins here are... ummm... different. They're not the orange color I'm used to but they're good enough. You may notice a greenish tint on our pumpkin. This was Gabby's first time doing this and I guess she had fun... she lasted for a little while but quickly got bored. Oh well, she's a toddler. The parents had fun, and Travis did a good job making our first family jack-o-lantern.

Gabby's School Newsletter 10/12-10/16

Kung Fu with Zhang Laoshi

Last Thursday Zhang Laoshi started teaching the children some basic Kung Fu poses. The children did very well in listening and copying Zhang Laoshi and were very patient waiting for their turn. Well done little Kung Fu Masters!


Gabby and Chen also went on the school field  trip trip to a fruit orchard. I would have also LOVED to go but I had a presentation that day and wasn't able to take the day off work. In addition, Gabby was picked as the "Star of the Week" because she was a good listener and a great helper. She doesn't really listen to me, so glad to know she listens to someone. :)