Walking weather

The weather and AQI have been good so the kids and I have been walking everywhere. It's a little challenging with two in tow, but we've muddled our way to the supermarket twice (3 miles round trip) and to the produce market every other day. 

We even stopped to play at the pirate ship playground last week where Sal mastered climbing the arced ladder. 

In addition to errands, we've been spending about an hour and a half walking with our friends Neil and Mimi each afternoon. I'm loving the exercise and company. I've always found that walking is enoughcardio for me -- even more so pushing 70lb of kids/stroller weight. 

It's only a matter of weeks until the weather is swamp like, so we have to get out while we can. 

Wuxi international marathon

Just after Carla was born, my friends here in Wuxi were talking about participating in an upcoming marathon held in Wuxi. After looking into it a bit, I found out there were a few options for participation--a full marathon, a half marathon and a mini marathon. I threw the idea of doing a mini out there to NZ, since we often walk more than 5/6k on the weekends with the kids. He agreed that it sounded fun.

      

With the help of fellow expat, Diana and her husband Justin, we signed up for the mini. All of the registration and website info was in mandarin, so we really have to thank Diana for her help with it all. This is one of the things I do love about living here--our expat community--and the fact that we all lend a hand to one another when we can. 

NZ rented a van for the day and I'm glad he did, as it was drizzling this morning and the busses would have been a nightmare with our double stroller & two kids packed in with the masses. As soon as we parked and headed towards the starting line, the paparazzi caught wind of the laowai couple pushing their two kids in the race. Remember, China still practices the one child per couple rule ( with some exceptions), so it wasn't just that we were white people pushing a cute kid during the race--but two cute white kids. As far as we know we were the only participants pushing a stroller. Back in the states it's quite common for families to run together. Here, not so much. Heck, I haven't really seen any Chinese here actually jog outdoors-like, ever. Whenever I see someone running, it's a foreigner. 

All in all, we had a good time, despite a "not enough juice" meltdown and a bit of rain. 

I look forward to doing more races withy family. It's a great way to get outdoors and model an active lifestyle.

FOURTEEN months

Where did my baby go?

Snack time at the park in his new shoes

I blinked and we've got a full fledged toddler in tow. (Tantrums included at no extra charge). He is a little spitfire with a laugh/cackle that will make even the grouchiest of people smile. He cracks himself up all the time. Thankfully he has moved past laughing at others while they cry to laughing as he throws blocks/sand/food and while playing peek-a-boo.

Cowboy boots and Camo- Grandpa Jet would be proud

 

Although he walks unassisted a few times a day, his preferred method of transportation is the one-legged-knee-scoot. He has the bruises to prove it. I dressed him in shorts on our first warm day of the month and was shocked to see just how bruised his shins are (from crossing the threshold of our sliding glass door with the knee-scoot). If I were a betting woman, he will prefer walking over scooting within the next week or so.

 

"mama, I wasn done talkin to you! Come back here!"

 

Other news...We've got a molar!....and two more on the way, plus upper canines. He's a drooling mess. NZ and Sal like to wrestle in the evenings and Sal usually wins because he stands over his dad's face and drools like a St Bernard right into his eye. Gross, but funny. With the new molar, Sal has now graduated to peeled apples (rather than peeled and soft cooked), cucumber and raw carrots. He's been grubbing on Greek salad all month.

"ditch the book dad, how bout we wrestle?"

 

This past month we have been lucky enough to have some sunny days. Sal and I still take a walk (almost) daily. On our way home, we usually walk past the playground in our complex. He gets really excited when he sees it, and yells "DUU-duuuude!" Unable to resist his enthusiasm, we stop for a bit so he can master the slide and play in the sand.

I've started calling him "bubba" and have noticed that he copies the syllables. He does this with a lot of words. He doesn't say the word, per say, but he does make his own sounds with the matching amount of syllables. "Dada" is still his favorite word, although "dude" is right behind. "Mama" has gotten some play as well as "zuhjuh" which sounds a lot like he's trying to say "Zaijian", or goodbye, in mandarin.

Look at all dem teeth! And that smile. Happy boy.

I love his chatter. It never gets old.

Sometimes he even talks himself to sleep...and when he sleeps, I am reminded that he is in fact, still my baby.

What was a napless day, turned out otherwise. Thank Goodness.

A letter to....

On Friday, Sal and I hopped in the elevator to meet up with our friends. I chuckled as I read the notice that had been posted.



Posted in the elevator



And then it dawned on me.

I think the letter is addressing....

..us!

You see, Sal loves to move furniture. He really does. He moves anything he can push. The sofa chaise, the coffee table, kitchen chairs, his high chair---and this is like his FAVORITE thing to do when he gets up every day.

And what time might that be?

Yep.

Between 7:00-8:00am.

mama, I think this chaise looks better over there.

I don't know who's moving chairs late night--we can't be to blame for that one...but the morning complaints might just be aimed at the 25th floor.

Until someone knocks on our door to complain face to face, I've decided that I will let my son get his kicks off moving chairs.

A'walking we will go

On Saturday morning, Sal's fever finally broke and he was acting more like himself again. The weather was "nice" (read: not freezing and decent pollution levels) enough to get out for a walk. Our family has become quite good at walking. Maybe when we return to the states we'll try out for Olympic speed walking. We're definitely logging the miles here.

It's difficult to explain our life here, and just---how shall I say---"prison like" it can feel when we have limited access to a car. Yes, we have a driver, but as a rule, we don't hire him for the weekends. We're on our own for transportation. As a family unit, if we want to get out together, it has to be on foot due to our car seat situation for the boy. Even if we were to find a taxi with working safety belts, we would then be left to our own devices with a 21 lb. car seat to lug around once we reach our destination. Not exactly our idea of convenient or fun. Oh how I miss the days of the car seat carrier and snap in stroller frame.

Anyways, since walking is pretty much our only option aside from using our driver in his off hours, we have really gotten to explore our neighborhood. If we head out to the main road in front of our complex and hang a left, we can walk all the way to Starbucks, passing Xindi plaza which is full of wonderful Asian restaurants (our favorite jiaozi place happens to be there). During the nicer weather, Sal and I usually do this walk with the ladies and call it 5k Monday, which is really code for working-off-the-Starbucks-we're-about-to-throw-down.

If we head out the rear gate (which is closest to our building), we walk past a construction site of new apartments being built, a canal and a bunch of auto repair shops. If we go far enough , we end up at Shin City which houses a Tesco supermarket, Taste bistro (Australian owned), and the indoor playground that Sal and I often play at. On the walk towards Shin city, we pass more new apartments, a pirate ship themed outdoor park and an alley way to another produce market.

This past Saturday, we headed out the main gates and to the right. There is a new plaza that was erected in record time (4 months) full of stores aimed at westerners. It's about 2.5 kilometers from our place, so we thought it would be great to get out of our germ infested apartment for a while. I had been to the plaza with the ladies, but NZ had not. I was excited to show him around. We window shopped a lot, tried on some shoes, and bought a jacket. I am now officially well suited for the Chinese winter in a new Nike puffer jacket. It's so warm!

After getting a good dose of mall walking, we headed towards home and stopped at our favorite Muslim noodle room. It's across from the orphanage that sits right next door to our apartment complex. We probably get Muslim noodles 2-3 times a month, usually on Saturdays. There are four little girls who basically live at the restaurant while their parents work. They always run up to our spaceship looking stroller and want to use it, touch it, feel it. They talk to Sal, play pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo, and giggle amongst themselves at the little white boy. On Saturday, one of them was playing with a tattered yellow balloon. It was filthy.

Let me reiterate. F-I-L-T-H-Y.

Like, let-me-find-my-sanitizer-pronto filthy.

But she knew no different. It made me tear up a little to think of these four little girls, and their life as compared to our son's. Here this little girl was just pleased as punch with her dirty balloon, and one block away in a high rise apartment, this little American boy named Sal has toys and clothes to spare. It made me want to share some of our extras with them. I've got to ask around a bit before I do, as I don't want to offend anyone, or make some cultural faux-paux.

One thing I do know, is that those four little girls have melted my heart.

What we did on Christmas Vacation

Well, not exactly Christmas vacation, but PRC observes the New Year as a holiday, and includes a few extra days surrounding January 1st as off days. This means that NZ actually had a few days to relax and hang out with us. Nevermind the fact that when China has a few days off, they then work through the following weekend to make up for days off---so yes, NZ will be working 9 days straight this next week.

But, it's been great to have him home for a stretch of time. We've really enjoyed some lazy mornings playing video games, and cooking while Sal naps--then heading out for a walk or errands afterwards.

Here are some pictures of what we did on our Christmas vacation.

Sal got another haircut

Our sous chef hard at work

We walked by a city garden

NZ made meatuh-balls



We had our first snow watched TV in sweatpants

We saw a scooter driving down the escalator

And got lots of hugs from dad

A nice way to send 2012 out, and welcome in a New Year.

ELEVEN months

I can not believe that Sal is only a month away from his first birthday. Part of me wants him to stay a baby forever, and the other part of me can't wait to watch him develop into a little man with opinions & likes all his own.

Showing his personality..
Mama, I want to be outside with you!!! Why you lock me in here?

He has started showing little signs of his individuality this past month. He has never been a pacifier kid, or very attached to anything for more than a day or two at a time. However, we are seeing signs of favorite toys--he digs in his toy basket for them and plays with them above and beyond all others.

His favorite toy?

Trucks.

We also think that one of his words might actually be "truck".

Or, it could be "fuuuu--fillintheblank"...



Vroooooom goes the fuhk tuhk.

..we're going with "truck" since he is head-over-heels for anything with four wheels these days. He drives his trucks across the floors, over the coffee table, and our sofa making  little spitting raspberry vroooom noises.  

He has a best big buddy here that he tries his darnedest to keep up with. Both boys share a love of trucks and other four-wheeled-vehicles, and I love watching them interact with one another.

 

Sal has also taken a liking to a particular blanket that his auntie Charlee made for him. It's got minky dots on one side, and plaid on the other ( I take his monthly pictures on it/with it). I started hanging it on the side of his crib when December 1st rolled around because I thought it made his room more Christmasy to have a white cuddly blanket hanging on his crib to go with his red and white sheets. Well, he pulled it down one day during nap, and now it lives IN his crib. He grabs it as soon as we lay him down, and cuddles with it.



"the" blanket.



So darn cute and innocent.

Bedtimes have improved since last month. The 10:00p waking still occurs from time to time, but he seems to put himself back to sleep MOST of the time--It's about time. NZ and I have actually gotten to sleep through the night on a regular basis. I had almost forgotten what it was like to have a good night's sleep.  

Mama, please tell them how much I enjoy smearing myself with eating beans.
 

Our little man still loves goldfish  crackers, apple slices, green beans and meatballs. He prefers to feed himself, so I've been trying to make everything "finger friendly" that I can. He's got great dexterity, and has outsmarted our attempts of placing vegetables under a goldfish in hopes that he will swoop in for a handful. He is able to perform surgery to get his goldfish free.

Our ayi brought us a load of fruit last week, which included some fruits I wouldn't typically buy, and he liked them both. One of them is a dragon fruit, white fleshy inside with little black seeds...he loves them, but I'm gonna have to remember them as a great natural remedy if he ever gets constipated. We'll have to limit the amount of dragon fruit consumption from here on out after a couple near blow-outs.



A & Sal. Notice a trend here?
 Lots of stroller rides together.

The colder weather has limited our outings to Starbucks, indoor malls and friend's homes. We usually walk to the vegetable market once or twice a week, and on a quick errand or two on our own. Sal's great grandma gifted him a "footmuff" for our Quinny stroller, and he LOVES riding all cocooned up in it.



Mama,  I move this chair to your bedroom, okay?

He has thought about taking unassisted steps, but has yet to do so. He's a speed demon around the house pushing furniture to-and-fro, and his furniture pushing has evolved from dining room chairs to our sofa. He does balance checks every now and then--so someday soon, I'll be posting videos of my son walking like he's the only kid ever to walk in history.

Finally sitting still for a picture

Happy ELEVEN months Salvatore!

Grateful: Day 17: 5k Monday group

One of my favorite things living here is the friendships I have made.

 

Every Monday, a group of ladies make a round trip walk to Starbucks and the vegetable market together. This is Sal's and my Monday activity, as we leave around 9:30a and return around 11:45a..just in time for lunch and a nap ( if he doesn't fall asleep in his stroller on the way home first).

 

Instead of calling it what it is--a walk to Starbucks so some of my friends can feed their fix so that we can enjoy a nice warm beverage with friends--it's been dubbed "5k Monday" because that is roughly the round trip distance from our complex to Starbucks and back.

 

We get a lot of walking in around these parts.

 

A lot.

 

Like, every day.

 

 

Walking home from the vegetable markt on a sunny morning

I can't think of a better way to spend our Monday mornings..Exercise, Starbucks and getting vegetables and fruit for the week with friends. 5k Monday ladies, I am so thankful for you all!

Walking Wuxi Wednesdays

Walkin Wuxi Wednesday

A group of girls from my apartment complex and I have decided to start walking to different parts of Wuxi on the third Wednesday of  every month. The weather here is finally nice and we are soaking up every minute of outside time we can get, cause winter is a'comin.

This morning we met up at 9;00a and set out on foot. We  headed right down Changjiang Bei Lu. We walked a total of 9.1km in just about two hours.

Take a look at our voyage!

Heading out for a walk with Mrs. Barcelona, Mrs. Georgia, Mrs. Singapore & Ms. Turkey

Not even a police man will let pedestrians have the right of way here. Cross at your own accord.

 

1st stop: baby Spa to see if there were any babies getting dunked with a floaty around the neck.

Split pant babies. It's the norm.

Quilts, anyone?

Sal says, "Hey mama, where is my hat? Dis sun is bright!"

 

This woman can multi-task. I need lessons from her. Baby & groceries. Alone.

Sal's stroller gets a lift. Muscle up, girls!

Everything is barricaded to keep scooters ( & unfortunately strollers) out.
We're gonna have big muscles after three years of lifting strollers together!

Water delivery. Love these guys.

Totally OSHA compliant, right?

Anyone heard on the news about what's going on around here?
Here's some Grafitti in support of the country we live in.
 

Painting. The ropes they're using? Also OSHA certified.

Game of frogger, anyone? 1.2.3...run!



Trendy Plastics. A plastic surgery center.

We made it all the way from Changjiang Bei Lu to Nanchan by foot! This was no small undertaking, but we did it and enjoyed the entire walk, snapping away with our cameras, playing tourists.


Add in the audio of a man moaning and rocking, and it made even me want to give him money.
I have yet to give a beggar money, but it does pull at your heartstrings to see disabled elderly on the streets.

E-Scooter parking lot outside Nanchan

Tuckered out. Both boys fell asleep midway for a nice little snooze.

The girls ( minus pregnant Mrs. Barcelona who caught a taxi home) at Nanchan

Canal at Nanchan

Rental Bikes. Watch out Lance Armstrong!

We finished out our walk at Starbucks at Nanchan and this is where I learned that I did not pack a back up onesie for Sal. Hence the shirtless boy in the photograph. Mama packed pants, but no top. Add in a leaky diaper and it spells disaster.

So, he was left to flex his pecs for the ladies, and no one seemed to mind much at all.

Shirtless in Starbucks

We all decided that we had enough walking for the day so a call was put out to Mrs. Georgia's driver who promptly picked us up in the van and brought us home.

 

Looking forward to our next walk.

 

There's so much more of Wuxi to explore!

p.s. thanks hratliff for the use of some of your photos!