FIFTEEN months

With all the visitors and travel, I totally lost track of the days and just realized that Sal hit 15 months while in Japan.

What can I say about Sal at 15 months?

He is. On.the.move.

He is all boy. Rough and tumble, loves wrestling with his dad and wants to climb anything and everything. He loves "helping" me move the laundry from the dryer to the basket, and is pretty darn curious about how cat food tastes.

He has also started trying to share. Goldfish crackers, not cat food. No wonder I am struggling to lose the last 7 lbs. He likes to stand in front of us and feed us goldfish/pretzels/crackers one-by-one. There is no telling the boy no. He just keeps shoving them in your face unless you get up and physically move.

He said goodbye to his twelve month clothes and the last of the onesies (sniff-sniff), and also got a bigger pair of shoes this month. I ordered his first pair of VANS in size 5.0 so he can be like his dad. He is still learning how to walk as well in those as he does with his Soft soled cowboy boots, but he is falling less and less with each day of practice. Oh yeah--in case I forgot to mention, he's officially a walker now. He just took off one day, and hasn't slowed down since!

What else?

He welcomed his grandma to town and showed her around. He got spoiled with hugs, kisses and game playing with grandma Valorie.

He earned his first black eye complete with stitches, four of them to be exact--by falling on my bedside table. Chalk up our second trip to a Chinese hospital in 2013.

He slept through his first earthquake. We don't know how he did, but he didn't even stir during a 6.3 magnitude quake while we were in Japan.

He went to his first aquarium and saw all the marine life.

He got to taste a chocolate Poky stick, his first corn dog and his very own Easter cookie!

He will fork anything he can and get it into his mouth. He's got skills. We're still working on yogurt and beans on the spoon. He has trouble with the dipping part of spoon eating.

Sal's favorite toys these days are his blocks, which have a lid with shape cutouts to put the blocks through. He also has a stacking donuts toy that he can stack with precision. Cars are still popular but have taken a back seat to his "Guess who" and "Go Dog, Go!" books.

When asked, "Sal, where are your shoes?" he will go stand by his shoes and try to slip his foot in. He also started signing the word "more" this past week, and I'm pretty sure he said Jiā (home) tonight as our driver brought us home from grocery shopping.

Chinese, English, and signing?

Pretty darn impressive, Sal.

Osaka trip

NZ had a work deal to attend in Osaka this past week, so Sal and I tagged along for the trip and another stamp in our passports. I'm a bit envious of Sal, at all of 14 months old, having just three fewer stamps than his mama. Although he won't remember much of the travel during his early years, I hope that he gains a sense of adventure and a can-do attitude about traveling to new places.

Standing on seats. Totally appropriate when you're ONE.

I couldn't have exchanged Sal for a better kid on our travel day to Japan. From the 5:00a departure from Wuxi, a two hour drive to Shanghai, plus time in the airport lounge, and then the hour and a half flight to Osaka, he was a perfect angel. Before anyone goes hating on me, just recall my last flight from the USA with him--I've earned at least one easy flight after dealing with that shitstorm. It was "enough to make me question ever flying back to the states again, until our contract is over", bad. So, I cashed in my easy flight card this time. Could've helped that the seat between NZ and I was open, so I was more relaxed about him bouncing all over the place. He was pleased as punch sitting like a big kid, reading his books, and pulling clothespins off himself.  A while back we discovered that pinching small clothespins on his clothes is a great sit-still activity. He sits there pulling them off and handing them back to us to put back on, so the clothespins made the trip with us.

I know, we're weird brilliant, right?

We spent our first afternoon walking the surround of the Agora Regency-Sakai. The smell of the ocean air was such a nice change from smog ridden Wuxi. We saw truly blue skies for the first time in months, and the sight of the ocean was a little taste of "home". Growing up in Southern California, one becomes accustomed to having the ocean in their backyard. I will never take it for granted again.

Osaka Bay

The ocean is home.

On Thursday, Sal and I went out on our own. We set off on foot, and walked for two hours. We saw a few temples, a shopping mall, a grocery store selling fresh sashimi ( we watched as the chef made it to order), and ended up at a local park, where Sal made a few friends from a local preschool and terrorized the pigeons. We had passed the preschool group on our walk, as they were being pushed in what looked to be a pack-n-play on wheels. They all ended up at the park with us, and one of the teachers spoke English so she practiced by conversing with me. I found it refreshing to not have people staring, touching or hovering over us while out and about. This is so opposite of what my day-to-day normal is these days.

 I think I just needed a breather from it all.

Playing at the Park

Temple Guard

On Friday, we explored some more, this time we made it over to Sakaihigashi station and a huge seven level department store. We found roast beef at the deli on the main floor and then ventured up the elevator to the upper levels. 

 

On the seventh floor,  I thought I had died and gone to Heaven.

 



                        

Swoon. Japanese fabric.
                             I took NZ back with me the same evening and browsed to my hearts content.



Right before my very eyes, I saw mounds of quilting fabric. It's been months since I laid my eyes on fabric. Sal and I picked out some to send home to his auntie, and then headed back home for nap time. When NZ finished up his conference, he met up with us for sushi & beers.

Sushi dinner date

Saturday morning at we were woken up by the buzzing of our cellphones and the eerie feeling of being on a boat, all the while knowing that we were not on a boat, but instead experiencing a 6.3 earthquake while on the 23rd floor of a hotel. Our cellphones were alerting us of the earthquake as it was happening.  We quickly dressed once the rolling and rumbling stopped and called the front desk. They advised we stay put for the time being, so we did. The elevators were out all morning, but we finally made it out around 8:45a.m. headed for the Osaka aquarium.

As NZ says, "we can mark surviving a 6.3 quake in Japan off the bucket list"

 

 To get to the aquarium, we used google maps and figured out that we would have three subway changes to get to our destination. It felt like out own version of " The Amazing Race" as we stood in front of ticket kiosks written in Japanese and stared up at the criss crossing railway lines. With the help of some nice Japanese people we figured out each railway exchange and ticket counter.

waiting for the train bound for Namba

What I wasn't prepared for though, were the bone crushing, take your breath away, pack-em-in-like-sardines railway cars. There are official train pusher on-ners (yes that's a word) that stand on the platform and push people in. At one point, I had to pass Sal up to Nick because we got packed in so tightly that I thought he was going to get crushed.

Mama, I can't breathe! Packed in like sardines.

You'd better believe we high fived each other when we reached our destination.

My handsome ol man celebrating our successful train transfers

 

Here fishy fishy, I wanna eat you!

 

The aquarium was awesome. It's the second biggest in the world. NZ and I loved it. Sal mostly loved all the people, and paid minimal attention to the fish. He was on display for photos just as he is back in Wuxi. They had fish, penguins, sharks, dolphins, turtles, otters, sea lions and everything imaginable from all over the world.  If you ever make it to Osaka, kids or not, it's worth your time to make a trip to the aquarium. Super impressive.

Showing off his ring prowess on the (much less crowded) train home

All in all it was a fabulous trip, a memorable experience, and just what the Doctor ordered.

Blue skies, ocean breeze and an earthquake for spontaneity.

Suzhou day trip

Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou

This past Saturday, NZ, Sal and I joined our friends, the Royals for a day trip to Suzhou. The initial idea was to take the train into Suzhou and get some tailor made clothing made for the boys ( and maybe sneak a dress or two in for the girls). We also wanted to do some  sightseeing, so we decided between a museum and a garden walk.



Suzhou

Pretty much anywhere you go in China on the weekend will be busy. Wall to wall people. Suzhou was no exception. The line for the museum wrapped around the corner,  so we made a split second decision to do the garden walk instead--even if it was sweltering outside. The guys went and got tickets while we girls did our best to avoid the crippled beggar man on a home depot cart with mad rolling skills. He kept circling us asking for money and just about took Donna out at the knees on his last go round.

MEO. MEO. MEO! ( Don't have. Don't have. Don't have!)

Once inside the garden, it was a bit shadier, but not really any cooler. It was very pretty and there were a lot of architecturally neat rocks and buildings inside the gates.

The Zentils in Suzhou

As you can see by the photos, it was HOT out there. Like not just heat hot, but humid hot. I can't even begin to explain the humidity here. I've never ( not even in Texas) felt anything that compares..... I'm quite certain we all lost at least 2 kilos just walking around and sweating all day. We were all super hot messes, but didn't let that curtail the photograph taking. The boys were smart, bringing extra shirts and underwear so that they could spare the tailor their sweat soaked shirts during measurements.

From the Humble Administrator's Garden, we took cabs to the lake in Suzhou and ate the best Mexican food we've found here. It was a great retreat from the heat and we all walked out with full bellies. From the lake, we took the metro into the city again, to go to the tailor's shop. We arrived to the tailor only to find a sign taped to the door--closed the 19th and 20th.

BOOO!

We did try another tailor, but the prices were white people prices--and they weren't willing to budge on price. So, we walked out and decided we will go back another time for clothes to be made. No sense paying more just because we are white---which happens a lot here. We pay more for vegetables and fruit than our ayi does--or than my friend from Singapore does. It doesn't make me mad, but it is a tad bit frustrating when I sit back and think about it. I try to just be thankful that we have the money to buy things, but I also don't want to be taken a fool here by the locals.

We walked around an outdoor mall with many stores blaring techno music. It felt like we were in a nightclub duel walking from storefront to storefront. There's only so much of that stuff a girl can take (as mentioned a zillion other times in this blog, this girl doesn't do techno--talk about agitation!). To beat the heat, we grabbed 3 RMB ice cream cones from KFC, which is like an ice cream cone for 50 cents! I'll have 4 more, please!

Sal goes for geek chic in some lensless glasses. They're the rage here.

I think the sun had gotten to us by this point, so we hopped in taxis and headed back to the train station. Sal had to ride in front ( no airbags in taxis here--and the only seat belt is in the front seat in most of them--so please please please, spare me the lectures...being belted in his car seat is far beyond what most do here) and I was afraid we might crash because the taxi driver took a liking to him and was so busy making faces and smiling at him that there's no chance his eyes were on the road. Taxi driving here is not for the faint at heart.

By the time we arrived back to Wuxi and hopped in the cue to grab a taxi home, Sal had had enough for one day. He pitched a fit like no other ( his first and only fit of the day--he was a happy guy the entire day up to this point) and was Sca-ream-ing and calling all the pterodactyls in China from this hot stuffy line we had to stand in. Good thing there were only about 150 people in front of us in a cue line that zig zagged back in forth about 4 times. Were we waiting for a ride at Disneyland or for a taxi? It's so easy to forget. Oh--no cameras around the necks? Must be a taxi line.

Sorry it's sideways. My iphone pics come out this way sometimes. Sal's first train ride.

Some Chinese guy, presumably a black taxi driver ( private taxi--they charge an arm and a leg, and most their cars are black in color--hence, black taxi) came up to NZ yelling at him. Pointing to our screaming child and telling us to follow him. NZ insisted that we not go with him, and the guy just yelled more, threw his arms in the air and walked off. Pouting anyone? He came back another time and just did the same thing..Yelled, threw his arms in the air and pulled aside a railing. Thankfully, a guy in line in front of us, somehow managed to let us know that they were allowing us to skip the line to the very front. The waving taxi guy wasn't a black taxi driver after all. He was just trying to tell us we could go to the front. Apparently, screaming babies are the ticket to line jumping.

How do ya like that?

A taxi pulled up, we hopped in, and off we went.

Just like that.

Not a bad way to end a super fun day in Suzhou!

Baijiu

Once Wednesday's typhoon rolled through (It was rated a 10/12 by the way!), NZ had to fly to Chengsha for business.

And as customary here in China, he was treated to some of Chengsha's best. He had his first taste of Baijiu, which is a special Chinese liquor, which, in the words of NZ, is "hardcore sh--". A few rounds of toasting with that stuff, and even the Irish men will be under the table.

But, I'm guessing Baijiu looked a lot more appetizing compared to this...



I'd have to be pretty sideways to drink this stuff!

Those are real snakes.

Marinating in liquor.

And people drink that stuff.

Fo' real?!

Feeeeshies

To help absorb the Baijiu, NZ was served a plate of fish. Looks like mackarel to me. Who knows?

He said it was okay.

I think I'm glad I wasn't at that table with him.

I'm game for Peking duck. Or gyoza. Or Dumplimgs. Or Dim Sum.

But I'm still not brave enough to try the seafood dishes yet.

Maybe I need some Baijiu first?

Then again, Baijiu may provide the liquid courage that leads to trying snake liquor...

Which would then result in the worst hangover of the century.

...and that would totally suck.

I'll leave the baijiu drinking and fish eating to the boys.

Hug your kids at home, belt them in the car

Way back in the day, my aunt Cheryl had a bumper sticker on her 4Runner that encouraged seat belting your kids in the car--"Hug your kids at home, belt them in the car". I always thought it was a little bit funny, although I am sure it offended some.

Anyways, here in China I am facing the great car seat/safety belt debate.

We hire a driver whenever Nick has business to tend to. If the driver is hired for the day, I also have use of his services.  Otherwise, Sal and I walk wherever we are going.

Why not take a cab, you ask?

Seat belts.

Or, the lack thereof.

Consensus amongst the expats who have more time here under their belts is "When in China....do as the Chinese do". Which translates to riding in taxis with kids on laps.

I just can't give in to the ease of lapping Sal. Even with the ever growing threat of him growing out of his carrier and into a convertible yes-i-plan-on-re-installing-it-every-single-time-even-if-it-breaks-my-back car seat, I still plan to belt him in the car.

I guess this means we just won't use taxis here in China, unless of course, I find one of the few that have working safety belts AND ( even bigger AND) they are willing to wait for me to install it! These cab drivers here are off before your door even closes. Swerving through traffic, gas on to beat the lights...They drive like it's a race to the finish. And then the next question..what to do with the convertible car seat when we arrive at our destination? Do I carry a full size car seat, our stroller and a wiggly baby to the grocery store?



Our fullsize Quinny Buzz Stroller

Top contender for Sal's next car seat

Logistically impossible.

These are things I took for granted in the States. I never once thought about not having a car, nor did I think about what I would do when Sal graduated to a convertible seat from his carrier...and now, he's just 2 inches shy of outgrowing his carrier. The time is coming. We will buy one on our trip to the States in October. We have learned ( with formula, etc) that just because it carries a brand name, doesn't mean it meets US safety standards. It only meets standards for the country it is being sold in.

One thing is for sure, I fully intend to continue to hug my kid at home, and belt him in the car. Maybe my view is skewed due to how long it took for us to have a child to bring home. Maybe our struggles make me overprotective. Or, maybe I see that it only takes one crash and our lives would be shattered. Again. For what? Convenience.

I don't know about you, but I'm quite certain that NZ and I have lost more than our fair share of babies for a lifetime. We think we will keep this one in a bubble as long as possible. ( I kid, I kid).

Bubble? No.

Car seat? Definitely.

Even if that means that mama gets the best set of legs this side of Wuxi from walking everywhere.

Anyone have a car seat they love, don't love? I was looking into the Diono, but I believe the seat back is too high for many of the vehicles our drivers transport us in. I'm now looking into Recaro ProSport and the Graco Myride65. Chime in, please!

Ty-whaaaa?

NZ and I both received this text on tonight:

"台风橙色预警：强台风海葵8月8－9日将严重影响我市，阵风10级，江河湖面11－12级，伴有暴雨到大暴雨，请注意防风防雨确保安全。[市气象局]"

Yeah, exactly.

What's up?

Copy. Paste. Bing translate.

"Typhoon Orange warning: strong typhoon anemones August 8-would seriously affect the city, gusts of 10 levels, rivers and Lake 11-12, accompanied by torrential rain to downpours note wind rain to ensure security. [City Meteorological Bureau]"

Oh, Typhoons.

That's what.

Go figure we both have plans tomorrow. Me and Sal, a playdate at the indoor park, and NZ has a train and flight to catch. We shall see what tomorrow brings!

***EDIT(8:57a)*** NZ's flight has been cancelled. He will postpone travel until next week. Sal and I, on the other hand, are still park bound. Keeping a child inside an apartment on a rainy day is just asking for trouble. So far, just heavy rain and wind, but nothing scary.

FOUR months old

When Sal was first born, the consensus amongst friends was that the first three months are the most difficult. Each week is a new challenge, and the days run into nights, and nights into days. Before you know it, your baby is 4 months old.

Nick and I took that advice with a grain of salt, and I always chuckled when he'd answer with, "Well, I guess we'll find out", because really, what other option is there?

For the most part, our friends were right. The three months fly by. I woke up today and realized that we have a four month old. Whether the first three months will be the most difficult-- I guess we will find out after we have something to compare them to. Speaking for myself, they weren't all that hard. Perhaps my view is skewed because I'd struggled so long to have a baby that I could be responsible for. I had sat through enough baby showers and overheard mothers talk about how tough the first few months were..I don't really know, but the first three months were totally what I expected, with the exception of a son who refused was superhuman and didn't need daytime naps. With the help of my pediatrician, we improved that issue, and other than that...I'd do our first 3 months all over again.

So, now that Sally Bananas ( he earned a new nickname this month)  is a whopping 4 month old, he's gained a few new skills to add to his repetoire.

Our favorite?

Babbling. Laughing. Happy Shrieking.

I can not get enough.

Sal made his first long roadtrip this past month, and met many many cousins in Yosemite. He attracted all sorts of attention from the Asian tourists..many would walk by and do a double take with no shame...finger pointing included..What I wouldn't give to know what they were saying. I'd like to think it was along the lines of " cutest baby ever!". Nick warns me that I should prepare for much of the same when we arrive in China. There's something about babies that make them go nuts.

Sal didn't seem to mind the attention, although he is becoming more aware of where Nick and I are at all times. He was slow to warm to many of our family members, but I do believe it was a mix of tiredness and overstimulation from such a new environment for him. By our last night inYosemite, he was tolerant of other people holding him.

So, what's month 4 have in store for the little guy??

Travel.

Lots of it.

Wish us luck!

$h!t my husband says:India edition

I often joke that I am going to make a website full of the $h!t my husband says and turn it into a dotcom, but of course, someone already probably owns rights to that site, and besides, he may start to lose his knack for saying some of the funniest things I have ever heard. There is never a dull moment when he's around. Mr. Johnny-on-the-spot could be his other nickname, since he comes up with one-liners like nobodies business. Anyhow, while in India, I was the recipient of some pretty laugh-out-loud emails with commentary and photos included. Thought I would share....

"This place caters to mostly the little people in India. We were sitting and the ceiling was about one foot over my head. We were sitting over the kitchen. The food was good, but the power went out and it got super hot. I couldn't eat fast enough."






" I went into Delhi just after it rained. the drainage is not too good there. We had to negotiate a river crossing on the way there. I will admit, I was a little worried. Then I looked at the driver. He was as calm as could be. I guess it is just business as usual. "






" Mexicans have nothing on these guys. They are the masters of loading up a vehicle. this was not even the most loaded one. There were others with at least 3 or 4 more people loaded up. The best part is the guy on the left. He is thinking about hopping on " Dude, I can fit. Let me on"

"I am kind of sad. I have not seen my friend the bull outside of the office for a couple of days. maybe he doesn't like Americans. I'll just have to hope he comes around again in the morning so I can see him again."

-NZ

Skype me

It used to be "call me", then it was "page me" if you were cool enough to own a pager, then it was "email me", followed by "text me" and now all the cool kids are gonna start saying "Skype me"... Throwing a little love out there to our good friend SKYPE. This was the first overseas trip that NZ and I have had it set up, and I would venture to say, it made the time apart a bit more bearable. At least we got to make funny faces to each other, eat breakfast/supper together ( he'd have supper while I had breakfast and visaversa) and talk about the crazy things that happened that day ( Like the elusive man on a motorcycle with 2 monkeys on back that he reportedly kept seeing but couldn't get his camera out quick enough). I looked forward to that magical hour of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.. The time difference made it fairly easy to catch one another at non-busy times. 12.5 hours from here to there. Easy to remember.

Our 3 year old nephew even got into the SKYPE love every Sunday, while he was over. He'd sit at the desk like a big kid and talk his uncle Nick's ear off..He made sure Nick knew that we were on the same side of the World as his little girlfriend and preschool and not on the same side as Nick was. Totally funny to listen to a 3 year old version of how the earth works.

{ Offering uncle NZ a sticker}

If SKYPE were a real person, we'd owe him a 12 pack of ice cold adult beverages because he was a real clutch performer for our team. If you don't already SKYPE, try it. How's that for a shameless plug?

Long time gone

Remember those countdown chains to Christmas/Spring break/Summer vacation you constructed back in grade school? Well we've been doing a little of our own countdown here in the Zentil house.

{The countdown chain}That ultra long chain you see in both photos traveled all the way to Noida, India with one half of us. The Nick half of Brie&Nick shipped off to India wayyyyy back in August for eight weeks. That's 56 days/1,344 hours /an eternity, if you ask me.

{gringo necessities}
Before the much anticipated departure ( I think I was sad about it for at least 2 weeks leading up to him actually leaving), we stocked up on the things we thought a white guy might need in India.

On our list?

1. FOUR bags of Beef jerky** This would be the closest he would come to beef the entire trip.

2. XBOX + Loads of games **** Which unfortunately couldn't handle being plugged into a 220v socket. The Xbox run was non-existant after that mishap.

3. The two C's..candy & crackers. Primarily Swedish Fish, Runts and cheese and crackers.

4. A photo of his other half for his new workspace at the Noida office.

5. Lastly, a countdown chain from start to finish, with each day labeled. I wrote in special dates, and the week markers " 4 weeks left", " Mom's Birthday", " 4 years ago today, we said ' I do' " and sentiments of such.

Before this trip, NZ and I have not spent as much as 10 days apart since we started dating back in 2003. To say this time apart from each other was "trying" is an understatement, but I whole heartedly, 100% support him and every opportunity that comes his way. We had known about the possibility of this trip becoming a reality for quite some time, but once a date was set for him to leave--and he started getting his immunizations ( lots of them!) and malaria pill prescription filled, it was like "wow, this is really happening".

So, while NZ worked over in Noida, I did the same out in California. I pulled some extra hours at the office, started the P90x challenge to get the old "me" back from the "trying- to- conceive-me" that I have been a stranger to since we started trying 3 1/2 years ago. Although I was initially upset that this trip would interfere with our plans, in all reality, it has been good for me. I needed a mental break from the stresses of "Am I?" or "Am I not?", and "If I am, should I be doing x..y..z?" It really gets to be a headache to deal with, and the obsessedness never really goes away. I envy those whose husband just winks at them and 9 months later out pops a baby just like Houdini pulls rabbits.

Anyhow I'm totally looking forward to fighting for covers again.

++Stay tuned for India photos complete with Nick's commentary..coming soon++