Issy's Birthday Party, 4/25/09

Summer and Stella holding hands.

Ethan's mom, Annie, playing ring around the rosy with Stella, Summer and Ethan.

Parachute time--Issy is in the blue dress.

Waiting for the bus to the ferry with Holly and Ethan.

Issy's party was so much fun. It had been an Amber rainstorm earlier in the morning so we were worried about the ferry not being able to take us to Discovery Bay, where Issy lives. The ride over was very smooth and everyone was very excited. We took the ferry with Holly, Ethan and Summer.

When we got to the party Issy's mom, Caroline, had made Indian headbands for us to put together and wear. There was a lot of food and plenty of toys to play with. They played "parachute time" and pass the parcel. All of the kids were so good on both the bus and the ferry!

Ocean Park 4/21/09

On the way home, everyone is hungry and sharing snacks.

Eating Sienna's popcorn by the carousel!

Ethan and I on the swing.

Natalie and I about to go down the slide.

We went to Ocean Park with Natalie, Sienna, Ethan, Clara, Summer, Parker and their moms. The weather was perfect and it was not at all crowded. We played on the playground and saw the seal show!

Summer's Birthday Party

Stella is really going to miss Summer when we leave. These are photos from Summer's birthday party. I'm glad we landed in time to go. Stella talks about Summer all the time and it was fun because most of Stella's friends (and mine) were there.

Back to Hong Kong!!!

Stella is sooooo happy to be here because we don't really have much else to do aside from socializing and playing with her. The hotel had an Easter party where they hired a children's play company to bring in crafts and equipment. She told me as we were leaving that, "Party Fun, Mama!!!" We have been so, so busy just trying to maximize our time here.

In the second photo, she is listening to a Dora the Explorer walkman that her friend Summer gave her for her birthday. She dances around the house listening to it. She is also wearing her panda headband from Ocean Park (Hong Kong's SeaWorld equivalent).

Busy Birthday

Stella's birthday and Easter was very fun but we'll blog about that later since most of the photos are on the La Jolla computer and we are in Hong Kong right now. The highlights were a joint birthday party between Stella, Jack and our friend Bryan. Bryan was celebrating his 34th birthday but it was fitting that he share his party with two 2-year-olds for a number of reasons that I won't get into on Stella's blog. :) Then, we had combo Easter/Stella's birthday at the Cebron's house where Stella ate cake, played piano and ripped open her presents.

Zai Jien

Goodbye Hong Kong, for now. We had an emotional trip home as neither of us wanted to leave. Stella flew extremely well, per usual. She enjoyed her pod on Cathay Pacific much more than I thought and had basically no jet lag. She told me the other day that she wanted to play LEGOs and jump with the Little Boy. That means go to the hotel playroom. Me too, I thought to myself.

I'll leave it at that for now as there is still so much up in the air.

"Lih-ul Boy-eeee"

Stella has a crush on an unruly 4-year-old boy that lives in the hotel. I'm hoping this is not going to be a pattern. He comes to the playroom after school in the afternoon. She met him once and he was just not that into her. There is something to be said about that book at all ages, apparently. The result is that his indifference makes her even more into him. So, the next time we went to the playroom she ran down the hall like a crazed loon screaming, "Little Boy!!!" which sounds like, "Lih-ul Boy-eeeee!!!" This is from someone who still grunts when she wants something instead of speaking. So, now every time she hears a kid in the hall she asks me if it's Little Boy. Today, she did not want to get out of her pajamas and was about to pitch a fit but then I told her we were going to get the mail and then go to the playroom. I said it's possible that Little Boy will be there. She got excited and let me put on her clothes. She looked down at them and said, "Mirror!" and ran over to the mirror to check herself out. She smiled at herself, puffed up her hair and I could tell she was thinking about Little Boy. I thought that was funny.

We got to the playroom and it was empty. She was disappointed, but then 20 minutes later Little Boy emerged with his sister and mom. Stella was beyond happy trying to copy everything he did and trying to get his attention. It makes his mom really nervous to have Stella around, I can tell. I would be nervous too since he is one of the worst behaved children I've ever seen.