Week 185 and Week 97.5 - Yay! Capoiera!

Imee is back and we are thrilled!  Yay - life is back to normal again.

Last weekend we had hair and make up trials for Jen's wedding - it was fun.  I spent the day away from the girls and when I got back Charlotte kept saying how beautiful my eyelashes were!  She still talks about them and cannot till Jen's wedding so I can wear more falsies.

This week we enrolled Charlotte in a capoiera class - twice a week with the most amazing teacher Master Eddy.  This guy is a patron saint with these 4-6 year old kids... he certainly has a gift with them.  Charlotte was her usual timid self at the beginning of the class.. Master E came over to help her with back bends and hand stands... and she came running to me, crying (the assistant wanted me to stay in the class - I am convinced now that my presence in fact inhibits Charlotte more than liberating her).  But by the end of the class she was in it... earning unsolicited praise from the master.  Plus by the end of the class I had gotten her a uniform... the capoiera pants are great pants - cool looking and flattering.  Charlotte was really engaged once she had the right clothes on!  No pictures this week - hopefully next week!

We went to Adam's birthday party - what a cute boy and an amazing spread!  Well done Anna - perhaps you can help me with Sophia's second birthday party!

I am off to Shanghai tomorrow - the first time I am away from both the girls!

Adam and his Damien and Anna:

Drake girls and their sweets:

Sophia carried this handbag the whole afternoon:

The delightful Laffertys!

Adam took the cake - literally (the Woody anyway):

Adam and Anna:

Damien was so methodical with his cake cutting:

The days before Imee came back we had many dinners out.  Here is one at the Ocean Club:

Here is one at a breakfast at Savory Crab - Sophia ate nothing but ketchup at this meal:

Char wanted to wear this backpack on our trip to HK - where we learned she was allergic to nothing:

Another meal out - this time at the Westin:

Jen and the dressmaker:

Fun picture!

Hair and makeup trial - complete!

Week 184 and Week 96.5 - Jazz Festival and Larry's Birthday

I am so dreadful at getting this blog out on Wednesday - I mean dismal.  Char is not in school this week - something about a fall break - sigh - this caught us off guard.  We tried very hard for her break not to consist of potato chips and re-runs of Curious George (I am not sure how many times I have seen the Vietnamese market one and the psgeti one).  On Tuesday I stayed home and we played some outside as I was getting killed by mosquitoes.  Yesterday we went to the allergy doctor in Hong Kong where she was having an excruciating itch (for 15 painstaking minutes) during her skin prick test and... we found she is allergic to nothing.  But sneezing.  Seriously.  We are more confused now then before we went to the doctor.  No better way to spend your day off (of school!  of work!) than screaming bloody murder for all of Central Hong Kong to hear.

This past weekend we celebrated Larry's birthday at Fogo Samba - my new place.  The meat at its lunch special is nothing spectacular, but their salad bar is great (they even have a soup that tastes like KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy).

Sunday we went to breakfast - which I always think is a great idea in theory but always a disappointment in reality.  Sophia ate ketchup for breakfast.  Ketchup!  I think we eventually coaxed her to eat a bite of bread and egg with her ketchup.  In the evening we went to the Cotai Jazz Festival - a fun family outing indeed - and Sophia again just ate ketchup (there was a mid day snack - of almond butter).  Later this week she only ate congee... with the Sweet and Sour sauce package from McDonald's.  Clever bugger.

Charlotte is in the new phase of going to the bathroom by herself.... this is a welcome change as even last week she needs help putting her underwear back on.  Just think - in only another twenty months we could have two independent potty trained kiddos!  A mom can dream... :)

I am trying to learn flash photography again - just when you think you know something there is more to learn!
Some examples are in the post this week.

Sophia in her own reverie as she is getting her nails did:

Sophia is an image in yellow - from head to toe.  Obviously I had nothing to do with it:

DJ Sophia:

Girly Sophia:

Char's good luck rub on Larry's head:

See - rubs make me strong!

Naked eating:

Girls out on a stroll:

I can't think of a caption here:

Sweet ogling:

Happy birthday Uncle Larry!

Sophia feels good (well, sort of):

Not so good here (potty throwing):

Almond butter!

Cotai Jazz Festival - everyone loved Charlotte's glowing crown!

The tall Birkwoods!

The shorter Drakes:

Charlotte eats.  I attempted to make a 'relax' bottle - but need clear (not cloudy) glue - now it looks like an inedible strawberry milk bottle:

Kye girl TV faces!

Week 183 and Week 95.5 - Ocean Club

We finally joined a pool - our local one - the Ocean Club.  It is nice (and close).  The pool is so cold!  But the restaurant is not expensive and the kids can play till the food comes.  Now if only we can get Sophia to stay seated during dinner....

I had a chance to take Charlotte to a hot tub in the ladies changing room - it was fun - sort of reminded me of a traditional Korean bathhouse type place (ok really I mean the one I went to in Flushing, NY with Nicole).  She thought it was too hot.

Both girls were sick this week!  Char was not really sick, she had a yeast infection (I realize now that these sort of things fall in mommy territory when you have two girls) and Sophia had a mystery one day high fever that is now gone.

This leads me to my rant of the week - the medical care in Macau is really slow and silly.  We went to University Hospital at 8:30, waited till 9 till they opened, and then were told that the doctor (a GP mind you) would not see Charlotte because he does not see kids!  Who has heard of such a thing!  Frustrated, I leave to go to the local clinic (that does not open till 9:30 - we get there at 9:15).  The doctor sees us, does a growth culture on Char, tells us that the results will be in in 4 days.  Before we leave he confirms with the SAME University Hospital that the results will actually be ready in... a month!  Geez!

Our lovely neighbors Yan, Lucas and Vit had us over for a fun afternoon on Oct 1.  They are very nice.  Auntie Sherry knew everyone there.

Sherry left us on Sunday and Larry stays on.  It is nice to have him as a houseguest.

I keep forgetting to mention that there have been all these fireworks shows in Macau - Oct 1 was the last one.  I finally got around to taking pictures.  I need a tripod (I actually have a tripod but was too lazy to set it up).

We went to the MGM over the weekend to try their dim sum (expensive but quick and good) and check out their aquarium.  While the girls were marveling at the fish I noticed a young Chinese lady marveling at them.  I saw her taking pictures of them on her iPhone.  I asked Matt if that happened a lot and he said it did.  Hmm.  I never noticed before Sunday.

Sophia loves carrying her little baby doll around these days.

iPad sharing:

The girls at Lucas's!

Char likes to wear my old wristwatch.  Here is its last photo before she mysteriously broke it.  Luckily I think it is fixable:

We may get a piano soon:

Fireworks:

iPad and DVD player:

Matt's birthday!

It was the guy's birthday too who sang the song (Matt is shaking his hand here).  It is also Roy of Siegfried and Roy's birthday too!

Charlotte has managed to not destroy this necklace yet:

Charlotte eats ddok with honey just like my mom used to make - fried in butter!

Char and I made muffins with leftover oatmeal. Surprisingly she ate them!

Sophia wants to feed her baby a muffin:

Charlotte appropriately brought this Tigger to MGM:

Girls observing fish as the lady in tights observes them:

Ocean Club pool!  We found for Sophia to get into this suit - and she liked it!

Sophia drives in the kids club at Ocean Club:

Here is a video of Sophia and Char playing at the kids club at the Ocean Club.  Sophia goes nuts on these teeter totter things!