Looking through these pictures, it definitely doesn't seem like January was as hard as I was making it out to be ;), but keep in mind I only take pictures of the good stuff. We managed to fit in some fun things amongst the jet lag, work, sickness and more work.
^ heading back to Chengdu always causes mixed emotions. we miss our family so much, but it is also nice to get back to our version of 'normal'. which I realized is completely not normal to most people. ^
^ Elena and Lambie pretending like they didn't wake us up at 3am, snuggled up and read to watch some TV. ^
^ those are four pairs of tired eyes that got out of the house just so we wouldn't take naps at 11am. ^
^ January 1st and we feasted on some dumplings. ^
^ pretending to take a nap and requesting that I take her picture. ^
^ they worked on crafts nearly every day. ^
^ on Saturday, Everly had been on her antibiotics for more than 24 hours after being diagnosed with strep/scarlet fever so we kept our play date at the indoor playground (she had been looking forward to it for a week!). given everything that she had gone through, she was feeling pretty chipper. ^
^ sweet girls. ^
^ the four kiddos played for hours. ^
^ Evsie's and I built a city. ^
^ the play date moved to an apartment that was full of toys so our two were more than happy to continue the play date. ^
^ first day back at gymnastics plus new leotard plus she let me put her hair in a top knot (my absolute favorite on her!) calls for a few pictures before class. ^
^ Ev's wanted to sit out because she wasn't feeling well so we said no big deal, but as soon as we got there she wanted to go! ^
^ this girl loves a pattern (flowers on flowers or stripes on stripes). ^
^ they worked on back bends. ^
^ these magnatiles have provided the girls hours of entertainment. ^
^ our neighborhood Starbucks opened! this is the photo of what it looks like on the inside. ^
^ we went down to check it out! ^
^ one Saturday, we went and checked out the place we are going to hold Emma's birthday party this coming weekend! she is pumped!! ^
^ we had arrived for our play date a bit early so it was Starbucks for us and ice cream for them :). ^
^ I could not resist taking their picture in front of the flower wall - neither could the other 20 people that suddenly swarmed us ;). ^
^ we found a spot that was a little bit out of the way... ^
^ I am so glad that she was feeling so much better! a week had passed at this point. ^
^ Emma or Everly? I will let you decide ;). ^
^ how in the world is she getting so big?? but can also fit into size three jeans ;), that she insisted on wearing... ^
^ we went to a science class at the Chengdu Museum of Technology and Science (the class was in Chinese, but the girls still had fun). ^
^ afterwards we explored the Museum, it was so neat! but it was Saturday afternoon so it was extremely crowded!! ^
^ so we got some orange juice and decided that we will have to come back on a week day. ^
^ I think she looks adorable when she puts her hat on! ^
^ we stopped to have bar-b-que for dinner. this girly loves her some ribs! ^
^ Saturday night play date complete with noodles ;). ^
^ Sunday morning shenanigans waiting for our Uber driver. ^
^ more gymnastics class. ^
^ ending with a craft. ^
^ and some time at the foam sand table. ^
^ so proud of her skills! ^
^ they always request to dress like twins on Sundays... ^
^ their walks to the bus stop have been in the dark most mornings... ^
^ Wes is back at it again with his lunch bags :). ^
^ not sure if this is in the right order, but I love when I find them snuggling! ^
^ me on Saturday morning heading to work. I sent Emma this picture because I didn't get to give her a hug and kiss before I left and you guys, she left the sweetest message I have ever heard. She hoped that I was not in trouble (for having to go to work on a Saturday), that I was beautiful because I was her mommy (which was so nice because I felt and looked so tired!) and that she loved me very much. I listened to that message at least 10 times. ^
^ after I was done working, I picked Wes and the girls up and we headed to eat Tex Mex (the girls particularly like this one restaurant because there is a place for them to play!). ^
^ Wes took the girls to gymnastics on Sunday so I could work (tired of me complaining yet?) and I was so so sad, because this was the class where the parents got to come in and watch and the children 'graduated'. ^
^ Wes is great though, he sent lots of video's and made me feel like I was included. just wish I could have been there to see these little nuggets put on their 'performance' in person. ^
^ when they got home, the weather was nice so I took a break and we took the girls on a bike ride. we love this little street of ours. ^
^ Wes made more lunch bags - Ev's really loved that rainbow unicorn! ^
^ and I got more bus stop pictures!! ^
^ and just like that my meeting was over and life returned to normal - we baked banana bread one night (can anyone else's family devour a loaf of banana bread in less than 12 hours - 10.5 of those hours are spend sleeping for the girls :)). ^
^ Wes and I had an immigration date - the good news was the process changed and we no longer needed to take the girls with us so our friend picked them up from the bus stop and we got to go out to dinner after renewing our residence permits! ^
^ this past Saturday there was snow in Chengdu! I was hoping you would be able to see it when I was taking this picture of Everly, but at this point it was more like sleet than snow, but still - we couldn't believe it! ^
^ we decided that the best cold weather activity would be taking the girls to the indoor playground. ^
^ so we headed there and the girls played for the morning and early afternoon. ^
^ as we were headed out, we stopped by KFC to grab the girls some nuggets to tide them over until dinner (we had to run an errand to pick up stuff for Emma's birthday) and we ran into this Chinese New Year Dog and had to grab a picture! ^
^ this is the only picture I have from our play date on Sunday - Wes cooked a delicious meal (mini chicken drumsticks, mushrooms and corn on the cob). it was yummy! and fun to get to know another family. ^
^ the girls put their slinkies together to create a mouth and of course wanted a picture ;). ^
^ there has been so much talk about Emma's birthday around our house lately that we nearly forgot that our baby turned four and a half yesterday! I cut her half a brownie, we sang her happy half birthday and we told her to make half a wish. I wish you could have seen how happy she was!! girly has been wanting to be four and a half ever since Emma started announcing that she was five and a half. ^
Looking at all of this, I guess January wasn't so bad afterall ;).
