Spring in Hong Kong

Spring Break started out with a bang! I'm referring to the sound that our Easter eggs made as Madeline pounded them against each other while decorating them. Fortunately, 5 of them survived to Easter Sunday and Madeline ventured on her first Easter egg hunt. Once she got the hang of what was expected, she eagerly searched the house for more eggs and was sorely disappointed to learn that this event happens only once per year.

Where could it be? 

Delighted with the treasures she found.

Another first for Spring Break was a visit to Hoi An. We took a trip with several other friends and families to this cute little town in Vietnam. Highlights from the trip include:

1) Making new friends.

Our friend James getting to know the locals.

2) Getting plenty of beach and family time.

 3) Avoiding illness. Almost everyone on our trip was under some sort of gastrointestinal distress. Madeline and I consider ourselves lucky...we had a fever for two days. Ryan, that lucky duck, escaped completely unscathed.

4) Enjoying our first television show! On the plane ride to Vietnam we let Madeline watch her first show, an episode of "Dora the Explorer." I'll come out and say it, I am not above letting my child watch as much TV as she wants on an airplane. Fun for her, relaxation for our fellow passengers, sanity for mom and dad.

Madeline has taken a noticeably large leap in her development. She is a real chatterbox, and she's even speaking in full sentences. Some of her quotables include:

Mommy read it. and Daddy do it. Ok, so they're not grammatically correct, but these were her first sentences.

Leave it. She says this after doing a puzzle that she doesn't want you to mess up.

Mommy's back hurts. Daddy's strong. She learned this in response to me telling her that no, I couldn't carry her all around the city because she was too heavy and my back hurt.

Wash your hands, take off your shoes. We do this anytime we come in from outside.

Good job, Daddy! In response to watching her dad play softball.

She loves to laugh, jump, play Ring Around the Rosey, and sing songs. She loves to cuddle with Mommy, especially after a nap. She stays in her sleep sack and I bring her to the couch so we can read books together. She says, "Books. Couch. Cozy." Wresting and playing chase are her favorite activities with Daddy. She enjoys spending time at the park with her friends.

Nobody looks happy in this picture,
but Janeth assures me they do have a great time!

Doing Tai Chi. Gooooooooo Broncos!

She continues to love Kindermusik and her playgroup at Fairchild Academy. She's an eager student, plopping herself right in front of the teacher for every lesson. She recently brought home her first piece of artwork!

We are just so proud.

She's growing up so fast! 

The weather is finally warming up. Last year winter lasted only a month, but this year we had at least 4 months of cold and gray. (Note to climate change deniers: No, you can't use this as evidence that global warming is not happening.) We have some fun things to look forward to in our last weeks before summer vacation: a school trip to Guilin/ Yangshuo for Rachel, the softball championships for Ryan, and a visit from Grandma Fox in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we can sit back and enjoy our view!

Ok, the view is slightly obstructed by construction of a new subway line,
but you get the idea!