Where is this year going? Maddie went to school today knowing that the entire day would be one big celebration. It was the day to mark 100 days of school and a day to prepare more for Chinese New Year. When she got home after school, she was bursting at the seams because she didn’t know what to tell me about first. It all kind of came out together! So, here Maddie singing a Chinese New Year song while wearing her 100 day hat!

We tried on Maddie’s traditional Chinese dress last Friday and quickly figured out that she had grown out of it again so we made our way to the fabric market and she picked out the fabric for her tailor made dress. I was delightfully gobsmacked that she chose blue. BLUE! “Jim” remembered us from the last two times we went to have a dress made and Maddie even remembered him so she conversed with him while he measured her for the dress. I may be a pinch biased, but I think she looked pretty darn cute in her dress! The girl is growing up so fast, but we’ll see if this lasts through the summer.

Her class performed on stage again this year and she did a great job! She wasn’t shy the least bit and even encouraged some of her friends onto the stage.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

Seventeen years! It hasn’t snowed in Shanghai like this in seventeen years. We woke up this morning to a very bright and quiet Shanghai. The snow had definitely accumulated overnight so it was time to put Amelia down for a nap and head outside for Maddie’s first real snowman. So what do you need? A fashionable scarf to keep it “warm”, a carrot for a nose, two brussel sprouts for eyes, a cool hat with braids, a couple of twigs for arms and a baby monitor to make sure the baby doesn’t wake up!

Maddie rolled and rolled the snow to make huge snowballs. We had the great idea to run inside to make a sign to commemorate the day and when we returned outside we found that our first snowman had fallen down. So… we made a second snowman. Maddie named him Frosty (so original!) and decided that she wanted to hold his hand to help keep him warm. Glad you had a fun day off of school Maddie Anna!

Sunday mornings are the best around here these days.  The girls wake up and all four of us jump into our bed for a full hour of conversation and laughter.  The laughter continues on for the entire morning – all the way through ballet – all the way through the weekly grocery shopping.  And then the evening hits…   I think I’ll just try and remember these smiles!

Back to school for the second term, completely relaxed from an amazing trip home. We came back to a mixed bag, but everything always seems to work itself out. We had new fish! Our new ayi went and bought seven friends for Pedro But Lester went missing for a full week. Thank goodness for Ms. Zhou because she had the time and perseverance to walk around calling out Lester’s name. The poor cat was caught in a trap and stuck under a bush. It has been near freezing and/or raining all week so we were happy to get him back! We’re back in the swing of things around here.

We are back to Shanghai and in full jet-lag mode so we’re sorting through pictures to try and stay awake. There are so many that I want to share, but these jump out at me. Who is who and when are the questions! Hint: Maddie had hair as a baby…

On New Year’s Eve, Elena and Ethan came over while we went out for dinner at Higgins and a show of Pink Martini. Now, we are parents of a 3 month old so sometimes things don’t always work out as planned. When the phone rang two numbers into the concert, we hopped in the car and headed home for the evening.

When we came home, everyone was very interested in the Wii games that Elena got for Christmas. Maddie was already in the system and I was amazed at how quickly she learned how to “do the Wii.” If you look closely at the picture, you’ll see the Maddie had either a strike or a spare every frame. I see a future here! I’m just so glad that she gets so much joy out of life and her experiences. Happy New Year Miss Maddie and a Happy New Year to my Miss Amelia Mabel!. Don’t worry sweetie, I’ve slept through most New Year’s Eves as well!!!!

We leave tomorrow a.m. bright and early for Shanghai.  This trip has been simply remarkable in so many ways.  Maddie has changed so much since the last time we were home and Amelia, well, this has been her first trip on American soil and she too has changed in leaps and bounds

Maddie really started to “get” that America and Shanghai were two different things over the summer.  Over the summer, we were in the States for almost six weeks and it was simply fun setting up our new house and her new room.  This time we have been in our new home for nearly three weeks and she has spent the last week talking about Shanghai.  I think the day after Christmas, she started mentioning Shanghai four to five times a day.  I’m not saying that she hasn’t had fun and that she hasn’t valued the time with family, but Maddie (and now Amelia) know Shanghai as home.  Her friends, her teachers, her cat, our car (which apparently we left one of her favorite book in while gone), her bed, and even her ayis are important to her.  It will make her dad I think think about when and where we will go next in this flat world of ours.

If you ask her, she’ll say that she has loved every minute of being at her American home.  Jet-lagging in her bunk beds, cutting down Christmas trees with dad, grandma and grandpa, decorating trees, visiting with her grandma from Tucson, visiting with her brothers and cousins, going to the ballet, sitting on Santa’s lap, baking cookies for Santa, SHOPPING, learning how to bowl on Wii, and showing her little sister exactly how the world should work…. that’s one heck of a trip!

It’s time to go home to Shanghai now.  So thanks to my smart four year old, maybe I’ll remind myself that we should always enjoy where we are right at this exact moment because we are always creating memories and learning to be “experienced.”  Maddie is smart because she is “experienced.”