And...we're back!!! (and September recap)

Ok, it's been forever.  But our computer has only been back, working, for a week.  Yes, we know that some of the YouTube links point to the wrong videos.  And we still have videos and photos from Turkey that haven't made it up yet.  We're working on it.

Some of you already know that we have been through a rough few months.  Now that things have calmed down, we're hoping they stay this way for a while.   But finally they're calm enough for me to have sat down two nights in a row to edit photos and videos. 

So, you ask...what have we been up to?

Well, just before the accident, Aviva was still up to her usual hijinks.  Here she is doing an interpretive dance to one of her favorites, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."  She seems to be wearing a light pink skirt around her chest like a tube top.  We don't know why.



While we were still reeling from the car accident, Aviva started school, on Monday, September 17. 



The first day school was novel to her.  She immediately went over to some puzzles and was captivated by them.  (In the clip you can just barely say that she's doing a puzzle."  Peter and I snuck out, and I started crying before she even realized we were gone.  The next few days were pretty rough.  One Wednesday, as we walked up to the gate, she whimpered, "I not cry..." and then burst into tears.  It was very hard to leave her there each day. 

But, it got better.  Thursday, September 20, 2012, was Aviva's 2nd birthday. 


She had four different birthday celebrations that day.  At school, her teachers made her a birthday crown.  At the beginning of the next clip, you can see that she is absolutely delighted.


Later that night, she had a Skype birthday party with her Grandma Ellen.


And then later, with Ama and Agong. 


And then one more time, with Sarah Ayi and Cheeks (Baby Charlotte.)


Little did Aviva know that she would be celebrating one more time (in two more weeks...)

Asher's Birthday Party

Technology problems continue to stymie us, but I wanted to share with you some excellent photos from Asher's birthday party in August.

Jessi had cleverly set up activity stations for all the toddlers, and Avia could not get enough of the paint.  She was having a marvelous time, painting with paint brushes and, it seems, her fingers.  Then, someone (I'm not naming names, but it was our friend Erin) started playing peek-a-boo with her.

My favorite part of this series is Peter's reaction in the last one. Aviva was smiling through this whole episode...until she realized that the thick layer of paint on her face was starting to dry.

Stay tuned for more photos and videos from that weekend...

excuses, excuses...

Hi everyone,

We're always making excuses for our late posts, but this time we have a couple really good ones.  We're all ok, but we were in a pretty bad car accident two weeks ago.  Truly, we're all fine, but it's taking us a little time to get back into the swing of things.

The second excuse (and now more pertinent one) is that our Mac, on which we store all of our photos and videos, is broken.  Temporarily, we hope.  We know we can use Windows machines to post photos and videos (or at least we've been told so,) but haven't been brave enough to try it yet.  And, Peter's Mac, which we did occasionally use to post photos and videos, was destroyed in the car accident (back to Excuse #1.)

So, bear with us.  We'll try to get some photos and videos up this weekend, even if they are slightly unedited.

We miss you all now more than ever,
C, P, and A

Dan and Ozsel's Wedding - Rehearsal Dinner

After a wonderful few weeks in the US, we were sad to leave. However, we were very excited for the next part of our journey: Assos, Turkey!

Our travel included:
Drive from New Haven to JFK
Fly overnight to Frankfurt
Sit on the runway in Frankfurt for three hours
Get to Istanbul late, miss our connection to Izmir
Fly to Izmir
Rent car, meet Ozsel's friend Carolina
Drive four (or five?) hours to Assos.

We left Thursday early afternoon and arrived Friday night, 10 PM local time, just in time to join dinner outside - delicious fresh green salad, garlicky bean and yogurt dips, grape leaves stuffed with rice, grilled fish, thick slices of hearty bread, plates of watermelon and other fruit. Yum!

There was a traditional henna ceremony. We didn't have a chance to find out the background, but it was still pretty cool to watch.



After the formal ceremonies, there was a regular old dance party. Conveniently, Aviva was still on California time (even though we had spent a week on the East coast!) Notice that one of Ozsel's friends moves her out of harm's way, but she JUST CAN'T STOP DANCING.

Singing with Grandma Ellen

While we were in Connecticut, Aviva had fun singing with Grandma Ellen.




In case it isn't obvious, her favorite songs are "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Happy Birthday To You" or "Happy To You To You."

Happy Birthday, Grandma Susan!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming of belated posts about our travels to wish Grandma Susan a very happy birthday!



Happy Birthday, Grandma Susan!

Mealtime (and Hiding time) in Hamden

Aviva loves to say, "Cheese!" when we take photos of her now. She also still loves yogurt (in her hair.)




One night, Aviva had a cupcake (or two.) She enjoyed it in her trademark way.




Aviva got to do another of her favorite activities, hiding, while we were in Hamden. The curtains downstairs were perfect!




We had such a great time in Hamden, and we were very sorry to leave. We're already looking forward to going back next year!

Andrew, Thomas, and NICKY

While we were in Hamden, Aviva had a great time playing with her uncles, Andrew, Thomas, and Nick. Here she is with Andrew.



She loved playing with the Mrs. Potato Head that Benvy gave her. Here she is with Thomas (or as she called him, "Hommas," and Nick, or as she called him, "NICKY!!!!!!!"


Unfortunately, we did not capture on video Aviva yelling, "NICKY!!!! Where ARE you??!!!" as she looked around the garden. She is very fond of Nick.

While it is a little unfair, we did sort of trick her into proclaiming her love for Nick by "raising her hands."



She'll laugh later (after she is finished hating us.)

Hanging out in Hamden

Aviva was very lucky to have grandparents at every turn on this vacation. In Hamden, went swimming with Grandpa Richard almost everyday. They had fun in the car...



...and at the pool.




There was a lot of "Wow!" or "Waaaaaaaaaaaaao." Who taught her that? (Hint: It's not our nanny, housekeeper, or Mao.)



She had fun playing Scrabble with Benvy and the boys.



It was wonderful to see Aviva's Great Grandma Miriam. She came over to visit when Aviva's Great Aunt Cheryl and Stuart came over to visit.

Twinkle, twinkle

We were very sad to leave Chatham, but we were excited to go see Grandpa Richard, Grandma Susan, and the boys. There was quite a bit of traffic, so Aviva entertained herself by singing, "Twinkle, twinkle little star." If you listen closely, you can hear the words "wonder" and "sky." At one point she has to concentrate on making a diamond with her fingers.

Fourth of July Celebrations!

On the Fourth of July, Chatham had its tricentennial parade to celebrate three hundred years of Chatham.

Aviva and Seamus had a great time cheering for the parade floats, bands, and other participants. Aviva and Peter even did a little dancing.


Later that night, there was a free concert at a bandshell. The concert really reminded me of the summer concerts at the Edwardsville Public Library that our godparents used to take us to. I think mostly we ran around and probably didn't pay attention to the music, but I have very fond memories of those concerts, nonetheless!

Aviva chased Seamus around. Note my little slip when I'm talking about Aviva/Sarah. Heh heh, sorry Sarah.


Aviva also tried to dance with some older girls, but sometimes she just got confused and showed off her belly.

Chatham photo shoot!

On our last morning there, Brianne organized a photo shoot of all the kids. She had ordered some stunning Neige outfits for all four of them. We all did our best to corral them into looking like the shiny happy people that they are, and we were mostly successful. Here are a few clips from the session. Brianne did a fabulous job keeping her cool even when all four of them were falling apart.


Here's a clip where at least Peter and Aviva are looking at the camera.

While Brianne was busy with the others, Aviva played with Rory and Seamus' toys.




Afterwards Aviva spent some time trying to put on her light blue bloomers. This clip might seem a little long, but believe me, I already edited out much, much more of her doing the exact same thing. There's a reason that last year, Peter, Agong, and I all chose "persistent" as one of the three adjectives that best describe her.

Chatham

After our excellent visit to California, we headed back east for beach time with more family. Jeff arranged for us to rent a house in a lovely area of Chatham. The view from our deck of the nearby tidal pond was peaceful at sunset.

We did like the area very much, even if the signs were kinda funny.

Baby Rory showed off his muscles by grabbing my hair.




The little beach right around the corner from us was excellent for kids. It was extremely warm and shallow. Yeah, I know. Lots of kids. Warm. I try not to think about it.


There was also an excellent playground within easy walking distance from our house. Aviva and Seamus went almost everyday and liked being on the seesaw with Uncle Jeff.



While we were there, Aviva continued to show off her bossypants skills.

We'll do anything...

...to keep Aviva quiet and happy on the plane. Five-straight hours of videos on the iPad, no problem. Lollipops, sure. Salty, fatty, processed, meat? Oh, yes. Yes, indeed.

'

We were definitely sad to leave my family and California and all the friends. But thanks to Nina and Sarah, we had mini Slim Jims to occupy Aviva during the long flight to Boston. (I also love SJs and only shared this one with Aviva!)

Snow Ice

On our last night in California, we went out for shaved ice at a Korean food court. Shaved ice with various toppings is a popular dessert in Taiwanese and Korean worlds (and possibly other Asian cultures, too. It was delicious.

Aviva lost interest in ours and went to explore what the people next to us were eating.



Aviva got to slurp up sugary, cold fruit and ice and hang out with Christian Yi-Zhang. What could be better?

Visiting the Bendavid Family

Last year, when we visited our friends Dona and Eran at Stanford, and their darling girls, Alma and Dalia, we took tons of photos and videos. This year, we were a little lazier.

I only took the following short clips. The last two very short ones are funny. Aviva got tired of waiting for us to leave, so she just went into "Child's Pose" and fell asleep, on the hardwood floor, right after a bunch of other kids came in. Guess it was her naptime.

What kind of parents would keep chatting away while their toddler just passed out on the floor???? Oh yeah. Hm.

St. Louis Taiwanese Kids!

You might not have known about the community of Taiwanese-American kids from the St. Louis metropolitan area, but there were many of us, and we are still in touch.

While we were in California, our good friends, Nina and Anthony Wang hosted a small reunion at their beautiful home in Burlingame.

Agong continued his job as Charlotte's chief handler.

Mrs. Huang was there taking care of her grandson, Eldredge (Chris's son.)
Nina's daughter Ella helped Sarah bake some excellent chocolate chip cookies.

Aviva had a great time playing with Nina, but at the end, you can see that she is distracted by seeing her hero (Uncle Christian.)


We tried taking a few group photos. I included all three so that you can see how Aviva escapes by the end.
From left in the back row: Jenny, Chris (holding Eldredge) Ella, Nina (holding Audrey), Sarah (holding Charlotte), Henry. In the front, me, Christine, and in the very front, Aviva.

The Wang girls, Ella and Audrey, love karaoke. They treated us to a few Disney tunes. Aviva doesn't really know what's going on but joins them for the applause at the end.



After the party Agong and his two granddaughters relaxed for a bit.

What a fun way to spend the afternoon! Many thanks to the Wangs for letting us borrow books and toys again while we were in California, and for hosting a super fun party.

Hanging out with Ama and Agong

Aviva had fun with my parents, sometimes helping out with the chores.



Occasionally she spoke some Chinese.

Chen/Tsay Cousin Reunion

When I (Callista) was growing up in southern Illinois, my family would periodically see our cousins, who lived in Kansas, and then later in Michigan. The three of them, Mike, Cindy, and Alice, are the children of my dad's older sister.

Cindy, along with her husband, John, and kids, Ryan and Kendra, live in San Rafael, about an hour north of Sarah and Christian. Alice, with her husband Phil and son Calvin, live near Pasadena. Mike and his family (wife Sharon, sons Mitchell and Malcolm) also live in Southern California. While we were in California, we were very lucky that Alice and Mike were both visiting the Bay Area and were able to come over to the sublet for dinner.

Alice and Cindy took turns holding Charlotte.

Aviva had fun playing with Kendra (Cindy's daughter) and Calvin (Alice's son.)


My dad took lots of video footage, so I tried to make sure there were some photos of him, too.



Kendra (Cindy's daughter) had a great time taking photos of Aviva, who enjoyed feeding Piglet (and sneezing!)


After dinner we all headed to the park so the kids could run around. Kendra was especially good at helping Aviva on the taller structures.

My photos didn't come out so great, but I do have this short video.


In the front row (standing on the ground) from the left, are: Alice, Calvin, Christian (holding Piglet), Cindy, Sharon, Malcolm, Mike, and Mitchell. Standing on the jungle gym are Henry, Kendra, Aviva, Peter, Ryan, and John.

Here I am with my cousin Alice.

Afterwards, Calvin pushed Ryan and Aviva back to the house.




Kendra got in some snuggle time with Charlotte, too.


We did one more group photo of the cousins. From left: Alice, Sarah, Callista, Cindy, Henry, and Mike.


For more photos of the visit (and of our whole visit to California, check out my sister's blog here.)

We had such a wonderful time catching up with our cousins, and already look forward to seeing them again next year!

BABY CHARLOTTE!!!! (and Piglet)

In the weeks leading up to our trip to California, we got Aviva very excited about her new cousin Charlotte. We looked at lots of photos and videos of Charlotte, but nothing could prepare Aviva for the real thing!

She's been practicing her "BABY CHARLOTTE!" yell, but fortunately she didn't really scream it while we were in California. You can just barely hear her saying it in a sort of maniacal way while holding Charlotte's face. She also said, "Cheeks!" a lot.



Aviva was also extremely excited about her (French bulldog) cousin Piglet. In this video that my sister took, you can see how much Aviva thinks she's in charge of the situation.


And in this one it takes us a little while to understand Aviva's Chinglish (pi gu means "rear end.")

Palo Alto / Mountain View

The next stop on our home leave was Northern California, where my (Callista's) sister Sarah lives, with her husband, Christian; French bulldog, Piglet; and super cute new baby, Cheeks Charlotte.
Sarah lives in Mountain View, and we stayed with my parents in a sublet in Palo Alto. My dad took his position as Chief Holder of Babies and Nap Accompanist.
In this next clip, Charlotte forgets where she is and tries to eat Agong's hand.

Aviva spent lots of quality time with her Agong, with some interactions being more rambunctious than others.


She also spent lots of time with Ama (Callista's mom.)


As you can see, when it comes to other people's electronic devices, Aviva had no problem sharing.



She loved watching videos on Henry Jiu Jiu (Uncle Henry)'s iPad.

And of course, Aviva spent lots of time with Christian Yi-Zhang (Uncle Christian), whom Aviva loves possibly more than anyone in the world, besides Mao.

Outlet shopping!

All weekend, Ellen was our very able and excellent babysitter. She and Aviva colored, took walks with Bow, and generally had an excellent time. On Sunday before we left, we all went to Brooks Brothers to do some shopping. Aviva's slightly out of focus in the first shot below, but I couldn't resist posting them both.

Home Leave - Michael and Melissa's Wedding

In the afternoon, we all got ready for the wedding.  Well, Aviva wasn't going to the wedding, but she dressed up anyway.  It was very windy when we tried to get some photos of them.  By chance, Aviva's dress matched the groomsmen's ties.






The wedding was at The Hildene, a historic home surrounded by beautiful grounds.

The formal gardens right next to where the ceremony took place.

View of the ceremony area before the wedding.

Peter escorted Michael's sister, Sarah, down the aisle.

Leaf blowers have many uses.

The Rigney brothers, John (Best Man), Brian, and Matt, and Peter were the groomsmen.

Melisa's parents escorted her down the aisle.

 

 Michael and Melissa's vows were very touching and heartfelt.

For those of you that don't know the story, our friend Chris gets partial credit for introducing me and Peter. Chris was Callista's friend from business school, and one time when Chris was visiting New York, he invited Michael and Callista to a baseball game. Michael and Callista became friends, and then later, Michael introduced Peter to Callista. The rest, as they say, is history.

We used the opportunity to get a few photos of us as well. We were so honored to have been guests at Michael and Melissa's beautiful wedding weekend. We are thrilled for the newlyweds and look forward to being close friends for the rest of our lives.

Home Leave - VT

On Friday, Grandma Ellen kindly drove us all to Manchester, Vermont, where we attended the wedding of our close friends, Michael and Melissa.

We stayed at the aptly named Manchester View. 

The view over the mountains was beautiful early in the morning. Peter and Aviva took advantage of the quiet time to do some yoga.


After a delicious breakfast at Up For Breakfast, we walked around town a bit.

 Not far from Manchester is the beautiful Dorset Quarry, an old abandoned quarry.  The water was yell-out-loud cold, and incredibly refreshing.  Grandma Ellen, Peter, and I (Callista) went swimming.