she was quite excited to try out her new blades, and i am sure that before i know it, she will be moving along faster and faster.

note: cake styling and hair styling both done by birthday girl.
second note: far right image is the standard “mug shot” my kids are now becoming accustomed to, where i photograph them with their age and the date written on an index card to commemorate the milestone.
third note: i am beginning to love www.taobao.com, which is where we ordered the blades and had it delivered to my door next day!

And at the same time, we saw and experienced those things that are only unique to still being in China.

1. Couples in cutie matchy matchy outfits
2. The 1.2 billion other people out enjoying nature with you
3. Group bridal shoots.
i may save more elaboration for another blog entry, but basically wedding photography in china is typically *not* done on your actual wedding day *nor* in your actual wedding gown.  instead, the photography studio will provide hair, makeup, gown – and take you out for a day-long photoshoot – and you may have a few other engaged couples along for the ride.
4. And now the reason for my blog entry title.
first, walking around, i heard 20+ comments about kaylah as people passed by.  i’d say 37% were cuteness-related, and 63% was the fact she was barefoot and wearing just one layer of clothing.  babies are typically very heavily bundled up here, even when its 75 degree F outside.  well, back to the cuteness factor.  we were taking a family picture when this woman passed by and thought kaylah was so cute that she wanted a picture with her too.  before i could totally process or question it, she took kaylah from my arms and had her friend take a picture of her.  i could only (closely) standby and tell luke to snap a picture of the whole occurrence. at least kaylah didn’t seem phased.
and then as we stopped to take a few more pictures of just the girls, a small crowd of people gathered behind me and proceeded to use their cameras on them as well.  (do you see that glazed over look in their eyes as they stare past me, dumbfounded, at these strangers clicking away?  and then in that last one, i think they’re whispering to each other “can we hurry and get this over with? why is mom putting us through this? and why do all these people like to photograph us so much?”)  such is the different experiences of being in China… maybe next time i will at least put out a collection hat for each photo taken.  =)

three major traditions around here include hanging lanterns, eating tangyuan (汤圆), and setting off firecrackers.  i managed to capture 2 of those 3.

for weeks, the city and neighborhoods have been adorned with red lanterns hanging along the streets and buildings.  i love how they brighten up the streets.

also, hannah’s school had a Lantern Festival party, where they got to make some tangyuan themselves.  tangyuan are these balls made from glutinous rice flour.  they can be filled or unfilled, small or large, and usually served in some sweet soup.  hannah loves how they taste.

random things to note:
matching jogging suits courtesy of grandma – i think that finding coordinating outfits is one of those joys of having two kids now.
photo taken during our recent trip back to michigan – i realize now it takes a good week (at least) before and after across-the-world-trips for life to quiet down but that’s ok. i am also happy to report i managed to fly smoothly back to china by myself with the 2 girls on a 15.5 hr flight after a 22 hour delay at the airport (good thing hannah really likes airports, planes and hotels).

Hannah has always loved falling leaves, and will pick up random ones she sees on the ground.  Kaylah seemed pretty content to play in the leaves too.  Maybe it’s hereditary.   We have to be fast about finding those fallen leaves and nice leaf piles, though… because they are quick to sweep them up and take them away.  Sad.

with a full-size oven, i was excited and inspired to go all out for Thanksgiving.  I bought one of 4 frozen turkeys being sold at Metro – probably the only 4 frozen turkeys available in all of Jiaxing (city population = 3.3 million).   It was 6.9 kg (15+ lbs) – the smallest one they had.

Thankfully, we had about 12 people over who could help demolish the 15 lb turkey.  None of them had ever seen a turkey before, or celebrated Thanksgiving.  It was a great time, with relatively little turkey left over.  Amusingly, a couple people were surprised the head and feet were already removed from the turkey.  But it makes sense that they would wonder, as most whole chickens here are sold in their entirety.

And then in addition to roasting a 15 lb turkey for 5+ hrs, I proceeded to cook the most traditional American Thanksgiving meal I’ve ever made.  In the past, I’ve made a mix of American and Chinese, with possible random Korean or Middle Eastern or something else thrown in there.  But I decided to go traditional for my first-time Thanksgiving guests.  So this year it was sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green bean casserole, cranberry apple stuffing (first time i’ve made american stuffing!), and pumpkin pie.  And since there are very little to none pre-made/ prepackaged/ canned items here, everything was made from SCRATCH.  I had to scour the recipes that used only fresh ingredients.  =)  Despite the extra effort required, it was all very satisfying (and probably more healthy because it was fresh?)  And I could not have pulled it all off without my wonderful oven.  =b

we’ve done minimal clothing shopping for any of us while living in China, so it felt like a small accomplishment (and enjoyment) to venture out and get some new goods.

so yesterday was a big milestone in this grown-up girl’s life as she started her first day of school!  she was so excited and did wonderfully.
it’s also a big step for us as we start to enter the world of formal schooling.  and trying to better understand the school system here – which is different in a lot of ways compared to the US.  In general, everyone seems to say there is “great pressure” here when it comes to schooling.  It is making me think hard about what is better or worse versus just different, and what are our primary goals and purposes in sending our kids to school, what do we hope they get out of it, etc…  Perhaps you may think i am over thinking things when my kid is just starting preschool.  But these are things you consider when you’re warned that your kid may fall behind and be unprepared for elementary school if you choose to only send her to preschool part time.

Any thoughts as to what is important to gain from school at different ages?  And what is important to gain outside of school or at home?

(and trying not to lose kaylah among the boxes)

and now we’ve moved to our new home in jiaxing – arriving here *exactly* a year from the date we arrived in ningbo.  that totals to 2 major moves, 1 new baby, and 1 new country in 1 year.  whew. i am tired.  =)

while any move involves a good amount of stress, i was thankful that our actual moving date went about as smooth as it could.  our movers were capable, fast, and didn’t break anything — and even better, they were more than happy to pose for the camera.  haha.  quite the characters, and i love being able to capture people and their personalities.  can you guess which mover could carry the heaviest loads?

and now, hopefully, maybe, things will quiet down a bit and we can settle into our new home and my poor blog will not be as neglected… maybe…