Charlotte's First REAL Word

Charlotte has been saying "da-da" for a few months now. Just in case you're wondering, she has yet to so much as utter anything that sounds like "ma-ma"! Even though she says "da-da" a lot, she really hasn't ever directed it specifically at Brendan as her "Daddy".

Her pediatrician in Raleigh told us before we left for Spain that her language skills might be a bit delayed since she'd be exposed to two languages while developing her knowledge of her native tongue. Add to that that I didn't start talking until I was closer to 2 years old, and I really assumed that Charlotte wouldn't have real first words for a while longer.

I probably wouldn't have caught her first word except that she uses it in a context that makes it quite clear what she is saying!

While giving her a bath the other night, I noticed that she continually kept putting her washcloth to her ear and saying something that sounded like "Hello". It was too cute but I wasn't sure if she was really pretending to talk on the phone or if I was just imagining it. I told Brendan about it and the next morning we both observed her "talking on the phone" with just about any object she can get her hands on! It is hilarious!

We're not sure how she picked this up since neither one of us talk on the phone very often and many of our "phone" calls are on the computer via Skype.

So, drum roll please....




Yep, that's Charlotte's first word - "He-woh". Or maybe it's "Hola", I'm not sure! :)

Catch-up

Oh my....

Traveling has a way of really throwing me off my everyday, every-week, every-whatever routines. Since we've been in Hong Kong, I've posted to the blog ONCE. How sad is that?! I have no cleaning to do and an overall much lighter load of responsibilities while we're here, but I haven't found the time to blog much or to keep up with my gratitude journal.

Thankfully, I am 12+ hours ahead of everyone in the United States so when I read Ann's Monday gratitude post this evening and remembered that "oh, yes, it is Monday!", I decided to sit down before dinner and get my act together!

So, here I am catching up on my list of thanks....

387. Brendan coming home in a taxi to...
388. walk with me to take Charlotte to the ER.
389. a pediatric ER nearby
390. fever not making Charlotte cranky or lose sleep
391. peace and wisdom to make the best decision for Charlotte
392. a room full of bags being packed
393. Charlotte sleeping for most of our 12 hour flight to Hong Kong
394. a special line a HKG immigration for people with babies....no waiting after a long trip!!
395. meeting Brendan's work colleague, Voon
396. Voon and Nancy's help with finding and getting into a temporary apartment in HKG
397. a week not watching TV while we shared a hotel room with Charlotte
398. Charlotte's sleep schedule has adjusted pretty well to the time change
399. my baby girl's strong will and desire to explore EVERYTHING!
400. hotel room telephone, empty water jug, and other "free" toys for Charlotte
401. Charlotte loves baths and "swimming" - even though she never stays still, those times are so much fun!
402. yummy, SPICY Mexican food in HKG
403. stores and restaurants being open ALL day
404. Brendan finding an international grocery store near our apartment
405. the incredible view of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the Peak, and our neighborhood from our apartment
406. missing some things about Spain...like formula that costs HALF as much as it does here in HKG!
407. experiencing another culture...this one for the very first time
408. I don't have to eat what the street vendors are selling! :)
409. Cheerio's and Goldfish for Charlotte
410. a pool at our temp apartment!
411. using the laundry mat at our apartment...takes me back to dorm life
412. we have the option to do our own laundry and not have to take it to a cleaners
413. DRYERS!! I had forgotten how awesome clothes feel when you take them out of the dryer!
414. my citizenship on this earth is in the U.S.A. - how blessed Americans are, and how much we take for granted
415. air-conditioning
416. riding the tram
417. really cheap transportation options
418. worshiping the Lord with other believers here in HKG
419. Charlotte enjoyed the nursery at church and didn't miss Mommy & Daddy a bit!
420. singing God of this City in the third city (and nation) we've called home in the past year
421. relaxing at the pool with Brendan and Baby Girl
422. Baby Girl's talking-on-the-phone imitation
423. trying new foods (has this one been on my list before? probably so considering our current state in life :))
424. a break from cleaning
425. my Granny's now at peace with Jesus
426. the opportunity to extend my stay in the U.S. later this year

Ahhh...now if I can just get caught up on other posts! :)

Click here to read about the Gratitude Community and learn a bit about why I'm counting my blessings.

The Other Side of the World (Guest Posting by Brendan)

If there is one thing that I vividly remember from my childhood - it is the time I spent 'living on the other side of the world'. I recall bits of details from my time in Texas when I was young, but how does that compare to seeing the Great Pyramids from a cruise ship on the Nile or traveling throughout Europe for sporting events in high school. I have been to London a few times on business since high school and every time I go through a turnstile for the Tube I can picture 5 punk American teenagers jumping over them for one entire day and running before security caught up to us and made us pay for our fare (or possible worse now that I am reflecting). Getting on an airplane bound for X international location has never worried me or made me anxious in any other way than wanting to see what is there when I arrive. I think a lot of this natural adaption comes from my mother's attitude. After all, she did leave New York for Texas at point in time when many New Yorkers would have died from the cultural shock. We can thank the Bush's for enlightening the rest of the country to the lay of the land in the Great State of Texas.

As I sit here in Hong Kong this evening, after putting Charlotte Grace to bed, I can only imagine what she will remember when she is older. I do not think it will be the hassle of taking her first passport photo, packing her room at age 3 months to move to Madrid or even her time exploring Hong Kong from a comfy ride in a daddy powered stroller or baby carrier. I am sadden by this a little, but so thankful for the Lord's care and love for our family during this time on 'the other side of HIS world'. Charlotte has remained healthy (as far as we can tell from our last Spanglish doctors appointment) and seems to be taking nicely to the loving attention that she receives daily from her wonderful mother. The two of them encounter some of the most interesting situations during their time together and I feel that it will remain something that Anne remembers for the rest of her life; something to the effect of "what am I doing with a baby in X location, when I have no idea what they are asking me".

In making this guest posting today there is one thing that I wanted to get into writing to ensure that we remember it from our time in Hong Kong. I believe it strongly relates to the people that we have encountered while out touring and their love for children - well I will rephrase to say my child. Charlotte is no doubt an adorable baby but the amount of attention that she attracts in Hong Kong is a little ridiculous. We have caught people on numerous occasions taking a quick picture of her or doing a little double take into the baby stroller and talking to her while we pass by. None of this however compares to our experience at Repulse Bay Beach this past Saturday.

People should have been there to enjoy the beach and the surroundings, but instead Charlotte captivated them and their camera lenses the entire time. It started with one or two people taking pictures and shortly turned into a receiving line for everyone at the beach. I am not joking! We had some people ask, others just come up and took pictures and then even more that would sit down on the blanket with Anne and Charlotte while their family took their pictures. Anne and I are undecided on what to think about this, so for now we will just smile and shake it off, hoping that we do not see her on some Chinese website or other in the coming days. After swimming out to a floating dock off the coast a little ways on Saturday and looking back to see 20 people surrounding the umbrella and blanket where I left Anne and Charlotte, there are mixed emotions. I had a moment of panic that was ultimately undone by a moment of laughter when I see people bending down to pose with precious little Charlotte Grace. I am glad that she can bring joy or excitement to their time in Hong Kong - I just hope that is all it is for!

One of our own pictures (probably on a few other
cameras as well)!!!

Time will tell what memories she will have, for now Anne and I will hold this one!

Cheerios

Charlotte has got to experience quite a lot in her short little life, but one thing she has really missed out on is Cheerios! We can find Honey Nut Cheerios in Spain but not the regular kind, and I don't really want to give her more sugar than necessary so no Honey Nut Cheerios for her.

BUT we did find Multi-Grain Cheerios in Hong Kong! I think there is still a bit of sweetness on them....why else would they stick to her fingers? :) It's okay though because she's really enjoying them and finally getting the hang of sticking food in her mouth...although her skillz at picking up small items is still in progress. :)

Enjoy....

In Hong Kong so far...

we have...

...covered our baby's eyes with a mask hoping that she wouldn't wake up (okay, so that was on the plane ride, but it was pretty funny!)

...eaten really yummy Mexican food! We seem to find a way to welcome ourselves to a foreign city by dining on Mexican food (we did the same thing in Madrid).

...figured out how to "live" in one hotel room with a baby who goes to sleep at 7pm.

...eaten at Subway 3 times in as many days (ah, glad we traveled to Asia to get our American food!).

...stumbled across an Anime convention! :) We went walking to find a grocery and visit the harbor and started seeing lots of people dressed in costumes. We were walking next to the convention center so we started to figure out that there was some kind of anime convention going on. Wow! We saw tons of people dressed as anime characters...many were having professional photo shoots by the harbor.

...thought that we ALL adjusted to the time change after 2 nights of normal sleep only to find out that Charlotte was tricking us. Last night after going to bed at her usual time, she decided to wake up when Brendan got to the hotel room an hour or so later and then stay up until 11:30pm! As I write this, I'm really hoping she doesn't do the same thing tonight.

...found out that Charlotte's new favorite toy is the hotel room telephone. Glad we didn't bring too many toys with us from Madrid!

...got some great views of Hong Kong from the harbor.

...spoken in English! After 6 months in Spain, this has been an adjustment but I'm going to enjoy it while we're here!

...met Brendan's work colleage, Voon, who Brendan used to work with a lot when he was an account manager with his company.

...enjoyed air conditioning once again!

...read the South China Morning Post.

...loaded up our wallets with Hong Kong Dollars...our third currency in a year. Oh, the math lesson this has been for my brain!

...wondered what in the world the street food vendors are REALLY selling!

...NOT eaten at McDonald's or Burger King...because there are so many other options and they are all open during normal dining hours! (Meal times in Spain are very different from the U.S. and the rest of the world.)

...thanked the Lord for a safe journey here and for his continued provision - financially, physically, & spiritually - as we step WAY out of our comfort zones!