Officially Spring

Today, March 20th, it is officially spring. I mentioned it being spring-ish weather here, but it wasn't really SPRING. Well, now it is. Happy spring (one that is to last until June 20/21)! You can just feel spring. It has a distinct presence revealed through greener bushes, blossoming pink trees, sunshine, soft wind, and flourishing palm trees. Yes, palm trees. There are palm trees all around the apartment complex. Odd, don't you think, considering the cold and lack of sun and all? Palm tree are sunny beach plants. Ah, life is odd.

Jen and Baba have returned to their Chinese school, Faithful, as of last week or so. It's relocated to right outside our gate, which is great for both of them as they take pride in arriving fashionably late to class - just kidding. :)

At the present moment Matthew is testing everyone's patience at the most impatient time, 9:30 at night, bedtime for most of us. He should have been in bed two hours ago but, hey, he's a two-year-old boy and he refuses to sleep without Karyn Henley or Mickey Mouse, which we are all very tired of. Really, you can only hear so much of Mickey Mouse's high, excitable voice and Donald's quack-y, incoherent accent. Matthew is obsessed with Mickey. Once, it was Elmo, then Winnie-the-Pooh, then Cedarmont Kids, Karyn Henley, and now Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the most child-like of them all.

You know what's even better? When we all just don't want to hear Mickey, Minnie, and the cast, Matthew's knows exactly where his videos are, how to turn the TV on, and how to play the video on the DVD player. :3

Speaking of television, a recent conversation centered around old television shows. Jen mentioned a 90's love of hers called "Gullah Gullah Island" and another called "Pappyland". (Reportedly, her obsession for "Gullah Gullah Island" was so great that she went to great lengths to watching, including malingering to avoid school.) We were all especially interested in "Pappyland" due to Mother's stories of Jen's TV sessions with Pappy in Pappyland. It's pretty much a drawing tutorial to teach a lesson or tell a story. (here's the theme song) Well, Pappy has shoved me back into my love for drawing. :D (here's the episode we watched on Youtube) Alas, what happened to the TV shows in the good ol' days? Makes me think of House of Mouse and how much better it is than Clubhouse.

But that's besides the point.

What was I talking about anyways?
Oh, yeah, spring.
Welcome, spring. ❤

~Abby

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

IMPORTANT NOTE: This was meant to be posted on the 17th, St. Patrick's Day. This was written on the 17th to be posted the 17th, only to be met by an Internet BLOCK. 

I, Abigail Lindner, admit that I did not wear green on this day of St. Patrick's.

Unless two little beads on my cross necklace counts.

Oh well, none of the Chinese did either. Besides I'm not threatened with pinching here, either.
Supposedly Baba shall be teaching history tomorrow (Monday) and learning us about the truths about this holiday.

Did you see that? I said learning us. It's so grammatically incorrect, yet sounds rather sophisticated. I've never used the term before, so I thought, hey, why not try it here, where no one can protest or cry out in woe of the English language? (Unless they can contact me from China somehow... :\) Don't worry - this will probably be the last time I say those two words together. :D

Now, where was I? Ah, yes, Baba will be teaching history tomorrow to reveal the shrouded history of St. Patrick's Day. The extent of my knowledge is that the holiday has something big to do with a saint named Patrick who... lives in Ireland? I watched a Veggietales show about it once... Useless now, as I can't REMEMBER IT.

I know one thing for sure - St. Patrick's Day has nothing to do with leprechauns! Leprechauns are not real. They are, as Donald Duck says (in a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode I've watched far too often with Matthew), "Leprechauns are just a figment of your imagination." I stopped believing in leprechauns in kindergarten when one "visited our classroom" and left footprints all over. The footprints were too BIG. And the rainbow gold - hoopla. A rainbow is comprising of water droplets in the air, in the sky. It can't stretch down, touch the ground, and end.

Ahem. Not to damper YOUR hopes and faith or anything, hehe.

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!

~Abby

UPDATE (March 18): 
Apostle to the Irish: The Real Saint Patrick
St Patrick’s Day
These were the sources for the history class.
In case you care. :\

Return

When Mom and Baba came back from Shanghai I assumed that Baba would be writing a post on Shanghai, which he did. However, I was definitely expecting a BIT more of the fun details of their two-day trip. As a result, I, Abby Lindner, am hear to deliver that information. However, as I did not accompany them for the appointment I cannot give first-hand experiences on the events. I will be, instead, telling them to you to the extent of my knowledge.

To start, Mom, Baba, and Matthew got home about nine, maybe nine thirty. Time plus me equals arch enemies (Time + me = arch enemies). I am not good with time. Remembering dates - forget it. I can, but if I don't have to, I won't. I remember the date though! ...Was it the seventh or the eighth? Darn, I hate dates, and that's one I should remember because it was just last week. Well, I know on date for certain (concerning this trip): They left Wednesday, March 6, 2013, noontime. I would ask them for specifics, but I'm too lazy. Do you see a trend here? I'm all bubbly and full of energy before I write a post, then I sit down and do it, and suddenly I don't want to do anything. Life is weird.

Anywho, this is in the Xi'an airport.

See how big I made it? Isn't it absolutely wonderful to be able to look at it without expanding its size (I usually put the pictures in a small/medium)? Isn't Matthew's smile adorable? Actually, that's just him "showing his teeth", a common way to get Matthew to "smile". We just say, "Matthew, show your teeth!" and he sets them in this attack, don't-take-my-picture-you-glassy-eyed-equipment smile.



Here's on the plane. Baba already put a picture, but I'm going to put another just because I want to. So, ha.

Look, this one's big, too. See that puzzled expression on Matthew's face? It's like, "Where am I? What is this? What's going on? Someone help me." And Mom's all cool and looking like she's thinking, "It's okay, Matthew, it's just a plane, we're going to Shanghai, isn't this fun? Rick, stop taking pictures and buckle up." Baba's probably smiling taking this picture and saying, "Matthew, look at me, Matthew, hey, Matthew, what's happening, hey, Matthew..." 

Just kidding. :D

Maybe...

By the way, in the plane picture Baba put, Matthew's watching a movie. The parents brought Matthew's favorite videos (like Karyn Henley's Playsongs series) for him to occupy himself with while on the plane. Alas, his poor sisters were at home, deprived of Mickey Mouse's [annoying] songs!

Here's in the hotel they were staying in...

 This is some sort of window seat where you drink tea. Matthew is happily enjoying his Barbie doll panda veterinarian set that I got Christmas 2010, our first Christmas here. As of recent he's taken an interest in Barbies, or at least their shoes. He likes shoes. :)

Speaking of shoes, he got some new ones in Shanghai. AND A GAP COAT!

There's that smile again. I can't find one where he'd wearing the coat AND the shoes, unfortunately, but you have the coat. Isn't it A-DOR-A-BLE!?!

I think Jen's jealous. She wants Gap, too. ;)

There's Matthew with his Karyn Henley, Mickey Mouse, and Winnie the Pooh again. Look at his little arms! Tucked behind him like that and all... I love little kid arms. They're so squishy and soft and perfect.

Ahem.

Now, there's a particular song in Karyn Henley's discs about stoplights. It goes like this:

Zoom zoom zoom

I'm driving in my car

Driving in my car

Driving in my car

Zoom zoom zoom

I'm driving in my car and

I come to a

Traffic

Light. 

I-i-it's green on the bottom and red on the top

The green say go and the red says stop, stop, stop. 

Matthew loves this song. So, while driving in the van to the hotel they passed numerous traffic lights (unlike in Xi'an). Every time he saw one he began singing this Red says "Stop". 

If I haven't emphasized it enough, he is so ADORABLE. The cutest little boy in China, according to us all (I like to think of this as a unbiased opinion). 

Matthew loves water (fountains and such, not drinking it - he prefers milk). Look at him, so bedazzled about this fountain...

Hooray! BIGGER WATER! If you could see Matthew's face, he probably look awestruck. A trip into his mind during this scene: "BIG WATER! AAAAHHH! YAAAAHHH!"

Do you see how every great picture features Matthew?

He makes everything so AWESOME (unbiased...?)!

Here's some more of that brilliance...

This kid knows how to eat ice cream and make it cool. I mean, some people can eat ice cream, get it all over their face, smile at you and it looks funky. When this kid does, it's like some sort of light just shined down from some mystical, happy place and you're making this "awww" sound that won't stop. 

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... You get the gist. That sing-songy voice adults put on when they think something's cute. 

I don't know much more from there. :\

Oh oh oh! Here are some pictures Baba took of nighttime Shanghai.

Ah, night, the most beautiful time of the day.
Well, this seems a somewhat appropriate place to stop. (You, know, night = end of day)

Good day to you.

~Abby

Back from Shanghai

We originally had our fingerprints done in Dec. 2012 for our police background check for California, this is one of the steps for Matthew's adoption. Well in January we found out that they were rejected because - are you ready for this? -  the fingerprints were done on the wrong paper. So now we had to fly back to Shanghai to have them done all over again. The Shanghai office said that they would do them for free, which saved us some money. They are now done and sent off back to the US, please pray that they are accepted this time.

We brought Matthew with us and he did great, he got a little nervous during take-off from Xi'an (it was quite bumpy). A Chinese friend of ours provided a driver for us in Shanghai which was really great. We got to the hotel and Matthew said okay I am ready to go home now. We also forgot to grab the baby stroller when picking up our luggage, so we had to carry or let Matthew walk around which really slowed us down. Well not too much as I had badly sprained my ankle 18 hours before we were to leave, so I guess I slowed us down more then Matthew did.

New England friends might know this place

Chilling out on the plane.

~Rick

Shanghai at night.

Wow really good ice cream.

Bats

The title of this post is "Bats", but I'll have you know, in advance, that this post has little to do with bats. Great, with that note finished, I can begin.

So as not to disappoint you, I will mention bats. With the warmer weather comes bats, their purpose being to eat the mosquitoes that plague spring and summer. It's crazy how it seems everywhere in the United States has mosquitoes but the one place where I lived for seven years didn't have a single one (either that, or they did and I never saw or was bothered by them). THAT made my first summer here in 2010 FUN. Baba said we should keep the windows closed to avoid them entering the house, but last night the windows were wide open.


Tomorrow Baba, Mom, and Matthew are going BACK to Shanghai to do fingerprints, giving Jen, Em, and I a couple of days free of Matthew... and them.
Just kidding. ;D
Unfortunately the last set of fingerprints they did in February (see this post) didn't follow the guidelines, so they have to return. :\ Hope all goes well for them.

Here's a pic of Teddy from Amazon.

Quick Matthew Update: Matthew is still under the impression that there will be fireworks any second. He's cease saying "boom booms" and has resorted to "fy-works". Every day it's "Fy-works, fy-works" from him. He's introduced Teddy, Annika and Jovie (old Barbie dolls of mine), Chloe (Webkinz Chihuahua), and Woody (the Cowboy doll) already, in what Mom says is attempt to get them "on his side". (Speaking of Woody, he's standing hypnotized now watching Toy Story WITH that Woody doll, which is just cute to mention.)



~Abby

P.S. We've reached wear-an-unzipped-sweat-coat stage. I am very happy about that. Next step - no jacket. Following a decrease in shirt arm length we will reach the sudden last step - unbearably hot heat.

Welcome, Spring (seventeen days in advance)!

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of what happened when March came here
Just yesterday, on the first..............

AND, that's where I stop, because I am not good at poetry that rhymes. I apologize, Mr. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, but I cannot extend your beautiful poem rhythm any farther. Effort was there at least.... right?

Today is a glorious day!
Today is the end!
The very end!

No, not Judgement Day end. I'm talking about the end of winter! Okay, the actual date for the start of spring is the 20th, but the second is close enough, right? The early bird catches the worm (this is sort of random, but whatever). Today is like the perfect mixture of weather, where hints of winter are still present and delights of spring are inching in. I still have to wear a winter coat, but that's good - it means that it's still cold enough for there to be no mosquitoes. And mosquitoes are my worst enemies. Above snails, which is ironic seeing that when I was in fourth grade I used to poke their antennae and put them in my hand and keep them in Trader Joe's coffee cans.

Ah, what growing up does to a person.

But I'm getting off track. Mosquitoes serve absolutely no purpose, except to feed bats. But seriously, bats can eat other bugs too. We don't really need mosquitoes, do we? Alas, their purpose on Earth shall never be completely revealed, nor will the purpose of the ant's existence.


Here's a conversation I had with Winter. (Only my dialogue is shown - the Seasons are very uncommunicative.)

Out, you Winter, you've overstayed your welcome and your family will be missing you. Oh, please, you can just leave your Romance and Beauty behind, I know how heavy they are. No, I insist, come back for them later, I'll hold on to them for now. Oh, poo-ie it's two weeks early. Spring has been sitting waiting outside that door for far too long. Oh, come on now, I'll take your joys and you can finally get back to Summer and Autumn, they're dying to see you. Well, Autumn is, at least; Summer fancies Spring a bit more. Oh, don't be so sensitive. It was just a joke. Alright, bye-bye! Ah, Spring, nice of you to join, thank for waiting so patiently. Would you like a piece of Winter's Romance and Beauty?


Now that I think about that talk, I should have mentioned to Winter to kill all the mosquitoes before she left so perfect Spring wouldn't be plagued with them
Darn, I always think of the important stuff later. :\

Well, hopefully the weather we've had the first and the second remains.

~Abby

Driver's License

So, I finally got my driver's license in China (it took me five tests to do so). Here is how the test goes: They give you 1500 questions to study and out of those 1500 questions they pick 100. The questions and test were all in English though some of the translations were bad. Out of those 100 questions you need to get 90 correct. Just so people know that China has different laws then America. It is funny about the laws they have. Take, for instance, pedestrians in the crosswalk; the law states that the driver must yield to the people in the crosswalk, but if you have ever been to China you know that is not going to happen. We take our lives into our own hands crossing the street everyday. I got my license but I have still not driven yet - my whole family said that I have to take a practice run first before they will go out on the road with me.

~ Rick