18 months...in Hong Kong that is!

Once again it has been 2 months since my last post. I suppose that is a sure sign that I am busy! Leah turned 4 almost a month ago. Will will be 22 months tomorrow. And the end of March will be our 18 month anniversary of moving to Hong Kong. There is no doubt that we are fully settled in at this point. I know my way around, where to shop for most of what I need/want, good restaurants to go to.

We have made friends, although part of the expat life is also the revolving door. Our good friends the Korns left to return to Chicago a couple weeks ago. Kristin and I saw each other regularly and our kids were the same age. Leah definitely misses Finley, one of her best friends. Although Will probably doesn't miss Nolan much...they fought constantly when together!

Our helper Nilda had a birthday last month too - the big 40! We are so lucky to have found such a great helper. She makes my life so much easier - helping with the kids, grocery shopping, cooking almost all of our meals (deliciously!), keeping the apartment clean and keeping up with the laundry. I have not used my washer/dryer once since moving into this apartment!

Shafi and I have been getting out on the town quite a lot lately. We have had some great meals - Yardbird, TBLS, Din Tai Fung, Zuma, Saigon, Sijie Szechuan Dishes, American Peking, Heirloom, Wagyu, Le Souk. We have also been to two black tie charity balls in the last couple of weeks. It's always fun to play dress up and go drinking and dancing with friends.

Leah was incredibly excited to turn 4. She and Finley had an excellent joint birthday party with about 35 kids, a great magician, and a Rapunzel birthday cake (homemade!). She got lots of great birthday presents, including art kits, books, and a Barbie house, jet and car. She still loves school and is doing really well with learning to read. She has over 20 sight words that she knows well now, and she can write almost all of her letters and numbers.

Will has been talking more and more, putting several words together. It is just amazing how quickly his vocabulary is expanding. He also walks around singing quite a bit. He is every bit as outgoing as Leah - talking to strangers on the street, as well as always saying hello and goodbye to everyone he knows. He's gotten very good at being polite - almost always saying please, thank you, and excuse me, as appropriate. He still loves soccer and playing outside. He has gotten to really like school, as well. He still does Mother Goose playgroup with me or Nilda 2 days a week, but I think he may move up to the drop-off class when he turns 2. Will has 15 teeth now - one more incisor is still working its way in and no sign of the 2 year molars yet. He hasn't been weighed or measured lately but he's definitely been growing - and eating and sleeping a lot - a sure sign that next doctor's visit will show a lot of growth!

The dragon boat season has started back up. The Globe Paddlers are looking pretty good! Unfortunately I broke a rib (10th rib on the back right) a couple weeks ago and am off the boat for about 6 weeks. I will return to physio next week in hopes of gradually working my way back up to paddling. Not only has it been quite painful, but it's a real disappointment to be missing so much of the season. Hopefully I can get back in shape by the time we start racing in late May.