Our first visitors arrive in about 24 hours

My parents are coming for the holidays. Christmas is slow time for the Rabbi, so this is a good time for them to get away - and spend 2 weeks with us. We've been talking up to Leah that she will get to sleep in the bed in Will's room - in his brand new sheets - very exciting. And we've been putting final touches on getting Will to sleep through the night. He goes to bed between 6:30 and 7. He has been waking up between 4 and 5:30, having a bottle, babbling for a few minutes, and going back to sleep. That's not going to fly with Leah in his room. So this morning when he woke up at 5, we didn't go in. He talked and fussed and talked and fussed - and around 5:30 started to scream - and at 5:50 he finally fell back to sleep. It was a long 50 minutes for Shafi and I...but then he slept until 6:30...and we're hopeful that tomorrow he'll just sleep straight through. And if not, then starting Friday we will be bringing him into our room for his morning bottle and hoping that whatever commotion in the process doesn't wake Leah - or at least that she goes back to sleep.

Meanwhile, I've been doing a bit of re-reading the tour books we have on Hong Kong. It's a whole different read now that I'm somewhat familiar with the city. I've copied some info on walking tours of Central, Western, and Kowloon. I've made mental notes of other things we'd like to do - Peak Tram, Star Ferry, Ocean Park. No doubt we'll spend some time exploring Stanley. I'm sure we could spend some extra time wandering in Wan Chai, maybe take an extra trip to Kowloon to check out the night market and also to catch the view of the light show in Central. My mother and I are going to Shenzhen on the Tuesday after Christmas. We probably will do a day trip to Lantau to see Ngong Ping 360, the Big Buddha, and the Po Lin Monastery. I had thought this was going to make it a busy trip, but now that I look at the list, I think we can still find some time to relax, check out some restaurants, and whatever else my parents want to see.

There's really not much else to report from the last couple of weeks. No major milestones for the kids. We've hit the beach, Ocean Park, playdates with neighbors, a little shopping. Leah is on winter break this week and next...she misses school...but I think we're managing to keep busy enough. Will is a very solid sitter but still rejecting tummy time. He really just wants to stand all the time - but thankfully he is not yet pulling up, as his balance isn't so good on his feet.

Tomorrow Shafi is taking the day off and we're taking a family trip to Macau. We thought it would be fun to take the ferry (about an hour each way) and explore some of the sights. It's got a Portuguese history. Should be some interesting architecture, museums, and restaurants.