Happy dance! Daddy is here.

It has been a busy week. Meetings, site visits, conference calls are keeping me on my toes and on the move.

Last Sunday (21st) we celebrated Spunky’s 3rd birthday. Now let me tell you, when he was small I was always amazed that every single friend who had a child told me to enjoy the experience because they grow up so quickly. And here I am, thinking the same. I mean, I can still remember the day I sent a sms to share the wonderful news of his birth, the day he  had his first bath, his first smile, the day he gave his first step! And here we are. 3 candles on the cake. We had a very laid back day, went to a musical village where they produce traditional and modern instruments and bought him a beautiful children’s guitar. In the afternoon we celebrated with cake and coffee at Ms Bamboo. I was grateful that his birthday fell on a Saturday. During the week my days are busy, so it was special to spend the day with him.

Thursday was a big day! Frank arrived and when Spunky saw him he didn’t know if he should laugh or cry, have never seen the kids so happy to see their Dad. All Mimi could get out was “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!!!”. Must be pretty boring to hang out with your mom and nanny for a month since they are the ones who tell you to pick up your toys and remind you about things like manners and veggies! Grace and I had an eye on the little black suitcase he brought with him..a treasure chest full of our favourite stuff and treats….Since I arrived here I have been working on “the list” of all the things I miss – Fings, die Sarie, Marie biscuits, rusks, smarties….happiness! I will have to do double workouts in the gym this week.

I have been informed that tomorrow is Earthquake morning day and at 8:02 local time all people will keep silent for 3 minutes, cars and ships will whistle an  sirens will be activated. So I guess I will not have to set my alarm. Not sure how I am going to explain this to Spunky, he hates the sound of hooters and alarms.

Last weekend we were invited to a local family’s house for dinner. So Spunky and Mimi had so much fun interacting with their kids. And the Chinese kids love touching the little one’s curly hair. One thing is for sure.. children have an amazing universal language – play is play, doesn’t matter what language you speak! Mimi especially loved the fresh cherries they served!  Kite flying is also very popular with kids here, so we will try it soon. They also had an opportunity to go to a local play school for two hours last week which was really fun, unfortunately it is a bit far from our apartment. But being an ex-creche teacher, Grace knows how to keep those little minds busy. In the week Grace’s room turns into a class room. Imagine.