Kitties relaxing

They weren't quite sure what to make of Tovina at first, but both cats are becoming more comfortable around her now... or at least they are becoming more comfortable with her toys.

30 (plus) days

In Chinese culture, a new baby and mother are absolutely, upon pain of public humiliation, under no circumstance to deviate, allowed to leave their house for 30 days after the baby is born. This means that if you have not had a baby yourself, then it is possible for you to have never seen a newborn.

When we took Tovina out during her first week of life and Chinese people saw us, they were quite startled and one 23 year old was so nervous about having such a young baby out of the house that she didn't even want to come closer. Shocking as it may be, there are still plenty of Chinese who are thrilled to see a baby and give us great smiles.

Even last week when we went shopping, one Chinese grandmother came over to us and was incensed that not only was Tovina too small to be outside, I shouldn't be out either. And to top the whole thing off, what were we thinking having Michael carry the baby instead of me, her mother? Michael didn't mind being taken to task too much though since, even though he was carrying Tovina, this nice grandmother yelled at me.

Eating out (re-posted)

We took an opportunity earlier this week to eat out. Tovina seems to like the noise and all the people.
Though, admittedly it is a little hard to tell from these photos :)

Surprise!

Some times, one simply has to be amazed that an infant can process enough liquid to overwhelm a diaper, soak a onesie, and threaten to drown the two poor teddy bears Cara appears to have impaled with her feet.

And as impressive as that is, just check out the hickey Tovina left on Cara's shoulder as we got the little pee meister washed up! It turns out that although she was content enough soiling herself, the offense of diluting it down with warm water and a little baby soap was simply more than Tovina could take. Poor kid! All that hard work down the drain. We have confidence that she'll figure out a way to trump this performance, though.

Tovina at 5 weeks

I know that I have been a little behind in posting, so in order to make it up to our Tovina fans - we have video!

So comfy

Its exhuasting all this growing

Back in Black

As you can see below, the halcyon days of classic rock are far from dead here in Beijing.
Of course, I'm betting none of you really expected these to be the stylish jammies of a retiree shopping for his weekly pig's feet and pickled vegetables.....

Hello from Ohio

Today we had the treat of extended family visiting with us while on a tour. Here is Lu, myself, Tovina, Michael and Barb after a lovely dinner which Tovina slept through.
Tovina prepped for dinner by taking a series of naps in the afternoon. We appreciated her effort.

Dad's home!

Michael's paternity leave started today!
Here is Michael doing his daddy duty and carrying our little bundle around so mom could finish her exam for last month's MBA class.
So nice!

Lunch with my co-workers

There was a going away lunch for Terry last Thursday and Tovina thought we should go so she could say goodbye. This first pic is of Terry holding Tovina.
And here is Katie holding her.
And here is Wendy holding her.

Tovina sure makes friends easily.