Week 40: Back Home

Dear Hannah and Nathan,
Well, after a month of being half way across the world, we are finally home once again. The trip home was a tough one, but it seems like you guys are adjusting to the jet lag better than when we went to Taiwan. Nathan is almost back to normal and Hannah's sleep schedule just needs a few more days to get adjusted once again.

Since I've carried Hannah everywhere for a month, you have become quite attached to me.  It could be the sleep debt that you've incurred, but by next week we will be able to see whether or not you have become more attached than normal. You want me to be within eye sight, or  for me to hold you all the time. Bedtime has also been rough, I need to pat you to sleep, otherwise you just cry and cry. You've even learned to pull yourself to standing in the crib.

That is why I had Dad and Nathan adjust your crib to the lowest position.

As far as other cool things that Hannah is doing, you have learned to wave. I guess you had your fair share of people oogling and waving at you that you have picked it up. If someone says "Hi" and waves at you, your face lights up and you will wave back. Sometimes it's with one hand, sometimes both.

Everyone just loves you two. Nathan is super cute and does the funniest things and Hannah is super smiley and just so nice to everyone. We met up with family several times to have dinner. Everyone is pretty impressed at how Nathan can speak both chinese and english.

 One day we decided to go to Danshui again. This time, we took the ferry across the river to Dali. Nathan loved the boat ride. He like the wind blowing in his hair and the waves chopping by the boat.

 When we got to Bali, we just walked around the boardwalk and discovered a few cool places.

 Then we stopped to have lunch. This braised pork dish is pretty much what Nathan eats when there is nothing on the menu that he likes. This is served almost everywhere.

 We have ridden the MRT train lots of times and Nathan's favorite spot to sit is on these rails.

 Your favorite spot to "stand" is on what you call the "monkey bars."

 Another day, we decided to go to the Living Mall. This is a giant ball shaped mall with stores dedicated to children. It even has a skating rink inside and a baby spa where babies float in a huge pool with a floatie around their neck. We originally wanted Hannah to try the experience, but apparently spots fill up quickly, so we bought one of those floaties for her instead.

 Nathan got pretty tired so I just carried you in the Ergo carrier up front. You still fit!

 Later on that night, we went out to eat. Nathan is such a ladies man and you don't even know it. Wherever you go, young women just walk up to you and stare at you like this. #notkidding.

 Our last full day in Taiwan was mostly spent at a place translated as "Little People World." It is an amusement park with miniature models of famous places around Taiwan as well as around the world. This is a huge shipping port in Taichung.

 Hey, we've been to those places...

 Hannah and I went to see the Forbidden City.

 And of course we rode the train.

 They also had an indoor play area with balls and lots of machines that shoot balls into the air. Nathan had a blast there.

 Meanwhile, Hannah and I went to go ride on the carousel.

 Nathan barely made the height restrictions for bumper cars. These are little ones especially for kids 90 cm to 120 cm.

 And then we all rode the carousel.

 After the rain stopped, we ventured out to check out the rides outside. Daddy and Nathan went on this thing. Daddy worked really hard and got a great work out.

 And then Nathan went on his first roller coaster ride...and LOVED it. Daddy and I took turns riding it with you. I usually like to scream on roller coasters and when I did, you gingerly placed your hand on my lap and said, "Don't be scared mommy!"

 We then rode the ferris wheel to the top. It was pretty cool because the park is pretty much surrounded by tea farms.

 Nathan really likes riding on boats. This week was the first time (since our whale watching trip a year ago) that you have ridden boats. Practically a new experience for you.

 It was a long day filled with fun. I had a feeling that it was the funnest day of Nathan's life.

We took a family picture before we left.

The next day, we headed towards the airport. Before we boarded the airplane, we had a chance to let Nathan run around and let out some energy.

This time, we got an actual wall bassinet. Hannah It was pretty nice to have it, especially for meals.

Nathan first sat next to me in the bulkhead row, but then wanted to sit with Daddy. After watching a movie on Daddy's lap, we decided to ask the person next to Daddy if they would be ok with switching seats.

Afterwards Nathan was able to watch shows and Daddy was a bit more comfortable. Nathan did not sleep the entire 11 hour flight.

Hannah took a few short naps, but never napped more than 20 minutes at a time.

Needless to say, after going through customs, both children just crashed.

Our flight to Austin was delayed but we eventually made it home. Our friends Hope and Michael dropped our cat off at the airport and we drive back home.  I think everyone was a little homesick so it felt really good to finally be back home.

Family picture at the airport :)

We are still fighting jetlag. Hopefully in a few days things will get back to normal. So far daytime naps have been normal. The tough part is keeping everyone asleep through the night. Hannah is waking up every 3 hours and needing to be nursed and patted to sleep. Nathan is suddenly afraid of the AC fan so I am currently sleeping in your room with you. 

Well, until next week!

Love, 

1. Mommy

9 Month (legit) Crawler and family trip to Yilan

Dear Children,
Hannah is currently going through a growth spurt as she is pretty much hungry all the time. Everyone in the family is shocked at how well of an Easte eater Hannah is. Voracious appetite + crawling baby is not a good combination. Gone are the days where we can just plop her down and tend to something else.

One evening, Mommy and Daddy were able to have a mini-date night. We went to go check out a new night market. Ate a few things that are usually forbidden to you guys and then came home and called it a night.

 The next morning, we decided to go check out the science museum. As you can tell in the following pictures, Nathan had a blast there.

 And so did Hannah.

 And so did Daddy.

 The next day, we went to the Astronomy Center, which is located right next to the Science Center. We watched the Hubble IMAX movie. Nathan and Hannah both sat through the whole thing.

 Hannah even got to participate in some hands-on activities.

 Someone was exhausted by the afternoon.

 The next day, we hopped on a bus and headed towards Yilan, which is on the northeast coast of Taiwan. After checking-in to our Minsu (bed and breakfast), which we picked because of their availability of chidren's distractions,

 we headed to the northern tip of the county via train to visit the black sands beach.

 The train ride was very green. Yilan is known for their three star green onions. I am thinking that these are verdant fields of green onions.

 The weather was a bit mild, so we decided not to change into beach gear, but just dip our feet in the water.

 Hannah was at first overwhelmed with the sounds of the waves, so she clung tightly onto me.

 Nathan loved having the waves crash gently over his feet. There were a few strong ones, one even knocked him completely over.

 When I tried to put Hannah in the water, she pretty much screamed bloody murder.

 We ate dinner at a family restaurant and then headed back to the Minsu via a long scenic walk around the city of Luodong. (This was a map mis-read on my part)

The next day, we were recovered enough to hike up to the wufenchi waterfalls. It is actually a series of 3 waterfalls, with the 3rd one being so "worth it." After the advice of almost everyone we talked to, we decided we would just go to the first 2 waterfalls and then turn around, but when we quickly climbed to the second waterfall, we decided to keep going. This is what we were rewarded with.

 The hike down was more painful in my opinion. Gravity and my joints don't like each other much.

 By the bus stop is a river where you could dip your feet in. Since we had just missed the bus, we decided to go check out the water.

 At night, everyone was pretty exhausted so I ventured out with Hannah to the night market and picked up yummy food for all of us to eat. When I got back, this is what I found.

 We decided to stay an extra night and visit the arts center as well as the suao cold springs the next day. It turned out to be a rainy day, so we decided to save the springs for a future visit and go to the arts center. We picked up a bunch of souvenirs there and saw a few cool demos and shows. Afterwards, we hopped back onto the bus to return to Taipei.

This week held a lot of firsts for us. It was a great side vacation and I'm really glad that we decided to go. Well, we have only a week left before we head home to Texas. Let's see what adventures we'll go on. Until next week, 

Love, 

Mommy