9 Months Old

Here are the Photos we had taken for Eve turning 9 month old! All the pictures are taken in our apartment complex.

Pinewood Derby 2010

Our branch has an annual pinewood derby competition, which is the highlight activity of the year here. We let the kids enter cars as a cover-up, but let's be honest, this race is really for the grown-ups. These guys in our branch are finally able to put their engineering degrees to full use! Many of the cars were designed with state-of-the-art design software and created with top quality factory tools. And to finish: coated with water-proof, smudge-proof, glare-resistant, bullet-proof paint. We, however, having no engineering degrees, made our cars using a $1 handsaw, a piece of borrowed sand-paper, a couple bottles of nail polish, and a lot of elbow grease. Neither of our cars won a single race. However, we feel comforted that they at least went down with style points!

Here is our ode to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This car's name is Willard (after the man Will Smith himself). His paint job was better than his racing skills.

This car is an ode to the tasty New Zealand treat - the Tim Tam (Ever had one?). This car's name is Tim. Unfortunately, Tim was too heavy so Sam spent the better part of the activity drilling large holes in his under-side so he could make the weigh-in cut. Maybe that is what threw off his equilibrium and ruined his much anticipated mad speed skills. I mean look at him! With aerodynamics like that Tim should have slammed this race!

Who says nothing's free?!

Hong Kong is a great international city where you can find just about anything you could want -- at a price that is. So since we do not want to pay the price for such things as chocolate cheese cake, Mrs. Field's cookies, and freshly baked bread, we instead just poke our heads into various shops that sell such delicacies, and take a long, delicious, and very free whiff. Then we sigh, and walk away =)

Eve's First Swim!

...On the 28th floor!

I was unexpectedly denied a visa back into China, so we were forced to have a little "vacation" in Hong Kong for 5 days. Although getting a visa was a complete nightmare, we did buy some swimming suits at an outdoor market and made some time to enjoy the swimming pool on our hotel's top floor.

First Swim!

Check out this video. Eve makes her motor boat sounds at just the right times =)

New Friend

Eve: So there I was just crawling down the hall, minding my own business when...

What?!

(she literally did a double-take)

Who is that!?

Huh...

I guess I need a closer look...

I smile at her... and she smiles back!

Its good to find a new friend in the hall. I guess you never know where one will pop up! I found one in our elevator, and that one smiles when I smile too! Its funny though, no matter how many times I meet these friends, I'm always surprised (literally, she double-takes every time =)

You still there...?

Yup. Still there.

Baby-proof? What's that?

Do you see any problems with this picture? Now that Eve is mobile, she is into everything! This apartment is beautiful and we love it, but I am finding it to be a baby-proofing nightmare. Lots of outlets (which is great right?), but all low where she can get at them. A fun build-in open shelf that lights from the bottom, but Eve likes to play with the light bulbs. The cupboard doors are that kind of handle that no lock fits with, and there is essentially zero high storage. And as you can see, the entertainment center is a a bit problematic. Any suggestions?