That is not a pickle toy.

Daddy and Aiden out in Wuxi

He gets so focused when he plays with his toys.

Trying to join the dancers out in the street

Happy boy!!!!

 The words, “That is not a pickle toy” seem to leave our lips quite frequently these days. Somehow “pickle” has become our nickname for Aiden. It just seems to fit him…he is a silly little pickle, crazy little pickle, cute pickle…and the list goes on. Yes, we realize we are a little silly with that but it works.  Aiden is into everything and wants to be a part of it all. He hasn’t started crawling in the technical sense, but he can move around quite well. With a mixture of scooting, rolling and reaching he get to where he wants to go and get what he is after. Now I have to be o so careful on what is anywhere near him. He loves to try and get my phone or the remote…I think he just wants to call his friend Noah to see what he is up to for the day.  He is such a happy boy these days, though he still does have his fussy moments. We love to make him laugh and he will just talk nonstop to us. He loves to talk to people on the computer and gets so excited, especially when talking to MiMi and Grandpa! Its so precious to watch!!!

When it comes to food...Aiden LOVES the solids. He would much rather have that then his bottle. Some days it takes alot to even get 4oz in him at each feeding when he knows there is good stuff coming afterwards. Its sometimes difficult to find baby food over here so Jeffrey has been picking up some everytime he goes to Europe. We tried feeding him puffs last week for the first time and let me tell you...it was HILARIOUS!!!!! He has since started liking them better but that initial reaction was PRICELESS!!! 
Aiden loves his Daddy! It is the sweetest thing to have Jeffrey come home from work and have Aiden almost fall out of my arms cause he is so excited to see Jeffrey. I know that makes Jeffrey's day as well, esp since he has been having to travel and work late a lot. We definitely love our Saturdays here...a full day of having Jeffrey all to ourselves! 

6.5 months

Aiden was a hit at the Gelato place!

He LOVES his sippy cup!

I celebrated my 27^th birthday over here last week. I’ve traveled a lot on my birthday and am very rarely at home, but this is the first time that I’ve been out of the country on my birthday. Sadly though, Jeffrey had to leave that morning for a business trip so he wasn’t home. O well…so goes the life here in China right? I spent the day hanging out with Aiden and over at Julie’s for our study group. That night after all the kids were in bed Julie came over here and brought me a pan of AMAZING homemade brownies and we watched a chick flick. It was a fun night! All of her girls had made me cards earlier that day as well…it totally made my day.  I’ve been so very blessed having Julie here!!!

Daddy...who is that strange looking man there???

We really haven’t had a lot of time lately to explore or do anything new or different, just life as normal here. Well…I guess as normal as life in China can be right? There are days that it is very easy but then in all honesty there are days that it SUCKS! But I guess that is just life anywhere. The one thing that I think I struggle with more than anything is just that nothing is really very easy to do. Its hard to be spontaneous when you don’t have a car of your own to hop in and drive or when I don’t know what time Jeffrey will be home. DAD is really teaching me a lot in this area and I’m learning to be content no matter the situation.  Not an easy task, but I know it will be worth it in the end. 

Because things are tough at times I try to always think of the good things that I enjoy about China so here is a list for you.

1.       1. City Shop! I’m getting a little spoiled with this one. I can order my groceries online and they are delivered right to my door! This is nice since it is harder to go shopping with Aiden since he draws a crowd no matter where we go and I can’t stop and really look at an item for too long. Ha!

2.       2.Dunkin Donuts!!!!!!! Now I realize this is really something that I LOVE about America, but since they have it over here I’m adding it to my list. Each morning during Aiden’s first nap of the day I make myself a cup of coffee and sit and read, play words with friends (I’m hdratliff if you want to play…) and catch up on my social networking. HEAVENLY!!! As soon as I finish my cup I know its time to get to work…so I cherish those quiet moments.

3.       3.Champs Elysse’s bakery! I can walk down the street to our local bakery and stock up for the week on FABULOUS breads and pastries and only spend 30rmb which in America turns out to be only $5.00. I have definitely eaten my share of PB&J since I’ve been over here…yum!

4.       4. Japanese restaurants. I realize this is a little ironic since we live in China, but man do I ever enjoy some Japanese food!  We enjoy going out to dinner with the Sager family and enjoying a good meal here and there. We do go other places besides Japanese but its one of my favorites. I just have to learn how to made fried rice at home now.

5.       5. Far Eastern Grocery Store – now that I look back at this list, I realized that all of my “enjoyments” have to do with food! Not really sure what that says about me…but hey I do like to eat. This grocery store is FABULOUS! Its small and clean and they have amazing veggies. If you know me well you know that I am NOT a veggie fan, but I’ve actually started eating them better and cooking them at home…love a good stir fry. And the meat here is great as well. Julie and I enjoy going there to stock up together.

Well friends, I guess this is all for now…my laundry is calling my name and I guess I must go answer. We do now have an American number that you can text us on if you would like to stay in touch. The number is 719.215.8278. We would love to hear from you! Until then…have a wonderful day and do me a favor…will you go eat some Chicken strips and fries with a lemonade to drink at Chick-fil-a for me? You are such a great friend…THANKS! J