Rain, Rain, Go Away!

In honor of the rain, I've been singing and doing the motions for "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" for Willow. She enjoys, "Down came the rain and washed the spider out!". Each time we get to that line, she laughs for some reason. I feel like it has been raining a lot lately; just about every day in my opinion! Maybe my memory is failing me, but I think we've had a thunderstorm on a daily basis. 

We've been cooped inside a lot which is unfortunate because Willow is finally able to walk and enjoy the playground. She longs to go outside, and tries to let me know this by pointing out the window, getting in her stroller, or finding her shoes. She loves it! 

I do like listening to all the rain at night, and we've had some awesome thunder storms throughout the week. It also helps Willow sleep in a little later, since it's so grey outside. Usually, the sun is up before 4 o'clock in the morning! 

Yesterday, we went out in between rain storms. I walked to the store after we played at the park for a few minutes. Unfortunately, the little sun that had showed up disappeared, and we had to walk home in another rain shower. Willow, in usual form, refused to sit under her rain protection, and leaned way out of her stroller so that she could feel the rain. I just ignored the thought that it was probably acid rain. 

Here are some pictures from our short time outside--we were both desperate for a change of scenery! These are totally unedited--but I think they are cute. 

It was a bit cold, so Willow needed her trench coat. The bow she's wearing was a gift from a student.
It looks much cuter in person. It looks strange in these pictures. 

This picture is one of my favorites because you can see her hair reacting to the static. 

Lots of construction going on. You can see these buildings going up from our living room window. They were not there at all last year! There are MANY being built all at once. Each building has its own crane. Probably close to thirty high rises being built simultaneously. Right next to another 20-or-so high rises that were just completed. 

You can see the completed high rises on the left, and the under-construction buildings on the right. 

Willow, waiting to cross the busy street with her new sippy cup. 

Lots of juxtaposition. Transplanted trees, expensive apartments under construction, laborers shoveling sand (one guy is just reclining in the work truck), and luxury cars. There are so many luxury cars in this area--these folks are wealthy.

Rich peeps

And in the middle of it all, there are wild flowers growing in between bricks. 

~julie

Bus Stop

One of the only redeeming qualities to having the school play so late in the year, is the beautiful weather Shenyang experiences in the late spring. Amid finals prep, spring trips, AP exams, and a million other things that are crammed into the last days of school,  the secondary play was nestled compactly into a single weekend. The time between opening night and closing night is barely twenty-four hours! What a whirlwind of activity--an intense climax--for months of preparation and hard work. From my perspective, it is very anti-climatic. 

I remember when we started, it was freezing outside. I felt guilty bringing Willow with me, especially on days when the school would forget to send their driver to pick me up. That would lead to walking/standing outside for 10-30 minutes trying to hail a cab. Willow was five months old and hated the below freezing temps--she could hardly breathe in the temperatures. I would stay inside until the last possible minute, bundle her up in hats, coats, multiple pairs of socks/pants, and quilts--and then brace myself for the weather. The school forgot to pick me up several times, during these frigid days. I was NOT a happy camper. It's ironic that they never forgot me when the weather was beautiful. 

Like the day that I took this picture. We went out to the bus stop EARLY because the day was so mild--it was gorgeous! 

It's kind of hard to see, but there are two guards in uniform on the other side of this gate. Wearing the suit, is their boss. He came to where I was waiting outside the gate, took Willow, and brought her back inside the gate. Chinese people love babies, and have no hesitation in breaking Western social boundaries...mostly because they are unaware of their existence. Usually, I would have fought him off a little more vigilantly, but I've seen this man around several times. He makes sure his guards salute everyone that walks inside the gate. He is very big on formalities. He also made sure that everyone who entered had a card for our complex. I was glad he didn't ask me, because I didn't have it at the time.

Poor Willow.

After I took this picture I rescued her and went to a location far away from the security manger--but where I would still be able to see the school van. Haha. I'm not THAT comfortable with letting just anyone hold my baby. 

In our secure location....

Willow is obsessed with this stuffed tiger. She loves it! It helped alot during tech week when we were separated for long periods of time (I was at school, and she was at home with baby sitters). 

If you say, 'meow', she'll crawl around until she finds her tiger. We call the tiger a 'kitty', thereby building erroneous schema in her baby brain. 

~julie