Holiday Chaos

The latest with the girls...

Both are walking. Q is walking full time and A has to find something to pull up on first, but then she's off.  So, needless to say, things have been a bit busy lately.  They are also putting their minds together to figure things out.  If one mind can't succeed at getting the cabinet open, then 2 minds together surely can.  

Thanksgiving was great.  We had a couple of fun celebrations and believe it or not, we had a traditional Turkey Day food!  It was great and the girls loved it all -- especially the sweet potatoes.

We are gearing up for the girls birthday which could be anytime this week I guess.  We are celebrating December 9 as their birthday, but they were apparently about a week old at that time.  We hope to have a small bday celebration next weekend and then it's full swing, holiday cheer. 

We are leaving for Canada on the 19th which is seriously cramping my schedule, but I am super-excited about some cold weather.  While it is beautiful weather here in HK right now, it's not putting me in the holiday mood.  I need a coat for that I think.

I have some videos below of the girls walking and playing at a playroom near us.  And, have uploaded a couple of pics from that same day.  

They are growing up so fast.  I can't believe they are going to be 1!

Video#1-Quynh walking around

Video#2-Audrey walking

Video#3-Q&A playing

Happy Halloween!

Q&A were spectacular in their costumes. They went to a Halloween costume party at a friend's house and then we went to a trick or treating party where we just hung with the older crowd. They really steal the show, especially when Q shows off her walking skills with a big smile. A is a complete flirt and clown, she totally hams it up.

I've loaded some Halloween pics in the photo album. Never really got a great photo, but you get the idea of how they looked. I will load more soon as I had a few friends take pics for us that are on their cameras.

Happy Halloween to all!

btw, Halloween is exhausting!

Happenings

We've been busy at the Solberg house. Tomorrow is the girls' first Halloween. First of all, I can't believe it is already the END of October. Where has the time gone??? Q is going to be a ladybug and A is going to be a bee. I had to have the costumes made in China, but overall I am pretty pleased. I think Halloween costumes work better when you are either a little baby (not moving too much) or you are walking. Crawling doesn't really help the costume selection.

Speaking of walking, Q is taking 5-6 steps at a time. Would you call this walking? I am not sure. She is pretty balanced and will definitely be "walking" in a couple of weeks. She can go from a squat to standing without holding on to anything and then can take the few steps. When she walks from me to Wit and back she knows we are going to catch her so she doesn't concentrate as much. However, I have watched her when she doesn't think I am paying attention and when she really focuses, she goes quite far. A is not far behind. She is taking a couple of steps, but not as balanced as Q. Plus, she gets so excited that she ends of falling before she realizes she could take more steps. I can't believe they are almost walking.

Other happenings -- One set of grandparents just left HK and we had a great visit. My mom is coming on Saturday, so we are excited about that. Then it's Thanksgiving. HK doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I LOVE to cook for it. Anyway, it makes us feel like we are in the States for a brief moment. If only we could get a football game...

The girls will be 11 months next week...can't believe the 1st bday is coming up soon. We are headed to Vancouver for Christmas and looking forward to the cold weather. Then I realized that I don't really know how to dress a baby for cold weather. I've started buying some stuff, but we have gotten by on shorts and tanks and dresses for so long that it is sort of odd buying such bulky stuff.

Anyway, will have some new pics to post soon.

Back from Holiday

We made it back from VN and had a wonderful time. The girls were great and handled everything pretty well. They were pretty good during the long car ride and were also good on the plane. No major meltdowns, so it was pretty easy. They kept their nap schedules and sleeping thru the night, so that was fabulous! Otherwise, we had a great time and the girls seemed to really like all the swimming. Quynh wasn't too interested in the sand, but Audrey loved it.

I posted some pics from the vacation in the photo album.

Me and the girls are headed to Cebu this week with a bunch of girlfriends and their kiddos. We will only be out 3 nights, but should be a lot of fun. Hopefully the girls are just as good as they were in VN. Quynh has a slight cold, but seems to be getting over it now. Both are growing and really leaving the baby stage behind...so wild to watch them grow up.

Doctor & Travel

Just got back from the doc for our 3rd round of shots. Wasn't too bad, two simultaneous sticks for each baby. Since our last visit they both have gained 1.1kg and both have grown 3cm each. Weird how they are tracking along so evenly. Audrey, I guess for now, will always be bigger and taller. They are actually doing quite well on the percentiles too. Quynh has jumped to the 25th percentile on weight and the 50th on length. Audrey is 50-75th on weight and 75-90th on length.

Travel -- So this is where living and traveling to foreign countries can be difficult. Everything that the girls eat, drink, wear, and need diaper/medicine wise needs to be packed. Yes, I know, I could buy diapers and formula in VN again, but I just don't want to transition them again and don't like the diapers as much there. Plus, they are in the solids phase where you have to bring food instead of being able to order food that they will eat. Sooo, packing all this crap for 2 for a week is creating quite the load! At least we will be going heavy and coming back really light with formula, diapers, and food for a week out of our bags by the time we get back. Note to self: Wait to travel until you can order food for them, or go somewhere you can actually recognize what you buy.

All that being said, I am so excited to get out of HK for a week. The pollution is kicking our asses and need a change of scenery. Plus, I am excited to see how the girls do since our world tour this summer when things were so up in the air.

We leave on Monday, so will post pics when we return.

Helloooo!

Sorry, it has been SOOO long since my last post. What's going on here? We are crawling in 2 different directions and general chaos has taken over our house. We are having a blast though. The girls have moved to the "big girl" bath meaning we have no more lounge chairs and are free to roam in the bath. Quynh loves the bath because she is a much better crawler/climber, but A-train is learning quickly. They are much more playful and crawling after one another. I am posting a few videos soon. Also, will be posting in the photo album very soon. Should be there in a few hours, waiting for everything to load.

We are taking our first family holiday in a week. Going back to Vietnam, beach town called Phan Thiet. Wit and I have been there before, but are totally excited to go back.

I think the girls are going to be a ladybug and a bumblebee for Halloween. Will be having their costumes made in Shenzhen, so who knows how they will turn out. We'll post pics after I get them back.

Video #1: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4586879545049186669

I've been tagged

I was tagged by E at Fajitas & Pho to write a meme and of course, I have the longest middle name ever!

You have to post these rules before you give the facts:

Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had. When you are tagged, you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged & to read your blog!

E -- Extra busy lately, the girls are starting Kindermusik and Water Babies this week and I am trying to babyproof the house.

L -- Lake house -- we are in the market for one, anyone got anything interesting?

I -- Ideas on what my kids can be for Halloween?

Z -- Zero words come to mind.

A -- Audrey has learned to crawl in the last week and now has decided to pull up in her crib, but she is not quite sure how to get down yet.

B -- Balance --all about trying to find it.

E --Quynh's first name (Elizabeth) -- lots of ppl in my fam have that name.

T -- Toys. Everywhere.

H -- Holiday -- looking forward to the last week in September when we will take our first family holiday -- going back to VN to an area called Phan Thiet. Looking forward to some beach time!

Ok, that was hard.

Now, seriously, tagging 9 people just sounds wrong. I will tag anyone who has or plans on visiting Hong Kong (you can include yourself if you only stopped at the airport).

Busy days

Sorry, it has been a while since I posted. I try to do once a week, but my weeks seem to be running together!

The girls are doing great...we have some good days and some not so good days. Luckily, I don't seem to be hit by both have a bad day at the same time. Mostly the problem has been teething lately. We've had some strong storms in HK lately and sometimes the wind wakes the girls up, so sometimes they are just grumpy from being tired.

They are both clapping and playing pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo now. We still say dada, no mama, but indiscriminately. I just found Audrey sitting in her crib, so she has somehow found out how to sit up on her own. Still waiting for that to happen so I can see exactly how she does it. Quynh is trying her best to balance without holding on to things. She is getting better. She can now climb down the stairs -- climbing up was never an issue, it was getting down. She is cruising on all furniture and I am trying to baby proof this apartment quickly. They are both eating well, but not gaining much weight. I just moved Quynh up to a 6-9 month sleepsuit because of her length, but the size swallows her. She is just so tiny. Audrey should be getting tooth #6 soon, and Quynh is still working on #2 which I see, but it is moving very slowly.

In September, we start Kindermusik and swim lessons and playgroups, so life gets even busier.

More soon hopefully!

Update

Nothing too big to report this week. Audrey and Quynh both tested negative for TB, so that is good news. Audrey has her 5th tooth coming in and Quynh has her 2nd that just broke through. Quynh is running a slight fever that I am assuming comes from the teething, because she has no other symptoms besides being clingy.

Audrey has become the rolling queen. She can get to everything by rolling and quite honestly, she has stopped trying to crawl because of this newfound talent. Quynh is still trying to master the steps and standing without hands.

Hong Kong is in typhoon season, so its been raining for the last week. Looking forward to starting the fall, we've got Water Babes and Kindermusik lined up at the Amer. Club and lots of playgroups to look forward to.

Below is a video...for those of you who have met Audrey, you will know what a ham she is. Quynh is much more serious, but both LOVE the biscuits. Have a good week!

Hook 'Em!

For all the Texans, you knew this was coming. Hook 'Em Horns! (onesie courtesy of Gumpa)

I am posting some more pics in the Photo Album now, so they should be there shortly.