After a year plus of blogging at wordpress.com, we’re going to be moving to http://www.apprenticelacy.com so that I can have more freedom to blog.

Enjoy the new site! 

Love from Shanghai,

Ian, Stacey & Michael (who just learned to say “uh oh”…

Make a Smilebox postcard

 

Much love from Ian, Stacey & Michael in Shanghai!!!

Sometimes women think they can control every little detail in their household … even if it’s done remotely.  Well, I have to admit, I am one of those women.   Recently, I had to be away for a week on business and Ian had “full responsibility” for parental duties.   He did a fantastic job (Michael was in one-piece when I got back and there was only one little bruise, which was more attributed by our new helper).  However I had to “add value” by “remote parenting”.  This included:

- Calling every 8-hours around the clock to “check on things” (I did also want to speak to both Ian and Michael as I missed them heaps!);

- Sending emails about meals for next week; and

-  Promising to come home soonest and “save” Michael’s newly cut hair (which had a few loose ends)

All I can say is that pictures speak a thousand words (refer below) and that both Ian and I (me definitely) ought to stay in Banking.  For the next 6 weeks (and possibly beyond if his parents keep cutting his hair!) our little boy possibly won’t be the cutest baby in the world.  Gosh, we just hope that there is some cream that can help his hair grow faster!

 

I should learn a lesson here. My lesson is to stay out of things every once in awhile.  Ian was doing a great job and I wasn’t “adding value” by calling every 8 hours.  On top of that, we are not going to be cheapskates anymore and will pay for Michael’s haircut from now on!

 

Hope all is well and love from Shanghai – which is a little cold!

 

 

Michael in Shanghai

All we can say is that how did our little baby suddenly turn into a toddle in a blink of an eye?  Michael was just lying on the bed at around 4 months and we were wondering when in the world he’d turn around and lift his head up.  Then all of a sudden, he was wobbling up and down our home and peeking in ever drawer he could open!  His runrate of bumping is one little bump every other day and it serously increases when he is with only Mom & Dad!

After a month of Nanna’s spoiling, Michael is finally on his own during the week with our new Nanny (Jenny).  Our first Nanny (May) has also returned to Hong Kong and has since found a job with an Italian family out in Stanley.  We wish her well and thank her for all the care & love for Michael during his first year!

Michael is now starting his new rountine.  Besides still being a “Gina Ford” toddler, he now goes to the Playroom every morning before lunch and out to the grass in the afternoon.  We hope to catch as much outdoor time before the weather turns really cold.

Ian and I are doing well.  We are busy at work but are generally enjoying the cooler weather.

Until next time, love from Shanghai.

p.s. I found an alternative to webshots photos!  Check out below (will tidy them up in next few days.):

Michael in Shanghai

It is hard to believe that Ian and I have spent one year being parents already… how did the time go?!  We absolutely cannot imagine life without Michael.  But more importantly how Michael will grow from here will only continue to put us both at awe!!! 

Michael’s first birthday was really not so exciting by normal people’s standards.  There was no big birthday party and we were too far away from any of Michael’s “friends”.  Instead, he had Mom, Dad and Nanna.  But a day he had!  He woke up with a lot of presents to open!  What a shock to his system!  This is a boy who had a limited number of toys, but was so thrilled to keep looking at all the new gadgets!  Then we went down for a swim which Michael loved.  After a nap, we cut a nanna-made birthday cake.  Nanna was barred from putting icing on the cake (and hence it looked boring!) but boy did Michael enjoy his first bite of sugar!  He must have gotten his sweet tooth from his dad, Poppa and Gung gung!

We then went over to Puxi (the other side of Shanghai) for a coffee with Ian’s friend and had a late night back to our home.  It was a big day for Michael but he seemed as though he had a great time.

Since coming to Shanghai, Michael had been having so much fun crawling / walking around the apartment.  He even took his first steps without help in front of his nanna.  Due to transition period with our new helper Jenny, Michael had 3 people (Nanna, Jenny and May) playing with him every day and on Saturday, he even gets his M&D!  Talking about being pampered!

Michael is growing so fast that it’s so hard to catch up on writing the blog (esp when Mom still hasn’t got the whole web hosting thing sorted!)!  He is now able to point to his head, ear, nose (almost!) when asked.  And he knows how to clap, jump and say “ouch”… Need I to say again how much fun we are having hanging out with Michael again?!

Still no webshots and therefore some photos for your enjoyment in the below link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57315&l=52c50&id=625711049

Until next time I can blog or when I get my act together… all is well and we’re so lucky to have Nanna around!

Love from Shanghai.

China has censored any blog sites and so we aren’t able to update our blog (sharing with you our beginning of life in Shanghai).  In short, Michael is well.  And we can’t wait when Ian (with his mom) joins us on Wednesday this week.

All is well.  Love from Shanghai

p.s. if anyone knows about web hosting and have any recommendations on which one I should use, please email me: staceylacy@gmail.com until then…

We have officially left Hong Kong.  Everything is packed (in fact, 131 items according to our movers!) and they did it in record time.  There was a bit of a mix-up and we almost couldn’t pack up the house on the last day of Hong Kong.  However, since we needed to return the apartment to our landlord and then fly off for Australia, it was done somehow.  It was incredible.  Ian went to Hong Kong with 3 luggage six years ago and left the city with 1 wife, 1 son and 131 items!  Good job Ian!

Then it was a LONG flight for Michael … and probably a really long flight for all the other business class passengers since Michael cried every couple of hours when he realized he wasn’t in his bed!!!  However, apart from that, it was relatively uneventful – thank goodness!

We are now back in the best country in the world – great weather; good food; best coffee; loads of space for Michael to crawl around; and lots of cousins (4 boys and 1 girl) for Michael to play with.  After a few hours in Brisbane, he already got his feet all soiled (they looked reddish-brown!) and really grubby – in a very good way.  Why would you be anywhere in the world when you can live in Australia ?!

Well, Ian says… better salaries and lower taxes!  Crash… suddenly I am back to earth!  I suppose that’s why we are both working hard in Asia, trying to save as much as possible while Michael is young.  Someday, we’ll be back for good!!  In the meantime, all three of us are soaking up the Aussie sun for reserve!

We are off to the beach in Lennox Head next week and have a big family gathering tomorrow! 

Love from Brisbane.  These are the lastest photos - Michael at 11 months!

When a baby reaches between 4-7 months old, he develops a possible stranger anxiety where he only likes to be surrounded by familiar faces.  As Ian and I had to be away for two days to Shanghai (searching for an apartment), Gung Gung and Poh Poh took over the bath-bed duties.  Michael was a darling pretty much throughout the two days – didn’t seem to have trouble missing his mom or dad.  As for me, I called my folks probably 5 times during that day just to check on things.  While we were gone, Poh Poh and Gung Gung managed to skip Michael’s afternoon nap (well, they were caught by my calling them at 1:15 p.m. and found that they were at Yum Cha !!!).  Gung Gung said to me on the phone “chill out, he will sleep when he’s tired… don’t worry too much la!!!”

Not that Michael would remember any of this, but I missed Michael soooo much.  While Ian was by my side in Shanghai (which was great because we haven’t spent solo time as a couple for way too long), it just didn’t feel right not to have our boy around! 

Here are some photos we took a few weeks ago, enjoy:

All is well from Hong Kong.  But both Ian and I are extremely stressed since we are leaving Hong Kong for first Australia (a holiday) and then Shanghai, China (to work!).  Things will be crazy from now til end of September.  But we will try to keep sane and continue to write this blog!

Much love,

Just because he is always right!  Well, at least that’s what I had to come to terms with early in my marriage!

In Michael’s first 10 months of life, he has actually never worn a pair of shoes.  His father has always told me that he doesn’t need to – in fact it might be bad for him in terms of his natural feet development.  It took me a while to come around to this line of thinking.  However I was convinced as soon as I found this advice gathered from the Internet and was told by the shoe shop that Michael REALLY didn’t need to wear shoes until he can walk on his own for about 10 steps.  Darn, Ian was right again!  Unfortunately, this is only ONE example!  Others include:

- Why does a child need to be attending a “school” at 14 months?! (Ian asks me if there is any concrete evidence that it helps the child?!  I guess not… must be a HK peer pressure thing!)

- Germs!  Ever since Michael was born, we talked about how to introduce germs to Michael “gently” so that he is not too sterile… (I secretly agree with him on this one… but when Michael’s feet are all black from playing at the park, my instinct is to make him clean and tidy immediately!)

- Breastfeeding – How can HE be right about this one?  Well, after Michael turned 6 months, I had been having the most difficult time trying to stop breastfeeding (must be an attachment issue)… Ian kept saying “you’ve done your best and it’s a sign that you’re both ready for the next stage.”  But I persisted (and still breastfeeding now at the morning & night feed).  Again, why amI so stubborn not to give up breastfeeding earlier?!  It is SOOOO easy to just take 5 scoops of formula and mix it water – voila, something close enough to breast milk.

So, I guess I SHOULD listen to my husband more… but my feminism and rebellion streak just crawl straight out.  Perhaps I will be a “subservient” wife in disguise and follow my husband’s advice more.  Gosh, how I thought this day would never come?!

The photos are a bit dated – 10 months old photos… there will be more to come.

All is well from Hong Kong and we’ve survived a BIG typhoon on Friday.  It was a surprisingly pleasant long weekend!

Until next time.

Ever since we had Michael, Ian and I have been in agreement about the topic of toys.  Having both spent time in the US, we are all too aware of the world of “consumerism” and how marketing lures the average person into buying all kinds of “stuff” especially in the love of their children.  Therefore we vowed not to be shopaholics on toys!

So Michael began with toys mainly from friends and family.  As he grew out of his early toys (rattles, stuffed animals, play gym, etc), Ian and I suddenly looked around the house and thought… “are we depriving Michael and should he have more toys???”  Knowing us, you would have expected nothing less than proper research.  We didn’t get something exactly from the list but came close (second choice for us was item # 2).  But the journey to buy the perfect toy was nevertheless a challenging one.

“ToysRus” was our obvious choice and we raced through the busy streets of Causeway Bay into a busy mall where ToysRus is located.   We didn’t have a “set” toy in mind (very unlike us) and we sort of went with the ”flow.”  However, the flow quickly took us to the typical aisles, namely Lego and Trucks/Cars.  It was almost weird that we wanted to either get blocks, puzzles or trucks/cars for Michael.  It didn’t even enter our mind to consider anything “gender neutral” or “girlie”. 

Needless to say Michael, being the toy deprived 9 month old baby, was just fascinated with his new addition to the toy box.  He couldn’t take his eyes off the truck for the first 20 minutes.  We hope that he’ll get some fun out of it and next time when we shop, we shall ensure that we pass through the “barbie” aisle (Ian says maybe he can have “Ken”)!

Hong Kong is hot but Ian still managed to take Michael to the local park!

Until next time…