Our Crazy Man!

Tyler is feeling much more like himself.

Loves to spin and it is a whole body spin

Some Tylerisms/Updates:

~"Lellow" is the first color he learned (must have been all the Coldplay I listened to while he was developing)

~"Meeno" can either mean DVD, kid's show, or his favorite movie, "Finding Nemo." (Hey, we had a 15 hour flight. Nemo was a lifesaver!!!!)

~Loves to make blowing up sounds...must be a boy

~With a little prompting he can put 3 words together. Favorite phrase: "More please, MOMMY!"

~Lately he has started to tell us he is ready for a nap or bed by crawling up the stairs to put himself to sleep. (Read: Bad parents...don't you know I need to recharge?)

~Loves to paint, color, blow bubbles after taste testing all of the supplies

~"Jigga" was his first Chinese word. It took Peter and I a few weeks to figure out what he was saying. He now knows a few more than we do.

~Kid has no fear and can be found doing sommersaults off the couch arm rests onto the floor below. I have wisely padded the marble as much as possible to cushion his fall.

~New trick yesterday, sneaking up to Truffle, petting him, and then trying to ride him!! Oh my!

Tyler and Daddy took a break from building his police car. Yup, he can climb pretty much anything he would like to. Crazy, little monkey! Thankfully, he has my balance.

A special shout out to Granddaddy. Who knew Tyler liked golf icons? Just need the bridge.

I have a secret.....

"Hi, I am Baby Klug 2.0, Shanghai Edition. Can you guess if I am boy or a girl? I won't tell...well, that is not true. I was very cooperative last week but my Mommy and Daddy want a "surprise." I know! Crazy people! Don't they know, you want to know! See you in a few months."

**We were thrilled to hear and see that all is well with our Shanghai Edition. All of the parts are accounted for and in working order. I am hopeful that this one will not begin to trend large like their big brother. Peter was blown away at the detail they can provide since he was not able to be there at Tyler's big scan. He caught it all on video. If we can figure out how to get it to the US, perhaps you can guess the gender.

Happy Easter!

We had a great, sunny Easter Day in Shanghai. The wind was blowing and about 60 degrees. Enjoyed a nice brunch at Jean Georges with Tyler. Actually, it was too nice.

Ty was really mellow and would not eat much nor drink his OJ. As we found out later in the afternoon, Ty was fighting a fever of 103.4! Since he had not eaten anything in 24 hours and was not racing around like a tornado as usual we decided to ensure that our thermometer was correct and take him to the ER. The DR was very unimpressive, not that we expected them to do anything. Best news of all, the Tylenol drops, that I imported tons of, worked like a charm!! The fever dropped about 3.5 degrees in 2 hours. Nice to know that Tylenol is good for more than just teething pain. Up until now that is about all we have used it for since Ty (Thankfully!) has been unbelievably healthy.

Truffle had his coat trimmed up about a week ago in preparation for his return to the US (do I hear applause 7,000 miles away?). The groomer took off about 4 inches all around leaving him with 3 inches or so. He loves his new 'do, feels like a younger version of himself. I LOVE the softness of his coat. Cannot pet the guy enough, which he soaks up like a champ.

Missing you all! Don't miss the snow though :)

Winter Wonderland --In China!

Winter has definitely hit Shanghai. Last week we had snow all weekend and it is starting again today and will continue all of this weekend. Granted we are only talking a few inches (nothing like WI has had) yet people here have not had this much snow in 50+ years.

On a happy note, we have enjoyed playing in the snow. Having not expected snow here, poor Ty gets to wear a mix of anything we can find to keep him dry and warm. He loves it which bodes well for all the snow back home! Here are some pics from our snowy neighborhood. I did not capture it at the height of the accumulation but maybe I will get more of a chance this weekend.

You may have seen the pictures on the news of 500,000+ people stranded at one train station while trying to make it home for Chinese New Year on Feb. 6-8. For China's massive migrant population this is the one time of the year parents see their child or families. It is heartbreaking to see their hopes dashed by the weather. The country is really taking a huge blow with the transportation systems being shut down. People are stranded on the highways and in train & bus stations, food supply lines are cut and prices are skyrocketing, crops are frozen, and many people who live in shacks are freezing cold. International companies are unable to get supplies in and their products out so the rest of the world will soon feel the affects of the storms with delayed shipments and higher prices.

Some of the train lines are up and running again but the mass of people are facing stampedes for the buses and trains to get out. Shovels are hard to come by so workers are sweeping the streets and bikes are pushing flat blades to try to move the snow. When you figure in the fact that people here rarely see snow, much less drive in it, and add in the number of cars on the roads in Shanghai it is almost impossible to go places during the snow. In fact, Tyler and I were home bound for most of the week out concern of getting into an accident. The concerns were validated when I read the paper on Wednesday. On a four lane "highway" a mile or so away from our house, 2 men were killed when the company bus they were riding on flipped over. Twenty more were injured.

Our dear friend and driver's wife was stranded with their son at the airport for over 24 hours. Much of the time was spent in the plane. Yikes! They made it to their destination but are heading back Saturday when it is supposed to snow.

Luckily, one of Peter's coworkers made it back to WI so we now know they have the capability to de-ice planes at Pudong airport. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather here and in Chicago next Tuesday will enable us to return home for a quick visit!

The snow certainly reminds us of home, yet it is bittersweet in China.

See many of you soon!

Christmas In Shanghai

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas!

We were very fortunate to have my mother staying with us over the holidays. We started our day with some presents around our small tree. Peter made Poffertjes (Dutch quarter-sized pancakes), YUM! Late in the afternoon our Dutch friends Reink and Susan along with their daughter, Rosalie, and Reink's parents joined us for Christmas Dinner. Ahh the TURKEY!!!!!!!! Delicious! We were taking no chances on missing out on mashed potatoes again so we made garlic mashers and butter ones for the little people. Great food, friends, and family made the day extra special.

Even though we are far away from many of you that we love, you were thought of often today, and every day. We wish you a very merry Christmas and hope that you have the chance to enjoy the time with family and friends. We miss you!

With love,

Peter, Heather, Tyler & Truffle

PS. We head off to Tokyo tomorrow for a great visit with my Mom's AFS Exhange Student from high school, Keiko and Peter's IMD classmate, Satoshi. We will update the blog with more pictures on New Years.

Playoff Bound!!

What a game! We were lucky enough to watch Sunday's game against the Raiders where the Packers secured a Playoff spot. Peter's parents are nearing the end of their trip so it was great to celebrate a win after last weeks loss. We were all decked out in our Green and Gold finery Peter insists that wearing our support helps.

Here are a few shots of Ty in some of his Packer gear.

Ty's Grammy and Granddaddy brought 2 suitcases full of treats for us...thank you! Ty was quick to find the Packer Santa hat for his Daddy.

One of my favorite "rituals" during the game is grooming Truffle. Clearly, I need to find a new hiding spot for the brushes as Tyler brushing Truffle would not be a good thing.

Happy Thanksgiving

This is the second Thanksgiving in a row that we have been outside the US. While we miss our family tremendously, we have enjoyed experiencing Thanksgiving with our new family and friends. One of our favorite memories from the craziness that was IMD last year was the wonderful Thanksgiving we shared with our American IMD family.

This year, Peter worked again while I had my Dutch friend Susan and her daughter Rosalie over during the day. At night, we had the good fortune to share dinner with our good friends Grace (from MI) and her husband Jean Pierre (French). Times such as holidays make one miss ones' family and greatly appreciate the relationships and friendships you have be fortunate enough to establish. Ty was in a crazy active mood tonight so I did not get a picture of the 5 of us, however taking a note from Peter's Mom, I was smart enough to capture our family dressed (yes, I wore a dress) for Thanksgiving.

We miss you all and hope you have a wonderful and enriching holiday season. Enjoy each other's company ---and the fantastic food. We are thinking of you all! A special shout out to Heidi & Ken, hope you found some turkey! Wish we were sharing Heidi's great Southern cooking with you again this year!! Ty is sharing some hugs...

~Hugs and kisses from Shanghai,

Peter, Heather, Tyler & Truffle