September, 2011 At a Glance

We are THRILLED to announce the marriage of some WONDERFUL friends this summer!! Dominic & Mirjam were married in Germany this summer and had a Shanghai BBQ reception on a beautiful rooftop for all of their Shanghai friends to celebrate with them! We can now say that we have been friends with them for years! Sooo excited to rejoice with them on this special day!

I (Nica) threw Mirjam a surprise bridal shower. It had a luau twist, complete with grass skirts (which we hung up as decorations instead!! haha) smoothies, and great music, friends, and laughter! We totally surprised Mirjam. Yay!!

Wes wanted to celebrate his Grandpa Martin's birthday on September 4th, so we did a little photo shoot. Happy Birthday, Grandpa Martin! We love you!!

It was actually a little difficult to get Wes to hold the balloon by himself so ALL of the words could be read, AND see his face, AND have him happy! We sent the best one to Grandpa, but eventually just got some shots without the balloon, too.

Brag moment: Wes can now hold his own bottle!!!! (as long as it's not too heavy)

We have had the delight to meet and spend time with a Eva and Thomas from the Czech Republic! Nica met Eva at "our" mall and have kept in touch. At that time they had been in Shanghai for only 3 days! They're here with Thomas' work for at least 3 years, so it will be fun to watch Wes and Stephan grow up together! Last Sunday Eva & Thomas had us over to their place for a great BBQ at their home! Looooved the deck!

Wes' new friend, Stephan! He's 7 months old, Wes is now 4 months. They are so precious together!

Wes fell asleep on me while we talked after dinner. Such a sweetie...

We then went out for a walk in their neighborhood. It was sooooo beautiful! They don't live close to the downtown area of the city like we do, but it sure is beautiful!

Daddies with their boys

We also continue to find ways to make tummy time more interesting for Wes. He is now 4 months and 2 weeks old! Not rolling over yet, but I keep thinking he will soon! 

Maybe if Mommy gets down on her tummy too, Wes will see how much fun it can be!

Or, haha, we can watch the news together!

I should also make the official announcement that Wes is now the proud owner of two new, sparkling, white, SHARP teeth!!! Yep, that's right. Tuesday September 13th, at 4 months and 4 days old, after crying for 4-5 hours straight (the hours run together after awhile...) they made their appearance! No fever or any other symptoms, just lots of tears. Brave little guy. The hardest part of his first year, I'm sure. (for Wes AND Mommy!) 

At first they could only be felt when my finger hit them at certain angles. Now, however, they are very clearly seen! He loves to stick his tongue out, so here is a clip of him hungry so you can see his teeth. 

We love watching this little boy develop his skills. He is getting strong, and is entertaining himself more and more with toys. It's so fun and SO cute to watch! We will soon get him in a little jumping play station.

He's also getting very chatty, and sometimes gets into very silly moods. Usually when he sees the camera it distracts him and I can't get him giggling again, but this time he didn't even notice me with the camera! haha! The lighting is a little bad, but it gives you an idea of his giggle-moods. hehe

Here we are at Auntie Dee's house playing on their xylophone! Don't know who had more fun...Wes or Mommy! :P

I need to remember to take photos of things we do with Wes all the time that are normal to us, but we'll want to remember about him in the future. So...here he is in the back of a taxi!

Someone recently told me again how different life is with a baby. However, even in the moments of tears, even when we cancel plans because of bad moods, even the getting up in the nights...mommy-hood is such pure joy! Here is our little sweetie playing before bedtime...






So, thanks to all of you for your prayers as I've battled this eye infection! It wasn't as bad as it was all those years ago (when I had the ulcer on the cornea of my eye when I was 16!) but it was similar. So...no more contacts for me. Here is a photo of me with my new glasses AND (of course) my beautiful son, smiling at his father. :) I'm glad to be on the other side of this...my dr gave me a total of 3 weeks of sick leave, telling me not to work on the computer. Augh! It's good to be back. ;)

We are now preparing for Joe's two brothers, Tim & Mike, to come and visit us! So pumped about that! Also, China's national holiday is just around the corner, so we are getting ready to celebrate! Joe has a week off of work next week and we are taking the guys to Xi'an! So, now that my eyes are feeling so much better, I'll be sure to post a little more frequently again.
Love you all!
Nica, Joe, & Wes