Our Turtle Dove!

Austin had a Christmas performance at Dulwich.  He was a Turtle Dove.  We were very impressed by the performance.  The costumes were great and the kids learned 12 different songs!  Very impressive!  They did a wonderful job.

Here is our Turtle Dove dancing during the performance.  He learned all the moves!  Good Job Austin!

These are two pictures we took at the end of the performance.  He was so proud of himself.  It is always so much fun to see your kids work hard and feel accomplished at the end of the day!  I have a feeling he will be singing the songs he learned for the performance well into 2009!

We Love Gingerbread Houses!

This is Austin with his friend Sid.  Sid is from Ireland and Austin finds Ireland a very fascinating country.  Hey you can't blame him it is a country  filled with Leprechauns.

This is Austin with his buddy Liam.  As you can tell they share the same hair cut!  Thanks for the inspiration Kathleen!

Last but not least Austin with his classmate Will.  They were just as excited to eat the house as they were to build it!  The boys were so kind to let our precious ballerina join them!  She loves hanging out with her brother (especially when he has friend over) funny how that works!

We have a special rule in our home. When we make a Gingerbread house we get to eat it right away.  This is mutually beneficial.  The kids love to eat them and I don't have to stare at stale gingerbread for weeks on end!  So...not only did we get our Gingerbread house fix for the year we also got our sugar fix!!! 

Thanksgiving at The Eggett Home!

There are two things aside from my family and friends that I love..... food and parties.  You can only imagine how my wheels start turning when the holiday season rolls around.  I love finding new fun ways to decorate.  I guess it is my way of showing the people I care about how much I value them.

This is the table right before we sat down to eat.  Minutes later it was in shambles but it was totally worth it.

Mom with "her boys."  Aren't they handsome.  I am a lucky women!

Here are a few closer looks at the table.  I used pears  for the place cards.  I cut out leafs and used gold pen to write everyone's name.

I had to blog about our friends, Andre and Jennifer.  They are not American and this was their first Thanksgiving ever!  It was so great to celebrate such a fun holiday with them. 

 

Just another picture so I guess I will take a minute to say how grateful we are to have such wonderful friends that serve as our family away from home!  They have really become such a huge part of why we love Shanghai.  To our family reading this......you are irreplaceable this is why in ten days I will be traveling alone with three children half way across the world!!! :)

This is a picture of the gift I assembled  to give to the guests at the end of the evening.  Just something fun and yummy to take home in the event they didn't get full during dinner! :)

So I guess after all that hard work there is only one thing left to do........go eat a turkey sandwich......nothing better!!!

United Nation's Day at Dulwich!

Every year Austin's school has UN day.  They spend the whole day celebrating all of the countries around the world.  They are asked to dress up in outfits that represent their home country.  This of course led to a very interesting conversation with Austin.  He has a difficult time understanding he is an American not a Singaporean (Austin was born in Singapore).  Sorry Dad,  you know I am a total patriot!  I will work harder!!!  However, you can't blame the poor boy as he has never lived in America let alone spent more than three weeks at any given time there!  So anyway............as you can see he was a cowboy!!!

This is a picture of Austin outside of his classroom.  His classroom represented Ireland as that is where his teacher is from.  One guess who his teacher is!!! :)

This is a picture of his whole class after the big parade outside of the school.  All of the kids march in a parade wearing all of their outfits.  It was so much fun to enjoy all of the different costumes the children wore to represent their home countries!

This is Austin in the parade giving me a quick wave.  I love my cowboy and I am so grateful for the amazing opportunities he has living abroad to truly appreciate the diversity around him.  

Rice Cereal Anyone?

 Peyton has been starving half to death so.... in an effort to help her bulk up and stop waking up 3 times a night,  yes that's what I said 3 times a night, we did the only thing we knew to do....Give her food!  Apparently milk was not cutting it for her!  This was her reaction to the first taste of real food!  It took a while but now she has the hang of it and she is happy to eat four servings per meal!  That a girl!!!!

It's Broken!

 

So as you can tell by the pictures the Eggett family has experience their first broken bone!  It came as no surprise that this happened to Brooklynn!  She was playing tag with Austin and fell on her shoulder.  She broke her clavicle!  She is a tank, she hardly cried!  She also insisted that her "Bear" wear a brace just like hers! 

She was very sad she was not going to be able to do ballet anymore so her ballet teacher made a house call!  She brought Brooklynn a blue ballerina dress that she had been wanting for weeks! She was elated!  And at the end of the day, shoulder broken or not, she is still our beautiful smiling ballerina!

I Googled It!

So what do you do when your husband is out of town and your son has to wear his formal uniform? PANIC!  I had know idea how to tie a tie!  So anyone who knows me well knows exactly what I did..... what any sensible women would.  I "GOOGLED" it.  I am quite proud of my accomplishment (although I am totally willing to acknowledge it is not exactly brain surgery!).  I also couldn't resist posting this picture because I think Austin looks so dang cute!!!

Food for thought...........What did people do before Google???

Warning! It's a little mushy!

So this weekend Bryant and I celebrated our 7th anniversary!  Time has flown by so quickly.  Life has taken us half way across the world and we have been blessed with 3 wonderful children!  I feel completely fortunate to have snagged Bryant when I did!  We are so different but he is my PERFECT match!  He is so patient with me, he understands me and he makes me a better person!  He is the greatest Dad in the whole world!  Our children adore him!  What more could I ask for out of life!  Not much!  With that said I feel like the luckiest women in the world! So to Bryant (who doesn't really even read our blog)....Thanks for being that prince charming that every little girl dreams of! I Love You!

Happy Halloween!

Peyton's first Halloween!  She was the cutest bumblebee in town if you ask me!  She was on her best behavior all night!  She didn't try to take off her headband once!  Good girl!  She was a complete hit in the neighborhood as well!  There are strangers everywhere with a picture of Peyton in their cell phone!

The "girls" heading out for our night of fun!

Have you ever seen such a cute "Ballerina Witch"?  Brooklynn insisted on being a ballerina for Halloween this year!  For those of you that know Brooklynn you are aware of the fact that Brooklynn wears her ballerina outfit EVERYDAY..........but Brooklynn does what Brooklynn wants so a ballerina she was.  She did however decide about 5 seconds before walking out the door that she would be a "ballerina witch" so.........we went with it!  We love our Brooklynn! 

 

We had a few friends over so here we are trying to gather the troops before we headed out to get our "American candy"!  I will admit it...I stoled from my children Halloween night! I just couldn't resist the Mound bars, and Peanut Butter Cups! They are hot commodities in China! And remember Kathleen.....5 year olds don't need Peanut Butter Cups!  

Dad took a quick picture before leaving the house!  He would have been in the picture but he refused to dress up so our "Power Ranger" gave him the boot!!!  J/K

Brooklynn and her handsome pengyou, Ethan!  This picture was taken at their Chinese school Halloween party!!!!  I don't know who had more fun at the party the kids or the parents!  Nothing like celebrating an American holiday with your Chinese friends.......comic relief is a given!

Overall, Halloween was a success!  It is always a good excuse to eat too many calories, stay up late, and party with your friends!  Can't wait until next year!

Never Visit Pet Shops for Fun!

This is what happens when you visit a pet shop for fun!  You end up with a three month old Yorkie that weighs 1.5 lbs, name him Oliver and try to convince your 6 year old Yorkie (other wise known as George) that you still love him just the same!!!  How could you resist that face!!!!

 Whenever I look at him he looks back at me with that little tongue sticking out!  He is so adorable and the kids can't seem to get enough of him!  We really could not resist the urge to get him. Once George gets over the initial shock of a new dog in the house I am confident he will love the constant playmate!

 

It is important that I mention that Austin payed for Oliver with his own money!  He gets money for feeding George every morning and he used that money to buy Oliver!  He took his wallet to the store and gave the money to "the man"  He was so proud!  I am not quite sure that the Chinese man behind the counter completely got what was going on but it was a fun moment for Bryant and I.  We are constantly amazed at how quickly Austin is growing up.

Did I mention never visit Pet Shops for fun!!!!

Channeling Our Energy!

Go Austin Go!  Here is Austin about to score a goal at his soccer game!  He has made so much progress this year! Last year he wasn't so convinced soccer was for him.  Somewhere between then and now his competitive spirit has erupted!  His father is thrilled!!! 

This is Brooklynn in her gymnastics leotard.  She loves flipping around and we are so excited about the fact that she now has a mat under her (at least for one hour a week)!  The rest of the week we just cross our fingers and hope for the best!  

Our Sweet Little Peyton!

With all of the fun adventures our family seems to embark on it is very easy for little miss Peyton to be overlooked as far as blogging is concerned.  So this Post is all about our little bundle of joy.  Peyton, other wise know as "worm"  is growing very quickly!  She has begun to talk and loves nothing more than to carry on a conversation.  She love's attention and is a lot like her father that way! (wink wink!) She is finally beginning to accept the fact that the world will not come to an end if she is on her belly for a few minutes.  She still love's her swing and I am beginning to think I should just give away the crib!  Peyton and I hang out all of the time!  I drag her all over Shanghai and she always seems to be on her best behavior when we are out! She is a real trooper!  I have enjoyed the privilege of watching her develop.  I could spend hours watching her discover her hands and feet!  Austin and Brooklynn love their little sister.  They come into our room every morning asking where she is!  She is an amazing little girl and we feel so lucky to have her as part of our family!

Austin's First Day of School!

With five minutes to spare we managed to get a few pictures in before Austin headed off to his first day of school.  He will be attending Dulwich College Shanghai.  It is a British school so as far as they are concerned he is starting "Year 1." This is his casual uniform with the mandatory school backpack that is almost as big as he is!  He doesn't seem to mind, it must be because the cool watch he is wearing! :)  They grow up way to fast!  Since when did my child need a watch??

 

So Austin's first day of school was a complete success!  Let's just hope we can say the same for the rest of the year!  

Clean Air!

This is Bryant on a business trip to Switzerland.  Let's just say you know you live in China when the first thing you notice in a picture is the blue sky!  I can only imagine how clean that air was! Too bad he couldn't bring some of that back with him!  

Bryant and Elizabeth's "Hot" Date!

So last Saturday night Bryant and I put the kids to bed and headed out for a "hot"date!  I say hot because I had a fever of 102 when we left for our date!  I couldn't resist going because Bryant had purchased us great tickets to go to the Argentina/Netherlands Olympic soccer game!  I couldn't miss the chance to go to the Olympics!  This is a picture of us outside of the stadium.  It was such a fun night! 

 

Here we are inside the stadium!  It was a totally great game.  It had been a while since we had been out alone together so I will consider myself spoiled!  A night with my husband at the Olympics,  fever or no fever, now that's something worth blogging about!  Thanks Honey!

The Boys @ the Beijing Olympics!

Here is a picture of Bryant and Austin with their Olympic tickets and U.S. flag with the stadium in the background.  They were on their way to see the U.S. Mens Polo team play!

They made it inside the stadium and Austin was thrilled to catch a glimpse of the Beijing Olympic Mascotts.  Austin and Brooklynn love these little creatures, who knows why but I am glad he got to see them!

Here is a picture of team USA before the game began.

Go Team Go!

Austin and Bryant watching the game.  Apparently they got great seats!  Love the flag, Austin! GO TEAM USA!!!  Needless to say they won that game and as it turn out THEY WON THE GOLD!  Austin may or may not remember this trip but what an amazing opportunity for Austin and his Dad!

A "Healthy" dose of Reality!

So two nights ago I received a phone call.  This phone call was that phone call that gave me "my healthy dose" of reality.  It is the dose of reality that makes you freeze.  It makes your head spin, your heart hurt, and your limbs numb all at the same time.  It is the kind that makes you go into your children's rooms and hold them, the dose that makes you never want to let them go.  The kind that makes you wonder if you spent that very day the best you could.  The kind that makes you tell your husband you love him and makes you wonder if you tell him enough.  The kind that makes you want "your mom."  that was the kind of night I had two nights ago.  So how can you have a night like that and it not change you forever.  Well, I don't think you can. 

  So I had to blog about how lucky I am, how lucky my family is! I have three amazing children.  They bring a smile to my face everyday!  They bring me the greatest joy I think I will know on this earth!  They love me unconditionally!  I am far from perfect but they don't seem to mind.  They are active and healthy.  They love to play, are willing to learn and rarely eat their vegetables!   So you see they seem like very normal children but they are not.......not to their Mom!  To me they are my world!  I need them and they need me!  

Bryant and I, we  are a perfect match! We are completely opposite in so many ways but we seem to compliment each other.  He is patient and calm, I am not patient and frantic and any given moment.  He likes to think things through, I am impulsive (although as time goes on these roles are reversing)  He is completely practical, I am not. He is quiet, I am not. I am always right, he is not!  Ha Ha just kidding!  He balances me, he makes me a better person and he would do anything for me.  He is also the greatest Dad in the whole world.  The kind that walks in the door from work swings the kids around and doesn't stop helping until their little heads hit their pillows. The kind that takes the kids on bike rides when they ask the first time.  The kind of Dad the prunes up from being in the pool hours on end. The kind of Dad that leaves the kids wondering "how many more minutes until Daddy comes home." I adore him and have learned from this healthy dose of reality that I don't ever want to be anywhere but by his side!

 This Healthy dose of reality has taught me to cherish every moment.  To appreciate every day and to do and say all the things I would if it were my last but to do and say them everyday! So to my wonderful family... I love you literally more than life it's self!  It is with these thoughts that I again become truly grateful for the knowledge that families are forever!

 

Austin is 5!

Austin was so excited to FINALLY be celebrating his birthday.  I say finally because we have only been counting down since umm....last August 14th.  Imagine the concern when you tell a four year old he only has to wait 364 days until he turns 5!!!  But we finally made it!!!

We may not have family here in China to celebrate our birthdays with but we have the next best thing, incredible friends!  My hope is that our children will be able to remember some of their wonderful friends and some of the amazing experiences they have had with them. 

This is what two three year olds look like when cake and ice cream are placed in front of them with no begging, screaming or tantrum necessary!  You can almost read Ethan's mind!  Try getting there attention now! Man did they score big!!............  If only life stayed that simple!

After cake and ice cream the kids decided it would be a good idea to open presents! Austin had been asking to open them all day but in the end patiently waited until dad arrived and the party ended!  Overall, I think he was very happy so we will go ahead a check birthday number 5 off as a success.  How many more days until he turns 6?