Adventures By Design

Today we had a photo shoot with a photo studio near our previous apartment called Ivision Photography. We had heard good things about the studio from friends and colleagues, and we liked their style. When we lived near the studio, we had often seen the photographer, Happy, shooting photos on the grounds. He even tried to get Inca to pose with clients a couple of times (Inca was not cooperative… we think it’s because he hadn’t properly compensated her, in bones, for modeling.)

We planned on taking photos of the whole family, and so brought Inca with us. Unfortunately the flashes, noise, and general busyness of the occasion made her nervous. Thankfully, Mark and Lyndal live really close to the studio, so I just ran Inca upstairs for some quality time with Mark.

Within a week we’ll see the proofs, and then we’ll chose which photos we want, and what kind of prints. We’re thinking of getting mostly prints for our apartment. Once we have something to show you, we’ll post them.

Hi everyone! It’s that time of year again when we come to Canada and have a mad month or so of intense visiting. This year we’re planning on going to Ontario to introduce Aria to Gin’s clan. Other than that, we’ll be in Vancouver, Kamloops, and Calgary. Unfortunately, this year we have to be back at school in early August (!?), so it will be a shorter visit than we’d like.

Here are our (tentative) plans for this summer. (You might have to click on the arrows to find the month you want.)

Today we made a trip to Shanghai to get Aria’s six month check-up, including her vaccinations. Aria is definitely a large baby and she continues to be in the upper percentiles for age-to-weight. She’s not fat though when you consider her length (although looking at her, you may feel she is the very essence of fat). Currently, her weight is 9.95 kg ( 22 lbs), and her length: 70 cm ( 27.5 inches). As usual, she cried a little when the needle went in, but stopped in a minute or two. I think Gin and I are more upset by the whole experience, as we have to hold Aria down while the nurses jab her. Fortunately, this will be Aria’s last vaccination for a while, unless we get the immunization for Japanese encephalitis.

So, the most exciting part of the whole trip to Shanghai was our driver’s car battery went flat and I had to help push-start the car down a crowded rush-hour Shanghai street. An entertaining spectacle, to be sure. Thank yous and a extra scoop of positive karma to the random Chinese driver who was recruited into helping us; we appreciated it.

Today we made a trip to Shanghai to get Aria’s six month check-up, including her vaccinations. Aria is definitely a large baby and she continues to be in the upper percentiles for age-to-weight. She’s not fat though when you consider her length (although looking at her, you may feel she is the very essence of fat). Currently, her weight is 9.95 kg ( 22 lbs), and her length: 70 cm ( 27.5 inches). As usual, she cried a little when the needle went in, but stopped in a minute or two. I think Gin and I are more upset by the whole experience, as we have to hold Aria down while the nurses jab her. Fortunately, this will be Aria’s last vaccination for a while, unless we get the immunization for Japanese encephalitis.

So, the most exciting part of the whole trip to Shanghai was our driver’s car battery went flat and I had to help push-start the car down a crowded rush-hour Shanghai street. An entertaining spectacle, to be sure. Thank yous and a extra scoop of positive karma to the random Chinese driver who was recruited into helping us; we appreciated it.

Today we introduced Aria to the joys of the Jolly Jumper. Using a hand-me-down from Deb (who probably got it from someone else… anyone know who?), we clumsily buckled, strapped, Velcroed, shrink-wrapped, and duct taped Aria into the contraption. It took our little trapeze artist a moment to realize that she was able to stand without anyone holding her up, and then she was off! She bounced and giggled and chortled for almost half an hour as Gin made waffles (thanks, Janet). So, we think the Jolly Jumper is a definite hit. Now we just have to figure out how to position it on the balcony so she can watch the world below.

Now that Aria has her first tooth, we knew it was time to start feeding her non-milk foods. Below is Aria trying food for the first time.