Like a pro

These were taken while boarding our flight home from HK earlier in the week. Max has flown a *few times in his short life and pretty much knows the drill now.

First day

Today was Max's first day at kindergarten and he joined Zara on the school bus for the first time. I went along for the ride - to make sure he got to his classroom. I hung around for a couple of hours to help him settle in. His teacher has suggested I do the same thing for the rest of the week.

Breaking news

Zara has a new doll friend who she wants to replace her faithful 5 year old bunny for cuddling in bed! She is serious!

Heading back to Shanghai

At Hong Kong airport - heading back to Shanghai this afternoon.

Disneyland 3

Disneyland 2

Disneyland 1

Travelling

Kids and I are off to Disneyland in Hong Kong for a couple of days - a quick 2 hour flight away. We fly tonight, visit the park Monday, then back to Shanghai Tuesday. This trip heralds the end of school holidays. Both kids will be at school starting next Wednesday.

Shanghai Zoo

We visited the Shanghai Zoo with Aunty Melva and saw pandas, giraffes, tigers, elephants, bears and zebras. Max naturally wanted to climb over and go in to pat the zebra. And he wanted one as a pet.

Show the love

This is a fairly common sight around Shanghai - couples walking hand-in-hand, wearing identical shirts. Young love!
Or maybe special discount on buying 2!

Shopping companions

Food - progress

We are making progress on eating "different" foods. The kids have been comfortable with eating a very narrow range of foods. This makes life somewhat challenging when travelling or eating out. So since returning from Australia, we have redoubled our efforts to try to introduce new foods. A bit of a milestone two nights ago when I was able to cook and serve only one meal - the kids ate the same food as me. Chicken satay sticks, a little bit of rice and some peas and corn. A month ago they would have refused the lot save the plain rice. Less success last night with mashed potato and gravy but we will persist. It's not easy.

Workout kid

Play date

Not far to travel - just upstairs to another apartment in our building.

Unsupervised play

Max had fun with his 'back to school' felt pens - tattooing himself in the few minutes it took me to eat breakfast this morning in another room. Taking him out today I feel like other parents are judging me as a bad father of some sort of out of control delinquent.

Orientation day at school

Shanghai ferries

On Saturday we took a Shanghai ferry across the river. It was a clear sky day and the view was quite spectacular. Max had fun pretending to play ship captain.

Correction

Sorry - just did the calculation again. Cr wash was RMB 25 which is less than $5! Super value!

Car wash Shanghai style

Proper hand washing here. High pressure water spray, soap, chamois and vacuum all for well under $10.

Summer slumber

A daytime sleep - a rare occurrence for Max these days.

School holiday outing

On Wednesday we went to the Shanghai Science and Technology museum with our neighbours Emma, Eleanor and Edmund (not in picture).

Train ride

Today we ventured out in the 35 degree Shanghai summer heat to travel into the city to meet Tanja for lunch. We went by underground train - it is only 3 stops from where we live into Nanjing West Rd. Due to the humidity, the kids spent most of the time at the cafe slouched down in their seats complaining that they were hot and tired. A different story on the train when they were full of energy and pole dancing skills were second to none.

Back in Shanghai

August - and we are back in summery Shanghai after a long visit back in wintery Australia. School holidays are still with us for a couple of weeks - Zara starts late August and Max in early September. This year both will be going to the same school - so a dash to the bus stop in the morning will double the fun! No more cycling down to Hong Mei Lu with Max on the back. For the moment though we are just keeping ourselves busy as far as possible during days of mid 30s temperatures.

Making Lemonade

Today was our first attempt at making lemonade. Lemons, soda water and sugar syrup all in generous quantities. Result: good enough to sell!

There is a first time for everything

Today we spotted a quite respectable looking elderly Chinese couple pushing a pram - but rather than a baby, there was a shaggy brown poodle inside! And even stranger was the shape of the pram at the front that suggested it was made specifically for pushing pooches. I couldn't whip my phone into camera mode quick enough to get a good shot - below is the best I could do!