Life in the Boonies

Frank is almost 2 and here are some words he is saying now.

glock for clock
mama
dadi
nani for me
diandup for cleanup
owl
no which used to be nuueew
lakalaka for tennis balls/racquet
gone gone
birday for birthday
dat for nut
eiay for yogurt
mooneey for mercy me
bebe for baby
mooning for morning
byebye
moon (espeically for moon shaped cookies)
cooookie with his mouth all pukered up sounding out coooo
more
poople for purple
bluue
yumyum
minimini for many when asked how many people were there 1/19
uhoh
jeez for cheese (said first time on 1/20 taco dinner night)
dirty
scone (for breakfast on 1/27)

Another month zipped by featuring Frank’s new love for Dr. Seuss. It all started with The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. Frank would use the hat sign and we have to read that story again. Mom soon got the first page memorized and as we say “he only had one hat” Frank would hold out one finger. He eagerly flip through the pages and we rarely got to read it from start to finish. He likes the trumpets and horses that announces the arrival of the king and makes loud noises on that page. For awhile when we get to the executioner page, Frank makes gorilla noises. The picture does look like it.

Then he discovered Horton Hatches the Egg and that he would let mom read word for word from beginning to end. We read that over and over until daddy showed him Yertle the Turtle. That rhymed so nicely even mom liked to read it until we were reading it over and over and over. And Gertrude McFuzz gets read mostly just the first page as Frank indicates the sad face for Gertrude who has only 1 tail and happy for Lolla-Lee-Lou with 2.  We tried showing him How the Grinch Stole Christmas but he won’t let it go pass the first few pages. Oh well. Set in his ways. Oh now our favorite is The Lorax. Both mom and dad has now read that so many times we have Bar-ba-loots, Truffula Fruits, Gluppity-Glupp and Schloppity-Schlopp stuck in our heads throughout the day and into the nights.

Some other new favorites include Bats at the Beach and Animal Snackers. Since our Carmel trip, Frank still uses the sign for peach to indicate beach. That is what he does to demand Bats at the Beach. Dad now also talks in rhyms and mom is going batty.

He is very focused on saying words. He looks at our lips and tries really hard to make the sound. He says something that sounds like “Moon nie” as Mercy Me! We say that lots here. And somehow tennis rachet/ball is “la-ka la-ka”. Whenever we put toys away, Frank sings kean-da kean da (as in clean up clean up). He also says bibi for baby. Yesterday we forced him to say yogurt instead of pointing at the fridge whenever he wanted a Gogurt and he said e-ah. Say gurt, Frank says guo, say yogurt, Frank says e-ah. He also says moon.
Bathtime is now with mom in the big tub and Frank loves it. He requests it by stretching his arms out far apart indicating big. Small is pinching the thumb and forefinger together. Somehow he took megablocks with him one time and had the best time filling it with water and dumping it. Now he has some small cups too to pour from one to the other and then on mom. He loves the water and holds himself up with just arms and the rest of his body floating and he kicks his legs making big splashes. He keeps his head up but now dad taught him to blow bubbles into the water. When he swallows some or gets some in his nose then he needs to wipe his face on mommy’s towel before starting again. We are definitely looking at swimming this summer.

More water fun includes learning how to press down on the water hose in the backyard. Now if we turn it on he will water the lemon tree along with the side wall to the house. He also got dad from behind once. He also likes to help wash dishes in the sink.

As for counting, Frank does 1, 2 (1 finger on each hand), 5 (whole palm), and 10 (both palms open). So how many more do you want Frank? 1 more book. 2 more cookies. 5 more raisins. 10 more jumps.

It takes months and months of consistent parenting to get a child into a routine. It takes only one cookie, one Christmas morning to erase all that. The day after Christmas Frank woke up expecting the same treatment. Cookies and presents! First he noted the presents are gone. As he is starting to say the word gone, he also waves his hand to sign all gone. Well, mom explains they are not gone, we just opened them all and that all his new toys are the presents. No more prettily wrapped boxes to sort and stack and then knock down though. Further demand of cookies gets delayed as we drop dad off at the Bart station. No daddy to play with today. That’s ok, just give me a cookie. As we sat in front of the still beautiful Christmas tree, mom explains we only get cookie on the morning of Christmas day. Frank promptly went to the other room, carried his elmo chair over and sat nicely in front of the tree. Now it is just like Christmas morning mom, hand over the cookie. Cute but no cookie, until after lunch. Frank prefers the gingerbread cookies over the sugar cookies. He is not fond of the Springerles but will eat it if nothing else if offered. He likes the tree shaped ones so gingerbread trees were all gone first.

Sometime while looking at our tree, Frank has linked the gingerbread man ornaments to the cookies we ate. Now everytime he sees them, he points and makes the cookie sign. Then he indicates the need to eat some. Well, here we go again; no cookies til after lunch. Thank goodness for gogurts. Those he still like and they are a acceptable substitute for cookies in the morning.

Now it is starting to really feel like Christmas because we have gotten our tree, decorated it, and placed various presents under it. This is Frank’s first Christmas here in Pittsburg and he is certainly getting into the holiday season. He knows all about xmas trees as they were on display at stores before Halloween this year. So we have been talking about it for awhile and he was excited as we drove to several lots and finally picking our tree to take home. Then when Frank took his nap, we put up all the ornaments.

Frank is very gentle (most of the time) with the ornaments. He has found two crabs, 1 bird, 2 cats, 1 sheep, a train, a camel, several bells and a beautifully beaded ball so far. He loves to point at the blue light at the back of the tree and just giggle. We don’t know why since there are several other blue lights all over the tree. That must be his favorite. He knows the lights can be hot and not to touch and if he pulls on stuff the tree will fall on his head. He tells us this with his many hand gestures.

From the extra branches, I made a wreath and after some research on the internet, I got it to hang on the door using a hinge and string with no nails or holes of any sort. Yes, I’m rather proud of this accomplishment Still some branches left and Frank has found them extremely enjoyable for sweeping the leaves from the grass area back onto the driveway. But when some of the sap got on his hands and became very sticky, he was quite distressed and dad had to take him inside to wash it off.

A month has zoomed by and we have been very busy. Several quick updates before another month passes by.

Frank started saying “nani” while pointing to himself. After a few weeks of that he now says”nana” when referring to himself. How did Frank get translated to that, no one knows. He is making lots of animal sounds and likes mom to sing the Old MacDonald Had a Farm… song. He says EIEI to indicate the song request. Sometimes at bedtime he requests Wheel on the bus song and the baby on the bus goes nighty nite instead of up and down and the mommies and daddies on the bus says I love you.

After reading a book at Great Grandma’s with quiet as a clam and loud as a lion, Frank likes to imitate that. He puts his finger on his mouth for quiet and then roars like the lion; followed by his usual DA sound for truck meaning I guess also as loud as the truck. Dad was able to read one of the picture books in Chinese with Frank. He asked Frank where is ___ in Chinese for every picture and Frank knew them all except for chocolate. Both dad didn’t know the Chinese and Frank was never told or interested in that picture.

Frank continues to love jumping. Now he jumps on the beds cuz mom slacked off while her nesting instincts kicked in for the baby and had to sort all kinds of baby stuff. We are now trying to limit him to only jump in his own bed.

We are talking about the baby lots. Frank often does the sign for baby when seeing them in stores or in mom’s magazines. He knows baby is inside mommy as he sometimes “shares” his cheerios with baby. Of course he then proceeds to eat it after offering to the belly.

His memory is surprisingly good. Yesterday dad went to the dentist so he drove the green car instead of taking the Bart. All day Frank asked where the green car was and mom told him all about the dentist. Frank learned that you open your mouth wide at the dentist. He is interested in this so maybe soon he will go for a visit. Still missing those last 4 molars. Anyways, today we woke up late and didn’t drive daddy to the Bart station. All day Frank asked if daddy went to the dentist with the green car again.

We are now starting to learn the signs for gray and brown. Frank finally started to sign blue and green correctly. His sign for yellow looks sometimes like blue and sometimes like green. That reminds me during a terrible tantrum while in the bath (mom turned off the water before Frank was done playing) he was screaming bloody murder. Mom proceeded to finish the rinsing part and Frank signed play while continuing in screaming. Mom was amazed at his communicating that.

Frank knows about knives and cutting. When mom says cut or chop, at first he would do the cutting motion on the table with his fist. After 2 days of correcting him, he is starting to open up his palm so it looks more like a knife cutting.

One time we cut out a heart shape in red playdoh and mom told Frank to give it to daddy.  Now we always want to send hearts (love) to daddy on skype when we get a computer turn.  And we make hearts for both daddy and mommy cuz Frank loves.  Frank is still attached to bunny but he will often hug other animals like bear and baby Tad and gorilla to indicate he loves them.

Frank has no trouble putting the wooden puzzles together now.  With the mix and match ones, he even does them correctly matching the colors of the car.  The only tricky one is there are two white cars one with a star and one with a cross.  Mom showed him once and he hasn’t done it wrong yet.

Frank loves his books.  Especially if he finds something in a book that he can relate to.  Parsley is a new favorite as there is a man with an ax chopping down a tree.  Frank thinks that is daddy as he saw Nat chop wood for the fireplace.  Another picture in there is a daddy making wooden toys with the wood for his child; and a baby in a cradle.

We have learned to roll the ball!  Yippie!  Frank will sit with mom and we roll balls back and forth.  Sometimes he picks it up and lifts it over his head with a look on his face basically testing/asking mom if that is allowed.  When mom says no throwing then we continue to roll the ball.  He is constantly doing stuff to see mom’s reaction.  You can tell when he is looking at you and frozen in the pose waiting for approval or denial of his intended actions, especially when he already knows it is now allowed.

Some confusion with words.  We brought persimmons at the farmer’s market and mom said these are “shizi” in Chinese.  Frank made the lion roaring sound.  It took mom a few seconds to realize the Chinese for lion is one tone off.  We talk about the bathroom and asks Frank if and when he has made a poop.  So the Chinese for releasing gas is Pee which sounds like urinating in English.  So Frank learned the Chinese one first and he often blow air out of his mouth and points to his butt when he hears that word.  Now when we tell him we are going to the bathroom he does that automatically.  We are far from starting potty training.  He gets very mad when we forget to let him flush though.

Time is flying right by and Frank is now 21 months. His new interests include jumping, the digger doing construction down the street, and unloading the dishwasher.

The jumping started at first only when we do the shake your sillies out song which ends with jump your jiggles out. Now Frank jumps from the bottom step of the staircase down. He has falling landings but that seems funny to him. He also stands on the Elmo chair and jumps off. Jumping on flat ground is also fun but not nearly as fun as standing on his train ride-on and jumping/stepping off. Last weekend we went to the farmer’s market again and Frank wouldn’t come out of the jump house. All the kids in there were much older but Frank held his own. Frank has found a new way to go down the stairs. He sits and slides his butt slowly and plop he lands on the next step. Kind of like going down the slide but on stairs. He does it rather cautiously and has not yet fallen but mom is only slightly nervous watching this and keeps saying be careful in hopes that will be enough.

Frank is pretty much obsessed with the digger down the road. Halloween night he walked down the street not to trick-o-treat but to go look at the digger. Well we didn’t take him then but he got his way eventually. Mom took him out to get the mail. He really wanted to walk down the corner. So we did in hopes that he will be tired like last time and head back home to get the stroller. We pressed the button and crossed the street and Frank pretty much ran on the sidewalk as mom followed in fast pace with the day’s mail in hand, stopping occasionally for a baobao(hug). Mom insisted there will be no carrying and if he can’t walk we will go home. Frank then continued on, running, stopping, baobao, repeat. The construction caution sign was still flashing but all the machines were parked and the workers gone home. Frank made it all the way there, almost to Safeway. Then we stood there admiring the digger. It was huge and dirty. Next to it was a grinder/driller like machine that loosens all the dirt for the digger. That was also impressive and we made some drilling noises to explain what that was. Mom’s concern was how to get back home. Last time we were in a stroller and Frank screamed with discontent as we left the digger behind. Mom was not about to carry a screaming child all the way home. So we looked some more and we said bye bye to the digger and grinder. We walked a few steps and looked back. Said bye bye again. We have to get home to get the car to pick up daddy, mom said over and over again. Oh look there is a bus. We talked the entire way finding new interesting things to keep Frank on the path home. It took twice as long in time and who knows how much more energy and creativity to finally get him home. But it worked and we didn’t have a melt down. Frank was really tired too. As we got home he laid down on the carpet and rested.

Whenever we open the dishwasher, Frank wants to help. So mom let him let unload it once. He helped put all the forks and butter knives and spoons away. Next time mom showed him where some of the other stuff (measuring spoon, spatula, tuperware, etc) and he did a fabulous job. Now he wants to do this all the time but he understands when we say it is dirty now and you can help put it away when it is clean.

Some of the daily activities we do together are mega-blocks, playdoh, drawing, spinning around in circles, and reading. He is starting to spin counterclockwise but prefers clockwise. Of course we always look for diggers in our Richard Scarry books. Frank has been saying owl and this morning he repeated after us in saying towel. Sheep is bahbah. In addition to red, green, blue, yellow, and orange, Frank is now learning white and black in signs. Frank now lets mom hold his hand to show him how to do a sign. He still does it wrong but at least he is now more receptive. The one frustration with the signing is when mom is driving the car. Frank is so used to communicating with mom his needs that when mom can’t see the sign while driving, Frank breaks down in his frustration. We hope after a few more times he will understand that when mom is driving, she can’t see his signs and we have fewer melt downs in the car. We are starting to use something similar to a time-out. There is no time limit, but rather we say when you are done screaming or when you are ready to be nice, come out of your room. When he starts to scream and we say you can go scream in your room, sometimes he stops. One time Frank was starting to act up and mom said go to your room. When he left, mom wasn’t sure what happened. When she looked he did go to his room and closed the door half way too. He came out shortly after and we had hugs and kisses and talked about what happened.

Frank must still remember Uncle Al because when we picked him up at the airport Friday, Frank gave him a hug. Not much of a nap today but Frank played nicely with Uncle Al until bedtime. Sat morning we went off to the farmer’s market and for the first time, Frank went into the blown up bounce house and played in there. He followed a bunch of older kids to climb up to the top and then slid down the slide on his tummy. Then he wanted more and more so we watched him and took pictures. He was fast! Later at home Frank showed Uncle Al his tricycle and sandbox and got Uncle Al to throw the basketball way up high.

Sunday morning we all headed to church. Frank was less enthusiastic once Uncle Al mention the word church for the first time. He still lasted throw the whole service but it is obvious that he knows where church is and what happens to him when we get there. A nice treat to a balloon at Trader Joe’s afterwards. Frank is signing the basic colors and indicated he wanted a blue one this time. Luckily, they had blue this time. Before nap, Uncle Al built Frank the coolest train tracks and they choo choo-ed the trains around it.

The weekend has passed and we still don’t have pumpkins. First thing Monday morning, we all (except for dad who had to work) drove out to Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm. Several groups of school children gathering for the tours. Otherwise, it was not at all crowded. We followed the tours and Frank even went through the hay tunnel. It was a short one and mom led the way with her camera flash so we didn’t get too scared. Later we had a jolly good time watching the pigs fight for food in their cage. Uncle Al lifted Frank up high and they watched and laughed together. Then we went through the hay tunnel again. Fun! At last we wandered the pumpkin patches each looking for our very own to take home. Frank wanted to take all the ones he can pick up home. Just one mom insisted. Uncle Al picked the biggest one he can find. We put it all in a wagon and pushed it to our car. Frank really really wanted to push the wagon so Uncle Al let him help after we emptied the load. Frank is becoming very independent these days. He wants to do everything himself. And he indicates this by pointing to himself. He does it with his elbow sticking way out and finger pointing to his chest. Sometimes he would throw a fit if we didn’t let him or we finished the task already. At first it was just pushing the button on the garage door. Now he needs to open the car door on his own, turn the lights on and off in his room, brush his own teeth, unload the dishwasher, peel his own banana and oranges, and even climb up the stepping stool that mom uses for the high shelves. He has a new obsession with raisins so when mom told him he can’t reach the cupboard, he pointed to the ladder. He still couldn’t reach it but it sure made mom giggle.

Tuesday is Uncle Al’s Birthday. That morning we told Frank to say happy birthday to Uncle Al and he said “berdai”. We practiced all day and he consistently repeats that. At one point we sang and he was singing too. Then after tasting some chocolate zucchini birthday cake daddy made, he now points to the leftover cake and says “berdai”. Also when seeing the birthday cake in his Richard Scarry book, he says it as well. I guess next year he’ll need a cake =) Then it was presents time and Frank ran around and jumped on Uncle Al and threw his present (the one shaped like a ball) around. Good thing it was not fragile. Frank sat on Uncle Al’s lap and they opened presents together and said “berdai” whenever prompted to. Frank loved grabbing the wrapping paper and throwing that around. He was so wired he had 3 accidentally head bumps that needed mommy baobaos(hugs). During nap, mom and Uncle Al carved their pumpkins. Then daddy did his after Frank went to bed. What a busy day.

Another day of celebration. Daddy came home early to prepare for the trick-o-treaters. Our pumpkins got lit, the candy bucket filled and costumes on. Frank dressed up as a cow and Uncle Al wore a weird wig and a Goofy hat. When we asked Frank what Uncle Al was, he did the sign for dog. Heehee. We assembled and ate tacos as the doorbell rang from 6:45 to almost 9. Uncle Al was on duty to not just hand out candy but also keep track of how many visitors came. A record 104 this year. We all took turns taking Frank outside as he really really wanted to go out. But not to get treats from the neighbors as we found out shortly. He wanted to hike down the street, press the button to cross the street and then go visit the big digger and bulldozers that are parked in the construction zone. We took him down the street and back a few times and Dad took him to the neighbor’s house too. He got a Reese’s peanut butter cup. He stuff it in his face and found another one just like it in our candy bucket. Ate that as well. No more mom says. He loved his cow costume except for the hat. Last night he requested the cow costume after his bath and refused to put on any clothes except for that. So we had dinner with our little cow the day after Halloween.

The past week has been very difficult both emotionally and physically. My dad had a stroke on 9/27 shortly after we just returned from visiting him in China. I wanted to drop everything and return to him but that is impossible with Frank and another baby on the way. Finding the small window of time to call there and trying to understand his condition over the phone made it even harder. It took many days before he was stable.

Just as I was starting to feel some relief, Frank got the stomach flu Tuesday night. He didn’t want to eat dinner but was very fussy. Finally he threw up all over mom. We changed him and mom and cleaned up. Then he did it again. And we cleaned up again. It was about bedtime so I took a bath with him. Then he threw up on me again. I must have the secret touch cuz Frank never throws up when dad is holding him. He continued to wake up that night and sometimes he found more food to get rid of. We go in with flashlights to inspect that his bed and sheets are still clean. Luckily he would yell for mom and held it til we carried him to the bathroom. Only one time when I didn’t get there fast enough cuz the last two times was false alarm did we have to change his sheets. He woke up happy and alert and HUNGRY and THIRSTY. He must be better. Not! After some breakfast, it all came out again. It was so hard only giving him little bits of selective foods when I knew he was so hungry. He wanted all his favorite treats and none of those were approved. Poor baby. We were good til after his nap. At least the time gap between the incidents are increasing. He has little pee and no poo. He threw up alittle more that night but mostly he was ok. He did well the next day but was not a happy playful child. So cranky it just wore me out. I was ready to collapse and was only holding on til Nat would come home. Nat finally came home and he started to throw up too. I guess I have to keep going. That night I also got the stomach flu. Now it is Friday. The weather was yucky with rain and reflected the state me and my family were in.

Somehow we made it through Saturday and even had friends over for a BBQ. After a phone call to China, I just totally lost hold of myself. It wasn’t even any bad news. Just the exhaustion from the past week and the frustration of trying to understand this new procedure they want to perform made me feel so helpless and trapped. I started to think about how if I didn’t have Frank I can just pick up and head over to China. Then that just made me feel more guilty cuz he needs me more than anything. My dad has my mom there, all his friends and relatives and his doctors too.

Sunday morning everything turned around for me. Frank woke up hungry again, big surprise there. He wanted pancakes and we told him that daddy doesn’t have pants on yet so he can’t go downstairs to make pancakes. Frank immediately went to the drawers and took daddy’s pants out and brought it to dad. We laughed so hard. Sunday is always laundry day but today I was so tired so I let Frank help sort laundry without much supervision. He mixes all the whites and colors. Then he dumps them out and resorts it, as if saying hmm that’s not right. We don’t usually lose socks but this time we were missing three. I found one that matched the one from last week. Another one turned up tangled in the sheets. As I was putting the towels away, I found the other sock, along with two other towels. Frank had placed them back into the towel closet while sorting them earlier. Again we laughed so hard.

My little guy is growing up so fast and I’m so glad I can be here to see it all. He is my bundle of joy.

Frank has perfected “mama” in all tones and volume. While it is only one word, it has so many meanings. When used with a whiny tone, it means I want it mama please, hold me and carry me to where I want to go. When used in a high pitch scream, it means I need you NOW, where did you go and I didn’t say you can leave yet.

Frank will also occassional says “dadi”. Sometimes it comes out dida. Usually he says it what mom tells him to go find daddy. He continues to use his sign language for dad and he is starting to notice the difference between what he does and what mom does in that sign. He is attempting to correct his to mirror mom.

“Glock” was one of the earlier words Frank said but now he has associated it with more than just that one clock on the shelve. He points to the one in the car and says it as well as the alarm clocks by our bedstand. I don’t think he has made the leap from digital clock to analog yet as most of the ones around here are digital.

One of our favorite things is train.  Since we take daddy to the Bart train station every morning, Frank says bah bah to mean Bart train.  Just this morning his second bah sounded more like train than bart.  Or it could be I was still half asleep.  Last time grandma Carol showed Frank that there is a bell on the train and now he says belh belh while twisting his hand back and forth as if shaking a bell.

He has not said other words but he tries to imitate some words.  Dad had a penguin on his T-Shirt and Frank came out with a sound that brings us giggles.  And the guanaco on mom’s shirt from Patagonia is another funny sound.  The other day he tried to say park and mostly he made the k sound.

In preparation for our trip, we researched both on the web and from other moms on what to bring on the airplane to entertain Frank. Through out the week we collected/brought those items. Some include blue paint tape, magnadoddle, photo album, his favorite books, bag of Cheerios, small set of nesting blocks, beanie babies, string, scarf, suction cup, washable markets and color paper. Then a last minute purchase of a rolly suitcase for him to pull all his toys in. We are ready for our journey (12 hours to Beijing, then another 2 hours to Lanzhou).

The Flight There
As luck would have it, the day before leaving we discover that our seats have been changed separating mom and dad. After calling several times, no one can tell us why or help fix it. After complaining politely at the check-in counter (with help from Frank putting on his cute face), the agent tried and tried and said she get the gate agent to work on it while we get through security. We arrived just as they call our names to give us new seats with no passenger next to us. The entire row to ourselves. How lucky for us! Frank loved sitting in his own seat. He took a nap after lunch was served. It lasted a good 2 hours since he was able to lay comfortably across the seat. We stuffed pillows everywhere so he doesn’t roll off. A few of the toys came in handy. The beanie babies got tossed all over the place, some books were read, and the blue tape was useful in deterring Frank from pushing the assist button none stop. What he played with the most was the seatbelt and the headset. He listened to the music and take it off giggling. Then put it back on and sometimes he wiggles to the beat. We buckled and unbuckled the seatbelt repeatedly. Then 3 hours before landing, Frank took another nap, which would usually be bedtime but he woke up as the cabin was brightened and announcements came. Through customs and all that with speed and we sat in the domestic terminal with plenty of time to spare. We exchanged some money, brought a phone card and called grandpa Seak so he can line up the pickup crew. Now we are all tired and cranky and there were no open seats on this flight. We made it finally at 7:30pm local time. Frank was falling asleep in the van but once we arrived and everyone wanted to play with him, he was wide awake. There were all kinds of toys lined up for him and that kept him reasonably content. After putting him to bed, he came out several times having no trouble opening the bedroom door. He woke up at 3am and didn’t go back to sleep until 5:30. The bright side is he quietly played in the dark in our room and didn’t cry or fuss. Mom kept saying it is still bedtime. That gets him to lay down next to her for a few minutes. Then he starts babbling to himself and eventually he get up and walk around the room finding stuff on the dressers.

9/11
SanMa bought fried bread and tofu mixture for breakfast. Yummy! Then we all experimented with the shower. There is a trick to getting the water temperature just right but we failed miserably on the first try. It was 1 min hot and 2 min cold. Grandma and grandpa soon arrived and we all played with Frank and chatted. SanMa cooked up noodles with bean and meat paste. Frank ate the noodles with his hands and made a big mess but entertained everyone at the same time. Soon we were all ready for naps. We had to wake Frank up to make it to dinner. SanBa was treating all of us at the Friendly Hotel Restaurant. Frank bulked upon entering the reserved room. He cried and clung to mom. All the waitresses wanted to hold and play with him but he was not ready for all this attention. We took turns walking him outside and back in, gave him a balloon, nothing worked. He also wouldn’t eat anything. Finally daddy got him to eat the carrot that was a decoration of the dish carved into the shape of a pagoda. Then as we all finished, he ate most of the fruit platter.

9/12
An decent night with Frank sleeping most of it. It was drizzling outside but grandpa took us to the park anyways. In trying to win the best city award, Lanzhou has put lots of money into renovating/building along the Yellow River banks. Parks and pedestrian walkways filled with trees and flowers stretching as far as the eye can see, on both sides of the river. Frank ran and jumped in puddles until his shoes and half of his pants leg was all wet. He passed out from exhaustion in the taxi back. Dad helped fold potstickers for lunch. Frank woke up in time for it and consumed 8 whole potstickers. That’s how many great grandpa use to eat in one meal, they all said. By the time mom and dad wanted to take a nap Frank was awake and playful. We wrestled back and forth and finally surrendered to him. For dinner, DaWei’s family was treating. GuGu also came. Again Frank screamed as soon he was entered the room. More strangers crowding him! He held on to mom with all his might and finally decided he can block them all out by going to sleep in mom’s arms. That he did the entire dinner, even with all the really loud talking and laughing. Two hours and the only view the relatives got of Frank was the back of his head. They were very disappointed.

9/13
After our regular morning routine of having breakfast and taking showers, grandpa took us to the zoo. We entered the Five Springs Park and Frank ran around along with some of the other children. He smelled the potted flowers and greatly impressed grandpa by not picking any off the stem. A highlight story repeated to many of the relatives. What good manners this little child has. There were so many animals inside the zoo and since it was a weekday during the school year, Frank was able to run free and cute at the few families/tourists visiting. We got to see an elephant, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, all kinds of birds, kangaroos, lions, tigers, bears, just to name a few. Frank wanted to climb into the fence until the animals inched towards him. Then he backed away quickly. He ran up and down the inclined road with grandpa both worried and impressed at the same time. There were also lots of stairs and cliffs that gave grandpa the scare when Frank got too close for comfort. All in all it was wonderful and we were all exhausted after having to keep up with Frank.

We opted to eat at the restaurant specializing in buns. Frank started his usual restaurant chant as soon as we entered the door. We sat in the main room with mom and dad on each side. He was able to see out the window where cars, trucks and buses zipped by. This appeased him and we had our first happy dining out experience.

9/14
After managing to stay on the bed all those days, Frank finally rolled off at 11pm last night. Otherwise, he slept through the night and is completely on China time. We spent the morning at a soccer field managed by San Ba. He was out of the office but his direct reports are all friends with grandpa so we got in no problem. Good old guanxi. There was a play structure but it was made of metal and wet from the sprinklers so we limited Frank’s access. We ran all over the field with several different balls. Then Frank rode on the musical ride-ons, all 5 of them even though 2 was broken. His favorite was the airplane and he kept pointing to the control switch to another round. Another successful lunch outing after that. Frank ate his Cheerios while the rest of us had yummy yang goa roe (curry lamb) that daddy had been thinking about since the last time we were in Lanzhou 6 years ago. We finally made it to the internet as Frank napped. All the internet cafes close by were closed down due to the proximity to schools. Too many students were skipping classes to go play games. We asked around and found a big one and it was filled with people playing games. Not young students though. Mostly young male adults.

9/15
Just went we thought Frank was on China time, he woke up at 4am and wiggled for 3 hours as mom repeatedly said it is still sleepy time. We visit grandpa’s apartment in China and Frank sees the walls covered with pictures of himself. A few should have the fine print “enlarged to show detail”. Frank took a 20 min power nap and lasted til dinner time. San Ba caught some fish the day before and San Ma cooked it up along with a table full of goodies. Frank slept 12 hours straight and only woke up cuz he rolled off the bed again.

9/16
Somewhat uneventful morning. We went to a city square to visit some of grandma’s friends but they weren’t home that day. Frank watched the scene of people feeding the pigeons. Before dinner, San Wei showed Frank how to work the treadmill. That was the highlight of the day. First he just sat and he gets transported off to where a pillow is waiting for him at the end. Lots of giggles. Then he watched San Wei walk on it once. He got on and just stood at first but soon he started to walk. He kept pace and balance. Sometimes he walked faster and reached the front. He stops and then is moved to the back again. Then he got comfortable with it and trusted the people to save him so he would walk some then turn around and land in someone’s arms. San Wei tried to show him walking backwards. Frank thought about it but didn’t really pick that one up. Finally all the laughter ended when Frank fell. But even after we turned it off, Frank kept going back to inspect where/how to turn it back on. With no nap and that much excitement, Frank passed out during dinner. He was still stuffing his face with rice as his eyelids gave out.

9/17
Visited grandma’s friends in the morning. Frank was not his shy usual self. He played and ate in their apartment. Everyone pretty much would let Frank do anything he wants.

9/18
Grandma’s friend from yesterday has a car and offered to take us to the other side of the yellow river bank. But first we stopped at a resort like place managed by farmers. There was a swimming pool, tea tables, a green house looking restaurant, and lots of pear trees. We were just killing some time while more friends were on their way. Then we all met at the river bank. This side is less crowded since no bus line runs here. Just as pretty with trees and flowers and paved road for Frank to run free. They even took their grandchildren out of school to play with Frank. He is sooo lucky. They were a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old girl. They all ran around kicking and throwing balls. Frank tried hard to kick the ball into the fountain area (not running but still filled with dirty water). Good thing there were so many adults running to keep the balls dry.

9/19
A slow day with nothing planned so we visited grandpa’s friend in the morning. Frank did well and played with a spinning top and a zippy car on their floor. He also played with a toy basketball and let grandpa Yu hold him so he can reach the hoop on the door.

9/20
Our last full day in Lanzhou so we had to do one more family dinner gathering outside to thank everyone and to say farewell. The morning started lovely as we returned to San Ba’s soccer field. He was also in the office so we got to play some ping-pong and snooker. Frank tried to steal the balls out of the pockets and managed to throw his nerf football over the snooker table. He loved ping-pong and refused to give back the paddle. He carried it all over the soccer field and eventually home. This time he still enjoyed the musical rides but was not as intrigued as the first time. While Frank napped dad went to the internet cafe one last time and mom went shopping with grandpa. Before we were done San Ma called to tell us Frank was up. He slept only 1 hour this time so we hurried back. When we got there he was playing with San Ma and grandma. Too bad we are leaving tomorrow. He is getting used to it all.

Dinner was very successful because Frank was playful and happy and all the relatives came (except GuGu) to see him at his best. Lots of laughter and fun. San Wei and Da Wei did lots of lifting Frank up and doing stuns. Frank kept wanting more and more. He let everyone hold him and everyone saw a different child compared to 2 weeks ago. Lots of family photos after dinner back at home.

9/21
The Chinese saying goes “Going on the horse with dumpling; Coming down on the horse with noodles.” So as we got noodles when we first arrived, we are to be sent away with a meal of dumplings. San Ma and grandma starting making it in the morning. GuGu came over to say farewell and Frank played with her all morning. Then he ate 11 dumplings. They are slightly smaller than the potstickers but 11 is still alot for a little guy. At least he won’t be hungry on the road. We got chauffeured to the airport and arrived at our gates with ease. Frank got to sit in the front seat with San Ba. He loved being able to see all the trucks and cars and the scene through the front windshield. No car seats nor rules about where kids can ride in the car so Frank enjoyed it while it lasted. The nice gentleman sitting next to us left so we can have more space so we did. Once in Beijing we found a hotel near the airport. We ate dinner inside the hotel but also explored the streets some finding FourLoops popsicle for Nat.

Journey Back Home
Bright and early we had breakfast at the hotel restaurant again. It was buffet style Chinese food with soy milk. We arrived at the airport again with 3 hours to spare hoping that we can maneuver Frank into his own seat for the flight back. The ticket counter lady didn’t even look twice at Frank and indicated that the flight was full and there can be no seat changes for us. Frank’s cuteness can only go so far. Disappointed we headed pass security hoping the gate agent might help us. Frank passed the time playing on the moving walkway with dad. Mom and dad took turns exploring the shops to rid ourselves of the RenMinBi we still had. As soon as the gate agent appeared we went to inquire of the seating situation. She turned us down cold. Bummeroonies. Maybe if we wait til closer to boarding time and some people don’t show? No such luck. Only 2 empty seats that are both in the middle. We are out of luck for this ride. Frank was all done by the time we got to our seats. He wiggled and kicked and having no extra room to spare his presence was noted by the gentleman in front of us. He loudly voiced his discontent to the flight attendant. “I will not sit here for the entire flight like this!” he said. Luckily for us, he was with a companion so they couldn’t just move him away. Instead they asked the nice gentleman sitting next to us to move. He didn’t speak English but mom promptly jumped in to translate. I guess when you can’t play the cute card, you can always resort to annoying your way in. There we got our seat and Frank sat nicely for awhile and then took a 2 hour nap. During the flight Frank kicked the seat in front once more while trying to look out the window and immediately got a nasty remark. Guy must be having a really bad day. Some eating and playing and another nap that lasted 4 hours, only to be awaken because the plane landed. We made it home, almost. We took the Bart and finally arrived at home 10:30am on Saturday.