I just can't seem to keep her out of the cabinets!


































And just in case you're looking for a little inspiration...

Hey, Vera, what's that on your head?

















...the only article of clothing she has figure out how to put on!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

One of Vera's favorite books is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" She's been trying to "read" it recently. For those who aren't familiar with the book it goes something like this: "Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see? I see a yellow duck looking at me. Yellow Duck, Yellow Duck what do you see..." One of the last pages has children on it. When she gets to it, she always gasps, "Oh, children!" Here's a video of Vera "reading" part of the story.

Happy National Day!

Every October 1 China celebrates National Day, the equivalent of our July 4. The great thing about it is that it's standard to get a week off of work! Matt's not taking a week off, but he is taking a couple of days off. We decided to go bowling this afternoon to celebrate the holiday. We let Vera "bowl". She really enjoyed herself for about 7 frames, and then she got pretty bored.

















Pumping her fist, "Go, go, go!"

















Getting a little help from daddy.

A Family of His Own

It looks like Joey has found a family! His name says "On Hold" beside it!

New Link on Sidebar

I posted a link today for my step-sister's online business, Baby Uniques. Donna makes some really cure personalized gifts for babies. If you're looking for a unique gift for someone, check out her site. Below is a picture of some of the things she has made for Vera. V absolutely loves her tag blanket, and I absolutely love the wipes case!

Bo Bing

On Tuesday we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, always celebrated during a full moon. An explanation of the holiday from one of our friends: "On Monday we welcomed the moon, on Tuesday we enjoyed the moon, and on Wednesday we said good-bye to the moon."

A tradition is Xiamen (though not in other places in China) is to play a game called Bo Bing. It's a game where, depending on the roll of the dice, you can win various items for daily use. We played with the teachers in the program.

Roll no fours, get nothing.
Roll one four, get a small carton of milk.
Roll two fours, get a pack of tissues.
Roll three fours, get a bottle of body wash.
Roll a straight 1-6, get a box of laundry detergent.
Roll four fours or more, qualify for the grand prize, a bed quilt.
Roll four fives, and you beat four fours, unless the four fours were accompanied by two ones.
Roll six sixes and take home ALL of the prizes, yours AND everyone elses!
Roll so that one or more dice don't stay in the bowl, lose that turn and the next.
Roll away until all prizes have been claimed.

Here are some pictures from the excitement!


















I won some laundry detergent for this roll!


















Five fives! Our grand prize winner!


















Here is our collection of prizes that we won during Bo Bing at the orphanage, and that Matt won while playing at his company. He won the grand prize, the blanket!