Give Thanks

This Thanksgiving, I was particularly grateful for the cutest, fatest nephew I have ever seen...

...who is also very well behaved, and is still learning to crawl, having to build up enough muscle to lift the sheer amount of mass that is his body.

 

Danton also makes funny whale-call sounds when upset, according to Kenny. 

He is also the third generation of D.O.Ys in the Young family...



...and will look entirely different from our children, who have no hope of ever inheriting dark hair, dark eyes, or olive skin.



The competition for cutest grandchild is fierce, indeed.

PS: Speaking of competition, I am also grateful that Kenny BEAT his older brother Owen in a Presidents of the United States duel, held the night of Thanksgiving. The next time they meet, they will be facing off to see who has mastered the Vice Presidents of the United States.

PPS: I'm also grateful I married someone who enjoys doing this kind of thing--somehow I feel like I get the glory without any of the work. Win-win.

Baby Fever

I was privileged to be able to throw my first baby shower last month to the first law school baby that will be born during these harrowing three years. Baby Tanner is a boy, loves to move and kick Susanne's (his mother) kidneys, and will be arriving around Christmas day. And the last we heard, was yet unnamed.

He enjoyed a lovely meal of Cafe Rio salads, lemonade, chocolate fondue, and a fantastically baked block cake courtesy of Jenny Benson.

(Grandma, you will be so proud: the blanket under the blocks was crocheted by none other than yours truly! It's about as crafty as I get so you all better be impressed.)

And baby will certainly be styling when it emerges, thanks to the showering of gifts.

Kenny would like me to add that this was all made possible through Susanne's husband Nathan's and his patience and strength, both of whom had to carry burning hot slow cookers full of pulled pork and other awkward and heavy things up to the top floor of our building, and then stand outside the entrance and direct people to the correct location throughout most of the party.

Halloween Laziness



Who doesn't have Fezzes lying around in their closet somewhere?

Paparazzi Galore! Colton's Claim to Fame

Probably my favorite day spent in China was when we traveled to Hangzhou by train. It's not a very common tourist destination for foreigners, which we realized after seeing a grand total of nine foreigners there besides ourselves, but the day we went it was packed with Chinese. The city itself was smaller and quainter than Shanghai (though in reality it's larger than New York City), but the real sights to see were in and around the West Lake, which is surrounded by pretty hills and little pagodas.

We also stumbled across a fun little artsy and craftsy street with stalls and vendors. And that's when we really got a taste of Chinese tourism.



It took a while for me to notice, but it always seemed really crowded wherever we were, although there was plenty of space elsewhere. Afterwards, dad told us that he really enjoyed standing back and watching as people would swarm to whatever booth we were visiting. This particular guy was melting glass into cool little figurines. And, at this particular stand, Colton was having his picture taken (discreetly) by little Chinese school girls in matching green jumpers. One of them would stand slightly behind and next to Colton and then another would go to the other side of the crowd and take a picture! Later on, three teenagers (literally--they had to be sixteen or seventeen) came up and flat out asked if they could take their picture with him. He's a heartbreaker, all right.

Later on, I made the mistake of trying to get my mom to take a picture of me through this little bird fence thing. She was having some issues focusing properly, and within the span of two minutes or so, five to ten Chinese people stopped to take a picture. Of me. Notice the clenched hands.

Others were a bit more discreet throughout the day. Someone would be taking a picture of something behind us and then would slowly follow us with their lens or phone as we walked past.

But by far the best at drawing a crowd was mom; she was a little up the road from us one minute, and the next she was being swallowed by a large crowd of people.

My dad managed to avoid such treatment, whether it was due to the lack of light hair or just his stoic expression.

Apart from our momentary fame, the lake really was pretty, despite the unfortunate overcast sky.

We took a fun boat ride...

ate some black corn...



and fed some crazy carps. (which was also photographed by the mobs around us)

So if you find an odd picture of us somewhere, don't be surprised.

PS: This will be my last blog about China. Kenny has been very concerned that all of these long China posts several months past the actual occurrence will bore my readers--all four of them.