Out of Town Dad and the 2 month Check-up: Nov 1-10

Nov. 1-3: Christian Goes Out of Town

The beginning of November brought new challenges. Christian spent 3 days without seeing Connor, and Kim spent 3 days taking care of Connor alone. Christian had to go to Hefei, the capital of Anhui province,  for a competition that he'd been coaching contestants for.

Taking care of Connor alone for 3 days wasn't as challenging as Kim thought it could have been, but she's glad she doesn't have to take care of him by herself everyday. Christian's contestants did well, 2 of them made it to the 2nd round and they (and he) were all given award certificates. 

Daily Life

The beginning of November brought some changes for Connor. He now almost exclusively enjoys being held upright as opposed to the more traditional cradle position. This initially lead to some problems when transferring him from our arms and into the crib after he'd fallen asleep but after a while, we got the hang of it.

   

I really love the pink reflected color that bounces
from my fleece pullover to his face! Nov. 8

Here's a shot of Connor asleep in Kim's arms. We've learned that Connor really loves fleece. He loves it when we snuggle with him wearing our fleece pullovers and when we lay him on or cover him in our fleece blankets.  

Christian and Connor playtime! Nov. 8, 2012

Connor loves playing with Christian. Ever since Connor started swiping at toys, he's enjoyed swiping up at Christian's face and hair. It's really fun to see Connor looking in Christian's eyes and  how big Connor's smiles get when they play. 

Connor also has fun playing by himself... but sometimes he misses us. 

Connor having fun! Nov. 9, 2012

Connor needs us! Nov. 9, 2012

 Here's a close up on that pocket to let you know what Connor thinks of himself.

"I'm cool"

What? You think I'm not cool!? Nov. 3

 2 Month Check Up, Immunization Shots and Exploring!

On November 9th we took Connor to his 2 month check up. He's really doing great! He weighed 5.7 kg (12.56 lbs) and was 61 cm long (24 inches).

On the 10th we took Connor to get his immunization shots. Like every baby, he cries when they insert the needle, but he never cries very long afterwards. All nationally required immunization shots are free for babies in China (and they are also free for us as foreigners) but we are paying for a few extra vaccinations that are required in America. There are a few shots that America requires that China doesn't and a few that China requires that America doesn't.

After our trip to the vaccination office we walked around and discovered a fun little maze of alleys filled with small shops, snacks and general outdoor market fonder - so of course, we explored!

Kim and Connor. He needed extra warmth so we
wrapped his blanket around him in the Bjorn.

Kim held Connor in the carrier and he pretty much slept the whole time... we saw some great stuff that day including a robot!

A snack vendor that we met in the market.
He's making a kind of  thin bread filled with fried bananas.

This robot came from the future to warn us about some kind of uprising...
we basically ignored him since he seemed like a real basket case.