The Dufners

2 Bottom Teeth

2009-03-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

Alex' 2 bottom teeth have come in!

Our furry friends!

Tianjin Science Museum

2009-03-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

We went to Tianjin City on Sunday, went to church at a cathedral, ate our packed lunch in the car, then spent the afternoon at the Science Center.

Here Dan was demonstrating how a pully works

Then, Jacquelyn tried it, but learned the hard way that if you let go, you drop down... quickly.

Electricity!

Which ball will get to the bottom first: the straight shot (shortest physical distance), the gentle curve, or the early severe drop? Answer: early severe drop, which gets the early support of gravity.

Jacob cleaning the teeth, with a toilet brush.

It was an interesting place, just too bad half the exhibits were broken.

A New Playground

2009-03-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

Our friend mentioned there was a nice playground in a neighboring complex, so after work last week, kids hopped on their bikes and we hit the brick sidewalks (makes for an interestingly bumpy ride). Alex rode along in the Baby Bjorn carrier, facing the action. On their "big bikes," I struggle to keep up with them, so we were probably quite a sight... 2 big-eyed kids on "fancy" bikes with a Mom & baby running along behind. It gets crazy at intersections. Don't ever believe a green pedestrian light... always be on the defensive, or you'll get hit by a car or 4.

I feel a bit bad with the kids' nice bikes. Practically all bikes here are old and rusty with a carrying basket. You'll hear of expats bringing their bike from home or buying a nice one here, and it will get stolen. They go buy a normal plain jane bike, and no troubles with theft.

We got to the complex, but couldn't see the playground. So, Jacquelyn went up to the guard and asked "Where is the playground?" (in Chinese). He chucked and pointed us the right way. I laughed because my 4 year old can get us around better than I... I would have been acting out charades: swinging, teeter tottering... People usually figure out what I mean, but I can image how amusing I look in the meantime.

Future gear engineers?

Besides the fact that the kids' hands were literally black after the 20 minutes we played, it was great!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-16T08:36:00.001-07:00

We hope you're having a lucky day!

Kids had green pancakes for breakfast (thanks to some food coloring added to the last few pancakes we made Saturday morning), green applesauce for snack at school, then enjoyed the 70* day with a picnic in our backyard with our US John Deere friends Robin & Ben.

We had PB&J sandwiches (with a rainbow of M&Ms inside - still enjoying those "boxelder bugs" Dad!), green yogurt fruit salad, strawberries, veggies and then rainbow frosting & sprinkles on our choc cupcakes.

Hope you find your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

No more peas, please!

2009-03-16T07:52:00.001-07:00

Saturday night 14-Mar, Alex had his 1st tasts of peas. I'd found frozen peas in a shop in Tianjin, so cooked and tried to puree them. The Chinese "Magic Bullet" type machine didn't do so well... after mixing with milk and hand mashing, we gave the peas a try...

From 1st bite... to saying I've had enough!

Alex' face was quite amusing, and he kept spitting out the chunks.

The next night we tried a jar of Gerber peas Grandma sent from the US. Still made funny faces with each bite but he kept eating, with very little coming back out. After peas were finished, I gave him some rice cereal. One taste of that, and he perked up, opened wide and banged his hands on the tray asking for more!

Yeah for tall ladders!

2009-03-11T06:07:00.001-07:00

Dan bought "the kids" (although HE plays with it the most) a remote controlled helicopter for Christmas. About once a week, they fly it around the living room. The other night, it crash landed in the chandelier...

At the top of the ladder, he lucked out! Yeah!!

Thanks Nicole!

2009-03-11T06:04:00.000-07:00

My sister Nicole set up the neat background on the blog. Thank you! Jacquelyn & I appreciate the "rainbowness" that is still masculine enough for the 3 guys in the house. Thanks for adding some color!

Having fun!

2009-03-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

Alex is 6 months old!

2009-03-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

Alex celebrated his 6 month birthday last weekend. Dan fed him rice cereal from the U.S. He sure made a funny face his 1st few bites, but he ate it all! A week later, he still pushes most of it back out, but he opens his mouth, waiting for the next bite!

Festelavn

2009-03-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, we celebrated Festelavn with several of our Danish (and other) friends. It's the Danish version of Halloween in that you dress up in costume. The celebration takes place before Lent - the last chance to eat lots of goodies before the fasting of Lent season. I'm told the tradition is to fast for all 40 days, no meat the entire time.

A game we played was hitting the "cat" in the barrel. In the old days a live cat was inside. We opted for pictures of cats painted on the outside with candy inside (like a piñata). Danish pastries were also a special treat!

It was a cold day with winter coat, hat & mitten over the costumes, but was great fun with friends!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T23:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! The family got big heart cookies... just like I did when I lived at home - carrying on your tradition, Mom! :)

Guess they weren't fully dry before I stacked them for storage... the names rubbed off, but they still taste good!

I wanted to see what Alex would do. He wasted no time digging in (glad I didn't drop the camera on my rush to pry it away from him)! I won't get put in jail for bad parenting if his 1st solid food was a candy sprinkle, will I...?

Small things...

2009-02-12T05:54:00.000-08:00

A Chinese friend stopped by the other day, giving the kids each a red envelope with 10 RMB (about $1.50). This is a very common tradition for the Chinese New Year.

As I came home from work, Jacquelyn ran up to me to tell me about her money. She said "Now Daddy doesn't have to give us his money at church anymore. We can put in our own!"

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-11T08:41:00.001-08:00

Big Boy Alex

2009-02-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Alex took his 1st drinks from a sippie cup. He doesn't do well with a bottle anymore - just chews on it - so I gave him a cup. He grabbed it with both hands and brought it right to his mouth. He figured out how to drink from it pretty quickly.

He also sat in his highchair for the 1st time. He sat & chewed on toys with the kids & I cut out valentine cookies!

Flashback

2009-02-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

Snapped this photo during Jacquelyn's nap this weekend. It looks like perfect 1970's hair!

Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-02-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

The 15 day Chinese New Year celebration ended with fantastic sights on Monday. I heard the 1st firecrackers at 6:30AM and they went solid until after midnight (and I'm NOT joking... it was solid firecrackers / fireworks all day and night). As I was putting photos on Picasa (I'm finally up to date!), fireworks were going crazy out our window. These fireworks were set off at the front of our neighborhood. Happy Spring Festival!

A White Christmas

2009-01-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

We had a White Christmas in China this year, with about 6" of snow the weekend before. Dan and kids had fun making this "snow monkey," as Jacob called it, with ears and hair.

Snowball fight!!!

Welcome to our blog!

2009-01-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome... we're happy to share with you about our life - in China. And pictures of the kids... lots of pictures :) Enjoy the adventure with us!