Love is in the air!!! Congratulations Signe and Ryan!

Hot off the press - Signe (my sister) and Ryan just got engaged in the Bahamas under some very romantic circumstances - starlight skies, surrounded with candles and in the Caribbeans - does it get any better than that!!

We wish an amazing future to an amazing couple!  So excited about the upcoming wedding and all the planning leading up to it.... it will be the wedding of the year and so beautiful!

CONGRATULATIONS S & R!!

A very belated update on Max Birthday in Hong Kong!

Better late than never - here's finally some great pictures of our Disney World trip to Hong Kong where we celebrated Max 5th birthday!

We loved seeing our friends and the green and hilly scenery of HK and can't wait to go back for more (shopping!).  The air certaily felt more clean compared to Shanghai but the highlight of our trip was no doubt Disney World which Max and Emmy just loved.  Mickey and Buzzlight Year was a big hit after our trip...

Here are the great pictures from our trip to HK celebrating our big boy

Cheers!

Lovisa

A mom in her Converse shoes....

Today was one of those beautiful sunny and warm days in Shanghai. Magnus left for the US early in the morning and I decided to head to Puxi for a sweet brunch and some play in town with Max & Emmy.

When we got to our favorite Taikang Lu restaurant, a kind, older man sat next to us and chatted up a storm with Max & Emmy right away. He was an artist and could tell Max was a very creative young man with an explosive mind, which took me by suprise. He said only seconds after meeting us "let that boy talk and be as wild as he is, too many people are hushed in life and don't let him be one of them". I was honestly touched by his comment because it felt so real and it put a million thoughts about Max in instant perspective.  How could a stranger figure out my son in seconds....? Since I don't believe much in coninsidences any more and think things happen for a reasons I kindly replied back "Thank you, that meant a lot to me".

And as he was ready to leave us, he turned around and said to Max and Emmy "Hey - look, your mom's wearing Converse - you'll turn out OK!" and off he went.... I loved that quirky and off the wall comment and sat there for a minute looking after him wondering who he was. I turned to Max who had the biggest & brightest smile on his face as he said:

 "Mom, I really liked that guy!"

What a sweet day.

Cheers!

Ski vacation - Niseko, Japan!!

We're back from an amazing time in what seemed to be the most snowy place on earth - Hirafu, Niseko in Japan! Together with friends from Hong Kong we rented a great house big enough for our large group of 14 including 8 lively kids - and it all worked out smooth as butter!!

Niseko can only be described in a few sweet words - SNOW, POWDER and BRILLIANT SKIING!  Try 4 meters of snow on the ground with snow pouring down every day!  We all decided this was the best skiing any of us had experienced and to ski in powder up to your waist every day on your ski vacation is a true rarity! Magnus was in heaven as he headed out early each morning while the rest of us tried to wake up from the coma of clean air (and a very heated house, the Asians like it hot!).

Both Max and Emmy did so great in the slopes as well. Max improved so much and was very steady and independent on the skis by the end of our trip. Emmy, with her incredible balance, headed down the kid's slopes all by herself - 2 years old! Amazing.

We loved the food in Japan - and ate Sushi as often as we could!  We also got to experience the infamous Onsens spas in Japan - an outdoor hot spring which was the nicest thing a soar body could feel after a day of skiing.  Rolling naked in the snow and then jumping into the 40 C degrees water was another great memory from this trip!

We also stayed a few days in Sapporo and got to see the yearly Snow Festival.  Max and Emmy ice-skated which was a first timer for Emmy while Max got back into the swing of things within minutes (it's been 2 years since he was a regular at Johnny's Ice Rink in Chicago!).  

Here are the pictures from our terrific time in Japan - we can't wait to go back soon again!!

Ed Norton in Shanghai!

Anna and I recently saw Ed Norton in the interview chair at the Asia Uncut taping here in Shanghai. He was unusually shy with the audience but I snapped this picture of him looking straight into my camera which I thought was kind of cool :-)

Asia Uncut is very much a copycat of the Letterman talkshow but great to see here in shanghai!

Update: I've received emails about who Ed is, so I quote Wikipedia:

Edward Harrison Norton[1] (born August 18, 1969) is an American film actor, screenwriter and director. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. A year later, his lead role as a reformed white power skinhead in American History X earned a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actor. His other films include period dramas such as Kingdom of Heaven (2005), The Illusionist (2006), and The Painted Veil (2006); and other notable films such as Rounders (1998), Fight Club (1999), 25th Hour (2002), Red Dragon (2002), and The Incredible Hulk (2008).

In addition to acting, Norton is also a writer and director. He made his directorial debut with the film Keeping the Faith (2000) and is slated to direct the film adaptation of the novel Motherless Brooklyn. Norton did uncredited work on the scripts for The Score, Frida, and The Incredible Hulk.

In his private life, Norton is an environmental and social activist. He is a member of the board of trustees of Enterprise Community Partners, a non-profit organization for developing affordable housing, founded by his grandfather, James Rouse. Norton is president of the American branch of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.[2] He ran in the 2009 New York City Marathon to raise money for the Trust.[3]

A first tooth is lost!!

So we finally experienced t h e first lost tooth - and very unexpectedly! Max was biting on his blankie during the bed time story and out it came, just like that! No wiggling, loose tooth for days, just out in 2 secs!

He was very proud and felt like a very big boy since only his older friends have lost teeth and now he's part of that group.

A special night indeed and now we're waiting for the tooth fairy to arrive...

Cheers!