Father Hood

posted by Alan
*click on the pictures to see them full size

The title of this post is also the title of Snoop Dogg's reality TV show on the E! Channel. Not that I watched it or anything. Nor do I actually get the meaning of the title. I guess it's because he came from the 'Hood and now he's a father. I came from a neighborhood too, so I guess it still applies.


True because most of your dads are over 55 years old
Anyway, the first 10 days of Janie have been an adjusting period for sure, but overall, not too bad. She's been a good baby so far. Sleeps alot and isn't too hard to please. I think we've learned the tricks to calming her down. These include her pacifier, the magic exercise ball that I mentioned in the last post, her favorite place in the whole world (my left shoulder) and all while watching Season 12 of the Ultimate Fighter, which I just downloaded from the internet.



Christmas season is hitting Shanghai. It's a bit different here than in the US obviously, but you can definitely feel it around the city. Most of the major hotels, streets and malls have decorated with lights and ornaments. But there isn't the insane retail bombardment that most of us are used to, which is very nice. In the expat community, most celebrations are in full swing already. This is because on and around the actual Christmas Day, most people travel home for the holidays.

Thanksgiving was awesome here. We rented out a clubhouse in an apartment complex and had everyone invite their friends and bring food. There were 60 people total. People were talking about how many people there were. Funny thing is, my family back in NY is so big, they had to rent out a clubhouse to do Thanksgiving too. We had awesome food over here, but I don't think anything can top the feasts at my family Thanksgiving/Christmas dinners. Wish we could have been there and can't wait to join again in the future. But we definitely appreciate the family we've found here in Shanghai.




Up next for us, a 2 week visit from Janie's Grandma Gong. After raising three sports loving boys, Janie is the granddaughter she's been waiting for. Updates and pictures from her visit soon.