We live in the tall brown and grey apartment buildings (although in this picture you cannot see our building itself). Here's Eli and Dana in our stroller, man that all-terrain stroller was worth every penny we paid! Shortly before this picture was taken, a Chinese grandma told me I should buy a different type of stroller because where Dana sits is too low and she inhales too much of the exhaust from cars there. I politely told her that I would discuss it with my husband, but actually I don't think the 6 inch difference in height really makes any difference. She also told me that taking the kids to McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken was not good for the kids to which I heartily agreed! (I haven't taken them there once yet).
Here's Eli at the top of his gravel hill. He gets nice and dirty every day which to me is a sign of a happy, healthy kid. Plus, there are so few hills here, that we had to take advantage. It comes more naturally for me to take the kids outside to play instead of doing indoor crafty things (although I'd love to be good at that too). 
I love this time of year, there are so many trees blossoming everywhere, it's remarkable how forgiving the trees and flowers seem to be here, they just go on blooming as if there were no pollution at all. I don't know what kind of trees these pink ones are, but they are lovely! We even have lilacs here too! There's a bush just outside our bedroom window actually.
Here's a typical street scene these days. My brother Albert asked me for some "typical" shots of what things look like here. They wrap rope around the trees for the winter and secure tarps around all the bushes. I'm not sure what it's for but I'm sure the Chinese know something I don't (they always do). The tall skinny building in the distance (centre) is the TV Tower. It is how I discern the air quality on any given day. Some days I can't see it at all. One clear day, we plan to go up there, have lunch and take pictures.
We went to this nearby park that is near the site of an Olympic venue. Because of the proximity to the Olympic site, there is a huge drive for general beautification of our road these days. They (many peasant workers, male and female, aged from 20-50 I'd say) are planting trees and flowers, sweeping streets and picking up garbage. They tore out all the brick sidewalks and poured concrete instead (I found out how to say "concrete" in Chinese, literally translated it is "water mud", and, by the way, I knew this word before Scott did!). Anyways, I was feeling a little stressed on behalf of the powers that be because the concrete work was not at all well done, it had footprints and bike prints all over it and was lumpy and uneven. I thought the bricks they had before looked way better. But--Scott informed me today that the concrete is just a base and they are putting tiles over top of it and that it looks sharp. Phew!
Here is Dana at the park, looking triumphant for good reason: She just completed her first set of stairs and I set her down to do it again. Way to go Dana! She's such a cuddly and happy baby! How blessed I am!
Another random thing to tell you is that I saw this ad and was tempted to enter Dana: Baby models are being sought by HUGGIES diapers (China), the shooting will take place in Beijing on April 21st, half day. The organizers are looking for 8-14 month old 'crawlers', girl and boy, and must be 'Euro' looking. Each model will receive 2500RMB (that's about 350$). What do you think? Does Dana look "Euro" to you? Why doesn't Huggies (China) use a Chinese baby, that's what I'd like to know. I doubt I'll enter her, it's one thing to have cute kids, but quite another thing if and when those cute kids realize they are cute (and make money off it). No thanks.
