Happy Birthday Ryan! and a bunch of other stuff

My little man has had his third birthday, in China no less!  For the last several days anytime we have mentioned his birthday, cake or presents, all he had to say was (in a grumpy voice), "I don't want presents.  I don't want cake".  I'm not sure if he is tired of being the center of attention or what, but he really didn't like the idea of having a birthday.  As you will see from the pictures though, he eventually had a change of heart.  Fortunately Nick brought a lot of excitement to the day to make it fun for Ryan.  He was running around with his arms flailing and yelling, "It's Ryan's birthday!".  

We started the day with breakfast, cake decorating and presents.  Later we went back to get the kite lights we had tried to buy last week.  The sellers were there and had three sets waiting for us.  Once that was done we went bowling.  For Tian Ye it was the first time he had played and our first attempt in China.  It was interesting.  Afterward we came back home where Sonny and Sue joined us for cake and ice cream.  It was a fun birthday party!  A special thanks to those who sent presents and cards with Nanny - most of them were opened the day she arrived!

I think they ate as much as they put on the cake!

The cake decorating was a group effort.

Ryan is impressed with the results.  He really wanted to get at those new digger toys.

New Cars 2 toys from Nitty and Nanny.

It was pure coincidence that his birthday card from Nanny matched his pajamas perfectly.

Mom's back was really bothering her so she had a 60 pound massage.  Her back hasn't hurt since.

The birthday boy!

The bowling alley had a really odd smell in the entry way but once  we made it down the escalator it wasn't quite so bad.

We were there a little early in the day so they weren't quite ready.  Some ping pong passed the time.

One thing that's not made in China!

Ryan trying to decide which red ball he wants.

Maybe blue...

I love wearing shoes that hundreds of others have worn.

Unfortunately they don't have bumper bowling so anytime a pin was knocked down it was a really big deal.

Tian Ye's gift for Ryan - an adorable animated puppy bank.

This is me trying to keep Ryan from starting the demolition until after Tim has lit the candle and we have sung "Happy Birthday".

Finally!

I think Nick's been hanging around Tian Ye too much!

When the party was over we decided that since it was almost supper time and the kids were pretty tired, Mom and I would go out to eat at the same Thai place that Tim and I have been to a few times.  The food is really tasty and the atmosphere is great.  We had a nice bottle of wine, fantastic meal and great conversation.

Who's the "stupid" one?

I took this picture of these spicy noodles then was told that pictures of the food are not allowed .  Perhaps they are part of the Thai Witness Relocation Program.

Since I couldn't get a pic of the real food I got one of the fake stuff.

Mom's new friend...

and my new man.

After supper we went to Zhongjie, one of the large shopping areas, and roamed around the back streets and alleys as well as the main street.

This guy was very friendly and I was able to talk to him in Mandarin, a little.  He told me I am doing very well with learning the language.

This is silk embroidery and is absolutely amazing.  

Mom checking out some of the smaller pieces.

This man was hilarious and I'm not sure why since I couldn't understand most of what he was saying.  I guess he's just a funny guy.

Selling socks and underwear.

This street was lined with little restaurants.

In case you need a rest after supper.

"Don't climb the transformers!"

They are in the middle of some major construction on this street.  They get the most done at night once the stores close.  We had to cross to get to a huge shoe store.

Shockingly, they were too small!

We had talked about doing some KTV (karaoke) which is really popular here but by the time we were done shopping we were too tired.  We went home and I blogged instead.

Today we had planned to go back to the furniture market that Tim and the kids and I ended up by mistake about a month ago.  You may remember me talking about the burrito lady following us around.  Mom wanted to see this place and the cool things in it so we figured that we had better get there today since she only has a few days left here.  When we arrived a lady met us at the van and stuck her head in to look at the boys.  I thought she just happened to be walking by but she stayed.  While I was getting the stroller out of the back of the van I heard Tim say, "Jan, the burrito lady is here again".  Sure enough, I looked at the entrance and she was standing there with several other women.  As we made our way into the building with a very cranky Ryan about seven ladies, including the one who stuck her head into our van door and burrito lady, followed us.  I realized this time that this was a 'job' to them but we weren't sure what their purpose was.  As I tried to get Ryan to sit in the stroller I said in Chinese, loudly enough for all of them to hear me put still being polite, that we were NOT buying anything.  Then I said "Bye bye" to each of them and they backed off a bit.  We looked around for a few minutes with maybe one or two of them still following.  Nick had to pee so I asked one of them where the bathroom was and she escorted us to the second floor right to the bathroom.  She continued to tail us and finally I turned to her and said again, "We are not buying anything today.  Thank you.  Goodbye."  Finally she got it and walked away.  Great!  Now all we had to deal with were the hundreds of salespeople trying to touch the boys.  Luckily I remembered how to say, "No touch please" and quickly taught the kids.  That was okay for a few minutes but Nick wasn't having any fun so Tim took him back to the van to hang out with Tian Ye.  We gave Ryan his iPod and I continually told people that he didn't like to be touched, so it wasn't too bad.  Mom, Tim and I now had a good opportunity to have a really good look around without too much harassment.  Some of the furniture is pretty cool, some of it really Chinesey.  We found out later from Tian Ye that the woman who stuck her head into our van had asked him if we would be buying anything that would need to be delivered.  So, apparently the job of these ladies is to try and convince people to use them to deliver all their grand purchases.

Notice the sign...

Awe, how....sweet?

Happy Babies!

President Tim

So, that was an experience for sure.  There is some really unique stuff that we might consider purchasing when we are ready to go home.  We certainly have a lot of choice!

From the furniture market we went to YooHoo where the kids and Tian Ye had Subway then Mom, Tim and I had Japanese food at a different restaurant.  We cooked the beef right at our table and it was excellent.  Tim finally got to barbecue!  When supper was done we grabbed a few groceries then it was to the vet to pick up Buddy 2, Mom's new case.  He looks better and his breathing is improved so hopefully we can convince that woman to take him in.  Mom is outside now comforting him.

I guess that's about it for now.  I have finally caught up.  I don't think we will do too much tomorrow as we are in need of a little break.  Although, you never know what energy a new day will bring....