Christmas in Hong Kong!!!

As you've probably noticed by now, most of my blogs start out with a flimsy excuse as to why it has taken me so long to update this page...fear not, this post will be no exception! Between chasing after a crazy one-year old all day long and recovering from a month-and-a-half long bout of walking pneumonia, my productivity level is quite low. Tyler is 17 months old now, attends "school" twice a week at PIPS pre-school, and has a very busy social calendar.

We are always super excited when guest come to town, and hosting Christmas this year made having visitors all the more special! Much thanks to Danielle, Greg & Hadley for making the long and arduous journey from Atlanta. As much fun as traveling with a 21 month old can be, Danielle gets the super-trooper award for enduring the trip 6 months pregnant! Here are a few photos of our holiday fun...

A rare moment...Tyler sharing his car!

Crazy 1 and Crazy 2:
Swings aren't just for kids!
Hadley, Danielle and Greg on the Peak
Hadley enjoying a stroll with Dada and Uncle Steve
The Frey family in Stanley
Merry Christmas from the Bolhuis family!
Our beautiful tree (which traveled all the way from Oregon!)
A boy and his choo-choo...could life get any better?
The two crazies in their Christmas frills!
On board the Aqua Luna...Stanley to Central
Relaxing on the boat!
Quality dada and daughter bonding!
The Hong Kong skyline
Visiting the Big Buddha!
The temple at Po Lin...a Buddhist monastery

home for the holidays...

Due to our second computer crash of 2009 as well as a busy couple months of traveling and hosting visitors, my blog updates have become quite infrequent! Here are some of the adventures we've experienced lately...

We flew back to the States in November to celebrate Thanksgiving with both the Horvath and Bolhuis families. First stop was Atlanta, to visit Danielle, Greg and Hadley.
Steve and I celebrated our first child-free weekend in Sonoma for a friend's wedding while Tyler enjoyed a weekend of spoiling at Grandma and Grandpa Horvath's.
The Boot-n-Rally girls...celebrating Mr. and Mrs. Billy Inglis! Congrats Em!
Back in Cincy, Tyler's cousin Aidan shared some of his toys with him, as well as taught him a few new tricks!
Grandma Horvath bonding with Tyler, Addison and Aidan.
Precious baby Addi!
All bundled up in Michigan!

A day at the beach...

Showing off our "touchdown" in Grandpa Normie's old truck...
Cheering on the Spartans at the MSU game...
Tailgate time!
Enjoying a crisp fall day!

Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween 2008:

Halloween 2009:

As you can see...a lot has changed in a year! Most importantly, our adorable little pumpkin has turned into a super scary dragon! We have officially achieved sophomore status in Hong Kong, and are still shocked by how fast our first year abroad has flown by. Fortunately, Halloween is a big tadoo in HK, so Tyler has been able to experience all the very exciting festivities surrounding the event. He didn't quite grasp the trick-or-treating concept, and kept trying to give away all of his candy except for these big marshmallow puffs which were an instantaneous hit with the little dragon!

Tyler and his monkey friend, Harrison...
Candy time!
The dragon tames the wild dog...

The after party...karaoke style!

Junk Time!

A few weeks ago we rented a junk (the Chinese term for a boat, not really sure where that stems from), with a couple of friends and embarked on a expedition to explore some of Hong Kong's fabulous beaches. We stocked the junk with enough food and beer to sail the Pacific, and were blessed with an absolute perfect day for fun in the sun!

Leaving Central Hong Kong at 10 am...destination unknown...but always time for a margarita!

The ridiculously tall building on the right side of the pic is the ICC building in Kowloon. Upon completion in 2010 it will be the 3rd tallest building in the world...

Breathtaking views on our journey...

The girls in front of our beautiful and completely secluded beach!

Our cabana boys...

A ridiculous yacht tied up right next to us...

Patient TKB...

Tyler has been suffering from a blocked tear duct in his left eye since birth, an annoying nuisance that typically clears on its own by the time a baby reaches 8-10 months. Unfortunately for us, the eye clog never healed, so at the very young age of one, Tyler was admitted to the hospital for eye surgery. It was a very minor, 20 minute operation, in which the doctor probed his eye passage and cleared up his duct. However, due to the fact that Tyler had to be under anesthesia for the surgery, it was a fairly long and stressful day spent at the hospital. T was a total trooper, and somehow managed to survive the 6 hours he had to fast pre-surgery with only a few hunger outbursts!

Tyler pre-surgery, notice the very stylish toddler-sized hospital robe!

The view of Happy Valley racetrack from our hospital room...

Cruising the halls pre-surgery, Tyler managed to attract an adorable little girl with a broken arm that gave him a good luck smooch!

Post-op, exhausted after a very successful operation!

Thanks for opening up my eye Dr. Yu!

Look who's one!!!

August 26th marked a very special milestone...Tyler's first birthday! His Glama and Grandpa Bolhuis made the long journey from Michigan to help celebrate. We spent his actual birthday relaxing, playing and swimming at the American Club, then hosted a monkey-themed birthday bash for Tyler and all of his friends over the following weekend.

While all the attention and cameras were focused on our little monkey for his birthday festivities, T decided it was about time to jump from all fours and start walking! He had been working up to multiple steps in a row for a couple of weeks leading up to his birthday, and then once he turned one just took off running and never looked back!

Tyler on his throne...he was completely obsessed with the balloons!

Celebrating the birthday boy at the American Club...
Entertaining Glama with his musical skills...
Can we say spoiled?
Tyler's favorite birthday gift...balloons!
Thanks for all my wonderful presents!

Glama and Grandpa with their favorite one year old!
Tyler's first sugar rush...
Yummmmmm.....
Gifts from the Eckerts...
Swimming with Glama...
Drinks at Sevva in Tyler's honor...
It's official...
The birthday celebration continues...











Thanks to all for making Tyler's first birthday so special!!!

Shooting hoops with dada!