Michael has started settling himself to sleep. He has done it for the past three nights. I give him his last feed, clean his teeth (plural!) and cuddle with him on my knee for ten minutes and then take him up to bed. I sit with him for a minute to say goodnight and then go downstairs. He puts his thumb in his mouth and settles himself to sleep without a single tear - magic!! I have never been willing to leave him to cry for any length of time so I didn't anticipate him doing this for months. I have always carried him upstairs to bed when he is already asleep.
We took Michael up to Amsterdam this afternoon to see the Chinese New Year celebrations. They were a bit of an anticlimax, in all honesty. We missed the fireworks and didn't see a single lion dance. There were some Kung Fu demonstrations in a marquee but it was too crowded for us to even see what was going on from the doorway. We did get to go inside the Buddhist temple and were immediately assailed by the heady aroma of incense. Michael had been very quiet up until that point and suddenly started jabbering away. Wonder what was in the incense?!?
To get to Chinatown, we had to go through the Red Light District. It was the middle of the day but I was a little uncomfortable taking Michael through there until I saw some other tourists walking with their babies. I guess all Michael would think if he looked through a luridly-lit window would be "Hmmm... lunch?" A virtual paradise for the breastfed baby. If I had been feeling particularly naughty I would have asked Phil to take a photo of us outside one of the live sex shows. I could then show it to our relatives to enjoy their squeaks of indignation.
We took Michael up to Amsterdam this afternoon to see the Chinese New Year celebrations. They were a bit of an anticlimax, in all honesty. We missed the fireworks and didn't see a single lion dance. There were some Kung Fu demonstrations in a marquee but it was too crowded for us to even see what was going on from the doorway. We did get to go inside the Buddhist temple and were immediately assailed by the heady aroma of incense. Michael had been very quiet up until that point and suddenly started jabbering away. Wonder what was in the incense?!?
To get to Chinatown, we had to go through the Red Light District. It was the middle of the day but I was a little uncomfortable taking Michael through there until I saw some other tourists walking with their babies. I guess all Michael would think if he looked through a luridly-lit window would be "Hmmm... lunch?" A virtual paradise for the breastfed baby. If I had been feeling particularly naughty I would have asked Phil to take a photo of us outside one of the live sex shows. I could then show it to our relatives to enjoy their squeaks of indignation.
3 comments:
You should come to Singapore next Chinese New Year. Here they come to your doorstep with lions and drums at 8am on Sunday morning. (Plus all the stores are closed for a week! (Except for McDonald's and the like)) No fireworks though, cos it's not allowed. At least, no legal fireworks. I did hear some bangs last night around midnight.
That sounds fantastic! I would love to see it celebrated with real enthusiasm. My dad lived in Singapore for a few years when he was a boy and I have never asked him what Chinese New Year celebrations were like.
It's not that great if you just came home from a trip to Australia the previous night, having worked till 3am two nights before that and not had a chance to catch up on sleep.
Ah, they're still at it at week later. I just saw -- and heard, which is why I went to the window to see -- a truck full of Chinese dressed in orange (no, they're not Dutch Chinese), banging drums, drive by the office. It was decorated with orange flags too.
One weird thing is, you sometimes see a swastika on those flags or on the trucks or even on some buildings. It doesn't mean they are Nazis. It's a symbol for... something or other, something not-bad, sun or prosperity or something. That's three somethings. Four!
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