Love is in Stiles

Here I am again, blogging about something that happened in 2015, and it's already 2017! 

October 2015 was the last month before my pregnancy with Finley hit hard and I had to relocate back to the U.S. for medical care. 

To be honest I was still pretty sick, and I wish that I remembered more from this time. But that's where my many pictures come in handy! So here is the picture-recap. 

Halloween

For Halloween Maverick was a cop. It was still wicked-hot outside, but we made it down to the Kids in the Park carnival they hold in a nearby park. Mav was still only 21 months, so he wasn't as interested in the games there as the free cookies, popcorn, and juice. He also had his first ever 'face painting' experience, where he became a kitty (because it was the fastest thing they could put on a wriggly toddler)! 

Afterwards we took him 'trick-or-treating'. Only a few places in Hong Kong do trick-or-treating, since it's a Western holiday, and Discovery Bay has a small neighborhood that's one of them. Thousands of people show up to this neighborhood right behind our apartment building, and the candy is gone in minutes, but everyone still wanders around in their costumes looking at the decorations and hanging out. It's as close to 'trick-or-treating' as it gets around these parts. :) 

My great friend Ai Lau (of Ai Lau Photography) took some photos of us at the park that I adore;

by Ai Lau Photography

by Ai Lau Photography

by Ai Lau Photography

Maverick has always loved swords, lightsabers, big sticks, laser, and guns. All boy that one!

Cousin Lola enjoyed the face paint too!

The other day (speaking from 2017 now) Maverick heard Hazel's voice in a video and said, "That's Hazel! That's my best friend!" Him and Hazel have had a special bond since he was very small. She will come over, unbidden, when she has free time to play with Maverick or take him to the park, just the two of them, for hours. He adores her, and she is so so good to him, it is so sweet to watch. 

Parks

These last few are from the playground right behind our house, where Maverick goes at least twice a week. He learned to climb this ladder he is on in this picture about a week after we took his first steps. 

The boy has loved to wear his backpacks since 18 months to now (3 years old in 2017). He always insists on them, whereas he used to not care what was in them, he now fills them with toys and snacks. 

Apartment

From March 2014 to October 2015 we lived in this apartment (shown below). It was about 400 square feet, one bedroom, and was where we had so many firsts as a family, and for baby Maverick. In November 2015 we moved. 

Five floors down. 

In the same building. 

We didn't even box things up, we just carried our possessions down in the elevator. It only took about 1.5 hours (with the help of our friends), and upgraded to an apartment that is 598 square feet, and has 2.5 bedrooms (two real bedrooms, and what is basically a glorified pantry that is Mav's room). 

It was bittersweet leaving a place that hold so many memories for us. Bitter, because we had so much bliss there, and it meant time was passing and Maverick was growing up. 

And then sweet because, an additional 200 square feet! Woohoo!

Aberdeen

In October me and my sister took my parents out to Aberdeen. This is a 'boat village' in Hong Kong. It used to be all fishing boats, and people that lived on the water. Today it still has the small fishing boats, but it also has large cargo boats, and yachts, all mixed together. For a few dollars someone will drive you around to see the different boats, and you can see the last of the residents cooking and hanging laundry from their floating houses. It's a crazy juxtaposition, with the tiny fishing boats next to the yachts, and people living on floating houses in a small harbor, completely surrounded by sky-scrapers.