Babies!!!

Lately it seems like everyone is getting married and having babies! Today my sister had her first baby shower. It went pretty well I think, considering that most of the women didn't know each other before today and my sister had almost nothing planned. We basically just sat around and ate pastries, watched Renee open gifts and did a book swap that Renee orchestrated. She got some cute baby stuff which is awesome. I haven't given her anything yet because I'm sort of broke right now... but I am thinking about looking into some stuff while I'm in Australia, and I am also thinking that I want to buy them a Wii when I get my next paycheck.

I'm really excited to be an aunt!!! Renee leaves really soon to go back to the States to have the baby. She leaves on August 18th and will be gone until December 1st. I think she's really excited to get out of China for a while and see her family and friends and to spend some time outdoors. She will be staying in Seattle with her mom until the baby is born, and then moving a little outside of Seattle into a rented house with Sage, the baby and Bailey. Sage will be back and forth, and Bailey will fly over with Sage sometime in September. The baby is due on September 25th, though Renee has been given a couple due dates so we're not really sure when the baby will actually be born!! The 25th is the earliest one though. 

Andrew got a scholarship to come to China at the end of October... which ruins my plans a little to be home by then. Oh well, at least I will get to show him around Shanghai a little bit and tell him about my life for the past year!! My tentative plan is that I will leave the first week in November and return to the States. I will probably just fly into the west coast and go and visit Renee up in the Seattle area. I really want to throw her a baby shower out there... I know it will be after the baby is born... but her Stateside friends will want to see the baby anyway... not just a pregnant Renee!! (even though she's really cute pregnant, I think they'll want to meet the little one) They're being surprised so I'm anxious to find out whether it's a boy or a girl. Everyone at her office swears it's a boy because of how her stomach is or something.

It's actually really interesting for her to be pregnant here because there are so many Chinese old wives tales about pregnancy. They have all these little tricks and stuff for telling if it's a boy or a girl because here you're not allowed to find out the sex of the baby because of the whole aborting all the girls thing. Plus, they have a lot of superstitions like she's not supposed to leave the house a month before the baby is born and a month after the baby is born. Or... she's not supposed to wash her hair for the first month after the baby is born. Or cut her hair for a year after the baby is born. I don't know why... 

But yes... I'm extremely excited for the weddings coming up and for the babies that will be born soon!!! I leave in three days for Australia and I can't wait to see Ronnie and Kristina again. I'm really looking forward to seeing Sydney, too. I've been back in Shanghai for like two months and I'm already itching to take a break and see something new!! That's probably sad... my wanderlust is out of control.