Saskatoon visit, part seven (the final installment): at last, Claire meets Kelley!

Kelley is one of my oldest and best friends. Unfortunately, we don't live in the same province which means that between jobs, babies and puppies, we're lucky if we get to see each other one or two times a year.

This was our first opportunity this year, so it was the first time Kelley and Claire got to meet. They got along famously, of course. It didn't hurt that Kelley buttered Claire up with a stuffed toy puppy like her Alaskan malamute, Kino! Before we knew it, Claire was crawling onto Kelley's lap and smiling with ease. Kelley, thanks so much for making the trip to see us!


Mom, Kelley and Claire in the meditation garden near the Forestry Farm.

Saskatoon visit, part six: fun with cousins

The last time we were in Saskatoon, we were only there for a long weekend, and between Paul's family and mine, we were quite rushed. This time, there was time for leisurely visits with some of my siblings and their kids.

Claire, Amelia and of course, Cassie (Amelia's doll and best friend)

Claire with Liam and Sonia

Claire with my sister Stephanie and her kids

Saskatoon visit, part five: say uncle

Out of all of Claire's uncles, she knows Uncle Stu the best bcause he lives in the same city as us. That's not to say she doesn't get lots of attention from other uncles, though, when she sees them. Here are a few pics of Claire spending time with some of her uncles.

Claire met my older brother Richard for the first time during this visit. He lives in Ontario, and our visits to Saskatoon rarely coincide. This time, though, the timing worked. Here are Claire, Richard and my mom at the Berry Barn.









When my brother Lawrence arrived for a visit one night, Claire must have mistaken him for Stu because she kept blowing raspberries at him, something she and Stu do back and forth to each other.


Stu blowing bubbles for Claire. I love how Claire is crouched in anticipation.

Saskatoon visit, part four: a new Canadian, just in time for Canada Day!

On Wednesday, June 20, Claire became a Canadian citizen. It's a bittersweet moment; although we are thrilled that she is now a citizen, it means she loses her Chinese citizenship because China doesn't allow dual citizenship. This may be better in the long run (I speculate that if she were a Chinese citizen, she could be called into service if she visited China as an adult) but it is nevertheless a loss. It reminds me of how I felt when we left her home province of Jiangxi.

Oh well, enough of the contemplative stuff. Isn't she a lovely Canadian?

Saskatoon visit, part three: the three amigos

What would a visit to Saskatoon be if we didn't meet up with Claire's Xinyu sisters, Caia and Bryn?

We had a wonderful afternoon together at the Forestry Farm: the girls warmed up to each other as we strolled around with them, and then they had some fun interaction while their camera-happy moms snapped away.

It was such a pleasure to catch up with Shea and Raelene in person. Although we regularly chat by email or by commenting on each other's blogs, there is nothing like a good face-to-face gab session with people with whom Claire, Paul and I share a rare and lifelong bond. Thanks, ladies, for making the time to see us!

From left, Shea with Caia, Claire and I, and Rae with Bryn

From left, Claire, Bryn and Caia

From left, Caia, Claire and Bryn

Saskatoon visit, part two: a fantastic Father's Day for Paul

We celebrated Father's Day in Saskatoon with Paul's parents, which I think he really enjoyed. I'm kicking myself, though, because I didn't get a special picture of Claire with Paul and his dad. I'll be sure to remedy this on the weekend coming up when we see Paul's parents again for Claire's baptism here in town.

Paul's favourite memory of Father's Day is watching car racing with Claire. She sat so intently in front of the TV and made loud racing sounds which everyone heard and laughed about.

That evening, we all laughed as we saw her tease her Grandpa. It was clear she wanted the remote control he was holding but we didn't anticipate how she'd get it. She walked up to Grandpa, handed him Bei Bei (one of the Beijing Olympic mascots) and just as he reached out to pick Claire up for a cuddle, she swiped the remote and motored away with a smug look on her face. What a stinker.

I love these photos of Paul with his little girl. Happy Father's Day, geezer.

Saskatoon visit, part one: Claire's first pool party!

We arrived in Saskatoon at Paul's parents house on Friday night after an uneventful drive. Paul's parents delighted in seeing their grandchild again and had a lot of fun becoming reacquainted. The very next day, Paul's parents hosted a family pool party, which gave us a great opportunity to introduce Claire to many more of Paul's relatives. Claire made strange for a little while at the beginning but then became quite comfortable as she met great-aunts and uncles, cousins and second cousins.

Ready for the pool! (I'm sure my friend Kelsey, who is an optometrist, will be pleased to see we protect Claire's eyes with sunglasses.)



Paul's dad Wally had Claire in his arms almost the whole time he barbecued. The week before, she had been repeating the words, "hot, hot, hot" from a book we read to her, but after her time with Grandpa, we were able to officially add the word "hot" to the list of words she says!

We've got a walker on our hands!

After more than a month of taking a few unassisted steps to me or back and forth between Paul and I, Claire is now officially walking! She took her first little walk tonight before Paul got home from work. The first video clip below captures one of her first little excursions. When Paul got home, she really showed off her moves (see the second clip)!


Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Had I known this would be a momentous evening, I would have put Claire's pants back on after her diaper change.


Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

On a totally unrelated note, I'll be absent from the blogging world for the next 10 days, while Claire and I visit family and a couple of Claire's Xinyu sistas in Saskatchewan. Tune in again in late June for some major catch-up blogging!

p.s. - Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

Random pics

Paul loves having Claire beside him when he watches NASCAR, so it's no surprise that Claire likes cars. Here she is steering a big car.

Claire loves this book, partly because it starts with a fun game of peekaboo.

This photo of Claire with a wild and crazy smile is the first I took where you can see her top teeth.

You've come a long way, baby

It's been four months since we received Claire and I continue to marvel at the little girl she has become in such a short time. I think some of her growth was catch-up development and some is simply regular progress.

It's amazing to think that only four months ago, this 15 and a half pound crawling, cruising, talking, kissing, giggling child:

• didn't like being on her back (which made diaper-changing very challenging);
• didn't like being on her stomach;
• wasn't used to baths;
• had not an ounce of fat on her;
• did not seem to like having books read to her;
• couldn't pick up a cheerio;
• couldn't hold her bottle;
• had a vocabularly consisting of Mama, Baba and Dadda;
• didn't know how to kiss yet;
• didn't have enough hair for barrettes; and
• didn't know yet how crazy we are about her.

There are countless changes of course, but these are the ones that spring to mind. I'm sure my travel-mates all have similar thoughts and their own list of changes. I'd love to hear them!

One of Claire's latest things is to motion for us to read books to her. Yay, she loves books! She especially loves books if the book features a puppy, a kitty, a baby or a hat (some of the words she can say).

Another fairly new thing is to say "all gone" or "all done" while holding up empty hands (like in the last picture in the last post). The "gone" and "done" don't come out perfectly but you can catch her drift.

She's also starting to know what animals make what sounds. She sounds pretty funny when she makes horsie, cow, puppy, dragon (yes, dragon) and sheep sounds. Although she mixes them up quite often, we still find it really exciting that she's trying the sounds out. She makes a pretty good car sound too.

I wonder what she'll be doing in another four months ...

Afterthought: I just re-read this post and realized that my statements about Claire in February may sound negative. I wrote them in the negative for comparison purposes only; I was proud of everything she did at that stage too!

Enjoying the city

We've kept busy this week going to facilities in the city like a conservatory and the zoo, as well as a children's festival in the community just north of us.

I'm adjusting our routine somewhat because Claire is now taking a 1 and a half hour to 2 hour nap around noon (if "conditions" allow) instead of two short naps. The conditions are basically that we can't be out and about around noon hour. If we are, she just catches a short nap in the car and then needs another later. As a result, I'm trying to stay home at the opportune time. I love it actually, because I can now have a good chunk of time to myself (more than a 20 - 40 minute break as before).

I've posted a few pics from our week. The ones of Claire in the polka-dot top were taken at the conservatory in the wedding-themed show pavillion; the ones of Claire in the hat were taken yesterday during the children's festival.