A visit with old friends

This past weekend, Paul, Claire and I visited our friends Kelley and Paul. (As you can imagine, the two men being named Paul is confusing at times!) We also lucked out with a visit from our friend Daria, who is in the process of moving from B.C. to Milwaukee. She and her little girl Addison made a special trip out to see all of us.

Kelley and Paul made this a super-easy trip for us. They borrowed a highchair, playpen, carseat and stroller so that Claire would be comfy and we could travel easily. I'm sure it was a lot of trouble for them but of course, they said it was no problem at all. Thanks Kelley and Paul!

Although our visit was a short one, there were so many highlights:

• Claire's instant smile each time Kelley asked if she'd like to dance;
• Claire and Addison, only months apart in age, playing alongside each other (especially because Addison's mommy and I have known each other since we were five, only four years older than our girls!);
• Claire sitting on Kelley's countertop "cooking" with us;
• Walking down memory lane on Facebook and having a good laugh about the old days;
• The two Pauls cooking amazing ribs and chicken for us, wearing funny aprons (pics of which are not appropriate to post here!);
• Playing "Ring around the Rosie" and our own version of "duck duck goose", and singing the Mini Wheat song with Claire (complete with arm-flapping);
• Laughing about the late-night injury Claire's daddy suffered while out walking the dog with Paul;
• Kelley's Paul playing the harmonica and their dog Kino singing (howling) along; and
• Claire's giggle fits on the flight home as we pretended my hair was a mustache for both her and I.

This trip reminded me yet again that conversation with old friends, no matter how much time has passed, is as easy and natural as if no time has passed at all since the last visit. Now that I'm a parent, I also love that our friends, both old and new, love Claire to bits. They love spending time with her as much as we do, and I'm grateful for their influences in her life.

Daria and Addison, Kelley and Claire

Paul playing the harmonica while Kino sings along.

New friends!

A letter of apology to Claire regarding a bad haircut

Dear Claire,

Let me begin this letter by saying I think you are undeniably beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. Nothing can mar your beauty; you could wear a paper bag dress without combing your hair in the morning and still look gorgeous.

With these assurances out of the way, I can now move on to the matter at hand: the bang trim you received today. While your short, awkwardly straight bangs do not take away from your beauty, they are not up to your natural beauty standards. For this I apologize deeply. I also regret that I was lazy; I should have booked an appointment with my stylist downtown like last time. That convenient place in the mall today just looked so promising!

I know bad haircuts are inevitable in life but I was hoping we could put that pain off for at least a few years. Now that we've taken the plunge, though, perhaps it won't hurt so much (for me, that is; you don't seem to notice) the next time. Again, I'm sorry.

Love Mom

See? Still beautiful! (But I really am sorry about those bangs!)

With a barrette, things are much better!

This is the life!

We're having fall-like weather this week but at least today we had some beautiful sunshine. Although I feared a windy chill, Claire and I ventured outside for most of the afternoon. I enjoy every moment with Claire but some moments are pure magic. I can't explain why but this afternoon was like that. I guess it was just the right combination of opportunity, weather and the wonder of a child.

It's a jungle out there!

This year, our garden is a little overgrown with weeds, and I have to admit, I've already killed off all the annuals in our pots. Paul and I both love to garden, so what's up?

Claire-bear, that's what. For a couple of reasons. Reason # 1: Until just recently, she was putting everything in her mouth. Rocks, yep. Bark mulch, yep. I've been reluctant to take my eyes off her to pull even a few weeds. Pretty much gave me a heart-attack (did I mention I have a huge choking fear?) whenever I tried to get something done outside. And I usually spend her nap time showering, doing dishes, cleaning the house or blogging / keeping up with email; not much time for gardening there! Reason #2: Who wants to pick weeds when you can play outside with a cutie like Claire?

Anyway, Claire now seems past the stage of putting everything in her mouth. Yay! As a result, I finally had a chance to get some work done outside this week. Unfortunately, my time was pretty much spent on pulling the dead plants from our pots and putting the pots away. Oh well, there's always next summer!



Helping Mama with weeding.


















Claire's not sure what to think about our jungle-like amaranthus.










You may notice I didn't take any wide shots of our yard - just close-ups of Claire around certain flowers. That's my strategy to remember only the good parts of the yard this year!

New portrait

For our six-month anniversary with Claire, we had new professional photos taken of her. As you can probably tell from my posts, I'm fascinated by the changes in her (actually, in all children this age) so I have to post the best of the latest photo session along with the one taken in China on February 11. Look at all her hair now! (And she's already had a couple of cuts!)

Where's Claire?

For months, Claire has enjoyed playing peekaboo, covering herself up with a blanket or peeking out from a corner. Her latest version of the game goes as follows:



Oh no! Where's Claire?!

There she is!

Half a year!

It's unbelievable to us that we received Claire six months ago, on February 5. Yet, when we look at her, we can see how much she has changed. And I guess we have changed as well, although in less obvious ways. We're now pros at making bottles and changing diapers, reading books in silly voices and chopping food into tiny, choke-proof pieces. We've also been enriched by a child's perspective on the world; experiencing the world through her eyes, as much of a cliche it is, is truly incredible.

I'm sure all parents, especially our travel-mates, can relate! Happy anniversary to our travel-mates and their beautiful Xinyu girls!

Then ...

And now.