Three Xinyu girls "back" together (pardon the pun)

Claire and I just returned from Saskatoon where we spent two wonderful weeks. Paul joined us in Saskatoon for the first and last of our three weekends there. As you'll see from the many posts that will follow, one of the best things about visiting Saskatoon is seeing two of our China travel families: Rae, Girard, and Bryn, and Shea and Caia.

Claire had a blast with Bryn and Caia, and was calling each girl by name in a matter of minutes (a huge compliment). I marvelled at how the girls were so in sync with whatever "game" or activity they were engaged in. At times, their activities took place while their backs were to us, but I love these shots anyway.

This is Bryn giving Claire a little affection (without coaxing on our part or anything!)

Claire and Bryn clowned around quite a bit during our meal at Rae and Girard's. Here they are yet again with their backs to us.

Caia and Grandma Darlene came to my mom's house for a playdate one morning while Shea was at work. The girls practised their Chinese squatting poses for a while before moving on to this quasi-kneeling position. We're not quite sure what they were looking at.

Claire, Caia and Bryn at Caia and Shea's house engaged in ... hmmm... again, I'm not quite sure. Whatever it was, though, they definitely had a lot of fun!

One last squeeze and kiss for Claire from Bryn.

Thanks again Rae, Girard, Shea and Darlene for making the time to see us. It was so heartwarming to see the girls together again and as you know, I loved the chance to catch up with you all in person. Thanks also for the rum, ladies! (hee hee)

Lovely inside and out

I know these photos are not great technically (I can't seem to figure out my lighting issues!), but I love the spirit Claire shows in each of them. Besides, if I ever do figure out the technical side of photography, it'll be fun to see the progress I've made. In the meantime, enjoy these images of our lovely girl.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!

Two boys and a girl

We made a quick trip to Calgary last weekend to celebrate our godson Michael's First Communion. We had a lot of fun visiting with Greg, Teri and their boys Michael and Cameron. Claire really liked hanging out with the boys. She watched them wherever they went, and she often tried to join in on their activities if she hadn't already been invited by the thoughtful little geezers.

Claire, Cameron and Michael at the playground:I think Paul was pretty impressed with the skills Claire gained in gymnastics: hold on for dear life!

Both boys enjoyed holding Claire's hand while walking (that's Cameron walking with Claire below), and Michael seemed to especially enjoy picking Claire up.

After mass, the kids (plus Greg and Paul) played street hockey for a while. As soon as Claire saw what was going, she picked up a stray stick and joined the game, saying, "Baby too, Baby too!". Thanks for inviting us, Greg and Teri, to join in the celebration of Michael's "Firt" Communion (I'm still giggling over the misspelling of First on the cake). We had a wonderful time with you and the boys!

Crazy outside, crazy inside

We experienced bizarre winter weather this week. Before last Sunday, all of our snow was completely gone. And then between Sunday and Thursday, somewhere between 25 and 30 cm of snow fell. Arghhh!! Just when we thought Spring had truly arrived! This sad photo of some fun summer stuff buried in snow was taken on April 23!With the awful weather, we stayed home most of the week. I definitely suffered from cabin fever but I don't think Claire did. She continued to find ways to amuse herself.

Thankfully, Kitsya doesn't seem to mind when Claire plays with her tent. It appears they have amicably agreed to share each other's tents.

All of Claire's birthday toys, play clothes and books got a great workout this week. Although late April is a terrible time for a snow storm, at least we had new stuff to play with!

On several occasions, Claire made her own fun by jumping and dancing in her crib. I captured some of her antics in the next two photos.

Another past-time during our time in captivity was to practice various facial expressions (happy, sad, mad, surprised, etc.). This is Claire's surprised look. I keep trying to get her to have an open "o" for a mouth but for some reason, she always sticks her tongue there!

Special message for Daddy

Paul has been out of town for a few days and I know he's really missing Claire. This is for you, Paul! (He taught her what she says in the video.)

Claire the two-year old

Claire, how old are you?


Two!

Claire, our sweet two-year old, is now 30 1/4 inches tall and 18 pounds (still). February and March were tough months for her, as she was under the weather most of the time with various bugs and teething. As a result, she didn't eat much, was quite irritable at times and very clingy to Mom. It seems like she is now back to her old self, with a good appetite again too. Hopefully she'll regain the weight she lost while sick and will get back on the growth curve she was following.

Do you know how kids make liars of you? Like when you say something about them and the very next day they prove you wrong? Recently it happened to me but in this case, I was happy about it. I had just commented on my friend Carolyn's blog that Claire had not yet verbalized "please" and "thank you" but rather would only sign those words. Well, that very night she verbalized them for the first time and has been using those words consistently ever since! One of her cute variations on polite sayings is to say "no please" instead of "no thank you" when she is offered something. Her Baba loves that! Claire is also very polite when it comes to coughing, covering her mouth delicately as she coughs.

It seems that with the return of Claire's appetite for food, her appetite for language has returned as well. She's trying out new words and phrases every day. I find it very interesting that her phrases seem to focus on (1) letting us know she wants something such as "more apple please mama", (2) asking us for help ("Mama, help please"), or (3) describing what she sees, such as "big blue house". Some of her friends seem to say phrases more focused on action ("me go outside please") so I'm curious when Claire will begin to verbalize that sort of stuff.

One of my regrettable influences is that Claire tends to call things "guys" like I do. Veggies, toys, people, stickers - all these things are "guys". And then there's the pizza guy. We ordered pizza two or three weeks ago, and Claire is still talking about the "pit-see-ah guy" (accent on the "see"). For some reason, he was a huge hit with Claire. She keeps asking where he is. I think it's making Paul a little suspicious.

As for interests, Claire's favourites lately include looking through books or having them read to her, colouring (she's very good at drawing family members, "balls" - circles - and vertical lines upon request), playing with Play-doh, painting, playing with her kitchen, pushing her babies around in a doll stroller, and grocery shopping with a mini-grocery cart. When she goes "shopping", she always places one of her stuffies in the part where a baby would go. She is always sure to buy lots of ham, apples, grapes and niu nai (milk, in Mandarin). Whenever I make my grocery list, she always asks me to include those items as well. Claire also seems to be enjoying the doll house we gave her for her birthday. She often makes the dolls play Ring Around the Rosie together.

Here's Claire inside Kitsya's little tent. We can't believe she can fit inside.


Claire also loves to go riding on her bike outside. Her feet don't reach the pedals yet but there is a little footrest for her to put her feet on while I push the bike. Halfway through our walk, she usually decides that she wants to push her bike. Shortly after that, she decides to simply walk beside it. Thankfully she loves her "blue hat", her bike helmut. Claire indicates her choice in outer wear by saying either "apple" or "rose" (one jacket has an apple on it and the other has stitching in the shape of flowers). She usually gets her way, weather permitting.

When Claire really likes a certain activity, I often tell her we'll do it again soon. She usually then asks, "tomorrow"? Until recently, I could tell from the way she was asking that she thought tomorrow is as immediate as it gets. It sure got me out of few binds when leaving the playground or putting away her Play-doh. Unfortunately, I think she's starting to realize that "tomorrow" is a bit more of a wait than she thought.

Claire is still quite reserved in public and in groups, so not everyone gets to see the Claire-bear we know. The Claire we know is playful, talkative, imaginative, engaging and gentle. She may be tiny but she exudes major charisma. Her affectionate nature blows me away. So often throughout the day, she'll pat my arm, touch my hair and say "pretty", or kiss me. The other day as I tucked her in for her nap, she took my hand in both of hers, rubbed my hand, and planted the sweetest smooch on it. It was yet another reminder that I'm lucky as can be.

Claire's two! Part three: grandparents are the best!

Claire's grandparents made a special visit from Saskatoon for Claire's birthday.

My mom arrived on Tuesday to help prepare for the celebrations and I'm so grateful she did! It was wonderful having her help before and during the kids' party especially. One of my favourite memories from the kids' party is Grandma handing out crackers to all the kids before lunch. Even the kids who tend to be more shy were approaching her for crackers. After Claire's nap later that day, Claire, Paul, my mom and I all went to the playground for some fun. Claire loved showing off her playground to Grandma. Check out Claire's big smile here on the teeter-totter!

Paul's parents arrived on Friday night. One of their presents for Claire became the centre of fun for the entire weekend (and for years in the future, I'm sure!): a wagon. Claire was so excited she didn't even bother using the door to get in!

Here are Paul, Joanne, Wally and Claire departing for the inaugural wagon ride:

I love this picture because Joanne is looking at Claire, who is smiling at Wally. Even though Wally isn't pictured, it's like his presence is felt because of Claire's smile.
On Saturday night, we had a party for Claire with a few of her favourite adults - ones she knows and loves well. She was a little overwhelmed by being the centre of attention so a few adults took turns playing with Claire in another room so that she would feel comfortable and be herself. Paul's mom Joanne played the longest downstairs with Claire, and Paul thinks it made Joanne's night.

Claire and Paul's dad also had lots of quality time together. The first night they arrived, she showed him her new dollhouse and all of its accessories. It was so sweet to see this big man next to Claire on the floor while they played. She really loves her Dido! Here they are together as Claire prepares to blow out her candles.


Thank you, grandparents, for making a special trip to see Claire on her birthday! Thank you also to our friends who attended the party Saturday night. It is so wonderful to see the love all of you have for Claire, and I know she feels it.

Claire's two! Part two: Claire's buddies at her party

Aren't Claire's friends adorable?!

Claire's two! Part one: highlights of the kids' party

Claire turned two on Friday, April 11. Dressed in a cute dress from her godparents, she was all set to party!Paul took the day off and we invited over seven kids and their parents from our adoption group for a party. We feel very fortunate to be a part of this group, and we were so happy they joined us in celebrating our Claire-bear! The kids had a lot of fun checking out Claire's toys, and Claire tolerated it remarkably well; she didn't have any meltdowns about the kids playing with her toys although she did remark several times very quietly, "baby's" meaning "that's mine!" Here are a few of the kids having a tea party.

After Ava's birthday in March, I asked Claire what kind of cake she would like (Ava had a Dora cake). Claire quickly replied "spies", which is what she calls the Backyardigans. Luckily I got a bunch of Backyardigan decorations on sale but I soon learned that none of the grocery stores make Backyardigan character cakes. I wasn't ambitious enough to make my own so I had to come up with a solution: we sat down Claire with all her "spies", took some pictures and then had a picture cake made. It reads: "Claire is 2! She certainly is!" In case you're not a Backyardigan fan, the "certainly" is from Tyrone.

Claire had no trouble blowing out one candle but the second one - a musical one - was very stubborn. It took several tries! Beside her, one of her buddies (S.) was blowing as hard as can be to help her. We're still smiling about it.

A huge thank you to all our friends who attended Claire's party! I'll follow this post with a few more, including one featuring Claire's cutie-pie friends.

Mmmmm!

We get to see this silly sight a couple of times a day but it's one of those spontaneous moments that's hard to capture on camera. Luckily I managed to do so - totally by accident - a few weeks ago. Hang in there ... the moment arrives in the last few seconds of the clip. You'll know it when you see it!

Claire's first day at "school"

One of my friends from our international adoption group told us about a nursery school in our neighbourhood where your child can go for two and 1/2 hours a day for two days a week. The toddler class is very small - just 9 kids - and the teacher and her assistant came highly recommended.

I knew immediately that I wanted to look into this for Claire. Although we do several classes and other activities together, she rarely is comfortable enough to really be herself in those settings for several possible reasons: too many kids, not a good fit in terms of the activity, or too large a physical environment. I've often thought that my presence may hinder as much as it helps in those settings: although I offer comfort, she would rather be in my arms than join in the play and be her usual fun self.

Claire and I observed at the nursery school last week and it was obvious Claire would love it there. The teacher and her assistant are incredibly warm and genuine people, the atmosphere is cozy and calm, and the kids all very gentle. I was thrilled to receive the good news that Claire could attend in the fall on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I was just as happy to learn that a spot was immediately available on Tuesday mornings.

This morning, Claire started "school". As per the teacher's instructions, I stayed until she was settled in and then I quickly sang our goodbye song, wished her a fun morning and left. She began howling as I left the room. Yow. The way she was soon sobbing left me to think she'd cry the entire time, which just tore at my heart. We have left her with family and a couple of close friends before but never with people she barely knows.

Thankfully, my friend Marianne knew how tough a morning it would be for me. We arranged in advance that we'd go for coffee and then shop, shop, shop. Of course I couldn't stop thinking about Claire but Marianne definitely helped to distract me. Perhaps more importantly, my morning plans ensured that I wouldn't go back to the nursery school and disrupt Claire's adjustment to her new surroundings.

When I returned to the nursery school, Claire was fine! The teachers were so happy to be able to give me the good news that she had done really well. She cried very hard for the first 45 minutes but from there they were able to calm her down. From that point until I arrived, she had jumped, danced, and laughed! Hooray! She had such a good time in fact that when it came time for Claire and I to leave together, she didn't want to go. Definitely a good sign!

Claire is very much looking forward to going back to school and keeps saying "tomorrow?" I found out that there is no class next week because of spring break unfortunately, but I'm sure she'll get back in the groove the following week.

Here's Claire outside her school doors on her very first day of nursery school. What a big girl!

Claire's dream coat

On Holy Thursday, an Easter package arrived for Claire from her Baba and Dido (Paul's parents). Inside was the most beautiful gift: a "Glad Dreams Coat" by Bunnies by the Bay, complete with a bunny hat and muff. The coat is advertised as a true "hareloom", and has the following inscribed inside: "Once within this dreamy coat, danced a dainty lass. Remembering all the glad dreams, to her daughter, the coat will pass."

Claire loved the Sesame Street gift wrap!

The coat and accessories came inside this beautiful storybook box.
Claire patiently modelled her glamorous outfit for the camera:And now all ready for church!
On behalf of Claire, a huge thank you to Baba and Dido for the prettiest coat in the world. We could tell Claire felt like a princess in it!

Easter visitors

Good Friday got off to a wonderful start with a visit from Rod and Marianne. It seems the Easter Bunny was a little overzealous and dropped off a basket for Claire at their house two days early! She received the greatest treats - chocolate, stickers, a book about Thumper, and a purse (!!). Shortly after lunch, we welcomed my brother Randy, his wife Cindy and their soon-to-be five-year old daughter Amelia (Mia). They drove up from Saskatoon to pick up a puppy nearby. Here are Mia and Claire enjoying some playtime before going to get their puppy.
Once they arrived back at our house with the puppy, Kitsya hid and Claire and Mia played mostly around the puppy's kennel for the most part. Take a look at Mia's puppy and guess her name ... yep, Lassie!Mia was not only a great "mama" to her new puppy, she was a great older cousin to Claire. Claire followed Mia's every move, and Mia was gentle and fun-loving with her little cuz.