Category: Glenn

A sick girl, a competition and a trike

After the last update, Katrine spent one whole week well before picking up a virus so now she is sick once more.  During that single week of wellness, she competed at March Mania in Innisfil because we had already registered her so what the he**.  We were hoping that she would go, have fun and stay up right on her skates (I mean, in three weeks she had only been on the ice three times for a total of 2 hours of ice time where she normally clocks at least 5 a week).  Well she goes and does have fun and manages to stay up right through out her solo.  She also manages to come in 4th!!  Pretty darn proud of her.  When Elspeth saw her getting her make up on, she had to get in on the action too. Do you think that the pink eye shadow is a bit much for a two year old?  We tried to convince her of that but she was pretty adament and proud of herself.

Opening sequence
She also has hot pink nailpolish on because I did it on Katrine to help her feel better. Sometimes it is good to be the younger sister.

 

 

Elspeth has grown over the last month so during the lull last week we pulled out Katrine’s old red trike to see if she was now tall enough for it.  Yep!  She seems to grasp the concept of peddling and can make it go forward or back for about three peddles.  Think that there are going to be many days spent outside with that little red bike once her legs get strong enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are the rest of us healthy?  We think that Elspeth may have had a virus at some point in time because she woke up super cranky but with that being the only symptom it is hard to conclusively say.  Glenn has had a couple days where he has been simply exhausted so we think that he was maybe fighting it off.  Me?  Thought that I had an ear infection last week but it turned out to just be a virus or cold.  Found out though that I really should not take Tyl**ol decongestant.  No, it did its job its just that I am wierd.  In my normal Heather fashion I walked around in a dazed and exhausted state for two days until Glenn hid it and put me to bed.  I am still really tired but not congested anymore.  Plus, it is much safer for the kidlets to just have a cranky mom.  That’s how it stands for us leading up to the March Break.  Wishing Elspeth had a Canadian passport and we were heading somewhere sunny and warm to play by a pool and rest.  Instead, not sure what we will be doing because spending vast quantities of time outdoors in the cold is seeming like an unwise choice.  Suggestions?

Katrine’s 7th Gotchaversary

(Yes I am procrastinating again, but this time lets call it deciding on the best assignement to complete.  The plus side is, that you get another photo update.)

We didn’t have this blog running when we adopted Katrine 7 years ago so I thought that I would put up some photos of our first day as a family.  I was originally going to wait and post up to date photos of us with Katrine so you could compare but, she is still sick and I promised her I wouldn’t so enjoy these old ones from the day that our family was born.

This is how our day started. Waking up to this empty crib.
After a speech by an official assuring us that the girls would adjust, the babies started coming. As they brought her through the door, we knew she was ours. I got to hold her first.
This day the tears came from us. Katrine took it all in solemnly until the nannies came in to say good bye. Then she was all smiles.
First family photo.
As soon as the nannies left, Katrine started to shut down. It is exhausting going through an emotional upheaval.
The day ended with her showing off her crawling skills. Now that was unexpected.

And with that, Chinese New Year draws to a close

We had a wonderful time at the FCC Toronto New Years Banquet tonight.  If you have been following us for a while, you know that this is an annual event.  Katrine has been checking the calendar regularly for the last two weeks to make sure that we were not going to miss it.  It is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect and get caught up.  All of the girls are so busy, there is a lot to get caught up on.  Plus, it gives the girls yet another chance to just bond between chatting, eating and running around like crazy.

This year was even more special because we filled up 4 seats not just 3.  It was fun watching Elspeth join in the general craziness of the evening by twirling, jumping and dancing on the stage.  She was also spoiled rotten by her various Aies and managed to consume vast quantities of chocolate from her red envelopes (we usually do chocolate coins instead of money).  Then she had Glenn working over time cutting up items from various dishes.  She couldn’t get the food in fast enough – duck, mushrooms, chicken, more mushrooms, beans.  I don’t think that she slowed down until we were on about the 6th course and then by dessert she barely managed a bite of her almond cookie.

This year there was a Chinese folkdance troop for entertainment.  The girls dance well and put on a really nice show which was made even better by the fact that one of Katrine’s China sisters danced with her Chinese folkdance troop.  Watching them made me wish that we had more money and time so that our two could give it a whirl.  Oh well, only so much time and mental and physical resources.  At least we got to enjoy their performance.

The evening drew to a close with the lion dance.  Katrine was right in there.  Touching, dancing, playing the cymbals.  Elspeth was not so fond of the chaos and noise which accompanied the lions.  At one point Glenn had to take her outside because being held was not enough to help her feel safe.  Once the lions stopped walking around the restaurant she was able to relax enough to come back in.  Katrine reacted much the same to the lions when she was two and now you almost have to pry her away from them.  Hopefully next year it will be easier for Elspeth.

Welcome to the Year of the Dragon! xin nian kuai le

This new year feels especially sweet as it is the first that we have shared as a family of four.  We actually started the celebration yesterday at my parents when they gave the girls hong bao.  Grandparents know their grandchildren so well.  Katrine got her money in toonies while Elspeth got her’s in nickels and dimes because she absolutely loves to put money into her piggie bank.  Then when we got home we finished putting up the decorations with 3M squares because the tape was just not cutting it.  Katrine donated her two stuffed dragons/dinosaurs to the cause and they are proudly sitting underneath our flower vase in the livingroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Usually on New Year’s day I cook a big meal, even making the dumplings from scratch.  With a new two year old I was not sure how abundant food preparation would go so we simplified things by buying pre-made dumplings (Mama’s still taste better and I have been instructed that I need to make them again next year) and wonton soup.  We also cut out the noodles (horror – guess we might be short on long life this year) and the fish.  Even with the cuts there was still a lot of yummy food and the house smells of chinese food.  I did get creative with dessert.  We had some of the traditional candied vegetables (acquired taste but boy do the girls love the coconut) and cookies arranged to look like a dragon.  We also got dressed up for dinner which thrilled Katrine.  Elspeth could’ve cared less what she was wearing, she just wanted to colour the new year’s pictures.  The celebration ended with more hong bao and piggie bank feeding.  Then Elspeth went to bed and Katrine to the arena.  Our new year’s festivities will not be over until our annual FCC chapter banquet in two weeks.  Katrine can hardly contain her excitement at being able to share a meal with some of her China sisters.

The most creative part of our meal.

Katrine fit into this dress on her first new years...she was not yet 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To all of our family and friends, we wish you prosperity and happiness in the coming year.

Happy Robbie Burns Day!

Actually, it is a bit early as his birthday is not until Wednesday but we celebrated yesterday so I am typing this up tonight.  We did our usual thing and drove up to my parents house so that we could all go the party at the Midland Legion.  Katrine was so excited about going to dance and hear the pipes that she even had me put a bun in her doll Lily’s hair (anyone know how to get bobby pins to stick into fake hair? Mine kept falling out).  Elspeth was a bit over whelmed and spent most of the night in someone’s arms clutching her penguin Meme and her sheep Aleigh.  That said, she looked super cute in tartan, bounced along when the pipes played (vs crying), waved enthusiastically when Katrine and I danced AND not only tried haggis but gobbled up a large serving.  Guess we will make a Scots out of her yet!  She also learned a new word which will come in immensely handy this summer but little else…piper.  Our other girl?  Glowed from all of the praise about her dancing.  I think that she particularly enjoyed hearing from the lady who told her, “I remember the very first time you danced and jumped side to side.  Now look at how big you are and you were wonderful.”  By about 9:00 poor Elspeth was hanging on to wakefullness by sheer will power so we started to pack her up.  Well, Katrine would have none of that because the pipe band had yet to play.  So, I drove Elspeth back to my parents house and ended up with a whole hour to myself…happy sigh.

This morning we enjoyed the snow.  Elspeth got to go sledding for the first time sitting on my lap.  It was only a wee hill but she was clapping at the bottom.  She was also much more willing to actually walk in the snow and touch it.  After tobogganing she pulled the sled around and when she got tired she put Glenn to work pulling her all around the yard until a dog barked, scared her and she insisted on going inside.  Katrine has fun trying to coax Elspeth into walking on the snow but lost interest after tobogganing for a bit.  Then the neighbour kids came out and she was off.  More sledding followed as well as using riding on their ATV.  I thought that she would find it scary but not her, “Awesome” was her description.  Her only disappointment about the visit was that the ice was too thin to go ice fishing with Grandpa and we weren’t staying long enough to go skiing.  Guess we will simply have to head back up soon.

As the Year of the Rabbit draws to a close, I will finish off with one of Burns’ graces (kindof symbollic of the melding of cultures in our family – Burns one day, New Years the next):

SOME hae meat, and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it ;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit. 

 

Bringin in the haggis
Not a bad job on the buns aye?
"Haggi(s). Mo(re)"

Gonna use this in our 6 month update for China

"Must not fall asleep. Might miss something."

Christmas: Rounds 1 & 2

Happy Santa Day!  Have you been good?  The girls (aka Katrine worrying for both of them) are keeping their fingers crossed that they made it onto the nice list.  We also spent the last two days baking cookies to make sure that we had enough sweet stuff to tempt the big guy.  On the plus side, Katrine went to sleep super quickly tonight, or at least pretended to.

The picture of concentration
I think those sprinkles were suppose to go on the cookies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round 1:

Last night was Elspeth’s first real taste of the Christmas tradition of celebrating family.  Glenn’s side of the family got together at his sister’s house for a nice dinner, awesome cookies provided by the other Heather, gifts and family.  The dinner and drinks were a hit with the grown ups, while Katrine loved her aunt’s white chocolate peppermint bark. Elspeth spent a good portion of the beginning of the evening fretting about their small shitzu.  Now Casey is a sweetie who loves to play.  The worst thing she could possibly do is lick you to death.  Just the same Elspeth could not be far enough away from her.  All through dinner she was checking under the table to make sure that she wasn’t lurking there or climbing into my lap for comfort at the hint of a bark (great for bonding though).  Katrine is not a big fan of dogs as you all know.  When she was younger she was quite scared of them, especially big ones but upon meeting Casey her fear has become managable.  She can now tolerate most dogs and refuses to let them get in the way of her fun.  Elspeth’s reaction to dogs makes young Katrine look like a dog lover.  She loves the concept of dogs when they are wayyyyy down the block or squishy stuffed animals just not when they are alive and within a two house width radius of her.  Then terror hits.  Her eyes get huge, she tenses, scans the area, clings (yeah), uses us as physical barriers (yeah).  We have a lot of family and friends with dogs so this presents a real problem.  It is also quite remarkable given that there were free roaming small dogs at the orphanage.  We have wondered if her little scar on her leg was the result of a burn but perhaps it was a dog bite.  The later would explain her intense fear.  Now the question becomes how to help her reach the place where Katrine is with regards to dogs.  Suggestions?

"I know that dog is here somewhere. Maybe she is after my christmas cracker."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elspeth relaxed once the presents began to be handed out.  Maybe because of the presents and maybe because she didn’t know that Casey was downstairs as she was so quiet.  Both girls had a lot of fun tearing into the paper.  Katrine was also thrilled to be able to hand out some gifts that she had purchased with her own allowance.  This is the first year that she had money to spend on presents and was quite proud of herself.

We also got a cool Scottish drummer nutcracker to add to our Christmas decoration stash.
Elspeth LOVED these shoes sooo much that she wore them right after opening them and again all day to day. Glenn better keep a watch on his credit card, we may have a shoe girl on our hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round 2: After a day of last minute jobs, we headed to church for family service.  Katrine was an adorable star in the children’s play.  She walked in, skipped around and then sat prettily until the end of the play.  She told me that she was glad to be a star because she got to wear a yellow headband and do a little dance.  The joys of being 7.

After service

Three days left

I am going to take a step out of our crazy life and post a pre-Christmas update.

Glenn:  Glenn has one final day of work and then he is off until the first Monday in January.  He has also been busy getting a gift ready for Elspeth.  He has built her a really cool, suitably short water table which she will love.  He is geering up to brine and cook our traditional turkey.

Me:  I finished picking all of the sequins and tape that I had originally sewn onto Katrine’s solo dress and am almost ready to start over.  You see, I made a HUGE mistake…I forgot to have her try it on before doing all of the sewing so when everything was on it looked great but would no longer fit.  Sigh.  On the upside, finished embroidering the stocking that my mom made for Elspeth.  I am also in the process of confirming or dismissing my previous diagnosis of asthma as well as my multiple food allergies.  Wouldn’t that be a great gift.  Katrine had her last gymnastics class yesterday and I am eagerly looking forward to the one night a week that will now be free. (Oh the joys of not having to be somewhere at a specific time)

Katrine:  Katrine has a break from skating nights until the second of January.  However, she volunteered to be part of the show that her morning skating school is putting on the first week of January so our “break from skating” will be spent….skating.  (Bet you can’t say that you are surprised)  It is nice to see how she lights up when she steps on the ice.  She really does enjoy it.  Tonight she did her first skating exam – the Dutch Waltz and, much to her relief, she passed.   She is also going to be something in the church’s Christmas Eve pagent but she won’t know what until Friday’s rehersal.

This week saw the dreaded family tree assignment arrive home.  The amount of work was appropriate for a Grade 2 student but it made Katrine upset that there were not enough spaces for all of her family.  Off we went to google translate to locate the French terms for birthparents, birthfamily and forever family. (Not sure we got them right but I should get points for navigating that with one child while keeping the two year old occupied)  Then she began fretting again about where to write the information and we worked that out; only to have her begin to worry that her teacher would be upset that we altered the assignment.  After working through that I thought to check the messages on the phone.  Well, wasn’t there a message on the phone from Katrine’s Social Studies teacher explaining that the wrong sheet was sent home and she could make all of the changes that we had just made.  Played the message for Katrine and all was right again.  Guess that will teach me to check the phone for messages before beginning homework.  Sigh.

Elspeth: Elspeth is fascinated with puzzles right now.  She will do the same four puzzles multiple times in one afternoon and always get frustrated at the same parts.  I have been wanting to bang my head against the wall by the fifth time doing the same four puzzles in a row so I took her and bought her two new puzzles.  Sounds great right?  Now she will do all four puzzles and then tidy them up, stop, take all of the pieces out of the two new puzzles before beginning again at the beginning leaving me to put the two new puzzles back together.  Oh well, at least it is a new pattern.

She has dug her heels in with the potty training.  Her stuffed animals frequently visit the toy potty but she tends to go when Katrine goes or she feels the need to hear “Upp-a-da” which is more commonly known as “Up on the Rooftop”.  She will however, bardge into the bathroom whenever someone it is in use and cheer for you.  You want to say, “Get out” but can’t because you are laughing at how darn cute she is.

She is also copying Katrine.  When Katrine is up walking through her solo to the music, Miss Elspeth must be up to trying to mimic all of her moves.  Our personal favourite is Elspeth’s version of the spiral.  Please notice that she looks like a little puppy going to the bathroom when she does it independently.  Her form is much more standard when someone helps.  I am beginning to worry that we will have a second figure skater on our hands; in which case, we should just buy ourselves an arena.

"I've gotta go."
"Stretch a little bit more Baba. I want to be just like Katrine."

Home a Week

Tonight marks the end of our first week home…its been a long week but productive week.

We were greeted at the airport by some of our China family and it was a really nice way to ease back into reality.  Katrine was thrilled to have a chance to run around and blow off steam with her “sisters”.  The fact that cupcakes were brought in addition to friends made it that much more special.  Then it was time to introduce Elspeth to a Canadian automotive tradition: the car seat.  She was not impressed.  A five point harness is quite different than complete freedom in chinese taxis.  Good thing was that she didn’t last long before falling asleep.  When she woke up it was to her new home and some family waiting on the doorstep.  Introductions were given as she clung to Glenn’s shirt.  Eventually she was coaxed off and began to explore what we are affectionately refering to as Toyapalooza.  She was particularly enamored with the kitchen.  Guests shown to the door, a warm bottle and all four of us were in bed.(well, Glenn and I ordered some late night pizza first.  I mean, keeping the McD’s french fry industry in business leaves one decidely hungry after three weeks)

The next day we got both Elspeth’s SIN and Health Card in her proper Canadian name.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that her permanent resident card also comes that way so that there will be no issues with her citizenship.  We have also gone to visit the doctor, got her parasite tests and TB tests done and I have applied for EI.  Oh and did I mention that poor Glenn woke up the day after we landed with a horrible head cold?  It hit him really hard. Katrine and I have just been battling jet lag while Elspeth is adjusting.  Amongst all of the jobs that have had to get done we have had some fun.  Katrine went to skating classes with daddy twice this week so that she would have a little something that was just for her.  We also introduced Elspeth to the joys of our local parks and splash pads.  As you can see from the photos, she is still adjusting.  She had more fun splashing in one of the puddles left from a rain shower than in the puddles at the splash pad!

She is also adjusting to our house, routine and food.  She is starting to smile more readily as the week has gone on.  She is also starting to be less clingy to me.  Yes, that’s right.  The girl who clung to her Baba for dear life in China, became a Mama’s girl upon arriving in Canada.  So much so that she would want me to hold her while trying to cook and if I put her down or into her booster would throw a fit.  Now though she is seeking out Baba more again which shows that she is beginning to claim her new environment as her own.  She is also making progress in terms of the number of foods she will eat.  Breakfast is by far her most favourite meal.  She will eat a whole clementine, small glass of milk, a scrambled egg and then bowl of oatmeal in one sitting.  Then when I sit down to eat will make little bird noises to indicate her indignation that I am eating and not feeding her.  Of course, she won’t eat my GF toast and bacon but she insists that I offer it to her.  We still have a long road until she is at a more reasonable weight for her age, until she can use speak to indicate what she wants, until she truly feels safe and secure and a part of our family but we are off to a good start.

 

And we are done!

The fourth, and last, of the missing blog updates from when our computer was blocked in Beijing
August 18th

The title says it all. Originally we had thought to tire the kids out by visiting the zoo tomorrow. Nope, we will be sleeping in and then taking a taxi to Tiannamen Square before walking back here. Today was fun but high UV and HOT. Katrine told us in no uncertain terms that she wants to go home. China is awesome but she wants to go home. The heat sent Elspeth into a fit this morning and she has begun trying to exert her independence around feeding herself. Tantrums are just easier when you are not dealing with them on buses, tourist attractions and hotel lobbies. I think that if Katrine had been an easy baby dealing with Elspeth’s rants would be emotionally exhausting. Now you just wait them out and remind her not to head butt or scratch. When we visited the orphanage they bragged about how independent she was. Great in a regular two year old but we have to regress her so that she learns that she can depend on us for the necessities as a baby does from birth. Unfortunately tonight’s tantrum resulted in her refusing to eat much for dinner because she was not allowed to just feed herself. The plus side is that she is now comfortable enough with us that she can just let it go. Down side, a 13 hour flight tomorrow.

Now onto the good part of the day. This morning we visited the Temple of Heaven. Once again the grounds were beautiful. Spent a lot of time wanting to just let Elspeth lose on the lush green lawns but they are lush and green for a reason…no one is allow on them. We got to watch a variety of groups of senior citizens engaged in morning exercises (once you reach 60 you get free entrance to the grounds and there really are no other gathering places). We saw grandparents teaching their grandsons how to play mahjong, various taichi and dancing groups. One guy just made me laugh, he was standing off to the side of a dance group very elegantly doing the movements with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Doesn’t the smoke negate the benefits of the exercise?

The Temple itself was gorgeous. Just like in the photos we’d seen. At the same time much more extensive. You see, the emperors never did anything small. Summer Palace – grand. Forbidden City – grand. Temple of Heaven – surprise…grand. Also laid out in a symbolic manner. First the Temple of Earth, followed by the area for ancestor worship, then where the emperor got changed into the clothes of a regular guy because one does not approach heaven with lofty duds on and then the actual Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven was certainly the prettiest portion but the circular lay-out of the Temple of Earth was more visually pleasing to me.

After a much needed rest we went to visit the cathedral on Wangfujing. It was rebuild in 1980 and is quite pretty. It is one of the few state sanctioned Catholic churches in Beijing. Then it was back to the hotel to rest, swim and pack (oh ya, and to have the “you can’t make me eat” tantrum).

The Forbidden City (紫禁城)

This is the third missing post from when our computer was blocked in Beijing
August 17th

Well this morning dawned with our big miss feeling much better. Plus they were serving chicken congee so little miss and myself got to eat some really delicious congee this morning. Yesterday they switched to preserved pork and egg congee. Little miss spit out every piece of egg and pork. In other words, she ate watery rice. Very nutritious for someone who is under weight.

After breakfast we walked as a group over to the Forbidden City. On the way, we passed the building where they actually matched us with our babies. That was pretty cool. I mean, it is really just a plain building to look at from the outside but the inside happenings are what is special.

The Forbidden City was a lot warmer this go round but also a lot more crowded. Elspeth seemed to be fascinated with the buildings. She spent much of the visit pointing here and there making a vocalization which we have come to interprete as “What’s that?”. Katrine was also fascinated. You can tell because she spent the visit taking photos, reading signs and actually looking at things. I know, she wasn’t constantly in motion?? Yep, she looked and learned. I think that Glenn and I enjoyed seeing the Imperial Gardens the most. They were barren in February but now were a wash with green. I think that the most dynamic aspects of the garden were still the rock formations arranged at various spots around the garden.

We headed out after nap time for some shopping therapy. Didn’t buy much though. We did find a few more really cute statues on the side streets. My favourite was of a group of kids playing around with grown-up shoes. If you look closely, you can see that one little fellow is wearing split pants.

This evening our group gathered in the lobby before heading out for tea tasting and the Olympic Village. I was surprised by how interested in the tea tasting Katrine was. She and the other older sister in our group did a great job of watching what the girls were doing as they made each type of tea. Plus, both girls tasted each tea sample. They were however, even more excited to walk around the gift shop after the tasting critiquing which tea sets were the prettiest. As with last time, we ended up buying tea, a new tea set (it has dragons that change colour when hot liquids are poured in) and a peeing boy. We got two boxes of our favourite pu-er type of tea, a nice jasmine tea with a beautiful fragrance, a litchi tea that I can’t wait to try and make into iced tea and then a fruit tea which actually has bits of dried fruit floating in it. I can see that one getting good use for Katrine’s tea parties. Now for the peeing boy. He is really just a little boy made out of clay with a strategically placed hole. When cold water is poured over him – nothing. BUT, if the water is hot enough to make good tea watch out because the boy has a good trajectory. Katrine can attest to that because when the girls demonstrated the boy she got hit in the face.

After we left the tea shop we drove to the Olympic Village. We had driven by it a few times this week during the day and the stadiums are impressive to look at then. Quite grand, doing justice to the fact that they were host to the best athletes in the world for that year. At night though, they are lit up and truly come into their own. The bird’s nest is lit with red and yellow. The lights highlight the crisscross of beams supporting the structure. The water cube however steals the show. During the day the walls look like they are made of silvery pebbles. At night, you can see each blue bubble. The lights really highlight the texture of the walls. Gorgeous. I was also really excited to be able to buy a mug with all of the Fuwas on it. I think that they are among the cutest mascots ever. I use to have a sweatshirt with them all on it, which I adored and in true Heather fashion managed to destroy in a kitchen accident.
We are having a nice time here and finding time each day to work on building our family. We are figuring out how to give Katrine one on one time through both little and larger things. She is getting more use to the fact that she now shares us with another kidlet. Elspeth is accepting me and trusting me more although Glenn is still her centre of security. She is also learning that we do not give in to temper tantrums. Figure that there will be even more of them to come. We are by no means at the end of our learning curve but at least we are moving along as opposed to standing still.