What's up with Glenn, Heather, Katrine, and Elspeth
So Elspeth has been complaining about her skates pinching. It was not because they were too small in terms of size but rather that they were pinching her ankles where we were pulling them in excessively much in order to make them fit. Time for skates with laces. Off to the Figure Skating Boutique we went. Check out what we brought home.
Today it was off to the ROM. I knew that Katrine would love it but I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about how Elspeth would react. A stroller for security was an absolute necessity as was her stuffed sheep. Since I did bring those two the day played out well. Check it out.
Favourite exhibits:
Girls at play:
Well, it is really battle of the off ice girls. You pick the winner. 🙂 Contestant one is a mere three years old. She is able to travel forward and backwards on ice and can jump. Her dream is to be her big sister. Contestand two IS the big sister. Her dream? To be world champion; well, that and to land her axel.
(This is my view of what happens every afternoon at home after our time at the arena. It usually ends with both girls in giggles.)
1. Sit spin
2. Y Stand
3. Funny leg pulling thing (yes, that is my official term for this particular move!)
4. Spiral
(Had to cheat and use an on ice photo of contestant two, sorry)
Eight years ago today we began the day as a family of two waiting for this cutie.
Glenn was the calmer of the two.
I could barely contain myself. As soon as we reached the municipal offices to meet our Ning Fu Hong we were ushered upstairs to an empty room as the sound of children’s crying wafted down the hall.  That is when I lost it. My baby was so very close. It was all about to come true. After 6 and a half years of marriage we were about to become parents for the first time. Glenn still held it together as you can see.
Names were called. Nannies began bringing in babies. Cameras flashing. Videos rolling. Tears both happy (parents) and sad/scared (babies) being shed. Then there she was with her full head of hair and the sweatshirt we had sent over. She didn’t cry, she stared. Looking back she was so very stressed. For much of the day her body was tense, she wouldn’t make eye contact, scanned the room everytime a baby cried, barely touched the bottle. What really broke the ice was when the room service arrived. Then she was totally into us…well, really the food if I am being honest.
Here are a few more glimpses of that first day:
Did I mention that we learned she could crawl on that first day?
Tonight we will look through her photo album or watch video of that day 8 years ago. We will talk about how scared she must have been even though we were so excited and make the connection to her experience with Elspeth’s Gotcha Day. Tomorrow though, we celebrate with dinner out (her choice) and photos. In China, the adoption of a child is not finalized until after a 24 hour “Harmonious” period. As awesome as those first 24 hours were, the next day when all of the forms were finally signed and it was all legal and no one could seperate our family was when it was real. No sadness then, only joy. For Katrine, knowing that there is a day which marks when our family could never be torn apart is a big thing. It gives her security amidst all of her pervious losses. Eight years ago, we celebrated by going for a walk in the nearby People’s Park. (Yes, you can see how scared and stressed Katrine was in the photo with Glenn.)
This is how Katrine views her Gotchaversary and Forever Family Days.
Recently I found a great picture on Instagram. It showed what looked like a very simple craft – ice marbles. Get balloon, add food colouring, fill with water, tie and put outside to freeze.  Actually was not quite that easy. I never really made water balloons as a kid so I was not exactly experienced. First thing I learned was do not try to fill up the balloon using a funnel. Instead, take them to a small facet (I had to use the bathroom sink). Evne then, once you take the balloon off of the tap, the water squirts out. Granted, it squirted a lot more when using the funnel. If you are using plain water or water with glitter it is only a little bit messy. When using coloured water it is a much bigger mess which is WAYYYYY more fun to clean up!
The freezing of the filled balloons is straightforward – place outside or in freezer and wait. Okay, done. Then cut off the balloon. Now this is where the second big mess occured. The actual cutting of the balloons is again straight forward. However, they are filled with coloured ice. I ended up with blue and green fingers in addition to our little ice marbles.
Both girls enjoyed looking at the marbles and insisted that we try them again with glitter water. No pictures of those marbles as they are currently covered in snow. 🙂
Here is my question to all of you: Do you have any tips for making larger marbles? Do you know how to fill and tie the balloons without colouring your bathroom sink?
In said photo, the balls look to be rather large.
Happy New Year! Welcome to the Year of the Snake!
We had a fabulous celebration last night with some of Katrine’s China sisters. It is always a pleasure to watch the girls together playing, laughing and bonding. The fact that it provides time to chat with friends is an added bonus which we throughly enjoy. Thank you to our gracious host and hostess, it was a wonderful way to welcome in the new year.
If you have been following our blog, you know that we usually mark the new year by attending a new year’s banquet for adoptive families. It is enjoyable and when we decided to give something different a try (it seemed too much coming off the whiplash, concussion and illness train) Katrine mentioned that she would particularly miss the lion dance. With a PA Day and a Snow Day we had a lot of time to craft our very own dragon. Unfortunately it didn’t last too well (never tape the “body” onto the “head” as it pulls apart too easily) but at least the girls had fun with it before it pulled apart.
And now for some new year’s party photos:
Turning our spare room into a homework haven was a change born out of the need to try something new. Completing homework has been a source of stress for Katrine for quite some time and Elspeth’s arrival last school year intensified the situation as did the concussion. She needs me near her as a source of calm and but so does Elspeth. She will rarely chose to play in another room. Instead she will select a toy and then bring it to use in the room I am in (e.g., she will push Barbie on her motorcycle in the kitchen while I cook).  We had been using the kitchen with Elspeth’s supplies stored in a cupboard and Katrine’s in a desk (hey, it seemed logical at the time). They could never find pencils or simply HAD to get up in order to get such-and-such. Plus, there are always the possibility of snack distractions in the kitchen. All of this added up to more stress.
The spare room had been used as a toy room in an attempt to keep the toys in a central location where there could be a mess without it driving me crazy on a daily basis. Unfortunately, we began to move things downstairs this past fall as Elspeth became more interested in games and puzzles. Plus, we have begun using our fireplace and it is quite nice to have a game or puzzle to use in front of the dancing flames. Very soothing but it translated into more clutter which in turn added to homework stress.
Something had to change. Could moving the toys to the unused diningroom actually cause them to be used more (yes because the girls can now play with them while still being close to mom)? Could storing all of the games, etc downstairs give us access to them on fire days while decreasing the tendancy to clutter? Yes! Now, what to do with the room? When Glenn suggested that a designated homework space that was not the kitchen might help decrease Katrine’s stress over homework; the plan for the backroom was born.
And so I give you our new homework room. Today, Katrine had to do writing and then edit said writing. No whining, complaining or pouting!! Done in 15 minutes with a five minute break to watch the fish. At the same time, Elspeth worked on her cutting skills and I left the whole experience without a headache. Yippee!
If this continues to help it might just be the best decorating decision we have ever made!
Last weekend we took the family to Winter Glitters in Ajax. It was a long but fun day full of what else but skating. The big difference was that this time both girls competed.
Katrine has been really eager to get back into training since getting the all clear from the neurologist at the end of December. That said, three weeks back on the ice is not alot of time to truly prepare for a competition. She did a really good job on her solo given her circumstances thus far this season and we are really proud of how hard she has been working. Unfortunately she finished 7th in her flight and was a bit dissapointed in herself. Her disappointment was tempered by a fifth in team elements and a day spent with friends at the arena (which is why there are no photos of her from the competition because all of the ones from my camera have her and her friends in them so you will just have to wait for Glenn to post photos).
During the lull between Katrine’s two rounds of skating, Elspeth had her turn to compete. She provided the comic relief. In the end she went home with a “pink ribbon” for her efforts “just like Katrine”. I think that having a ribbon and getting a chance to be out on the ice were banner events for her.
This is just one part of Elspeth’s elements competition. She is supposedly doing a two foot glide here and she does…sort of. Honest! Right after the waving.
Yes, the video is actually here. Just move your mouse downward and it will appear like magic.
Okay, we finally managed to get some photos of the girls dancing at the Burns dinner. Enjoy.
Of course they loved the dinosaurs. Katrine thought that the embryo inside of the egg was super interesting while Elspeth marvelled at the sheer size of the skeletons.
Katrine begged to go see the rocks and minerals section. Elspeth saw this and cried “Look Mummy! A granola bar!”
Nature section had a mushroom display for Katrine and this giant Spider Crab for Elspeth who desperately wanted to pet it.
In the medival section Elspeth’s sheep got to meet its ancient counterpart. There was alot of Baa-ing. Apparently old sheep and modern sheep are quite similar.
While Elspeth could’ve spent hours digging for “treasure”, Katrine was more interested in touching fossils.
Cheerful yet calm.
Craft supplies? In a drawer. Stickers? The box. Paper? Easily accessible. You would think that I would have thought of this earlier being a teacher and all. Both girls have already gotten items from the shelves and sticker box, used them and then tidied up. 
Katrine’s desk is painstakingly organized. Pencils in the nutcracker. Sharpeners in the white box. Erasers in the blue case. Stuffies to hug in frustration and flowers for colour. Yup, training her to be a wee bit anal but if it makes homework time easier it is worth it.
I also took a page from my classroom and hung up anchor charts to help with her editing. Easy to see so that she may actually use them.
Here is Elspeth’s “desk”. She has her own crayon sharpener, pencil case for pencils and kitty for erasers. Plus her own anchor chart. Both girls like to cuddle up in blankets so I made sure that each one had their own dedicated blanket.
I put an old bookcase on the far side of the room to hold some of Elspeth’s educational toys along with Katrine’s science kits (we have experience with kits getting lost). I also re-used those old diaper wipe containers to organize the writing utensils. Did I already mention how over the top organized it all is? It seems to be working though. The girls have finally being using the giant colouring books that they got for Christmas and have consistently tidied up the markers, crayons, etc afterwards. The downside is that I now have to go our and buy markers because they have realised that many aren’t working. 🙂
The fish were our last addition. The girls chose guppies. I have always found watching fish soothing so it seemed logical to have some in a homework room to try and help decrease some stress. Yup, these little fish are gonna work for their food by decreasing mommy’s stress.
This skating is hard work. Just look at how sweety I am. (Probably due to the knitted hat Grandma made you so that your helmet fits.)
Loving her coach after getting off the ice.