One Year Ago Today....

Sept. 2nd, 2007 will forever be engraved in my mind as one of the most important and fulfilling days of my life. We became parents for a second time and Cara-Li finally became a Jie Jie, a role she had been waiting to fill for such a long time. Our sweet Guang Yun Xia was placed in our arms at 4:30PM and life has not been the same since! Xia Xia, as we call her, has blossomed into a bright, vivacious and strong-willed little girl. Our lives would not have been complete without her.

On Sept. 2nd, 2007, I went to sleep a very proud and happy mother to two beautiful and wonderful daughters. I don't know.... can life get any better? Yup. On Sept. 2nd, 2008, I am going to sleep an even prouder and happier mother. That's how it gets better!

THEN

NOW

The Infamous Call

Just this past Sunday, July 6th, marked our one year anniversary since we got ''the call'' informing us of our new daughter, Guang Yun Xia who was merely 8 months old. Our lives have not been the same since. See our original post here.

Friday, July 6, 2007

IT'S A GIRL!!

Yes, we have a girl! We got the call today and we have been floating on cloud nine ever since! Her name is Guang Yun Xia born on October 27, 2006. She is presently at the Guangchang SWI in the province of Jiangxi. She is a little over 8 months old... just a baby! We will have her file and photos some time next week. I know, I know... it's difficult. We must wait as the files are translated but at least we have some information to get us through the week. And we did not have to wait until Monday. For this, we are thankful!

Cara-Li is thrilled to have a baby sister! We have been preparing her for the possibility of a brother. We could almost see a sign of relief when we told her it was a girl. We have a very, very happy 5 year old right now.!

I am in panic mode. We don't have any clothes for such a young baby as Cara-Li was 16 months when we brought her home. Must go shopping! I have not prepared a care package to send to her in China despite the 20 months we had to prepare. Must go shopping! We must get some suitcases. Must go shopping! She is 8 months old... do I need a smaller car seat? Must go shopping! What about a baby carrier? Must go shopping! What in the world have I been doing for the last 20 months? Apparently, not much!

Here is a map of China so that you can see where our girls are from. Cara-Li is from Guangxi and Yun Xia is from Jiangxi... a couple of Southern Belles!

P.S.: I know some of you are afraid of blogs and do not know how to Comment. Here is a quick how to for those who don't blog! At the bottom of each post you will see a number with Comments . If you click on this you can read comments others have made AND add one of your own. Type your comment in the big box, click on the Other bubble, enter your name and finally the Publish Your Comment bubble. It is just that simpe.OK... I am off to, you guessed it, SHOP!!!Oh, geez! I guess we should name her too! Goodness, where is my ''To Do List''...

Posted by Susie & Gordie at 11:11 PM 32 comments
Labels: Mei Mei, Referral

My Girls are the Best!

I'm sorry for sounding a little pompous and full of myself but my girls are definitely the best! Cara-Li has been extremely sweet to me of late saying things like 'You're the best cook', 'You're the best Mommy', 'You give the best cuddles'. But what she said today made me melt into a huge puddle. She said, 'You and Daddy and Alexia make my heart happy.' She is just too sweet!



I have to mention that Alexia turned 19 months old yesterday. Happy Birthday sweetpie!

Here's a wonderful picture of Jie Jie and Mei Mei together. They are meant to be sisters!


And look at this... do you think that Cara-Li is flexible enough. The girl's got talent!



And lastly, here's cute video of Alexia. She is edible!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

This and That

It has been a busy few days.

On Saturday mornings, Cara-Li plays soccer and dad coaches. Last year, all she did was pick dandelions. This year, she is somewhat more interested for the first 30 minutes with a decline in the next 30. However, this past weekend, Cara-Li was the star! She went after that ball like a pro and scored several times! Where are the photos you ask? All cameras were at home comfortably resting in their cosy camera bag. Next, Cara-Li had a birthday party to attend for one of her classmates. They had a blast at a local party place that took as good care of the parents as they did the children. And to end the day, we had a lovely evening and dinner with Mortimer's Mom and her family. The girls just love getting together and they are just too cute together!

I know, I know... my kids need a haircut!

We spent all of Sunday morning shopping (right after a hearty breakfast, of course) for accessories for our master bathroom that is getting a facelift. The only things staying are the tub, sink and toilet. That means new vanity, new granite floors (heated) and countertops, new lighting, new towelrack and acc. The big stuff has been decided, it's the little stuff that is so time consuming. We were not very successful at purchasing such items but we did buy flowers and plants so back home we went to get them into the ground. We ended our day with a hamburger dinner on the BBQ with Auntie Loula and that was that!

Today was a big day in our little town.

They finally started the repair of the entire infrastructure of our road which, believe me, was in dire need! We bought our house in December so we did not realize the condition of the road. Let's put it this way, we try to do all our inviting of friends during the winter months so that no one sees the third world country that we live in! There is a catch however. Our street consists of 4 blocks and they are doing 3 blocks his year. Guess which one is not getting redone? OURS!! The work is not slated until 2010! God help us!

And lastly, Cara-Li lost yet another tooth yesterday which brings us to 4 while Alexia is getting another molar which brings us to 11. Funny, one is losing teeth while the other is getting them. Cute!

O Canada!

Alexia is officially a Canadian Citizen and has been since April 17th! A little too late for our trip to Chicago that we had to cancel due to the lack of said status. That's OK... we'll go next May. We'll have to find a way to properly celebrate this honor. I have yet to come up with something good. Any ideas? When Cara-Li received her status, it was the July 1st weekend... extremely approriat, heh? Everyone was celebrating her Citizenship.... What do you mean, they weren't?? Oh, right. It was Canada Day. Silly me :)

5 Years Ago

5 years ago to the day, we were extremely busy removing walls, removing wallpaper, putting in hardwood floors and painting the house we are in now. We had our referral for Cara-Li in hand and needless to say, we were extremely stressed about the SARS situation in China. Would we receive our TA in the next couple of weeks or would the situation worsen to the point that we would not ever be able to travel to China for our little girl? These were some of the unknowns at this time 5 years ago today. And what we didn't know as of yet was that all travel to China would be banned on May 15th. This would mean that we wouldn't receive our TA and had to continue staring at the pictures of our daughter until June 26th when we did finally receive our TA. We did finally travel to China on July 22nd and the rest is history.

However, this was not the point of this blog entry. 5 years ago today, I was painting our bedroom and today as I was standing atop of a ladder (which freaks me out!) filling cracks and nail holes, I realized that I am doing the exact same thing again! Where is Gord you ask? Well, he is St. Louis. He was there Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. He made a quick return home for a day and now he is back for 2 more days! While his wife is painting the bedroom. Something is wrong with this! Gord, if you are reading this (which you should be if you want to know what is going on around here), be ready to hold a paint brush on Sunday. You have been foreworned.

Oh! And it is exactly 8 months today that Alexia Yun Xia joined our family! Seems like she's been here forever. Speaking of which, I gotta wake her up if we will make it in time for Cara-Li pick-up at school...

The Many Changes in Alexia

It is amazing how much this little girl has changed since we've been home. I thought I'd jot down some of the things that she says and does for posterity purposes.

Alexia now (at age 16 months):

- has 8 teeth (4 at 11 months and 4 at 15 months)
- obviously walks (since 12 months)
- sleeps through the entire night without a peep (12 hours) and naps twice a day (1.5 - 2 hours each)
- understands simple instructions such as: sit down, put your toy away, drink your water, put your head down, give me your foot, where are your socks, wipe your mouth, blow your nose
- points to her nose and eyes when asked
- howls like a wolf and barks like a dog
- gives kisses freely and unexpectedly and blows kisses when she goes to bed
- hugs her baby and feeds her
- nods 'yes' when asked if her supper is good
- points at everything she wants to make her self understood
- gets extremely excited when she sees her coat as she knows that we are going outside
- once her snowsuit is placed on the floor, she jumps into it
- squeals when she sees her sister come out of school
- babbles constantly
- says a number of words such as:
doo-doo = blankie
do-do = sleep
ne-ne = Chinese for milk
ma-oum = mommy
da-doum = daddy
da-yi or ca-yi = Cara-Li
ca-ca = pretty obvious as to what this is!
hi (while waving)
bye (while waving)
wow!
- says a numer of words we are not sure about such as:
wa-wa = water?
ya-ya = Xia Xia (that's her)?
- can go up the stairs but down is still a no go
- can climb onto the bed or couch
- loves to put on everyone's shoes, mitts and hats
- squeals with delight at the sight of the tub filling with water

There you have it ... a little summary as to what Alexia has been up to since her arrival last September.

Photography 101: Lesson #4

Here are my final 3 photos for this course. We had to take one that depicts 'Red' and the other that depicts 'Happiness'. I sent in an additional one that depicts both at the same time.

Ruby Red Pomegranate

Struggling to find something red in this snowy world of white, here is one of my favourite all-time fruits that I discovered way in the back of my fridge. And a beautiful shade of red it is!

Colourful Crayons

When I was a young child, a new box of crayons always made me the happiest even when I was sick. And my Daddy knew this. Today, a new box of crayons always makes me smile!

Elated Alexia

I was photographing strawberries for the 'Red' picture when Alexia entered the room and squealled at the sight of all those berries. Boy, were they ever tasty!

Others news... When Alexia first joined our family, she did not eat anything. It was clear that at the orphanage, she had never had anything solid to eat. Not a problem... she quickly started to eat baby food and did for quite some time. Solids were introduced but she was not too interested at first. Until one day, about 2 months ago, she decided that she was to feed herself and would not accept ANYTHING from me. OK, no problem. She was presented with a bowl and a spoon every meal so that she could self-feed. However, she also decided that she would have nothing to do with any meat, poultry or fish. It seems she does not enjoy the texture! Well, last night I made a filet mignon for dinner, nice and rare as I like it. It didn't even dawn on me to serve her some as I had pretty much given up on her eating any meat. But when she saw it on our plates, she started to squeal and point wildly at it. What do you know... she LOVES filet mignon, nice and rare!

6 month Anniversary

6 months ago today, Guang Yun Xia joined our family of three at app. 4:30PM in Nanchang, Jiangxi. Our lives, and hers, have not been the same since that moment. She has grown into a wonderful little toddler who completely loves her Jie Jie and her mommy and daddy too! We cannot imagine our lives without her!

Thank goodness it's Monday....

I never thought I'd say that but weekends are exhausting! It is rush, rush, all week to get the laundry and groceries done for the weekend. Then it's Friday and we grab a quick bite after Cara-Li's skating only to fly off to the cottage. Then it's shovel, shovel, shovel (will it ever stop snowing??) just to get into the cottage which is warm thanks to the magic of programmable thermostats.

On Saturday, it is up early to shovel the roof (Gord) while I make waffles (yum-yum). Once the breakfast dishes are done, I throw some ingredients in the slow cooker to make a mighty tasty beef stroganoff. Once that was going, I throw together a lunch for the skiers (Cara-Li and Gord) who leave me for the entire day of fun in the snow. Then, I bake an upside down pineapple cake just because I have a pineapple lying around. Alexia is either napping, eating or playing during all the cooking / baking time. Somewhere in between all this, I read my next photography lesson and think about my assignment which is stressing me as I do not know when I will take my 3 required shots. Upon the skiers' return, dinner is promptly served and devoured by all. Once the kids are tucked into bed, it is my turn to lie down on the couch and catch some ZZZZ's before starting another day. All this before 8PM!

Baby, Mommy has to taste it first to make sure it is not too hot!

Here you go, Baby. Try this. It is tasty!

Sssshhhh, Baby. What did Oprah just day?

Alexia is proud to be feeding Baby!

My delicious Upside Down Pineapple Cake

On Sunday, it is up even earlier as Cara-Li insisted on skiing again. So Gord and Cara-Li are gone by 9AM and back by noon looking for lunch. After a quick bite (there was noooo cooking today - leftovers only), we decide to snoeshoe around the lake. This is my opportunity to get my pictures! So with camera around my neck, I try to capture the beauty surrounding me. And after over 500 pictures, I think I got my 3 shots. My family is ready to disown me at this point. I even caught Gord wishing the batteries would die or that the memory card was full. They just don't get it! Alexia and I return to the cottage for a nap while the other 2 snowmobile off into the sunset. Oh and let's not forget our lovely Sunday night dinner at Chalet BBQ. It doesn't get better than chicken and french fries after a weekend like this!

My snowshoers, Gord and Alexia.

And Cara-Li, the other snowshoer.

And they're off to blaze a trail around the lake.

5 months already

When do we stop counting how long that our baby Alexia has been with us? Probably never as that day is forever marked in our hearts as the most important day of our lives... the day that she became part of us, part of our family. I guess eventually we will only celebrate the actual day much like a birthday but for the first year, we allow ourselves to celebrate each month! So for the next 7 months, you will see a post on the 2nd of each month until we celebrate the big 1st Anniversary. After that, I promise that the anniversary post will be saved for the actual day itself.

Guess who turned 15 today?

My baby Alexia! 15 months that is! She has truly changed in the almost 5 months that she has been with us.

She just gets more and more fun with every passing day. And the interaction between Cara-Li and Alexia is unbelievable. Who knew a 5 1/2 year old would love to play so much with her little one year old sister. This is what Cara-Li did to Alexia the other day.

They just had a blast! Cara-Li dressed Alexia up in a costume from her luau birthday party last year. Too cute!

I leave you with this pretty picture I took this morning while sitting at my dining room table at the cottage.

Isn't life great?

My Baby!

Yes, we are still alive and I will come back to you with my ''Holiday in Review'' as well as my ''Year 2007 in Review'' posts (I am SO behind!!).

But for now, I must post Alexia's baby announcement as seen in the Babies of the Year section of the Montreal Gazette today.

3 months!

It is so hard to believe that our little precious Alexia has been with us for 3 months already! Time does fly... but you know what? I have a hard time remembering life before her. It just seems like she has been part of our family forever. She fits right in!

We have had a very busy weekend and I am now spent! It started off with a massive shopping spree to get 50 kiddie gifts for the Christmas party on Sunday (more about that later). This activity tired Mommy only. Everyone else was tucked into bed. Lucky them!

On Saturday, Mommy and 2 elves wrapped all the said gifts and organised them in order to help Santa out. Then it was off to a wonderful Chinese dinner in Chinatown,

followed by a fabulous Chinese show at the Chinese Cultural Center.

The girls had such a great time... Cara-Li enjoyed all the acts and could tell me which was her favorite ...

while Alexia sat there and ate Cheerios the entire time... just like at the movies!


On Sunday, we rushed off to our Adoptive Families of Quebec Christmas party where more than 100 people participated in the event. It was held at a Chinese restaurant (funny that!) where we had dimsum (yumyum!). Of course, after lunch, the children were graced with a visit with Santa who came bearing gifts! A great time was had by all... or almost!

PS: Alexia had both her morning nap and afternoon nap in the car to and from the party... Let's just say, she woke up on the wrong side of the car seat! Once inside, she had a complete meltdown which included peepee and puke all over Mommy! We are now all happily in our PJs. Oh yah... our washing machine is broken :(

It's not easy!

I am jetlagged, tired, walking around aimlessly in a zombie-like state with emotions running on high. It is not easy being an adoptive mom. As I rock my little Alexia to sleep, I cannot help but think about what she has been doing all the time before she became part of our family. 10 months. Did someone rock her to sleep at night or answer to her cries? Did anyone love her like we do? I think about her biological mother and what she must have been thinking and feeling when she left her newborn daughter just outside the Civil Affairs office. Did she hide nearby and wait to make sure her baby was found? These thoughts are too difficult to think about at times. I thought I had a handle on these emotions after having had an extremely hard time after Cara-Li's arrival. I wish there was a way that I could tell her biological mother that her baby is fine, is very much loved and will be taken care of for the rest of her life. I wish I could tell her that she has a wonderful jiejie (big sister) that thinks she is the best. I wish I could thank her for this most wonderful gift she has given us despite it being the most difficult day of her life...

Happy Gotcha Day and Happy Birthday!

Today, July 27th, is a very special day for both our girls, our Southern Belles.

Four years ago today, Cara-Li joined us and we became a family. It is hard to believe that all this time has gone by! I cannot remember life before her... what did we do with all our free time? It has been the 4 most wonderful years of our lives and we are about to start all over again with the arrival of Alexia very shortly. Happy Gotcha Day, sweet baby Cara-Li! We love you! Wo ai ni!

And today, is also a very special day for our little Alexia who turns 9 months old! We will be there soon, sweetiepie, so that we could begin our lives together as a family of four. Hopefully, we will have you in our arms on the day of your 10 month birthday. Happy Birthday, sweet little baby Alexia! We love you! Wo ai ni!

Other news... my dear husband has decided to book our airline tickets to China today. That's right... we don't even have an exact travel date but we have airline tickets. Go figure! He decided that we should get our tickets as they were available today on airmile points and they may not be later once the travel date is decided by the agency. We can change them should we have to for a small fee but hopefully we guessed right.

Drum roll please...

It has been 11 days since we had our first glimpse of our precious daughter, Guang Yun Xia who is waiting for us in the province of Jiangxi. She is described as an active and smiley baby who loves to play with her favorite rattle and loves to listen to music. She sleeps very soundly and gets excited when she sees food... much like her mother!

Some time ago, we asked for suggestions for a name for our daughter and this weekend was the weekend where the decision was to be made. So here it is.... her name is .... Alexia Yun. I think that we did OK in trying to use her 2 Chinese names. Thanks to everyone that sent us suggestions!

Last Thursday we met up with a couple, Mary and Eric, that we will be travelling to China with. It is wild to think that our daughters are together right now as we speak. It'll be so nice for them to have this connection right here in our city. Mary and Eric are great and we cannot wait to start our journey together! Mary... I am still working on a master packing list. I will let you know when it is done so we can compare.

Four years ago, we were getting ready to leave for China. It's funny because back then just before departure, I had to renew my driver's liscence and medicare card. I renewed these again last week. Also, back four years ago, I had a terrible toothache that had to be dealt with just before departure. Guess what? Four years later, same tooth, same ache. This is going to be dealt with this week as it has been aching for over a week. Is this a coincidence or does this mean that it is time for us to go China?

I say... China here we come as we cannot wait to hold our little Alexia Yun in our arms!!

Here she is!

Presenting our new baby daughter, Guang Yun Xia! I'll post more details later. She is too cute!!