At the cottage

We decided to take Alexia on her first trip to the cottage. Why wait we say? We go up North lots so she might as well get to know the place ASAP! She didn't mind her new surroundings too much. Alexia and Cara-Li sleep in the same room at the cottage and that was just great. Cara-Li insisted on going to bed at the same time as Alexia and tried to console her when she started to cry. In the mornings, Cara-Li would announce to us that Alexia was awake as she likes to just sit in her crib for a little bit before crying to get out.

Saturday was a beautiful day and we went for a walk around the lake. The leaves are changing colours and it always surprises me how much I enjoy this time of year. It is so quiet with very few people around and being surrounded by such beauty... it is truly a breath of fresh air!

Bye for now cottage but we'll be back soon!

11 months old today

My little Alexia is 11 months old today. Happy Birthday sweetiepie! It is hard to believe that it has been already a month since we started our journey to China. Time flies when you are having fun! I better hurry up and start planning the 1st birthday party...

We are off to the cottage tomorrow for the weekend, Alexia's first. I do hope that she likes her room up there. Wait till she finds out she has to share with Cara-Li. Cara-Li is extremely excited to be sleeping in the same room as her as in town they have their own bedrooms. We'll see how that goes!

This past weekend, Cara-Li joined up with her soccer team for a final few games of the season. Most of her friends/team mates are off to other schools so she was very excited to see them again.

Alexia also got to meet her baby cousin Bianca who is 8 months old. They are basically the same size in every way. They were so cute together! My parents, brothers and sister-in-laws also got to spend some time with Alexia. They only got to see her upon our arrival for a little bit before we went into our cocoon for a week. We are now out and doing the rounds!

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...

Dream vs. Reality

I almost forgot that today is my 40th birthday! When I was asked a few years ago what I wanted for my 40th, my answer was a trip to Paris with my girlfriends. That's the DREAM. The REALITY is that I just got back from China with my darling husband and wonderful daughter #1 after having picked up yet another wonderful daughter to complete our family of four. The dream could not be any further than the reality, but you know what? I couldn't think of a better way to spend this momentous landmark year!

We're Back!

We've been back since Saturday night but let's just that jetlag has got the best of all of us! We don't know when to eat or sleep. The girls sleep whenever they're tired eventhough it might be daytime. We, the adults, are not sleeping at all. Food... we haven't really seen much of that either! Can't wait for this to be over. It is actually painful!

On our last day in Beijing, we went shopping just around the corner of the hotel. There is a wonderful street that the locals call the Champs Elysée of Beijing. And just down an alley from there, there is a little market that sells all sorts of Chinese merchandise. In this market, there is a food court and here they serve all sorts of stuff... I believe I mentionned this to you in an earlier post. This time I had a camera. Here are some photos. Yummy!

After this last bit of Beijing, it was time for us to check out and head off to the airport. All went well and just a short time later (13 hours to be exact!), we landed in Canada. Alexia became a landed immigrant in Toronto and then we were off to Montreal where we were greeted by family and friends. We were glad to be home!

Much of Sunday was spent in a daze. We did manage to get to our neighborhood park where they were having Harvest Day. We saw some of our neighbors and Cara-Li got to see her little friend, Ella, whom she missed so much!

Today was Cara-Li's first day at Kindergarten. It meant so much to her to be dropped off by her baby sister as she wanted everyone to see her. Too cute!

Our last day in China :(

Actually posted on Friday, September 14th at 11:30PM

It was our last complete day in China today and we are all very sad that this incredible trip is coming to an end. We are, however, happy to return to our home, to our country and to our families and friends. Three weeks is a long time to be away from home so far, far away!

We started our day with one last shopping spree at the Yashow Market. This place is crazy. There is much stuff under one roof. We still didn't get to visit every vendor. We did, however, buy 2 more suitcases to cart home all the stuff we managed to purchase in this wonderful country. It's a good thing that we were busy with the children, busy touring and completing documents. If we had more free time, we'd need a container to get everything home. It is all so cheap!

We returned back to the hotel to say goodbye to our group that left today. We managed to take pictures of every family as well as a photo of the babies. Aren't they cute?!? Seconds after the photo shoot which lasted a minute or so, they were all in tears!

Once they were gone, we had a quick lunch and then it was dodos for little Alexia and downtime for Cara-Li while we started packing. We are trying to keep each bag under the weight limits as they are now very strict about such things.

We had a very special dinner tonight as it was our last night in China but also because I will be turning 40 years old on Monday the 17th. Yep... the big 4-0! After the most fabulous dinner in the Chinese restaurant in the hotel, we went for tea at the Tea House. It is always such a lovely ceremony!

We will be arriving in Montreal via Toronto on Saturday, Sept. 15th at 9:15PM if anyone wants to come meet us. Well, actually to meet Alexia. You'll see... she is such a sweetheart and a charmer. You'll love her instantly! See you at home in a day or so.

Bye for now!

Rained out

Actually posted on Thursday, September 13th at 10:55PM

We were supposed to go to visit the 'hutong' today in rickshaws. These are old villages in Beijing that are slowly being destroyed in order to build more highrises. Did you know that most of the cranes available in the world are here in China? There is construction everywhere and I'm talking major, major projects. Anyway, we didn't get to visit these villages as it raoned most of the day. As a last minute change, our guide took us to Yashow Market. It is an indoor 5 floor shopping mall that sells everything from traditional Chinese items to knock offs. Of course, time ran out before we could finish and we had to rush to catch the bus. That has become our famous parting words to any vendor we are trying to negociate with. We make it sound like we have no time and start walking away saying that our bus is leaving. This usually works and we get the price we want.

Our next stop was Peking Duck for lunch. Mmmm good! I have been waiting for this since our last trip to China. And the restaurant was just beautiful. Most restaurants that are fancier have many different private rooms for different number of people. The room we were in was just exquisite in its decor. A great way to enjoy a fabulous meal.

Once back at the hotel, daddy put Alexia down for a nap while Cara-Li watched a movie. Laure and I went for a walk in search of a tiny alley that leads to some sort of market. We found it and what an experience. The merchandise was the same but we found some sort of outdoor food court where people were eating all sorts of different kinds of meats on skewers. You had the usual fare... beef, chicken, fish. But upon closer inspection, they were starfish, seahorse, grasshoppers, larvae and live scorpions on skewers ready to be grilled. OMG!!! The scorpions were wriggling on the sticks. Yuck!

Funny story. Did you ever think you can have your Crocs shined by a shoe shiner trying to sell you the shoe shining cream? Yes, you can! Our Crocs are spotless and the fellow even took the time to go around all the little holes in the shoes. What a funny experience!

We had our final happy hour tonight as the group leaves for home tomorrow. We are staying one extra day. We are still trying to decide what to do with our day. I sense that shopping is at the top of our list. It is so much fun walking around the city, especially through the markets and dealing with the locals. Maybe we'll even try the scorpion shishkabob!