On Monday past we took Lilah to the Rideau Canal Skateway. It is the world's largest skating rink (in the winter time), and it's just a few blocks from where we live. It seems Lilah has picked up a few tips after spending a bit of time there! She's ready to go back any day soon wearing her nice colourful IKEA beaker skates! Her little inventions are just too funny! She also got to taste her first beaver tail pastry which of course was yummy. We are definitely all about the food! More pictures from today here, and a few from yesterday here.
We took a road trip to Wheelers Pancake House today! Lots of snow and fun, and of course, the real reason we went there, yummy food! Pancakes, sausages and maple syrup to be precise! My camera's battery died while there, oh well, I guess I'll be better prepared with the back-up next time!
Our Lilah is not only our wonderful Chinese girl, I would say she is also enjoying being Canadian too! She devours her maple & brown sugar porridge every day and fits into our family just perfectly, we all love to eat!
Yes, I am so very very happy to announce that our sweet girl is sleeping all through the night, 9pm to 7am, 10 hours to be exact! Alone, in her own crib, in her own room! Not even a peep! I was afraid to mention it after the first night, but now that it's happened two nights in a row, I feel compelled to post about it! Did I mention how happy I am?!
She has also learned her first sign! I borrowed a sign language book from our adoption agency's library last week and taught myself the sign language for hungry, more, bottle, cookie and bath. Anyway, I'm not really good at remembering to sign as I say the word, and I think I signed 'more' to her about two times that day. Well, the next day we were playing together and I was building up the stacking cups for Lilah to knock down. It's a great game, especially when they all come crashing down and scatter across the floor! Anyway, Lilah tries to knock them down when I only stack two, so I was saying to her, "wait until mama puts more on top". She looked at me and tapped her fingers together to sign the word 'more'. Oh yes, there is no doubt, I am a very proud mama!
Lilah and I attended our first playgroup together today! I'm not sure what she thought of it all; she mostly observed the other children and she enjoyed the song circle. Soon enough she will be one of those children running around wrestling toys off each other!
The playgroup we attended is very close to where we live, called The Open Door Society. It's specifically for adoptive families, which is nice because we've all been through a very similar experience and we don't have to explain everything we went through to get to where we are today.
Interestingly there was a little Tong-Tong in the group. I'm not sure if you remember from my previous posts, but Lilah's name in the orphanage was Tong-Tong and we call her that as well as Lilah. It was cute to see and hear another little Guangdong girl with the same name.
We also got to meet up with our good friends Pam & Saltanat and also our China travel buddies Jodi & Amelia! It sure was a nice time and so great to see them again! We've been a family 4 weeks today, seriously, where does the time go?
It didn't take long, but it seems Lilah has caught her first Canadian cold, she's been sneezing all day. She also has a nice little rosy patch on her left cheek and is slobbing too, which is very unusual, so I think she is cutting a tooth to boot. She is being really good about it all though, she is still our silly happy girl! She was patting her cheek with her hand tonight so I gave her the boo boo buddy from the freezer and showed her how to put it on her cheek to cool it off. She thought it was a little game, but I think it helped a bit. I just bathed her and put her into her crib, she felt it very necessary to wear sunglasses while drinking her bottle tonight...of course! It took forever to drink that bottle, do you have any idea how hard it is to drink a bottle when you can't breathe through your nose! Here are more pictures of her from today, mostly of her in the little car my co-workers bought her, and also a few of her standing on her baba's feet while he walks. It's a fun new game! I remember doing it as a child too!
Today we dropped by and visited our adoption agency (Children's Bridge), Cathy in particular. As we were driving there I was thinking about how she 'matched' our little family. She could have matched Lilah with another family, but it was meant to be ours and we are deeply thankful for her involvement in making our little forever family. It was so nice to see her and the team, and for them to meet Lilah.
I also forgot to blog about Lilah's first Church appearance! On Sunday morning past she was out to Church with us for the first time and she did very well. We were very proud of her, long may the good behaviour continue! The only thing that kinda upset her was the singing, which surprised me, because she loves music and singing! Oh well, maybe she feels we just need a bit more practice in that department!
I can't get enough of my girl. I am a little biased, but I do think she is the sweetest little thing on this planet! She has a fabulous personality, full of love and silliness. I know she is learning from us, but I can't help but feel she was shown a lot of love before we got her. I am so very thankful for those in the orphanage who cared for her and really made her feel special and secure. Building a bond with Lilah has really been amazing, I never imagined it to be like this at all. I want to thank all those who prayed for the bonding process to go smoothly, we have a lot to be thankful for. Colin and I continually look at each other and shake our heads in disbelief, she is all we ever dreamed of. Some more pictures from today here.
Wishing you much love, peace and joy in 2009, from our family to yours.
Lamentations 3:22-24 ~ It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
I just watched my sweet daughter fall asleep without even a little murmur, what a wonderful feeling! It is 5:10pm and she just went to bed a few minutes ago, she's been coming on in leaps and bounds this past two days. Last night she got 10 hours sleep and another 2 hours for her nap today, oh it's the little things in life that we are so thankful for! She is like a new child, so happy and full of life! We are delighted! I just want to thank my two close friends that I emailed for advice, you know who you are and I deeply appreciate your kindness and expertise, thank you so very much. My Mum has been wonderful too, lots of excellent long distance advice! Thank you Mum, you're the best!
Well you know all is well in my world when I have time to vacuum the house AND take pictures of my cutie pie! You can see them here. We were in Wal-Mart again early this morning, not quite as early as the morning before though! Then after Lilah's nap we went out to the mall. While Colin was getting his hair cut I took Lilah into the pet store. Oh my, what fun she had, running from the kittens to the puppies to the budgies to the rabbits, full circle, over and over again! Those poor pets didn't stand a chance if they were trying to sleep! Oh how I love my girl!
We can now breath a sigh of relief! It took 4 long exhausting days and nights, however Lilah slept 9 hours straight yesterday, and so did we! We went to bed at 1:30pm and woke at 10:30pm feeling like a million dollars! So now you can find us at about 1:00am walking around Wal-Mart, pushing every button on every interactive toy in there - thank goodness for 24 hour stores! We had great fun last night, Lilah danced in the isles to the music of Elmo and friends! She (and we) also had a one hour nap at 2:00am and another 2 hour nap at 8:00am. Things are looking up! We will keep pushing her a little bit more every day and eventually we will be in the Ottawa time zone!
The picture above is from this morning, I gave Lilah her dolly stroller with the doll in it and showed her how to push it around, well she had another idea! She threw the doll out and got her leg up in there and pretty much demanded to be pushed around, she is a funny girl! Another thing this morning that made me laugh, we were both 'brushing' our teeth, (she just loves to sit up on the counter top and watch what I'm doing), anyway I spat the remainder of my frothy toothpaste into the sink and she leaned over and tried to spit too!
Here is a movie of Lilah dancing and singing; this one is from Beijing, however I couldn't post it over there because the file size was too big to upload. When we got Lilah's referral the report said she loved music, we were pretty sceptical but it is so true, she sure loves music! If she's sitting she'll sway her head back and forth, and when she's standing she will go back and forth from one foot to the other! She sure is a happy girl, when she's had plenty of sleep!
Finally, we're home! Just a 4 hour delay with our Toronto to Ottawa flight due to the weather conditions and we arrived home around 4am this morning. As you can imagine we are very tired - I think I got 2 hours sleep in 24 hours! It's hard to sleep and hold a 20 pounder at the same time! We did have a third seat, but she was having none of it, it sure helped for elbow room though!
This morning in the Ottawa airport, an elderly Chinese man was sitting across from Lilah and I, while we were waiting for Colin to bring the car to the door. He kept looking at us, (I could see him out of the corner of my eye), so I eventually looked over and he waved. I waved back and told him Lilah was from China. The expression on his face brought tears to my eyes, the huge smile and how his eyes lit up, he couldn't speak English, but he kept giving us the thumbs up and saying something. I knew he was thrilled for Lilah, and us too. It was a very sweet moment.
Lilah is in her glory with all the toys and she's busy investigating our house. She has already eaten a bowl of Weetabix for breakfast and Irish Stew for lunch and she is now napping, so things seem to be going good in our little girls world!
Wishing you and your families a wonderful Christmas.
All our love: Colin, Jill & Lilah xoxox
Just one final post from China. The suitcases are packed and Lilah is currently napping. We are hopeful there will be lots more of that on the long flight home!
I just want to thank you for all for your comments and emails. It has been so nice to wake up every morning and read them. We really really appreciate your incredible support and kindness towards us.
We also want to thank all those who organized our trip and made it possible for our family to be together and home for Christmas; especially our agency, Children's Bridge (Cathy & Brenda), our guides (Maggie, Lili & Coco) and taxi drivers. It was perfectly organized from start to finish and it really made our time here very enjoyable. Thanks so much.
Lastly, but in no way least, we want to thank the People's Republic of China for entrusting us with one of their precious children, our daughter, we will forever be grateful. Our hearts are bursting with love for her, she is our little miracle, all we ever dreamed of and more.
We have a great God, to Him be all the glory.
I can hardly believe that this is our last night in China. It is bittersweet, we are looking forward to coming home and getting settled into life, but on the other hand we are leaving our daughters birth country and a country and culture that we are loving every minute of. That being said, we'll also miss not having to do the washing, cleaning and cooking - a big bonus!
Today was a day of this, that and the other thing. First we drove by Tiananmen Square, yes we were too wimpy to walk two miles and brace the cold weather with our little ones! After the drive by we went back to the pearl markets for a little more last minute shopping. For lunch Lili, (who is part of the company that provides the guide service) took us out and spoiled us with a famous Beijing dish, Peking Duck, it was really yummy, Lilah enjoyed it too! Lilah's visa arrived today also, the last piece of paperwork within China, so now we are all set to travel tomorrow. Then this evening we met up with one of our really good Chinese friends (we originally met in Ottawa) and is back in China for a while. It was so nice to see him and for him to meet our Lilah.
You can see more pictures from today here.
Today I went to the pearl market with the other mommy we are traveling with. We decided to leave our daughters in the hotel with their babas because it was so very cold outside, and we also figured the men and children wouldn't be quite so interested in shopping! I picked up lots of little gifts for Lilah's forever family day anniversaries. The pearl market doesn't just sell pearls, it is full of lots of other trinkets. We had a good time, but we were so happy to get back to our babies!
Lilah is doing fantastic. She has so many cute little ways about her that I really need to write down. One of the things we noticed right from the beginning is her need to be clean all the time. When she is eating and she gets food around her mouth, she has to have her mouth wiped right away and there always has to be a napkin or cloth close by! If I miss a bit she will do it herself! Another thing we have noticed is how much pride she has in what she wears, she loves her clothes and shoes - that's a mamas girl for sure! I have posted a little clip of Lilah feeding and loving on her dolly. She is such a loving child, getting kisses and hugs from her is so easy and she loves to be loved. She is a beautiful child, inside and out. I keep saying this, but it is so true, we have been blessed more than we can express.
See more pictures from today here.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Today we went to the Great Wall, it was another cold day but the forecast shows it’s going to get colder, which is why we decided to go today. We had a really nice time and it is truly a wonder of the world, absolutely amazing. We didn’t stay too long because of the weather, just enough time to get a few pictures!
Click here to see more pictures from today.
Lilah is doing great, she copies almost everything we do! She will blow kisses, give hugs, wave goodbye, dance to music, feed and rock her dolly, play peek-a-boo, give high fives and many other things. She also absolutely loves the bath now, it took a while, but now she has no fear and she is like a little fish in there! She especially likes to lie back in the bath with her ears under water! I have posted a movie of her playing peek-a-boo with us, she is so cute!
We are overwhelmed with love for our baby girl and already can’t imagine our lives without her.
Today we visited the Temple of Heaven. I must say it is quite cold here and Lilah doesn't like it one bit, which is kinda obvious from the photo above! I'm not sure if it is the cold or the layers of clothes she dislikes the most, and it is so hard to keep her gloves on. Needless to say we didn't stay long, just a few pictures and we disappeared back to the bus!
We have so much fun with her in the hotel room, she cracks us up with her silliness and she knows it! She has also started babbling a lot more which I'm so happy about, because when she babbles I know she's feeling comfortable around us. She is an amazing girl, having come through so much and adapting as well as she is, we are so very thankful. It is hard to believe that we have been a family one week already.
You can see more pictures from today here.
