Little Acorn

Gingerbread House Building

Poor Vivi was so sick in the weeks before Christmas, but she did manage to help with the gingerbread house. At first Adeline resisted Vivian's help, as Adeline wanted to do it in an orderly and precise way and Vivian wanted to do it like a two year old, but with just a little reminder, Adeline was able to be very gracious about it and they really worked together to make the house. I love to watch them work together and cooperate. Sometimes the four year age difference can be a challenge, but they really do get along so well. They both had a lot of fun and remarkably ate very little candy, and we've enjoyed our little house all through Christmas.

A Big Kid Smile

So Adeline refuses to give her baby teeth any help to fall out. Which leaves us with this...

We call it "The Fang" or "The Travelin' Tooth". Adeline is a gorgeous girl, even with the fang, but It's just hanging there driving me crazy... It creeps a lot of people out, but for some reason Adeline is really into it. You can see her adult teeth are already mostly in behind it and it's just hanging by a thread, but she wants it to stay like that, thank-you-very-much. The last couple of weeks she's had TWO crazy teeth going in two different directions, but Lefty finally came out a few days ago after she accidentally whacked herself in the face. All you want for Christmas is your two front teeth? I just want the fang out of here!

The Winter Concert

Once again, Adeline was amazing at her winter violin concert! Adeline always looks beautiful and confident on the stage. She always works hard and she's very proud of how she's growing as a violinist. She's half way through Suzuki Book Two now and she also knows lots of other repertoire including some great fiddle tunes which she'll play at the spring concert. Once time we'll have to make a list of all the pieces Adeline knows - I think we'd be surprised at the number! Adeline was chosen to play two solos and then she performed with the ensemble for almost an hour, as she played a few pieces with the more advanced group, she played with her own group and then she stayed on the stage to help make the beginners sound fabulous. Although she was a little nervous beforehand (which translates into quiet and prickly if you're Adeline) once she was up there she was in her element and her energy never flagged. I'm so proud of Adeline. She's really learning that hard work and persevering through challenges has great rewards.

Winter Concert, 2015, Solos from Lisa on Vimeo.

 

Winter Concert 2015 from Lisa on Vimeo.

 

 

 

The Million Light House

I hope this guy never stops going all out for Christmas! He's made his yard such a magical place for little ones and you just can't help feeling Christmassy when you're there! Adeline called it "The Million Light House" when she was little and that name stuck for us, but I hear it called a lot of other names in other families. We usually go a few times over the season, but this was our first trip this year. We had the place to ourselves as it had just stopped bucketing down rain. It's been a VERY rainy December for us - no chance of a white Christmas for us, but a wet Christmas? Definitely

 

And then it was December...

The rest of November was a blur of surgery recovery, fevers, more than a few tantrums, walking home from school in the rain, rehearsals for the big violin concert, and as much snuggling down for home-style family fun as we could get.

But now it's December! Yay!!!

Already we're decorating - Vivi calls these "candy kits" which is almost too cute to correct.

And of course we're crafting - David gives a quite-probably-sarcastic "yay" for the return of glue and glitter.

And the girls are spending hours in their "Magic Christmas Box". It was absolutely NOT magical to have our washing machine conk out and flood the laundry room, but the new washer came with an A-MAZING box, which Adeline and Vivian have transformed into a Christmas wonderland, complete with festive lights, blankets and pillows, a book shelf, lots of stuffies, original art lining the walls and some homemade cinnamon ornaments to get rid of that cardboard box smell. You can't really tell from the picture, but Vivian is reading a book to her favourite feline friend Zephyr in the box. Adeline said this evening "It's just the box I've always wanted! If I didn't already have it, I would ask Santa for a box just like it and I wouldn't need any other presents!"

 Yes, December comes with it's share of stresses, but it's so so much fun to share all the sparkle and magic of this time of year with my two daughters!

 

 

 

The Last of the Halloween Posts

Adeline didn't want her and Vivi to wear their bird costumes to the school party. She told me "I just want to feel magical", so she picked out poufy pink princess dresses from our costume box for them to wear. Vivian was thrilled. She's always up for a big fluffy dress! They had a great time at the party, although Adeline told me that the "Haunted Hallway" should be rated "Aged 66 and above".

Here's a little look at the dancing...

Two Poufy Princesses on Vimeo.

 

And now, spooooookier

Adeline does NOT like these photos or black and white photos at all, in fact. She says they're "Too spooky".

Halloween (and then on to CHRISTMAS!)

Sorry the posting dropped off so suddenly there. Poor David (who just can NOT seem to catch a break lately) ended up having some minor surgery that ended up being slightly more than minor. It's all good and at not even two weeks post-surgery he's feeling pretty good and he'll be returning to work next week, albeit a little slower and more tired than he should be.

Even with everything else going on, we still managed to carve pumpkins, decorate the house and have a lot of fun!

Halloween was a truly epic two week event this year - there was a big street fair downtown where Adeline's violin group performed, a school party and dance, a house party with some friends and of course trick-or-treating! The girls had a FABULOUS time and enjoyed all the costume fun and of course, the CANDY.

Of course Vivian wanted to be an owl this year, and inspired by her latest obsession  favourite movie, Rio, Adeline wanted to be an endangered Blue Spix Macaw. I had a lot of fun making their costumes and they were both thrilled with the outcome and wore their wings, heads and tails as much as I would let them in the weeks before the big night. Halloween night we went to a party and then there was a little trick-or-treating afterwards. Adeline was worn out and she actually asked for it to be over fairly quickly. The two girls still had a fine haul of candy which they finished up in a couple of days. Vivian was pretty thrilled with all the candy in those two days and it's been hard for her to come down off her sugar high. When she was a baby anything sweet would make her cry and cry (trying to feed her a banana seemed cruel, she hated it so much) but now she's got a bit of an obsession with sugar going on. Adeline could take it or leave it, but Vivi likes the sweet stuff a bit too much. We're back to regular eating now, until the candy onslaught of Christmas comes along. Oh Christmas, I'm SO looking forward to you this year. It's going to be GOOD.

Fall Fun

Every year we go out to the boulevard on our street and rake up all the lovely red maple leaves we can find and instead of putting them on the compost pile like reasonable people, we fill our back yard with them and then we rake them into a big pile again and again and again to have some fun.

 

Adeline has always loved this and as soon as the pile appears she is immediately tossing huge armfuls of leaves over her head and at anyone nearby. Adeline rolls in the leaves and asks to be buried in them, she kicks them over and bellyflops into them - laughing the whole time, of course.

Adeline loves any experience that gives her lots of full body sensory input! Vivian is more of a full body sensory input avoider, so it took her a little time to warm up and while she would hold the leaves and loved to have them fly down over her she absolutely would NOT sit or lay down in the them and the thought of being buried in them was pretty offensive to her! That's not to say she didn't have a lot of fun though, it's just different fun than her sister!

 

 Vivian kept saying "It's snowing! It's snowing leaves! This is so fun!" and she loved the leaves falling all around her as we all threw them at each other and made it "snow".

 Adeline has decided that she does want her picture taken sometimes and has been working on her posing...

Adeline is always beautiful, but I still prefer a picture of a real smile and shining eyes showing the joy of having fun with your family!

The weather can just stay like this until we get snow on Christmas Eve and then January 1st spring can start. I get to be the boss of that, right?

October is totally my month. Add "playing in autumn leaves" to the list of things I love about this month.

Thankful

Thanksgiving has come and gone in a hurry. After a slow, leisurely summer, autumn is WHIZZING by. It's been a great weekend and our family turkey dinner was the best yet. I'm sure it tasted better than ever because I didn't need to cook this year and just showed up at my Mom's house in time to make the gravy and mash the potatoes while I picked the crispiest bits off the resting bird. Yum.

I'm always thankful for these two -

and all the laughter and fun and worry and mess and chaos and frustration and joy and stickiness and hugs and warm fuzzies that they bring. I'm even thankful for their rapidly growing collection of stuffies which seem to be on every surface of my house and piling up in the corners in furry drifts lately. And of course I'm always thankful for David and what a good husband and patient and kind Dad he is. Lately I've been having trouble feeling like we have enough. I'm not feeling a lack of stuff in my life as really I'd like to back up a truck to our house and fill it with about 70 percent of our belongings, but I'm feeling like our budget is so limited because of our school choice and our choice for me to continue staying home with the girls awhile longer that things like trips and home renovations and new furniture are all completely out of the question. But really, we don't need any of those things and I know it. Not only do we have enough in all areas, we have an abundance of all the important things - health, home, happiness, security, fun, family, food, education...everything. We have everything. I am so lucky to have a loving husband who puts his family first every day, two great kids who are healthy, happy, smart and filled with love for each other and for their family. I have a house that might be falling down in places (literally) but that keeps us warm and dry and safe all winter long. The furniture may be stained and cat-clawed and sagging, but it couldn't be more comfortable for snuggling up under a blanket to read books. And the best part of any trip is being there with the people I love, right? So what more do I need? Nothing. Nothing at all. I have everything. I'm a lucky, lucky woman and so thankful that I have been given so much in this life.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating this weekend!

October, yay!

October is the month of the year I wait for. The weather is absolutely perfect for me, my neighbourhood looks its loveliest right now, I love the return to snuggling under blankets, homemade soup, sweaters and scarves and making plans for Halloween always makes me happy. I love the warm light and the lack of bugs and the smell of fall and anticipating being thankful with my family next weekend. Maybe most importantly, by October we've all settled into our daily routine and things just seem to be easier in October.

Last weekend was the absolutely perfect October day and we took advantage of it with a trip to the gardens to run around in the sunshine, ride the carousel and eat our fill of gelato before the end of the season.

Such a good day.

The rain is coming, but for now I'm going to soak up as much October sun as I can. I know it won't hold me through the grey gloom of November, December and January, but for now I feel like I can't get enough of it.

Happy Moon Festival!

We had a great Moon Festival weekend. Lots of family fun, a great party which culminated in an epic pillow fight, many homemade mooncakes and as the perfect ending, taking our lanterns to the beach to watch the super moon/blood moon lunar eclipse Sunday night. Both girls loved dressing up in their ao dais, but Vivian was mad and didn't want her picture taken as we were leaving for the party because she wanted to jump on the trampoline. I did manage to get a few shots though, despite Vivi's non-cooperation. Adeline knows she looks beautiful in an ao dai and she really wanted her picture taken and she wanted it to be a nice picture of sisters hugging or holding hands and Viv would have NONE OF IT and started to cry the second Adeline got too close. She wanted everyone to know she wasn't happy about the no-trampoline thing.

The party was a lot of fun and our homemade mooncakes were very appreciated! Adeline will tell you that absolutely the best part of moon festival this year was the pillow fight! Once it got dark we all walked down to a lantern festival taking place in a nearby park. Adeline had the best view of the lion dance from up on her Daddy's shoulders.

That night Vivian was up until 10:15 and Adeline until after midnight, so the next day we were all feeling kind of low and slow. Even though it meant another later night, we wanted to keep our tradition of going to the beach to make our wishes to the harvest moon. Of course, this being not only the harvest moon, but a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event, the beach was packed which made it less of a quiet, reflective family time and more of a party. The blood moon was less impressive to the littles, but I thought it was a very cool thing to see. I guess when you're young so many things in the world are new to you that it's just one more new thing, but to us, we've never seen the moon look like that before, so it's fascinating.

Making Mooncakes

This weekend is Tet Trung Thu, or the Autumn Moon Festival. In Vietnam it's a holiday centred around children and families - a time to reconnect and have some fun after the harvest is in. THE food for the Autumn Moon Festival is the mooncake and year after year we have dutifully bought a beautiful box of mooncakes to each take a bite or two of and then throw away after the holiday is over. You see the problem with mooncakes is that they don't taste very good. But making them? Whew. No. Nobody makes them. They are very intimidating - rolling, filling, molding and unmolding, a multi-step baking process... When we were in Vietnam I bought some traditional mooncake molds which are big wooden paddles with the cake mold carved in them and thought that someday I would tackle mooncakes, but I didn't. Then I saw a much friendlier mooncake mold like this -

See how friendly looking it is? I thought anything that looked that much like a playdough toy couldn't be scary so I ordered a set from China via ebay. On Friday I took a deep breath, gathered my ingredients and began. My first thought was to make unbaked snowskin mooncakes as those looked easier, but I couldn't find the ingredients. I'm glad I went with a baked cake. I think ultimately they're tastier. I used a recipe I found online but I had to tweak it a little. My dough was far too crumbly and I had to add a little extra oil and a smidge of water to make it come together smoothly and my filling was completely soupy and I had to cook it down for a looooong time, but in the end mooncake making was actually pretty easy and fun! My Mom came to help and we all worked together. I made the dough and filling, Adeline loved weighing out the components and my Mom is a whiz with a rolling pin. We took turns stamping them out with the mold as that's the really satisfying part.

The unbaked ones were so pretty all lined up on the pan. Our first few were a little wonky, but once we got the technique it all went together easily.

Taa-daa! Our finished mooncake! I have to say I'm pretty impressed with us. But did they taste good?

Oh yes, they taste VERY good. The pastry is kind of like a soft shortbread cookie and the golden syrup gives it a beautiful golden colour and a caramel-y taste. The filling is a classic mung bean paste, but I substituted butter for the oil and some of the white sugar I swapped for brown sugar, which made the whole thing rich and delicious and much more palatable for us westerners. We shared one to test it yesterday, but were saving the rest for our party on Saturday and our family celebration on Sunday, but it was hard to leave them alone. We were all actually craving mooncake, which is something none of us has ever felt before. We used to dread having to get down a tiny wedge of mooncake and now we're all trying to figure out how we can sneak one without getting caught.

Next year Adeline wants to have a mooncake-making party with all her friends from Vietnam and China. I think it's a fabulous idea!

Camping (almost a month ago)

On the Labour Day weekend David decided to make one of Adeline's dreams come true and do two nights of REAL camping in one of our nearby provincial parks. I didn't know how she'd do with the outhouse, the bugs, the cold, the dirt or the many other inconveniences of camping, but she loved it and can't wait to go back! I didn't know how David would do either, as this was his first real camping experience since he was the world's cutest Cub Scout. Vivian, Nana and I just came out until after the campfire and then went home to sleep in our own beds, but hopefully next year it will be David and the two girls camping. Me? Not so much of a camping fan. I did it a lot as a kid and have good memories of it. I also have a lot of memories of being bored in a tent listening to the rain because it ALWAYS seemed to rain and of laying in bed desperately having to pee but not wanting to walk in the dark to the outhouse. And the bug bites. Oh the bug bites! Mosquitoes have always loved me. It had rained hard every day in the week before Labour Day, but we got lucky that it only rained overnight on one of the nights and the tent kept them dry. Also lucky was that our summer long fire ban had just been lifted - the campfire is the only part of camping I really love.

Vivian spent most of her time like this, hoping to spot an owl in the trees. She knows owls live in the forest and she was in the forest, so she was pretty sure she was going to see an owl ANY MINUTE. That girl LOVES owls.

But Vivi's stuffie was the only owl there...

The girls loved having the freedom to run and explore in the "forest" (really just the wooded area between the campsite and the outhouse, which was totally visible to us, but which felt a little dangerous and exciting to them. Vivian is an outdoors kind of girl so she was completely in her element.

S'mores are always wildly popular. We make ours with Nutella instead of chocolate, as the chocolate just never melted. So yummy.

I don't know if it was all the fresh air or all the sugar, but the two girls were so affectionate with each other. Although by the time this picture was taken, it looks like Vivi has maybe had enough of the hugging.

I understand why Adeline likes camping with her Dad. If I went I would make people put away the video games and read books or look at nature, I would insist on more sensible bedtimes and fruit, I would bring milk instead of juice and limit the candy and tell people that just froot loops isn't enough of a breakfast. I would even make people wash their faces, brush their hair and clean their teeth. I think instinctually Adeline knows all this, so she's just fine with me not being a camper.

I'm glad that Adeline and her Dad have such a fabulous time and I hope next year that David and his two girls will be making memories together while I have a weekend at home alone. Everyone is looking forward to next summer already - Vivi would like there to be more owls though.

 

Make My Day, Monday

Hey? Remember this? Well how about another one? Here are 10 totally random things that are making me happy this Monday.

• Vivian has slept in her big girl bed the last three days. She's not sleeping through the night but she's happy in there and David and I have reclaimed bedtime and are really enjoying some time at the end of the day to hold each other, talk and read before we go to sleep.
• After a tremendously hot summer the days have been lovely and cool even when they're sunny and the nights are chilly enough for extra blankets. Not quite my favourite sweater-weather yet, but it's coming.
• Adeline and Vivian have both decided on their Halloween costumes and I'm excited about making them. Vivi is going to be an owl (of course) and Adeline is going to be a blue macaw. I love to have a creative project to work on.
• I splurged on a Planetbox for packing Adeline's lunches and I'm loving it! Not having to search around for plastic containers and their matching lids or realizing too late that the last little plastic bag has been used is wonderful. She likes it too as it's one latch and then everything is in front of her and ready to eat.

• I can't say enough good things about Adeline's new school. The more I get to know the people and how they do things there the happier I am.
• Adeline has already made a good friend at school and is friendly with lots of the other kids.
• I'm very happy that Adeline wants to talk about her time at school a lot. Last year it was like pulling teeth to get her to tell me about her day, but now she's relaxed and happy and tells me a lot about what she does at school. I think last year there were a lot of things she didn't want to talk about, so she just didn't talk at all.
• I got a haircut I'm happy with yesterday. I went in not knowing what I wanted AT ALL, but my stylist has been doing my hair for close to twenty years now (really? is that possible?) and she knows what I like.
• Yesterday my Mom took the girls and David and I spent the day together. Mostly it was cleaning up, shopping and watching a little television, but it was still wonderful.
• David and I recently discovered "Mr Robot" and we're really enjoying it.

 

An Overheard Conversation

Our twenty minute walk home from school takes us on a lovely wooden bridge across a beautiful inlet, through a little forest and then through our neighbourhood park to home. It's a peaceful walk as there are no cars except for the last few blocks and there are birds to watch and seals and otters to spot and the quiet really encourages Adeline to talk about her day. We've gotten in the habit of stopping at the playground just before we get home so Adeline can monkey-bar and Vivian can do the slide a few times. Every day so far Adeline has met someone she knows from her old school. Yesterday it was D. who she went to preschool with and who was in her kindergarten last year. After hugging and comparing how long their hair had grown over the summer, this was the conversation...

D: Why aren’t you at school?

 

Adeline: What school?

 

D: The school we used to go to?

 

Adeline: I go to a new school now. It’s over there. (Adeline gestures in the general direction)

 

D: Why do you go to a new school?

Adeline: My Mom thought it was the best school for me and it IS. It’s GREAT. REALLY GREAT.

 

D: Why is it great?

 

Adeline: Because the kids are SO MUCH NICER. Nobody yells or is mean, EVER. There’s nothing scary there.

D: Oh. I can do the highest monkey bars now - watch!

 

Of all the very positive things I've heard from other parents about Adeline's new school and all the evidence of quality education at each child's own pace that I've seen, THIS is what has made my heart happiest. Adeline always professed to be happy at kindergarten and she generally was, as she loved her teacher and the work and playing with friends, but she often seemed stressed out and overwhelmed after school. I suspected (no, let's face it, I knew) that the violence, screaming, crying, aggressive language, profanity and posturing that was pretty well a daily thing in her kindergarten scared her, even though she might not have fully realized it and she certainly didn't want to talk about it. No child should have to be scared at school, and to know that Adeline now feels she's somewhere safe and "GREAT" with "nothing scary" is worth working hard and making sacrifices so that we can continue to send Adeline and then someday her sister to such an amazing school.

Back to School (now with after school update)

Adeline is completely giddy with excitement (and a little nervous, not that she'd ever admit it) to be heading off to Grade One at her new school!

I know it's only the first day, but I'm so happy with our choice to find a new school for Adeline. It's a safe, joyful community and we're so lucky to have found a place for our family there.

After school update: Adeline burst out of her classroom with a huge grin, gave me a great big hug and said "I LOVE this Grade One. It's AMAZING." She also told me that all the kids were "Super nice" and she was thrilled that there were two kids in her class smaller than her!

Adeline at Six (and a bit)

Adeline still doesn't like having her picture taken most of the time and is very uncomfortable in front of the camera (which is the only place on earth my girl is uncomfortable), so this post won't have as many pictures as Vivian's, unfortunately. Adeline seems to be turning into a big kid right before my eyes this summer. Doesn't her face look grown up in these pictures? Just growing and changing and maturing by the MINUTE. Here's where Adeline is right now...

• Adeline and I had a "Mama and Daughter, Singular, Day" recently. Nana took Vivian for the day and Adeline and I hung out together. We snuggled and watched Adeline's current favourite movie (Rio), we made ice cream pizzas, and most exciting of all, Adeline sewed some stuffies. She used the iron and the sewing machine, learned the technique of right-sides-together-pin-sew-turn-stuff-close it up with hand stitching and she was really proud of herself and we had a lot of fun. It was EXACTLY what we needed. I'll show you the stuffies soon, but below is how happy and proud she was with her first sewing project...

• Adeline wears size 5/almost 6 clothes and toddler size 10 shoes. She can still fit in a lot of size 4. I dread her move to the "girls" section as (at least this season) all the fun, bright colours and prints that Adeline loves are replaced by grey and maroon and olive and teenager-y sayings and graphics that I don't think are appropriate or fun for a six year old. I wish her new school had a uniform, but that's a conversation for another time.
• Adeline doesn't really care what she wears. Leggings and a jersey dress or jeans and a t-shirt are her favourites. She likes her clothes to be BRIGHT and she prefers prints to solids and comfort comes before anything for her.
• Adeline is physically very small, but she has a big personality! She understands that she is small because her birth parents are small and she's mostly okay with her size.
• Adeline REALLY wants to move to a booster seat, but she needs to gain four more pounds, which if history repeats itself will take her a year or two.
• Adeline's favourite food is watermelon and she was very excited that her and her Nana grew them in the greenhouse this year and they were DELICIOUS. She also really likes rice and noodles, tofu, avocados, buttered toast and gummy candy.
• Adeline has decided she wants to grow her hair REALLY LONG. Like past her bottom. I told her that she can grow it as long as she wants as long as she doesn't complain about having it washed or brushed.
• I got Adeline a hairdressing head for her birthday and she uses it almost every day. She's learned how to braid and she gives her head some great hairdos with LOTS of accessories.
• Adeline likes BRIGHT COLOURS. Orange is still her favourite, but increasingly she is liking pink. I think it's a "girls like pink" thing rather than a natural choice, but at least orange is still number one!
• Adeline is passionate about writing and illustrating books and she makes some awesome ones. She made an "I Love my Daddy" book for David's birthday that brought a tear to his eye it was so fabulous!
• She also works on her drawing daily and has done some great work.
• Adeline uses a lot of phonetic spelling in her books and to write other things. Sometimes you really have to think to read it, but it usually makes perfect sense once you sound it out.
• Adeline has become a really good reader. At the end of kindergarten her teacher said that she was reading at the level expected of children entering Grade Two and she's improved from there over the summer. She is a very expressive reader and uses different voices, volumes and tones.
• Adeline is really into the "Magic Tree House" chapter book series and she and David read them each night at bedtime.
• Adeline reads to Vivian every day and it's super sweet. She also reads to our cat Zephyr.

• Like her Mama, Adeline likes to make lists. I found one she'd written for herself recently that said "Adeline! Make plentt of birts! and clen up toys" (Adeline! Make plenty of birds! and clean up toys).
• Adeline loves words and to play with words. She often makes up word-play jokes (not all of which work) and poems (usually funny and a little rude).
• Adeline has only seen a few movies - the Miyazaki films "My Neighbour Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service", the Tinkerbell movies, the Buddies movies (talking puppies) and Frozen, but she recently saw "Rio" and is now VERY into blue macaws and other birds and the Amazon. We got some non-fiction books about parrots and some books about the Amazon from the library and she's busy doing research - drawings and writing down facts from the books.
• Adeline says she's going to be a paleontologist when she grows up. She does have an endless curiousity about the world and she loves to do research and come up with theories about things.
• Adeline's favourite television shows are "Magic School Bus" and "Sci Girls". She still watches the Octonauts as well sometimes. I really really don't want her to move on from shows like this as the live action tween shows I've seen are all TERRIBLE.
• Since turning six there has been a little upswing in the amount of arguing, bossiness, grumpiness and basic big kid attitude - we're working on it. Adeline is still usually in a happy place, polite and loving, but when her mood shifts it's not so pleasant.
• Adeline continues to do really well with her violin. She started Book Two and is zipping through the pieces.
• Adeline loves to go busking downtown where the cruise shippers stroll. She often brings home a lot of cash, but really she does it because she just loves to perform for people.
• She is currently working on Handel's Bourree and it's giving her a challenge, but nothing she won't overcome. I have to find a way to make practices more fun again as she gets through this rough patch. I'm sure getting back to private and group lessons in a few weeks will give her the push she needs.
• Adeline is very very stubborn. When she wants to do something she will keep at it until she succeeds.
• Adeline learned to ride on two wheels thanks to the Pedalheads camp she attended. I highly recommend outsourcing running behind a two-wheeler for hours to those eager young folks. She had a wonderfully fun time and learned a great skill. She was VERY determined to learn and even when she was days longer in getting up than some of her camp-mates she never gave up or got discouraged.
• For the first time I saw Adeline with a little crush on someone - Dennis her Pedalheads instructor.
• Adeline LOVES to bike ride with her Dad. They go down to the track at the high school which is just a few blocks from our house and they ride around and around and around.
• Adeline got a big kid scooter for her birthday and she was a natural on it. She's FAST.
• Adeline is progressing slowly but surely in her swimming lessons. She's very lean and muscular and not a natural floater at all, but she seems to finally be learning the skills to compensate for that.
• Adeline has one missing tooth on the bottom and it's neighbour is wiggly. You can't really tell though as her adult tooth was already in behind the one that fell out and now it's just moving into position.
• Adeline is NOT a fan of the tooth fairy and will be keeping all her teeth.

• Adeline loves sleeping over at her Nana's house. She thinks she can't wait for Vivian to be old enough for sleepovers, but actually I think it's going to be hard for her to share this special time with her Nana. They garden and cook together, do crafts and science experiments, draw and paint and create together and always have lots of laughs.
• Adeline has switched rooms and is now in Vivian's little bedroom, leaving the bigger bedroom free for Vivi to move into someday. The reason? Her room has a closet and Vivian's doesn't. And she's afraid of monsters in closets. She tells me this is absolutely NOT because they watched "Monsters University" at school. We went with it - sleeping is the most important thing and Adeline has been a great sleeper for a long time now. If she sleeps better in the room without a closet, I'm okay with it. Of course we tell her there are no monsters in the closet or anywhere else, but this wasn't something logic was going to turn around.
• Adeline is so excited for Grade One! She's a natural student and she loves to be at school.
• I'm going to miss her at home though. We had a really really good summer. Oh of course there were a few days when I counted how much longer until school started, but really we had a wonderful time.
• Vivi and Adeline get along remarkably well. There's a little bit of arguing, which will probably escalate as Vivi gets older, but they are so loving with each other and they have a ton of fun. In August, Vivian's pretend play skills have really taken off, so they're having a lot more quality play time together, either pretending things like "doctor", "going on a trip", "super heroes", "kittens" or "birds" or playing with stuffies, the Little People or animal figures. It makes my heart happy to hear them playing with each other.
• Adeline can sometimes be hyper-vigilant about Vivian's safety or be too hard on her for not following the rules. She's still learning the boundary between Mom and Dad responsibilities and sister responsibilities.
• Adeline is (and has always been) an extreme extrovert. She will talk to anyone, anytime and she makes friends wherever we go.
• I do see the beginnings of self-conciousness though - not wanting to pose for pictures and not dancing in public when others aren't dancing, even if she really loves the music. In the past she would need to stop for a "dance break" anytime she heard a song she liked, and she would bust a move with no thought to anything but how good it felt, but no more.
• Adeline likes to take showers until the water runs cold. She takes in some toys and plays and talks and sings until the whole tank is used up.
• Adeline hasn't been much of a fan of clothes this summer.
• Words I would use to describe Adeline are exuberant, energetic, curious, beautiful, tenacious, intelligent, playful, independent, loving, kind, empathetic and funny.

My goodness, i can go on, can't I? I'm loving six so far, and can't wait to see where Grade One will take Adeline this year. Every day I'm happy and proud to be Adeline's Mama and I know I can always count on her to make me laugh.

So big. So fast.

So wonderful.

 

 

 

Vivian at Two (and a bit)

Seriously. This kid is a HOOT. Two is my favourite age, so very funny, so full of wonder and so excited just to be alive.

Here's where my littlest girl is right now...

Vivian loves to laugh and she's full of wiggles and giggles. I love to hear it. It doesn't seem that long ago that she was still so serious and so worried a lot of the time. It's so good to see her so relaxed and to hear her great big belly laughs.

Isn't she gorgeous when she laughs?

Vivian talks ALL DAY LONG. Questions. Monologues. Telling stories about what happened in the past. Lists of things she likes to eat or things she thinks are cute. Involved conversations between stuffies. More questions. Questions she already knows the answer to. Chat chat chat. I thought she might be a little bit quieter than Adeline, but nope, she totally holds her own.

Vivian still doesn't speak to any adults outside our family and has only said a few words to other people. Most people get the evil eye, or she will make eye contact with people as they talk to her, put her hands behind her back and hum loudly. I wish she could show the world her big fun personality, but that doesn't seem to be her style.

She will often talk to children though and shows more interest all the time in playing with other little ones.

Viv loves to dance!

Vivian is trying to make sense of her life story right now. She often asks to look at the pictures of our time together in Vietnam. She says "I lived in Bietnam. I cried HARD. I cried SO HARD. I need my Mama. Mama give me a bottle and I feel better. I come home.  I live in the blue house".  She switches again and again between the picture of her crying inconsolably in her last moments with her nou-nou and the picture of me smiling and giving her her first bottle in the van, with a few tears still on her face.

I don't know much about memory and how it's formed and what infants can remember, but Vivian has shown some signs of being able to remember some things about Vietnam at this point. For example, she's never slept in a crib here and didn't know the word for it, but we saw a picture in a book and I told her what it was. She looked at it for a long time and then very seriously said "Baby Vivian sleep in a crib. I cry and cry" She also told me "In Bietnam there are lots of babies. All the babies cry.". I asked what happens when the babies cry, and she told me "They get cuddles. They feel better. They get bottles".

She thinks all the special things come from Vietnam. She often picks something up that she likes and says "This is SO SPECIAL. It's from Bietnam". A few of those things, like some of our musical instruments or her stuffed cat actually do come from Vietnam, but she thinks all the objects that are special to her must have come from her birth country.

Vivi seems to have mostly sorted out pronouns although "he" and "she" are still tricky sometimes.

Viv is at that stage where she is sorting the world into boys and girls and she knows the names of the parts that generally go along with each of those genders and she talks about them A LOT.

Vivian is a daredevil and especially loves to balance on high things. I would classify her as accident-prone and we do still have a lot of falls and clunked heads - not usually when she's being reckless, usually just things like falling off chairs or tripping over her own feet.

Vivian has a lovely big girl bed in her very own beautiful big girl room just steps away from the master bedroom, but she is very adamant that she belongs in Mama's bed. I know it's what she needs right now, but I'm very very ready for the co-sleeping to end.

Vivi occasionally sleeps through the night, but most nights she wakes between 1 and 4 times a night and needs comforting.

Vivi really likes her naptime and often will ask to go upstairs to sleep. Bedtime is often close to 9, unfortunately, but she wouldn't cope without the nap and I am so not ready for her to stop napping.

Vivian loves books and would be a very contented girl to sit and cuddle all day and have me or David read to her. Her favourites right now are "I Don't Want a Cool Cat", "Kitten Red Yellow Blue", "Red is Best", "Zin Zin a Violin", "I Love my White Shoes", "Mommies say Shhhh", "Oh David", "Fancy Nancy" and "If You Give a Pig a Party". She also really likes "Green Eggs and Ham" but I'm getting pretty tired of reading it, so I keep trying to hide it, but she always finds it.

She is always up for a trip to the library.

Vivian loves to be outside in any weather.

Vivi's favourite outings are to the park to see the peacocks, to the beach or to the pool.

She LOVES the pool and is very bold and doesn't mind getting splashed or putting her face in the water.

Vivi keeps asking "Where's the room?", "Where's the beach?", "Where are my kids?" She really had a great time on our beach holiday and asks to go back often.

Viv is a bit mad that she doesn't know how to ride a bike or a scooter yet. The girl wants WHEELS.

Our scale recently declared us all at 11 pounds, so I don't know how much Vivian weighs but she is tall and sturdy.

She wears mostly size 3 pants and size 2 tops. She has large, wide feet - size 6. Adeline wore that size shoe the summer she turned 5.

Vivian can do a spider handstand against the wall like this...

Adeline was doing it and I was shocked when Vivian got right up there beside her and did it too. She's a strong girl!

Vivian likes to carry heavy things and declare herself "So strong!".

Viv can "count" to about 18, but really can't count anything beyond two.

She can recognize "A" and "V" and knows they are the letters that start her and Adeline's names.

Vivian knows all her colours, including a few obscure ones like "magenta".

Vivian loves to be sung to and to sing. Lately her favourites are "You are my Sunshine", "Apple Blossom" and "Zippedee-do-dah". I wish I could get video of her singing but as soon as the camera comes out she gets quiet.

Vivian can be a really patient kid. Maybe it's a second child thing as she sometimes has to wait while Adeline does something, but she can spend a long time entertaining herself when we are waiting. When Adeline was at bike camp, mostly my Mom dropped her off and picked her up but on the last day Vivian and I went to watch from the shade of the car. The first hour Vivi just sat in her car seat and played happily with some toys and had snacks and the second hour she sat up front with me and we chatted while she pretended to drive us to the ice cream store. She was really happy, even though we were in one spot for two hours and never got out of the car. I had lots of "emergency fun" and special snacks stored away just in case, but we didn't need them at all.

Vivi's pretend play is really expanding. There has been lots of doctor play lately and lots of taking care of babies.

Vivian had two back to back ear infections last month. She was mostly still sunny, although occasionally she would just melt down into misery over little things. Poor thing - it must have hurt so much. The eardrum popped and both times there was a huge amount of pus draining from her ear. If this continues she may end up with tubes.

Remember this winter when Vivian had back to back to back to back to back colds? Whew...

Vivian's favourite creature is definitely owls. She has always really liked the book "Owl Babies" and then she got to see some real owls up close last month and she got an owl stuffie that has become her special friend and must accompany her just about everywhere these days. She often looks out our front window into the big oak tree and says she's "Looking for owls".

Vivian is starting to get the idea of tidying up, and when she's into it she does a great job picking up the toys and putting them away. She also likes helping with jobs like cleaning the windows and sweeping.

VIvi likes to brush her own hair, but we have different ideas on what a "good hair day" looks like. When she's done she likes to look in the mirror and say "Nice! I like it! Nice and fluffy!" I prefer a smooth look to her fluffy one, but I have to admire her independence and sense of style.

Adeline was never a tantrumer, but oh my can Vivian throw a good long one when she is told no or something doesn't go as she'd like. Whew. Today I told her she couldn't have a band-aid because she didn't have an owie and she cried and yelled for at least 30 minutes, but it was probably closer to 45. Sometimes I can distract her and get her to move on to something else, but sometimes it just needs to run it's course.

VIvi is still not much of an eater. I know she's growing, but I do worry about her nutrition as she is quite picky and if given the choice will drink her calories in milk rather than eating or will pick foods with few nutrients like rice or crackers to fill up on. There are a few fruits and veggies that she likes now but her palate is still pretty limited. We have to be mindful not to give her empty calories just to fill her up because we worry that she's not eating enough and just keep offering the healthy (and tasty) foods.

One of Vivian's favourite foods is strawberries straight from our garden. I'm so happy with the strawberry patch I planted this spring and it's already producing wonderfully for us.

Vivian likes to be fancy. She will only wear dresses and if she doesn't like one she will declare it "Not beautiful. P.U." She also likes jewellery and is really hoping that I'll say two is old enough to start wearing make up. I have no idea where this comes from. Adeline has never cared one little bit what she wears and while she likes to be fancy when the occasion calls for it, has no heart for fashion and really just wants to be comfortable.

Before we even met Vivian, Adeline declared that Vivian's favourite colour would be pink and she's campaigning hard to make that happen. So far Vivi doesn't seem to have a strong favourite, but will often choose pink as she's being prompted by Adeline. Her very favourite dress is sort of a mint green, but I think it's the big swishy skirt that is appealing and not so much the colour. Vivian looks great in pink - although really, my gorgeous girl looks great in anything.

 

 

 

 

Adeline turned six....

...and a week later this happened...

...and this happened...

Two Wheels! from Lisa on Vimeo.

She's extremely thrilled and somewhat obsessed with her bike riding skills, but she wants NOTHING to do with the tooth fairy. After much struggle over what to do with her lost tooth, she declared that she wanted to keep her special baby tooth much more than she wanted money. She didn't trust the tooth fairy though, so she hid her tooth, left notes around the house using strong words to tell the tooth fairy to leave her tooth ALONE and she convinced David to sleep with her "just in case". I totally get it. I put my first tooth under my pillow and then cried for a long time the next morning when it was gone. I just didn't trust the tooth fairy's motives... So I put the quarter back under my pillow and my tooth was returned and I never put another one under there again.

My girl is transforming from a kindergartener to a big kid right before my eyes. I love watching the person she's becoming, but I can't help but miss our little girl sometimes.

Today's the day...

...when Adeline declares summer OVER and told me that she wants it to be first day of Grade One tomorrow. She was looking back at our July calendar which was jam-packed with holidays and celebrations and camps and workshops and looking towards August which (in my opinion) is blissfully unscheduled. There's still a lot of August and a little bit of September to get through, so we'll have to get creative around here... I'm glad Adeline loves school so much, even though she is having some worries about being the smallest first grader at her new school. We haven't met any of the other first graders, but chances are that our girl will be the tiniest and she's a bit worried that her new friends won't be nice about it. Adeline may be tiny, but she's also confident, articulate, fun and funny, a good friend, intelligent, compassionate and willing to stand up for herself and for anyone else who needs some support. I think she's going to do just fine in her new school.

And how could anyone be bored with summer when we've got our very own anti-gravity chamber in the backyard? I don't think David is every going to be able to take the tent down - it's just too much fun.

Instead of a party...

Summer birthdays can be tricky. Especially ones that often fall close to the long weekend. I started contacting some of the people Adeline wanted to invite and was hearing a lot of "no, sorry" and "mayyyyybe" (which really means no). In years past I've gotten the invitations out before the end of school, but it just didn't happen for us. We thought Adeline would be upset about no big party, but really she took it right in stride when she heard what some of her party alternatives were and was reassured that there would still be cake and presents. We offered her all sorts of adventures and she chose a long drive to the Paleontology Centre, a fossil dig and overnight camping in a real campground. She was VIBRATING WITH EXCITEMENT and counting down the days to her birthday adventure. We decided to make it a "Dadeline" (Daddy and Adeline) trip as it just didn't seem toddler-friendly and I think I had my lifetime fill of tent camping as a child.

I think the tenting may have been Adeline's favourite part...

The museum was awesome as well, especially since Adeline has decided that she wants to be a Paleontologist when she grows up. They have a full Elasmasaur skeleton, which was found by a young girl and her Dad nearby. I made the mistake of excitedly saying "Wow, Adeline, they have a fossil of your favourite dinosaur there" to have her look incredibly disappointed in me, sigh deeply and then say "Moooooooom, an Elasmasaur is a prehistoric marine reptile, NOT a dinosaur. Do you get it?". I guess the days of Adeline believing I know everything are finally done...

 

Adeline loves to visit a well-stocked gift shop, especially when she's with her Daddy as he's a much softer touch than I am. Yes, that's a giant, orange and green stuffed Elasmasaur she's holding.

The fossil walk facilitated by the museum was a really special experience. It was a long and sweaty walk along the river, but everyone in the group found fossils. David and Adeline found fossilized clams and other small mollusks, petrified wood and a few parts of an ammonite. I think Adeline was hoping for at least a T-Rex, but she still had fun and learned a lot.

Adeline had a very memorable birthday weekend and she's looking forward to having an "almost sleepover" party with a couple of special friends in September. She reallllllllllllllllly wants to be ready for sleepovers, but she's totally not (and neither are we), so she wants to have a night time party where some friends come over in their pajamas for pizza and ice cream and a movie and lots of silly fun and then go home before bedtime. Sounds like a fun plan!

Happy Birthday, future Paleontologist!

Six!

Impossible! But it's really happened. My baby girl is SIX. She's got a wiggly tooth and everything!

Happy Birthday, Big Girl! May all your wishes come true!

A retrospective, with s'mores

2015, almost 6

2014, almost 5

2013, almost 4

2012, almost 3

2011, almost 2

I don't want it to be over...

It's been a few days since we got home from our annual beach vacation/adoption reunion and I'm still not ready to face reality. As always it was a great trip - the beach, swimming, sandcastles, kites, watching my little ones play on the same playground equipment I played on as a kid, the water park, the farm and the wildlife recovery centre, watching the sunset as the kids played and played and played. No campfires this year as there is a total fire ban because of our incredibly dry weather, but we still managed to make s'mores happen. We had a bigger group this year which only made it more fun for Adeline, although she does still have a very special bond with her "first friend" who she shared a crib with in Vietnam. I love watching that relationship develop as the girls get older and it's so special for Adeline to keep that bond that she had from when she was first born. We were able to make a couple of Vivian's fondest dreams come true - she got to pet and hug and take care of a bunny at the farm and she got to see owls up close at the wildlife recovery centre. No hugging of the owls though, which is what she really wanted. At the farm Adeline's tender wee heart just about burst with love for the chicks and it took all we had to convince her to leave their pen. We went a month later than we usually do and the weather was hot, but it was lovely and cool by the beach and the shallow water coming in over the warm sandy beach was incredibly warm. Vivian was absolutely delighted by the beach and she especially loved being in the water.

I don't want to be home with dirty dishes and that weird smell in the basement and eight hundred things on my to-do list. I want to be back at the beach. This time of year I always start fantasizing about moving there, but I know there are dishes, smells and lists when you live there and you can't be on holidays forever.

SIGH.

How many more days until our next trip?

Happy Birthday, Big Girl!

Just a family celebration for Vivian this year. We started out the day with a waffle brunch. With strawberries and whipped cream, of course.

Here Vivian is working hard to show everybody that she's two. She kept saying "I'm a big girl! I'm TWO!".

Halfway through the day, Vivian got her first big girl haircut. She was extremely patient and she even interacted with our fabulous stylist a bit. The new 'do is taking some getting used to for me, and I still don't know if I should have just kept toughing it out and not gone for the bangs. Vivi does look adorable though, and with her super fine and wispy hair that is still filling in at the temples, I do think bangs were probably the right choice, right? She looks like a kid all of a sudden. Where's my baby gone?

After a nap, Vivian was ready for CAKE! She was an expert at blowing out candles. We had to do a few retakes because Vivi blew them out before they were even fully lit, and I wanted a classic "blowing out the candles" photo. No one minded - Vivian and Adeline took turns blowing them out again and again and then it was time to eat!

My tiny bit of crafting for this birthday was the hat. Vivi has a book about birthdays and she was really into the classic cone hats, so I thought I'd make her a special one for her big day. Nothing fancy, just card stock, fake flowers, glue and a bit of elastic. I expected her to wear it for approximately four seconds, but she kept it on for a lot of the day.

We had other birthday fun planned but the pool was out as Vivian is working through her second back-to-back ear infection and the forest fires are making the air quality terrible and the weather extremely hot and humid, so we just stayed in and Vivi and Adeline had a lot of silly sister fun together. Those two can sure make each other laugh!

Happy Birthday to my littlest big girl!

 

Last Moments of Being One!

And the last moments before I break down and get Vivian a big girl haircut.

I just love this girl so much! She's so joyful most of the time, even though she's suffering with an ongoing ear infection.

All kids love to do this when they're taking off their dress, right? It's not just my kids who find it fascinating and hilarious, I hope.

Happy Canada Day!

And just so you can say "Oh my, how they've grown!"...

Last Day of Kindergarten!

Woohoo! Now I am fully aware that in roughly two weeks I'm likely going to be wishing for school to start again, but right now I'm super excited for the summer break and all the good things that are going to happen. Okay, I'm excited about our beach holiday, staying up late, fireworks, jumping on the trampoline, picnics, parks, bike riding, running in the sprinkler, eating raspberries from our garden, family movie nights, swimming, popsicles and all those things, but right now I'm most excited about not having to pack a lunch every evening!!!

Adeline LOVED kindergarten and she loved her teacher. She told me recently that Monday was her favourite day of the week. She told me "I like hanging out with you guys, but on Mondays I get to go back to school, so it's my favourite". I hope she always feels that way!

Saying goodbye to her current school was strange for me. I HAD to find something else for her as I knew it wasn't good for her spirit, her heart or her brain and I was thrilled when she got into the private school of our choice, but now I'm feeling quite nostalgic about her kindergarten. It certainly wasn't all bad, her teacher was wonderful and Adeline learned many things. Her teacher, as well as lots of other staff members from her school, are moving on this year, so I think I'm not the only one who realized that things just weren't right there. It's a bad combination of a government who has stripped education to the bare bones and a demographic of children and families who could use a higher than average level of support all adding up to a very stressful environment where most children are not able to meet their potential whether they're a bright kid like Adeline who is held back or a child with extra needs who struggles and gets no help. But still...I was a touch misty saying goodbye to kindergarten. I guess it's the known versus the unknown and just another milestone in my girl's growing up.

Adeline was just plain sad on the last day of school, but she is excited to be in Grade One and she's excited about her move to her new school. Hopefully we can distract her with summer fun and she won't miss school too much!

 

Spring Violin Concert

A few weeks ago Adeline performed in the spring violin concert. Yes, it was long enough ago that it was called the "spring concert" even though we're well into summer here already. Adeline played with the group for almost an hour as she went far back into her repertoire to play her very easiest songs like "Hot Cross Buns" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb" to give back up to the beginners and she played the harder songs like a series of Bach Minuets and some fiddle tunes with her class. She also played the songs she learned for the music festival as solos. Since the concert Adeline has graduated to Book Two and this was a very big deal to her. She is eager to practice every day and she also plays on her own just for fun or to work through some challenging passages and we have been busking downtown a few times because Adeline loves to have an audience and she likes to go get ice cream with the money she makes. She is whipping through Book Two, learning a new song every week or two and I know that she will have a big jump forward this summer as she always plays a lot more in the summer because we have lots of unstructured time, she's much less tired than she is during the school year and her violin is always out so she can pick it up and play. Even on school days she usually picks up her violin and plays through her current piece a few times first thing in the morning - it's a lovely way for all of us to wake up and then if we're home she'll go back to it throughout the day. Adeline even uses her violin to help regulate her feelings. She was watching "Magic School Bus" and I heard her start to play her violin. She told me there was a "scary skeleton part" so she played Musette, which she says is the prettiest song she knows so that the scary feelings would go away, and it worked. Adeline may not end up a professional musician, but she is getting so much from learning the violin. I'm glad she talked us into it!

There is a video of some of the highlights of the performance. It's rather long as I just couldn't decide which of her new pieces to leave out!

Spring Violin Concert, 2015 from Lisa Roberts on Vimeo.

 

 

23 (and 9 days)

Wowza...Time is FLYING. Seriously. This year has gone by in a WHOOSH. I can't believe that Vivian is standing on the doorstep of two and has been home for more than a year. She is so delightful lately. Mostly extremely happy and singing and laughing through her day. Here's a snapshot of where our sweet littlest is right now...

• Gorgeous. Did I mention that Vivian is gorgeous? Those eyes...
• Funny and smart and a great talker. Viv was baking cookies with her Nana and when Nana said the cookies were finished baking Vivian said "Cookies say "knock knock let us out!".
• Will ONLY wear dresses, preferably very twirly ones. She is very serious about this and if you try and put shorts and a tshirt on her she gets VERY insistent and says again and again "I NEEEEEEED a dress! I NEEEEEEED a dress!". She occasionally even balks at pajamas, saying "Bibian need to sleep in a DRESS!". She also likes to be "fancy" and accessorize. We're getting an interesting lesson on "nature versus nurture" - we're not parenting any differently and Vivi has the same environment and toys and social circle as Adeline, but she is much more into typically "girl" stuff like clothes and shopping and shoes and dolls. It's very interesting.
• Favourite play is "You be this". She grabs two stuffies, or little people, or planes or dinosaurs and hands you one saying "You be this". At first the guys just said "hi" to each other a lot, but now they dance and jump and go to the swimming pool and have snacks and go to bed. They also fall off things very dramatically a lot.
• Vivian loves to be outside in the garden, at the beach or at the park. She loves to visit the peacocks at the petting farm, go to the pool and go "climb a mountain with Daddy" (it's really a big rock).
• Vivian finally eats a fair number of fruits and vegetables, but she doesn't seem to ever eat very much. She's healthy and goodness knows she's growing, so I'm not worried.
• She loves junk food. We try and limit what we have in the house, but when it's around she can't think of anything else but getting another chip or piece of chocolate.
• Vivi is a tall and sturdy girl, and as she slims down from her baby chubbiness you can see that she has lots of muscles!
• Vivi likes to hang off bars and lift her knees up and say she's "swinging on the monkey bars".
• Viv is a remarkable jumper.
• Vivian imitates her sister in everything. So far Adeline thinks this is awesome.
• Vivi is OBSESSED with violins. She watches Adeline very carefully and her pretend violin playing is getting more realistic all the time. She always holds her "instrument" in the correct hand and she's mastered putting it into rest position and taking a bow and her pinkie is always up on top of her bow. I'd like to hold her off on lessons until she's 4 as I think those that start at 3 don't have a long term advantage and lessons are expensive, but she REALLY wants to play. Of course once she really has a violin and realizes that she can't just pick it up and play like Adeline then she might be less enthusiastic.
• Vivi is very musical. She can hum all of Adeline's violin pieces and she can sing many many songs and is always in tune.

• Vivi is crazy about the sprinkler and anything else involving water. She loves to take a shower.
• Vivian's hair is growing slowly, but she finally (sort of, almost) has enough for two tiny pigtails. Although I do think we're going to go for a cut soon, just to even it out and make it look thicker, which will probably put an end to the hairdos for awhile. Bangs? No bangs? I don't know yet...

• Vivian is still extremely shy around new people and won't talk to anyone outside of our family. If we have people over she often has a real physical fear reaction and her heart beats fast and she only wants to sit on my lap and either bury her head in my armpit or stare into my eyes. Usually she will eventually go off and play with Adeline in another room, but sometimes she just needs to stick close to Mama. She is less fearful than she used to be around other children, so that's a good thing. We're working on it.
• Vivi is very in touch with her emotions and often narrates her feelings. As she's crying she'll say "I'm crying! I'm sad! Adeline making Cutiecakes cry!" (when Adeline said she couldn't play with a breakable big kid only toy) or "I'm laughing! I'm happy! Adeline is making me laugh everywhere!". Or "I'm having a bad day! I'm mad at Mama! Mama say no. I'm mad at Mama! No hug Mama!"
• Yes, Adeline has called her "Cutiecakes" so many times that she now sometimes refers to herself this way.
• Vivi is a great talker, but pronouns have been tricky for her this month.
• Vivi's last 4 teeth finally poked through this month and are now working their way into place. Teething has been a LONG process for this poor girl and I'm glad to be getting a break from it before the second molars come in.
• Vivian loves to draw at the table with Adeline and she spends a long time on her work.
• Vivian is the proud new owner of a big girl bed in her very own room. She hasn't slept in it yet as we're waiting for school to be out to make the transition in case there are some bad nights. We're not going to force it, but I think/hope she's ready to transition out of the shared bed. Right now the cats are loving the new bed and it's a great place for jumping and for Viv and Adeline to cuddle up and read books.

• The co-sleeping is going okay and Vivi has many nights where she sleeps all night long, although I think the heat bothers her as she often has very restless nights when the temperatures climb.
• Vivi has been spending some full days (including nap times) at her Nana's house and has been having a great time! Almost every day she asks "Me go Nana's house?" It's all working up to the glorious day when both girls can have a sleepover with their Nana and David and I can be blissfully alone for a whole day and night. Maybe this winter?
• Adeline is having a lot more fun with Vivian now that Vivi can do some pretend play. Vivian isn't always as cooperative as Adeline would like and she often has her own ideas about how the play should go, but they usually work it out without arguing or tears. Of course there are sometimes arguments and tears, but very few - they get along remarkably well at this point.
• I love to watch Adeline reading to Vivian...super sweet...

Toddlers are so fun! Crazy and exhausting and totally illogical and mess-making-machines, but the fun makes all those other things seem so less important. When we're having a less than magical day and the house is a total disaster and we're having scrambled eggs and toast for dinner yet again, I remind myself that in the not too distant future we will have teenagers and a tidy house. I hope we'll still laugh every day and love each other fiercely, but I know I'll miss my little girls.

 

 

 

Darth Adeline

We went to a Fun Fair at Adeline's new school. There was a photo booth with tons of costumes. Adeline dug through all the fairy wings, princess dresses and cute animal costumes to find something that really spoke to her soul...

No, Adeline has never seen "Star Wars" and probably won't for a long time to come as she's very sensitive about "meanness" in movies. But there's just something about Darth Vader...

Butterfly Gardens

Adeline made a new friend at Butterfly Gardens and now she's OBSESSED with going back. Little E is an eclectus parrot that is free to roam in the garden, but who often chooses to interact with people and he's especially fond of women - before his rescue and retirement to Butterfly Gardens he likely didn't know any men, as he doesn't like to get as close to them. We found Little E near a quiet out-of-the-way bench and Adeline sat a few feet away from him. He got closer and closer as they chatted and flirted with each other for about 30 minutes, until we finally were able to drag Adeline away. She immediately came home and drew a portrait of Little E and started making plans for when they can be together again. I totally get it. She feels like she had a real MOMENT with an animal who was as interested in her as she was in him, and that's powerful. We'll take Adeline back soon - hopefully Little E will be just as happy to see her as she is to see him!

Mothers Day, 2015 (part 2)

We celebrate Mother's Day as a day for me, but at the same time we celebrate Mothers Day (the apostrophe makes all the difference) as the day we honour the three Mothers in our family - me and the birth mothers of my daughters. Some Mothers-by-adoption get very territorial about this special day and don't want to be reminded that they share that title with another woman. For me though, it's one of the days when my girls' first Mothers are very much on my mind and close to my heart, and I'm sure as they grow it will be same for Vivian and Adeline. I know that the human heart is big enough to know "Mom" in more than one way and that any feeling, either good or bad, that my daughter has about her birth Mother takes absolutely nothing away from the feelings she has for me. Adeline has not wanted to talk about "adoption stuff" or birth parents for quite awhile now. She refuses to read any of our adoption-themed books and she'll look at her life book but always skips the pages about her birth and gets right to the part about us coming to Vietnam to bring her home. She will listen when I talk about adoption, but she always declines to join the conversation and she often tries to change the subject. I wondered if she would be resistant to being reminded of her Vietnam Mother on this day, but it seems like she is reaching a new place. When I put three candles on the cake, Adeline asked me why, and I told her that it was because we were celebrating three Moms today: me - the every-day-forever-Mama - and her and Vivian's birth Mothers. I told Adeline again that they were an important part of our family even if we couldn't know them, and that I was very thankful to them for taking such good care of their babies when they were pregnant and for taking the babies to a safe place where they could find a forever family after they made the decision that they couldn't be the every-day Mom. Adeline said she wanted to make a wish and that I would blow out one candle for me, and then Vivian would blow out one for her birth mother and then Adeline would blow out the last one for her birth Mother. I was hoping that's how it would happen, but I didn't know and wanted to leave it open for Adeline's input. I made my wish that both their birth Mothers would be safe and that they could somehow know in their heart that their girls were happy and loved and that they were growing up with a good family and would always be taken care of. I told Adeline she could make her wish in her heart or say it out loud and after making her wish she blew out her candle and she seemed very happy with the moment. After Mothers Day, Adeline seems a little more open about talking about her birth family. I've always kept the door open and kept the conversation going, even if it was one-sided, in hopes that someday again she would want to talk. I know just because she wasn't talking about it didn't mean she wasn't thinking about it. Adeline is a deep thinker and a worrier and this is big stuff and all we can't take away any of the hard stuff, just be there for them as they work through it.

I wish those two Mothers in Vietnam could see their girls laughing together while they jump on the bed or watch them snuggled close while the kindergartener reads to the toddler. I wish they could see them running in fields and blowing dandelions and dancing. I wish they could know that their girls are safe and loved and happy. I can't imagine just not knowing and I wish I could give them peace.

 

 

Mother's Day 2015 (part 1)

Mother's Day 2014 is right up there with the worst days of my life and it was certainly one of the worst days of both Vivian's and Adeline's short lives, but this year? Mother's Day 2015 was full of sweetness. Last year we were still in Vietnam and Mother's Day was our hardest day of the whole trip. Vivi had been with us a few days, but she was still crying almost all of the time and would only settle a little if I would just walk her back and forth in the room. If I stopped walking or tried to sit down with her she would begin to get hysterical. What made Mother's Day in particular so hard was that Adeline was sick with a fever, and all she wanted was Mama to cuddle her and to wear her bathrobe (which was hanging on the back of the bathroom door at home) and to be in her own house, and I couldn't give her any of those things, so she cried and cried. David tried to take Vivian from me, which didn't work and he tried to comfort Adeline, but she only wanted me, so it was a solid day of heartbreaking crying from both my girls, often at the same time. Once they were both in bed, I cried as well, just from absolute emotional exhaustion. I think David poured some Kahlua on ice cream and we watched some "American Idol" on television and I know he told me how strong I was and what a good Mom I was. I think we got to sit together for a little bit on the couch before Vivian woke up and realized I wasn't laying next to her and needed me back, but it's all pretty hazy.

Whew.

I told myself then that "It will be different next year. This is NOT our new normal. It will get better and by next Mother's Day it will all be good". I don't know if I totally believed it at the time, but it turns out I was right.

This year WAS totally different. Adeline had worked hard on so many surprises for me. There were sunflower seedlings and cards and a handmade necklace and roses and cake and so many hugs and kisses and declarations of "I Love You" from both my little ones. Adeline kept declaring "We're spoiling you!" and she was right! My choice for a family activity for Mother's Day was the beach, which I know both the girls love. It wasn't as sunny a day as it has been, but that didn't stop them from getting soaked and sandy and having a wonderful time!

I love my family so much and I'm so lucky to be Mama to such wonderful, happy, loving, girls.

 

 

One Year

This has been the fastest year of my life. One year ago today, we met our baby girl for the first time and then we were quickly whisked away for the ceremony that would make us a family forever.

Look how excited I was on the morning of May 5th to be meeting our baby girl! Even though you think you're prepared for the worst, you have NO IDEA how it's going to feel when things get hard...

It all happened so fast that day. Too fast. Too fast for pictures and too fast to even really remember how it all happened. Our poor girl was terrified and so very sick with a high fever and she fought and shrieked and shook her head "NO!" over and over again. When put in stressful situations I get very very calm, and in all the photos I've got a cheerful smile on my face and I look like the happiest new Mama in the world, and while I know in my heart I was happy, I had packed all my feelings away and had gone into survival mode immediately. I knew we were in for a rough time and that I now had two little ones counting on me to get us through. I worried about Vivi and I worried about Adeline, but mostly I just didn't think at all right then. It was noisy and chaotic and scary and my coping strategy was to just be calm, do the next thing I needed to do, and to keep smiling so that Adeline would think that everything was okay and so that Vivian could hopefully see me as non-threatening. I was right - things only got harder as we settled into our first days together. Vivian got much sicker with a respiratory infection and then had a big allergic reaction to the medication we gave her. She went from being absolutely shut down to crying non-stop for days and then to settling somewhat if I would just walk and walk and walk with her. Poor Adeline loved her sister immediately but she was understandably sad and angry for what she felt was the total loss of her Mama in those days when Vivi needed all of me. Once home, we had many months of Vivi grieving and worrying and needing to be touching me twenty-four hours a day to make sure I wouldn't disappear. We all did everything we could in those early months to help Vivian feel secure and loved and to teach her that family means forever. We had issues with getting Vivian to eat solid foods and we had worries over some very significant delays. BUT...a year later...and it's so good. SO SO GOOD. Not that it was ever bad, it was just hard sometimes. Very very hard. But even when it was hard it was good too, you know?

May 5th, 2014...

Leaving the orphanage for the last time...

The nounous gave Vivian some medication as we left the orphanage which brought her fever down and she snuggled in with her special person to have a little sleep as we drove to the office where our Giving and Receiving Ceremony was, so once there we had a few moments of brightness where Vivian wasn't crying and she made eye contact with David and I and was very curious about Adeline. The calm before the storm...

And then the storm...

Vivian had to be pulled off her nounou when it was time to go, and she fought hard as she was put in the van with us. This is all a completely typical and healthy reaction to being taken from everything you know, but it was hard for us to feel like we were causing so much pain. Adeline was starting to get upset as this wasn't normal "crying baby" crying and it was impossible not to feel the depths of Vivian's fear. As we drove away from the Civil Affairs office, David quickly made a bottle and while big tears never stopped rolling down Vivi's face, she did drink the bottle. By the time we had made the 45 minute drive back to the hotel, the tears had stopped and Vivian was coping by shutting down, which was just as heartbreaking to see as the crying.

Look at that face. I look so calm and happy. Inside I'm saying to myself over and over "It will be okay. It will be okay. It will be okay. We'll do whatever she needs. It's okay. We can do this. It will be okay".

And it's SO much more than okay.

Vivian is happy, loving, funny, stubborn, healthy, smart, gorgeous, chatty, securely attached, playful and a fabulous little person in every way. She loves dresses and sugar and dancing and cuddling and birds and big trucks and being outside. More than anything she loves her family. I am a lucky lucky person to be on this journey with this amazing soul. I don't know the circumstances that led Vivi's birth family to be unable to parent her, but I am so thankful that when Vivi needed a Mama the universe picked me for the job.

Look at that girl now...One year of family later...

She just glows with happiness, doesn't she?

Adoption is hard, and it begins for the child with so many profound losses and traumatizing events. But family? Family is sweet. Family doesn't make the hard stuff go away, but hopefully it gives a soft place of kindness and comfort and understanding where the hard stuff can become a little less hard.

 

 

 

 

The Honours Concert

Adeline was a star at the Honours Concert. I think that it was her confidence as much as her playing that made the committee want Adeline as a part of this important event. She had to be a good audience member for almost 2 hours before it was her turn, which I was more worried about than how she would perform on the stage, but she did great. When her turn finally arrived, Adeline BEAMED as she walked up onto the stage and you could tell the audience of nearly 200 people was really enjoying how tiny and pretty and happy to be there she was. She gave a loud and proud introduction of herself and her piece and then she played well with a lot of energy and style. The audience really exploded with applause when she was done and then Adeline bowed and smiled and skipped off the stage. Sadly, there were no recording devices allowed in the theatre, so I'll just have to remember what a wonderful moment it was for Adeline.

When the concert was over, Adeline wanted to go across the street to a lovely woodland garden we had told her about and after skipping across the stones in the pond a few times, she thought that David should go get her violin so that she could play a few tunes. None of these are the pieces she played in the festival, but they are songs Adeline said reminded her of "spring" and "water".

Violinist in the Garden from Lisa Roberts on Vimeo.

 

So Much Good News for Adeline!

Adeline has had a great couple of weeks! After hearing that there would be no possibility of Adeline moving schools, things changed and in the fall she will be attending an amazing, peaceful, child-centred private school which has lots of opportunities in music and the arts, a very culturally diverse student body and staff and a wonderful feeling of community. We are all so relieved and happy (and are busy cutting our budget to the bone to afford it). I recently volunteered in Adeline's classroom and it was worse than I had suspected - just so much physical and verbal aggression and a dreadful atmosphere of waiting for the next kid to blow and hoping it wouldn't be you that was the target. When I asked Adeline if it was always like that or if it was just on field trip days, she told me it was "Pretty much always like that - I just go invisible when they're being mean. There are lots of mean kids in my school". Poor thing. No wonder she's stressed out and tired and on edge after coming home from school many days. If it wasn't almost summer I would have pulled her that very day and started homeschooling, although I know Adeline (our social butterfly) would NOT have been keen on it and I know that she witnesses a lot of aggression but is very rarely the victim. After talking with the teacher, we did have Adeline given some more appropriate work to do at least for part of the day, which helps me feel a little better about her being there. For example they were all reading from the "A" and "B" level books, which Adeline could have read when she started kindergarten, and she was starting to dread her homework and her reading time at school. After talking with the teacher, she started giving Adeline "E" and "F" level books which are at just the right level of challenge for her and now she's eager to do her home reading. She's still spending a LOT of the day doing colouring sheets, but I suppose a month and a half more of that won't hurt her, and once summer comes we have lots of plans to follow her interests and do some exploring and learning this summer. Adeline is always very busy at home - you just can't stop her! She loves to write in her notebook and she's currently copying in information about each planet and doing a drawing to go along with the facts, she's decided to learn the colours in French so I made her a chart, she's working on teaching herself cursive and she is fascinated with the world map we put up at her eye level and she spends a lot of time looking at it and asking interesting questions.

Last week, Adeline played her violin in a non-competitive, but professionally adjudicated music festival and she did a wonderful job. She played two pieces, "All Through the Night" a traditional lullaby and then "Snooker Table" a very upbeat, fun and FAST song. She worked really really hard to be ready, she learned vibrato and double-stops and some tricky string crossings for her pieces and the adjudicator had so many positive things to say about her performance. The festival is serious business so there was no photography or video allowed, but I do have pictures of Adeline ready to go early in the morning and her enjoying a celebratory waffle and ice cream afterwards. David took Tuesday off work and we made it a day all about Adeline. I think she enjoyed having her Mom and Dad all to herself while Vivian stayed with Nana as much as she enjoyed performing!

We thought our festival experience was done until next year, but yesterday Adeline was asked to play at the Honours Concert on Sunday. This is a very big deal and we weren't expecting it, as they generally never have any of the little kids perform at this concert. The concert is in a real theatre with a huge stage. I'm nervous for Adeline, but she's just READY. I love her confidence!

So happy that so many good things are happening for Adeline right now. She deserves nothing but good things. She's an amazing kid and I'm so lucky to be her Mama!

Some Siblings Fight in the Back Seat...

Back Seat Theatre from Lisa Roberts on Vimeo.

 

This Girl

More proof today that the world is a better place with my big girl in it... Today is Adeline's Special Helper day at Kindergarten. One of the things the Special Helper gets to do is to choose two friends to walk the attendance sheet down to the office. This morning, without prompting from anyone, she told me that she is going to pick the two children in her class who never get chosen. These are boys that have had a lot of trouble making friends and she had noticed, without anyone pointing it out, that they put up their hand to be picked every day and no one ever chose them. So Adeline picked them, because she knew it was the right thing to do. She picked those two boys because it was fair and right and she could feel what it would feel like to put your hand up and never be chosen, even though she is often picked for this special job. She chose them even though she knew it might go against what the other girls think is right and she might have to deal with her friends being mad at her. Adeline had thought it all out and made her plan. The world needs more compassionate, kind and thoughtful people who are willing to stand up for what's right.

Happy Easter!

Gorgeous weather, happy girls and chocolate...who could ask for more?

Dying eggs -

Community Easter party -

Hunting for eggs Easter morning -

 

Enjoying the surprises in their Easter baskets - Adeline was thrilled to get a package of 24 limited edition 80's Glam sharpies. The colours are amazing and Adeline is loving drawing with them! Vivi liked the chocolate best, but is also spending a lot of time snuggling her soft and sweet new bunny.

Playing outside in the sunshine -

Truly a great weekend!

 

Toddlers are Wacky

Vivian found this way-too-big hat yesterday and insisted on wearing it all afternoon...

But she didn't wear it like that. She wore it like this...

Vivi couldn't see a thing, she kept bumping into furniture and walls and she fell down A LOT, but it totally cracked her up. When it fell off her head (as it did again and again and again) she would cry until she succeeded in getting it back on her noggin, and then she would be full of giggles again.

Wacky.

Almost-two is a truly great age! She makes us laugh each and every day, which is good, as we've needed some laughs lately. It seems like it's one thing after another, culminating with David being in a car accident yesterday. It could have been much, much worse as it was on a higher speed stretch of road and the other driver didn't see David at all. Luckily David saw her coming into his lane and slowed down as much as he could to lesson the impact. No one was hurt and the car is driveable but banged up. Hopefully that's the last thing that will go wrong for us for awhile!

 

Spring Break

We had a lot of adventures over the two weeks of spring break. There was some rain, but luckily not too much and we were able to get out almost every day as a family to do something fun. Always on our list is a trip to the gardens to explore and ride the carousel. Adeline is getting braver every time on the carousel but still needs someone to stand next to her and Vivian likes to ride snuggled beside Mama or Daddy on the peacock bench so we couldn't get any pictures on the carousel. The gardens were so quiet that Adeline had her pick of animals and chose the orca, because she thinks it goes the highest. Outside Adeline is getting way TOO bold on Annabelle!

THIS is how much Vivi likes to be outside...

Oh, and there were flowers there too...

No matter where I am or what we're doing, it's hard to look at anything but my two amazing daughters!

Welcome Spring, A Dance by Adeline and Vivian

Welcome Spring from Lisa Roberts on Vimeo.

 

The Sweater

I didn't do much crafting for our second wee one, as I just didn't ever think there really would be a second, and I didn't know if we were waiting for a little sister or a little brother. Then once we found out about our girl, it was all so very "maybe" until the last minute when it was "now now NOW". But I did knit a couple of little sweaters, and I'm so happy that Vivian is still squeezing into this one. The weather has been GORGEOUS here lately, and the sweater isn't really needed, but she looks so adorable in it and she's happy to wear it since it has short sleeves - Vivian isn't a fan of long sleeves these days.

Seeing this really makes me itchy to get knitting again and make Vivi something that will fit her in the fall. I'm picturing the same sweater but in a gently variegated freshly-fallen-leaves palette. This is the "In Threes" baby cardigan pattern I found on Ravelry. I never buy patterns, but I was in such a frazzled state when I was looking for a project that I wanted something that I didn't have to think about and that was guaranteed to turn out right without any brain power from me. This pattern is perfect - easy, seamless, sleeveless (knitting sleeves is my least favourite part of any sweater project) and so very sweet. My front edges roll, which bugs me unendingly, but I don't think that's a flaw in the pattern. I think it's because I used some leftover acrylic-blend yarn from Adeline's rainbow blanket so I couldn't block it properly and it's also stretched pretty tight over Vivi's adorable toddler belly, which both contribute to the rolling, I'm sure. At the time I was getting started, I just wanted to get knitting and used the first yarn I came to that I had enough of, as I needed something to busy my hands and mind while we waited to finally bring home our one and complete our family.

Here's Vivian wearing the sweater last summer right after we got home from Vietnam...

Oh my has she grown! Well, not so much in the hair department, but everywhere else...I don't know why she's looking so serious in the pictures I took this afternoon and so gleeful in this picture from last June. Last June Vivi was crying pretty well every minute she wasn't touching her Mama when we were out in the garden and now being outside is Vivian's ultimate happy place and she loves to just explore and play as I putter around.

 

Greater-Than-Day

March 5th was a day for celebrating. Vivian turned 20 months old, she has been with her family for 10 months and most monumental of all, we have finally reached the point where Vivian has been with her family for longer than she was without us. Vivian spent 303 days at the orphanage and today she has spent a greater amount of days with her family than she did there. It FEELS big, even though I know it's just another day. I know it really doesn't change anything and it certainly doesn't negate the life she led before we were united or downplay the part that biology and her first family plays in who she is or erase any of the hard things she has experienced. Vivi is an amazing little person - loving, funny, stubborn, happy, curious, joyful, smart, gorgeous - oh you know I could go on and on... Those 303 days helped make Vivian who she is today, and they will always be with her as a part of her history. With the combined influence of her biological gifts, her early months being cared for at the orphanage and her time at home with us, Vivi has grown into a wonderful girl and I'm so happy that for all the rest of our days I will be her Mama and she will never be without family again.

 

 

Happy Anniversary to the Man I Adore (that's you, David)

It's a big one - 10 years! We had plans to be back on the beautiful beach in Mexico where we got married to celebrate our tenth anniversary, but instead we'll be leaving both the girls with their Nana for our first child-free lunch and afternoon in ten months.  We're giddy-with-excitement at the idea of hot food and adult conversation! I am so very lucky to be sharing my life with my one true love, my best friend, my team-mate, my biggest fan and the man who continues to make me swoon fifteen years after we first met and ten years after we finally got around to saying "I do". Sometimes life is hard and sometimes it's amazing, and I wouldn't want anyone by my side to for all the worry and sadness and sweetness and joy that life brings but my amazing husband!

19 Months (and 9 months home)

My sweet baby girl is all toddler now! She makes us laugh every day - just so cute and funny. Here's a brief list of where my girl is today, as she celebrates making this planet a better place for 19 months!

• Vivi discovered the word "NO" and has been exploring the power of it for the last couple of weeks. The only questions she answers with "yes" is "Do you want to go to bed?" (she LOVES bedtime) and "Do you want a cookie?". Every other question gets an on-no-uncertain-terms NO.
• Vivian loves junk food of all sorts and she gets very insistent when she wants a treat. We often don't have anything in the house, but I guess over Christmas she got used to a world that almost always contained cookies and chips and it's hard for her to come back to reality.
• Vivian isn't a great eater still. Lots of things she doesn't like and lots of times when she just doesn't eat much at all. Veggies and fruit are still something that are very off-and-on. Her favourite foods (that I approve of!) are fried rice or rice of any kind, oatmeal, yogurt, soup, corn and anything with gravy. She is growing and full of energy though. Vivi loves to dip things, although she often will just suck the dip off and not eat the food that goes along with the dip.
• After our rough go around Christmas time, Vivi's sleeps have really improved and she's sleeping pretty well through the night many nights. She's not much of a napper though. Adeline napped until past four and a half and there are many days she could still use a sleep in the afternoon, but I suspect Vivi will quit napping much earlier.We're trying to make a plan to end the co-sleeping but don't know what option to go for - a toddler bed in our room? her own bed in her own room? two little beds in Adeline's room for them to share? a double mattress on the floor for Adeline and Vivi to sleep together? moving everyone downstairs so our rooms can adjoin with the girls together in one room and us next door?
• We've had a break from teething for awhile. Vivian has 12 teeth now which means she still has 4 to go in the next few months. She still loves to brush her teeth and is always trying to get her hands on other people's toothbrushes.
• We have NOT had a break from colds. Poor Vivian has had a continuous string of head colds since November. I think we're on number 5 now. She has shared most of them with the rest of her family. I'm hoping springtime will be better. Either she gets them from Adeline, who has brought them home from school, or she gets them when we go to baby play group. I think we're going to skip the play group for awhile.
• Vivi is an enthusiastic singer and I love to hear her sweet voice as she sings her favourites which include "John the Rabbit", "Piyo Piyo Piyo", "I See the Moon", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Rock-a-bye Baby".
• Vivian loves music of all kinds and every morning we listen to all sorts of music together.

• Vivian adores Adeline and they have SO MUCH FUN together. Well, okay, not ALL the time, but for at least part of every day there is crazy silly sister fun being had. Their favourite game right now is "Pah". I don't know how it got started, but they run around saying "Pah" at each other with all sorts of intonations and then they stop to dance or fall down or pretend to faint or sleep. There are times when Adeline is laying on Vivi, there is a little gentle tickling and there's lots and lots of laughing. They also like to play "Copy Me" where Adeline does something and then Vivian copies it and something they call "Shape Battle" where they each hold one of the pieces from the shape sorter and then they run around, pausing every once in awhile to clink the pieces together. There's no battling, Adeline explained, that's just the name. Vivian is also somewhat cooperative in many pretend games like "magic carpet" or "train ride" and they also take good care of their babies together.
• Adeline is getting to be a good beginning reader and it MELTS MY HEART to see their two dark heads bent over a book while big sister reads to little sister.
• Vivian loves books and we have several 30 to 45 minute blocks in the day when either I read books to her or she sits beside me and we both read our books quietly.
• Because she loves books so much the library is one of her favourite outings.
• If you say "Do you want to go to the pool?" Vivi RUNS for the front door and tries to open it chanting "SPLASH AT POOL! SPLASH AT POOL! SPLASH AT POOL". She is very happy in the water and quite bold.
• Vivi loves to laugh and no one makes her laugh like her sister.
• Vivian is working hard on jumping and can sometimes get both feet a tiny bit off the ground.
• Vivi is running everywhere some days and she often will go headfirst into a chair or door...just not paying attention and caught up in the joy of running.
• Poor Vivian is still SO ITCHY many days and the back of her neck and her arms are very scratched up all the time as those are the places she can most reach. It's been diagnosed as atopic dermatitis/excema and we've been told by an Asian doctor that most Asian babies have at least a mild case of it and that it should ease as she gets older. We've been doing all we can, but it's hard to watch my poor girl so uncomfortable.
• This girl can talk! Big 4 and 5 word sentences and talking in two and three word phrases all the time. She's got the "ing" and all day she asks questions like "What Zephyr is doing?" and "What Mama is doing?" and then she answers herself with "Zephyr sleeping", "Mama cooking" or whatever it is we're doing. Her vocabulary is in the hundreds and she seems to learn new words every day and we think her pronunciation is pretty good.
• She has only said ONE WORD to someone outside our family... Adeline's former preschool teacher chats with us for a few minutes a couple of days a week at dismissal time and usually Vivi just gives her the glare, but last week, when Kate said hello, Vivi said "Foofa" and held out the toy she was holding. It's a start...
• Sometimes she surprises us with the words she knows. The other night she was getting out of the shower and she escaped my attempts to get a diaper on her and she starting running around naked yelling "STREAKER! STREAKER!" and laughing maniacally. This is something Adeline did weeks and weeks ago, but Vivi had stored that word and action up and had used it very appropriately (and hilariously).
• When Vivi likes something she lets you know by saying "I LIKE IT! I LIKE IT! BIBIAN HAPPY!". 

• Vivi is a little too into television...She used to just ignore it and come with me into the kitchen when it was on, but now she's GLUED. Yo Gabba Gabba is her favourite, but she'll watch anything that Adeline is watching. Adeline isn't a huge television watcher, but I wish Vivi was watching NO television at this age.
• Vivi is a peek-a-boo master and works on her craft every day.

• If someone gets hurt Vivian asks "Hug?" and will help you feel better with hugs and cuddles.
• Vivian asks for hugs and kisses from her family all day long.
• Vivian really likes drawing and she is evolving from back and forth scribbling to deliberate lines and even a few wobbly circles.
• It's looking like Vivi may be left-handed. She still switches back and forth, but she definitely eats and draws predominantly with her left right now.
• Adeline has given Vivi lots of nicknames, but the latest seems to be sticking. First she was calling her "Cutie-cakes", but now it's been shortened to just "Cakes". It's pretty cute to hear Adeline yelling "C'mon CAKES!" as they run and laugh together. I've even caught David and I calling her "Cakes" a few times. 

She IS a Cutie-Cakes! And smart and funny and curious and beautiful and absolutely amazing!

Love my little-big-girl so much!

 

 

 

five AND A HALF

Adeline is super excited to finally be five AND A HALF. It's a big deal for her, so we celebrated with a day of family fun, her favourite supper and of course, CAKE.

I still can't believe how fast my girl is growing up.

Make My Day, Monday

Okay, January, you can't bring me down today. Yes, all my worries are still there, but you know what? My life has so much sweetness and light in it, so I'd better take some time to appreciate it. Even if they're small things, here are a random list of 10 random things that are making me happy this Monday...

• Adeline picked a dinosaur balloon at the store and some dinosaur books at the library this weekend. I'm just glad that those Disney princess automatons at school haven't talked her out of loving what she loves yet.
• David took the girls to the aquarium on Sunday. It was a win for everyone. They all had a great time learning a lot about octopi and I'm still enjoying how tidy my house is.
• No rain in the forecast this week!
• I love hearing Vivian's constant commentary from the back seat as we drive. My recent favourite was when we passed a couple of joggers... "What guys doing? Guys RUNNING? Running! Funny! Funny guys. Running running running!". Just so cute and smart.
• I don't want to jinx anything, but Vivi has been sleeping through the night quite a bit recently. Still in our bed, but solid sleeping from about 8 to 6, which is BRILLIANT and I'm more rested than I've been in a long time.
• Almost time to start planting in my garden and I love to dream and plan and read the seed catalogues in January.
• I got all the laundry put away...believe me, this is BIG. The four of us make a LOT of laundry and it always gets washed and folded, but put away? Not so much. Not having to dig through piles to find a pair of socks in the morning will make my week so much better.
• Adeline and I watched "Kiki's Delivery Service" on the weekend. It's totally captured Adeline's imagination. She's been in costume for days now and we've all been in character since the credits rolled. She had her black dress and red bow on before the movie was done! So happy to have moved on from "Frozen"!
• I'm making plans to get back into sewing and selling some of my work, and I'm really excited about it! I'm even excited about getting our office/giant closet cleared out so that I can carve out a little work space for myself.
• Really really enjoying the podcast "Grown Ups Read Things They Wrote as Kids". It makes me laugh out loud and cringe and reconnect with my own teenage self. It's funny and sometimes touching too and it makes cleaning the house so much pleasanter.