Well, Maya's birthday 'season' is now over. It started 2 weeks ago with a Dim Sum with our adoption group. The kids all got to see each other and, really, 'meet' each other as they were all infants when we travelled last year. It was a fun day AND NO DISHES!!! The babies have all changed so much...
Then, on her actual birth date last week, we had a nice dinner at home. My parents even managed to be here as they were on a lay-over enroute to Hawaii. All eyes were on Maya that night - she loved it - but she didn't seem too sure what all the fuss was about. The highlight for her was chocolate, wood food & a new blanket. She's becoming a real girl...
Yesterday, was her third (and final) birthday celebration with 'the gang' and their kids. After a rocky start, we all managed to find each other in a very crowded park and settle in for some playtime and a nice BBQ. I'm continually amazed at how well the kids, aged 5 to 9, can show such care and tenderness to a little toddler. They love playing with her and she loves playing with them. I think the big kids were more excited about giving Maya her presents than she was in receiving them. And that says a lot!
It was a good (1st) 2nd birthday (in Canada) but I'm relieved that it's over for this year...
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
My Own...
Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
May 20...
Despite having such a wonderful birthday celebration with Maya yesterday, today is full of mixed feelings. Somewhere in China there is a woman who gave up her baby 2 years ago today. Who is she? Where is she? How is she? What is she feeling today? Does she think about Maya? Does she regret her decision? We'll never know and for that I feel sad for Maya...
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
2 years old today!
Maya is 2 today! We went for a walk with Gamma & Gampa, had sushi for lunch, had a good poop & a nap, lots of play before dinner, good food & chocolate for dinner with friends, then more play & a bath before bed. Could life be any better!?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
1 year ago...
One short year ago today, May 18, we finally met baby Maya in the Guangzhou Registry Office. She was 'temporarily' placed in our care for 24 hours so that we could 'decide' if we wanted to adopt her. Really, did we need the extra 24 hours?! It was a done deal long before we held her... Today could be considered our 'family day' as its the day we met.
Tomorrow, May 19, could also be our 'family day' as that is the day we signed all of the documents to officially accept and adopt Maya. Tomorrow is also Maya's 2nd birthday so maybe it'll be nice to celebrate the 2 occasions apart... or maybe celebrate them together. We haven't completely decided on that yet...
The hard part for Maya in the future will be the day after her birthday, May 20, as its the day she was abandoned by her birth mother. What a hard thing for a child to understand. There are so many changes that happen in these 3 days that one day Maya will have to try to grasp what has happened and how the direction of her life was so drastically changed on her without her permission.
Tomorrow, May 19, could also be our 'family day' as that is the day we signed all of the documents to officially accept and adopt Maya. Tomorrow is also Maya's 2nd birthday so maybe it'll be nice to celebrate the 2 occasions apart... or maybe celebrate them together. We haven't completely decided on that yet...
The hard part for Maya in the future will be the day after her birthday, May 20, as its the day she was abandoned by her birth mother. What a hard thing for a child to understand. There are so many changes that happen in these 3 days that one day Maya will have to try to grasp what has happened and how the direction of her life was so drastically changed on her without her permission.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Triathlon Training
I've started my training for the Vancouver Triathlon that's happening on September 6. There's 2 distances you can do for this event so, as it's my first triathlon, I'll be doing the 1/2 distance. That involves a 750m ocean swim, a 19km bike ride then a 5km run. The official training groups start on May 30 but, due to my inclination for injuries, I wanted to get a head-start on things. I've already managed to complete all of the required distances individually, now I just need to do them without stopping and all at the same time. Last week, I did 75% of all 3 events inthe same day and I was tired that night! Let's hope my training will continue to improve my 'abilities' over the next 15 weeks...
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
New video
John managed to put together another video for YouTube. Check it out... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI_bFHVOUPI
Gender identity (crisis?)
Maya has mastered things like colours, shapes, animals, sounds, etc. She's moving on to letters and numbers... and genders. It's an odd thing but she wants to know who is a boy and who is a girl. When we tell her, she pauses... then say 'yeah!' like the information has clicked in place and that person/animal has now been categorized. But what categories does a 2-year-old have and what does that category look like in her head? Images of Picasso's are rolling through my thoughts...
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Summer Lovin...
My 'Parental' Leave ended Jan 31. My extended Leave of Absense is due to end May 29. The time has come for me to decide what I'm going to do with my life... again.
Maya's daycare is only 7 hours MAX a day (9-4) which really only leaves me with about 6 hours a day to do anything. Until we can get in to one that has longer hours, that is what we've got to work with. With being a landlord, running the house, doing all of the cooking/cleaning/shopping/laundry/bills/gardening/volunteering/etc, looking after Maya, all of the 'extra-curricular' activities, etc... I don't have a lot of time to myself. (I know, you parents out there are laughing at me right now but this is my new reality). John & I have discussed the best options for us individually & as a family and have decided...
We've decided that I'm not going back to work right away so have taken another Leave of Absence until late summer or early fall. In that time, I've decided to enjoy the summer AND fulfill 2 wish-list (or bucket list) items:
1/ Participate in a Triathlon
2/ Get my PMP (Project Management Professional) designation
What?! Huh? You say...
The Triathalon I'll be participating in is the Vancouver Triathlon on September 6 and will be doing it as part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 'Team in Training'. Many of you may know about them but for those that don't, TNT is a fundraising group that will support & teach & guide you through high-endurance training and events. They do events all over north America but I've chosen to do my first event here at home. Don't worry, I'll be hitting all of you up for donations/sponsorship soon... :-)
Secondly, I've signed up to complete the Advanced Project Management Certificate through Langara College. It's an intensive on-line course that will take 7 weeks initially to complete + a 3-month project in the fall. After the summer session, I'll be able to take the PMP exam prep course and write my exams. If all goes well, I'll have my designation by Christmas!
Both of these events are quite time consuming and both are things that I likely wouldn't be able to do if I was working. So, we decided that I would use my 'free' 6 hours a day to do these things and just be home for the summer. It won't be an easy summer but I'll be lovin it anyway...
Maya's daycare is only 7 hours MAX a day (9-4) which really only leaves me with about 6 hours a day to do anything. Until we can get in to one that has longer hours, that is what we've got to work with. With being a landlord, running the house, doing all of the cooking/cleaning/shopping/laundry/bills/gardening/volunteering/etc, looking after Maya, all of the 'extra-curricular' activities, etc... I don't have a lot of time to myself. (I know, you parents out there are laughing at me right now but this is my new reality). John & I have discussed the best options for us individually & as a family and have decided...
We've decided that I'm not going back to work right away so have taken another Leave of Absence until late summer or early fall. In that time, I've decided to enjoy the summer AND fulfill 2 wish-list (or bucket list) items:
1/ Participate in a Triathlon
2/ Get my PMP (Project Management Professional) designation
What?! Huh? You say...
The Triathalon I'll be participating in is the Vancouver Triathlon on September 6 and will be doing it as part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 'Team in Training'. Many of you may know about them but for those that don't, TNT is a fundraising group that will support & teach & guide you through high-endurance training and events. They do events all over north America but I've chosen to do my first event here at home. Don't worry, I'll be hitting all of you up for donations/sponsorship soon... :-)
Secondly, I've signed up to complete the Advanced Project Management Certificate through Langara College. It's an intensive on-line course that will take 7 weeks initially to complete + a 3-month project in the fall. After the summer session, I'll be able to take the PMP exam prep course and write my exams. If all goes well, I'll have my designation by Christmas!
Both of these events are quite time consuming and both are things that I likely wouldn't be able to do if I was working. So, we decided that I would use my 'free' 6 hours a day to do these things and just be home for the summer. It won't be an easy summer but I'll be lovin it anyway...
Happy Mothers Day!
It's Mother's Day today... I've had 12 Step-Mother's Days with Erinn & Ryan and I had a mini-Mother's Day last year en-route to China but this is my first full-on Mother's Day with Maya.
To celebrate, John sent me a beautiful bouquet of purple roses, orchids, tulips, lillies with curly willow & greenery. It's gorgeous!
Maya made me 2 cards this year - one at daycare and one with daddy. The daycare one has a photo of us, colourful stickers and a sweet poem on it. The daddy one has colouring and 4 photos on it - 2 of Maya at 1 year & 2 years old, and 2 of Maya & I at 1 year and 2 years old. Very sweet!
We went for Dim Sum today... at the YVR airport. I know its an odd place to go but we had Dim Sum there last Mother's Day, just before we boarded the plane to China so it was a very sentimental gesture on John's behalf and one that was not lost on me. This afternoon there is 'something' going on and tonight we're just going to hang around the house and have a BBQ.
It's been a great day so far...
To celebrate, John sent me a beautiful bouquet of purple roses, orchids, tulips, lillies with curly willow & greenery. It's gorgeous!
Maya made me 2 cards this year - one at daycare and one with daddy. The daycare one has a photo of us, colourful stickers and a sweet poem on it. The daddy one has colouring and 4 photos on it - 2 of Maya at 1 year & 2 years old, and 2 of Maya & I at 1 year and 2 years old. Very sweet!
We went for Dim Sum today... at the YVR airport. I know its an odd place to go but we had Dim Sum there last Mother's Day, just before we boarded the plane to China so it was a very sentimental gesture on John's behalf and one that was not lost on me. This afternoon there is 'something' going on and tonight we're just going to hang around the house and have a BBQ.
It's been a great day so far...
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Blog Comments
I know I don't respond to many of the blog comments people make but I LOVE reading them! Keep sending them...it makes me feel like I'm not talking to myself.
Hello?
Hello?
Anyone out there...?
Hello?
Hello?
Anyone out there...?
What's your name?
After MANY months of trying to get Maya to say her name, she finally said it today. It was clear, perfectly pronounced & very matter-of-fact.
Just to be sure it wasn't an accident, we asked her who she was in a dozen different ways and clapped & cheered wildly when she said it correctly. Self-awareness has hit another milestone. Yipee!
Just to be sure it wasn't an accident, we asked her who she was in a dozen different ways and clapped & cheered wildly when she said it correctly. Self-awareness has hit another milestone. Yipee!
Daycare Pt 2
Well, Maya has survived her 2nd week of daycare and is doing GREAT!!! The biting has settled down to only 2x this week, her sleeping has increased to 60-90 minutes a day, she's eating a lot, playing a lot and having a wonderful time. She even runs from me once I say it's time to go so I know she's not traumatized by being there...
The care-takers LOVE her enthusiam during story & play time as she cheers and claps very loudly. They also like her sense of humour (she laughs very heartily at funny things) and her empathy (she comforts other kids when they're crying). She's also an easy child to look after as she's a very clean eater, she tidy's up after herself, is quiet overall and not wild or destructive. They all obviously really enjoy having her there (I've watched them with her when they didn't know I was there)
Personally, I'm loving having her in daycare too. She's learning group social skills that I wouldn't be able to teach her; she has toys & play activities there that we don't have at home; she gets more tired-out so is easier to put to bed. Plus, I get 6 hours free a day to be me, run errands, get stuff done around the house & just enjoy life... (more on that later).
Over-all, this has been a good experience so far...
The care-takers LOVE her enthusiam during story & play time as she cheers and claps very loudly. They also like her sense of humour (she laughs very heartily at funny things) and her empathy (she comforts other kids when they're crying). She's also an easy child to look after as she's a very clean eater, she tidy's up after herself, is quiet overall and not wild or destructive. They all obviously really enjoy having her there (I've watched them with her when they didn't know I was there)
Personally, I'm loving having her in daycare too. She's learning group social skills that I wouldn't be able to teach her; she has toys & play activities there that we don't have at home; she gets more tired-out so is easier to put to bed. Plus, I get 6 hours free a day to be me, run errands, get stuff done around the house & just enjoy life... (more on that later).
Over-all, this has been a good experience so far...
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