Visits this week

Nora has had a couple special visitors this week. My lovely friend Christine came by for lunch, although the camera battery died before I could take enough photos. That means another visit will be in order soon!

Our good friend Tom also popped in to say hello, having just returned from a 10 day trip to Beijing and Shanghai. He was given a new Chinese name, Bu Ai Bo... "One who spreads love everywhere." Very fitting.

James' girlfriend Sharon, and her parents Grace and Edmond, also came by to meet Nora also. She enjoyed hearing them speak in Cantonese, as well as giving and receiving many nice baby hugs and smiles. Very fun!

Nora turns 11 months old!

Nora wasn't feeling her best, it would seem that she started onto her third cold or it emerged back in her throat, giving her a very hoarse voice. We stayed close to home, as we were both pretty sleepy from not having had the best night. Yet, Nora was open to trying some baby food, which we've only had success with for the past day. She is enjoying pears, sweet potatoes, carrots and apples now... I wonder why it took so long? I'll get her plumped up in not time! 

 

Every baby needs a picture like this, right?! (The boys think this is disgusting...)

Everywhere Nora goes, it would seem that Rosie is not too far behind. Good thing she is not afraid of the dog! 

 

The bath is becoming a favourite place. Nora can't figure out why water gets in her eyes as she splashes away in the tub. I have to keep a firm grip on her as she's all over the place... 

  

 Playing hard followed by a warm bath makes for a sound sleep... if only it would last all night, but the jetlag is definitely less of a factor now.

 Sweet dreams for a sweet girl...

Nora meets Papa

Another highlight of the weekend was having Scott's parents come over for pizza. Papa held Nora for the first time, where she enjoyed checking out his face and his nice watch. Nora was happy to see Nana again, who's still recovering from her cold that she caught in China. :(

Special Weekend Visits

Nora was very popular this weekend, receiving more visitors than I do in a month! :) Friday evening was very special, as we spent time with friends Julie and Randy. They brought dinner, dessert, flowers and a special dessert over for us, so we felt very spoiled! We had a fun time showing some of our videos from our trip, as they hope to go to China next spring.

 

Lewis had been at his friend's house overnight, so my friend Lori was able to meet Nora when she brought Lewis home. Lori is a natural with kids, so it was fun seeing them together. Everyone Nora meets, she pretty much wants to touch their face after giving them the once-over with a very intense, serious gaze. 

 

Sunday afternoon, we all had the pleasure of having friends Sherrie and Marissa come by, with Sherrie's Mom, Irene, who is visitng from Singapore. Nora responded immediately to all of them in a very animated way. Hearing Cantonese and seeing people that are more familiar than all the strange faces here (with our big noses...) must have resonated with her. It was a very enjoyable time for all of us.

Later that evening, friends Edward, Darlene, and their two boys came by to meet Nora also. They surprised us with a lovely bouqet of pink flowers, compete with an"It's a Girl!" balloon. Nora had fun checking them out also...

 Darlene's  youngest found it quite hilarious to hold a baby...

Getting to know the family...

In between visits from family and friends, Nora has been spending a lot of time in the house and with the boys. Didn't take long until she showed us that she could crawl throughout the entire main floor of the house. This means we need to get on the childproofing sooner than later... up goes the dog's water bowl and toys, time to vacuum all the dog hair off the floor, and let's hide those computer wires... Thomas thought he'd help by putting bear bells onto Nora's ankles, but I didn't let that last long!

Thomas also thought that Nora might enjoy a Duplo pyramid, but when she kept trying to climb it, we put it back downstairs.

Hanging out with the boys on a Friday night... everyone is happy to keep her close by.

Our friends brought over a lovely bouquet of Gerbera daisies on the weekend. Nora got a little too close and plucked off one of those beautiful flowers...

 Her brothers thought the flower looked much better like this...  :)

Nora's a lightweight for riding on Daddy's shoulder's... as long as she doesn't decide to fling backwards as she tends to do.

Having beautiful fall weather, we decided to go for a first walk. Unlike in Beijing, Nora was pretty content in the stroller. Rosie will enjoy any opportunity to get some exercise, so hopefully I can do this on a regular basis.

After busy days of exploring and visiting, crashing with Daddy is the best place to be! (If only she would stay asleep the rest of the night, but we're working on that.) Sweet dreams! :)

Nora meets her first blonde...

Today was another quiet day at home, with Lewis home sick and Nora on her second day of a cold. We had a nice visit from our friend, Kim, who shared her delicious beef barley soup with us. Nora was pretty mellow, but definitely was intrigued by Kim's blonde hair. Every picture we tried to take of them together ended up with Nora staring at her! Was definitely fun for me to see a friend.  :)

Adjusting at home...

Hi all... the days are blurring by as we attempt to get back on our time zone together. The last three nights have been progress in getting away with not giving Nora a bottle in the night. The feeding routine is being more established in the day, so that's good. Doesn't make it any easier when she wakes frequently, and must I say... very cranky! Her fingernails are particularly deadly as she scratches our faces and digs into our arms. Lots of flailing as she's held, and then needing to be held standing up...(How do babies know when you're sitting?) We've been playing tag-team hours with Nora through the night. The twin bed in her room is quite handy, and one of us has ended up there with her in the wee hours of the night. Being close to us is comforting, and banging her head on the wall doesn't seem to bother her! Beats falling out of the queen bed. In the morning, all is forgiven and forgotten as she greets us with a beautiful smile.

On the opposite end of the scale, daytime naps are not a problem... she'll stir briefly when being placed in the crib, give a couple of whimpers and then roll over. Two hours later, she's happy! Sort of like in this photo... ( I guess I should wake her now, it's been that long...)

 This is more rare... but so delightful!

 Rosie's following us around frequently. May be a little jealous, but is not threatening at all. She's figuring out that good things land on the floor near the high chair...

Nora's made two brief appearances after school to the Primary and Middle School. James really doesn't want me to pace the halls of his high school with a baby, which I threatened to do... :) Everyone is very happy to meet her, and we so appreciate everyone's welcoming support. Thank you!

Sunday... why is it called a day of rest?!

Despite a restless night dealing with jetlag, we all got ourselves organized for going to church for the first time. Of course, Scott needed to go as he was preaching! We all felt badly for him, as he was tired, had a sinus infection and didn't have a ton of time to prepare. With a topic of "Corking the Whine of Complaining" already chosen for him, what's a guy to do?! :)

I had fun dressing Nora in her silk 2 piece "pant-suit", for lack of a better term! She looked so pretty. And talk about a lot of facial expressions... She can seem ever so serious, and then break out in a grin like this one. So sweet, she is.

Nora encountered many new faces on Sunday, most met with very intense observation on her part. As I wore her in the baby carrier, she fell asleep well all through the service, so I was able to enjoy being in there as well. Having survived our first public time out, we were content to lounge around the house for the remainder of the day. :)

Meeting my family...

Hi all... I know you're going through "Nora" withdrawal, so I thought I better write something! ;) We stayed close to home this past weekend as we unpacked, spent time with the boys, and tried to nap occasionally. We had a few short visits with extended family, which was a very sweet time. I missed getting a photo with my sister Ann, but managed to get her children trying on their new outfits. The girls looked great in their little cheongsams, but Aiden wasn't so sure about his clothes. Right away, he was rolling his shoulders looking very concerned... repeatedly saying "Too tight, too tight!" Good luck with getting him to wear that shirt again!

Thanks to Steve for a delicious chili dinner...

Rob, Kellie and their girls were over the following evening, kindly bringing pizza along with them. Kellie was so excited to meet Nora, and we had a fun visit. The girls were thrilled about their new dresses and cloisonne bracelets... I'm looking forward to seeing them dress up sometime.

And last, but not least, were Grandma and Grandpa... Nora had been sleeping Thursday when they helped bring us home from the airport. We all enjoyed watching Nora play with Grandma's sweater buttons, and smile at Grandpa's tickling. Yes, it's the simple things! There's no place better than being with those you love.

Life beyond the act of adoption...

It's unbelievable to me at times that it took over 4 years from our May 8th, 2006 LID to travel to adopt Nora. The wait is behind me now, and soon I will not recall what that was like waiting and wondering for so long if it would ever be a reality that we'd have a daughter. Her legal adoption is a huge, momentous step in terms of government paperwork and permissions but really, it is only the beginning. I never expected to blog about that wait for so long, and I would much rather talk about life with my child... becoming family. Others things, too, like what I'm learning along the way, how I'm coping with issues of cultural identity, race and family differences etc. Plus, it'll be fun to share her progress along the way without giving away too much of her personal life. I'll try to be careful with the balance.

I don't anticipate blogging too often, but I'll see how it goes. Thank you for coming along on our journey so far... it's been an amazing experience. Susan :)

Setting up the newest blog...

Hi all, it's mid-June and I felt inspired to start our next blog for when we will travel to China to FINALLY bring our adopted daughter home. (I'm not sure that she will still be called Lily at this point.) There is still so much I don't know, but I am allowing myself to believe that this is going to happen this fall. I received a typhoid vaccine in my left arm this morning based on this belief, so that must mean something! Hopefully I'll have something to post in here sooner than later! (My oldest son tells me that no one will read my blog anyhow, but I know a few of you will travel along with us, so this is for you!)