Charlotte watched her very first Christmas animated show

Today, we received Charlotte’s Canadian Citizenship certificate, finally. This simple piece of paper is required for so many things that we’ve been waiting to do since we returned home from China in August. So, now the paperwork continues.

I gently woke up Charlotte a little before 8 am, as she had a pediatrician’s appointment at 9 am. How often does it happen that you have a doctor’s appointment just when you’re not feeling well? Charlotte definitely has a cold—-her nose is running and she has quite a cough. The doctor was very happy with Charlotte’s progress: she is now 24.42 lb (up from 22.13 lb on September 27) at the 50th percentile for North America; she is 83 cm tall (up from 79.2 cm on September 27) at the 75th percentile for North America; her height to weight ratio is at the 90th percentile for Southern China. Today, Charlotte also received 2 vaccinations and the flu shot—poor little thing; she was so upset, but it was short-lived, especially after the doctor gave her a sticker on her hand. Mommy felt this visit deserved some ice cream or popsicles as an “all better” treat.

Charlotte fell asleep on the way home—-Mommy was able to carry Charlotte all the way upstairs, into her room, and almost had her into her crib before she opened her eyes, but she didn’t fight going down for a nap with her bottle. Charlotte awoke about an hour and a half later a little distressed—-at some point, Charlotte had thrown up during her nap—-Mommy’s hoping that it was just before she woke up. She had vomit in her hair, on her clothes, all over the sheets of her crib, and on her blanket that she managed to get herself tangled up in. What a mess, so it was straight to the tub. Charlotte enjoyed a long bubble bath with her tub toys until she started to shiver.

While playing this afternoon, out of the blue, Charlotte said something that sounded like “oh, dear.”

Charlotte loves to knock Mommy's stack of recyclabe paper onto the floor and then scatter the paper about the office.

Mommy and Charlotte enjoyed a little quiet time on Mommy’s bed while watching a show. At one point, Mommy thought that Charlotte might just drift off to sleep. This was the longest that Charlotte has cuddled with Mommy. She was quite content to lie back on stacked pillows snuggled up to Mommy. However, she was up right away when she heard Daddy come in from running an errand—-she had cried frantically when he left earlier in the afternoon. Daddy took her downstairs for a little snack, an orange popsicle, which she threw on the floor, refusing to eat. I guess she doesn’t like orange. This didn't surprise Mommy, as Charlotte won't eat oranges.

For dinner, Charlotte had turkey, which she absolutely loves. She pushed her potatoes and carrots around on her plate until Daddy started to feed her with his fork. It was cute to watch her separate the items on her plate, putting the items she didn’t want all on one side.

After dinner, Charlotte and Mommy watched “Frosty, the Snowman,” Charlotte’s very first Christmas show. Charlotte watched the whole show, but started to fuss close to the end--she started rubbing her eyes and yawning, which she doesn't do very often. Since it was a little too early to put her to bed, Mommy started “Return of Frosty.” Charlotte wiggled off Mommy’s lap and laid on her tummy at the bottom of the bed to watch the show. Not long after, Charlotte was sound asleep—-it was only 7:30 pm. When it looked like this wasn’t just a catnap, Mommy carried Charlotte into her room to get her ready for bed. While on the change table, Charlotte struggled to turn over onto her stomach to go to sleep. When she was placed in her crib, she laid on her back but wouldn’t take her bottle—-she was too tired to drink it. Sweet dreams, baby Charlotte.

Charlotte's first Toronto Santa Claus Parade

Much to Mommy’s surprise, Charlotte was up just after 7 am. Today was a big day—-Charlotte attended her first Toronto Santa Claus parade with the whole family, much to the grumblings of Daddy and Papa who would have preferred to stay home and watch the parade on TV.

We met at Nana’s house to load everyone into the vans. It was so exciting, anticipating Charlotte’s reactions to the big parade and Santa Claus; although, Mommy is fairly certain that Charlotte really doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. When we arrived at our usual parking lot, we were surprised to see that the lot was full—-how could this be? So, off we went looking for a parking spot on a side street. We didn’t have to travel far before we found 2 spots close together. The street sign said that there was a one hour parking limit—-Daddy was prepared to walk back every hour just to move the vehicles so that if a parking officer marked our wheels, we would not be in violation of the sign; however, we checked with one of the police officers patrolling one of the closed streets and he said that cars would not likely get ticketed today. So, off we went to find our spot along the parade route.

Much to our surprise, all our usual spots were completely taken—-I guess we got downtown a little later than we have other years. Auntie Dale found the perfect spot and we all settled in. Eventually, Mommy let Charlotte out of her stroller to stretch her legs for a bit before the parade started. Stretch her legs… Charlotte could hardly move. Mommy had tried on all the parts of Charlotte’s winter wear individually, but had never had Charlotte wear all the pieces at one time—-snowsuit, boots, hat, mitts. When Charlotte was set on the ground, she just stood there, afraid to take a step. Mommy held Charlotte’s hands to walk until she became comfortable waddling, with all her padding. Mommy was afraid that Charlotte would get cold and fuss to the point of having to leave—-Mommy’s biggest worry: how do you get across the street when the parade is going through town? Fortunately, this situation never happened. I think Charlotte was toasty warm, perhaps a little too warm, as she would not keep her mitts on her hands. I think Charlotte may have been regulating her own temperature with her hands. I do the same thing, but with my feet.

Everyone eagerly anticipating the start of the parade.

Charlotte wearing her own mitts and drinking her bottle--looking quite comfy.

Charlotte with Auntie Dale


Charlotte wearing one of Mommy's pairs of mitts--Charlotte wouldn't keep these on either.

Charlotte wearing the mitts that Mommy was wearing--Charlotte kept these mitts on the longest.

Charlotte being Charlotte

Not long before the parade started, Charlotte fell asleep. She finally awoke when my dearest friend, Pam, who was walking in the parade as a greeter clown, along with her daughter Samantha (pink princess) and her husband Roland (peach cat), came right over to her, reaching across 2 rows of people in front of us.

Charlotte enjoyed the parade, pointing and chattering to her cousin Kaitlyn, sitting beside her. A little later in the parade, another dear friend, Wendy, who was in the parade dressed as a raccoon came over to see Charlotte; we saw Marcel and Karen, but didn’t see David. People in front of us began to wonder if we were celebrities, knowing so many people in the parade, until Santa came by and spoke to the fellow in front of us from way up in his sleigh. Santa’s sleigh stopped right in front of us. Charlotte really didn’t have any reaction to Santa. I guess we’ll see if that changes when she goes to visit Santa and sits on his knee for photos.

The parade over, it was time to pack up and head back to Nana’s for a nice hot cup of hot chocolate while dinner is prepared. It had been a lovely day—-the sun was actually warm as long as there was no breeze. By the end of the parade, the sun was getting lower and the breeze was picking up, so it was getting colder. When we arrived at our vehicles, we were surprised to receive a parking ticket—-ugh!

After supper, we celebrated Papa’s 72nd birthday with cake and ice cream. What a nice finish to a wonderful family day.

Before leaving Nana’s, Mommy changed Charlotte into her sleepers so that she could be put right into her bed without waking her. As Mommy expected, Charlotte fell asleep moments after we pulled out of Nana’s driveway. Mommy carried Charlotte into the house and all the way upstairs and into Charlotte’s room before she opened her eyes. Charlotte snuggled into her favourite blanket, smiled at us, and waved good night as she drank her bottle. What a beautiful angel we have the pleasure to raise as our daughter. Mommy really hopes that Charlotte knows just how much Mommy really loves her. A day doesn’t go by that Mommy doesn’t think of Charlotte’s “tummy mommy.”

Charlotte attends her first Christmas party

Charlotte enjoyed her first holiday party of this Christmas season with her Chinese sisters and their families hosted by our adoption agency—-Open Arms to International Adoption; activities included Chinese folkloric dancers, a magician, and a silent auction to raise funds for Open Arms Children’s Foundation. Each girl received a Terracotta Warrior statue as a gift from Open Arms.
Luannah and Debbie Powell and Charlotte--Charlotte is quite attracted to Debbie Powell--she likes for Debbie to pick her up, especially when she is holding Luannah.

Charlotte saying "hi" to Kate, one of her Chinese sisters.

Charlotte enjoyed watching the magic show on top of Daddy's shoulders.

Siena sitting on her daddy's lap while Kate looks on.

Chinese folkloric dancers

Catherine (dear friend who updated our blog while we were in China) and her daughter Hannah watching the dancers

Kate watches Luannah and Charlotte both trying to sit in James Powell's lap

After the party, the Powells joined us for dinner at a noodle place in Scarborough before heading home to Peterborough. Charlotte and Luannah sat across from one another, and Maya sat beside Charlotte. The girls enjoyed each other’s company and chattered away in their own language, pushing the menus back and forth between them. It was really nice to see the girls interacting with one another. Our wish is for Charlotte and her Chinese sisters to become life-long friends.

Charlotte was fast asleep before we reached the highway entrance to go home. Mommy thinks Charlotte will sleep well tonight, after such a busy day.

We've been a family for 3 months!

As of today, we have been a family for 3 months. Wow! Where does the time go?

Charlotte has become quite attached to one of the blankets in her crib—-I don’t blame her, as it’s super soft; however, she wants to take it everywhere. She reminds me of Linus, one of the Peanuts characters. The blanket is also a little on the large side, so it’s not that easy to drag around, but Charlotte certainly tries to do so. When I got her out of the crib this morning and put her on the change table, she really kicked and screamed until I brought the blanket to her—-I folded it up and put it under her head while I changed her. She became a totally different child with her blanket—-all smiles and full of kisses. When Daddy went to take her into our room for her morning bottle, she wouldn’t allow him to leave without taking her blanket. Daddy wrapped her all up in the blanket and propped her up on pillows to watch a little program while she drank her bottle. She looked so comfortable and was really happy.

Mommy then realized that she got the times mixed up for Charlotte’s classes—-class today is at 9:15, not 10:30, so that brought the leisurely approach to the morning to a grinding halt. Mommy scrambled to get Charlotte ready, while Daddy got himself ready to go. Mommy stayed home to work on meeting a deadline.

Charlotte had a good time at her program—-the focus of the class was music. What a class for Mommy to miss—-she loves music and is really excited that Charlotte expresses quite an interest in music as well. Apparently, Charlotte participated more than usual in the opening song with clapping her hands and stamping her feet. At one of the stations, Charlotte created a couple of shakers and at another, she created a kazoo. The other stations had things that the children could use to make musical sounds, such as pots and sticks.

Charlotte was not tired at all when she got home from her program—-she was revved up and ready to go; usually, she falls asleep in the car on the way home and goes right down for a nap, but not today. Charlotte had a snack and played with Mommy for another hour or so before she finally went down for a nap.

Charlotte and Mommy just started to have their lunch when Daddy came home from having lunch with some of his retired friends. Charlotte gobbled down her lunch of pork roast and rice—-she fed herself for the most part. Charlotte also had some of Mommy’s orange pepper and she seemed to like it. The test will be if she eats more at another time. Charlotte ate a black seedless grape in the grocery store yesterday, but wasn’t that fussy about it today, so Mommy peeled i. Charlotte didn’t really care for the texture, so didn’t eat it. We’ll try another time.

After lunch, we took Charlotte downstairs to play with a new toy that we got for her--a crawling tunnel. Charlotte had a lot of fun crawling through the tunnel when we visited Luannah last Saturday in Peterborough. Charlotte wasn’t all that taken with this tunnel, as it scrunches up when she starts to crawl through, which causes the rest of the tunnel to crash in certain places. Charlotte also enjoyed sitting in one of Daddy’s chairs that move.




Mommy and Daddy made shepherd’s pie for dinner, which Charlotte wouldn’t have any part of. She ate some of the ground beef, mushrooms, and potatoes, but nothing else, which is surprising, as Charlotte likes all the elements of shepherd’s pie served separately, but not when mixed together. Charlotte ate more orange pepper at dinner and liked it. Again, Mommy tried giving Charlotte black grapes, but this time Daddy cut them so that there was only a little skin on each piece—-Charlotte gobbled them up.

Charlotte was actually quite whiny and frustrated easily today. She played a lot with her stacking boxes and became frustrated when she couldn’t get them the way that she wanted, which would result in her throwing whatever was in her hand and then throwing herself around—-tantrums of a toddler, I’m sure.

After supper, we took Charlotte upstairs to play for a little bit. She seemed to be really grumpy, but it was way too early to put her to bed, so Mommy decided it was the perfect time to introduce Charlotte to the big tub in the basement.

Mommy gathered everything we would need to enjoy a family bath in the big tub built for two while Daddy started running the water in the tub--it takes a while to fill because it is so large. As usual, Mommy put way too much body soap in the tub so that when the air jets were turned on, there were bubbles everywhere. Charlotte had a wonderful time in the tub, but tended to want to sit with Mommy. She even got brave enough to stand up in the tub. Charlotte kept putting her face into the bubbles; she would try to wipe away the bubbles with a bubble-laden hand, which put more bubbles on her face. Mommy would just get the bubbles off Charlotte’s face when she would put her hand to her mouth to blow a kiss, getting bubbles all over her face again. After about an hour, when our fingers and toes were all wrinkly, we got out. Mommy gave Charlotte a short massage with lotion before getting her ready for bed.

The bath was timed just perfectly. Charlotte went to bed right at 8 pm. I think she will sleep soundly tonight, as will Mommy and Daddy.

Charlotte was a perfect angel at church

We were wondering how the time change would affect Charlotte’s waking time—-well, we now know how Charlotte used her extra hour…sleeping. Charlotte didn’t wake up until around 9:15 am.

Mommy and Charlotte went to church alone, as Daddy was asked to fill in a spot at a poker tournament. Fortunately, Auntie Dale, Uncle Pete, Gregory, and Kristen met us at the church. The last time Mommy took Charlotte to church on her own, we had to leave partway through the service, as Charlotte just wanted to run around and make noise. Since we had to go out into the fireplace room, I figured it was easier to look after her at home. Church is during Charlotte’s regular nap time, so this is likely why she can be difficult.

However, Charlotte was very good today in church. She sat very well in her stroller, looking around at everyone, and sang along at the appropriate times in the service. At the end of one of the hymns, Charlotte said “all done”—-it was so cute. Charlotte was exceptionally good during the sermon—-she ate her cookie and drank milk from her sippy cup without firing either of them across the room or dropping them on the floor.

There was another little girl wandering around—-Mommy was worried that Charlotte would want to join her, but she really didn’t push it too much. Luckily, Mommy brought the dragon puppet, which both girls enjoyed Mommy playing with them.

Charlotte continued to be quite generous with her kisses—-today it was a little easier to get Charlotte to blow kisses instead. During coffee hour, Charlotte was still in good spirits so Mommy was able to visit with a few people.

After church, Auntie Dale, Uncle Pete, Gregory, and Kristen came back to the house for lunch.


Charlotte visiting with her cousin Kristen
Since Charlotte enjoyed baked salmon so much last night, Mommy decided to give Charlotte a canned salmon sandwich…she didn’t care for it too much. Charlotte also tried a small piece of dill pickle, which she really didn’t care for—-she made the cutest scrunched up face once she tasted the pickle. Charlotte also tried a sweet mixed pickle, which she licked a couple of times and then threw on the floor. Auntie Dale’s children really liked pickles at a very young age, so we thought we’d give it a try—-maybe another day.

Uncle Pete shut off and drained our irrigation system and Auntie Dale helped Mommy put a car seat in Mommy’s car. Uncle Pete and Daddy enjoyed a little snooze on the couches in the living room while Mommy, Auntie Dale, and Kristen played with Charlotte in her room. Time passes so quickly when you’re watching a child play-—Charlotte did some really cute things. For the first time, Charlotte pulled out all the blankets from the bottom shelf of the change table and wrapped herself in a number of them and then snuggled into the pile—-we thought that she may be tired, but it was just a game. At one point, Charlotte, Kristen, and Gregory were chasing each other up and down the bedroom hallway. For the second day in a row, Mommy and Auntie Dale enjoyed a nice long visit.

Charlotte went to bed at her usual time of 8 pm. Tonight, along with waving good night, Charlotte also moved her eyebrows up and down. In the last couple of days, Charlotte has discovered moving her eyebrows in different ways to get a reaction from us.

Mommy wonders what time Charlotte will get up tomorrow morning.

Mommy enjoys the closeness shared with Charlotte while reading

Charlotte slept in today, waking up close to 9 am. This morning, we met up with Nana, Auntie Dale, and Kaitlyn at our church's bazaar; we also ran into a few garden club members. Charlotte was generous with her kisses once again—-in situations where we don’t know the people very well or at all, we encouraged Charlotte to blow kisses instead of making physical contact.

A few weeks ago, we met one of Daddy’s colleagues in the grocery store and she showed Charlotte how to stack hands. We continued this with Charlotte a couple of days later, but haven’t done it since. Today, while sitting in her highchair, Charlotte grabbed Daddy’s hand and placed it on top of hers. She then grabbed Mommy’s hand and placed it on top of Daddy’s. She then placed her other hand on top of Mommy’s-—we were totally blown away that she would remember this. When we last played this with her, we were putting her hands on ours. We don’t know what sparked this memory and understanding of what needed to be done.

Nana, Auntie Dale, and Kaitlyn came by the house after the church bazaar for a visit and brought pizza for lunch. We had a lovely visit for most of the afternoon. After lunch, Kaitlyn enjoyed playing with Charlotte. During this time, Charlotte went down for her nap and was up before the family left; however, I don’t think Charlotte was ready to get up, as she was rubbing her eyes and wanting to lay down—-perhaps she was just a little out of sorts, her routine a little off, as she went down for her nap much later than usual.

Mommy and Charlotte played and read books while Daddy prepared dinner. Charlotte really enjoys sitting in Mommy’s lap on the floor—-Mommy really likes the closeness shared with Charlotte, especially when reading. For dinner, Charlotte ate salmon for the first time, which she really enjoyed.





After dinner, Daddy and Charlotte played while Mommy went to her craft group; Charlotte and Daddy learned a new trick—-Charlotte stands on Daddy’s feet and then he lifts his feet in the air while holding Charlotte’s hands. The first time Daddy did it, Charlotte’s eyes went buggy and then she let out a big belly laugh; of course, Charlotte continued to stand on Daddy’s feet another 20 or so times. Charlotte went to sleep right at 8 pm.

Clocks go back one hour tonight, so Mommy wonders what time Charlotte will wake up tomorrow morning and how long it will take Charlotte to adjust her internal clock to the time change.

Charlotte enjoys a visit with her Chinese sister Ella Rose

Charlotte prefers eating Daddy's cornflakes from his bowl to eating her own Cheerios. It's quite cute to watch Charlotte sip milk off Daddy's spoon.


Today, Mommy and Daddy both participated with Charlotte at her Music and Movement class. Charlotte enjoyed the class, but I don’t think she remembers her little friend Melia from two weeks ago—-Melia wanted to hold Charlotte’s hand and she didn’t want to. Whenever Melia got too close to Charlotte, she would push her away. Mommy felt really bad for Melia—-she’s a really cute little girl who is just a little older than Charlotte. Her mommy kept telling her that it was okay, but Mommy was a little embarrassed. Mommy doesn't know why Charlotte was acting like this. Then a couple of other children gravitated to Charlotte, getting a little too close-—they really were crowding her. At break time, Mommy gave Charlotte a cookie; other children then came to Mommy for cookies as well. One little guy snuck out of circle, went to our diaper bag, and got the cookies out for himself.

Tonight we met the Kinnersleys at the Mandarin for dinner. We had a lovely visit, catching up with Stephanie, Dave, and Ella—-one of Charlotte’s Chinese sisters; she is such a cutie.

Ella Rose opening her birthday gift from Charlotte



I think this is the first time that we’ve taken Charlotte to a restaurant since we’ve been home from China. Charlotte ate very well, but left a mess on the floor similar to mealtime in China. Of course, Charlotte couldn’t get enough watermelon. She also tried rice pudding for the first time and really liked it.

Today we noticed that Charlotte is giving kisses a little too freely to people we don’t know very well and to total strangers. While waiting to be seated in the restaurant, Charlotte approached an older man and puckered up for him to give her a kiss. This stranger picked up Charlotte, putting her up in the air, and then kissed her on the lips. Mommy’s jaw hit the ground—-she felt totally unprepared to deal with such a situation. I think we’re going to have to find a strategy to deal with this.

After dinner, Mommy and Charlotte enjoyed some quiet time at home, reading stories and playing, while Daddy went out to play poker with his buddies.

Charlotte is liberal with her kisses today/Mommy learns more about 2 very worthy causes

Charlotte woke up sometime before 8:15 am when Daddy went into her room to find her sitting in her crib jabbering away to herself—-it’s so much nicer than hearing her scream and cry. What a way to start your morning!

At 10:30 am, Charlotte had a trial session at Kindermusik in Oshawa. It was the 8th lesson of 15, so the children were used to the routine and the songs. Charlotte did quite well, given the circumstances.

Charlotte is getting much better travelling in her car seat. She babbles away to herself, sometimes singing, but always swinging her feet in opposite directions.

Charlotte was quite liberal with her kisses today, right from the moment she woke up. We really enjoy the kisses; however, Mommy is quite concerned with how quickly Charlotte initiates giving kisses to perfect strangers and how quickly she befriends children and adults wherever we go, even while we are with her. Mommy isn’t sure if she should be concerned about attachment.

When we arrived home, Daddy took Charlotte into the house and put her to bed for her morning nap. Mommy went to WINGs for their community lunch—-WINGS is a maternity home in Ajax for young displaced women in crisis pregnancies. WINGS stands for waiting…investing…nurturing…growing…soaring. The women’s group of our church held a baby shower for 6 of the moms that were living at the home in September. Today their guest was a retired massage therapist who came to speak to the new and expectant moms about baby massage. We all received a container of grape seed oil and were walked through a baby massage on little Roman (4 months old) while the girls repeated the motions on their own babies. Roman was such a good little guy, enjoying every moment of the massage, but who wouldn’t. The therapist provided some advice about how to massage Charlotte’s bow legs to encourage the outside leg muscles to strengthen/lengthen and the inside leg muscles to loosen up. Marion, the executive mom, gave me a tour of her home. Wow—-what a ministry she has undertaken.

Before dinner, Mommy and Charlotte enjoyed some play time in Charlotte’s room, reading stories and stacking her boxes. Charlotte seemed to get agitated and frustrated quite quickly—-we then discovered that Daddy had forgotten to give Charlotte lunch when she woke up from her nap. Yikes!

After dinner, Mommy went to an Open Arms Foundation meeting to hear Stanley Kwan and Michelle Kam speak about their work with the Fu Hei Education Foundation. It was heart-breaking to watch the two videos about the Yi minority from the Liangshan mountains in Sichuan—-so many needy families and beautiful children orphaned by mud slides and AIDs. Most of these children do not have the opportunity to study. Fu Hei is changing that for a number of these orphans. What a marvelous organization!

According to Daddy, Charlotte went to bed very close to 8 pm without any troubles, as usual.

Charlotte gets her first guitar lesson from Uncle Donny

Despite the busy day yesterday, missing her naps at home, and going to bed later than usual, Charlotte woke just slightly later than usual, around 8:30 am. It was nice to hear her playing in her crib before we went in to get her up. Today, we decided to stay home and play around the house.

Charlotte was a very charming little girl today—-she was full of kisses and hugs all day long. It was cute to see her pucker up across the room and stick her head out. A rule sort of developed—-if you initiated the kiss, then the receiver had to come to you. Sometimes it wasn’t always possible to get to Charlotte, so we would blow a lot of kisses.

Daddy continues to work with Charlotte to say her name—-Mommy has heard her say something that sounded like it and so has Daddy on different occasions, but not on demand.

Charlotte had a great time in her bath tub; however, Mommy is still struggling to find a way to wash Charlotte’s hair without causing her grief. Charlotte wore her bunny towel for the first time—-she got quite excited talking to the other bunny in the sliding shower door mirror.


After lunch, we went down the basement so Charlotte could play on the riding toys while Mommy did a little more work on her craft area. Charlotte loved climbing up and down on the sofas and the pillows.

Charlotte was rubbing her eyes and seemed tired while Mommy and Daddy were making dinner—-I guess she could have used a little nap this afternoon, but she only got up from her morning nap around 1:30, so we didn’t think she needed one.

Uncle Donny, one of Mommy’s brothers, came for dinner.


We had a nice visit with Uncle Donny and he played Mommy’s guitar for us. Charlotte really loves music; Charlotte was quite interested in the guitar, so Uncle Donny showed Charlotte how to strum the guitar while he fingered the chords—-Charlotte’s first guitar lesson. Mommy wishes she had more time to play the numerous instruments she owns.





At 8 pm, Charlotte kissed everyone good night and was off to bed. Tomorrow we have another busy day.

Charlotte wishes one of her China sisters a Happy First Birthday

We had a busy day today. Charlotte awoke about 8:15, despite going to bed after 10 pm last night. I guess Charlotte is no longer sleeping 12 hours from the moment she is put to bed. We were thankful that she didn’t sleep in today because Charlotte had her first class of “Creative Toddlers” run by the Early Years Centre at 9:15 am.

Charlotte enjoyed her first class, meeting some new children and playing with some children she knows from her “Music and Movement” class on Fridays. Today, Charlotte was introduced to gluing different shapes onto paper; although, the activity was to create a car. Mommy didn’t get hung up on the details; actually, Mommy didn’t read the instruction sheet on the table, but that’s okay as Charlotte sort of shied away from touching the paper shapes, but she was more than interested in grabbing the sticks that were in the glue pot. It looked like the children at the paint centre were having a lot of fun, but they were getting really covered in paint. Mommy decided to save this treat for another day when Charlotte is wearing older clothes that are darker colours. Charlotte really enjoyed playing with the trucks with the boys. Charlotte surprised Mommy today—-she took a toy away from a child, which is odd behaviour for her; she’s usually giving things to people. Charlotte had fun moving from activity to activity. Before we knew it, it was time to sing our good-bye song and prepare to go home.

This afternoon, Charlotte and Mommy enjoyed a nice visit with the Worthingtons (one of the families in our China travel group; Kate resided in the same orphanage as Charlotte—-their cribs were beside each other). Kate turned one year old October 25, so Charlotte had a little gift for Kate.
Kate opening her birthday present--she was much more interested in the envelope

It was fascinating to watch Kate and Charlotte interact. At first, Charlotte was timid and shy with Kate, but we later discovered that perhaps Kate’s helmet was frightening Charlotte. Once the helmet was removed, Charlotte opened right up, playing with Kate and giving kisses. Both moms were pleased how well the girls played together.




It was so good to chat with Casey and Elisabeth and catch up on Kate’s progress. We’ve all been so busy helping our daughters to adjust to their new lives in a new country and getting on top of the health issues. We’re looking forward to another play date in the near future.

After an early dinner, we were went out to Oshawa to visit Grandma and Grandpa (Daddy’s Daddy and his wife)—-tomorrow morning, Grandpa is having laser eye surgery to remove a cataract. Grandma gave Charlotte a lovely hand-knit sweater that she made in our favourite colours—-shades of pink and purple. Charlotte will be cozy warm on our walks this winter.
Charlotte playing with a barrel of monkeys at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Charlotte was off to bed about 8:45 pm. I wonder what time she will wake up tomorrow morning after going to bed later than usual and missing her nap today; however, she did grab a catnap on the way to and from the Worthingtons’ this afternoon.