Our Journey to Charlotte--In the end, she will not know or care how long we waited...only that we came.
"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break." -- An ancient Chinese belief
"While I slept, my heart kept vigil."
"Today I kissed an angel, I knew it from the start; The first time our eyes met, I gave away my heart.
Today I kissed an angel, This angel child of mine; Though not of my creation, My child by God's design.
Today I kissed an angel, My heart is dancing wild; A family by a miracle, Blessed by this angel child."
Charlotte slept a little later than usual, waking around 9:30 am, even after going to bed right on schedule the night before. I guess her little body needed a little extra rest, as we’ve fallen off our schedule many days this holiday season.
Charlotte has taken to sitting in the plastic basket that Mommy uses to collect her unused hangers in her closet. Occasionally, Charlotte will drink her bottle while watching TV in this basket. Charlotte likes it when Daddy picks up the basket by the handles with her in it and swings it back and forth. During meal time, Charlotte likes to place objects behind her neck while sitting in her highchair—-she’s been doing this for a while now, but now it has become quite a game, particularly with Charlotte and Daddy. Charlotte is also very good at copying other’s actions. Generally, after a meal, Daddy and Charlotte play a game similar to Simon Says, but everyone takes a turn being the leader and the others have to follow the leader’s actions, e.g., tapping head with both hands. Daddy likes to switch it up a little by making the actions a little more challenging, sometimes, doing two different actions at the same time; Charlotte doesn’t do too badly with this.
Charlotte has got quite good at stacking hands; for the longest time, Charlotte understood the initial stacking part, but couldn’t grasp pulling her hand out from underneath the pile to place it on top. Now she has got it down pat with two people and is working on three people. Charlotte and Daddy followed the morning routine pretty much as usual while Mommy did a few errands and prepared for our special visitors this afternoon.
Oh, my gosh! Charlotte got her fingers caught in the door closure of the front screen door. Mommy was busy in the kitchen while Daddy was going in and out of the door, recycling a lot of cardboard from Charlotte’s Christmas toys. Whenever anyone goes out the front door, Charlotte always runs to the door to watch out the glass window in the door. She is always grabbing the door closure, despite our constant reminders not to do so—-we’re always pulling her hands away. One moment, Charlotte was playing in the kitchen near Mommy and the next, Mommy heard a blood curdling cry. Charlotte cried so deeply that she couldn’t catch her breath. Since Charlotte was in the middle of the hallway, Mommy didn’t know what happened. It was only when Charlotte started to move her right hand toward her mouth that Mommy saw the indent in 2 of her fingers and figured that Charlotte had got her fingers caught in the door. Mommy immediately scooped up Charlotte and rushed her into the powder room to run really cold water over Charlotte’s fingers. Mommy kept Charlotte’s fingers under the water until Charlotte pulled them away. Charlotte began to move her fingers without grimacing, so we were fairly certain that her fingers weren’t broken. Mommy immediately wrapped Charlotte’s fingers in a towel and applied pressure, which allowed Charlotte to settle down. Mommy and Charlotte cuddled on the living room couch while Mommy continued to apply pressure, occasionally opening the towel to assess the condition of Charlotte’s fingers; Charlotte always would indicate that she wanted the pressure to be reapplied. After a short while, Charlotte sat up and pushed off Mommy’s knee to resume playing as if nothing had happened, but you could tell by her actions that those fingers were sensitive. Mommy continued to check on Charlotte’s fingers throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening—-the grooves were now gone and there just appeared to be a bruise line across one of her finger nails—-Mommy really hopes that Charlotte’s nail bed isn’t damaged.
This afternoon, Charlotte enjoyed a play date with the children of a few of Mommy’s close friends from Rainbow. Della and her daughter Elainna and her mom Glenice; Suzanne and her sons Nicholas and Nathan and her mom Judy; and Auntie Dale and her children Kaitlyn, Gregory, and Kristen and Mommy’s mommy came to our house for a visit and potluck dinner. The children played really well together, which allowed the mommies to chat and catch up on each other’s news. It was quite the whirlwind of activity when the children opened their Christmas gifts from one another—-it was hard to keep track of who opened what gifts. Kaitlyn helped Charlotte open her gifts so that Mommy could take photos and keep an eye on dinner. Once all the paper was cleared away and all the gifts were organized according to family and placed to the side, we all enjoyed a lovely dinner with the usual amount of busyness that is created when 4 families with children get together for a meal. The children ate reasonably well and were really well behaved. While the adults enjoyed tea and dessert, the children played upstairs in Charlotte’s room under Kaitlyn’s watchful eye. Thanks to Kaitlyn for keeping an eye on the children during play time—-you are such a great little babysitter.
Once all the company had left, Charlotte was wired for sound and showed no signs or interest in wanting to go to bed—-Mommy had to chase her down the hall to catch her to get her ready for bed. Once Charlotte saw the bottle in Daddy’s hand, she become completely cooperative. Daddy was extremely exhausted and headed to bed. Mommy, having caught her second wind, settled down at her computer to download and organized several days’ worth of photos taken on two cameras. Mommy felt energized and made a ridiculously long to-do list for tomorrow—-Mommy really needs to work on more realistic to-do lists. Sometime after 1 am, Mommy finally crawled into bed.
Wow! It’s hard to believe that Christmas Day is over—-all the planning, shopping, and organizing for weeks and today it’s all over. Well… the big day is over, but our Christmas celebrations continue for a few more days, as we get together with friends and extended family. Christmas for us pretty much carries through to New Year’s Day.
After such a busy day yesterday and going to bed late (10:30 pm), Mommy thought Charlotte would sleep in for sure—-NOPE! Charlotte was awake earlier than usual—-before 8 am. Mommy was still lying in bed, denying that it was morning and time to get up, when Charlotte started to let us know that she was ready to get out of her crib.
Charlotte enjoyed her morning bottle on the couch in the living room while Mommy and Daddy had coffee and reminisced about yesterday and made plans for the rest of the week. In usual fashion, Charlotte pulled up a number of the characters and letters out of the floor foam puzzle, placing them on her wrist. She likes to carry them around with her. So, while Mommy and Daddy washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen from last night’s family Christmas dinner, Charlotte, with foam puzzle pieces on her wrist and a rollof masking tape, played with her ball popping machine that she got from Santa. Our girl likes to multi-task. After breakfast, Mommy and Charlotte unpacked some of her new toy. Daddy gave Mommy such grief over buying the animal puppets; but, in usual fashion, Mommy ignored Daddy’s grumblings and gave them to Charlotte for Christmas. It was well worth it to see the look on Charlotte’s face when Mommy took them out of the packaging, which was absolutely crazy—-I can’t believe how much plastic and tape is used to keep merchandise in its packaging to discourage theft. As soon as Mommy put the sheep puppet on Charlotte’s hand, she turned her hand so that the puppet was facing her and she said “baaaaa” and then gave it a kiss—-she is just such a cutie patootie. I am just so incredibly in love with this beautiful little girl—-I don’t think I could love her more if she were born from my womb. Being born in the heart has been such an incredible journey. Those long cold years of waiting have been melted away by this special little girl we have the privilege of calling “our daughter.” Charlotte’s tummy mommy will be forever in my heart and mind—-we pray that she knows that Charlotte is well-loved and cared for.
Charlotte's morning nap was almost 3 hours long—-Charlotte has had a lot of really late nights lately and some days she even missed her nap. Charlotte woke up well-rested and ready to go. Mommy was feeling a little sluggish today, so we decided to enjoy a quiet day at home in our pyjamas, putting away Christmas gifts, playing with Charlotte, and rejuvenating ourselves for the next round of visitations.
Today, Charlotte started to say something very close to “stuck” and “cheese.” She still continues to work on “Katie” and “apple.”
After a much needed rest day, Charlotte went to bed at 8 pm, on schedule. Rest my beauty--we have another busy day tomorrow.
Mommy’s Christmas morning started really early today. Auntie Dale was so excited about getting such a large turkey, as we all enjoy turkey sandwiches and left-overs after Christmas, that she didn’t do any calculations to determine how long it was going to take to cook or what time it had to go into the oven on Christmas morning. Traditionally, Mommy and Daddy cook the turkey, putting it into the oven before going in to Scarborough to open Santa stockings and family gifts. The turkey weighing it at approximately 35 lbs would likely take about 12 or so hours to cook. If we hoped to sit down to eat around 6 pm, this meant that the turkey had to be in the oven no later than 5:30 am. Yikes! Mommy and Daddy are early risers, but this was a little early, especially after so many late nights and busy days leading up to Christmas. It usually takes a little over an hour to prepare the stuffing and the turkey, which meant that we would have to be up and in the kitchen just after 4 am.
Mommy was a little nervous about sleeping through her alarm and not getting up in time to prepare the turkey and get into the city for the expected 9 am—-fears and images of hungry family members waiting until 9 pm for their turkey dinner scared Mommy enough not to go to bed. Mommy did manage to grab an hour’s nap on the living room couch with the lights on in the middle of the night, but it wasn’t a restful nap. Mommy will have to work on adrenaline and coffee today—-all very reminiscent of days in the past, working on publishing deadlines. The joy on Charlotte’s face and the excitement and boundless energy of young children at Christmas will be enough to get Mommy through the day.
Mommy woke Daddy a little before 5 am to help with the turkey. Ooh ooh! The turkey was still frozen. While Daddy tried to run hot water through the turkey, Mommy and Daddy pulled to try and open the cavities to get the neck and giblets out before stuffing it. Mommy’s mind quickly jumped into high gear to figure out what Plan B would be if we had to abandon the turkey to continue defrosting. Inventory of meat in the freezer quickly went through Mommy’s mind. Not to be defeated, Mommy and Daddy continued working feverishly, conscience of the fact that every delayed minute meant that dinner was going to be that much later. Finally, the ice melted at the one end and we were able to free the neck. After quite a time, the ice at the other end finally melted and we were able to pry open the cavity to release the bag of giblets. The rest of the turkey was thawed. Whew! Now to make the stuffing—-it was a battle against the clock. At 6:24 am, the stuffed turkey was put into the oven, with just a little bit of clearance between the top of the turkey and the top cooking element in the oven; if the turkey had been any larger, I’m sure it wouldn’t have fit in the oven.
Mommy, dressed in her pyjamas, and Daddy, dressed in shorts and shirt, both with no socks on, loaded the van with all the presents to take into Nana’s so as to be ready for when Charlotte woke up, not to waste any time.
Charlotte went to bed later than usual last night, so we weren’t sure what time her body would naturally want to wake up. To encourage an earlier rising, Mommy opened Charlotte’s door a little and left the hall light on while Mommy got herself ready. Before Mommy jumped into the shower, she tried to stand at the foot of Charlotte’s crib to watch her sleep, but Charlotte stirred unexpectedly, so she tiptoed out of her room so as not to startle Charlotte. Charlotte did start to stir, but she sounded upset, likely because of the light shining into her room. Mommy just had enough time to shower and dress before Charlotte was calling to get up. Mommy and Daddy both went into Charlotte to wish her a Merry Christmas, likely her first as Mommy doubts that anything was done for the little ones in the orphanage. Mommy said a silent prayer for Charlotte’s tummy mommy for all the joy that Charlotte brings to Mommy’s life each and every day. No other gift can compare to the love of a child. Everyone in Mommy’s family is so excited to share the joy and love of Christmas with Charlotte this year.
Merry First Christmas, Charlotte! While our little angel slept, Santa visited Nana’s house, filling Charlotte’s and the family’s stockings and leaving lots of wonderful gifts for all the children and children at heart. Charlotte dressed in her Santa outfit, ready to go to Nana's
A little ahead of schedule, we called Nana’s to let them know that we were on our way a little earlier than expected to find that no one was up yet—-I suspect that it was a mad flurry once Nana hung up the phone. While Mommy was getting ready, she noticed that the turkey had started to smoke a little earlier than usual. This turkey is so big that it overhangs the rack so the drippings were likely landing on the cookie pan below and burning. Mommy wondered a few times if she should ask the neighbor to check the turkey periodically so as not to come home to a house full of smoke or worse, in flames. It is little consolation that our alarm company would call my cell phone should the smoke alarm go off—-at that point it would be too late. Mommy checked the turkey one last time and checked that she had her cell phone before leaving the house.
We were on the road before 8 am, arriving at Nana’s before 8:30 am. Kaitlyn, Gregory, and Kristen were anxiously awaiting Charlotte’s arrival at the door so that the opening of gifts could begin. Everyone was anxious to see Charlotte’s reaction to the room filled with gifts. Charlotte was so excited to be with her cousins and immediately wanted to play that I don’t think she really noticed all the presents and the filled stockings. Her cousins quickly fixed that by walking Charlotte to her stocking and showing her all the gifts that Santa had left for her. Charlotte began to run around the room, visiting everyone’s stockings, picking up and looking at different packages. Auntie Dale gave each of the children and women a Santa hat that lights up. Charlotte and Mommy sported theirs most of the day.
Kristen and Gregory, unable to control their excitement any longer, began opening their stockings and gifts from Santa. This encouraged everyone else to get settled into place beside their respective stockings. As a child, I could never understand why the adults didn’t open their gifts as quickly and as feverishly as we did at the same time—-they were content to sit and watch the children. As an adult, now with a child, I had just as much fun watching the children open their gifts as they did opening them. It is so wonderful to listen to children squeal with delight upon upwrapping something that they really wanted. As usual, the children hate to wait for the adults to finish opening their stockings to then distribute the family gifts.
Charlotte with her cousins Kaitlyn, Gregory, and Kristen
To follow tradition, Auntie Dale made some wonderful nibblies to enjoy while we opened gifts. Brunch would follow after all the gifts were opened.
The stockings finished, we moved onto distributing and opening the family gifts. There were many Kodac moments-—Kaitlyn broke into tears of joy and thanks when she received an iPod from her parents; Gregory attacked me with hugs and kisses when he received a telescope from us; Kristen excitedly reported to all a lot of her gifts, but especially her Easy Bake oven from Santa. At one point, I think Charlotte was a little overwhelmed with everything and needed a break—-no amount of coaxing could get her to continue opening her gifts. Kristen helped open some of Charlotte’s gifts while she watched; then, Kaitlyn sat on the floor with Charlotte in her lap and opened a few gifts. For the first time, Charlotte actually showed signs that she wanted to go for a nap. Charlotte drank a bottle while sitting on Daddy’s lap; we thought she might just drift off for a quick nap, but so as not to miss anything, she just watched as the opening of gifts continued. Mommy eventually finished opening Charlotte’s gifts. What a lucky girl—-she received so many lovely gifts. All the children played with Charlotte and her popping ball machine from Santa-—there were lots of squeals of joy and laughter when they played with this toy, chasing the popped balls all over the living room.
At one point, Simba (Mommy's cat that lives with Nana) came to visit and open his stocking on the couch beside Kristen. Charlotte said “kitty” many, many times. It has been a long-standing agreement with Daddy that Charlotte would get the pet (dog or cat) of her choice, whichever word she could say first. When Auntie Dale heard Charlotte say “kitty,” she quickly grabbed a gift bag, put Simba in it, and gave it to Daddy. Daddy was not impressed. This decision will be visited many more times, as Daddy keeps reminded us that the pediatrician said not to introduce a pet until Charlotte is 7 years old.
Once all the gifts were opened, and the living room looked like a bomb had hit it, Charlotte and Daddy were more than ready for a nap. This year we deviated from the traditional brunch of quiche because of Kaitlyn’s sensitivity to milk and milk products and decided to make pancakes and sausage; however, everyone was too tired and full from munching on the many treats throughout the morning that we decided not to.
Mommy and Daddy packed up some of their stuff and headed home to check on the turkey-—Nana and Auntie Dale offered to pack up the rest of our stuff and bring it out when they come for dinner so that we could get on our way. Charlotte fell asleep before we got to the 401 and Mommy wasn’t far behind, occasionally waking up to answer Daddy’s questions. Earlier in the day, Daddy had snuck up to Nana’s bed to catch 40 winks, so he was okay to drive home.
Charlotte woke very briefly while Mommy took off her coat to put her in her crib. Charlotte’s eyes were closed again before Mommy got to her door.
Mommy quickly went downstairs to clean up her wrapping mess in the dining room from the night before and check the turkey. Mommy left the preparation of veggies in Daddy’s capable hands while she went for a nap. Daddy woke Mommy at 5:30 pm—-Charlotte was still asleep, but Daddy had opened her door slightly so that our noise could gently wake her before everyone arrived for dinner. Apparently, Uncle Doug had arrived at 4 pm to find Daddy preparing veggies and everyone else sleeping. Daddy and Uncle Doug visited for a short while until Uncle Doug decided to go and come back at 5:45 when everyone else would be arriving.
Mommy, with a few hours’ nap, felt much better and quickly moved in high gear to get dinner prepared. We all gathered around the dining room table and sang grace—-Johnny Appleseed. Mommy then served sparkling pear juice and toasted Charlotte’s arrival into the family; Nana also added a toast of welcome to another grandchild. Mommy almost got through her toast without tearing up; Auntie Dale joined Mommy in the tears. Everyone then served themselves buffet-style in the kitchen--everything was wonderful. All the children ate very well—-they all love turkey, Charlotte included.
As usual, after dinner, the children and most of the men retired to more comfortable seats while the rest of us remained at the table to chat--the best part of family gatherings. Before Uncle Doug left, the children opened their gifts from him; everyone opened their cards from Nana; and Charlotte opened a few special gifts (delicate tree ornaments) from Nana and Auntie Dale.
Around 11 pm, the family left, exhausted from all the festivities; however, Charlotte was still running around—-she’s like the Energizer bunny. The food put away for another day, the lights out, the doors locked, and Charlotte in bed, Mommy and Daddy crashed for a well-deserved rest. Mommy hopes that Charlotte sleeps-in tomorrow—-she’s had a lot of late nights lately. Mommy has noticed that Charlotte’s sleeping patterns are changing a little. Charlotte used to sleep 12 hours straight, regardless of the time that she was put to bed. If she goes down at 8 pm, then she sleeps until about 8 am the next morning; however, if she goes down later, she still gets up at relatively the same time, sometimes maybe 9ish, but not much later.
Well, Charlotte didn’t sleep as long as Mommy thought she would—she was awake about 9:15, anxiously to get on with her day. Again, Daddy and Charlotte enjoyed a morning of playing and reading together, as Mommy had errands to run and some Christmas shopping to do.
Charlotte has a few different favourite book these days—-she frequently brings her Spot book and her purse alphabet book to Daddy to read. In the latter book, a word is introduced that starts with that letter. Daddy has Charlotte repeat the words to him; Charlotte can say fairly clearly “apple” and “ball”; she says something for “cupcake,” “elephant,” and “giraffe.” After that, I think the words get a little too difficult for her to say. Charlotte likes to read her Motts apple book, pointing to all the apples. She also likes to point out babies and say “baby” whenever possible.
Charlotte is very good at saying “all done” and meaning it, even if Mommy and Daddy think that Charlotte should eat a little more. Charlotte does tend to be a small eater, with periods where we can’t give her food fast enough, but these periods are followed with a little growth spurt. We’ve noticed in the last little while that Charlotte has grown taller.
Around 2:45 pm, Charlotte woke up from her nap and had lunch with Daddy while Mommy got everything organized to take to the “cruise gang” party in Mississauga. After lunch, Charlotte had a bath and got all dolled up in her party dress and shiny shoes—-Mommy absolutely loves dressing up her pretty little girl. I think Charlotte likes it too—-when Mommy gets Charlotte down off the change table, Charlotte does a little dance, prancing and squealing with delight; Mommy gets Charlotte to run to Daddy to show him her outfit.
Traffic was really busy, so it took us longer than we planned to get across the city. When we arrived, Santa (aka Karen) met us at the door. Charlotte immediately gave Santa a kiss. Mommy hopes this is a good sign that Charlotte is getting used to Santa so that she doesn’t freak out like she did the first time she sat on Santa’s knee. We’re hoping to have Charlotte’s photo taken with Santa at the mall next week.
Karen and David had a special chair for Charlotte in the circle set up around the hors d’oeuvres. Charlotte was quite taken with the little chair and would fuss if anyone else tried to sit in it, pushing them out of the way. No one can say that Charlotte doesn’t know what she wants—-she is very strong-willed. She managed to strong-arm Wendy out of the Santa decoration she wore on her dress. Charlotte wearing Wendy's Santa Claus pin
It didn’t take long before Charlotte was freely giving kisses and hugs in her usual fashion—-she puckers up and leans forward, waiting for a kiss, and She doesn’t move until she gets her kiss. She has started playing a game with us, and now with friends: she goes through all the preliminaries to get a kiss and then at the last second will pull away and sometimes make a face; however, in the end, a kiss is always exchanged.
Karen and David have a section of glass floor in their kitchen that looks down into their wine cellar. Walking across the flooring, it’s very reminiscent of the glass floor at the CN Tower. More often than not, I find myself walking around the glass floor rather than across it, not because of heights, but it seems odd to me to walk on glass. When the light is off in the cellar, the floor is quite reflective. Charlotte spent a lot of time looking down, so Marcel took Charlotte into the wine cellar to have her look up at us looking down at her. From the look on her face, I don’t think she knew what to make of it. Charlotte and Marcel in the wine cellar looking up at us
We enjoyed a lovely meal prepared by Karen and David. Unfortunately, Charlotte didn’t show much interest in eating. She did enjoy some of the home-made butternut squash soup and some of the cheese-filled spinach ravioli, but wouldn’t eat any meat; however, Charlotte ate quite a few cheerios, her food of choice. Chef David preparing the meal as Daddy looks on--picking up tips?
Everyone seated at the table
After dinner, we retired to our original gathering spot close to the Christmas tree, while Santa delivered gifts. Charlotte is getting the hang of unwrapping gifts--she offered to help many others open their gifts as well. As usual, Charlotte was quite taken with the packaging and tissue paper. At first, Charlotte started to bang on the plastic window in the box for a medicine kit she was given by Wendy and Marcel. She then took the box to Karen and encouraged her to bang along with her. One by one, Charlotte then got Joan and Kaylyn to join in. The short video snip-it is of all 4 banging, or should I say drumming, on the box. Thankfully, the gift inside the box is made of durable plastic so wasn’t damaged. Charlotte really enjoyed drumming—-Mommy is secretly hoping that Charlotte gravitates to a quieter instrument when she does start showing an interest in learning to play an instrument. Could I have a rock star in the making--yikes! Charlotte convinces Karen to drum with her
Charlotte convinces Joan and Kaylyn to jam with Karen and her
Charlotte received a lot of lovely gifts; Mommy and Daddy are so blessed to have such wonderful friends. After a lovely evening filled with wonderful wine, nibblies, dinner, laughter, and great company, it was time to go home to rest for another busy day tomorrow. Mommy changed Charlotte into her Christmas angel pyjamas so that she could be put right into bed upon arriving home. Kisses and hugs were given to all before getting into a warmed-up car for the long drive home. Charlotte fell asleep before we reached the 427 and Mommy wasn’t far behind, lasting until the entrance to the 401. Thank goodness for Daddy—-our driver. Charlotte stayed asleep while Mommy carried her upstairs to bed. Sweet dreams, baby girl!
Daddy and Charlotte enjoyed a day of playing and reading together, as Mommy had a meeting at the office and then she did a few errands and some Christmas shopping on the way home.
While Daddy went to play poker with his buddies, Mommy and Charlotte went out for dinner with some of Mommy's friends from high school. A few members of Mommy’s WTW high school group (Heather and Leslie) met up with Norm Vincent’s high school games group at Swiss Chalet in Pickering. Every year the guys meet on the last Friday just before Christmas—-we thought it would be a nice idea for our two groups to get together. Hopefully more gals will be able to attend next year. Mommy has seen a few of these fellows since graduating high school—-Mommy can hardly believe that she graduated high school almost 30 years ago. In some ways, it just seems like yesterday and yet it almost seems like a lifetime ago. Charlotte sat at the head of the table and enjoyed all the attention—-she was quite taken with taking food off Leslie’s plate despite the food in front of her. Charlotte won the Kinderprize centrepiece for being the youngest at our table grouping. The big group
Charlotte and Leslie
Charlotte and Heather
After dinner, the guys continued their festivities at one of the guy’s homes nearby while the girls went their separate ways. Mommy took Charlotte shopping in Oshawa. On the way to Old Navy, Charlotte fell asleep but was wide awake when the car stopped and was quite eager for her next adventure. Charlotte was really good sitting in the stroller at Old Navy, waving and saying "hi" to everyone that passed by. While Mommy was shopping at Walmart, Charlotte moved her jacket into such a position so that she could put her head down and lie down in the shopping cart. Charlotte didn’t fall asleep, but she looked really relaxed. Eventually, Charlotte began to fuss, likely wanting the comfort of her own bed to fall asleep, so we headed home. We didn’t get home until after 11 pm.
Charlotte had a long day—-Mommy was sure that Charlotte would sleep until late tomorrow morning. Tomorrow will be another busy day--'tis the season.
Charlotte woke Mommy just before 3 am this morning, screaming and crying. Occasionally, Charlotte cries out in the night while she is sleeping, but it is just a brief outburst that doesn’t usually require attention—-perhaps she’s had a bad dream or something startled her in her sleep. Tonight was an exception. Charlotte was yelling and crying at the top of her lungs, which bolted Mommy out of a sound sleep. Mommy hesitated to take Charlotte out of her crib for fear that Charlotte would think it was time to get up and play. Mommy laid Charlotte back down in her crib and rubbed her tummy while making gentle sounds, assuring Charlotte that she was alright. Charlotte settled down but showed no interest in falling back to sleep. Mommy made a bottle, which Charlotte took immediately. Mommy continued to rub Charlotte’s tummy while a lullaby played in the background and objects were projected on the ceiling—-Charlotte loves looking at the characters and will frequently point to the ceiling to remind you that you haven’t turned them on. About an hour later, once Charlotte was settled, Mommy tip-toed back to her bed, but couldn’t fall back to sleep immediately—-she was anticipating another episode once Charlotte finished her bottle. A little while later, Charlotte did let out a little whimper, but was fast asleep. Eventually, Mommy fell asleep, expecting Charlotte to sleep later in the morning because of the disruption in her sleep.
Mommy didn’t get a chance to tell Daddy about the events in the middle of the night before Daddy went in to gently wake up Charlotte for her program. I don’t think Charlotte was too interested in getting up at first, as she cried real tears, but that soon changed. For a change, Charlotte wanted Mommy to hold her on her lap at her desk while she drank her bottle—-she usually asks to sit on Daddy’s lap. Mommy enjoyed this time snuggling and kissing Charlotte until she wanted down to play with her toys. So that Mommy could continue working, Daddy took Charlotte to her Music and Movement class with her empty Kleenex box in hand. Today, the children made a guitar with elastics and their empty Kleenex boxes. Charlotte was more interested in putting the elastics on her wrists than making a musical instrument. Charlotte was quite excited when she got home, bouncing all over the place. She had absolutely no interest in going down for a nap, which she usually does when she returns home from her programs. So, Mommy and Charlotte played for about 30 minutes before Charlotte was ready to lie down. Charlotte frequently plays in her crib, chattering to herself, before she gets up from her nap. Mommy likes to stand at Charlotte’s closed door and hear her chattering—-she has the cutest voice.
Later in the afternoon, Charlotte and Mommy jumped into Mommy’s big bed, bundled up in the blanket, and snuggled up to watch one of Mommy’s taped programs. Mommy was hoping that she and Charlotte could enjoy a little nap together, but Charlotte didn’t show any interest; however, Charlotte was quite content to lie quietly on the bed. Periodically, Charlotte would get down off the bed and play for a little bit in her room, but would return to get up on the bed again. Charlotte is battling a little cold, with a runny nose and a little cough; however, late in the afternoon, Mommy noticed that the cold has now affected her voice.
Charlotte was quite funny in the kitchen while we made dinner. Charlotte danced around the kitchen to songs on the radio and was being silly—-Mommy couldn’t help herself from laughing.
Charlotte didn’t really eat very much at dinner, again. However, she literally gobbled up a whole banana. Dinner over, we retired upstairs for some reading and playing. Charlotte has taken to climbing into the rocking chair in her room and pulling down books off the shelf. She sits quietly in the chair and turns the pages of the book. She then pushes the book on the floor and grabs another off the shelf. Some days, almost 2 shelves of books have been on the floor. Mommy just gets all the books nicely put away and Charlotte resumes reading and pulling more books down.
At 8 pm, Charlotte was definitely ready for bed. Mommy hopes that Charlotte sleeps through the night and doesn’t have a repeat of last night.
Charlotte awoke a little before 8 am—-it was a bit of a scramble to get everyone out of the house this morning. Today, Mommy helped Auntie Dale with Snack with Santa at Kristen’s and Gregory’s school and Daddy babysat Kristen, as she was home quite sick. Charlotte enjoyed running around the gym, talking to the children while they ate their snacks. Several times, Charlotte got up close to Santa to check him out, but wouldn’t touch him. When Santa would get out of his chair to visit with the children, Charlotte frequently would crawl up into his chair to watch Santa move around. Charlotte sitting in Santa's chair
Mommy’s hoping that the repeated exposure to Santa will mean a better photo with Santa at the mall next Monday morning with Charlotte’s cousins. Charlotte was quite taken with the candy canes that Mommy gave to the children—she generally carried one of each flavour around with her until they fell on the floor and broke, at which point, she would want another one.
By lunch time, every child in the school had had a visit with Santa and enjoyed a snack supplied by the school’s Parent Council—-Mommy enjoys helping Auntie Dale at this annual event. Charlotte, having missed her morning nap, fell asleep not long after we left the school for home.
Daddy played with Charlotte and read books this afternoon until it was time to go to Nana’s—-Kaitlyn and Nana looked after Charlotte while Mommy and Daddy went out for the first time without Charlotte since they returned home from China. Mommy and Daddy went out for dinner with a few retired colleagues of Daddy’s and their spouses to the Jerusalem Restaurant where a belly dancer performed during the meal. Occasionally, the belly dancer would encourage patrons of the restaurant to dance with her. As the music played, Mommy’s hips moved secretly, while dance routines and moves went through her mind—-she misses her belly dancing days, but looks forward to the day when Charlotte takes the Mother-Daughter class with Mommy.
Charlotte was still wide awake and playing with her cousins when we arrived at Nana’s to pick her up. Kaitlyn completed her babysitting duties by changing Charlotte’s diaper and putting her in her sleepers for the ride home. Many rounds of kisses and hugs later, we were on our way home.
Charlotte fell asleep on the way home in the car, as expected. She opened her eyes briefly while we removed her winter outerwear when we got home. Mommy quickly whisked Charlotte upstairs before she awoke too much, as both Mommy and Daddy had very full stomachs and were really tired. Charlotte chattered briefly while laying on the change table so that Mommy could remove Charlotte’s shoes. Charlotte’s eyes closed almost immediately once she was placed in her crib. It was just after 11 pm when we turned out her lights—-Mommy is expecting that Charlotte will sleep until late in the morning, perhaps missing her little program at the community centre.
For weeks and days leading up to this important event in Charlotte’s Christian life, Mommy struggled with the decision about what Charlotte should wear. Since this event is founded on years of tradition and religious ceremony, the outfit had to be just right. Unfortunately, Charlotte is too big to wear the beautiful hand-sewn Christening gown that has been in Nana’s family for generations: Mommy’s Mommy’s Daddy and his two sisters wore it, Mommy’s Mommy wore it, Mommy and her three siblings wore it, and Auntie Dale’s three children wore it; although, it was in an extremely delicate state when Kristen was the last to wear it. The night before Kristen’s baptism, Nana stayed up late hand-mending the little tiny holes in the gown to avoid any rips during the ceremony. At this point, the gown should probably be preserved and put away to avoid any further damage.
Charlotte was the last of three children to be baptized today. F. Roy had told us in our preparation classes that hundreds of years ago, it was tradition to pinch a child to make it cry if it didn’t cry on its own after being cleansed with the blessed water. People in the time believed that the child’s cry released the demons, giving it a fresh start, following a life of God. The other family really thought that if a child was to cry, it would be their toddler son, but he was the perfect child, lying in F. Roy’s arms. His older sister (about 9 years old) was baptized next without any problems. Charlotte made up for the other two—-she screamed into F. Roy’s microphone, much to the congregation’s surprise.
Today’s baptism was extra special. Many years ago, F Roy and his wife travelled to Jerusalem and visited the spot in the River Jordan where John the Baptist baptized Jesus and many others. Before returning home, F Roy filled a large bottle with water from the River Jordan. A couple of times a year, he runs this remaining water through his Brita filter. For each baptism that he performs, he places a drop from this container. He now has only enough water to bless a few more baptisms; we were fortunate enough to be one of the recipients of this blessing. Today was also a very special day for F Roy, as he has never baptized a child adopted from China. It was so wonderful to share this special event in Charlotte’s life with so many friends and family in attendance.
Mommy was so pleased that her Godchildren Auntie Dale, Kaitlyn, Gregory, and Kristen accepted the responsibility to be Charlotte’s Godparents. Baptismal font
After church, many photos were taken with friends and family around the baptismal font before returning to our home for lunch. Father Roy with Mommy, Daddy, Charlotte, and Charlotte's Godparents: Auntie Dale, Kaitlyn, Gregory, and Kristen
Charlotte with Mommy and Daddy, Nana and Papa, and Charlotte's Godparents
Mommy, Daddy, and Charlotte
Nana with her four grandchildren
Charlotte with Uncle Roland, Samantha (one of Mommy's Godchildren), and Auntie Pam
Charlotte was quite intrigued with the baptismal font—-standing on a stool on her tip toes, Charlotte was just tall enough to peer over the edge of the font. From the look in her eyes, I think she was wondering how she could get in it for a big bath—-wouldn’t that be fun.
We had a lovely leisurely afternoon, visiting with friends and family. Charlotte enjoyed playing with her cousins and Suzanne’s children—-it was wonderful to hear the squeals of delight and laughter from the children playing upstairs in Charlotte’s room, which allowed the adults time to reminisce and catch up on each other’s busy lives.
Charlotte went to bed, a little later than usual, with Mommy and Daddy not far behind. I suspect Mommy and Daddy were both sound asleep before Nana and the rest of the family even got home in Scarborough.
Today, Siena, along with her parents Laura and Chia-yi, hosted a Christmas party lunch at their home for her China sisters—-the girls may not be biologically related, but they are certainly connected. The house was festive and all abuzz with the activity of 7 little girls, all beautifully dressed in their Christmas outfits and going in different directions, usually with parents not far behind. 4 of the 5 China sisters: Ella, Siena, Kate, and Charlotte
Charlotte and Mommy
Charlotte chillin'
Charlotte and Maya (Luannah's older sister)
In attendance were the 5 families that travelled together to China in August, to pick up our precious daughters from their home province of Hunan, and our dear friend Catherine, who had made the same journey a year ago and provided valuable guidance and support along the way, and her daughter Hannah. Catherine and Hannah reading Hannah's new book
After lunch, all 11 adults and 7 children congregated in the living room by the Christmas tree so that the girls could exchange Christmas gifts—-for a short period of time, it was a mad flurry of wrapping paper, bags, and bows. Siena, Charlotte, and Hannah checking out each other's gifts
The hit of the party was the popping machine that Luannah received. Siena, Charlotte, Maya, and Luannah playing with the ball popping machine
Once all the packaging was cleared away, we all gathered on the couch for a group photo. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Charlotte just did not want any part of this, getting quite out of hand on Mommy’s knee, bordering on a melt-down. Our travel group with Hannah
A short while later, after Christmas greetings and best wishes were exchanged, we headed home for a much needed rest. Charlotte was asleep before we got to the 401. The ride home was just a cat nap for Charlotte, but she showed no signs of wanting to continue her nap in her own crib. The rest of the evening was spent preparing the last minute things for Charlotte's big day tomorrow.
Just shortly after 7 am, Mommy was awakened after 5 short hours of sleep to Charlotte crying. Mommy sprang from her bed and rushed into Charlotte, fearing that she had thrown up in her sleep again. Whew! Charlotte was clean, but she felt a little hot and was agitated. So, the day and morning routine started a little earlier than usual.
Mommy left just after 9 am to go to a dentist appointment in Scarborough. Charlotte and Daddy stayed at home to play with toys and read books. Charlotte went down for her nap around 11 am, but after 45 minutes awoke with loud cries. Daddy went in to Charlotte to find that she had thrown up in her sleep. Daddy cleaned up Charlotte and sat with her on our bed to watch a children’s show. A little later, Daddy gave Charlotte some lunch, which we gobbled up. Later in the afternoon, Charlotte became quite whiny, so Daddy put Charlotte down for a nap, again. This time, Charlotte napped for a couple of hours.
Charlotte awoke from her nap just shortly before Mommy came home. Charlotte had a bath and played with her squirting toys before going downstairs to try some of the treats that Mommy brought home from a Chinese bakery Mommy and Daddy used to frequent when they went for infertility treatments. At first, it looked like Charlotte really enjoyed the red bean bun, but then she decided she didn’t care for it. She did, however, really enjoy the egg tart filling at first, and then the pastry with the filling.
Just before dinner, Mommy tried putting away Charlotte’s laundry while talking to a friend on the phone. Charlotte was trying to be helpful by taking the folded items out of her clothes hamper, but then she would drop them on the floor unfolded. As quickly as Mommy could pick up the items Charlotte had dropped, Charlotte would have another item in hand until Mommy could get the hamper to a higher location, out of Charlotte’s reach. Mommy eventually gave up and sat in the rocking chair to continue her conversation with her friend—-Charlotte then decided that she wanted to sit in the rocking chair and made so much noise about it that Mommy couldn’t hear on the phone until she moved. Charlotte would climb up and sit in the chair very briefly and then get down again to go off and play with something else, so Mommy would sit back down. Charlotte would then fuss again and the cycle would repeat itself.
In the kitchen while getting dinner ready, Charlotte tried to help Daddy unload the dishwasher—-she was quite a good little helper, trying to lift the plates and hand them to Daddy.
Charlotte’s eating behavior was a little off at dinner—-usually she gobbles up her meat, but tonight she wasn’t really interested in pork tenderloin and chose just to eat the rice and veggies. She insisted on feeding herself, but threw most of her meat on the floor.
After dinner, Charlotte and Daddy played upstairs while Mommy continued to put Charlotte’s laundry away, until it was time to go to bed. Sweet dreams little one—-tomorrow Charlotte will meet Santa face-to-face for the first time.
Around 5 am, Daddy reported to Mommy that he heard Charlotte chatting in her crib. Around 6 am when Mommy went downstairs to make coffee, Mommy heard Charlotte giggling in her crib, but when Mommy came back upstairs about 30 minutes later, there was no sound coming from Charlotte’s room. So, it looks like Charlotte went back to sleep. Charlotte awoke with loud cries at 7:45 am. She was laying in her crib with her head in the corner, making sounds. It took some convincing to get Charlotte to stand up to get out of the crib. Mommy and Charlotte enjoyed a nice long hug standing in the middle of her room while Mommy chatted to Charlotte and swayed back and forth—-Mommy really enjoys moments like this. When Charlotte lifted her head and motioned to turn on the light, we were ready to start our day.
Charlotte enjoyed her morning bottle while laying on a blanket on the office floor, occasionally stopping to play with her stacking boxes. She was quite content to busy herself for some time. Today, Charlotte kneeled down, put her face on her blanket, and patted her own bum with her hands—-we’ve never see her do this before. Charlotte enjoys sitting in her activity chair; however, she occasionally stands up on it, despite our constant requests to get down. Daddy took Charlotte to her Music and Movement class so that Mommy could attend her work Christmas party. Daddy reported that Charlotte enjoyed her class and participated well until close to the end when she wandered off to look out the windows. Daddy put Charlotte down for her nap when they got home; about 30 minutes later, Charlotte was crying as she had thrown up in her bed. Daddy stripped the bed, changed Charlotte, and took her to our bed to watch a little program. After lunch, Charlotte went down for a nap, which lasted a little more than an hour.
When Mommy got home, she got a really warm and happy welcome from Charlotte—-she was so excited to see Mommy that she got down off the bed and did a little dance. Mommy and Charlotte enjoyed many hugs and kisses until Charlotte wanted to get down to play in Mommy’s office chair.
Daddy ordered Chinese food for dinner—-Charlotte wasn’t as good an eater as she usually is. On our way downstairs, Charlotte said something very close to “downstairs.”
After dinner, we played on Mommy’s bed until it was time for bed. Mommy heard Charlotte cough a number of times just shortly after she went down. Mommy hopes that Charlotte isn’t getting sick, as she has a lot of parties and activities to attend next week and we’re putting up the Christmas tree this weekend. Mommy is eager to see Charlotte’s reaction to the whole Christmas scene and decorations in the house.
Once Mommy was sure that Charlotte was sound asleep, she snuck out of the house to go to a couple of Midnight Madness sales. Mommy was a little nervous stepping out the front door at 10:45 pm to go shopping after watching a Criminal Minds episode where a man hid in bushes late at night and abducted women. I have to say that Mommy was a little more careful than usual and very aware of her surroundings tonight.
The stores were crazy busy. You wouldn’t believe the traffic on the roads so late at night—-you would think it was 8 pm instead of well after midnight. Mommy made it home safe and sound to find her family fast asleep all snuggled up in their blankets. No one stirred as Mommy hid the bags in the “gift room.” The brisk cold air of the evening wakened Mommy right up, so with a cup of hot chai tea in hand and some soft music playing, Mommy settled down at her desk to write lists and catch up on messages. Mommy headed off to bed close to 2 am, knowing that Charlotte would be up sometime around 8 am, she hopes.
Charlotte’s waking time has been a little sporadic these days—-today she awoke just after 8 am. After breakfast, Mommy and Charlotte said “goodbye” to Daddy to head to Courtice to check out a jogging stroller and to do a number of errands on the way.
Before leaving the house, Mommy made all the appropriate calls to ensure that she was prepared with all the necessary documents and paperwork to complete her day’s errands. Our first stop was to Service Canada to obtain a Social Insurance Number for Charlotte. Mommy was surprised how big and clean this office was…and NO line-up. The receptionist took our name and we then sat in the waiting area. It wasn’t long before our name was called. Mommy provided what she was told were all the necessary documents—-NOPE! The gal wanted Charlotte’s adoption certificate. Makes sense, but we weren’t told that it was needed. So, this first stop was a bust. So, we were off to Courtice.
It was a long drive, during which Charlotte fell asleep, which Mommy expected. As we got further away from the city, especially off the highway, there was snow on the ground and it was quite a bit colder than when we left Ajax. The jogging stroller ended up being a total bust--the woman tried to show us the features of the stroller, but she couldn’t get it to fold up and then couldn’t get it to unfold. Daddy has been giving Mommy a lot of grief about buying the new jogging stroller, so Mommy was trying to purchase a second-hand one. So, the stroller was a bust.
We then ventured to the new Wal-mart that was around the corner from our last stop-—it was a beautiful, bright, and spacious store. We didn’t stop long before we were off again. Next stop, Service Ontario. While travelling, Charlotte managed to empty most of the contents of her sippy cup onto her car seat. Mommy caught her trying to pour the milk onto her shoe. No more sippy cups in the car.
The last two times Mommy was at this office for Service Ontario, there was very little waiting, but not this time. Upon arriving at the office, we were greeted by a receptionist who asked us the purpose of our visit. She gave us the proper paperwork, she hoped, and asked us to take a seat…number 503 in line; it looked like they were serving number 95. By the looks on the faces of the others waiting, it looked like this was going to be a long wait. Apparently, this office was training new employees, which explains why there had to be 10-12 people behind the desk, but only 3 wickets open.
Charlotte was quite chatty while sitting in her stroller. We shared a Rice Krispie snack and sang a little song where Mommy asked Charlotte to point to different parts of her body—-Charlotte did really well; she missed her tummy and her fingers but got all the other parts that Mommy asked for. Charlotte said “hi” to a number of people in the waiting area, but took a particular shine to a woman sitting across the room in a different area. Mommy thought our visit at the wicket would be quite quick, as they were just updating Charlotte’s information with the status of her Canadian Citizenship. On, no…not so. The fellow serving us had to make a call twice to get help with the computer. He assured us that he does this sort of update all the time, but couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t working today. The longer Mommy waited, the more agitated she got, as Charlotte was fussy and wanted to get out of her stroller. Finally, the fellow was able to update the status of Charlotte’s card and give us the documents needed to send us on our way; however, we left his wicket while he was still on the phone working out the problem with the file on the computer. Mommy hopes there aren’t any problems down the road, as the last time we were at this office, the gal submitted the documents incorrectly, which caused a 6 week delay in receiving Charlotte’s health card the first time. Ugh…almost another bust!
We were off again…next stop No Frills in Whitby to buy turkey and diapers. Mommy was sort of expecting another bust, as this was the last day of the sale, but to her surprise, there were a lot of turkeys and they were reaaaally big. With 2 turkeys and a box of diapers in our cart, we did a little more shopping before heading home. While in the produce section, Mommy ran into a gal she worked with who just had a little girl on November 27—-she’s a little cutie. Mommy chatted for a little bit and then headed for the check-out. Several times, customers stopped to say hello to Charlotte and commented on how cute she is.
Final stop…home. Daddy helped unload the car. We enjoyed a snack and caught up on the news of each other’s day. Charlotte had some of Mommy’s bran muffin and really liked it, asking for more. We then headed downstairs for Charlotte to play with Daddy while Mommy organized the freezer to make room for the turkeys. Mission accomplished, we headed upstairs to make dinner.
Charlotte had salmon, rice, green beans, carrots, and a little broccoli. Tonight, Charlotte wasn’t too fussy about the salmon or the carrots; she really wanted rice and broccoli. Despite her preferences, Charlotte ate really well. Mommy thinks Charlotte may be going through a little growth spurt. She has noticed that some of Charlotte’s clothes are fitting smaller than they did not that long ago.
After dinner, Charlotte played upstairs for a little while before it was time for bed, which I suspect Charlotte was more than ready for, as she had only about a 20 minute nap while travelling to Courtice and she yawned several times since arriving home late this afternoon. Sweet dreams, baby Charlotte.
It’s hard to believe that it is December already—-where does the time go?
Charlotte slept late today, waking just shortly after 9 am. We had a fairly low key day today, while Mommy worked on completing a submission for work.
After breakfast, Charlotte had a nice long bath, while playing with her tub toys. Daddy came to join us—-he made a water fountain by squirting water out of a couple of her toys. Charlotte was quite animated in the tub today and chattered quite a bit, especially when Daddy was creating the water fountain. At one point, Charlotte tried to drink from the fountain as if it were a drinking fountain but was surprised and shocked when she leaned too far forward and got water in her face. (We have a couple of short videos where Charlotte is chattering away, but I didn't think it would be appropriate to post on the blog.)
After Charlotte’s bath, Mommy bundled Charlotte up in a nice warm outfit and we went downstairs to play on the ride-on toys. Charlotte has mastered how to turn herself on the spinning top. She has the mechanics down, so now she will likely work on building up her turning speed. Dale’s children used to go crazy fast on this toy, giggling the whole time.
Charlotte had a lengthy nap today, which made lunch quite late in the day. After lunch, Charlotte and Daddy joined Mommy upstairs to read and play. Just before dinner, Mommy went to an appointment and ran some errands, so Daddy and Charlotte were on their own to eat dinner and continue playing unti bed time. Both Charlotte and Daddy were tuckered out and went to bed right on schedule.
