Charlotte meets her sister Deanna

At close to 11 last night, I put Charlotte to bed, even though I don’t think she wanted to, but I was more than ready for my bed. She fussed for a few minutes and then fell asleep. Charlotte got up at her usual time, sometime just after 8 am, happy with smiles and winks for both of us, as if late last night hadn’t even occurred.

It’s so funny to watch Charlotte when you approach with a bottle: she immediately lies down wherever she is and extends her little arms for her bottle. The look on her face when she takes that first sip is priceless. I feel like that some mornings when I enjoy that first cup of coffee.



Charlotte and I enjoyed some time together playing on the floor of our bedroom. I wanted to get some photos of Charlotte up close at her level, so I lied down on my tummy on the floor with my camera. I think Charlotte thought this was a game, so she did the same. Whatever I did, Charlotte did the same. The funniest was when I lied on my side with my head in my hand. I’m fairly certain Charlotte has never been in this position, but she eventually did it. After getting herself into whatever position I was in, she would always look at me, as if for approval, or to say “ok, what’s next,” and then giggle.



In the morning, both Dave and I were on the floor of our bedroom teaching Charlotte how to build with blocks. Charlotte mastered carrying two blocks in each hand—-she learned all on her own that the blocks need to be positioned a certain way in order to carry them. This task was not without its frustrating moments for Charlotte—she has a temper when things don’t go her way, but don’t we all, especially when we’re young. Charlotte enjoyed showing the baby in the mirror how she could hold the blocks in her hands. Charlotte tends to gravitate to mirrors and glass surfaces where she can see reflections of herself.



Daddy and Charlotte also showed mommy how they stack blocks, knock them over, and then say “oh, oh” while putting their hands to their mouths in surprise. Charlotte’s look of surprise was priceless. I really don’t think she could open her mouth any wider—it was so cute.



Mommy was trying some outfits on Charlotte. The outfit she’s going to wear to a party on the weekend has a little hat. Charlotte was quite taken with it and wouldn’t take it off. Of course, Charlotte wears this hat when it’s not needed, but refused to wear the hats I took for her when we were in China when her little head needed protection from the hot blaring sun.



Charlotte went down for her morning nap as usual without any fuss, likely worn out from all the playtime with daddy and mommy.

We had a busy day reorganizing the basement for mommy’s new craft area. Charlotte was quite content sitting in our spare car seat watching programs with daddy on daddy’s big screen television. It was the longest that I have ever seen Charlotte watch a program. She also had her blocks in her lap, so I suspect she was multi-tasking. Occasionally, she would come over to the area I was working in and just sit and watch me, with her blocks in her hands, of course. It was so cute to watch her watch me—-occasionally she would giggle, showing me her beautiful white teeth. Her eyes twinkle when she giggles and smiles.

Later in the afternoon, Charlotte met her sister Deanna (who lives in Calgary) for the first time. Deanna and Charlotte played together on the floor until it was time to make dinner—-Fajitas. Deanna fed Charlotte shredded cheese and introduced Charlotte to diced tomatoes, which she enjoyed, and red peppers, which she didn’t care for.

After dinner, Deanna enjoyed some time with Charlotte before she was off to bed. Deanna had to leave early in the morning to meet up with friends in Brampton to prepare for her girlfriend’s wedding this weekend, so our visit was short.



Just before midnight, Charlotte began to cry—-I went in to her right away, as I didn’t want her to wake up Deanna, as I knew she had an early morning and a long drive in rush hour traffic ahead of her. I brought Charlotte into our bed, which was a big mistake. She tossed and turned and starting babbling to herself. She definitely was not interested in going back to sleep. When she sat up and wanted to play, I knew we were in trouble. I changed her diaper and gave her another bottle-—worked like a charm. She was off to sleep.

Sorry for the delay in posting--more to come, so please check back

Sorry to be so long to update Charlotte's blog. It's been a big adjustment since we've been home, mostly because we weren't prepared for a totally mobile toddler before we left for China. Charlotte and I were really sick for at least the first week we were home--we both slept a lot so it's like that week doesn't even exist for me. I had also neglected my house before leaving, as I was extremely busy at work and there was just sooooo much paperwork and things to do to get ready for our big trip. At times, I felt like I was drowning in paper and the business of the adoption process. The last month or so before we left, my days were extremely long, preparing for the trip.

These days our routine is being established by Charlotte. When she naps, I try to get caught up on reorganizing the house for a mobile toddler. I'm sure once this is complete, I will have more time to try to stay on top of my journaling and photo downloading. Now to get some of these photos printed and into an album.

This morning as I was putting away some knitting projects I wondered to myself when I will ever get some time to knit or read again. I'm still working on the book that I took to China--I think I've read 2 chapters now. Well, it's not about me now--it's about Charlotte and our wonderful life we're creating together.

So, here is today's entry about our day:
Charlotte slept until about 8:15 this morning--she used to get up regularly at 6 am, sometimes 5 am, but now she sleeps later, but doesn't usually have an afternoon nap. I was glad that her sleep wasn’t interrupted by the terrible storms that we had during the night—-there was a lot of thunder and lightning. I’m not sure if Charlotte has ever experienced rain storms in China and so don’t know how she would respond, but I suspect like any child she would be frightened with the loud noise.




Today was a weird day for naps for Charlotte. We put her down for a nap at 11 am, as she was yawning and rubbing her eyes. Once she finished her bottle, she started to cry and threw everything out of her crib. We got her up, had lunch, and then played upstairs until Father Roy came to visit at 3 pm to discuss her baptism. Shortly after he left, Charlotte exhibited all the usual signs that she was ready for a nap. Silly us, we thought Charlotte finished her bottle and then went to sleep—noooo. When she started calling to get out, Dave went in to her to find her soaking wet. Our initial thoughts were that her diaper exploded, but the back of her head was soaked and there were a couple of beads of formula on the back of her neck. Once I looked at the bottle, I knew that she didn’t drink it. Upon further investigating, I discovered that Charlotte had emptied her bottle all over her, the sheets, her security bunny that she got in China, and one side of her bumper pads. So, we stripped the crib and her and put her in the tub and the bedding in the washing machine. So, as far as naps today, we were 0 for 2.

Charlotte enjoyed chicken for lunch and dinner. We tried mashed potatoes for dinner, but Charlotte really didn’t care for them. I think they felt strange sticking to the roof of her mouth. I suspect she'll likely have the same response to peanut butter when the day comes to introduce her to it. At lunch time, Charlotte drank from a sippy cup for the first time.




Today, Charlotte was really good at responding to her name. She also gave kisses on the lips when requested to do so. Charlotte continues to like to blink with both eyes. She also honked the horn of her car when asked to do so, most of the time. She also said “bye bye” or something very close to it while waving her hand the right direction.

Charlotte and daddy started playing a new game where daddy lays on the floor and rocks Charlotte on his foot. Charlotte had endless energy to continue playing this game, but I think it wiped out daddy—-he took a nap while Charlotte attempted to this afternoon.



Charlotte seems to get so distressed when I change her diaper and use a baby wipe. I think the baby wipes are cold compared to her hot little body, so today I got her a baby wipe warmer. Daddy thinks I’m nuts but it pains me to see such anxiety in Charlotte’s eyes even before I touch her with the wipe—-she arches her back and straightens her legs to make it more difficult for me to touch her with the wipe. I’ll see if there is any improvement tomorrow morning.

Charlotte was good as always going to bed; however, about an hour later, she started to fuss and it just escalated. When I went in to her for the second time, she was dripping with sweat. I wiped her down with a cool cloth, gave her some Tempra, and sat her on daddy’s knee to calm down--she sat there for the longest time, which is unusual for Charlotte, so I wonder if something is wrong. I don’t know when she’ll go to sleep. She’s still going strong at 10:15—she’s quite content to sit on the floor of the office beside Dave and take some items out of boxes. She’s playing with the boxes and tissue paper. I think she’ll be putting us to bed soon.