Pictures....

Finally, blogger let me post some pictures on here.

I can't believe we've now been home with Jenna for 3 months (on the 14th). 3 months doesn't seem like a long time when you think of it, yet it feels like we've been a little happy family for much longer than that.

There are so many 'firsts' that we get to spend with Jenna and it excites me to no end. Halloween is coming up and I can't wait for her to finally be a part of my crazy Halloween kiddie party and don't get me started on Christmas.....I. CAN'T. WAIT! I was at Costco the other day and saw the most beautiful 12ft pre-lit Christmas tree that would look absolutely gorgeous in my living room but I'm having a bit of a problem convincing the husband that we NEED TO HAVE THIS TREE!!!! He's all about practicality, which I love about him, whereas I am all about wanting a beautiful Christmas tree for my beautiful daughter to climb up on! I'll work on him this weekend and see if he'll cave. Oh, and if we get a new tree........we need new ornaments! He doesn't need to know that part!! Oh the fun the Jenna and I could have shopping for Christmas tree stuff. Okay, I'm starting to hyperventilate, must calm down.

Last year, I remember just wanting to crawl into a hole a week before Christmas and not wanting to come out until after New Year's. What a difference a year makes....especially when you have a new little daughter to love. Now I look forward to all the holidays and special occasions that we get to spend with my family and friends. Even children's birthday parties get me excited and I remember dreading those the most. I would watch everyone have a little someone to dote on while I sat on the couch in the corner just feeling useless and hoping I could just disappear. All that has changed now though. Jenna has taught me to play, laugh and love like I thought I never could and I thank God for her every second of every day!


Can you see the pony tail????? Victory AT LAST!















My little cutie.
















My little dancing Sumo















Jenna looks bigger than her cousin who is a year and half older!















My nephew Elijah and his bevy of ladies















The "Godparents"

This, that and the other....

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone for all of us Canadians and now, like many others, I am left with heaps of leftovers with not a lot of ideas of what to do with it. By the time I decide to make something out of it, it will need to be thrown in the garbage because it’s too old. Oh well, I’m not the greatest fan of leftovers anyway. And now with Gary being out of town all week, it’s just the babe and I around here. This will be the first time Daddy will be away from us for so long. Last night I heard Jenna rustling in her crib a bit so I took it as an opportunity to take her out and come and sleep with me. I’m such a little scardy cat, but it sure was nice having her in my bed to keep me company. I will really try to let her have a good nights sleep in her own bed tonight though.

Jenna has recently decided that she’s not really interested in her long naps during the day. She use to have 2 naps that were about 2 hours long and now I’m lucky if I get her to nap for an hour each time. She has now learnt how to stand up in her crib, which, when I witnessed it the first time on her monitor (we have a video monitor and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone!!), it freaked me right out. I was talking on the phone with my sister and heard that she had stopped whimpering after I put her down. I looked at the monitor and there she was, grabbing the camera off the wall. I think I scared her when I came running into the room. And now, if I don’t sit in the rocking chair beside her crib until she’s totally asleep, she’ll take the opportunity to stand up as soon as I leave the room. I usually come back when she’s gotten up and she just stares at me wondering “how does she know I’m standing the minute I stand up???” Little does she know that even when she’s older, I’ll know everything!! Even if I have to hide that camera up in the ceiling where she’ll never suspect it….I’ll KNOW EVERYTHING!!!

Our REAL appointment on Friday to the US Consulate in Calgary went fine. It was a long, boring day, but Jenna now has a US Visa that expires in 2011. We obviously won’t need it for that long since she will be getting her Canadian Citizenship soon, but it’s comforting to know that I will never have to go through that awful process again!

Here are a few new pictures of our little wonton…..

(okay, blogger is not playing nice tonight so I will try again tomorrow as I am toooooo tired to keep trying tonight!)

A giggle to melt your heart.....

Gary and I love to play this new game with Jenna where we let her chase us around the island in the kitchen. She giggles like there's no tomorrow and maybe, one day, we'll let her catch us!

Long time no post....

So it’s been a while since I’ve been able to blog. Could it be that I now have a WALKING, yes, WALKING child to follow around all day! Yes, my baby girl decided, pretty much on her own that she was finally ready to walk, and walking has been the name of the game pretty much since then.

Let’s back up a bit shall we?

Her baptism a couple of weeks of ago was wonderful. It was a long day for her but she managed to keep a smile on her lovely little face all day. The actual ceremony was pretty quick. A total of about 9 families had their babies baptized and the ceremony from beginning to end only took about an hour. We were warned during our baptism classes that the priest who was performing it is always very generous with the holy water, and man oh man, did he ever soak those kiddies. I mean whole hand fulls of water 3 times over…those babies were soaked. And he was just as generous with the holy oil that went on their foreheads. I could spike Jenna’s hair with it!! All in all, it was great fun and Jenna didn’t mind it all that much. And I was so worried that her hair was going to get messed up…silly mamma. After the baptism, we hosted a dinner at our local Chinese restaurant for about 40 people and it turned out really good. My sister and my niece flew out for it and it was so nice to have the two cousins together again.

Right after we got home from the baptism, we sat Jenna on her play mat and that’s when she had made up her mind to just get up and start walking. She probably was tired of Izzy (who now corrects you and says “No, Isabelle”) running circles around her all the time and all her other little friends (Sadie and Vanessa), that she’d just had enough of being immobile. Now she walks, albeit slowly, likes Frankenstein with her hands stretched out above her head. Too. Cute.

She’s growing too fast. Where is there a pause button on babies so that they can stay little forever? Her appetite sure has slowed down and has now taken to waving her hand furiously across her highchair to avoid any more contact with food. Needless to say, this mommy is getting a taste in patience as there always seems to be a mess all over the place. But I figure she’ll go through spurts where she’ll eat a lot and then other times when food just doesn’t interest her at all. All I know is that she sure is growing and getting heavier and heavier everyday so I’m not all that concerned that she’s not getting enough to eat. Of course, show her a cookie or something sweet and that swinging arm gets tucked in gently by her side. I think my little wonton has got a sweet tooth (I call her my little wonton when I wrap her up in her towel after her bath!!!).

Other than that, our days our filled with playing, eating and sleeping and before you know it, it’s bedtime, only to start all over again the next day. Jenna and I are all by our lonesome next week while Gary is out of town so that will be a challenge. She loves playing with her Daddy every night before and after dinner and I’m sure she’ll miss him loads (as will I) but it’s only a week…right? Sometimes when he calls during the day, I put him on speaker phone to talk to her. At first she gets a little scared, probably wondering why Daddy is in the phone, but then as he talks to her she has the biggest smile on her face and it’s enough to melt a mother’s heart. He’s a wonderful father (and husband for that matter) and it’s so nice to see the excitement in her face when he walks into a room.

So yesterday, we had an appointment at the American Consulate office to get Jenna’s US Visa for our trip to California in November. Their offices are in Calgary and, for those who don’t know, it’s a very long, very boring 3 hour drive from Edmonton so we packed up the truck and woke Jenna up at 6:00 to start our journey. I thought we were going to be late as our appointment was at 10:00am. We finally got there at about 9:50 so Gary dropped us off at the door so he could find parking, and in downtown Calgary, that’s not for the faint of heart. I got in and waited for a guard to escort me upstairs and he was looking on his sheet and he couldn’t find our appointment. Then he asked me to bring out my sheets and there, clear as freaking day, the date on the top of the form says OCTOBER 6, 2006. He says he’s sorry but our appointment is not until Friday and that I’d have to come back then. The first words out of my mouth were “My husband is going to kill me”. Probably not the best words to say in front of a Consulate Guard. Well my heart sank. So I headed for the door wondering what the heck I was going to say to Gary to get me out of this predicament…should I lie and say it was their fault? As I was walking out, he was coming in and I broke the news to him. He just looked at me, shook his head and we headed back to the truck. I asked him if he was upset and he said “Sh*t happens” and that was the end of it. I was fully prepared for him to pack Jenna up and leave me standing at the side of the road, but no, he was very understanding. Did I already say what a great guy he was? This is a guy who runs a very demanding business and is busy 26 hours in a day and for him to even take a day off to drive me there was very generous on his part…..only to go back again on Friday. I may be on my own, but that’s okay. Serves me right I suppose. When does Mommy brain go away?

Anyway, I’ll try to post some pictures…hopefully blogger will let me tonight. If not, I’ll try again tomorrow.

Jenna before she started walking unassisted. She'll find anything to push around and it doesn't even have to be a toy with wheels. Chairs and stools are fair game.















Again with the chocolates....I'm such a sucker! But look how adorable these turned out!

A bug's life.....

So halloween is coming up and as some of you know, I'm a little crazy when it comes to halloween. This year I will be hosting my 3rd Annual Halloween kiddie party and I will be equipped with such things as eye ball cupcakes and smoking cauldrons (dry ice). The kids (and the parents) have always looked forward to this event but this year will be extra special for me because my Jenna will be here to witness the true kookiness of her mother....and I can't WAIT! I know that halloween is still over a month away but there is alot of preparation involved in pulling it all together. Plus, with the fact that I have a child to tend to all day, I have to start planning extra early.

So last week I thought I'd get over the Old Navy to get one of the cute costumes they have out for toddlers but as I was getting some things over at Zellers, I saw this cute little caterpillar suit. I LOVED IT!!! However, my dear daughter didn't have the same love for it......
















And being the good mother I am, I didn't even put the camera down when she was clearly not happy about being a bug. A bug only a mother could love!!!


In other news, Jenna's baptism is on the 24th of this month. The baptism gown I bought for her in China JUST fits. Length wise it's okay but it's a little tight around the Buddha belly. Oh well, she'll only have it on for a few hours. And I'm sure by then she will be walking up a storm. Right now she can pretty much take about 5-6 steps all on her own before falling into your arms. She's standing alot more, but still is struggling to get from a sit position to a standing position. All in due time I suppose.

And for those of you who keep asking about the sores on her head....the shampoo that the dermatologist prescribed to me last week as worked it's magic and it seems that there are no new sores forming and the old sores are pretty much drying up. Who knew after all these months that a simple shampoo would do the trick!!!

I will leave you all with this picture of my baby girl in her white silk baptism gown....my little angel is getting so big!!!!

Jenna on the swing....

Jenna loves going to the park down at the end of our cul-de-sac and being pushed on the baby swing. I could listen to that laugh all day.....

I'm a bad blogger....

I have such great intentions when it comes to my blog. Every little thing Jenna does that’s so cute or a new milestone that she’s conquered or even just some silly thing she did during the day, I think are all cause for a blog entry BUT I never seem to find the time to sit in front of my computer and compose something that I think would be interesting enough for all of you who follow my blog. I sometimes think I’ll sound like just another first time mommy who is absolutely head over heals in love with her little girl that how she ate her yogurt in the morning or how many poos she had in a day would be interesting to anyone other than me….and maybe her daddy.

A day in the life of little Miss Jenna is pretty much the same….busy! I try to make it so that there are a couple of days during the week where we have nothing planned or don’t have to go out and run errands but lately, there aren’t many down days in this household. My life before Jenna would have me out of the house pretty much all day doing…well….not a lot of things that were necessarily productive but a lot of fun for me. Things that I think about every now and again and think I may get to do again when Jenna is older and in school. Things like play a round of golf (badly) during those beautiful summer mornings and not care how long it takes, go for lunch and a movie once a week or just go out to eat at a nice restaurant and not have to tear food into tiny bite sized pieces or bring my famous diaper bag that literally has everything Jenna might need for a week away (I’m still learning that I don’t need 10 diapers for an afternoon out!). But all those thoughts sort of fade away when I think of how much I love having my little sidekick to hang out with all day. All that other stuff is nice to be able to do, but she is my best work in the making!

Tomorrow is her long awaited dermatology appointment and it can’t come soon enough. When we were in China, she would get these sores on her head that she would scratch like nobody’s business, and then they would start to puss and get all gross. It would come, stay a few days and then go away, only to come back a few days later. Well, it hasn’t stopped and in fact, it started to get worse. I’ve been to the pediatrician who thought it was scabies so we treated her for scabies….not scabies, then she tested them for parasites….not parasites. Over the weekend we went boating on the river and I thought she got a few insect bites on her arms. Then a few days ago, I thought she had bumped her head on something because there were a few marks on her forehead. Well it turns out that all of the sores weren’t what I thought, they turned out to be the same thing she’s got on her head, in all its pussy glory. So hopefully tomorrow I can find out exactly what it is and get rid of it once and for all. She never really complains much about it. She usually scratches them when she sleeping or when she actually looks at them and remembers they’re there. I did put 2 band aids on her arm and today, when she was getting up from her nap, I walked into her room and noticed she had something in her mouth. Well, she had picked both band aids off and was chewing on them. Thank goodness I walked in when I did or she would have choked and I don’t know baby CPR! I think I scared her when I freaked out because she started doing the ‘ugly cry’, you know the one where you can’t seem to catch your breath. Poor thing.

Today we met Jenna’s China cousin 'A' and her mom for lunch. They haven’t really seen each other since China and it was so nice to see her again. ‘A’ has been learning sign language and is the cutest little smarty pants, and then there’s my Jenna, babbling whatever to whoever, throwing food all over the floor and picking her nose (okay, so she wasn’t picking her nose but she may as well have, she was being naughty!). It was great fun anyway to have the girls together again.

Well that's it for tonight...the morning comes too fast. I haven't downloaded my pictures from my camera yet but I'll try to get pictures on here tomorrow.

Jenna's video debut...

Just a little something I've been working on.....enjoy!

(to watch on the blog, click the play button on the bottom left hand corner. Just a warning...it's 10 minutes long and you need sound!)

Time flies when you're having fun!!

Wow, I can't believe that it's almost September and we've been home for over a month and a half. The days seem to go by so fast lately it almost makes me sad that. Before I know it, my little Jenna is going to grow up! I would love for her to stay the age she is now because I just can't imagine how much more fun she can possibly be. I'm having so much fun being her mom, and I'm sure it helps that she is such a good, well natured baby. Whether it's running errands and being in a car during her waking hours, or going shopping at the mall, she's always so easy to please and is just happy when either her Daddy or I are around her. I love it when her daddy comes home from work and she starts to kick her legs and reaches for him even before he has a chance to put down his things. I also love it when you do that one silly thing that brings out the deep-down belly laughs. And I love it when you ask her for a kiss, she leans into you with her mouth open ready to give you a slobbery kiss. Now if all that doesn't warm a mother's heart, I don't know what does!

I keep saying that she's going to start walking any day now, but, other than 2 or 3 unassisted steps, she still hasn't 'officially' walked. She has, however, started to use furniture to get around and can stand for longer periods of time. She now knows that the distance between her butt and the floor isn't really that far so she would rather fall on her butt than stand sometimes. Oh well, it isn't like we're not trying!!!

I've finally booked an appointment this week to get her 1 year photos done, so hopefully I'll be able to post a few on here when I get them. Until then, here are a few photos of my little Empress. I seem to be doing very badly on camera duty lately. I just keep forgetting to take the darn thing with me all the time. I'll try to be better!


Jenna's feet at the 'beach' where we take our boat out to.
















Jenna being all proud to be standing all by herself!

More pictures....

Jenna hanging out with her cousins and her cousins' cousins in the backyard















Jenna, Alex and Izzy by the World Waterpark at West Edmonton Mall















The "Empress" awaiting her cake















Alex giving Jenna her first taste of a Drumstick....mmmmmm















Jenna and Izzy at the beach on the North Saskatchewan River. Jenna didn't like that we covered her feet with sand...on the other hand, Izzy is delighted!!!

Family fun.....

So my family from California who have been staying with us for the past 3 weeks are now back home, safe and sound. It’s been a crazy few weeks full of family gatherings, road trips, family reunions, shopping and eating…..lots of eating. I feel like I was on vacation!! Jenna had such a good time with her cousins (and Nina and Nino) and was showered with love each and every day. The day after they left, I could tell she was looking for them at every turn. She was very sad to see them go (as was I). I was even too busy to blog…..sorry about that.

Over the last few weeks, many celebrations were had on Jenna’s behalf. First off, there was her birthday party which turned out fantastic. Jenna was a little overwhelmed at all the family at first but after her nap (she had 2 that day), she opened up and was completely adorable. I don’t know that she really knew what was going on or even what to do with the cake! Do one year olds really know it’s their birthday anyway??? Then a week after there was the family baby shower that my best friend Kelly threw for me. My mom and my aunties pretty much handled all the food and boy was there a lot of food. It was a great shower with a lot more toys to fill her play room and clothes to fill her closet. Then, the weekend after that (just this past Sunday), there was the friend shower that my other best friend Erica threw for me. It was much tamer than the shower before and was just the right size to be able to share food and conversation with close friends.

Jenna continues to flourish everyday. She still isn’t walking or crawling but she’s able to stand for a few seconds at a time, when she feels like it. I’m sure she will be walking in no time, although, I don’t know that I want to push her all that much. It’s nice to sit her down on the floor and know that she’ll pretty much be in the same spot when I come back!!! She’s now able to play by herself for longer periods of time without having me or Daddy by her side every second. This, in itself, is great as it allows me to get things done during the day!!! It was so great having my nieces around as they pretty much played with her non-stop, leaving me to get a lot done. I wanted to keep them both just for that very reason, and also because I love them so much!!! She also babbles a lot more and can play cute little games with you. Grandma taught her how to play Close-Open (a silly little Filipino song) where she opens and closes her hands. What’s really cute is when all of us (Grandma, my sister and I) sing and she’ll dance and dance….it’s the funniest thing to watch and we did it over and over again when we were out at my brother-in-law’s parents’ house for dinner one night. Too bad I didn’t whip out the camera!!!

Jenna has now been with us for a month and half and I still stare at her in amazement and wonder how in the world we got such a wonderful baby. I honestly can’t imagine my life without her. She seems to take everything in stride. She’s met so many new people since she’s been home and she’ll fuss with a few people but she’s pretty much happy with everyone she meets. I have a big family so when we have a family gathering, you know it’s going to be huge. I wanted to introduce her to this scene early as this is something she will grow up knowing and, I’m sure, loving as she gets older. I know I love it when my family gets together. It can be chaos sometimes, but just having all of them around warms my heart and I’m sure Jenna will feel the same way too.

Jenna's first trip to Galaxyland in West Edmonton Mall















Jenna and her adorable cousin Izzy in matching bikinis (see her bouda belly...)
















Jenna's 1st Birthday Party (she actually kept that clip in her hair for a couple of hours!!)















(blogger won't let me post any more pictures....I'll try again later!!)

My goofy girl....

Here's that goofy picture I was trying to post the other day. This was in Beijing after one of her baths that she just loves so much. She now loves getting her hair combed and when I do it, she just stares at herself in the mirror and smiles. I guess vanity can be learned at a very early age!!

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Girl!!!

Today our Jenna is officially 1. I can't believe we've been home for only 12 days. It feels like months! I think I can honestly say that we're all over our jet lag and are finally getting into some routine at home. There were a few days last week that I thought I would pull my hair out as Jenna showed us how badly she hated sleeping in her crib. She was fine for a couple of days and actually slept quite soundly, but all of a sudden, she was not having it. We tried everything to console her after she woke up just hours after being put to bed but nothing seemed to work. This went on for a couple of days. We finally caved and let her sleep in our bed and now she goes to bed at 8:00pm, gets up between 6:00am - 7:00am, down for her morning nap at 9:00, sleeps for 2 hours and down again around 2:00 and down for 2 1/2 hours. It certainly can't get any better than that. Also, at the advice of a friend with 3 of her own, I started giving Jenna a bottle before every nap and bedtime. This has worked like a charm and when she sees that bottle, she knows it's time for a sleep. She had her first appointment with her adoption practitioner on Monday and she really had some great comments and advice. I value her opinion as she has adopted internationally herself and knows first hand what we're going through. She asked if Jenna was sleeping in our bed and when I said yes, she said that it's a good thing as these babies are most likely use to co-sleeping. Also, she said that this is a very crucial time in the bonding and attaching process and Jenna needs to feel safe with us, and if that means losing a few hours of sleep because our baby girl likes to spread eagle and hog our whole king size bed, so be it. Over the last few days, her personality is really starting to come out. She likes to babble to herself and sometimes it really sounds like she's telling us a story complete with hand gestures and the different tones in her voice. Her doctor says that her developmental age is about 9-10 months, which is completely normal and she suspects that when we go to see in her in 2 months, that she'll be caught right up. This parenting gig is alot harder than I thought it was ever going to be. In China, I had Gary with me 24/7 so it was easier to get things done, but now that I'm home with her during the day by myself, I can't seem to get anything done. She's slowly starting to be able to play by herself on the floor but not for long periods of time. She needs to be able to see and hear me at all times or the whining starts. I know this is a good thing and I have to remind myself of this, but it can be trying at times. Other than my house being turned upside down and my laundry not getting done in a timely manner, I love spending my days with her. Whether it's going out shopping, running errands, or just sitting at home playing, I can't imagine my life any other way. As hard as it is, the good definitely outweighs the bad and I love her to pieces! This weekend we're having our family come out and celebrate her birthday with us. My sister and her family are coming in from California on Friday so they, as well as my aunts and uncles, will be meeting Miss Jenna for the first time. It should be alot of fun!

I'll post her birthday pictures on the weekend, but until then, here is a picture I love that we took in China after her bath. She's got some crazy hair and her mommy can't wait for it to grow out so that we could put some pretty bows and clips in it!!!

(Okay, blogger doesn't want to post pictures right now....I'll try again later!)

We made it home!!!

We’re home!!!! I’m so happy to be able to post from my own computer, from my own computer room, sitting on my own chair! You take for granted the comforts of home until you’re in a different country with a new baby, confined to a small hotel room and are reduced to doing dishes with boiling water as well as bottled water!!! Needless to say, there’s no place like home.

Let’s back up to where I left off in China. Our last full day in China included a Rickshaw Tour of Old Beijing. Riding in a covered Rickshaw sure beat walking in the heat, we really quite enjoyed it And Jenna loved it as well, when she was awake!! The scenery was beautiful and the people, as always, interesting. There were a few scary moments as our Rickshaw driver weaved in and out of the other Rickshaws in our convoy and really knew how close he could get to another one without tipping us over….very talented young man!! And some of the alley ways were quite narrow so that made it even scarier, although, as always, Gary enjoyed the adventure. We were privileged enough to be able to visit the house of a lovely couple, Mr. & Mrs. Quing, who let us take pictures and ask questions about their house and their lives. A very nice couple. The house was actually one of the nicer residences we’ve seen in our travels.

After the tour, we headed back out to the silk market to get some more goodies including a new suitcase to take back all the goodies we bought….and we bought a lot! Later that evening, the group went out for a Peking Duck dinner. It was a quick walk from our hotel and we were all ushered up to the second floor (a little difficult with all the strollers) and we got a big room all to ourselves. Gary picked a great place to sit…right by the air conditioning box so it was a little more comfortable for us. The dinner was great, a few dishes that I stayed away from, but all in all, a great dinner. One of the highlights of the evening was getting all the babies to pose for a picture. Well this turned out to be a gong show! Our guide had all the babies from Wanzai (that’s Jenna’s group) to pose first and before the last baby was placed on the bench; the crying started and continued while the pictures were being taken. It was a spectacle to say the least, but as the babies were crying, us parents, who were frantically taking pictures, were finding this quite humorous. Poor babies. Then the Le Ping group of babies sat for their pictures and of course, they showed up the Wanzai group as they all sat there happily with no tears shed. Oh well, it’s just one more story to tell right?

After dinner, we just headed back to the room and put Jenna to bed and Gary and I tackled the job of packing. We actually did quite well and didn’t even need one of the carry-ons we came with. In the morning, we had our breakfast, said goodbye to some of our travel mates and then headed off to the Silk Market AGAIN!!!! Since we didn’t have to leave the hotel until 1:20pm, we had a bit of time to kill. We came back, got everything packed and had our bags sitting outside our door at noon, then went and had some lunch before heading out to the airport. Again, Gary pointed out to me that we had more bags than anyone else around us as we had to load our bags onto a trolley once we got to the airport. I think he was probably right as we got a lot of stares as we maneuvered our way through the airport. Our flight to Vancouver was pretty uneventful. Jenna pretty much slept for the first 2 hours, woke up to play a little and went back to sleep for another 5-6 hours. Gary was even able to watch a couple of movies while she slept, it couldn’t have turned out any better. Since we were in Business Class, we made a bed for her on the floor in front of us and she looked quite comfortable. As we were going down the escalator towards Customs once we were in Vancouver, the line up was the longest I’ve ever seen and I thought for sure we would miss our connection, but it actually was a breeze as we, and the other 4 families in the group, got ushered through all the line ups. The last leg home she was a bit whiney but it was expected. We fed her a little and she slept a little, and then all of a sudden, we were just about ready to land. We were met by close friends and family and it was so great to be able to see everyone and finally be home. The only casualty was the loss of one of our bags, which turned out to be the one full of our dirty clothes so I wasn’t really in that much of a hurry to get it back since it just meant I had to wash them all. We did end up getting it delivered to us the next day.

When we got Jenna home, I walked her all over the house and she just looked around with wide eyes just soaking it all in. Everyone kept saying how much she was going to love our salt water tank but her interest in it didn’t last very long. I really think she thought we were just in another hotel.

We’ve now been home for 4 days and slowly getting into a routine. The first couple of nights home, she slept quite well. A little whimper here and there but nothing that a few minutes of back stroking and bum patting couldn’t cure. We thought we were in the clear with all this jet-lag nonsense and in only a matter of days to boot….until last night when she had a complete melt down. The day started out with her not wanting to get up until 10:00am, at which point I physically had to wake her myself, then she didn’t have an afternoon nap, then we put her to bed late because she had lots of visitors and didn’t want to have an afternoon nap until 6:00pm and then she didn’t end up going to bed until 10:30. Then she got up at 11:30 and decided to just scream on the top of her lungs. I tried calming her and then Daddy tried calming her and nothing seemed to work. Finally, we plunked her on our bed sitting up, put some toys in front of her to play and she finally conked out at around 3:30am. This gave Daddy a whole 2 hours to sleep before he had to go to work! Needless to say, I got a few phone calls today to make sure she didn’t nap for too long so she’d be good and tired by the night time. It’s now 10:00pm and she’s been sound asleep for the past ½ hour. Here’s hoping she sleeps through the night! I do have to remind myself that she has really only been home for 4 days and her little body needs more than that to get use to everything but being the good baby that she has been for us, I guess I just expect her to adjust in no time at all. Bad mommy.

Other than last night, she seems to be adjusting quite well to her new surroundings. We get a lot of comments on how good natured Jenna is, and we quite agree. We are still amazed everyday at how fantastic she’s been handling everything that has gone on in her short little time on this earth. I sometimes watch her playing with her toys or watch her with her Daddy and I just can’t believe that she’s finally home with us. After so many months of paperwork, waiting, preparing and waiting some more, our family of two has now become three. My heart is fuller than I ever imagined it would be. I think of my life before her and it’s hard for me to remember because it really does seem like she’s been with me forever. I guess in a way she has because the thought of her has been in my heart years before ever laying eyes on that sweet, beautiful face. The waiting and the tears and the longing for a family are no longer, and it truly just doesn’t get any better than this!

Thank you to all the people who commented on the blog and emailed us while we were in China. I was able to read them all and was humbled that we were thought of so much. We’ll never forget our China Journey. It was an amazing trip to a future full of joy, until of course she grows up and becomes a teenager…..stay tuned!

Here are just a few more pictures of the last few days of our trip and our first few days home. I seem to have reached my maximum amount of pictures today so I'll try again tomorrow.



Jenna's first limo ride (Gary looks a little stunned to finally be on his way home)















Jenna with Tita Erica














Jenna with Grandpa














Jenna's welcoming committee (Tita Kelly, Meghan and Sophie)















Some more friends (Auntie Terri, Auntie Lynne, Meghan, Sophie & Tita Kelly)














Ms. Jenna enjoying the long flight from Beijing














Ms. Jenna sitting so pretty














The 'Wanzai Walers'














The 'Le Ping Ladies'

Pictures...cont'd

Peking Duck restaurant














Peking Duck dinner

















Rickshaw Tour














Following the convoy of Rickshaws














Mrs. Qing and her house















Need I say more?















Fruit Stand














Our fearless Rickshaw driver















A happy Jenna on the Rickshaw

And what else......more shopping!

Today seemed to be a repeat of the past few days here, filled with more shopping. We ended up skipping the Silk Factory tour in the morning but instead, went with a few other families back to the silk market. Let’s just say that Jenna will have enough shoes and silk dresses until she’s about 5. After spending a couple of hours there, we headed over to Pizza Hut for lunch with T & H before walking back to the hotel to catch another bus to yet another market. They’re all starting to look the same to me. Our guide Marui did take us to a little jewelry shop that sold Chinese pendants so that was really cool. After that shopping trip, we went out for dinner with a bunch of families to a Chinese restaurant across the street from our hotel. One of the families had our guide write down some dishes in Chinese so that it would be easier for us to order…things like Lemon Chicken and Sweet & Sour Pork but we were told they didn’t have it. Good thing they had pictures for some of the dishes so we just used the point and order method and hoped for the best. It ended up being really tasty. There were 4 families at our table and the bill came to $10 per family for about 7 or 8 dishes! You can’t beat that price. After dinner, we started walking back to our hotel and when we got out from the under ground tunnel, the rain storm was just ready to hit so we made a run for it. Jenna started crying because she was flailing around her stroller as Gary ran for shelter so he had to take her out and run while carrying her. We got into the hotel just in time as once we got up to our room, we heard the rain and the thunder. I think we’re going to get a repeat of last night….the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard in my life. The one good thing about this weather is that it only seems to rain at night and during the day is actually quite beautiful.

Tomorrow will be our last full day here in China as all the families are leaving on Friday…some earlier to get to Toronto, and about 4 or 5 families heading to Vancouver a few hours later. I can’t believe our trip is finally coming to an end. I know that in one of my earlier posts I wrote that we’re eager to get home but it’s also bittersweet to be leaving the country who gave us the family we’ve been dreaming of for years. Jenna continues to amaze us everyday with her personality and her resilience. She’s quite simply the most perfect child for us and I will be forever grateful to this country for making that happen. It’s just so hard to imagine that she’s ours to love for the rest of her life; it chokes me up every time I look at her. This whole adventure has been just so emotional. Now that our China journey is coming to and end, I hope that her transition to Canada will be as smooth as when we first got her. At least here, she still recognizes the language somewhat and the sights and sounds are still what she’s use to, but, once again, things are going to change for this little girl, and goodness knows that she’s been through enough. I’m counting on that resiliency to shine through. I’m just attaching a few shots of our girl in one of many of her happy moments….enjoy!


(Okay, I can't seem to post any pictures.....I'll try again tomorrow, I'm too tired to keep fighting with blogger tonight!)

Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square

So yesterday we didn’t end up going out for dinner with the group as Jenna had barely napped during the day and she was a bit whiny so we settled on just having dinner with T & H and then walked over the supermarket and Starbucks before calling it a night. Jenna was in bed by about 8:00 and didn’t wake up until just before 8:00am. Again I had to wake her as we had to have breakfast and hop on the bus for 9:30. This little girl loves her sleep!

Today we went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was a very hot day and the grounds were very crowded. I don’t know that it was the best outing to have taken with the baby today but she survived it….she’s our little trooper. I can’t say that much for Gary and myself as we were feeling pretty closter phobic at times. I’m not quite sure where the Square ended and the Forbidden City started but, like the Great Wall, it was absolutely exquisite. It’s very hard to describe the beauty of it all and the pictures will hardly show the shear magnitude of the grounds. Our whole group, minus maybe one family who stayed behind, all got their picture taken in front of Chairman Mao’s picture. It was quite a spectacle trying to get 17 or so families to all pose for a picture, with all the strollers lined up, but what was even more magnificent was how the cameramen managed to usher the people to stop or walk around us so as not to ruin the shot. You have to imagine thousands of people in this square, practically on top of each other, and not one person walked between the cameraman and all of us for a good 10 minutes while we all got settled. And there must have been a good 60-70ft between us and the camerman. We all must have caused quite a scene because as our picture was being taken, everyone around us was also snapping pictures of all of us. It was really quite bizarre. I could try to tell you the whole story behind the Square and the City but I only know the bits and pieces that our guide told us on the bus ride there, and quite frankly, I don’t have the energy to type it all out even if I did remember it all. I knew there was a reason I brought a tape recorder with me, but I never seem to remember to bring it with me and my memory on good days is really no good so sorry about skipping the history lesson….you’ll have to just google it!!!

After the tour, we ended up having to wait a good 45 minutes to an hour for our bus to come and pick us up. Imagine, we all left the hotel at 9:30 and didn’t get back until 2:00pm. That made for pretty hungry, grumpy babies! And the heat, the noise, and the crowds surely didn’t help any of us. Jenna had some lunch and crashed for a good nap. Then the bus came to pick us up again to make a trip to the Pearl Market. Gary thinks I’m helping the Chinese economy with all my spending. I bought myself a few things and also got Jenna some earings and a necklace for when she’s older (I’ll have to see how long I can hold out on giving them to her!). They also had a few floors similar to the silk market by our hotel full of clothes, shoes, purses and, well, pretty much everything so I put my best bargaining foot forward and came out with some really great deals. Bartering has become a dance that I do quite gracefully and I love it! It must be the cheap Pilipino in me oozing out. Gary is just so happy to watch and when approached by one of the sales ladies, he points to me and says “She’s he boss”. Smart man.

For dinner we went to TGI Friday’s. WHO KNEW!! It was really good. Gary and I got our chicken wing fix and except for the fact that our baby decided to poop her pants right as my meal was coming, it was great! They played loud English music and Jenna was just jamming. We’ve never seen her dance so much, swaying back and forth. It was just the cutest thing ever. And of course, who forgets the camera….ME!

Tomorrow is a shopping day (like every other day here) but we’re not going to partake in the Silk Factory tour in the morning, because I’m just not all that interested in how silk is made. I’m sure it’s fascinating and all, but we’re just going to let Jenna sleep in and wake up on her own but we will be going to a market in the afternoon where there will be more bartering and great deals to be had I’m sure.


The Forbidden City














Chairman Mao















A sea of goofy hats we all bought for less than $1















The papparazzi taking our photos while ours were being taken














Olympic Games site
















The countdown















Young school girls who asked to take Jenna's picture















All of us waiting for our bus....not happy campers.
















But this face makes up for any bad day!