Ah, today was peaceful: no tours, no schedule, no nothin' but hanging about with the kids. I know life will continue to change and we're not in for peace from now on, but I'm just grateful for one day of it!
Either (a) they were more calm or (b) we were and it rubbed off on them (it's hard to tell which, kind of like the chicken and the egg thing) but things were good. Ren was less 'hitty' (I hesitate to say 'violent' because it seems like an overstatement) and had less tantrums today and Claire was not as grouchy and bossy as she has been. Thanks for all the advice and suggestions on my previous post. It's helpful to know we're not the only ones who have been through this! We have been doing timeouts with both kids (both nearby us, within view) but today there were less thankfully. I laughed when I read Dawn's comment about how hard it was to give her daughter repeated time-outs after her brother came along because we're in the same boat: Claire has rarely received them in the past and now she's had many! I suspect that Claire relieved a lot of built-up tension yesterday when she had her huge meltdown and I'm sure knowing that we're headed home soon is also comforting to her.
Today, Ren began repeating more words! Our efforts at teaching him to kiss also paid off; tonight he gave me, Paul and Claire our first kisses. It was so incredibly sweet. He's a pretty funny little character. He's very impatient to eat: when the food arrives at the table, he wants to devour it immediately which he usually can't because it's too hot. That prompts a little pouting or mini trantrum from which he quickly recovers. If he has something a little sour (even orange juice), he shrugs his shoulders up high and makes an adorable scrunchy face. After a meal, he takes off his own bib. So far, he sits pretty well for a meal. We hope that continues because we really enjoy family dinnertime at home.
Right now it's 9:30 on Thurday, March 5 and we're about to start packing. We leave the hotel tomorrow in the early afternoon and will fly out at around 5:30 p.m. We arrive back in Edmonton on Friday night (Edmonton time). I'm not as introspective about leaving China as I was last time but I think that's because there's not a lot of time for that - we're just trying to survive! But I am very grateful to this country for giving us our family. China has been very good to us once again in all possible ways, and I know we will be back many times in our lives. Just not for more kids ;)
This will be our last post from China, and I want to thank all of our friends and family back home for following along on our journey. Thank you for connecting with us by leaving comments or praying for us or sending happy vibes. Whatever you are doing, we feel it. It hasn't been an easy journey (not that we thought it would be) and we truly believe we got through it with your help and support from the other side of the world.
Lots of love,
Monica, Paul, Claire and Ren
ps - A few of you have commented about how often I have been posting to the blog while in China. I surprised myself too! Somehow the kids' sleep schedules accommodated it and it was the most relaxing thing I could find to do. I also loved being able to connect with all of you back home. As many of you know, I will turn this blog into a book for Ren so I also wanted it to be as 'in the moment' as possible. I doubt he'll like my discussions about hitting, etc. but hey, I can always edit, edit, edit! (Or I'll simply say, "But look at you now!")
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sleep
It's naptime so I'm using this time to get a bunch of posts in. I thought I'd better do it now too because I'm not having any trouble posting photos today. Sorry to be 'absent' for a few days and then hit you with so many at once!
This particular post is about sleep. It's been good, thankfully. Quite often people experience 'normal' sleeping here with the kids only to experience major sleep problems back at home. I'm trying to get some good rest in here because who knows what awaits us!
The first three pictures are from Forever Family Day, our first night together.
Just before 'lights out':
This particular post is about sleep. It's been good, thankfully. Quite often people experience 'normal' sleeping here with the kids only to experience major sleep problems back at home. I'm trying to get some good rest in here because who knows what awaits us!
The first three pictures are from Forever Family Day, our first night together.
Just before 'lights out':
Respite for a weary boy and his sister:
Just like Claire, Ren tends to flip over in his sleep. Here they are both upside down:
This is how Ren fell asleep today at naptime:
He had been reading a book and then, voila! I've never seen anyone get so 'flat'!
Lifelong friends
We were sad to say goodbye to our friends, Carolyn, Marvin and Jaida this morning but happy for all the new memories we created on this trip. We're also excited for the next phase of their journey: reuniting with Kennedy and introducing their girls to each other. We look forward to hearing all about it!
Their beautiful Jaida is three today. Happy Birthday, Jaida! May you enjoy every minute of your super-long birthday! (Because of the time change, they'll experience Jaida's birthday for nearly 40 hours.)
We subjected the kids to one last photo shoot:
And then the moms got in the picture. This one is especially for Beth, Kathleen, Shea and Raelene!
Their beautiful Jaida is three today. Happy Birthday, Jaida! May you enjoy every minute of your super-long birthday! (Because of the time change, they'll experience Jaida's birthday for nearly 40 hours.)
We subjected the kids to one last photo shoot:
And then the moms got in the picture. This one is especially for Beth, Kathleen, Shea and Raelene!
Goodbye China party
As most of our travel mates are departing today, our 'Goodbye China' party was last night. We had a great meal and then were treated to some entertainment. For our travel mates and other FOI-ers who are following this blog, it was in the same location as last time and you'll recognize the cake and the fire-hazardous candle!Ren wasn't sure what to think about the clown:
And Claire was scared of this guy:
That's OJ in Claire's Tsingtao glass.
By the way, the clip in Claire's hair says "Big Sister". It was a special gift from a close friend. Claire proudly wore her beautiful clip many days of our trip.
And finally, the candle ...
Busy, Busy
The title of this post refers to our last few days, as well as our toddlers! We've actually had lots of free time but somehow it fills up fast with our own activities.
We had Monday morning off and then met for a trip to the Summer Palace. It was relaxing to be there for the second time - I didn't have to take a million photos because I already have them all - and the weather wasn't too cold for the kiddies. Ren had a nice little snooze for much of the walk so that helped out with the long walk too. He fell asleep with a cracker in his mouth:
We and many of our travel mates got swarmed by other visitors to the Summer Palace that day. I had forgotten what a curiousity we are. I went into a store to get snacks for the family and returned to find this sight:
That afternoon, we went to the silk factory. We skipped this part of the tour last time. I didn't buy much - just a jacket for myself and an outfit each for the kids - but it was very interesting to see how silk and some of the products are made. That night when we returned to the hotel, we had a tailor come to our room to measure Paul and Ren for custom made suits. Paul chose to get two business suits made for a steal at about $250 each. We also got a little black suit with a subtle pinstripe made for Ren and two dress shirts for him. Since it's so small with such tiny seams and details, his was expensive in comparison - $100 for the suit and about $45 for each shirt. But it is sooooo cute! We'll use the suit for his baptism and possibly a family wedding this year, and I know we won't regret the expense at all.
It was a neat experience having the suits made for the boys. They measured the boys on Monday, brought over unfinished suits on Tuesday to check for fit, and brought the beautiful finished products here this afternoon (Wednesday). A big thanks to Marty and Cecile for letting us know our guide could arrange this!
Here are Paul and Ren with the tailors:
The shopping continued first thing on Tuesday morning. We went to the Pearl Market (another place we skipped last time) and got a few gifts there. It was fun to pick the pearls and then see the people make the jewellery for you, be it earrings, a necklace or a bracelet. Paul somehow managed both kids while I shopped for gifts there. What a man!
There have been more shopping opportunities since but we've decided to lay pretty low. Claire had a big meltdown today (HUGE!) and we realized she's really needing things to stay low-key. Just today, she began asking to go home. She's done here. She's managed really well all things considering but it is hard to see her struggling with all that's going on, and we just want things to be as close to normal again for her as they can. Of course, life will never be the same again with Ren around but at least we'll be back at home in our routine.
Last night (Tuesday), we went to the acrobat show. Claire and Ren were completely mesmerized. At one point, Ren got kind of scared and hunkered down behind the seat in front of him. But he couldn't keep his eyes off the show! Before long, he was watching the show through the crack between the seats with his eyes wide and his mouth open.
I'm happy to say that Ren is a total sweetheart with his sister. Yesterday morning as we headed down to meet our group, he reached for her hand. They held hands for a good ten minutes!
They did the same thing this morning. Our group must think they are best of friends, as that is how they often appear out in public. But back in the room, watch out for Claire-bear - emphasis on 'bear'! She has turned into an aggressive little girl with her brother! Usually she is very level and sometimes not even as assertive as we'd wish for her, but wow, with him, she's so far on the other side. I'm hoping that with time, she'll balance out in the assertive category (as opposed to aggressive).
Ren continues to challenge Paul and me with hitting. Today, he graduated to biting. We're just grateful it's directed at us and not Claire. He's also having tantrums quite regularly about not getting his way. We'll immediately meet his needs, but definitely not his every want, and that is usually what poses the problem. I don't think he understands much of what we say yet but even if he did, I'm not sure it would help. I guess time will tell. Again, I'll be consulting our attachment books about the best ways to handle this stuff. I recall some of what I've read but not everything, and against my better judgement, I didn't bring those books with me because of needing to keep our luggage weight down for in-China train rides and flights.
On the bright side, we realized on Tuesday that Ren consistently responds to "Ren" now. For the first few days, we called him by the Cantonese pronunciation of his name ("Jan", which is pronounced sort of like "Yun") and then began to use both names together. We've now stopped the "Yun" altogether.
We're having breakfast with Marvin, Carolyn and Jaida at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning - our last with them as they fly out in the evening - so I better hit the hay like the rest of my family. Good night!
We had Monday morning off and then met for a trip to the Summer Palace. It was relaxing to be there for the second time - I didn't have to take a million photos because I already have them all - and the weather wasn't too cold for the kiddies. Ren had a nice little snooze for much of the walk so that helped out with the long walk too. He fell asleep with a cracker in his mouth:
We and many of our travel mates got swarmed by other visitors to the Summer Palace that day. I had forgotten what a curiousity we are. I went into a store to get snacks for the family and returned to find this sight:
That afternoon, we went to the silk factory. We skipped this part of the tour last time. I didn't buy much - just a jacket for myself and an outfit each for the kids - but it was very interesting to see how silk and some of the products are made. That night when we returned to the hotel, we had a tailor come to our room to measure Paul and Ren for custom made suits. Paul chose to get two business suits made for a steal at about $250 each. We also got a little black suit with a subtle pinstripe made for Ren and two dress shirts for him. Since it's so small with such tiny seams and details, his was expensive in comparison - $100 for the suit and about $45 for each shirt. But it is sooooo cute! We'll use the suit for his baptism and possibly a family wedding this year, and I know we won't regret the expense at all.It was a neat experience having the suits made for the boys. They measured the boys on Monday, brought over unfinished suits on Tuesday to check for fit, and brought the beautiful finished products here this afternoon (Wednesday). A big thanks to Marty and Cecile for letting us know our guide could arrange this!
Here are Paul and Ren with the tailors:
The shopping continued first thing on Tuesday morning. We went to the Pearl Market (another place we skipped last time) and got a few gifts there. It was fun to pick the pearls and then see the people make the jewellery for you, be it earrings, a necklace or a bracelet. Paul somehow managed both kids while I shopped for gifts there. What a man!There have been more shopping opportunities since but we've decided to lay pretty low. Claire had a big meltdown today (HUGE!) and we realized she's really needing things to stay low-key. Just today, she began asking to go home. She's done here. She's managed really well all things considering but it is hard to see her struggling with all that's going on, and we just want things to be as close to normal again for her as they can. Of course, life will never be the same again with Ren around but at least we'll be back at home in our routine.
Last night (Tuesday), we went to the acrobat show. Claire and Ren were completely mesmerized. At one point, Ren got kind of scared and hunkered down behind the seat in front of him. But he couldn't keep his eyes off the show! Before long, he was watching the show through the crack between the seats with his eyes wide and his mouth open.
I'm happy to say that Ren is a total sweetheart with his sister. Yesterday morning as we headed down to meet our group, he reached for her hand. They held hands for a good ten minutes!
They did the same thing this morning. Our group must think they are best of friends, as that is how they often appear out in public. But back in the room, watch out for Claire-bear - emphasis on 'bear'! She has turned into an aggressive little girl with her brother! Usually she is very level and sometimes not even as assertive as we'd wish for her, but wow, with him, she's so far on the other side. I'm hoping that with time, she'll balance out in the assertive category (as opposed to aggressive).Ren continues to challenge Paul and me with hitting. Today, he graduated to biting. We're just grateful it's directed at us and not Claire. He's also having tantrums quite regularly about not getting his way. We'll immediately meet his needs, but definitely not his every want, and that is usually what poses the problem. I don't think he understands much of what we say yet but even if he did, I'm not sure it would help. I guess time will tell. Again, I'll be consulting our attachment books about the best ways to handle this stuff. I recall some of what I've read but not everything, and against my better judgement, I didn't bring those books with me because of needing to keep our luggage weight down for in-China train rides and flights.
On the bright side, we realized on Tuesday that Ren consistently responds to "Ren" now. For the first few days, we called him by the Cantonese pronunciation of his name ("Jan", which is pronounced sort of like "Yun") and then began to use both names together. We've now stopped the "Yun" altogether.
We're having breakfast with Marvin, Carolyn and Jaida at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning - our last with them as they fly out in the evening - so I better hit the hay like the rest of my family. Good night!
Monday, March 2, 2009
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Handsome boy
On Saturday, we had portraits taken of Ren in a few different Chinese outfits. He's such a handsome boy, and I think the portraits really captured his good looks! There are many good ones but I'll post just a few for now. I'll follow this post with one of the siblings together. (We ended up dressing Claire up too, and she was a major ham during the photo session - too cute.)
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