Toddler Tuesday - Chinese New Year

During January & February we usually have several Chinese New Year events that we participate in, one of which is the Toddler Tuesday @ Mall of America. We figure we only have a few short years of our kids being this age so we like to take the opportunities such as this while we can. This year it happened to work out that I was off of work for my 'maternity leave' so we decided to make a day of it.

We started the day doing the craft which was a dragon puppet & a rabbit coloring sheet. We are coming up on the Year of the Rabbit for the next lunar year, thus the reason for the rabbit. Next, Maddy got to have a photo opp w/Kai Lan, one of her favorite cartoon characters. Zeke kept pointing & saying 'Kai Lan' but didn't want much to do with getting too close.

After the scheduled part of Toddler Tuesday was done we took advantage of their ride specials. Maddy is still pretty little for her age so she was not happy that she couldn't go on all of the rides. Lately she is really aware of the fact that she is younger than many of her friends & she sings songs about wishing she was older. She is especially unhappy with the fact that some of her friends are going to kindergarten in the fall & that she has another year.

We ended our MOA day having lunch with friends of ours. Many of the restaurants on Tuesdays at the Mall let kids eat for free, so it was a nice treat to eat a decent lunch on a frugal budget. As you can imagine, both kids were fast asleep before we were even 5 minutes into our journey home.

Thankful Thursday- New Scrapbook area

I am so excited & thankful today for my new scrapbooking armoire (aka the Scrapbox). Before our basement remodel I had a little plastic table w/boxes, bins & a set of drawers all around to do my scrapbooking. I had no idea how much stuff I had & what I owned.

When we remodeled I decided it was time to get better organized, so I searched for something that would allow me to open when I needed it & close back up to put everything away neatly. I figured there had to be something on the market like this since I know I am not the only person not fortunate enough to have a spare room just for crafting (someday maybe when we finish our attic I can claim our current bedroomn for this purpose, but until then this will work).

I was excited to stumble across the Scrapbox site: http://theoriginalscrapbox.com/catalog/thecraftbox so I ordered (with the agreement that this will be my Christmas, birthday & anniversary gift this year : ). I still have more things than space so it's going to take time to pare down to only what I really need, but all in good time.

BEFORE


DURING THE BUILD






AFTER

1 Month as a family of 4

Yesterday marked 1 month since we welcomed our son into our family. It's amazing what a blessing he has been to us. He has really been woven into the fabric of our family so well. Every day we get to know him a little better and see his personality come out.

Here are a few things about Zeke (Yang Yang):

1. He has one dimple that just melts your heart.
2. He loves to play 'Mao, Mao' (Peek-a-Boo) when ever he gets in trouble.
3. He loves meat & anything sweet (this doesn't surprise us since the orphanage put sugar in his bottle).
4. He wants to take a bath every time he goes into the bathroom.
5. He follows his big sister around & plays along w/what she wants to do.
6. He is very vocal & expressive when he doesn't like something (although we don't understand what he's saying, we are sure we must be getting a cussing out in Chinese).
7. He is now one of our dog Samson's biggest fans (even though he was scared of the dog for about a week).
8. He loves getting his hands on Mama's cell phone every chance he gets & then walks around saying 'Way' (hello in Chinese when answering the phone).

Here's a little video of him:

Wordless Wednesday

First Train Set

We've been doing a lot of shopping at Ikea as we have worked at getting our basement set-up post remodel. The other day when we went there, we found a little train set that we just couldn't pass up. Although Zeke really isn't old enough yet to appreciate it, Mom & Dad have been having fun setting this up. Maddy has started to really take a liking to trains too, so it was worth it for that too.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful today for heat! It has been a cold winter so far and can't imagine what it would be like to not be able to stay warm. We have been fairly house bound since we returned home from China so having a warm house has made it a little more bearable (not to say we don't still get a bit of cabin fever). Here are recent picture from life at home:

Hanging out , playing with toys

Maddy testing out our new basket drawer from Ikea

Using the new Playdoh ice cream maker w/cousin River

Home 10 days now

This post goes out by special request to one of my co-workers (you know who you are: ).

I've been meaning to do an update, really but time's just kind of slipped away. We managed to get everyone back on the same timezone about a week after our return. Zeke has really been settling into our family well and is starting to get the hang of our daily routine. I have about 5 weeks left before I return to work so I am attempting to savor every moment.

We have been trying to limit our daily routine to one diversion (family visit, outing, medical appointment,etc.) a day as Zeke tends to get overwhelmed w/sensory input if we do anything more. We can tell when he has been over stimulated by people or places on a given day as he has a hard time at night (thing was something we went thru w/Maddy). His life prior to our family was very routine w/limited play time, toys etc. so we need to be careful about slowly building him up. He is usually ready for a nap by 10 am purely due to the exhaustion of keeping up w/a new language & a new place w/so much to do.

We went for a little outdoor walk last week so Zeke could experience his first snow. He wasn't quite sure what to think.

Each day he picks up a little English each day and is rapidly expanding his vocabulary. Today he told me 'Jie, Jie (big sister) all done' and handed me her empty water cup. He still attempts to speak to us in Mandarin often but I am guessing after so many blank stares from us at some point he will stop. He really is just personality plus & quite a little charmer.

Reading the Christmas Story on Christmas Eve

Giving Daddy medical attention

Rolling through the mall in the new double swagger wagon

Giving us his best Fonz impression