Busy Week

Monday and Wednesday Fin had swim class. This is going well and she loves being in the water. She is nowhere close to swimming, but she is learning water safety and has a real, nature affection for the water. It is a blast to watch her in class.

That previously lauded 2 inch/4 pound growth spurt made last year's bathing suit a bit too snug, so she is already in the next size up that I bought at the end of last season. I'm not so sure they will last through the summer!

This looks uncomfortably like a Miss America pose to me.


Tuesday brought the winter festival at school. There was a spaghetti dinner and tons of game and prizes. She had a blast and somehow managed to avoid getting trampled in the packed hallways.

She wasn't so sure about the face painting.


She was thrilled to win a lollipop at the cake walk! The giant lollipop ended up being bigger than her mouth and she quickly became frustrated and threw it in the trash. However, the thrill of victory lingered.


But, the favorite part was the hot cocoa. She misunderstood a bit when she was offered a bowl of mini marshmallows to put in her cocoa. She had poured about 1/3 of her cocoa into the marshmallow bowl before I could grab it.


We also had some light flurries on Tuesday. I zipped her up to take her outside and she insisted on taking along an Israeli flag she had found (I work for a Jewish organization). Now, the sight of this little Chinese girl in a fireman's coat, dancing in the snow with an Israeli flag was... well, rather David Lynch. I almost expected her to start talking backwards.


Today we made it to the zoo with only 20 minutes left. We had just enough time to feed her goat friends, who she insists are "puppies".


This is a video of Fin feeding the goats today. It is really a tribute to her teacher, Ms. D. As you can imagine, teaching preschool is like training a cat. Ms. D is big in an orderly classroom. Here you can see Fin utilizing positive peer pressure to make sure all of the goats are lined up properly before anyone gets snack. Now, if she starts exclaiming, "My-lanta!", I will know she is channeling Ms. D.

There's No Denying You're a Mommy When...

The happiness and sadness you feel for your child are so much stronger than anything you have ever felt for yourself. One day when I picked Fin up from school, she was waving at the other children and saying, "Bye-bye, everybody! See you later!" A couple of the other kids started making "jabber jabber" noises. My heart broke. She is hard to understand sometimes, but I didn't realize that children that young actually had the capacity to mock another child. The next night, she told me that one of her friends, "No like me." Well, I was ready to join a commune and home school at that point.

Then there are other moments; the ones where she jumps into the pool alone, when she writes her name, when she reminds me which road to take to get to school... that I burst with pride. I have never felt that kind of pride for myself, even when I accomplished something that was really important to me. I could win a Noble prize and I would not feel the same sense of satisfaction as watching her put her face all the way under water.

Making Time for Fun

With the busy (and wonderful!) holiday season behind us, we are settling back into a schedule. New extra-curricular activities have added much fun and given Fin new worlds to conquer. We are also trying to get back into some fun stuff just the two of us. Friday brought a trip to see "The Pirates Who Do Nothing", which Fin enjoyed... I enjoyed my light nap. She loves the play land at the mall, and Friday was no exception. That is, until the mean mommy made her leave her coloring book on the sidelines. (You would think I had bludgeoned a baby seal in front of her!)





Today, Fin started a creative movement class through our local Parks and Rec. Mommies are not allowed to stick around, so I don't know what they do in class, but she enjoyed getting dressed up and having a chance to release some energy. She took a THREE HOUR nap, so they must have done something!


This pic is for Fin's Aunt Mandy. As young 20-somethings, we fulfilled a dream of watching Baryshnikov dance when he performed with his White Oak Dance Project. Breathtaking!


Finally, just a "hi!" and "welcome!" to those of you who check out this blog. It is really fun to hear from people who stop by. A special hello to Christy, mom of 3 rockin kids; Ethan, Owen, and Mia. She is a frequent visitor, and a kind commenter, to the Shark Bait blog. When Christy's adoption group received the referrals of their babies, Christy and her husband were not included. This heartbreaking turn of events sent waves of horror through the online adoption community... and cheers of joy when the clerical error was resolved and they were on their way to bring home their beautiful Mia. Isn't the web amazing? All of these little 1s and 0s bring not just information, but people and their stories into our lives. It makes the world delightfully tiny at times.

It's Great to Be 25!

Fin had her 6-month visit to the ped today and all is well. A gain of 2 inches and 4 pounds in 6 months... which puts her on the charts! She is at the 25th percentile for both weight and height, which is great. All areas of growth and development are on track and she rocks!

She was also very good at the doctor's office and deserved a treat, so we stopped by the viewing area of the airport to watch the planes. Unfortunately, except for one small jet, there were none, so I let her sit on my lap and "drive Jimmie car". I haven't posted a video in awhile, so here you go. The camera work isn't great because she was on my lap and I was holding the camera off to the side so that I couldn't see the screen. It's lopsided, but still pretty cute!

Where Are the Olympics In 2024?

I think I need to book a hotel now to get a good price. Fin took her first swim lesson today and she was a natural! OK, so everytime she gets her face wet, she calls for a towel, but there is definite potential.

I was excited to see that only three of the registered five kids showed up. There were two instructors, so Fin got lots of personal attention. She absolutely loved being in the water and she liked jumping in and kicking and even doggy-paddled a couple of feet unassisted to the edge. I don't know what her water time was like in China, but here it has been limited to wading height ocean and pools and to overfilled tubs when mom is distracted. I thought she did great today and I am so happy to hear her say, "Less do it again!"



To back up a little, we had a quiet weekend including a trip to the zoo. As usual, we spent most of our time watching the giraffes. The male giraffe pushed one of the females aside at one point and Fin scolded him, "Say 'excuse me', Giraffe!" My camera wasn't charged for the zoo, but here is a picture from last week of Fin and Giraffe wearing their necklaces in the current fashion, per Fin.


Finally, thank you for the cards, emails, and posts of consolation about Erin Roo. I miss her a lot, much more so after Fin is in bed. It is a lonely time. Once Fin is a bit less rambunctious, and she may move out before then, we will look for another furry family member. As for Fin, I don't think her 4-year-old sense of time even recognizes Roo is gone. She talks about her, but doesn't seem to know that it has been a long time since she saw her. I am only answering the questions she asks and not elaborating.

Wednesday was tough not only with Erin, but Fin was sick enough for the first time to need a trip to the ped. Her cough turned out to be nothing serious, thankfully. My gratitude for helping me through that day goes to Nancy for keeping Fin while I took Erin and to my family who kept close contact to check on me. I was also lucky to have the kind and professional (not always easy concepts to marry!) people at the Cat Hospital and the pet crematory. When you grow up in the country, you never think about what you will do with your pets when they die. I was so glad to have this option.

2008 didn't start out great, but I still think it will be a great year. It can't be but so bad with Fin by my side!