A Sweet Valentine

Posted by Brittany, 2-15-09
Yes indeed it was a very sweet Valentine's Day for Addie Ting-Ting, and this was not because of her sweet behavior. On the contrary little Miss Ting-Ting is developing quite a personality of protesting when things are not going the way she wants. We know this fiery spirit is a good sign after months of being so passive, but her craving for sweets and her mini tantrums when the cookies are gone or the fudge has been put out of sight, are quite something. For example right now she is growling at Ron because he is not feeding her the hot fudge sundae fast enough. Brother Jo-Jo has been sick this week and lost some weight. Now truly when I look at them side by side I wonder who weighs more-my almost 5 year old or my almost 2 year old?


Refusing to sit down in the sink for her bath!!!




This Friday Ting-Ting had some special visitors. Teresa and her young daughter Stacy came for a visit. They are from Taiwan and do business here in Milbridge buying sea cucumber skins from Uncle Lawrence's processing plant. The spent an hour or so visiting and speaking Chinese to Addie. I wasn't sure she would know what they were saying, but it appeared that she did understand, and at times she was very excited by their conversation.





Ron was able to make a nice short video of our Chinese New Year Party. Everyone who came has commented they had fun, so it seems that plans are already in the works to make this an annual celebration.





We received a call just the other day from our home study agency indicating it is almost time to do the follow-up 6 month post placement study. It is hard to believe that soon she will have been with us for six months. She has grown and changed so much, and so totally belongs here with us.

Happy New Year

Tonight was a first in our family- Our first celebration of the Chinese New Year. Several months ago Tommy, Bayley, and Jo-Jo decided it would be an excellent way to honor their new sister and allow us to learn more about Addie Ting's culture while having fun. We dressed all in red, ate lots of dumplings and lo mein noodles, and exchanged small red presents Yankee Swap style. Tommy was in charge of the lantern riddle game. These Chinese riddles were quite difficult. All of the kids danced in the lion dance, screamed when the firecrackers were lit, and as is the custom, each of us took turns sweeping dirt out the front door to symbolize "out with the old and in with the new." Ting-Ting enjoyed the festivities, but without a doubt she had one very favorite activity- eating dried fish. You see- fish is symbolic of abundance and always eaten for Chinese New Year; thus, we decided to give the symbolism a Down East twist with the dried fish. Most of the evening Addie Ting could be seen chewing away on the fish prepared especially for her party by her Uncle Lawrence.





Tonight's celebration provided another chance to reflect on how lucky we are to have this little girl in our lives. She continues to grow and change so fast. She now growls when asked to be a bear, cannot get enough of playing "this little piggy", and loves to rough-house with her siblings. She is really walking fast now and can even do some fancy spinning and twirling. She is saying Buppa and Nana frequently along with Mama, Dada, kitty, sis, and Gee-Gee (meaning Tommy). Another very exciting happening has been the fact that finally when Ting-Ting falls down, she now cries. For the longest time she would fall or bump her head and never cry. This was a bit worrisome, as if she didn't sense pain. Well all that has changed now- in fact she may be a bit of a drama queen, crying after even tiny falls or ever so little bumps.

Last week Ting-Ting's friend Abigail came over for the day. They are the same age. Abigail came home from China just two weeks before us. When we first got the two girls together in October it was quite sad, because no play could really happen. Abigail was developmentally on target and could play like a typical 18 month old, but Addie on the other hand, could not sit well, crawl at all, let alone walk or smile or play with toys. This play date was so different, and we are so thankful and encouraged by the enormous progress Addie Ting had made. Now just 3 months later the girls were able to run about, giggle, and have lots of fun.



Happy New Chinese New Year To All!