We are closing in on the end of family leave with just a few weeks to go. We have found a new OT for Violet who we love and had the first appointment last week. So far so good, although truly we won't expect to see changes for awhile. She is a very good listener and very supportive, and really a great fit for our family. I'm almost kind of happy we were so unhappy with the first evaluation, so that we could spend a bit more time to find this new OT!
We visited daycare one day last week and will visit another classroom next week, likely the one we'll be in. Starting in about a week we'll be doing longer visits and some time without us, the the week following with half days and probably the next week will be full days. Yep- it's that close!
The girls both adore dressing up- and what is dress up without a crown? we have a couple of crowns around the house (and a couple of broken ones too unfortunately...) and Violet always seems to wear them upside down. I am beginning to wonder if it's really an accident though because they always seem to stay on better when they are upside down....!
Violet also loves her sister's harmonica. Maddie can get some sound out of it but not strong- Violet on the other hand has some serious wind pipes. This is evident in how loud the girl can scream, how strong she can blow her nose, and how ferocius of a Harmonica player she is! I think those windpipes will serve her well in life!
The girls also love posing together and hugging! That's great for us! No our house is not without fussiness and arguments, but they get along amazingly well. Those of who who have been around for awhile will recognize the ponies that Violet is sprouting! She is so cute in ponies, but she just will not keep things in her hair for more than an hour!
This is one of my favorite photos of violet so far- is shows her beautiful smile and sparkly happy eyes! And yes, I just adore those ponies!
Happy girls together!
There is a lot of dress up in our house. It usually happens every Saturday and Sunday morning between when the girls get up and we are jumped on enough to know that yes, we really do have to get out of bed too. For those readers without children, that means 6:45 am to about 7:30 am...! Maddie loves to help her sister get dressed in dress up clothes, and Violet loves to get dressed up! I absolutely love this outfit combination- it makes me think of kids in China and about 75% of all gotchya day photos I've ever seen- Children in 17 layers to keep them warm!
Okay so there aren't usually fancy necklaces and bracelets in gotchya day photos...that's special!
Maddie tells us daily of our assigned roles in our house, Mama is the Queen, Baba is King Midas, Maddie is the Princess and Violet is the Fairy.
Love these beautiful smiles...both Maddie's above and Violet's below!
Finally- a bit different than kiddo photos... This is a chinese dish I made last week.... What do you think? Take a guess...
I just finishes reading a book called the Last Chinese Chef- I couldn't put it down! Now I want to go back to China (like, tomorrow if I can get a ticket....) and go on a culiary tour...I want someone to take me by the hand and say "try this! and This! And this!" and I will try anything they put in front of me. No kidding. I'm willing to do it after this book. It is the most unbelievely well explained book on Chinese cuisine and the theory and practice behind it. It talks about textures and tastes and theory and goals in cooking- in a way that just makes your mouth water! One of the things that was so brilliant was the art of Artifice. That is- making something which looks like one thing and is completely different. One example was a chicken that they had skinned completely, and then they stuffed the skin with vegetables and tofu etc, and when they served it at the table, it looked like a roasted chicken, but it had not a lick of chicken in it! Brilliant!!!!
So when planning our chinese dinner for the week last week, I was using a new cookbook that I hadnt' yet cooked from. Two of the recipes for our dinner (out of 4) were from that cookbook. One failed miserably. But this one- the one above, was called Vegetarian spare ribs. Okay, so...get this.... These vegetarian spare ribs are steamed buns, cut in half, speared through the middle with bamboo shoots, then fried on all sides, then coated in this sweet soy sauce. So they are a little crispy chewy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, with a rich thick sauce. They are simply addictive! They are in no way meant to TASTE like spare ribs, only to look like them! Isn't it fantastic??? I absolutely adore this recipe! They are too sweet to eat too often, but what a brilliant dish! THIS is the art of artifice! I can't wait to discover more!
3 years later, we have been back to China, brought home her sister, visited Liu Xue Ling, and our lives have become enriched beyond our wildest dreams! Madeline is a happy 3 1/2 year old full of love, smiles and jokes! She will tell you a story about Princess Alex followed by her definition of a chinese word and jump right into singing "Whip it" by Devo with Baba!
We are without a doubt, the lucky ones. We love you baby girl- Happy forever family day!
