Merry Christmas!

Christmas Letter 2009

We began writing this about two hours after the Roughriders stunning collapse in the Grey Cup. A few days ago we thought a Grey Cup game would set us in the perfect mindset for a Christmas letter — we would be full of warm, fuzzy thoughts, we would be thankful the Riders even made it to the game, we would exude good cheer, sportsmanship, peace on earth and goodwill to our fellow man. You know, all that stuff about, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game." Aarrrgghh. The problem with this theory was we didn't expect the Riders might actually have a chance to win. It’s a good thing Girard still has his Fantasy Football to think about, as it makes the Riders’ loss a little easier to bear.

Bryn tried her best to cheer on the Riders but wasn’t quite as upset about the game outcome as her dad. Our child, the quiet, shy, timid Bryn we have talked about in the past, turns out to be a motormouth. Not that we mind, but we're used to a bit of quiet around here, the only sounds in the morning being Girard's moaning and groaning as he hoists himself off the couch for more coffee. We can without exaggeration say Bryn basically can't keep quiet. Lately the conversation almost always centres around Santa and his good friend Octavia, who is an octopus (it's a long story). One day we were told they would be living in our basement for 21 days, which came as news to us as we hadn’t prepared for company for such an extended period. Bryn has an imagination that takes her on trips from the North Pole to Mexico, lately even to Australia, sometimes in a rocket, sometimes Girard has to drive. She can be a doctor, a teacher, a mom, a librarian and Santa herself. She has such a good imagination we think she must imagine she uses the potty because it's not happening in real time.

This is the first year she is thrilled about the arrival of Santa. She's been talking and singing about it for months, especially from the seat of a grocery cart. Some decorations have surfaced and she's excited to see them, even moreso than Girard, who used to go "yay" (low-toned monotone voice) but now goes "YAY" (slightly higher toned monotone voice) with the appearance of each Christmas nicnac. A couple of weeks ago Bryn told Raelene “On Christmas day I can unzip my mouth and tell you all about the slippers me and dad got you!” It’s impossible not to get caught up in the excitement with a 3-year-old in the house.

This is to say, Bryn brings great joy to our lives at this time of year, and has since the first minute we saw her. She left the terrible twos behind in February and settled nicely into the terribler threes. She had to endure two day care switches, one in January and one in October, which she didn't seem to mind but which were hard on her parents. She learned to count, play by herself for a few minutes at a time even, climb, all those things kids do. She loves to make up stories and songs and is a constant source of amazement and amusement. She uses words like realize and impossible and suddenly and phrases like in fact and speaking of which. When she’s leaving the room she’ll say things like “I’m going to play in the living room, she yelled.” -- obviously her books have influenced her vocabulary. She’s still not keen on sleeping, loves to eat and makes it perfectly clear she doesn’t like having her photo taken. She definitely knows her own mind and isn’t shy to share her views with us and we love every minute of parenting our amazing little girl.

Bryn and her entourage were happy to visit family for summer holidays this year, as we did a round trip between Yorkton and Regina, but other than a few other weekend trips we stuck close to home. She is already talking about next year, going back to the jazz festible (where she got fries for lunch), Canada Day (more fries), the zoo (more fries), and other places where — you guessed it — they serve fries. We had lots of visitors and are always happy to have company so if you don’t mind sharing a room with Santa and Octavia and the odd dust bunny, we'd love to see you.

From our busy, mixed-up home to yours, we hope you

have a great Christmas and a happy new year.

'Tis the Season...

for Christmas carols and a messy house.

A Special Visit

In September we had a visit from our travel mates Paul, Monica, Claire and Ren. Ren came home from China in February and we were thrilled to finally have a chance to meet him. Ren will be 3 in December and is an absolute sweetheart, just as we knew he would be. Shea and Caia were here too so we had another wonderful mini reunion. The kids had a great time playing together. It's so nice to have a little boy in our extended family -- I can't wait to see them 10 years from now when poor Ren is surrounded by a bunch of giggling teenage girls.

Thanks to Paul and Monica for taking time out of their busy schedule for a visit. It's so wonderful to be able to see the kids playing together and, as always, we love our grownup visit too!

Even with only three kids it's still hard to get them all smiling at the same time, especially since Bryn hates to have her photo taken. This picture cracks me up with Caia's ready-to-bust-out-laughing grin and Claire's "for cryin' out loud can't Bryn just smile already?" look.

Aren't friends great?

The handsome and ever-so-adorable Ren.

Noodles are always a hit.

But ice cream cake is even better!

Catching up.

I think all four kids were in this little tent at one time.

Claire was a good sport and put up with my obsession on tracking how much the kids have grown.

Caia had her turn, too.

Not the greatest quality shot but I love it anyway.

Bye, friend, I love you.

Trick or Treat

We had a great time trick or treating this year. The day started out looking pretty awful with huge snowflakes and then rain but it let up in the late afternoon so we were able to get out. Bryn had fun even though we only went to a few houses. I'm not sure if it was the scary "skellyun" that made her want to go home or the fact she had chips and cheezies and chocolate in her bag (it doesn't get much better than that), but she was happy to stop after just 5 places.

Bryn and her pumpkin art.

We went wandering around the mall in the afternoon so Bryn could wear her Snow White costume. She really wanted to be a witch for Halloween but I'd bought this costume weeks ago so rather than let it go to waste we had a costume change.

OK! I'll smile but only because you said I could have a treat!

This was the official trick or treating costume.

She loved her witch hair.

What Bryn says in this video might explain why I have such a hard time getting a good photo of her.  (Sorry for the length.)




Our good friends and travel mates Kathleen, Pat and Maeve are leaving in a few days for China to meet their beautiful daughter Elspeth. We're so incredibly happy for them and send them all much love. Have a safe journey, K,P&M and give Elspeth a huge hug from all of us. We're thrilled to have another Jiangxi girl in our Xinyu family!

All the Single Lettuce

Here's a little song Bryn learned at daycare. It's too bad we missed the tryouts for Beyonce's video. :)

The Photo Issue

"Do you want to hold him, Mom?"

Hello, Kitty.

A happy Canadian.

Chillaxin'.

Summer fun.

This is where the shades go when she's not wearing them.

If any of you are familiar with Four Squares you'll know where Bryn gets her "hat sense" from.

Yay! An actual pose!

"I am saying 'cheese'."

Bryn's version of the shoe phone.

"Mom, we have lots to talk about."

So, when I get bigger I'm going to live in an inpartment all by myself. And you and dad can visit me. I will live down the street so you can walk there. And I will eat hard candy and drink coke and drive a motorcycle. But that's not for a long time.

Remember when I was two, mom? I didn't know good manners. Now I know good manners but sometimes I forget. Hey, wait a minute! I'm not a man, I'm a girl. I have good girlers. And you have good lady-ers.

Mom, how 'bout we sit here and talk about bugs? Ladybugs and spiders and mosquitoes and stuff like that. Do you like bugs, mom? Ladybugs are painted red and black. God must have markers just like me.

Mom, did you go pee at work? You did?! I'm sooooooo proud of you, you should have a Smartie.

Today I'm going to eat all my vegetables. Just for a change.

I would like a bigger house. When I get stronger I will pick up our house and take it to another little girl who needs a house and then we can get a bigger one. It's good manners to share, right?

Jessie, we can't jump on the couch 'cuz those are the rules. Mom, why are there so many rules?

If I pee on the floor or the rug or the couch or sumthin' like that, that's okay 'cuz that's just a accident and I'm just little.

When will dad be home? After lunch, Bryn. Then I will eat fast so he comes home earlier.

Everybody can't be a boy, right? 'Cuz then there'd be boy moms and boy grandmas and all people would be boys. If I was a boy and dad was a girl that would be different.

Mom, you're special. But why are you so old?



It's been awhile since my last post. Our computer died a few weeks after my last entry, along with our external hard drive, so I've been trying to retrieve files, photos, email, etc. for the past few weeks. Since Bryn has absolutely no patience when I sit down at the computer it's been a long process.

We're still trying hard to potty train Bryn. She is, to say the least, not very interested in doing her part to get out of pull-ups. We've had her potty for well over a year, which is when she first showed an interest in being trained. I was convinced she'd be trained quickly -- I had hoped by last summer for sure. Then I figured Christmas. Then her 3rd birthday. People tell me not to worry about it because she "won't go to school in diapers". I'm beginning to think she'll be the only 8-year-old in Kindergarten.

A few weeks ago, in an attempt to delay her bedtime, Bryn wanted out of the tub 3 times during her bath to "try to go pee or poop" on her potty. I knew it was all just a stall tactic and nothing would come of it but I can't very well say no when she wants to try, just in case she's actually telling the truth. It took us almost an hour to have a bath that night. Three minutes after I got her pjs on her she announced she was peeing. Arrgghhh! I thought I'd try a little reverse psychology and told her if she wasn't ready to use the potty that was okay but we were going to pack away all her potty training stuff -- the potty, her pretty panties, the books she reads when she's on the pot and the Smarties she gets as a reward if she does happen to go. "OK, but don't forget to put away my good job stickers, too," she said. Arrgghh again. I don't think I'm going to win this one.

Bryn continues to be a chatterbox. From the minute she hits the floor in the morning til at least 1/2 hour after she goes to bed at night, she is talking. And singing. And counting. And reading to us. Considering Girard has always said he has a quota of words for each day (a small quota, though it is a lot larger since we've had Bryn) and when he runs out he doesn't talk anymore, and I'm pretty much incapable of making small talk, I don't know where she picked up her gift of gab. Rhyming everything is her latest thing which can be a little risky in public because sometimes she ends up saying a not-so-nice word.

One of Bryn's favorite conversations lately is how old everyone is and what she was like when she was "little" and the things she will do when she is big. How old will you be when I'm 20? Was dad 25 yet? When I was half I lived in China. Remember when I was one and I said goo goo gaga instead of thank you? Can you believe I'll be four on my next birthday?! When I'm bigger I will ride a bike with two wheels. When I'm 12 or 16 or 30 or sumthin' I can stay all by myself with no babysitter. Mom, when I'm six I'll go to school, will you miss me?

Yes Bryn, yes I will.

Bryn loves her new trampoline.

Whadya mean they're too big?!

"Mom, I need privacy when I'm peeing."

A rare non-talking moment.

Yay! I can ride my bike!

Performing to an audience of two at the bandstand.

Despite the fact a spider can send her screaming in fear to another room, Bryn will pick up a canker worm and carry it all over the place.

It's finally summer!!!!!

Storytime with Bryn

2nd Annual Xinyu Mini Reunion Part 1

Last weekend Beth, Helena and Ava, one of our Xinyu families from Edmonton, came for a visit. Shea and Caia came to hang out too, and we were also at their place -- we spent as much time together as we could.

A happy crew: us with Shea and Caia, Helena, Beth and Ava.

(Hopefully one of these times James will be able to join us.)

We had a great time but the weekend flew by too fast. We went for dim sum, played in the park and enjoyed watching the girls play together. It was a hoot seeing them interact, all three of them are such characters and have such fun personalities -- they kept us laughing the whole weekend. It was a great few days of catching up, hanging out and having fun. We also got to see Shea's mom, Grandma Dar, and we always love seeing her.

Looking back at last year's photos it's amazing to see how much the girls have grown and changed. I managed to get all three of them to stand still long enough to weigh and measure them (surprise!!). Bryn is 32 lbs. 37", Caia (the youngest of the three born April 21) is 29 lbs. 35.75" and Ava (March 10) is 28 lbs. 36". Three or four pounds makes a big difference at this age -- Caia and Ava seem so light compared to Bryn. I think she also looks a lot bigger because of her sizable noggin. :)

Thanks, Beth, for making the long drive out to see us again! We loved having you and hope you make it an annual visit. Maybe next year we can talk some more of our Xinyu families into joining us!

Yum, yum, dim sum! Rowan, Lorraine and Adia joined us for our delicious lunch. They traveled to China the year after we did and live in Saskatoon.

Jessie enjoyed some loving from Helena.

Bryn loves Helena and followed her all over the house. Thanks Helena, for being a wonderful big "sister" to all our girls!

Thanks to Skype we were able to have a visit with another one of our Xinyu families. Carolyn and Marvin live in PEI with their beautiful daughters Kennedy and Jaida. Unfortunately their girls were already tucked in for the night when we were having our virtual reunion so we didn't get to see them. We miss you guys and wish you could have been here in person!

Budding artists hard at work.

After they were finished painting the girls moved on to sculpting.