Visiting Mom's relatives

Iris and Mama spent a week in WA with 2nd cousins and many aunts, uncles, a few grandaunts and granduncles. First, she was greeted enthusiastically by Colin T., whom she called "Ge-ge."
In fact, she had several ge-ge s, jie-jie s, and it soon became apparent that Iris was the
mei-mei.

Iris thoroughly enjoyed her time running around the house, going up and down stairs and playing with different toys alongside the three Thompson children. Yes, and there was a bit of video watching, too, that Iris was attentive, too. The three two-year olds are here with "ai-yi" (Betty). Please note the lovely pink high heels that the girls liked to wear; gifts from her 2nd cousins, Angie and Ellie (different family). In all, Iris met 9 second cousins, 8 aunts, 5 uncles, 3 grandaunts, 2 granduncles, and a gentle 8-year-old black lab.
The occasion was the wedding of the oldest son of one of mom's cousins (Susan). A-ma and A-gong were there as well to help feed and play with Iris at times. Most of the get-togethers centered around food, and we even managed to have pizza a couple of times that week. Yum-yum!

It was a great visit to see how the "children" have grown and for Mom (Cindy) to talk with cousins in person. We were most thankful that Betty and Dean opened up their home and allowed Iris to share all the diaper/potty stuff, so we didn't have to pack it up. Still, I managed to pack a large suitcase that was near the limit of 50 lbs. Oops!

Here's a glimpse of the active chaos that happened when the three two-year-olds got together:

Now, onto Christmas at the homestead.

T-Day in Phoenix

Thanksgiving Day was travel day for us... and Iris was a real trooper! We flew to AZ where several cousins and Aunts were waiting to see her again. The traditional turkey dinner was made possible thanks to Aunt Diane and Grandma Avenell. Yum-yum! The weather was great, and just a tad bit warmer than home. The fun part for everyone was seeing Iris open her birthday gifts one-a-day. Toys were very entertaining, especially the talking teapot with a British accent asking,"Would you like a spot of tea?" Iris WAS the entertainment for all the adults and older cousins, too. They are all so grown up; just look at them!














Some fun activities was decorating the gingerbread house, having red toenails (cousin Shelby was responsible for that!), and sharing a birthday cake with Aunt Lynn, who turned the big 4-oh! One evening was spent walking around the Phoenix Zoo for an annual show called "Zoo Lights." Iris's eyes were glazed over by all the color, different sounds, and all the relatives wanting to hold her. The show was amazing!

Of course, once Thanksgiving and November birthdays were acknowledged, it was onto Christmas. One fun Christmas "ornament" at Aunt Diane and Uncle Craig's house were the dancing and singing snowmen. Click on the video to see:

Next stop: Bellevue, WA in December

The Party Girl!

Iris turned two years old....all week! It started with a party with a playgroup of children whose birthdays are within these winter months-November, December and January.
So what happened?

First, Iris wore her special Chinese dress to church in the AM. I was tempted to put the red squeaky shoes on, but Dada vetoed that. I was also pleased that she wasn't drooling so much that I had to put a bib on her the whole morning.

Then, we went to a birthday party for about 8 or 10 toddlers whom Iris has seen a couple of times in the past few months. At this incredible potluck lunch, the children had a right-sized house to decorate, toys galore, a trampoline, a rocking horse, riding vehicles, and a play kitchen to enjoy for a couple of hours. Iris had an indoor picnic with her new friends. The food was very yummy, and almost all vegetarian. Unfortunately, Iris had to leave early before the delicious pastry was served with two candles because everyone is turning two years old. However, she actually was able to take a nap, which Mama and Dada were so happy about!

In the afternoon, a couple of Iris's friends (Michael and Alina) and their parents (Angela & Chris, and Daniela) arrived for some more play time, pizza dinner and carrot cake. The adults mostly talked about the kids, but we thoroughly enjoyed watching them interact and try to pronounce Iris's name. For some reason, they liked to go down the hall into Iris's room, sometimes led by Iris. They are all active toddlers, for sure!

When the candles on the cake were finally lit (wet matches!), Iris tried blowing, but Mama helped a little. Presents came at the end, and Iris liked everything that she received. The caution was that there were many parts to some of them, such as plastic food sets and Mr. Potatohead. :)

It was a fun-filled day and Iris, per usual, was in good spirits (except for one crying spell right after naptime). It reminds us that all the time, God is good; God is good all the time!

Next: Birthday/Thanksgiving celebrations at the grandparents' homes on Wednesday and Thursday. Watch for more pictures.

What a cutie!

November is here and Iris is almost two years old! She is really a cutie because there are so many things she has been repeating. Here's a partial list:

* loves putting on her shoes herself; often on the opposite foot. See her saying "shoe" in the photo! She can put on socks, too.
* practices opening and closing the doors (sometimes even locking it...uh-oh!)
* calls for her bear and wants it near her almost all the time at home (same goes for her yellow blanket)
* taps her head when she wants to wear her favorite white hat, even though her coat or sweater has a hood
* likes to shake her head "no" and says "no" even when she doesn't really mean it
* confuses "pee-pee" and "poo-poo" after she goes on the potty
* says "down" when she wants mama to sit down or put her down on the ground.
* says "uhh" for "up" when she wants to be picked up
* says "ju" for "juice" or "orange"(in Mandarin) and "shway", which is "water" in Mandarin Chinese.
* "may" for "strawberry" (Chinese is "tsao mei")
* says "pea" with a hand gesture around her chest to mean "please" because she wants more food or what someone is eating.
* likes walking in the neighborhood looking for cats
* says "da" for "dog"
* plays an "ah-choo" game that Dada invented, involving her stuff animals flying all over her room.

After a cold, seasonal flu and H1N1 flu shots, Iris is doing well. Soon, it's time to celebrate her 2nd birthday and the anniversary of her baptism. We thank God for her every day. I'm still wondering why she won't come towards me when I call to her. I'm afraid that when there's a safety issue, it could be disastrous. Dada would say to me, "Stop being a mom!"

Now that she's a toddler, she doesn't always nap as well as she used to. As the holiday season is quickly upon us, I pray that we'll not be too busy or distracted to notice how Iris is changing or needing us. Teaching a toddler is a really tough job (!) as other parents of older children know. I'm thankful for other moms, our families and friends to help care for her. It truly takes a village!