Smiling Away

Today was the last day of Gi's aquatic survival training. For the last session, both hubs and I had to participate with Gi in the instructor's pool so that we could be schooled on the do's and don'ts of swimming with Gi. Boy, what a difference! No whining or dramatic crying from the Munch. She happily swam from one person to the next. As you can see from the pics, she was all smiles. We'd like to send big thanks to Miss Kristy for the underwater pictures. Gi will be back for her once-a-month maintenance lesson. Approximately a year from now, she'll go back for her two week refresher course.

You Want Me to Swim with My Clothes On???

Well, after almost seven weeks of aquatic survival training, Gi took her "final test" today. She passed with flying colors although you would not know it by the dramatic tears being shed. Gi was decked out in what we, Floridians, consider winter clothing (sweat shirt, jeans, socks and sneakers). Not only that, she was also wearing her regular diaper which could add up to seven pounds to Gi's weight once it is immersed in water. Upon entering the pool with Miss Kristy, Gi showed us what a trooper she continues to be. With each simulation, she never failed to roll over and float. I AM SO PROUD OF HER! For those mommies or mommies-to-be who check out my blog and are interested in this type of training, Google ISR which stands for Infant Swimming Resource for more information. The founders of ISR will also be featured on the Today Show on May 14th.

Children's Day

posing next to some pretty flowers

scenic bridge

coming down with Daddy

posing next to more beautiful flowers

hooping it up with Daddy

The ball is bigger than Munch!

still not crazy about the bounce house

We took advantage of another gorgeous day here in south Florida and went to the Morikami Park for their annual Children's Day celebration. What fun! There was a little something for everyone. The gardens, as usual, were beautiful. Gi got to try out different activities and listened to the Taiko drummers for the very first time. We even saw Masaji the Candy Man who makes figures by blowing up sugar. How cool is that??!!

Baby Meets Beach

Mommy and daughter exploring the waves

"How was that water?"

Three Ds on the beach

having fun in the sand

Gi was imitating Daddy by laying down on the towel. It only lasted a few seconds.

covering up after a dip in the ocean

pointing at sunbathers or according to Gi "sleeping" people

enjoying the sand

Hubs and I got a dose of brave today and took Gi to the beach for the first time. We really weren't sure how the munch would react. But she pleasantly surprised us by slowly warming up to the cool ocean water and sandy beach. At first, Gi was not sure how she should walk on the sand. At one point, her tiny feet dug a little too deep in the sand causing her body to tilt forward. With the help of Mommy and Daddy, Gi braved the cool water slowly. Gi used her little finger to point out birds, sailboats, seaweed and reclining sunbathers (she would sign to us that they were sleeping and promptly made the shushing motion with her lips and index finger). What a great morning to spend with Gi! The day would have been perfect if it wasn't for the 83 year old man who backed into our bumper in a busy shopping center later on in the day. Oh well, such is life...lots of good stuff and a little bit of bad.

It's Official!!!

It's official! Gi is finally "readopted" in the state of Florida. Judge C issued a final judgement recognizing Gi's foreign adoption decree today. She is ours, ours, ours! Not that she wasn't ours before but having the state of Florida recognize our China adoption ensures Gi's legal rights as a citizen of the US and a resident of Florida. Gi will have a Florida birth certificate issued to her in about a month. Everybody from the judge all the way down to the clerks were very helpful and positive. We would like to give a big thank-you to Debi D. who helped us with compiling the petition paperwork, Tom D (attorney) who helped us draw up the final piece of paperwork and all of our adoption friends who gave us input and advice on this whole "readoption" process. It's going to be mighty hard for Gi to get rid of her goofy parents now! ;-)

More Images

My sis took several pictures of the three of us when we met up in Orlando this past weekend. Here are some new images she came up with. They're great! Thanks, Sis!

Gi Meets Shamu

meeting our friends

two-handed approach to juice intake



getting ready to feed the stingrays with Daddy


Gi and hubs are observing the dolphins. In a brief conversation with hubs, the mommy next to Gi shares that she adopted her young daughter from Vietnam.


Gi and Daddy observing the graceful manatees from above

Gi and Daddy observing the manatees from below

Gi and Daddy enjoying the whale and dolphin show in the non-soak zone

signing off for a brief nap after a long day at SeaWorld

The three Ds trekked up to Orlando this weekend for a reunion of some sort. We were able to get together with my sis and bil along with my old college buddy and his three kids. This was also the first time that we took Gi on a trip since coming back from China. The car ride was not tantrum free but hubs and I were equipped with music, toys, books, dvds and, most importantly, grandparents. Gi met Shamu for the first time and got a taste of 52 degree salt water. She also got an eyeful of dolphins, penguins, puffins, stingrays and turtles. Spending two nights in a hotel with a tired hubby and excited toddler brought back many memories of China. Ahhh, it's good to be home again laying in my comfy bed writing this blog. Oh and big thanks to my sis and bil for a most wonderfully delicate watercolor of Gi and a horse mermaid for her.

Reflections on 20

This week my munch turned 20 months. Can it be??? Is it possible that her 2nd birthday will creep up on us in four months??? The cliche that time flies is sooo true. Gi entered our lives at eleven months and soon she will turn two. It feels quite surreal to hubs and me. As a new parent, everything that Gi does or accomplishes is amazing to me. She has finally broke the 20lb mark (yippee!). Her hair is getting longer and fuller. Gi's chubby-cheeked face is maturing and gaining character. Her eyes twinkle with mischief. My munch runs clumsily with her arms out to her sides. This sight never fails to put a giggle in me. She attempts to jump and skip and does a really cute one-shoulder dance (kinda like Elaine on Seinfeld). She now babbles confidently and uses a number of one-syllable words and signs to communicate with her greenhorn parents.

Some Examples:

dada (daddy)

baba (that would be me, her MaMa)

joos (juice)

feeeesh (fish)

cookues (cookies)

fleese (please)

mar (more)

seees (cheese)

caaa (car)

mil (milk)

gon gon (maternal grandfather)

po po (maternal grandmother)

vu vu (paternal grandparents)

ock (socks)

ooose (shoes)

eeeeaaat (eat)

booo (book)

eeeeaaad (read)

buuuh (up)

ma ma ma ma (music)

duh duh (down)

dak (dog)

fay fay (Fifi, our dog)

bir (bird)

bah (bath)

teeee (brushing teeth)

Geee Geee (usually said with two index fingers pointing to herself)

Munch has also shown that she understands Cantonese spoken by my mom and myself. Hubs is slowly interjecting Portuguese. When Gi passes gas or burps, a smile slowly lights up her face as she utters her own name for everyone to hear. I think she acquired that trait from hubs. Everyday Gi shows us that she is a marvelously interesting, strong, loving and happy tot. How did hubs and I get so lucky? Life is good.

Me Myself and I

Guess who makes herself very comfortable in Mommy and Daddy's bed every night before being carted off to her own room for storytime and night-night?

Gumbo Limbo

baby turtle digging in the sand

Gi watching the volunteer feed the turtles in the tank

Gi looking down from atop the forty-foot tower


prancing around at the top of the forty-foot tower

a view of the Atlantic forty feet up

a view of the intracoastal waterways forty-feet up

Since hubs decided to hang out with his fellow IT geeks, Gi and I decided to head down to a local nature center to watch the staff feed the many indigenous sea life they have there. Gi got to see, first hand, how stingrays, sharks and turtles eat and what they eat. Afterwards, we climbed a forty-foot tower and was rewarded with a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean and the intracoastal waterways while a cool breeze blew through our hair. Then it was off to the trail boardwalk and the butterfly garden. After about an hour and a half of being one with nature, we headed back home. What a great day to spend outside with my munch! Too bad hubby decided to attend a LAN party (big snore if you ask me) instead.

Swim Baby Swim!

smiling before dipping in

Mommy getting ready to hand over Gi to the instructor

pointing at Mommy

no crying today

grabbing the handle bar

swimming toward the handle bar

taking a breather

aqua baby

swimming toward the instructor

breath control

checking for temperature fatigue

learning to flip over

float float float

out of the pool and laying down

The all-important stamp on the hand after each lesson...Gi lives for hand stamps.

drying off after the lesson

getting dressed after the lesson

A relaxing swing is a must after the lesson. Oh, and also a mouthful of Teddy Grahams.

Well, we are into our fourth week of aquatic survival lessons. Things are going swimmingly. Auntie Jessie was kind enough to hang out with us for some photography action. Mucho gracias, Auntie Jessie for all 160 pics! Gi loved having Auntie Jessie in the audience and did her best to show her aquatic moves all without dramatic tears.