Don't Call Us We'll Call You

So it's Christmas eve and hubs decides to ring his parents to wish them a jolly one. The line rings endlessly...no answering machine, no explanations. Hubs tries again a couple of hours later. Same results. Now hubs grumbles to me that his parents must be traveling for the holidays and have failed to turn on their answering machine to catch any well-wishers. So the next day rolls around and hubs tries again. What do you know? He gets the same results. Hubs gives it a couple more tries throughout that day and then gives up completely. This morning, feeling a little miffed, hubs dials again. This time getting Vovo Joe Joe immediately on the other end. In rapid-fire Portuguese, I hear hubs speaking with his dad. Turns out Vovo Joe Joe plugged both phone lines into his modem not knowing that incoming calls would not be detected even though outgoing calls would functioned normally. So in the course of a few days, my in-laws, who have been in their condo all along, have missed several important holiday calls and, I'm not kidding here, even the funeral of a relative. Hubs, the IT geek that he is, was, needless to say, most incensed with this technical glitch executed by his internet-loving father. Now hubs makes it a point to instruct Gi on the proper way to address her paternal grandfather...Vovo Doe Doe.

Faith and Gigi

Oh, what a wonderful two days we've had with Faith and her mommy and daddy. You see, Faith and Gi are Hubei sisters...different orphanage but same province. By the end of the first day, the two cuties had warmed up to each other and were sharing not only toys but lots of laughs together. Gi gladly gave up her room and bed for the L family knowing that she would be able to sleep in the same room with her parents for a couple of nights. Being able to engage in leisurely adult conversations with Mama Judy and Papa John after the girls went to sleep was an added bonus for hubs and I. We truly treasure the time we spent with the L family and look forward to our next get-together. Thank you for the great company, laughs and scrumptious meals...oh and the minty chocolate delights also (hehehe).

Potty Time

Ladies and Gentlemen (drum roll, please)!

We got potty time again!!! After a hiatus of a couple of months, Gi surprised us with an actual production of #1 tonight. Hubs and I wiggled and jiggled and praised Munch until our voices were hoarse. Then we showered her with M&Ms until her lips became one with the colors of the sweet morsels. Hoping to get more M&Ms, Munch plopped herself back down on her potty after we emptied her bowl out and announced that she was going to make poo poo. Well, after two story books and lots of patience, we called it a night sans poop. But we are encouraged, indeed. Oh I hope this trend continues...is there a potty fairy out there somewhere?

Cookie Delight

Gi's preschool had a little cookie decorating holiday party for the parents and the kids. Gi put frosting, sprinkles and M&Ms on her cookie. She ended up only eating the M&Ms and a teenie bite of her cookie. Afterwards, all the little ones had a book exchange. Munch received a great book on numbers. Now Munch will be off for about two weeks before returning to school in January. Big thank you to Ms. Deborah and Ms. Karen for their wonderful gifts---a Christmas book and a tee shirt with Gi's pictures on it.

Toddlerville

Ok, hubs, if you're reading this, big smooches to you on this latest strategy you've come up with. Miss Sassy-Pants aka Munch aka Gi has been showing considerable disdain for her stroller lately. Hubs and I, armed with what could best be described as adequate parenting know-how, have resorted to negotiations with Munch whenever we enter a large mall or areas that require a substantial amount of walking. Gi must cooperatively sit in her stroller for 15 minutes after which she may walk for 15 minutes with her aging parents. And not unlike the Middle East crisis, sometimes the most well-intentioned negotiations break down with both sides making new demands and jockeying for more power. Well, this break-down happened not too long ago at Home Depot. Upon returning to the spot where hubs was monitoring Munch (stroller free), I hear him, with a hint of desperation in his voice, telling Gi that the OWNER of the store, Mr. Home Depot, was going to come out to dismiss us from the premises if she continued to run around and talk at the top of her lungs. What I witnessed was nothing short of a miracle...Gi immediately toned down her toddler antics, grabbed hubs' leg and vehemently insisted that Mr. Home Depot need not be dragged into this family drama. Like ravenous sharks picking up on the scent of fresh blood, hubs and I both filed this very unexpected but successful strategy into the rollerdex of our feeble, tired minds. Since then, Munch has had the opportunity to assure her mommy and daddy that Mr. JCPenney, Mr. Target, Mr. Dillards and Mr. Mall was not necessary in showing her the ways of a cooperative toddler. The list goes on and, of course, it does not work for the length of an entire outing. Ohhhh Munch will catch on eventually and will call us to the floor on this one but in the meantime we're quite enjoying the results.

My Name is Hammy

Just thought I share some pictures of Gi from a photo session we had at home recently. Some of the pictures were used for our family holiday card. Munch was surprisingly cooperative and unusually hammy. Of course, out of the 50 some odd pictures I took that day, only a handful was usable. Both sets of grandparents received a set including my grandmother in Macau. Happy holidays to all our family and friends from near and far.

Winter Fest

Let's just say this was not the Santa photo that we were hoping for. Believe it or not this was the best one out of the four that were taken at Gi's preschool winter fest. Gi, again, did not want anything to do with Santa. So we were trying to amuse her and pose at the same time. Obviously, we failed miserably. A couple of seconds after this shot was taken, Gi broke into full fledge tears and wails. But other then this momentary setback, we all had a wonderful time. Munch went on most of the toddler rides but avoided the bounce houses. Go figure, Miss Daredevil does not care for bounce houses. She even frolicked in "snow" and ate her share of junky carnival foods. Hubs stuck to sodas and chicken wings while I sample a plateful of Haitian foods...yummy! Then it was off to dinner at Po Po's house. Afterwards we joined the Hawkins and Vans at a local parade where Munch got to hang with her BFFs, Sammy and Brea.