Monday, November 30, 2009

Troubles

Sorry for the lack of posts in the last few days.
We're having some trouble with "The Great FireWall"

I'll keep trying. We have some good pictures coming up so keep checking back.

Until then...
Happy December 1st!!


Thursday, November 26, 2009

True Love

Ok. I don't really have much to say about these pictures. I just thought they were wonderful and wanted to share them with you.


Who knew some one so small could bring so much joy and peace and love!

There is just something healing and spiritual about holding a baby. Especially when that baby is YOUR baby.
When I am sad (like when my mom went home or when I think about missing another holiday season with my family) I hold Bonnie Rose and she makes me feel so much better.
I don't know how to explain it. William said it was the same for him... when he was sick the other week he said holding the baby made him feel better (she's breast feeding so we aren't worried about her getting sick).

I remember when she was first born and for the first few weeks I was just in awe. I couldn't believe it was real. That this little baby came out of me and William and I actually had a baby!

Now that she's a month old it's all sinking in deeper and deeper. Yesterday it struck me. WE GET TO KEEP HER! She's in our lives forever!! I don't have to give her up. I don't have to give her back to someone else. This little angel is our very own. And we get to hold her and kiss her all we want all the time.
And that is just wonderful.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Nap Time = Cuddle Time



They say you should sleep when the baby sleeps.

Bath Time




We all have to get used to things. Especially new things. When Bonnie Rose was just a couple weeks old she had her first in water bath. (for pictures of her very first towel bath see my mom's blog)

At first she wasn't sure what to think, but then she got used to it. Actually I think her Mommy and Daddy had to get more used to it more than she did. She was so small!


It's a little work to give her a bath. We have to warm up the living room. Set up her tub on the table. Arrange a pile of warm towels for her. Argue about the water temperature. And pick out a new outfit. THEN we get to gently put her in the water and hope she doesn't complain about the temperature.

Well as you can see by this picture she loves her bath time. And so do I.

I think we are all getting better at it and Bonnie Rose loves her naked time. Yup. She lives up to her name sake ... and her mother.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Happy Birthday

Bonita Rose is ONE MONTH old and she has changed SO much in just 4 short weeks.

Here she is just few days old


And here she is at 1 month


Can you believe how much she has grown?!
She was born at 6pounds 7ounces
and when I weighed her last week she was 9pounds 5ounces. and I'm pretty sure she's gain more since then.

Here she is sporting some Shanghai winter fashion...


and yes. Those are leg warmers.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Baby Dedication


Many cultures and religious groups have different traditions when it comes to welcoming a new baby into the world.When Bonnie Rose was born a couple of our Chinese friends asked us if we had any special ceremony that we did for the baby since we are Christians.
I explained what we usually do is called a "Baby Dedication." The parents usually take the baby to church and stand in front of the church with the Pastor. The parents promise to raise the child to know God and by doing it in front of the church they are also asking their church family to help them raise the child in this way.
Simply put, we dedicate the child to God. We say to God "Thank you for giving us this baby, we acknowledge this beautiful gift and give it back to you."

Anyway, I wasn't sure what we were going to do for Bonnie Rose. We are far away from our home church and our family and it would be nice to do it with them. But since we don't know when we will be home again to our home church, and the International Church in Shanghai was having a Dedication Sunday we decided to do it now.
So we got Bonnie Rose all dressed up in her beautiful rose covered outfit from her Nana and made the adventurous outing to church.



Any time you have ten babies sitting in the first 2 rows of church it's an adventure. For every one. But all the babies behaved very well and we got to practice what it's like having a baby at a public event. It was fun, and it was special. And Bonnie Rose looked Beautiful.



The church people were so sweet and supportive and super patient with all the babies. They gave Bonnie these beautiful flowers and a Certificate for us to remember this special Sunday by.

Baby dedication isn't some magic pass straight to heaven. It doesn't guarantee that the baby will have a perfect life. It's not superstitious or for good luck. It doesn't really mean much to the child.
But it is special for the parents. It's a way for us to refocus our goals and intentions for our daughter. It's a time to stop and be thankful for our blessings. And it's a time for those in our community to remember the value of children and to be reminded of our communal responsibility to them.

And it's a great excuse to get our baby all dressed up and have people tell us how cute she is.

Halloween

I know my Mom posted about Bonnie's first Halloween already, But I wanted to make sure it was well documented.
Bonnie Rose was born during my favorite time of year. Autumn! And just as all the great holidays are coming. For me "the Holiday Season" starts in October. (well.. unless you count that I start listening to Christmas music in September) And Halloween is a great way to start this magical time of year.

Halloween was always a favorite of mine growing up. And I've held on to that child-like playfulness that the holiday inspires. I LOVE dressing up!

Bonnie was just 2 weeks old on Halloween so we kept it very simple (we were ALL still recovering) but we still dressed up.
My mom made some amazing chilli and corn bread and then we dressed up the baby.
OH.. and we decorated the house.

I'm especially proud of our decorations. We finally took them down yesterday.. (well at least we took down the ghosts and Hector (the glow in the dark Skeleton). We left the pumpkins up for Thanksgiving) Because it's time to start decorating for the OTHER Holidays.



This year William and I weren't very creative in our own costumes. Bonnie Rose looked ridiculously cute as Tigger. I dressed up as a hippie (that's an easy one for me) and William is ... can you guess?
Yes. William is a glass of Guinness.

Indignant


Mothers do the meanest things some times to entertain themselves. I know my mother did... does. She likes to poke us in our ribs with a sharp fingers to watch us squirm. She giggles.
I have to admit it is pretty funny when she does it to my dad.
I'm sure I will do similar things.
But for now.. I'll just dress my child up in ridiculous hats and giggle.
Somehow, even at this age, she seems to know I'm up to not good.

But she sure is cute. hehe