Helaina and Indigo

It's a fitting day for this post.  Mother's day encourages me to reflect on how blessed I am.  Don't get me wrong, life is very challenging with 2 toddlers.  They make me work hard for it every day.  Many days I throw up my hands and surrender, which is the way I believe God intended it.  However, in many ways, writing this blog is my way of taking time out to remember what is important.  To pause and note the good in the girls and the things that make me smile like a proud mamma.

Helaina (3 yrs and 4 months)

 She is way more of a girly-girl then I ever was.  She likes princesses, tea parties, shoes, purses and anything that sparkles.  She is really enjoying her tap / ballet class.  They have a recital coming up in June and I can't wait to see it and how she reacts to being on a stage in front of a large audience.  Helaina is very friendly once she knows you but not necessarily a jump right in kind of gal.  She is much like her daddy in that way.  I'm sure the cute factor will out weigh her classes ability (or lack there of) to follow cohesive steps to "Candy Girl."



She, so far, is also enjoying the swimming lessons that she and Indigo just started.  We have had quite the 1st week as day one was 60 degrees and torrential down pour.  Luckily they moved us to a pool that day that was heated to 80 degrees.  Day two she got to have the goggles (that mommy waited to invest in until I made sure we were all-systems-go). We were shifted to a different class and amongst the confusion, I didn't have time to adjust her goggles.  When I looked over from the mommy and me class, she was sitting on the side of the pool with her goggles barely over her eyes, kicking her feet in the water and a grin that would have made a Cheshire cat jealous.  It quite possibly was the biggest smile I have ever seen from her.  I so wish I was dry and had a camera but for now, I'm storing that mental picture in my happy place section of my brain.   Hopefully the goggles can bring that much joy this week when we move to the less heated pool.  :o)

1st official french braid.  There were better pics
of her smiling but this one shows the hair best.

She is a fully functioning bathroom user, wiping and all.  We still supervise wipe procedures but she's pretty thorough.  She is also very proud and has no qualms about yelling out what she accomplished, in detail, regardless of whether we are at home or in a crowded restroom.  Hopefully the mechanics of some of the public Chinese bathrooms (ie squatting into a hole in the ground) don't slide back her progress.

Helaina is showing signs of being very generous.  She is always willing to share snack, toys and so on.  Often when she and playmates are taking turns I find that many kids (like most of us) are not very eager to let it be the other person's turn.    If they start throwing a tantrum, she typically gives them whatever the item in question is or takes a shorter turn.   Often the result is the other kid becomes more open to sharing as well.  This kindness does sometimes makes it a challenge when I am trying to teach Indigo the beginnings of sharing but I do hope Helaina holds tightly to this very altruistic trait.

Like most kids, she is such a sponge.  Things get repeated back to you that are sometimes not so funny.  Many times I find myself striving to be better based on the "feedback" I get from her.  However, many times she repeats things that sound hilarious coming from her 3 year old mouth.  Recently she has taken to saying "by the by" and "Are you out of my mind"  There are tons of others at the moment but they are escaping me.  #mommybrain

We selected a school for her in China.  She will be attending the Sino European International Pre-School (SEIPS) for their 1/2 day program.  The school is mainly ex-pats but only 20% American so she will have a true international experience.  50% of her day will be taught in English and the other in Mandarin.  I am really looking forward to getting some assistance from her while stumbling over my own attempt at learning Mandarin, as I am sure she and Indi will pick it up much quicker than Chris and I.

Overall Helaina is at a really fun stage.  She is able to communicate, help, follow simple instructions (though she doesn't always wants to) and she is very much into being a big sister.  She is more times than not, a joy to watch and I am over joyed to call her my daughter.

Indigo (1 year 4 months)

This girl is a smiler (though not all together keen on smiling for the camera).  As long her daddy or mommy (especially mommy <3 ) are accessible, she is good to go.  She night sleeps like a champ and most importantly happily agrees with being placed in her crib after her bed time ritual.  She finally is into books (which was a huge switch from before).  I was actually concerned since I only had Helaina to compare her to and big sister loved any books (long or short) from a very early age.   I thought that Indi was way less articulate at this age than her sister but after reviewing some videos, I completely made that up.  Reviewing the videos did illustrate just how much they are starting to resemble one another.   Indi looks very much like Helaina did at this age with just a bit more hair.

Indigo at 16 months

Helaina at 16 months

Indigo eagerly watches the monitor and waits as her sister while Helaina is in dance class.  She often goes to the door that leads to the studio and tries to knock or open the door.  When Helaina comes out to switch from ballet to tap shoes, Indigo makes a Bee-line and runs and dances in the studio like she just won the lottery.  Unfortunately the studio starts classes at 18 months or we would have put her in.  Hopefully, we can find an appropriate dance program for her in Shanghai.

Indi got to go in last week for parents week.  Woop woop.
Not quite sure if the other girl loved having a shadow

Indi is so affectionate and most always loves to hold hands, be held, give hugs and kisses.  Despite this, she is can be quite independent and has no problems strutting into the other room to play by herself (again assuming she knows where mommy is) She has a few words down.  At this point she has mamma, dadda, Bebe, sister,  please, up and a few others.  An outsider would probably only understand the first three.  

She is really enjoying swimming too.  Mommy loves the perk of having two babies that are ready to nap afterword for a bit longer than normal.  

It seems that Indi is really good at fine motor skills.  She is opening containers and getting into things a lot quicker than we remember Heliana doing it (however, I can't be held reliable for my memory).  She is not scared to go down a slide or climb up on anything which can be nerve racking for me.



She is a bit more of a trouble maker than her sister was/is but I find myself not as irritated because she usually does it with a smile.  That is so going to come back to bite me but a pleasant smile will get you a long way.  She really is a treat.

It is really neat to watch the budding relationship between the girls.  Helaina is usually looking out for her little sister (pending she hasn't absconded a toy H was really into playing with at that moment.)  Indigo likes to hold Helaina's hand when they are walking down the hall or outside.  If Helaina is in time out, Indi is sure to make it her mission to try to entertain her sister while we try our best to keep her away.  I am so excited to see the relationship that will come of them.  What a special friendship.

note the figure four leg lock

Both love bananas and swing

Sharing play time with their dear friend Genevieve 

The Higgs girls love their yoga

I am overwhelmed with joy and sitting down to write this really re-calibrates me when I need it.  Thanks for reading.

Shanghai

Although it's been some time since we announced that we were relocating to Shanghai for Chris' next project, up to this point it has only been words.  Things became quite real when Chris and I traveled off for 8 days to check out the city and get an idea of what life will be for the next 3 years.  Even as I type, I am having trouble formulating my thoughts to put down.  I'm not quite sure if it's confusing because I'm still a bit jet lagged or if I'm still processing the exorbitant amount of information my brain received on the trip.  It could also be that our lives will be the complete opposite of the lifestyle we have led for the past 4 years in Hawaii and California.  (correct answer D, all of the above) Whatever it is, I hope to make some sense of this in this blog and to give you some insight from an outsiders first perspective.

Every day we were there was a roller coaster of emotions.  First off, being away from my girls (not having done so for longer than 12 hours before) was both terrifying and liberating to equal heights.  I worried how they were doing, what if there was an emergency, if they were immensely sad, if they were taking advantage of Mimi and Grandaddy.  In the end, none of those were true (at least according to my in-laws)  I can not thank Mimi and Grandaddy enough for not only stopping their lives to come out and love on our babies while we are gone but also for doing such an amazing job!

For me, though I missed them and felt like I was missing a limb, it was SO NICE, to feel like myself and not have someone to feed, take potty or change a diaper for someone.  You really forget how nice it is to potty with the door closed, sleep through the night, wake up on my own accord.  Most importantly, I got to spend some truly appreciated quality time with my husband.

Everyone enjoyed their special time and it made the reunion that much sweeter.

I honestly, don't know how someone relocates to a foreign country when their not being hand held by the company they work for (ehhhhemmmm, Nikki).  Disney pulled out all the stops to let you know that they were there for you.  We have an incredible relocation team at our access for everything from travel, bank accounts, hiring help, finding a place -- you name it -- we have help:  Now if they could just shop for me the first few time at the grocery and read the labels to me ;o)

Ever wonder what one of gazillion malls in a place
where 23 million people live look like?

What I'm most excited about is this experience for the girls, especially for school.  Every school we looked at was something a parent would dream about for their children.  We are blessed that this cost is part of our package.  Not only do I feel like the girls will receive incredible academic opportunity but they will learn a difficult yet important language. Most importantly, they will start their lives off with a cultural awareness that will hopefully ground them in such a way that will see everyone as God's children.

We have our work cut out for us.  Though lots of people speak English, many do not, so learning  at least the basics in Mandarin will be necessary before we go.  I also really wished that I had paid more attention in school to the metric system cause I'm going to need it.  That will be fun when I also will have to initially calculate the RMB rate vs US to make sure I don't pay $8 for a teeny tiny bottle of Perrier again.


Lessons learned on my first trip:

• This is kind of insane but we are doing it anyway
• Despite the fact that I change my mind almost daily about which part of town we will settle in, I think we found enough good points for each to be happy in almost every part.
• The Chinese LOVE babies and kids
• The pollution in LA is not that bad

• I must start a Facebook photo album with English translations gone wrong.  Some of the signage in English translation was quite amusing.

This wasn't the best but the only one we got a picture of

• Indi will be transitioning to cloth diapers as disposables were .62 a piece
• We quite possibly have found the worst drivers in the world - NY or anywhere else in the US has nothing on this place!!!! And yet it somehow works without gun shots being fired or extra hand signals out of the window.
• I must BRING tissues to every bathroom and hand sanitizer (or hanitizer as my nephew Vegas calls it).
• I need to learn about 25 words or more in Mandarin before I arrive to feel comfortable to take trips by myself with the girls.  Including but not limited to: "No I do not need a Rolex, Gucci or anything else from the fake market" "No raw egg in my dish please" I also need to correctly pronounce "Help me please" vs "Hug me please"
• Most importantly, we need to bring our sense of adventure (the one that subsided a bit when I became a mom).

I can't explain it but despite all these things that are quite a shock up front, we are still extremely excited.  In many ways things were/are just as crazy as you might imagine if this were your future.  However, as we came to conclusion when we accepted this job, we really feel like this is where God wants us to be next and this is an opportunity of a lifetime, especially for the girls.  I feel fairly confident that I will look back at this in 4 years and snicker at my hesitations.

Sometimes familiar things make you good

Meet our new friends, The Lowery Family.  They just moved to
Shanghai as well.  A special thanks to Elizabeth for organizing
a fun night out at a Hot Pot restaurant.

The December and January Blur

I really don't prefer calling the season in which we celebrate the Lord's birthday a blur.  However, try as we may to keep the reason for the season, having 2 January babies and adding in travel is going to complicate things.  And so, it's the end of January and I am just getting to our Orlando visit, the Disney cruise, Indigo's Baptism, Christmas, NYE, and both girls birthdays -- which lends itself to our most recent visitors as well and all the updates.  Here we go...........

Visiting family was everything I would hope it would be and more.  I LOVE watching the cousins play together and witnessing family getting to spend time with the little ones (and big ones) that being on relo robs them of.  London and Vegas were especially great with both girls and it makes me pine for a day when we might return to the same zip code.   I pray that we don't miss some window and that my amazing niece and nephew decide that they are too grown too to be bothered with the younger kids.

This is taken on the bench where Chris and I met

We weren't in Orlando long before we set sail on a Disney cruise with my brother and family as well as Chris' mom and dad.  I promise I am not a paid representative of the Disney cruise line and benefit in no way from you taking this trip.  That being said, we had THE BEST TIME on this cruise.  The food, the service, the cleanliness and the activities were awesome.  There was some thing for every age group (though I may recommend waiting till everyone in your party is walking to maximize)
The highlights for me were watching Helaina gleam at the princess meet and greet.  She was elated.   I loved that the family was together but everyone could break off to do their own thing for a bit. I also loved that the only decision I had to make for 3 days was what I should wanted eat.  (And eat I did!)  I highly recommend this cruise if you want a true vacation.  You can't beat the price for the overall value.

Helaina with her favorite princess, Tiana

Upon returning my Dad and Caroline as well as Uncle Jeremy came down to join us as we baptised Indigo.  What a  significant time as we celebrated a promise and commitment to bring up our daughter as a follower of Christ.  It was a precious memory to see her with Pastor David who not only baptised Helaina, but married Chris and I.  It's nice to have an anchor when you are being tossed around the world.  Indigo preferred to stay with mommy during the ceremony but didn't miss a chance to ham it up for the congregation.  We took advantage of having the family all together and dressed up so we took family pics which I will post the official ones once I get them.

Christmas Eve was celebrated in the usual Sicilian Italian Style for us with 7 seafoods.  If you know me, you know that this is the pinnacle of meals for me.   Hats off to my brother who again knocked it out of the park as the head chef.  Erin's sister, Jodie and I were su chef's while Chris and the other's manned the children, got the house ready and made sure everyone was taken care of.  It was a festive evening complete with a game of 'Celebrities'.  I especially love that we got to celebrate with family as I am not sure how the next few years will go.

You never know who will show at Christmas Eve at the Vertolli's house

We had a quiet Christmas morning with just the girls and us.  We really tried to downplay the present thing again, especially since we went on a cruise as a gift AND we knew family would come with full hands.  We almost overshot but I assure you the girls had full hearts and we needed another suitcase to bring home everything.  Trying to instill the importance of Jesus' birthday and minimizing consumerism is an uphill battle.

For NYE, my bestie Cathy (who was in-town with her family and Beth and Rob) arranged for us to go to a cooking place called Truffles and Trifles.  You are part of a larger group where each of you prepare a portion of a meal (recipe and ingredients included).  At the end of the evening, everyone sits down and eats the smorgasburg of food!  You take home the recipes at the end of the evening.  We had wine, champagne, and a wonderful time.   I can't think of a better way to ring in the New Year.

 Last year's New Years Day will probably never be 'out done' as we spent Jan 1 2012 delivering Indigo almost in the car.  Click here if you don't know the story Indigo Arrives.  Any who, this New Years day was all about a 1 year celebration for our little lady.  We had a quaint little dinner in her honor.  My brother thankfully assisted while I tackled my first prime rib.  (side note: Clearly this is why my children love food and someday only accept a suitor who is willing to keep up with their taste buds - watch out world).  It's not as fabulous sounding when I tell you that we zipped (food processed, or la machined for you seasoned folks) her prime rib and other food.  She loved it, but not as much as playing with the non-sugar banana bread type concoction that I made with a fresh fruit yogurt topping.  The key word is played with.  She really had no interest in eating it.  That's ok because Big Sister, Helaina gobbled up her own serving so my feeling weren't hurt.

Frank had to leave the room by this point.  The mess got much worse than this

After arriving back in CA, we reset and tried to make sense of our routine as quick as possible.  For Helaina's actual birthday weekend we went on an organized Faery Hunt which left much to be desired by Chris and I.  She also seemed uninterested but said she would do it again.  We explained it was probably a one time deal and she said no she was pretty sure it was a two time deal.  (The art of negotiations of a 3 year old).  For her Birthday night, when given the choice of where to eat, she chose Sushi.  Again, world beware.  We had a nice "quiet" time in anticipation for the following weekend.

During that week, we were very lucky to welcome our 1st group of visitors which was the O'huchi Family from Hawaii.  Kai and Cora were in our natural birthing class and their daughter Kalina was born a few weeks ahead of Helaina.  They also have a son Keison who is 8 months.  The very next day we welcomed the Gerich's family from Idaho.  Megan and Robbie were also in our birthing class and their oldest, Sydney shares Indigo's birth date but is Helaina and Kalina's age.  They too have another pea in the pod, Simone.  You may have read about them if you follow the blog at Boise Idaho.
We are so blessed to have these people in our lives as friends.  We are vastly different in so many ways yet so alike in many others.  It's nice to have the balance and it was great to spend time with all of them at once as we haven't all been reunited since the Gerich's left Hawaii to move back to Idaho.

If you are quick with math (or if you want to peak back) then you will note we had 12 total people staying in our 3 bedroom, 1,000 sqft place.  I don't think we could have pulled this off with just anyone.  One family per bedroom.  We were an organized unofficial commune (minus any freaky stuff) for 4 days.  Everyone pitched in and we tried to stay outdoors as much as possible.  We went to Disney and had a picture post card day.  The weather was perfect and the lines short.  We went for a hike to see the Hollywood sign.  WE ATE (shock).  The girls got along swimmingly (for 3 years old) and the adults enjoyed each other.  We also got to celebrate Helaina's birthday officially.  It was so nice to be able to do so with friends that she has had since birth.  I do hope that they stay friends for a lifetime as I plan to with their parents.

For Helaina's 3rd birthday we celebrated by merging her love of "balance beam" -- you know - - walking on every available raised surface, and of course Hello Kitty.  We had a gymnastics party at Fun and Fit.  All the little people had special hello kitty leotards or onesies.  (I could make a dissertation on what a PAIN in the keester that onesies ended up being but I will save you the drama -- I'm almost over it.    The girls got to do balance beam, jump on all kinds of trampoline's or the big hit, jumping into the foam pit.  The long awaited 1st cupcake did not disappoint.  I ordered (that's right people - I had 12 people in my house and my husband convinced me it was prudent to do so -- thank you Chris) from a place that uses 1/2 the sugar, applesauce vs oil, almond milk vs cream etc... We ordered the mini sized for the kids.  I then let her have 2 cause she's waited so long to taste a cupcake :o)  She really like it and even the one she had the next day but has not asked for it since and for that I am grateful.
A good time was had by all.

 

And on other news (stay with me it's been over a month) - We have ordered the girls passports and our visas.  We have also booked our look-and-see trip to Shanghai for Chris and I for the first week of March.  Mimi (Chris' mom) and Dad have graciously decided to come out and take the girls for the week. I know they are in the most capable of hands but I"M STILL FREAKED OUT.  One because the longest I have ever been away from the girls is 12 hours.  Two, the China thing is actually happening.  More on that to come in later blogs.

And finally in an update on the girls, Helaina seems to have magically passed over the terrible two's and into the realm of 3 years old things.  She is doing great with her potty training.  We have had 1 accident only this month!  Now onto that wiping yourself thing - though I'm sure the mommy touch up job will be around for a while.  She is taking a ballet and tap class that she really likes.  She is quite funny with some of the things she says.  The concept of lock it or unlock it has been merged to the word sequence "un-re-lock it."  Yesterday she said "Can swing by the car on the way out while we are taking the bebs out?"  She also says "Actually" quite a bit.  She also likes to throw out "Can you take care of that Biz?" which she adapted from Mommy and Antie Megs.   Her bed time regime has been a lot less gruesome and she has been more independent.  She asks a lot of questions but so far it doesn't bother me because it's not just "WHY?".  She actually articulates what she is trying to wrap her brain around.  She still loves to read and she and Indigo make a game of making each other laugh quite a bit.  It is so sweet to see them interact.

Indigo is officially up and at-em on the walking thing.  She gets about 12 steps or so on her own.  She can walk a long way holding someones hand.   She likes to scale any and everything much to mommy's chagrin.  She loves to dance when music is on.  She all the sudden started refusing pureed food an only eats chunks (unless it's a squeeze pouch).  She likes to throw out the double hand wave quite a bit.  She is doing great with pointing to body parts and loves "head, shoulders, knee's and toes"  She ssays momma, dadda, ssssissss for Helaina, and ba-ba for Bebe dog.  

They keep me so ridiculously busy and it's harder than heck right now especially with Indigo on the move and climbing everything like Godzilla.  However, my heart is full and I would be a fool to complain.