Baba the Builder!!

- Here's Zoë and her baba sharing a laugh


The twins like to walk around with their hard hats on, saying they're Bob the Builder. Except that they think it's Baba the Builder,. I love that they think a construction guy is named after their father, the least capable handyman imaginable.
- Reading the train book with mama

- Molly in her Great Wall tracksuit

And here are a few shots of our dim sum lunch with the extended Lee family on Sunday. Hope to see you guys again soon!!
- Molly getting a reading/coloring lesson from Ellie

- a heated discussion about whether enough food had been ordered

- Jacob pouting, possibly worried that not enough food had been ordered

We have Locomotion!!

I wouldn't go so far as to call it a crawl, but here is a record of Zoë's very first act of forward locomotion. Somewhere between a slither and an army commando crawl. We'll see how sibling relations evolve now that she can go after the twins' prized possessions (albeit verrry slowwwly).

Finding God in a Snowstorm

Actual conversation this evening in the backseat of the minivan enroute to playball.

Molly: Some families have a god.
Jacob: Some don't have a god.
M: We have a god.
J: Baba, why some families don't have a god?
Me: (Keeping quiet, trying to think of something)
M: There's no snow in a god.
J: That's why our minivan not white.
Me: (Garage!!!! Not god.)

In retrospect, they were pronouncing it "gawad", but it sure sounded like god to me.

Trifecta of Bad

Molly: "When I'm big, I'm going to have a pink jetski and Zoë will have a purple one and Jacob will have a blue one"

1. Rampant consumerism. Check.
2. Environmental degradation. Check.
3. Female disempowerment due to Disney-pink-brainwashing. Check.

By the way, the "pink is my favourite colour" phase (and yes, I'm calling it a phase as it's only been a couple of weeks) coincided with my mother's recent visit. We don't like to use the word "blame" around here, but you can draw your own conclusions.

Since Lindsey asked, what should Team Canada do? Bench Brodeur and give Jonas Hiller Canadian citizenship. The Swiss team is usually made up mostly of Canadians, so fair is fair.

New Jacobisms

1. Last night, climbing up to his chair at the dinner table:
Jacob: Okay, evvybuddy, there is something I want to talk about
Me & Kate: (exchanging glances, trying to suppress giggles) okay Jacob what is it
Jacob: Cats
Me and Kate: Cats?
Jacob: Yes
Kate: What about cats would you like to talk about?
Jacob: No, you be a cat
Kate: Ummm, meow?
Jacob: (nods solemnly)

2. Jacob, running laps of the house yesterday
Jacob: I'm the fastest boyeeeeee in the worrrrrrrld!
I noted that he limited his dominance to boys, in order to not offend his sister. But a friend of ours remarked that maybe he was trying not to stoke his mother's competitive fires. Smart kid.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!!

Photo catch-up time:
- more tent time

- Dan & Al and cousins Sam & Maeve came up for Chinese New Year. Here are the 4 cousins sledding down the hill behind our house

- Jacob inherited my wild side - here he's saying, "not so fast baba"

- Sam & Alison

- the cousins again

- opening some New Year presents

- New Year's lunch. I made a Chinese soup for lunch, but we wimped out and ordered take-out for dinner

- more New Year's kids

New Breed of Man in Town

You're all going to get a giggle out of this article - yes, I really am described as "glamorous".

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2436297

Hockey and Take-Out and More B-day Photos

I have some more Zoë birthday photos, but thought I'd open with two revealing stories - what's the point of a blog if you can't make fun of yourself.

- At last night's oldtimers' hockey game I scored two goals in the first period (more goals than I've scored in some decades). I spent the rest of the game wondering whether hat trick was spelled as one word or two, as I imagined bragging about my athletic feat on my blog. Needless to say, a third goal did not materialize.

- Tonight I called the kids to the table when their pasta dinner was almost ready. As Jacob sat waiting, he said, "When is the Chinese food guy?". Is it possible that I'm using the preservation of Zoë's cultural heritage as a convenient excuse to order way too much Chinese take-out? You're damned straight it's possible.

Now for the photos:
- Here's Kate using Zoë's birthday as a teachable moment. Yes, that's my mom playing the sun, while Molly circles her to demonstrate the meaning of a year. Yes, I'm sure that our genius children absorbed this lesson. No, I don't think my wife is certifiably insane.

- Jacob, giving me his well-practiced, "you gotta love mama and her crazy ideas" look

- Zoë with her birthday train that the twins made her

- another birthday gift for "Zoë" - which Molly & Jacob gleefully opened

- the whole gang in their crazy fort tent

Zoë's 1st Birthday!!

Today was Zoë's first birthday. My mom is visiting this week so she was able to share in the day's festivities. Unfortunately, that mostly consisted of helping to care for under-the-weather kids and cleaning up vomit. Being a grandparent isn't all glamour.

Hard to believe Zoë's only been part of our family for just over 3 months.

In that time she's gone from 14 to 20 pounds, scrawny to pleasantly plump (especially in the cheeks), no teeth to a mouthful, sleeping all the time to sleeping not enough, smiling a lot to smiling non-stop, unable to sit to able to hold herself standing, never heard a word of English to lots of sounds that a proud parent could even claim were words (hi, up, more, bottle/baba).

Of course, in many ways, an imagined version of her has been a part of our family for almost five years now. Our hopes for her kept us all sane. But the real Zoë, just like the real Molly and Jacob, is love in technicolor. Every giggle and cry just melts me.

There wasn't a lot of time for reflection during our busy day. But I have spent some time thinking about Zoë's birth mother. Thanking her for protecting Zoë. Hoping she has come to terms with the difficult choices she faced. Assuring her that her little girl is healthy and happy and very, very loved.

And I've also been thinking about Zoë's caregivers at the orphanage. Besides having Zoë placed in my arms for the first time, the most important moments in the past year took place when we visited the orphanage and saw first hand how much those women loved and cared for Zoë. She is blossoming now, and it is in no small part due to their care.

And here are a couple of photos of the big day.
- Here's the finished product - cake decorated and partly prepared by loving siblings

- Here's the whole gang preparing to dive into the cake

- Zoë quietly reading a birthday card while Molly & Jacob celebrate the event

- Licking the bowl

- Early on in the chocolate proceedings. I'll have to see if my mom has a shot of the full cake-face