Our sweet daughter, Marie, bought her little sister this adorable dress at a cute little boutique in downtown Chicago. She also got her a pink heart-shaped reading rug it is so cute! Out of all of the dresses we have bought, this one is my favorite! I dream of a day next summer when Kaelin will be wearing it.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Cute dress!
Our sweet daughter, Marie, bought her little sister this adorable dress at a cute little boutique in downtown Chicago. She also got her a pink heart-shaped reading rug it is so cute! Out of all of the dresses we have bought, this one is my favorite! I dream of a day next summer when Kaelin will be wearing it.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Another LID Anniversary!
Today marks, yet, another LID anniversary! I do know that one day, hopefully in the not too distant future, we will be celebrating "Gotcha Day" anniversaries, instead! From the looks of things we still have about 7-8 more months (optimistically speaking) to go before we meet our precious daughter for the first time.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
"Ladies and gentlemen, Please keep your arms and legs in the vehicle at all times!"
Here we go again!! There's a silly rumor over on RQ that says that referrals will go all the way thru early December in the August batch! I'm not sure if we want to get on this crazy rollercoaster, but what the heck! If it turns out to not to be true than we will throw up when we get off, and if it is true we will throw up anyway!
Here we go!!!! Weeeeeee!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Red Egg and Ginger Party
One of our Yahoo groups sent us this interesting Chinese custom. The Red Egg and Ginger Party is an ancient Chinese tradition: A baby's first month birthday calls for a celebration. Proud parents introduce their latest addition to friends and relatives by holding a red egg and ginger party. Traditionally, the baby's name is also announced at this time.
Guests attending red egg and ginger parties bring gifts. Lysee or "lucky money" in red envelopes is often given to baby boys, while girls may receive expensive jewelry. The guests don't leave empty handed, either. The parents hand out red-dyed eggs, symbolizing happiness and the renewal of life.
Red egg and ginger parties have their origins in ancient Chinese culture. As in other countries, infant mortality rates in China were quite high prior to the medical advances of the twentieth century. A baby who reached one month of age was likely to survive, and so the event was celebrated.
Traditionally, this was also a time to reintroduce the mother to the world. The Chinese believe mothers are in a highly weakened state in the period immediately following birth. Just as English custom calls for new mothers to enjoy a brief period of confinement, Chinese mothers have traditionally been expected to rest indoors for one full month after giving birth. This helped ensure they didn't become overtired, or contract any germs or illnesses from the outside world that could prove dangerous in their weakened state. Besides resting, they drank a nutritious broth made with pig's feet, eggs, vinegar and ginger. Many new mothers still follow this ritual today.
In the past, due to the traditional importance of male children in Chinese culture, red egg and ginger parties were sometimes given for boys only, or the celebration for boys was more elaborate. Today, parties are given for babies of both sexes.
In recent years, some of the traditions surrounding red egg and ginger parties have been modified. Parents may choose to hold the celebration at a fancy restaurant, complete with costumed Chinese performers or even a children's magician. Also, the baby may be anywhere from one to three months old by the time the party is held. But the custom of passing out red-dyed eggs continues. Parents may also use the brightly colored eggs to announce the birth; an even number of eggs are sent out for a boy, and an odd number to announce a baby girl. (I copied this info from About.com)
Guests attending red egg and ginger parties bring gifts. Lysee or "lucky money" in red envelopes is often given to baby boys, while girls may receive expensive jewelry. The guests don't leave empty handed, either. The parents hand out red-dyed eggs, symbolizing happiness and the renewal of life.
Red egg and ginger parties have their origins in ancient Chinese culture. As in other countries, infant mortality rates in China were quite high prior to the medical advances of the twentieth century. A baby who reached one month of age was likely to survive, and so the event was celebrated.
Traditionally, this was also a time to reintroduce the mother to the world. The Chinese believe mothers are in a highly weakened state in the period immediately following birth. Just as English custom calls for new mothers to enjoy a brief period of confinement, Chinese mothers have traditionally been expected to rest indoors for one full month after giving birth. This helped ensure they didn't become overtired, or contract any germs or illnesses from the outside world that could prove dangerous in their weakened state. Besides resting, they drank a nutritious broth made with pig's feet, eggs, vinegar and ginger. Many new mothers still follow this ritual today.
In the past, due to the traditional importance of male children in Chinese culture, red egg and ginger parties were sometimes given for boys only, or the celebration for boys was more elaborate. Today, parties are given for babies of both sexes.
In recent years, some of the traditions surrounding red egg and ginger parties have been modified. Parents may choose to hold the celebration at a fancy restaurant, complete with costumed Chinese performers or even a children's magician. Also, the baby may be anywhere from one to three months old by the time the party is held. But the custom of passing out red-dyed eggs continues. Parents may also use the brightly colored eggs to announce the birth; an even number of eggs are sent out for a boy, and an odd number to announce a baby girl. (I copied this info from About.com)
If you go to http://www.naptimecards.com/sel-red-egg-and-ginger.asp you can find cute invitations for a Red Egg and Ginger Party! Maybe we will have one for our little Kaelin when she is finally home!
Life as usual......
Sorry that I have not posted in a while! Sometimes you just gotta take a break! Marie came home last week and she, Sarah, and I had such a great time together! We mostly went shopping, ate good food, watched scary movies, and played in the pool. Sunday we had everybody together for the first time since Christmas (I know, pathetic!), I loved every minute of it!
Later today, Gary and Sarah are driving down to Memphis, TN to find Sarah a place to live while she attends University of Memphis. Ugh, it's a 15 hr drive, poor Gary! I wished they were flying, but they both wanted to drive! Too late, now. They are only going to drive for about 7 hrs tonight (maybe less) and finish the rest of the drive tomorrow. I decided to stay home with the boys and the dog and cat! I hate long car rides!
Later today, Gary and Sarah are driving down to Memphis, TN to find Sarah a place to live while she attends University of Memphis. Ugh, it's a 15 hr drive, poor Gary! I wished they were flying, but they both wanted to drive! Too late, now. They are only going to drive for about 7 hrs tonight (maybe less) and finish the rest of the drive tomorrow. I decided to stay home with the boys and the dog and cat! I hate long car rides!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Well, It's that time again!
Rumor has it that referrals are on their way from CCAA. This time, they include up to November 14, big surprise, haha! One week's worth of LID's per month appears to be the norm now. At this rate we are still looking at an 8 month wait! (that sounds like a long time, but people just now getting logged in are being told they will have a 3 yr wait!) So, it's really not so bad. Hopefully, they will not go below seven days anymore, because if they do, who knows when we would get our referral for Kaelin. Good Grief!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
My Secret Pal Strikes Again!
Today, I got these cute things from my secret pal! I love the pop beads, especially, because my grown kids used to play with those when they were babies. I'm getting such a stash of goodies from her that I am running out of places to put it all. Maybe one of these days we'll get Kaelin's room finished so I can display all of these wonderful gifts!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
DVD Swap!
My fellow "Precious Panda" sent Kaelin these cute DVD's. Justin, Marie, Adam, Sarah, and Marcus all grew up watching these! I can't wait until Kaelin is watching them too! Thank you, Kathy!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Happy Birthday, Adam!
Today is Adam's 23rd Birthday! I remember his first birthday like it was 5 minutes ago, he got a little Fisher-Price record player and a yellow dump truck. Sighhhh! Where did the last 22 years go! I can't believe how old my kids are getting, for that matter I can't believe how old I'm getting!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Happy LID Anniversary!
Once again, we have made it to the 23rd of the month, our log in date anniversary. It used to be kind of exciting because we knew that we were getting closer to our little girl. Now, it's just like, "Eh, whatever" another month gone by, "big whoop di do!" Sooner or later it's gonna happen! It has too! One of these days things will be totally different and we'll be celebrating our "gotcha day" anniversary! Hallelujah!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
