Gong Xi Fa Cai

That's Mandarin for "Wishing you prosperity". My parents would say Kung Hei Fat Choi (Cantonese).

Chinese New Year is fast approaching. This year it will be February 7. But before that we will celebrate our first year with Maeve as part of our family. February 5, 2007 was Maeve's "Forever Family Day" as some in the adoption community call it.

We can hardly believe that a year has gone by! It seems like just yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting news of our baby from China. And yet somehow she has always been a part of our family, as life without Maeve is but a distant memory.

What a precious gift we have received!

Xin nian kuai le! Happy New Year!

Then:

Our very first photo of Yu Cai Ling. She has her dad's haircut in this one!
Maeve's first glamour shot. I don't think she was feeling very glamourous that day.
For the first week or so, I could not look at this photo without crying. If you look closely, you can see that she has been bawling and her nose is running.
Looking scared and confused about an hour before she met us.
Being received by Mama!
Baba sneaks a kiss.


And Now

Maeve in her New Year dress.
Her Panda from Uncle Andrew and Aunty Evelyn is also dressed for New Years.
We got this New Year's jacket in WalMart Nanchang.
Looking all grown up!
In her Minnie Mouse ears from Cousins Miller and Bram.

Maeve the Brave

Much to our surprise and delight, Maeve loved tobogganing. New Years Eve day was a bit cold but not snowy. Our daredevil went to the local hill with Baba, George, Basil and Violet. They had a blast and she wanted to go down the steep part of the hill with lots of bumps. Apparently they made well over 20 trips down the hill. I wasn't there, so there are no photos or video from that outing.

On New Years Day, we went again with Carolyn and Violet. While it was warmer, it was also snowy and a bit windy. Maeve didn't like the snow and wind blowing in her face, so she only went down a few times.

Here's a short video of their first slide down on New Years Day. That's Maeve out front, with Violet behind and Pat in the rear.

Christmas Wrap-up

Well, it was a crazy first Christmas for our little family. Pre-Christmas was busy as ever, with Christmas parties, shopping, getting our first family photo card prepared, choir rehearsals, Christmas concerts, etc. Maeve did really well throughout, despite her aversion to Santa (or Ho Ho as she calls him).

But then a couple of days before Christmas it all caught up with Maeve. She developed a chesty cough and a fever that we couldn't keep down with infant tempra and baths. She was tired all the time and wouldn't eat anything except Clementine oranges. So after 2 days, on Christmas Eve, with a fever that reached 39 degrees C we took her to the doctor. He put her on penicillin (banana juice) and the next day she was much better. But alas, that was not to be the end of our holiday medical adventure...

I guess she must look like our daughter because the doctor asked us if either of us was allergic to penicillin. We answered that she was adopted. :-)

Maeve had fun opening presents Christmas morning. Santa brought her a tricycle that Mama or Baba can steer. She got to ride it around the Living room for a while, but it has been put away in the basement until spring now. And then she continued to get lots of love and fun and presents from everyone we visited over the holidays!

We went to Uncle Peter, Aunty Carolyn and cousin Connor's house for Christmas brunch. She was feeling much better and managed to wolf down sausages, french toast and lots of fruit. Her appetite was back with a vengeance.

On the 27th we had the whole Forde clan over. With 16 adults and 7 kids it was a pretty full house. We had a wonderful time and Miss Maeve stayed up until 10pm! Needless to say her sleep patterns have been completely out of whack since then. The next day we cleaned the house, visited Grandma and Grandpa and then hit the road for Ottawa to visit my parents.

Once in Ottawa we noticed that Maeve had developed three suspicious spots. Maeve had the Chicken Pox vaccine in October, but with little cousin Robyn also visiting, we needed to rule out Chicken Pox. We took her to a clinic. The doctor could not say one way or the other if it was Chicken Pox and she never developed any more spots. Our friends George and Carolyn graciously put us up so that we would reduce the risk of exposure to Robyn. Poor Maeve didn't know whether we were coming or going. But she had a wonderful time visiting all our friends and their kids. She did get a bit of time with PoPo and GungGung, and was sad to leave them.

Despite being sick, Maeve had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. Thanks to all of you who love our Maevey so much. It means the world to us.

Heres to an amazing 2008!

Some random shots from the holidays.

**Added note: Maeve appears shy and retiring, but there is a daredevil lurking under the surface. On her first toboggan adventure, she couldn't get enough and insisted on going on the big hills with the big bumps. She's full of surprises this little one...


Putting decorations on Grandma's tree.
Big kisses for Mil and Bram!
Hey Maeve, check out this pot holder.
Santa brought the trike, but Mama had to assemble it!
I think Santa's been here!
Hey lady! You gotta license for that?
Feeding Calin with her new baby bottle.
Trying out Baba's new walking sticks. Arizona here we come!
Making friends with Connor's stuffed animals.
Eating grapes with Grandpa and Grandma.
Visiting with Robyn.
Maeve's amazing new advent cabin from Cousin Robyn, Uncle Andrew and Aunty Evelyn.
Playing with her new best friend Julianne.
Bracing herself for the toboggan adventure.
Down the hill with Baba and Violet. Maeve is out front!
The rosy cheeked cherub apres toboggan.
Hanging with the Ottawa gang.
Baba come play with me!!!