Daycare Decisions

We are getting closer and closer to Jen going back to work so Jen spent some time last week checking out the local daycare providers. I think I may have mentioned in the past that we plan to send Grace to daycare 2 days a week. She will be spending 1 day a week with my mom and 2 days with Jen's parents. Our major motivation for sending Grace to daycare is socialization. So overall we are looking for a place that will be fun for her. We have pretty much decided against an in-home type daycare as we prefer a school-like setting. To help out with our decision we ranked the 3 places that Jen visited on the criteria that are most important to us. We kept it simple by just ranking 1 to 3, 1 being the lowest 3 being the highest.


Daycare 1

Jen and I went to an open house at this place earlier in the summer and we initially thought this is where we would be sending Grace. This is a locally owned daycare with just one location but it is a pretty large place caring for about 40 kids from infant to pre-school. It is basically at the end of our street so it is very convenient. The price was reasonable and Jen really liked the staff. I was a bit freaked our at how is seemed a bit dirty but I guess that is pretty normal given there are kids running around all day. Our initial visit was on a Saturday so there were no kids there so it was a bit tough to get a good impression. Jen went back last week when class was in session and unfortunately she wasn't impressed. Of all of the criteria above attentiveness is definitely the most important to us. We want to make sure Grace is being watched and will be safe. The teachers were sitting together talking and watching the kids from afar. I realize that everyone needs a break sometimes but you would think that they would be a little more attentive when someone is visiting.

Daycare 2

The second place Jen visited was one of the corporate daycare companies that has centers nationwide. Jen really liked this place. The teachers were attentive and there is a big focus on academics. The place was very clean and there was a lot of flexibility offered that non-corporate daycare facilities can't provide. This was the most expensive place we looked at but price really isn't a factor since we are only sending Grace for 2 days. The one glaring thing we didn't like about this place was that there was no diversity. All of the kids were white and we really don't want Grace going to a daycare where she is the only Asian or minority.

Daycare 3

The last place Jen visited seems to have it all. It is a locally owned place but has about a dozen facilities in our area. They are very reasonably priced and have a good mix of focus on academics and fun. The diversity was great and the staff was extremely attentive while Jen was there. So far this place is at the top of our list. We may visit another one of their locations on my vacation in a couple weeks just to see how convenient it is but I think our decision has been made.

Water Week

We had a really nice week here weather-wise so Jen and Grace spent most of the week by the water. On Monday Grace got to check out her new pool which she really seemed to enjoy. Unfortunately she fell getting out of it and jammed her toe. She wouldn't walk on it so Jen took her to the doctor. Fortunately it is nothing serious, just a slight sprain. She seemed to be getting better throughout the day and is completely back to normal now.
Tuesday called for a trip to the ocean to model the new shades. The tide was out and it was much less windy so Grace was able to enjoy herself much more.
Wednesday was a trip to a local beach where I grew up. Grace and Jen met up with Auntie Melinda, James and Sam for some more time in the sun.
Jen also went to meet up with Auntie Kris, Kathryn and Karina at the pool for the day on Friday. I have a feeling if this keeps up she is going to sprout fins and swim away like a little mermaid. We took the weekend off from the water to do a little car shopping. I really didn't want to buy a new car until Jen went back to work but between the MA sales tax increase next month, 0% financing, and the federal tax credit for a new car purchase that were were planning to take advantage of anyway, the time was right. So, as of tomorrow we will be proud owners of a Dodge Grand Caravan. Jen fought getting a mini-van for a long time but after seeing all of the convenience features she finally relented. Grace taking her test drive below.
We ended the weekend with a cookout at the Shahs and a sample of Biren's homemade Limoncello, Mmmmmm. Good way to end a weekend. Below is Grace upset that she didn't get a taste.

Vacation is always too short

I think I mentioned in my post last week that I was on vacation this past week. We kept very busy after getting home from Maryland on Monday and had plans pretty much every day. The weather here in New England was still pretty rainy earlier in the week so we took in some indoor activities and brought Grace to see the pish (fish) at the New England Aquarium. Grace really enjoyed the aquarium especially the turtles and sharks.

Mommy Grace and the Jellyfish

Later in the week when the weather started to clear we meet up with one of Grace's China Travelmates Zoe for a trip to the Southwick Zoo. Grace really enjoyed the petting zoo and feeding the deer.

This past weekend was spent at the beach with our friends Kristen, Biren, Karina and Kathryn. The weather was much warmer than the last time we came up but the water was still very cold and rough as the tide was in. Although it didn't seem to bother Grace one bit, she really just loves the water.

Grace and Bob running

Takin in the view

Where's our dinner ?!?!

We're Back

Sorry for being a little late in posting this week. We took off late last week for Maryland to visit with some family for the long holiday weekend and just got home tonight. This was Grace's first flight since coming home from China and she did surprisingly well. Luckily we didn't have any major delays which made things much easier. Grace had a blast hanging out with all of her aunts, uncles and cousins. We spent a lot of time hanging out by the pool and also took an excursion to a local petting zoo. Some pics of the weekend below.....

I only look scared....flying is fun!!!!
Mommy and Grace at the Enchanted Village

Grace and Uncle Mike

Grace and Daddy in the pool
I just love this picture
Pony rides are serious business

No trip to Maryland is complete without a little crab

When Mommy's Away....

Jen was away this weekend for her annual getaway to the beach with her good friends from college. This was the first time I have had Grace on my own for more than one night. Things went surprisingly well. I was most concerned about her sleeping as she has been having some rough nights lately but she slept 12+ hours Friday and Saturday without waking up once.

Grace is also coming into her almost-twoness. She is really getting a mind of her own now. She wants to do things herself, wear what she wants and lets us know when she is not happy with little tantrums. Jen had been telling me about them but I had not experience one firsthand...until this weekend.

The first tantrum was because she did not want to sit in her highchair Saturday morning. She won that battle as I pulled out the booster seat which seemed to appease her. The second tantrum was caused be me putting the bubbles away because she was eating them. I won that battle but I had to hear about the bubbles for about five minutes. They were both pretty minor actually, I have seen kids in the supermarket have worse tantrums than that.

The weekend was great for Grace and I to bond. We started out Saturday by meeting up with Gram, Aunt Melinda and cousins James and Sam for some strawberry picking. Grace got more strawberries in her mouth and on her face and clothes than in the basket but she had fun. In the afternoon we went to visit Unky B, Kathryn and Karina who were also sans mommy for the weekend. We commiserated and said hi to Unky B's parents who were lending a hand.

The rest of the weekend was spent taking walks. bike rides and wagon rides. We made it through injury free which is a plus. Unfortunately I didn't take too many pics this weekend as I had my hands full but we do have a couple from the week.

Happy Father's Day

Hope all of the dads out there had a good day. We went out for lunch today to celebrate. Below is a pic of Grace and I modeling our matching "Life is Good" t-shirts that I got for Father's Day. Life definitely is good!!!!

And our family picture below

Grace and Pa Pa

I got my self something special for Father's Day. Since we are down to one income we have been holding off on making any big purchases but our old vacuum broke twice in the past couple months so we were looking to get a new one. All of the reviews I read recommended the Dyson so when we saw that one we were looking at was on sale we picked this one up.

I didn't really intend to spend Father's Day vacuuming the house but it is amazing how much dirt and cat hair this thing picks up. The only issue is Grace keeps trying to get a ride on it like our old one.....Think this might be why our old one broke?

Catching up

The past couple weeks we were being a bit nostalgic with our "One Year Ago" posts and neglected to post any current pics so I will make up for it tonight. Not much now going on here otherwise. We have started the process of checking out daycare providers for when Jen goes back to work in September but I will post about that later.

Grace, Jen and Me Me took a trip to a little park earlier this week. Grace had a blast. We are still in search of a nice park in our area, we have found a couple but most are kind of hike to get to.

We have resurrected Grace's play table for now. We bought it for her this past Christmas but she kept climbing on top of it and falling off so we put in in the basement for a while. Now that she seems to be past her climbing stage we are probably safe. We just hope our walls survive the crayons.

First taste of steamers and she seemed to like them.

It was a little cool out on Saturday but we stopped by the beach for a few minutes to play in the waves. The water here in New England is very cold and it is very early in the year but I don't remember the water ever being this cold. I could only stand being in the water for a few seconds, I must be getting old. The cold water didn't seem to bother Grace one bit.

One year ago today.....

Over the past few weeks we have enjoyed looking back at the pics and videos we took while we were in China. At this point last year we were home and attempting to settle in. One of the major hurdles we had to overcome was getting ourselves back on US time. Those first couple weeks were a blur, we don't really remember much from that time but luckily we have some video. To get Grace back on US time we were trying to keep her up an hour later each day. As you can see from the below video our efforts were failing.

The difference a year makes...

Just about one year ago to the day the below picture was taken on a red couch in the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China.

Yesterday we hosted 11 families from our travel group for our 1 year reunion/picnic. The weather held out and we spent the afternoon marveling at how much our girls have changed in a year. It has been a pretty amazing year for all of our families and we are so lucky to have these beautiful little girls in our families.

One year ago today......

We became a family. One year ago today we were handed the cutest little baby we had ever seen. We were far away from home and we fumbled through our first couple weeks as parents but eventually things started to click.

Last night as Grace was having trouble falling to sleep. As I rocked her I recounted the story of our "Family Day". After the story I asked her if she was ready for bed. She proceeded to give me a big hug, grab me by both cheeks and planted two little kisses on my lips. Finally a family!!!!

To commemorate our family day Jen put together a little video with highlights from our first year as a family. The pictures are in chronological order so it's really cool to see how Grace has changed over the past year. Enjoy....

One Year Ago Today...

We boarded a plane bound for Beijing China for a trip of a lifetime. It would be a trip that would change and enrich our lives forever in ways we would never imagine. We left home with bags packed and the below picture close to our hearts.....

We were scared and stressed and excited all at the same time. In just a few short days we would be meeting our daughter for the first time.

Pic post

Just posting a couple quick pics tonight.....

Happy Mother's Day

Hope all of the moms out there had a great day. This was Jen's first year celebrating Mother's Day with Grace home. Last year we had Grace's referral picture but Jen had to wait a couple more weeks to see Grace in person. We spent the day yesterday visiting with our Moms.

Me-Me, Grace and Jen
Gram, Grace and Steve

This morning Grace game mommy a special present and slept in a little so mommy had an extra hour of rest. Then Grace gave Mommy her gift. A new watch.

We headed out early for lunch in Salem and then to see the Mahjong exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum. I think it was a pretty good day for mommy. Some pics below from Jen's day.

Free Lifebook Course

I received an email today from Adoption Learning Partners regarding a free online lifebook class that they are offering until the end of May. If you aren't familiar with Adoption Learning Partners they offer web-based adoption resources and classes. We took a couple of their free classes while we were waiting. The classes are pretty quick to go through and for certain classes you can pay an additional fee to get a certificate of completion.

The description of the course from their website is below:

A Lifebook is a book created for an adopted child that tells his story, before and after adoption. The Lifebook helps all children place foster care or adoption in the context of their life experiences.

The Lifebooks Course helps adoptive families:

• Understand the purpose of a Lifebook and the need to start or to continue to develop one.
• Learn the difference between baby books, scrap books, and Lifebooks.
• Identify the components of a Lifebook.
• Identify situations that may benefit from employing Lifebooks.
• Develop some pages of your adopted child's Lifebook.
• Understand the importance of Lifebooks as a lifelong project.

You can sign up for the course at the Adoption Learning Partners website here.

Pic Post

Just a picture post tonight....

Loving Spring
Helping Daddy

Not what I had in mind.

Olive you.