(Slightly Belated) Adoption Day 2014

[przed]

Seven years ago this week, Rosalind became a member of our family. As has become a tradition, we got together last weekend with one of the other families in our adoption group. The dad of the family took this pic of Ros, which really shows her impishness.


Behind the cut, I've put a couple of pics of her in China as baby.

This was in her home province, Jiangxi, when we'd had her no more than a few days. Of the three babies in our group, she was the one who was most aware of what was going on, and she wasn't entirely sure we were to be trusted. Our nickname for her very quickly became Thinky Baby, and she's still a kid who has her very introspective moments.


This is Ros in Beijing, in our second week together. She still wasn't quite sure about us, but was a little less suspicious.


And here she is just three months later, totally happy and incredibly pleased with herself for managing to stand up in her crib for the first time.


The reason I didn't get this post up on the actual anniversary, is that for the first time in seven years, the Sweetie has gone off on a trip by himself. (I have, as you know, gone on a number of trips for conventions and theatre and concerts in those seven years, so he is totally owed.) He's had his eye on TCM's Classic Film Festival for a few years, so this year I badgered him until he registered. Fortunately, his flight left the day after our adoption day. (Ros was miffed that he was leaving the day after.)

Whilst the Sweetie is off gallivanting in L.A., I'm doing solo mom duties with Ros, which has been a combination of totally fun and totally exhausting. Today's agenda included:

Getting to our local arena at 7:30 a.m. for the ice show picture day (because every activity has to have a picture day)

Travelling to the west end of the city to pick up the dresses my favourite designer had altered for me

Having a lovely brunch with Ros at a cafe near the designer's shop

Grocery shopping

Taking Ros to a local nail salon, where she got a lovely design on her nails for the princely sum of seven bucks

Dropping Ros off at a friend's for a play date

Coming home and doing laundry, dishes, and sorting mail (whilst I was playing Stakeout on my shiny brand new Pros DVDs)

Picking up Ros from her play date

Letting Ros talk me into taking her and another friend to the park for an hour

Making dinner

Watching the very last Leafs game of the season on Hockey Night in Canada

Ros made it until the last two minutes of the last period before she zonked out. I probably should have crashed at the same time, but I wanted to watch a couple of more episodes of Atlantis. (I've had 'em sitting on the PVR since they aired in December.)

Tomorrow's schedule will be relatively relaxed by comparison with today's: a visit to the Science Centre with friends, and Ros' first ice show rehearsal. I'm envisioning ordering pizza for dinner.

Comments

[sarren.livejournal.com]

Obviously I only know your family through your piccies and posts, but Ros looks like she's growing up to be amazing person :)

[przed.livejournal.com]

She's a special kid, but they all are, aren't they? (I always love hearing about your Bunny.)

[sarren.livejournal.com]

i wish lj still let me post piccies :( I need to make the effort to sort out a photo album site of some kind and link to it. Bunny's nearly as tall as me now!

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

She is totally adorable in every picture--and you've had quite the busy day. ;-) That's what we do for our girls, isn't it?

[przed.livejournal.com]

She's pretty photogenic.

Thankfully, today was a bit less busy. I'm only slightly exhausted. ;-)

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

Pizza for dinner is a grand plan, after what will be a full-on day by the sounds of things.
Watching Ros grow up over the last couple of years has been a treat; I'm sure it's even more so for you. She DOES look very thinky in those early photos, for sure.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Pizza was a fab idea. (Not having to cook after a late ice show rehearsal = Awesome!)

Looking back at old pictures of her gets more surreal every year. (Was she ever that small?!) But the thinky-ness definitely remains.

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

Seven years - wow! It really doesn't seem that long.

It's been lovely watching via your pictures and stories Ros grow from the unsure baby into the little lady she is today. Thank you for sharing her virtually with us.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Seven years seems not long at all, but also forever ago. (I can't imagine life without Ros.)

Thank you, as always, for your kind comments.

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

She's still adorable - just bigger! Thanks for sharing the pics with us. And happy anniversary to you all ♥

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

Seven years? Really? Wow.

Congrats to Roz and of course all of you. I remember well our conversations over the years.

Here's to you, Mom!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know. How did that happen?

Thank you, Mom! Looking forward to seeing you next month!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thank you! She's definitely still adorable, but growing up fast into being a big girl. Aiieee!

[golden-bastet.livejournal.com]

I love your pictures of Ros, and how she's laughing or intense or otherwise so full of life in each one! A very Happy Adoption Day to the Zed family.

And the TCM festival has been discussed in my fam... though so far no commitment to actually going has materialized. I hope Sir Zed has a blast. :D

[przed.livejournal.com]

She's a very focused kid, that is for sure. (Well, except when she's very unfocused, like all kids. *g*)

The Sweetie is reporting having a great time at the TCM fest. Can't wait to hear the full story when he gets home tomorrow. (I am quite the enabler. I can badger you into going like I did him. *g*)

(BTW, I'm totally going to start calling the Sweetie Sir Zed. *g*)

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

How gorgeous to have a special adoption day!! That 'thinky baby' photo is funny! Except that the baby probably didn't find it t all funny - and couldn't know she'd found the perfect family!! The current photo of Ros is lovely, missing teeth too!!! Have fun while the Sweetie is away!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Adoption day is an important day in our calendar. (I can never remember my wedding anniversary, but I always remember adoption day. Of course, we only got married because we needed the marriage certificate for the adoption. *g*)

As for the missing teeth, you should see her school pic this year. She's missing both front teeth in that one. We love it.

[norfolkdumpling.livejournal.com]

Congratulations to you all - happy adoption day!

I can't believe how grown up Ros is getting - what lovely pictures too :)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Aww, thanks so much!

I can't believe how grown up Ros is getting either. It's quite terrifying, really. :-/

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

You have a perfect family! Love the baby pics. Thanks, P!

[przed.livejournal.com]

I don't know about perfect, but I love them all.

(I love those baby pics too, but those first couple kind of break my heart as well.)

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

How lovely for those of us comparatively new to LJ to see her when she was younger. Thanks for that! How you found time among your agenda today, I have no idea - wow! I hope tomorrow goes as well.

[przed.livejournal.com]

It's interesting for me to go back to the older pics and compare her to now. As for where I found the time, I was totally multi-tasking whilst watching Atlantis. And then I keeled over. Today was definitely less taxing, but still busy.

[halotolerant.livejournal.com]

That is quite the schedule indeed! But it sounds like you're all having a lot of fun and making the most of your days, which is much to be admired *g* And Ros looks gorgeous, as always - I love her outfit in that top picture - is it a long jacket or a dress?

[przed.livejournal.com]

Yesterday's schedule was utterly insane, and I'm thankful they're not all like that. Though it was all fun.

I'm so glad you pointed out the jacket. It's a little, hip-length tailored jacket, and she found it herself. I'd taken her on a failed mission to find her new rain pants that she informed me she needed the night before a field trip, and she saw that jacket on a rack. As it actually was pretty awesome, I easily gave in to her request to get it and she's been wearing it non-stop. It gave me further proof that she's got good fashion sense.

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! I remember how excited you were when you first got the word. Thank you for sharing this wonderful experience with us!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I can remember how it felt to be waiting for the word we'd been matched with a child, but that also feels like it belongs to a very different life. In a good way.

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Seven years! Wow, and I remember at the time you said that you might not be around as much anymore, given the demands that would soon be made on your time… *g* And yet, you have managed not only to raise a wonderful little girl, but to write and post and plan a con and fall in love with a whole other fandom! In other words: you do have a nicely complete life, don't you? *g*

I have so enjoyed sharing this journey with you and the Sweetie and Ros. Thank you for that.

And yay for Sweetie having his time and you, well, not quite collapsing into exhaustion. It must be all that martial arts training that makes you an iron woman, right? I hope the pizza was good!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Seven years! I seems like not so long, and also like it's always been this way.

Fandom is too much a part of me to completely abandon it, but I do feel like I've had to adjust my participation. Vidding takes larger chunks of time than I have available anymore and is only fitfully possible. I do miss it. I was sad to have to pull out of modding the Pros Big Bang, and barring a miracle I'm afraid I won't be writing for it again this year. And though I love my shiny new fandom, (as you might have noticed *g*) it's gone mostly dormant at the moment and I feel like I'm writing in a vacuum. But I still have stories I want to write, and am looking forward to the Pros con, and possibly to going to Escapade next year, and maybe even doing a Pros vid or two. So really, it's all good.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me, and sharing your own journey as well. I don't often comment on your posts, but I do always read them.

And I'm happy the Sweetie is getting to do something he loves. We've both always been committed to maintaining our own interests while being fully involved parents. (I've seen too many people left wondering what to do when their kids finally grew up.) And yes, let's hear it for not quite collapsing into exhaustion. *g* (The pizza was awesome. Especially since I didn't have to cook it.)

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Happy Adoption Day to you all! ♥

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[asilia.livejournal.com]

Awww Ros was an adorable baby ♥ And she definitely seems to be growing up to be a very awesome person as well :)

[przed.livejournal.com]

She was an adorable and very intense baby. (For months people kept asking us if she ever smiled. She did, just for a long time not in public.) And we think she's growing up to be a pretty awesome person. ♥

[bluespirit-star.livejournal.com]

Wow, I can't believe it's been 7 years!
Isn't she growing up? What a gorgeous young lady.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I know, 7 years is just crazy!

She's growing up fast, which is just a bit terrifying.

[sunshine-2525.livejournal.com]

Happy adoption day! What a cute little girl baby Ros was and now she is growing to be a beautiful little lady :)

So Ros' favourite team is the Leafs? They used to be my favourite Canadian team too, just because one of my favourite hockey players, Mats Sundin, played for them ;)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thanks! She's definitely growing up into a real sweetheart.

Ros loves the Leafs, and she's very sad that they're out of the play-offs this year. (Sundin always seemed like a good guy when he played here.)

[saintvic.livejournal.com]

Wow 7 years! Congrats to you all and those are fabulous pictures.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I still can't believe it's been 7 years. Thanks!