Paul and I anticipated other adoption-related issues to be our biggest concerns upon our return to Canada. We did not anticipate the sticky, gross, grumpy-inducing heat to be the main topic of strife in our household. Although we purchased our AC in March, we had to wait for our grading to be completed before it could be installed. Unfortunately, that only happened days before we left for China and the first booking they had was for the 8th of July. Not a problem, we thought. How wrong we were!
Our lovely new home has many bright windows that let in a lot of natural light. While this is normally something that a homeowner would find attractive, this week it led to a house that got up past 40 degrees on the top floor. I hate the heat in the best of times, but with a little one that always wants to be held, it makes the heat that much harder to take.
We decided that we needed to escape -- and escape we did! On Monday afternoon we went to Nicole and Mike's house and Nicole graciously hosted us while we tried to cool off in their lovely air conditioned home. Nicole was amazing -- she even put up with Maelyn's I-am-cutting-a-tooth-and-I-am-tired tantrum for the first hour that we were there. Once our little Miss calmed down, we put her in the kiddie pool that Nicole had set up for her in the backyard. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.
On Tuesday and Wednesday we spent the entire day at my Mom's house. I was worried about carting Maelyn from one place to another, but the cool air allowed her to enjoy herself throughout the day and to eventually nap. It also let my Mom enjoy some time with her new granddaughter. I have to admit, it was really nice for Paul and I, too. My Mom made us lunch, dinner, and helped to keep Maelyn occupied. Maelyn also enjoyed chasing after my Mom's dog and playing with the new toys my Mom had there for her. Her favourite things, however, were the little plastic Algonquin chairs my Mom has at her house. She kept picking up the chairs and moving them around the living room, pointing at me to sit beside her in the other chair. She would rearrange the chairs and the game would start all over again. At one point, she tried to get the dog to sit in the chair beside her -- too cute!
My Mom also set up a kiddie pool for Maelyn and she splashed around in it on both days. Maelyn accomplished the feat of learning to climb the stairs for the first time -- with Paul's help, of course. It has been amazing to watch her learn new things every single day.
On Tuesday, Maelyn avoided her nap like the plague, but eventually fell asleep around 4:30pm. I thought for sure that she would wake up within the hour, but no such luck! We were meeting my family at the Mandarin restaurant for dinner and I thought for sure that she would be awake by then -- nope! In fact, she just kept sleeping. Maelyn likes her space when she sleeps, so I conceded and just put her on the floor beside our chair at the restaurant. A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do, right?! :) Our little Miss slept until 9pm and we thought for sure that we would be up for the night. After eating some dinner and going through her bedtime routine, she was down for the count again by 11pm...and stayed asleep for over eight hours!
Auntie Kara pushing Maelyn around the house in the laundry basket -- she loved it!
Falling asleep in Daddy's arms...
***I am now happy to report that our AC has been installed and this Mommy is very, very happy to be able to finally get a few things done around the house and enjoy playtime with her little one.
- she loves to mimic everything we do -- have to start watching everything we now say and do around here!
- she still loves heights and will throw herself at you from the top of the steps....this one has no fear at all!
- she loves her stuffed cat blanket and has to have it with her when she is sleeping
- if she doesn't like something you have given her to eat, she spits it right back out -- not pretty!
- after taking a drink from her bottle, she will smack her lips in satisfaction
- if she wants you to open your mouth so that she can feed you, she now says 'ahhhhhhh'
- she has started to wave hello and goodbye
1 comment:
Thank the maker that the ac is there --- we so need the creature comforts to make our way.
I see she's a water baby -- I know someone who will like that....
gosh they sound a lot alike ---
happy sleeping...
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