This child...

is really incredible. The way her mind works is a wonderful thing. Yesterday, when we were in the garden and Annie wanted a hug, she stood at the edge and said "Daddy, listen". He didn't so she said "Daddy, listen, Annie hug" twice and he finally listened, put down what he was doing and gave her a hug. We talk about "listening" quite a bit. I guess Annie has taken it to heart and when she feels her parents aren't listening to her needs, she now has the words to express herself!!!!
Annie had me in tears tonight. I have had a very sore lower back for about four days now and have not been able to arbitrarily pick her up. When I tell Annie that Mommie's back hurts so I need to wait until it is REALLY important for me to pick her up, she says "ok" and "helps Mommie" by scratching my back. Well tonight, my back went into a spasm after standing and cooking dinner for an hour so I had to stop and lay on the floor. Annie was concerned, came over to me, lay down on me and said "Don't worry Mommie, Daddy home soon". I broke down and cried. She is sooo sweet and kind. She also knows that Daddy will take care of us when we need him to which is soooooooo important in the attachment process.
Oh and the other thing Annie is doing, is taking control of her "elimination" process. She has decided not to use the potty but to wear diapers. Fine, no problem. So, I need to check them and the other day when I went to check her diaper Annie looked at me indignantly and said "No Mommie, no touch Annie diaper!!!!!"... I had to laugh at that one.
So, here are some photos of our trip to Parksville and Camping!!!

Annie having her first roasted marshmallow and hanging out by the fire after a few!! Notice her sippy cup in the cup holder. LOVE IT!!!!!!


Playing in the sand and at playground at our motel in Parksville... soooo close to the beach!!!!!

Annie went out every morning and just sat and played with her buckets in the sand. I could see her from our little kitchenette while I made breakfast. She was so very content...

What a week!!!!

We have had so much fun in the past week. A week ago today, we jumped in our camper and headed out camping for the first time. It was super!!!! Everything worked really well and other than a little leak in the secondary gas tank, all was well. We were out at Sooke with friends and had a great couple of nights learning about how amazing our 1976 camper really is. We even found the trick to putting the wee one to sleep - take her for a walk during nap time!!!!
We came home on Saturday, had a wonderful meal with Veronica, Colleen and Arthur who spent the night and then we packed up for a trip up island on Sunday. There we met with the Wang's who we travelled with to China last year. It was three days of talking, reminiscing and learning even more about each of our families. Annie LOVED playing with Anna and her big brothers Aaron and Christopher. Being a single child, Annie doesn't have the luxury of two older brothers to play with and have at her beck and call. The boys were incredible with both the little ones and we so appreciated the genuine way they took Annie under their wings. She loved the boys and was very sad when they were leaving tonight. We haven't uploaded any photos yet but they will come soon.
So tonight, the Wang's made their way to Victoria, en route to the states and we had a nice long visit as well as a meal together. Annie and Anna were adorable in the matching dresses Carol made them. The boys are EXCELLENT with the camera so they were able to catch the girls in a video as they ate cookies and twirled around the living room. Carol even made Annie a GORGEOUS cape that I would wear if it was in my size!!!!!! She wore it after dinner, all the way home and was reluctant to take it off when she was getting ready for bed. We are hoping that we can have an annual visit together so that the girls will grow up knowing each other - they share so much history!!!
Whew. Now for the weekend, wonder what trouble we can get up to next!!!!!

Posting...

Being a busy Mom makes posting a challenge BUT I wanted to say thank you to Red Sand and the boys for inviting us to Vancouver to visit with them while they were there. We had a wonderful time and Red Sand is such a super Mommy!!! Annie and the boys played beautifully together and that gave the Mommies some time to talk. After four years of exchanging gifts, reading blogs and supporting each other through some tough times, it was one of those incredible moments when Red Sand opened the door and we hugged for the first time. There we were, with the children we had hoped and waited for, playing together. Really neat!!!!!!!