Sunday, October 28, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Book recommendation: Home is a Roof Over a Pig
I recently finished reading an interesting new book, Home is a Roof Over a Pig, by Aminta Arrington. She's also a blogger, a teacher, and an adoptive parent of a girl from China.
Instead of raising her youngest child through a "normal American life", however, she and her husband and their other two school-age siblings moved to China not long after the adoption. It's an interesting twist on addressing the desire by adoptive parents to not let a child's birth culture slip away, and pretty gutsy. The book is a fascinating read - I've posted a full review at weninchina.com - and do recommend it especially for other families who are in the China adoption track.
Will we eventually move overseas? Wynn's in a great school, and is getting lots of Chinese acculturation there. (She doesn't even notice anymore when we're around Chinese families speaking Mandarin in places like IKEA ... it's completely normal to her. Also, this happens a lot more now that we're living in the city...) But, Yinghua only goes to 8th grade. And Ann and I may want to do new things with our careers, too. (And jinkies, we just moved into this new house!) So, not today and not for a while. But it may happen, and this book gives us some insights into what that kind of transition might look like.
Instead of raising her youngest child through a "normal American life", however, she and her husband and their other two school-age siblings moved to China not long after the adoption. It's an interesting twist on addressing the desire by adoptive parents to not let a child's birth culture slip away, and pretty gutsy. The book is a fascinating read - I've posted a full review at weninchina.com - and do recommend it especially for other families who are in the China adoption track.
Will we eventually move overseas? Wynn's in a great school, and is getting lots of Chinese acculturation there. (She doesn't even notice anymore when we're around Chinese families speaking Mandarin in places like IKEA ... it's completely normal to her. Also, this happens a lot more now that we're living in the city...) But, Yinghua only goes to 8th grade. And Ann and I may want to do new things with our careers, too. (And jinkies, we just moved into this new house!) So, not today and not for a while. But it may happen, and this book gives us some insights into what that kind of transition might look like.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Cool handmade Asian-pattern dress!
 |
| Grandma Barb made this dress for Wynn - it's lined, so perfect for these Fall days. The inspiration is more Korean than Chinese, but we love all East Asian design and fashion, and cute is cute! She wore this with leggings to last night's Children's Theater play. Later on this winter, she'll put a long-sleeve shirt underneath too - this is a dress that will get a lot of use! |
Sunday, October 14, 2012
My, how she's grown!
 |
| Today we went through the closets to switch out from summer clothes to winter ... lots of Wynn's tops and bottoms that she has been wearing this summer will be much too small come next springtime & those will get donated. She had to try on quite a few clothes today to see what of last year's items still fit. (She doesn't care for doing that...) There are a few pieces we'll hold on to, of course - this was the pajama jumper she wore in her first year with us! Wynn's doubled in height in the past five years! |
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Swimmin' Wynn
Through 2012 Wynn has been taking swimming lessons through the local YMCA and making really nice progress. It's good exercise, a smart safety skill for living here in the Northland, and helps her learn in a fun way that she can make her body perform gracefully with attention and practice.
For this session there are five kids in her class - she's the youngest and shortest - but already swimming faster than all but one of them. :)
She's at the transition point now where she really has to think about breathing and arm movement while keeping her face in the water - in a few weeks we hope it'll come automatically for her.
For this session there are five kids in her class - she's the youngest and shortest - but already swimming faster than all but one of them. :)
She's at the transition point now where she really has to think about breathing and arm movement while keeping her face in the water - in a few weeks we hope it'll come automatically for her.
Friday, October 12, 2012
School Photo Day 2
Here's what I sent her to school in for picture day:
 |
| Shadow wanted to get in on the action - he always wants to participate in whatever his girl is doing. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)