Christmas 2007

Ali's first Christmas celebration in Canada was at Grandma and Papa Loebach's house on December 15th and 16th. Ali had a great time having a sleepover with all her cousins. Ali did leave the Christmas tree alone however the gas fireplace was a different story. So with a burnt hand and a visit to the hospital her first Christmas with the Loebach's was very memorable. The plus side to her accident is that we now have a little girl WALKING in the house (her hand hurt to crawl so she decided to start walking.) She was spoiled by everyone and got a new best friend; Angus.




Ali's second Christmas celebration started on Chirtmas Eve at Grandpa and Grandma Galbraith's. It was full of chaos and Ali loved it. She had her first sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's. She liked it so much that we stayed for a few more days. She once again got spoiled by everyone. She got her first sled which she loved sitting in. We just hope that since we are in the sunny south we can use it this year!! Santa came to Grandpa and Grandma's but after the first 2 celebrations it kind of lost it's lustre. After the first 2 presents she had enough.




Our first Christmas as a family of three has come and gone. After all the running up and down the 401, the cold, the teething, the excema, the doctor visits, the burnt hand accident and subsequent trips to the hospital, sleeping in strange beds and being surrounded by LOVED ONES it sure was a great Christmas filled with very special memories.

The Christmas Card

After many years of receiving Christmas cards from family and friends with their adorable children this would be our year to send one in return. Little did we know how much work it would take!!!! Especially with a little girl who likes to climb, not sit still and is not all that fond of hats. As you can see the out come was well worth it. A picture of the GREATEST "gift" of all, our daughter Ali.

HAPPY 94th BIRTHDAY GREAT GRANDPA LOEBACH

We just returned from great Grandpa and Grandma Loebach's house where we celebrated Ali's great grandpa's 94th birthday. What an accomplishment!!!! We did get our 4 generation pictures of Ali with Great Grandpa, Papa and Daddy. Also, one with Great Grandma, Papa and Ali. It didn't take us long before we started moving things out of Ali's reach. Ali once again showed everyone her many talents and accomplishments.

14 months today

Miss Ali Is 14 months today and a very active happy little girl. Ali celebrated her first Halloween by first going to visit her friends Rebecca and Marrim the night before. They gladly shared their pumpkins to let us get a few pictures. Ali being Ali got a little excited at times and pulled Marm's hair but Marm understood that she was "Just a Baby". Halloween night she enjoyed standing in the front window waving at all the trick or treaters.

We are still adjusting her meds regarding seizures but they are occuring further and further apart. We have pretty much come to the conclusion that it has nothing to do with her diet. With that being said she has been able to enjoy the finer foods in life. "MacDonald's"

We still just have a crawler in the house but she has managed to accomplish some other very important tasks like turning off the lights, opening and closing cupboards and the most important, flushing the toilet.

With the last picture in this post, the one on the left was taken while we were in China and the one the the right just a few weeks ago. We can really see the change in her. We needed to do a new picture for her Canadian citizenship because unfortunately it would become to much of a pain to go see Mickey Mouse until she is a Canadian.

Here she Grows..

10 months



11 months





First birthday, September 12,2007







Baptism, September 30th,2007

Bumps in the road

We have been home with Ali now for about 3 months. We just got back from the doctors yesterday. Ali is healthy and doing well. She is growing and developing at a good rate. She is above average in both height and weight for her age. She crawls and moves around very well. She stands unassisted and moves around the furniture well but so far doesn’t seem too interested in walking just yet. With Ali however, it seems that once she decides she wants to take off it won’t be long. She is always very umm “determined” when she sets her mind to something. She turned 1 on the 12th of September and last week-end we had her baptized. She is still very, very active and hardly sits still for a moment. She really hates to sleep and fights it but now manages to have a nap every day (sometimes even 2) and will go to sleep at a reasonable hour most nights and only gets up if she is hungry. She has 6 teeth and bites and chews on everything. She is good at giving hugs and kisses when we ask and can indicate how big and how cute she is with hand gestures. She seems very smart and learns many new things every day. She gets into everything and our house is constantly changing. She hardly seems at all like the little girl we got just 3 short months ago.
We have incurred a few bumps in the road thus far. A few weeks after we got home Ali began having seizures. They were very mild at first and then began getting a little more severe. She started having them every day and then multiple times a day. We began investigating with many doctors and specialists. Since we had no family medical background we had to have Ali checked for everything to try to find a cause. The good news is that Ali is perfectly healthy and has no medical, diet, or developmental problems. We spent the bulk of the last few months with doctors and specialists at offices and hospitals both here and in London trying to find a cause. We have learned many things about seizures. We have now learned that there are many, many causes with children and many times you never find out the answer why. This is where we are at with Ali. She has undergone every possible test and everything is normal so far. She is now on meds to help control them and she is much better. The only thing that seems to stick out is sleep. Now, if Ali has a seizure it is usually after a rough night or a big day and she is really tired. She is so over-active that it is like her little body/brain is telling her , O.K. little girl you have to rest now, we are out of gas. She has a seizure and then a good restful sleep for a few hours and she is right back to normal. With a little luck she will just outgrow this. We now just have to keep an eye on her and keep our specialist updated. The only thing we have left to do is to get her on the rights meds for her to keep them under control and get her through this big adjustment in her life. We are starting to settle in much better now and getting some things done around here. It’s been a big adjustment for us all but she is a joy to have around.

Ali is 10 months old now

Sisters

We have just returned home from another successful Rebecca Run for SMA charity event. This year the event has raised an estimated $158,000 for SMA research. Quite an achievement for an event of its kind. This event means sooo much to us. It is through this event that we have met many dear friends and parents like us and were really inspired to start living again and gave us direction and hope after losing Abby. I post this here on this blog because it is in many ways our starting point for our "Journey 2 Ali". Abby showed us how much a daughter could mean to our lives and how badly we really wanted to be parents. We learned here that anything is possible and decided to find a way to become parents again. This ultimately led us to Ali and a happiness that we thought may be gone forever. We hope to teach Ali about her sister and we are glad that our "SMA family" have finally got to meet her and we thank them for their support and encouragement along the way. To learn more about this charity event; SMA or a chapter in your area (all over the U.S./Canada/World) you can find links on this blog under Ali's sister. We are truly blessed to have 2 beautiful daughters who are linked in many ways to each other.

Canadian for a week.

Well, we have been home for a week now and are finally settling in. It's been a busy week. We arrived at the airport friday and to our surprise there were about 85 people waiting for us. Ali loved the crowd and attention. Thanks everyone. We had a doctors appointment that afternoon and Ali was just fine except a cold but we switched formulas on the doctors advice. Saturday, Grandma V. (Ali's g.g.) passed away but she followed the blog and knew she was home safe before she was called home. This week we got Ali her health card and s.i.n. card so she could get a complete medical which we did on thursday and started her file with him and she is doing just great. Grandma's funeral was wednesday and I was a pallbearer and my father and I delivered the eulogy. In between all this we have had many phone calls and visitors and last but not least a little sleep. Ali hasn't quite turned around to Canadian time yet but is very close and we are all settling in nicely now. Her skin has cleared up. She is eating and sleeping good (albeit she is a Chongqing girl and it's on her stubborn terms) and has found her favourite toys and things around the house. We are amazed at how she changes and adapts each day. She loves her exersaucer and just about jumps right out of it and laughs out loud. She can stand against things now and when she holds our fingers we can pull her up from laying down to a standing postion. She is still very active and and is the apple of everyones eye. She babbles a lot and can say mamamama and dadadadada. It is amazing at how such a little person can have such an engaging personality already. Everything is great in her world as long as her new mommy and daddy are within' eyeshot.

Zac and the girls

Before we left we got a great shot of all the kids from our group. Great bunch of people and we hope we can have many more of these in the years to come. It would be neat to watch them grow up in pictures together from time to time.

The Orphanage in Qianjiang

The orphanage that was Ali's first home was really a beautiful place. It was in a modern building at the top of a hill overlooking the city. It was immaculate inside and out. We were allowed to tour it and were very impresssed. The kids are well taken care of by a diverse and caring staff. Donations are well spent there. We are still sorting pics and stuff as it has been a busy week but here are a few shots for those who have been requesting.

Goodbye China

June 28, 2007
Today we are heading home. We all have had a great time here and wish to come back again but we are ready to head home. We are all pretty worn out and anxious to get these babies home, sleep in our own beds and get some laundry done LOL!!! Ali is back to her normal self; giggling,smiling,squirming,exploring and very active. We will miss this place. This has truly been a life changing trip in more than one way. We have learned so much and gained a lot of perspective about the world we live in. We are so blessed at home. We'd like to say thank-you to our guide Ma Rui (Mary) for showing us such a great time and helping us get everything done we needed. We'd like to thank the Chinese people for being such gracious hosts. Thank-you China for trusting us with your most precious resource and providing us with the greatest gift of all..our Ali. We will love her forever and cherish her always and we won't forget you when were gone....thanks everyone for following along on our trip and we'll see you all soon. Can't wait to be able to read your comments when we get home. I hope to keep posting now and again as we watch Ali grow up. Bye for now.

Too much excitement!

June 27, 2007
This morning we went on a HuTong tour. HuTong is a very old and traditional area of Beijing. We travelled through by Rickshaw. Two to a cart with our drivers pulling us along by bicycle. They had great skill weaving through the streets and narrow alleys without even looking back. We were mobbed by street vendors everywhere. Being able to say "I have no money" in chinese was a big help as they left us alone quickly but some of our group didn't get off that lucky. We got to go through a school and it was their last day and the children put on some little shows for us. The school was amazing. It looked far better than any of the gradeschools we have at home. We took lots of pictures. We were then invited into the home of one of the residents. He told us about many of the ancient traditions they still follow today. How the height and direction the homes were facing and the # of rooms all meant something. He served us tea and let us take pictures of his home. He told us about a day in their lives. He even showed us his fighting grasshoppers. He was a retired steel worker and his wife was a seamstress. He was very gracious and told us to come back and vist in October and drink some beers with him as he was a very good drinker but to leave the children with a sitter. It was the best place we've been so far we thought. It taught us about the real China for a lot of people...Tonight we went for final group pictures and we went out with the entire group for the traditional Peking duck dinner celebration for the last night here at a restaurant down the street.Everything was going great until about half way through. Ali spit up a bit and started choking. A nurse from our group took over quickly and she is just fine but she put quite a scare in us for a few moments. After that we decided to just head back to the hotel. The doctor checked her over just to make sure and she was just fine and back to herself at the hotel. Pheeewwww!!!. We are exhausted and drained. Jayna helped pack everything up and we are on our way home tommorrow. No more appointments or stops. Ali is tired as she missed her nap today because the cleaning staff got here late in the afternoon. Can't wait to get her home.

More sight seeing

June 26, 2007
Another busy day today. This morning we visited tianamen square and the forbidden city. Our guide taught us more about chinese history. The square is appx 77 hectares. It was a lot bigger than we thought. There were people selling stuff everywhere. Some of the dads bought chairman Mao watches. Allan Chong even tried to sell his back to a different vendor. It was fun. We then cruised across to the forbidden city. It was quite something although it was being renovated for the olympics. It was getting very hot out by this time and Jen and Jayna didn't like the heat that much so we just quickly toured through. It will be a must see when we return and have more time. We went back to the hotel for a rest and then off to the pearl market in the afternoon. We once again made many good purchases as Jen and Jayna are becoming very adept at bartering. The temperature here in Beijing is starting to really get up there. Today it hovered around 40* C. most of the day as it has been for the last few days. We have been fairly lucky most days here. It rained the 2 days on the bus rides in Chongqing and now overnight the last few days but has been pretty good otherwise.. The rain doesn't cool things off though like back home. Last night we went down to Pizza Hut for supper and it was really good. Most say better than back home as it wasn't as greasy. Right now we are busy packing up and getting organized for our trip home. We bought 1 extra big suitcase and hopefully that will be enough. There is a bit of time for shopping tomorrow though so we'll see. LOL!! Ali still has a bit of a cold but is still doing great. She looks like she is cutting a few teeth as well but it hasn't slowed her down at all. Look out grandparents; she is quite a busy little handful.... but great fun.

The wall, jade factory and doctor.

June 25, 2007
We have just crossed our last hurdle to bring Ali home. This morning she had a doctors appointment to get clearance for the Canadian gov't. She did just great. She is 71 cm long and weighs 8.29 kg's. She has a cold still and gets a rash on her face that comes and goes but the doctor says that it is just a symptom of the cold.She is eating good and has no trouble unloading a poop. She is the envy of many of the other babies in that department. She is very alert and happy with lots and lots of energy. She has no ear infections or other problems and is right in the norm's for development. Everything looks good and we just have to wait for the paperwork at the embassy to be processed....Yesterday we went to the Jade factory and learned a bit about it and how it's carved and of course picked up a few things. One of the dads in our group is of Chinese heritage and explained to us which items would be good family heirlooms for the babies to have. After the Jade factory we went to the Great Wall. It was quite an experience and an amazing thing to see. We learned a bit about its history and walked along it as families. We were then allowed to tackle it on our own. I (Dave) climbed a path right to the top of one of the high points. The view and feeling from the top is indescribable. There weren't many people who made it to the top so I am quite proud of myself for that as I took a little angel on my shoulder up there with me.The climb down was no picnic either but exhillerating. As I reached the bottom Jen yelled at me loudly for a while but it was all worth it. LOL!! I was the first up and down from our group and she was worried I was holding up the others on the bus who didn't make the trip but not to worry there were a couple others behind me. Ali hung out with mom and played on the grass and watched the people which she loves to do. While we were there we purchased a lock and locked it to a chain on the wall and threw away the key. This is a chinese ritual sympolizing that we are now all bound together as a family forever.We had a nice traditional chinese meal and the waitresses tried to take the babies and just loved them. They made the new moms a little jumpy. We all made out well with the chopsticks. Back to the room to fall into the bed. Glad this afternoon is an off day. Dad and Ali will hang in the room and rest while mom and auntie and some of the other ladies are heading out shopping again.

Ali on the Great Wall

Back in Beijing

June 23,2007
We are now safely back in Beijing. Ali is doing just great. Over the last few days she has endured a 7 hour bus ride, 3 different hotel rooms in 3 different towns and a 2 1/2 hour plane ride including a few victory laps at the airport before landing with a training pilot making her first landing. All of this while breaking in a new set of fumbling parents and she still complains little and babbles alot and has many smiles and giggles for us.This morning we did the paperwork for the Canadian gov't to bring her home. She got her picture for her visa. Also this morning our guide MaRui (Mary) arranged to have the tailor come to the hotel to size the babies up to make them traditional silk outfits. We are having 2 made for her as well as a matching outfit for Jen and a tie for Dave. Some of the dads are also having custom suits made. All right here from the hotel and the should be ready in a few days. This afternoon is free time and daddy and Ali had a 2 hour nap after a long day yesterday while Mom, Aunt Jayna and some of the new friends went out hunting supplies and treasures.They came back with McDonlalds and it's just like home. We've all just been eating room service since the babies have come the last few days. Burgers and fries imported from Australia and they have been awesome and huge. One family even tried a pizza although they didn't get tuna or any strange things on it that were offered on the menu. It's been a nice relaxing day allowing us to rest up as the next couple look to be pretty busy although it is just optional stuff ; we'd like to experience it all. Ali is eating more now as we discover what she likes and can tolerate. We also think she is teething as she drools alot. She still loves to play in the tub and we've discovered how to steal giggles from her. She's ticklish on her neck and belly and laughs out loud. Mommy has also fondly nicknamed her "Nosey Parker". She does not want to miss a thing. She wants to see and touch everything wherever we go and contorts herself in some weird ways to do so although she now makes sure we are never too far away. If she hears something she has to investigate. She doesn't like to sit still. There is a 2 foot marble ledge in front of the window here at the hotel and Ali can sit there and look out for hours and watch the action below with amazement. In a lot of ways she reminds us of her sister Abby. Same chubby features,fair hair and inquisitive nature. Somewhere in heaven she is looking down on her little sister with pride and a smile.

Stealing giggles

Aunt Jayna to the rescue..

Aunt Jayna has become a very valuable member of our little travel family, not only for us but for our whole group. We are all very thankful that she made the trip. She has been the group photographer and videography as well as the extra pair of hands for us all. She has helped out on the shopping for those who needed it and with the babies when we had a couple of little emergencies with a few dads and also the voice of experience for the new parents. We can't thank her enough. Ali also really loves her. She now has a big running head start on favourite aunt.

Goodbye Chongqing, we'll miss you

June 21,2007
We leave Chongqing today and fly back to Beijing to complete our paperwork for the canadian government at the embassy. What a wonderful city and experience. We loved our time here. Our hotel is right next to the Yangtze; the 3rd largest river in the world after the amazon and the nile.Yesterday we went to the panda zoo and saw the oldest momma in the world. There was also an art gallery and training center on the grounds and we got a lecture about the training and history of the arts and to see some of the local artists and of course purchased a few things for our homes. We've seen many of the sites and sounds and experienced the culture here from the big city to the small villages. One of the interesting things we all noticed is the little boys peeing in the streets. If they have to go they just pull their pants down to their ankles and go; wherever! One little boy even did #2 once right on the street corner. The ladies all stared at him from the bus with amazement. We've come to Chongqinq on the 10th ann. of it's promotion from city in Sichuan to an independant municipality with it's own central gov't. There has been fireworks and celebrations going on all week. When we arrived here there was a red carpet and flowers and a lot of media coverage waiting at the dock for the plane. We thought this was really something, however....when the plane stopped the dignitaries were allowed to leave out the front door of the plane and we were scurried out the back and on to a shuttle and away to the depot. It wasn't for us!! LOL!! Chongqinq, including the main city where we are and all of the little towns and villages that are included is now roughly the size of Austria. Since we have the babies and as we travel the city we now feel as though WE are the celebrities and have been treated as such. We'll miss this place although there is a Ford plant just down the road from here and if things keep going the way they are back home we could be back sooner than we think. Ali is doing great and we are growing closer every day.

Ali loves splashing in the tub

The tough part is done

June 19,2007
Well, don't know were to start. We've been on the run for the last 3 days. No time to journal or post. We just fell into bed each night. The trip up the mountain to the orphanage was a bit ahhhh... scary but well worth it. The 7 hour trip through the country mountain roads was very interesting. Over bridges and through tunnels and finding roads were none really exist. There were landslide debris and rocks on the road and occasionally the water flowed down the mountain side and right over the road and we drove right through it all. Nothing stopped or slowed down "Trevor" our driver. We bounced around pretty good but we all made it in one piece. There was an accident about 1/4 mile from the orphanage so we got out and walked up the hill. We managed to get some great pics of the surrounding areas. Inside was very exciting and chaotic. All the babies were with caretakers just inside the door and everyone started to scurry to find theirs.We recognized her right away. We had to wait 'til we were called 4th in the line. Jen was just shaking and crying. It was so emotional. Ali took it all in stride and laughed and smiled the whole time. She has been so amazing breaking in her new mommy and daddy. She is just beautiful and laughs and smiles and jabbers alot. She is eating good and sleeping well and seems to be taking to us more all the time. She looks for us now in the crowds and chaos.She is very,very active and gets bored sitting for a second so we've done many miles with her in the rooms and halls but she is more than we could've ever dreamt. We spent the night in Qianjiang and then had the exciting ride back here to Chongqing. The babies all have colds but are managing quite well. The bus ride didn't faze them at all. This morning we went to the adoption office and completed our paperwork. This afternoon we went to the bank and completed the finances. It was suppose to take an hour but ended up a little over 4. We then went to the store and got some supplies and are all just relaxing comfortably. Our little travel group has gelled quite nicely. We are getting many things accomplished on our own. Only 1 dad went down sick today.Too much fruit we think. We really like it here in China and time is flying by but we are looking forward to going home. We definitely would love to come back though with-out schedules and chaos because it is truly an amazing country.The views alone are great and the people have been great to the dopey Canadians. So friendly and helpful wherever we go or even just walking the streets although the moms get a little nervous as they love the babies and they come right up and want to take them and touch them and hold them and are very forward about it. They also love to try their english when they can. I am also getting to try my limited chinese out and have been able to help the group find a few things and get around a bit. The people are very patient with me. All is well. The tough part is over.

It's Official!!!

We finished our "donations" and received our family document today. Ali has been great through it all. She sure has helped us get through everything and always with a big smile and a cute little giggle. Even for our official family photo. We are so lucky and blessed to have her.

GOTCHA!!!!!!!