FCC Westchester/Bronx Picnic

Since taking on the role of regional coordinator for FCCNY Westchester/Bronx region earlier this year, I am delighted in watching it come alive after 1.5 years of being dormant. We had such a blast at the picnic in Croton Point Park and look forward to our next event at the Hammond Museum.

What a treat -Dani brought her Chinese Harp to the picnic

Egg Race - Yuck, what a mess

Egg Race Winners

And one of the losers

Our newest member, Lilli - 17 months and home 3 months

Ah, home at last. It's good to put my feet up.

FCC Chinese Culture Camp - June 15 - 17

Well, I certainly have been immersed in Chinese culture these last few weeks between the Asian Heritage Festival, Culture Day and now a weekend at Culture Camp. We had a blast. Kathy Miller and her two girls shared a cabin with us and Katerina loved spending the time with Ally and Dani. There were another woman, Sylvia and her daughter Olivia in our cabin and they were very nice. Katerina serenaded us on Friday night as everyone was going to sleep with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Row Row Row your Boat and Baa Baa Black Sheep. I could hear giggles from Sylvia and Olivia's bunks. At one point I whispered "shush" and she said as loud as can be...."What's shush Mama?"

In the middle of the night, Ally woke up crying and it turned into screaming. Kathy took her out of the cabin to the bathrooms to wait until she calmed down and proceeded to get lost in the woods trying to get back in the dark. She was going around in circles, crying, and carrying a sleeping 3-year-old. She finally walked into someone's cabin and woke them up. They had the camp map and brought her back to our cabin.

The cabins were partially open to the outside (with screens) and it was magical waking up to the birds chirping. It definitely felt as if we were sleeping out in the woods under the trees. It was heartwarming to see all those beautiful girls; so happy to be there and making new friends. It was very comfortable being around so many other families like us and you could feel the connection. People interacted with each other as if we'd all known each other for years. And in a way, we all do know each other.

The weather was great and the camp activities were terrific; kept us all very busy. Kathy and I were ready for a nap after lunch but the girls were too hyped up so it was on to the beach. At dinner, Ally's eyes rolled back in her head and she was out. Two seconds later, Katerina put her head down on the table and ditto. They both woke up in time for the campfire and roasting marshmallows.

Ah, the little angel resting up for her concert performance later in the evening!

Keeping up the with big girls in a Yoga class. Okay, okay, so she has the wrong arm in the air; I think she got the concept.

Pal Ally (3 1/2)

Dani, Katerina & Ally triumphant in exhausting their Moms

Cabin mates

Brushstroke class. Whoops...was I supposed to wait for the Rice Paper?

The rest of the Wild Blueberries - Katerina's activity group & counselors

Certainly a rite of passage; her first Smore.

FCC Culture Day

June 9th was FCCNY's Culture Day at Liberty State Park in NJ. It was a beautiful day, unlike last year which was cool and windy. Since there was so much to do and see there was alot we never got to. We got there in time for the Lion Dance - Katerina's favorite. But the most exciting event was being on stage with Mei Mei. She loved it until she saw Constantin in front of the stage taking pictures; then seperation anxiety set in.

Katerina being asked her name and age. She answered right into the microphone.

"Mei Mei and Me" This was a real treat for Katerina

Visit From Grandma - Recap

Mom/Grandma came to visit on May 31st and stayed with us until June 11th. She was here for my birthday and for FCC Culture day. I only went to work 1 1/2 days during her visit and we had a terrific time. The bond between Katerina and her Grandma deepened during this visit. From the first morning (Mom came in late and Katerina was sleeping) when she knew Grandma was here and went running downstairs. She stood outside the door and called for her. Mom was still lying in bed after getting in so late but said she couldn't have asked for a nicer way to wake up.

PLAYLAND - June 1

Could I be any cuter?

 Me and my Uncle Bobby

A special treat; Grandma's here

I can't wait till I'm tall enough to go on this cool ride



MAMA's Birthday

Now, who could that be behind the curtain?



Mama gets to wear the silly hat!

BACKYARD FUN WITH GRANDMA

Doesn't everyone's Grandma go in the jumping castle with them?

Memorial Day Weekend

Saturday: Asian Heritage Festival - The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) put on their annual Asian Heritage Festival at the Kensico Dam. We (FCC Westchester/Bronx) have forged a great relationship with OCA and worked with them on pulling this festival together and took a booth to sell merchandise to benefit FCCNY's Orphanage Assistance Program. It was a beautiful day and since we did not have many volunteers, I manned the booth almost the entire day (in addition to setting it up and breaking it down) and had a great time doing so. I had a full view of the stage so was able to enjoy all the performances. Joseph was a huge help in assisting OCA with setup and directing traffic.

Our Booth

Hey - let's go over there.....looks like fun.

And so it was

Rina S

Melanie and friend

Sonia

Katie & friend

Sunday: George & Deb's - We celebrated Memorial Day weekend at George & Deb's on Sunday. It was a beautiful day, but the pool was still a little chilly. Also, there were Bill, Paulette and Ashley and the neighbors Peter and Humiko (and her mother came later after they picked her up from the Airport).

OK, Katerina, you need to wear your hat.

Easy does it!

I'm in!

Even Leo jumped in

Poor Bill with a nasty tooth infection. Poor Bill with Paulette making fun of him.

Peter, Humiko and her mother visiting from Japan.

Funny, you don't look Japanese: At one point during the afternoon, before Humiko's mother arrived, Katerina went up to her and pointed to Humiko first, then herself and then held up 2 fingers and said "Chinese....two". Did I ever mention she was a genius child?

The big kids and the little kid: Ashley, 21 and Joseph 17

Daughters of China

After sending our paperwork to China, I joined a Yahoo group of others who had sent their dossiers around the same time. We were Dossier To China (DTC) April 2005 and dubbed ourselves the Pandas. During those long months of waiting, we encouraged each other and shared plans and preparations. Then the referrals started coming and we followed each others' journeys via blogs and websites. We are still going strong and share lots of information, no longer exclusively adoption related, but just stuff. I'm hoping to make plans to meet one family in or near Disney World in December. (Look for her in the video, she is Grace Sh and comes from the same orphanage as Katerina and was adopted just a couple of days before). Another I hope to meet in a couple of weeks at FCC's Culture Day in Liberty State Park, NJ; Dallas. As we each passed our one year "Gotcha" anniversaries, one of the members put together a DVD for all who wanted to participate showing each girls referral picture and then a picture one year later. I think 50 of us participated. Look at the difference in each girls eyes from referral (dead/vacuous) to one year later, shining and sparkling; full of life. I dare you to get through this without crying.