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December 22, 2006
Well we have had a very busy few months…..
October was filled with our Gotcha celebration
and Halloween of course. We had party after party and Cassie was a pro by Halloween
night. She walked right into one house, told another person to close their door
when she was done and was the hit of the neighborhood as a busy little bumblebee. We
carved pumpkins and Cassie got a big kick out of the yard decorations. She is
just talking up a storm!
November was just as busy, as you
may know November begins the Birthday marathon for both sides of our families and we even get our friends involved! We started with Cassie’s buddy Daniel’s 3rd BD (Amy and I are already imagining
how sweet our grandchildren will look). We spent Sean’s BD at the zoo and
Cassie loves the yard nativity we got him, and demands to check on baby Jesus every night.
Cassie experienced her first night on Beale Street at Blues City with cousins from Florida and loves the ribs there. She had a family birthday party, one with our playgroup pals and since it was cold
on her actual birthday we went to the mall and rode the carousel (a favorite of Cassie and Angela) and played in the indoor
play area… she thinks her birthday is a week long event. She also now thinks
any time she gets dressed up pretty she gets presents. Then came Thanksgiving,
we watched the Macy’s parade and our friend Brea cooked a lunch and then we had our big family feast. It was a much different Thanksgiving than last when Angela was recovering on the couch from back surgery
and Cassie was unsure what was going on. We got a great photo of her with all
her cousins, she is determined to keep up with the older ones and destined to be the ringleader of the 2 who just had 1st
birthdays. On again with the BD express, Uncle Kevin, Carson, and Ashton, Joy,
the parties never stop!
December came in with a bang; Cassie is
crazy about the decorations. We thought she was funny at Halloween, we did the
front and back yard, 3 trees in the house and it is Christmas time for sure. We
have been busy helping decorate trees, baking cookies, shopping and driving around to look at all the pretty lights. We were
invited to a real tea party for the FCC Mother’s and Daughters and that was quite fun, went to the Enchanted Forest
and tried to see Santa (look for the BAD SANTA photo) and Zoo lights with the Patterson’s. For Nana’s birthday we went to a church Christmas program and Cassie really liked the music, then
we went to see more lights, and started a new tradition with Grandma by visiting the Peabody to see the ducks march down and
the holiday choir singing in the lobby. Now we are waiting to see if we get a
baby doll, baby stroller and some play dough. I keep trying to get her to say
she wants to see Santa, but I do not think it is going to happen this year. We
will let you know if Santa comes through- Merry Christmas to all of you from the Canaday’s
October 8, 2006 Okay – first let me say I apologize that it has been such a LONG time since I have
updated our home page and that many of you have been chomping at the bit for new photos of Cassie. It has been a rough several months here, things are settling down so I will try and be better about keeping
you all up to date on Cassie.
One
year ago today we woke up in Hong Kong and spent the day with the other families on a tour of the Hong Kong, never dreaming
the life long friendships that were about to start. It was 5 years ago that day
that Sean and I met, so it was a very special day to us for that reason as well. We
were all so excited as we chatted over our dinner at The Hard Rock in Hong Kong. I
think we all knew we were about to venture on the most awesome journey.
Fast
forward to Heifi, October 10, 2005 Once again we were with our newfound friends now chatting nervously with cameras ready
waiting for the first glimpse of Cassie. The girls finally arrived; Cassie was just as adorable in person as that worn and
tattered photo Sean and I each had been carrying since July 29th. It
was then she got a hint that something was not going to make her happy and she began to cry.
If you followed our trip you know how the rest went so I will not bore you with a repeat of history, but we could not
have imagined how wonderful the 12 months would be.
I
will fill you in on the events since my last update in March. March was much
of a blur, my grandmother became increasingly sick, spending more of her time in the hospital than at home. In late March it was determined that she had internal bleeding that at her age could not be corrected so
they began her Hospice care, sadly she died Easter Sunday after Cassie had gone to visit in her Easter dress with a basket
to share with Nana Nana in tow. She was crazy about all of us and especially
about Cassie so we tried to get her up for visits any time Nana was home. It
was so funny to watch Nana bribe Cassie with cookies for kisses. She was still
crawling then and starting to pull up onto things and walk with assistance and she used to try and use Nana’s walker. We had relatives in from NY and Texas and Cassie did pretty well, she is getting more
social. In April Cassie got her first pair of Stride Rite walkers, started speech
and occupational therapy and went to see the Easter Bunny, was Baptized, flew to NY, played at the beach. In addition to those highlights we also had picnics, trips to parks and zoos. May came in like an overdue April LION at the Canaday’s. We
really had a hard time after getting back from NY, we had no major events other than we went back to being a one income family
and Cassie is mastering this walking thing! Cassie made loads of progress in
therapy and by June she was walking and talking up a storm. Though the talking
was not always understood, but she was using her sign language like a champ. During
June we did a lot of backyard play, she got a playhouse and a pool, and she began swimming.
She loved it from the first time, so we did some at Nana’s and had play dates at the neighborhood pool. In July we celebrated the 4th in style, we did a parade and of course FIREWORKS! We changed to a new speech therapist, she comes to the house, who also teaches sign
language so both our speaking and signing vocabularies grew quite a bit. The rest of July and August were pretty low key for
Cassie, just parks, zoo and swimming. September was a BIG month for us…we
had a reunion of our travel group. The reunion was held at a beach house in Isle
of Palms, SC and 6 of the 7 families were able to attend. We drove and stopped
in Chattanooga to break up the long drive. Cassie was pretty good though, however
Sean and I are sick of Patty Cake and Itsy Bitsy Spider. WE had the most amazing
time, it was so fun to see the girls all together again and see how much they had changed.
It was decided that Cassie had changed the most…. She was no longer the runt of our group. Believe it or not she has finally had a growth spurt over the summer and is 32” and 25lbs and is
now wearing 12-18 month clothes. Now here we are in October and considering it
is only a week old we have had quite a busy month. Thursday we walked in Light
the Night to support Leukemia and Lymphoma. It was extra special this year to
have Cassie with us. The folks from the support group we belong to were so great
to Sean and I during our wait. Now I can also see that Cassie was already part
of God’s plan for me back in 1990 when I was first diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease. Yesterday we celebrated the Harvest Moon Festival with our FCC friends at a farm, where Cassie had her
first bonfire and hay ride. Today we had a fun time with our friends the Patterson’s, we all went Pumpkin Pickin’. It was so much fun, they had pony rides, hay rides, face painting and you guessed
it PUMPKINS.
Tuesday, we will be gathering with our parents to celebrate our 1st Gotcha Day! Early in the day the 3 of us are going to the Botanic Gardens to take some pictures and enjoy the pretty
weather. Later on we are going to a Chinese restaurant near the house that we
have gone to a few times and they just love to talk to us about our trip and shower Cassie with attention…so
we figure what better place to start our celebration. We will follow it up back
at home watching our Gotcha video and a cake and give Cassie one of the special presents we bought for her while we were in
China.
This last year we have had many moments, some happy some sad.
It’s just like yesterday we held Cassie for the first time, never imagining how much love and joy one little
person could add to our lives. Cassie certainly has us all smitten; now it is
hard to remember what life was like before we became a Forever Family.
March 20 Wow - I can hardly beleive we have been home for 5 months!
So much has happened it is hard to know where to start.... so I guess I will just start at the begining. As most of
you know Cassie had her 1st birthday on 11/26/2005, Ang had back surgery in Novemeber.... then Cassie learned all about Thanksgiving
turkey! We went to see Santa and Cassie did pretty well, she really loved all the Christmas lights, she wasn't too sure
about all the presents- the paper and boxes fascinated her more. As many of you know Sean works for Northwest and some
things there have changed so we decided I should go back to work.... in January I was offered a position so we tried
to fill in January with lots of family fun. We celebrated our first Chinese New Year with Cassie, several trips
to the zoo, visits to the park. I started back to work on February 1st and Cassie has adjusted very well.
She spends the mornings with Sean and then Grandma comes 3 afternoons a week and then Cassie goes to play with the Patterson's
2 days a week, then she and I have girls night every night! Let's see we have had Valentines Day, more trips
to the zoo, picnics and visits to the park, the Shrine Circus. Our biggest adventure yet was flying to
Minneapolis for the day! Cassie really enjoyed her first visit to the Rainforest Cafe- we sat right under the gorillas
and she just loved that! This past weekend we celebrated St Patrick's day at Nana's house and let me tell you there
was lots of LAUGHING going on.....
Dec 18 Well the
Birthday photos have been added, so go check em out. We will be adding some others ASAP- so keep coming back
- Angela is doing better and Sean is hoping she will be released this week so he can get a break! Cassie
made her first trip to see Santa- there is a little less Christmas spirit going on this year because of Angela's recovery
but the important thing is that Cassie is finally home with us.
A great big THANKS to all of our friends and family who have been helping us take care
of Cassie while Angela recovers and sending meals. Because of you Sean has only missed one day of work and that was
the day Angela had her surgery. Cassie is adjusting amazingly well and that is the blessing we are taking from all of
this is that she trusts her Mommy and Daddy will keep coming back for her and it is ok for her to go to other people
who love and care about her too!
Coming soon Christmas photos and more Canaday updates
Nov 21 Well Cassie
turned one and you will just have to wait for the pictures---sorry to dissapoint you all! Angela hurt her back very
badly last weekend- the party went on anyway. She will be having surgery today, please keep us in your thoughts
and prayers over the next month while she recovers and is UNABLE to lift or carry Cassie. We will update the site
as soon as possible --
Nov
11Well it has been just a month since Cassie has joined our family and
she is fitting right in! Since we are home there has been so much going on, so
honestly I have been too tired to post.
There have been
so many firsts for Cassie. Lets see where to start-
Zoo
Boo was fun Cassie made the cutest lady bug- ok I am prejudice but hey I am allowed!
We’ve gone to the park to feed the ducks and geese. She laughs and
giggles at them and loves the playground- actually she had her 5 minutes of fame last week at the park, she was on the news. Channel 3 was doing a story on children and telling them no and we were at the park
and they used us in a lot of their background shots- of course she has no idea what No means J She now loves the
bath, is crawling really FAST and standing, we figure she will be walking pretty soon…. it is amazing how much she changes
every day. We went to the zoo again with some of our FCC (Families of Chinese
Children) friends and she had her first CAROUSEL ride with Mommy of course! Then
out to dinner for Sean’s birthday and she was very animated- she is really starting to come out of her shell. She is still not thrilled if Sean or I are not around- but at least now we do not have to have PHYSICAL
contact at ALL times. Right now she is fighting her first cold and is teething
to boot, hope she is better by this Sunday for her BIG 1ST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.
(Her actual birthday is 11/16/2004)
Sean will try to
get some new photos posted as soon as possible. He has gone back to work and
does not have as much free time now either J It is amazing how much time this little person requires—but
we are loving it!
October 28 Well we have been home for almost a week now, things are still pretty crazy around here! Cassie has not slept through the night yet- guess we were spoiled in China- maybe tonight is the night???
Let’s see
where to start – we have had our tour of the house, met brat, our first bath alone, first meal as a family, first trip
to the Dr, first ride in a car seat, first touch of grass and today was our first trip to the Memphis zoo.
Many of you have
asked the BIG question – how is Brat handling all of this? The answer is
AMAZINGLY WELL- have not had a single HISS! The first night Cassie really cried
(loud and long), Brat just kept following us around as if to say “Mommy, find that thing’s off switch and use
it!” Actually anytime Cassie is crying Brat is right there to “help”. Cassie likes the way Brat feels so we have to be careful not to let her be rough-
so far so good both are getting along well.
We had the grandparents
for a visit Sunday night – that did not go too well. Cassie wanted NO part
of any of them. We are trying to introduce her in small time intervals Wednesday
after the Dr was Grandma and tonight after the zoo was Nana- progress is being made.
Cassie’s
first appointment with Dr. Lana was traumatic for all of us! She liked it ok
’til she started with the eye and ear check it was then downhill! It got
worse when Mom and Dad heard there was blood work and shots for her that day. I
was prepared for the next visit not today! Well the VAMPIRES came in and made
her cry- they had to take blood from both her little arms…. then she had to get her shots (3 of them) and she has to
go back in 2 more months for more.
We bought
a stroller for Cassie and took her for a walk in the neighborhood yesterday to try it out – she seemed to like it. We stopped by The Patterson’s house to say hi!
Cassie did pretty well considering she was still feeling crummy from shots and teething. Megan is so excited that “her” baby Cassie is home.
Today we went back
to the Dr for them to check on of her shots and then went to the zoo. I think
Cassie enjoyed her first trip to the Memphis Zoo. There was not too much action
with the animals. She liked the Billy goats and got a bit startled when the donkey
started carrying on. I am hoping we have worn her out- but time will tell it
is still early only 11pm.
Tomorrow we are going to a Fall Family Adoption
Fellowship party in the afternoon and then meeting the Patterson's for ZOO BOO. Then our next big adventure is Halloween-
Cassie is going to be a LADY BUG
Thanks for keeping
up with us!
We will be home on October 22nd!
Just in time for Zoo Boo Megan!
Oct 24 Well we are home and what
a homecoming it was!
Let me start by saying Benedryl is awesome! Cassie did
ok on the flights thanks to a shot of Benedryl- she did get fussy but would not take the pacifyer and was always impatient
about her bottle which we had planned to give at take off and landing. We almost missed our flight out of Guangzhou
because we got stuck to have our bags SEARCHED. Let me tell you search they did- opened up the stacking dolls, our toiletry
bags and even my diabetes meter - try explaining what that is with the language barrier! Then we were able to check
our bags and yes one was over weight! I am not sure if it was that Sean had already told her he was an employee upon
checking in or the Chinese banter exchange between the CCAI rep and the person at the counter - either way we were forgiven
and did not have to pay overage- but had to cart it to a second area which of course was CLEAR across the airport. So
we finally get to the line for immigration - and we got the SLOWEST line and I made a plea to the guard to let us move to
another line which was denied by a stern scowl... so we waited. Then to security check - I thought I was at Walmart
....5 lanes and only 1 worker. So here we are 8:10 for a 8:20 flight that said the gates were closing at 8 am. Two
things gave me peace- there were other people with NWA stickers on them behind us in line and I knew that was the only NWA
flight out of Guangzhou! But we took the airport cart for 10 RMB each - so about $2.50 and I think that made all
the difference in the world--- we made the flight and they were still boarding.
Then we landed in Narita and while we were wandering around we ran into the Rapp Family on
their way home too. We visited with them until it was time for them to board their flight and Cassie bid another goodbye
to her bud Katie. Sean and I were really feeling pretty crummy already and had 2 more flights to go. We did ok-
Cassie slept most of the way and we snoozed a bit too.... having that 3rd seat was great. We just stretched her out
when she was sleeping and sat her in it when she was playing. We even changed her at the seat which the Rapp's tried
to do and got hollered at on their flight. Then we landed in Minneapolis and had a 5 hour layover. We were so
scared about customs and immigration but it all went so smooth - we could have taken the earlier flight! Since we had
a 5 hour layover we went to Chili's and had dinner. Sean had a chicken sandwich with lettuce and I had
chicken tortilla soup (about as far from Chinese as we could get at Chili's) We both also partook of soda with ICE-
yeah! While we were waiting to be seated Cassie was just a swaying to the music and then started swinging her arms over
her head it was too funny!
Then we were ready for the last leg of our LONG journey! Next stop Memphis- WOO HOO
Once again Cassie slept most of the flight - we woke her to change her into her I am
a US citizen outfit - hat and all! Our flight was early so Sean was a bit concerned that no one would be at the gate
to take pictures of us coming off... well wrong he was. We waited to be the last off and were gathering all our stuff
when I heard his brother Bill's voice telling us to turn around. FLASH- the first picture of Cassie in Memphis…. and I think they continued for close to an hour. Our friend David and one of Sean’s co- workers were out there with camcorders and got our long walk
down to the main area of the airport and there were so many people! There was
a huge banner welcoming us home hung on the cat walk, and all of our family, friends and adoption family were all there to
welcome us home! It was so nice and Cassie did very well with all the chaos. We got quite a few giggles out of her so everyone got to see those dimples live and
in person!
We got home and there was a Pink Stork in the yard,
balloons and banners. We got inside and had been left lots of goodies and
flowers on the table, the fridge was stocked up with some things to get us through the next few days- man we should go away
for this long more often! Ok, I realize it was because we brought Cassie home
that we got such great treatment- it is no longer about Sean and I. L
We showed
Cassie around and got settled in. We both took LONG, HOT showers after getting
Cassie changed and into pj’s. Well she had obviously slept enough on the
plane and wanted NO part of it now! We had finally gotten her to sleep about
midnight and then she awoke again. I never even heard her and I was in the same
room – can you say dead tired?
She
is still on China time and we are really tired but other than that doing well! Sean
will post some photos of our trip and Cassie’s first few days at home. We
will have to get some of the airport welcome and post later
Hope
you all have enjoyed following our journey- I will keep posting updates! Make
sure to check back in November for her first birthday photos!
Hugs
to all-
The
Canaday Family
At home
in Olive Branch MS
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