It’s Christmas Eve, so I just wanted to write a quick update as we’ve been quite busy this month so far. Ceinwen is still coming along in leaps and bounds. She is starting to walk without holding on, only taking 4 or 5 steps towards either me or Rhodri but she hasn’t quite got her balance right yet. I think we are going to miss our prediction that she’ll be walking alone by her first birthday unless the walking bit suddenly clicks in the next 4 days!

She’s a very bright little girl and picks up things/copies you very quickly. We’ve got a little musical tree toy that you push balls down the top (which we got for Gwion for his first Christmas) and she’s learnt very quickly to push the balls down. She’s trying to copy sounds and responds to you speaking in both English and Welsh. She’ll point to the clock and to the Chinese pictures we have of boats and flowers, when asked where they are in Welsh!

I’ve taken her into work and shown her off at the beginning of the month. Ceinwen was initially quite shy by all the strange faces, but soon started “chatting” and has learnt to say “bye bye” and wave to people as we go! Work is busy, understaffed (a few of us are off having had babies, also a few have left and not been replaced as there is no money). Definitely not in a hurry to go back!

Mam and Dad came up to stay with us for a week and it was great to see them. Gwion loved having Granny and Grandad about. Ceinwen was very unsure for 3 or 4 days. Every time I left her in the room with them she cried until I came back. She has this habit of throwing herself face down on the floor (a lovely trick quickly learnt from her brother who does the same thing!) and then holds her breath until she turns very blue, then cries! She did finally relax with them, especially when they played with her. They also babysat for me and Rhodri to go out one evening without the kids, something we haven’t done for months!

We’ve had a couple of Christmas parties to go to, well Gwion’s had lots and we had one family one. We had our local branch of CACH (Children adopted from China group – UK version of FCC) Christmas party when my parents were staying. It was great to see everyone with their families, and lots more people who’ve got older children that don’t come along to the Mother and Tot group. Ceinwen was the youngest baby there, and got lots of attention. There were three families at the party who’d not long come back from China: us, my friend Kit and her baby, Anna, and another couple, Sue and Ian, with their daughter, Millie. Gwion loved it when Sion corn (Santa in Welsh) arrived with all the presents (which we had to bring for our kids). He waited expectantly by the sacks as Sion Corn gave out the presents. When the first two were emptied he wondered where his present was, so he moved around and stood directly in front of him, trying to get his attention, and even tapped him on the knee to let him know he was there! He was delighted to finally get his present: a diesel train from “Thomas the Tank”, but he was slightly disappointed at first, that it wasn’t the engines Spencer and Duncan that he has asked Sion Corn to bring! Ceinwen didn’t know what to make of it all!

We’ve just spent a couple of days with Olwen and her family as we were taking Gwion and Charlie to the Snow Dome for the Christmas show and some snow play. Gwion did not like the snow play at all (it’s in real snow although all inside) so cried all the time there, didn’t calm down to see all the animals and reindeer, but finally calmed down to see the show, which he enjoyed. Charlie loved playing in the snow!

So now it’s Christmas Eve. The decorations are up. Gwion is over excited, and keeps adding more things to his list from Sion Corn. For ages it’s just been Spencer and Duncan trains, then he added an aeroplane, then 4 helicopters (when Mam and Dad were up), and now onto that he wants Pooh bear sweets (he saw me buy some for his stocking), and a mince pie (as we said we were giving one to Sion Corn!). Tonight I am taking him down to the square in Conwy for the annual Christmas parade. We start off singing some carols in the square by the Christmas tree, and then walk down to the castle where Sion Corn appears from the wall so all the children can see him. It’s a lovely little tradition we have here.

Next....Christmas Day, 2005