Special Day

We celebrated DX's Baptism Day yesterday. The white silk outfit that we bought in Nanjing fit him perfectly. But, let me tell you, is it ever hard to find plain white shoes or sneakers for a boy around here. So, he wore his "Bob the Builder" boots for the occassion. Somehow, they seemed strangely appropriate!

Of course, no party is complete without CAKE. Here's what my husband ordered for the day:

So, maybe not what I would have picked out for a christening, but what are you going to do!?!

KACHOW!

Macro Photos 6 & 7

This or That?

I'm planning on starting a new knitting project soon. I know I want to knit a sweater- for myself. But I'm indecisive about what I want. I've seen a few very nice patterns lately and, well, I'm like a kid in a candy store, unable to pick anything because everything looks so good!

Here are a few of the sweaters that I've been considering:

First, from the Spring edition of Interweave's Knits Spring 2008 magazine-
It's the jacket on the cover, and I think its just the cutest thing, yet could be quite elegant. I'd probably do it in another colour, though.

Then, there is this cute little number, designed by Connie Chang Chinchio, to be knitted in silk:

I just love it- it's so fresh and youthful. And I love the colour.

I also saw another pattern recently on the Berroco website that I really like, called "Montparnasse":

I think it is very "European" in styling, and I love the asymmetry. But, when I showed it to DH he said something like "I think it would make you look middle-aged."

Phhhhtttt... there went the air out of that balloon.

Apart from the fact that I actually am just about middle-aged, it's not like I want to emphasize the fact. But, what does he know, right?

I have to say that I'm leaning towards the tangerine silk sweater, even though I'm a bit intimidated by the chart pattern.

So... any opinions? Which one should I go for? Oh, to have the time to knit all three!

Macro Photo #5

...and #4

Macro 3

Macro Challenge #2

Kid Update

As it turns out, this blog seems to be moving away a bit from it's original intent- which was to chronicle our adoption journey to our son, DX. He has been home with us since August, and is doing fabulously! Since I've been mostly blogging about the little crafty things that I've been doing, I thought it might be high time to give an actual "kid" update.

DX had a Cleft Team visit last week and saw his surgeon. His mouth has healed very well- there are no fistulas (tiny holes), and the palate itself has a good "length"! For those of you not living in the world of cleft lip/cleft palate, these things are important for the quality of his speech. If too much air can escape from his mouth to his nose while he speaks, he would sound very "nasaly" (or, more correctly, 'hypernasal'), a problem that is not uncommon in cleft-affected kids and often requires further surgery. So, this is great news!!

We also saw his ENT, who was convinced that as a result of a vascular birth mark inside his ear (long story!), his hearing was seriously affected on one side. He sent us for a hearing test- DX was *so* cooperative!- and it turns out that hearing from one ear is normal, while the other ear has mild hearing loss only- not even serious enough to require a hearing aid! Given that the ENT had been talking about hearing implants in our son's future, this is also great news!!

He is continuing with speech therapy, which he will probably need for several years. Language and speech development are both areas of concern for us, since he's had a lot going on to "catch up" with his peers in language. He's had to learn English in the last 7 months, deal with new equipment (his palate after his surgery) for speech, undergo 2 surgeries, etc., etc... That's a lot for a 3 year-old! And, in general, cleft-affected children do experience language delays that are related to their delays in producing speech. Anyways, each time we go to speech therapy, the therapist sees an improvement in how he is putting words together. Yesterday, she played a game with him to informally test his knowledge of colours, shape, numbers, and letters, and following it, she said that he responded at the appropriate age level for all those concepts! Three months ago, that would not have been the case.

So, things are moving along so well with our boy! He's such a great kid. We're so blessed to have him.

30 Day Macro Challenge

So, here is my first photo for the 30 Day Macro Challenge, started by Orange Flower. My plan is to take photos of things lying around the house and call the collection "Around Our Place". Inventive, huh!?!

Well, since DX arrived, we've got a whole new set of toys around our place, so I thought that "Percy" (oops- I stand corrected by a 3 year-old- that's "Henry") would be fun to start with.

What a great way to learn more about taking photos on your camera's macro setting. You should think about joining!