Welcome!

My niece joined the family on July 12th, 2010. This special young lady's mother is my younger sister, which in classic Chinese culture makes me her Jiu Jiu (舅舅) -- thus the title of this blog. Here I intend to semi-regularly post reflections, thoughts, stories, and assorted whathaveyous pertaining to our trip to China, adoption in general, and (mostly) watching my niece grow up. Since the web is a very public place, I will attempt to maintain my family's privacy while telling the story... but I invite you to follow the blog and come along for the adventure!

Saturday, December 29, 2018

MILESTONE!

Just a quick aside before the actual post... I wrote "MILESTONE!" about 36 hours ago but just now realized that it's very likely my last post of 2018. I therefore want to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year, with my thanks for sticking with me & reading my carefully-typed silliness here.  I'm slowly working my way into a regular posting schedule so you should see a lot more silliness (and the occasional bit of serious thought and/or commentary) in the coming year.  Thanks again for your patience & reading... and now on with my post.... :-)



I'm taking a moment out from my planned posts to talk about a new milestone that we -- well, the Pipsqueak (with all her grownups happy about it) -- passed.

The last of the "baby seats" has been removed from the last of the family vehicles.  😄

Back when AJ researched car seats for "the baby," we had no idea how long she'd need one so my sister did the smart thing and not only purchased a highly-rated car seat, she got a model that could be converted over time into more of a booster and less of a "baby seat" as her as-yet-unmet daughter grew.  Her research paid off; despite the Highlander getting T-boned & flipping over in late 2011, leaving Miri hanging upside-down in the car for several minutes before being cut loose, she barely had a mark on her and was able to cheerfully wave and yell, "Hi, Biyan!" when I walked into the ER that evening.  (You can read the post with photos of the Highlander's remains here, with my commentary about the accident here.)

A second baby seat of the same make & model was purchased 48 hours later, along with another for Mom & Dad's car, and a third for mine.

That was about seven years ago(!), and in the intervening years we gradually readjusted the seats to accomodate an ever-less-pipsqueakish Pipsqueak.  The seat was removed from Mom & Dad's car about a year ago, when Dad began driving a lot less & the car also coincidentally began spending a lot more time in the shop.  AJ went on to pull hers out of the van & put in a standard (much smaller) booster seat, then bought a second booster seat to have as a spare, both for when friends' rug rats rode with her or for fast transfers of Miri to friends' cars.  Meanwhile, the seat in my car was readjusted to accomodate the largest child possible while we kept hoping/thinking Miri would soon reach the combination of size & weight that Maryland deems appropriate for just buckling in without any booster or risers...

...and even as she kept (keeps on!) growing, she remained tantalizingly below the combined minimums according to state law.  Unfortunately that meant that over the past year Miri was more & more squished into the seat any time she rode with me.

UNTIL NOW!

The Pipsqueak still needs a booster, but earlier this week our folks went on safari with our uncle and bought a booster seat for my car -- and the baby/child seat that's been hosting my niece for the past seven and a half years is now rolling around loose in the back of my Rav4.  (I'll eventually remember to put it down in my basement, I promise.)

It's kind of a bittersweet moment; the baby of the family, who has taken to sprouting like a weed, has left behind one of the last accoutrements of littleness and is well on her way to being a "Tween" -- but to tell you the truth, it's all good.

Now if I could just stop feeling so, um... old...   <8-0


Monday, December 24, 2018

Catching Up: The Pipsqueak's SBA Birthday Party (2018_06_23)

Merry Christmas, Happy (belated) Hanukkah, Good Yule, Happy (belated) Solstice, and a happy/merry alltheotherholidays of the next 5-7 days to one and all!

A quick word from yours truly about the downside of the holiday season: there are folks out there who will take advantage of how busy you are to try to sneak in (or out) some things you probably won't appreciate. For example, while at my folks' house earlier today we discovered a PayPal microtransaction on their checking account... the type of microtransaction that PayPal does when someone links their PP account to a checking account. Unfortunately, Mom & Dad do not have a PayPal account. An hour's worth of phone time with the bank later, it's being looked into as an unauthorized transaction and we're going to be checking all the transactions on their bank accounts every day -- and I strongly urge one & all to do the same!

Okay, now back to the usual blog... :-)



Time flies like an arrow[1] so -- even though we were pushing the Pipsqueak through the tropical heat of midsummer Guangzhou just two or three days ago, this June she turned nine.  (Dude, like... YIKES!)  Aside from leading to an unbroken string of reminders that this is "...my last single digit year!" on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis, the event was marked by birthday parties!  (Yes, plural -- again.  Sometimes good friends just can't get together at the same time.)

One of the more unique birthday celebrations was hosted at SBA -- the Studio of Ballet Arts in Olney, MD.  [Note: If you follow the link and pay close attention, you'll catch a few quick glimpses of the Pipsqueak in the 2018 Production video on the studio's home page!]  It's an important place for Miri; Alison, the lovely lady who runs the studio, is really more a friend of the family than just the manager of Miri's dance school; and since she can host kids' parties during summer downtime, it was a no-brainer to have the "big" birthday party there.

We all got there early to help set up in one of the studios...


...and it wasn't long before the invitees were all in the main studio, leaning a special birthday dance!  (This is my only photo of the rehearsal because it was declared "OFF LIMITS!" to all parents & co. so as to not spoil the surprise.)


Soon it was time for cake and goodies, so all the kids scampered down the hall to the smaller studio. (This after a lot of time spent learning a new dance routine. Meanwhile, the majority of grownups present sorta ambled after them, wishing for at least half their energy... LOL)



When time came for the birthday cake, Alison did the honors...


...and the Pipsqueak posed while the kids prepared to  sing  yell  scream  the "Happy Birthday" song.


I gotta hand it to them... they may be smaller than I am in physical size, but they sure do know how to make a GIGANTIC noise!


(Yes, the Pipsqueak did indeed turn back for one more whiff of the candle smoke -- she loves the smell!)  The cake itself only lasted a few minutes once the candles were extinguished, and everyone agreed it was tasty indeed!


Finally, as several more sets of parents arrived to pick up their offspring, it was time for The Big Performance.  We all headed back to the main studio and were treated to the special birthday dance that the kids had learned in all of about 30 minutes.  (I think they did a great job -- especially when I compare how long it takes for me to memorize just a few definitions in my certification course vs. the timing & complexity of the dance they learned so quickly!)


[Note: The enthusiastic young woman in black & blue is Paige, one of the instructors. Unfortunately I've forgotten the name of the volunteer in green & black, but I believe she's a member of the main competition team.]

Once the dancing was done, it was time for goodie bags and hugs and goodbyes as the invitees all scattered to their respective homes...


...and we all headed to our folks' house (with BFF Sarah & fam in tow) to open the presents and catch our collective breath.[2]



As the unwrapping continued, I noticed an uninvited (but welcome) guest curiously watching us through the window, hopping around on the deck for almost 10 minutes while keeping an eye on what we were doing...


Eventually all the presents were unwrapped & admired and all the cards were opened and read, so of course instead of the planned early dinner it was absotively posilutely imperative that at least one of Miri's new jewelry-making sets be used.  And... since it was already open... and gee, the girls seem to be enjoying it... Ooh, isn't that cute...?  The moms got into it as well. <smile>

Of course we did get to have dinner (did I mention that we were still in China when we learned that my niece gets hangry?) and after a while everyone headed back home with smiles on their faces.  All in all, it was a fun day for everyone involved!





[1]  ...and fruit flies like a banana.  (Thank you, Groucho!)

[2] When I was the Pipsqueak's age, The Opening Of The Presents was a major part of every birthday party I attended... but I've noticed that an increasing number of celebrations leave this to be done in private (or at an after-party).  I'm not sure why, but it does save time when you've reserved a venue for just so long.



Thursday, December 20, 2018

Catching Up: The CLAPS End-of-Year Dance Showcase (2018_06_16)

Sorry (again) for the lag time, folks... life has once again been a LOT of what happens while I made other plans.  I figure that at this rate I'll finish catching up on 2018 sometime late in 2023 or thereabouts... So here's an attempt at trying to finish a bit earlier than that...!

As Miri has reminded Mommy from time to time, she goes to school 7 days a week -- with Saturdays being occupied by the CLAPS (Cultural Language Arts Programs and Services) classes from the CCACC.[1]   That program closes down for the summer a little earlier than the public school system, and they mark the end of each term with a (very) large public performance at a local college's performing arts center.  The performance is actually comprised mainly of classes from another unaffiliated Chinese dance & culture school, but the CLAPS performances are often a highlight and we (the "MIT" group) make a point of being there to cheer on our girls in the crowd of families from the other school.

There is no photography or videography allowed during the performances -- they are professionally recorded & DVDs are then made available for purchase -- but there are no restrictions on photography up to the opening curtain or after the last curtain call, so here are some of the less blurred, obscured, or rushed photos I managed to capture. (I say that because the lighting is often a bit wonky, slowing my camera's AI to the point where it won't actually take a photo until after what I'm trying to photograph has come & gone... not to mention the incredible mob scene at the stage door after the show in which it's every man for himself and it's sometimes physically impossible to aim a camera, or even lift it up to take a picture.)

Pre-show... "There are HOW MANY dances before our girls...?!?!" 
Post-show: Our dancing stars finally emerge from backstage!
One of the calmer(!) moments in the lobby as dancers & families reunite...

All our girls got kitten ear headbands -- here's the Pipsqueak rockin' hers...
Just your typical "Uncle Brian and His Camera" pose... :-)

The weather was nice, so as soon as we were sure we'd gathered everyone & everything there was to gather, we stepped outside for a little breathing space and -- of course -- group photos.  After much of the usual cat herding (the girls were all running on high adrenaline at this point) the four sets of parental units were finally able to get them seated on a convenient nearby wall for a nice group photo.

Or so we thought.  (The following text is an approximation of joint utterances by several parental units, not just yours truly.)


"Okay, girls, everyone look at the cameras and smile... C'mon... Um, can you please all look in the same direction...?"



"Okay, let's try that again.  Everyone smile and look here... that's right... No, I meant smile NICELY and look here... argh..."



"Come on, girls... over here, that's right.... One, two... oh, fer cryin' out loud..."



"Can we please get some NORMAL faces, girls?  Girls...? GIRLS....?"



"Okay, everybody calm down... that's better...  Okay, girls, now look over here... One... two... thr- ...Okay, very funny, we get it... <sigh>"



Finally, the girls' dance instructor, Laura, was able to join us for a few minutes and we finally(!) got a presentable group photo to commemorate the event:



Needless to say, Miri & Co. were in high spirits for the rest of the evening, but all that adrenaline took its toll and the Pipsqueak slept for the last 15 minutes of the ride home... a well-deserved rest for the family's terpsichorean star!





[1]  Miri's still involved with the CLAPS dance program, but the time she had been spending in language classes -- with unfortunately diminishing results due to some program & staff changes -- is now spent in rehearsals with the SBA Junior Dance Team.  On the down side, that means my sister is driving all over the map for much of Saturday, every Saturday, but it's something the Pipsqueak really wanted & is working hard for so it's not as much of a bother as it might seem.  We're proud of her taking the risk & working hard to make the team!


Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Lookin' Out My Back Door...

Just a quickie as I go thru all the photos for my next post... (Extra brownie points for any readers who recognize the reference in my title!)

I often work at my dining room table (at least at the roughly 1/4 of the table that's not covered with notebooks, textbooks, craft materials, etc.) and enjoy looking out the sliding door that makes up the back wall of the room.  My yard ain't nuthin' special, but since my block of townhouses backs up to a golf course there's a nice buffer zone of large trees that attract a lot of local wildlife.  I'm in an end unit so my neighbors have to trek through my yard (usually cutting the corner) with their garbage pails, recycling, lawnmowers, etc. -- so I keep thinking about fencing in the yard...  but then I wouldn't get to watch all the critters walking/waddling/creeping/hopping/crawling/winging past and/or chasing each other around like circus clowns, so there's probably no fencing in my future.

Without further ado, here are just few examples of what I normally see in my backyard; these photos span about 3 weeks in September (the deer have since gotten in their winter coats & are fluffier & grayer)...

 

Not included are the two families of rabbits (I forgot to take pictures of them), untold numbers of grey & black squirrels (usually moving too fast to focus on), the friendly neighborhood woodchuck (who usually waddles out of sight while I'm running to get my iPhone or camera), or the foxes that occasionally trot past (and usually disappear at warp 8 as soon as they see me watching).

Yeah, it's a little odd when people walk through my yard toting their garbage or recycling... but with all the action in my yard, I'd be foolish to fence myself in!

Friday, November 16, 2018

Catching Up: Israel Festival at the Synagogue (2018_05_06)

As the Pipsqueak once said (in a very matter-of-fact voice), she goes to school seven days a week.

No, my sister's not a Tiger Mom; it's just a combination of regular (public) school Monday through Friday, Chinese school & dance on Saturday, and -- since AJ decided it would be nice for her daughter to have enough religious education to make an informed choice on personal beliefs when she got older -- Sunday school on, well, Sunday.

As I've mentioned previously, this has had the unforeseen effect of the rest of the family being in a synagogue almost as many times in the past four years as in the preceding decade, since Miri almost immediately signed herself up for the synagogue's Youth Choir (who knew?!?) and we don't like missing the events where the choir performs... plus we figured that the family darn well better participate along with the Pipsqueak instead of booting her out of the car with a hearty, "See ya later!" for any services or other events she's involved with.  (Dude, are you feeling sarcastic today, or what?)

Anyway, one of the events we attended with Miri back in early May was the synagogue's annual celebration of Israel's independence day.  There would be a performance by the Youth Choir, other music, arts & crafts sales, information booths, and Israeli dancing (the latter being an alternate phrasing of, "a loud, noisy, occasionally disorganized, tough rhythmic physical workout that's lots of fun").

First things first; AJ got Miri to the synagogue early for the choir's pre-event rehearsal, and I followed a while later with Mom & Dad.  The Youth Choir gave a spirited performance that turned out to be something of a family affair, since AJ ended up holding some of the cue cards the kids needed for a new song they'd just gotten that morning:


Afterwards, we wandered around the sales tables to see what was available (I think Mom & AJ both bought some jewelry, along with a couple of small things for Miri), taking a break to ease some sore joints halfway through.  Miri was a little bored by the music act, so she went off to visit the face painting booth while us oldsters just sat for a while.

"Hi, there!"
These sold out before I could get one... One can only hope...!

Finally, most of the booths were cleared out of the sanctuary to make room for the dancing, and it wasn't long before the family's two best dancers got in on the action.  Mom was sore & tired but after watching for a few minutes decided she didn't have enough chances to dance with her daughter & granddaughter, so the three of them tripped the light fantastic until things got moving a bit too fast for all but the youngest.

Shortly afterwards, the Hora got a bit out of hand...!
Three generations dancing hand-in-hand.  :-) 
Holy moly, the Pipsqueak's getting tall!
Things finally began winding down (not to mention most of those in attendance getting winded), so we gathered ourselves and headed out to the parking lot -- whereupon, true to form, the Pipsqueak decided she was STAAAARRRRVING! and needed something to eat immediately to avoid a fate worse than death.  (Dude, have you mentioned that your neice gets hangry?)  There was a short discussion over whether or not she could survive long enough for us to meet at a nearby restaurant for lunch -- during which Miri got bored and borrowed Mommy's phone to play a game while her grownups repeatedly bounced one case of indecisiveness off another until finally figuring out where to eat.  Of course that meant that the wait for food would leave the Pipqueak utterly and completely STARVED TO DEATH! so AJ dug out a bag of chips and all was once again good in the world...


We all headed out for lunch, from where we split up to our respective houses -- Miri for a well-deserved nap, AJ for a chance to do some laundry, Mom & Dad to take a breather, and yours truly to upload photos from his camera.

And thus another enjoyable day came to a tired but happy close!







Wednesday, November 7, 2018

A Little Present-Day Catching Up...

Nuthin' too special, just a few quick points to avoid falling farther behind on the present day while trying to catch up on last year.  (Warning: there is likely to be some stream of consciousness-type writing in this post -- plus I'm so tired I can't guarantee that any of it will make sense!)

Halloween: I'll post photos soon, but the Pipsqueak had a pretty good holiday.  For her school parade (and the Halloween "dance" they hosted that evening) she made use of one of her dance costumes from last season, squeezing into it for probably the last time to be a jester.  She also had a grand old time trick-or-treating... AJ told me that when she emptied her candy bag for review afterwards, there were over 110 pieces of candy!  I had a pretty good time, myself; by the time the streets cleared and I shut down my sound effects, I'd given out candy to a total of 169 kids ranging from 1-1/2 to 12 or 13; costumes ranged from nearly-nonexistent to one "mummy" dressed in actual windings of gauze bandage, with separate rolls for her head, each arm, torso, lower body, and legs.  What's weird is that our folks had zero kids stop by in their neighborhood, but we think there was some kind of t-o-t alternative at the neighborhood pool that drew the kids away.  (Their leftover candy is safely stashed away for later use; the little leftover candy I had is secure in the back of my freezer to make it more difficult to inhale it all in one sitting.)

School Stuff:  Miri continues to do well, and is finally showing the kind of interest in reading general literature that we'd been hoping she would develop (as opposed to being interested in reading mainly because it was required and/or a way to earn rewards).  We're still trying to find ways to help her deal with what can only be termed performance anxiety during big tests... and, unfortunately, helping her find ways to deal with a couple of difficult classmates.  More news on those fronts as events progress...

Dance Stuff:  The first dance team competition is still about two months away, but the studio's winter show is in just a few weeks so Miri's classes have mostly changed over from general lessons to learning & rehearsing the performance routines.  She's in three of the numbers, so AJ is clenching her teeth in anticipation of how much she'll have to lay out for the costumes... but we'll always find a way to cover that expense.  Meanwhile, I often catch myself wondering how someone who dances so well in so many different styles keeps walking into things and/or knocking things over...!

General Stuff #1:  My niece is beginning to show signs of turning into a bit of a Potterhead, since her primary teacher is into that particular fandom from the tip of his Quidditch broom to the point atop the replica Sorting Hat he's known to wear from time to time.  She's kinda-sorta been interested for a while (Dude, maybe because her mother and uncle are fans?) but he's really tipped the apple cart.  She's also very proud to be a Ravenclaw like her uncle.  (We couldn't use the official Pottermore sorting test because she's too young to have a account, but I dug up a full set of the test questions online.)  Now we just have to figure out which Ilvermorny house she's in...

General Stuff #2:  We're in the market for a simple booster seat for my car, because we've expanded & opened up & modified the Pipsqueak's original expandable/openable/modifiable car seat to the max and she's beginning to have real problems squeezing into the darn thing.  AJ already tossed hers and is using just a small, simple booster to make sure Miri can easily see out the windows... but this kid's growing so fast, we're not sure she even needs that much elevation any more.  If only Maryland made the regulations concerning use of child seats a little less obtuse, we might know if we can forego the booster entirely or not... <sigh>

General Stuff #3:  On October 31st, we lost one of the cousins who'd never had a chance to meet the Pipsqueak after a long bout of illness.  That got me moving on my family genealogy project again, but I'm still hitting a dead end trying to trace Dad's family back beyond his father & uncle.  My talking about that search has once again gotten Miri asking me some interesting questions for which an adoptee cannot have easy answers (if ever having any answers at all); it's fascinating to watch how she processes what little information I'm able to give her, and I'm looking forward to some truly interesting discussions with her about identity and family as time progresses.  (The Yin to the death of our cousin's Yang was the addition of a new cousin just one week earlier; we hope to be able to meet her sometime in the coming year.)

Okay, that's about it for the moment -- it's waaaay past my bedtime and I can't remember any of the other things I wanted to mention.  I'm gonna go hit the hay, y'all keep your eyes out for photos from Halloween & other more recent events as well as more catching up on the past year right here in the blog!

Wishing everybody a (possibly belated) happy Halloween, happy All Saints Day, happy All Souls Day, and happy Diwali!




Monday, October 29, 2018

Catching Up: Olney Days Parade (2017_05_21)

A quick present-day tease... Can you guess where we were a couple of weeks ago?

Hint: That's the Atlantic Ocean.
I'll do a real post about the trip soon -- we were there for 3 days, so it may even stretch out to more than one post.  Meanwhile, let me get back to some of the catching up that I'm sooo faaaaar behind on...

On May 21st, the town of Olney held its annual Olney Days parade and, as we always try to, we scheduled our day around it.  AJ & Miri's Girl Scout troop was marching again this year (Dude, weren't they just a Brownie troop...?!?) so AJ picked up our old Radio Flyer wagon from Mom & Dad's garage a couple of days ahead of time to haul the candy that the girls were to give out along the parade route (and maybe, if necessary, haul 1 or 2 of the girls as well).

The weather on parade day was nice, but a bit on the cool & breezy side.  We managed to get into Olney before they started closing too many of the roads, and I ran into Giant for some last-minute sandwich fixin's while Mom & Dad staked out a good spot on the sidewalk.  It wasn't long before we were juggling paper plates, rolls and such while simultaneously trying to keep our napkins & chip bags from flying away on the breeze...


As we ate lunch, the crowds around us continued to grow, and soon the sidewalk was covered with people.  Shortly before the parade was scheduled to begin, the police closed off the northbound side of Georgia Avenue and pretty soon we could see people popping out of the crowd to take photos in the middle of the normally jam-packed street while craning their necks to see if the parade had begun.

Georgia Avenue looks like this at midday exactly one time per year!
And then, finally, we could see the flagpoles of hte honor guard at the head of the parade slowly rise up from behind the upgrade, and the parade soon came into sight.  (Note: I'm only including photos of some highlights from the parade; there are a LOT more photos of the marchers, vehicles, and floats on my hard drive!)

The local firehouse looks small, but it's a bit like a TARDIS -- there is a LOT inside!
Just the first of MANY troops...

One of the good things about the Olney Days Parade is that volunteers hand out pamphlets that let everyone know the order of the parade, so if you're interested in a particular group or float, you'll know when to keep an eye out for them.  One of the not-so-good things about the Olney Days Parade is that the actual order of groups in the parade almost never matches what's printed in the pamphlets... and this year was no execption.  Miri's troop was scheduled to be near the middle of the parade, coming long after several of the other Girl Scout, Brownie, Boy Scout, Cub Scout, and other such troops had marched past.  I was just shooting this & that with my camera, enjoying some of the classic cars going past, when I realized that someone in the viewfinder looked darn familiar...


Hey, waitaminit... they're not supposed to be here for another 20 minutes...


...but they sure as all get-out are here now!

My sister in her ongoing attempt at herding cats...
Do you want some candy, Uncle Brian?

And with that, my sister & niece (along with the rest of their Girl Scout troop) disappeared down the parade route...!

There was still plenty o'parade left to see, so here are just a few selected highlights...

At Miri's dance studio, even the pickup truck wears a tutu!
The contingent from the local American Legion post included this lovely lady, older than yours truly and in much better shape...!


Yes, America, there really IS still a Soapbox Derby!
He sits up there every year. Must like the view or somethin'.
Ya can't have a parade without a beauty queen, can ya?
Somebody was having a bad day... this really isn't a posed shot! 
Why does St. John's have the same mascot as Miri's school...?!?
The Classic Thunderbird Club International was well-represented...  this trio had lots of similar company scattered throughout the parade.



Why tow a trailer when you can tow the entire campsite?
This month marks 5 years cancer-free for my sister!
You definitely don't see one of these every day... 
Whoa... Me want!
The parade organizers obviously have a sense of humor because... Well, the drool-worthy Corvette shown above was the next-to-last item in the parade -- and guess what was placed immediately behind it to mark the end of the parade?


The last two drivers had a good sense of humor (and perhaps of the absurd), too, because they kept taking turns revving their engines at each other and the appreciative crowd.

There was a bit of a traffic jam as the last dozen or so vehicles tried to turn the corner at the end of the parade route onto a street totally jammed with the slowly-dissolving parade, but eventually most of Olney was back to normal and Georgia Avenue was reopened.  AJ & the Pipsqueak were able to wind their way back to where we'd been sitting, and after some discussion re: who was going where when and how I drove them to where AJ had parked, and from there we all headed back to their house.

There was some reviewing of parade photos & videos...


...and the sharing of some exceptionally silly jokes...


...and we all closed out the day agreeing that it had been a pleasant one indeed!


And that, dear reader, is the end of this post.  I'm going to try to make the next one or two about more recent events (or I'll be playing catch-up for the rest of my life!), since there have been some interesting goings-on worth posting about.

See y'all soon....