Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Therapy Tuesday: Look What Talia Can Do

First of all, you are going to be super-impressed by this picture of Talia walking to her therapy session:



After lots of hard work and practice, Talia is now walking without support and we are so proud of her. She isn't as keen on walking outdoors though, so that is something that Zoey, our Physical Therapist, has been working with her on.


In her Occupational Therapy session, Talia got to do a fun activity; putting picture cubes back into the box.  She totally had the right idea, and did a great job.


She was especially keen on the part where you put the lid on!  Yes, we do have a video...

Monday, March 30, 2015

One Spring Afternoon

It was a perfect early-Spring afternoon.  The backyard was bathed in a golden light, a gentle breeze blew and birds chattered in the trees.  A group of nannies gathered around the sandbox, where Lydia and Jack were contentedly playing.  They were encouraging Hannah to say her numbers, along with the Chinese hand signals* for each one.


Judah, with a volunteer in attendance, was wheeling around the yard, pulling a scooter along behind him like a pet dog.

Hannah quickly persuaded me to play, so I pushed her on the swing and admired her box of snail-shells.  The treasured box was placed safely near the swings, but nearly met with disaster on the merry-go-round...



Hannah knows the sign for 'snail'!



Delicious smells wafted from the new kitchen, so Hannah and I peered inside to see what was cooking.  Millie was sitting in the kitchen with her nanny and Hannah wanted to join her, but her snails were not welcome…

Our two favorite ‘special smile’ boys passed by with their foster mamas, collecting new clothes from the store-room.  Good growing, Caleb and Gabriel!  Caleb will be ready for his second ENT surgery soon.



Josiah appeared at the back door because his speech therapy session was done and he was ready to play.  He was soon happily settled on a swing, being pushed by a volunteer.

Gideon and his soon-to-be new foster mama have been spending time getting to know one another, so they were hanging out in the backyard too.  What better place or time of year for it; a new beginning in a place where new life is budding.


There was such a sense of peace.  Each child doing their own thing, alongside adults that love and care for them.  The backyard carefully tended and immaculately swept, a wonderful environment for the kids to play.  Foster families visiting to receive the supplies and support that they need as they care for our kids.

New Day Beijing backyard on a Spring afternoon; a truly beautiful place to be.

* A top tip if you are planning a visit to China – these hand gestures are very useful when shopping.
Sunday, March 29, 2015

NDNorth: Luke's First Steps!

Was it only two weeks ago when we hinted that Luke might be close to taking his first steps? That monumental "First" seemed impending, but I had no idea that it would occur so soon!

Friday, March 20th, Luke took his first steps.

You can mark that down on your calendars, folks. It's a day we'll never forget, and we're thrilled that some of our team (Hannah, Hannah and Wendy) were there to witness the moment, cheer him on, and even get some photographic evidence.

So, in case you're not convinced that we're telling the truth. In case you need some proof... we've got it.





Still not convinced we're 100% telling the truth? How about this?

 
Saturday, March 28, 2015

NDSouth: A Glimpse into the Baby Room


We thought you might like to have a glimpse into our Baby Room...


...our babies are not so little anymore are they?


They are growing up before our eyes into beautiful toddlers!


They are making room for our newest 4 babies who are much smaller (pictures are coming!)


Grady, Thad, Chloe, Nina & Evelyn are all learning to crawl and pulling themselves up on furniture, walking is just around the corner!


These 5 'almost' toddlers are growing up before our eyes and they are such good friends, good job babies!


Friday, March 27, 2015

Help, We Have A Problem...

We have a serious problem.  We've had this problem for quite some time, but it just got real serious a few days ago.



Jack had a haircut, which made him look kind-of grown-up, but also even cuter than ever.


He is just far too cute.  Those big, heart-melting eyes...what can we do?!


The puppy-dog expression is way too adorable.  We need to make him smile.  Maybe Annabel can help?


Nope, now we just have a super-cute grumpy face.  Need to try something else...


Now he's looking thoughtful - maybe he likes this?


Oh Jack, we see the beginnings of a smile...


Stop it, stop it!  You are just far too sweet.


There's nothing for it, you need to be snuggled.


Don't say we didn't warn you - Jack is dangerously cute.
Thursday, March 26, 2015

NDSouth: Grady's New Haircut

Many of our children received new haircuts this week....


...and we think Grady's new style makes him look so much older now!


Grady is learning new things everyday...


...he is growing bigger and stronger before our eyes.


And we couldn't be more proud of his accomplishments.


He is such a delight to all of us in the Foster Home.



Wednesday, March 25, 2015

NDNorth: Joy


Wordless Wednesday: Hooray For Blue Skies!


Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Transformation Tuesday: Asher

Asher has been at New Day Foster Home since he was two years old.  We saw his transformation beginning almost immediately, you can read about it in this very first blog post about him.



The most obvious thing to say about Asher is that he is super-cute!  He was an adorable toddler, and now he is a very handsome almost five-year-old.


What the pictures don't show so clearly is that Asher has faced, and continues to face, some pretty serious health issues.  He's already had five surgeries; a lot of hospital time and doctors' visits and medical care.



It's easy to look at pictures of a cute kid like Asher and say "oh, I'd love to adopt him", and many people did, but the reality was that last summer Asher still wasn't matched with a family.  We published this post at the start of June, and later that month we received wonderful news - Asher had been matched with his forever family!


It has been our joy and privilege to take care of Asher for these last two and a half years. His foster family have done an awesome job of showing him what the love of a family looks like, our medical team have carefully managed his care, and he's blossomed in the our preschool.



The time will soon come when our favorite transformation of all will take place; Asher's transformation from orphan to son.  His amazing smile will be missed around here, but we will be so, so happy for him.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Robert's Big Move

Poppy's recent adoption meant that her foster family had space in their home (and in their incredibly loving hearts) for another little one...


Robert has been doing well and doesn't need complex medical care, so the decision was made that he could become Luke's new foster brother.  In fact, Robert actually picked out this mama for himself!  When Jessica was visiting, he crawled over to her and clearly said "Mama".  Happily, we were able to make this wish come true!



His new foster mama spent a week visiting with him in the Foster Home so that they could get to know each other.


When 'handover day' arrived, Robert's nanny said goodbye...



...and Wang Shu, our Foster Family Manager officially handed him over to his new mama.


Robert is an easy-going little guy and we're confident that he'll soon adjust to his new living situation, but it's a huge change for him nonetheless.  As he has recently turned two, he will soon be able to start coming back to New Day for preschool class.  We'll certainly be happy to see his sweet face!



We're so glad for Robert that he gets to be part of a foster family, and know that it will do him so much good, but what he needs most of all is a family that he can be loved by forever...

We have heard that Robert is listed as 'Colin' with Small World Adoption Agency - could you, or someone you know, be his forever family?
Sunday, March 22, 2015

NDNorth: Timothy's Bubble Face

Timothy has the cutest face he uses when we blow bubbles. It's as if he wants to catch one in his mouth... or maybe he's just full of wonder. All of Timothy's faces are our favorite, but this one is really special.




Check out all of the adorable pictures on the scrapbook here: Bubbles at New Day North