How do you take a lot of babies for a walk? (and a new blog site!!!)

With a lot of pushers of course!

Warmer weather is on it's way - but as you can see by the layers on our kids, it's hasn't quite arrived in our part of the world. It's still fun to get outside, enjoy the scenery and take a turn on the swings. There is plenty to do, but we certainly don't need sunscreen yet!

With the new season on it's way, we are also about to have a new look for the blog. We will be moving to a fresh  redesigned site - please come with us, and continue to follow the stories of our precious butterfly babies. The new blog has been put together by our bike riding friend, Neil Clarke, and  it's just beautiful. Thank you so much Neil - you have a fabulously varied skill set, and we are so thankful that you share your expertise with us. We will be posting there from now on - so we hope to see you!!

The new address will be  http://news.butterflych.org 

Christmas all year round.

We have a little secret to share. We didn't actually hand out every Christmas present at Christmas time. Our sweet children are still only young, and easily overwhelmed by lots of gifts. And we knew that they would appreciate some special things at a quieter time, when they could really concentrate on what they were receiving.
This was Paul's special day - he has some friends in the States who have supported him for a long time. Today he got to open their gift.

He looks very pleased with his cars and his telephone. Remember Paul is the boy who just loves to play "telephone."

 

But the most special things in this parcel were the lovely hand made messages from some little girls in America. Two little girls who, just like Paul, were born in China. They have sent their love in the form of beautiful artwork. We could see that a lot of time and imagination has gone into the making of these cards.

And Paul seemed to know that these messages were special. Even when he went off to play with his new toys, he still held tightly to his butterfly card.

Thank you girls, from Paul and from us. There is something really magical about children helping other children. We believe that little people who show compassion are going to be the adults who will make this world a better place.

How do you farewell an Angel?

Why, with a party of course!!!!

It's time to farewell our precious Angel. Tomorrow  she will be meeting her wonderful family from the US. Together they will be spending a week or so in this province completing paperwork, and then heading to the Guangzhou for another week, before flying home to begin their new life together. Angel will have parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents. She will have her own home, where she will know she is safe and loved forever. She will truly belong, and for that we are so, so happy.

But for today - it is our turn to show Angel just how much we love her too. She came here as a tiny baby - looking a lot like the saggy baggy elephant. Her skin was too big for her tiny body, and it hung from her in folds. How wonderful it was to watch her cheeks fill out and her little legs get positively chubby. Angel has grown and thrived, and we have all fallen head over heels for her big personality.

Before the party could begin, we had to wait for the guest of honour to wake up.

A change of clothes, and Angel was ready for the party. 

 The celebration started with a heartfelt blessing read by Lyn. Cake, biscuits and yummy fruit were served, to the delight of all the children.

 Everyone got a bit emotional watching the picture show. There were photos of Angel's first days with us, her birthday party and lots of lovely shots of her with her friends and ayis. There is no doubt that this little girl has been well loved.

Later Daphne gave Angel a special gift of a jade dragon bracelet, symbolizing protection and love. Daphne has always had a very special place in her heart for Angel. She is very happy to see her treasured little one adopted into a wonderful family, but of course her heart is breaking at this goodbye. Adoption is such a complicated fabric, woven of both love and loss - but  such beauty comes from the weaving when it is done tenderly and carefully.

 Finally Angel's bag is packed, ready for the morning. She has her own special blankets, some clothes and some of her familiar belongings. There is also her lifebook, the story of her life so far. Amongst its pages are 'love letters" from the people she has met along the way. Even the reporter from the CCTV news was captivated by Angel, and wrote her a letter for her lifebook.

Tomorrow morning, Angel's new life begins. We will miss you, sweet girl, but how happy we are to see you going to your family. What an incredible story you have already . We are thankful to have been a part of it, and we look forward to hearing about the next chapters. 

More Christmas mayhem

We know there have been plenty of Christmas pictures here already, but there are a few more which are too cute not to share. It was really such a fun celebration, and of course our supporters were a big part of it. We certainly know that without everyone out there, there would be no celebration, no gifts, and no Butterfly Home. So, thank you everyone!

Every boy needs a football, right? Kicking is actually a pretty tricky skill for a one year old to master. You have to be able to balance on one foot while you kick with the other one. Young Paul is such a well coordinated child that we think he will get the hang of it quite quickly.

 This is a lovely picture of Jesse starting to find out about his new toy. He is using his hands to carefully explore. There was a time when Jesse was so anxious about touching new things - look how far he has come! We love this boy so much, and we really hope that a family will claim him as their son. They will be so blessed: he is a wonderful little boy.

 Sarah is watching carefully to see what is inside her gift. Photographing her from above shows her lovely eyelashes - so pretty.

William enjoying a Christmas cuddle. His eyes are wide as he takes in all the excitement.

Funny little Sarah likes to sit inside boxes - and there were plenty of boxes available for her after Christmas presents were unwrapped. Though this one proved to be a little small for comfort!  And doesn't she look grown up in her little jean leggings?

Santa came to visit.

Alan played Santa, much to the children's delight. Most of them knew it was someone familiar of course, though a few were a bit thrown by his shiny red suit. It's actually much better for our children to have a Santa they know,and who doesn't wear a fake beard. They've all had trauma in their lives, and we don't want to frighten them on Christmas day. Here's a selection of our "Santa shots" for you to enjoy.

Dear little Angel is looking so sweetly up at the camera. Shape sorting games are great toys for encouraging problem solving skills and spacial awareness. We are sure Angel will have this mastered in no time.

Tiny Benjamin has a lovely soft toy which is just about bigger than he is. We hope it will bring him a lot of comfort and help him to feel secure.

 Hannah and Santa are posing by the Christmas tree. Children (and adults!) in China will almost always pose for pictures with two fingers held up like this.

Patience seems to enjoy snuggling up to that soft furry trim on Santa's coat.

 Beautiful Little Swallow is keeping her hands on her gift - we love toys which provide sensory stimulation and mental challenges for the children. Stacking from largest to smallest is actually an early  basic mathematical skill. We can also use toys like this to teach colours in both Chinese and English. And it's all good fun - which is so important for little ones!

Paul has a good grip on his markers. We will look forward to some beautiful one-year-old masterpieces for the Butterfly Home fridge! 

 Jesse's toy has lots of texture and makes noises- just perfect for a boy learning to investigate the world using sound and touch.

Sarah is concentrating hard on the unwrapping process. She is waiting to see what is under all that bubble-wrap.

Stay tuned - there are still more Christmas pictures to come!

First sentence

Paul has spoken his first sentence today. He was watching two other children being fed, and he said: "Ma - Yao chi.". To translate into English, he said " Ma, I want to eat."

This little boy is just so smart and developmentally on track.. He was walking before he was even one year old. Now he is just over one, and he has started to string words together and make sentences! He really enjoys good food too - so it is totally appropriate that his first sentence was about food.

We have speculated that Paul might take up a career in engineering, or become a rock star. But perhaps he will be the next great TV chef. He has that winning combination of good looks, engaging personality and an appreciation for fine food. Look out, Jamie Oliver - Paul might be after your job!

Of course, we can't begin to imagine what Paul's future will actually look like, but we do know for sure that this little guy is full of potential. We can't wait to see what he will achieve as he grows up. And we are already so blessed to see what he is achieving right now!

What's better than an imaginary telephone?

I think we have mentioned on this blog that Paul likes to pretend he is talking on the telephone. Well, it looks like the game gets really exciting when he gets his hands on a real telephone.

  Wouldn't it be fun to know exactly what is happening in this imaginary conversation?

Party time.

Recently William and Paul both celebrated their first birthdays. You would never guess they are so close in age if you glanced at them side by side. Paul is developing typically and he is learning new things every day. He's robust and active, with an appetite for fun and food.
William on the other hand struggles with the smallest things. He's had stridor and difficulty breathing all his life. His physical development is at about the level of a 3 month old - he can't even hold his head up properly yet. The hard truth is that there are a lot of things William will never do.  We know he might never run or jump or kick a ball - but that doesn't mean he can't take centre stage when he is the birthday boy!
And it was an extra special celebration for our William on party day. He actually managed to eat some of the very extravagant  birthday cake. It was a wonderful moment, as this tiny guy usually takes all his calories as liquids. Maybe he just got caught up with the excitement of the party and had a wild and crazy moment. Or maybe this is a sign of things to come. We will take it either way - we love celebrating our kids achievements, big or small.

It was a great party. The cake was over-the-top (though over-the-top is standard here - you'd think we would get used to it). The kids were all excited and the grown ups were just a bit giddy too. Birthdays always make everyone feel a bit emotional. After all these kids have been through, it's a real privilege to able to honour our precious one year old boys on their birthdays.

Here's William, getting comfortable and enjoying all the action.

A difficult decision for Paul - he has food, presents and a balloon. What to do first?

    

There seems to be a bit of a theme in Paul's pictures. Let's just say he was happy with the catering arrangements. You might notice that the ayis are always willing to keep his spoon topped up. Food in this culture is very closely linked to love. Feeding some-one is not just a practical task - it's a way to show love.  Paul's ayi is not only making sure he doesn't leave the table hungry. She's showing him that she loves him very much.

Poor William - this is not his best angle, but it was too cute to leave out. Apparently having a giant Pooh Bear hovering over you takes a bit of getting used to! 

Pink is for girls - right?

I know we have been celebrating Finlay's pink lips and fingertips .... but some of our other boys are pretty in pink too. It's a cute cultural difference that pink is not necessarily a girls colour here. Nor is purple. So be warned - if you come for a visit, don't ever assume that a baby all dressed in pink or purple is a little girl. Our ayis lovingly pick out clothing for "their" babies - making sure they fit well, and look cute and cosy.  But colour has nothing to do with the selection process, as you can see!

Here is handsome Jonathon, before he moved to foster care. He is looking dashing in candy pink.

 

And here is Paul in sweet pastel stripes. You might notice that he is eating his snack with relish - this is typical Paul! He loves his snacks!

This one shows little William, enjoying a tender moment with his ayi. On this day, he was wearing a soft fleecy pink romper, and looking very cosy in it.

  And this is such a cute shot of William with Paul, Hannah, Swallow and Angel. It especially makes me smile to see Paul's wonderful purple vest.

So next time you see a referral picture of a baby boy in pink or purple - it's probably not because there weren't any other colours available. Babies wear any colour at all here, and they always look cute!

Those eyes.

Paul has such soulful eyes. He is usually smiling, so they are often scrunched up in a merry grin. But this picture shows his soulful look perfectly. Such a precious little boy.

We are so thankful that he survived his rough start to life. He brings lots of joy to our Home with his antics. One of his favorite things to do is to pretend that he is on the telephone. He babbles away, just like he is having a real conversation. He's definitely an imaginative little boy.

Soon we will be celebrating Paul's birthday. It will be a time to rejoice in his life and enjoy the happiness he shares with everyone around him. But we will stop a moment too, and think of the things he has gone through in his first year of life. As well as a playful nature and a great imagination, this  little boy has shown courage and resilience. Perhaps that is what is reflected in those soulful looks he sometimes gets. We are so proud of you Paul. We know it's been a tough year in a lot of ways, but you have grabbed hold of life with both hands. We can't wait to celebrate with you!

Rock on Paul!

Paul is such a joyful, full of life type of kid.  His cheerful nature is like a tonic to everyone around him. He has one of those that happy-go-lucky, "can do" personalities which immediately lift your spirits, even if it's been a really challenging day. How could anyone look at that face and not smile right back?

He looks like he's rocking out on the bongo drums here, but he's actually using an upside-down bin as his own personal walker. He can walk 5-6 steps on his own now, but he has worked out this method for long distance travelling. Paul takes the saying " Where there is a will, there is a way" very seriously. If he needs to go somewhere, reach something, find someone or get his point across, he will find a way! Sometimes his solutions are quite creative, as you can see - maybe he has a future as an engineer?

Although looking at this face, perhaps rock stardom might be his career of choice. This guy is just too cool!

It's such fun watching Paul shine. His condition when he arrived was so frightening that it was hard to picture him surviving even a week. Now he's bubbling with personality, and he loves being the life of the party. Of course, we all love it too!

Hannah's Birthday