Uppdate on Elísabet Xiang (english version)
May 11th - 2007
Dear friends and relatives
I´m going to attempt to keep here an update with Elísabet´s activity and the new family life 
It´s been a while though since I´ve written much in english - so please bear with me if my english turns out to be rusty in writing 
Elísabet has adjusted very well in just over four months - yes, it´s actually just over four months since our trip to China occured. She just turned 21 months last tuesday. Every day we feel so happy and blessed to have this litle girl with us. We are happy that we were chosen for her, that it is our role to raise her and be with her
Elísabet is basicly a very good eater, she´s not into all food - and I belive that is to be expected. I mean, grown people don´t even like all kinds of food - hehe. She is very interested in her parents plates and always checks out who has more or better food on it (she could be missing out on something). These days she´s climbing upon everthing possible!! I mean it. This litle body is very strong and she pushes things around to get it easier for her to climb upon and get higher and higher When we either ask her or tell her not to be doing this or that - well... she´s not always for obeying us until after few attempts. She´s a big tease and very funny. Always finds something to smile about and she´s very ticklish hehe and there for her laughter is purely wonderful to listen to.
For the first weeks and actually months we stayed very much at home, not seeing much of people or going places. Acutally we found out it was better for us to go out of the home instead of having visitors. Now it´s sort of 50/50 - depending of what´s going on. It´s still very comforting for us to hang out at home - mother and daughter (daddy works from noon to dinnertime) but we´ve enjoyed as well to have people coming over and espcically when children are too. She loves to be around kids but this thing about sharing toys ... welll - that is something that just come along with getting older.
We took one trip around easter time with her grandmother and grandfather (mother side) to the west of Iceland - about 7-8 hours drive. She´s a great traveller. She took her naps, but was content in her chair with toys and her blanket. Of course we stopped regulary to check her diper, feed her and let her stretch her legs. She loved beeing at this summerhouse we rented. She slept amazingly well there - it was this peace and quiet in the air and did her and all of us lot´s of good We had planned to take a trip to England to visit her big sister & family at the end of this month but deceided not to do it at this point. But for sure we´ll fly over there for a visit later
Well - all for now in this first english entry - I´ll do my best to update this regulary so you can see how our girl is doing.
Love to you all - Kitta 
May 15th 2007
Elísabet is frequintly bumping her head because she does not whatch where she´s heading most of the time, the other day it happened agagin and she took it rather badly - which I can understand of course. We put cold cloth on her forhead and it soothed her and her litle bump. To day she saw the same cloth in the kitchen and started right away to fake up a whine (so funny to hear it though) so I put the cloth on her forhead and she liked that. Then I asked to bring two of her dolls (Doddi and Heiða) and help them out so she went to her room and got her dolls and put the cloth on their forhead and then she padded their backs and soothed them as well It´s so good to she her play like that with her toys and dolls - learning how to be kind and good. She does though like to throw around her blocks and has not yet learned to pick up her things and put them in boxes. But we are working on it
This weekend was a big voting weekend in Iceland. We had Eurovision Song Contest and there were the election to the icelandic parlament. So, Elísabet and I went to vote. I dressed her up (as my self) and she helped my putting my voting paper in the box Then on sunday the whole family met about 7-8 other familys for barbequing at someones house and there were lot of kids for her to play with. This is group of parents who have adopted kids from Russia, Rumenia and China all in various ages. Elísabet enjoyed her so much. She got hot dogs and bread and her water and was very content with that. Also she saw a bowl with grapes and asked for those a lot. Elísabet loved to be around with the kids even they did not really play together but they were content with each other presence. Whe we came home she was in such a good mood, laughing and singing and smiling all around This did her lots of good and even if she was not really paying the grown up much attention she was content moving around them. She always came to us for food and drink and that´s so good.
Her sleep is getting much better. The evenings are almost always now peacful for her but she wakes up usually once a night and then she wants to sleep with her parents - yes, we let her do that Most of the time she goes right back to sleep and is relaxed but there have been night when she´s just up and about, jumpin on the bed and not for laying still. On few occasions we´ve had to put her back into her bed again and she protests ofcourse but in the end she´s falls asleep there. To think of how it was first and to see now how she´s more relaxed - it sure is a good progress. We try to maintain her routine, like napping at the same time at noon and going to bed around the same time as well. I belive that routine is good for her and us as well.
Well, new photos are on the way shortly. Until next entry -
bye and love, Kitta, Svenni and Elísabet Xiang
May 25th 2007
Today is our fifth month together amazing isn´t it. Congratulations to you all, my australian friends as well - because this is your date too. I found in our video camera few days ago few clips from our trip that I hadn´t yet downloaded to the computer and had forgotten about it. So it was sooo great to see this agagin. See Elísabet so tiny in our arms on the flight from Guangzhou on our way to Beijing where we had to land somewhere in the middle of China right on new Years day. To see her at our room in Beijing where she´s toddling around, a bit shaky on her legs but active as usual. To see her at the airport on our way home to Iceland. To see her having her first bath here at our home and to check everything out and few more clips. God, this was almost overwhelming to see and go back to this time.
To day she´s grown sooo much, her clothes are getting smaller and I´m getting ready to put few of them away. Her vocalbury is getting stronger every day - it´s now over 30 words she´s said and she´s getting much stronger every day to use those words and to make us understand her better. What a progress!!
She´s having cold these days, runny nose and coughing 
but luckyly it´s not been so bad that she´s not behaving like her old self. She runs around, dares her mom and dad constantly and her laughter is just so priceless coming from her and it shows us how relaxed and happy she´s with us even when she´s not feeling too well. I'm hoping this will be over in few days. But it´s just been sooo cold outside these days - even snowing a bit, yes, that´s Iceland - you´ll never know what to expect from the weather here. I was planning to take her to a swimming pool these days but it´ll have to wait for few more days. I´m looking so much forward to see how she will react. She loves taking her bath but is not too happy when I have to wash the soup from her hair, no... then she protests with force and everything and I end up getting wet as well so, hopefully the trips to the swimmingpools will help out a bit.
In all she just continues to be so much joy to us - every hour, every day. It´s always wonderful to see her progress and it´s hard not to brag about her all the time. But we are just so proud of her and think she´s the most wonderful baby in the world. But then I´m sure every parent thinks that about their own kinds as well, right!!
Wel are hoping the weather will get warmer shortly so we can continue being more outside. Not that we can´t dress for the weather condition each time - but we just are not always upto dress like it´s still heavy winter so we tend to get lazy sometimes when it´s colder out there - hehe
We have set a date for her christening. That will be on june the 10th. Everything is set, only few details are left until the end. I´ve got the most beautiful dress for her - she´s very pretty in it and I´m sooo looking forward to dress her upp that day. This will be a private ceremony and only the closest family members will attend. Then afterwards there´ll be cakes and stuff like that.
Well - all for now. New photos are due - I know it and they will show up soon.
Love to you all. Kitta, Svenni and Elísabet Xiang
June 5th 2007
Cold and stuff like that have been bothering the whole family for the past 2 weeks or so. Elísabet had to get antibiotic and this thing to breath in (as she had to do in january), she wasn´t too happy to do it but was not given any choses. Now she´s much better and is just like what she´s used to. Svenni and I got cold as well but I think that this hit me the least. Today though, Elísabet has been having stomach ace and I think I gave her too many rasins so they are out for a while. I´m hoping her stomach will get better tomorrow. Other than this, just the same old going on. We are waiting for a proper summer weather. It´s been raining dogs and sooo windy these past days and not at all exciting to hang out outside and play. I´m thinking about though to take her to the park tomorrow. She´s getting very tired of being so much inside - I can tell.
She´s a big music girl. She loves to have music on and dancing. The other day she totally melted my heart. There was this nice ballad playing and she came to me and pulled me to the floor and we danced together. God - got my tears going. Then off and on her dolls (Doddi and Heiða) get to dance with us as well, like today we danced all few songs. These moments are just so precious.
Last sunday, she and her dad took off on a long day trip. I stayed behind to do some serious cleaning (it´s very hard to do it with her around, she´s so helpful - hehe ) but they had a great time. She´s a good traveller and loves to be outside or in a car. The only thing that she doesn´t like much is to go through our road tunnel - about 5 km long. When we go to the east or west of Iceland we have to drive through those tunnel or drive about 90 xtra minutes another route. She´s only been in the tunnel twice and is not too happy about it.
She´s growing sooo much these days. I can see it so clearly on her clothes and shoes. I can see that she´s going into another shoe size this coming fall. It´s just great to see her grow and get stronger in every way day by day. Her words are so clearly, she´s adding on words as well - so much joy to hear her express her self.
Her cristening day is this coming sunday. Everything is getting ready and we are looking so much forward to it. I´ll put in some photos next week.
Well - all for now, more next wekk. Love, Kitta, Svenni and Elísabet Xiang
June 19th 2007
Well - it´s been a while since the last update. But finally the weather is starting to improve so we are out playing more and just a lot of things have been going on.
First to mention is Elísabet´s christening on the 10th of june. What a great and beautiful day it was We were all so happy and Elísabet enjoyed her very much at the church and the party afterwards. Why wouldn´t she with everybody thinking only of her, playing with her, giving her food, comfort etc. - yes, she was the princess of the day. The ceremony was short but very lovely. I was supriesed how still Elísabet sat before the priest blessed her and all that. She got very interested in the water and that he was putting the water on her hair - hmmm. But when the priest gave her ok to play in the water with her hand she was right there, splashing around a little and the putting water on her haid 3x so I would say she was very much blessed that day - indead She got to taste the main cake and she loved it, a bit of chocolate but also more healthier food as well. This all was done around five in the afternoon and when we got home later on she was in a such a good mood until she went to bed.
She had her summer haircut few days after and is now with rather short hair. She doesn´t like to have anything in her hair yet so we figured this would be better for her during the summer - because she sweats so much easely. But she´s soo cute with her hair like this.
We´ve been going to our little country house few times now. It´s only hour and a half away from our house here in town. The other day I, my friend Heiða and Elísabet went just for the day and we had a great time there. They are good friends and Heiða is very good playing with her and messing around Then last saturday after Svenni´s work the whole family went and we stayed 2 nights. We got wonderful weather and Elísabet just loved being there. She was outside a lot, ate well and slept well. She didn´t though want to go to sleep until like 22.00 pm - she was having such a great time. But once we were back in the city she got into here sleepingroutine right away. Her nights are so much better and therefore the whole family sleeps much better as well
Elísabet is constantly adding more and more words to her vocabualary and even if I´ve not added them on the list here on the site I would guess she´s speaks now over 35 - 40 words in icelandic. It´s funny as well to hear her say yes and no in the right places and how her mind is determented on what she wants. She´s a smily girl, happy and easy going. Still it´s great to travel with her - not much fuss about sitting in her car seat - once and again we have to bargin with her though 
We´ve been 3x to the swimmingpool and Elísabet loves that a lot She´s getting better in the showers were everybody have to wash before putting on the swimmingsuit. She´s not too keen on the showers - but ... learning how this works and is suprisingly still afterwards when we are getting dressed. That I´m very suprised at. Thought she would be more moving around. But then she´s had a good uppbringing hehe We plan to go swimming regulary this summer.
This is what´s been going on with us for the past weeks. Summer is finally here (to stay - we hope) so we plan to spend more time outside. Lots of photos from our trips to the countryhouse are coming shortly.
Love to you all - until next update - bye
Kitta, Svenni and Elísabet Xiang
July 27th 2007
Hi everybody - finally a update here
Time sure has been going fast - as usual. Summer has been great. Hardly any rain, just warm and wonderful days - short and bare feets once in a while.
As usual Elísabet is blooming. She´s growing so much, talking more and more and just being wonderful every day. I have to admitt though that not too long ago I found myself a bit worried about her behaviour, a lot of it concerning her car chair. Well - she was different for a while and acted up a lot, but I hardly see that behaviour now. It was like she had to test my about everthing that was going on around us - I swear!! But I know all this is just part of her growing, trying how far she can get and all that. I did have this worry´s about her not liking my anymore - I just couldn´t help thinking that. But no sooner I had these thought I knew and felt how much I mean to her. It was constantly: mamma, mamma, mamma
These past weeks we are getting even more closer if possible. Don´t get me wrong - she´s close to her father as well and they are just wonderful together. But since Elísabet and I are spending so much time together our bonding just getting better and better.
She´s starting more and more to like sleeping on a pillow (my pillow) and under cover. She was not much into this first. It´s so funny to see her now so attached to this and loving to cuddle in the morning and playing also under ("undir" - as she always says)
Last week we went to our summerhose in the vestfjords called Suðureyri - and it´s in this fjord called Tálknafjörður. I´ve been going there since I was a kid myself and it´s the greatest place in Iceland - in my opinion Elísabet just loved it. We stayed there for a whole week. She slept soo well there. No sound but the birds outside and a bit sound of the ocean. She ate well and had this morning thing with her grandfather every morning. They ate together sort of porridge (I sure don´t eat it) and even my mom was asked to stay in bed until this was over with them hehe She loved her grandparents and you could hear Elísabet calling them off and on during the day: amma - afi, getting a hug, smile, kiss, they held her, fed her and just about everything. It was so wonderful to watch. Even now - few days since we are back from this trip she ask about them. And you should have seen her the night we got back. Seeing her dad (he was not with us on this trip), seeing her room with her toys, enjoying sooo much to be back. She just couldn´t stop running around, laughing, singing, danching. Yes, home is the best place for sure.
Tonight when I was putting her to sleep she looked at me and said the first few word in this song I´ve recently started to sing for her - you sort of have to use your hands with it as well. I just couldn´t belive that already she knew the words to say like this. So I promised her we would sing it tomorrow and I know she will remind me of it. She´s such a fast learner. I love singing to her and I´ve been digging up old songs since I was a kid to sing for her. She loves to hear music and to dance as well.
Well - I could go on and on with stories like this. Oh - I have one more though. Yesterday she got her first "serious" injury - or so to speak. She fell of this toy car at the playground and got this wound on her head. It blead a bit in the beginning. She started to cry first but when I soothed her she calmed down amazingly quickly, we got a band-aid to begin with. I had to go to the docor that day with her for other reason so he checked this out as well. It did not need to be stitched but cleaned better up and put on it a proper band aid. She´s been very occupied by this because she´s very accurate about every thing around her. I was a bit shaken by this but grateful this wasn´t more injury. She had a hard time lying on her back and off and on she´s points to the back of her head and says: oh oh in this sad, sorry voice and then she forgets about it for a while.
Well - now I´m done There are only few weeks until her 2nd birthday and we are looking so much forward to it. Shortly thereafter she starts at the kindergarten and I start my teaching career. So - next update wil probable not be until after Elísabet and I have started our new lives (so to speak) and gotten our routine in shape.
Until later - Kitta, Svenni and Elísabet Xiang
November 5th 2007
Vow - it´s sure been a while since I wrote here in english - probably all my english friends and relatives have given up on me and Jen urged me to start writing again So - here are some news...
Since july Elísabet has grown so much and is speaking sooo much as well. We celebrated her 2nd birthday in august - as the photos shows and we all had a great time Shortly there after she started her adjusting time at the kindergarten. Her father was with her in that process because I was starting my new job at the same time. That was very hard for me because I wanted to we with her in that as well. But she did so well and after a week adjustment time she was there in full swing. Actually it took few more days for her to get comfortable with her noon nap. Didn´t sleep much at first but now her nap is the same as at home during the weekends - around one hour or so. She´s very active there, plays along with the kids - not really getting close to them but playing around them. I was told though the other day that she and one girl called Sara were playing a lot near each other and sort of starting to be buddies She eats well and is happy to be there. Her father takes her there around 8.30 in the morning and I´m the one to pick her up usually around 15.00 in the afternoon. On fridays it´s around 14.00 so ... her staying there is not too long. Then I make it a habit to go just straight home most of the days. If I have to go somewehere after I pick her up - I try to make it only to once place and then home. She´s very content about going straight home and there she in her own area. She has to confirm it regualary after I pick her up that I did and that we are going home. It seems to be very important to her to say it and feel it as well.
Since september the flu has been bugging her off and on high fever to begin with and we sure got worried then. After the fever went away her ears got infected - so she had to take medication. Her coughing only got worse and that one has continued for few weeks now. I took her for lungs x-ray but they were ok - thank god for that, but the coughing still bad. So she had to inhale some sort of medicine few times a day. Tomorrow we are due to the doctor for him to check her out again and hopefully she can stop using this inhaling thing (just don´t know what this is called in english ) The doctor was very suprised to see how healthy she looked in spite of this coughing - just couldn´t belive it - she´s been mostly like her old self, playing and jumping around as usual
So, all her sickness has taken our time - as is to be expected, we are tired after all this - she´s the one who´s feeling good hehe
Like I said in the beginning - she´s growing so much these days - it´s just wonderful to hear her talk and express her self like she does. Yes, this jumping around is amzing - she´s just all over the apartment counting on us to grab her when she let her self fall - and we are in shock after that hehe. It´s wonderful to see the changing in her playing - both with her dolls and animals, how she can use the blocks and she´s very inventful in everting.
She loves to go to the swimmingpool and we were part of this swimming lessons but she was always sick while the program was going on so we deceided not to take another course right away, but as soon as she´s done with this cold we will go there again once in a while.
She´s more aware of the snow now than she was in january, there has actually only once snowed this fall - but she understood it better now that in january.
She´s so much into clothes these days - always changing, one wet spot make the whole set wet and she has to change the whole lot, this can be like 2 - 3 times a day (weekends now). She´s very set on what to wear and when. Socks are all over the place because she wears them for a while then takes them off and just leave them around. It´s not the same which pyjamas to wear each night. Gosh!!! this is just amzing and unbelivable sometimes. But in all it´s fun to watch this. She talks to her self - imitate what she hears us say - so funny
She´s a wonderful girl and each day is such a joy for us to be with her - what more can I say. We are just happy and love her a lot
All for now - I´ll try to be better in the updates here - love to you who reads this -
Bye for now - Kitta, Svenni and Elísabet Xiang
16th of february 2008
Well - new year for sure and a long time since I wrote anything here in english.
Elísabet had her share of sickness at the end of november and into the middle of december. It was a very hard time for her - the poor thing and on us as well. She got pneumonia and it was not one of the lighter one if you can say something like that. But she got a good medicine and good follow up from our doctor so by the time the holidays started she was back to normal agagin.
Yes - the holidays. She enjoyed herself so much loved her presents, loved her christmas dress and I even got to put hairpin in her her - (she´s getting better about that). On christmasday we celebrated our first year anaversary together. Yes - then it was one year since we got her into our arms and she became ours. What a year we´ve had
And on 4th of january - another date to remember we all came back to Iceland from our great trip to China.
The year started off good for sure. But shortly Elísabet started to have lots of itching in her skin - more than usual and we went to see the doctors - again. She´s got now few different cream (if that´s the right word for it) and she started to fell better. But once again she got sick. That lasted a bit more than a week. Now she´s so back to her old jolly self and it´s just wonderful to see her like that.
Her vocabulary is growing every day and she´s just a one smart kid. She loves to sing and her playing is deeper and more intense than it used to.
We love her so much and our harts grow bigger every day. It´s such a joy to be with her. What more is there to say?
I´ll try to be better at updating here - but this is all for now
Love to you who reads this - Kitta, Svenni and Elísabet Xiang