Daddy's Grey Cup Party

Nora and I arrived home from the ferry just near the end of the Grey Cup game... perfect timing, seeing as I have no interest in football whatsoever. (Which is why I picked a great weekend to be away!...) It was great to see several of our young adult friends who were at the house. Nora got to meet all the guys, while I enjoyed the shrimp and seven layer dip. Don't ask me who won the game!

Abe got a few good laughs from Nora, but she had to check him out pretty well first...

A great smile with Dave...

 

Hanging out with the dashing Braun brothers... first there's Richard,

then Simon...

and Jerry...

He was teasing Thomas and Lewis also, which they just love!

Our first weekend away...

With having recovered from our colds, and the prospect of a four-day weekend with the boys home (Snow day plus Pro-D day), I suddenly felt the urge to disappear! :) In the past, I've always taken this weekend to go visit Lori and her family over on Vancouver Island. I quickly called her and asked if I could show up with Nora on Friday. Of course... they would love to see Nora! :) I quickly packed, and thankfully the rain showed up to melt away the snow.

Here's a shot to prove we were on the ferry, even if Nora has a funny face!

I fed her a lot of finger foods to keep occupied later, but ended up pacing the ferry wearing the baby carrier for awhile before rocking her to sleep in the buggy. Wasn't an unbearable situation, I just kept losing my seat.

The mountains looked beautiful despite the rain...

Andrew was very happy to meet Nora, and was such a sweetheart to her. He's requested monthly updates about her from me...

Lori likes to start the season early, so Nora saw her first Christmas tree ever. She liked to reach for the ornaments, so we had to distract her frequently. Gives me an idea of how things will be at home...

Nora had photo shoots with the family... here's Lori. (Nora was having a "bad hair" day, but at least she has hair now!)

"Uncle" Peter was so sweet with Nora, too.

Zoe, the dog, was not too impressed that her master had another girl in his arms but she did alright...

Andrew found interesting way to entertain Nora... for some reason, he would like a little sister now! :)

Adam had his turn with Nora also...

A classic pose of Nora's... checking people out.

Sunday lunch was a fun time at Boston Pizza. Thank you so much for a wonderful weekend. I hope we'll be back soon. I'm already hoping for the last weekend of November, 2011.

Snow Day visit, November 25th

On Thursday, Nora and I were excited to have my co-worker, Megumi, visit with her beautiful little daughter, who is almost 5 months old. With the snowfall in progress, the boys had a "Snow Day", which thankfully didn't keep Megumi at her house. The funniest thing about having the boys all home was that they seemed to want to be in the room with the babies, which would be okay if they weren't so "exuberant"! We kept moving around the house for a quieter space, and, lo and behold, there was Thomas... or Lewis on the piano, playing as loud as possible. So interesting. It did give Megumi a broader perspective of my life! :)

We tried to pose the girls together, but Nora kept trying to crawl off the couch. Look for future playdate photos of these cuties...

The week ending Nov. 21st...

We've had a very mellow week, as Nora and I have had a cold. She is pretty much over it now, and has resorted to major drooling instead. Charles was totally unimpressed by this, and insisted on washing all his clothes after experiencing some of this up close. So much to learn... :) I'm hoping this week involves less sickness, as it's hard not to feel a bit stir crazy at times. Regardless, Nora keeps moving, always finding new things to check out in the house... Her latest feats are standing independently while clapping, as well as taking a few steps on her own. Good thing she's low to the ground, as she ends up there a lot! :) She also started drinking homogenized milk in her bottle, which will make my budget happy! :)

We did enjoy a sunny afternoon out on Tuesday, visiting our friends Christine and Joe. That was a treat, especially seeing a great horned owl fly by us as we walked through the forest together.

Christine knows exactly to get a child laughing... she says it's because she's still just one herself! :)

Trying out the new portable "highchair"... seems to pretty to use, but that's why we have "Shout!" stain remover.

Another highlight was visiting my sister's place... I felt it was a pretty safe place to visit as she and her kids are sick most of the time already! :) Didn't get any pictures though. Thanks, Ann!

Nana and Papa sent several new outfits in the mail for Nora... it's always fun to get new clothes. Hopefully Nora won't figure out that she is a "Princess" for awhile...

Rosie is coping better lately with Nora crawling about on the floor near her, although don't ask me why Rosie is on the couch here... Charles must be beside her, as he routinely pampers the dog. (Good thing someone is!)

This is Nora's look of "Hmm, I wonder if they'll notice me getting into this..." Yes, we notice.

Friday night was our first snowfall, which allowed for this beautiful scenario from my front door. I just need to remember to look at it!

A new dress from Nana, doesn't everyone just love velour... I do! See you later. Susan & Nora.

Two months of knowing Nora...

The 13th of each month will always be a happy reminder of the day we met Nora in Guangzhou. So much has gone on in these two short months, the most recent being her big party last week. This has been a week of recovery from time changes, vaccines and socializing. It was going okay until a second set of vaccines yesterday. Was a very rough night for Nora (and Scott), and two cranky days now. Looks like Nora has joined Lewis and I in getting a cold as well. This is the normal stuff of babyhood, but I had forgotten how much fun it is not! :)

Nora is actually happy in this picture, at the beginning of the week, but looked a lot like this today except with tears and screaming added in. However, she did have her moments of getting into things today, as per usual. Fortunately, she hasn't figured out how to turn the computer on and off yet.

Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day for at least some of us. At least Scott and the guys did some leaf raking today in the greenspace, and Scott took some lovely pictures of my favourite... Japanese Maple leaves.

Will update this blog soon enough. I have just finished editing the movie from the party, so we can lend it out soon to you for your private viewing pleasure. Hope to see you soon, Susan :)

Nora's "Welcome Home" party!

I'm writing this on the 9th... it's taken me awhile to get back on my feet after such a great party. It was a very special evening, and we are so thankful for everyone who came out to celebrate with us. We really enjoyed all the special messages that were made for Nora... I'll include them in a future scrapbook.

Nora and I donned our silk dresses for the occasion. Yes, my dress is warm as it is a brocade, so I won't be wearing it too often. Glad it was November! :) Here we are with my Dad. (Grandpa!)

Nora shared a little smile... she did very well throughout the evening, but the time change the night before made it more challenging. We got home at 9:30pm, which to her was still 10:30pm. No complaining from her, just very sleepy. Here we are with family friend Sue.

Nora wanted to get down and move, as opposed to being held a lot, so she walked around during the video presentation.

Great to have friends visit from our previous church... we miss you!

Besides sharing Nora's adoption story and our China trip, we also wanted to celebrate her birthday from Nov. 6th.

We did forget to have her try eating her own cake... always fun to have a photo of that, but it would've messed up her dress a lot! Next year...

Thomas' birthday was also this week on the 3rd, so we wanted to share that with everyone, too. He's being a good sport about putting off his party until later in the month...

Don't know why his name was spelled incorrectly!

So nice to see everyone... Nora keeps making friends.

My Mom and Dad, Aunt Jean, Margaret and Hiroko were so helpful in the kitchen...  Thank you for saving the day!

Bev checks out the scrapbooks I worked on over the years from the quilt swaps I had joined in 2006. They're all still a work in progress...

Nora's cousins with Auntie Kellie... in the latest silk fashions as well.

Nora's Asian doll collection that I worked on during the wait. I hope she ends up liking dolls or I'll be visiting eBay!

James... we had technical difficulties with our Moviemaker presentation. Without his knowledge, we would've been really bored during the party! Thanks, James.

Nora gets her own fortune cookie...

Great to see you, Kellie...Ooops.  I mean Kelly!  (This is Scott's contribution.  He thinks he is a blogger now!)

Barbara and her mother, Florence, are so happy to meet Nora. They obviously love children, and are so sweet.

Charles and his friend enjoy the snacks...

Auntie Ann gets to hold Nora as her young ones aren't around to get jealous!

Darlene and Edward were so helpful with our party... picking up the fortune cookies and lanterns in Chinatown for us, and then taking all these great pictures. Thanks for being so thoughtful. (I enjoyed the chocolate delivery as well...)

If any of you have any pictures to share, I'd love to see them. Again, we thank you for making the evening a success with many memories to treasure in the years ahead. We know that many of you couldn't make it, and we missed you, too. We will be making DVD copies of our video that we can share with you at a later date if you would like to have a "private viewing". (We don't mind watching it again, either...) Life should calm down soon, so we hope to get together with friends again soon. Just don't expect me to wear silk anytime soon! :) Hugs to you all, Susan :)