Cousins Converge ~ June 12th

With Aiden turning 3, my sister Ann organized a birthday gathering at a local park. Didn't take long before the cousins were running in the water, whether they were dressed for it or not.

Abby

Aiden

Isabelle, the older.

Nora, the younger, born the same year...

Add some water guns to the mix, and you've got some very happy boys.

 A man with a mission!

It was heartwarming to see them all playing together.

Rob's girls...

Ann brought along some KFC to enjoy. Our spouses were all busy, so it was the just us three siblings. Maybe they're trying to tell us something? :)

Once Nora got out of the stroller, she once again took off running. I was really grateful to have just one to supervise at this point in my life. Nice to have the older ones somewhat independent. Now Charles, he was wishing he was somewhere else... like, lucky James, getting to go to work! :) Just kidding, he's a good sport. Nora was very brave in the water park, initially surprised by some unexpected fountains of water out of the ground but she just went with it. She doesn't seem to get scared very quickly.

 Aiden is so sweet to appreciate the simple things in life, like getting his own cake and blowing out the candles.

You have to love this smile of joy and exuberance... Happy Birthday!

At this point, Nora is changed out of her wet clothes and is intensely signing "more" to anyone passing by, that she would like some more of those orange things... her second introduction to cheesies! (Oh no!)

Visiting Big Brothers ~June 10th

After her quick nap, Nora and I showed up for lunch at "Falcon Fest", the annual Gr.K-8 sports day. Thomas and Lewis didn't seem to mind having us around.

Once free from the stroller, Nora was running all over the place. Mrs. P. was happy to run with her, as well as take her walking. Very sweet, and helpful to give me a break also. As well, she donated a tiny barrette to help with Nora's hair issues! :)

Girls are naturally attracted to little ones, and Nora is no exception to this phenomenon. Despite attempts to pick her up to cuddle, Nora was too determined to keep moving. She looked like the Pied Piper, with her trail of girls behind her! :)

The recent discovery of pea gravel is always exciting, the next logical step being to put it on the slide... or figure out how to get it out of your sandals. A fun time was had by all!

A little bit of "frou-frou"...

I recently indulged in buying for Nora what others may refer to as "frou-frou", otherwise known as ultra-frilly/girly. I couldn't help it! Nora wasn't thrilled with my picture taking, but did enjoy the hat. She even tolerated wearing it during our trek through Save-On-Foods later that day, to the delight of all the older ladies there. :)

A few days later, I ran into a friend who hadn't met Nora yet. She thanked me for not putting an elasticized headband with an enormous flower on Nora's head.  You're welcome!", I graciously answered, but didn't have the heart to tell her about my latest purchase of the crocheted hat/flower combination. (Sorry Lisa!)

I promise to only bring it out on special occasions... maybe. :)

Strawberry Girl

Nora and I had a nice time last Wednesday visiting my girlfriend, Kim. (Sadly I didn't use my camera then, when Nora enjoyed watermelon for the first time... rinds and all!) Here's Nora just waking up. I think I've achieved my goal of adding "chub" to her little body.

Now when the door is open, we have to watch her as she's trying to leave.

 I just love this little outfit, as you can tell, and so had fun taking some photos. Have to take advantage of the sunshine when it's out as it's been quite scarce so far this year.

  Peek-a-boo!

Not often that you can try this camera angle on someone...

A Quiet Sunday

Nora enjoys making "ice cubes" drop from her little fridge. The picture on the right shows her saying "Pig" in sign language, although I don't know why she was sharing that with me!

I'm happy to report that we're moving over to the summer dress side of the closet, finally! But no matter the weather, I always enjoy dressing Nora up. Wish I had as many outfits as she does!

Giving Thomas a hug when he doesn't feel well. (He stayed home from school today, Monday, which was a costly event. He took the dog into the greenspace  while he whacked bushes with a hockey stick. (Yeah, he's really sick...) Rosie got excited, did her usual spinning, lunging routine and somehow poked her eye... likely on a stick/branch. Thomas just heard the "Yelp", and then saw bleeding from the inner corner of her right eye.Within 20 minutes we were off  to the vet... whatever poked her cut through the eyelid corner up to the upper eyelid, just missing her eye. A close call. And I already mentioned "costly?" But what can you do when your son and your conscience need to know that your dog is okay? Sigh.)

And one more for all of you hockey fans... because this is what makes Daddy happy; Mommy doesn't care but it trying to be more understanding. :)

What Brothers are For

Grandma and Grandpa surprised Nora with a little trike, complete with a handle for an adult to steer. The boys couldn't wait to try it out with Nora, and she was eager to ride it too.

Of course, it wasn't long before Thomas was attempting wheelies with it... I guess that's why it's good to have the seatbelt on it!

Nora doesn't mind the action at all. (Can you tell someone won't keep her barrettes in?)

Lounging on the patio swing with Lewis and Rosie. No matter what I tried, I could only get Lewis to look at me.

So glad the sun has returned so we expand our horizons into the backyard from the TV room... was getting pretty old.

Busy Girl...

Here is just a slice of Nora's days at home mid-week, with a lot of running and being entertained by balloons.

She has no shortage of amusing facial expressions... I've not included the grumpy ones here. :)

Posing for "Mama" is not a favourite activity but I still try. The great news of this day (Thursday) was receiving a letter from Citizenship and Immigration Canada to send in Nora's Permanent Resident card, the next step in granting her Canadian citizenship. I was quite ecstatic, as I've been waiting for some kind of news since October. The letter I mailed in two weeks ago pleading my case must have impacted someone. Phew... Within an hour, I had the needed response letter, with PR card enclosed, at the local UPS store as the mail strike was to start the following day. Great timing! :) Here's hoping for news by Canada Day.

Girl Time

On Tuesday Nora and I enjoyed visiting Megumi's house, where she spoiled us with a delicious Japanese lunch of Miso soup with Udon noodles, Terikayi chicken, and Inari sushi--- a sweet wrap of sushi rice. I feel like I grew up in the wrong food culture as mine is so uninspiring! :) We also enjoyed our girls playing together... at one point it looked like they were trying out a new form of wrestling. Must come with the toddler stage, where strong emotions of jealousy and possessiveness are newly experienced. Made for a good laugh for us! Here are the girls in a quieter moment...

Getting them to pose is quite impossible, but distractions often work...

 Eventually Nora's barrette was the coveted item, which usually Nora herself will not tolerate in her own hair.

A lot of fun... looking forward to next time already! Thanks, Megumi. :)

Waiting for news...

Well, as many of you know, today is the day that our friends Julie and Randy are adopting their daughter, Anna Elizabeth. Last night around 9pm was when they were to have met her at their hotel in Nanchang, Jianxi province in China. I woke a few times in the night looking at the clock, imagining how they were feeling. As it is nearing midnight there, I keep checking my email for news from Julie so that I can update her blog. The suspense is going to prevent me from doing much else today so I hope something arrives before they retire for the night. Obviously, little Anna might be throwing a wrench in their email plans so I'll try to be patient. :) I know what that's like, suddenly looking after a bewildered baby in a hotel room in a foreign land. It's not the easiest way to have a baby but I know they'll do fine. :)

Update: Monday night 11:30pm... Wow! That was the longest 24 hours ever waiting for their email to come through. I can now sleep easy having seen their beautiful daughter Anna... so adorable. And how nice to have hair! :)  P.S. Their blog link is on the right... Good night.