November Birthdays ~ Round One

The "joke" of the last couple of months was the ongoing disagreement between Nora and Thomas as to who was having their birthday first. Thomas was obviously correct, with his birthday on Nov. 3rd, and Nora's on the 6th, but there is no winning with a 2 year old who is determined to be first. So to add to her confusion, we celebrated a week earlier with my extended family. My parents were willing to brave the noise and chaos of our local Chuck E. Cheese pizza arcade, with my brother's family attending as well. It was something fun for the cousins to enjoy together, with the nice bonus that they were old enough to play on their own. Scott and I took turns with Nora playing games, while the adults hunkered down in a booth trying to visit. :)

Stay off the road, here comes Nora...

We did have some better quality time back at home for cake, also celebrating my Mom's birthday on the 11th. (My parents were leaving soon for an 11 day trip to Winnipeg to visit Ann.)

Long cakes work best for multiple candles!

Blowing out candles has become Nora's birthday highlight.

An "after-shot" once Charles graced the scene...looking thrilled!

Kailey and Nora, who actually tries to read her cards. :)

Grandpa reads the card instead...

Analyzing the "Mom" figurine, who can now drive the matching van we already own.
She kind of looks like me,  if you think "helmet" styled hair is similar enough...

Thomas gets in on the action, too.

On the actual day that Thomas turned 14, we celebrated quietly at home after school. He doesn't look too different from his picture as a 4 year-old there on the table... still cute with a great smile. :)

Getting a laugh from Nora's card, that admits "You're right, your birthday is first!"

Making Thomas is happy... just buy books!

New clothes are always welcome, too.
(Like not previously worn by his older brothers...)

On the weekend, we had a Karpiuk family birthday celebration, as Papa's birthday was on the 10th. After a dinner out together at Old Spaghetti Factory, we had cake again! :)

Nora thinks this whole birthday thing is great...
how many times will she get to become 3?!

Once again, so glad Costco makes these long cakes!

Wow, Nora!  You haven't even had your real birthday yet!

Halloween ~ Oct. 31st

Halloween continues to be a favourite time of year no matter how we downplay it... the boys still want access to free candy, and Nora is into dressing up anytime! Here she is a week prior, just having gone through the dress-up box.

Nora was sick the week before Halloween so she missed out on her "farm animal" dress-up day at preschool, as well as trick-or-treating at my workplace. She was feeling better the day of Halloween but with the pouring rain outside, we opted for Scott taking her to the church for an activity there while I took the younger boys around the neighbourhood with our umbrellas in hand. Charles was initially irritated with himself for not booking the night off  like all his other co-workers, but then decided to make the most of it by dressing up. Pulling out James' costume from last year, he apparently made some lasting impressions on customers at A&W as he cooked at the grill... Imagine comments like, "What is that?!!!"

James was out with his girlfriend and buddies somewhere trying to get candy, wearing matching Mexican costumes with Kelsey. (He has since obliged me with a photo...) Apparently he did okay despite his advanced age, with the rain in his favour... less little ones to compete with for candy! He also enjoyed this time of year by developing his entrepreneurial skill, selling fireworks illegally to co-workers and friends. We've since had a chat about focusing his skills in more positive ways. Regardless, he soon had purchased some new computer parts! Sigh....

Nora had to settle for a little "kitty" pumpkin as her one from the pumpkin patch field trip was rotting by the time we went to carve it. :( Thomas and Lewis always enjoy making their own designs... I still supervise them with the knives, though!

And now... introducing the cutest ladybug ever~

Lewis is apparently a wizard or something but to me he looks like one of the seven dwarves in disguise, or Santa! Thomas initially decided to dress up like this, just random items we have collected over the years, but within minutes of going out the door he had a creative spark and had transformed into...

...Justin Bieber. His sign says, "Your worst nightmare!" By the end of trick-or-treating, his photocopied "mask" had wilted from the rain so people weren't quite sure what he was!

Meanwhile, at the church for "Trunk of Treats", Nora was having a great time.

Nora &  "Work-out" Wanda 

 Pumpkin Mary with Nora

Love those wings...

A chance to see cousins Kieren and Kailey. (And win a cake...)

Sitting still for a star.

The best part of all? Sorting out your stash when you get home!

Pretty exciting, we're still working on it.

Nora's cake, that Daddy just happened to pull her number for...

 Survey says... Crispy Crunch dominates this year~

Just the beginning of the sugar-infused mood that will pervade
 the house in the weeks ahead... could be worse!

A reminder of Nora's reality ~ Oct.15th

Most people in the Chinese adoptive community likely have already received this link to a recent documentary, not yet released to DVD (which I will purchase eventually...) Somewhere Between (official site) is a must-view film for families like mine, whose daughters will have questions about their birth parents as they reach adolescence and beyond, that we will have few answers for. Four adopted Chinese teens in the US are interviewed in this film, regarding how they view their unique identities, with one pursuing a search for her birth parents in China. And yes, I cried to hear their stories and see glimpses of their heartaches. But these girls are brave, strong and compassionate from their experiences and it is heartwarming too. I don't know how we'll navigate those waters with Nora, but I am thankful for those that are going before me, adoptive parents and their daughters. My gut reaction when I watch films like this is that I need to assist Nora to learn Mandarin/Cantonese and start saving for a future trip back to China, neither of which seem like realistic goals right now. But maybe someday?! Especially since she's decided that she wants to be "The Boss of China"!

Hope you get a chance to check out the movie... Susan :)

Early Autumn Happenings

With school routines settling in, Nora and I were able to get back to visiting with our girlfriends. Late September, we visited Derby Reach Park along the Fraser River with Megumi and her daughter. It was challenging to get the girls to pose or smile together, but they had fun exploring regardless.

Anna and her Mommy, Julie, had us over for lunch that same week. Anna and Nora are almost the same height, so there is no more handing down of clothes to Anna. :( 

 Anna is easy to get along with, as sweet-natured as her Mommy. :)

Oct. 1st, we picked up my third quilt that was machine-quilted by Terry, our new best friend! This Chinese province/culture quilt was made by contributions of blocks from an online quilt swap of others adopting from China, as early as 2007. The quilt body was finished just weeks after Nora's arrival home, and I finally added the border on once I met Terry. She gave me hope and inspiration that this would get done, as I could never sew such a large quilt on my own machine. (It may still take months to sew on the binding...) This is affectionately dubbed "My Ugly Quilt", as the colours are wild and mismatched. However, as an "educational" quilt with a lovely flannel backing, I think it will be fun to cuddle under and teach Nora about China. Putting the corresponding scrapbook together of the information still awaits me.

Thanks, Miss Terry!

Like every kid before her, Nora enjoys being wrapped up like a hot dog...

Someone's happy!

Little Nora is lost in such a long quilt, but I think we'll all get a piece of it on the couch.

Surprise, surprise... Nora's first Preschool trip was to a local farm to visit "The Pumpkin Patch." I recall years of visiting the pumpkin patch before with the boys, it had lost it's thrill for me at that time. But, I'm trying to see this now with new eyes, as a little girl who has never seen a farm animal before up close. And from that view, it was a pretty exciting morning. :)

Nora did her own chicken dance imitation, which you'll just have to imagine.

The goats were a hit, too.

Nora was able to give the cows some hay.

So many choices...

If you can't carry it, you can't take it home.
We picked something a little smaller. :)

Attending our first Quinceañera ~ Oct. 13th

Our family had the opportunity to attend our first Quinceañera as Charles' friend from youth group, Margarita, celebrated her fifteenth birthday. It was a lovely occasion, but I'm personally glad I don't need to do this for Nora!

We dressed up in our "party clothes".

Margarita was escorted into the church auditorium by her older brother, Samael.

Sam sang several songs to honour his family.

Margarita's scrumptious cream puff cake.

Nora thought Margarita was a princess... she definitely looked like one!

Beautiful girlfriends. Happy Birthday!

Throw in a couple of Karpiuk boys and everyone's happy...

Thomas missed the previous photo op...

A wonderful time was had by all, and we were grateful to celebrate this special milestone with Margarita and her family. She is truly a beautiful young woman already. :) Congratulations.

The girls love her, too.

Nora loves parties...

What guys do for fun at parties...

At least this guy...