ireland: piggy's birthday

Yesterday evening we celebrated Piggy's birthday.
According to Lilah he turned 1 year old. (Again!)
He got a new pair of pink silk panties and a birthday card.
Nono bought him this massive loaded muffin in the Belfast Continential Market.
I'd say he's a pretty lucky pig!

[ more pictures here ]

ireland: snow queen (and her loyal subject!)

Yes, the snow came! And there was plenty of it! It was a very powdery texture, not the kind of snow that you'd build a snowman with! Since Ireland doesn't get a lot of snow, there are no sleighs hanging around, so Papie came up with a couple of little inventions. The outcome was one very happy little girl! In fact, it is debatable who was having the most fun between the two of them!

The photo above, of Lilah trying to pull Papie in the sleigh, is by far my favourite photo from our time in N.Ireland - it captures the delight they are both experiencing at that precise moment in time.

[ more pictures here ]

ireland: belfast christmas continental market

This evening we were crazy enough to not heed the snow warning and headed down to the Christmas Continental Market in Belfast.

In retrospect, not heeding a snow warning in Ireland is probably not the safest move. Especially since the country does not get a lot of snow and when it does get a lot, like this winter, well lets just say it is not the same as Canada! I'm not sure if they've even heard of the terms - snow tires, snow suits, snow shovels or snow boots!

Even though the 50 mile drive home took us the best part of two hours, it was a great evening. Huge snowflakes falling while we were browsing the market. Lilah caught snowflakes on her tongue and we pretty much eat our way from beginning to end. The speciality foods from different continental countries - so yummy!

[ more pictures here ]

ireland: fun with her papie boy

We stayed with Papie and Nono our first week home, my parents.

Lilah is an outdoors girl, she and Papie are like two peas in a pod in this regard. They always have a great time together outside, whether it be digging, walking the fields, observing the local cows, making ramps for the trike, checking the hen house for eggs or mechanicing - trying to get the ancient little moped's engine running!

I think this photo sums them up!

[ more photos here, here and here ]

christmas cards, and we're away!

The Christmas cards are mailed, yippee! And we're all ready for Northern Ireland. We fly out this evening and Lilah Grace has been bouncing off the walls all day with excitement.

If I don't get the chance over the next couple of weeks, I wish you all a very merry Christmas!

for unto you is born this day...

Just in case you are starting to worry that Christmas to us is all about 'Santa' and 'The Nutcracker'! That is very far from the truth, although, I must admit it is so easy to get caught up in all the fun.

Here is Lilah (last night) practising her verse for Sunday School today...

And this scene, of her cradling her little giraffey, who was wrapped up in her blanket, all ready for Church, is just so sweet! A few minutes before I took this picture, we were driving along and she said to me "Mama, he looks like the Lord Jesus!". It took me a few seconds to figure out what she meant, then I realized she was talking about the Christmas scene of Baby Jesus, swaddled in blankets. Adorable.

'the nutcracker'

I think we've just started a beautiful Christmas tradition!

Tonight Lilah and I went downtown to the NAC (National Arts Center), to watch the Alberta Ballet perform 'The Nutcracker'. It was a stunningly fabulous production, the costumes were incredible, the orchestra was amazing, to be quite frank, I have never seen anything quite like it. Lilah was glued to all 2 hours of it, only at one point she couldn't stop asking me: "Did he break his arm? Did he break his arm? Did he break his arm?". She really loved Mr. Nutcracker and was a little concerned for him breaking his arm!

After the production was over we stopped by a little sales table and given her choice of either Princess Clara, King Mouse or Mr. Nutcracker. Yes, she only had eyes for Mr. Nutcracker! And then she twirled and twirled and loved on Mr. Nutcracker for the rest of the evening!

[ more pictures here ]

late afternoon, trip to the park

We went to the park late this afternoon.

I promised Lilah a trip to the park because she was such a great helper today. Have I mentioned she loves helping? It takes me so much longer, but it's twice the fun! It's been a while since we've been to the park, with the snow and ice rain we've had recently; I'd pretty much written it off for the year. But then this past couple of days it rained and rained, which is kinda great, because the snow and ice are both gone! Well, for a day or two anyway!

I've never had the chance to photograph in the sunset - I think I may have fallen in love with photography again! Or maybe, probably, definitely it's the subject I'm in love with! A very happy excited thrilled girl, who absolutely loves the park!

On a side note, Lilah has had a few tough moments this week. I hope I'm reading all her signs correctly, but it would seem to me that she is trying to figure out and deal with some abandonment issues. We looked through some China pictures of her SWI and her nanny holding her, a while back - obviously this isn't the first time - and now she talks a lot about her nanny. Specifically about leaving her. She also mentions her in her bedtime prayers. She doesn't have any photographs or memories of her birth parents, so I think it would make sense that she feels abandoned by her nanny. Also, we've been chatting recently about the possibility of a sibling and I'm wondering if that is making her feel insecure. She sobbed uncontrollably when I asked her if she was worried that we (Baba & Mama) would leave her. So there's been a whole lot of daily holding, reassuring and long long chats together. Today was the first day this week that she didn't bring it up.

And now some pictures. What a beautiful girl she is. I would do absolutely anything for her.

[ more pictures here ]