We were in Shoppers Drug Mart one day last week, I was getting our perscriptions and travel medicine sorted out, in the case of any incidents that could occur while in China! I'm praying that won't be the case, however it's always good to be prepared!
Anyway, as we were waiting for the pharmacist to do his thing, we were browsing around the store and fell upon this snorkel set that was on sale. Lilah rather loves the idea of snorkeling, so we picked it up and today we took advantage of the million degree weather and went to the local wading pool. No joke, the weather this summer has been unbelievable, me and my pale skin live for every second of air conditioning, chill and shade!
Lilah has been enjoying a lot of time at the pool with the camps she's been involved with this summer and I love that she is watching the other kids and has gotten comfortable enough to stick her head under water. She has come a very long way from the scared little 18 month old that basically freaked out over the idea of water. And in the next few weeks she has two weeks of private swimming lessons and I think she is going to be thrilled with the idea of swimming without her water wings!
In the mean time, I think we're going to have to come up with some good ideas to keep our little snorkeler underwater. Maybe a few tropical fish? I'm sure looking at legs will get a little boring, after a while!
“I think happiness is what makes you pretty.
Happy people are beautiful.
They become like a mirror and they reflect that happiness.”
~ Drew Barrymore
Is it August already?! I'm quite thrilled that July is behind us. I don't normally wish the summer away... but this year I have good reason to!
On the other hand, it's been a wonderful (hotter than hot) summer, so far! We started the month on vacation in our favourite little spot, Picton. A hot summer day on a beach with our friends, horseback riding, sea-dooing and swimming in the hotel pool every evening - I don't think July could have gotten off to a better start for us all!
This past month was jam packed with: old and new friends, camps, swimming, bike rides, birthday parties, picnics, fireworks, new glasses, face painting, london olympics, answered prayers (our letter to bring Phebe home)... and the list goes on!
I couldn't be more thankful - our family has been so blessed, in so many ways.
Well, the cutness factor around this house just stepped it up a few notches!
Miss Lilah and I picked up her two new pairs of glasses today and she was more excited than I have seen her in a long long long time. My husband looked at me in disbelief tonight and asked: "Did the glasses come with a over-the-top confidence boost too?!" Honestly, she was running around the house, high as a kite, talking in the most mature and matter-of-fact way possible... using big words like 'responsibility'!
She is completely thrilled with her glasses. In fact, when we picked them up at the Opticians she put them on and said: "Wow! I can see clearly now!" YIKES! I kinda hope she was exaggerating a little! I feel bad that she couldn't see clearly all this time.
I can tell she loves both pairs too. She was trying to make a rota on what day she would wear what pair!
So this is it I guess! It'll be her new look from here on out.
(The first pair are royal blue on the outside and jade green on the inside.
The second pair are pale lilac on the outside and purple on the inside)
[ the flickr set is here ]
I'm truly enjoying this photography class I'm taking, with Lisa... I just wish I had more time to dedicate to it - but unfortunately life at the moment is as busy as it's ever been. This week we were understanding different types of photography. I definitely love the 'caught in the moment' category. Most of my favourite shots are those that are captured when Lilah isn't 'posing'. More recently, she ignores me and my camera... which I kinda like! It means I capture more natural shots of her.
Last night as Lilah was playing with her toys in the bath. As a side note, I love how she plays with her toys these days, I love sitting close by, pretending not to be interested, but secretly I'm listening to all her little musings and role play. I can't help but smile, it is completely adorable! I just LOVE the stage she is at right now... although, I think I've said that about every stage so far!
Anyway, back on track... as she was playing, I snuck upstairs with my camera and captured this picture of her in the bath - I was half way up the stairs and this was taken through the stair rails with my 85mm. She had just noticed I was there about the millisecond I snapped this picture. I simply adore her little 'one eye' peeking above the bath!
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You can read all about Stefanie and her beautiful family,
and check out more Sunday Snapshots at Ni Hao Ya'll.
This past week, at camp, the children have been celebrating the London Olympics.
I just love the counsellors at this camp and the effort they put into the programs each and every week. The camp is called "Everything But The Kitchen Sink", and I get the feeling it is exactly that! Have I mentioned how much Lilah loves the counsellors... they are a little older than the 'norm' and the best part - they are really into the children. They are very witty and joke around with the little ones a lot, Lilah is always telling us funny stories about what they say and do. You should see this girl of mine skip up the street to camp every morning. I feel so grateful to live in this wonderful neighbourhood.
So back to the Olympics Extravaganza!
There was the opening ceremony, from what I heard the children all marched around the streets waving the flags they each made and I get the feeling they were all Team Canada! It certainly seemed that way, because each little face I saw (when I picked Lilah up) that afternoon was painted, red, white and Canadian! Lilah must have asked for a (very!) large Maple Leaf! She had also reminded me the evening before that they should wear a Canadian outfit the next day - so she was very much prepared!
On three different days - they went to the local park (& sprinklers!) for running races, the local outdoor pool for swimming and the local school gym for gymnastics - all the activies were (of course!) geared towards the Olympic games. They all made medals and my funny girl came home pleased as punch with the medal she made. Actually it's been hanging on her bed post and she wore it all day today, so I managed to get a picture of her with it.
Is it any wonder this girl comes home zonked after a day at camp?!
The evening after Lilah's visit with the Ophthalmologist and the Optometrist, I was walking past her bedroom and noticed this...
I'm thinking maybe a few of her BOO baby animals are having a bit of eye trouble too!
Lilah had her yearly appointment with the Ophthalmologist today at the Children's Hospital.
Lilah is seen yearly, because when we received her referral paperwork her "special need" (and I use that term very loosely) was Esotropia. Upon arriving at the SWI she'd been diagnosed with this condition, however, after we brought her home and were referred to an Ophthalmologist, we were told by the Doctor that she had been diagnosed too young, which inevitably led to a misdiagnosis. Lilah, in fact, had Pseudoesotropia.
Here is a description of it... (taken from here)
Pseudoesotropia is the appearance of crossed eyes in a child whose eyes are in perfect alignment. This is caused through having a broad, flat bridge of the nose that allows the skin on the inner portion of the eyelids to extend over and cover the inner part of the eye. It is common in infants and young children with these facial characteristics.
The sclera, or white part of the eye, closest to the nose becomes covered, particularly when the child looks toward either side. This results in the misleading crossed eye appearance.
As the child grows and the nasal bridge develops, the skin is pulled forward and away from the eye causing the crossed eye appearance to disappear.
Basically, Lilah has outgrown the pseudoesotropia, we see it the odd time if she is turning her eyes to the far left or right. But because she was referred to the Ophthalmologist at the Children's Hospital, she is being looked after and the Dr has us come in once a year to make sure everything is looking just fine. So today she got drops in her eyes, as she does once a year and after going through the pictures, letters, etc., they realized that she is not seeing quite as well as she could be.
Which means? She now has a prescription! For glasses!
She was a bit subdued about the idea, and asked many questions about why and how and where and what, oh yes and if she'd actually be wearing REAL glasses?! I'm sure you remember when she went through the love of fake glasses phase, especially the 3D ones! Well, it was all leading to this day when she would actually need them! Ha! Anyway, when we went to the Optician, let me just say one word to describe Lilah - THRILLED - she was super excited and there was hardly a pair of glasses in the store left unturned! She specifically wanted a blue pair, so she found a pair that fitted well... she did all the choosing, because ultimately, I want her to love them. I have to admit though, it was so hard to stand back and not make suggestions! She ended up getting two pairs, one for stand-by, because kids... are kids!
Watch this space. They should be ready in about a week!
Lilah has been enjoying summer camp this past two weeks.
At the end of a day at summer camp, this girl of mine is simply worn out! You can just imagine what she's like at the end of the week!
She plays hard and sleeps hard. And she looks like an absolute angel when she sleeps.
I totally missed posting my June pictures on the last day of the month! Well, I remembered about it a few times, but life kinda got in the way.
June was a calmer month, it was Lilah's last month of school, bye-bye Junior Kindergarten. Maybe that's the reason she took to jumping on the bed and twirling on the sidewalk! Of course, I'm joking! Lilah LOVES school and was straight up honest in telling me that she was very sad it was over... she even had a tear in her eye over it one morning, it was about a week before her last day. Long may her love for school continue!
Lilah also had her splatter paint party in June... my oh my, it was fun! And we spent an afternoon at the Ornamental Gardens, where Lilah swung on the trees, compared the colour of her outfit to the flowers and enjoyed skipping around and smelling the peony roses. I adore her joy and zest for life. She also enjoyed running races at our annual Sunday School Picnic, especially the sack race! And finally, we went and picked strawberries the day after school finished - I should say, what was left of the strawberries, since we've had an early hot dry summer...well, we must have gotten some rain in June, because Lilah's very cute ladybug umbrella made it's debut at one stage during the month!
I love June, we are thoroughly enjoying our summer and every month is a month closer to my Phebe girl... I simply can't wait!
I've started an online photography class with Lisa @ The Long Road to China, I just love her photography and felt I need a little push in the right direction. Especially since it's been 4 years since I bought my first dslr and my self-teaching (or maybe I should say, trial through error!) has basically come to a stand still - ahem, a long time ago!
The class is called 'Push Past Your Comfort Zone' and we've been learning about depth of field, framing, pattern, perspective, leading lines, rule of thirds, etc... and it's only week two! ...6 more weeks to go!
The weather has been incredibly hot here lately and with our Letter Seeking Confirmation arriving last week... (Squeal!! ...I still can't stop squealing every time I say that!) ...I haven't had a second to spare to get out and capture images that incorporate all this material. But today, I finally made an effort to blow the dust from my camera and take a walk down by the river. Lilah's hair has been up all week as she is at a swimming camp (and LOVES it!), so disregard the upstyle... I was too lazy to take it down. And being the biased mother that I am, I think she's pretty cute no matter how crazy her hair looks!
I took this picture of my Monkey Moo the morning after we arrived home from our vacation in Picton.
I came downstairs to find her in this exact position. To be honest, I don't know where or when she saw a violin before or even of someone playing a violin... but it's obvious she has, since she's got a pretty decent form.
Now begs the question: Violin lessons or Guitar lessons? I kinda skipped a level, because I was thinking she'd start piano lessons this Fall!
How she got out of paying for breakfast on Father's Day!
baba: “Are you paying for breakfast today Lilah?”
lilah: “No, I can’t reach the counter.”
baba: “Don’t worry, I can pick you up”
lilah: “I don’t have enough money.”
baba: “Sure you do, it’s in your piggy bank!”
lilah: “Well, I don’t want to take my money out of my piggybank until it’s all full!”
Walking down the street past a City Bus one day: "Why is it called a City Bus, because everyone is sitting?"
“When you laugh at me, it makes me feelings feel bad!”
“Mama, I love that mushroom soup. I remember you made that soup a long time ago, you know, when you were the same height but had a younger face.”
After helping her take a staple out of one of her pages one day: “Thank you Mom, that’s what parents are for!”
One morning I had a sore stomach and Lilah sweetly rubbed my belly and said: “You really need to stay at home and take care of yourself.”
After getting a few of her drawings from school gathered together, she stapled them in the corner and starting flicking through them, then turned to me and said: “These are my university papers, they’re all available now.” I don’t even know where she heard the word ‘university’!
“Do you know how there’s always birds poo? Well, do birds pee as well?”
“If we had a white car it would be better, then you wouldn’t see the bird poo!”
"I'm the super expert, so I think I should blow up the balloons!"
Talking to her stuffies one day: "Rule number one is NO fighting. Rule number two is NO snatching. Okay?"
lilah: "Mama, where's the ipad?"
me: "I hid it, I'm not telling you."
lilah: Well, remember, there's no secrets in our family!"
Last but not least, TODAY we got our Letter Seeking Confirmation! When I told Lilah the news she said: "That's good news, we've been praying for that!" (more news about that and our tentative travel dates on Phebe's blog)
You know it's Friday around our house when my daughter is doing this...
Friday, my friends, is wash day! And whether they need it or not, the sheets all come off the beds! As soon as Lilah sees those sheets disappearing into the washing machine, she knows she has a good two hours of jumping on the bed! You know, it's also a good way to tire your daughter out for a nice quiet put-her-to-bed-early Friday evening!!
I caught these pictures of my girl, doing what she does best. I love to see the pure joy on her face when she's bouncing, it's beautiful and innocent. And seeing that, makes me just as happy as she is!
