The suitcases are now packed! One half of Lilah's suitcase has clothes in it and the other half has her three lovies; Lucky, Monkey and Piggy. I'm sure they'll enjoy Ireland as much as we will. Lilah was pretty excited about getting them all squeezed into the suitcase this morning, she even tried to squeeze herself in there with them! We'll see some of you in a few weeks and some of you over the next few weeks, all being well. I won't be blogging about our trip until we get back...cheerio!
You probably don't need me to tell you this, but when you go to Ireland, you must have NEED a pair of wellie boots! We bought a pair today, because in just two more sleeps we're off to Ireland. We are so very excited! More pictures of our little sweetheart here, oh how I love her smile and laugh!
A few weeks ago while Lilah and I were out shopping I had the following cute conversation. (I think the little girl was about 6 or 7 years old)
girl: Is she your child?
me: Yes, she's my daughter.
girl: Just...cause...she kinda looks Chinese.
The newest favourite word around our house these days is 'uh-oh', which seems to be used a lot, and rightly so! Here are some of the words that Lilah is currently saying: Lilah, tuck (truck), hot, nana (banana), bye-bye, shoes (said without the s), hi, mama, baba, no, dar (car), eye (always said in a whisper), up, bag (said without the g), uh-oh and ball. There are many more words being said, but unfortunately they are unrecognisable at this stage!
Lilah also uses sign language, here are the signs she knows and uses: please, thank you, more, I love you, bath, cookie, hungry, all done, yes and no.
Lilah really loves to blow kisses and wave goodbye, she will pucker right up and do a huge smack of her lips, it is the cutest thing ever. She especially loves babies (real babies), and loving on them, kissing their hands and gently rubbing them. She loves to play with stickers, they provide endless hours of entertainment. She loves to help, no matter what you're doing, she is always there at your side looking to put stuff in the garbage, put items in the wash machine, etc; she is such a great little helper. She absolutely loves to go out, as soon as we say 'are you ready', she throws her arms up in the air and says 'yeaaaaaaa'! She is infatuated with dogs and cats, she can't say the words yet, but she can bark and meow better than any dog or cat! We actually wonder if she dreams about dogs, because sometimes when we lift her from the crib (after her nap) she barks and points out the window with these huge eyes. Yes, our neighbours have a dog and it's wildly entertaining!
We have a little chef in our house now. She likes to make tea, drink tea, touch our tea cups and puff and blow her cheeks and say 'hot'. With many thanks to Colin's co-workers (for the gift voucher), we got our little chef a tea set from Mrs. Tiggy Winkles. She had help setting up the tea party, but the disastrous mess at the end was all our little chef's doing, but oh what fun she had making that mess! A few more pictures here.
By the way, if you clicked on the link you'll notice they call the 'tea set' a 'coffee and dinner set', this is Canada after all, who drinks tea?!
Today is the new stat holiday our provincial government introduced last year, called 'family day'. Not that it means a lot to us, because right now every day is a family day! Colin and I are both off work, Colin has taken parental leave and is off work until the end of March. It has been great for Lilah and the bonding process. We spent another great day skating on the canal, I think our southern girl is getting used to the cold weather!
We love you so much Lilah Grace.
Two months ago Lilah was placed in our arms. When I stop and think about everything she has come through, it just makes me so in awe of her. This week the instructor in her gymnastics class asked me about her. He was stunned when I told him Lilah just became part of our family almost 9 weeks ago, he looked around and said, so this is, like, all brand new to her? Yep, everything is new to her; almost every little experience she goes through is new or different. It's truly remarkable, how this little girl has adapted and changed, and fit into our family so perfectly. We acknowledge a higher power, our Father in Heaven, He has not only made this possible, but also perfect.
All the 'new things' in Lilah's life: new country, new house, new crib, new weather, new routines, new smells, new language, new foods, new toys, new loves, new sounds, new faces, new clothes, new friends, new experiences; gymnastics, playgroup, library, church, malls, doctors, grocery stores, the car, the plane, stroller rides, restaurants, animals, etc. This list could go on forever, she is incredible, and we can't imagine a second of our life without her!
For about a week now we've constantly been saying to Lilah, 'don't run too fast', 'watch your head', 'take it easy', etc. She's been banging her head on things, walking backwards into things, tripping over anything, everything and nothing. Is this normal? The thing is, Lilah is usually quite careful. Anyway, I guess it was inevitable, the calamity happened this morning, she tripped on a toy, (a pretty big one too) and fell right onto it. Poor little Lilah, it sure looks sore and an extremely close shave with those perfect little eyes.
Some good news, Lilah's visa arrived in the mail today and we are taking a trip to N.Ireland soon. We are so excited and I have a funny feeling Lilah's grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins are too! I can see lots of extra spoiling and loving in Lilah's future!
When in Ottawa, do as the Ottawans. If you live in Ottawa, you must skate on the Rideau Canal in the winter! It's a big must! It is an even bigger must (and bonus) if the temperature is a balmy -5°C like it was today.
Colin is taking skating lessons this year, so we decided it would be good practice for him. I must say, after only three lessons, he is doing pretty good...kudos sweetie! Lilah liked it too, maybe the poutine a little too much! Next year, all being well, we are hoping to have her up and skating too! No more of this sitting in the stroller being pushed around! Mind you, it is handy to store all the boots and junk we have to carry!
[ more pictures from today here ]
First dollar store trip, first set of party favor sunglasses = fun times!
We went to Loblaws yesterday and had some pictures taken of our sweet Lilah, and also of us as a family. I wasn't sure how it would go, but Lilah did very well, even though she didn't give away a lot of smiles! She was much too curious and wanted to get her hands on the photographers quacking duck rather than actually smile and/or laugh at it! Our sweet daughter, she is now 20 months old - oh how we love her. The family pictures are here and here. The quality isn't that great because I just ordered them in the wallet size!
